Clock

Album sometimes felt like how humans called it, playing a Sims? No, a strategy game? Well, no matter, she just found it funny that what mankind liked to play on, she lived, after all, she was building armies of drones, be it a medical, security, spy, explorer, or battle drones, to creating and experimenting with blueprints the Solitas scientist came up with, from mechanical tanks to supposed drugs, to mundane home applications, but her current and biggest project in case of sheer size is the Moon city, that would be enclosed under gigantic transparent crystal cupola with a hard-light barrier as secondary safe point and multiple AA laser turrets against any incoming asteroids be it small or big, but for the big, there would be space ships to take care off, as the asteroids could damage the integrity of the sole thing that would protect the future population of Moon city from being sucked into the void...

The Moon city itself would be able to accommodate more than ten million inhabits, with could live either on surface or underground that would be built to imitate a normal city with streets and nature parks and artificial suns like devices on each floor level that would give an illusion of sky and day and night cycle, the city would need to be supported itself so Album and other project architects made sure to add enormous nature parks and farms that would recycle the air, in short, Album had a lot of work as more than 95% of the work on the Moon city fallen onto her and her construction drones, plus the never-ending need to add another layer of security and defense platforms made the project harder on the material side as Album constantly needed to upgrade her space mining and processing capabilities...

Then came the endless debates of possible psychological damage the future Moon inhabits could get, so came same simple solution, green parks, artificial lakes and rivers, and real-time connection to Remnant internet without any delay with the help of more than hundred of little satellites, and everyday transport for people to go from Moon city to Remnant, not giving them a chance to feel different and give them feeling that they still belong to the Solitas Kingdom...

And not giving them a chance to get any funny ideas just because they live on another planet...

Someone said that with all these things, wouldn't it be easier to just terraform it? Well, Album knew it would, maybe, but then the Remnant moon was broken, so that was immediately shut down...

But as Album was about to look on other plans, that would take her just seconds with being super A.I with the processing power of the entire world, she noticed a movement in a place where there shouldn't be any.

"Hmmm? Oh... Well, someone awakened in bad time..."

Album said as she watched through the camera in the room how a woman named Scathach stretched her body as if she just slept for a little while.

"I should contact big brother..."

Album said and thankfully saw that her big brother and the Malachite twins had just returned from their date, with the girls having big goofy smiles and them walking so stiffly, Album knew they were more than satisfied, she really wanted that body now, just to feel what they now felt...

But as Album wanted to contact her big brother, she saw him stiffen as he looked on the ground, in the direction where the crystals with women were being held.

"Well, It seems I don't need to..."

Album told to herself and just watched how multiple emotions flashed on the normally stoic face of her brother's, Album didn't question it, she read Earth legends, and from what she heard from her big brother, she knew that Scathach was someone her big brother, feared and loved in equal measure...

After all, that woman was a God Slayer...

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"For the love of..."

Aegis muttered as he raised his head from looking into the ground...

Even if he couldn't see it as he lacked clairvoyance, he could feel it...

"Girls..."

Aegis said and the stiffly walking girls looked at him with confused expressions as they felt his tone change from the normally easy-going to a serious one.

"Go to your rooms, and Album, tell everybody not to act, no matter what they see."

Aegis said to twins and Album who was listening thanks to Schnee mansion being entirely under her watch, and then he briskly walked to the elevator.

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The stretching woman stopped in her activities as she heard the hum that ended with a clink-like sound.

"Finally came to see me?"

"Apologies, I was away, and just found out about your newfound freedom."

Aegis said as he walked from the elevator, his cane already transformed into spear form, as he watched the woman before him that had a mix of amused smile and neutral expression on her face.

"Hmm? Oh I see."

Scathach said as she looked over Aegis, and saw how he walked, how he held the spear, and his eyes that didn't look at her in lust that many men did, or fear that any god or mortal did, but same eyes her previous pupils she taught, he had the same eyes, the respect, the love, and the fear, but not fear from her martial prowess or possible death, but from that same fear the child would have with its parental figure...

"Aegis Schnee Fall greets his master!"

Aegis said for the first time in this new life truly bowed his head to someone, not bow from fear or submission, but one filled with respect, the same bow the Scathach taught him, but not mentioning his titles of King and others, for Aegis knew that Scathach didn't care what title he held...

"Heh, who could have thought that going with these two idiots plans would make me meet pupil of my alternate self, tell me, from where do you know me? Were you me master in Grail war? Or did we meet before I joined the Throne?"

Scathach easily asked as she, with half-lidded eyes, watched the boy before her, but something strange moved in her stone-cold heart, after all, there was one reason she ever took pupils, the same reason she trained Cuchulainn, to create someone who could finally kill her in an actual fight...

"None of it im afraid, I was just puny soul wandering through your lands when you took pity on me, and in your flight of fancy, trained me, a mere soul from trillions of other souls, in your art of war and fight..."

Aegis said as he raised his head and watched his alternate mentor, master, big sister...

"Oh, but that is wrong... I wouldn't ever take just anybody, especially from pity under my wing, so, tell me the truth."

"Im truthful, master, for I do not see any other way why would you pick me from the others, did you see something in me? I do not know, or do I care, for no matter the answer, I would forever be in your debt for everything you did for me."

Aegis said and stiffed as he saw Scathach move her red spear.

"I see... Then I need to find that answer myself, don't I?"

Scathach said, but before she did anything, Aegis quickly added up.

"Please, can we do it somewhere else that wouldn't damage something important? And im sure you would like to have a fight without any disruption."

Aegis said and saw Scathach throwing a look at the four crystals that still housed four women.

"True, then lead me to our arena warrior."

Scathach said and Aegis nodded with a relieved sigh as he made his way out, without any worry as he knew that no matter what Scathach, she wouldn't ever degrade herself to strike someone in the back, especially not when she gave her word...

Aegis still didn't know how his mentor alternate self ended in Throne of Heroes as he knew that Scathach was immortal, and she wouldn't ever take her life herself as she saw it as heresy, he knew his mentor always dreamed of being slain in fair battle, to fall to other's skill or power, but never to lose before she fought with all her might...

But Aegis supposed he would find that answer in this fight, or later, until then, he would need to make sure he would both survive and defeat someone he admired...

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"You still didn't give up upon that obsession with clock's I see..."

"You know how they say it... Old dogs don't learn new things... Or how the Earth saying goes..."

Ozpin stiffly said to the woman who sat before him as if nothing had happened or just hid her emotions with her neutral face.

"Don't look at me like that, we both knew this time will come, sooner or later you would again try to kill, just to find me reforge herself, and me killing you just to in decade see under a new name..."

Salem said to Ozpin who never took his gaze from her.

"True... Yet still, this is new..."

"Yes it is, isn't it? To not trying to kill each other, but just to speak... How long ago was it we last spoke? Fifty? No, Seventy years ago?"

"Seventy-four, when you killed me with your super horde..."

Ozpin said, and Salem nodded.

"Ah, yes that time... I still do not forgive you for destroying that thing."

"I had no other choice..."

"Hah! No other choice, he says! YOU DESTROYED THE LAST THING WE HAD F-FROM OUR CHILDREN!"

Salem shouted, but as Ozpin readied for the fight, he was surprised to see her take deep breaths and fall back to her chair.

"The last thing Ozma, no Ozpin, the last thing I expected from you would be to stay away from that ring..."

Salem said with an equal measure of wrath and sadness as she reminiscent something sad.

"I-I truly hadn't ch-choice... It was either the ring or not sealing the relics..."

Ozpin said with a pain in his voice as he even now regretted what he needed to do, even if given a choice, he would still do it, but he regretted doing it, as he destroyed the last thing he had from the time of when the four girls he had with Salem lived, the ring that held enough magic for him to seal the relics in the vaults...

"Yes, the relics... No... I promised to others and myself to look into the future and not the past... So there, have that trinket you so love..."

Salem said as she threw something to surprise Ozpin, surprised both at her words and more so what he now held in his hands...

"Th-the Relic of Creation?"

Ozpin croaked out as his hands trembled little, but there was no mistake, he knew it, he remembered the thing very clearly...

"Yes, He no longer has use for that trinket, nor I desire it, so you can have it..."

Salem said as she looked at Ozpin but then she looked at the window, no need to be said who that person Salem spoke about was...

"Tell me... Is there even something from Ozma in there? Or are you having just his memories?"

Salem said, not looking at Ozpin, not being able to face the truth she suspected so long ago, and Ozpin for his matter just raised his eyes from the relic in his hands as the shock evaporated and looked at Salem, but rather than looking on her, it seemed he looked past her as if he was looking for the answer myself...

"I-I do not know..."

Ozpin said, for he truly didn't know if there was even something from the time he was named Ozma, his memories were all he could think of...

"I-I see..."

Salem quietly said as a single tear fell from her eye...

Then the room was filled with just clicking sounds of the multiple clocks...

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*Author note*

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