AN: Hey everyone. Sorry this has been absent. School and work have not been kind. This is the set up for the next chapter. Martin's confession/beating, the resolution of Weiss' kidnapping, and the maiden voyage of the S.S. WhiteRose will be next. So expect an extra long chapter in the near future. Also yes I know Yang's semblance is not really fire-based. I do not care because it is in this and it fits the theme. To those that care, if you want to get an idea of what Resurrection looks like picture Varric's crossbow Bianca in white and gold with a bolt magazine. See you guys next week in VKS. As always welcome back and don't feed the guard dogs. - Phoenix Commander signing off.
Thanks as always Lt. Commander Wolf.
I DO NOT OWN RWBY IT IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF ROOSTERTEETH PRODUCTIONS.
Chapter Nine: The plan and The truth
Weiss woke in complete darkness with a splitting headache and a foggy feeling clouding her mind. She sat up slowly so as to not aggravate the pain in the back of her head. Weiss crawled until she felt a cold wall of steel. Weiss rapped it with her hand. The sound echoed back her hollowly making her head pound worse.
"Guess those traitorous racists have me locked in one of the storage silos." She said quietly. Then another thought came to her and it frightened Weiss more than her captivity.
"What happened to Ruby? I hope she's ok, if it wasn't for me she wouldn't have been attacked as well." Then she steeled herself this was no time for being weak. Then she realized her faunus night vision wasn't working. She couldn't even see the hand that she was holding in front of her face.
"Well if that won't work then let's try this." Weiss said.
She closed her eyes and focused her mind trying to place a glyph to at least give her some light to see. It felt like she had just fallen flat on her face. The place in her mind where her semblance should have been was shrouded in fog. Keeping her from using her semblance and if that was the case then it probably kept her from using her aura as well.
She opened her eyes in shock. "What the hell did they do to me?!" The noise of the view port on the silo door, along with the dying light of the day announced the arrival of one of the Board of Directors.
"I see you are finally awake Miss Schnee, by now you've noticed that your semblance is...unavailable along with a few other of your more bestial traits." Weiss glared at the grate in the silo door.
She still couldn't touch her semblance, she felt helpless and she hated it. She didn't know how long she had been in that silo, but what she did know was that she would rather be alone than to continue listening to the dribble spewing from the man talking to her.
"The other Board Members are willing to let you go provided you begin seeing things our way. Even though you are a faunus you are also a business-woman after all." She turned away from the opening and made a show of ignoring the man.
"Fine then you can rot in here for all I care. Just don't expect any help from your guardian. I doubt he would make it past the front gate anyway." Weiss just smirked in the darkness. They had only dealt with Martin as a business partner because of his dust mines. They have never dealt with him as a Hunter. The Board of Directors had no idea what was coming for them.
Outside the gates of the SDC
Martin, Blake, and Thamior were standing on the rooftop of an office building across from the main gate of the SDC compound. They had been waiting for the SDC to empty for the last few hours. There was no danger of the Board of Directors leaving as they were housed at the SDC itself and would no doubt still be working late. Blake looked at the watch Martin had given her. The time on it read 11:00pm. She looked at the pair. Martin was watching the main gate like a hawk; she could swear he was counting the seconds it took for a guard to get from the main gate to the building's main door. Thamior hadn't relaxed since they had picked him up from Beacon. He hadn't taken his eyes off Martin it was almost like he was waiting for him to lose control.
Thamior's voice broke her train of thought. "You can go back to Rose Manor if you like Blake. The two of us can get Weiss back."
Blake shook her head. "Do you have any rope Phantom?" She asked using the nickname his semblance had given him. He shook his head in response. "Then I'm coming with you."
Thamior sighed then took his eyes off his brother. "Then you have to promise me that if Martin loses control you will not think less of him for what he might do."
Blake looked at Martin worriedly, like Thamior, Martin hadn't relaxed and that meant his eyes hadn't turned from crimson back to lilac. "Thamior, what do you mean lose by control?"
Thamior placed a hand on her shoulder, "You have always seen him fight with a clear head. Even when I pushed him to the emotional breaking point at Snow Fall Crest, he was fighting with a clear head. Right now that is not the case. Martin is fighting to resist his instincts and they are telling him to kill those that have threatened Weiss."
Blake swallowed hard. "So that was what Martin meant when he said Thamior would have to rein him in."
Thamior continued on. "Deep down your godfather hates killing people. He always has, but when he gets too emotional like he is now. His instincts can take over, it was part of our team's job while at Beacon and afterward to make sure Martin never lost control and killed needlessly."
The sound of Martin's voice pulled them from their conversation. "Thamior, if I was going to lose control I would already be inside with a mountain of corpses. Yes I am pissed beyond belief. I will probably put a few bolts into a few kneecaps, but I won't kill unless I have too." As Martin was speaking he pulled Resurrection from his holster under his cloak. He loaded a bolt-mag and pulled back the lever, readying the crossbow to fire.
The crossbow arms unfolded and the first of the thirty bolts in the mag was resting against the bowstring. It was tipped with explosive-dust. Thamior raised an eyebrow. "I hope that bolt is part of the distraction plan."
Martin chuckled dryly. "Yes it is. Don't worry I only have two dust bolts. The rest are standard dust-steel bolts."
Blake just shook her head. "I hope you know what you are doing Martin. You'll have the whole security force coming for you."
Thamior just smirked, he knew his brother all too well. Martin didn't plan for anything past blasting the gates apart. He was going to just let the chips fall where they may. Martin looked back towards the gate. He raised his hood placing his face in shadow. Blake shuddered, all she could see was the burning crimson of his eyes and for some reason it terrified her. Even without his burning wings and armor he still looked like an angel of death.
Martin started to go over the plan of approach. They would not be using their scrolls to communicate if there were complications it would be to slow. Instead they would use the telepathy that their phoenix blood gave them. They would only be able to send strong emotions and brief images, and messages but if any of them ran into trouble a simple thought filled with panic would be all it took to get the message across. Martin had made a point of teaching the girls early on how to communicate with it effectively and as far as they knew it was the only trait they had as phoenix-faunus.
"As soon as you both feel my thoughts and the fireworks start. Thamior you are going to find the Board of Directors and hold them in place." Thamior's only response was the sound of his katana being drawn from its sheath. "Blake you are going to look for Weiss. If I had to guess they have her somewhere in the storage area on the west side of the compound."
Blake wrapped the ribbon of Gambol Shroud tighter around her arm and checked that the blade was loose in its sheath. "Got it Martin. I'll contact you when I find her." Martin recognized the look in her amber eyes; it was the same one he and Thamior had. If anyone stood in her way she wouldn't hesitate to disable them by any means necessary in order protect her friend.
"Your parents would definitely be proud of the Hunter you are becoming Blake." Martin thought. They blue and black dressed pair started making their way to their positions for the breach.
Martin climbed to the street below and checked his aura level on his scroll. It was just in the yellow, he still had not fully regained all he had spent fighting at Snow Fall Crest. "Wish I had more time, but this will just have to do. I'll just need to be extra carful or they'll drop me in minutes." He took aim at the gates with Resurrection. The explosive-bolt was glowing a vibrant orange.
Vale's ruling council would probably give him hell about doing this. Personal feelings aside though the last time he checked kidnapping was still a crime and he was technically just doing his job to bring criminals to justice. The council could bark on the end of their leash all they wanted. He was getting his goddaughter back and there wasn't a damn thing anyone was going to do to stop him. It was time to start the show. The next sound was the explosion of the dust and the screech of metal as the gates were blasted inward.
Yang
As soon as Yang had made sure Ruby was asleep she made her way to her father's study. That was the first place she had intended to go in order to look for answers to her questions. She knew her father was going to tell them something when he got back, but she didn't want to give him the chance to hold back anything.
The biggest questions in her mind right then were, "What have you been hiding from us dad? What couldn't you tell us before now?"
Fortunately Yang didn't have to deal with the questions from the Manor's staff as to why she was out of bed and roaming the halls at this time of night. Martin had placed the staff on a paid leave until things quieted down. There was no need to endanger them when they were not the targets. When she made it back to the study she turned on the lights. Everything was as she had left it. Even the fire was still burning in the hearth. Yang walked over to the old oak desk Martin used. It had been in that room of years and had been used by almost every head of the Rose family. Yang started running her hands over it. Looking for anything that looked like it didn't belong.
When her hand brushed up against the underside of the desk she stopped a slow smile forming.
"Bingo. Can't hide forever dad." she said. Yang pushed the button she had found and small hatch slid open in the center of the desk. Inside was a journal with a pair of crossed scythes on the cover.
"Now lets see what you've been hiding." She took up the journal and opened it to one of the entries it was dated the day the girls had been given the clues to their hunts.
'July 8th,
Ruby was distracted this morning. It was barely noticeable but I could see it in her eyes. I know she had another dream about Summer. I wish she would come to me about them. Yang seemed about as normal as she always is but I had heard faint crying from her room during the night. I feel as though I have failed them. I swore they would be always be happy but my secrets about their mother have only been causing them pain. I plan to tell them everything when they join Beacon, provided nothing unexpected happens.'
Yang just stared at the page for a while and then almost shouted. "That...that makes absolutely no sense! If you knew about the dreams and you were worried, then why didn't you just ask us about them instead of letting us deal with them ourselves?!"
'July 9th,
Ruby was doing all she could to avoid me last night. I know she saw something or someone while she and Weiss were out in the Rose Forest, though she won't say what. Considering how close those two have gotten and how close they were to Summer's grave, I believe my wife is starting to be her impatient meddling self again. She chose Ruby to be her first marker. I'll stay silent about it for now and wait for further developments. I pray the pain that I've been causing my family is finally coming to an end.'
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yang grumbled to herself.
She flipped to today's entry. The writing was shaky and agitated. Considering the circumstances Yang could understand Martin being upset as he wrote. What she couldn't understand was what she was reading.
'July 14th,
I have been using all of my resources to try and locate the White Fang or the Black Claw Company. Even Junior has been a dead-end and he is my best informant. Weiss and Ruby have also been getting closer since their hunts it's nice to see the look in their eyes when they look at each other. Both of them are still hiding their feelings though. I'll have to deal with that soon. Weiss has also been trying to tell about something she left out when she was telling us about her hunt but I've been too distracted in order to listen to her. Because of Weiss' holding back of information and my vision of Summer, I now believe she is starting to revive. I'll need to check the chamber at Beacon to be sure though. Thank god, she will finally be coming back to us. It's been killing me inside to hide the truth for so long. I'm changing my plans and telling them everything tonight when they get back from doing their shopping in the city. They need to know what they are capable of in order to defend themselves. I only hope the girls will be able to forgive me for deceiving them for as long as I have. I only did it to protect them but I still betrayed their trust in doing so. I need to call Qrow as well and have him transfer from Patch to Vale City our family is spread to thin to stay safe. I will talk to Ozpin about bringing him in as Thamior's combat assistant. Yang and Ruby if you have found this journal, and I have not said anything to you yet. Your mother is still alive. I am truly sorry I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me for having deceived you both. It was the only way to keep you and your mother safe. She will be home with us again soon, I promise you that.'
Yang didn't even register the journal falling from her trembling hands. There were tears in her now crimson eyes. "How could you hide something like this dad? How could you hide this from me and Ruby?" Yang said softly. She clenched her fists and the temperature in the room rose a few degrees. Martin didn't know it yet but he was in for a beating before she started with her questions.