Alright, so lets try to kick this one off with a bit of insight.
To those of you who are concerned that Yang forgave the others too easily, it only seems that way because I'm very bad at writing tense moments. Yang is more or less just trying to be pleasant around everyone. She still hasn't forgiven any of them yet. The only one she actually trusts on the Leviathan right now is Leo, and that's more or less due to him helping her get her gauntlet back.
Now then, I'm almost certain that I'm forgetting to mention something, but most of you don't read the part up here anyway. So let's just let you all move right into the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY
Hell's Point (Middle Island of True Remnant)
From the outside, anyone who saw the massive island of Hell's Point would see only a massive volcano, and countless fires from the lava spewing forth from the depths of Remnant. However, if you were brave enough, or foolish enough to venture to the top of Hell's peak, and jump into the volcano, you would then be transported within the hidden fortress that stood just below the surface of the molten rock. Within the fortress, one would see that there was an entire civilization below the rocks, with women and children going about their business as though they didn't live inside the largest active volcano on their planet.
If one was to move to the lower levels of the island they could see the vast farms that provided food and room to play, along with the massive castle in the distance, the building itself had been built into the side of the volcano, and was home to the lord of these lands. As one got closer they could see the village that had grown around the castle, one may even be lucky enough to catch sight of the lord presiding over his adoring public.
The lord of these lands was a giant of a man, standing at seven and a half feet tall, with long green and silver hair, with a set of red horns atop his head, and a thin beard. His eyes were a clear silver with dark slits, easily seen behind his spectacles that rested on the end of his nose. The man was very well built, while not as muscular in appearance as Leo, he still gave off the impression of someone who had been training his body for many decades. At his side was a large great sword that rested withing a long blue and gold scabbard. He constantly wore a pocket watch on a chain that was hidden within his cloak. Also hidden by his cloak, and hidden from all but his most trusted associates, was the fact that he was missing his left arm from the bicep down.
On this day the Lord of Hell's Point starred down at his charge with an indifferent stare. The people of his kingdom were all Faunus, having been living hidden on this island for centuries. The Lord himself was older that anyone living in the Human world, being rumored to be close to Three Hundred years of age. He had been watching the people of his kingdom since his early years when they had been attacked by humans. When the Great War started, the Lord had his most trusted scientist create the illusion of the whole island, giving it the appearance that the volcano had erupted and made the island uninhabitable.
It worked, and after several years, the humans forgot about his people, they retreated back to their continents and began to fight within their own borders over petty grievances. The Lord grieved for the Faunus that he had left to their fate in the human world, but he knew not to risk the people of his kingdom for the lives of a few who had left of their own accord. Many years later, when the Lord had gotten word that the war had ended, he was skeptical. He knew well that humans were a warlike race, and knew it would take much to get them to back down from a fight. So he spent many weeks with his scientists trying to discern what had caused humanity to put down it's arms in favor of peace. All tests came back with the same conclusion.
The Grimm.
Many wars of days past had been halted due to the intervention of a common enemy, and many more had started in order to destroy the Grimm. The Grimm were creatures that thrived on Fear, Pain and sadness, all emotions that are synonymous with War. When the Grimm resurfaced after so many years, they began to drive humanity back, and in eighty years, the Lord had heard nothing from the humans. The great war and the Grimm, seemed to have taken away the need to explore. His scouts showed him that the rulers of the Human world had removed the rest of the planet from their maps, and left only the four continents that they had lived on, and the Lord was content to keep it that way. He had no desire to remedy relations between humans and Faunus.
The door in the back of the throne room slid open and a small man with a long rat tail ran into the room. Quickly he dropped to his knees before the lord and spoke. "My Lord! Please forgive this sudden intrusion but The Man at Arms requests your presence at once!" The small rat man was trembling as he placed his head on the floor.
The Lord turned his head to look down at the man before the woman to his side spoke. "Where does the Man at Arms think he stands in this kingdom to demand the presence of our Lord!" She demanded. She had long blue hair and a pair of rabbits ears on the top of her head. She was a short woman, standing around five feet tall, with a long blue dress and a small crown on her head. Her eyes seemed to glow a weak red as the light shined off of them.
The Lord placed his hand on the woman's shoulder and calmed her. "Relax, I'm sure that the Man at Arms has a good reason for summoning me. He's one of my oldest friends, I trust his judgment above all else." The Lord said as he walked past her to the still kneeling messenger. "Tell the Man at Arms that I shall be there soon."
The small rat nodded and sprinted off down the hall. The woman in blue huffed and turned to the lord. "Grandfather! If you continue to act nice to the help, then they'll lose respect for you!" She said as she crossed her arms and walked over to the balcony to glare down at the peasants as they went about their everyday lives.
The Lord sighed and turned to his granddaughter. "I have been trying to make you understand for many years Ella. The people of this kingdom follow me because they respect my decisions, and because they know that I have their best interests at heart. Not because they fear me, but because they trust me." The Lord said as he joined her at the ledge.
"But Grandfather! You treat these peasants the same way you treat the nobles! They exist to serve us! If we continue to let them believe that they are worth being treated with kindness by the Lord of the land, then one day they may demand more! What will you do when those same peasants whose lives you let them believe are worth the same as yours attack us and demand more than you can give!?" Ella shouted as she pointed her finger at her Grandfather.
The Lord smiled as he looked down to his people below. "I don't believe that they will rise against a just and kind ruler, but if they ever begin to demand more than we can give, or feel like they aren't being give their fair share, then I shall call upon my economic advisers to assist me. All Faunus are equal in my kingdom Ella, I may rule over the Kingdom, but my life is not worth any more than any of my civilians." He said as he watched the market place below.
The Lord smiled before turning back to Ella. "Now then, I believe that the Man at Arms had requested my presence. I bid you goodbye Granddaughter." The Lord spoke as he turned to walk down the hall.
Ella watched her Grandfather leave before looking down at the people below with disgust. Ella's eyes glowed brightly before she turned and followed her Grandfather down the hall.
The castle itself was large enough to accommodate the whole of Beacon Academy's student body within it, and still have room to move around, as such, many people who had not walked the hall before would get lost just wandering the halls. Ella had grown up in these halls, and knew all the shortcuts to take to catch her Grandfather before he reached the workshop belonging to the Man at Arms. Turning a corner she cursed her luck as she watched her Grandfather pass the guards into the workshop before the door slid shut and latched. Thinking quickly Ella climbed into the nearby air vent and crawled forward until she could see inside the massive workshop that the Man at Arms called home.
In the center of the room there was a large table with a hologram emitter, while the room itself was covered in countless computer stations, each manned by a member of the Man at Arms personal staff. Beside the large table in the center Ella could see her Grandfather talking to the Man at Arms, and with her large ears, she could hear every word.
"So old friend, you sent for me?" The Lord greeted as he walked over to the Man at Arms personal work station.
Turning to the Lord with a large smile the Man at Arms laughed. "You need to come and visit more often old friend, it is good to see you again."
The Lord smiled. "And I you. But I get the feeling that you didn't send for me, just so we could have a friendly chat."
The Man at Arms sighed. "I'm afraid not m'Lord. We've been monitoring the Human world as we were tasked, and it would appear that they are moving quickly back into a war with record speed. Just a few days ago, two of the four kingdoms attacked the other two kingdoms."
The Lord dawned a serious face before looking to the monitors. He could see the ruins of both Atlas and Vale as they fought off the attacking ships. "So the Humans can't go even one century without trying to destroy each other. What a pitiful species." The Lord said as he watched the Atlesian military fire upon the Ark as it flew past the school. "I had hoped that they would learn from the mistakes of years past but it would appear that they seemed determined to destroy themselves. Is this what you called me here fore old friend, to show me that our old foe is up to their tricks again?" The Lord asked as he turned to the Man at Arms.
"No sir. I called you here today to show you this." The Man at Arms waved his hand and caused the image to shift to the clouds, high above Remnant. The Lord watched as two massive Warships attacked each other before the larger of the two dove below the clouds, with the other in quick pursuit.
The Lord turned to the Man at Arms. "What was I just looking at Lynx?" The Lord asked as he watched the camera attempt to follow the two colossal ships.
The Man at Arms turned from the screen to look down at the data pad in his hand before reading aloud. "The Leviathan and The Nautilus. I asked our scouts in the human world what the names meant, and they came back to me with word that they were both the names of the two strongest warships in the human world, alongside the Ark, which you saw crashed in a previous photo, and the Argo, which you saw being attacked as it flew over a city." Lynx said as her turned to the Lord before him.
"And you believe that their war will affect our civilization once again?" The Lord asked as he turned back to the monitors.
"Sire, those two warships were fighting on the border of the Human world. The fight you saw took place last night, and we've been following the ships as they flew. While they seem to be enemies, both ships are heading straight towards Hell's Point. If they know that the island is an illusion, then they may be coming here to attack us."
"Impossible. The Human's would never make it to us. We've been modifying the Grimm in the surrounding seas for the last century. They'd never get past them, let along the beasts that exist in the sky's." The Lord said as he turned to the Man at Arms.
"We thought so too Sire, until our camera caught this." Lynx said as he moved the footage ahead to when the Emperor Taijitu attacked the Leviathan. The Lord could see Leo on the deck face off against the beast before the Giant Grimm moved to the other ship and attacked them. The Lord watched as the Nautilus struggled against the Emperor Taijitu for over an hour before finally killing the Grimm and giving chase to the other ship.
Lynx turned to the Lord. "They actually managed to kill an Emperor Taijitu Sire. None of our soldiers have been able to do that since the Great War. And watch how it dies." Lynx said as he zoomed in on the middle head. At the base of the head there was a blur of red and black, followed by a bright slash. Then the massive Grimm began to fall to pieces before disintegrating. "It may have been weakened from the cannons, but the fact remains that someone or something aboard that ship is capable of cutting the heads off of an Emperor Taijitu with ease, that is not something we can ignore."
The Lord watched the scene closely before sighing. "No we cannot. I want the entire kingdom on high alert. The second one of those warships comes into sight, bring it down. I'll not have the people of the Human world using their war to harm my citizens anymore." The Lord said as he turned to leave. "And Lynx!" The Lord said as he looked back over his shoulder.
The Man at Arms looked up to his old friend and replied. "Yes Sire?"
"I want you to keep the prisoners guarded closely. If those warships are coming to rescue them, then we can't afford to give even one of them back. Do I make myself clear?" The Lord asked as he moved his hand to the door.
"Yes Sire, It shall be done. I shall have the Prison double its guard and have them move the prisoners to the bottom levels." Lynx said.
"Excellent." The Lord said as he exited the workshop. Closing the door behind him the Lord sighed before turning and walking down the hall towards the armory. 'If the humans have truly come to rescue those monsters, can we really prevent them from doing so?' The Lord thought as he walked.
Farther down the hall, back by the Man at Arms workshop, Ella crawled back out of the air vents before giggling. She brought her hand to her ear before speaking into it. "Hello? Vortex? It's Ella. I have a job that's right up your alley." She said as she walked down the hall, back towards the balcony.
Leviathan Lounge
Leo placed his empty glass down on the counter and starred at the three empty bottles of Johnnie Walker before him on the counter. He let out a sigh and turned to see who was left in the room. Many of it's occupants had thinned out during the night, with Oobleck being the first to leave. Shortly after, Blake and Weiss retired for the night, dragging Ruby along with them to their room. Yang had challenged Jaune to a drinking contest, and the boy had lost spectacularly, as he didn't know how to use his aura to dull the effects, and had passed out on the couch on the other side of the room, while Yang was sleeping on one of the nearby tables. The rest of JNPR had said their good nights and had left soon after Jaune passed out, with Sun and Neptune taking control of the gaming consoles by the wall.
So the room consisted of two drunk teens, each passed out on their respective sides of the room, two fully awake teens playing a video game on the TV in the corner, and one Faunus, with Aura reserves so massive, that he was only mildly buzzed from there full bottles of scotch. Leo yawned and ran his hand through his hair before rising from his place and moving into the sun by the window and laying down. Leo gave into his base's animal nature more than he cared to admit, and one of the many things he was able to derive pleasure from was sleeping in the sun.
The large Faunus was able to get a good bit of sleep in before he was awoken by a rather girly scream. Rising from his place on the floor to stretch, he saw that the sun had moved to the highest point in the sky, which meant it was mid day, so he had been able to sleep for at least a few hours. Looking to the place where the scream had come from he saw Yang crawling out from under a flipped over couch, with Jaune close behind her. A blast of electricity shot through the air past him as he moved quickly to dodge a flying table. He was still rather groggy from his nap, and managed to catch one of the legs on his shoulder.
Finally getting his bearings, Leo could see Sun, Yang and Neptune in a fighting stance as Jaune moved around the area trying to find his weapon. On the opposing side of the room was a man standing about six feet in height, with a dark cloak, and a helmet that looked like a modified motorcycle helmet. While his face and body were obscured, his weapon was in full view. In his right hand was a long whip, with metal blades running along the cable, and a thick handle with a switch on it.
The man in black raised his arm and pointed at the group of students and spoke with a deep voice that sounded absurdly fake. "You have all been targeted for termination by order of Her Royal Highness on the charge of trespassing."
Yang looked at the dark figure and shouted. "What do you mean trespassing! We're in the sky! We're not on or over any island! We- Shit!" Yang was cut off as the whip swung her direction. She rolled to the side as the blade crashed down on the spot where she had been standing before being flicked to the side and tripping Sun and Neptune. The man in black drew his blade back then dove forward to dodge Leo's fist as it came crashing down on the bar stool behind him. He lashed out with the Whip and slammed Leo to the side before landing and turning to face Yang.
Yang got right up next to the man and began to throw punch after punch in an attempt to bring the man down. Each hit missed however, as she seemed unable to catch him as he moved fluidly with ease, sliding in an out of her range. Finally having enough of her punches, The man slammed the tip of the whip down on the ground and forced the metal to link up with the others before swinging the now sword into Yang's side.
Yang flew over to the side of the room before crashing into the bar, and sliding to the floor. Sun and Neptune had gotten back to their feet and charged full force at the man. Sun swung his nunchuks rapidly as he fired a blast from each of the ends with each successive flip. This seemed, to do the trick in terms of stunning the man in black, as he clearly wasn't expecting the blunt weapon to have a gun in it. He did his best to deflect the tips of the nunchuks with each hit before noticing Neptune off to the side. Moving quickly, the man in black dropped to the floor in time for Neptune's blast to go right past him and slam into Sun, knocking the boy across the room. The man in black rolled towards Neptune and swung his sword up, causing the blades to slip apart and catch him with the Whip.
As Neptune flew back over the bar, Leo swung a bar stool under the blue haired boy and slammed it into the unsuspecting assailant. With a clang, the man flew across the room and out the door into the hall. His armor on his cloak having taken the brunt of the damage. The man in black quickly rolled away from his landing zone as Yang threw a table at him. The man in black slammed the end of his cane into the ground and swung his sword upward to block a bullet fired from Ember Celica. The man in black glanced down at the spot on his armor where he had been hit by the bar stool. Though it hadn't gotten through his armor, and although the bar stool was bent beyond repair, the hit had been hard enough to dent his chest plate.
The man in black looked back into the lounge where each of the students within had gotten their bearings and were now advancing on him. Leo was first out of the door as he clapped his hands together and brought his fists down on the spot where the man had been sitting. Pulling his fists from the now cracked floor, he found that the man was now gone. Starring confused at the missing corpse, Leo only had a moment to register before the whip wrapped itself around his neck and dragged his head into the top of the door frame.
*BANG! THUNK! DING!*
Leo's head was slammed repeatedly into the door frame before his body fell limp and the giant Faunus fell to his knees, then down onto his chest with a loud thud as his metal limbs hit the floor. Yang looked down at Leo for a moment before scanning the surroundings for the man in black. Once again, the man seemed to have disappeared from sight. Yang, Sun and Neptune got back to back as they each readied their respective weapons to fire when the man showed himself. Moving quickly, the man in black dashed past the group and wrapped his whip around Neptune's neck.
Yang jumped towards the man in black and punched at him, this time with her weapon firing. The man was still able to dodge around her punches, but when Yang threw both fists past each side of his head, the resulting blasts caused a loud ringing to reverberate through the air between them, causing the man in black to bring his hands to his ears to try to block out the sound. He turned back to see one of Sun's nunchuks slam into the visor of his helmet.
The man in black dropped his whip as he flew backwards from the hit. Slamming into the ground, the man in black slid across the floor until he hit the wall with the window above him. Neptune gasped as he felt the air return to his lungs as the whip went slack around his neck. Tearing the offending object from his neck, Neptune shifted his gun into its trident form and charged it with electricity. Walking over to the man in black, Neptune placed the trident under his chin before speaking.
"Your under arrest." He said as Yang and Sun moved to the sides of him. The man in black looked up to Neptune in silence before vanishing from sight right in front of them. "What?!" They said together as Neptune drew back his trident and looked up and down the halls. Suddenly Neptune's legs were kicked out from under him. He fell with a surprised yelp as he hit the floor hard, with his trident falling on him and zapping him several times. Yang and Sun turned to look back at the spot the man had been thrown to and saw him sitting there with his whip.
"How the hell?" Yang asked before she brought her gauntlets up to block the slash from the whip. Having decided that he had spent enough time fighting with the children, the man in black moved swiftly, and brought his boot into Sun's groin. Sun let out a squeal of pain as he fell to the ground with a silent thud, his hands moving to cover the affected area. Yang watched Sun crumble to the ground holding his groin before she turned to the man in black, who had vanished again. Yang brought her fists in close to her body as she took a couple of steps back, scanning the area before her. She could see Neptune on the ground, with some light smoke coming from his weapon, Sun was on the ground with tears streaming from his eyes as he tried his best to somehow relieve the pain, and Leo was lying on the floor, his face now permanently etched into the top of the door frame.
"Not easy fighting the shadows is it?" The man said from behind Yang as he thrust his sword forward. Yang spun around with surprise before taking the full force of his attack with her chest. Yang was thrown back past Sun and landed on the unconscious form of Leo. The man walked slowly towards Yang with his sword in hand, pausing only to kick Sun in the head to cease his constant moaning. Stepping past Sun the man in black walked to Yang who was crawling to her feet. Stopping several steps before her, he paused before he vanished again.
Yang looked all around before she shouted. "Fight like a man you coward!" The next thing she knew Yang felt a pain in her back as the sword was thrust straight into her back. She fell forward as her aura broke around her. She tripped over Leo's legs as she hit the floor hard.
The man in black walked over to Yang and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to her knees before placing his blade at her throat. "It's a pity you all fell so easily, or I might have had a sense of satisfaction." He said as he prepared to execute Yang.
"Then maybe try fighting someone your own size!" A voice yelled as the man in black was thrown forwards by a blast from a high caliber shotgun. The man in black turned around a saw a man with dress shoes, long dark pants and a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The man had a dark red cape flowing behind him with countless holes in it. On his face was a light beard, with slicked back dark hair, and a glare that would kill a Grimm.
Yang turned to the new combatant. "Uncle Qrow!" She shouted as she crawled away from the man in black. Qrow flipped his blade back into place and pointed it at the man in black.
"I don't know how you got aboard my ship, but I'm sure you'll be happy to answer that and a few other questions while your locked up in the brig." Qrow said as he walked towards the man in black. The man in black watched as Qrow approached before tightening his grip on his sword.
"Uncle Qrow, watch out! He does this weird thing where he disappears and attacks while he's invisible!" Yang shouted as the man in black vanished. Qrow shifted the blade down and fired several bursts down the hall before he heard a thud and the man in black came back into view. One of the buckshot from Qrow's gun had caught him in the chest as he attempted to hide in the shadows.
"You're not going to get away that easily kid, just give up and come with me." Qrow said as he pointed his gun at the man in black. The man in black reached into his cloak and grabbed a small pellet before throwing it at Qrow's feet. The pellet exploded at his feet and the hall filled with dark smoke. Qrow and Yang began to cough as they made their way out of the cloud. "Where the hell did he go!?" Qrow yelled as he got out of the smoke.
*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*
There was a girly scream from the lounge as Qrow and Yang turned back to the smoke. A look of horror crept onto Yang's face. "We left Jaune in the Lounge!" She yelled as she ran back into the smoke.
"Yang wait! Your aura's gone!" Qrow yelled as he followed her back into the smoke. When they burst into the Lounge they saw that Jaune had found the man in black, and was facing off against him.
"The man with the cape may be too much for me to kill right now, but I'll take your head before I return to her Highness!" The man in black said as he turned his sword into a whip. "I am Vortex! Master Assassin and Head of her Majesty's Royal task force! State your name boy!" The man in black said as he aimed his whip at Jaune.
"Uh... I-I'm Jaune Arc. Leader of Team JNPR of Beacon Academy." Jaune said as he drew Crocea Mors from it's sheath.
Vortex faltered as he gazed upon Crocea Mors Shield. "T-that can't be! The Lord destroyed that cursed blade over a hundred years ago!" Vortex yelled as he stepped back towards the bar.
Jaune looked at Vortex with confusion, then looked back down at his weapon. "You mean Crocea Mors?" Jaune asked as he raised his sword out in front of him.
"It is the cursed sword! Crocea Mors! The blade that killed a thousand Faunus! The Blade that cut off the lords arm!" Vortex said as he backed up into the wall, now trembling. "There's no way that you survived the Great War! Tell me boy, what is your title, your full title!" Vortex demanded as he got his trembling under control.
"My full title? My full name is Jaune De Arc III, named for my Great-Great Grandfather, and his father before him." Jaune said.
Vortex leveled his blade as Jaune spoke. "The third? So your not him then, but his descendant. Then I have no need to fear you. You are not the same Jaune Arc that assaulted our country all those years ago. Just some pale imitation." Vortex tightened his grip on his blade and got into a battle stance. "Then you shouldn't be hard to kill. I doubt that you have the devils luck that your ancestor had!" Vortex yelled as he threw his whip forward at Jaune.
"Jaune duck!" Qrow shouted as he watched the blade elongate as it raced towards Jaune.
Thinking quickly Jaune moved his shield up and knocked the blade away before swiping at the whip with his sword. With one quick slash he cut the cable in the sword and cut the blades clean off. As the whip drew back towards Vortex, more of the blades fell off of the cable. Vortex began to tremble as he watched his blade draw back broken, with only three blade segments left on it.
"Impossible..." Vortex said as he looked back at Jaune, who was equally surprised if not more that he severed the metal cable. A look of horror crossed Vortex's face as he turned invisible before Jaune's eyes. Moments later they heard glass break and Qrow and Yang turned to see Vortex leap out of the window. Qrow sprinted to the window and saw a small one-seater airship fly off ahead of the Leviathan.
"Who the hell was that guy?" Qrow asked as he turned to the hall with the injured students. With a sigh Qrow looked to Yang and Jaune. "You guys carry Sun and Neptune to the infirmary, I'll get Leo." He said as he placed his weapon at his back. Qrow knelt down and tried to lift Leo before realizing quickly that he was far heavier than he had originally thought. After trying and failing several more times to lift Leo, Qrow turned to look around for something to help him.
"Maybe you should take Sun." Yang said as she handed Sun to her uncle. Kneeling down, Yang lifted Leo off the ground with relative ease.
Qrow starred down at his niece with mild surprise. "Well you certainly inherited Tai's absurd strength." He said as he turned to walk down the hall with the monkey Faunus in his arms.
Hell's Point
Vortex dragged himself from the crashed wreck of his ship. He had made it back to the island in record time by deactivating fail safes on his ships engines, though now the ship was close to exploding. Vortex had crashed in a field just outside the castle.
"Well? Did you kill them?" Vortex turned to look up at the person speaking to him.
"My lady! I regret to inform you that I failed to kill even one of them." Vortex said as he got to his feet and looked down at Ella.
A frustrated look crossed Ella's face as she glared up at Vortex. "What the hell's the point of you being trained to kill if you can't even kill a grunt on a ship!" She yelled.
"My lady, the ship called the Leviathan, it is carrying an elite group of soldiers, the likes of which haven't been seen since the Great War! Everyone on that ship has skills equal to that of a trained guard!" Vortex said as he reached into his cloak and pulled out his weapon. "One of them was carrying a weapon capable of doing this to my whip!"
Ella scowled at him. "Pathetic! Your a Master Assassin! You lead the Royal Task Force! How can you be so incompetent!?"
"Because those are both titles he earned by being the son of the previous owner." Ella and Vortex turned to see Lynx and the Lord walking towards them. Lynx walked over to Vortex and glared down at him. "Hello nephew. I hear that you made a trip outside the island." Lynx said as he glanced down at Vortex's weapon.
"Leaving the island without consent from the Lord is punishable by banishment Vortex, surely you know this." The Lord said as he glared down at the boy.
Vortex nodded. "Yes sir, I am well aware of the law."
The Lord turned to Ella, then back to Vortex. "But seeing as how my granddaughter was the first out here to greet you, I'd say that you not only had permission, but a task for which to carry out. Am I correct Vortex?" The Lord asked as he moved his hand into his cloak.
"Yes sire. I was to board the Leviathan, and then board the Nautilus, and kill all of the crew." Vortex said as he moved his broken blade behind his back.
"And? How did your mission go?" The Lord asked.
Vortex looked to the ground in shame. "I failed to kill even one man aboard the Leviathan sir."
The Lord looked down to Vortex with disappointment. Even if his title was hereditary, he still had a great deal of training from both his father and grandfather.
"But that's not all sir." Vortex said.
The Lord's eyebrow rose as he watched Vortex move his broken blade from behind his back. "You managed to break your whip?" The Lord asked as he moved to grab the weapon.
"It was cut by Jaune Arc." Vortex said.
The Lord's hand froze as he was reaching for the blade. Several moments passed in silence before the Lord turned to look at Vortex. "What. Did. You. Say?" Each word ground out as he focused his glare down at the boy.
"Jaune De Arc III used the cursed blade Crocea Mors to cut my whip. It was done in one swipe! Jaune Arc is on the Leviathan sir!" Vortex said, completely oblivious to the anger now rolling off of the Lord.
Lynx quickly pushed his nephew behind himself and moved in front of the Lord. "Sire, perhaps we should hurry along, you said that you wanted to visit the prison, correct?"
The Lord exhaled through his clenched teeth and turned to Vortex. "You are lying."
Vortex quickly shook his head several times. "No sire! The boy introduced himself as Jaune Arc! He had short blonde hair, armor on his chest and shoulders, and he wielded Crocea Mors! It could be no other!"
"YOUR LYING!" The Lord roared as he lifted Vortex up to his face. "THERE IS NO WAY THAT HUMAN COULD HAVE SURVIVED ALL THIS TIME!"
Vortex brought his hands to his throat where the Lord had wrapped his massive hand around it. "The Third! The Third! It's... not the same Jaune Arc, sire!" Vortex yelled as he tried to pry the large hand from his neck. "It's his descendant!"
"His descendant?" The Lord said as he released Vortex, who fell onto his ass before quickly shuffling back away from the Lord.
"Yes sire, he is the Great-Great Grandson of the man who attacked our kingdom!" Vortex said as Lynx helped him to his feet. "His full title is Jaune De Arc III, he leads a group called Team JNPR from Beacon Academy."
The Lord paused and looked up towards the false sky that was created by the illusion generator. After a moment he focused his glare ahead of him and turned to Lynx. "I have new orders for your team. The Nautilus is to be brought down when it comes into range, but the Leviathan, force them down. I want to see to it personally that the Cursed blade is destroyed!"
Lynx nodded and turned before running back towards the castle. The Lord turned back to Vortex and Ella, who were trying to slip away while the Lord was distracted with Lynx. "And where do you think your going?" The Lord asked as he grabbed Vortex by the shoulder. "As head of the Royal Task Force it is your job to escort the Lord of the kingdom when he is outside the castle."
Vortex turned to the Lord and nodded. "Yes sire. And where may I ask did you want to go today?" Vortex asked as he did his best not to glare at Ella who stuck her tongue out at him as she slipped away behind her grandfather.
The Lord straightened his back and looked off to the west of the island. "I need to stop by the prison to help move out the level 5 criminals."
A chill ran up Vortex's spine. "L-level 5 sir? Why would we move the level 5 criminals? They're already in the most secure cells in the kingdom, my father has two thousand guards watching each one of them at all times. Why would they need to move?"
The Lord turned back to Vortex. "Because Vortex, if I'm correct, and the Leviathan and Nautilus are coming here to rescue those prisoners, and if you were correct in your report that the Crocea Mors is aboard the Leviathan, than even the most secure cells wont hold those three." The Lord turned back to the west and began to walk. "You coming Vortex?" He shouted as he noticed the smaller Faunus had yet to start following him.
Jumping slightly, Vortex sprinted to the Lords side. "But sire, where will we go if not the level 5 cells? Each of the cells were specially designed to hold each of the prisoners, how can we hold them anywhere but the cells?"
The Lord shook his hand back and forth and continued to walk. "I would never endanger my citizens by letting those monsters out of their cells." The lord said as he and Vortex reached the top of the hill over looking the prison.
A confused look crossed Vortex's face. "If your not taking them out of their cells, then how are you going to move them?" Vortex asked as he and the Lord came to a stop at the highest point on the hill.
"It's simple really." The Lord said as he pressed a button on his belt. The ground began to shake violently as the field below them began to shift and contort. "I'm going to move the whole cell block." The Lord said so casually one would think he just said that he was going to prepare a meal.
"How are you going to move the whole cell block sire?" Vortex asked as he watched the level 5 cells rise to the surface in the field below.
"With these." As the Lord spoke, several large helicopters flew past them and circled over the top of the prison. One smaller helicopter landed at the top of the hill near the Lord and Vortex and a solider stepped out of it.
"Sir, the helicopters are all in position awaiting orders!" The solider shouted over the roar of the engines above him.
"Excellent, tell them to begin the transport!" The Lord shouted as he and Vortex boarded the helicopter before it took off. The Lord was standing in the open door, his remaining hand holding onto a bar beside him as they flew past the other helicopters. Vortex watched as teams of soldiers jumped from the helicopters onto the top of cell block 5 with cables in tow. Each solider attached their cable to the top of the cell block before standing and giving a thumbs up.
All at once the helicopters began to rise, the cell block following suit. The cell block itself consisted of three large cubes. The cube on the right was made of thick glass on all sides, with a figure in the center, wrapped and suspended in midair by thick chains, each chain anchored to the walls and floor by massive steaks. The cell on the left was made of heavy metal, with only three slits on the door to allow air inside. Vortex couldn't see the figure inside it, but it gave off an eerie red glow.
In the center was a simpler cell, this one having a glass wall from the right, and a metal one from the left, and bars on each other wall. What made this one special, was that in the center of the room there was a figure that had been locked to the floor by over one hundred tons of pressure on each limb. There was a dial on the cell door that allowed for the guards to alter the pressure that held the prisoner in place. On the figures head was an elaborate blindfold with heavy metal rods pressing down on the eyes constantly to prevent them from opening.
The Lord motioned for their helicopter to fly closer to the cells. As they got closer Vortex could see the figure in the glass cell shift, and the glow from the metal cell increased.
"Sire! What are we doing?" Vortex asked as they came up along side the cells, now hovering only a few yards from the cells.
"So, you came to visit us then eh Lucy?"
Vortex recoiled as he heard a voice speaking behind him. Upon turning behind him he saw no one.
"You'll not find him behind you boy. I take it this is your first time seeing the level 5 criminals then, yes?" The Lord asked as he turned to look at Vortex.
Vortex nodded.
"Well then lets throw him a welcoming party! I'll get the balloons! What do you think Blaze? Want to party?" The voice said again.
"A party sounds like fun! There better be lots of booze though!" A second, and much darker voice shouted. Vortex managed to follow this voice back to the metal cell beside them.
"Ooh! Good point Blaze, I'll ask Lucy. Hey Lucy, will there be booze at the party?" The voice asked.
"Who the hell is talking!?" Vortex yelled as he turned around trying to find the source of the voice.
"It's him you fool." The Lord said as he pointed at the man in chains behind the glass.
Vortex starred at the man with surprise before turning to the Lord. "But sire, it sounds like he's right beside me!"
"That's because he is speaking directly into your mind boy." The Lord said as he glared at the man behind the glass.
"So is that a no on the booze then?" The voice asked again.
The Lord scowled at the man before turning his attention to the figure in the middle cell. The man in the glass cell followed his gaze before grinning. "Hey! Wake up! Lucy's here to see you!" The man shouted before turning back to the Lord. "Honestly, we can't take her anywhere!"
A large sweat drop formed on the back of Vortex's head as he watched the interaction between the prisoners and the Lord. 'These certainly don't seem like men who are worried about being the most heavily guarded men on the continent...'
The figure in the center cell shifted slightly before sitting forward and aiming her head towards the helicopter that the Lord was in. Her mouth and nose were visible, but she made no attempt to speak. She only stood and calmly walked to the wall. The Lord starred directly at the woman before him. She had the restrains pulling on her limbs, but they didn't seem to hinder her at all. On her neck was a scar that gave off the impression that she had lost her voice to a long done battle.
The Lord twitched slightly as he watched her reach out for the bar before the whole wall lit up with electricity. The figure slowly drew her hand back before turning and walking back to her place in the center of the room.
"Who is she?" Vortex asked as he watched her sit back down.
"She is the most deadly woman on the face of Remnant." The Lord said as he turned to look at the man in the glass cell. "Originally I had planned to move you three to a new prison, but now, after seeing that after thirteen years of being locked in these cells, none of you show any signs of dying, I have decided to have you all publicly executed. Your execution will be in one week in the grand plaza."
Vortex turned to look at the Lord before looking at the man in the glass cell. Most men or women, no matter their will power when told that they were to be put to death, would show some signs of sadness, or a sign of self preservation. Not this man. This man was smiling.
"But there will be booze, right? Blaze and I refuse to go if there's not booze." The man said as he smiled at the Lord.
The Lords face twisted with rage. "THERE WILL NOT BE ANY BOOZE FOR YOU!" He roared as he glared at the man in the glass.
"Then We wont go! Hey Blaze! They're gonna execute us next week!"
"Sounds like fun!"
"They're not gonna let us have an booze though!"
There was a brief pause before the darker voice responded.
"Well then you can tell Lucy to kiss my ass. I've said it for years, when I go out, it'll be in grand fashion, and I'll be so drunk that I can't tell up from down!" The dark voice shouted.
"Sorry Lucy, looks like we won't be able to make it to the execution. Be sure to have fun without us though!" The man in the glass said.
The Lord was twitching with rage as he motioned for the helicopter to move away from the cells.
"Bye Lucy!" The voices shouted in unison as the cells got farther and farther below them.
Vortex sat quietly as he could feel the anger rolling off the Lord as the man glared out the open door. Deciding to attempt to break the tension Vortex spoke. "So sire, why did he keep calling you Lucy?"
The Lord turned to Vortex with and incredulous look before placing his face in his hand. A moment later the man spoke. "Vortex... Do you know what my real name is?"
Vortex nodded. "Yes sire, all of your people know your real name."
The lord looked up from his hand and right into Vortex's eyes. "And what is my name Vortex?"
"Your full title is Lucifer, High King of Hell's Point! Your a dragon Faunus, and your immune to any kind of fire." Vortex said as he recited the name that all children were forced to memorize in the early years of their schooling.
"Yes, so do you now see where the name Lucy come's from?" Lucifer asked.
...
...
...
Vortex thought for a few moments before looking up at the Lord. "Nope."
The Lord let out a long sigh and slumped into the chair across from Vortex. "You can't really be this stupid boy."
Leviathan Medical Bay
Leo woke with a start as he sat up on the bed he was assigned to. His hands flew to his face as he pulled a cast off his eyes and was met with a blinding light from the white room. He felt a pair of hands press down on his chest and turned to see the blurred face of Professor Tyme beside him.
"Easy Leo, just rest a bit. You boys took quite the beating today." Tyme said as Leo laid back down on his bed.
"What hit me?" Leo asked as he rubbed his forehead.
"The Leviathan had an intruder. Seems like you kids in the lounge were the first ones to meet with him though. You were awful lucky that Qrow got to the lounge when he did." Tyme said as he handed Leo a glass of water.
"More like we were luck that his flask had run dry." Yang said from across the room on her bed.
Leo turned to scan the rest of the room now that his eyes had adjusted to the lights. On the bed to his right was Neptune, who was out cold with his gun sitting to his immediate right. Just past him was Sun, who had a cast on his face and on his waist.
Leo moved his other hand to his temple as he rubbed them in frustration. "So what exactly happened then?" He asked as he looked to the only other conscious combatant in the room.
Yang looked over to Leo with a blank stare. "You want the short version? Or the pathetic version?" Yang asked as she looked over at Sun.
Leo sighed. "Give me the pathetic version." He said as he turned in his bed and swung his feet over the side.
"Well, after he slammed your head into the door enough to leave a lasting impression, he knocked Neptune out with his own trident, kicked Sun in the crotch and the face, then after stabbing me several time, and causing me to trip over a certain giant Faunus." Yang said as she shot Leo a glare. "He was about to kill me when uncle Qrow showed up. Then after tricking us with a smoke bomb, he went after Jaune, who beat him and broke his weapon. The End." Yang turned to study the look on Leo's face.
He had a blank look on his face as he starred back at Yang. "I thought I asked for the long version."
Yang shook her head. "Nope, you asked for the pathetic version, there isn't a long version." Yang said as she sat forward in her bed.
Leo grunted as he got to his feet, his head throbbing from being slammed into the wall so much. "So where'd he go after he beat Jaune?" Leo asked as he walked over to Yang's bed.
"No, Jaune beat him." Yang said as Leo took a seat in the chair beside her bed.
"What?" Leo asked, extremely surprised by the news.
"I said that Jaune won." Yang said.
"Jaune won."
"Yep."
"Jaune."
"Yes."
"The same guy who was fumbling with getting his shield to open at the beginning of the fight?"
"With one blow."
"Wow." Leo said as he sat back in his chair. Leo turned and pressed a button on the wall to request some ice. Moments later a medical droid rolled in and placed an ice pack on the bed beside him. "So how'd he do it?" Leo asked as he placed the ice over his eyes.
"The guy attacked him, then demanded to know his name before he killed him. When Jaune told him his name and the name of his sword the guy seemed to get scarred. When he attacked, Jaune just knocked the whip aside with his shield and cut the cord that the blades were on." Yang said as she recalled the battle to the large man beside her bed.
Leo tilted his head towards Yang. "What's the name of his sword?"
"Crocea Mors." She said as she looked over to him.
"Crocea Mors? Hmmm..." Leo said as he placed a hand on his chin.
"The name mean something to you?" Yang asked as she studied his face.
Leo paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope. The name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've ever heard it before." Leo said as he pressed down on the ice.
"You may have heard the name from Nova, or from the General, Leo." Tyme said as he got to his feet and walked over to the large Faunus. "It was wielded by a very famous warrior from the Great War."
"Or maybe you heard Oobleck rambling on about it one day with Jaune." Yang said. "He's into all that old world stuff."
Leo scratched his chin a few times before sighing. "Maybe." Leo said as he relaxed in the chair and crossed his legs by his feet. "So whats with the named weapon thing?" Leo asked as he turned to Yang.
"What?" She asked, genuinely confused by the question.
"I mean why'd he name his weapon? Isn't that a little weird?" He asked as he crossed his arms.
"Not really, everyone names their weapons, it's just something that we always do when we go to a combat school." Yang said as she looked down at her gauntlets.
"Really? Huh, never knew." Leo said as he tilted his head back.
"Didn't you name your while you were in combat school?" Yang asked as she turned back to Leo.
"Leo never went to combat school." Tyme said as he sipped a glass of water in his hand. "He was a late admission to Atlas Academy two years ago. He's a junior at the school currently."
"Late admission? How'd that work? I thought all students were assigned teams at the beginning." Yang said as she turned to Tyme.
"Normally, that is exactly how it's done." Leo said. "But since I joined late, and with some rather... Severe, injuries, I was admitted to a reserve team. Team OPAL."
"So your not on the same team as Nova and Tyme? Not on team TLON?" Yang asked as she looked back to Leo.
"Nope. Tyme and Orion are professors at Atlas, and Nova's just an alumni who happened to be visiting the day they found you. When a ship was deployed to collect you, I agreed to go with at my leaders request." Leo said.
"Your leader? Who's that?" Yang asked.
"Penny Polendina. She said that she and your sister were good friends." Leo said.
Yang shot forward in her bed. "Penny's alive!" She shouted.
Leo shrugged. "More or less. She was being repaired last time I saw her. That fight with Pyrrha really did a number on her."
Yang turned to look down at her blanket. The last thing she saw on her scroll before she was exiled was Pyrrha killing Penny on national television. Yang quickly shook her head. "Well it's good to hear that she's okay." Yang said as she turned back to Leo. "Back to my other question though, did you really never name your weapon?"
Leo sighed and lifted the ice from his face. He turned to Yang and shook his head. "Nope never felt the need to. Why? Did you name yours?" He asked.
Yang nodded. "My gauntlets are name Ember Celica."
"My Glove is named Phantoms Grasp." Tyme said as he took a seat on the bed opposite Yang's.
"And my sister named her scythe Crescent Rose." Yang said as she looked down to Leo's arms. "Now it's your turn!" Yang said with a smile.
Leo looked down at his arms before bringing them up to eye level. "Name my arms huh? Never thought about what I'd name em." Leo said.
"Just give it a try son." Tyme said as he placed his empty glass on the bedside table.
...
...
...
Leo curled his hands into fists and looked up to Yang. "How about the Punchinator?" He asked.
Yang's face scrunched up as she shook her head. "No! That's a terrible name! Try to use your imagination!" She said, trying to be as encouraging as she could.
Leo thought for a few more minutes before grinning. He flexed both arms as he said their respective names. "Alright, how about Thunder, and Lightning!" He said as he flexed his mechanical muscles.
...
Yang burst out laughing, while Tyme covered his mouth with his sleeve to hide his smile. Leo looked at the two around him with a distressed look. "Is that not a good name?!" He asked, slightly panicked that the name he had thought hard about was not good.
Yang turned to Leo and placed a hand on his shoulder, while trying to get her laughter under control. "No, that's a perfect name!" She shouted as she fell back onto he side in laughter.
"Then why are you two laughing?" Leo asked as he looked at the two beside him.
"It was the pose my boy! The pose you struck and the look on your face while you said it! They were perfect!" Tyme said as he burst into a fit of laughter.
Leo looked around the room with confusion before finally coming to rest on Sun and Neptune who were still sleeping peacefully. Rising from his chair and placing his ice pack on the end of Yang's bed he walked over to the end of Sun's bed. "So how long were we out for?" Leo asked.
Yang covered her mouth to stifle her laughter and turned to Leo. "We, we've been i-in the infirmary for five hours!" She said in between laughs. "It's almost time for dinner, so the rest of the guys are probably back at the Lounge."
Leo watched Yang fail to speak with a blank stare before turning back to Sun. Leo closed his eyes tightly and reopened them revealing his golden slit eyes, before looking down to Sun. The black cat crest that was over his heart was glowing bright. "Your friend Blake was here not too long ago." He said as he turned to look at Yang and Tyme. He saw that his crest was still prominent over Yang's heart.
Yang looked up to Leo's face and tilted her head to the side. "Hey, whats up with your eyes?" She asked.
Leo straightened his back before blinking several times, causing his eyes to go back to normal. "What do you mean?" He asked as he turned to look back down at Yang.
Yang noticed that the gold from his eyes had vanished and focused on his features to see if anything else had changed. "They were just glowing." She said as she pointed at Leo's face. "And how did you know that Blake was here a little bit ago? You were still out cold when she left."
"I uh... Smelled her on him." Leo said as he turned to look down at the golden monkey.
"That couldn't have been hard." Yang said as she crossed her arms. "I don't know what happened between them while I was gone, but they've been linked at the hip when ever I see them now."
"Right... Well, I'm getting kind of hungry, so I'm going to go to the Lounge and get some food. You want to come with?" Leo asked as he turned to Yang and Tyme.
Yang looked to the two boys who were sleeping on their beds on the opposite side of the room, then down to her own bandage. "I suppose I could go for some food." Yang said as she climbed out of her bed and walked over to Leo's side. Yang pulled her shirt down to cover her bandages before waving goodbye to Tyme. "Give Sun and Neptune our best when they wake up!" She shouted as they walked out of sight.
So... The writers block cleared up. I managed to get this one out rather quickly in comparison to the other chapters as of late.
...
...
...
Ah to hell with it, I don't know what I should put down here that I didn't already try to put at the top of the chapter. Leave a review if you have any questions you want answered in the next chapter, and follow the story if you deem it worth your time to read.
