aiko's otter den

black cat's curses - Blake Belladonna is not a faunus.

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12. Raise the Chalice

The world fell.

Ruby rises, and it falls. She can feel it, in the way Hikari felt everything and everyone around her, in the way her own feelings sank into the ground and refused to grow until absolutely forced.

But the monster underneath resists, just like her. In her petals, Ruby is invulnerable, safe. She’s not free, though, not yet.

Ordinemon screams, and the shockwave crashes into her. It doesn’t hurt, but solidifying takes more effort than it’s supposed to.

She still manages it, right at the edge of the crack. As she does, a hand, a person, reaches out and grabs her own. Ruby doesn’t think, she never does, really, she pulls.

And Pyrrha pops out, followed by four kids, a wizard, and a bunch of monsters She yoinks them out of the way as something much bigger falls from the sky like a meteor, black, and burning and screaming on the inside.

It crashes into Ordinemon and nearly hits Yang. She fires herself into the air. Blake dances through the sky, shadows at her feet. Dust flies around Weiss’ fingers.

Ordinemon drops with a groan. “Ruby!” Pyrrha squeaks as they catch their breath. For a moment, Ruby hears Meiko in that voice. “Why am I not surprised?” Her voice turns dry and relieved, and Pyrrha.

“I should say that to you.” Ruby hasn’t let go of her hand and with how things are going, something is screaming at her not to. “Are the others with you?”

“No,”. Thank gods, is at the tail of her sentence. “Just me.”

“Okay, so update me.”

She does. Ruby nods, watching the black thing -Alphamon, her memories tell her— tries to right itself. Pyrrha flicks her wrist and the armor, dully cracked, shatters and — oh.

“Useful right?”

Ruby tries not to think about that being a human body. “Very.” She squares her shoulders and more creatures fall, glowing gold and bright.

“Hikari-chan?”

Daisuke looks at her. All the kindness and warmth is in his face and none of the forgiveness.

That’s fine.

“Not anymore.”

Daisuke nods, the frown on his face turning to a small smile. “That’s okay.”

Ruby smiled and turned away. As one of the digimon catches the rest, she pulls out Crescent Rose and rests her feet on Pyrrha’s shield. “Ready?”

“Always.”

“Good.” Pyrrha looks down at the monster’s gaping maw. “Give her a message for me?”

Ruby nods.

Pyrrha shoves forward, the metal on her weapon swinging Ruby down, down down, right into Ordinemon’s mouth.

Yang screams, Weiss curses, and she feels Blake’s eyes on her all the way down.

When she falls, it’s not alone. Blake dives and Wizarmon with her.

“You have learned no self-preservation, have you?”

Ruby makes to answer, but Wizarmon laughs sheepishly. “My apologies.”

“Asking for forgiveness instead of acceptance, as always.” Blake crosses her arms, but her expression is fond.

“Yes…”

Ruby lets herself fall as the others do. She should have a witty or scolding comment for the situation, but it would be hypocritical to scold Blake for recklessness at this point. She simply pushed herself further into the darkness.

Silver light warms around her eyes and spreads through her like a crackling fire.

Someone weeps in the distance, all alone.

---

Blake knows where she is going. To Ruby, it’s distinctly down.

To Blake, it’s home. The fall twists her deeper into darkness, all the way into light.

Meicoomon sobs. For a moment, pity and understanding twists in Blake’s heart.

“You must have been so lonely,” she says as they approach.

The orange cat looks up with broken eyes, and red lines like blood all over her. She smiles through her tears.

“I want to see Mei,” she sniffled. Anger and fear all drained out into just despair. “I want to go home.”

“But home is gone,” Blake says. “You destroyed it.”

“Blake!” Ruby hisses, but they both ignore her.

“I know,” says the cat. “I know, but… I can bring it back. I just don’t know how.”

What would happen if she brought back those memories, that time, all of it? Would Blake be Blake Belladonna anymore? Would she be her own person anymore?

No, it doesn’t matter. Remembering all of it won’t change what happened now happened. She tells herself that because it’s true. She is Blake Belladonna. She is not a faunus.

She is only herself.

Ruby slows down beside her. “Can you fix this?” Her voice is soft and understanding, peak Yagami Hikari and not Ruby Rose and Blake’s fur rises.

Meicoomon nods. “I need help. Maybe if I… if I’d asked for help, it wouldn’t be like this.”

“Maybe,” Blake murmurs, and she places her hands over Meicoomon’s paws. They don’t feel like fur under her palms, but something viscous and long dead.

Ah. Just like her, once. But Remnant had brought her life again.

Ruby’s silver eyes burn bright as she presses her hands over theirs. Wizarmon floats above them. His dark eyes crinkle with pride and sadness.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Ruby admits. “But Pyrrha — Meiko — said to tell you ’ta’much.”

At once, the world glows white as Meicoomon lets out the happiest sob in the universe.

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