Chapter 2: Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

Aura was a miracle. It was the sole reason I was able to avoid my skull being cracked open after being dropped out of thin air from fifty meters up. Unfortunately, even a miracle couldn’t prevent the world from spinning around me as I clambered to my feet. My head throbbed, and I was seeing double when I looked around the barren wasteland I had landed in. 

Jagged rocks flanked me on all sides and an eerily motionless pit of what appeared to be tar lay nearby to my left. It took a moment to dawn on me what I was staring at, but, when it did, my hand instinctively fell to my sheath only to brush up against the rough fabric of my jeans.

“Damn it,” I cursed, stumbling backward and cursing once more as I nearly tumbled off of the cliff I was apparently on.

A few cackles came from overhead, finding my misery amusing. I glanced toward the sound, tensing up as a few juvenile Nevermores flew overhead. Their grave caws sent my heart racing, but they paid my inner turmoil no mind, continuing westward in the dark sky. My forehead creased in confusion, my hands unclenching and clenching in anticipation. Why didn't they swoop down and attack me? My fear alone should have enticed them and driven them into a frenzy. Yet, they continued onward, merging into a v-shaped formation. I glanced off into the distance, hoping to spot where the Grimm were headed. 

When I finally saw it, I could only gasp in shock.

A massive spire like a bell tower definitely stood against the black sky. The similarities ended there, however, since the structure held no bell. Instead, a red diamond gleaned against the dull metal bars imprisoning it, reflecting the light of the orange and maroon orb circling around. They orbited around the spire, occasionally floating up to the needle-like spike perched on top of the spire.

Despite an odd sense of foreboding, I found myself drawn to those lights. They were bright enough that I could only stare at them for a little bit before small spots would begin to dance around my vision. Although, none of that was enough to deter me, and I took that as my opportunity to press onward. Those strange spheres would serve as my guides. My guide to a place that looked almost like Beacon.

The journey proved uneventful, giving me some much needed time to consider the situation. I was most likely in the Land of Darkness, or at the very least, an outlier of it. No doubt this was the work of Salem’s magic; the problem was I had no idea what her endgame was in doing so. Killing me? That would have been simple enough without a weapon and being stranded in her domain. I couldn’t feel like I was mistaken with that line of thinking, though. She had me dead to rights at Vacuo, so why not kill me then? To further torture and humiliate me? That seemed more likely of that heartless bitch, but I still wasn’t convinced. After all, she must have called all of her creatures from attacking me and had even healed my injuries. Clearly, she must have wanted me alive for now. 

The change of clothes she had provided me also gave me pause. Gone were the pieces of armor I had gotten used to donning in the past couple of years. In their place was the same clothing I had attended my first year of Beacon in. Stifling a chuckle, I was certain I looked like an idiot trekking through the Land of Darkness in my jeans and Pumpkin Pete sweatshirt. I felt like even more of an idiot that I couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across my face after staring down at the simple design of the mascot stitched on it. I had eaten so much cereal to get this stupid sweatshirt, and I struggled to even fathom what my poor parents thought about such a thing. Their only son gouging himself on sugary cereal to get a piece of clothing with a bunny on it. Still, it brought me more comfort than I could have imagined. 

My shoes pounding against a dirt road clued me in that I was nearing my destination. The continuous procession of rocky terrain had given way to poles with cloth flags draped over them. There was a faded symbol outlined on the cloth that I didn’t recognize. Perhaps they were marks of the God of Darkness that Salem had adopted for her own use. Unlike Beacon, no water peacefully flowed around the aqueducts surrounding the entirety of the academy. And that made sense. That eldritch wanted to invite the Grimm in, not keep them out. 

An opposing, iron-wrought gate–so tall that it blocked out everything else from view–waited for me at the end of the avenue. Barbed wire trailed over the top of it, winding around in haphazard patterns and knots. It was something that wouldn’t have been out of place at a high-security prison, yet I was unsure of its purpose. It almost looked as though I was mistaken, and she was trying to keep something in.

I touched the metal handle. My fingers grasped around it and refused to let go, the volts of electricity pulsing through my body ensuring it. With a grunt, I managed to drop backward, painfully landing on my ass. My right arm was wracked with spasms and the gate continued to shower spark in my direction. Salem truly had rolled out the red carpet for me, it seemed. Except now I had no way to accept her gracious invitation.

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Sighing, I pushed more Aura into my right arm as my breathing relaxed and the pounding of my heart lessened in my ears. How stupid. This had turned into a huge roadblock. If I had any of my friends here this would have been a piece of cake to deal with. Ruby’s speed, Weiss’ glyphs, Yang’s propensity to punch everything, or Nora’s semblance. Any one of those girls would have made easy work of this damn gate. Yet, the leader of JNPR could do nothing but lay on the ground, sigh, and play around with his massive Aura pool.

“Hello?”

Instantly, I perked up at the voice, one I would recognize anywhere. I leaped to my feet, moving as close to the gate as I could without getting electrocuted. “Nora, open the gate!”

No answer, yet the gate began to slowly screech open. The sounds of sparks crackled throughout the process, but I wasn’t worried. Nora had been struck by lightning before and powered up to the extreme. This much would be nothing for her. Nothing at all.

My tears began to flow freely as I waited with bated breath. Nora was alive and well, which meant the others would be as well. Salem had been true to her word, and at this moment I didn’t even care what she was scheming. Because I was no longer alone. We could handle this as a team. 

The screech came to a halt, revealing an array of stone spires and an archway dotted with crystals leading to the main entrance of the academy. None of that mattered. I launched myself at Nora through blurry eyes, latching my arms around her in a death grip that she usually reserved for me. On cloud nine, I picked her up and spun her around, my watery smile threatening to burst. When I set her down again, I dried my eyes and took a step back to take her appearance in. 

No…

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, taking another step away from her. “What did she do to you, Nora?”

The girl in question tilted her head in that cute manner of hers. And it would have been cute had the black veins pulsing around her blood-red eyes not detracted from it. Her orange hair was singed on one side, along with the entirety of the left side of her body. Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of nausea as the smell of burning flesh was all I could focus on. It was a disgusting, terrible smell.

I vomited.

Nora stared at me, unconcerned while a string of saliva dangled from her pale lips. “I don’t know who you are, but you smell delicious!”

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