Miles cracked his neck as he was still trying to wake up as Ozpin had called a priority meeting with everybody the moment the sun rose. It wasn’t labeled as super urgent, just a meeting to discuss something important. Miles reached the elevator and held the door open as Christy and Ty reached the elevator just before the doors closed.
“I feel like we’ve been spending way too much time in this one building” Miles said with a yawn. “Why does Ozpin want us to meet with him so early?”
“Got me” Ty said as he leaned against the side of the elevator fighting to stay awake. “Something really crazy must have happened last night to make him want to have our meeting be this morning instead of this afternoon like we had planned.”
“Do you still want to have that meeting with everybody in the amphitheater like you mentioned last night Miles?” Christy asked as she tried to deal with her morning hair.
“I hope we can. I don’t want to keep putting this thing on the back burner.” With that, the elevator reached Ozpin’s office and they walked into the main room. Everybody from Teams NEMN, JCTB, and BEAT was already there. But to Miles’ surprise, the members of Team GASH were present as well, with Hera standing right next to Professor Ozpin.
“Ah, you made it” Ozpin said with a smile. “Now we can begin.”
“About time you guys showed up” Jacob said jokingly.
“I only woke up fifteen minutes ago” Miles said with another yawn. “Cut me some slack.”
“And you let him sleep in Blake?” Yang said elbowing her friend.
“Not my fault that I wake up earlier and start my day sooner than he does” Blake said folding her arms with annoyance.
“But if you had seen that Ozpin wanted us to meet up why didn’t you wake me up?” Miles asked as he found an open seat.
“Ozpin sent the message after I had left to get some breakfast.”
“These trivial pieces of information are not important right now” Ozpin said as he stood up. “Last night, I received new information regarding the whereabouts of the Relic of Death, and how we can claim it for our own.” The room fell silent, as everyone turned their eyes to Professor Ozpin.
“I thought you said that the Relic of Death was hidden someplace we could never find it?” Jacob said putting his hand on his chin.
“Yes, it was hidden, but in a place where only one person could ever hope to find it.”
“It’s too early for riddles Ozpin” Terra said leaning back in her chair. “Just get to the point already.”
“I second that” Brooklyn said raising her hand in the air.
“Very well then” Ozpin said as he took a sip from his coffee. “Last night, young Hera here came to me with some interesting information regarding some dreams that she had been having as of late.”
“If my daughter is having weird dreams,” Natalie said leaning forward, “why is she going to you to talk about them?”
“Sorry mom” Hera said as she grabbed her arm. “I had meant to talk to you about it, but I always felt like I needed to talk to Professor Ozpin specifically about these dreams.”
“And right you were to do so child” Ozpin said placing his hand on Hera’s shoulder. “For as it turns out, Hera is far more special than we realized. As it turns out, she is the vessel in which the spirit of my sister Salem lives on.” Everybody shot up out of their seats, nobody said anything initially however.
“Excuse me what?” Natalie remarked, finally breaking the silence.
“How is this possible?” Evan said while running his hands through his hair. “You said that Salem gave up her existence in order to save the world back when Mortem was about to destroy the entire world because he was too powerful or something?”
“Wait I’m lost” Bovia said raising her hand. “What’s all of this about Salem and spirits and sisters?”
“Oh yeah,” Ember said wincing a little bit, “nobody ever got Bovia or Terra up to speed on what exactly our parents went through back in the day.”
“Also don’t forget the fact that now we’re bringing all the members of Team GASH in on this big secret as well” Ty said rolling his eyes.
“Well, I had Beanie record several documents detailing what exactly happened when the Order first attacked years ago” Ozpin said as he took another sip of coffee. “So for anyone who is confused or lost, I can provide you with detailed explanations of what transpired to lead to this point. However, for the sake of not wasting more time, I would like to go over what exactly was said to me by my sister through Hera.”
“So how exactly does this work?” Christy said as she walked over and started inspecting Hera. “Is this like split personalities between the two of them? Or does Salem silently influence Hera’s actions and decisions?”
“Actually, my sister is just an observer. It would seem that the power of the Wizard that was given to Salem was not the only thing necessary for keeping this world whole, but the soul of Salem as well is a critical piece in ensuring that this world remains intact. However, given the fact that Salem’s original body was destroyed at the Battle of Beacon, there was no vessel for her soul to return to once Zenoma Mortem lost the full power of the Wizard. So, she found a brand-new life form that she could attach her soul to and remain an observer for the rest of the vessel’s life for eternity. Watching the world change, unable to truly interact with it. However, it would seem that she has the power to share memories with the vessel through dreams. Salem used this to perhaps push Hera towards me so that she could let me know that she was still alive. However, due to the recent resurgence of the Order, she felt it paramount to contact me and help us find the Relic of Death before the enemy does. She knows where it is hidden, and it is hidden deep within the Dark Realm.”
“You mean the dimension where you sealed the lifeless body of Mortem years ago,” Ruby observed, “the same dimension where you said it would be impossible for normal people to get in or out of without magical help?”
“That is true, I did say that. However, that was back before I knew that Salem had a council of humans who served her goals and provided intel about our world to her. It would seem that it is possible that with enough protection, humans can pass through Grimm pools and enter into the Dark Realm unharmed. As a result, anybody with the right equipment can pass through into the Dark Realm and claim whatever powers are available to them, including the Relic.”
“That does line up with some intel we got years ago back when the Order looked like it was about to pull off a comeback” Jacob said stepping forward. “Ty, Brooklyn and I had tracked down Dr. Watts to Mistral because of his former ties with Salem’s council. Tyrian, another former member, had been recruited to be one of the new four leaders of the Order alongside Mortem’s old lieutenants until they all were mysteriously found tied up and placed on our doorstep for the police to find. The two of them were both reported being near areas with high infestations of Grimm. It’s possible they know the path to the Dark Realm if Tyrian shared that information with the Order.”
“Which is precisely why I called you all here so quickly. The Order is clearly trying to gather all of the Relics of our world, and we can’t allow them to do that.”
“Let me see if I’m understanding this correctly,” Ruby said stepping forward, “you want us to jump in headfirst into a pool of Grimm goo to try and find a needle in a haystack we know nothing about?”
“A good observation Mrs. Rose” Ozpin said as he grabbed his cane. “However, we will have two advantages. First of all, we have my magic on our side to open the door and lead us into the Dark Realm. Secondly, Salem assured us that once we got to the Dark Realm, she would take care of everything.”
“How exactly?” Arri said scratching her head. “Didn’t you say Salem is stuck inside my sister’s head?”
“Salem’s power is greater in the Dark Realm. She told me that once we arrive with Hera, she will take care of everything.”
“That doesn’t exactly give us a definitive answer…” Aurora said folding her arms.
“Are we all just going to dance around the real big issue of what Ozpin is suggesting here?” Yang said as she walked in front of everybody. “Are we really okay with our youngest children waltzing right into the birthplace of all Grimm in existence?”
“That’s a good point” Blake said joining Yang. “Fighting in the war is one thing, this is our home. We know it forwards and backwards. But this is a whole new reality. Another world if you will. And we know absolutely nothing about it! For all we know it could have poison in the atmosphere! Or it could be filled with dangerous pitfalls! Oh and lest we forget, it’s where every single Grimm in existence is created and sent to our world!”
“I understand you all have concerns,” Ozpin said as he tried to calm the situation down, “but I can assure you, we will….”
“You can assure?” Miles said as he drew one of his swords and pointed it at Ozpin. “Not thirty years ago we were fighting against the hordes of monsters that your sister commanded! And now you expect us to fully trust sending our children into the literal dark half of our world in order to find a single item?”
“I understand there is reason for concern, but Salem did return to our side in the critical moment against Lord Mortem. And she has assured me that she cannot do anything to harm us even if she wanted to.”
“Yeah, right now in our dimension she can’t, but once we go to where she is at her strongest, doesn’t that leave us wide open to all kinds of trouble?!”
“She cannot fully control Hera’s body. Therefore, she will not be able to do anything that will directly harm us by her own hand. Besides, if she is attempting to trick us, I do have several spells that I can use to ensure that she remains cooperative.”
“I still don’t like the idea of sending the students into someplace so dangerous” Christy said stepping forward as well. “Not just as a friend to these children and their families, but also as one of your faculty members Ozpin. We can’t just endanger the children like this.”
“I understand that element, but I can promise you, everybody will be safe. I will make sure of it. And I would prefer if we made our preparations now rather than later. For all we know, the Order could already be there searching for the Relic. And if they get their hands on it, regardless of what they plan to do with all of them combined, on its own, the Relic of Death is easily the most deadly of the four.”
“Makes you wonder how it got the word death in it” Ty said sarcastically.
“This is serious” Ozpin said as he walked around his desk to where everybody was standing. “The Relic of Death was sealed in the Dark Realm because that is the only place in this entire universe where it can’t fully destroy everything. But if it is brought back here, it could potentially destroy everything if used in the proper sequence.”
“What the heck?” Evan yelled at Ozpin, “why would something that powerful exist?! How could something that powerful even exist? Better yet, why would we bring it back here?!”
“The gods of Light and Darkness created a balance. Just as the Relic of Death is hidden in the Dark Realm, the Relic of Life is hidden somewhere here in our world. I have had no prior experience with the Relics outside of ensuring they remained hidden mind you, but I always was told by my father the Wizard how he would use the Relics to reset this world over and over again, killing each and every incarnation of humans before he had me and Salem.”
“Pleasant thought…..” Terra said shuddering a little bit.
“However, the gods revealed to me and my sister of another role that the Relics play. If all four of them are brought together, the gods of Light and Darkness will be summoned here. They told me and Salem only to do so in case of an absolute emergency, such as if the universe was about to collapse or something of that nature.”
“And you didn’t think to call them here when Mortem was literally about to destroy the world with his power trip?” Natalie said as she pointed at Ozpin.
“We were dead Natalie. You were there, you saw us.”
“Oh yeah, right.”
“I know this is a big gamble. The Order has been quiet for weeks now, we just took back Mistral, and things seem to be going our way. But the Order isn’t going to lie in wait forever. If they know about the Relics, then they know about the power that not just one of them, but all of them combined. They know what they can accomplish. And because of that, we cannot allow them to act whatsoever. We must secure all the Relics before the Order can even think about getting new ones or reclaiming the ones they have already lost.” Everybody remained silent, still processing everything that Ozpin had told them. “This is the job. You all took an oath to protect this world. And in order to protect this world, we must take this step. Please, this is something we must do.” Everybody still remained silent. Then, Natalie stepped forward.
“I mean, I’ve been dead before. A new dimension or something like that doesn’t sound too out there for me. Plus, we’ll have the advantage of Ozpin’s magic on our side. I say we go for it.”
“You do realize,” Yang said walking up next to Natalie, “you’d be sending your youngest daughter, all of our children, into a mission that we may not come back from.”
“Well, that’s how it goes with pretty much every mission, right?”
“We didn’t stop when we went face to face with a literal god years ago” Brooklyn said stepping forward. “And I say we shouldn’t stop now. One way or another, things are going to probably get worse before they get better. This way, we can stop the problem at the source instead of waiting for it to get worse.”
“As much as I hate to admit it,” Ruby said stepping forward as well, “she’s right. We need to deal with this before the Order has the means to kill us all for good this time. I say we go.” Everybody in the room, while having reservations, all nodded in agreement.
“How many troops are we bringing with us Ozpin?” Miles asked as he put his sword away. “Probably going to need a whole Atlesian platoon just to deal with all the Grimm in there.”
“Unfortunately, the magic required to open a gate to the Dark Realm is not powerful enough to allow more than a few teams through the gate. Alongside that, the Relic of Connection while powerful, cannot open a gate to the Dark Realm without a Relic to help open the way. Even if it could open a path, we would have to take the Relic with us into battle against the Order. And if we lose it while in the Dark Realm, well then we may as well start a new civilization in that reality.”
“Not exactly comforting….” Yang said as she grasped her robot arm.
“Couldn’t we just go through a pool of Grimm if that happened?” Jacob asked.
“Not without proper equipment and a whole lot of searching. Alongside that, it’s possible that those who served on Salem’s council had adverse effects of traversing through the pools of Grimm that we did not know about, and I am not willing to take that risk.”
“So it’s just a handful of adults and kids trying to navigate a literal hellscape before the bad guys do” Ty said with a sigh. “That’s flipping great.”
“I trust no other teams than you all here” Ozpin said as he sat back down behind his desk. “And I know I just woke you all up to tell you we need to take on another mission, so take a moment to finally wake up. Get some breakfast in all of you, get prepared for the mission, and meet up in the courtyard in thirty minutes. Any concerns?” Nobody said anything, so Ozpin simply smiled and said, “Then I will see you when it is time.” With that said, everybody got back on the elevators and made their descent back to their own dorms and accommodations, knowing full well that they would need to be prepared for anything.
Hera strapped on her travel pack and made sure her gloves had enough ammunition to last her more than just one fight. As she got ready to join Ozpin in the courtyard, she saw the rest of her teammates preparing for the journey as well.
“You know,” Hera said grabbing her arm, “you guys don’t have to come with.”
“Where’s that coming from?” Aurora said with a smirk. “You honestly think we’re just going to let you do this alone?”
“I mean, our parents all seemed pretty upset about the fact that we were even considering joining them on this journey.”
“Of course. That’s because they’re our parents. And even if Ozpin didn’t specifically say that we had to come along, he also didn’t specifically say we can’t come along.”
“You’re our teammate Hera” Sora said as he strapped on his boots. “And even though we just started school, we need to stick together no matter what. That’s how teams work.”
“There is no way that we are going to let you go alone cousin” Gray said with a smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “We’re Team GASH. If we’re going to break all of Team BEAT’s records, then we had better do it together.” Everybody smiled, feeling much better after the tension had finally been cut. They then left the dorms and made their way to the courtyard where everyone was waiting for them.
“Sorry we took so long!” Hera said trying to hide the fact that she was embarrassed.
“I could have been here sooner,” Aurora joked as she started using her Semblance to run back and forth between her other three teammates, “but I didn’t want to disrupt the whole team dynamic and all that!”
“Aurora,” Sora said with a sigh, “weren’t you the one who started talking about the importance of teamwork first back there?”
“Shut up Sora! You’re going to make me look bad!” Everyone laughed, but the sense of seriousness returned as they all gathered around Ozpin in the courtyard.
“Well then,” he said as he raised his cane up. “Here we go.” Striking his cane into the ground, several magical symbols lit up beneath their feet, and began hovering. They then began to spin around, creating a giant white funnel, surrounding everybody. Then, almost in an instant, the funnel turned black, and collapsed into the ground. Now everybody stood no longer at Beacon Academy, but in the middle of a plain in the Dark Realm. It was truly an inspiring sight. The rocks were blood red, the dust a fine crimson, and only the pools of Grimm ooze provided any form of color beyond a base of red. Even the sun, while clearly not red in and of itself, was no match for all of the red it illuminated, making everything seem red, no matter where you looked.
“You know, for a place called the Dark Realm,” Ruby said as she took off her hood, “I expected something a bit more….black?”
“That’s not important right now!” Miles yelled as he drew his blades. “Look alive!” Everybody looked up at one of the ridges just ahead of them and saw that several Beowolves were waiting on top of the ridge, their growls getting louder and louder.
“Well,” Jacob said as he prepared his weapons, “we may be in another dimension, but at least the enemy is still pretty much the same.” Everybody had their weapons ready, just waiting for the first move to be made by either side.
“Wait!” Hera’s voice cut through the tension, causing everybody to turn back towards her and see that she was now glowing with a red aura, separate from her own. She then walked past everybody and towards the Grimm. Once she was clear of everybody, one of the Grimm started barreling down the side of the cliff towards Hera. Natalie was about to launch herself towards Hera to cut down the creature, but Ozpin held her back.
“What are you doing?” Natalie yelled as she tried to get past Ozpin.
“Wait” he said as he watched Hera’s movement with great intent. The Grimm reached the bottom of the cliff and continued to run straight towards Hera. But she didn’t flinch one inch. She simply raised her hand at the charging beast, and said with what sounded like two voices,
“Hold.” The Grimm came to a screeching halt and tilted its head at Hera. Hera then walked towards the Grimm and started to pet it, using a large portion of the red aura that was surrounding her body. This aura passed along the Grimm’s body, causing it to howl into the sky, resulting in all the other Grimm at the top of the cliff to howl as well.
“Such loyal creatures” a voice came out of Hera’s mouth, but it didn’t belong to her.
“Salem?” Ozpin asked as he walked over to where Hera was standing.
“Good to see you brother” Salem said as she continued to speak through Hera’s body. Natalie walked over to Hera and started inspecting her and this new strange red glow emanating from her body.
“Hey, I thought you said that you couldn’t control her body?!” Natalie said concerned once she realized who was present in this moment.
“I don’t have full control” Salem said calmly. “I am still just an observer in the body of this vessel. However, this is where I am most powerful, so I can at least talk and help you all out on this mission.”
“And what about what you just did with the Grimm?” Brooklyn asked as she poked one of the Beowolves with her weapon and it didn’t even flinch.
“These creatures were the closest thing I had to companions until I started forming my council years ago” Salem said with a sigh. “I learned to control them during my time here, as well as communicate. They may seem mindless, but they all have an innate drive to serve the destructive will of the god of Darkness. And seeing how the god of Darkness created this place, the Grimm are perfect guides to finding the Relic of Death.”
“You never found the relic yourself sister?” Ozpin asked surprised.
“In all honesty,” Salem said with a smirk, “I was so confident that I could defeat you using my own methods that I never bothered to truly use the Relic for myself no matter how easy it would have been to allow my followers to take it back to your world and strike it down in an instant.”
“Are we seriously still blindly trusting this woman?” Christy said with an annoyed tone.
“However,” Salem continued to speak ignoring Christy’s complaint, “the Grimm here are all well versed in the lay of this land. They can take us to where the Relic is kept. From there, you can take it for yourselves and be out of here before anyone from the Order even arrives.”
“Very good” Ozpin said with a smile. “Lead on sister.” With that, everybody fell into place behind the Grimm led by Salem/Hera and prepared for a long walk.
Several scout drones flew around the vicinity, each of them beeping and chirping as they returned to their home base. The soldier operating them linked them with the computer and uploaded several images to a nearby monitor.
“Looks like the drones have found something Lord Imperia” the soldier said as Lord Imperia started examining the images.
“How intriguing” she said with a sick smile. “Two birds with one stone.” She quickly turned and made her way to the communications tent. When she got there, she grabbed a radio receiver and turned it on.
“Lord Tenebris, can you hear me? I repeat, Lord Tenebris, can you hear me?” The radio remained silent for a moment, then crackled to life.
“I’m here Lord Imperia” Lord Tenebris responded over the radio. “What have you found?”
“Some guests have arrived early” Lord Imperia said with a smile. “I am sending you the scout drone that found them so that it can lead you to where they are going. It stands to reason that they are going to be making a beeline for the Relic. Make sure they don’t spot you.”
“Lord Imperia, may I ask who Ozpin brought with him?”
“They are all here Lord Tenebris. All of the pretenders and betrayers that you once held so dear. I am not interested in prisoners, but the Relic takes priority. Do not let your own vengeance keep you from accomplishing the larger goal.”
“As you wish Lord Imperia. I will report back in once I have recovered the Relic.” Lord Imperia turned off the radio, and then grabbed her staff and made her way over to Lord Sangui.
“Lord Tenebris will be dealing with the Relic. The scout drones have found our second objective.”
“How do you wish to proceed my lord?” Lord Sangui said as he cracked his fists.
“Bring a few troops along to protect the containment pod. We don’t know what will happen once we find the body. We also need to ensure that we complete this task before Lord Tenebris gets back. See to it Lord Sangui. I’ll be ready whenever you are.”
“As you wish my lord.”
prev chapter
![[send message]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/mail.png){kind=small}
![[befriend]](https://www.writerscafe.org/images/friend.png){kind=small}
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Flag Writing
