#theverseslidingquest

"You're sure your going to be okay?"

Despite being the third time you've asked this question, Ruby only smile and tells you that yes, they will be. Next to her, Yang raises both thumbs at you.

You still aren't really convinced, but you guess you'll have to deal with it.

In all frankness, you don't trust these "internet friends" a lot. If it was only up to you, you'd at least ask to talk to them first before accepting to for them at the airport at six am.

But this isn't about you.

Ruby is smiling brightly, a real smile for once, holding tightly a corgi against her -You don't even know where is that thing from, it just happened to be here and your daughters needed it and begged you and you couldn't bring yourself to refuse. Your second daughter is too, playing with her pen -she's, unfortunately, not able to sign yet.

It's so good, to see them being so happy again, compared to seeing them looking around and getting startled at the lightest sound like anything would come out of a bench and attack them.

You're cut from your thoughts by a bark, quickly followed by a second, louder one.

"It's them! It's them!"

You're... definitively surprised by what you see. 

There is a boy, tall, rather handsome if you ask yourself, pushing a wheelchair.

There is a girl, in said wheelchair, babbling with haste in a language you do not recognize.

There is a blonde and there is a redhead, the former walking funny and the latter having a large scar across her cheek.

There is a person in black and a person in white, one with a mark you'd recognize everywhere on their left arm -the same mark Yang have on her throat- and the other with another across her eye.

And when they all start laughing and hug each others, the dog yelping in happiness and your daughters so bright, you understand.

Whatever happened to your daughters, also happened to them.

Whatever your daughters went thought, it was with them. 

And, now, you aren't that upset that they keep lying to you and pretend they'd forgotten what had happened- because they aren't alone to share this burden.

Perhaps, you think, getting up so early to run to meet these people wasn't so much of a bad idea, after all.

They are good people, you know it.

[117]: Well, Ruby, moment of truth. This is it. Shake her hand. You're going to be home, hopefully, when you do. The sky will be familiar, you'll recognize the air, you'll be home, and free, with no more of those monsters behind you. And everyone will be safe, hopefully, and you'll be able to fix that bike from the start of all this. You'll be free. This has been one great adventure, with it's ups and downs, but if you could go back and not go at all, would you? Well, there's one last thing.

Your hands clasp against the opened one

And the pain in your head explodes.

The pain is barely bearable, the whole world turning blank to your eyes. The ground give up under your feet, and you fall.

Maybe you scream. You don't know. No sounds can reach your ears anymore, due the deafening screams around you - orders, advices, suggestions - all addressing you, only you, and you don't know why you don't understand -

Out of all the voices, one stand out. Maybe this one was more recent. Maybe it was just louder than the others. You don't know. You don't care.

[117]: If this is the last chance I get to say it, I just want you to know: I'm going to miss being one of the voices in your head. But I'm glad you get to go home. Good luck, Ms. Rose. I'm rooting for you, whatever may come.

A few tears escape your eyes when you finally understand. A last thought crosses your mind, yours and only yours, rolling on your tongue and getting muttered in this void, despite knowing that nobody will ever hear it.

"Thank you all, for keeping us alive.."

- - -

Her backs hits a familiar ground with a thud.

A young girl is laying on her back on a familiar ground. A few minutes ago, she was fighting for her life and trying to save her whole crew. Now, staring at a dusty ceiling next to a broken bike, she knows exactly where she is.

You let out a wince at the sudden pain going through your brain. Your head fills itself with visions of what you could do, if you got back, if you picked up the scythe you'd dropped flying, if you aimed at the heads. You think your body is shaking, but you don't move yet.

You still have the choice.

[116] Get to the finish, if your partner is still alive you both get out right?

You turn your head toward the battle. The fight is still raging. But the rules seemed to have changed; instead of being a fight to stop your team to go forward, now it looks like a fight to stop the Betweeners to reach you.

You turn your head toward the top of the mountain. It's close, closer than you've ever been before. This is probably a one-time opportunity.

You make your choice.

You really, really hope one reaching the top is enough to save the whole team.

- - -

It's cold.

It's the first thing you register once you stop running. You're panting, shaking, but there's no time to lose; each second lost could also be a life lost.

In front of you, sit against a large rock, there is a girl.

She looks peaceful, almost sleeping; she has red, curly hair, a freckled skin, a pink bow in one hand...

Except she isn't a girl.

Her left side, showing metal under scattered skin and destroyed wires, proves you so.

Slowly, the girls open her eyes, light flickering weakly in them- and raises an arm. Or tries to, anyway. Something seems to go wrong, judging by the sudden electricity coming out of the broken wires. After a couple more attempts, she gives up and raises her other arm with jerky, unsure movements. For a second, you think she's trying to attack, but.. It's obvious that her intentions aren't aggressive.

Actually, it almost looks like she wants to shake hands.

"Rav-"

There was a loud roar the thing launched itself at you.

[115]: Not Raven. Used to be Raven, not anymore. Don't hesitate. Strike her down. It's for the best, for both of you. She's mindless now. This is mercy. After you've done this, help Weiss. The end is just past these fools who failed to kill you the first time. Show them how big a mistake that was.

Your body moves by itself before you have the chance to think, your head filling with a pulsing pain similar to the headaches you had lately. Your scythe meet the creature's arm, drawing blood -but not cutting them off as you discover with horror that you wanted to be.

"I'm sorry." You whisper in the wind.

But you know they can't understand you anymore.

You rush forward and attack again.

The entire battle field is a mess. Screams and explosions resonate everywhere, fire and lost bullets from the other battles frequently grazing you or projecting dust and rock around. Weiss quickly join you again against Raven, and your whole team is fighting at their very best -you see it in the eyes, hear it in their shouts. But.. In all frankness...

You're not sure you're going to make it.

Traindude and the firelady, while kept busy with their own duo, never hesitated to shot quickly at whoever seemed to get slightly closer to the stair. Said firelady also, if left alone for more than mere seconds, tended to fuel the entire battlefield in fire, forcing you to back up more than once -and Ren and Nora to never cease attacking. The bicolored shrimp, on the same vein, kept teleportating in the obvious intention to stab someone in the back, and was barely held back by the Bumblebees. It was the longest fight you've ever participated to, and your teammates were obviously starting to tire out. At the very least, it was the same for your foes.

All, except one.

No matter how many injuries you inflicted them -it-, and there were a lot of them considering that, unlike the human foes, it didn't bother trying to avoid your blows, it never stopped attacking, never even slowed down. Pain and exhaustion seemed to be completely foreign to it now, still snarling and striking no matter the amount of blood drawing from its wound.

You were not sure if your team would make it, but you were sure that this battle wouldn't be won.

Whether or not it was the case, you never got to see it.

Because at some point, in the heat of the battle, past the blood pounding in your ears and the deafening sound of another explosion, you heard Weiss calling for Yang -a simple detail, one you didn't pay attention to.

Then a glowing glyph appeared under your feet, and you're launched backward.

Your head is spinning, trying to register what just happened, but time seems to be something you are short on as two big, furry arms seize you and pick you up.

You only understand, too late, when you see the apologetic smile on your sister's face as her grips tighten.

"Yang, Yang no.."

She doesn't listen. You hate her for it. And the worst is, you understand; have you been the stronger and older one, you probably would have done the same to her.

She tosses you with enough strength to stop a truck.

Your landing is rough, and your headache increases immensely, but judging by the faraway sounds of battle and the blue under you, you seem to have landed on the stairs.

You swear you're going to make the girls pay for that later.

You dearly hope they'll be alive for you to.

You can't see them well

But these are not figures you'd forget easily.

[114] take a closer look at the figures and evaluate them, use this to decide whos fighting who.

You would. You really do.

But a loud roar resonates from the stairs, and the figures starts running toward you. Fast.

Thinking time's up.

[114]: Defense, see what we're dealing with, be ready to move and quickly, be ready to strike them down if you have too. They'll burn before you do.

0114: Don't rush. Just... head up the stairs. Have your weapon at the ready. Let's do this.

"Guys! Defense!!!"

They all make approval noises, the pairs setting up back to backs, with the obvious exceptions of Zwei and the Renoras. 

You're ready.

The first thing to reach you rushing toward your group with red eyes and bared teeth, is a bonethingy- the bear from the first card, you think. Its claws are sharp and its back covered of spikes, eyes red, growling threateningly.

A few weeks ago, it would have terrified you.

You barely pay attention to it as your scythe sink into its neck, focused on the human foes. These are way more dangerous than the mindless mooks.

You hear a snarl, a hiss, and an explosion. You quickly turn your head to see Yang and Blake using their powers to trap the bicolored person who'd attacked your sister earlier. The blonde's eyes are bright red, her face fierce and determinate, translating clearly the thng she must be dying to yell at the enemy's face.

Not this time.

Another sound makes you want to look the other way, but Weiss calls you first.

"Stop looky around and help me!"

You nod, and follow her as she runs toward the closest foe -a lady in a dress throwing flames around that graze the other fighters more than once, while seemingly having difficulties dealing with a constantly-dodging Ren and a flying Nora.

You both run, but you abruptly have to stop as something you've never seen before lands in front of you with strength. 

In a nutshell, it looks like a giant version of the birdthingies you've seen before -same mask, same wings, same dark feathers and sharp claws.

In a nutshell.

Because the snarling thing in front of you holds itself on two legs, wearing torn off clothes you know too well and presenting eyes that certainly doesn't belong to a monster.

"Raven?"