Masked Remnant

I, Silva Zelretch Branwen, nearly died... Of laughter. The reason for laughing my a*s off is simple. I saw the dream versions of everyone, well, specifically, Ruby. I was keeping my distance as I wanted to scout out Dream Beacon first, and I saw the little cookie monster outside. Dream Ruby was wearing a simple black dress with long sleeves and red tights with black combat boots. The funny part was seeing a giant red cookie jar attached to her back and her weapon, Cresent Rose transforming into a claw to dig out a jumbo cookie.

The kicker is that I can honestly see Ruby doing exactly that if she thought she could pull it off and get away with it. One thing that got my attention with Dream Ruby was that she was not wearing any sort of mask whatsoever, unlike every other NPC in the dreamscape, excluding, of course, Dream Scarlet. I considered the why and chalked it up to Ruby being, well, Ruby in reality. I continued to poke around Dream Beacon and saw some more familiar faces, like the other teams and professors.

I then saw Dream Pyrrha for the first time outside on the walkway; well, I am assuming that the armored person I am looking at is Pyrrha. She had a gold helmet on that obscured her face and matching gold-colored Greco-Roman armor with red and brown accents. Below the chest plate was a pteruges, a skirt made out of leather straps studded with metal, followed by gold leg armor that Pyrrha usually wears and heeled boots. Her arms were covered with armor as well, and I could not see any bear skin at all with all the armor she was wearing.

Hmm... I think this means that Pyrrha feels like no one sees her for her in the negative aspects of this dreamscape made by the Nightmare. I still have not seen any signs of the Grimm, no thorny vines covering anything, no extra security anywhere, no nothing. I can probably cross off Dream Beacon on possible places the Nightmare may be guarding. I guess I will head to Sanctum Academy next. Before leaving, I decided to interact with Dream Pyrrha to gauge how she is, personality-wise.

" Hey, Pyrrha, how have you been?"

Dream Pyrrha just stared at me silently for a few moments, and I decided to joke.

" If you keep staring at me so passionately, I'll blush."

The dream construct turned her gaze away from me, and I was starting to get interested in how different she was from the Pyrrha I knew. I called out to her with concern.

" Pyrrha, is something the matter?"

She just kept silent, and I was getting more and more curious about this Dream Pyrrha. I walked up to the dream construct and asked gently.

" Pyrrha, please speak to me; I'm no mind reader, and I want to honestly talk with you."

"You're a monster."

I was a bit surprised at her directly calling me a monster, but I did not deny it. In my travels through the multiverse, trying to reach Remnant, I have done a lot of questionable things, but I only really regret a few things I have done. Otherwise, I am apathetic to a lot of evil I have done in the places I have been to that I will likely never return to for any reason.

" That I am. Do you hate that about me?"

The dream construct looked at me with widened eyes but did not reply immediately to my question. Dream Pyrrha then asked me.

" Why? Why become a monster?"

" I simply made a choice, and I live by what I did and will do in the future. Will I feel regret for some of my decisions? Maybe, but I would probably still make some of them, no matter what the consequences, if I feel they are necessary."

The dream construct just stares at me in silence and then tells me.

" I don't hate you."

That made me feel more relieved than I expected at hearing she does not hate me as, regardless, this is still Pyrrha, dream or not, so it is likely the truth. I gave my farewell.

" See you later, Pyrrha."

" What about class?"

" I'm skipping for the day since I am not learning anything I do not already know."

I answered the question, and I suddenly felt the collar of my tunic being tugged as Dream Pyrrha started to drag me to class. She bluntly told me.

" You shouldn't skip class."

" Okay, no need to drag me. Mind letting me go?"

She let go of my collar, and I said to her.

" Lead the way."

The dream construct nodded and started to walk toward whatever class was supposed to be going on, and I quickly and quietly slipped away when her back turned. Now then, let's see if Dream Sanctum is where the Nightmare is hiding. I ran away from Beacon as quickly as I could and then weaved through the streets until I finally reached Sanctum Academy. It was surprisingly empty, and as I scouted it out, I found no indications of the Grimm hiding there. That only leaves the arena as a notable landmark worth checking out.

I then heard a somewhat angry voice call out to me.

" Silva!"

I looked to see Dream Pyrrha glaring at me through her helmet, and I did not resist the urge to joke.

" To think you would actually skip classes... I'm so proud of you. I'm such a bad influence."

Wiping away a fake tear as I grinned, but the dream construct was not amused as she drew out her shield and javelin. She said coldly.

" You should not have skipped class."

I shrugged, not caring, and dodged a thrust from her weapon. I then commented to myself.

" I wonder how strong you are in this dream world, Pyrrha."

I probably shouldn't, but it's been a while since I have really cut loose. In this dreamscape, I probably don't have to worry about collateral damage, at least not in the usual sense. Hmm... Shion must be running low on Aura soon, so I guess I will finish up this scouting mission by testing how strong Dream Pyrrha is. I grinned as I decided to take this a bit more seriously by taking out one of the many weapons I have acquired throughout my travels in the multiverse.

***

[ Salem Interlude]

Salem was starting to get annoyed with Devil Society. Sure, Devils are easy to manipulate due to their sinful nature, but the number of times she got offers from other Pillar Families' Peerages that would undoubtedly treat her no different from a slave was getting on her nerves. Zeoticus Gremory had made a few offers to at least join his harem, but the witch refused for a number of reasons. The biggest being was that it was not him that was running the Gremory Family but his wife, Venelana, so she had no respect for the fool of a man.

The Flaxen-haired Madame of Extinction had her husband wrapped around her finger and let the Gremory head fool around as she controlled everything. Interestingly enough, the two actually became friends as Salem had someone she could relate to in terms of age and intelligence. The witch enjoyed their tea parties as she had not had anyone she could consider a peer for the longest time. Currently, she is heading to Akeno's room to speak to her. After knocking on the door, the witch called out.

" Akeno, you wanted to talk to me?"

" Come in."

The half-Fallen said meekly as she was still reeling from almost being killed by the Himejima family. Rias is making process of getting Akeno to open up, but it will take a while still for the girl to fully open up. The half-Fallen bowed her head and said.

" Thank you for protecting me."

" It's fine, Akeno. The Himejima family disgusted me anyway in how they decided to treat you."

Salem knew Akeno's full story due to Silva and decided to nip some problems in the bud to earn the young girl's loyalty early on. The witch then asked.

" Akeno, I understand you are a half-Fallen Angel, correct?"

The girl stiffened, and Salem walked over to her as Akeno started to shake out of fear that her savior would be disgusted by her heritage. The witch, much to the half-Fallen's surprise, gently stroked her hair and asked.

" Why didn't you use your wings to fly away?"

" I... Hate my wings..."

Salem spoke to Akeno gently as she asked.

" Akeno, can you say with confidence that your mother loved you?"

" Of course! But... But because of me, she's..."

Tears started to pool in the half-Fallen's eyes, and the witch gently reprimed her.

" Akeno, as a fellow mother, I can say with certainty that if you say you hate any part of yourself, it will make your mother sad, as she undoubtedly loved every part of you no matter what."

" But, I-!"

" Shh... Listen to me. Your mother gave her life to protect you because she loved you, and it's not your fault she died, or even your father's, despite not being there when you needed him most. It was Suou Himejima who decided that you and your mother needed to be dealt with because of some foolish sense of tradition. If you want to blame anyone, blame him and all those who supported him."

Akeno absorbed what Salem told her and couldn't argue against it. The witch then gently added as she hugged the half-Fallen and continued.

" Don't ever say you hate yourself, Akeno. It would break your mother's heart if she heard you, and live for her sake as best you can as she made the ultimate sacrifice for you as her child."

The dam of Akeno's emotions broke as she tightly hugged Salem and cried her heart out. The witch was being both genuine and manipulative toward the half-Fallen, as she wished for more than anything to have taken the place of her dead daughters instead of keeping on living with her curse. Salem still had plenty of work ahead of her, but she knew what she needed to do to gain the power she needed to end the Brother Gods.