Chapter 38 – Cypher's Ridge
Ruby
The large Armoured Atlesian Transport drove through the streets of Argus, many ambulances and fire trucks were roaring past them to get to where the crashed Argus Limited was located, alongside Police Officers who were maintaining the scene, getting the passengers out of their. Luckily there were no casualties, only a couple of major injuries and mostly hurt men, women and children. It was very close though, many more people could have been killed during the battle that just took place, especially when Jackdaw was on the loose.
And yet now, the infamous Jack the Ripper… the man who had been evading capture by the authorities for years and managed to escape a Black Cell on the Shadow of Broken Promises without help… has been arrested… on his own accord. Ruby stared at the lunatic who was bound by massive restraints, the cuffs were like blocks with currents of electricity inside of them, stopping him from using his Cybernetic arms in any way. But Jackdaw did not seem concerned by that in any way whatsoever, he was actually tapping his feet on the floor with… glee.
Ruby looked at her sister as they sat there, then they looked at Nora who had her teeth into the cable around her wrists, yanking it with all her might to try and break it. Her cyan eyes were wide as she kept on trying, whilst Ren just sighed and shook his head, letting the Feral Nora Valkyrie keep trying. Qrow and Raven were also sat down with their arms bound, and Qrow kept his eyes on Jackdaw as well – if anyone would be more dangerous in restraints than out of them, it would be their older brother.
"I'm getting really tired of being captured, honestly." Yang sighed as she shook her arms to try and get free, only to no avail.
Jackdaw chuckled sinisterly as he sat there, in front of him there were multiple Atlesian Soldiers that had their guns aimed at his head, ready to fire if he even tried to escape. But Jackdaw was not trying anything, he just did one of the many things he was very good at.
Talking.
"Oh darling… when you go rogue you should just accept the fact; you'll get captured a couple times at some point." Jackdaw assured, Eryka scoffed as she looked at Dulcis in yet another cage.
"Tell me about it." Eryka sighed. Nora ceased her animalistic attempts to break the restraints and she sighed, leaning back and resting her head up against the glass. She glanced out the window and she saw the Atlesian Military Base that they were being brought.
"Ugh… looks like we're being taken to that ugly Shoe Place." Nora groaned; Yang raised a brow.
"Klopperoonies?" Yang asked with confusion – Klopperoonies was a Shop in Vale that sold some of the worst quality footwear the gang had ever seen. Yang's comment made both Ruby and Ren chuckle.
"No… that nasty mountainy thingy at the very end of the city, where the Atlesians hang out." Nora commented.
"Cypher's Ridge." Jackdaw answered for them, all of them stared at him when he answered that statement.
"It has a name?" Ren questioned.
"Well yeah, how many places have you been to that don't have a name?" Jackdaw replied.
"No, I mean that I thought it was just called the Argus Base." Ren stated.
"To the uneducated yes, but that place has a bit of intriguing history… and irony." Jackdaw said, looking over his shoulder at the team of Rogues behind him, raising one his brows. "Would you like to have a bit of exposition from good ol' Uncle Jack?"
Ruby glared at him with anger, but she sighed, rolling her silver eyes before she looked out the window to see the base itself.
Cypher's Ridge.
Jackdaw began to tell the history of Argus and more specifically – the base itself. "You see back in the day, during the Great War? This entire place was once a giant cliff face, absolutely gigantic one too – discovered by a man named Cypher Lazuli. People came together to start building their own kingdom, and it was prospering, a Kingdom that had no part in the Great War. They just wanted to live a peaceful life, far away from the conflict that was raging around them." Jackdaw explained, and Ren looked at Jackdaw with confusion.
"But… it's a Cove now." Ren said.
"Good eyes there, son." Jackdaw said. "They lasted through most of the Great War, since the Four Kingdoms never really needed much reason to go to their location. So Argus survived through roughly… four hundred years of warfare, completely unscathed. Until of course the Atlesian Pagans decided that they needed some more land to build their bases, claiming land. And sadly… Argus lacked the proper defences; they lacked the military to defend themselves." Jackdaw stared at the Atlesians, they were no longer Pagans who drank the blood of their enemies and worshipped the moon as a monstrous god – but they were still from the same past.
Even some of these soldiers looked… almost guilty… from this dark part of their history. "The Pagans massacred and enslaved the people of Argus, fed on them, drank their blood, sacrificed them to their God that they would die for. This beautiful city was once hell on Earth for these people. But the people of Argus were on Anima, land of which the Mistraalian Immortals could not stand for." Jackdaw explained as they drove past some old ruins that were being maintained and looked after – so that the History of Remnant could never be forgotten.
Old buildings, ones where battles took place, people lived… or where the Atlesian Pagans slaughtered men women and children like livestock for their god. "What happened?" Eryka asked the madman, who was more knowledgeable than they were expecting.
"The Immortals sent their army there, the same one that would later battle against the Spartans of Nikolaos. They swarmed towards the gates and immediately sacked the entire city, Pagan and Argus Citizens alike. Until there was nothing left, and they dropped bombs on the city, nearly wiping it off the face of Remnant. The cliff face became extremely damaged and collapsed into the sea… except for once chunk of it left standing." Jackdaw glanced at Cypher's Ridge, staring at the tall chunk of the Cliff that was still standing after all these years.
Jackdaw scoffed. "Isn't it ironic? A city and all its people massacred by the Mistraalians and the Atlesians… now the city was rebuilt and owned by both sides. And the Atlesians turned the only remnant of their genocidal campaign of war… into a Military Base." Jackdaw laughed at the irony, but nobody else was laughing. The Atlesian Soldiers looked incredibly hurt to hear that tale once again…
… the Great War was a horrific time… and all of them felt glad to have never seen it.
Ruby stared at the city, and after hearing what Jackdaw just told them, it was maddening to know that this place was once a ruin, engulfed in flames from a war that they wanted no part in. And even now, they still never got what they wanted, they were a conjoined city controlled by the two Kingdoms that brought about their destruction centuries ago. Perhaps it was guilt on their part, or they just wanted to try and cover up the past – but nothing can hide the truth forever.
Ruby looked away from Cypher's Ridge and she stared at Jackdaw again, and she could still just see him. The horrifying view that Summer must have had before she died… seeing those insane eyes staring down at her before he finished her off. "Why her?" Ruby questioned, and Jackdaw glanced at her.
"Why who?" Jackdaw asked her, and Ruby gritted her teeth in anger, but before she could even yell at him, he already knew. "I'm just messing with you, little one."
"Why? She was kind, loving and good – and they told me that you were friends with her! Why would you kill her? Just because my Uncle… had feelings for her?" Yang questioned with anger and disgust in her voice.
"You're asking the wrong questions there, Goldilocks." Jackdaw sung with a sing-song voice, smiling away as he looked at the two women. "You keep asking me why I did what I did… but have you ever wondered if others could have played a part in her demise?" Jackdaw asked, glancing at Raven and Qrow.
"We know about what happened to your team… Qrow's Bad Luck Charm got them all killed… but that was not his fault, and you know it!" Ruby argued, and Jackdaw chuckled with amusement.
"Look around, Ruby. Remember what I told you? About how Atlas and Mistral attempted to cover up what they did all those years ago? Was it guilt or was it fear? Tell me… you have no reason to trust a monster like me… but are you certain I am the only one?" Jackdaw asked her as he sat there. Ruby glanced at Qrow and Raven…
… they were sweating.
There was no confusion of it anymore, the two of them were definitely hiding something, something that Jackdaw knew. And not only that, Qrow was the one claiming that Raven's explanation of what Jackdaw did was not correct – but what if even he was lying? Ruby was about to ask them what he was talking about, until they heard the voice of an Atlesian interrupt them through the intercom.
"Identification Confirmed, welcome back Orange Squad." The Woman on the other end said, which made Jackdaw laugh, actually guffaw.
"ORANGE SQUAD? HA! What's next? Banana Team? Watermelon Platoon?" Jackdaw was laughing like a child as the door opened up and they guided him with chains, pulling him towards the doors. The rear end of the doors of their truck opened and the light nearly blinded them. Stood there was both Winter Schnee and Sienna Khan, and Eryka groaned – knowing she was in for some serious shit.
"Too bright!" Ruby groaned.
"Shut it, come on. Time to face the music." Winter said as she stepped aside, letting them all walk out from the truck. It was Ruby, Yang, Nora, Ren, Raven, Qrow and Eryka who walked out. As Winter walked out, she saw one of the soldiers take Dulcis, but Winter grabbed the cage instead – Eryka felt more comfortable with that, and Winter knew she would.
"So… how pissed are you at me, by the way?" Eryka asked, but Winter winced as she held her side, Sienna helped keep her standing, but she was doing much better now. She had already been given some better medication on the Argus Limited. Luckily, she did not even need to go to the Hospital, the Train had the stuff they needed in stock – Anti-Venom for Grimm Stingers.
The fact it worked on Tyrian's Venom was… quite concerning.
Winter glared at Eryka as she held the bandage around her core. "Whoa, what the hell?" Eryka immediately began to worry about her Girlfriend but Winter shoved her forward to keep it moving.
"We will talk about it later… and to answer your question? On a scale of one to ten? I'd say a nine." Winter answered.
"Oh gods…" Eryka groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.
Ruby stared up at the huge piece of rock that remained from Cypher's Ridge, now covered with Atlesian Military Equipment, she sighed as she kept walking towards the doors. Massive Atlesian Paladins marched across the area, armed to the teeth and with soldiers absolutely everywhere. Airships came in and landed on the pads to deliver goods into the city, and she looked past the base and saw the expanse of ocean. That was what they needed to cross in order to get to Atlas – and going on a boat would not just take too long, but the Grimm that lurk in those waters would kill them all in seconds.
They needed an airship… but the odds of getting one now were slim to none.
When they entered, it was far warmer than the cold Northern Anima Air that they felt outside, and it smelt so clean. To the Schnees this was expected, and as they turned the corner, they saw Weiss and Jaune stood in front of them, with a rather short elderly woman clad in High Ranking Atlesian Clothing. Ruby looked at where Jackdaw was being taken and she stared at them. "Where are you taking him?" She asked them, since she knew that they were all in danger with him in cuffs like that.
He had a plan; she knew it in her bones.
Jackdaw was not the only one being taken down below, the same was happening for Penny as well. Ruby looked at her and she looked so frightened, looking at Ruby for help as they forced her down the stairs. "And Penny? Where are you taking her?" She asked the three of them.
"The same place that we should be taking you, for psychological evaluation and to be sent to the highest security prison. But I have been given many requests to not do that to you… yet." She said to them all, Ruby looked at Weiss and Jaune and she could tell that they must have played a part in that, to make sure their punishment was softened.
"Guys, this is General Caroline Cordovin, she is the leader of Cypher's Ridge and all the military here." Weiss introduced, and they saw that Blake and Ilia were stood to a distance, they felt uncomfortable being in such high presence of Atlesians, given the treatment of the Faunus up North.
"I assume we're under arrest?" Ruby said, Cordovin scoffed.
"Arrest? Heh, that's funny. You've broken more rules in the book than any Huntress in recent years, Miss Rose. You're lucky you haven't already been sent to the nearest prison." Cordovin said as she walked ahead of them. "Your weapons and that Eagle will be held in lockup; we'll be sure to send you a receipt for them."
"AGAIN? He's an Eagle not a gun!" Eryka argued and Winter sighed, walking over to Cordovin and she whispered in her ear.
"Surely we can spare the Eagle? She's really attached to it and not being able to see him safe could make her harder to work with. And like she said… he's an eagle, not much he could do in here." Winter said, still standing by and supporting her Girlfriend even after everything that has happened. Cordovin looked at Dulcis who screeched at her and Cordovin stepped back, scowling at the creature.
"Fine, just keep the beast away from our operations." She sighed, and she walked over to Eryka and stared at her.
"Keep him well behaved, for both your sakes." Winter requested, they all walked inside of the large Office where Jaune and Pyrrha were inside. Jaune had his scroll up to his ear, speaking to someone in particular.
"Yeah, they're here now, can you stop pestering me on this, Killian?" Jaune requested, which made them all scoff. They could not hear Killian on the other side but judging by Jaune's frustrated face and rolling his eyes, he must have been going on about the same stuff they were expecting. "Consequences? Oh you'll bet there'll be consequences for this." Jaune added as he walked towards them. "Well duh, I just said it. Go ahead, quote me on it, whatever. Are we done?" Jaune asked, hanging up on the Commander before he could even finish what he was saying.
"Take it he's still bitter?" Ruby assumed.
"Killian wants all of you prosecuted for what you've done, I'm trying to convince him to soften the punishment. But you guys have not been making it easy, running amok the way you have been." Jaune said to them as he walked towards them.
"So… I'm not getting Crescent Rose back?" Ruby asked them.
"Technically it belongs to the Council now." Weiss said as she walked past her friends.
"That's cold." Qrow scoffed.
"Warmer than a Black Cell." Jaune responded, that was when they realised though… Killian didn't tell them about that. He did not even tell them that he launched a full-on assault on them at Lake Matsu and held them in Black Cells. Somehow… that was more surprising. The soldiers guided the Rogues and split them apart into separate Cells.
Ruby and Yang in one, Nora and Ren in another, Qrow and Raven in another and Eryka with Dulcis in the next. These Cells were very different in comparison to the Black Cells, they were made out of Bullet-Proof and Sound-Proof Glass, with a table and comfortable office chairs inside where they could sit down. The soldier set the cage with Dulcis down on the table and all the soldiers unlocked their restraints, leaving them in their cells for the time being.
Cells… they were more like fancy Offices.
Ruby sat down in their Office with Yang, but as they sat, someone walked in and closed the door behind them. "Hello Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long." She spoke, they lifted their gaze and saw her stood there – it was not who they thought it was gonna be.
It was Veronica… Killian's Girlfriend.
Both of the sisters stared at Veronica as she walked in, she was still wearing rather casual clothing, but she had a holstered pistol on her too and had some tactical gear on underneath her hoodie. "Wasn't expecting to see you here." Ruby said, and Veronica nodded her head, leaning against the glass with her arms crossed.
"Ah, so you're a blonde like me." Yang said, Veronica raised a brow in confusion.
"Come again?" She asked.
"Your hair, I can see the blonde roots coming back." Yang commented, and Veronica touched her head where the light blonde was returning. Veronica chuckled, closing her violet eyes and softly scratching her tanned skin.
"Oh yeah, gods I need to remember to fix that. Blonde never really worked for me really. Looks great for you though, Miss Xiao Long." Veronica said as she stood there.
"So… why are you here?" Ruby asked curiously, Veronica immediately furrowed her brows.
"You're… not pissed at me? I mean… I'm Killian's girlfriend." She commented.
"We know, but you weren't the one who did the things that he has done. And… in a way I do get why you hate us." She said with a sigh.
"I don't hate you… I don't hate any of you… I just feel that maybe some things can be improved. I just want the truth, and I want everyone to be treated equally. I may not agree with some of Nathan's methods but… he wants the same thing." Veronica said, but that made the two sisters scoff.
"Yeah keep telling yourself that." Yang scoffed.
"I know you don't trust him, what he did at Beacon was wrong and terrible… and definitely rash. I admire him for actually telling me the truth on that, to be honest. But his motivation is for Remnant to be united and safe." Veronica said, and Ruby looked at her.
"Oh yeah? Tell me did he tell you he attacked us and destroyed Lake Matsu to try and kill us before he decided to lock us in Black Cells?" Ruby asked her, and from the look of shock on Veronica's face? That was all they needed to know; Killian never even told her about ambushing them at Lake Matsu. "I know you care you about him, Veronica – but I do not trust him. A man with all that power and arrogance? There's only one thing he wants, whether he chooses to admit it or not. And that's power and control." She explained as she stared at her hands.
She opened and closed her fists over and over again, so anxious, waiting for something to go wrong. She looked around and saw Blake and Weiss talking nearby, but they could not hear a thing. "But… Killian isn't what scares me right now." She said, Veronica looked at her with confusion.
"What is?" She asked her.
"Jackdaw… he gave himself up. Let's be real here, he could have easily taken all those soldiers out, but he put his hands behind his head with a smirk on his face. He has a plan, and it's gonna go wrong. We cannot risk losing sight of him for a moment and right now? I have no clue where he is." Ruby explained, Veronica looked at her and she walked across the room to her scroll.
"I would like to clarify something. I have never been against you or the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses. I have not forgotten the things you have done for us, the amount of lives you have saved… all of you in particular. It's why I was here." Veronica revealed, Yang's eyes widened, and she looked at Veronica.
"Wait… were you one of the other people that made sure our punishment was softened?" Yang asked and Veronica smiled, nodding her head.
"Like I said – I do not want the Huntsmen and Huntresses gone or even on a leash – I just want everyone to be happy and safe. And of course – I want to know the truth." Veronica said, she then held her scroll behind her back and clicked a button, and the screens in their room turned on, showing both Jackdaw and Penny's cells. They were being interviewed by people and she unmuted it so then they could hear what they were talking about.
Both of them looked at Veronica and she winked at them with a smile. The glass was sound proof so nobody could be suspicious of what they were doing in there. Everyone outside was watching the same feed and listening to the talk between the Interrogator and Penny.
"Tell me, what do you remember? Who is your father?" The Interrogator asked, with quite a strong voice.
"Pietro Polendina." Penny answered, she was so scared, and it upset Ruby deeply.
"Very good – tell me why did you do the things you did today? Were you angry? Angry at the Atlesians for what happened at Beacon Academy four years ago?" The Interrogator asked her.
"N-No… I… I don't know what happened… I could see everything, but I could not stop my body. Something was in me…" Penny whimpered with grief in her voice. "Where is my friend? Where is Ruby?"
"She is nearby, safe. Do not worry." The Interrogator assured; Ruby looked at Yang.
"How come none of these Atlesians are shocked that she's alive? We all saw what happened in the Vytal Festival." Ruby stated.
"Yeah… do you think they knew?" Yang asked.
"I think they had her rebuilt but never told you." Veronica said, they both looked at her and judging by her face she was just as in the dark as the rest of them were.
"Why would they do that?" Ruby asked her.
"Well… did the Atlesians want to keep Penny under their thumb constantly? Keep her away from other people? From you?" Veronica asked her, and Ruby thought back, remembering all the times that Penny said that she could not speak with Ruby. The Atlesian Soldiers that chased them… she was not allowed to talk to anybody and go alone in a strange city.
"Actually come to think of it, yeah… Atlesian Soldiers were always with her… Ironwood always had her close." Ruby remembered and Veronica sighed.
"For every answer we get ten more questions." Veronica said, making both the sisters scoff in agreement.
"Story of our lives." Yang answered.
"She could have been rebuilt literally a few months after… and nobody ever told me? She was my friend… she is my friend." Ruby sadly said, and Veronica gently squeezed her shoulder.
"Don't worry, this will work out." Veronica assured and Ruby smiled, staring back at the screen again.
"I hope so."
They continued to watch the feed… but Ruby knew… something was gonna happen.
Jaune
He and Pyrrha both walked towards the room where Ren and Nora were being held, and just as they expected, Nora was sat on the floor rolling around out of complete boredom was Ren was just sat down with his eyes closed. Jaune opened the door as he looked at them and then at the comfortable chairs. "Something wrong with the chairs?" Jaune asked.
"No, Ren was meditating, and I thought I'd give it a go." Nora said as she rolled around, and Ren sighed.
"As you can tell it went well." Ren replied, opening one eye at the two of them. Pyrrha closed the door behind them and they both walked inside of the cell. They both pulled out their chairs and they sat down; arms crossed as they looked at them. Nora scoffed, glancing at Ren.
"Uh-Oh… I think we're in trouble." Nora joked, but neither Jaune nor Pyrrha were in a joking mood.
"This isn't a joke, Nora. There will be a trial for this, we've tried our best to soften the punishment you'll be getting but it will be prison time." Jaune explained to them, and they both sighed.
"Oh no, we'll be in prison. As if Beacon Academy and all the other Academies won't be in the same boat a few years later." Nora said as she stood back up, planting her hands on her hips, staring at Jaune with daggers in her eyes.
"It won't be like that; the Consensus just says that we will have to report back and follow missions ordered by the Government. It's more like a job that way." Jaune said.
"That's the point though, Jaune! It goes against everything Huntsmen and Huntresses do! We're freelancers, we don't work for someone higher up than us. We help people on our terms, not a bunch of pencil pushing douches." Nora argued, but Ren calmed her as she sat on the floor next to him.
"It's a document, they're amendable. Things will get better once the P.R fires are put out." Jaune said.
"Or they'll get worse. Did you forget what happened four years ago? What Killian did? I haven't! The man's insane and will do anything to get what he wants and that is control. Over everything and everyone." Nora stated, and Ren nodded his head.
"There have been men and women like him for years, he's no different to the rest. The only difference is that he has the power to do whatever he wants without consequence." Ren explained.
"Not true, the Black Gallows may be step above the other Militaries, but they all answer to the Council of Remnant. Any action they take has to be okayed by them, not even Killian can stop that." Pyrrha explained as she gestured her hands around as she spoke.
"Really, so did he tell you that he attacked us at Lake Matsu? Do you really think the Council would sanction him to destroy a Historical Site like that?" Nora questioned.
"And don't even get me started on locking us in Black Cells immediately without even contacting the Council. He's not playing by their rules, Jaune, he's playing by his own ones." Ren said as he stared right back. But Jaune and Pyrrha both had no idea about that whole thing either, something that was very clear from the looks on their faces.
"Yeah… just as I thought." Nora sighed, resting her head on Ren's shoulder. Jaune stood up from his chair and he paced around the room.
"Well… if the council find out about that then there will be consequences." Jaune said, what none of them knew was how much Killian had actually kept from the Council. Not even just about Salem either.
There was a lot of things that he kept from them… things that could even put him in a Black Cell.
"But that doesn't change your circumstances. There was a crisis at Beacon, and you disobeyed the Council and ran off. You joined the Branwen Tribe, Qrow stabbed Killian – a Military Commander, slaughtered Malachite and her Little Spiders and probably a hell of a lot more." Jaune explained to them, grabbing the back of his chair.
"We did not kill one person at Malachite's… that was the Tribe." Ren immediately defended – he nearly told Jaune about the Black Gallows soldiers that they killed but he chose to keep that at bay. He did not know if they could even trust him with such information.
"Well you still ran with them and it won't matter to the Council and their judges. You'll be put in prison for damn long time… and gods… do you know what we went through to try and catch you here?" Jaune asked them, the two of them looked at each other – since they had one hell of a journey too.
"Uh… what happened? We saw a bandage around Winter." Nora commented.
"Yeah… well… remember that thing that Ironwood told us about at Beacon? Salem? And that big thing tried to capture me during the battle?" Jaune asked them.
"The Praetorian Knight?" Ren asked.
"Yeah… well on our way to find you, two more came after me. Adam Taurus got free with this other guy – Hazel Rainart I think his name was. And they tried to take me and kill Blake. Then we got ambushed by this lunatic called Tyrian… and two old friends of ours were with him." Jaune explained.
"Emerald and Mercury." Pyrrha told them, their eyes widened.
"They're still alive? Qrow went searching for those two ages ago, when Beacon was still being patched up." Ren gasped with his eyes wide.
"Yep – Winter got stung by his Scorpion Tail, only just managed to patch her up on the Argus Limited." Jaune explained, the two of their eyes widened.
"Wait... you were on the Argus Limited the same time as us?" Nora gasped.
Silence filled the room out of realisation…
"Oh gods… we're so stupid… how did we never notice that?" Pyrrha groaned as she facepalmed.
As the moment of realisation passed, Pyrrha remembered the horrors they saw out there in the wilds. Jvaani and Brunswick Farms. "The Grimm too… we saw some terrible things out there. Something new was pursuing us and we encountered the Apathy."
"Gods…" Ren softly said.
"So do you see what I'm saying? Ironwood said this Salem Person is the one responsible for the Grimm and she commands them. Things are getting worse out there and for whatever reason she is sending people to try and capture me. I don't know why or how but they are. You need to give up this whole thing about Jackdaw and agree to help me and the rest of us go after Salem. It's our best chance – we have to find out who she is and where she is and how to stop her. Because we need you…" Jaune begged them as he crouched down, the two of them looked at each other as they thought about it.
"It's not us you'll have to convince, Jaune. It's Ruby and Yang." Nora said as she looked at him. "You don't know what it's like… to have your parents die, knowing what did it and knowing you could never avenge them. Ruby is set on avenging her mother and we cannot let her do it alone." Nora said.
Jaune sighed, standing back up. "And besides – this isn't over. Jackdaw gave himself up… we've all seen what he is capable of in the battlefield, he did not need to give himself up. Why do you think he did it?" Ren asked Jaune as he walked away.
Jaune stopped and stared at the feed where Jackdaw was waiting to be interrogated, smiling away in the chair he was restrained onto.
Jaune closed his eyes…
… because he knew they were right in that regard.
Eryka
"SUCK MY BUTT YOU ASSHOLES!" Eryka yelled over and over again at the many Atlesians that were working hard, yelling all forms of obscenities at them through the glass. But it was soundproof, so they could only see her shouting at them but could not hear a word. She stopped when she heard the sound of the door knocking and she turned to see Winter on the other side with a crutch.
Eryka gulped, and she walked over to the table, wringing her hands together as she looked at her girlfriend as she opened the door and walked inside. "Ow…" Winter groaned as she held her side. Eryka immediately walked up t0o her and checked over her, making sure she was okay.
"What the hell happened? Who did this to you, are you okay?" Her worrying was appreciated by Winter, and under the circumstances it was as if nothing had really changed between them.
"I'm fine – it was one of Salem's Minions." Winter told her, and Eryka's eyes widened as she stayed close to her.
"Salem? She's still got pawns?" Eryka asked and Winter sat down with a grunt.
"Yep… a lunatic called Tyrian did this to me… a Scorpion Faunus." Winter told Eryka, the Vasillias' eyes widened, since she had never met a Scorpion Faunus before, unaware of the dark history behind why there were none of them left bar one Madman. "Only recently got me the antidote for it… so it still hurts pretty bad." Winter said, before she then noticed the bandaging around Eryka's torso. "Wait what happened to you?" She asked.
"Oh this? Got slashed by the sharp wings of some lunatic in the mountains. Had a grudge against Ren and his dad." Eryka answered, and Winter looked totally surprised by that.
"Wait, his dad is alive?" She asked.
"Yeah… long story… basically he survived and accidentally made an enemy in the process who has no jaw and has really cool wings." Eryka explained, making Winter chuckle.
"I've missed how you summarise things." Winter giggled, making Eryka blush… but then things went from cute to pretty tense again.
"So… how much of a yelling at am I gonna get for… helping them?" Eryka winced as she stood there, and Winter sighed.
"I'm not gonna yell at you – I just wished you could have trusted me a bit more. Waking up and finding you weren't next to me in bed? It hurt… just having you ditch me like that?" Winter softly said with what nearly looked like tears in her eyes.
"I do trust you… I love you and you know that. But it wasn't you I had trust issues with… it is Killian." Eryka said.
"You think I trust him? After what we uncovered?" Winter scoffed.
"No, but you never disobey an order. And with Ironwood gone… Killian basically takes his place." Eryka explained, but Winter shook her head.
"I would never work for that man. The man is dangerous, he may have Remnant's Best Interests at heart but we both know what he really is. Eryka you know don't you that if you actually talked to me about this, I would have gone with you, right? I know that Weiss and Blake would have." Winter explained.
"But not Jaune and Pyrrha?" Eryka asked her.
"Maybe…they probably would need more convincing. They don't know what its like, they both came from families who loved them unconditionally. Weiss and I know what it's like to live in a family that's on the edge of destruction. Blake has a damn psychopath coming after her. But Jaune and Pyrrha have each other – they don't want to lose each other again." Winter explained and Eryka nodded her head.
"They'd rather stick their heads in the sand and wait it out." Eryka scoffed.
"No… I dunno it's hard to explain and in a way, I get it. They like to find the good in things, and it's the same with the Consensus. And don't get me wrong I can see the good in it too – more of a structure. Honestly if it was headed by someone, I trust I think I would go for it." Winter admitted as she shrugged her shoulders.
Eryka's answer surprised her. "Same here." Eryka said. "We all know why Ruby and Yang can't let this go… I just wish we had more time." Eryka said as she sat down next to Winter.
"Look, Jaune has a plan. He and Killian have gained quite a good rep with each other, and he wants to try and convince him to let all of you help us go after Salem and her followers. She's up to something, sending assassins to try and kidnap him. The Grimm are getting worse in the wilds, entire villages of people vanishing in minutes from some new Grimm that wipes your memory as soon as you look away." Winter explained and Eryka looked at Dulcis who walked around the table.
"That's new." Eryka said with worry in her voice.
"Exactly. Whatever she is up to, we need to be ready to fight it. We need to find her – if he can, will you please stand with me this time?" Winter begged her, and Eryka gently held her hand.
"I will. But… Winter… if he can't… or if something happens… I have to help them. Ruby and Yang deserve to know the truth." Eryka said to her and Winter sighed.
"I know they do." Winter said as they both sat there, looking at the Operations Centre.
Eryka closed her eyes with a sigh. "I… saw my mom." She revealed, Winter's eyes widened, and she looked at her.
"Lavinia?"
"Yep… we had to go to the Vasillias Cartel to save this little girl and so then we could try and catch the Argus Limited. But… things went wrong." Eryka looked right at Winter. "Tell me – did he tell you that he was gonna ambush us and destroy Lake Matsu's Floating Islands to try and kill us?" Eryka asked her, and the eyes were the answer. They were wide with disbelief.
"He did what?" She gasped.
"Just as I thought…" Eryka sighed. "In a weird way… I was hoping it was sanctioned." Eryka said.
"Wait, what? Why?" Winter asked.
"Because at least then we knew he was following the proper channels to conduct his business. But it seems he's just as unpredictable and corrupt as my mother." Eryka said with a sigh. But as they sat there, their eyes widened as they saw the doors open and they both stood tall.
"Speak of the Devil… and he shall appear." They both said at the same time as they saw Nathaniel Killian and Dutch enter the building with some of his Black Gallows soldiers behind him.
Which meant the Shadow of Broken Promises was here as well.
Killian
The Commander of the Black Gallows stood defiantly as he entered, and it was like he had an aura of fear that followed him no matter where he went. He walked with Dutch through the Operations Room, passing by the men and women who were working hard, and his eyes fell upon Eryka and Winter who stared at him from the cell. Killian narrowed his eyes at them, like daggers – they were the two that posed the biggest threat against his mission.
"Well – this is quite the unfortunate event." Dutch sighed.
"Don't be so fatalistic, Dutch. All the Rogues are right here under our roof." Killian explained as he looked at them all.
"What about the train crash?" Dutch asked him with concern.
"There were no casualties, just a few destroyed buildings, and some bruises. The Atlesian and Mistraalian Government will be able to cover the cost for repairs relatively fast." Killian assured as he walked through the room, noticing that Veronica was in the cell with Ruby and Yang still, speaking with them both. "Veronica?"
"NATHANIEL KILLIAN!" Cordovin suddenly yelled, appearing right in front of him with her two soldiers stood beside her. Killian's eyes widened with shock as Cordovin practically shoved him into his place, yelling at him. The Rogues and Hunters alike started to giggle as they saw Killian actually begin to sweat from how uncomfortable he was. "You dare enter my city and my base without my authority? You are not in your precious Shadow of Broken Promises you pompous prick! Here you will address me as General and will do exactly as I say! Now are you here to interrogate Jackdaw Branwen or not. SPEAK MAN!" Cordovin exploded at him.
Dutch gave Killian a napkin so then Killian could wipe the sweat from his brow, he cleared his throat and finally spoke. "Y-Yes, Ma'am." Killian replied.
"GENERAL!" Cordovin yelled.
"G-General! Yes. I am." He stammered.
"Good! Now get to work." Cordovin commanded as she walked away and Killian sighed.
"I've never seen you get that uncomfortable, boss." Dutch commented.
"I see she hasn't changed a bit." Killian said. "She was my Drill Sergeant in training – seems age has made her mellow out."
Killian looked at the cell where the two Branwens were in, and they were both conversing, and he clenched his hand into a fist. "Keep an eye on the situation up here. I'll be back soon… time to have a chat with an old friend." Killian said as he walked away to the stairs…
… to speak with Jackdaw Branwen.
Author Note - About time someone made Killian feel awkward XD
This was a cool chapter to write, the history of Argus and Cypher's Ridge was really interesting and fun to play around with. The Great War in the Eclipse Universe is one of my favourite areas to play around with in the case of Worldbuilding. So much cool and fascinating things can be done in the thousand year long war.
And the gang... man they have some proper issues to sort out with each other. Funny that Eryka and Winter were probably the two who handled it the best, whilst J.N.P.R and not at a great place right now. And Veronica, I love her... Killian doesn't deserve her XD
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt
