Adam Taurus clenched his fists, leaning forward in his seat towards the television, his eyes practically burning a hole in the screen at the girl, Yang. His anger was misguided, though. He knew it. The one who deserved his ire was the one who was commanding the girl, Naze the Eternal.
Adam pushed himself out of his chair, turning back to face his private chambers. Beyond the far door, there were several high-ranking White Fang lieutenants waiting to hear his input on the situation. He knew what he would tell them. He would tell them that they had to take the spotlight back from these undead. If they were allowed to hold the public's attention, they could distract from all the White Fang's efforts to win rights for the Faunus all across the world. Their own representative had said that they wouldn't become involved in social matters, but they already had. By their very revealing themselves, they had worsened things for the White Fang.
He walked towards the door, his fingers working ceaselessly by his side. How could they do that? It was a crime. Even the dead received more respect than them. It was nonsense. Something had to be done about this. He knew that they couldn't simply attack them, though. Blake had asked about them, and he appreciated it, but he was sure that it wasn't an attempt to help them. She had probably only been sating her own curiosity.
The door opened, and he was saluted as he walked into the darkened room. Several of the more powerful among the White Fang, commanders and some of the more political members of the movement. They all looked at him with worried faces, none sure of what they had to do. He would give them direction, confidence, and most importantly: limits. If he didn't give them limits, they would go too far, and make themselves the definite enemy. It wasn't their own fault, it was simply the way of things. They all believed in their cause beyond anything else, so they would all be willing to do anything for the furthering of their cause, even if it meant making themselves into the monsters that everyone thought they were. He was just a little more forward thinking than that. He desperately wanted to serve the cause, and was willing to pay any personal price, but he knew that restraint was also necessary. What had been criminal behavior up to this point was only a means to a goal. He needed help, and that had been the only way to get it. Now he didn't know if there was any hope.
He walked to the illuminated table in the center of the room, putting his knuckles against the cool metal over which a map of Vale was draped. "Alright people, listen up. I don't want to have to repeat myself."
Yang rejoined her friends and sister through a door at the back of the hall, where they could take their leave without being accosted by reporters who had missed their opportunities to ask their questions. Ruby looked like she was hardly able to stand, with large bags under her eyes and slow, dragging movements. She had fallen asleep several times during the conference, slumping over and, towards the end of the event, drooling on Blake's shoulder. Yang had wanted to laugh at this, but hadn't. There was a time and a place for that.
She knew that if she was still subject to such things, she would be exhausted as well. Answering the questions of relentless news and media personnel was a surprisingly difficult job. It was one that she was happy to do, though, in return for being with her sister. She looked over her shoulder at the trio trailing slightly behind her, slowing her pace so that she would be next to them. Blake met her gaze, returning it willfully, and Weiss looked away like she was avoiding it. Immediately Yang knew that there was something off about the way they were acting. She raised an eyebrow and asked "Hey, what's up with you two? You've hardly said anything since we got out of there. You aren't thinking about what that Paladin said, are you?"
The prospect seemed absurd, but it was one that she knew that she couldn't discount. Solace had made some convincing arguments, and had even given a few examples of the kind of warping that people could go through from his own past. They had all been pretty touching, but they had all also had nothing to do with Yang in particular. She knew that she was whole and unaltered, so why was anyone else even considering it?
Blake shook her head, saying "No, of course we aren't. We know that it's really you in there, your jokes are bad enough." This brought a smile to the girl's face. Even if she didn't agree about the quality of her jokes, she was glad to see that they had actually done some irrefutable good. Still though, there seemed to be something wrong with Weiss. She was still resolutely looking away from the blonde. She looked back at Blake, a questioning look on her face, when a thought occurred to her. Could it be that Blake wasn't telling the truth? She didn't want to believe it, but it was a distinct possibility that Naze had told her about. She didn't want to believe that her friends doubted her, but it seemed that she would have to accept that reality, if Blake was actually lying. Was there anything that she could do to prove that she was still herself? For the greater public, of course there wasn't, but maybe if she was simply able to convince those close to her…
Ruby stumbled over her own feet, and Yang was quick to catch her, saving her from a nasty tumble. Her sister looked up into her face, a small smile on her barely conscious face, and said "Thanks Yang." She felt immensely glad. Even if the other two doubted her, Ruby would know. She would always be able to tell. And she would always be able to tell anything about her sister, just like they always had. They were the closest people in the world, and didn't have anything that one wouldn't be willing to tell the other. If she did have any concerns, she would voice them, and Yang would be able to address them. She only wished that Blake and Weiss were as forthcoming.
Their walk back to the dorm rooms was peaceful enough, with the distant noise of many people talking and walking in the distance, bounding off the walls of buildings to make it to their ears. All the voices melded together into one loud drone, but Yang could still make out one voice in particular. Solace's voice was somehow distinguishable, even at this great distance, as if it resonated in the air differently than the others. What he was saying wasn't as clear as his voice itself, though.
Thinking about the man gave Yang a strange feeling, and she didn't know if it was because she would've actually felt this way about him, or if it was because of the way that he had acted towards her during the conference. There was a very strange tension between them, and it had grown thick over hours that they had been talking. She felt like she should be on edge constantly around him, like she should either be prepared for him to try and stab her in the back, or be stabbing him in the back herself.
She shook her head, pushing the thought from her head. If she didn't have to think about the man, she didn't want to. She felt offended by pretty much everything that he had said with regards to her or her soul, so it had made her extremely happy to cut into something he had been saying with a sarcastic remark.
She shook her head again, putting an arm around her sister and continuing to walk. She wasn't doing a very good job of not thinking about him. She tried to think about something else. The only other thing on her mind however, turned out to be her friends, and the fact that they might not actually trust her. It was simply so insane that they might not actually believe that she was herself. She also thought about whether or not she should tell them that Naze, the boy that lived across the hall and one room down, was actually Naze the Eternal, the eons-old lich. Blake could probably take the news pretty well, but she didn't know about Weiss. She predicted Weiss having some trouble accepting that. Yang did hate to keep secrets though, and Ruby had taken it alright, after Naze had talked to her, albeit briefly. Maybe that was all he needed with Weiss; a talk longer than the one he had given Ruby.
The thought of the two sitting down in a room and actually having a discussion was amusing to her, and she didn't exactly know why. Maybe it was something about the fact that both had very strong personalities, and that seeing them mix like that would be somewhat amusing. Still, she knew better than to set up such a meeting for her own amusement. When Naze had first told her about this job, she had underestimated just how delicate she would have to be.
They came to the doors, and she pushed them open, holding them for her friends. They each thanked her before streaming inside. Again, as Weiss passed her, she seemed to avert her eyes. Yang felt a tinge of annoyance this time. If they had some kind of grievance, why didn't they just say it? There was no point beating around the bush with something like this, nothing would change with time. If they thought that she wasn't really herself, than no amount of time would fix that. She bit her tongue though. If she wanted to say something, she may as well simply wait until they got to their room.
She followed behind them now, tromping up the stairs, heavy footfalls coming in rhythm with the others of her group, until they reached the floor that they needed and turned off the steps. Blake, now at the head of the group, pulled her scroll from her pocket and waved it in front of the door lock. The small light on the device blinked green, and the door unlatched. Blake pulled it open and was just starting to enter the room as another lock clicked down the hall and a door opened. All of their eyes were automatically drawn to it, and Yang what Naze was trying to do, if anything.
Sure enough, Naze's puppet stepped out, peering down the hall in the opposite direction for a moment before looking at them and seeming to react with surprise, saying "Ah, I thought I heard someone out here." He looked to Yang with a slight hint of a smile, saying "I was present for some of your conference. I thought you did an excellent job." Yang was about to nod and thank him when she was cut off by Weiss, who stepped forward confrontationally and said "What's that supposed to mean?"
The question left a very confrontational look on Weiss's face, and Yang noticed Blake start to step back out of the room, slowly reentering the hall. Had they planned something like this in advance? They had been whispering to each other while Ruby had slept, but she had assumed that it was about something having to do with the conference.
She stepped forward, taking a position next to Weiss, putting a hand on her shoulder and saying "Weiss, there's really no need to be like that. He just heard someone out here and wanted-" She was sharply cut off by the girl, who shrugged her hand off and said in a bitter voice "Of course you'd say that."
Yang normally wasn't one to take offhanded comments like that personally, but this one seemed different. It seemed more malicious than anything Weiss had ever said to her before. It could've been her imagination, but she thought that she detected some genuine malice in Weiss's voice. Blake sprang into action now, seeing that her two friends were suddenly about to jump at each other's throats. "Hey you two, calm down." She put one hand on Weiss's shoulder and one on Yang's, moving them apart. Weiss glanced over her shoulder at her Faunus friend before taking a deep breath and stepping back, towards the room. "Right, I…" she looked from Blake to Yang, to Naze, than back at Blake, her head hanging but an irritated expression on her face. "…sorry."
She entered the room, and Ruby followed wordlessly, giving Naze a look that was hard to place. Naze looked between Blake and Yang with a somewhat puzzled look on his face before shrugging and reentering his room, the door shutting firmly behind him. Yang was confused as to why he had even come out, but it had shown her something important; that she had been right about Weiss having angst about the dead. Maybe Blake was too, but she was always harder to read.
Blake gave Yang a gauging look, and she tried to return it with as much honesty in her eyes as she could, but she found it strangely difficult to keep her eyes locked with those amber eyes of her friend. After a moment of this, Blake turned away and started to walk back into the room. Yang followed, not quite sure what to expect. As the two reentered the room, Blake looked over her shoulder at her and said "We have a lot to talk about."
There was something foreboding about the way that she said it. She didn't think that she would feel much in the way of fear since she was resurrected, but this was certainly giving her a run for her money. Before the door closed behind her, she heard one of the showers running in the bathroom. She saw Weiss in the room, and Blake was still in front of her, so she knew that it must've been Ruby. That was good, because her sister had plenty of training she had to do, and she would need to be as strong as possible to do it.
Weiss was standing by her bed, arms crossed, giving Yang the look that said they had something to deal with. Yang was about to say something when Blake walked past her, taking a position next to Weiss and striking a similar pose. Yang heaved a heavy sigh and said "Alright, what is it?"
Weiss and Blake looked at each other, exchanging looks, before Blake gestured to the bed across from her and said "Maybe you should sit down." Yang complied, taking a seat on her bed, feeling the familiar sheets beneath her.
Ren glanced behind him back towards the bathroom doors as the conference came to its conclusion. Nora still hadn't come back, and he was starting to get slightly worried. She usually didn't do things like this. There had been occasions, of course, but it was a difficult task to come up with something that Nora had never done. He sighed, shaking his head to himself. Something was not right with his friend, or at least, was changing. He knew that he shouldn't feel worried, but it was a natural response. Her behavior had become even more unpredictable than usual as of late, and that was saying something. It was like she was fighting with herself, sometimes becoming skittish around him, and sometimes making what he could only assume were romantic advances on him. He had done his best to ignore them, not wanting to turn down his friend, but he had to admit, she was getting more and more persuasive. He found it harder and harder to deny her.
Yang stood from the table and gestured for her team mates to go with her as she started to walk away, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to be alone with them. The stress of the situation was obvious, and being with those close to her only made sense. He wished that he could've asked a few questions, but they really hadn't been relevant, and he didn't want to use the time for himself. He was sure that there would be other opportunities to ask, though.
The Paladin however, Solace, seemed to be remaining behind to answer more questions. Ren didn't feel the need to ask any more, he thought that the man had done a fairly good job of explaining himself. Pyrrha however seemed to be eager to get some time with the man. He could tell that, like himself, she had refrained from interrupting the media's time to sate the curiosity of the world at large. But now she had hopes of getting her questions answered, and he could tell that she intended to do so. She was talking quietly to Jaune as the two stood, making their way back out of the row of seats.
He stood, following behind them slowly. He was still hesitant to do anything without Nora, but if he had to, he would be willing to wait by the bathroom for her to come out. Jaune looked past Pyrrha to Ren, saying "Hey, Ren, are you alright with staying around for a while? Pyrrha wants to get a few questions in for the guy before we leave, and she doesn't want to bother anybody." Ren shook his head, indicating that it would be no bother at all. Pyrrha smiled thankfully and started to walk towards the front panel, eyes fixed on the armored man. He had been quickly surrounded by reporters and cameras after the end of the conference was declared, but appeared to be steadily fighting his way towards the main doors, gently pushing some of the people out of the way while simultaneously answering a few of the questions that were being thrown his way.
Ren followed his teammates to the end of the row, where he stopped, deciding that he would wait for Nora here. She wasn't a child, but he still didn't want to leave her alone in a place like this, especially considering the recent changes that she had gone through. Jaune and Pyrrha crossed and started to follow the man more closely, meanwhile Ren simply stood still, arms folded patiently, eyes going to the door to the restroom on the far end of the hall. She had been in there for quite some time. Perhaps there was something wrong?
He felt a worry start to grow in his chest. Nora was perfectly capable of caring for herself, but Ren knew better than anyone the erratic patterns Nora's behavior could take, provided she was in the right mood for it. The worry usually wouldn't get to him too much, but considering her recent changes…
He started towards the door, intending to check in on her. It was possible that she had gotten sick, but Nora didn't usually get sick. He couldn't remember the last time that she had caught any kind of disease. Her body was more than strong enough to fight off the various contagions that had assaulted her throughout her life. With that possibility mostly ruled out, he was again left with only the conclusion that it was some part of her strange behavior. This would have been worrying enough, but considering the recent changes that she had been going through, he found himself even more concerned.
He quickened his pace, making his way faster to the room. As he reached it, and was about to pull the door open, it started to open of seemingly its own accord, and Ren jumped back to avoid being struck by it. As it swung, it reviled Nora, who reacted quickly to seeing Ren just outside the door, but not quite in the way that he might've expected. Instead of doing what he expected, like smiling, or perhaps making another pass at him, she seemed to be abashed, looking down and speaking softly. "Oh, hey Ren."
He raised an eyebrow. Now he knew there was definitely something wrong with her. He didn't know how he would ask her about it, though. How could he? She was his friend, but he didn't know if he was comfortable enough to talk to her about something like what she was going through.
It was clear enough to him, and to his team members, that Nora was going through some kind of discovery. It could be of a sexual nature, it could not be, he didn't know, but he did know that he would feel immensely awkward talking about it. Instead of getting too far in-detail, he simply leaned down slightly so that he was at eye level and pulled her out of the way of the door. Then, with as much sincerity in both his words and his eyes, he asked "Nora, are you feeling alright? You've been acting strangely, and I think that if you've got any issues, you should-" His voice was cut off as Nora, in one swift motion, took Ren's shoulders and turned him so that his back was facing the wall, carefully yet quickly pushed his against that wall, and pushed her lips against his.
Ren's eyes widened in surprise, and in a natural reaction to the sudden change of circumstance, his back straightened, pulling his face away from hers. She still held him against the wall, but now seemed to be sinking back into timidity very quickly. Ren's mind reeled, trying not only to find a response, but also to process what he had just felt. She had been so warm, so inviting. Should he lean in and kiss her again? Would that be overstepping their friendship? But, by the same coin, hadn't Nora just done the same? Was that an invitation?
Nora saw the confusion on his face, and must have interpreted it as something else, because a hurt look came across her face, and she let him go, turning towards the door and saying "I'll see you back at the room." The hurt was clear in her voice. He tried to call out to her, or to follow her, but his body wouldn't respond to the commands that he gave it. His mouth simply hung open, his throat continuing to breathe shallowly, and his legs only supported his weight, not daring to do anything else for fear of giving out.
He watched his closest friend exit the hall, and didn't know how to feel. He was not used to the emotions that encircled his brain. Confusion, worry, and he would be a liar if he didn't say lust. It was all simply so strange to him, so foreign. He sighed to himself and looked over to his other teammates, struggling to speak to the Paladin. He was still making his way towards the door, and had almost reached it. Ren supposed that he had better allow Nora space, if not for her sake than for his. He needed to think about what had just happened, and what it meant.
Innumerable questions came to him, and Solace did his best to give short answers to those that he could make out, but he felt that all he really wanted to do was to escape the cameras. He never knew how irritating camera flashes could be.
He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he also found it to be nearly impossible to make any forward progress without some physical contact. Thankfully enough, his armor was able to do most of the work, providing an excellent means of displacing those who stood in his way. Not many were willing to stand in the way of the moving hulk of metal, and those who were weren't too difficult to brush out of the way. It seemed to take forever, but eventually he reached the door and breathed the cool, brisk air of the outside again. It was good to be free of the air in the hall, it had gotten stuffy inside of that hall hours ago, and he had been eager to escape ever since. And now he fought through reporters and other media personnel blocking his progress.
As he exited out into the night, a different voice from the others reached his ears. Most were assertive, vying to be the most heard, but this one was soft, almost timid. It instantly reminded him of himself when he was a child. Though the words themselves were obfuscated entirely by the other voices, he was still able to pick it out.
He stopped, looking to the people around him and holding his hands out, giving them an apologetic look and saying "Please, if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate a little space here. I can hardly breathe." They complied, if only hesitantly, and Solace found himself at the center of a small circle. He turned until he found the source of the voice. It was a girl, in her teens, strong looking and with bright red hair. She looked at him with bright green eyes. Her eyes weren't the only thing that stood out to him; he could also tell that she had a very strong soul. All of the people he had met since awakening had very impressive amounts of power, but she had something else. It was a hardened discipline. A very strict personal code. In the light of all that he had said during the night, he might've considered asking her if she might consider becoming a paladin, but he knew that he would probably be overstepping his boundaries. Nevertheless, he wanted to hear what she had to say.
She looked up at him and, in a somewhat timid voice, said "What does it take to become a Paladin?" Solace looked back at her, a stunned expression on his face. That was nothing short of a stroke of providence. Perhaps his order was not as dead as he thought it to be. Perhaps he could rekindle the flame, and then he might be able to stand against the lich, and protect the innocent, as was his only desire. He blinked, and realized that he was simply staring at the girl. He cleared his throat, smiling and saying "Why do you ask? Might you be interested?"
The girl seemed to consider a moment, than nodded. He laughed and clapped her on the back, saying "If I had to make a preliminary assessment, I would say that you have a fairly good chance." Her face seemed to glow, and she nodded. "Will you be training anyone? If someone wanted to learn, how would they contact you?"
Solace smiled again, suddenly very thankful for the many cameras and reporters around him. "I don't really know right now, but I will work something out. If there are any others who might want to learn, I would recommend that they keep an eye out for any future announcements. Right now I'm afraid that I haven't the means to take in any initiates, but I will set about acquiring them as soon as possible." He could feel his mind exploring the possibilities already. Yes, he was no instructor, but he could certainly revive their ways.
Hope burned brightly in his chest, and he was sure that it was visible on his face. Yes, that was what he would do. For the longest time now, he had simply wandered, doing small acts of good wherever he could. Now he could do something far greater than that. He could bring back the Holy Order.
He clapped the girl on the back again, letting his vision drift to the distant horizon and walking through several of the reporters, saying "Now I must go. I've many things to do, and I would like to get them done as quickly as possible. I look forward to speaking again, girl." It was true, he did. But it would do no good until he had the means to train her. Her, and however many others might apply. He ran through a mental list of things that he might need. He needed a place, he needed gear fit for a Paladin, and many other things as well. He might've been concerned at his lack of instructional material, if he hadn't memorized it, learning it by heart and having to recite most of it every day during his training. No, he didn't need it written down. His memory would serve him just fine.
The metal of his armor clanked against the paved street, every heavy step seeming to serve as some reassurance that his cause was a good one. He doubted that he would be able to get any of it done tonight, though. Now all he planned to do was to find a place to sleep, write another letter to his dearest, telling her of his plan, and then sleep soundly.
Ruby finished her shower, turning the flow of hot water off and putting her pajamas on before walking out of the bathroom, intending to fall asleep very quickly, and hope that tomorrow would be better. Hopefully she would simply have more time with her sister, and she would get some real training done without injuring any of her friends. When she walked out of the door however, she found a strange scene playing out.
Yang was standing nearly toe to toe with Weiss, both looked furious at each other. Blake was standing by the side of the two, and she looked like she might've been keeping them from blows. Blake was the first to see Ruby, and when she did, she made a motion for her to stop and not come out. Ruby didn't, suddenly afraid of what was happening. The expressions on both her sister's and Weiss's face looked like they were ready to throw each other out of the window.
"Weiss, if I really wanted to hear about that, I would have asked!" Ruby couldn't remember the last time that she had heard her sister that angry. Weiss was quick to respond, standing on her toes to better close the distance between her and Yang's faces, practically shouting "Oh no!" The sarcasm and anger blended to make a very strange tone. Soon every part of the sarcasm was gone, replaced entirely by anger. "Do you have any idea what we went through? And now we are presented with actual evidence that you might have been changed! We're only being the best friends that we can! Maybe you could return the favor!"
With that, Weiss lashed out, shoving Yang back from her. She stumbled a few steps, than regained her footing, looking back at Weiss with a fire in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment before. With a burst of steed, Yang struck out at Weiss, hands curling into fists as they arced down towards Weiss's face.
A shocked look came across the faces of everyone in the room, including Yang's. Her fist stopped a mere half an inch away from Weiss's face, and she stood stock still, eyes flicking from Weiss's face to her own fist to Blake's surprised expression. Ruby stepped out, wanting to stop the tension that was starting to work its way into her teammates.
She walked up to them, putting her hands on both Weiss and Yang, pushing them apart, saying "Guys, hold on. What's wrong? What are you two fighting?" She edged her way between the two girls, moving her hand from her sister's shoulder to her fist, gently pushing it back down to her side. Everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh, and Weiss took a step back from Yang, not wanting to be caught within striking range again. Ruby looked between the two, saying "Alright, now what was wrong? Why are you two fighting?"
Yang shook her head and said "Ruby, it's really nothing that you should worry about. This is more between me and them than you." The girl shook her head stubbornly and said "No, if it affects you guys, than it affects me too. You have to tell me. Just trust me, I can take it." The three looked from one to another, none very sure of what to do. Yang was obviously still angry, but she made a conscious effort to overcome it, putting an arm around her sister's shoulders and leaning in close to explain to the situation.
"Ruby, you know me better than anyone, really. So you can tell better than anyone that it's still me, and that I wasn't really changed when I got brought back. They…" she gestured to Weiss and Blake "…don't have the years of experience that you have, so they are worried that I got changed. I might have gotten a little worked up about it, but you didn't hear some of the things that they were saying." Ruby gave the other two confused look, and Blake stepped forward, saying "Look, Ruby, I think we need to talk. We don't really distrust Yang, it's just that we don't know how trustworthy her new "boss" is, you know? All we have to go on that Yang really is Yang is his word, and we don't have any reason to trust that."
Ruby put her arms around her sister defensively, feeling her chest start to twist as she tried to figure out why they would think that Yang was different. She wasn't, and she was sure of this. Her sister was just the same as she always was. "Yang isn't different!" her voice sounded hurt, and it was a fairly accurate reflection of how she felt. "I know that you might not trust Naze, but if you really don't, than trust me! Yang is just like she was before. Maybe a little bit smarter than she was before, but other than that, she's the same girl that we knew before. If you can't accept that, than…" she tried for a few moments to finish the statement, but found that she couldn't. Her throat simply would not allow the words through.
Weiss stepped forward, another confrontational look on her face. Ruby could tell that she was probably not going to like what she had to say. "Alright Ruby, if you say that she is your sister, than we trust you." A smile came across Ruby face. That wasn't something that Weiss said very often. She wasn't done, though, and continued "But can we really trust Naze? Blake and I have been talking, and we've noticed some pretty suspicious things about him. Yang said that she didn't want to talk about it, and us pushing the matter didn't seem to do any good. So how about you? Do you know anything about him? He's connected to the dead, at least, that much is obvious, but how?"
Ruby sighed, giving her sister a concerned look. Could they tell them? Yang had said that she was waiting for the right moment to tell them, but could this be it? Her sister gave her a nod almost too small to see, than looked back to her teammates with a small, awkward smile. "Actually guys, I think we do have something to tell you." She looked to Ruby with a small smile, squeezing her shoulders and saying "Do you want to tell them, or should I?" Ruby shook her head, saying "I don't think I could." Yang shrugged nonchalantly and said "Alright, your loss."
She looked back to her team, the mischievous smile on her face as she started off talking. "Well, you guys are kind of right. Naze, that weird guy down the hall…" she pointed with a thumb over her shoulder "…is actually a super important guy. When I say super important, I mean like, the head honcho of the whole "dead people" thing. I know you guys think that it's that scary guy who came to the funeral and brought me back, and you'd be right, but that guy is also Naze. I know this may be a surprise, but Naze and Naze the Eternal are the same person." The looks of confusion that she received were obviously what she had expected, and she enjoyed them.
"It isn't like he had two bodes or anything, but that thing that you see every day is basically a puppet, and he controls it from where he stays. That sounds weird, I know, but would you rather talk to a weird meat puppet, or that spooky skeleton wizard that literally generates fear in you? Because I know what I would pick if I were still alive."
Weiss seemed to become annoyed at this, saying "I knew that he was some kind of spy! Well, why is he here? What does he want to do with this spy body? What is he trying to accomplish?" Yang laughed in response, a large smile on her face. "Why are you so paranoid about all this? He doesn't want to "do" anything, he's just trying to have some agency in the world without making the rest of his people known. If he couldn't do that, than none of this would've come together like it did. Do you really think that anyone would trust a spokesperson who's a weird socially awkward rotting corpse? No, they needed me, and I'm happy to do it for them. Something I'm having trouble with understanding is why you guys don't see it that way."
Blake spoke now, her words being carefully picked. "Yang, do you think it's possible that maybe Naze is the reason you died? Maybe he didn't change you, but it is possible that you are being manipulated in some other way. There are just too many possibilities for ways this could go wrong to simply trust everything about it. From what we've seen so far, Naze is a manipulative person. So we have no reason to simply believe what he might say."
Yang waved her arms frustrated, saying "Than trust what I'm saying! I'm the one you should trust!" Ruby spoke up, disturbed by the conversation that was happening before her. "If you guys don't trust Yang, than you don't trust me either. A team can't work without trust, and if you can't give me or Yang that, than I can't call us a team."
The room fell silent, somewhat shocked by Ruby's ultimatum. There was a finality to it that made it weigh heavy on all of them. None would've expected such a demand from Ruby, and none were able to reply immediately. Instead, they simply looked at each other, their eyes communicating all the surprise that any amount of words could. Blake was the first to regain her composure, shaking her head and saying "I'm sorry Ruby. We…" she looked over to Weiss "…we shouldn't have doubted you. Or Yang. We won't doubt you on this in the future. I'm sure that we would both appreciate it if you accepted out apologies." Weiss nodded, indicating that she felt the same way.
Ruby smiled, saying "Yes, as long as we're a team, we're good, no matter what. Just remember that as long as we are close, we can do anything." Yang smiled a confident smile, and pointed to herself with a thumb, saying "Yeah! Not even dying could keep me away from you guys!"
Ruby smiled at all of her friends before saying "Good, now let's all go to sleep."
The small spark of emotion was again squelched into oblivion, but was again replaced by the steadily growing flame that continued to burn away at Naze's mind. There was nothing that he could do, other than whether the feeling of losing his mind. It was not yet bad enough to warrant taking any action. For now he would simply have to accept being on-edge and awaiting his eventual descent back into what others might call humanity, and he called debility. Emotions had never done anything good for him, and that continued to be true, even in his undeath.
The procedure for containing the damage was simple, but was not without its considerable drawbacks. Naze had a natural telepathic link with all of his servants given the nature of their existence, and it was an easy matter to spread his mental stress among all of those who followed him, but so great would his distress be that even if none escaped the touch of his madness, he would still be barely within the realms of "acceptable" mental conditions. And the collateral effects on his people would reach every member of their collection, slowing research and, especially badly, make them all subject to lesser forms of the paranoia that he had suffered in life. It would be very bad for relations with the living if the undead as a whole became as paranoid and xenophobic as the living were towards them in the past.
But on the positive side, he would be well enough to remember what must be done. No one would like it, but he could drive them in the necessary directions. They would do as he said, if he ordered them. It was a level of force that he was diffident to use, but he wouldn't hesitate to do so if it was required.
But that was still some time away, and there was plenty to think about in the meantime. There were still plenty of mysteries that would require unraveling over the coming years. Demons were never ones to simply fade away, and he suspected that there was more to it than that, and he knew that there was more to that thought than the encroaching paranoia.
Then there were the Grimm, of course. The mysterious force that had brought humanity to its knees through both might and numbers. A strange occurrence, considering the fact that as a species, they seemed to lack souls. It was a strange fact, but not unheard of. Souls were subject to evolution, just the same as the flesh, but what set of circumstances that could lead to a species becoming spread over so many subspecies, all of which also lacked souls, Naze didn't know. It was a mystery that he looked forward to finding the answer to.
On top of all this, there was the Paladin to think about. He still didn't think that the reformation of the Order of the Holy Light would pose any threat, but it would undoubtedly prove to be an annoyance. No greater than that which he was undergoing now, though. Things were certainly interesting as of late. It seemed that enemies were starting to appear on all sides, just as they always had. But something was different this time.
This time however, it did seem that he had allies. The members of team RWBY at least, Ozpin seemed to be willing to aid him, and he doubted that Penny would willingly do anything to detriment him, at least unless it was Ironwood that told her to. That was another mystery that would require his eventual attention. What exactly was Penny, and why was she made?
There was no shortage of tasks, at least.
Author's Note:
Again, a few days early this time. Today is the last day of winter break, so hopefully things will get a little less erratic soon.
As always, I would appreciate reviews. Tell me what you think of all the different things that are coming together and being reveled, and what you think of the whole thing overall. I would really appreciate that, as well as if you followed and favorite the story. Its not difficult, and would really make me feel better.
Thanks for reading!