The Pledge

For the sake of this world… for what remains, for what is left… I have no choice… We have no time, no way out… except for this one. I… bid all of you farewell… perhaps for just now, perhaps forever… Holy Grails, grant my wish… Mahapralaya!

Ironwood

James Ironwood was silent as he stared at the journal's faded pages. The language it was in wasn't one he knew, but he could understand some of the more familiar bits of a field report. Numbers, dates, and of course, names. Currently, the page he was looking at was… an odd one.

The date on the page was '04/15/201X', the X being there likely to denote the classified date of the report. But there was both a more clear, yet less clear date. XX/XX/1994, at minimum it was sixteen years before the previous date. The first date had been at the top of the page, while the second was preceded by an unknown word. Then there was the names. At the top, preceded by a word he actually did understand, 'Master', Gudao Fujimaru. Following that was 'Shielder' Mashu Kyrielight. And finally, 'Caster' Zhuge Liang. That had been the first three names, and given what he knew now, this was likely the team that went on whatever operation this was… traveling through time to this '1994' date. He wasn't sure why it was scrubbed, but the sheer number of pages this one report took up was rather insane… it was less a report, and more of a story that he couldn't read, and there were other names that came up. 'Hassan', 'Gilgamesh', 'Iskandar', 'Irisviel', 'Diarmuid', 'Artoria', 'Waver Velvet', there were many names, about a grand total of fourteen other important names at least he assumed there was names he was not missing, but he likely was.

He sighed, before closing the journal, and dropping it back into the crate he'd ordered brought into his office, and surveyed the contents once more. Nine of those rainbow crystals, about seven different journals, a globe which didn't match the topography of Remnant, and a small computer which no one in Atlas had been able to crack, not even Pietro… he then turned his attention away from the box towards his desk at what he had sitting on it.

He had… appropriated, six crystals out of the box to have analyzed before Nightingale had ordered him, the gall she had, to return the contents of this box to her. What he wasn't about to share… was what these six crystals had already been processed for.

Pietro had requested two of the crystals for his work on the M374 project, something he had seen fit to grant before this. One crystal had been… generously bought by Jaques for a sum of lien so exuberant that the council had actually forced his hand to give the crystal over, simply because it would cover the next two years of military spending. He wasn't sure what Jaques wanted with the crystal, but it likely had something to do with making a profit, obviously. He thought they could be used to make more money… typical of the current head of the SDC.

The final three crystals had never been recorded on record, he'd personally appropriated these for a few reasons. Thanks to these journals, he at least knew that these Crystals had uses. One of the journals had a long, long list of names, the names of Servants he now knew. When they had been summoned, what their class was, and other interesting details that he was unable to understand completely. But the journal had made mention of something called 'Saint Quartz', which, given the lack of any other options, there crystals had to be it.

They were the object used for summoning, for energy, perhaps many things that were locked within these journals. He'd laid claim to these three… out of hope. He'd originally wanted Winter to attempt using them, but he'd thrown that plan into the wind before ever even starting it. Now… now he had a different plan for these three crystals.

He gently grabbed one, holding it in the palm of his still human plan. Holding it… it filled him with a weight of responsibility that dwarfed anything he'd felt before. These crystals of rainbow light… they were the catalyst with which heroes were brought forth… they had enabled legends to be born, to be made. The legend of Chaldea would have never had been possible, if not for the small crystal he held in his hand right now.

Perhaps it was only fitting that Atlas… which he saw as being the only nation capable of being a successor to the bastion of Heroes, be the one to take up the torch. Hopefully they would understand, just what was necessary. Five of these crystals would be going towards his mission, the mission Chaldea had shared, saving the world.

He felt like he was undertaking some sort of grand mission, just by holding this singular crystal in his hand… and then he put it down in the small unmarked box on his desk to be transported, and he placed two more in there as well. He'd deliver the box to Peitro before sending it to Jaques, so that the scientist could get his requested crystals. The other three he hid inside his desk drawer. Finishing that, he closed the crate, and then the Chaldean box. He wasn't heading to Beacon himself, so he'd have to settle for sending this box along with the requested prosthetics for the Chaldeans.

It had only been a scant few hours since his arrival, and he'd had Pietro as part of the rush order for the Chaldeans. The council had automatically been curious as to what he'd suddenly gone off and done, and his requests, but he'd been able to keep things mostly quiet, rather than allow rumors to run rampant. He'd at least send Winter along with the supplies to make sure that they reached their destination.

With that out of the way, he called for her. "Agent Schnee, my office." he radioed to her, and he received a quick 'roger' in turn. Taking a seat behind his desk, he held a hand to his face, feeling the stubble… he'd shave tomorrow.

It took Winter a few minutes to arrive, but as soon as she was inside she shut the door, and he hit a button under his desk, locking down his office. "Sir," she started, standing at attention as he stood up.

"I have a mission for you. And it's vitally important that this stays quiet, understood?" he stated, and Winter nodded, so he continued. "That crate is to head to Beacon Academy, alongside another container from the robotics division, I want you to make sure that no one looks inside either crate, and that they are delivered to the Headmaster quietly, understood?"

"Yes sir," Winter responded, before looking at Ironwood curiously, but he just shook his head. She might have been one of his best, but her clearance just wasn't high enough for this yet… unless that Nurse or Ozpin himself told her, he wasn't going to say a word more about the mission.

"Good, you have two hours to prepare," he stated, and Winter saluted before walking up to the crate and picking it up, heaving it high with both hands before moving for the door. He got up, grabbing his own box and tucking it under his robotic arm before walking to the door and opening it for her, letting Winter out first before shutting the door behind her and disabling the silence protocol, then heading out himself.

The walk towards the robotics division was a short one, and when he entered it wasn't even noticed. The engineers were hard at work as he walked towards Pietro's station where the man was hard at work on his terminals. "Doctor Polendina," Ironwood started, and the man turned towards him.

"Ah, good to see you James… what's in the box?" the head engineer asked, and Ironwood looked around, before quietly placing the box on Pietro's desk and opening it, revealing the three crystals within.

"Your request for two of these crystals has been granted. I trust you'll make good use of them doctor," Ironwood explained quickly, and… rather slowly, Pietro reached for two of the crystals, taking one in each hand. He could see the man's palms shaking. If he'd felt such a great sense of responsibility just by holding one of those crystals, what would Pietro be feeling right now.

"Thank you James… I'll get back to work," Pietro muttered softly before turning back to his work, leaving Ironwood to close the box and pick it up once to deliver it to its… final, unfortunate destination.

Leaving the robotics division, he started walking towards the front door, to get in his car and head for the council building, where Jaques would be waiting… or more likely, where he would be watching for Jaques, given the man's own self-importance… in fact he probably could just walk there and Jaques would still be late, so he'd do that instead. It was nice to get some exercise.

Leaving for the council building he walked along the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket, and the crate underneath his arm. He didn't attract much attention surprisingly, but that was likely because not many people were out right now… especially not this late at night… damn, he really had lost track of time.

His walk to the council building took maybe thirty minutes, and when he got there, surprise, surprise, no Jaques. He went inside, rather than sit out in the cold, starlit night, and took a seat on one of the couches in the lobby, pulling up his scroll and reading a few messages while he waited for the CEO.

It was only about fifteen minutes later that the limo pulled up, and he stood up, taking the crate and heading out to go see Jaques, who waited for his chauffeur to get out and open the door for him. Jaques climbed out with practiced grace and ease as Ironwood walked down the stairs towards him.

"General," Jaques started, walking towards him, and eyeing the crate beneath his arm.

"Jaques," Ironwood responded, before holding the crate with both hands, rather than under his arm.

The CEO nodded to him, a motion for him to reveal the crate's contents… and so he did, opening the crate just enough to reveal to Jaques what was held inside. That single rainbow crystal he'd spent a nearly unreasonable portion of wealth to get his hands on. He swore he saw a smirk beneath his mustache, before he huffed, and closed the crate's lid himself.

"Much appreciated General," he said, before holding out his hands… that actually gave Ironwood a bit of pause. Normally Jaques would hand something off to whoever he had with him… but to actually take the crystal and crate himself?

That actually made him wonder if the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company knew more than he was letting on about these Crystals.

He did however, hand over the box, and Jacques put it under his arm before climbing back into his limo without nary a word. And as it began to drive off… Ironwood couldn't help but feel a small sense of dread. Whatever Jaques had wanted, he'd just gotten it… and that scared him, more than any Grimm had.

But he quashed it down, reasoning that Jaqeus likely was planning on just using the crystal to make a profit, rather than anything actually important. He'd read the journals, if one was to actually attempt a summoning, three were required, and the man only had one… he was quite glad now, that two were in Peitro's hands, and by now, the other nine should have been on their way towards Beacon… the three in his desk however, would have to remain a secret of the utmost importance.

And with that, he decided now was the time to, finally, get some damn sleep. It had been a long, long day.

Weiss Schee

All was quiet in the manor as Weiss checked her luggage once more. In a few days, she would be bound for Vale, and Beacon Academy, her reward for passing her father's 'test'... she raised her hand towards the scar on her face, faded yes, but still present, a visible mark on her seeming perfection.

Of course, she wasn't entirely unhappy with it, afterall, it was proof of her victory, as small as it might have been. It might have been late at night, but she was still wide awake… she'd been trying to get herself on a different sleep schedule… and failing at it, annoyingly.

So here she was, still clad in her nightdress, going over her luggage, once again, trying to make sure that, yes, she had absolutely everything ready for her time at Beacon. Hopefully five suitcases of personal belongings… and maybe a couple cases of dust would suffice, she'd have to get a few of those, and she could easily.

But as she was musing on this… her scroll started ringing, and she looked towards it in confusion, wondering who would be calling her this late at-

Panic nearly took over, and she grabbed it and picked it up, answering and speaking into it. "Yes father," she said, as composed as she could manage.

"Weiss, I want you in my office, understood," Jaques said calmly, and Weiss silenced that feeling to gulp, and answered back.

"Yes father," she affirmed, and waited as he hung up. Quickly, she put her scroll down in confusion. Why did her father?

Not wanting to disobey, since now she was expected, she left her room to walk towards her father's office. The wonder of… just what her father wanted concerned her, especially this late at night.

Entering her father's office, she noticed that he… wasn't actually in there. It was quiet, except for the ticking of the clock on the wall… the study was where Jaques always was when he was home… She looked at the painting on the wall of her father with dark black hair, its natural color. Books lined the shelves, neatly ordered… if her father wasn't here… and then she noticed it.

Every other time she had been in this office, she'd never seen any of his books off the shelves, so the fact there was an empty space caught her attention… she looked over towards the desk slowly… and sitting on the desk was a book, probably the same size as the hole between the books on the shelf.

Looking around nervously, she slowly walked towards the desk, to get a closer look at the curious book. She stepped up to it, and looked at the book, gently raising her hand towards it, and turning it to face her. She looked at the cover… and raised an eyebrow slowly. It was blank.

Curiosity won out, so she opened the book to the very first page. At least there was an author, and a title, if a simple one. "C-Chronicle… by Willma Silver…" she muttered, before flipping the page once more.

On the very next page was a picture, an emblem. A crescent moon, surrounded by a wreath. On the tanned, aged pages, the black ink was completely clear of any blemishes, as if it had been never touched. "The fairy tale of the world's end?"

Before she could go any further, she heard something, the echoes of footsteps. Thinking quickly, she shut the book and turned in back around, quickly moving to the table in the center of the study and taking a seat, mere seconds later, the door opened… and in walked her father, looking directly at her as she sat patiently at the table. "Good, you are here," he said, and quickly closed the door behind him, and adjusted his tie. "Now then, down to business?"

"Is there a reason it has to be so late father?" Weiss asked, and Jaques huffed, before walking up to the table, and putting a box on the table.

"Open it," he ordered, and she did so, quickly opening the box and peering inside… at the three small rainbow crystals, "take them out," she obeyed, slowly shaking as she grabbed one of the crystals… just holding it felt… odd, it was a feeling she didn't understand…

She didn't dwell on it, pulling out all three crystals and setting them in front of her, and she looked towards her father, who walked over to his desk and grabbed the C-Chronicle, flipping it open to a certain page before coughing. "Weiss, I want you to repeat after me, understand?"

"Yes father," Weiss muttered, starting to get a little disturbed at what her father was doing… what was even going on at this point? She didn't understand, but something told her to just listen… so she stood up.

"Raise your hand," he ordered, and she did so, before he cleared his throat, words beginning to form and she followed his commands, out of curiosity and fear.

"Let silver and steel be the essence," as she started, the three rainbow crystals began to glow. "Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation," they began to float, she could feel the air becoming charged. "Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall," they began to spin, the three crystals spinning in a circle. "Let the four cardinal gates close," the spinning crystals split into orbs, a rainbow of light in the room, everything shaking as her hand began to burn… "Let the four cardinal gates close," she continued, following her father's words as above the table, the rainbow spheres merged into a single white line, before splitting into three…

Whatever her father was saying, she didn't hear it… but the words that came next felt far more right… she knew, somehow, they were not what her father was ordering… they were words from somewhere, engraved in crystal. "Here is my oath," a vision crossed her eyes, a sword, golden with a black guard… such a simple, yet powerful blade… from behind it was carried on the shoulder of a man in blue, who was staring at the sunrise… and just as quickly it was gone. "I am the one who becomes all that is good, for I am the one who lays out all that is evil… Keeper of Balance, Guardian of Snow, arrive!"

The entire room was filled with blinding light… forcing Weiss to shield her eyes as she fell to the floor off balance, and she heard her father grunt, likely shielding his own eyes… her hand was burning, but when she could finally open her eyes, there was another presence in the room.

It was standing on the table, sparks surrounding them, but they were faded, ghostly, colored yet not completely solid. A boy, no, a young man, clad in silver armor with a sword made of wood, and a gold and silver shield on his back. His black hair had wisps of white… and slowly his eyes looked down at her… and in a voice she knew only she could hear, for it was within her very mind.

"I ask of you… are you my Master?"

AN: And cut. Another chapter, fresh off the presses, with one more surprise in store. I can already hear the explosions about to ensue, so I'll keep it brief. I hope to hear from all of you soon, with what you have to say about this new development!