Brunswick Farm
"'Brunswick Farm'," Oscar read from the sign over the gate.
"Not exactly a resort location," Qrow commented.
"Certainly not," Oz said, "But we're running rather short on options at this point."
"Oz is saying let's go," Oscar said, as he lead the way in, with Ilia and Qrow right behind him. Ilia glanced over her shoulder again, noticing RYPJ and BRWN were still trailing behind.
"Come on!" she called, "The storm's getting worse." She didn't get an answer from the group, as they continued to trudge behind her, sullen looks on their faces. Ilia tried to think of something to cheer them up; maybe she didn't know any of them very well, save for Blake, but she thought they could use something, if anything.
"Come on!" she said, trying to smile, "I'm the reptilian Faunus here, I should be the one slugging behind in the cold." No one, not even Yang so much as smiled at that, as they all made their way into the property. They made to a large house in the center of the property; it was cold and drafty, but was an improvement over being outside in the snow.
"I recommend you all get comfortable," Oz said, "We won't be able to leave until the storm breaks."
"Everyone, look around," Qrow said, "Find anything we can eat, drink, or burn." While Ilia and Oz quickly started doing that, the others still seemed rather slow to do it. Oz sighed at that.
"Listen," he said, "I'm not going to presume that I know how any of you are feeling, but it won't help our situation in anyway." RYPJ and BRWN remained silent for a time, as they exchanged looks, before Jaune stepped forward.
"He's right," he finally said, speaking for the first time in a while, "We need to deal with the immediate issues first. Let's worry about Darkness when we're not all freezing." That got his teammates to agree, as they all split up.
"Let's go find some food," Ruby said to Jaune, "I'm getting pretty hungry."
"Now that you mention it, I am too," Jaune said, rubbing his stomach slightly, "I'll come with you."
"Actually," Weiss said, as she suddenly stepped forward, "I'll go with her."
"If that's the case, come with me and Qrow," Oz said, "We're going to check the other houses." Jaune just shrugged slightly, before he followed Qrow and Oz out the door. As they did so, Ruby and Weiss descended down the stairs to where they assumed the cellar. While there, they discovered what looked like a bar; a stocked bar.
"Let's keep this part to ourselves," Ruby said with a grimace. Weiss nodded in agreement. Ruby looked around, as she held up her scroll to get some light. Weiss suddenly shut the door behind them.
"We need to talk," she said firmly. Ruby looked at her, before looking at the ground. She knew what Weiss was referring to, but that still didn't make her especially enthusiastic about it.
"What about it?" she eventually asked.
"We still ned to do it," Weiss said. Ruby frowned at that.
"Really?" she said, "Now of all times?" Weiss gave her own frown at that.
"I don't need you telling me how bad things are!" she hissed, "You're not the only one who feels like someone just ripped a piece out of you!" That must've come out way harsher than she had preferred, judging by the way Ruby flinched at that. Weiss backed off at that slightly.
"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just…. I'm feeling kind of hungry as well." Ruby took a breath, as she looked down.
"We can do it while we're here," she suggested, "If we can just get Jaune alone…" Weiss didn't like that idea, but a she thought about it, it was probably their only choice.
"Well," she said, "I suppose if that's what we need to do." Ruby just nodded in agreement, but she started looking for anything that could maybe defuse the tension. That was when something caught her eye.
"Look," she said, pointing Weiss followed her finger, and saw another door. This one seemed to be bolted shut, as if whoever shut it didn't want anyone ever getting in. Fortunately, Weiss was able to freeze and break the chains without issue.
"Food!" Ruby said, pointing, as she entered, with Weiss in tow. She hurried over to a shelf, where a bunch of cans sat.
"Canned food?" Weiss asked, not bothering to hide the distaste in her voice, before trying to smile, "I guess it's better than nothing." They both gathered multiple cans in their arms, before they hiked back up the stairs. When they got there, they saw Ren and Nora, as well as Pyrrha and Yang were already back.
"We bring food!" Ruby announced.
"Great!" Yang said, glad for some good news at least, "I'm starving!"
"Did you find anything?" Weiss asked.
"Pyrrha said she found a trailer in the garage," Ren said, "Maybe we could hitch Yang's motorcycle to it?"
"That's a good idea," Ruby said, as Nora greedily snatched a can of baked beans from her, "So where're…" There was then a sudden scream from upstairs. Everyone hurried up, to see Blake kneeling beside a collapsed Ilia. They followed their gaze to see a sight before them. The sight made all their stomach's turn.
It was a man collapsed on the ground in front of them, a knife in his hand. Not far from him as the corpse of a woman, carrying what looked like a screwdriver. Both were covered with blood. Ruby would've invoked Darkness, but then she remembered he was long gone.
(in Mistral)
Cinder rubbed her shoulder, as she gave her surroundings another once over. She was in the lower reaches of the city, in the less "reputable" parts. The Maiden only really had a half idea as to where she was going; she had been asking/interrogating around, and managed to get the name "Malachite". She was a crime boss who controlled much of the Mistrali underground, and apparently operated out of institutions marked with a spider web. It took some looking, but eventually, Cinder found one.
When she entered the tavern, the smell of old alcohol nearly made her vomit, but she muscled through it, and made her way in. She quickly scanned the room, noticing several people eyeing her suspiciously. Cinder supposed that was to be suspected to some degree, but she still didn't like being the center of attention like this. She approached a table at the back, where a heavy set woman with blonde hair smoking a cigarette sat. Standing behind her were two young woman, both with long black hair. One was wearing a white dress with cyan lining, and had cyan makeup, while the other was wearing a red dress with red makeup.
"Excuse me," Cinder said, forcing herself to sound as polite as possible. The woman glanced up at her, as she smiled.
"Ah take a look at this girls," she said, "We have a newcomer."
"Are you Lil' Miss Malachite?" Cinder asked.
"That I am," the woman answered, tapping some ashes off her smoke, "These fine young ladies are my daughters, Melanie and Miltia." The girls just held their steely glance at Cinder as they stood behind their mother.
"And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?" Lil'Miss inquired.
"No one you need to worry about," Cinder answered cooly.
"Mama asked you a question," Melanie said, as she took a step forward, with her twin in tow. Cinder, if only on instinct, took a defensive posture.
"Now, now, girls, that's not how we treat our guests," Lil'Miss said, holding up her hand, causing the girls to back down, "You have to excuse my daughters. For my own, I don't think it really matters. I'll probably find out on my own soon enough. So, what can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for information," Cinder said, taking a step forward, "They say you know everyone who comes in and out of Mistral."
"And what if I do?" Lil'Miss responded, spinning her cigarette through her fingers, "Nothing in Remnant is free." Cinder scowled, before she inhaled slightly.
"How much?" she asked.
"I'll let you figure that out," Lil'Miss answered, with a sneer. Cinder forced herself not to incinerate the woman in front of her, as she sucked in her breath.
"Fine," she hissed, before turning on her heels, "I'll be back.
"I'm sure you will." As Cinder left, though, a masculine figure watched. He was also dressed in a hood, though as he watched the Maiden leave, a red tail rose up from behind him…
(at Brunswick Farms)
The whole group was gathered around the fire they had started, as Ilia held her knees to her chest. It wasn't that she wasn't used to seeing death, but for some reason, this seemed… different. The rest were all digging into the food Ruby and Weiss had brought up. The door then suddenly opened, as Qrow came in, dusting the snow off himself.
"It's the same in every house," he said, "It seems the whole damn farm tore itself apart."
"What could make people do this?" Blake asked, as she continued eating.
"Any number of things," Oz said, as the only one who wasn't eating, "But it should give us incentive to get out of here as soon as possible. Once the storm passes, we can get to work fixing up that trailer."
"Sounds like a plan," Qrow said, as he downed the rest of the can.
"In the mean time," Oz continued, "Everyone get some rest. I don't need as much sleep as you guys do, so I'll take first watch."
"Do we have?" Nora asked, "I'm still hungry."
"I am too," Yang added. Oz opened, then closed his mouth.
"Fine," he said, "But try to save some if you can." As the group resumed eating, as Oz left the room.
"What's with them?" Oscar asked once they were out, "I'm not feeling that hungry."
"I'm not sure," Oz said, as he sat down at another table to stare out the window, "But there's something about this place. I can't put my finger on it, exactly, but there's something… off." Meanwhile, back in the living room, as Jaune kept eating, he was suddenly approached by two girls.
"Jaune," Ruby said, getting her partner's attention, "Can Weiss and I…" She trailed off, as she jerked her thumb to another room. Jaune blinked before nodding, as he rose to his feet to follow the girls in red and white.
Back in the other room, Oz continued to stare out the window. While he couldn't see much in the fading light and heavy snowfall, something caught his eye, something moving. He squinted slightly, hoping to get a better look. It was a shape of shorts, but that was all he could make out. It may have been a Grimm, it may have been an animal, it may have even been a person. But all he could see was it crawling into the well that sat right outside.
Unbeknownst to him, as well, a white hand wrapped around the corner, and a shape peered around it.
"How fun, more mortals to screw with….
The Old Ones: The General
The Empire of Mistral was on fire….
Barbarians from Saunus had crossed the sea, and invaded the Empire's Western provinces. The Mistrali Imperial Army, while large, proved woefully ill-equipped to handle the invaders. Entire swathes of territory were lost to the barbarians, and they showed no sign of slowing down.
The Emperor gave the order to hold the invaders at Saya Pass, sending 20,000 men down to face an army of 50,000. Theoretically, the pass should have been narrow enough to negate the invaders' advantage in numbers, theoretically. None of the soldiers were the least bit confident about it. One, whose name was Shin, was sitting by his tent, staring at the ground in front of him. He was trying to imagine tomorrow; he was trying to imagine going home to see his husband and daughter again. But try as he might, he couldn't…
"Moment of your time?" Shin suddenly looked up at that. Standing in front of him was a female soldier, dressed in bronze armor, and a bronze helmet, with a pair of bright green eyes peaking out On her back was a shield and a spear.
"Sorry," she said, as she sat beside him, "You just looked like you needed someone to talk to."
"I'm… I'm just thinking," Shin answered slowly.
"You must be thinking pretty damn hard," the soldier said with a gentle smile, before looking at the fire in front of them, "I'm scared too." That actually made Shin look at her.
"I want to go back home," she said, "Go back to my parents. But whenever I get scared, I remember something my father once told me."
"What did he tell you?" Shin asked, now curious.
"He said courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway," the soldier said, with a smile, "What's your name, soldier?"
"Shin."
"Well, Shin," the soldier said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'll look for you on the battlefield." With that, she got to her feet, and left. Not long after, Shin was summoned by his sergeant for an address of their general. But to his utter shock, when he got there, he saw the same woman who had spoken to him sitting on her horse facing them. She then took off her helmet, allowing her long red hair tumbled out.
"My name is Medea," she answered, facing them all, "Medea Spartacus. I have been put in command of this army, in command of this defense. I know what everyone is saying around the camp, and I don't blame you. Our chances are dismal, but would you have us give up? Just walk away? You should know that this is your land the barbarians will ravage, and it'll be your homes they'll burn, and your families they'll murder! Are you going to stand by and let it happen?" There was a period of silence, as the soldiers exchanged looks.
"No!" Shin declared, being the first person to do so. Then another said "no", then another, and another, as Medea smiled at the sound of all it.
"Now I understand most of you are afraid, but know this: any man or woman who faces battle without concern is a moonstruck fool," she continued, "To be brave is to go forward anyway, no matter how afeared. That is why I go forward, with so many other brave men and women!" She then held up her spear.
"For Mistral!" she declared, "For the Emperor!" She then pointed her spear to the pass, and charged forward on her horse. Her army cheered in agreement, as they all charged ahead, to defend their homeland.
Note: I didn't invent that part about the twins being the daughters of Lil'Miss. On the Vol. 6 commentary, the creators confirmed that they are indeed her daughters.
This chapter is setting up the scene in Brunswick Farm. They don't seem to be tired, which is a plus. They do all seem rather hungry, though…
In regards to the Old Ones shorts I've been doing, there is a meaning to them. I won't say what that meaning is yet, but there are hints dropped around; look carefully, and you may be able to get an idea.
Be sure to review.
Looking at the reviews, and looking at the general way people are approaching the matter, I'm noticing that these days, there seem to be two camps: people who blame what's happening on Salem, and people who blame pretty much everything on the gods, so I'll give my two cents on the matter. I meant to put this last chapter, but slipped my mind.
Now let me be very blunt, what happened was not the gods' fault, it was Salem's. She was the one who wouldn't take "no" for an answer; she was the one who lied, and then tried to force the issue with the gods; she was the one who lied to the people and got them to rebel against the gods out of her own anger; she was the one who made it her goal to bring destruction and chaos to the world. Even Jinn noted that Salem blamed everyone but herself for what happened. Just blaming the gods for everything that's wrong with Remnant is simply not true. At any rate, he wasn't even the one who cursed her, the God of Light was, and he wasn't the one who pushed her into his pool. I'm not saying the gods are blameless, but Salem is the show's villain, not them. To place all of Remnant's faults on them is to absolve Salem of all she has done.