Edited by: Priapus, Marethyu

– Yang –

Reaching the top of the peak they had been climbing for a few hours, the blond gritted her teeth and forced herself up, rolling on the stony edge with a satisfied laugh. She wasn't new to hiking, but this was a different experience. This might just be the tallest thing she had ever climbed, and it was incredible.

Halfway through, Yang thought she had overestimated her stamina as she realized just how tall this pillar of rocks was, and without the use of magic, they were pretty much limited to their hands and strength.

And keeping an eye out for an amateur like Reid wasn't easy for Yang, especially after he challenged her to see who could get to the top first. She was worried at first, not for his safety, of course not. Reid was too strong to die from this height.

But because she knew that her boyfriend had ungodly stamina. He could just keep going and going without feeling exhausted. At all. She experienced it multiple times, and it wasn't limited to sex either.

After a deep exhale, Yang peeked down at her boyfriend with a smug smirk, making him roll his eyes as he caught her gaze while climbing. It turned out Reid was too overconfident for his own good sometimes.

"Hurry up, slowpoke." She teased him. "You don't wanna miss the view."

"Yeah, yeah." He responded with a scoff, reaching the top and standing next to her as he dusted himself off. "If this were a flying competition, I would've beaten you."

"Haha! You're such a sore loser!" Yang giggled. "Maybe next time, you shouldn't be such a massive show-off."

"What show-off? I tried to beat you." He argued.

"By leaping around recklessly?" She raised a brow, her smirk growing wider. "Who would've thought the fragile ledges couldn't support your weight."

He had nothing to say to that.

"How many times did you fall?" She asked smugly. "Five? Six?"

"Okay, I get it. I was being dumb." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "It was close, though. Admit it."

For all the power he had and the scary way he looked to most, Yang found this extremely adorable. The way he didn't want to admit he lost without trying to ease the pain made him look as much of a sore loser as Ruby was whenever she lost in her favorite video game.

"Sure, sure." Yang giggled. "You still lost~ Meaning you get to set up camp."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes before looking at the setting sun.

Yang followed his line of sight, watching the sunset and several silhouettes of winged creatures flying in the distance. Below them, in the heart of this great canyon, was a lush bluish-green forest where four rivers met in the middle, creating a large shimmering pond.

Surrounding this forest were massive Dust crystals — or magic crystals as Reid liked to call them — radiating power that even Yang could feel and an ethereal glow that made the air feel nicer. Even though the air should feel thin at such an altitude, it was still as easy to breathe as it had been down there.

And to think that those flying things were dragons… Yang felt like this was a dream—a nice dream for once.

"It's beautiful." She said. "No wonder this is a different world."

"Oh, if you think this looks great, just wait till nighttime," Reid responded confidently. "You've never seen a non-shattered moon, right?"

"Seriously?" Yang was surprised. "Man, this place is awesome."

"This isn't even the half of it." He snorted, walking away as he prepared a spell. "You can explore a bit if you want."

"You sure?"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up." He assured her with a smile, using his earth magic to create a shelter, first by smoothening the ground. "I'm gonna take a while to set everything up."

"What about the dragons?"

"Eh, they're a Wyvern sub-type, and most of them are young, so they're not that dangerous." He said. "As long as you keep your distance, they won't do anything, and if they do, then you can probably handle it. Though, if you see a red one bigger than the average dragon, don't engage. That one is tough."

Yang didn't understand why Reid had so much faith in her that he believed she could take on dragons. She was used to beating up Grimm and sometimes criminals, but dragons? She had no experience in that at all. She'd never even fought a dragon-shaped Grimm.

But if Reid had said it, then it was probably true. Yang was a lot stronger than most professional hunters, according to him, and she had magic to fall back on in case things got tough. He'd told her there was no need to hide that when they were here.

She kept the other warning in mind, however. Avoid bigger dragons. That sounded simple enough.

"Well, alright. If you're cool with it."

Reid threw her a thumbs up before she jumped down, using her fire magic to glide down toward the pond. Yang seriously considered going there to say hi as she saw more dragons flying around in the distance, but that probably wasn't a good idea. Even if Reid said she could handle it, she didn't want to piss off dragons.

And getting ganged up on by several didn't sound nice at all.

Yang landed on the grass, noting its bluish color like the trees around her as it was very unusual, but she remembered Reid saying something about overabundance of magic causing things to look and feel different. She didn't understand his nerd speak. All she cared about was magic fireballs and flashy stuff like that. It still looked pretty, though.

The strange thing was the deep, pleasant feeling in her very bones as she got to one of the massive dust crystals. It was a very odd mixture of soothing and empowering, tempting her to put a hand on it. Why was she feeling like this?

It wasn't bad, and it didn't feel dangerous. It was just really weird. She'd never felt this way next to dust, but then again, she had never seen a dust crystal this big before. Yang couldn't imagine how powerful this had to be. Nor how much it could be sold for.

"Enough to buy half of Sanus." She snorted, speaking to herself. "I wonder if there's any crystals like this back home."

Yang felt a little sad that they'd never be able to get this huge crystal back with them to Remnant. She wasn't stupid. She spent a lot of her time as a student studying dust, and she knew something of this magnitude would take years to break apart in a way that didn't compromise its power. She doubted even Reid could pull off any magic shenanigans to do it.

Plus, on the off-chance that it blew up, then…Well, if a small Stardust crystal could blow up half a continent, then this might just be able to end the world as they knew it. They probably shouldn't mess with something of this scale.

Pulling her hand away from the crystal, Yang explored more of the forest, following the riverbank to the pond she had seen from the tall pillar of stone she was on. She caught the sight of a few strange-looking critters on her way there— small rabbits with pointy horns, colorful squirrels with antlers, and something that didn't resemble anything back in Remnant.

Its head was covered by bluish-green fur, and its legs were made of what looked like tree bark, so it was nearly hidden. However, its glowing yellow eyes made it very easy to spot. It was the bravest of all the other creatures as it casually waddled over to Yang, looking at her curiously.

"Huh…" Yang crouched, poking it gently. "I don't know what you are, but you're cute, so you can't be bad."

The critter seemed like it favored her, too, as it rubbed its tiny head on her leg. She didn't know what she did to gain its trust so quickly, but it made Yang feel almost at ease in its presence, prompting her to take a few pictures with her scroll.

"Gosh, Ruby's gonna be so jealous when I show her this~" She chuckled. "I don't get why you like me so much, though."

Even though this thing was adorable, Yang wanted to be careful and walked away from it, not knowing if it had any parents around. She would admit that she felt a great urge to take it with her.

However, as she continued her trek to the pond, the creature continued to follow her around, to her surprise. She paid no mind to it, though, and as she reached the crystal clear pond, Yang saw that whatever this was, it didn't look like water.

Up this close, the liquid was glowing, sparkling, and pulsating saturated colors that were almost unnoticeable, but Yang could see it. She could feel the magic from this pond, and it felt just as soothing as the huge crystals around the canyon.

Feeling curious, Yang dipped a finger into the pond, pulled her hand back, and was at awe as the liquid was suspended in the air for a few moments before gently falling back into the lake.

"Woah…" Her eyes went wide. "What's this…?"

"Liquid mana."

The sudden answer nearly made her fall into the lake, prompting her to turn around to see Reid standing right behind her. Yang wanted to smack him across the face for that at first, quickly realizing that she couldn't sense his magic even from such a close distance.

But she didn't need to ask him to know why. The magic this lake was producing was messing with her senses big time.

"Gods, you scared me." She sighed. "Can't you give me a warning, at least?"

"Should've sensed me." He said with a knowing smirk, glancing at the critter looking at him. "Huh, there's more of you around? I thought you only stuck around colder regions."

"What?" Yang blinked.

"Ah, right. You probably can't see them." He said. "Though, not sure why either. Apparently, none of the books I had explained what they are."

"Er, no, I can see them." She said. "…Unless you don't mean the fluffy critter?"

"Wait, you can?" Now Reid was confused. "That's weird. Last time, I had a dozen of these guys following me around, but neither Weiss nor Blake could see them."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He hummed. "Might have to ask an expert later. Still, Forest Spirits, huh? I didn't know there were other variants."

"Spirits?" Yang raised a brow. "So it's not an animal?"

"Nope. These things are closer to ghosts, if anything." He shrugged before looking at the lake. "I think. Though, I'm honestly more interested in this."

"Ah, right. You said it's liquid mana?" She asked as he pointed at the lake. "What's that?"

"Well, you know when there's so much concentrated magic in one place, dust begins to crystalize and form in the earth?" Reid said, and she nodded. "This is the same, but with liquid."

"Huh…" She blinked. "How come we've never seen something like this in Remnant?"

"Remnant doesn't have magic crystals this massive." He pointed at one of the mountain-sized crystals. "The amount of magic here is enormous. Not even the biggest piece of stardust I have comes close to a fraction of this."

"That much?" Yang was surprised. She knew it was a lot of magic, but that definitely exceeded her expectations. "Wait, why aren't we being crystalized if that's the case? Doesn't that happen with regular stardust if we get too close?"

"These crystals are stabilized. Unnaturally so. Feels more like someone's doing than a natural development," Reid explained. "The magic they're leaking is relatively minimal, and while we are actively absorbing it — it's why this entire forest is imbued with magic — it isn't invasive and chaotic like the magic stardust emanates. It's why it feels good and not unbearably suffocating."

"Huh." She blinked. "So if I were to jump in—"

"You'd be fine." He answered, taking a large bottle out of thin air before filling it with the liquid. "Maybe you'd feel tingly, but that's as bad as it gets. Drinking it is a different story, though. Don't do that."

"Aww, but I wanted to know what it tastes like."

"It tastes exactly like sorcery with a dash of witchcraft."

"That doesn't even make sense." She responded. "And aren't those the same?"

"Apples and oranges. They're both magic, but they're completely different schools."

"Which one makes you throw fireballs?"

"Elemental." He said, then paused for a moment. "Which, in this case, would be bananas."

"You're bananas."

"Yeah, but isn't that what makes me so fun?"

"Maybe when it doesn't involve opening portals to hell."

"Oh my god— can you stop bringing that up?" He complained. "It was by accident, and it happened ages ago. I said I'm sorry."

She was never letting him live that down.

– Reid –

[Great Canyon of Wyverns] – Quest

Objective: Defeat the tyrannical dragon terrorizing this magical canyon and bring peace to its denizens

Rewards: Moderate EXP, Vial of Dragon Blood x5, 3 Gacha Token

The fact this turned out to be a hiking trip to one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen makes me happy. I know I've been asking for a lot, but if this really was your doing, Goddess, then I'm seriously in your debt.

No dungeons, caves, or creepy tombs. It's just wonderful scenery for someone who needs it. Yes, there's a big dragon out there that needs to be taken care of, but that can wait. Honestly, I don't want to rush this because I've never tested if the exit portals close up after a while.

Obviously, why would they, right? My 'adventure' to the Goddess and the system is in Remnant, not here. But my system, the non-sapient part, has been… doing some weird things lately. Mostly a strange sort of 'lag'.

I've experienced it a few times before, where the quest from the dungeons would take a while to pop up, and the rewards I was supposed to be receiving were given to me, like, an hour after I finished the quest. I don't know what the hell is going on, and when I asked, I didn't get a response.

It hasn't become that much of an issue, so I'm not exactly annoyed or worried, but it's something to note. I'm definitely not playing a game, so this lag thing is really weird and kind of distracting. Unless this was a game, and I've actually been in a simulation all along.

That's a fucking horrifying thought.

"So you haven't really explained what you're doing." Yang, sitting beside the campfire, suddenly says as I use a telescope to monitor the stars. "Never thought you were into stargazing."

"I'm not," I respond. "But stars have a lot of power in this universe, and I wanna use that to my advantage."

"Hmm…" She stays quiet for a moment. "I'm gonna guess that's why you built this thing next to the camp."

I glance at her as she points at the device I made. I followed a step-by-step guide on how to make this 'Collector'. It wasn't hard; I had everything I needed and I'm not new to making devices like this.

It takes the shape of a big pot, and in each corner is a diagonal pillar with a claw-like end holding a specialized lens above the pot. As the name suggests, the lens is able to collect starlight and pump it directly into whatever's under it.

I chose a pot rather than my Manasteel directly because we were lucky enough to stumble into liquid mana. When that is met with the power of stars, it turns into liquid starlight, which is a lot easier to use when creating Terrasteel.

All I need to do now is to wait for the stars to align into one of the constellations of this universe.

"Yup," I confirm. "I wanna make a new suit of armor, but it requires some pretty powerful materials."

"Why not have Ruby make you something?" Yang asks. "She might not be as good at making armor, but she's still pretty good at it. And knowing her, she'd try to make it as perfect as she could."

"I thought about it at first, but what I have in mind needs someone good at what I do. You know, magical things." I explain. "Don't get me wrong, Ruby is an amazing smith, but she doesn't have enough experience with magic."

And she doesn't have to take time off her training to do this for me. Occasionally lazing off in my mansion aside, she still has a lot on her plate, and I know she still practices her magic on her own time as well.

And once her training with magic is complete, getting her to work on her silver eyes is next. She's shaping up to be one hell of a powerhouse, and I can't wait to see how strong she can get.

"I guess that makes sense." She concedes. "Would've made her really happy if you asked, though. She loves helping you more than anything."

The conversation dies there as Yang goes back to roasting a few meat skewers over the fire. I sure am glad that we haven't attracted any attention so far, considering we're on the tallest peak in this entire canyon, but it's not really surprising.

It's legitimately impossible to sense anything here. The overabundance of magic in the air would immediately overwhelm your senses if you tried. It's hard to explain, but if I were to compare it to something, it'd be like hearing a million dudes talking at the same time. Loud enough to burst your eardrums.

It's insanely disorientating. Even without actively trying to sense anything, I can still feel the equivalent of constant ringing in my ears. Thankfully, Yang isn't feeling any of it, so either she's really bad at sensing magic — she's still a beginner, so it's no problem — or I'm a lot more sensitive to magic than she is. It's probably both.

Though, at the same time, it feels good to be here. Being around so much magic that isn't trying to turn me into more magic is nice. I don't know who did this or how they could even do such a thing in the first place, but they're a genius. I have to meet them. There's no way that this was a natural development.

That's when I suddenly get a mental report from Gwyn through our spiritual link, making me blink. Did you find the dragon's location? At his confirmation, I grin. Good job, buddy. I knew I could count on you.

I close my eyes and get a mental image sent to my mind. It's sleeping in a huge cavern, surrounded by riches beyond most things I've seen in my life, and I've seen a lot of the treasures these dungeons have to offer.

There are heaps and mounds of gold and jewelry, and there's no doubt some magical materials in there as well. Oh, I'm definitely looting that whole cave, and considering that the dragon is apparently a tyrant? It's going to be guilt-free.

Alright, we're striking first thing in the morning.

I stretch my arms, taking one more look at the telescope. I guess it's still early for the stars to align properly. The fact that it needs to be perfect is annoying, but it's not like I have to monitor it. I just wanna see the process because I'm curious. It'll be alright if I keep the liquid starlight away from the sun since that apparently has a tendency to destroythe power of other stars, even though it's a star itself.

Magic can be really confusing.

Not knowing what else I should do right now, I walk up to Yang and sit next to her, noticing her downcast frown.

"You okay?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her and letting her lean on my shoulder. "You got quiet all of a sudden."

"Yeah…" She responds hesitantly. "…I'm sorry; I guess I'm not over it yet."

"You don't feel better?"

"No, I do, it's just…" Yang takes a second to phrase her sentence. "Being alone with my thoughts, y'know…"

"Ah, yeah, I get it." I nod in understanding. "I guess before, we've been pretty distracted with climbing and exploring. It's pretty quiet right now."

"Yeah, exactly." She agrees. "I sit down, and the first thing I think of is what she said to me. It's getting kinda annoying, to be honest."

"You know you're calling yourself annoying, right?"

"Aren't I?" She snorts. "Being so depressed all the time. It's not me, and I hate it. Even though it's pointless to feel like this."

"Yang…"

"Ruby said something about it being okay to feel hurt. It's human to feel like this. And I love my baby sister, but…" The blond sighs. "But I just don't see it. It feels wrong."

I stay quiet.

"...What do you think?" She asks, glancing at my eyes almost pleadingly. "What should I do? Is it really okay to feel hurt, knowing everything?"

Seeing her silently begging me with that look made me think how easy it would be to convince her that Raven deserves nothing but the most painful death imaginable. That her mother is not unlike the Grimm we kill on a daily basis.

Yang is a strong woman with a strong character, so her feeling so comfortable showing me this vulnerable side means she trusts me completely. It would be unbelievably easy to have her go with everything I want. And a deep, dark part of me wants that. A part of me that I'm ashamed of.

That's not how I do things. My feelings about Raven are mine alone. The cold, vengeful part of me that keeps screaming at me to slaughter her for hurting someone I love. For causing the death of tens, if not hundreds, of innocent people. It's mine.

And I want to keep it this way because I know my own nature isn't… as moral as this heroic persona I put on for everyone else. I don't want anyone to become anything close to the violence-loving monster that I actually am.

I'm fine being that alone.

Yang needs to make her own choice. I can't influence her decision like this, but I also can't just abandon her and do nothing. If there's any way I can help, I'll always be there for her. No matter what.

"To be honest, Yang. I don't know." I answer. "I've never had any parents to think about things like this. Or, at least, not in the way that matters. Even if I were to see my own mother right here in front of me, I wouldn't really feel the way you do about Raven. To me, she'd be a random woman who happened to be related to me."

Yang waits for me to continue.

"But you know, there's a saying I heard a long time ago," I add. "'Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'. I think what it means is pretty obvious. Now, I'm not saying how you feel is wrong or anything, but I think you're focusing on the wrong things."

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of overthinking your feelings about Raven, why aren't you with the ones that really care about you?" I suggest. "You have your dad, uncle, sister, team Wildberry, and me."

"You're saying I should just ignore it?" She blinks. "I've been trying to do that ever since I spoke with her, Reid. That's the problem."

"I'm saying you should accept it and learn to move on." I correct her. "Don't ignore it. Never ignore it. Remember that feeling, the pain she caused you. Always keep it at the back of your mind."

"But how am I supposed to move on like this?"

"By remembering the ones who matter. Does everyone think some nonsense like you're a 'mistake' or whatever?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you pretending that Raven's words are the only thing that matters?" I ask. "What she said hurt, I understand. But everyone else you know loves you. I certainly do."

Yang doesn't say anything, but I can sense a shift in her emotions from sad and anxious to grateful and contemplative. She's not immediately convinced, which, yeah, obviously, but I'm glad that I gave her something to think about.

"...I'm not gonna lie; it kinda feels like you're saying random things to make me feel better."

"Did it work?" I reply cheekily

Yang giggles and instead of answering me, she gives me a soft kiss on the lips. It lacks the usual passion and intensity she shows whenever we're making out, but it's not necessarily bad. It's a different kind of kiss—delicate and soothing.

Once Yang pulls away, she rests her forehead on my chest, wrapping her arms around my back. I run a gentle hand through her long hair in return, enjoying each other's warmth.

"Thanks…" She whispers.

"Any time."

As we lie down next to each other, I catch the Collector's lens glowing brightly, almost prompting me to leap at it to see its inner workings, but one look at Yang makes me get comfortable instead. Oh well, It's fine. I can do it again later.

Cuddles are more important.

– Titania –

Watching the pipsqueak fill an entire cart with nothing more than snacks made her feel shocked. There was no way that she could live off of candy, chips, and soda, and yet, when asked, Ruby said something about 'not having to leave the mansion ever again'.

She was seriously considering living off snacks and a lot of strawberries. Actively stocking up, even. Titania didn't know if she should feel disgusted or impressed at the girl for seemingly being incapable of feeling sick of eating so much sugar.

Honestly, she'd come along because she wanted to take advantage of the girl and get her own stuff after being imprisoned in that mansion for what felt like years. It had been a while since she'd had a whiff of alcohol, and while she could steal some of the wine Astera had, she wasn't going to risk pissing him off.

And he didn't feel like the kind of person to take her stuff and confiscate it. It wasn't like she was getting anything dangerous to confiscate anyway. Beer, oil for her legs as she didn't want to rely on the squirt for anything, and a few snacks were all she got.

However, oil could be considered dangerous. Hmm…

"Hurry up already." Titania sighed, hands on the cart as she watched the runt rummage through the shelves for more food. "We've been here for, like, an hour."

"Wait, I'm looking for a really good imported Mistrali soda brand. It's cherry-flavored!" She said. "I saw it here last time. Where is it…?"

Titania sighed again and rolled her eyes. She should've just stayed home. Now she was stuck babysitting this dumbass…

She looked around the massive supermarket, surprised that it was still open at this hour. Though, it was probably because of Ruby here. They were on the verge of closing before they saw her coming in, and seeing them panicking was honestly kind of funny.

And she may or may not have given the employees a few warning looks once she saw them taking out their phones for pictures. Not out of concern for the girl— Titania couldn't give a fuck, but she was staying pretty close to Ruby, so taking a picture of Ruby meant taking a picture of her.

And she didn't want that.

Thankfully, the place was pretty empty. If there were other people, they'd be hounding Ruby, and they'd be here for ages. There was no one here besides the employees, them, and…

Titania frowned as she saw a cloaked, bulky individual slowly approaching them, red eyes staring directly at Ruby. She felt increasingly uneasy as the person got closer, noticing his odd movement and twitching.

"Ruby." She muttered quietly.

"Hmm?" The pipsqueak looked at her, holding several cans in her arms. "What's up?"

"That guy over there." She tilted her head toward the stranger. "You know him?"

Ruby glanced at him before a frown took over her face.

"No… Why does he feel like— Look out!" Ruby's eyes widened as she tackled Titania to the ground.

Titania couldn't even ask what she was doing before she saw a ray of darkness pierce through where they had been, tearing apart their cart, the shelves, and even the wall of the building. Both girls quickly got into combat positions, and Titania wondered how the fuck a Grimm had gotten inside Vale.

"I've… found you…"

The former assassin froze as she recognized the voice, blood running cold as the monster giggled maniacally.

"Rose, and…" He looked at her, making her flinch. "Ah… So you were here all along, hmm?"

Tyrian revealed himself as he threw the cloak away, but he wasn't the Tyrian she knew. He was bigger, his skin pale as snow, his hair long enough to reach his knees, and his eyes as evil and red as Salem's. His mad gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

"Traitor~"

Titania took a step back.

"What the hell happened to you…" She questioned quietly. "Is this Salem's doing?"

"Ah, are you jealous, perhaps?" He giggled and twitched, creating an orb of darkness in his hand. "My mistress granted me this gift. Which I'll be using to fulfill her every desire, starting by taking you."

He whipped his head at Ruby, making her flinch in surprise as he swung his arm at her, sending a wave of his magic at her. The spell struck true, sending Ruby through the wall and outside the supermarket.

For a while, there was no comeback from Ruby, making Titania fear the worst. Seriously? Had he one-shotted a Titan Slayer? Just what had Salem done to this guy, and how was he so powerful now? What was she supposed to do?

I gotta run. She said. Fuck the Titan Slayer and his girlfriend. I didn't sign up for this shit.

"Oh? Is that really all she could muster?" He tilted his head, still twitching creepily. "No matter~ Perhaps you will prove to be a challenge, traito—"

That was when a beam of light pierced through Tyrian's arm and tore his shoulder off his body, making him scream in pain. Out of the smoke and rubble, Ruby walked back in, barely even hurt, with a very smug smirk on her face that reminded her of that white-haired asshole.

Titania had forgotten that the little lass over here was a Titan Slayer as well, but not to show a reaction to that? Just what was she made of?

"Heh. You look pretty scary, but—" Ruby twirled her scythe around and pointed it at him. "If that was the best you could do, then you're not that tough. I bet I can beat you without my light magic."

Tyrian growled before a maniacal laugh escaped him as his arm regrew in a matter of seconds.

"It's over~ It's over for you, you know~" He continued giggling. "My mistress wants you~ Your fate is sealed, Rose."

"Well, I don't really know who or what you are, but if your mistress wants me so much, then why isn't she here to do it herself?" Ruby responded, not one bit intimidated. "She's scared, isn't she? I bet I can kick her ass too."

"What did you say?!" Grimm-Tyrian scowled deeply. "How dare you?! I'll tear your head from your shoulders, you stupid bitch!"

"You'll die trying!"

Titania should've never left the mansion.

Sorry for the slow updates. Dragonball: Sparking Zero dropped and I've been having waaaayyyy too much fun with it. I can barely get a few hundred words written before I'm suddenly beating the shit out of skill-less MUI Gokus and Gogetas.

If you want more content, check the pa tre on.