Episode 3: Chapter 8: Requiem

Chapter 8 of Episode 3 of Order of Seasons

Natalie wasn’t sure how to react. Her first reaction was that she fell down to her knees, then quickly got back up again and started running towards Ember, wanting to hug her.

            “Whoa! Slow down there kid!” Ember said raising her hand and stopping Natalie dead in her tracks. And it wasn’t like she raised her hand and Natalie stopped on her own, it was as if she was holding Natalie back with the force or something of that nature. Ember then walked towards Natalie, and placed a bracelet on her left wrist. “Okay, now hug time.” The two of them embraced, and Natalie was crying uncontrollably. After a few minutes of this, they finally separated; Natalie dried her tears, and got a good look around the cathedral.

            “So what is this place? It looks like a giant church dedicated to my life or something like that.”

            “Actually, that’s pretty much what this place is. A giant final memorial to your life told entirely by stain glass windows.”

            “Wait, so that means…..”

            “Yeah. Technically, you died.” There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

            “So this is the afterlife? And there’s no way I can go back?”

            “Hold your horses for a few minutes champ. I did say you “technically” died, didn’t I?”

            “So you’re saying I can go back if I really want to?”

            “Yes, but I’m required by the laws of the afterlife to give you the tour and then let you make the final choice.”

            “Okay. I guess that makes sense.”

            “All right then. Follow me.”

 

 

 

 

Natalie had to take a second to let her eyes adjust to the bright light, but once everything came into focus, she recognized that they were standing in the middle of Aequo. It was exactly as she remembered it. The rows of houses, the way the streets and sidewalks were paved, everything was as it was back before it was all burned down. As the two of them continued to walk, Natalie felt like something was off.

            “Where is everybody?”

            “Well, as of right now, they are going about their daily lives here in the afterlife. Over there is the old Vevian restaurant, popping with business as usual, over there’s the town square and down that way is the park where a lot of your old friends are playing right now!”

            “Okay, but why can’t I see any of that?”

            “It’s part of the deal. If you ever come in contact with the dead outside of your guide and select souls while here, it doesn’t matter if your body back in the real world has any form of spark left in it, you would be forever bound to this world. That’s why I stopped you from hugging me for a split second. If you had touched me before I put on that bracelet, you would have remained dead forever. But in turn, until you make your choice, you can’t see anybody around here unless you decide to stay for good.”

            “Well that’s annoying. Shouldn’t I get the full experience if I want to make a decision about whether I stay here or go back?”

            “Normally, yes. But the thing is, there are a few people who got here a few days ago who want to speak to you directly.”

            “Who?”

            “You already know one of them.”

 

 

 

 

            “It’s your move Ozpin.”

            “I’m well aware Salem.” As he picked up the piece, he then turned his attention to the large gap in reality that was only twenty yards away from where they were sitting. Ozpin sighed with an annoyed tone. “He’s using the power again.” With a flick of his wrist, he sent a ray of energy that caused the crack to decrease in magnitude a little bit. As he turned back to the game, he noticed Salem giving him a look of contempt.

            “Why do you waste what energy you have left Ozpin? Just let the power run wild! Then maybe the world can reset and become better than before!”

            “You know I won’t condemn the people of the living world to extinction.”

            “You owe nothing to them! I swear, you are so delusional! The humans came for the power that Father possessed just like I said they would, they killed you and me for it, and you still want to protect them! Why?!  Let this fool tear reality to shreds! Then maybe you and I can get things back to the way they were supposed to be!”

            “We’re dead Salem. Not much we can do if reality does tear itself asunder. Besides, the fact that the tear can be found in this realm too means that if it breaks, it won’t just be the living world that suffers, but this world as well.”

            “You’re so pretentious Ozpin.”

            “Now you are just simply throwing around words Salem. I don’t think pretentious pertains to our discussion.”

            “You get what I mean!”

            “Usually you are far more composed. What’s bothering you Salem?”

            “We’re dead! That doesn’t bother you?!”

            “Honestly, I find it far more peaceful than father described it to us all those years ago.”

            “Oh yeah, I forgot he had that expedition to this realm before we were born. But that isn’t the point! We have been killed by humans! The same humans I wanted to destroy all those years ago! Why do you still stand with them?! Why is it that you care about them more than me?!”

            “I think our guest here can possibly shed some light on that reason.” Looking over towards some of the collection of spirit villages, Salem noticed an older Faunus leading a young girl dressed in blue towards their table.

            “Ozpin?”

            “Hello Natalie. I’m sorry we have to meet again in such strange circumstances.”

            “Who is this?” Natalie asked pointing at Salem.

            “This is my sister, Salem.”

            “YOU HAVE A SISTER?!”

            “Yes. Now before you just completely bombard us with questions, take a seat and I will be more than happy to explain everything to you.” With a flick of his wrist, Ozpin created two chairs and drinks out of pure light for Natalie and Ember. They sat down, and Ozpin began explaining everything.

 

 

 

 

            “So you sealed her away because she wanted to destroy the human race and if she did that would mean absolute extinction?”

            “That’s the short version of it, yes.”

            “Yeesh. When I got in trouble, my mom would send me flying into the wall with one of her weapons. I got off easy by comparison!”

            “Well, you didn’t try to destroy the world.”

            “True enough. So how do you know Ember Professor Ozpin?”

            “When you live as long as I have, you learn to make good friends from almost every walk of life.”

            “Professor Ozpin was one of the many secret donors to the Violet Troupe back in the day” Ember said taking a sip of her drink. “He would even help supply transportation and sometimes watch our performances whenever we were in town! He and I would sometimes even discuss what could be done to help the Faunus rights movement in Vale since it was considered a hot spot for early White Fang protests.”

            “Yes. Sad to say Ember, while we have taken strides, many Faunus still live in fear of the hatred that humans may have. One of my students wears a bow on her head in order to hide her true nature.”

            “That’s a shame. What type is she?”

            “She’s a cat Faunus named Blake Belladonna.”

            “I remember Blake. I met her once when I tried to convince her family to help with our troupe financially. Sadly, her parents declined my invitation. How is Blake doing?”

            “She’s doing great!” Natalie said interrupting. “She’s also totally dating my teammate, but neither of them will admit it!” She laughed as Ember smiled.

            “So what type of Faunus is he? Another cat? Maybe a monkey?”

            “Actually, he’s a human.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah. His name is Miles. And while he may be a bit of a crazy nut that’s kind of out of touch with the world, he’s still a good guy! He really does care about Blake, I know that much!”

            “I see. And what about you and Nathan? You find somebody like that?”

            “Yeah actually! Nathan found a girl who was practically made for him, and I met a girl who actually enjoys some of the stuff I do!” Salem then slammed her fist on the table and stood up.

            “Enough!  What is the purpose of this? Inviting two old dead associates of yours for what purpose Ozpin? Just to reminisce about old times? To try and make me see what humans can do or become?”

            “Geez, who stuffed an Ursa down your pants?” Salem was about to tell Natalie off for saying that, but then stopped short taking a closer look at her. She then sat back down, took a drink, then asked,

            “Tell me child, why do you exist?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Why do you feel the need to keep going? Or rather why did you? Why just live your life if you knew it was only going to lead to pain?”

            “Well, it wasn’t all bad. I mean, I got to know my family, I got to make some great friends who helped me get out of a very rough place, I even managed to find somebody I cared about back there! And plus, I can still go back if I want to! Or that’s at least what Ember told me.”

            “You can go back.” Ozpin said. “That much is true. But it is your choice.”

            “You make it sound like I don’t want to go back. My friends need me!” The group fell silent for a few minutes and then Ozpin stood up.

            “I had a feeling you would say that. And with that knowledge, I propose a way for you to defeat this new threat.”

            “You mean the guy who killed me? When I fought him, he didn’t seem that tough. Just had the aura of any other normal guy.”

            “That was before he absorbed the power of our father, the Wizard.”

            “He can do that?”

            “He did do it, but the power is not stable. It’s kind of like a teacup. Say you crack it, shatter it into several small pieces. You try to put it back together, but it never is perfect. You can see the cracks, and if you drop it again, it will break a lot easier that time around. It might not even hold together at all. That is what is happening with the rift you see before you.”

            “Yeah, I had been meaning to ask about that. What exactly is it?”

            “It is a tear in reality. Before Salem and I were born, our father was the most powerful being in the universe. You could say that he created it for the lack of a better term. But his power became fragmented and became me and my sister, and then later the Four Maidens. So by taking the aura of all of the different pieces and cramming them back together to create the power of the Wizard once again, it has made the universe unstable. That tear over there is what has been created as a response to the forced re-creation of the Wizard.”

            “So what does that mean? Kill him and then everything gets better?”

            “Not that easy. One of the pieces of being the Wizard is absolute immortality. You could get shot at by a million guns and all it would feel like is a gentle summer breeze. Only individual vessels can be truly killed. So you need to first reduce his aura to a single entity and then kill him.”

            “How is that possible?”

            “That rift over there is the key.” Ozpin said as he stood up walking towards the rift. “Given my powers, I can look into the world of the living and see what is happening. So once you find your friends and fight him again, I will enter the rift and break all the pieces apart.”

            “And that means?” Ember asked.

            “In short, I will sacrifice my existence to break apart the union of aura so that you can kill him and restore a sense of balance to the world.”

            “So, you die again?” Natalie said tilting her head in confusion.  “Where do you go after that? The after-afterlife?”

            “I don’t know. But what matters is stopping the enemy and saving humanity. So all you have to do is fight him, wear him down a bit, and I’ll do the rest from this end.”

            “All right then.” Natalie then got up and gave Ozpin a hug. “I’ll get our group ready for that.” Letting him go, she turned to Ember, and the two of them headed back towards the cathedral where Natalie woke up. As they left, Salem walked over to Natalie and tapped her on the shoulder.

            “Can I help you?” Natalie asked as Salem looked directly at her.

            “I just have one last question child. Why do you still side with the people who killed your family? All those you care about?”

            “Um….I don’t side with them.”

            “But humans killed them!”

            “I’m a human too. Just because something bad happens doesn’t exclusively mean it’s because of a certain species. It depends on the individual people who decide whether or not to do bad things.”

            “You really think it’s that simple?”

            “I mean, each person is different, so blaming a large group of people for something that most of them didn’t do seems kind of stupid, doesn’t it?” Salem just simply stood there and watched as Natalie walked away after that response. Ozpin walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

            “She looks just like Spring.” Salem said, completely surprised.

            “Her best friend is very similar as well.” Ozpin said. “That’s part of the reason why I picked them to fight you and whatever you had planned. I had hoped that once you launched your big attack, they would remind you of who you used to be and you would return to the same person I knew all those years ago.”

            “Things change Ozpin. Just like people. I was no different.”

            “We can still fix things. Salem, when this is all over and you return to the mortal world, I want you to see the school I started, to witness what humanity can do when brought together in the name of good.”

            “You started a school?”

            “I started it to mainly counter the army that you were raising in the dark realm. But I also started it as a means of trying to establish a code of honor for those who needed it most. Defenders of the world if you will.”

            “You still haven’t lost your corniness I see.”

            “It keeps things light.”

            “You’re such a dork.”

 

 

 

 

As they walked back into the cathedral, Natalie noticed that the bracelet she was wearing had fallen off and disappeared into light particles as it hit the ground. Ember then walked in with her and closed the door.

            “You sure you want to head back?” she asked as Natalie looked over the cathedral one last time.

            “My friends need me. If I can still help them, I think I should. But why was I the only one given this choice? Why not others?”

            “Others have been given the choice. Some of them have seen far more than you have and are tired of the living world. Some of them don’t have anything to go back to. You on the other hand, have a lot of life ahead of you and have friends who need you now more than ever.”

            “Why now more than ever?”

            “Well you died, so that’s not going to help them emotionally. Plus, you are the team leader, right?”

            “Well yeah, I guess that plays a role.”

            “You’ve got a long ways to go before you should stay here for good. I mean, most of these windows haven’t been filled yet! I look forward to seeing what the final product looks like!”

            “So, is this goodbye for the time being?”

            “You knew that to be true since you chose to go back.”

            “Fair enough.” Natalie was about to give Ember one last hug, but then remembered her warning about staying forever, so she refrained from that. “All right. How do I get out of here?”

            “Who knows? I never had a chance to try.” As soon as she said this, Natalie was enveloped in a beam of light and disappeared from the cathedral altogether.

            “Oh, and tell your brother I said hi!”

 

 

 

 

Natalie shot awake and the first thing she felt was a painful aching in her entire body. Like all of her energy had been completely drained away. She then collected herself, got up and looked around. All she could see was nothing but dead and injured bodies. Both from her side and the enemies. She then noticed that her weapon wasn’t anywhere nearby, so she started circling the tower trying to find it. As she turned a corner, she found the weapon lying next to the limp body of Beanie. Not sure if he was alive or dead, she walked over to him and checked for a pulse. For a split second, it seemed like he didn’t have one until she felt his aura kick in and start healing him. He then woke up and started coughing up a little blood.

            “Hey! Don’t move so much! I’ll get you out of here!” Natalie then picked him up and started carrying him towards the docks, hoping to find any form of transport out of Beacon. But as they reached the edge of the docks, an airship started flying overhead and aimed a spotlight right at the two of them. Unable to tell who it was, Natalie took out her weapon and prepared for the worst.

            “I’m not going to die again anytime soon.”

 

 

 

 

Blake and Weiss finished putting out the fire from last night while Miles helped Evan with preparing the last of the supplies.

            “You ready to go Miles?” Nathan asked walking forward.

            “We have to be. It’s been almost two days since the big battle; we need supplies for the injured. Plus, it seems as if most of the Order has pulled out of the city, so now might be the safest time to get what we need.”

            “Lead the way then.” Ruby said as she placed Crescent Rose in her holster. But before anything else happened, an airship appeared and began landing right next to their camp. Miles and Nathan stepped forward with weapons at the ready, not sure who was going to walk out the door. Then, the ramp door opened, and there was a bright light, they couldn’t tell who it was.

            “WHO ARE YOU?!” Miles yelled as he tried to adjust his eyes.

            “Someone you apparently need in order to get things done around here.” As the light dimmed, everybody in the general area looked up and recognized Natalie as she walked down the ramp heading towards the group. “Hey guys. I’m back.”

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Shep]

At last some good news, I can breathe little better-knowing things are going to work out. A very good chapter with lots of information. now I am ready to continue on to the next chapter and see the Lord Mortem get what's coming to him. Please be kind and return the love.