Of Grimm and Malevolence [A RWBY x Tales of Berseria crossover story]

[Macros]

Prologue
"Even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone, darkness will return."​

---

"What do you mean, you don't have any ?"
"Exactly that."

Roman Torchwick glared daggers at his vis-a-vis. He had been having a really bad week so far, and it seemed it was about to get worse. It felt as if the entire universe was conspiring to make his life miserable these days. Admittedly this wasn't a new feeling. In fact, it was this very reason he started to walk the path of crime, in a perhaps misguided attempt to punch back at an uncaring world. The fact that said feeling persisted to this day might have been a clue that mistakes were made along the way, but the orange-haired criminal mastermind didn't feel in an introspective mood right now. All he knew is that he had expected his current meeting with Junior to alleviate his foul humor, and that it looked like he was going to be disappointed on that count too. On the other side of the bar counter, the club owner known as Junior – not his real name of course, but Hei Xiong didn't roll off the tongue quite as easily - casually grabbed a glass and began to clean it, a calculated gesture to avoid his simmering anger.

Taking a deep breath, Roman did his best to keep his temper in check and changed tack instead, hoping honey would work better than vinegar. "Listen, my friend. If it's a matter of money, I can assure you this is not an issue. I need people, and I'm willing to pay a lot for them." Certainly more than what their quality warranted, judging by the last batch, at least.

The other man grunted. "No can do. The guys I lent you last time were the last ones I could spare. Way I see it, you wouldn't have any problem if you hadn't gone and got most of them arrested to begin with."

And with that, Roman's annoyance flared once more. "They wouldn't have been arrested if they had, I don't know, the slightest bit of competence! When I hired your people, I expected results. Instead they got demolished by a little girl not old enough to have a drink!"

Junior simply shrugged. "Might have been a huntress in training. With Beacon next door, those things happen."

"And what kind of goon-for-hire," Roman drawled through gritted teeth "loses twenty-to-one against a brat who did not even graduate from combat school?" She barely looked old enough to be a first year, for fuck's sake!

"The kind that never went to combat school to begin with," Junior simply answered. "If they had, pretty sure they'd have better options than simply being rented muscle."

While Roman could acknowledge the point, it did little to placate the rising urge to grab the man by his cheap tie and strangle him with it. "From their last performance, I'd say even that seems to be asking a lot of them." Granted, that red terror certainly seemed like a handful, but still! "Listen, as I said, I'm willing to pay, especially for actually qualified help. From what I heard, those two girls of yours-"

"Not happening," Junior interrupted. "They're basically the only thing keeping this place open, I'm not sending them away to pick fights with random huntsmen, no matter how much you offer."

He might as well have talked to a brick wall. At this point, Roman Torchwick felt like he had little choice but to capitulate. "Do you at least have something to drink?"
"That I can do."

Minutes later, Roman was sitting alone with a glass of cheap wine that he barely touched. Gods, how he hated this place. The music was too loud, the lights were too bright, the drinks were too coarse, and the less was said about the smell, the better. He was pretty sure he wasn't getting out of this dump without his white suit suffering some kind of stain, and to cap it off, he just realized he had left his cigars at home. A shame, he really could have used one right now. A miserable way to end a miserable day, he supposed.

How did things turn out so wrong? When that mysterious woman, Cinder, had come to him, he had been so sure this would be his chance to finally rise to the top. The job, a simple dust robbery, was exceedingly simple, and the pay ridiculously good. He wasn't sure he liked the woman's condescension toward him, nor the implications that she had more powerful backers waiting in the shadows, but for that amount of money, he was willing to overlook a lot of things. So he pulled it off - flawlessly, if he said so himself. And then he accepted the second job. And the third. And by the time he realized how dangerous his situation really was, it was far too late.

The demands kept increasing in scope and numbers, making it impossible for him to pull it off alone, even with the help of his trusted aide. Neo was invaluable, but there was only one of her. So he had to start relying on hired goons, people he didn't know and who were prone to mess things up. Similarly, the new time constraints forbade any form of intricate planning. Roman Torchwick fancied himself an artist in his domain, but by now elegant heists had to make way for common burglary, sometimes in almost broad daylight. In retrospect, that one of those rush job would turn wrong was probably inevitable.

At this point, he had been ready to call it quits and look for less obnoxious backers. Until he heard of what happened to the others. As it turned out, he apparently had not been the first that Cinder had called upon. And when those had eventually decided to pull out, they were all met with rather gruesome fates, involving flames more often than not. Roman had to admit, that was a good incentive to continue working with the fire-wielding woman. So he kept toiling on, scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to manpower, with riskier and riskier operations. Until his luck ran out, and the last attempted robbery turned into a street fight with a red-caped brat who ploughed through his hired muscle, and coming dangerously close from preventing his own escape, especially when a bona fide huntress showed up on the crime scene.

So now he had a big problem. With most of his henchmen in jail just as the unreasonable demands from his contractors kept piling up, he was beginning to run out of options. At this point, the only one he could count on was Neo, but even she couldn't be everywhere at once. And discontenting Cinder, and her mysterious employers was simply not an option, not if he wanted to get out of this alive. Which he did, thank you very much.

Perhaps I should have let Little Red arrest me after all?

A gulp of bad liquor was enough to dismiss that idea. Pft, as if. The people he worked for- the people he worked with seemed like the vindictive type, and he doubted a prison cell would be an adequate refuge from them. Besides, he had plans of his own. Big plans. He had crawled from the bottom and he would rise to the top, no matter what. As for his current lack of personnel... he'd figure out something. He always did.

Taking one last sip from the awful wine, Roman was ready to leave this club behind, possibly for good, when a commotion near the bar counter drew his attention.

"What the hell is this? Those coins aren't worth anything!"
"They aren't? I mean, I know it's not the same money but hey, it's still pure silver! Or so I've been told anyway."

By the bar counter, Junior was glaring at the handful of coins that were just dropped. The target of his ire seemed more confused than worried though - probably a mistake given what the club owner tended to do to bad payers. The Three Bears wasn't a place for pleasant people.
Whether or not the newcomer counted as such, that remained to be seen. The hapless stranger cut quite a figure among the usual clientele of the club. Tall, with a complexion marking him as a foreigner and long, spiky dark hair tied in a ponytail, entirely hiding one of his hazel eyes, and some sort of dark tattoo running along his neck. The newcomer was wearing some sort of robe, mixing white, purple, orange and red, with an armored pauldron covering a single arm, in a style that reminded Roman of things he'd seen in Mistral. But above all else, it was the weaponry that held his attention: a pair of long, curved daggers to his belt, and a sheathed longsword almost as tall as he was on his back made him a hard man to miss. And Roman could tell from the way the stranger moved, those weren't just for show. Was that man a huntsman? They were about the only ones displaying such weaponry in such a blatant fashion; most criminals preferred easier to conceal weapons, such as his own unassuming Melodic Cudgel, which he grabbed on instinct. If this one was a friend of the huntress that had tried to apprehend him, it was possible he was here on his trail. Roman tended to avoid fights when he could, but it always paid to be prepared.

That being said, if the man was after him, he was really good at hiding it; all his attention seemed focused on the furious club owner, who shoved a threatening finger in front of his face.
"Listen, smart guy. This is a proper establishment, where you pay with proper money." Roman couldn't help but roll his eyes, there was very little 'proper' about this place. "If you're looking to barter, try a money lender. So now, how do you intend to pay for your tab?"

Roman knew that Junior's bark was worse than his bite, but most people tended to flinch when a large, angry bearded man gave that sort of warning. Which is why the stranger answering the tirade with a genuinely friendly smile was a little off-putting. "Aww, don't be like that. I'm sure I can repay you in other ways. For instance," for an instant, Roman could have sworn the foreigner's hidden eye just glowed red. "I can kill someone for you if you want."
"W-what?"

The man seemed to misinterpret Junior's surprise. "You don't need anyone killed? That's weird, I thought it was pretty common in those sorts of places" He scratched his head. "I can try to stick to maiming, if you really want. Fair warning though, if they fight back, I might get carried away."

The club owner took a second to recover, but when he did, it was with a hand signal to one of his present henchmen. Already, Roman could see Melanie making her way toward the bar – or was it Miltia? He could never tell the difference between the two. "I don't know what you're playing at, and I don't care. If you can't pay, then this will end badly for you."

The foreigner kept his smile, but Roman could see his posture shift, as one of his hands dropped near his waist, making drawing his blades easier should the need arise. The cane-wielding criminal jumped in before the newcomer could answer the threat. "If you don't mind, I'll be picking the gentleman's tab."

Junior shot him a curious look, but didn't protest as a few lien changed hands. The dark-haired swordsman seemed similarly confused, showing no signs of recognizing him. "Oh? Much obliged."

It could be a trap, Roman acknowledged. A huntsman masquerading as a killer-for-hire in order to draw out veteran criminals. But the orange-haired crime lord always prided himself in his ability to read people. And whoever that newcomer was, Roman was convinced he didn't have a deceitful bone in his body. Either the man was the greatest actor he ever met... or this was the opportunity he had hoped for.

"In fact, my friend, if you want anything else, allow me to treat you," he continued with a genial tone. "I wish to talk business, but one can hardly do that with a sore throat and an empty stomach."
"Don't mind if I do!"

Several minutes later, the two of them were sitting together around a bottle of sake. Roman had never been one for this sort of alcohol, but his prospective business partner seemed happy enough with it. "Aaah, that hit the stuff. Too bad they didn't have candied sweet potatoes, that would have made it perfect."

"I'm sure I'll be able to find an appropriate place for that, if that's what you want," Roman casually answered.

That earned him a genuine laugh. "Man, you must really want someone dead, am I right?"

"Today? No. Tomorrow?" He let a pregnant pause settle in. "Who knows? For now, I have a few errands that need to be taken care of, and who might require a bit of muscle to pull off."

"Ah, so this is a long-term job, then?" The swordsman seemed to consider the offer. "I'm not against it, but fair warning, I have a prior thing going on with a few friends. Right now I haven't the slightest clue of where they are, but when they show up again, I probably won't stay around for long." He was quick to offer reassurance when he saw Roman's scowl. "Don't worry though! I pride myself for always repaying my debts."

Hm. Not quite ideal, but better than nothing, he supposed. With luck, those friends of his would never show up. Even if they did, a couple of weeks might be enough to do a good enough job and appease Cinder. "I suppose that will have to be good enough. You seem to be able to handle yourself in a fight?"

The stranger's face grew a smirk that oozed bloodlust, reminding him of Neo in her bad days, and for a moment, Roman wondered if he wasn't about to make a terrible mistake. "Yeah, you could say that. You don't have to take my word for it, though."

Roman cleared his throat, a little bit off-put by his new associates... intensity. Once again, he thought he caught some sort of red glow from under his bang, but that probably was just his imagination... right? "That won't be necessary, I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to prove your worth soon enough." He almost let out a relieved sigh when the stranger relaxed, once again becoming the picture of friendliness. "By the way, I believe I haven't introduced myself. Roman Torchwick, at your service. I'm an... entrepreneur, of sorts."

His extended hand was immediately grabbed. "Rokurou Rangetsu, nice to meet you. Just your average swordsman, I guess."

Definitely from Mistral, it seemed. "Long way from home, I take it?"

Rokurou's smile grew more mysterious. "You have no idea."

​

Spoiler: Notes

Well, this serves as a proof of concept. I'll be honest, this is probably really rushed; I barely reread it, and while I have planned the next chapters, ultimately this project is still at a point where I'm banging ideas together and hope they somewhat fit. But somehow, the concept of making this crossover have been in my head for a long time, and only today did I decide to actually do something about it. There are just enough parallels between the two universes to make the concept of trying to make a coherent crossover out of it tantalizing, and since both verses are often playing fast and loose with their own mechanics, I figure there's the space to make something work... or more likely to break the canon into tiny pieces, but heh.

It's not quite an unique project either - there's a couple RWBY x Berseria stories out there, but from what I can tell, most are simply about picking Velvet and throwing her into Remnant. Which I think is a mistake, since to me, Berseria's greatest strength is its ensemble cast. So here? Everyone gets to play along, even though they all start away from each other. And by everyone, I do mean everyone... eventually, at least.

Anyway, on the off-chance someone gets interested in this crossover, let me know what you guys think. Ideas and suggestions (or even simple corrections, because god knows I might need those) are welcome, and I'm fully willing to discuss plot points with those who don't mind spoilers. As i said, I'm still at the brainstorming stage. This story will probably suffer from irregular updates, as it is a side-project of sort, but hey, we'll see how it goes. Thank you in advance!​

 

[Macros]

Spoiler: Notes and spoiler warning

Well then, might as well strike the iron while it's still hot. Don't expect updates to usually be that fast, but getting this chapter out of the way quickly is probably a good idea. Here's the true intro then!

Warning: this chapter is almost entirely happening on the Berseria side of things, and is basically plunging you in the middle of the adventure. As such, people unfamiliar with the verse will probably be rather confused; in particular I'm throwing around a lot of weird words without really explaining them. Things will become clearer in time, but for now, I hope you can bear with me. Also, since there's apparently one reader still going through the game, spoiler warning for up to the two-thirds of the game, roughly. If the sentence "Phi punches someone in the stomach, yell at someone to stop being stupid, and later goes on to punch yet another guy in the face" make sense to you, you're in the clear. If not... well, things are still vague enough to not reveal everything about this sequence, but still.

For those who don't like spoilers or just don't want to deal with this JRPG nonsense and get back to RWBY as soon as possible, here's a half-assed summary of the chapter: "Crossing dimensional portals when a god doesn't want you to do just that is bound to turn badly".

By the way, the prologue have been revised a bit. No drastic change, just fleshing some details out.

---

Part One: The Arrival of Calamity - Flight
"The annals of history are stained with evil people like you. You spread havoc and destruction, all to satisfy your own ends, a dark font of malevolence. You're a daemon lord, the irredeemable embodiment of sin! And it is the exorcists' duty to destroy you."
​

---

Two weeks ago​

When Magilanica Lou Mayvin, more commonly known as Magilou, had attached herself to Velvet's merry band of misfits and rogues, she had expected that things wouldn't be boring. Yet even her considerable imagination had not anticipated how much excitement would result from her association with the vengeful daemon lady. Take this day alone, for instance. In the last twenty-four hours, she had uncovered a traitor in their midst (who turned out to be none other than her oldest companion / accomplice / servant), taken a prison by storm (the one that kept her locked up for three years, at that), fought her way through an army of sanctimonious zealots (who kept throwing their lives away by using a technique that they knew full well would be the end of them), faced down a bona fide god (who turned out to be their fearless leader's dead brother) and was reunited with her not-so beloved mentor (who subjected her to a good hour of mental and physical torture). There truly wasn't a dull moment with the present company.

It made losing that bet almost acceptable.

Even now that things had calmed down a bit, she could enjoy the rare sight of an artificially created pocket dimension. The whole thing had an eerie air about it, floating platforms above a sea of clouds, with a blue and gold sky illuminated by a perpetual sunrise. The flying islands were linked to each others by elegant stone stairs, each step carefully engraved with intricate motives, their group passing through archways that served no purpose beside impressing the eventual visitor. The platforms themselves were covered by lush green fields and white flowers; the work of her former mentor and his love for nature, no doubt. How much power was put in the creation of this closed world, she wondered? How much enslaved malakhim had been used to open the portals and shape this void into this vibrant display of the Abbey's will? Well, the witch supposed a lot became possible with a god's power to help. This place was in a lot of ways their incarnated ideal: an orderly, beautiful and peaceful world.

Magilou wanted nothing more than to set this false garden of hypocrisy on fire.

A far more pleasant sight, she decided, was that of their battered, exhausted fellowship. Each of them sported traces of the physical hardships of the day. The ever-fierce Velvet Crowe was covered in scars, with dried blood giving her long black hair a red hue and her tattered clothes looking even more like rags than usual. The young malak Laphicet seemed to have had one of his arms mauled, the torn sleeve of his white robe showing raw wounds that even his healing artes hadn't closed entirely. Eizen was in no better shape, the pirate's black coat missing a sleeve due to a fire arte, while the arm inside now showed a slightly charred appearance. Beside him, Rokurou Rangetsu had fared little better, his traditional hakama sporting a large gash on the front, showing how close he had been to be bisected in two when Innominat cleaved through his supposedly indestructible sword like a hot knife through butter. And finally, the ever-so-virtuous Eleanor Hume seemed relatively uninjured, but the use of her spear as a walking stick betrayed how gruelling today's challenges had been for the former exorcist. Magilou herself had no visible injuries to display, but those endless minutes of magical torture had left her legs still shaky, and it was taking most of her concentration not to trip and fall off into the bottomless chasm of this plane. Really, the only one looking absolutely fine in their merry group was Bienfu, the cat spirit looking no worse from wear, mainly by virtue of not doing much while everyone else had been fighting the fight of their lives.

That would call for a punishment later, Magilou decided; him avoiding any sort of harm while her mistress had to suffer indignity after indignity would simply not do.

Yet despite the sorry sight offered by their band of reprobates, they had never seemed so strong, mentally if not physically. And no-one showed that more clearly than Velvet Crowe. Before they got separated by the overwhelming power of Innominat, the daemon girl had been on the brink of total collapse, her spirit barely holding together as the Empyrean tore through her resolve and desire for revenge. And yet whatever challenge the raven-haired daemon went through while they got separated, it seemed to have tempered her spirit. She was still as brutal as ever, as her smashing old Melchior into the ground had proved (to Magilou's intense satisfaction), but the girl's anger no longer seemed to control her, but instead sharpened her resolve. For the first time since Magilou met her, Velvet seemed at peace with herself, something that the witch never thought she'd see one day.

She couldn't help but to shake her head. That girl truly knows how to vex me.

"Doing okay, Magilou? You're being awfully quiet."

Her introspective moment was interrupted by the second daemon of the group. Despite his wounds, Rokurou seemed just as easygoing as ever. You'd think that having this new supersword of his reduced to scrap metal five minutes after he got it would have weighted him down, but apparently he just wasn't the type to brood. Must be nice to be able to move on that quickly.

Magilou scoffed. "Oh, so now you're worried. Where was that concern during our tearful reunion, I wonder."

That got a chuckle out of the swordsman. "Never mind, you seem to be doing just fine."

"I'm glad," Laphicet interjected. "It'd feel wrong to not have Magilou to liven things up."

The witch responded to the earnest comment with a dramatic gasp. "Is that all I am to you people? A mere entertainer for you to laugh at? The nerve! At the very least, you ought to be paying me for that! My shows aren't cheap, I'll have you know."

Her outburst was rewarded by the young malak's innocent laugh. Come to think of it, he too seemed to have changed a bit during their brief time apart. The spirit-child looked like he had gained in assurance, as if he finally answered one of those numerous existential questions that had plagued him since Velvet rescued him from a life of slavery. Seriously, this was beyond frustrating. The only reason she was travelling with them was to see this story to the end, and now they were all having character development behind her back? This was utterly unfair!

"Hey, I think I see the exit!"

And then there was that guy. In addition to the members of her very own Magilou's Menagerie, they were currently joined by Zaveid, the wind spirit having showed up at the last minute to help. He was currently walking hand in hand with the newly minted Silva, a young malak who had been rescued from the Melchior's clutches mere minutes ago, in the very same way Velvet had 'stolen' Laphicet several weeks ago. For now, the spirit formerly-known-as-number-one was mostly unresponsive, his personality still largely suppressed by the Abbey's conditioning. With time, his sense of self might emerge once more, one could hope. Not that Magilou really cared either way. On the other hand, Zaveid pointing out at the portal that would lead them back to the real world? That she cared very much for. A glowing disk of orange energy was shimmering on the lowest platform, promising them freedom at long last.

"Let's hurry," Eizen answered in his usual gruff tone. "The sooner we leave this place, the better."

"Agreed," Velvet nodded. "It has been a long day for everyone."

As if to answer, a radiant golden light bathed the entire area, seemingly coming from the upper levels of this plane. And with that glow came a sense of power that was becoming alarmingly familiar to their group. Bienfu was the first to say aloud what they were probably all thinking.

"Bieeeen! This is bad bad!"

Eleanor gasped. "Innominat?!"

"And probably not alone," Eizen answered. "Run!"

There was no need to tell that twice. Malakhim, daemons and humans alike began to rush through the stairs as if a vengeful god was after them. Which, you know, was exactly the case. The first obstacle in their flight didn't turn out to be the Empyrean however, but an ice barrier glittering into existence, freezing solid their escape path. So Melchior was back too, it seemed, his magic artes as annoying as ever.

It barely slowed them down. With a roar, Velvet's left arm transformed in its demonic form, burning hotter than any fire Magilou could conjure. The icy wall was literally clawed through, only to reveal the second obstacle: Melchior's pet daemon, the black humanoid creature letting out an inarticulate roar as it charged them.

Its fist met Eizen's, neither giving an inch to the other. The stalemate was broken by Rokurou, a slash of his daggers forcing the other daemon to sidestep, opening up the way once more. By the time the creature regained its balance, the group had already broken through, the portal growing closer and closer.

"You're not getting away."

Innominat's voice echoed through the pocket dimension, and came with a rain of light-shaped lances, soon joined by shards of ice, the joint magical assault threatening to skewer them all. Magilou called forth her own artes, her water shields soon joined by Zaveid's gusts of wind and Laphicet's paper guardians to ward them all from the brunt of the magical cataclysm. Still, every delay were costing them greatly. Melchior's daemon was already on the offence, with Eleanor fighting a rear-guard battle to keep it at bay, and Magilou could see two white-clad silhouettes rushing through the upper stairs , swords drawn, signalling the coming of Artorius and Shigure. In the sky, a shining dot was growing closer and closer, Innominat soaring through the air toward them at alarming speed.

Despite the urgency, she still managed a reproachful glance toward the earth malak in their ranks. "Is this your stupid Reaper's Curse at work again, Eizen?"

The pirate shrugged, before blasting away a chunk of ice that had managed to go through Zaveid's tornado. "Maybe?"

The Shepherd, his pet Empyrean, two Legates and an unknown daemon. Each of these opponents would have been challenging on their own. Facing them all together was suicide, especially given their degree of exhaustion, newfound resolve or not. Magilou was at least pleasantly surprised to see that neither Velvet nor Rokurou turned away in a misguided attempt to face their respective nemeses, having apparently enough sense to just bolt for once. They grew up so fast.

"Into the portal, now!"

Zaveid was the first to reach it, almost dragging Silva along with him. The two malakhim dived into the luminous disk, disappearing from view. Rokurou moved to follow, only to bounce back on a shimmering blue barrier cutting them all from their exit.

"Um, it's stuck."

Above them, Innominat had extended a hand glowing in a similar color, maintaining the forcefield he just created, his youthful face contorted into a cruel sneer.

"I said you're not going anywhere!"

To the group's growing horror, the portal began to shrink, as the Empyrean asserted his power upon it. Magilou was too busy deflecting another volley of Melchior's bombardment to do anything about that.

"Bienfu, keep the rift open!"
"Bieeeen! I can't!"

Her spirit servant was doing his best, but his powers were no match for Innominat. She supposed it might have been unfair of her to expect the normin to challenge the power of a god. Not that it'd prevent her from blaming him if this ended up getting herself killed.

Laphicet was the first to react, thrusting his palms toward the portal as his powers clashed with the Empyrean; and like what happened at the Temple, the attempt was met with some success, his strange connexion to the god allowing him to prevent him from closing their escape route altogether, at least for a moment. The effort was clearly taking a lot out of him, but he was valiantly holding on. That kid really was full of surprises, Magilou smiled to herself.

Yet even with the path still open, Innominat's barrier still prevented any crossing. That problem was neatly solved by Velvet, her daemon claw ramming into the energy field, literally devouring its magic away.

"Now!"

With the way finally open, they all dived into the portal, only for Magilou to realize they weren't out of the woods yet. Instead of instantly crossing the border separating the artificial dimension from the real world, Innominat's interference was wreaking havoc with the energies stabilizing the teleportation arte. As his power kept clashing with Laphicet, Magilou could feel space and time being torn asunder under his assault. And though she prided herself in being well-versed in all matters of magic, she had to admit she had no idea what that could mean when attempting a dimensional travel. Worst case scenario, they were probably about to all get erased from existence. What a lackluster end that would turn out to be.

At this point, the inside of the portal was a maelstrom of magical power, scattering their little band away in a whirlwind of power. She heard Laphicet crying out Velvet's name, but there was little anyone could do. In a few seconds, they were either all about to die, or... or things were about to become interesting.

This was the witch's last thought before the world around them was consumed by blinding light.


When Magilou regained consciousness, the first thing she felt was the coarse texture of sand against her skin. Her first thought was that she had landed on a beach, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she had to reassess that conclusion. The landscape before her was a sea of sand and rocks bathed in moonlight, something she recognized from books as being a 'desert'. Of course, since the Holy Midgand Empire was an archipelago, with none of its islands large enough to feature such a thing, that meant she was quite a long way from home right now. Did that portal transport her across the ocean to the Lost Continent? Talk about a Reaper's luck.

Well, at least she was alive, so you know, there was that.

A quick glance confirmed that she seemed to be alone. Well, she wasn't too worried about the others. If she managed to make it, they probably did too. None of them were smart enough to die when they were supposed to. She just hoped they hadn't landed too far away. Bienfu especially. Getting separated from him once had been annoying enough, she really didn't want to have to put up with that a second time.

Well, for now she should probably move. Looking around, the only point of interest seemed to be a small oasis in the distance. It seemed like a start, at least. Then her eye caught a sight that made her heart skip a beat, and put her assumption of simply being on another continent into question. No, she realized as an irrepressible urge to laugh rose inside her, the situation was a lot more absurd.

Illuminating the night sky was a broken moon.

For the next minutes, the witch's hysterical cackle was the only thing that could be heard in the small corner of this new world.​

 

[Macros]

Spoiler: Notes

In this update, Velvet curses repetitive character designs.

---

The Arrival of Calamity - Search
​

---

It was unusual for Velvet Crowe to really feel surprise nowadays. Since the start of her journey of revenge with a daemon swordsman, a cursed pirate, a renegade exorcist, an insane witch and a malak child, she'd seen sights that would have left the innocent villager she had been three years ago baffled, yet left her current self unfazed. For a good long while, the burning desire to avenge her brother left her numb to most other emotions, allowing her to take most reveals that she'd have once found shocking in stride. All that mattered was to kill Artorius, the rest was mostly inconsequential.

It had never been a perfect armor. Even at her most single-minded, the world managed to find ways to reach her heart, sometimes in the most unlikely ways. After all the tragedies the therion went through, she had not expected to feel annoyance at Magilou's antics, curiosity at Eizen's ridiculous trivia, or even amusement at Eleanor's earnest confusion about the insane band of rogues she fell in with. She had tried to hide it all behind scowls and harsh words, but the mask slept in more than one occasion. And then there was Phi.

On an intellectual level, it wasn't hard to understand why she instantly felt protective of the young, earnest malak. He looked so much like Laphicet, to the point that he eventually inherited the name. By now, she knew that resemblance wasn't just a coincidence, but for the longest time, it simply seemed that the universe had decided to taunt her by dangling the splitting image of her brother under her nose, a constant reminder of all she had lost. And yet she fell for it. It was so easy to slip into the big sister role once again, to indulge in his constant curiosity, to protect him from the dangers of their travels, to watch him learn more about the world and about himself. At times, it was almost as if she had never lost her humanity. And that thought had scared her more than anything.

How could the world keep turning when her own had shattered? How could she still smile, laugh, be annoyed or feel guilt when her village was gone, her parents were gone, her sister was gone, her brother was gone? So she desperately tried to push it all back. All she needed was hatred, nothing else.

And then today happened, and it almost shattered her.

Facing down Innominat, facing down the truth of the past, pushed her past her breaking point. Having her own brother's reincarnation telling her with a smile that this had all been pointless, that there was no place in the world for someone like her... Even three years of accumulated rage couldn't push past that. It had been enough to make her give up, until Phi rescued her from her own despair. With harsh words, heartfelt tears and his small hands, he pulled her back from the brink, he made her acknowledge the pain she had desperately tried to push away with hatred, and Velvet couldn't help but feel she had been reborn as a new, possibly better person.

Well, better would be relative, she supposed. She was under no illusion of what kind of monster she had become. But now she felt for the first time that she could live with that. Also, she was still going to murder Artorius, no question asked. But for the first time since that accursed Scarlet Night, she felt like she might forgive Arthur. And for the first time, she allowed herself to think that maybe there was a world worth living in once her revenge was sated. After all that time spent teaching Phi what it meant to be alive, she only now realized she had forgotten her own lessons. She didn't have to feel guilt for smiling, laughing, or smacking Magilou across the head. And being able to feel surprise wasn't a weakness to be stamped out at all costs.

Which is why when the first thing she saw after opening her eyes was a shattered moon glowing in the sky, she didn't really bother to hide her stupefaction.

That... was definitely new. For a moment, she wondered if she still was in a pocket plane of some sort, but her immediate surroundings were nothing like the place she just left behind. She was currently lying in the middle of the plain with lush green grass. A few trees, of which she didn't recognize the type, did break the monotony of the landscape, while she could see the outline of a mountain range under the moonlight. A few paces from her position, there was a paved road, the path leading to a cluster of lights on the horizon, not enough for a full fledged town, she suspected. Perhaps a village. The geography didn't remind her of any place she had visited in the Midgand Empire. And with that moon... was she in another world? Was it even possible?

No, that was the wrong question to ask, she realized. Whether it was possible or not didn't matter, she could only accept what she saw as truth. She briefly considered the possibility of being trapped in yet another illusion, but she couldn't see any point in doing that. If Melchior had decided to play with her senses once again, why tip her off with an obviously out-of-place moon? No, she decided, this was reality. The clash of powers between Phi and Innominat probably disturbed the portal as they crossed it, and ended up sending them here... wherever that was. She didn't know the first thing about magic or travel through planes, but that seemed plausible, at least.

The real important question was: where were the others? There was no signs of any of her travelling companions anywhere. She wasn't overly worried for most of them, each of them could take care of themselves, but Phi... no. She had to trust him for now. He had proved to be made of sterner stuff than he appeared, she had to believe in that. For now, she needed to move, to learn more about this place, and hopefully find the others.

And if this was a world without Artorius... find her way back. She had unfinished business with him and his Abbey.

Standing up, she took her first step in this brand new world.

It took her the better part of the hour to reach the lights she had first seen. As she thought, they turned out to be a village, albeit a relatively important one, it seemed. The architecture was somewhat unfamiliar to her; the elegant curves of the tile-covered roofs certainly looked nothing like the straight angles of Loegres, or of most towns she visited. Even the stone walls that surrounded the place had a certain elegance to them, with a round entrance barred by a heavy wooden door. A couple of watchtowers stood tall above the place, and Velvet could see several lanterns illuminating the village's surrounding. All in all, the place gave her a distinct foreign feel to her, although the work put on building outer defenses reminded her a bit of home. Did this place have daemons too? She'd have to find out for herself.

She was met by two guards a few steps away from the entrance, a grey haired man with a small goatee, and a younger, clean-shaved man with dark hair. Both wore mostly green and brown tunics in a style reminiscent of Rokurou's. They each sported light pieces of armor, with strange weapons that reminded Velvet of Zaveid's Siegfried, albeit ones that seemed to require two hands to handle, and curved swords at their waist. Some sort of militia, she guessed, although one that seemed better equipped than what she was used to. They seemed on the lookout, but relaxed a bit at her sight.

"A traveller? At this hour?"

Apparently late arrivals was something of an irregularity here, which made sense if this place was isolated and with dangerous surroundings. At least they didn't seem suspicious of her, though one of them drew a surprised gasp as her silhouette came into the light.

"Your arm," he said, looking at her bandaged left limb. "Are you injured? And your clothes seem pretty torn up too... Were you attacked? Was it Grimm? Or bandits?"

"Bandits," Velvet lied with an even voice. She had no idea what a 'grimm' was, so she went ahead with the more familiar threat. "And I already treated my arm, no need to worry about that. Can I enter?"

Mistaking her flat tone for tiredness, the two sentries almost stumbled over themselves to open the gate. "Of course! You must have had one hell of a day, right?"

She nodded. That, at least, was an understatement. "I'll bring her to the Springtime Eternal, can you hold the fort till then?" the older guard asked the second, who nodded in return. A few minutes later, he was leading Velvet through the village's deserted streets. The place was definitely bigger than Aball, with most buildings using stone instead of wood, but right now the place looked just as deserted, the only sign of life being a few sentries standing guard on the watchtowers, and the lit-up lanterns illuminating the streets.

"So, what led you to Shion in the first place?"

"Is that the name of this place?" Velvet asked. "I got lost during the attack. I was... with a group of travelling entertainers when the bandits split us up." Empyreans, she hoped Magilou would never hear of that one. The witch would never let her live it down.

"Ah. I hope your friends got out of it okay," the grey-haired guard answered in a solemn tone. "Brigands have become a real problem around here, as if Grimm weren't enough! We think they just moved their camp recently, and since then things got pretty hard for travellers. We called in a few huntsmen, but there's a lot of ground to cover."

That word, 'Grimm' again. Also, huntsmen? From what he said, she doubted their quarry was simply wild game. Perhaps they were some sort of bounty hunters, if they were sent after bandits. Nonetheless, it seemed like this place had its fair share of problems already. Not that it really mattered to her anyway.

"Ah, here we are." The man opened up the door of what appeared to be an inn, before sending an hesitant glance toward Velvet. "I don't suppose you still have money on you?" She shook her head; somehow she doubted her gald would be worth much around here, and might lead to some uncomfortable questions. "It's all right, I'll speak to the owner. You don't have to worry about anything for tonight."

As the man promised, it took only a short exchange between him and the person manning the counter before she was offered a room, alongside a pitying glance. The people around here seemed nice, she thought as she lied down on her bed. Too bad their charity was wasted on someone like her. The best thing she could do for them was probably to not overstay her welcome, she supposed. But before that, she needed to learn more about this world, preferably without standing out too much, and find a way to meet up with the others. She'd have to procure herself a map, and from there... she wasn't sure. Maybe reach the biggest town, and hope the others would have the same idea? It was a long shot, but she hoped her companions were flashy enough to eventually stand out. Magilou certainly would be, if the witch didn't get herself killed by an irate crowd first. This wasn't much of a plan, but it was all she had.

For now, she'd count her blessings. She was alive and, despite this peculiar turn of fortune, hadn't felt better in a long time. It was hard to not think about the others – mostly Phi, really – but at the moment, there was nothing she could do about it, making any worry pointless. Magikazam, as one would say.

… she had spent far too much time near Magilou.

Closing her eyes, she let sleep take her, and for the first time in an eternity, the night came without nightmares.


When morning came, Velvet was feeling refreshed and ready to begin her search. As she moved back to the inn's common room, she was welcomed by the owner, and after assuring that yes, her arm didn't need medical attention, and that she'd look for new clothes in her own time, she managed to ask for a map, and couldn't quite suppress a frown at what it showed.

First, it there was any doubt remaining, this was definitely a new world, or at the very least a new landmass. She never had been overly concerned with maps, leaving navigation to Eizen, or Phi when he was feeling especially eager, but none of the continents on display looked remotely familiar to her. And annoyingly, it seemed this place was quite larger than the Holy Midgand Empire. According to the innkeeper, she was currently in the outskirts of Mistral Kingdom, with the capital city several weeks away on foot.

"You should wait a few days at least, give yourself time to rest. Plus, the surroundings aren't safe right now. Apparently the outer wall had to repel three Grimm attacks tonight. Nothing big, just a few stragglers, but I can't recall when we had so many in one night. If their numbers are increasing, you're safer here for the time being. We have an airship coming in two weeks to bring supplies, maybe you'll be able to hitch a ride then?"

Velvet had a hard time concealing her surprise. An airship? Was that even possible? She wasn't the kind to indulge into pointless curiosity, but now she was tempted to wait just for that. Still-

"Hey. You're the one that came in tonight, right?"

She frowned as her train of thought was interrupted by a gruff voice. Turning around, she saw two men entering the room, watching her with none too pleasant expressions, and knew instantly that it meant trouble.

The first man was a bespectacled man looking in his thirties with dark hair and sharp black eyes. He was wearing an all white tunic with a single glove, with his bare hand holding a strange mechanical bow, whose upper and lower limbs seemed to come with blades attached. The design didn't seem remotely practical, but Velvet supposed the man had a way to make it work. Right now his arrows rested safely in their quiver, but she couldn't help but notice his free hand was in perfect position to draw at a moment's notice.

His companion stood a head taller, clad in a black and grey armor, his hair hidden by an open face helmet. He was holding a tall, two bladed halberd, with a strange tube built in between them, once again reminding Velvet of a longer Siegfried. For now he seemed to use it as a simple walking stick with deceptive casualness, but his red eyes never left her face.

Velvet crossed her arms. "What if I am?"

The shorter man smiled an humourless smile, moving sideways in a move that put a table between him and her, while denying her a straight path toward the nearest window. "We heard of your arrival and what you told the guards, and we'd like more details."

His oversized friend remained where he was, effectively blocking the exit door. "See, that's the difference between peasants playing soldiers and real huntsmen. Those wannabe guards, you serve them a sob story about a bandit attack and being all alone without money and identification, and they lap it all up. We, though? We ain't buying it."

Velvet remained silent, but straightened her posture a little, ready to jump into action at any moment. Around her, she could see the few patrons present trying to put as much distance between them and the newcomers, clearly anticipating trouble.

"I mean, let's be real here," the giant of a man continued. "You come alone in the middle of the night, claiming to have escaped from bandits – yet they still took your money, and more importantly your identification. You say you were with a convoy, but no-one has heard of that one. Your supposed friends are all conveniently missing. And I see no blood on those bandages."

The therion scowled, both at herself for not thinking on a more plausible cover story, and at him for picking all the wrong conclusions from her lie. Well, she supposed the truth would have been too far-fetched to begin with. "Your point?"

"My point," the spear-wielder growled, "is that it really looks like a cheap bandit ploy to infiltrate someone here, perhaps to plan for a later raid. Let me guess, those Grimm attacks tonight were your doing? You made sure they'd follow you before showing up, hoping it'd keep us huntsmen distracted? Nice try."

The more she heard that word, the more convinced Velvet was those 'Grimm' were some sort of daemons, albeit whether or not they were exactly the same thing, she didn't know. For the sake of this world, she hoped not.

The archer, who had remained quiet during his companion's rant, spoke again. "But you're not just any bandit, right?"

By now, Velvet's finger was tapping her arm in an open display of impatience. At this point she doubted anything she could say would de-escalate the situation.

"A woman with long, flowing black hair," he continued in a self-satisfied tone. "Red and black garments... well, if you can call it that," he added while giving her a glance over. "The height seems right too. Do you know your description looks remarkably similar to the leader of those we came to apprehend?"

"The eyes are the wrong colour though," the other added with a doubtful expression. "And she seems a bit too young."

"People don't always look their own age," the man in white answered, visibly holding on to whatever theory he came up with. "As for the eyes, you know how official documentation usually is. There's always a mistake sneaking up, I guess that's it."

"Eh, I guess that's right. Worth checking, at least."

By now, the exchange had garnered her the attention of the inn's clients and personnel, who were looking at her with uncertainty, some of them with open hostility. Well, she supposed, there went the goodwill of these people toward her. She probably deserved their distrust, even if she would have liked not being singled out by mistake. "Get on with it. If you want to say something, say it straight."

"As you wish." The man readjusted his glasses with one hand, before grabbing an arrow from his quiver. "For multiple counts of theft and murder in Mistral, you are under arrest, Raven Branwen."​

 

[Macros]

Warning: the following scene contains violence, on account of Velvet being in it.

The Arrival of Calamity - Fight​

"For multiple counts of theft and murder in Mistral, you are under arrest, Raven Branwen."

In retrospect, Noriaki felt that maybe he should have delivered the warning after drawing his bow. Or better yet, fire first and dispense with the formalities altogether. Because his last words hadn't left his mouth that his quarry exploded into action, rushing straight at him before his comrade could make the slightest move. Somersaulting above the table he had put between them, the woman was on him in an instant, a short blade darting out from the gauntlet on her right arm.

The huntsman raised his bow just in time, its bladed limb deflecting the first blow as he tried to back-step away. Yet the black-haired woman didn't let up, her short sword darting left and right as she followed him step by step. Gods, she was fast! Noriaki managed to deflect the first and second blow, yet the third caught him through the side, his aura flaring up to prevent the worst of the damage. Still the pain was enough to make him wince, and the woman was keen on taking advantage of that opening.

It might have been the end of him without Fengxian finally joining the fray, his colossal partner charging through the room's furnitures to come to his help. A massive swing of his halberd came crashing down, only narrowly missing Raven as she sidestepped away. But now Noriaki was free to draw at long last, releasing an arrow charged with fire dust in the woman's direction. The arrowhead only grazed her cheek, before exploding among the shelves behind her, shattering wood and glass in the process. Before she could retaliate, his partner was on her and the two of them starting exchanging blows while the archer readied another shot.

He took an instant to check out his injury. His left side sported a shallow cut, which his aura was already in the process of healing. There was pain, but it shouldn't affect his aim, which was what mattered the most. Similarly, he didn't pay much attention to the inn's patrons running away screaming. Perhaps it would have been safer to confront the bandit away from the crowd, but the two huntsmen had decided to seize their chance while they still could. In the end, Shion's inhabitants would be grateful for their work today.

They would better, given how tricky this fight was turning out to be. The woman was fast and deceptively strong, more than holding her own against his partner's mighty blows, with an acrobatic style that made predicting her moves difficult. The only reason his partner managed to come out of their first exchanges uninjured was likely due to the heavy armor he was wearing. Worse, she was clearly keeping track of Noriaki as well, always managing to stay out of his direct line of fire by using his friend as cover.

Also, the bowman noticed his first shot did set part of the room on fire, flame dust and alcohol being a rather poor mix. Already most of the counter was ablaze, and the rest of the building would surely follow suit if nothing was done soon.

… he would pin that on the bandit woman in his official report.

But first, they had a fight to win. Right now his friend was getting hard pressed, especially after their opponent revealed a hidden blade in her boot, the unusual combination meaning double the trouble for Fengxian, who had to focus on defense, trying to cover his few exposed areas. Raven kept using him as cover as well, but that was fine. Noriaki would have been a poor archer if he didn't have an answer to this.

He released two lightning arrows at once, each shot trailed on their target without putting his partner at risk. The black-haired woman reacted instantly, crouching low while sidestepping away, staying well out of their trajectories. Which is why she showed a rather shocked expression when both projectiles took a sharp turn to stay on target.

Noriaki allowed himself a wry smile. His telekinetic semblance worked wonders with his archery, which was of course why he picked the weapon to begin with. His opponent managed to knock one of the redirected arrows in mid-air with the flat of her blade, earning herself a painful jolt through her right arm. She wasn't so lucky with the other, who managed to hit her in the shoulder, the arrowhead piercing flesh while still releasing its devastating current, with Fengxian moving in for the kill.

Yet the dark-haired woman still managed to push through the pain, gritting her teeth as she managed to catch the halberd coming toward her with her free hand, before retaliating with her injured one.

"Searing Edge!"

The path of her blade went ablaze, forcing the armored hunter to jump back to avoid having his face burned off. A dust-powered weapon? The gauntlet she was wielding seemed a bit too old-fashioned for that, Noriaki decided, it was probably her semblance. Nothing too dangerous then, a fire semblance was something they could handle.

… speaking of fire, the whole place was beginning to turn into a brazier. They'd better wrap this up quickly.

However that soon proved easier said than done. The previous injury barely seemed to slow down the woman, who fought with renewed ferocity, going as far as pushing back Fengxian with a single kick. Seeing his giant of a friend forcibly moved by someone half his size was worrying, to say the least, as was the fact that the girl didn't even flinch while taking the opportunity to pull off the arrow in her shoulder with a snarl. Seeing his chance, Noriaki fired once again, this time a couple of frost-powered projectiles.

"Vanishing Thunder!"

Almost sliding on the floor, Raven managed to knock both arrows back with a gust of lightning. That gave the archer pause. Was she using dust after all? She had to be. The alternative would be worrying, to say the least. His companion didn't hesitate though, immediately charging after her, switching between high and low swings to keep her on her toes.

Yet it was becoming clear he was getting the wort of the exchange. The shallow cut he managed to inflict on her leg was answered by a lightning-fast kick to the face, which came close from gouging his eye out. As it was, he was let off with a gash to the cheek, nothing fatal yet a vivid reminder of how close a call it had been. He still did his best to counter-attack, punching with his free hand only to meet thin air. The woman went under his arm before delivering a flurry of swipes toward his knees.

"Splitter!"

Most of the blows glanced off his friend's armored leg, but a spurt of crimson showed one slice at least had found its mark, an impression confirmed by the wobbly step Fengxian took in an attempt to create some distance. Firing once again, Noriaki's arrow was this time intercepted by a chair on fire the woman kicked in his direction, forcing him to perform an undignified tumble to avoid being smacked by the burning wooden furniture. At least his partner got the second of respite he needed to steady his posture.

Still things weren't going well. The girl was too much for Fengxian to handle alone in melee, and she was getting used to his trick shots. Also she seemed to feel no discomfort from the rising heat in the room, while Noriaki was sweating profusely despite his light clothes. He could only imagine how much worse it was for his armor-clad partner. They needed to turn this around, and fast. Fortunately, Raven wasn't the only one able to call her attacks.

"Give me an anvil here!" he shouted out to the other huntsman.

After a couple of years hunting Grimm together, his partner needed no other explanation, instantly grabbing a table and throwing it at his opponent. Even from the distance, Noriaki could see the calculations in the woman's eyes. If she dodged, she'd be exposed to the arrows he had trailed on her. So she picked the unorthodox option to slice through the incoming projectile, with the intent of charging through.

Just as he had hoped.

Raven's eyes widened in surprise when her blade didn't even make a dent in the table, courtesy of Fengxian reinforcing semblance. Instead, she got smacked right in the face by the improvised projectile, just before being blasted through the inn's wall by the gun integrated to his partner's halberd. Her body rolled through the street, blood coming up from the injuries their attack had managed to inflict. Not foolish enough to think this would be enough to keep her down, Noriaki released a volley of lightning dust arrows, each projectile splitting itself in four before all descending on his target like a vengeful storm. Each of those fragmentation arrows cost a little fortune, but hopefully the bounty for neutralizing the bandit leader that terrorized the region would cover that.

Instead his eyes widened when he saw the silhouette still standing in the middle of the cloud of dust his attack had kicked up. His sense of alarm grew when he took a good look at her left arm, which she had used to shield herself.

The bandages that he had assumed were meant to fake an injury, were gone. Instead her arm was now pulsing with red and black energy, not a single trace of flesh to be seen. And in lieu of hand, was a gigantic claw, seemingly radiating killing intent.

Was that a semblance? It hadn't been in any files concerning Raven! In fact, this thing almost felt like- like a Grimm, he realized with dread. "What- what are you?" Noriaki asked, eyes wide.

The dark-haired woman answered by opening and closing up her clawed hand, the simple gesture enough to make the hunter shake in disgust and fear. "Last chance. Get lost, or I'm devouring you."

"No can do, lady," Fengxian rumbled. If he was feeling intimidated, he was hiding it well. "From where I'm standing, you look more like a monster than a human. And it's our job to take care of monsters."

An expression of disgust grew on the woman's face. "How familiar. Come, then."

It was over in an instant. His partner charged forward, thrusting his polearm like a hurricane. The blow hit its target square in the stomach, literally impaling the woman in a shower of blood. Yet the injury barely seemed to phase her, and left Fengxian wide open for the swipe of her claw. The demonic arm grabbed his face, and squeezed. The only sound the hunter made was the sickening crack of bones and metal his helmeted skull splitting open under the pressure made. A few seconds later, Fengxian's entire body vanished, as if drank by the monstrous claw.

Frozen in fear, Noriaki remembered to move only when the woman's gaze fell on him.

"S-stay back!"

Fumbling in blind panic, he was still trying to line up a shot when the monstrous girl closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He felt her left arm grab his side, and his aura flared up to protect him, but it was getting drained fast, far too fast. His last vision was of the woman's two amber eyes burning like flames, and then there was only darkness.

***

As soon as the second corpse vanished, Velvet allowed herself to cough up the blood that had been stuck in her throat. That had been painful. Part of her injuries had been healed by eating those two warriors, but Phi's healing artes would have been more than welcome right now. Even Magilou would do, at this point.

Her sight fell on the now burning inn. There was no sign of someone coming to extinguish that fire either, the few people brave enough to remain outside the building had scattered when she crashed through the wall, possibly to get reinforcement. Well, if she had any intent to turn up a new leaf in this world, that pretty much was the end of it. No matter the place, a daemon remained a daemon, she supposed.

Speaking of daemons, those two fighters had been eerily reminiscent of exorcists. Yet despite the strange artes they had used, there had been no sign of malakhim to support them. Had it been their own power? No matter what, if there was more people like them in town, things could get dangerous. She had to get out of here, and then decide of a new course of action. Should she rush for the gates or try to scale the walls, though?

She was still considering the question when a voice called out for her from a back alley. "Hey miss, over here!"

Pulling her blade, Velvet turned around to come face to face with one of the shadier-looking men she ever had the displeasure to meet. He was a lanky thirty-something year old, with chestnut hair reaching his shoulder, an angular face and a beaked nose, and was giving her a smile that didn't reach his grey eyes.

"Woah there," he said while raising his hands in surrender. "No need for that. I'm a friend."

"I don't have friends around here," Velvet answered coldly, "and I doubt you have many yourself."

He answered with a crooked grin. "Fine, not a friend then. But I can help you."

"And why would you do that?" the therion asked, still keeping her blade pointed at the stranger.

"Because if you're able to take on two huntsmen, you're someone worth knowing... and on the wrong side of the law, which is a plus as far as me and my people are concerned. But what about continuing this conversation later? We need to leave this town before reinforcements get there."

"So those guys weren't wrong in suspecting a bandit infiltrated this town," Velvet guessed. "They simply accused the wrong person." Just her luck, really.

"Well, after what you did, you might as well go all the way, don't you think? I doubt the law will feel merciful if you told them this was just a misunderstanding at this point."

Velvet refused to simply concede the point. "Be as it may, I see no reason to go with you."

"Come on, I can help you get out of here," the undercover bandit pleaded. "And if you're looking for something or someone, I'm sure the others can help you find it. We're pretty well connected, you know."

That gave her pause. The man might be lying, but if he was telling the truth, that might be a lead worth following. And while she had no doubt she could force her way out of town, it would likely result in a needless slaughter. All in all, she supposed that after associating with pirates and underground criminal organizations, joining forces with bandits, at least for a while, was a natural follow-up.

"All right, we'll do it your way," Velvet conceded. "Let's move."

The man grinned before taking off, and the daemon-girl followed. If his people had ears across the region, it might make finding her companions easier.

And if he was lying and all of this was just a ploy to rob her blind... Well. Even eating two people in a row wasn't enough to sate her never-ending hunger. There would always be room for a third.

Spoiler: Notes

So, some of you might have noticed that auras in this story don't seem to work quite exactly like in the show. I have basically tweaked the mechanics in order to make for more dynamic and suspenseful fights, in a way that I feel is probably close to what was intended with them to begin with.

Auras were meant to allow people to wail at each other with lethal instruments without things being over in an instant. I have no problem with that idea, it provides a neat excuse to go full anime fight. However, the way it was implemented in the show, it became this weird "all or nothing" mechanic that I felt created more problems than it solved. As long as your aura is up, you're basically invulnerable. As soon as it is down, you're screwed. The problem with that is that as long as your aura doesn't break, there's no real tension- no matter the blow you take, you're fine as long as you have aura. It also creates some weird problems – say, why would someone feel threatened by a sword to their throat, as long as their aura is up? And why does it even come with an healing factor if it prevents injuries to begin with?

As such, in this story auras act a little differently. Rather than an invincible forcefield, it basically grants damage reduction, on top of its healing factor. An injury can still be fatal even with your aura up, but most of them will be toned down to something more manageable, which will heal in time anyway. Hopefully that change won't have people up in arms against it, but I feel it's something that will benefit this story.

 

[Macros]

The Arrival of Calamity - Alliances​

"Are you kidding me?! Why are there so many Grimm?"

Velvet idly thought that was good question, as she dodged the charge of something that might have looked like a prickleboar, if not for the pitch-black fur, glowing red eyes (all four of them), pale bony mask and gigantic curving tusks. She retaliated with a swipe of her claw, tearing through the beast, only to see it replaced by two others.

Getting out of town had been as easy as her companion advertised. They simply showed up at one of the doors, before the infiltrated bandit gave the standing guards a handful of cards. Velvet could only assume that was the currency of this world, despite looking nothing like any sort of coin she was familiar with. Still, it seemed human greed remained the same, at the very least. The two of them were let out, and began their travel through the wilderness. Which was when things began to go wrong.

According to her guide, they would need half a day, give or take a few hours, to reach the encampment he was leading her to. But what should have been a relatively simple trek quickly turned out into a series of battles against those Grimm creatures Velvet had heard so much about. For the third time today, the duo was attacked by a flock of those beasts. As it turned out, she hadn't been that far off by comparing them to daemons; they certainly gave off a similar feel.

Yet there were different too, Velvet found. As she dug her claw into another daemonic prickleboar-lookalike, she was struck by the strange feeling it was giving her. There was no soul for her to devour, instead she was being fed only raw malevolence. Even without absorbing the corpses, they faded away in a short amount of time, as if the hostile force giving them consciousness was leaving them. How did those creatures came to be?

She shelved that question for later when she heard her travelling companion screaming. To Velvet's exasperation, the bandit had proven a mediocre fighter so far, certainly nothing like the two hunters she fought earlier. She had hoped he'd be able to pull his weight when he produced yet another of those Siegfried-looking devices that seemed ubiquitous in this world, but the thing didn't seem as versatile or powerful as the relic Zaveid carried with him. The bandit did manage to dispatch a few creatures with it, but declared himself to be out of rounds during their second encounters with the beasts, leaving him relatively defensless. At least most of the Grimm seemed to ignore him and focus on her, for some reason, which made things easier. Still, there was always the odd one out looking for a weaker prey.

Holding back a frustrated groan, Velvet rushed to his help. She had a rather poor opinion of the man so far, but him dying here would leave her lost in the middle of nowhere again. In the blink of an eye, she was tackling the charging daemon-boar, grabbing it by its horn before slamming it into the ground. A slice of her blade made sure the beast wouldn't rise again. After making sure her travelling companion was safe, she charged once again into the fray, half a dozen Grimm meeting her head-on. The therion dispatched them one by one in a hurricane of steel and daemon flesh.

A minute later, they were alone once again in the clearing the fight took place in, the bandit clapping enthusiastically. "Man, that was incredible. No wonder you managed to take those hunters down! Did you go to one of their combat schools?"

"Combat school?" Velvet raised an eyebrow. Something like the Exorcist training grounds, maybe? "No, I'm mostly self-taught. My mentor taught me the basics, and I figured the rest out for myself." It felt weird talking about Artorius... Arthur that way, after all that happened, but the mere thought no longer made her retch. There had been a time where she could have still call him her mentor proudly. Trying to deny it, and all the feelings that came with it, almost destroyed herself.

"Really? Pretty impressive," the man whistled. "I think I only saw the boss fight like that. No wonder those guys mistook you for her back then!"

Velvet didn't bother to comment, but took note of the information. That 'Raven' the two hunters mistook her for was potentially dangerous.

"But man, this is insane! Third attack in a day? This area was supposed to be mostly Grimm-free! At this rate, we're going to have to move the camp.."

The dark-haired woman simply tuned him off, simply following him as he began to walk through the forest once again. For a moment, she allowed herself to wonder how the others were faring. The Grimm creatures she fought had not been particularly tough for her to handle - they weren't all that dissimilar from a simple mindless daemons – and she suspected Rokurou would find them equally unchallenging. She could already picture the war daemon complaining about the lack of challenge. But the other members of their little Menagerie might not be so lucky.

If they all got separated, then the two humans of the team might actually be in pretty big trouble. Without a malak to support them and amplify their powers, Eleanor and Magilou would have a lot more trouble fighting back. Truth be told, Velvet wasn't too concerned about Magilou – as if the insane witch would do her the pleasure of dying so easily – but Eleanor was another matter. The earnest former exorcist wasn't the kind to lay low and stay out of trouble, and Velvet wasn't sure her skills with a spear would be enough to keep her safe.

Velvet couldn't help but wonder, though. The two hunters she had fought would have had their place among the exorcists, perhaps even as praetor. They were no Oscar or Theresa, but they could have clearly defeated daemons, and even used some artes. And they did all that without any malakhim assistance. Did the inhabitants of this world find a way to fight back without the help of spiritual beings? Velvet supposed they had to, if those Grimm were as ubiquitous as they seemed to be.

And then there were the malakhim of the group. The thought of Bienfu fighting anything was absurd, but at least the normin malak wasn't the kind to seek danger, quite the contrary in fact. But Eizen and Laphicet were another matter. Both were headstrong in their own way, and they just got dumped in a world populated with monsters purely made of malevolence. That was a recipe for trouble if Velvet ever heard of one. And without Eleanor, Phi had no vessel to ward off the worst effects of a contamination.

She had to find him, and fast. Even if he lucked out and managed to find refuge in a human settlement, eventually the malevolence they emitted would-

The therion paused. Did humans generate malevolence here? She had thought nothing of it back then, but when she ate those hunters, their souls were pure of any taint. Not completely impossible, but exceedingly rare where she was from. And while this world was apparently fighting against monsters, there had been no sign of daemons. So humans overwhelmed by negative emotions were... fine?

She looked back at her guide who was walking in front of her. Bandits in her world had become exceedingly rare since the Advent, the very nature of their activities making them prime targets for daemonblight. Most groups usually fell apart when one or several of their members turned and slaughtered those who wouldn't. The Van Eltia crew had been one of the few exceptions. Yet the man she followed seemed to be part of a relatively infamous group, presumably active for a while, and apparently they had managed to avoid such a fate.

In fact, she couldn't feel an ounce of malevolence from her companion, which was definitely an oddity given his apparent personality. Would that mean humans couldn't turn into daemons in this world? That almost seemed too good to be true.

Her musings were interrupted by a joyful exclamation. "Finally, we're here!"

Velvet looked up. As the man said, they had arrived to the encampment. The place didn't look like much, several tents made from animal hide surrounded by a shoddy wooden palisade. Several crates and barrels were just left around without any sense of order behind it. As they walked through the camp, she counted forty, maybe fifty tribesmen, most of them dropping everything they were doing to watch the stranger, some with confusion, some with naked hostility, and a few with leering smiles and a couple whistles. The therion did her best to keep her facial expression neutral. She didn't particularly care for any of them, but she'd rather avoid more trouble if possible.

"Wait here, I'm going to talk to Raven," her travelling companion said, before looking at the gathering they just created. "Don't any of you morons try anything. It'd end badly, trust me."

The warning was answered with several mutters and a few sceptical looks, but no-one made a move toward her as her guide disappeared inside the largest tent to confer with his leader. Crossing her arms, Velvet began to wait, trying to ignore the gazes upon her, and particularly toward her chest from more than one male – and a couple females. She was rarely bothered by her relatively revealing clothes, and Eleanor's one-off attempt at mending them into something a bit more modest got ruined into the very next fight they got into, her tendency to just dive into melee and push through injuries instantly ruining whatever work the former exorcist managed to accomplish. But right now, having so many people openly staring was unnerving, to say the least. The therion also couldn't help but notice everyone here seemed to carry a weapon. If even a few of them had skills comparable to those hunters, this could make any fight troublesome.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait for long. After a couple of minutes, her guide exited the tent, followed by his infamous leader.

Velvet supposed she could see the resemblance. Both shared wild, long flowing black hair. Their builds and height were similar enough, and both wore black and red clothes, although it would have been impossible to mistake one outfit for another. And while the eyes were of different color, crimson and amber staring at each other, the way they sized each other up was not all that dissimilar. While no-one would mistake them for each other when looking at them side by side, Velvet suspected they could easily play pretend as sisters.

The therion took notice of the longsword resting at her side in a strange sheathe, and of the white mask with red outlines tucked under her arm, almost animal-like in its form. Given the air of authority she exuded, it wasn't hard to believe she was the leader of that troupe of outlaws. After a moment of silence, Raven finally spoke.

"So. According to Schwarz, you killed two hunters today. That certainly peaks my interest."

Velvet shrugged, as the rest of the crowd whispered all around her. So that was the name of the man who led her here? Somehow she didn't even bother to ask. "I suppose. I was left with little choice when they mistook me for you."

"Hm. I suppose it's an understandable mistake to make," Raven answered after spending a few seconds to examine her once again. "But now I wonder what someone like you is doing here in the first place."

Someone like her, huh? "I have no idea where 'here' is to begin with. I'm just looking for my friends."

The bandit leader considered her answer, showing the tiniest bit of curiosity. She apparently decided the questions she might have about this peculiar situation could wait, going for the business approach instead. "I see. I have ears across this country and beyond that could help you, I suppose. However, our help and hospitality isn't free."

Velvet had expected as much. "I won't take part in your banditry," she warned. Her current situation was bad enough, becoming a full-fledged bandit wasn't high on her list of priorities.

"That's acceptable," Raven simply shrugged. "My subordinate told me you have quite a gift when it comes to killing Grimm. In exchange for our help, I'll ask you to help defend this encampment. Perhaps destroy a lair or two if we ever run across one. Do we have a deal?"

The therion looked at the extended hand before seizing it, both women using just a little more force than necessary in their handshake. "Deal."

"Excellent," Raven smiled. "Welcome to the Branwen tribe, then. Do you have a name you want to share?"

The therion swallowed a sarcastic retort, sticking instead to a neutral approach. "Velvet. Velvet Crowe."

The name somehow got a chuckle out of the swordswoman. "Isn't that an amusing coincidence. I believe I'll have questions for you later, Velvet Crowe."

"I can't promise I'll answer," the daemon-girl retorted. The small act of defiance didn't seem to bother Raven however.

"We'll see. For now, I'll let Vernal find you a place to sleep. Try to not kill anyone, or you'll answer to me. Any questions?"

"Your place, your rules," Velvet simply shrugged. That seemed to mark the end of the conversation, as Raven walked back within her tent and the bandit crowd began to scatter, each tribesman resuming their previous tasks. As she followed the bandit girl assigned to her by her leader, Velvet let her mind wander once again toward Phi. The others would probably be fine for a while, but his fate was the one that worried her the most.

Until she found him, she could only hope he'd manage to stay out of trouble. Hopefully his first steps in this new world would have been less eventful than hers.

***

"I hope Velvet have an easier time than me in this place," Laphicet nervously muttered, as he watched the giant twin-headed snake, who seemed to exude malevolence through every pore, slowly slithering toward him.

Gulping, the young malak readied his talismans. This just wasn't his day, it seemed.

End of Part One: the Arrival of Calamity

​

Spoiler: Notes

Is it just me or is copy-pasting a text from an open office document creating weird spaces since the forum last update?

Anyway, i hope you enjoyed part 1 of this story. I'll be the first to admit the whole thing is probably a bit rushed, and would probably benefit from a good round of corrections later, but right now I was more concerned about getting this whole thing off the ground. Hopefully you all enjoyed it!

 

[Macros]

Part Two: a Flame Amidst Darkness - Hunt
"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things you have long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul."
​

---

It hadn't taken long for Laphicet to start marveling at the sights this new world offered.

The young malak was worried about Velvet and the others, of course. But they were strong, he reasoned. He was certain each and every one of them would manage; he just had to do the same, and surely someday they would all be reunited. Hopefully sooner rather than later. He missed them already. Especially...

"A world without you, Velvet... is the one thing I couldn't bear!"

He couldn't help but blush a little at the memory. Back then, the words had rushed out without thinking, but now... Ugh! Why did he say it like that? What must she be thinking about him now? Well, it all worked out in the end, so it was all good. Probably. Still embarrassing, though.

But those thoughts had been quickly driven away once he had noticed the broken moon. Another world! He had read a few books on distant lands and had been an avid listener whenever Eizen had talked about his travels, but this was entirely new. Everything seemed different; he couldn't see any of the constellations Eizen had taught him to recognize, the trees of the forest he was in were considerably taller than anything he had seen before, and even the birds sounded completely different!

It was hard to not let his excitement take over and to start exploring at once, but he managed to reign it in, at least for a time. He finished the night atop a tree branch and began walking at sunrise, not quite well-rested (the comfort of his night camp had let a lot to be desired, but it was better than being attacked by a wild animal), yet still plenty enthusiastic to learn more about this place.

Also, he was definitely coming back here bug hunting with the others.

He walked through the woods most of the day, trying not to get too distracted by the raw newness of it all. Being alone for the first time in his life was a little scary, but he could do it! Eizen words echoed in his head. "You have to take control of your own wheel", right? So what if he was only ten years old, and had only started to think for himself a few months ago? That didn't mean he couldn't be responsible!

His choice to inspect those weird-looking mushrooms that he had never seen before was proof of that. He had to make sure they were edible if the need were to arise. It was also responsible to check to see if he could find any strange bugs on them. It was an important scholarly task, finding out what kind of creatures lived here, and not at all a childish curiosity.

And then that giant snake had appeared, and he couldn't've helped but to think that he would've rather not found any local fauna at all.

The daemon-like beast was huge, easily dwarfing him in size by several orders of magnitude. Even stranger, it seemed to have a second head where its tail should have been, its pale white color contrasting with the deep black of the first head. Both sported glowing red eyes, more fangs than any snake should ever have, and as a whole radiated the distinct and familiar sensation of malevolence that gave Phi goosebumps.

A part of his mind wondered how having two heads could work; whether they were both equally intelligent, and how having two heads affected mobility. The rest of him nervously readied his spirit-infused talismans, the pieces of paper flying all around him to form a protective barrier. Just in time to repel a first charge when the black head bashed itself against the magical forcefield, sending Laphicet stumbling upon the impact.

This was bad, he instantly realized. In his months of travel, he had managed to pull his weight alongside the others. But he was never meant to fight on the frontline, and certainly not alone. The group as a whole had a well-oiled formation despite the apparent chaos they displayed on the battlefield. Velvet and Rokurou would charge forward, tearing apart everything in their way; Eizen and Eleanor would support them either from up close with their weapons or from far away with long-range artes, depending on how the battle was going; and he and Magilou would stand back and rain spells down upon the enemy from afar. Moments when he had to face enemies up close were rare, and it would never be long until someone came to his rescue – Velvet or Eleanor being the most likely ones to jump between him and any foe.

That wouldn't happen here. Phi was alone, against something that didn't seem likely to give him time to cast his more complex spells. The young malak jumped back to avoid being surrounded by the snake's massive body, and the black head followed, the white one simply watching him for now, as if waiting for an opportunity. In this case, he'd have to rely on simpler artes.

"Triflare!"

On his command, three talismans flew toward the charging reptile before bursting in flames, making the monster recoil in surprise more than pain. Trying to capitalize on this moment, he sent several more pieces of paper flying with a gesture of his hand, this time targeting the beast's belly.

"Frigid Pillar!"

The ground under the giant snake froze, encasing part of his body in ice. Phi's hope that such a move would slow it down was quickly dashed however, when the monster thrashed its body and effortlessly broke the restraining ice before charging once more. Phi prepared to counter once again, but the monster proved surprisingly intelligent, having learned from the previous exchange. Instead of charging head-first into his barrier, it darted on the side at the last moment before slamming the back of its neck into the young malak, attempting to trap him under its body.

Laphicet managed to desperately avoid most of the snake's mass, merely being sent flying several meters away rather than being outright crushed by several tons of malevolence. Phi managed to hold back tears of pain. It hurt! Not only was being slammed on the ground by something that was half the size of the Van Eltia was painful, but his skin burned wherever he had been in contact with the monster. This was worse than a daemon, Phi realized with horror. That thing didn't just generate malevolence, it seemed as if its whole body was made of it.

Meaning if he got hit just a few more times, or even stood too close for too long...

Phi clenched his fists, trying to ignore the pain. He was not turning into a dragon here! He was going to reunite with Velvet, Eleanor and the others! As if sensing his resolve, six talismans flew forward, surrounding the snake's main head.

"Spring forth!"

Each piece of paper exploded into a ball of pure light, blinding the monster long enough for him to prepare for what he hoped to be the finishing blow.

"Spirits Release!"

Paper scattered all around him, forming two rings of chains made of pure light, calling forth as many spirits as he dared to use at once before beginning his chant.

"I will bring order to those who wronged me!"

As if sensing the danger, the monster attempted to move, only for the conjured chains to wrap around its neck, forcibly holding it place.

"Here's your justice! Binding Order!"

The monster squirmed as it felt the chains tightening all around him before exploding in a torrent of power. To Laphicet's relief, that seemed to do the trick; the spell had literally decapitated the snake, what was left of its head falling several paces away. The malak tried his best not to wince at the sight, reminding himself that his time with Velvet and the others had come with quite a few gruesome moments as well.

He only remembered the second head when he saw a white blur darting straight at him, apparently proving that yes, the two heads could operate independently. Phi desperately tried to summon a protective barrier, but his previous attack had taken its toll. His gestures were slow; too slow, he realized with dread, as the monster's open maw came closer and closer.

His salvation came with a deafening explosion that sent the snake's head crash on the ground, his left eye ruined.

"What's a kid doing here?"

"Less talking, more killing!"

Phi turned toward the two unknown voices, immediately spotting the newcomers. A woman with short dark hair, clad in white and black, was holding what looked like a portable canon with a blade attached under it, smoke still wafting out from the barrel – Phi guessed that was the cause of the previous explosion. Rushing ahead of her was a young man with short, spiky white hair in a dark blue coat, dragging along a mechanical longsword with a blade that ignited in flames with a roaring sound. Jumping high, the newcomer fell on the injured monster like a meteor, his blade severing the second head with one slash.

Phi couldn't but sigh in relief. That had been way too close. The woman rushed toward him while her partner made sure the beast was actually dead.

"Hey! Are you alright? It didn't bite you, did it?"

The malak shook his head. "No, I'm fine! Thank you for saving me."

The man by the snake's corpse whistled as he inspected the body. "Didn't need that much saving. Shit, kid, did you do that?" he asked while pointing at the head his spell severed. He shook his head when Phi nodded. "And without weapons? You must have one crazy-ass semblance."

"Angelo!" his partner exclaimed. "Can't you try to watch your mouth when a child's around?" She turned toward the malak, kneeling to put herself at his level. Phi abruptly noticed that her two eyes were of different colors. Woah. "I'm sorry for my friend, he really could use some better manners."

"Hey, my manners are great!" the man protested, making Phi chuckle. That kind of bickering reminded him of his travels with the others. "So, what are you doing here alone? It's a dangerous place, you know. I mean..." He gestured toward the corpse, which had begun to emit steam. Was the body disintegrating on its own? He couldn't help but think that was a little creepy.

Phi scratched his head. "Um, I'm kind of lost? I don't know where I am right now."

The two adults watched him with concern. "Your parents must be worried sick," the woman said with a soft tone.

"Oh, I don't have parents," Phi quickly reassured her, though it only made her look more solemn. "But I wasn't travelling alone! We kinda got split up, but I'm sure we'll find each other real soon!" The woman nodded, though she still seemed a little worried. He supposed most adults would be, given his situation. He tried to assuage her fears with a smile. "I'm Laphicet, by the way."

She smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Laphicet. I'm Mary. And my surly partner over here is Angelo."

"I'm not surly", the white-haired man protested. "But nice to meet you, kid." He sheathed his blade on his back before turning toward his partner. "So, what now? We still didn't find the other team, but with our little buddy here..."

Mary sighed. "Yeah, we need to go back." She turned toward Phi. "You should probably come with us. This forest is pretty dangerous, and I'm sure your friends will have an easier time finding you if you're somewhere safe."

The young malak nodded. If there were other snakes like the one he just met, it was probably for the best. "Where are we going?"

"For now, the Academy is probably the best place. The headmaster will probably be able to help you."

That seemed promising. Plus, academies were places where you learned things, right? That meant books! It could be the perfect place to learn more about this world.

"Okay. Let's go!"

"Ah, you're pretty eager, aren't you, kid?" the swordsman called. "It's a long walk, though, so save your strength."

"It's all right," Phi confidently replied. "I'm used to walking." After travelling all across the Midgand Empire for months, he was getting used to it.

Angelo smiled at the bravado. "'Atta boy."

Led by his two new companions, Laphicet resumed his journey through the woods. After a few minutes of silence, he attempted to strike a conversation.

"Um, I was wondering... Earlier, you said something about... semblance?"

The white-haired man briefly turned his head toward him. "No-one explained that to you? I mean, I suppose most kids your age wouldn't know, but given that you have one... Well, how do I put it? It's like your very own special power."

Phi tilted his head in confusion. "Special power?"

"Yup. It's different for everyone. It comes from your soul, or some shi- something like that," he corrected himself.

Laphicet was confused. That sounded a bit like a malak's blessing, but it couldn't be the same... right? "Do you have a semblance, then?"

The man laughed. "Well, I'd be a pretty poor huntsman if I didn't, you know?"

Yet another unfamiliar term, but he could make a guess for this one. "So you hunt monsters?" It would certainly explain the weaponry.

"Yeah, that's usually the job. I mean, there's other stuff, but... Tell you what. Once we're at the Academy, you can ask the teachers there, I'm sure they can explain it better than-" He interrupted himself when he saw Mary raising a hand, as she stopped to check her surroundings, looking tense. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure."

She looked around, a frown on her face. Phi did the same, but only saw trees and bushes all around. That's when he noticed it; the complete lack of bird singing. And judging by his companion readying her weapon, that probably wasn't a good sign. When she shared her conclusion, the malak couldn't quite suppress the chill down his spine.

"I don't think we're alone here."

​

---

Hidden in a tree, a lone figure watched the trio glancing around. That was a huntress' instinct for you, he supposed. Too little too late though. They were exactly where he wanted them.

He had expected only two targets; the child wasn't part of the plan. Oh well. A bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face as his scorpion tail rose in anticipation for the battle to come.

What a terrible tragedy.

Spoiler: Notes

I think I'm using a little too many OCs to begin this story. Then again, that's the problem with not having everyone start at Beacon - there's only so many canon characters not there at this point of time, and most of the remaining ones don't stroll through the wilderness without a care in the world. On the other hand, some do. Only the nice ones, I'm sure.

 

[Macros]

A Flame Amidst Darkness - Awakening

***​

Tyrian Callow liked to think he didn't lack compassion, in his own, special way. Making a child suffer? Well, he'd do it with a smile on his face if his Queen ordered it, but that wasn't the case today, leaving him free to exercise mercy. Which is why when he dropped in the middle of the trio, dual wrist blades at the ready, he went for the kid's throat first. For wasn't that the merciful thing to do?

Unfortunately, the huntress's instincts kicked in, causing her to react at the last second by swinging her rocket launcher toward him. Tyrian danced around the blow but had to jump back when the other huntsman slashed at him with his sword. The white-haired huntsman followed up his strike by drawing a revolver from under his coat, releasing a shot in a deafening blast. The scorpion faunus simply flicked the projectile away with a gesture of his tail before shaking his head in sadness.

"What a pity. I could have spared this young boy the pains of the living, but you had to prolong his suffering. Huntsmen and huntresses are truly heartless."

"Who the fuck are you?" the white-haired huntsman snarled. Meanwhile his companion took aim with her launcher, making sure she remained between Tyrian and the child.

The faunus simply laughed. "Does it really matter? The question you should be asking yourself isn't who I am, but what am I doing here, wouldn't you agree?"

The huntress narrowed her eyes. "You're the reason the other team went missing."

Tyrian let out a low chuckle. "Such perspicacity. I wonder if the ones they'll sent after you will have the same insight."

The white-haired huntsman took a step forward. "Listen, pal, if you think-"

"He has a tail!" the boy behind them blurted out, stupefaction clear on his face.

Tyrian made a point of mockingly examine his own stinger. "So I have. Never seen a faunus before, child?"

"What's a faunus?" the blonde boy tilted his head in confusion, visibly more curious than scared.

"Not the best time, kid," the swordsman in front of him growled.

Tyrian tsked. "On the contrary, this is the only time! After all," his smile grew, "you can't learn once you're dead."

To their credit, his foes were ready for his sudden charge. It didn't change the fact that they were simply too slow. He easily dodged the rocket fired his way by tilting his body to the side, then went under the follow-up sword swing from the huntsman. By the time they realized the situation, Tyrian was already on the huntsman's left flank, ready to strike. The white-haired swordsman managed to twist his body at the last second, turning what was intended as a crippling blow into a simple scratch.

Good. It was even better when they struggled.

"Angelo, duck!"

The huntsman reacted to his partner's instructions by spinning to the side, making way for the three missiles fired straight at the faunus. What cute teamwork. Yet too slow once again. Jumping in the air, Tyrian twisted and twirled between the projectile barrage, charging straight at the huntress. Which was when he heard the voice.

"Blades of heaven's will, pierce mine enemy!"

The child was floating a few inches above the ground, surrounded by a circle of light. Well that was peculiar. Tyrian's curiosity turned into concern when he noticed the glyph that appeared directly beneath his own feet.

"Divine Saber!"

The faunus jumped back just in time to avoid the worst of the rain of lightning that struck the position he was in a second ago. A bolt still managed to graze him, sending shivers through his whole body. Before he could shake the effects off, the boy started another chant.

"Gaze upon my fiery mirrors! Kaleidos Ray!"

This time, Tyrian didn't hesitate before jumping away a second before several mirrors appeared out of thin air all around him, firing incandescent beams inward. Once again, the faunus was saved by his quick reflexes, a single ray managing to sing his cheek. Still, that child was proving a lot more bothersome than expected, and given the wide eyes of his partners, that came as a surprise for them too.

"Shit, kid, how are you doing that?!"

"Not the best time, Angelo!"

Tyrian could appreciate the ironic echo, but would have liked an answer too. Instead he got another chant.

"Dark and light! Bright Shade!"

This time it was a projectile of swirling light and dark energy that came straight at him. At least this one was easy to dodge. By this point, Tyrian was beginning to feel a pattern. Short chants for limited attacks, while longer ones covered a larger area. The solution was obviously to keep moving and not stay in one spot. He might as well break the boy's concentration while he was at it.

"Swirling black quagmire, no escape!"

Another big one incoming. But this time he was ready. Running in an arc, he switched his wrist claws to submachine gun mode before peppering the blonde child with shots. The tactic proved ineffective when the huntress jumped in front of him, using her rocket launcher as a makeshift shield. Tch, annoying.

"Void Mire!"

Once again Tyrian rolled out of the way just in time to escape dozens of black tendrils coming from the ground. That... was looking uncomfortably similar to his mistress's favorite medium of punishment. Seriously, where did this boy come from? He could only think of one kind of being wielding powers somewhat similar to this, but that was impossible... right?"

"Child... you aren't secretly a girl, are you?"

"W-what? No!"

Oh, so he could still be flustered in the middle of combat. How adorable. Also, convenient. The boy was still stammering when Tyrian dove for him, licking his lips at the sight of his wide-open prey. Only to have the kid grabbed away by the huntress, who used the blade under her weapon as a grappling hook to take the child with her to a safe distance. Before the faunus could follow, the other huntsman was on him, his blade darting left and right in a furious assault.

"You got a jacked up notion of fair play, pal... and it's beginning to piss me off!"

With a turn of the handle, the sword roared as the blade burst into flames, the next blow managing to scratch Tyrian across the torso. The faunus somersaulted back only to see five rockets coming up from above. With no room to get entirely out of the blast radius this time around, the assassin crossed his arms in front of him as his aura flared up to protect him from the worst damage. The concussive force of the explosion still threw him several meters away.

Well. This wasn't going as well as expected.

"Give it up," the huntress called, voice hard as steel. "If you come quietly, there might still be a chance for you to not spend the rest of your life in prison."

Tyrian low chuckle turned into full blown laughter. "Such fire! Such confidence! But you might be forgetting something. We've been making quite a ruckus, wouldn't you agree?"

As if to illustrate his point, that was the precise moment that a beowolf chose to jump out of the bushes toward the white-haired huntsman. With a sniff of contempt, that latter simply swung his blade, cleaving the wolf-like creature in half.

"What, you think a couple of stray Grimm butting in will change anything?"

Tyrian's smile was positively manic by this point. "Who said anything about a couple? Did you really think I chose this place to fight on a whim?"

Low growls could be heard all around the clearing, making the trio freeze. Another beowolf entered the field, then another, then another. Monsters were coming one by one, walking at a slow pace as their glowing red eyes fell upon each living creatures within sight, visibly picking their targets.

"Would you look at that. Did I forgot to mention that I picked this place for my ambush because of the nest nearby? I hope you like killing Grimm, because there are plenty more where it come from!"

"Are you insane?" the dark-haired woman shouted. "They'll attack you too!"

"And doesn't that make it more exciting!" answered Tyrian. "Although... They tend to focus more on those with negative emotions. And I have to say, you people seem rather... stressed."

As if the word had been some kind of signal, the leading beowolf released a loud howl. Every monster charged at the same time Tyrian jumped back into the fray.

The battle took a chaotic turn. The faunus ducked under a beowolf's paw, and slashed at its head without even slowing down. Further ahead, he could see the huntsman tied up by a score of Grimm. They were dying in droves from the man's flaming sword, but that didn't slow them down in the slightest. Noticing Tyrian rushing toward his companions, the huntsman tried to stop him by firing his revolver, but once again the shot was deflected by a simple flick of his stinger.

The boy was busy incinerating three monsters that charged straight at him. The woman, however, did notice Tyrian charging, yet her weapon was currently empty, having just unloaded a salvo into the oncoming horde. Without any other options, she swung her massive weapon toward him with surprising strength, the bayonet missing his face by a couple of inches.

Tyrian immediately returned the favor, his left pincer blade darting toward her eyes. The huntress managed to throw her head backward, but still wasn't fast enough to entirely dodge it, the edge of the blade ripping against the back of her nose, leaving a trail of blood behind. That was going to leave a scar.

Before she could recover her balance, Tyrian had already turned, going straight at the boy. To his credit, the kid realized the danger and started his next chant almost immediately.

"Blast away the shadows of darkness! Blessed Drops!"

A wall of water rose from the ground to protect him. However, by the time he finished his incantation, Tyrian had already somersaulted above him, bypassing the entirety of the protective spell in the process. Before the blonde boy could turn around, the faunus lashed out with a roundhouse kick catching him on his side. The child went flying under the impact, hitting a tree with a loud thump.

"Leave him alone!"

The huntsman had apparently managed to extract himself from the drove of beowolves, charging straight at Tyrian with a snarl on his face. Ah, the recklessness of the youth. Tyrian straightened in anticipation.

Up until now, he had refrained from using his tail as an offensive tool. It was a handy trick that never failed to catch huntsmen and huntresses off guard. Even if they knew on an intellectual level that the stinger should be dangerous, after a few minutes of fighting without it coming into play it was only natural to stop watching out for it. This one was no exception. He dove to the side when Tyrian raised his left pincer, deflected his right one with a massive swing of his sword... and left himself wide open.

The scorpion tail struck like lightning, easily piercing the huntsman protective aura and tearing through his right arm, shredding muscles in the process. No more two-handed swings for you, Tyrian grinned happily while the swordsman howled in pain. And as soon as the poison fully took effect, no more anything for him.

"Get away from him!"

The huntress prevented him from dealing the finishing blow, her rocket launcher crashing down onto the ground with the force of a sledgehammer. Tyrian hopped back before considering the situation. The huntsman was on the ground, clutching his injured arm; doomed in a few hours if the Grimm didn't get to him first. The child was still conscious yet disoriented, slowly standing up in a daze. The huntress was still in fighting shape despite the blood on her face, but her short breath told Tyrian she was approaching her limit too. If he kept pressing his attack, the faunus was reasonably certain he could dispatch them all in short order.

But then there were the Grimm. By now, dozens of beowolves were flooding into the clearing with numbers that kept increasing. Tyrian's own aura had taken quite a beating in this fight. If he stayed too long, there would be no escape for him either. His queen still needed him; there was still a lot of work to do. He couldn't betray her by dying now, as much as he wanted to finish off his prey. It's not like they were getting out of this alive anyway, not with this many Grimm around.

His decision made, he jumped back, dodging a beowolf's claw in the process. "Well, it has been fun. But it seems our time together is sadly cut short. Take solace in the knowledge you're dying for the glory of our Goddess."

"What the fuck," the huntsman on the ground managed to speak through gritted teeth, "are you on about?"

"No time to explain, I'm afraid. Farewell, huntsman, huntress, child. You did manage to make it interesting for me."

Truth be told, he regretted not being able to snatch the boy and bring him to his mistress. His semblance had been highly unusual – in fact was it even a semblance? Alas, sometimes one had to content himself with the small victories. He would just have to settle with leaving people to be devoured by Grimm. As he rushed out of the clearing, cutting down the couple of beowolves that tried to stop him on the way, he couldn't help but be satisfied with how things had gone, nonetheless.

The real important thing was to love what you did, after all.

***​

Phi watched their opponent jump from tree to tree with supernatural agility until he was out of sight, leaving him and his two companions surrounded by those scary wolf-monsters. This was bad. This was really bad! Angelo was down, Mary was injured, and the kick Phi received earlier hurt. But more importantly, the concentration of malevolence in this clearing was rising at an alarming rate, making his head dizzy.

Still, he had to do something. Rushing by the huntsman side while his companion did her best to provide covering fire, he took a look at his injured arm. That... didn't look good. Besides, weren't scorpions venomous? If that held true for the strange hybrid, then curing that took priority. Ignoring his own pain and the malevolence building up inside him, he focused on his next artes, the explosions of Mary's canon mere background noises.

"Through troubles receive life's blessing... Elixir Vitae!"

The torn flesh began to mend itself, although there was little Laphicet could do about the blood already lost. He hoped this would also be enough to take care of the poison, or at least to slow it down. Angelo blinked through the pain, looking at his healing arm.

"Damn, you can do that too? You're full of surprises, huh?"

"Don't speak! Save your strength!"

Despite the urgency of his tone, the malak couldn't help but smile. It seemed like he did it! However, his good mood didn't last long.

"Damn! Out of ammo."

The huntress' announcement sounded like a declaration of doom. Dozens of monsters had been torn apart by her barrage, yet more came their way, and they no longer had the strength to fight or flee. Angelo did his best nonetheless, pushing himself back up by using his sword as support, but it was clear he was on his last leg. Mary was forced to use her canon as a melee weapon, and while she managed to stab the first wolf with its blade, it wouldn't be enough against the oncoming horde. And Phi... Phi could feel his flesh crawl as the malevolence began to consume him.

He was turning, he realized with horror. He was going to become a mindless dragon, with no hope of ever coming back. No... no! It couldn't end like that! He still had to learn about this world! He still had to see Velvet and the others again! He still had to live!

"Hey, the kid's a wreck. It was just a joke to help calm him down."
"I'll protect you until you find your answer."
"I've changed how I view malakhim. I know that's true, because I can think of him as a brother."
"You control the rudder of your life. Your hands on the wheel."

...

"Its a name. Your name."

Something burst inside Laphicet, pushing away the malevolence threatening to overwhelm him. And with a scream, the world burned silver.

 

[Macros]

A Flame Amidst Darkness - Rest

***​

When Laphicet awoke, his eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Still in a daze, he turned his head, half-expecting (hoping?) to see Velvet or Eleanor by his bedside. Instead, an unknown man was sitting there, an opened book on his lap. The young malak's sudden movement startled the stranger, who almost fell from his chair at finding the sleeping boy conscious.

"O-oh! Sorry, I didn't expect... I mean, you're awake! That's good. That's very good."

Still confused, Phi weakly nodded, right before memories started rushing back in. The forest. The man-scorpion killer. The monsters. He gasped.

"I- what happened? Angelo and Mary, are they alright?"

The man held a comforting hand on his shoulder, gently forcing him to lie back down. "Easy, boy. The two of them were able to make their way back here. They're injured, but alive. You'll be able to see them as soon as we make sure you're okay too."

Phi weakly nodded, before looking again at his caretaker. The man seemed somewhat old, maybe in his fifties, with tanned skin and thick grey hair and beard. The fancy red jacket he was wearing above an immaculate white shirt and the black bowtie at his neck made him think of a scholar or a librarian, but the man's broad shoulders and callous hands denoted an active lifestyle, during his younger years at the very least

Phi gave the man a grateful smile. "I'm Laphicet. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Think nothing of it," the man answered with a somewhat bashful expression. "My name is Leonardo Lionheart, headmaster of Haven Academy. That, erm, is the place we are currently, if you were wondering. It's a pleasure to welcome you here. I, well, simply wish it was under better circumstances," he concluded with an awkward smile.

Academy? That's right, Angelo and Mary said something about- wait! Phi looked around for any sign of his two travelling companions. His worries grew when he saw no sign of them. There had been so many monsters, and Angelo had lost so much blood...

"The people who were with me... you said they were alright?"

The man sighed. "Well, alright might be stretching it. They suffered multiple injuries, at least one of them poisoned. We had to amputate young Angelo's right hand to save his life. Mary is expected to make a full recovery with only a facial scar to show for it."

Laphicet's horrified expression immediately prompted the Academy director to reassure him. "Do not worry though! It won't be long before both of them are back in the field. We've already ordered a prosthetic arm from Atlas. I'm told this will be as good as new."

Phi's horror was replaced by confusion. "A... prosthetic arm?"

"Ah, right, you might be a little young for technical terms. Think of it as a robot arm."

That didn't help much. "What's a robot?"

Leonardo Lionheart seemed a bit taken aback by the question. "Well, it's akin to a man made of metal, I suppose? I know that this kind of Atlas tech is relatively new, but they made such a big show of it that I expected anyone to be aware. Then again, you are young."

A man made of metal? "Oh, you mean a golem!" He had read about those in a book! Well, they weren't always made of metal, but still. And people in this world could receive golem arms?! That was so cool!

"I'm afraid I have no idea what a golem is." By now, the older man seemed rather befuddled. "If I may ask, could you tell me where you come from?"

Laphicet was about to answer when something swishing behind Leonardo's back caught his full attention. "You have a tail! Like that man in the forest!" Not a chitinous one like the one who attacked him, though. His caretaker's tail seemed distinctly more feline.

"Well, yes I do," said the headmaster, visibly uncomfortable with the attention given to his appendage. "I am a faunus, after all." Yet another unfamiliar term. "Don't tell me you don't know what a faunus is," the man grumbled.

Laphicet lowered his head. "I'm sorry..." It was probably very rude of him to ask so many questions to the man who had apparently cared for him while he was unconscious. Still, everything was so strange!

"Ah! No, I apologize, I didn't mean- but really, you don't know?" The grey-haired man seemed as confused as Laphicet at this point, but nonetheless attempted to explain. "Faunus are... well, think of us as humans with animal traits. The kind of animal varies greatly, of course."

"Like a turtlez?" Laphicet asked, thinking back of the unfortunate travelling peddler that they somehow kept crossing roads with. His very species seemed to defy all logic back home, and Eizen's comments of 'turtlez are turtlez' didn't help much.

"Maybe?" Leonardo answered. "To be honest, I have never heard of a turtle faunus before. But then again, most faunus live in Menagerie now. Not the closest place, I'm afraid."

A place full of people like Leonardo Lionheart seemed fascinating to Laphicet – though he wasn't so keen on meeting someone like the man in the forest. Everything in this world seemed new, and he couldn't wait to learn more. However, the headmaster had some questions of his own.

"Young man, I realize you must be tired, but I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the forest." Encouraged by Laphicet's nod, Leonardo continued. "The two huntsmen who brought your back praised quite extensively your conduct in battle. Told me they've never seen a semblance such as yours. I was hoping you could tell me more."

The young malak felt the heat rising to his face. "I'm not that special, really!" he denied. "Eizen and Magilou taught me a lot about malak artes, but I still have a long way to go. I'm just glad I could be useful."

The older man scratched his beard, looking a bit confused. "Is that how you call your semblance? They told me you managed to conjure lightning, fire and water. That you were able to partially heal Angelo's injury and counteract the poison long enough for him to make his way back to us. And then there was that – that silver fire you used to burn away the Grimm surrounding you." He hesitated, as if look for words. "This is highly irregular."

The last part was news to Laphicet. "Well, I'm not sure what a semblance is. But yeah, I was taught a lot of different artes. I don't remember much on what happened at the end though, sorry." All he could recall was the terror he felt as he believed to be on the verge of turning, and how that feeling had ignited a fire within himself. A silver fire? That was the first time he heard of it, but clearly something happened back there.

The headmaster's expression had become hard to read, as the man lost himself in his own thoughts for an instant. He soon focused back on Phi, though. "I understand you are quite young, but you seem unfamiliar with a lot of terms most people would be aware of, even at your age. And you have used a few words I'm unaware of. Please, where are you from?"

The tone was soft, but there was an almost desperate edge to it. Phi couldn't blame him for being confused, he wasn't sure he understood everything himself. Still, he tried to answer the best he could. "I-I know this might seem strange, but I don't think... I don't think I'm from this place. I mean from this world."

The older man looked sceptical, but apparently decided to humour him. "And what make you think that?"

"Well, the moon is completely different. It's not broken where I'm from. Also the stars are all wrong. And I've never seen a... faunus? Or those weapons that shoot fire. I mean, it's not been long since I began to see the world, but still, it looks nothing like what I know."

Leonardo Lionheart didn't seem quite convinced, but didn't contradict him, which Laphicet supposed was good. "I see. And did you arrive alone?"

The young malak shook his head hard, the worry he had pushed aside until now rushing back in. "No! I was with my friends! I'm sure they're here somewhere, but I don't know how to find them right now, and I figured that if I learned more about this place, then maybe I'd get an idea where they'd be, and then-"

His sentence was interrupted by a sudden bout of dizziness. In an instant, the lion faunus was at his side, helping lie back down. "Easy there, boy. There's no need to get so worked up. You're still suffering from aura exhaustion and need rest." Laphicet nodded weakly, trying to swallow back his anxiety. "Tell you what. Once you get better, I'll let you go through our library. I don't know about your friends, but if you want to learn more about Remnant, there's no better place."

Despite his worries, it was hard for Phi to not cheer up at the thought. "Really? That won't be a problem for the people here?"

The man chuckled. "Of course not. School year has yet to start, so you should have a few days with the place all to yourself. Once the students arrive, we'll figure something out. I'll arrange better living quarters for you once you feel better. Until you find your friends, you're more than welcome to Mistral Academy."

Laphicet's eyes widened. A library all to himself! That meant books, probably more than what he ever had the chance to read! "Thank you! I'll do my best not to be a bother, I promise!"

"No need to worry about that," Lionheart laughed. "Just rest for now, and I'll take you there myself once you're ready."

"But I'm not tired," Laphicet protested, which probably would have been more convincing if he hadn't tried to stifle a yawn at the same time."Well, maybe I'm a little tired."

The ten-year old allowed himself to close his eyes, if only for a minute. He was going to see that library, then find Velvet and the others, and then they'd get to explore this new world together. Oh, and they would probably have to find a way to go back too, at some point. Maybe Mr Lionheart could help them with that? He certainly seemed nice enough, and he was pretty sure you needed to be really smart to become a headmaster. Yeah, Phi decided, he'd ask him, and then things were going to be just fine.

It was with these happy thoughts in mind that he finally lost the fight against sleep.

***​

Leonardo Lionheart had to admit, even asleep, the child's smiling face was among the most adorable things he ever had the chance to observe. All in all, his initial impression of the young boy had been rather favourable. He seemed like a bright, earnest kid, and despite only knowing him for five minutes, it was hard not to feel at least a little protective toward him.

Of course, there was that 'other world' story. The headmaster had trouble believing that part, who seemed more akin to one of those imaginary worlds children liked to lose themselves into. Even the strange vocabulary he had used sometimes wouldn't be out of place in a kid's overactive imagination. He knew how far boys his age could go when it came to craft their very own fantasy.

Still, tales of other worlds aside, there was no denying the boy was strange in more than one respect. A child his age having an awakened aura, let alone an active semblance, was pretty rare, yet not unheard of. But from what his two former students told him, the mastery he displayed in its usage would have been nothing short of prodigious for someone his age, and the sheer range of powers he displayed was unheard off, even among fully grown huntsmen. It would have been one thing if the child had carried dust weaponry on him, but all of his possessions were resumed to the clothes he had on his back and a silk satchel containing a couple of books, a few travel rations and a compass. Also lots of piece of paper, yet nothing to write with. Those powers the two injured hunstmen had described were not the product of advanced weaponry, but came from the boy himself.

Of course, it was possible Angelo and Mary had exaggerated a bit. The two of them had been rather injured when they came back, and hardly in the best conditions to make a detailed report. He would have to ask them again once they made a full recovery, and perhaps ask young Laphicet himself for a demonstration. That silver fire in particular was worth investigating, as impossible as it seemed. But even if it turned out that most of it had been blown out of proportion, there was still a thing about this boy Leonardo couldn't explain to himself.

When the unconscious child had been rushed in the Academy's infirmary, the assistant nurse had believed it to be a prank. According to her, she was asked to take care of thin air, as the two desperate huntsmen were carrying nothing and no-one. The suggestion their wounds were causing them delirium was poorly received, the ever hot-blooded Angelo going as far as to give an impressive display of his colourful vocabulary. As more of Mistral's medical staff was called upon the scene, it turned out however that the poor nurse was not alone in her assessment, with their intern also unable to perceive the boy, while the head nurse had no such trouble. Eventually, the commotion reached his own ears, and when Lionheart arrived on the scene, he could only agree that there was a young boy in dire need of assistance in the room.The two sceptics were only convinced this was no practical joke when they realized they could touch the invisible – to them – child.

This only raised more questions. An invisibility semblance wasn't that rare, but Haven's headmaster never heard of one that could remain active while unconscious, yet only affect a select number of people. Or maybe it had only affected a couple of persons because he had been unconscious? Even after the boy awoke, Leonardo had no trouble conversing with him, but the young child still had been fairly weak, so perhaps that was it. But then, what to make of those powers he displayed to save his two former students?

Of course, that was a whole other problem. And one he suspected he would have to answer to before long. To say the lion faunus didn't relish the conversation he would no doubt have in the coming days would be an understatement. As for what it would mean for the boy... Leonardo could only hope he wouldn't get torn apart in the deadly game he just stumbled in.

But then again, did any of Leonardo's hopes ever came true?



Notes: sorry about the long, long delay. I had been a few crazy months, I guess what was needed to finally get back to this was another kind of crazy. I'll probably give this chapter a good reread and polish things up a bit, but for now, I just want to get the ball rolling again. Thank you to those still sticking with me!

 

[Macros]

A Flame amidst Darkness - Doubts​

The time of the meeting Leonardo Lionheart had so dreaded finally arrived at the end of the next week.

The minute it took to go from his office to the secret room hidden behind a bookshelf was, as always, a trial unto itself. The flickering candles illuminating his path gave the walk the allure of a funeral procession, his own shadow dancing eerily on the stone walls of the corridor. Not for the first time, the more morbid part of his brain wondered how long it would take for Haven's staff to find his body here if this day was to be his last. He knew students liked to claim ghosts were haunting the west wing of the Academy, their bodies buried between the walls; the headmaster had dismissed those rumours long ago, but nowadays he wondered if he might become part of those legends himself.

Arriving at his destination did little to calm his frayed nerves. In the middle of the small circular room, a single Grimm creature was floating above the ground, the jellyfish-like monster seemingly unconcerned with the faunus. Not for the first time, he wondered what kind of power could compel such a creature to remain calm, when Grimm were known to attack on sight any living being they could find. Yet another reminder of the frightful powers the one he was about to talk to possessed, he supposed. Going against every instinct in his body, he took one last step to stand in front of the dark and white monster, doing his best to ignore its spiked tentacles lazily undulating in the air, all too ready to wrap themselves around his throat. That he knew first-hand.

"Your- your Grace. I am here."

The bulb-like part of the creature started emitting a faint red glow, tainted by volutes of black smoke. And slowly, the reflection of his mistress appeared, her voice slightly distorted by whatever witchcraft allowed them to communicate over such distances.

"Leonardo. I believe we have urgent matters to talk about."

Her deceptively neutral tone never failed to to chill him to the bone, and today was no exception. Leonardo Lionheart was, or at least had been a huntsman, and had fought his fair share of Grimm, bandits and murderers in his years of defending Mistral. But Salem – Salem was something else.

No-one could have mistaken her for a mere woman. Her unnaturally pale skin, crossed by pulsing dark purple veins, made her look like one of those undead monsters from children's books rather than a living person. Her white hair were styled in an elaborate hairdo reminiscent of what the nobles of old would wear, complete with dark and crimson ornaments hanging from her hairbuns. This combined with her long black robe and the diamond-shaped black tattoo – Gods, he hoped it was a tattoo – gave her an almost regal appearance. But her most striking features were her eyes, crimson red irises on entirely black pupils and sclerae.

And now this monster's sole attention was focused on him.

Leonardo immediately felt the need to defend himself. "It- it wasn't my fault! I sent the two huntsmen exactly where you told me too, Tyrian's the one that-"

Salem simply raised a hand, and he immediately quieted down. "Tyrian's mistakes have already been... discussed between us." A low, plaintive whine echoed through the connection, and Leonardo realized the insane scorpion faunus was probably in the room with his mistress, listening to the entire conversation. "I do not blame you for his failure. But he did mention something interesting."

Haven's headmaster held his breath in anticipation. "Tell me about the child, Leonardo."

The lion faunus nervously wrung his hands. "I'm not sure what I can tell you, really. As far as I know, he's a happy ten year-old boy. The reports suggest he might possess a slightly unusual semblance, but I have yet to-"

This time, a raised eyebrow was all it took to stop him. "An unusual semblance? If Tyrian's reports are accurate, this child might be capable of using magic." Salem's gaze narrowed. "You wouldn't try to hide anything from me, would you?"

The headmaster immediately protested his sincerity. "Of course not! But- but we both know that's absurd! As we are both aware, there's only one sort of person able to wield magic, and this – this boy can't be one! It's impossible!"

"As far as you know," his mistress corrected him in a neutral tone. She didn't bother to explain herself though, instead looking deep in thoughts. Leonardo knew better than to interrupt her.

Apparently, Tyrian didn't. "My Queen, I can go back," he said with the desperate tone of someone eager to redeem himself. "With Lionheart's help, I can enter Haven and take the boy to you. Please, let this be my gift to your radiance."

"Absolutely not!" the headmaster's protested, his blood running cold at the idea of the assassin walking among his students. "After your failed attack, I had to raise security among the campus, me letting in a stranger at this moment would only raise more questions! If Ozpin realizes I-"

"Silence. Both of you."

The two men instantly obeyed, waiting for the queen's orders with bated breath.

"Our plans for Beacon Academy won't come into fruition for several months. That has priority over anything else," Salem eventually declared. "Leonardo's right. We should refrain from making any unnecessary moves that might tip off our enemies." Her gaze focused on the headmaster. "Do not get me wrong, however. I expect you to closely observe that child, and report anything unusual to me." As if answering her will, one tentacle of the jellyfish-like Grimm raised itself, brushing the older man's cheek with deceptive softness. "We both know you may have stumbled in the past, Leonardo. I do hope you won't repeat ancient mistakes."

"Your Grace," he managed to croak out "I am your humble servant."

The smile she gave him looked almost genuine. "I am trusting you in this matter. If you need help, I'll have Hazel stay in Mistral for a while, you know how to contact him."

Leonardo nodded. "My lady, if I may ask. What about our plans for Mistral's huntsmen? After what happened, I can no longer claim an unlucky streak of Grimm encounters."

"We will simply slow down the assassinations," Salem casually answered. "The elimination of Mistral's defenders would be convenient in the future, but is hardly vital to our current plans. You might even tell Ozpin you suspect my involvement here, if you wish it. That should at least keep one of his pawns busy for a while." The lion faunus simply bowed, eager for the conversation to end. "Very well. I'll await your next report with interest."

Salem's image faded away, and Leonardo Lionheart wasted no time leaving the room and its monster behind. Only then did he allow himself to take a gaping breath while wiping his forehead drenched with sweat. For the next minute, he simply remained seated at his desk, trying to calm his beating heart.

After a while, Haven's headmaster had regained some semblance of control over his fear. Still, even the confined atmosphere of his office was hard to bear in his heightened state of stress. He figured an evening walk around the Academy's outer path would soothe his nerves; he had always liked this time of the day, the setting sun serving as a reminder that he had managed to survive another day, yet another small victory.

Small victories were all he could hope for anyway.

The view was as stunning as ever. Haven Academy was built at the top of the two mountains overlooking the city of Mistral, giving the students and teaching staff an impressive view over the Kingdom's capital and its surroundings. Under the dimming sun, the town was bathed in red and orange hues, and the surrounding mountains gave the place an almost timeless quality. Leonardo's hopes for a solitary walk were quickly dashed, however. As he followed the small footway circling around the campus, he found the figure of young Laphicet sitting on the low wall securing the path, his feet dangling in the air as he took in the view with a smile on his face.

"You shouldn't sit like that," the headmaster gently admonished. "You might fall."

"Oh! Sorry!" The young boy slid away from the mountain's slope and stood up. "Good evening professor Lionheart!"

Since he made a full recovery a week ago, Laphicet had taken to Haven Academy instantly. Most of his time had been spent in the library, where he seemed to devour one book after another, but he could also often be seen exploring every nook and cranny of the place, driven by a seemingly insatiable thirst for discovery. It was like everything was new to him. Well, Lionheart supposed it was just so; he hadn't really thought back on that 'other world' tale, but it was clear the boy was utterly unfamiliar with Mistral.

"Good evening, young man. You seem to be enjoying the scenery."

The blonde boy enthusiastically nodded. "Yes. I've never seen a city built around a mountain like that. And even the buildings are strange! It's like something out of Rokurou's stories."

"One of those friends of your, I take it?" So at least one of them might be a Mistral citizen. But so far, there had be no sign of Laphicet's acquaintances.

"Yeah! He can be scary sometimes, but he's super cool. He can be a bit childish though. Like that time he got in a fight with Eizen over my rhinostagros."

The older man raised an eyebrow. "Rhinostagros?"

"Right, it's my beetle. I had to leave him behind though, I hope he's okay..."

Through prior conversations, it had been clear the boy held his travelling companions in high regards, though from the bits Leonardo was able to piece together, they seemed like an eccentric bunch, to say the least. Not to mention Laphicet claimed to have been on the road for several months now, which hardly seemed like the ideal lifestyle for a child. As an educator, Leonardo Lionheart couldn't say he approved, despite how hypocritical that sentiment was coming from him.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it here," he said, changing the subject. "If you're interested in the town, I might be able to have you escorted for a tour in a few days."

"That would be great! Thank you." Once again the boy gave him that earnest smile of his, coupled with green eyes shining with excitement. It did nothing to appease Leonardo's own guilty conscience. Do not trust me so easily, he wanted to say. You don't know what I might be after, what I could end up doing to you if She orders it. But Laphicet kept smiling, oblivious to the effect he had on his elder.

"Anyway," he continued. "I was hoping you could show me a bit of your semblance. I admit, after what I heard, I am a little curious."

"Um. Like this?" Laphicet drew one of those paper talismans he carried with him, and with a hand gesture, made it hover above his open palm. Another hand sign, and the item was encased in a star-shaped frozen block. A second later, the ice melted to form a water sphere. One last gesture, and the water evaporated, being replaced by a small beating flame that the young boy extinguished by closing his palm. Surprisingly, the paper remained undamaged.

The lion faunus scratched his beard, trying to make sense of what he just saw. Those various elemental displays would be consistent with dust-powered weaponry. But infusing several types of dust, a substance known for its high value, on an item as fragile as a piece of paper would be a peculiar choice. And there was no trigger mechanism – unless that was the boy's semblance? The ability to directly interact with dust? A rare skill if true, but not unheard of, and it would certainly explain-

"But, you know, I don't think that's a semblance."

That threw him off for a loop. "Pardon?"

"Semblance," Laphicet recited, clearly quoting one of the library's textbook. "The manifestation of one's personal power as an ability unique to each individual. Said to be a reflection of their souls. But what I did just now... it's not unique to me. Any malakhim could probably do the same, if they have the right elemental affinities."

"Well," Leonardo tried to argue. "While it's true semblances are somewhat unique, it is not impossible to inherit them as well from your parents." That was what that malakhim deal was, wasn't it? Some sort of family?

"Well, yeah, but I'm not related to Eizen at all, and he taught me all kinds of things. Magilou too, though in her case, I guess it came from Bienfu. But when I read about semblances, I was thinking, it sounds a lot more like a malak's blessing."

"Could you demonstrate, then?" To be honest, the headmaster was rather sceptical, but it couldn't hurt to humour the boy.

Phi seemed doubtful. "I'm not sure. Up until now, I hadn't found what my blessing was, but I think- I think that's what I used in the forest. At the end."

Leonardo's heart skipped a beat. 'And then he summoned a silver fire that burned the Grimm away while leaving us all untouched'. That part couldn't have been true, right? Before he could say anything, Laphicet was already focusing.

It was small, tiny even. But between the child's two open palms, there was a silver spark shimmering in the ambient light. Even doing that much seemed to take a great deal of effort from the boy, but he looked delighted nonetheless." I did it!"

"Enough!" The faunus hadn't meant to shout, but his booming voice startled Laphicet nonetheless, who immediately dropped his hands, the silver light instantly vanishing.

"I'm sorry..."

The guilty expression was too much to take. The boy had done nothing wrong, except- except doing something he shouldn't have been able to do. If it was what Leonardo thought it was, then Salem would- he forcefully shut down that train of thought. He couldn't think about this right now. He couldn't.

"No, I am sorry, my boy. You- you just surprised me, that's all." He tried his best to smile, but all he could manage was a grimace. Almost on impulse, he grabbed the blond child by the shoulders, forcing him to meet his gaze. "What you just did- you must promise me. Do not use it around strangers. It could be extremely dangerous, you hear me?"

The boy nodded, clearly scared by the headmaster's sudden intensity, and was left with the feeling of having done something wrong even if he couldn't tell what. For his part, Leonardo took a deep breath, trying to regain control of himself. For a moment, the adult and the child remained standing side by side in silence, neither of them trusting themselves to speak.

Laphicet was the first one to break the ice, his voice still laced with uncertainty. "Can- can I ask you something?"

The headmaster massaged his temple, but gave him a short nod. "Of course."

"In the library," said Laphicet, seemingly walking on eggshells, "I read about the faunus. About how they have been treated by most humans, and how Mistral have been a rather bad place for them. Have you – have you had troubles with that?"

Leonardo sighed. Trust a child to jump head first into difficult questions. "I suppose. I am lucky enough to be able to pass for human as long as I hide my tail, which certainly helped some. It is true that I wouldn't hold my current position if not for a few influential friends, ones that are fortunately not as prejudiced as most." Though in retrospect, his life would have been far easier if Ozpin had passed him over. "You shouldn't worry about it. You're too young to concern yourself with such matters."

Phi shook his head. "No, I think I understand, at least a little. On my world, people like me – we're being treated as tools. Until Velvet saved me and Eizen taught me what it meant to be a malak, I couldn't even think for myself. I guess- I guess I just found it sad to see something like that also existed here." He gave an uncertain glance. "You went through difficult moments as well, right?"

Leonardo wanted to scoff – they boy seemed human enough, what was he talking about – but somehow, every word seemed sincere. This child had been enslaved? If so, no wonder he felt so attached to his missing companions, if they were the ones to rescue him. He was about to ask more when he was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from his pocket. Apparently, he was receiving an incoming call. Grabbing his scroll, he looked at the name on display and his eyes widened.

Ozpin.

Why today of all days? Laphicet seemed to sense his sudden alarm. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," the faunus answered. "I will have to take this call from my office. Don't stay out too late, nights can become quite cold this high up."

"Wait!" the boy called up to him as he began to turn around. "Before you go, I just wanted to say... thank you. For everything, I mean. I don't know anything about faunus, or what you went through, but you've already helped me a lot, even if you didn't know me. So at least, I know you're a good person." Laphicet blushed red at his own words and turned back. "That- that's all I needed to say! I'll go now!"

Leonardo watched him walk away, too stunned to point out he was the one supposed to leave. He didn't know if he should cry or laugh. A good person? Him? This was- this was ridiculous. He hadn't been one for a long time – perhaps he had never been one to begin with. Still, the words refused to leave him, echoing through his head all the way back to his office.

He finally sat down to his desk and pressed the button activating the holographic screen. There was something reassuring using such mundane technology to communicate, in contrast with the occult ways used by Salem. However, the face that appeared created a different sort of anxiety, tainted with more guilt than fear... but also a good deal of resentment.

"Ozpin. I didn't expect a call."

"It's been too long, Leo. How have you been?"

In contrast with Salem's eldritch appearance, the headmaster of Beacon was the picture of normalcy. A tall, somewhat gangly fifty-something year old, with slightly tousled grey-silver hair and perfectly ordinary brown eyes. The small pair of glasses helped to sell the image of the kind and slightly mischievous scholar he liked to present, one with wisdom to share.

And to think that Leonardo had fallen for this facade, a long time ago.

"I am well enough," the faunus managed to answer. "Preparing for the new school year leaves me with little time for myself.. But you know all about that, I suppose."

The other headmaster laughed. "Indeed! Beacon's new year is shaping up to be rather exciting already," his expression grew more serious. "But I've heard you had troubles on your end."

Of course he would. Ozpin's ability to gather intelligence had always been uncanny. "It's still a bit unclear. Mistral lost three huntsmen teams to what we believed to be Grimm attacks, but it appears we might have been wrong about that."

"Leo, this is serious. If She is targetting Mistral, then-"

"I know!" Lionheart protested. "But right now, I don't want to create a panic! I've passed along the word to the huntsmen on the ground, and asked for teams to pair up. Hopefully it'll give us safety in numbers. And as soon as I learn more about the faunus that attacked us, I'll tell you."

"Very well," Ozpin slowly nodded. "I trust your judgment."

Leonardo had to bit his lip to not let out a dejected laugh. Ozpin trusted him? If that had been true, the situation today would be very different. His one-time mentor was an expert at talking about the virtues of trust and cooperation, but often failed to display those qualities for himself. From the very day he recruited Leonardo in his crusade against Salem, Ozpin had lied.

You did not tell me, the faunus bitterly thought, you did not tell me that victory was impossible from the very start.

"Anyway," Beacon's headmaster interrupted, "That's not all I wanted to talk about. Could you tell me about that child you welcomed at Haven? What I heard seemed truly fascinating."

"No," Leonardo growled under his teeth, his resentment dangerously close from coming to the surface.

That expression on Ozpin's face was akin to a parent disappointed with a stubborn child. "Leo-"

"No, Ozpin, I won't tell you about the child!" the lion faunus exploded. "By the Gods, he's a ten-year old boy! I know you're always on the look-out for new talents to throw away in your never-ending war against Her, but leave this kid out of it!" By this point he could no longer stop the words from coming out. "Yes, he has a slightly unusual semblance! But it doesn't matter! If he wishes so, he'll enlist in one of our Academies and then you'll be able to convince him – in seven years! Before that, leave that boy alone!"

Lionheart ended his rant short on breath, barely believing what just happened. He- had raised his voice at Ozpin. What did he do? He had to apologize, fix things while he still could. "O-Ozpin, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

The other man shook his head. "No, my friend, I am sorry. You're right, this was presumptuous of me. Our... difficult situation sometimes makes me lose sight of what should be the most important things," Ozpin let out a self-depreciating chuckle. "I am glad to have people like you to set me straight. But I must confess I'm surprised, Leo. He must really have made an impression on you."

"He is... he is easy to like," the faunus finally admitted. "But I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted. It's just – I've been under a great deal of stress lately, and I'm afraid I let it get to me."

"Think nothing of it," Ozpin replied. "You can always talk to me if you want to. I know you have a difficult position, so if I can do anything to make things easier, let me know."

"I will. Thank you Ozpin," Leonardo answered, feeling utterly spent. With one last nod, the two men disconnected the call, making him free to collapse in his chair, grabbing his head with both hands. What was he going to do?

I know you're a good person.

Maybe... maybe he didn't have to do anything, he realized. It was just as he said, the boy had the slightly rare ability to manipulate dust, and that was it. That spark from earlier had only seemed silver under the ambient light, there was nothing special about it. Anyone would agree that thinking otherwise would be absurd. Yes he decided, he really shouldn't bother Salem with insignificant details.

And perhaps, if he repeated it to himself enough times, he might even end up believing it.

***​

Ozpin ended the call with a pensive expression on his face. Well, he supposed he had earned that admonishment. He was well aware he could come across as overly eager when it came to promising youngsters, but Leonardo had been right that ten year old was pushing it. Even admitting a fifteen year-old at Beacon had been a questionable decision – and the Gods knew Glynda had questioned it - and at least miss Rose had demonstrated prior willingness to fight off crime before he even approached her.

Still, it was clear his old friend was going through a rather hard time. Understandable, really, but Ozpin probably shouldn't remain passive about it. Perhaps he could send Qrow to assist him? The man was overworked as it was, but perhaps-

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of his office elevator opening, making way for Glynda Goodwitch in the room, the stern huntress ever the picture of professionalism.

"Professor Ozpin, your guest has arrived."

"Excellent. You can come in," he said to the silhouette still waiting inside the elevator.

The man answered his invitation, taking a few cautious steps inside the office. The newcomer bowed his head before speaking in a solemn voice.

"Headmaster, thank you for receiving me. My name is Artorius Collbrande, and I want to request your help."

End of Part Two: a Flame amidst Darkness​

 

[Macros]

The Pursuing Hunters

***​

For the first time in a week, Zaveid allowed himself to relax a bit.

The small inn in the middle of Loegres made for a reassuring, if rather cramped setting. The wind malak couldn't help but appreciate the irony of knowing that this unassuming establishment, built in the shadow of the Royal Castle of Midgand, was perhaps the safest place from the law one could find – and that meant the safest place from the Abbey's reach. The ideal place for fugitives such as Zaveid to catch their breaths.

Under normal circumstances, he would have had little need for such a refuge. Zaveid had spent years giving the Exorcists the slip - and when some were lucky enough to catch up to him, he was more than willing to provide a good beatdown to his pursuers. But over the last week, the Abbey's dogs had been unusually persistent, dogging his every step across the seas, in too great a number for Zaveid to be confident in his ability to punch his way out of trouble. He supposed infiltrating into their secret island doubling up as a portal toward their very own private dimension was bound to piss them off.

Still, Zaveid would probably have taken up his chances and not involve anyone else into his problems had he been alone. But for the first time in a long, long while, he had a travelling companion. Sitting across the table and looking into his plate with a vacant face – perhaps tinted by the slightest bit of curiosity? - was the silver-haired malak child he rescued from Melchior's clutches. The newly christened Silva had stuck with him ever since, even though Zaveid suspected it was more due to him having no clue on how to be alone than a real proof of affection.

No matter, Zaveid would win him over yet. If there was one thing he was confident in – aside from his good looks, terrific skills, world-savvy knowledge and general awesomeness - it was his way with children.

And in his experience, much like women, the way to a kid's heart often went through his stomach. "What's the matter, kid? Food's not to your taste?"

The malak child raised his head, a somewhat worried look in his blue eyes. "I'm- not really sure."

Zaveid sighed. That had been the answer to most of his questions over the course of the week. The kid might have been freed from the Abbey, but their hold on his mind was still strong. After years of complete servitude, it was no wonder the little guy had so much trouble even doing something as simple as expressing likes and dislikes. That could have been him, Zaveid reminded himself not for the first time. That would have been him had he not been rescued, all these years ago. And now it was time to repay the favour.

That was what Aifread would have done.

"Don't force yourself. If you're hungry, eat. If you don't like it, I'll ask for something else. Still," the wind malak grinned. "All that food spattered over your face tells me you don't seem to dislike it too much, eh?"

Silva's eyes widened in surprise, before he brought his hands to his mouth, furiously wiping his mouth clean to Zaveid's delight. Finally, progress!

His moment of triumph was cut short by the sound of the tavern's door slamming open, letting in a dishevelled Benwick, whose gaze immediately zero-ed in on him.

"Zaveid! I got your message. Where's the First Mate?!"

It was hard for the wind malak to not pity the guy. The pirate's youthful face was wracked with worry, his usually unkempt blonde hair even more in disarray than usual. Even the bird nesting in his large hat seemed frazzled. Yet Zaveid could offer little in the way of reassurances.

"Don't know. Last time I saw Eizen and his group, we were all fleeing Innominat and the exorcists from that pocket dimension they had set up. I went through the portal to leave this place first, and they didn't – or couldn't – follow."

"But then," Benwick stammered "does that mean the First Mate and the others are-"

"Hey, we can't be sure of anything yet," Zaveid reassured him. "Besides, Eizen and his bunch are tough. For all we know, they just ended up dropping somewhere else and are on their way back to the Van Eltia."

The wind malak had to admit though, the odds didn't look good. If Eizen had managed a successful escape, he probably would have contacted Benwick by now – he'd have an easier time doing so than Zaveid. That it had not happened increased the likelihood that Magilou's Menagerie had been captured at best, killed at worst. He nonetheless tried to remain hopeful, pulling a chair for the young man to fall onto.

"Here, try not to worry too much, will ya?" he said, offering a glass of whiskey to the pirate. "I asked Tabatha to look into this, she should have answers for us soon."

As if summoned by that very sentence, the old woman entered the common room. With her plain dark dress, her grey hair put in a simple bun and a kind and wrinkled face, Tabatha Baskerville certainly didn't cut an imposing figure. Yet as the head of the infamous Bloodwings, the chief – and possibly last – underground movement acting in opposition to the Abbey, there were few people as well-informed as her across all the Kingdom.

"Glad to see our young guest seems to enjoy himself," the newcomer said with a smile, looking at Silva. "And I'm glad to see someone from the Van Eltia could join our meeting", she added, nodding at Benwick.

The latter seemed ready to throw himself at Tabatha in search of answers, but Zaveid preempted him. "If it isn't my favourite old coot! You got any answers for me?"

"For you dear, always," she answered. "First, let me reassure you. As far as I know, no-one among your missing friends are dead – nor are they in the Abbey's hands."

"Tha-that's great news!" Benwick exclaimed. "Where are they then? We need to get there fast!"

"That might prove difficult," the inn's proprietess sighed. "According to my sources, they have left this world entirely. The portal they crossed sent them to an entirely different place, one that the Exorcists have been hard at work to find."

Zaveid couldn't help but let out an appreciative whistle. "That bastard managed to get stranded into another world entirely? This 'Reaper's Curse' of his really is no joke."

"Wait, another world? Is that even a thing?" Benwick looked flabbergasted. He could actually remember the First Mate rambling about theories and ancient scholars speaking of such a thing, but had kind of dismissed it as another of Eizen's passing fancy.

The malak tended to be really passionate about the latest book he would read.

"It is very much a 'thing', it would seem," Tabatha said, "and the Legate Melchior apparently managed to exhume an Arte able to reach that distant land. Details are scarce on how he managed this. All I could learn was that it involved the previous head of the Exorcists." She paused. "As we speak, Artorius Collbrande and his two Legates have apparently crossed over to that new world, with a sizable force of Exorcists."

Frankly, Zaveid cared little about the how. All that mattered was that there was a way. "So you're sayin' the Abbey got a portal, and that all their big guys aren't around to defend it. Well then! Guess all that's left to do is storm the place and follow!" The wind malak cracked his knuckles, eager to jump back into action.

"I'm afraid it won't be so simple," Tabatha chastised him. "The Abbey opened the rift in the Empyrean Throne. As you might remember, the temple is defended by a powerful barrier. One that can only be broken by four Greater Malakhim working in concert."

Zaveid couldn't help but swear. "I thought we got rid of it ! If they got it back up again- well that's a problem."

Four greater malakhim. That was why Velvet Crowe and her group of misfits had sought him out several months ago. And the three others that helped in this endeavour were now on the wrong side of the Rift.

"Where the hell are we going to find three more malakhim?!" Benwick pointed at the obvious. "We were lucky last time, but now-"

Tabatha shook her head. "I am afraid I won't be able to help you there. The Abbey's control on Malakhim is tight, and-"

"Maybe- I can help."

Three pairs of eyes turned toward Silva, who was speaking up for the first time in this conversation. The child blushed under this newfound attention, but continued nonetheless while looking at the ground. "Mistress Theresa said I- qualified as a Greater Malak. I don't know what it means, but I want to help you. If I can."

"Well aren't you a Godsend!" Zavied grinned before afectionately patting the kid's head. "As long as you're sure that's what you want to do, I'll gladly take your help." Silva gave a shy nod. "Well that's two! As for the others," he turned toward Benwick, "maybe Grimoirh can help?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" It was hard to believe that an unassuming Normin would count as a Greater Malak, but then again, Bienfu had been one, so it was still a possibility. "Even if she does, that still leaves us one Malak short."

Silence. Zaveid tried to remember any old acquaintance that would make the bill, only to come up short. If only he could find a way to-

"Oh no."

Benwick seemed to have come to a conclusion on his own, and didn't appear to like it. Still. "Any idea then?" Zaveid said. "Spit it out!"

"Well- I might know someone – know of someone. But if we ask her-" Benwick gulped. "No, we can't! Even if we save the first mate that way, he'll kill me!"

Well that was a mood. "Don't be so overdramatic, man!" Zaveid laughed. "Surely it can't be that bad."

"No, you don't understand!" Benwick was literally shaking. "When some crew members joked about inviting her on the Van Eltia, the first mate almost choked them! And then he threatened to throw anyone with similar ideas overboard!"

Huh. To think Eizen could be bent out of shape over a girl. Zaveid swore to himself to never let the pirate live it down. "Well, it's either risking your first mate's wrath, or never seeing him again. What will you choose?"

For a long minute, Benwick seemed to actually hesitate over which option to pick, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Fine."

"Atta boy. So, who's Mystery Girl?"

Benwick steeled himself. "Eizen's sister. Her name is Edna."



Notes: Well, it's been ages. I'm afraid I have no good excuses for the *checks* two years hiatus, apart from the usual 'busy with life' stuff. But I found the time and the will to finally kick myself back into gear. So, if you're a new reader, welcome aboard, and if you're an old one, you have all my gratitude for being willing to pick up this story again.

Also, not really happy with this chapter. I spent hours writing and rewriting this piece - and the one that will follow. But after a while, I just have to accept that if I do not settle for what I have now, I could spend another two years procrastinating - and with no guarantee that the end result would even be better than what I have now. So here we go, feel free to tear into it, and any criticism you might have is welcome.