AN: Enjoy.

Chapter 15

The Hanged Man II

"Hah!" The roar from the larger than usual horseman almost discouraged Akira when the sheer force of his voice rattled the small room the two combatants occupied. With a quick flick to his face, Akira summoned forth Arsène to swipe his demonic claw at the shadow's oncoming lance. Sparks flew between the two demons as they clashed against one another. Again, one more attack was avoided; Akira became more uneasy of this drawn-out battle.

This exact scenario has repeated more than twice now after their engagement. The fight itself was an excruciatingly slow one, and the back-and-forth between blows being traded and avoided was rapidly increasing as the two fighters continued. Akira had no choice in the way he was fighting; the demon has forced him to go with this slow pace. Arsène's use so far wasn't what Akira had hoped for it to be. Instead of an asset to use continuously as an offensive tool, the strategy with Arsène boiled down to countering and misdirecting blows that would easily prove to be fatal, which were almost all of them.

No inch was being gained by either fighter in their brief interactions with one another; the two knew, that if the beats of battle were to continue as is, then eventually the loser would be evident. Akira couldn't win this battle of attrition he's been set up with. This simple test of endurance was all that would determine his demise.

"I can't...keep going. Not like this." Akira's breathless voice came out in anger as he made another speedy roll to avoid the spear of the horseman once more.

"Arsène! Cleave-" Pain panged at Akira's whole being as Arsène carried out his order respectively. The gentleman thief stuck out his claw and slashed at the horseman. As expected, no harm to the horseman came as he blocked the strike quite effectively with his giant spear. He recovers just as quickly and stepped back a with his weapon on hand ready for action.

"I'm...overdoing it...!" The pain Akira briefly felt went away as it was replaced with exhaustion. The endless dodging, persistent rolling, and Arsène's physical attacks proved draining as Akira's overall stamina that was deteriorating rapidly.

"Come hither thief, for this battle isn't over yet!" Time was of the essence now for Akira. Soon after the knight yelled out for Akira, he went on and stabbed the ground with his weapon as his horse reeled back with the gesture. Red-orange streaks of energy exploded and shined around the duo as a brief wave of extreme pressure exuded out from their bodies.

"...!" No words came out of Akira while this played out. He knew of the danger that was even more prominent than before. His mind scrambled around for a prompt response to the current circumstances before him. All of the ideas that roam his head were in one of two categories; fight or flight. Neither was appealing, yet one must prevail as his resolution before his opponent would realize the stupor he'd put his opponent in.

Akira wasted no time with booking it off toward the exit right behind him.

It was a move that expressed his cowardice greatly, but it was one that would most certainly save his life more efficiently.

The knight expected some bold action to come from the thief, but one of a retreating form displeased him greatly as he gave chase after Akira.

"COWARD! Face ME! Your haughty talk before surely wasn't all for show!?" The fury from the demon did nothing to deter Akira's choice of running away. It may have very well reinforced it.

"A little bit more...!" Akira's eyes were aimed solely on the slim entrance of the stairs that would lead him away from the hell that was chasing him. Tunnel vision came in as the only thing he could see was the great escape before, which became more desirable than anything he could think of right now.

"GREAT STEED, ATTACK!(BOLD)" The bellow from the demon shook the room and Akira to its very core. The strength of it was enough to make Akira stumble a bit and make an abrupt stop to balance himself out.

He was taken out of his sole vision of his escape and was now feeling the terrifying force of the attack the demon had sent out.

Akira didn't take a single look back. He couldn't force himself to, but he still had the misfortune to witness a part of the menace heading for him. In the far corners of his eyes were fang-like mouths rushing toward him, a discouraging sight to behold as the beast's mouth came closer and closer to gnaw at Akira's still and petrified form.

Death was coming right for him, and Akira was doing nothing to go against it.

"Truly, what would you do without me..." That ever so soothing voice of Arsène was unexpected, yet very much a sort of salvation for Akira. The thief's attention now laid directly on the surprise company that arose from nowhere with his dancing flames and flying chains.

"Arsène..." The bewilderment in Akira's voice was ignored by the gentleman as he took swift action on getting Akira out of yet another tricky situation.

Arsène's wings reeled back as that unchanging devilish smile of his looked right at the furious horseman.

"A gentleman knows when he is outclassed. You have great strength that is worthy of an elite soldier, and so for that, we must bid you, adieu."

The release of Arsène's wings sent Akira flying back into the stairway, perfectly in time to have the fangs struck around the walls of the slim door to the stairway. Arsène disappeared into Akira's mask as he laid on the stairs in bewilderment. The horseman stopped and looked at the small passageway that would be impossible for him to fit into. He seethed with anger as he circled around the front of the hole in the wall like a cat waiting for a mouse.

"You vile heathens! Where is your honor?!" The demon shouted at the narrow doorway of the steps. Akira went on about to pick himself up from his laying position on the stairs.

"Why be so disrespectful as to flee from an honest fight?! Where is your honor!" The demon was not letting up on this turn of events with his battle against Akira.

"Well, you know what they say..." Akira started as he recollected himself smoothly, getting over his astonishment and petrifaction. He then started his climb up the slim stairway while Arsène slowly started his disappearing into Akira's mask. Before he could fully vanish his form into Akira's mask, Arsène made sure that his face was still shown to the horseman, his demonic smile taunting him as he finished Akira's sentence, "there is no honor among thieves." The horseman was taken aback by the phrase. Only more fury brewed within him as the thief kept going with his leave.

"But...but...that makes no sense! Wouldn't that imply that I was a thief too?! You're not even saying that phrase right!" The knight called after them with an answer for their imprudence.

"Eh, you got the point." Akira waved off the demon and continued his ascension away from the dreaded room.

"But I do! It's the way you're using it is all wron- hey! HEEEY! Don't you leave me here, you can't just leave a fight like this!" The screams of the demon slowly drifted away as Akira made it to the top of the stairs.

"Care to explain why you haven't been showing up as of late for our usual discussions?" I started with Arsène. I went over and flipped the hidden switch back to a close for the secret stairway and continued speaking to Arsène, "I was feeling a little lonely without you. Hell, I was pretty much lost without you." The trademark laugh of Arsène gave me a good chuckle as the companionship of Arsène was definitely something I wanted to have back.

"Don't act as if you weren't doing well up until then partner. My guidance wasn't necessary at all, it wasn't much of guidance than it was a simple push to aid your escape." Arsène came and appeared before me, illuminating the room with his dancing blue flames.

"Yeah, well...it still sucked to have been given the silent treatment for this long. I didn't know I made you mad for not following your advice. Now I know to make saferooms whenever I go through palaces." I turned away from Arsène and went on to continue observing the area again. I was looking if any of these weapons get the job down below.

"I'm sorry to have made you believe that my lack of communication was of displeasure for you." I turned back to Arsène with confusion, "Then what made you disappear like that then?" Arsène looked down at me as he started explaining, "my silence wasn't for an annoyance with you, partner. My absence was for an unorthodox meeting I had with an old companion of mine..." Arsène trailed off and looked at me as if I knew what he was talking about, but I was unsure on exactly what I was supposed to know from his vague allusion. It didn't exactly spark a lightbulb in my head.

"Who could that be?" I asked absentmindedly. Arsène looked at me with a tad bit of disappointment to my response. He then gestured his hand out towards me and spoke, "who else could I have met inside that head of yours?" The sarcasm ticked me off with how unprecedented it was, but it did get me slapping myself with how obvious it was.

"You were having a nice little chat with him, weren't you?" Arsène looked content and oddly smug with my realization.

I disregard it quickly and started thinking about him.

There wasn't much for me to say about the guy. All I knew is that he was the original, that he was the one true Akira that was originally meant for this journey. In a way, I'm just a stand-in for him. It's still odd for me to think that my life may not have existed if he was here from the very beginning...

"Yes. It was quite an unexpected circumstance but it helped him and I better to understand our situation more. But now when I recall it, he was notably hostile about it all." Arsène describing the guy being hostile didn't settle well with me. I didn't think hostility was how he was acting. When we first interacted he seemed like a cool and collected guy. So for him to be described as hostile raised some alarms with me.

"Hostile? For what exactly?" My curiosity was piqued now with the conversation between the two. What hostility could have brewed for the past Akira to have discussed with Arsène?

"Well to summarise, it was half of criticizing you and the other half was of raging hate towards a certain being." Arsène's summary again didn't paint a nice picture for me.

'Raging hate'. Yeah, that wasn't positive sounding, but criticism for me, that was what got me a little worried. It was bad enough on being thrown into the role as a phantom thief with barely any insight, but to be monitored and judged by a version of me who's got it down pat didn't boost my morale all that much.

"Criticizing me of what?"

"Do you truly wish to know?" Arsène's tone wasn't the most encouraging one to hear. I knew from it alone that it wasn't going to be pretty for what the past Akira had to say about me.

"No, not anymore." I responded, "Anyway, let's move on and focus on the task at hand. We need to secure the armory as a safe room." I took out my scroll and checked to see if there was any notification signaling a safe room being up. But to my dismay, nothing new popped up.

"Don't tell me it's the demon downstairs that's causing this."

"It most certainly is," Arsène's simple and honest response left a very heavy weight in my stomach. The thought of trying to face off that stupid strong demon again didn't bode well for me.

Everything that's happened now wasn't helpful for me. All just took a bad turn recently after we mentioned him. Something just felt off about it...

"Arsène, there isn't any way I can take him out. Not with the amount of strength I have now." I looked around quickly to try and find any sort of weapon that may prove useful in taking on the sub-boss of an enemy downstairs, but none looked stable or strong enough to penetrate his armor or horse for that matter.

"Well, there was one brief talk we had in the conversation that we found may prove vital to your success in this infiltration partner," Arsène's words had yet again gained my interest. Whatever could help me get an edge in this operation would be great right about now.

'No matter how crazy it may be, I'll take it in a heartbeat.'

"Alright, what is it?" I eagerly asked.

"Full control."

'Yeah maybe not that,' the two simple words carried so much weight when they hit finally hit me. I knew what they talked about, and I couldn't be more against it.

"You don't mean...I mean, isn't there another way? We really don't have to resort to that!" My voice sounded too frantic for my liking, but I couldn't help how I was feeling right now at the time.

"I mean I know it happened like two times before, but those were accidents. I don't know about now..." My hesitance didn't stop Arsène from persisting as he quickly rebutted my argument, "it likely won't be for long, and it is perfect for your situation. Don't you remember what happened back in the forest? He helped you in taking on two Grimm when you were in no condition to do so. Now, here you are, nowhere near the level that you should be, and faced with only one path that will surely get you killed if you don't seek assistance. So why not let him? Why not let a more experienced person handle the trouble you're having?"

"Because!" I snapped at Arsène, no longer trying to hide how ludicrous this idea was to me, "this is my fight to do. I can't be having him dealing with this like he did at Initiation. When he took on those two Grimm, it didn't help me at all. That wasn't me, that wasn't me accomplishing anything, not proving anything. Do you know what that was? It was me giving in to the fact I can't do anything better than to just sit back and see just how much he deserves to be in my place. This Munehisa is one I need to help. One I deserve to help. I can't be having him constantly be doing the work I should be doing. It won't prove anything. Not to him, not to me..." Silence fell upon us as the sand of outside hit the armory's walls became our only noise to distract us. I hate this void that comes when no one can say anything. It engulfs everything and leaves both parties sitting around to think and recollect on what has transpired. To go and form their beliefs on what was right and wrong.

Am I being selfish?

Of course, I am.

Do I need help with the problem?

Obviously.

Am I the bad guy here?

Most likely.

Am I just?

Maybe, but maybe not. It's selfish about what I want. It is entirely childish to not want help when I so clearly need it. When I'm at the level or caliber that I should be at, I should seek help from someone who is. But I'm going to stick to it. I'm going to hold on to that belief, that hope, that at the end of this, that I'm right.

That I was just.

Because if I don't, then what does that make me? What kind of person am I truly?

"I understand your desire," Arsène took the initiative to break the silence. He slowly faded away back into my mind as he continued speaking, "You wish to establish yourself as this world's savior, as this world's trickster who will help save it from damnation. You were reborn in this world, molded by it, and wish to be the one true Akira for it. But you must know that right now you are in a very early stage of your path on being that savior. Obstacles are constantly showing before you, and there will be no stop to it for as long as this journey will carry on. You, as of now, walk this path alone, so you will need any support that you can obtain at this moment." My body was now feeling weak. I could feel its senses slowly numbing up and fading away. Everything of my being was turning into static. It was painful.

I did everything to fight against this familiar drowsiness that was seeping into my mind, but all my efforts were becoming null.

He was going to usurp me once more. He was going to show me who I'm not.

I was still standing, even after losing all sense of my legs, I still stood. Soon enough they were moving, but not with me as it's commander.

"I apologize partner, but we must continue quickly. You will see that this was the necessary course of action."

Everything went black, it was as if I fell asleep. All that was going to happen before me was gonna be just a dream. None of it was real.

Not to me.

"So, how did he take it? Badly I assume."

Footsteps paced around the armory as weapons clanged and banged around from being picked up and dropped onto the floor.

"He wasn' too keen on the idea. We had to subdue him after all. I'd wish it didn't come to that."

The footsteps stopped in front of a table that was assorted with many gadgets and gizmos.

"If he wasn't willing to look at the bigger picture, then good riddance that we resorted to that."

The footsteps soon went back to the rear end of the armory and a switch was flipped. Metal on the floor grind away as the opening downwards revealed itself.

"You don't give him enough credit as you should. He is after all by himself for the most part."

The footsteps carried downward the slim stairway.

"Yeah right. I've been watching the guy for his whole life. He's got the perfect life compared to mine."

"Well of course. In his day-to-day life, he isn't alone, but when it comes to this work, he is all by himself. There is no one remotely close for him to share the burden of a being a phantom thief. Even in a world with powerful people like huntsmen, none could help or understand his cause when tackling the sins of this world."

"Yeah, this world. This dammed place where they have glorified animal control running about with weapons that could easily kill any regular man. Do you know how easy it could be for them to control the people? They'd have a military that governs the people, it'd be the shogunate period all over again. This world sickens me with how twisted it is. That Atlas kingdom they have is the prime example of military ruling over its people. I see why Iwai would want them demolished, besides his revenge, he'd be doing a service."

"It is unfair to compare the two worlds. Each has their own problems that they must adapt to persevere through."

"It's kinda hard not to though. I never wanted to be in this world in the first place Arsène. I don't belong here, so I don't really care for it, and it gives me no reason to. Anyway, besides that, I have a mission forced on me. To save this humanity, and the way this world handles those Grimm are a prime target for me to take on. In the end, there's one task to achieve what I see as the end goal, and the only problem in accomplishing it is those Grimm they keep in check. Getting rid of them will be easy you know. Obviously, someone is creating them, or at least someplace as the source. Most likely it's a god's doing, or something along those lines."

Sparks and cackling of electricity came as the light slowly made a way into the slim stair space.

"I take the heart of the being or kill them, or destroy the source of the creation. It's that simple."

"That is too narrow-minded and hopeful to be the sole cause of this world's demise."

"You're right. Atlas and the other kingdoms are bound to have corrupted hearts of sorts. I'll strike them along with the Grimm's source."

"Then what of him? You make it out as if he isn't going to be apart of the journey."

"I'd like for him to factor in as little as possible. It is bad enough that Iwai was dragged here, so who knows which of others are here as well. I don't want him handling them, and it's bad enough he's also here."

"You mean-"

"Yeah, A-"

"That boy! Dear god that boy is something! What rudeness, arrogance, vulgarness, insensitiveness, rudeness! Did I say that already? Oh, just what rudeness he has!"

"He sounds pissed."

"He is."

The demon from before relayed in circles as he spouted more and more about the gall that a thief had with him. The footsteps came to the end at the bottom of the stairwell, and out emerged the thief from before, right into the very eyes of the proud horseman.

"You! So you have come again. Do you see the errors of your actions and wish to reconcile by finishing our bout?"

"Sure," the thief looked at the soldier with great intensity as he readied himself for the attack. The stare down was great enough to make the horse lose some nerve and back away sheepishly.

"Calm steed. He is still the same lousy thief, remember how he was before. His strength does not match ours." The horse calmed from the words of its master.

"Keep telling him that," the thief then reached under his coat and unveiled a small device. He sent his hand forward and out came a small yet strong metal hook that wrapped around the neck of the horse. The unfamiliar wrapping caused the horse to go completely ballistic and run off on a stampede around the room to try and shake off the contraption. The thief then was pulled and lifted off the ground to fly toward the duo. He dangled slightly below the beast, prime position for an easy strike. He then yelled out, "Arsène, Ziodyne!"

Arsène appeared high and above as lighting intensely sparked off his body. The sudden power looked almost overwhelming for the demon as struggling grunts came from him with smoke rising off his body.

"Arsène, Ziodyne. Now!" The thief ordered once more at the gentleman above as the horse was still rampaged along, with the thief swinging dangerously around it like a ragdoll.

"RAH!" One cry of pain came from Arsène as a great burst of lightning struck down onto the knight and horse. The horse went instantly limp and dropped on the ground with force until eventually exploding to black dust. The knight miraculously sustained the attack, but still was largely affected by the powerful strike.

"You..." The knight was laying on his back as he clung loosely to his spear. The armor he wore was left with skid marks all around with some small little arcs of electricity coming and going his body.

"I'm not who you faced before. I'm much better than him..." The thief walked up and took Caroline out and pointed it to the horseman's face. "...such a grave mistake you've made." He threw the weapon through the slit of the helmet as it penetrated through and made the demon explode in black dust. The thief reveled in the moment of securing the kill, a great and almost wicked smile came as he took his time. It didn't take him long to shake off the moment and shift his attention back to Arsène.

"What happened?" The thief called out after the gentleman that had been kneeling and recovering on the floor for some time after giving off the attack.

"It was too great. The attack was too much for me to have handled it."

"That makes no sense. Unless..." The thief let out a sigh of contempt as he went over to pick up the knife laying on the floor.

"You two...must be bound completely, right?"

"So you suspect the same as me then."

"Yeah, you two are totally connected. Shit. He doesn't have the mental capability, which also means he also won't be having a physical one. Because of that, you won't be able to handle it as well. Damn, that prick took full measure to ensure that I couldn't solve this world's problem right away."

"I believe he didn't want you apart of the problem in the first place. Most likely you are a problem on your own."

"You're most certainly right. How idiotic of him to think I wouldn't resurface. I meant it when I said I was going to make him pay."

Beeping came from the pocket of the thief as a little notification chime came with a voice calling after it.

"Safe Room Secured: Registering..."

"It appears you are done here," Arsène stated while getting up from his kneeling stance and having his form float once again.

"We need to return the mantle back to Akira-"

"Hell no." The thief interrupted. He made way to the stairway with Arsène staying in place and watching him with scrutiny.

"There is no need for you to be here from this point on. If you cannot use the full extent of your power, then there is no reason for you to continue in Akira's place."

"Don't say it like that's his name." The thief turned around and stared at the demon with his raging red glare.

"You know who came first, so don't say MY name when you're referring to him." The thief was fuming at this point. He was right there in front of Arsène, looking directly up at him with nothing but anger.

"Where has this bitterness come from? Why have you become so desensitized with the well being of others? You weren't like this before. You praised and protected humanity." Arsène drifted back from the thief and continued his dissection on the thief that was now becoming more alien to him.

"You already know! That shitty Philemon! I was happy, wholly content with my life, yet I was dragged off and had it stolen by some look-alike that's sole existence is to replace me. I didn't accept the offer, so I got punish and got stuck here like I committed a crime. I'm sorry if maybe I'm not entirely invested in the problems of people who aren't mine when my own are damn fucked!" There was only one word to describe the thief's current state, hatred. So much of it. Justifiably so for some people.

"..." Arsène had nothing. The wise gentleman had nothing to help reprieve the hurting thief.

"There's nothing left to say. The only course I need to take is action." The thief was about to head back towards the steps, but Arsène had one last question to ask.

"How long? How long do you plan to keep him down." The thief didn't bother turning around to face the gentleman. He gave a straight and cold answer.

"Forever favorably. I can restrain him at his current state, he isn't that strong enough to break out by himself. Not even with you-"

"You won't be able to keep him like this forever. He won't allow it." Arsène dashed in front of the thief and leaned into towards his face with his etched smile fully lit up with the crimson fire flickering.

"I won't allow it." A death glare was the only response the thief gave as he stared at the smiling face of what was once his demon.

"I see now. How could I not of? You prefer him over me, don't you?"

"And what would be the problem if I do?" Arsène kept his staredown with the thief as they continued to add the tension to the room.

"There is none. I mean it makes sense, of course, you like him more. This is probably the longest you've been around without being fused off, so you're all buddy with the guy because he hasn't noticed how incompetent you are. Also how so unfortunate that he can't fuse, because as soon as he could see the real power of fusion would bring, he would've dropped you in an instant. Just like I did. You both are so damn weak, no wonder you're linked."

"Insults won't stop me from aiding Akira on his journey, nor will it make me cooperate any longer than I have to."

"Of course it won't. But now I feel a little less guilty to have fused you away when I got the chance." It happened in an instant. Arsène flashed away and turned into an orb of energy. The orb went and merged with the mask of the thief.

"But I can't deny that you're admirable to have as a companion Arsène. It almost makes me wish that I did keep you for a little longer. But you were so weak, so trivial to the big scheme of things until the end where you shined your brightest, yet disperse quickly to reveal a better and truer power." The thief went on and walked up to the armory.

"You're connected with him, which makes you even worse than before. With me at least, you could have been used as material to forge something great. Your sudden leaving from the mask irked me ever since you've been doing with him. He may not be able to control your sudden outburst from the mask, but you must know, I'm not him..."

The slowly paced footsteps on the stairs carried on as the generator was yet again abandoned again.

"...and he never will be me."

A dream. That's what it was.

Strange, isn't it? The first time this happened I could see and hear everything perfectly, the second time it was just pure dark, now I can see but not hear. However this body control worked was beyond me, and wasn't on my top priority to learn about anyways. There they are, talking between each other. Most likely the two were recalling the past days they were apart of, they were probably closer then what Arsène and I were now.

To think, one person who is literally me in a past life and the living personification of me were casually chatting it up. What a ride it has been since I've awakened.

They were tackling the big horseman now. It wasn't even a contest for them to handle. That lightning spell was amazing, it was pure and raw power that it was. Power only exclusive to him. Power only he has obtained through his journey.

Go figure that the horseman was weak to electric too.

Though something weird stuck out to me. Arsène struggled with giving off the attack, and in a way, I felt that struggle with him. The pain of that power, the lighting running along the body, the relief when it went off and the feeling of the raw energy spreading throughout the room.

I felt the pain, I felt the power, I felt relieved. I had no body to project these senses, yet everything that happened to Arsène happened to me. I was looking through the lens of me, but I felt the emotions and senses of Arsène. No word can describe whatever I was feeling at the current moment, it was all a disorganized mess.

Happy? Sad? Scared? Maybe even anger?

I paid so much attention to the feeling that I almost missed out the unexpected confrontation of Arsène and past me. I couldn't hear the words, but I can tell just from the fury of the silent yelling and gestures that something was up.

I ignored it. I didn't do so from lack of interest, but rather I wanted to sense the emotions going through me now. All that I listed before were present except for happiness. No joy was here, only anger, sadness, and...fear.

Angry, Arsène was angry, but for what? If only I could hear them.

Sadness, again a question that can't I answer. It may be one that even if I heard what they said, I still wouldn't know.

What was Arsène afraid of? It's almost impossible to think he could be afraid. I guess fear gets to the best of us.

Then it happened. Arsène charged in front of past me. I could see the menacing fire that came from his perpetual smile. I was dying to know what had caused this. I needed to know. More talk, more banter, more of what had happened before ensued. I could feel the tension, the plain anger running up and down the whole room. It was mesmerizing.

Poof. Suddenly he was gone. Arsène, he was now nothing but energy going into the mask. It was eerily similar to how the demons I negotiated with fused with my mask. I wanted to so desperately know what happened, but there were nothing and no one here to help me in my curious state.

"What is happening..."

"Nothing good." Arsène's voice startled me as his voice boomed beside me.

"Arsène? Care to explain then?" Arsène didn't respond. Reluctant I thought of it as. I merely kept on looking to the silent film that was me going to and fro the air hangar and armory, carrying many of the faunus who wish to rebel against Iwai.

"He's going to carry out the plan. Then he'll take care of Iwai. After that..." Arsène trailed as we kept watch of him talking and arming each individual with weapons and equipment.

It felt wrong watching it all play out. If you looked at this with no prior knowledge as a spectator, you'd think this was an actual war that was about to pursue, one that would mark themselves in the history books of Remnant.

But it wasn't. This was all from the imagination of a man. A man who's been in wars. A man who plans on setting up his own war and would succeed if he wasn't stopped.

The imagery was disgusting.

The attack started with a great war cry from the rebelling faunus. They shot at anything and anyone they saw as apart of Munehisa's army. It didn't take long for the surprise attack to be noticed and addressed by the army. The rebels had the guns and some equipment, but unfortunately, half of the guns either didn't work or weren't used properly in the inexperienced hands of the average faunus. They still hit them hard with a nice sucker-punch, but once the base got mobilizing, it became a joke to see this as a revolt than a slaughter.

Vehicles with mounted guns, small tanks of sorts, artillery, constant suppression fire, they didn't pull any stops to swiftly end the rebellion.

There wasn't any blood. Black ooze shot out the shadows which were the closest resemblance of blood, but that didn't faze me at all. They were faceless shadow people that were just following orders for no better reason other than Munehisa owned the palace. There was nothing to look into it rather than seeing them as the clear bad guys. But the faunus, when they 'died' they merely disintegrated into dust, not as bad as squirting ooze, but it was how they reacted was what got me.

These assumingly random people that Iwai has met or worked with throughout his years rebelled him. They weren't anything special militarily. Iwai knows this, and Iwai has been in wars firsthand. He knew what trained soldiers were like in war, and he knew how random people were when pitted in a war would fair in war.

No matter how much the rebels conviction and resolve came through, they couldn't match an army led by one of the most experienced veterans in the current time.

They got shot and blasted away with explosives. Some lived even after the fact of getting shot, which then you would see attempts in treating or evacuating them from the firing zones. The faces when they got shot, the faces of losing a limb to a random artillery shell hitting your area; it may have been all blacked out with no ooze spewing out of it, but still the emotion they gave with their reactions left me nauseated. Panic started spreading as some rebels fled to the air hangar desperately to seek what I would assume solace inside the hangar, most likely trying to act like they weren't apart of the revolt in the first. It came to no avail as they either got shot by the watchtower snipers or target practiced on by the artillery.

Here I was in the VIP seat to witness all of this. I was way above on top of the armory peering down on it all. I wanted to help them, save them, assist them in some way, but I couldn't do anything. I wasn't in control, he was.

He was the one looking, he was the one not helping, he was why I couldn't do anything.

"Tell me Arsène. Why? Why all of this?" It was a silent war, yet one that spoke thousands of words. This is what could happen, this is what will happen if I don't succeed. Complete war among races, that will dissolve into having skirmishes along with civilians. Those same civilians who wouldn't be prepared for war.

"He does not care for this world. He was satisfied with what he had. He was robbed, left with nothing but what he sees as a shell of his former self, his former glory is gone, nothing lies ahead but his hate and vengeance for those who stole his life. No one can convince him otherwise. This is the correct action to take for him."

"Which one..."

He finally had enough on watching the stage play before him as he went off and headed toward the top level of the base that was unguarded. The plan had worked.

"Both."

Here he was. Hard to imagine Iwai with a corrupted heart. Sure he was exactly a model citizen back then as well, but this is a whole different extreme. An extreme that I could actually understand. He's left with nothing, his son is dead and so is his wife. He's been given nothing but bad luck ever since then. What else is there to lose when you have nothing? Though he deviates a little to the original, it still holds true to what his life would end up as if I weren't there.

This whole situation is fucked up. I hate it. Nothing like a big ole fuck you to me than to bring him here. He most likely brought everyone here just for the cherry on top. Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru...

If they are anything like Iwai is, then they've met their true end. An end without the phantom thieves.

Why couldn't he have been with them? Why doesn't he have a criminal record? Why does he have the life I could only dream to have back home? He could have taken on the same path I did, I wouldn't mind it that much. Maybe there is an iteration of Shujin here as well. It'd be ideal in the end if I could replicate my old life here, he would become strong enough to screw over gods by the end of it if we followed the story beats. Strong enough to take on the bastard Philemon. I could be his guide instead of Arsène. I could lead him a path just like mine, maybe even better. I could've molded him as a god slayer of sorts. Anything other than this roundabout shit that Arsène's been holding him back with.

I don't completely hate the guy. He had no choice to be put in this situation just like me. It's the way he goes about it is what pisses me off the most. He's indecisive, weak, and cowardly. He is nothing like I was. He doesn't strive for greatness. When it gets down to the wire he panics and relies on Arsène like some crutch. What's even worse is that he sees all of this like some sort of obligation than out of pure spirit to rebel. A mere mimic to the original. Though it might be unfair to compare him to me. Arsène may be right on that one.

I mean you could never beat the original after all.

That statement holds true for much in this world.

This world, for example, it also can't compare to mine. I'd take the harsh pressure of society than constant fear of getting mauled by sins incarnate. This world would never be one I call mine. This world belongs to those who are unfortunate enough to originally come from here. I'm luckily not one of those people, and so to an extent, he isn't one of them either. Another thing that annoys me, him thinking that this world is his alone. What a pretentious way of looking at being the one to save this miserable world. But in the end he is me, I guess he has some of my morals, no matter how much he is some folly iteration of me.

I can never stress enough on how much I hate this whole ordeal. I feel like I need to run off to the top of a roof and scream it out loud for this damn world to hear my rebellious cry. The true rebellion of mine; one that comes with true power from the heart. Power to kill gods. What those animal people are doing down there wasn't rebellion, it's pure foolishness. I'd like to be optimistic about their deep potential that hasn't been found, but they had no chance in hell against shadows that used guns and tanks for weapons. They don't have that thing called aura, which means guarantee death for them since its such a vital part to stay alive in combat.

To invest time in this world would be a waste. So it doesn't matter to me at all what happens to it. All I have my eyes on as of now is the heart of Iwai. I could agree with his path for vengeance all I want, but stealing the hearts of the corrupted is what has made me who I am. This isn't me going out of my way to save this world, but to preserve my belief, my ideals to not let the corrupt go unchecked.

But in this case...I will have to ensure this case goes the way I plan it to be. I can't let Iwai suffer more than he has in this world.

A simple kick sent the door flying out and skidding across the store floor. There was no use hiding the fact that I was here. The security is already at an all-time high and I don't want to waste any more time here than I have to in this palace.

"Iwai," I called out as I walked into the replication of his store from this world, "come out and face me." I'm not here to steal the treasure. I needed a one-on-one confrontation with the man in order to make sure he suffers no more.

"I came to steal your treasure. I'll find it eventually, so hurry and get me while you can." The back door of the store opened as the man himself walked in with his military outfit. Atlas decor if I recall the name right, the symbol was crudely overwritten by some marking of what I believe was the White Fang's. He had the classic general outfit on with white being the primary color and light blue being it's secondary for trimmings and such. Medals and badges riddle themselves all over him as he stood stiff and still behind the counter.

"Steal my heart...well you did send that calling card after all." His voice was so foreign to me. I don't know why but it felt wrong. It wasn't what I wanted him to be. This Iwai was nothing like mine. He was different, he was inferior.

"Look what he did to you..." My soft whisper left Iwai puzzled as he looked at me with more caution.

"He ruined you. He's completely destroyed who you once were..." I couldn't stand it any longer. I didn't want some long drawn out drama to happen between us. It would be a waste of time for both of us. I needed to finish him off to end this misery for me and him. The knife cleanly punctured his chest, and if my anatomy was right, then it was a swift blow to his heart.

"You were proud and determined. You kept going until the very end for your kid no matter what the Yakuza said. But you couldn't help it. He made it so you were cursed from the start." His look of terror and startled stare made me furious. Such a weak replication of the once great Iwai.

"You're a coward. You couldn't take your problems head-on and kept looking for a cop-out to fix your problem. Start a war between the two races, it would ensure heavy casualties that's for sure. One of them potentially being the person who ruined your life. But what about after it? Well, you then die by my hand to save you from the suffering you placed on everyone else. Well, guess what Iwai," I twisted the knife and pulled back to see the black ooze gush out like a fountain.

"You're misery is over. This is the death you wanted right? By the hand of someone who is close to you and sees how flawed your plan is. For you to have his name, what a disgrace." He didn't move. I didn't need him to. The deed was done, and in any second this place would crash down and Iwai in the real world would die. It hurt me to kill him, even for a vain recreation, he was still Iwai in the end. One of the few people I've made an inseparable bond with, to have a man put great shame to his name.

"I'll help this world, Philemon. But don't expect it to be the way you intend it to be. Once I get to that point in this journey, I'll be making sure you suffer."

I walked away. There was nothing more to do here but leave before the real Iwai dies alongside this palace. There was no shame for me to have killed him. It was honorable even. Philemon left him here with nothing, so might as well end it here. This was to end his suffering. He already intended to die in the first place by my hand, so I might as well get the job done now...

A flash. A glimpse. A sign came before me. A small blue flying haphazardly flying by came before me. I knew what it meant, and knew what it represented at this moment.

I slashed at it, but the air was all that the blade hit as the butterfly that was flapping away listlessly in the desert tempted me to go catch it. I was being toyed with, I know that well, but if I can catch it, then that be one dead butterfly, one little victory on my part.

The chase was on. Nothing came to sight but that blue speck that evasively flew around at speeds no normal butterfly could ever imagine on reaching.

I needed more speed. Needed more acceleration to keep up and potentially grab hold of the insect. An idea came to me as I kept after the flying nuisance.

I focused with all my might to use that semblance of his. Speed was what he used it for, and that is exactly what I needed. I felt the hugging sensation of the shadows around my feet as I could feel the power that was accumulating within me.

I was mere feet from the butterfly, and if I timed this right, the extra speed boost from the shadows would make it a quick and easy snatch on the creature.

"Huuh!" I grunted as I lurched forward and tried to use the power of his semblance. But nothing happened but me completely crashing onto the hot sand floor of the desert as my body began to fail on me.

"What the hell!? What is...!" This wasn't supposed to be possible. He was far too weak to overthrow my mental fortitude and force his way back into control.

"That dammed...butterfly!" I had a theory, but I didn't care whether it was true or not. I lost the sense to my legs, then my arms, then my chest, and finally my face when it started tingling, like needles stabbing all around it.

I didn't give a final scream. I didn't bother fighting anymore as darkness filled my vision. One sound left me as I went back to square one. Arsène's laughter couldn't have been cockier.

I took deep breaths as I opened my eyes to the sandy terrain of the base. I was still surprised at the fact that I manage to pull back into control. Arsène also let loose and ecstatically spun around while laughing like a madman.

"So...he can't use my semblance... right? That's how it works?" I stood and asked in confirmation at Arsène. I wiped the sweat building on my forehead as the butterfly that he was chasing then came back fluttering around me until it eventual landed on a fringe of my hair.

"Correct. It was the genius of Philemon to have made him try and use your semblance to catch him. You see he cannot use both your semblance or aura. Those two qualities are what truly differentiates you two in terms of power and growth in this world. He has the overall physical and mental one-up on you with persona magic, but this world's power may never truly be his. It may be possible for him to have it, but it wouldn't be anything like your power at all." The butterfly hopped off my hair and went to go land on one of Arsène's horns now. It was a beautiful little thing I had to admit.

"His semblance would be different from mine?"

"Yes, but he couldn't unlock it without someone explicitly unlocking his aura and his aura alone. Anyone trying to unlock it would sense your aura and suspect that he wasn't there in the first place."

"Well, that's a scary thought. Him having an aura and such." By this time the butterfly had disappeared. I wanted to try and talk to it or something, but it was already gone. Whatever this Philemon guy was, he was the one who sent him here.

"I wonder though Arsène. Could he ever come back without me noticing? He's done it twice, so who says he can't do it again." Arsène tilted his head a bit like a confused dog and thought over the possibility.

"The first time was lack of semblance use I believe. Aura depletion may factor, but not as much as your semblance usage. The second go is actually part my fault. I felt him try and maneuver himself back into control and so I let him as an experiment. So, just keep on using your semblance daily is my advice. Eventually, your mental and physical being from gaining demons powers will put you near a level of his, and by that time we won't worry about control at all I believe." What Arsène said sounded about right to me. All there was to worry about was to not forget that I own a semblance, which isn't that hard in the first place.

"All right then it's time-" The ground rumbled like it an earthquake, and soon the top of the air hangar exploded from the top as the flying fortress emerge from the top and covered the sky alongside the sun.

"GENERAL IWAI/REPORT/GENERAL IWAI/REPORT" The announcement from the fortress shook the ground from the immense speakers that were blaring.

"Partner, we must leave. He has already killed Iwai, the palace may collapse, and that ship is the biggest threat when it does." I looked onto the marvelous ship as it began making way towards the third level of the base.

"Don't you remember Arsène?" Shadows covered me head-to-toe as I ran along with the shadow of the airship.

"He's the un-killable soldier. Cut his arms off one day, lose yours the next." Arsène was coasting near me as we kept our speed with the ship.

"Well, he stabbed and twisted his heart. Don't you think he'd return the favor? He could possibly steal your heart from your chest."

"Then it's a race then. One I'm going to win."

AN: Yo.

Well, this one is done. I don't really have much to say here.

Apology of course for my dissonance with the story, it was me being lazy, nothing more than just that. Sorry.

So to counteract that a little more, I would like to find a beta reader for this story. I don't exactly know what that will entail, but I think it will keep my productivity up. If anyone is interested that is already reading this story, then hit me up. I'll look through the betas and find someone who can help me out.

So yeah, until next time.

See ya.