Chapter Thirty Five
I was staring at myself, and myself was staring at me. While in most cases a sentence like that would seem poetic, for me, it was a cold, surreal terrifying reality. I was looking at myself; I looked pale, static, my green dilated eyes glaring into my soul. Or my heart. Or my...then another question arose.
If that was my body...then what was I?
"Bruno." Cinder said, still donning her Ozpin disguise. "If you're still here, then allow me to clear something up. Right now, you are your semblance, disconnected from your body. You can see everything, you can hear everything, but you can't do anything."
She smiled evilly.
"For example, you can see the security camera in the corner of this room, you will be able to hear your associates hatefully accuse Ozpin for the crime he didn't commit, and you will be able to do nothing to correct him."
I glared at her hatefully, despite lacking the eyes to do so.
"I assume right now that you're trying to say some thing along the lines of 'You won't get away with this', right? Well, you're right. I won't."
She suddenly glowed a bright orange light, and once it dissipated, her disguise fell, and she was once again the evil bitch I hated so much.
"But I will." she sniggered. "It has been a true pleasure associating with you Mr Hawke."
She walked away towards the exit, as I silently screamed resent at her.
"I hope our paths cross again."
She exited the room, leaving me in silence. If I could scream, I would. If I could cry, I would. But instead I just stared at my lifeless, comatose body, staring back at me.
Despite being all seeing in this state, I barely noticed when someone came in the room. When I bothered to register, I saw that it was Glynda. After a few steps, she saw me, and turned her head back.
"HE'S IN HERE!" She called, before turning back and rushing towards me.
As she reached my side, she bent down and, with a glowing hand, began scanning all over my body, a stoic but worried expression on her face. But eventually, it faded to naught but misery. More people walked in, including Blake, Jaune, Weiss, and Ozpin. She turned to them, and shook her head. At that, Blake sprinted to my side, tears streaming down her face, as she lifted my lifeless head and cradled it in my arms.
"I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I never should have left you! I should've...I..." She trailed off in to a series of sobs and wails.
I could do naught but stare as my girlfriend, the one who had always been cold and quiet, but also strong and loving, continued to break under her tears. All I wanted was to comfort her, to tell her not to worry about me like this. But instead, my lifeless body just stared at the sky, unmoved by her presence. I was just glad that I wasn't attacking her in this state.
Over the next few hours, I was moved to a hospital bed and hooked up to a life-support machine. I was stable, but according to the doctors, there was nothing more that could be done on their end. Plans were made to have me moved to another hospital down in Vale, though it wouldn't make much difference. The only thing that could wake me up now was...me.
The entire time, Blake and Jaune never left my side, not even to eat. Which meant I now had to live with the guilt of starving my friends as well as their heartbreak. And could do nothing about it.
Over the course of the day, I received visits from a lot of people; students, faculty, friends, the like. I was lucky enough that none of Cinder's group had paid a visit to mock me, or else I probably would've cracked.
Unfortunately, once the visits were done, the cracking arrived. At around eight in the evening, while Blake, Jaune, and Ozpin were still watching me, a man I'd never seen before entered the room. He was tall, in a white military uniform, with sharp facial features and black and grey hair.
"Ironwood." Ozpin said as he entered the room.
He said nothing. Instead, he raised a hand, and several soldiers entered the room, guns pointed at Ozpin.
"Professor Ozpin." Ironwood said. "You are under arrest for the crime of aggravated assault with Dust."
"What?" Ozpin said. "What are you talking about?"
"We have evidence to believe that you are the man responsible for the condition of one Bruno Hawke."
It was starting. Just as Cinder said, I had to watch as they accused Ozpin.
...
Wait.
No.
No, I don't have to watch!
I won't let her torture me like this!
ENOUGH!
With that, I glided out of the room through several walls until I was out of earshot. If I couldn't do anything, there's no point in enduring through that. I decided that right now it was best to just get out of the building, so I kept passing through walls until I was in the front garden of Beacon.
It was peaceful. Quiet. I could hear naught but idle chatter and the sound of wind on the grass. It was as if none of my problems existed.
I hated it. My problems did exist, and I could do nothing but watch as they continued to escalate. I had to find some way to do something. If I could kill Cinder and her group, maybe I could lift suspicion on Ozpin. Maybe I could kill that Ironwood guy too, stop him from interfering. It would be hard, but I could find a way.
I continued to glide through the garden, until I was stopped by a familiar cry of anguish.
"I DON'T CARE!" Yang yelled as she stormed towards the gates.
"Yang, please. You can't do something like this." Her ginger friend said, trying to pull her back.
"I have to Nora!" Yang shouted. "It's been three days, and the police have found nothing!"
Yang's angry red eyes turned purple again, as tears began to flood her face. She dropped to her knees and stared at the ground. Her friend Nora bent down to put her hand on her shoulder, her blue eyes tearing up as well.
"I miss her so much..." Yang croaked out. "She's alone, unarmed, probably freezing without her cape. If I don't find Ruby soon then I'll..."
...
Ruby.
Ruby!
RUBY!
That's what I can do!
I CAN FIND RUBY!
The second the idea entered my head, I began gliding to the place of her kidnapping; the roof where she was watching from. I...didn't BLINK...because somehow I could just see the path. It was no longer something I could switch on or off, I could just use it. But the path was clear as day. I continued to glide along the path she was taken to, this time not losing focus or hazing out. The strength of her aura remained consistent as I continued to charge ahead towards where she was guiding me, way past the point I'd reached last time.
Until finally, in the distance, I could see the point where the trail ended: Inside Mountain Glenn. Without hesitating, I charged through to the interior.
And hit the absolute epitome of a jackpot. Inside the mountain was horde upon horde of Whitefang soldiers, all of whom were operating some sort of machinery or Dust crate. The interior was extremely open, and shrouded in darkness. Upon closer inspection I found that there were hundreds of abandoned buildings surrounding the area, all of which were being utilised to carry out some sort of task, from simple accommodation, to prison cells, to-
Prison cells. Not having to worry about detection, I glided quickly into the building, ignoring the urge to kill everyone in my way. After gliding past several cells which were either empty or full of someone I didn't care about, I finally reached one at the end of the corridor.
And there she was. As I saw her, I breathed a sigh of relief, not just in finding her, but in the fact that, looking her over, she seemed completely unharmed. She was still obviously a prisoner; she was wearing a grey jumpsuit instead of her dress, and she looked like she'd been fed only twice a day so seemed thinner. I also should've expected that she looked miserable at her situation. But she was unharmed. That's what was important.
"Ruby!" I said, before realising the futility of the attempt.
Sure enough, Ruby didn't even notice my presence. She just stared at the ground, watching a bug move across the room. I could do nothing to help her, except remain by her side. And until I could find some way of communicating, that was exactly what I planned to do.
I remained in the room with her for about 20 minutes, until I heard a voice from the other side of the cell. It was one of four voices which knew exactly how to make my blood boil.
"Hey there Red!" Roman cackled. "Or, heh, should I say Grey? Your outfit kind of contradicts your original name, you know?"
He opened the cell and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him and leaning against the wall.
"So." He said, tapping his cane against the ground. "Feel like cooperating yet?"
"I told you." Ruby said, irritated. She hadn't broken yet. "I wasn't wearing my cape when I was abducted. It was in my room! Why do you even want it?"
"Why do I want it?" Roman said, shooting her a glare. "Because it's mine. Your kind stole it from me long ago. And I want it back."
"What?" She said. "No we didn't!"
"Don't try that." Roman ordered. "Do you honestly think I can't tell when you're lying?"
He got up from the wall and approached her, before kneeling down so that they were eye to eye.
"But I'll be honest. There's another reason. That red coat of yours happens to be tailored by pure Dust. That same Dust amplifies power in...violent ways. So, if you want to create a fantasy about how 'there's good in everyone' or some crap, then you can give it to me for the sole reason of you don't want to hurt anyone by accident."
Was he serious? Ruby's cloak had been holding such power this entire time? But...violent power? That sounds corrupting, and Ruby's nothing if not innocent. How does that work?
Someone else came to the bars of the cell; a short Whitefang soldier.
"Mister Torchwick!" He said, saluting. "We're encountering problems with the train."
Roman rose to his feet, an annoyed expression.
"What exactly could you have screwed up now?"
"The brakes are broken. If we want to carry all the soldiers to Vale, we need to fix this."
"Oh my god..." He turned to Ruby. "Can you believe this Ruby? The schmuck train has no brakes! I'll be back later once someone's out of employment. Goodbye!"
He left the room, leaving me to consider what exactly he meant by train. I began to move towards the exit to follow him. If I was lucky, I could plan out some way to kill him, as well as all his soldiers.
"Bruno."
I stopped. Was that Ruby? I turned, and she gave no indication of having said that.
"Bruno."
There it was again. It wasn't Ruby, but it definitely sounded familiar. Really familiar. More so than Ruby, or Ozpin, or even Blake. In fact.
"BRUNO."
In the next instant, everything went white, and I found myself staring into a glowing blankness. Only this wasn't dark like the first time. It was oddly...homely. In fact, homely was single most relevant word to use.
Sapphire Mountain. I was on top of Sapphire Mountain, in the middle of a blizzard. I remember the snow, the temples, and...
"Bruno."
I turned to the origin of the voice, standing at the doorway to the central temple. It was the man who abandoned me all those months ago, or so I thought. And he was staring directly at...me. He could see me.
"Bruno, come inside. You must be cold." Leopold said with a stern smile.
I obeyed his command, and slowly glided to the temple. Once I was inside, he shut the door behind me, and began walking.
"This way." He said.
I followed as he took me through what was once my home; past my old room, my old training ground, all to the most recent and nostalgic place of them all. The meditation room, where my life changed forever.
In the middle of the meditation room was two pillows, one empty, and one with what seemed like a blank wooden mask on it, being held upright by a stand. In between them was a Dust incense pot which Leopold always used to view the town. Leopold went to sit on the empty pillow, his legs crossed, and began casting something into the incense. Once he was done, he looked at me.
"Bruno, do you see that mask? Please enter it."
Enter it? Does he mean, like, glide through it? I tried that, and as I went through, I found myself stuck again, like I was when I was in the darkness before being yanked away.
"Don't fight it." Leopold ordered.
I did as I was told, and endured. Eventually,I managed to settle.
"Bruno. Blink."
I did as he said and BLINKED. The moment I did, I could see normally, like I could in my body. I looked at Leopold's old smiling face, and was happy. Despite his abandonment of me, I did miss him.
"Try speaking." He said.
I obeyed and tried to open my lips. They felt strange and hard, but they moved.
"uuhh..." I-or, more accurately, the mask-said.
"You'll get used to it." Leopold assured me. "Now, I have no doubt you have questions, but before that, I need to start from the beginning. You deserve an explanation for a great many things Bruno. Is that okay?"
I was unsure what he meant. Nevertheless, I responded.
"Okay."
"Good. Now..."
He sighed before beginning. This didn't seem easy for him. I doubted it would be for me.
"Bruno, do you remember anything before your life on Sapphire Mountain?"
I was confused.
"Before? I've lived here my whole.."
I thought some more. Had I lived there my whole life? I don't remember much but...
"Well...there's a reason for your confusion. You were actually born in Atlas, to a human mother and human father of who's names were not disclosed to me. You were a healthy baby, and lived a happy life until you were about five. That's when...the incident happened."
He took in a deep breath, then exhaled, before continuing.
"During the time when the Faunus Rights Revolution was at its peak of conflict, you and your family were caught in the midst of a heavy Dust battle. As citizens you took no part in the fighting and were evacuated quickly. But at some point, probably due to the amount of Dust circulating the area, you got exposed to a particularly harmful strand of it. This Dust, while at the time seemed to have not affected you in anyway, actually fused with your still developing semblance. The result quickly became...problematic."
I was still processing everything I was being told, taking in each word as slowly as I could. Leopold had never once mentioned my parents to me, and now I was listening to him reveal everything about them. He continued.
"At first, it only seemed like you had just developed it early, as you were using your vision semblance from the age of 6. Though, by age 10, you started saying some...troubling things. Making references to killing people, saying that it would be easy because you can see where to strike. You slowly started caring less and less about human life. And at age 12..."
He stared at the ground, before looking back up. I stared at him, praying he wasn't about to say what I thought he would.
"You were apprehended before you did anything. But at that point, a discussion was had about what to do with you. Initially there were only two options. Option one was lock you in an insane asylum, and option two was kill you. But, after hearing about your case, I sent an agent to present a third option: to bring you here."
"...why?" At this point I'd decided to stop taking it in until I'd heard everything.
"Because that's what Sapphire Mountain is. It's an uncharted mountain in the middle of an undisclosed location, specifically designed to rehabilitate those who have been afflicted by the dark power of Dust. It erases all your memories of your past life, so that you may start afresh, and learn to focus your corrupted semblance to the point where it has reached its peak ability, wherein it becomes incorruptible. That was the plan with you. Except..."
A look of resentment took over his face.
"The reason why they accepted the offer of bringing you here was because they believed that your power, if controlled, would be a vital asset in warfare. And they said that, if you weren't ready by the time you turned 18, they'd sentence you to death, as you'd have no use. They were so impatient, and their standards were far too high; the process of mastering ones semblance takes a minimum of ten years, and they wanted it done in six. It was ridiculous. Furthermore, I personally believed that you were more than ready to be let back out into the world again, but they wouldn't want you until your semblance was ready. So I struck a deal."
"A deal?" I asked.
"I told them that I would have you enrol in Beacon Academy to prove to them that you were fit for society. There was no guarantee it would get your semblance at its peak, but it would definitely convince them to let you live. Ozpin was happy to help me with this favour, and...and it's the reason why I forced you to go. To protect you."
To protect me. Me...a killer. A killer because of Dust. Only alive to be used as a weapon. Only at school to prove that I'm not dangerous.
"That..." It dawned on me all at once. "That can't be the case...it can't!"
"It can and it is Bruno. But right now we need to be thinking about getting you back in your body."
"Good. Then I can kill Cinder and Roman."
At that, Leopold stopped and stared at me, a look of panic on his face.
"What...what did you just say?"
"I said so that I can kill Cinder and Roman!"
At that, Leopold rushed out of the room, before rushing back in moments later holding a plate of various Dust crystals.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Bruno, how often have you been saying things like that? Things to do with killing?"
"I don't know. I only started after leaving my body. I hadn't really noticed..."
"It's started..." He said ominously, preparing the crystals.
"What's started?" I asked.
"You're going back to your old ways. Your ways of killing. If I don't put you back quickly you'll be lost completely."
"Wait wait wait." I said. "Old ways? How? Why?"
"It's because of your memory wipe."
"What?"
"The people who come to this mountain are here because they're too dangerous to be in normal society, and that's because they're usually victims of one of two things: trauma or indoctrination. If it's trauma, they don't get a memory wipe because it infects their mind to the point where they'll still have urges even if they don't know why. Therefore rehabilitating them is easier if they can remember what caused them to be this way. But if it's indoctrination, they do get a memory wipe, because we typically find that if they forget the hypnosis that put them like that, then they quickly revert back."
"What about me?"
"You were one of the exceptions who went against the rule. I argued against a memory wipe because I was afraid that the Dust had infected your mind, but the higher ups argued that the Dust had indoctrinated you. In the end, they won. But now..."
"They were wrong."
He looked down in shame, despite having done nothing wrong.
"You have to go."
"Go?"
"This is a long process, which can be ruined by the presence of a disconnected semblance. I can contact you when I'm finished, but right now you must leave."
He placed his decrepit hand on my mask.
"Farewell Bruno. And...I'm sorry."
I felt the mask crack, and saw a white light. In the next instant, Leopold was gone from my sight, as was Sapphire Mountain. I was alone again.