RWBY: MRRN
Volume 7, Chapter 8: A Maiden's Arrival
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.
Edit: Sorry about that! I put the previous chapter instead of the new one!
"Alright, we're approaching Mantle," Rufus informed everyone as the cities of Mantle and Atlas came into view. Eneas walked up to the front of the aircraft and smiled with great wonder and amazement.
"Oh, such a beautiful city," he admired. "I wonder how much more beautiful it'll look when in flames."
"Will you shut the hell up?" Rufus barked, pushing Eneas away from the front. "And try not to blow us up while you're at it, you snob."
"Knock it off," Cinder demanded as she rose from her seat and approached Rufus. "If this ship was reported to be stolen, then odds are they'll recognize us right away and flag us as hostile."
"Yeah, and then the entire Atlas Military will be on our asses," Rufus replied. "As much as I'd love to kill every one of those bastards, I don't have enough ammo for that."
From what Cinder had seen with her time with the lecherous red squirrel Faunus, she could see how much enmity he held towards Atlas, especially the military. It wasn't hard to imagine why some people would hate the so-called 'City of Dreams'; it'd probably take hours to compile a whole list of reasons why people hated Atlas.
First, the corruption and apathy among the elite. Most Atlesian elites didn't care for others, only themselves; as long as problems didn't affect them, they couldn't care less. More often than not, they were motivated only by self-interest, what they could gain and egotism.
Second, the racism towards Faunus. Atlas was undoubtedly one of the more racist kingdoms in Remnant, even surpassing Mistral. Many businesses, hotels, restaurants and other services often had a 'No Faunus Allowed' sign on their door or windows, outright refusing to serve Faunus for any reason. Hell, even some medical clinics refused to serve Faunus, even if the situation was life or death.
Third, their behavior towards Mantle. As one who had spent some time in the forsaken city, Cinder understood perfectly well why the people of Mantle despised Atlas. They worked hard in the Dust Mines, labored heavily, provided so much manpower and muscle to Atlas and what did they receive in return? Nothing. Their security systems were never updated, they were often left at the mercy of the Grimm, and were paid meager wages while the people of Atlas could afford so much comfort and luxury.
"Why do you hate Atlas so much, Rufus?" Cinder questioned. "I'm curious."
"You're curious?" Rufus asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were hellbent on killing those babes."
"I was, but luckily, I can think more clearly," Cinder answered. "Why do you hate Atlas with such a passion?" Rufus was hesitant to answer, but he could sense that Cinder wouldn't tolerate being told 'no'. He sighed heavily as he kept the ship out of sight from the Atlas Fleet.
"As I said, I was a soldier and computer tech in the Atlas Military," Rufus started. "I was part of the 43rd Battalion, comprised entirely of Faunus. As you can imagine, we weren't always treated well. We always ate last, weren't invited to military gatherings or banquets…even when we tried, General Ironwood was always too focused on his own crap to care about us."
"You served under General Ironwood?" Olivia asked the red squirrel Faunus.
"Like all soldiers. We brought our mistreatment to his attention, but he never got around to helping us out. He was always too damned concerned with his own issues to help us. Self-righteous…" He groaned angrily.
"Being the idealist I was back then, I always tried convincing myself that things would get better. But they didn't…and my last mission as a soldier proved it. We were assigned under a CO who was very hard on us; whatever treatment we went through normally, he made it ten times worse. When the human soldiers were eating, we were cleaning and were only fed scraps of food, most of which was burned or overcooked. When the human soldiers had great weaponry to work with, we had out of date guns, poorly produced explosives, blunt or broken swords…when one of our guys requested better weaponry and more food for our battalion, the CO had him flogged thirty times. He was left hanging up there for three days, no food and no water and all we could do was just watch him die, just to put us Faunus 'in our place'.
Rufus's expression was filled with anger and loathing towards the CO he spoke of. He mistreated his battalion, fed them mere scraps that a dog wouldn't eat, gave them poor weaponry and armor and when someone asked him for better conditions, he had that soldier flogged and let him starve to death because he believed Faunus didn't deserve better treatment.
"But that's not the worst part…no. The worst part was our first battle under that CO. Our battalion was used a meat shield to draw enemy fire away while the rest of the army handled the easier tasks. We were overrun, so I hurried to the Commander to request reinforcements, but he outright refused. By the time I got back…all of my comrades, all of my fellow brothers-in-arms were dead."
"So you hate the Atlas Military for the severe mistreatment?" Ketseuki questioned.
"That and when we returned to Atlas, the Commander told Atlas of 'his' great victory and claimed our deeds as his own. When asked about my battalion, he merely said that they barely contributed anything to the battle." Rufus growled loudly.
"That son of a bitch purposely sent us to die, took all the credit for what we did and acted like we were nothing. During the night, I broke into his home…and I slaughtered him and fed his carcass to his own dogs. He didn't give my friends a proper burial, so I saw to it that he didn't get one either."
After that day, whatever idealism Rufus had left was completely gone after years of trying to hold onto it. The Commander had mistreated his battalion, sent them on a suicide mission and then took credit for their sacrifices. Rufus didn't care what anyone else thought or how morally wrong his retribution was viewed, that slimy 'Commander' deserved to die. He deserved to have his body mutilated and fed to his own dogs so he couldn't be properly buried.
"Well, it's no wonder why you hate Atlas so much," Cinder commented. "And why you think idealism is a waste of time." Rufus scoffed.
"All idealism does is try to convince you that things will get better when they never will." Suddenly, the radio activated, indicating that someone was contacting them.
"Manta 2-9, this aircraft has been reported stolen. Return to Atlas, land your craft and we will take you alive. If you do not, you will treated as hostile." Rufus scoffed again and picked up one of the radios.
"Atlas Dickface, this is Sergeant Doesn't-Give-A-Single-Shit. We're green across the board to receive some hot voluptuous women if you will-"
SMACK! Olivia slapped Rufus across his face and threw the radio on the ground. Before he could respond, she pulled out one of her revolvers and pointed at the red squirrel Faunus.
"Land the ship before we're blown to bits…and not one SINGLE perverted remark," she threatened. Without complaint, Rufus did as he was told and flew to the city of Mantle, hoping that they would lose any Atlas forces that may come after them. When Rufus was sure he found a safe spot, he landed the Manta and everyone quickly ran out of the airship. With Shoal, unable to see, Cinder grabbed her arm and guided her down the ramp with the rest of the group.
"Excuse me," Eneas told everyone as he threw a Fire Dust grenade at the Manta, blowing it apart into pieces.
"You idiot!" Rufus shouted. "Everyone will have heard that explosion!"
"Cut it out," Olivia demanded. "We need to get out of here now." The group then hurried off in the hopes of losing any Atlas military on their tail.
-0-
"So you're coming with us, Glaucus?" Oren asked the Grey Wanderer as he and his teammates, along with Silvio, were boarding an airship that'd take them back to Mistral.
"I've already spoken with Commander Brownwood," Glaucus informed. "He has enough forces to hold back the Grimm and keep the construction of Argus's wall and generator going at a steady pace. Besides, Mistral will need more help following what happened at Haven."
"Well, I'm certainly glad to have you with us," Silvio replied. "We need veteran Huntsmen such as yourself."
Any Huntsmen would be of help to Mistral. The fears of what was revealed about Leonardo Lionheart had proven true in the time since the attack on Haven: almost all of Mistral's professional Huntsmen were dead, which would've left Haven completely defenseless had the militia not been there. With most of Colonel Holang-I's fleet remaining to stand guard along with volunteer students from Haven and Atlas Academy, Argus was safeguarded.
"What about Ghira Belladonna?" Cole asked. "Is he coming back to Mistral too?"
"He is," Glaucus confirmed. "Tensions are still high in Mistral following Professor Lionheart's betrayal."
As much as Glaucus was somewhat loath to admit it, he was starting to believe that they should've listened to Ozpin and kept Lionheart's betrayal a secret. Had he been remembered as a martyr, things possibly wouldn't be so bad for the Faunus and the people of Mistral wouldn't have been so quick to turn against them. However, their group hadn't been the only witnesses to Lionheart's treason; even if they had tried to paint him as a hero, what would've stopped others from revealing the truth about him?
Had they tried covering up Leo's treason and later having it be revealed, things could've been much worse for the Faunus in Mistral. Sooner or later, Leo's betrayal of Mistral's Huntsmen would've been revealed, which would end badly for the Faunus either way.
"Well, we just have to tell the people of Mistral that what Leo did doesn't reflect on all Faunus," Oren claimed. "His actions are his and his alone."
"I still can't believe that Lionheart would betray us like this," Silvio brought up.
"Fear can do terrible things to a person," Aria answered. "If you'll excuse me, I'll use my Semblance just in case we need to watch for trouble." Aria went into a secluded part of the ship, sat down and closed her eyes as she prepared to use her Semblance.
Meanwhile, Glaucus's mind went back to what he had learned about Ozpin in the previous weeks. Valkoin had told the truth: Jinn revealed that Ozpin had recruited their parents into his war and then took their fortune for Beacon's construction. They lived on the streets of Vale for years until they finally enrolled in Beacon Academy and trained as Huntsmen.
Ozpin had lied to them their entire lives, which had driven his brother to villainy by siding with Salem. After what he had heard from the others who had been stranded after the Argus Limited attack, Glaucus was conflicted on how to feel about Ozpin.
On the one hand, Ozpin had been given a near impossible mission with no clear way to defeat Salem; even his plan to use the Silver Eyes didn't seem all that reliable. He was part of an endless cycle of reincarnation, coming with it immense pain, loss and regret over the millennia. Even if it was voluntary, Glaucus could imagine the pain Ozpin felt, even now.
On the other hand, Ozpin had used his fear of being betrayed to justify his terrible habits that often led to alienating or killing his allies. Had he informed Summer of his plan to use the Silver Eyes, perhaps she'd still be alive right now. Had he told Forest of the dangers on the mission when Trenton died, his teammate may still be alive and Forest may've stayed by his side. Had he told his allies the truth about the Relics attracting Grimm and that it had questions left, perhaps the group wouldn't have been so quick to condemn him.
Would be it fair to say that Ozpin alone was responsible for how he was now? Some may say yes, others no; Glaucus leaned more towards no for an answer. Everything that had happened was not all on Ozpin; some of the blame went to Lionheart for his betrayal, Salem for her starting a senseless war because Ozma wouldn't support her methods of creating a 'perfect world', Cinder for her selfish and sociopathic lust for power, Nachtfel for his narrow-minded and hypocritical crusade and Ironwood for his willingness to backstab his allies.
However, Ozpin still had to take responsibility for what he knew he was responsible for and work to regain the trust of his allies if they were ever to listen to him again. Glaucus already knew that several of them, such as Jaune, Yang and Mathdon, would be very hesitant to trust Ozpin, but sooner or later, they'd have to let go of their grudges.
"Aaahhh!" Aria cried out, breaking away from her stance as if waking from a nightmare.
"Aria, what is it?" Cole asked his teammate, helping her to her feet.
"I saw glimpses," she spoke. "The Councilmen of Mistral…they're in danger."
"The Councilmen?" Silvio asked. "Including my uncle? What's going to happen?" Aria shook her head, recovering what she had witnessed in her Semblance.
"I don't know," she replied. "But I saw them dead…we need to get back to Mistral as soon as possible."
"Are there any details you can point out?" Glaucus questioned the blue-haired girl. "Anything at all?"
"One of them look strangled, as if…with wires," Aria answered. Upon hearing that answer, Glaucus was immediately convinced of the danger the Mistral Council members were in.
"Valkoin," Glaucus spoke lowly.
"Valkoin?" Silvio asked. "Wasn't he one of those people at Haven?"
"He was," Oren confirmed. "I fought him. He can use wires as a weapon and his Semblance allows him to…well…"
"Shadow matter manipulation," Glaucus informed.
Glaucus was disturbed and confused by this revelation. Why would Valkoin return to the Kingdom where he was one of the top Most Wanted? What was he and Salem planning? Obviously, it had to do something with the Council, but was it really their objective to kill the Council members?
"Hold on, guys!" Sun cried out as he and his teammates ran onto the airship, smiling enthusiastically as usual. "We're coming with you!"
"Oh, no," Oren groaned. "Not him."
"Is this Sun Wukong?" Glaucus asked, gesturing to the Monkey Faunus.
"He is…and he's a real pain in the ass," Silvio replied. "Watch yourself around him; that guy's got sticky fingers."
"Hey, cut me some slack," Sun defended himself. "I've been helping around here."
"Just keep your hands out of peoples' belongings," Silvio told the leader of Team SSSN. As they prepared to take off, they made sure they had all of their belongings and weapons.
When they made sure Sun hadn't stolen anything from them, their minds went back to Aria's revelation. Valkoin had most likely returned to Mistral, where the Iron Knights and White Fang had failed to destroy Haven thanks to the efforts of the Bushi Militia and the timely arrival of Ghira's Menagerie force. Was his intention now to murder the Council members of Mistral?
If he succeeded, then their deaths could throw Mistral into chaos…and chaos attracts Grimm. Whatever his plan was, he had to be stopped.
-0-
"What…what is this?" Nachtfel asked as he sat at his usual seat at the table with Salem and Hazel present. He gestured to his new crystal-like limb that had grown after his real one had been cut off by Mathdon during the Battle of Argus.
"I doubt his Semblance would be powerful enough to do this much damage with my Aura active," Nachtfel brought up. "What was this?"
Unknown to Nachtfel, Salem was having a shock realization. For millennia, she believed that she had succeeded in destroying the Dark Heralds, who had the ability to severely wound her. She had arrogantly believed that her search was completed, but as proven by Nachtfel, she was wrong.
However, the demon swordsman seemed completely unaware of what his newfound power was. She could use this to her advantage, provided she said her words correctly and wisely so he'd never catch onto what she knew.
"You're a Dark Herald, Nachtfel," Salem informed him.
"A what?" he questioned, confused.
"The God of Darkness bestowed his power upon certain individuals, those he felt were worthy of his dark power. Most of them never even know that they possess these powers, but they are few and almost impossible to find if you don't look in the right places."
"Worthy…" Nachtfel repeated, a very dark thought emerging in his mind. From what Salem said, he was worthy of this dark power that he had been given. This told him so much about himself.
He was right about everything. He was right to launch his crusade against the Huntsmen, costing thousands of lives and tearing apart thousands of families. He was right in his beliefs that the world was irreversibly corrupt and had to be destroyed so a new one could be built in its place. He was right to slaughter anyone who stood in his way…because he was worthy of this power he received.
"Does that mean those people I fought…are they Dark Heralds too?" Nachtfel asked the Grimm Queen.
"Without a doubt," Salem answered. "I'll need to inform Watts of this. They may have yet to discover the origins of their power, so if we can act before they have time to hone their abilities-"
"With respect, ma'am, that will be easier said than done," Hazel spoke. "If they've arrived in Atlas by now, which they most likely have, then General Ironwood will do whatever it takes to keep the Relics safe from us. Perhaps it'd be wiser to shift our attention to the Winter Maiden for now."
"Our forces in Solitas are limited, Hazel," Salem reminded the giant. "The defeat of the Iron Knights at Argus was crippling to our army. For now, we're going to have to rely heavily on Watts, Tyrian, Despair and the Hunter Killers. Most of my Disciples will be sent to Vacuo, Valkoin is preparing to breed chaos in Mistral and once Despair has the Fall Maiden's power, she will go to Vale and retrieve the Relic of Choice."
If the goal couldn't be achieved through overwhelming numbers, then she'd have to resort to cunning and manipulation. The Fall of Beacon was a major success, one that had led to the events that transpired today, one that led to everyone not knowing who to trust. Had the attacks on Haven and Argus been successful, then things would go much more in Salem's favor.
But because of Cinder's hubris and hatred, the betrayal of the Albains in Menagerie, and the well-time arrival of the Atlas reinforcements, the enemy was victorious at those two major battles. It seemed that fortune was on their side at the moment.
However, Salem knew that Ironwood was a paranoid man, an extreme man, and one who only trusted others who let him be in charge. His overreliance on technology, his paranoia and his willingness to betray his allies played a major part in the Fall of Beacon and would play a part in the destruction of the City of Dreams called Atlas.
"Your Grace?" Hazel asked, Salem being quiet for a while.
"Ironwood himself will be responsible for Atlas's destruction," Salem replied. "All we have to do is play on his paranoia…and break him as we did Leonardo Lionheart."
She smiled as she remembered the torment she had put Leo through and turned him into the coward he was when he died at her hands. His fall and death proved one very dark truth about mortals: they can be broken, be reduced from the mightiest and idealistic of heroes to cowards, monsters, liars and traitors. General James Ironwood was to be yet another one of these tragic examples.
"In the meantime, Nachtfel, you shall remain by my side until you better understand your powers," Salem told him. "If you're to be a vital part of our victory, then you must have a better grasp on your abilities."
Nachtfel nodded his head in response since these powers could give him what he wanted: the complete and utter destruction of the Huntsmen and the corrupt world they serve. Salem then dismissed him, allowing him to leave the chamber.
"Aaron!" his father's voice cried out, but Nachtfel didn't bother to listen.
"Aaron!" he cried out once more, hoping his son could hear him. Again, Aaron didn't listen.
"AARON!" he cried out in desperation, trying to gain his son's attention. Aaron stopped in the hallway, looking down at his crystalline limb.
"You were wrong to condemn me, father," Aaron whispered. "These powers…this is proof that everything I've done up onto this point was right. Everything I do will be right because I was chosen to wield this power!"
"No, Aaron! You are losing yourself to your hatred! Can you not see what you've become!? How can you be so blind!?"
"I can see just fine," Nachtfel responded. "I am done hearing your worthless pleas, old man! I am Nachtfel and I will be the savior of this world! You…" He looked to his left to see Aaron's father reaching out to him, a pained expression on his face. Nachtfel walked over and grabbed his father's throat, brutally choking him.
"You are a memory that deserves to be forgotten," he spoke sadistically as he choked Aaron's father to death. When he released him, his body didn't fall to the floor; instead, it simply disappeared.
Aaron Nox Caelo was dead; only Nachtfel remained.
-0-
Upon returning to Atlas Academy, Colonel Geom-Eun Holang-I gathered Teams MRRN and TIGR, along with Luna, Andre and Safirlas in the war room to discuss the mission they'd be embarking on once their upgrades were complete. He activated a projection of Fort Daedalus, which did appear as a strongly fortified fortress.
"This fort is the Iron Knights' last foothold in Atlas territory," Geom-Eun informed the young Huntsmen and Huntresses present. "Its defenses make it easy for them to repel large scale assaults from our military. We've already tried twice and both times, they defeated us. If we're to take back the fort, we'll need to use a smaller band of warriors…specifically everyone here." Geom-Eun then brought up another projection of the fort schematics of the inside.
"The Iron Knights have been busy. Our search drones have shown that they have eyes in almost every accessible way into the fort. Explosives, booby traps...if we try any one of those ways, you'll be killed."
"So how do we get in?" Nasser asked the Faunus Colonel. "There has to be some way."
"Or we could just blow our way in there," Iggy suggested. "A few well-placed explosives and we should be inside no problem."
"Though it'll give the Iron Knights plenty of time to activate the fort's defense systems, which could easily overwhelm us," Albert brought up. "Forcing our way in is out of the question; we need to be smart and subtle here." Geom focused the projection on a part of the northern wall, appearing what looked like a tunnel.
"There's a tunnel entrance into the fort, one that was built so soldiers could escape in case the fort ever fell," the Colonel informed. "From what our recon drones have picked up, the enemy hasn't found it. Once you go through the tunnel, you'll arrive here and then divide into two groups to hit your objectives." Geom then highlighted two different areas throughout Fort Daedalus.
"The first is the Control Room," Geom explained. "The Iron Knights have locked all Atlas personnel out of the system; they're in complete control of the Fort. Albert will go with the group going to the Control Room; once there, he'll shut the system down, restart it and then turn the defenses against the Iron Knights. The whole process should only take about five to ten minutes, given Albert's technical expertise."
"What about the second objective?" Andre asked.
"The Military Data in the Daedalus Data Core," Geom informed. "Andre, you need to recover whatever information the Iron Knights have gotten their hands on. The longer they have that information, the more of a danger they'll pose to Atlas and Mantle." He then turned off the projection.
"We must liberate Fort Daedalus as soon as possible. If we can take back the fort, then the Iron Knights will lose their last foothold in Atlesian territory. Any questions?"
"What kind of resistance might we face in there?" Math asked. "Most likely at an entire army, right?"
"Most likely over a thousand Iron Knights," Geom informed. "Do not engage unless absolutely necessary. You are all skilled fighters, but numbers can overwhelm. As for our objectives, Andre and Albert will know what to look for, so follow their lead. Anything else?" No one spoke.
"Thank you all for coming. Once your upgrades are ready, you'll depart for Fort Daedalus and retake the fortress. Good luck." As everyone started to leave the room, Kaltrina Hail burst into the room with a worried expression on her face.
"We need to get down to Mantle now, Colonel," she warned the Colonel.
"What's going on?" Geom questioned.
"A stolen Manta from Mistral was sighted landing in Mantle. Our soldiers started looking for the thieves and began arresting people left and right. The Happy Huntsmen and Huntresses are gathering to oppose the soldiers; a riot may possibly break out."
"A riot?" Iggy questioned. "What about Robyn? What is she doing?"
"She's demanding that the people our soldiers arrested be released since they have no evidence against them, but they're not listening," Hail informed. "We need to get down there now before shots are fired."
"I'll leave immediately," Geom replied. "Team TIGR, Andre, you're with me. The rest of you, I'd ask if you please stay behind on this one; the situation could spiral out of control and most of you don't have your weapons available to defend yourselves should it come to violence."
"If it's better that we stay here, then we'll do so," Math answered.
"Thank you," Geom responded before he, Team TIGR and Andre left with Kal to get to the nearest Manta.
"Hey, Saf," Iggy called out. "When I come back, how about you and I go on a date?" Before she could respond, Albert grabbed Iggy's ear and pulled him away.
-0-
"You can't just arrest people with no proof!" Robyn called out to the soldiers as she stood in front of her Happy Huntsmen and Huntresses. "Some of them don't even know how to fly aircraft!"
"You need to stay out of this, Ms. Hill," the commanding officer, Captain Desmond, replied. "You're a criminal just as much as they are! We should put you in cuffs as well."
"For what crime?" one of her Happy Huntresses, Fiona Thyme, called out. "She's been helping Mantle while you've been oppressing us! You're arresting people with no evidence!"
"Shut it, you animal, before I shut you up!" Desmond arrogantly responded.
Robyn could see that Desmond was just waiting for an excuse for his soldiers to start firing on the Happy Huntsmen and Huntresses. Who knows? Perhaps he could order his troops to start firing on them and just twist the story so he could appear like he was keeping order.
"You Atlesian bastards!" one of the arrested people cried out in anger. "You pigs rest up there in your city of dreams while we toil and struggle to survive! Don't you dare act like you're better than us!"
Captain Desmond walked over to the person who he arrested, an eighteen year old boy, helped him onto his feet…and then hit him across the face with his gun. He then kneed him in the stomach, causing him to cough severely as he then fell to the ground. The Atlesian Captain then aimed his gun at the boy.
"This is what happens when people-AAAAAHHHHHH!" Before he could fire, an Earth Dust arrow pierced his hand, nearly obliterating it due to the impact. He looked back to see Robyn Hill with her longbow in her hand, having shot the arrow to stop him.
"You bitch!" he roared. "Shoot them!" The Atlas soldiers and Knights raised their rifles and opened fire on the Happy Huntsmen and Huntresses.