Promised (Reluctant) Victory In Remnant

Chapter 26: The Third Wielder Of The Holy Sword - 2



Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.

I'm also occasionally chilling in JaxWolf4's (Author of Nah, I'd Adapt and Zenin Days) Discord Server. It's a chaotic lobotomy mess. Not for the faint of heart.

Here's the link:

Disc: HrPrTeam

(Special thanks to Anti-Storm for the Beta Reading Labor!)

-Story Start-

"I told you it was closed." Ruby's voice reverberated in the empty hallway as Team RAWP stood in front of the locked door of the Dining Hall.

Alex frowned deeply, contemplating his next move.

"Are you that hungry? You're never this stubborn, I'd expected you to wait till morning." Pyrrha worryingly inquired.

"Did I not just tell you I've just gone a month without food?" Alex arched an eyebrow, as he extended his left hand at the door.

...

Weiss offered genuinely, "Would you like me to direct you to a mental health professional? I've got connections."

"Weiss..." Ruby shook her head in chastisation.

"There's no shame in seeking professional help, Ruby," Weiss affirmed her opinion on the matter.

Shaking her head, "No! it's just, saying that makes it seem like it didn't happen... and just because it all happened in his head doesn't mean it didn't happen!" Ruby declared empathetically as she pointed at the busy Alex.

Weiss retorted, "Ruby... something happening in someone's head means it didn-"

"Quiet! No more talking about it! I'm sure he doesn't want to hear more about it! Leader's Orders!" Ruby had pulled out the Leader card to end the discussion there.

Weiss turned to look at Pyrrha for support, but the latter only smiled sadly and shook her head.

"All I'm surrounded by... are enemies," Weiss stated under her breath.

"I don't need therapy." Alex rejected Weiss's offer with finality, as his fingers slid into the little opening of the door and...

He slammed it forcefully open, likely breaking it.

"W-What are you doing?" Weiss stared gobsmacked at his blatant act of causing property damage.

The now 'open' door leading to the Dining Hall revealed a dimly lit and neatly organized dining place, the one they had all grown used to; only rudimentary recalled in Alex's memory.

The smell of overnight broths permeated the air and only heightened one's appetite.

Alex gave his thoughts on the matter, "I'll pay for the damage," he stated as he walked on ahead towards the unlit kitchen at the back of the Dining Hall.

The only sources of light were the shattered moon peeking through the windows and the tightly held sword in Alex's right hand.

Seeing Alex's retreating back, Weiss muttered, "If I knew vandalism was to be involved, I'd have left keeping him company to you two."

"I'm sure he appreciates your presence!" Pyrrha said, patting Weiss's shoulder before heading off to follow Alex.

A smirk spread across Weiss's face. "He better."

-----------------------------

"I lost sleep over this..." Weiss's facepalm echoed in the empty kitchen.

"I think you can find your way back from here." Pyrrha's smile cracked.

"...What are we gonna eat tomorrow?" Ruby asked the more important question. 

The three girls had second thoughts about guiding Alex to the Dining Hall.

Why?

There he sat, Excalibur neatly placed down beside him, whilst he casually...

Lifted an entire pot of stock and gulped it down like a parched traveler in the desert who had just discovered an oasis.

No one took it as hard as Weiss, the cringe on her face only widening as Alex was devouring that stock like a wild animal.

A moment later, having finished it he let out a tiny breath of relief, only to turn to them with an arched eyebrow, "I appreciate you guiding me here, but I didn't ask you to watch me eat." He deadpanned as he set down the now-empty pot.

This was his third one.

He rose up, deciding to 'kindly' leave some stock and search for something solid to satiate his endless hunger, heading towards the refrigeration units.

Pyrrha explained, "We followed you because we're worried."

"Mhm, thanks." He nodded at her, then turned to his primary goal.

"KEEP IT TOGETHER WEISS!" Ruby grabbed a hold of Weiss who had already lost her patience.

Reaching the refrigeration units, Alex opened a large one and discovered it was a fridge for eggs.

Grabbing an entire thirty-unit tray of eggs, he gently placed it on one of the many empty stovetops.

"You know how to cook?" Weiss expressed a glimmer of interest and skepticism, Ruby having set her down after she calmed down.

"I know how to keep myself alive." He stated as he grabbed a whole stick of butter.

...

The girls silently watched him cook and figured that it'd be best not to inquire any further or remind him of what he 'allegedly' went through...

Ruby asked one of the burning questions on their minds, "Say..."

"What is... Excalibur?" She turned her head to look at the subject of the matter, the neatly placed sword that made her heart drum with indescribable emotion.

That question was fuelled by something beyond her burning interest and love for weapons; it was an inquiry sourcing from the nature of her species as a whole.

As Alex smoothly navigated the cooking operation, he replied unbothered as he made scrambled eggs.

"The Sword Of Promised Victory." He answered bluntly.

...

"A little arrogant sounding isn't it-" Weiss voiced her opinion only to freeze at Alex's momentary glare.

He sighed, directing his attention back to his cooking, "That's what it is."

Pyrrha shook her head, "That wasn't what Ruby was asking. Just hearing that Name and looking at it... it feels like my warrior's soul is being... exalted. I can't really describe the feeling, it's so strange and familiar."

Alex shrugged, "Probably because it's the Sword Of Human and Faunus kind."

...

He was met with inquisitive yet confounded looks burning holes at the back of his head, which he ignored.

"And what does that mean? What's it supposed to do?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Cut things. Difficult and unbeatable things." Alex turned off the stove upon noticing the eggs were finished.

Weiss sighed and shook her head, "You always have an infuriating way of explaining things."

"That's your problem." Alex shrugged, as he began inhaling the scrambled eggs composed of like thirty of them.

Weiss was about to retort but cringed at the uncouth display of him eating.

A bright, almost admiring glint appeared in Ruby's eyes.

"You mean like a Hero would?"

Once more, Alex froze in the middle of his feast.

[Go on, answer her. Master~]

Gulping and regarding her with a tired look, much to her surprise, "Like any person with a semblance of gratitude would."

[...Strange.]

"What's gratitude got to do with it?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Everything."

-----------------------------

"Isn't it dangerous to sleep like that? What if you move and stab yourself while you sleep?" Ruby innocently inquired as Alex lightly hopped onto his bunk, Excalibur at his side as he lay down.

"I can't sleep without it." He asserted a rather worrying truth.

Another peculiarity that appeared from his... 'mental issues'.

Without giving them time to complain about the safety of having a sharp sword at his bedside, Alex looked at his teammates, "I'll be sleeping for as long as I need. Don't wake me up unless there's an emergency."

"Homework? Classes?"

"Unless there's an emergency." He nodded, his exhaustion lacing his tone.

Pyrrha inquired, "Are you planning on skipping classes?"

He nodded, "For As long as I sleep. If it's for the first few periods or even the whole day, I don't care."

Ruby, nodded in understanding, inquiring, "What should we tell the Professors? Don't you have one of those regular meetings with Headmaster Ozpin scheduled tomorrow?"

"I'm sick. And I'm pretty sure I'll wake up for that, but if he's looking for me and I'm still asleep, give him the same excuse. Good night."

Without further protest, he covered himself and Excalibur in his sheets, and he turned around to face the wall.

Promptly sinking asleep.

...

Weiss voiced out with a mix of frustration and worry, "I'm still for sending him to therapy."

Sighing, Ruby admitted with a scratch of her head, "Let's... just let him sleep, I'm sure we'll figure something out, together."

Pyrrha smiled in encouragement, "With what his mind forced him to go through, the best thing we can do, as a Team and his friends, is support him... treat him as we have always treated him."

Ruby gave a thumbs-up, "We've made significant progress with him, on the plus side!"

"At the cost of his mental illness acting up? I say no more progress needs to be made if that's the price he pays." Weiss huffed, as she got into her bed.

"...Maybe." Ruby smiled sadly, and with it, lights were out for the... troubled Team RAWP.

...

And Alex slept for an entirety of three collective days.

-----------------------------

A voice called out to him.

Anxious, pleading, uncomfortable, and desperate.

Yet, familiar.

"Alex! Alex!"

"Please, Alex! Wake up! We need your help!"

He stirred in his bed, only finally allowing his eyelids to reluctantly open at the nudging of his shoulder.

His eyes opened to be met with a sweating and darkened expression from Ruby.

She looked at him with a pleading, desperate expression.

Sobering up from his tiredness at having been forcefully woken up, Alex's upper body rose to regard the room, only to realize that the Team RAWP dorm room was... rather full.

Yang was there, with a lowered head and a barely restrained snarl and her fists clenched at her side.

Ren was unusually silent, yet his expression was a grim frown.

And the infamous Nora... she wasn't so annoyingly chipper as Alex recalled her.

His teammates held similar expressions, but a degree less intense than those of Team YRBN.

Not to mention... that shameless Faunus was missing from the roster.

Alex wasn't one to jump to conclusions so he bluntly inquired, "What happened?"

...

"The White Fang has kidnapped Blake! We're heading out to save her!"

...

He blinked, "What?"

...

Let's wind back those three days, shall we?

To Be Continued!

-Author Note Start-

Hello hello!

The next few chapters (I don really know how long or short this is gonna be)

It is going to be another characters' POV/centric - to show what the fk happened in the three days Alex was in that deep ahhh slumber.

Which led to Blake getting yoinked and the Nuclear Option being activated.

But this Nuke has an opinion, and I do wonder whether this Nuke will decide to EXPLODE on demand.

Also, I did say canon is getting pushed off a cliff in a brutal fashion.

This is Canon doing just that.

Bu bye!

Love ya!

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