CHAPTER FOUR - THE GHOST AND THE ANDROID
Alex looked out at the vast, empty ocean with the sun beating down on them. They were miles away from any civilisation, on a large boat bound for Menagerie, along with dozens of other passengers and crew on the desk.
Alex had mid length black hair with a fringe that reached his eyebrows and reached the back of his upper neck, with dark brown eyes. He wore an electric blue hoodie with a black leather jacket over the top. The jacket had two blue lighting bolts imprinted on the front, one on each shoulder, and two large bolts on his back, forming an 'X' shape. He wore black jeans, a dark blue belt with black, blue and white hi-top shoes. He wore a pair of fingerless black leather gloves and had a pair of daggers on the sides of his belt.
He glanced down on a lower desk and saw Blake, who was looking out at the sea. She looked over her right shoulder, spotting two kids laughing over a joke. Blake almost smiled and turned back to the ocean. The Captain of the ship approached her.
"Travelling alone?" He asked her, causing her to grip the hilt of Gambol Shroud. She stopped when she saw it was the Captain, who raised his hands reassuringly. "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat."
"And why is that?" Blake asked, relaxing her posture, rolling her eyes. The Captain lowered his hands and leant on the railing.
"Well, not many people travel by boat on their own. It can be quite a lonely voyage. But I found those that do tend to have the more...interesting stores." The Captain explained.
"Who says she's travelling alone?" Alex asked from above, and hopped down, landing behind them.
"He's with you?" The Captain asked Blake, who just rolled her eyes.
"I might as well not be. Been with her for, I don't know, two weeks. Barely said a word to me." Alex stated, leaning on the rail.
"Sometimes, it's just better for some people to be alone." Blake told them. The two kids ran past Blake, which caused her to gasp again. The Captain laughed.
"Maybe, but with your paranoia, it's probably a good thing he's here with you." The Captain stated, and glanced over at Alex. "Not seen you before, what's your name?"
"I'm Alexander MacFarlane, my friends call me Alex." Alex introduced himself, and shook the Captain's hand. "And yeah, she's pretty paranoid."
"Who says I'm paranoid!?" Blake accused, causing Alex and the Captain to laugh.
"Not me, dear, just him. I'll leave you two be." The Captain told them, and turned away. "But, uh, fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring. Try talking, it'll pass the time easier." The Captain walked away. Blake looked at the ground for a few seconds, reached up and untied her bow.
"Won't be needing this." Blake said to herself. She held it over the deck and released it, letting it fall onto the water, floating away. She turned to Alex, who was smirking at her. "What?"
"It's good your getting rid of that, a sign of progress." Alex told Blake. She just rolled her eyes and walked away. "Nothing? Not a word?" Alex asked. He groaned and followed. Alex glanced up at the upper deck, and spotted a hooded figure, watching Blake. Alex just smirked and kept walking.
Epsilon sat on the left arm of the sofa, stroking Zwei, who was sleeping peacefully in his bed. He petted Zwei one last time and slid down onto the left side of the sofa, next to Yang. She glanced at a set of books, opting not to read them, and then at the TV remote, which sat on the arm of the sofa over Epsilon. She glanced at Epsilon, who reached over and handed her the remote.
"Thanks." Yang told him, then turned on the news.
Epsilon had blonde hair, a fringe that reached his eye brows and reaching the back of his head, with golden coloured eyes. He stood at 5' 5", short for his age. A scar sat across his right eye, from his forehead to his right cheek. He wore a yellow shirt with a brown bandana around his neck, black jeans, black belt, black boots and a pair of black wool fingerless gloves. On each wrist was a black wrist band made of compacted metal.
Epsilon turned to
"...with no end in sight. Try as they might, the Huntsman and Huntresses can't seem to get a hold of the situation at Beacon Academy."
Epsilon looked at the banner: BEACON INACCESSIBLE. Epsilon rolled his eyes. He got in there when it was infested, why can't fully fledged hunters? Yang clicked the remote, switching to another channel.
"...though the fail safes have supported wireless communication within the kingdom, the loss of the CCT Tower continues to prevent contact with the outside world. Talks with Atlas officials regarding repairs have so far-"
Epsilon looked at the banner: CCT Repairs 'Underway'. The subheading read: Atlas officials working on solution, but not optimistic. Epsilon reached into his back pocket, pulling out his modified scroll. It overcame the CCT limitation, having been modified by a scientist and given to him by David. Epsilon sighed, putting it back into his pocket as Yang flipped onto another channel.
"...Vale council voted this week to ban any air traffic that does not have a direct correlation with evacuation. The council has made it clear they feel-"
Epsilon looked at the caption next to the faunus anchorman: Sending Citizens Home. Epsilon was glad that the council focused on saving people and getting them to safety, even after the six moths after the fall. Or was is eight? Epsilon shook his head, rubbing his forehead as Yang flipped to another channel.
"Multiple rumours continue to circulate who was behind the attack at the Vytal Festival Tournament."
Epsilon looked as Lisa Lavender came up on the screen, with the caption below her reading: WHITE FANG MEMBER, ADAM TAURUS, PRESENT DURING GRIMM ATTACK. Epsilon tensed a little. He had never met Adam Taurus face-to-face, but he knew what he had done to his sister, taking off her right arm during the Fall of Beacon.
"...While no one is sure, officials ave confined that high-ranking White Fang member, Adam Taurus was present during the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force-"
Yang turned off the TV, who appeared slightly unnerved by the image of Adam that was on the screen. Epsilon sighed and patted Yang's shoulder comfortingly, Yang giving him a thankful glance.
"I'm home!" Epsilon turned around and saw Taiyang at the door, holding three boxes and two bags from each forearm.
"Hey, Dad." Yang greeted, leaning back and looking at him upside-down. Taiyang walked in with a grin.
"Guess what came in today!?" Taiyang asked them enthusiastically, shutting the door behind him and walking through the living room.
"What?" Yang asked. Epsilon silently asked the same.
"I can't wait for you to try this." Taiyang told her, walking into another room and dropping the items. Yang looked back at him, somewhat interested, while Epsilon thought about what it could be. Taiyang walked back into the room, holding a long, white box. He set it down on the table, and Epsilon instantly recognised the Kingdom of Atlas symbol printed on it.
"Wow." Epsilon stated, surprised. Yang just silently looked at the box.
"Well?" Taiyang asked her.
"It's...for me?" Yang asked cautiously.
"For you and you only." Taiyang assured Yang. Yang removed the lid of the box, and inside sat a robotic right arm. Yang looked at it, somewhat wide-eyed, but blinked and looked more distressed.
"Brand now, state of the art, Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favours, but you earned this one all on your own, kiddo." Taiyang told Yang.
"Huh?" Yang asked curiously. Epsilon leant over, stroking his hand over the metal arm.
"Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this, for you. He wanted to tell me you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself." Taiyang told Yang.
"What about me? Did you hear anything from Ironwood on me?" Epsilon asked. Taiyang sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
"The council is still undecided about your arrest. While murder is a severely punishable offense, especially en-masse, you had no control. Ironwood is defending you, but you are still under house arrest." Taiyang told Epsilon. Epsilon frowned and nodded. "You know, none of us hold anything against you for what happened."
"312 families do." Epsilon told Taiyang. "I can't undo what I've done, even if I wasn't in control at the time." Epsilon rubbed his eyes, trying to forget that night. They looked over at Yang, who's eyes were glued to the metal arm.
"Well? You doing to try it on?" Taiyang asked Yang.
"I uh... I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?" Yang asked Taiyang weakly. Taiyang sighed and considered what she said.
"Well, alright." Taiyang told her. Yang got up and walked to the stairs, walking up as Taiyang gave her an encouraging smile as she passes in front of him. She paused partway up the stairs.
"Thanks, Dad." Yang thanked him, and continued up the stairs. Epsilon picked up the metal arm, and magnetically held it in front of him.
"Such a sophisticated design." Epsilon complimented, looking at it as it spun around slowly as he twisted his right hand. "Yang deserves the best."
"Too right." Taiyang agreed. "What's it like? Having a metal arm?"
"I can't really compare, having a metal arm for my whole...year or two long...life. Looking at this though, it lacks the comfort and warmth that a real arm has. It looks cold, calculating and...very Atlas." Epsilon explained to Taiyang.
"No chance the man who made you can make a flesh-metal arm like yours for Yang?" Taiyang asked, sitting next to him.
"No, he's went underground, somewhere in the Mistral black market." Epsilon grabbed his modified scroll. "Even this can't find him." Taiyang sighed with an understanding nod, Epsilon put the metal arm back in the box, putting the lid back on.
Yang swept the porch, managing to sweep with arm at an adept level of skill. She glanced at Epsilon, who was sitting on the edge of the porch on his modified scroll. Yang held out the brush for him to hold, but she stopped herself and instead balanced it on her right shoulder, and wiped her brow with a sigh.
Epsilon glanced back at the screen with a small smirk. Yang was becoming more independent. Moving forward.
Yang opened the mailbox, grabbing half a dozen letters. She glanced at them, and tucked them under her right shoulder and walked back up the driveway. She glanced at Epsilon, who was sitting on the steps at the front door, fiddling with his right wrist band. She took one of the letters and held it out to Epsilon.
"It's for you." Yang told him. Epsilon looked a little surprised, but took it. He opened the letter as Yang walked inside, and found a small note with a series of numbers written on it, and signed with the letter 'A'. Epsilon smiled. He took out his scroll and inputted the number, holding it to his ear.
"Epsilon?"
"Hey, Ashley." Epsilon greeted.
"So, you did get the number?" Ashley guessed.
"Or I spent hours typing in and testing random numbers." Epsilon joked.
"You would do that, wouldn't you?" Ashley teased with a small laugh.
"I was about to. It's been weeks since I've seen you." Epsilon reminded her. His expression became more serious. "It must mean something has happened."
"...Salem has made her next move. Mistral is next." Ashley told Epsilon. Epsilon sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"God damn it, ow could I have missed that?" Epsilon asked himself rhetorically. "Anything else?"
"Salem sent Tyrian after Ruby because of what she did to Cinder. Tyrian has also been told to kill 'The Inhuman'." Ashley informed him.
"David." Epsilon knew. "I can't help but feel sorry for him then."
"For David?" Ashley asked.
"No, for Tyrian. If he's going to try and kill him, and take Ruby? Tyrian is as good as dead." Epsilon told her. "Anything else?"
"Hazel is meeting Sienna Khan, Doctor Watts is taking Cinder's place in Mistral, and Cinder is still recovering from the Fall of Beacon." Ashley summarised.
"What about you, and Reginald...can you come home yet?" Epsilon asked hopefully. Ashley sighed sadly.
"Salem is watching Reginald like a hawk, won't let him out of her sight. I barely found the time to make this call, I wanted to earlier, but I never got a chance." Ashley apologised. "I can't leave yet, or Salem will be suspicious of us. But I will see you soon. How's Yang?"
"Ironwood sent her a new arm, but I know she's still mentally recovering. She's not ready for it." Epsilon told her. "I miss you."
"I do too." Ashley said sadly. "I'll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you too." Epsilon told Ashley with a small smile.
CRACK!
"Oh, Crap, sorry, got to go." Epsilon told Ashley quickly, getting to his feet.
"Right, see you soon. Bye."
"Bye." Epsilon hung up and ran into the kitchen, finding Yang backed up against the kitchen counter, clinging it tightly with her arm. Epsilon looked at the ground and found the shattered pieces of the glass she must have dropped. Epsilon leant down and picked the pieces up, putting them into the bin. Epsilon turned quickly when Yang slammed her fist onto the counter top, breathing heavily to try and calm herself.
"Hey, it's okay." Epsilon assured her, walking over and giving her a reassuring hug. Yang calmed, sighing in relief, and hugged Epsilon back.
Taiyang watched from the doorway, watching with concern, but wordlessly turned away, knowing Epsilon had this covered.
At dusk, Blake again looked out into the ocean, ignoring Alex, who was leant against the railing next to her, looking out at the ocean. He glanced at the sky, noting the darkness.
"It's getting pretty dark, we should probably head inside." Alex advised. Blake silently agreed, walking with him across the deck. Blake stopped when she sensed someone above watching her. She drew Gambol Shroud and spun around.
"Who's there?!" Blake yelled, the hooded figure turning and running away.
"Hey, Blake, calm down. It was probably just another passenger who might have recognised you." Alex told her, but she ignored him, looking up at the upper deck. Alex sighed and looked out at the ocean, and tensed when he saw large waves coming towards them, and a large, red fin submerge under the water. "Uhh...Blake..."
The ship shook, knocking Blake and Alex slightly, breaking their train of thoughts. The two looked out at the ocean as a large shadow overtook them.
On the upper desk, a crew member in the crows nest look in horror at the Grimm which came out of the ocean.
"RED ALERT!" He yelled.
Teh lights on the deck flashed red as the sirens pulsed a warning. The Captain and First Mate ran out and look at the Grimm from the upper deck, above Blake and Alex.
"By the gods..." The Captain whispered. A large, sea dragon Grimm came out of the water, dozens of meters in length. It has a pattern of glowing red lines along the scales of its neck, and its eyes glowed yellow. The Grimm swung its head back and forth, roaring and spreading its short forearms outward. "All hands to battle stations!"
"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" The First Mate told the Captain cautiously.
"We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!" The Captain told her with determination.
Alex was frozen in fear. What could they do? Blake took the initiative and ran forward and into the air. She created a clone and used it to give herself momentum, flinging Gambol Shroud at the Grimm in its kusarigama form. It embedded itself in the Grimm's neck and she swung around the Grimm, firing shots from her gun, but only causing it to roar in anger. Blake landed on the crows nest, aiming and firing her gun at the Sea Dragon Grimm.
The Captain steered the ship from the bridge, stabilising the shop in the Grimm's wake, and stepped outside to get another look. The side of the ship opened and a dozen cannons came out. They fired at the Sea Dragon, but make minimal effect.
Blake swung and shot at the Grimm, falling onto the ships deck, landing on her back and quickly gets to her feet. She recoils in pain and holds her left shoulder.
"Blake! You okay?" Alex asked, running over to her.
"Yeah." Blake told him, and sighed. "I need your help."
"My help!? I can't fight this!" Alex exclaimed.
"Use your electricity." Blake told him.
"In open water!? If I'm not careful, I'll kill everyone on this boat!" Alex yelled. He looked at the Grimm and ran across the deck, heading below deck.
Inside the bridge, the Captain turned to the First Mate and another crewman, both of which appearing nervous. "Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!" He ordered. The First Mate recomposed herself and pressed some buttons on the central panel.
A large cannon raised from a trapdoor on the desk, and extended itself, and aimed at the Grimm. The Grimm's dorsal fin splits open and extra bone unfolds, and two wings spead out as it roared. It flapped its wings and sent a large gush of wind at the boat. Blake and Alex were pushed back, Blake dried in pain as she hung onto the railing with her left arm.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" The Captain ordered. The heavy cannon fired at the Sea Dragon Grimm, but it evaded. It opened its mouth an an electric bolt formed in its mouth. Blake readied to launch herself at it, but the hooded figure lands on her back and uses her as a launch pad.
"Hey!" Blake exclaimed. The figure removed their cloak, revealing themselves to be none other than Sun Wukong. He activates his energy clones in the air. Blake looked in surprise. "SUN!?" Blake yelled." Sun and his clones landed on the Grimm, pulling it's head back.
"Not today, pal!" Sun yelled, the Grimm releasing it's electricity blast, but missed and shot at the air, instead of the ship.
"What are you doing!?" Blake yelled at Sun. The Grimm shook to get Sun off, who held onto the two tendrils on it's mouth.
"Oh, uh, you know, just...hanging out!" Sun yelled, trying to hold onto the Grimm. The Sea Dragon Grimm sent a small electrical charge onto Sun, causing him to let go and fall to the ground. "WHOA-OA!"
Blake gasped, and looked down at the water below her. How could she grab him?
"JUMP ON!" Alex yelled, Blake turned and looked down the deck, and she looked in complete disbelief. Alex drove a black modified muscle car along the deck towards her. Blake leapt onto the hood as it crashed through the barrier and flew across the water. Blake leapt off the car and caught Sun bridal style, landing back on the car's hood as it landed on a nearby formation of rock.
"My hero!" Sun told Blake, putting a hand on his heart.
"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake yelled at him angrily.
"Yeah!? Well it looks lie the two of you can use all the help you can get!" Sun objected. Blake glared at him and dropped him on the hood of the car, rolling off onto the rock.
"Just shut up and fight!" Blake yelled, and sprinted towards the Sea Dragon Grimm and the ship. Alex exited his car, slamming the door shut, and looked at Sun, who was leaning on the ground, with his head propped onto his hand.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sun yelled.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, holding out a hand.
"Being cool." Sun shrugged, taking the hand and getting to his feet. "Nice save, man. You coming?"
"I don't know..." Alex muttered.
"Come on, we need all the help we can get." Sun told Alex, and ran back to the ship. After a moment of hesitation, Alex followed.
On the Bridge, the Captain steered the ship with two of his crew looking at displays.
"Starboard defences are down, sir!" The First Mate told the Captain.
"We still got the heavy cannon?" The Captain asked.
"No, sir, the Grimm's electrical attack managed to skim the cannon, fried it." The other crew member told the Captain. The Captain sighed in frustration. He was running out of options.
"How about the engines?" The Captain asked. The First Mate scanned across the display.
"Fully, functional, Captain!" She informed him.
"Well alright, then!" The Captain exclaimed.
In the deck, Blake landed as the Grimm made another electrical attack, and she braced. It fired, but Alex stood in the way, absorbing the hit with no physical damage, Sun landed next to him.
"Nice job, man!" Sun complimented him, patting him on the back.
"Huntsmen!" The Captain yelled from the upper deck, catching the three of their attention. "If you ca clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we can pin it, but the heavy cannon is damaged!"
"I can kill it, if we can get it still." Alex told them.
"Good man!" The Captain yelled, and headed back to the bridge. Blake turned to Sun, who shrugged.
"I mean, you two have sharp weapons. I can't clip it's wings with this." Sun told them, holding his staff. Blake sighed and took out Gambol Shroud, Alex taking out one of his daggers. Sun span his weapon and holstered it and ran towards the Grimm. "Now or never!" Sun activated three clones and jumped into the air with one of them, the other two waiting to vault them up. Blake and Alex ran towards them, Alex left and Blake right, and they vaulted them up into the air.
Alex looked up and reached out to another Sun clone, which grabbed his hand and threw him toward the Sea Dragon Grimm's left wing. Blake flew towards Sun, and instead of heading towards him, leapt over him and vaulted off him towards the Sea Dragon Grimm's right wing. Alex and Blake both took out their blades, and sliced each of the Grimm's wings.
The two fell towards the ground, Alex fired two electrical charges beneath him to slow his decent and landed on the rocks next to Sun, who had his arms out and caught Blake. He smirked at her.
"This is the part where you say it." Sun teased. Blake turned away and groaned in annoyance. The Grimm moved towards the three of them, causing Blake to leap out of Sun's arms and run. "Okay, maybe later!"
"I wouldn't count on it." Alex told Sun, and ran after her. Sun deflated a little, but leapt off the rocks as they started to collapse. The three sprinted across the rocks at the Sea Dragon Grimm chased them, the ship having increased speed to keep up with them. Sun leapt off a rock as the Sea Dragon Grimm burst through it, opening its mouth to grab Sun, but was saved by Blake who swung across and caught him. The Grimm opens its mouth and charges an electrical bolt, but was struck by the boat, pinning it.
Alex leapt onto the front of the ship, his irises glowed electric blue as a bolt of lightning charged in his right hand. He yelled and thrusted his hand forward, sending a marge electrical bolt to the Grimm Sea Dragon, wrapping its entire body in electricity as it roared in pain, and turned to ash. Alex lowered his arm, letting out a sigh of relief, the passengers and crew saved.
At night, Alex stood in the bridge with the Captain and the small crew.
"Again, I apologise for damaging the ship with my car." Alex told him. "I can pay for the damages if need be."
"Oh, don't worry lad, you killed that Grimm when we were out of options. Consider each other even." The Captain assured Alex. Alex nodded and shook the Captain's hand, and exited the bridge.
Alex reached the middle desk and found Blake leaning on the railing, and Sun talking to a pair of faunus.
"Seriously, it was no big deal!" Sun assured them. "Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool! We got this!" The faunus couple walked away as Sun walked back over to Blake and Alex. "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before."
"I haven't seen anything like that before." Alex told Sun. "Not that common."
"Really? Are you a hunter in training like us?" Sun asked Alex.
"I was, or about a term, but I got kicked out for crashing an airship. Totally wasn't my fault though." Alex denied.
"I seriously doubt that." Sun told Alex, who just rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here, Sun?" Blake spoke up.
"Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!" Sun complimented, and pointed at her exposed ears. "Never did like the bow."
"Sun!" Blake yelled, slapping his hand away.
"Geez!" Sun recoiled, slightly hurt.
"Have you been following me!?" Blake demanded angrily. Sun glanced away, a touch abashed.
"I saw you run off. The night Beacon Tower fell." Sun told her, Blake's expression softening. "Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay. And then you took off, without saying anything." Sun turned to Alex. "You, however, I have no idea why you're here."
"Why am I here? I'm trying to find David, and Blake's my best chance at finding him." Alex explained.
"You know David? Man, I haven't seen him since the Fall of Beacon. How do you know him?" Sun asked. Alex sighed.
"It's a long story. I lived in a community in central Sanus, between Vale and Vacuo, called Cydonia, and David and his team crashed there before the Vytal Tournament. Me and him went to hell and back fighting a Grimm infection and the dead who came back to life, but we won, but at a massive cost. Besides David and my girlfriend, there were no other survivors." Alex told them both.
"Well, besides you." Sun corrected.
"Yeah, sure, besides me." Alex muttered, unsure of himself. "After all that, David left without a trace, and I'm trying to find him. He told me that he used to be part of Team RWBY, and Blake was the only one I found, quite by chance. I was driving through Vale and I found her. For a couple of weeks, I've stuck with her, but besides today, she's barely said a word to me. I spotted you about a week ago, but I decided not to rat you out, since I wanted to know your intentions. Good to know you're an ally." Alex turned to Blake. "You never told me why you left."
"I had to. Neither of you would understand." Blake told them.
"No, I get it!" Sun assured Blake. "The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!" Blake smiled at Sun, pleased that he understood. "You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!" Sun yelled.
Blake's expression fell.
"What?" Blake asked in disbelief.
"Here we go." Alex muttered with a smirk.
"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!"
"I can't believe you." Blake muttered.
"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! Even with Alex here, it's an honourable approach, for sure, but you're gonna need all the help you can get. And that's where I come in!" Sun wrapped an arm around Bale's shoulders. "Us Faunus got to stick together, after all."
"Jeez, thanks." Alex muttered, feigning hurt as he crossed his arms.
"No, you're cool. You're an exception to the rule." Sun assured Alex.
"You're wrong, Sun." Blake told him, and pushed him off. "You're so, so,wrong." Blake turned and walked away.
"What are you..."
"I'm not going near the White Fang." Blake cut Sun off. "Not yet."
"Seriously?" Sun asked in disbelief.
"I need to sort some things out." Blake explained.
"Then why not with your team? Your friends? The only help your getting is front a stranger you've never met before?" Sun asked.
"You're one to talk!" Blake accused. "When I ran from my team when they found out I was a faunus, you helped me, and we'd never spoken." Blake reminded him. "Besides, it's not like you brought your team, assuming Neptune, Sage and Scarlet aren't hiding below desk."
"You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean?" Sun joked, sitting on the railing.
"Wait, is Neptune afraid of water?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, it's super weird." Sun noted.
"David told me that, I just didn't believe it. Neptune afraid of water. What a world." Alex laughed, and leant on the railing. "So, what happened to your team?"
"They flew back to Mistral, I told them I'd catch up. It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!" Sun remembered, and turned to Blake. "So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?"
"Home." Blake stated. "To Menagerie."
"Well, I'm coming with you." Sun told them. "The Grimm are getting worse; you saw it yourself! And just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, I'm...kind of already on the boat."
"You really won't stop, will you?" Alex asked.
"Nope!" Sun cheered.
"Good man." Alex told him, and they bumped fists, Blake rolling her eyes.
"This is going to be great! Never been to Menagerie before! It'll be a regular journey to the east! Yeah, I like the sound of that..."
In Salem's realm, Cinder, Salem and Reginald sat at the table. Mercury, Emerald and Ashley stood at the door, waiting. Cinder breaths heavily with effort while Salem has her right hand out casually. Reginald sat on his modified scroll, tapping buttons.
"Do you feel it? Don't fight it, girl. It can sense your trepidation. You must make it dread you." Salem instructed Cinder.
A soft clicking noise made Cinder and Reginald turn to the door. Beyond the doorway is black, but a small, glowing yellow orb floated into the room with long red tentacles with a black and white body. Mercury and Emerald looked at it in horror, Ashley just glanced away in disgust. It glided over to Salem at the head of the table. The Seer Grimm approached her and clicked a series of times.
"Cinder, I am going to ask you this one more time, and I expect a clear answer. Did you kill Ozpin?" Salem asked. Cinder raised her arm to Emerald, but Salem slammed her fist on the table, eyes flashing red. "NO!" Cinder lowers her arm, almost in fear. "I want to hear you say it."
"hhhhhhhhyyyyhhhhyhyh-yyeeeessss..." Cinder rasped weakly. Salem looked at her for a long moment, and turned to Reginald.
"Is she telling the truth?" Salem asked him. Reginald turned and looked at Cinder, his black eyes meeting her amber one.
"Yes."
Salem turned to the Seer Grimm.
"Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The relic is there." Salem told the Seer, which glided away, clicking in it's step. It reached the door, and Mercury and Emerald once again drew away. Ashley narrowed her eyes at the Seer. Salem glanced away from Cinder and towards Reginald, brought her fingers to her chin.
"What are you planning?"
So, there we have it, Alex and Epsilon are introduced into the story, along with Blake, Yang and Sun. This chapter took so long to write, so much to put it, but all in all, I think it turned out pretty well. And, just so there isn't any confusion: The Ghost is Alex, and the Android is Epsilon, just in case it wasn't clear.
We learn why Alex is with Blake, to find David, which unfortunately may take some time. And while Epsilon's isn't as explicit, Epsilon is under house arrest for murder that he committed out of his control, and has to stay with his 'sister' and 'father'. More on them later though.
As always, remember to follow, favourite, and leave a review, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.