Extracurricular
Cora yawns as she stretches her arms, pushing of the chest she used as a pillow. Cora immediately freezes and heat rises to her cheeks as she realizes where she is.
"So the lovebird is awake." Iris states, exiting the bathroom and drying her hair.
"Not one word." Cora demands.
"So you have a thing for psychopaths, who cares, he's not my boyfriend." Iris teases as she drops the towel into a laundry basket.
Cora opens her mouth to retort, but Iris is hit in the face with a pillow.
"Let me sleep..." Cataline drawls.
"Sorry, Cat." Iris says as she returns the pillow.
Iris chuckles to herself as she turns to Cora, who is gently getting out of Ash's bed. She walks right up to Iris and glares at her.
"Ash is not a psychopath." Cora whispers, "He's just been through a lot."
"Yeah. Yeah." Iris comments, "Whatever. As long as none of you try to shoot me, we're fine."
Cora glances at Ash before sitting on her bed. She reaches into her coat pocket and takes out her scroll, seeing four notifications from Kismet.
"Call me when the others are awake." Cora requests as she heads to the dorm's exit.
"Where are you going?" Iris asks.
"I need to pick up a few things." Cora answers.
The members of Team SCCI are gathered inside the Assault Container.
"Something wrong?" Ash asks.
"Yes and no." Cora answers, "I'll start with the good news. Astraea and Exousia have been outfitted with sights that connect to your Providence tech and the new feature you requested has also been installed, the Kavacha Sword's helmet is estimated to be finished by the end of the week, and the analysis on those gems you sent in has been completed."
"Took 'em long enough." Ash comments, "You'd think it wouldn't take long to fix a crushed helmet."
"They finished repairs days ago." Cora states, "The engineers just decided to equip the helmet with all experimental tech that's yet to be put into a field test. They're using you as a guinea pig to make up for you 'careless actions.'"
"I take it those are their words and not yours?" Ash responds.
Cora nods.
"And the bad news?" Iris asks.
Cora presses a button on her scroll.
"Ruby..." Penny's voice plays, "I'm not a real girl."
Ash growls as he clenches his fists.
"When was this?" Ash asks.
"During our mission." Cora answers.
"And we're just now hearing about this?" Ash asks.
"Providence only learned about it recently." Cora states, "What Ruby did with Penny was irrelevant compared to the data recorded from her teammates."
"What has Providence done in response?" Ash asks.
"They've increased watch on her." Cora states, "She's been given too much freedom."
"We treat her like a slave." Cataline comments.
"No." Ash counters, "We treat her like a weapon. One that needs to be cared and accounted for at all times. Regardless of whether or not she has a soul, Penny is a machine. The first of her kind. We have to control the variables around her until testing is complete. If we let her roam free, we run the risk of her revealing classified information, like she's already done."
"Isn't Ruby working with us?" Iris asks.
"This happened before that agreement." Cora states, "And Penny's true nature is supposed to be a military secret. Ally or not, they aren't a part of the military."
"So what do we do?" Cataline asks.
"For the moment, nothing." Ash orders, "We don't even let Ruby know that we're aware of Penny's nature. If she starts telling people, then we step in."
Cora puts her scroll away and nods.
"What about the gems?" Ash asks.
"We don't know what they're made off but the silver ones have a more stable atomic structure than the red ones." Cora explains, "They seem to generate power almost like that of an Aura, the red ones output was significantly lower than the silver and the silver one seems to constantly regenerate the power expended. I'll send over the report so you can look it over more thoroughly."
"Thank you." Ash responds, checking his scroll, "Let's go. We still have classes."
Team SCCI sits and watches as Pyrrha battles Team CRDL. Iris is watching intently, Cataline does so as well, Cora is using the camera in her earpiece to analyze Pyrrha's fighting style, and Ash is not with them.
"And that's the match." Professor Goodwitch declares after Pyrrha's win.
"Lucky shot." Cardin declares before collapsing.
"Well done, Miss Nikos." Professor Goodwitch congratulates, "You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."
"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha responds.
"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." Professor Goodwitch says as she taps her scroll.
She looks at the crowd.
"Any volunteers? Miss Belladonna?" Professor Goodwitch calls, "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-"
"I'll do it." Mercury declares, raising his hand.
"Mercury, is it?" Professor Goodwitch begins, "Very well, let's find you an opponent."
"Actually, I wanna fight... her." Mercury declares, pointing at Pyrrha.
"Me?" Pyrrrha asks.
"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished the match." Professor Goodwitch states, "I recommend you choose another partner."
"No, it's fine!" Pyrrha claims, "I'd be happy to oblige."
"Move." Ash calls from behind Pyrrha.
She turns in surprise.
"I'll go." Ash declares.
"Mister Snow, I'm not sure who you think you are, but there's a more civilized method of volunteering." Professor Goodwitch says, "Starting with arriving on time."
Ash glances at the professor before Asher's armor forms around his body.
"You know damn well who I am." Ash declares as the helmet covers his face, "Or is Ozpin keeping secrets from you too?"
The gems all glow brightly as Ash turns to Mercury.
"We have unfinished business." Ash says.
"Very well." Professor Goodwitch agrees.
Mercury walks down to the arena, sizing up Ash who only has Exousia drawn. He starts by firing a shot from his boot, Ash deflects the attack with the shield on Exousia while drawing the pistol attached to the shield. Ash takes aim and charges up a blast, but stops and releases the pistol, it retracting back into the shield. Mercury takes a few steps to the side then fires again. Ash blocks the strike with his left palm, using his Semblance to absorb the shot. Ash then closes his fist, the gauntlet of Asher's armor launching like a missile. It hits Mercury in the chest and flies back to Ash, reattaching itself to the rest of the armor.
Ash draws both blades of Astraea, converts them to rifle mode and fires at Mercury, who back flips out of the way. Ash then fires a sustained beam, which Mercury runs ahead of. Ash stops firing with one of the rifles and holsters it, drawing Exousia's pistol and shooting Mercury in the side. In his stumble, Ash redirects the sustained beam onto Mercury. He blocks with his arms, using his Aura to protect him. Ash stops firing the beam and holsters that blade of Astraea as well. He then draws both Eos blades, extends them, the gems within them glowing brightly and charges at Mercury, using the thruster on his back to propell him. Mercury jumps over Ash and kicks him in the back of the head, sending Ash into the ground. When Ash pushes himself to his feet, he splits the edges of the Eos blades and the gems within them glow brightly as Ash channels his Aura into them.
Ruby turns to Emerald, who is sitting behind her.
"Hey, your friend's doing pretty good." Ruby compliments.
Emerald gives a fake smile and then rolls her eyes as Ruby turns her back.
Ash stabs both blades into the ground and releases them, he then draws both blades of Astraea and fires at Mercury, who dodges out of the way. Mercury charges at Ash, kicking both rifles out of his hands, before kicking Ash in the chest with both legs. He fires the guns in his boots, launching himself off of Ash and sending Ash stumbling backwards. When Ash regains his footing, he points both arms at Mercury and fires a few blast from the gems in his gauntlets. Mercury front flips over the blasts as he charges in. Just as Mercury passed the Eos blades, the gems release a discharge of Aura, blasting Mercury towards Ash, who draws Exousia's blade. Once he is close enough, Ash slashes upwards, knocking Mercury back.
Mercury quickly rises to his feet, but Ash is nowhere to be seen. He looks around and spots Ash hovering above, ready to stab down. Ash quickly decends with his blade extended and Mercury jumps back. When Ash lands, he quickly turns and dashes at Mercury. Ash slashes downwards and Mercury blocks with his foot. He cockily smirks and Ash blasts him with the gem in his chest. When Mercury recovers, Ash has recovered both blades of Astraea. He connects the blades at the bottom of their handles, creating one double bladed staff. Ash then throws the weapon at Mercury, who ducks under the spinning blades, but is struck in the back as Astraea returns to Ash like a boomerang.
"When'd he get that feature?" Ruby asks Cora, who's in front of her.
"Recently." Cora answers.
Ash throws Astraea again, and Mercury kicks it out of the sky. Ash responds by holding out his hand, the staff flying into his grip.
"That thing doesn't obey the laws of physics, does it?" Mercury asks.
Ash stares at Mercury, the gems over his eyes glowing brightly before beams are fired from them. Caught off guard, Mercury is hit in the chest and sent flying backwards. When Mercury recovers, Ash is spinning through the air with Exousia's blade drawn. He slashes down as he draws near, knocking Mercury down and depleting his Aura, sounding the buzzer to signify a win.
"That is all for today." Professor Goodwitch states, "And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."
When Mercury rises to his feet, Ash scoffs and flies to door of the arena, where Ozpin is waiting.
"We need to talk." Ash declares, his voice echoed by Asher's.
Ozpin, Ironwood, Glynda, and Ash stand in Ozpin's office. Ash exits Asher's armor and allows Asher to take manual control.
"So I was right." Ozpin says, "You are the King's Knight."
"It's time for the truth, Ozpin." Ash demands, "I have questions that Asher can't answer. What is this game with Salem? How do we stop her and why haven't you already?"
"It's a battle for control of the power to change the world." Ozpin begins, "Four relics, each hidden underneath one of the four Academies would give Salem the power she needs."
"And how does she get them?" Ash asks.
"Only the Queen's Bishop can open the vaults, and I split the Bishop's power into four." Ozpin explains.
"Hold up." Ash demands, "Explain the pieces, and their roles."
"I am the King." Ozpin states, "If I am to die, the game ends. You are the King's Knight, your job is to serve as my sword and shield against Salem."
Asher scoffs at that.
"Salem is the Queen." Ozpin continues, "She is the most powerful out of us all. The Queen's Bishop is currently split into pieces. I'd hope by doing so I'd prolong Salem's victory until the time is right. I've already explained its role. The King's Bishop has yet to appear, but I know they will possess power to counter the Queen's Bishop, held within Silver Eyes."
"Could I be the Bishop?" Ash asks.
"Possibly." Ozpin answers, "After all, there was a time when I was both the King and the Queen's Bishop."
"Is that why you brought Ruby here?" Ash asks, "Are you just collecting candidates for the pieces?"
"It is necessary to stop Salem." Ozpin declares, "I need all the pieces to defeat her."
"What about the other Knight, the Rooks, and the Pawns?" Ash asks.
"The Pawns are anyone who fight in this game but do not have a major role." Ozpin explains, "The Rooks are merely places of importance. Beacon is my Rook. I've yet to find Salem's. As for the Queen's Knight, they have yet to appear."
Ash thinks back to his battle with Cole. His powers directly rivaled Asher's.
"Actually, I believe I encountered the Queen's Knight." Ash says, "His abilities were a direct, albeit unstable, copy of Asher's."
"If his Aura was red, then it probably was indeed Karse." Ozpin states.
"So he has a voice in his head too?" Ash comments, "Do the Bishops also reincarnate and have souls attached?"
"No." Ozpin answers, "The Bishops are merely power. The roles are each selected differently. I reincarnate into a like minded host, Asher reincarnates into a host with a strong, yet honest soul, Karse reincarnates into a host that is overcome by his carnal instincts, and I do not know how Salem reincarnates. She either reincarnates into a weak soul that she can easily overpower or one that is corrupted to share her views."
"How do the Bishops transfer power?" Ash asks.
"The when I gave up the Queen's Bishop power, I made it such that it can no longer be directly transferred." Ozpin informs, "Now when they die it will go to another young woman who was in their last thought. If no such woman was in their last thought, it will go to a random young woman."
"You did that so that Salem could never gain the power." Asher notes, "She's too old. But why women? Why not exclusively men, or just young people on general?"
"To simply narrow the people I need to search in order to find the pieces of the Queen's Bishop." Ozpin answers.
"And the King's Bishop?" Ash asks.
"I'm not sure how, but it always appears in a Silver Eyed Warrior." Ozpin declares.
"Why have you waited so long to stop Salem?" Asher asks.
"I need all the pieces to defeat Salem, but she only requires the Queen's Bishop to achieve her goal. As of this moment, every piece has appeared except the King's Bishop. Which is more than ever before. It's no coincidence that now is when Salem is making her move. She knows that the pieces are appearing, and she knows that makes her vulnerable."
"So what's the plan?" Ash asks.
"We can do nothing but counter Salem's move until the King's Bishop reveals itself." Ozpin declares, "The only other thing we can do is unite the Queen's Bishop."
"I take it that there's a problem?" Asher comments.
"One of the four parts of the Bishop was attacked and some of her power stolen." Ozpin declares, "I believe Salem is already attempting to reunite the Bishop. Currently we have Salem's Fall Maiden who is unidentified, my Fall Maiden who is in a coma, the Spring Maiden who is missing, the Winter Maiden who is under Military protection, and the Summer Maiden who has yet to reveal themselves."
Ash turns to Ironwood when Ozpin mentions the Winter Maiden.
"Ignoring the fact that I was just indirectly told that the Story of the Seasons is true," Ash begins, "We have a Maiden on our side? Why isn't she a member of Providence? Why does nobody at Providence know about any of this? Threats like Salem are exactly why Providence was created."
"No." Ironwood responds, "Providence was created to deal with other threats while we focused on Salem. Unfortunately Providence was after the White Fang and Flames of Destruction which we now know are aiding Salem. I can't cancel your team's mission, but know that you are the only member of Providence that should be concerned with Salem."
"So you expect me to keep all this a secret from the others?" Ash declares with his arms crossed.
"Its an order." Ironwood declares.
"Asher warned me that there would be a time when I'd have to pick between being an Agent of Providence and the King's Knight." Ash states, "Glad to know where you stand."
"So now we're all informed, what now?" Asher asks.
"Until we pinpoint the exact location of the enemy base and find the mole in our military, there's nothing we can do besides bolster our defenses." Ironwood states.
"Bolstering our defenses will cause panic as people will ask questions." Ozpin counters, "So until Providence is ready for their next operation, we wait."
"So nothing changes." Ash states, "Glad to know I was being kept in the loop."
"I was not aware that you were the Knight." Ozpin begins.
"Bullshit." Asher interrupts, "Lamia would have no reason to target Ash otherwise."
"I had no way of knowing that you'd awaken, merely that Ash would be the next Knight." Ozpin defends, "And the only proof of this is that an minion of Salem believed it. I had no way of knowing how she knew."
"Speaking of which." Ash adds, "Why do they kept calling me 'the Sacrifice.'"
"That is a question that I don't have the answer to." Ozpin answers, "Lamia is a hunter created by Salem in order to find and kill the pieces. She's was intended to revive herself using a former piece's soul, thus preventing me from recruiting them. Obviously the counter is just to kill Lamia and force her to revive in another body. Nothing I know about her would explain why you're so special."
"Great..." Ash says, sarcastically.
"This was certainly an interesting way to get our attention." Ozpin comments, "You also mentioned that you had unfinished business with Mister Black. Is that related to all this?"
"No." Ash lies.
Ash walks towards Team RWBY's door, but stops to listen in to their conversation before knocking.
"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby states.
"That's ridiculous." Blake argues.
"Blake, we're worried about you." Yang states, "This investigation is starting to mess with your head."
"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering." Weiss lists.
"You think I care about grades?" Blake asks, "People's lives are at stake!"
"We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to." Yang responds.
"Thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale." Ruby states.
"And, the Schnee company records singled out Vale as the primary targetfor Dust robberies over the last few months." Weiss continues.
"Don't forget about their missing military tech too." Yang adds.
"But there's still unanswered questions!" Blake counters.
"Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open!" Ruby argues, "And besides, Ash's team are also investigating and they're professionals."
"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang states.
"It will be fun!" Weiss claims, "Yang and I will make sure of it."
"Yeah!" Yang argees, "We're planning the whole event!"
"Excuse me?" Blake asks.
"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected." Weiss informs.
"So, Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off." Yang explains, "And now we can make sure you have the perfect night."
"And once it's all over, we'll return for our search, rested and ready." Weiss states.
"So what do ya think?" Ruby asks.
"I think this is a colossal waste of time." Blake answers.
Ash takes a few steps back and pretends to be approaching the door as he hears footsteps heading towards it from inside. Blake opens the door as Ash stops.
"Oh, hey, Ash." Ruby greets.
"I'll be in the library." Blake states, walking away.
"You might wanna stay for this." Ash declares, stopping Blake in her tracks.
"What'd you need?" Ruby asks.
"Providence has given me new orders on how to proceed." Ash states.
"What's the plan?" Blake asks.
"S.H.A.W." Ash answers.
"What?" Ruby asks.
"Sit here and wait." Ash explains.
"Wait for what?" Blake asks, "The enemy is out there."
Ash takes out his scroll, setting it to project a map of Remnant.
"We know the enemy is in the southeast of Vale." Ash declares as said area is highlighted on the map.
"Currently Agents are investigating all possible locations for an enemy stronghold in that vast area, which is far more effective than your research." Ash explains, "So unless you want to join them, the only thing we can do is wait for them to find it."
"Providence wants us to wait?" Blake asks, "So they just want us to do nothing."
"There's nothing to do." Ash counters, "How do you expect to fight something you cannot find? Better yet, how do you expect to fight something beyond you. Beyond Vale. You think the Vale Council would call for the help of the Atlesian military and a PMC just to deal with a threat that can be stopped by one individual or one team? Do yourself a favor, Blake, don't be stupid. If you decide to foolishly take matters into you own hands like you did before, Providence will have to eliminate the obstacle interfering with our mission."
"What does that mean?" Yang asks.
"It probably won't be me, but someone will come for you." Ash declares, "Please don't make it have to come to that. Just because we're friends doesn't mean I can make an exception. I'm in enough trouble as it is after what I've told you."
"So how do I join the search?" Blake asks.
"I wasn't actually offering..." Ash begins.
Blake groans in annoyance and leaves the room.
"You're useless." She says as she slams the door behind her.
Ash shakes his head as he turn back to rest of Team RWBY.
"You'll take care of her, right?" Ash asks.
"Of course." Ruby says, "We're sorry if she's getting in the way."
"She's not." Ash states, "What she might do when she thinks she finds them is what worries me."
Ash sighs as closes his eyes and crosses his arms.
"Providence has yet to accept or deny my request for your involvement." Ash informs, "Her behavior will more than likely make them deny it. We're expected to engage during missions next Monday, so have her under control before the dance."
Ash sits on his bed, looking at the map of possible enemy strongholds. He pauses when he sees a specific landmark, Mountain Glenn. Ash thinks back to his time with the Flames of Destr. They had a stronghold near Mountain Glenn.
'Could that be their hideout?' Ash asks, 'What should I do? Should I report this? Or should I just...'
"There's only one thing you can do." Asher interrupts, "Even if it reveals your past ties to the higher ups at Providence, if that were Salem's people have set up shop, we have to tell them and speed up the search."
'Forget it.' Ash declares, 'I don't have to reveal my past, Providence will find it anyway. It's yet to be searched by our Agents, so it's not like they've missed it.'
"If you say so..." Asher reluctantly agrees, "But you said it yourself, this problem is beyond you, don't let them have a free pass because of it."
'I thought you told me not to trust Ozpin.' Ash states, 'Yet now you wanted me to reveals ourselves. Not to mention that you wanted me to hide Mercury and Emerald's status as our enemy. Why?'
"Ozpin may think we're playing his game, but we're one our own side." Asher declares, "Let our enemies face each other and when they're both weakened. We strike. Regardless of that, we still need the guise of the Providence mission in order to face our shared foes again. Anything that you can do to help with that, even if it also helps Ozpin will further our goals."
'You know, Ozpin had a good reason for his stagnation.' Ash comments, 'Perhaps he is our ally and your reincarnation is just messing with your head.'
"Don't be naive." Asher warns, "Ozpin just wants you to think that."
Not as fast as I would've liked, but closer to where I want it.
Anyway. Who will Ash trust, Asher or Ozpin? Only time will tell.
All the pieces have been revealed. Who will be the King's Bishop: Ash, Ruby, or some other Silver Eyed Warrior?
And I'll say it now cause you'd have to wait until Volume 06 to hear it, Summer Rose was the last King's Bishop.