"How's life, Tai? Fixed that garden up yet?"
"Yep – managed to plant a few vegetables here and there. You know, peppers, zucchinis, lemons, things like that."
"Doesn't Zwei make a mess of it by, well…?"
"Hey, I trained him good! You're lucky that he's with Ruby now. He understands us pretty well and he'd take offense what you said now!"
Both men chuckled at the notion. From what Tai noticed, he was in some sort of a very-well equipped studio room. On the opposite side from where he was sitting was Bob casually rotating on his office chair.
"Is this where your little band practices?"
"Yeah – room's pretty good 'cause the time here runs faster than the projection room. Magic stuff, it just works."
"Sure, whatever you say." Responded Tai.
Bob stopped rotating and faced the blonde man head on and uttered:
"Before we start practicing for your little show, tell me…what do you think of Adam?"
The Huntsman professor was a little surprised about the question, but it didn't mean that he didn't have an answer.
"You'd understand that I'd be very keen to breaking every bone in his body for what he did to my girl…still, from what you've said, she should've known better than literally throw herself under a blade. Gets the temper from me, I suppose."
Tai straightened up his posture and added:
"As for the boy, I'd say he…well, he's in a dark place somewhere. Doesn't justify what he did, of course, but I have a feeling that the hothead didn't really had someone to help guide him." Tai let out a short sigh and his tone turned a bit sadder:
"I don't know man, but…when I see him, I see someone – I see how Yang could've become like him…"
"And it scares you?" Bob asked.
"I'd lie if I said it didn't."
Bob put both of his hands behind his head and leaned on the chair. He said:
"Adam reminded me of a similar spiteful little shit I've dealt with – though I'd say he's a bit better since I didn't have to kick his ass multiple times to reason with him."
Tai let out a short chuckle at that.
"It's weird though, he reminds me of Raven in a strange way, and you know it's not that they both use katanas, but…"
"They follow the 'might makes right' rule? Follow it until it bites them in the ass? Yeah, I know the type – usually they are the first to go on the grinder. Some beg for mercy; some have this stupid face of surprise that they've been bested. Though I did notice a few who acknowledged that they're going to die by their logic – though I can't say that's the case for both of 'em."
"You know…you know how she'll die?" Tai pushed the question, worried about the possible answer.
"For Raven? No clue. Adam, on the other hand, gets murdered Yang and Blakey." Bob statement surprised Taiyang. He asked:
"When you say murdered-?"
"I mean they had the intention to kill him. Granted, he did attack first, but you know – screw all laws and Huntsmen training, take the easy way out: stab him like a lamb roast and watch him plummet face first onto a rock as he falls down a waterfall. It's a mouthful, I know."
"You know, as much as I want to believe you, I can't be the judge of anything until I've seen- "
Tai was cut off by Bob who rolled towards a stool and grabbed a laptop. The masked man then rolled next to Taiyang and opened the laptop.
"Eh, I knew you'd say something like this. Luckily, I have a few stored videos I like to watch. And before you ask, I can't see that far much to the future – the last thing I saw was Ruby's little gang illegally smuggling themselves in Atlas and then getting arrested."
'Can't say I'm not surprised…' Tai thought as Bob hit the play button on the laptop.
And so they watched the whole confrontation, starting from Adam's ambush on the antenna, then proceeding to Yang's arrival and their subsequent fights.
Taiyang was happy to see that his lessons showed results as he watched his daughter fight the White Fang leader, but he also had to admit that the boy had skill.
He noticed how Yang did show a bit of hesitance to act, which, while perfectly normal to fear someone who cut off your limb, doesn't help in the actual fight. He concluded from what he saw until the point where Yang broke his aura that blind rage was Adam's crutch, and she used it to her advantage in full.
What came next however, is both Blake and Yang dashing from both sides to Adam and impaling him with shards of broken weapons.
"Ouch." Tai noted.
"Yikes." Bob added.
The next moment where Adam plummets to his death is history as Bob closed the laptop.
"So, thoughts?"
"Honestly? Everything was good until the last part. I hate to say it, but you're right – that was murder. From what I noticed, Blake and Adam had their Auras drained and their weapons broken, while Yang still had both Aura and available weapons – as much as I don't want to admit, that wasn't self-defense."
Bob rolled away and put the laptop back to its place.
"Hey, while that might be what happens in the main timeline – yours won't have that. Hopefully."
Bob moved again now to face Tai head on and said:
"But why are you worried about this? I mean, if no one finds out…"
"Believe it or not, Raven did the EXACT same thing Yang did now when we were hunting down a criminal, whom we had to bring in alive. Bodies float, forensics make detailed conclusions and people start asking the right questions – it took all of Ozpin's connections through Vale and several favors to not expel her from the academy." Tai explained.
"I guess the King, the Council or whoever is ruling don't appreciate teenagers with superpowers killing bad guys, right?"
"No license – no killing. Otherwise you're just a potentially dangerous civilian with a gun in the eyes of law."
"Huh…Just to be clear, the 'medium' I watched your, heh, lives through wasn't the most explanatory one – in fact, the Huntsman license reminds me of another kind of license. Basically, the same thing with the same benefits, only you go through a literal hell of tests to get one. And by the look of your face, you want to ask me something."
"But this hasn't happened yet, right?" Tai asked.
"Nah, it's just a possible future."
Tai paused for a bit and then asked again:
"Does Taurus know?"
Bob chuckled to the question and he promptly responded with:
"Nope. Granted I did plan to use the clip at some point, but then again – seeing the way you die can cloud your judgment. Why you askin'?"
"Eh, just interested me a bit, no big reason."
"If you say so…Anyway! Showing you the clip wasn't actually my reason to bring you here to begin with – what I wanted to know is…can you sing?" Bob's question surprised Taiyang, who only muttered:
"Huh?"
"I mean, if you can't we can always adlib. Gods know today's pop stars do that all the time…"
"No, no, no, I can sing…somewhat. It mostly depends on what I am singing." Tai quickly stated. Bob noticed the gleam in the blonde's eyes, eagerly awaiting on what he will say next.
Bob took a CD case from a pile on the table and showed it to Tai:
"You're gonna be singing a song from this guy. Looks familiar?"
Taiyang stared in awe at the cover of the CD – which was a portrait of him with a broken, bloodied nose. The letters "TAIYANG X.L." were written beneath the face.
"Did I…did he really broke his nose just for the cover?"
"Oh yeah."
"…Awesome." He responded, grinning as he stared at the CD case. If the cover was any indication, not only he would be singing in his favorite genre, he would technically be singing his OWN songs.
"You up for it?" Bob challenged him.
Tai's gaze went from the cover to Bob, who was standing right in front of him.
"Always, dude. Always."
[PRESENT]
And so Taiyang Xiao-Long achieved his unspoken dream of singing a genuinely good rock song. Summer would always pester him about it, and really – who could blame her? Everyone praised him when he sang.
Granted his voice was stuck only to a specific genre – anything else he tried and he sounded like a dying goat exhaling its last breath.
"That was awesome, Dad! You were like BAM-BARA-BAM-BAM-BARA-PARTY HARD!" Ruby excitedly tried to mimic him.
"Yeah Dad, didn't know you had it in you. I'm proud of ya!" Yang grinned.
"Well, well, well, mister Tai's in the house." Joked Qrow.
Tai felt proud of himself. And while to someone else singing a song might be completely irrelevant and not worthy of mentioning, for him it brought satisfaction that he entertained people and got them on their feet.
'Like a real rock star…'
"Gotta admit, the old man's concert almost made me forget about that cartoon we watched. Almost." Emerald commented.
"Emerald – never speak of that…disgusting vile animation ever again."
"Wait, wait, what animation?" a confused Tai asked, looking at people to explain him what're they talking about.
"Please, don't remind me of THAT." Blake spoke, looking obviously uncomfortable.
"Didn't we made an unspoken agreement to never talk about it?" Nora curiously asked.
"Seriously, what animation-?" Tai repeated his question, which prompted Qrow to bend towards him and whisper the whole recollection of his and Summer's 'romantic' cartoon.
After Qrow quickly recapped everything, Tai scratched his head and spoke:
"That's definitely something that I'd make…sorry if you had to see that, I guess?"
"Dad, you didn't make it. At least, not you YOU, so you don't need to apologize at all!" Ruby brightly smiled, to which Yang groaned:
"Because it will not help with the ensuing issues caused by the mental trauma we got when we watched it."
And while Taiyang does feel a little guilty when it comes to laughing at someone's misery, he couldn't help but chuckle at Yang's comment.
The train of thoughts was interrupted by Bob clearing his throat, clearly meaning to announce the next clip they'll be watching:
"Alrighty, so, where did I put the next one- "
But he never finished the sentence as an electronic voice came from his pants followed by techno music and beats and the following lyrics:
Ursa!
Ursa!
Ursa in the woods!
Ursa!
Ursa!
It's got Cardin!
Bob pulled the phone out and answered the call, leaving certain students of Beacon baffled (and in Nora's case - amazed) by the ringtone of Bob's scroll.
"Oi, I'm kinda busy here…" Bob answered, shortly glancing at the audience that was waiting for his announcement.
"Yes, busy. B-U-S-Y, you deaf moron, I have guests. Yes, actual guests. We're watching some alternate timelines of themselves and so far, twas a ton of fun. Where they any trouble?"
Bob gave both Cinder and Yang a short look, his mask concealing any emotion he might've gave away to both women.
"Nothing I couldn't handle."
Cinder shot at him with a venomous gaze at the remark. Not like Bob could care less about her, really.
"You need me now? It's that important, huh?"
Bob exhaled an annoyed sigh and added:
"Alright, my sign will be there in three. See ya." Bob hung up the call and turned around to face his guests.
"Something important came up and I don't have the time search for the next clip."
"Why can't you just play something else then?" Weiss asked.
"That's the 'best' part – I don't have anything else. At least not now. And the one clip I do have is, uh, lost somewhere. Look, I'll be back in 20 minutes or so. Think of this as a sort of a…an intermission. So, yeah…bye!"
And before anyone could say anything as a response, Bob vanished in a myriad of light particles, leaving his audience to their own devices. Or lack of, really.
"Did he just bail on us?" Sun asked, sounding a bit disappointed.
"I mean, he did say that he's gonna return. And I guess he is busy repairing our timeline…" Ruby politely responded.
"I know, I meant it as a joke."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room for about a few seconds before Weiss spoke up:
"But what if he isn't repairing our timeline?"
"Weiss, what do you mean by that?" Neptune asked.
"I mean, for all we know, he could be a-a- a psychopath who kidnapped us for our own amusement."
"Okay, Ice Queen, where's all that coming from? I mean, Bob can be an a-grade asshole…"
"Language!" both Glynda and Ruby alerted Yang.
"But so far he was pretty honest. I think. Seriously, what's gotten into you?"
Weiss sighed and responded with:
"I…I don't know. Maybe my nerves are talking. Just forg-"
Her sentence was never finished as she noticed something fly by her face. The object was moving too fast to evaluate exactly what was it. Not that it mattered as the said object hit the screen and exploded, leaving a trail of dribbling blood-like fluid.
This naturally caught everyone off guard, some even reaching to their non-present weapons and some simply squealing like a little girl. The squealing was done by Jaune.
Before anyone could question what the hell just happened, the liquid started coming off the screen and was…forming letters and words, much to the shock of many.
"Dear skeptical someone,
This is an automated message for you who starts asking specific questions & starts gossiping about me while I'm not here."
"I don't gossip! I don't!" Weiss defended herself.
"I have helluva lot more things, important things, to do better in my time rather than to kidnap you all and make you watch a couple of videos and sometimes perform live with me. Doubting the work I've put into saving you and repairing your timeline honestly hurts me."
"Yeah! Weiss, you're mean!" Nora accused, which prompted Weiss to send her an annoyed look.
"And besides – if I were a kidnapping psychopath, you would've been all transported in my sex dungeon as permanent guests."
That sentence made almost everyone feel very uncomfortable for obvious reasons.
"I did not need to read that…" Jaune muttered.
The blood kept spilling, revealing more letters:
"Just kidding…"
"Oh, okay…"
"I'd put you in my friend's sex dungeon."
"Not okay! Not okay!"
"That really doesn't make it any less bad…" Neptune added to Weiss' screeching.
"Screw what's written, who makes something like this?! It looks like a scene from a crime tv show where the serial killer writes a message in the victim's blood." Emerald said. Almost to the que, the last remaining passage was revealed:
"P.S.
If someone thinks that this looks like message written in the victim's blood cliché from a tv show, then that someone obviously has no sense of humor."
"Oh, shove off." Emerald responded, who also elbowed a giggling Mercury.
[LINE]
3 minutes have passed, enough for the blood message to evaporate, leaving the screen looking as good as before.
Also, none of the characters went at each other's throats.
For Neopolitan & Roman Torchwick, the whole situation seemed a bit boring. The occupants from both sides neither expressed their desire to talk to them, since by doing so they would get the attention from the other side.
While Adam Taurus looked like he was contemplating on his life choices and clearly wasn't in mood for a conversation, Raven Branwen looked like she was waiting for something.
The reputation of the Branwen tribe was very widely known throughout Mistral – an indiscriminate bunch of bandits who pillage, rape & murder (sometimes not even in that order) for whom all the villages are fair game. Neo would know, as she personally witnessed the savagery that they wrecked on her home once.
Roman didn't think of them as nothing but parasites, a cancerous tumor that lives and breathes to take, take & take – never give. A particular someone would argue that he and the bandits weren't that different – that particular someone got the Melodic Cudgel to the kneecap before Roman explained on why such an idiotic statement was completely wrong.
The thief, not counting style and a very small moral code (that he'd eagerly throw away if his life was in danger), had a degree of restraint. To put it in a metaphor – the difference between him and the bloodthirsty bandits was that Roman would go and steal a couple of apples from an apple tree. He would let it grow another couple of apples before he steals those ones too.
The Branwen tribe would steal the whole tree and salt the land for good measure.
Don't get him wrong, he was glad that Bob revived him and pulled him out of the eternal nothingness that was the so-called afterlife, but he still can't understand for the life of him why Bob considered Raven out of all people to be on a 'morally grey' seat?
Both Neo, the robot girl and he were made aware of the seat positioning and the meaning behind them – the White seats for the goody-two-shoes, the Black seats for Cinder and her lot and the grey seats made for the people who did everything to survive. As for Raven…
'Who knows? Bob said that he just felt like placing her there, but I just know that there is something more to it than that…Oh well, like it matters in the first place anyway.'
"Greetings."
Everyone's eyes turned to the source of the new, unknown voice that echoed in the room. The source being a tall man that was holding a briefcase.
"Is that you, Bob?" Oscar asked the stranger. The boy found him quite out of place – long dark brown coat, a top hat with the same color and mask with a smiling face on it that looked just a bit creepy.
The stranger chuckled, almost mockingly so, and responded:
"No, no, no. I am familiar with the name though."
"You a friend of his?" Qrow asked, his look betraying suspicion on the character who looked like he was up to no good.
"Friend…is such a strong word – we would've had to meet regularly if we're to call each other that way. Acquaintance is much more precise. Feel free to ask him, I'm sure he'd, heh, remember me."
"He's not here." Adam stated, eyeing the stranger.
"A shame, I'm on stretched time as it is and I can't wait for him. You must be Adam Taurus, correct?"
"Depends on who's asking."
"Oh, quite rude of me to not introduce myself – Marvelous Chester, at your service. And I do literally mean that." Chester said, offering the leather briefcase to Adam.
"This is addressed to you – I believe this is your property." Chester added, pointing out a piece of paper attached to the handle. Adam's name and personal summary was on it, along with a black and white photo of him.
The person on the photo was indeed Adam Taurus, but without the branded sign and any kind of mask whatsoever.
"This isn't mine." Adam plainly stated, earning some questioning glances from others.
"Well, it has your name on it. Anyhow, my little delivery job is finished. My client stated that all belongings inside the briefcase are yours, Mr. Taurus. They wish to remain anonymous, so there would be no point in asking me who they are." Chester said politely.
Adam reluctantly took the briefcase while not breaking the gaze on Chester.
Qrow wasn't raised up in a bandit clan for nothing – he knew that the shady character was hiding something. Not to mention how he coincidentally arrived just after Bob left.
To Chester's credit, he did wear a mask and his body language betrayed no ill intent, at least from the surface.
The masked man with a hat was definitely a professional, no doubt about it. But if he was to be trusted, someone else sent him to deliver something to the psycho ex-cult leader.
"I'd love to stay and have a chat, but my time is limited. Until we meet again." Chester bowed gracefully as he disappeared in a ray of light, in a similar way Bob does.
"Well…that happened."
Adam recognized the voice of the monkey faunus he fought at Haven. The one Blake was with.
'Some things you can't shake off so easily, can you?'
He placed the briefcase on his seat as his hands moved to open it.
"Wait! What if it's like full of bombs?!"
Adam looked to see the usually chirpy girl. He knew her name – Nora. Due to her childlike nature, he wasn't surprise that such an inane question would come from her.
"If he wanted us dead, he'd probably do it in a direct way without the whole introduction."
"Oh. Well, point taken. Don't need to be grumpy about it though."
He ignored her comment and flipped open the briefcase.
Among the papers and the files was something that immediately caught his attention.
A handgun.
"Oh my, it seems like our shady delivery guy wants Taurus to kill all of us!" Roman mockingly said, alerting some people as they saw the shiny pistol in the briefcase.
Adam didn't waste time for a panic to start. He quickly pulled out the magazine and cocked the pistol to eject any bullet that might've remained in the barrel.
"It's empty."
His action, not his words, brought the desired result, as no complications or violent misunderstandings arose, since it looked like he didn't withhold anything and was straightforward and honest.
He did withhold something he noticed – the gun smelled like it was recently fired. He placed it next to the briefcase and pulled out two things: A beat up journal and a closed file.
Adam opened the journal and saw that he, or whatever version of Adam Taurus the journal belonged too had a lot of words to write in. He decided to set down the reading for later and opened the next thing, the closed file.
His face portrayed a slight surprise as his eyes went through the words in a moment before handing the file to none other than Raven.
"Read it." Adam spoke.
The bandit's curiosity piqued as she took the file from his hands. When she opened it though…
A sly smile crept up her face.
"Something there?"
Raven's smile didn't falter as she shortly glanced on her brother. She got up from her seat and started reading the file out loud:
"The target's presence in the state continues to be a destabilizing influence. She's largely responsible for the recent influx of weapons in the country in clear violation of the Joint Signatory Framework. Her reputation as a dangerous arms dealer… is well deserved." She closed the case and added:
"Orders are to terminate."
"Is…is that about you?" Ruby, unsure of her question, asked her.
"Of course it's about her, kiddo." Qrow responded, and then added, "Arms dealing, huh? Fits you."
Before Raven could respond, Adam stood up and showed something new he had just uncovered from the briefcase…
"Is that a tape recorder?" James noted.
"Not any tape recorded, General…"
Oobleck dashed and leaned towards the recorded which was still in Adam's hands and spoke:
"This is the Mark I model, the first type of tape recorders. They haven't been in production for over 5 decades at least!"
"Are there any tapes to play too?" Blake asked.
Adam pulls out one of the tapes from a pouch in the briefcase, answering her question:
"There are more. This one, however, is marked as first."
The word "Infamy" was on the tape, written with a black marker.
"Well, might as well listen to them before Bob comes. We don't have anything else to do now, do we?" Roman suggested.
Adam had to admit to himself that the criminal was right – there was no telling when Bob would return, and the tapes may give him answers to why he got the briefcase.
After dealing with an itch on his neck, Adam put the file back and closed the briefcase, the only thing out of it were the tapes, the recorder and the journal. He sat and placed the briefcase in the center of the room. He put the recorder and all the tapes on it and maxed out the volume so that everyone can hear it.
He played the first tape:
"You can't break a man the way you break a dog... or a horse. The harder you beat a man, the taller he stands."
The female voice was course and slightly distorted, probably because of the old recording equipment, but it was immediately recognized as Raven Branwen's voice.
"To break a man's will, to break his spirit, you have to break his mind."
Qrow could tell that some of the kids already won't like what his sister is going to say on the matter. And yet, he himself was interested in what she had to say.
He wanted to hear her because it would give him insight on what kind of person he barely avoided to become. On what excuses he would make and what kind of screwed up rules he would come up with to justify his actions.
The moment Raven abandoned Tai and Yang was the moment Qrow completely stopped caring for her. And why should he care for a person who'd consider some low lives to be more important than her own flesh and blood.
So, he listened.
"Men have this idea that we can fight with dignity, that there is a proper way to kill someone; it's absurd, it's an aesthetic we needed to endure the bloody horror of murder. You must destroy that idea. Show them what a messy, terrible thing it is to kill a man... and then show them that you relish in it.
Shoot to wound, then execute the wounded; burn them. Take them in close combat, destroy their preconceptions of what a man is, and you become their personal monster. When they fear you... you become stronger, you become better.
But let's never forget, it's a display, it's a posture, like a lion's roar or a gorilla thumping at his chest. If you lose yourself in the display, if you succumb to the horror... then you become the monster. You become reduced. Not more than a man, but less; and it can be fatal."
The self-proclaimed Salem's most loyal servant was quite intrigued by the tape.
'Wear the mask…but don't become the mask…A wrong, but an interesting point indeed, heheh.'
Raven felt something she hadn't in a very long time.
Pride.
If first impressions counted, the Raven on the tape isn't probably that much different from the Raven in the room, the profession is the only thing that is different.
Raven herself noticed a difference – experience.
To act like a beast, but not to become the beast…that was something she'd wished she learned that sooner in her life.
'Would've saved me a lot of trouble…'
She also loved how uncomfortable looked Ozpin's young lapdogs when they heard what was on the tape – an early wake-up call for some of them. And if she knew herself…there would be a lot more similar words to come.
Her train of thought was broken by the loud coughing that was coming from someone close to her…
"Hey, hey, keep that to yourself, buddy." Roman uttered as he leaned away from Adam who was having a coughing fit that didn't seem to stop. Neo took a good look at the faunus to see that his skin and part of clothes were all wet from sweat.
Neo immediately prompted Roman to get up and move away from the sickly man, whose coughing fits changed into shaking and rapid breathing. He placed his hand on his head and gritted his teeth, making it obvious that Adam also had a nasty headache.
"Hey, are you…are you okay?" Ruby asked, worried about him and, well, others too.
Adam placed his hand on the chair and tried to get up.
"I-, ngh…I…" he muttered as he was half-way on his feet.
"You don't look so good." Yang said, almost mockingly so.
Adam didn't respond as his vision started to blur. Shapes were becoming harder to recognize and his hearing was waning. Not to mention the headache that was ravaging in his skull. The chills didn't go away – even the weather in Atlas couldn't compete to the cold he was feeling now.
He felt like he was dying.
For all he knew, he probably was dying.
His body went limp and his vision went black.
[LINE]
"Oh my God!" Ruby gasped. Adam's face first fall to the floor caught them off guard.
The first ones to respond were Ruby, Ghira & Beacon staff, at least the ones with medical know-how. Ghira was the fastest one to respond, as he already suspected beforehand that something was very, very wrong with him once he started coughing and sweating.
True, he didn't like the boy, but he believes that everyone deserves a chance. Even Adam Taurus.
Ghira turned him on his back and started searching for the signs of the disease that once plagued his home too. But even if he did confirm his suspicion, it would only open more questions – questions that he feared none would have an answer for since Bob was away.
"What-what's wrong with him?" uttered Neptune, probably fearing whatever Adam has is infectious.
The swollen red plump on his neck, along with some traces of a squashed mosquito, confirmed his theory.
"It's impossible, but…he shows every sign of malaria. A recent infection at that, I see a mosquito bite on his neck."
Oobleck eyed the briefcase and grabbed it quickly. He hastily rummaged through it, thoroughly searching every pocket, nock and cranny of the briefcase in search of any possible medicine.
He did however find a vial without a cap on it, and a piece of written paper stuck on it.
'P. falciparum…this must be where the mosquito was stored. I'd normally conclude that Mr. Taurus, the one who owns the case, but…'
"I believe that whoever sent the briefcase put the infected mosquito in it for sole purpose of infecting Adam Taurus." Oobleck stated.
"Was it that creepy Chester guy?" Jaune asked.
"Maybe. Maybe he was just a middleman. We'll deal with that later, but right now – what do we do with him?" Qrow asked, pointing towards Adam's unconscious body.
Ghira sighed, almost in defeat, as he delivered the bad news:
"Without proper care, he will die. We can only wait for Bob and, for his sake, hope that he has the medicine he needs."
Ghira took off his jacket and used it to cover Adam.
Oobleck approached the ailing boy and quickly examined him.
"While I respect privacy, no matter who they may be, Mr. Taurus' eyepatch is sure to become swollen in sweat. It needs to be removed to avoid further infection."
"Doctor, wai- "Blake uttered, but she was too late. Oobleck already took his eyepatch out, revealing the brand on his eye.
"…"
The Doctor was somewhat surprised that the boy in front of him had the SDC logo burnt on his eye, as he knew that branding was publicly frowned upon most kingdoms. The company allegedly stopped doing that.
Key word being allegedly.
'Some things never change, don't they?'
"What, what is it… oh my…" Roman paused and saw what was in front of him. He added:
"Always thought that bull boy had mommy issues. Turns out he has beauty issues."
"Stop it, Torchwick." Blake growled.
"Geez, alright. Don't get your kitty cat ears in a twist. Still, someone has to look over him in case he, I dunno, starts twitching I guess?" Roman made a point.
"On rare occasions such as these, I agree with Mr. Torchwick. I suppose I sh-"Oobleck was cut off by…
"I'll do it."
Quite a few looks were given to Weiss Schnee, who got up from her chair and started moving towards the unconscious Adam.
"Weiss, what do you think you're doing?"
Weiss stopped. She'd figured that out of all people, her teammate whose life got turned upside down by the sick man would protest.
"None of your business, Yang." she responded coldly. Yang in response glared at her and added:
"Come on, don't tell me you're feeling guilty for that piece of sh- "
"I said can it, Xiao Long!" she raised her voice. Weiss ignored the betrayed look of her teammate and knelt next to Adam.
"I-I can't believe it. You, of all- "Yang uttered, but was shut by Weiss yet again:
"This. Conversation. Is over."
Yang was discontent and looked like she wasn't about to just let it go. But it seemed that a quick tug from her sister and a hidden plead from her eyes was all that she needed to calm down…for now.
To somewhat lighten up the mood, Oscar popped in with a question:
"Mr. Belladonna? How did you figure out that he, well, has malaria?" he asked.
"I'm familiar with the disease. Not many people in the Kingdoms know, but Menagerie had a malaria outbreak shortly after I became chief." Ghira modestly responded, to which his wife added:
"But thanks to Ghira for persuading Valean doctors to come, Menagerie is now malaria-free."
Blake smiled to that. The outbreak happened only a short time before she joined the White Fang, but thanks to the efforts of her father, all the children who grew up didn't have the risk of a deadly parasitic disease. More so that most of those said doctors were human, something that people like Adam completely forgot when they served and acted in the name of the White Fang.
She looked at Adam who was being watched over by Weiss. Even after all he did, all the words he spoke and all the people he killed…she still felt a bit of pity for the guy.
The moment he told them it was all over between them…it was as if a mountain just came down from her chest. She doesn't know what Bob told Adam or what he did to convince him to change his mind, but whatever he did – it somehow worked.
And now that Adam was on a brink of life and death…and for some strange reason, it infuriated her to no end.
"Shall we listen to other recordings?" Tyrian openly suggested, almost in an excited manner.
"Since we don't have anything else to do, we might as well hear what is on the tapes." He explained his proposition.
While others were pondering about if they should listen to the tailless Salem's servant, Raven took the initiative and played the second tape – she really wanted to hear what her other self talked about next.
"Getting them in is easy, I brought them in over the mountain, through the desert, whatever. The hard part is moving them inside the country. Whenever you get stopped, you gonna bribe someone or shoot someone... Not good for business. No, once you're inside, you want to hand off as fast as possible, let the customer deal with it."
"How do they move the shipment?"
Most were surprised to hear Sun's voice on the tape, which put a lot of minds into believing that this may be an interview of sorts.
"Hm... I delivered three hundred kilos of explosives to Albain about six months ago. He showed up with a dozen of his men... dead men. He packed the explosives into their corpses figuring no one will search them. Smart guy."
"That's…that's wretched! And disgusting!" Weiss proclaimed.
"Then why did you become a Huntress in the first place?"
The one who posed the question was, to Weiss' surprise, Salem herself.
"Making decisions that would be practical and gain the most results, even though it might be viewed as unethical and…evil. Honor is something that spelled death for many Huntsmen before you." She forced the word through.
"Or wasn't Cinder killing your friend not enough of a wake-up call to you?"
The last sentence irked a few select people indeed.
"Why you…!" Jaune jumped straight from his seat, while Pyrrha held his hand to stop him from doing something rash.
"Perhaps I can't blame you, as you are still mere children. Your blood, however, will be on the hands of those who failed to guide you." Salem spoke, her eyes full of contempt gazing at Ozpin.
"It is true that Huntsmen & Huntresses sometimes have to choose the lesser evils…but one must also keep their moral compass in check, lest they lose their very soul." Ozpin responded back to Salem.
Both immortals were locked in an invisible battle, their eyes set on each other…
The pause was broken by Raven who pressed the play button on the recorder after inserting the next tape.
"Where do you get the weapons?"
"It's a romantic notion that they all came out from both Alliances after the Great War… that was a windfall back 10 or 15 years ago…but that's all over. I move weapons, I profit from circulation; you get a ceasefire somewhere in Mistral, both sides disarmed, you think they slag two thousand tons of guns? No. They sell them to me. I resell them wherever the next war is starting."
'Hm, the course of that Remnant's history is vastly different from ours…I hope there would be more information revealed about that.' Oobleck thought as he closely listened to the recording.
"Those are Alliance guns from 15 years ago?"
"Hm... That's about half. The rest mostly come from old Solitas & Anima armies after they abandoned their colonies and moved north, you know, 40-50 years ago.
"So, some of these guns are very old? They have been sold, bought, and sold repeatedly?"
"Heheh, they aren't bio-degradable. Only the dead are bio-degradable."
"Well, you're a bundle of joy, aren't you?" commented Qrow.
"So many guns…and yet all of them are so old! How-how can you, I mean she, just sell them around?! They're bound to- "
"Fall apart? Explode?" Roman interrupted Ruby, and then added," Red, Red, still naïve, aren't you? It's not about the quality, it's quantity. And besides, why should she care about selling faulty guns? From what I've heard so far, seems like this Raven character sells to murderers and fanatics – nobody's going to miss them."
"Just before they slaughter a dozen of civilians with them." Ren commented, with hidden contempt behind his words.
"War doesn't choose its victims – everyone is on the chopping block. Just ask your Headmaster, he is sure to know more about it." Cinder spoke, her taunting words obviously trying to provoke a reaction.
Before anyone could respond, the crowd got startled at the low guttural sound of Adam. He was still unconscious but was clearly in pain. Weiss put her hand on his forehead and felt the heat radiating from him.
"He's burning up." Weiss stated, silently cursing herself for not being able to do more than be on babysit duty.
"Nothing we can do there, White. Anyway, on to the next tape, shall we?" Roman suggested. Raven gave him, what he could describe as 'you really think you can boss me around' look before she hit the play button again.
"Why arms? Why not car parts, dust...?"
"What's the difference? Same job really... You get up, you get on the scroll, you meet your clients, you discuss a fair price, you make a delivery, and receive payment. Sounds boring... But it's not... It's just... Simple. I'm doing what men have been doing for thousands of years. Trading one thing for another. Maybe it's you who want to attach morality to it... Make it evil? Insane... People are working gun factories in Mantle or Glenn... They're unionized, right? You think kids toiling dust in some remote SDC mine pull down forty-grand a year on a forty-hour week? You start thinking too much about morality... THAT's insane..."
'If only I could've met this woman instead of the bandit garbage that is in this room…' Arthur wondered, thinking about all the conversations and intellectual debates they could've run between them.
He really didn't mind that the Raven on the tapes choose a profession he would consider of low standard – his past mistakes in youth taught him to never judge a book by its cover.
Arthur still wanted to know her real, true reason for selling arms to, what he deducted, unruly war factions, if her mentioning the name of a prominent White Fang member alluded to that.
Weiss, on the other hand, felt like…shit. She really felt like a very, very shitty person now. For…for acting like all the Faunus who targeted her family were degenerates looking for conflict. For not questioning her father on some business decisions that had a red flag all over them. For not asking why the White Fang attacks the SDC.
It was…painful for her to look at Adam's face. At the consequence of her father's actions, and her willful ignorance of them.
Now she truly understood why Winter left the family and the company. Why she had a look of utter disgust every time she saw her father's face.
"Feeling bad for the horny edgelord?"
Weiss looked at the one who spoke to her.
"You should, you know?" Mercury added.
"Hey, leave her alone you bully!" Ruby defended her.
"Cry me a river Rose. Just saying – no amount of babysitting will remove that mark from his face."
'But it's the only thing I can do, until we all get out of here…' Weiss thought, deciding to ignore Black's remarks as she adjusted the coat that covered Adam.
Meanwhile, Raven's hand, that was holding the tape recorder, quickly jolted up to avoid Neo's sneaky hands.
"Impatient, are we?" Raven teased.
In any other situation, Neo wouldn't do such a thing to someone as Raven frigin' Branwen in million lifetimes. But considering that all of them were weaponless and auraless…she just had to do it. Consequences be damned, she didn't regret it.
She had Roman back too, so it would be a 2 on 1 scenario.
Neo responded to her by giving her an innocent-looking smile, which Raven found somewhat…amusing.
Raven played the second tape, not bothering to wait for anyone to prepare themselves to listen.
"Why Vacuo? People need weapons all over the world. Why here? Why my home?"
"Every place is somebody's home, pal, but it doesn't stop people from going to war. I don't start wars, I didn't start this one; it seems like it's your fellow Vacuans that want each other dead. Besides, why should I give a shit about your home? Why should anyone? You want me to go somewhere else... So that it's someone's home that you don't give a shit about?"
"What if it was your home?"
"War is my home."
'Same old Raven…I guess some things just don't change.' Tai mentally sighed.
"I may be speculating, but Raven never mentioned any Grimm. At all, in fact." Port noticed.
"You think that this might be one of the Grimmless worlds, Professor?" asked Blake.
"Peter, you might be onto something. One of the more devastating side effects of the Great War was a vastly increased Grimm population, especially in battle scarred lands. That was one of the more prominent reasons why there hasn't been a massively scaled conflict." explained Oobleck, which prompted Qrow to speak up:
"And since on that Remnant wars seem to be a constant thing…"
But before he could add anything, Salem invited herself in the discussion by stating:
"It goes to show how violent you all are by nature. I would say that, even with the Grimm around, you'll still be more effective in killing each other off to extinction than I ever would."
"Then why send them?"
Salem turned over to see the boy with the pink hair strand. She estimated him one of the calmer Huntsmen from the White seats – someone like Hazel, a restrained mediator that is supposed to deescalate the situation.
And just like Hazel, it seems for both men it takes something specific to anger them. For Hazel, it was Ozpin, and for the Huntsman…
"Why send the Grimm to destroy when you think that all of us do it better than you? Why send them at all?!" Ren raised his voice, all while Nora looked at him with concerned eyes.
"Because I can, boy. Because it's the nature of all things. The less questions you ask, the single life you have will be longer." Salem responded, telling Lie Ren to know his place. But the young Huntsman was resolute to find his answers, but for now he held silent contempt for the Queen of the Grimm.
Raven silently inserted the next tape.
"I spent a year in Black Hill once. In the dark... It's a hell hole... Covered in raw sewage, guards breaking some inmate's fingers with a hammer, just out of pure fuckin' meanness. Men die of starvation there all the time. I saw a guy in the opposite cell catch a rat with his teeth, cause they have him handcuffed for 24 hours a day for two months. He couldn't eat. Seeing someone do that, he was weeping as he crushed it to death in his mouth. Seeing his eyes, his face, it's madness. He was dead three days later."
"What killed him?"
"Realization of what he'd turned into."
The last sentence sent shivers down the backs of the students, and it caused most of the adults to feel slightly uncomfortable. Especially since…
"Professor? Black Hill…wasn't that a POW work camp that was used during the Faunus Revolution?" Weiss sheepishly asked and noticed disheartened looks from both Ironwood and Ghira. Almost as if they were ashamed of something…
The green haired doctor quickly jumped to explain:
"Black Hill was a small fortress built by Mantle troops where they corralled all the POW's. It was firstly held by the humans but after the Battle at Fort Castle the Faunus took control of it until the end of the war. The fortress was notorious by the inhumane and downright barbaric treatment of the prisoners, from both sides mind you. Not many who were locked up in that death camp survived until the end, and for those that did…most of them committed suicide or were put in mental asylums."
Oobleck adjusted his glasses and continued:
"Now it's abandoned and will forever serve as a reminder that no matter how noble one may seem to be, everyone has the potential for cruelty."
Bartholomew's words rang true, James knew that much. He was being constantly reminded of Mantle's and Atlas' history by both the geriatrics of the Council as well as Faunus spokesmen in that war – he knew that it would be downright idiotic to expect change to come overnight, but he also knew that if he lost the sight of his goal, change would never come to be in his home.
While Ghira, even though he disapproved of her methods, still trusted Sienna to be his successor in the White Fang, he couldn't say the same for the Albain brothers. They represented all the worst aspects of the Faunus movement – to him, they were no better than the close-minded human politicians that don't like people who ask questions. Both brothers, back in his day, would rally people and try to instill the "us-against-them" mindset not because they wanted equal rights for their brethren – they only wanted power.
And they'd do their best to portray the Faunus as victims and generalize that every human is a threat to them. Fenec especially was prone to hiding all the possible war crimes the Faunus committed during the Revolution, leaving only the war crimes of humans while portraying the Faunus as heroic freedom fighters. A lot of young kids fell for those stories, those same kids that would later join Sienna's White Fang with glee.
Ghira looked at the weak Adam. Maybe…maybe if he wasn't so judgmental of him in the beginning, maybe a lot of things, bad things, could've been avoided.
He almost didn't notice the Branwen bandit putting a new tape in the recorder.
"How do you become an arms dealer in the first place?"
"Back in the Navy, we delivered guns all over the world, droppin' off guys with 20 crates of rifles for the local fighters, so they could knock over some dictator. Mind you, that's not 20 crates of fresh factory full automatic's, these were illicit weapons, confiscated in some raid and then redistributed. No paperwork, right? If a crate here or there goes missing, hey, it happens. Military teaches you two things: how to deal with bureaucracy, and how to avoid it. Learning how to avoid it means learning how to deal in arms. You muster out, you apply what you learned. Every gun runner I have ever met got his start that way: losing illicit weapons in transport with national militaries."
'Navy, huh? No Huntsmen or Huntresses needed for the lack of Grimm, so I join the Navy? What kind of life she had before?' Raven thought.
"How to deal with bureaucracy and how to avoid it, eh?" Qrow smiled and looked at James, awaiting the General's response.
"I can't say that she is wrong – being in the military, it gives you a complete new perspective on the system. It is by using the newfound perspective I found after finishing the Academy is how I got where I am now."
"Huh, maybe I should've moved to Atlas and signed in – sounds easy and a lot safer, without having cops or annoying Huntresses on my back." Roman added.
"The old drill sergeant would've had a field day with you." James responded. Roman chuckled at the snark, and even at the prospect of him becoming a soldier. Trading in his bowler hat for a General's hat…
'On the other hand, that doesn't sound like a bad idea…'
Winter however felt a bit…conflicted. She always took everything face value and only focused on serving her kingdom and protecting its people. To hear that the same skills she learned can be utilized for something as debasing as arms dealing…it didn't sit right with her. Didn't sit right with her at all.
The sound of tape interrupted her train of thought.
"Did you ever choose sides in a conflict?"
"Ah I did it once, was a bad idea, cut my profits in half. Almost got me killed. Never again. You sell to both sides. You can help level the field, stabilize the market, draw out the conflict and make more money. A big sale to one side doesn't generate repeat business. Both the APR and the UFLL are using my weapons. Now, they're in détente. Both sides are stockpiling. Less violence. More spending. It's perfect."
"But its anarchy! Thousands are dead, hundreds of thousands are displaced!"
"If I picked sides, fewer would be displaced but more would be dead; and I would probably be one of them."
Sun never considered himself to be a…patriot of sorts. Vacuo was pretty good by itself – life was harsh, sure, but people living in it always helped each other out, no matter if you had an extra pair of ears, horns, or a tail.
But hearing from those tapes that his home was going through some sort of civil war…it didn't sit right with him. He could only imagine what the civilians are going through – he knew enough from history books that in wars, it's the folk that don't fight that suffer the most. Being caught in a crossfire between two opposing forces, you'll be the one in the end that'll have to pick up the pieces. If you don't get killed first.
It was odd hearing him on the tapes. Interviewing an arms dealer. Didn't sound like he was doing it for the fame or money though. He guessed that his other self was doing this because something like this needs to be heard among the more fortunate population.
Provided that they cared to listen in the first place.
"Using the most out of other people's misery – methods may change, but the result is the same, isn't it Raven?"
Raven shot a questionable glare at her brother and responded:
"The strong will always trample the weak, brother. If they are in misery, then they should do something about it, no?"
"Nice to know that you're still an asshole, mom."
Raven chuckled at her daughter's remark, with a hint of spite adding to it. Yang just annoyingly looked at her, concluding that she was pretty much speaking to a wall.
She felt like breaking down a few walls now.
Raven took another tape and looked at the lable. It read 'Humanist'. So far, she didn't pay much attention to the titles, but something about this sparked curiosity within her. She put it in the recorder and pressed play, like before.
"Have you ever refused to sell weapons to anybody?"
"I'm a humanist, I don't judge, maybe you would?"
"I couldn't sell arms..."
"Bullshit, Wukong, you have all the skills to be an arms dealer. Better one than me even. You're smart, you're creative, you're a salesman, heh, you sold me on doing these dumb interviews. Man, the rest is just paperwork."
"I mean, I'd be unable, psychologically, to sell arms."
"I'm talking facts and you're talking theory. You're not a good person Wukong, you've just been lucky enough, you've never had to be otherwise. When it comes down to it, what a man can do is what a man will do, but believe what you want."
"That's not-that's not true! It's the choices that make someone a good person, not from where they are!" Blake protested. But she found opposition in her father, out of all people:
"Blake, honey…she and you, you're both right. But what this Raven character says…Listen, when I stepped out and became chief of Menagerie, I didn't isolate myself from the White Fang. I had a lot of friends there, likeminded people who believed in a peaceful solution…and yet they still stayed."
Ghira paused for a moment, and added:
"It's because most of the members of the White Fang didn't have any homes or families to return to – the movement was all they had. They had nowhere else to go, so they stuck with the movement, for better or worse. I on the other hand, had a home and a family to return to."
"You're not the only one who got lucky, Mr. Belladonna."
Blake turned and saw Sun, who was also about to add something too:
"I had a rough start – you know, little orphan kid on the streets, just one of many. Had to steal to eat and survive. Then one day I stole from the wrong guy. Got me cornered, broke my arm – it looked like it was end of the line for me. Then a Huntress came and beat the guy into a pulp. She not only saved my life, but she also kind of adopted me too. I don't know if it was out of pity or if she saw something in me, didn't ask, really. She sent me to Haven to train, went to become a team leader and…well, here I am." Sun smiled as he recalled all the things in his past.
"Are you still in touch?" Ruby asked.
"Nah, she wasn't one for closeness or stuff like that. One of those serious but has a gold heart type. Occasionally we call each other, but not too often – I think she kind of considers me her protégé or something and let me go do my own thing. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be on the streets and become just another thug at best. So yeah, I consider myself lucky for meeting her."
The momentary reminiscence was suddenly interrupted by Adam's violent coughing fit. Weiss grabbed him by the shoulders, not letting him slump on the ground.
The former heiress took notice how Adam got even paler than before. A short saliva streak ran from his mouth as his whole body shivered. Weiss put her hand on his forehead, and noticed he was even hotter than before.
"He's burning up!" Weiss spoke, panicked and unsure what she's supposed to do. Or what she can do now.
[LINE]
It was nighttime, and Adam Taurus was driving full speed on the earthy roads, rushing to get to the Lumbermill. Wukong called him and said it was very important to meet him up – changes were bound to happen in Lae Grond, big changes. Considering what happened a few hours ago after he killed the leader of the APR at Lug Falls, those changes were spelling bad for him and everyone around him.
When he arrived at the Mill, he ditched the car in the bushes and went straight to the safehouse. The place was abandoned after he torched it a few days ago, so there shouldn't be any meatheads waiting to get a shot at him.
He opened the door of the safehouse and was greeted by the sight of Sun Wukong, a journalist that came back home to record all the atrocities that are committed during the civil war that ravaged Vacuo. He found a few of his tapes, recordings of the interview he had with the Raven, the woman Adam was sent to kill.
"Thank you for meeting me here, it was the only safe place I could think of. I heard that Corsac Albain sent you to kill Emerald Sustrai."
"Yeah. Should've known better though – figured out the hard way that I was no longer useful to him after I killed the competition."
"So, it is true – the UFLL launched a massive offensive in the northern district, and word on the street is that YOU were meant to be their first target."
"Guess I'm lucky to be alive."
Sun sighed. He leaned on the nearby desk as he was about to deliver more bad news:
"They're still looking for you. And other foreigners as well – you've all been declared spies. The soldiers will come to Tukson's bar and execute all your friends one by one. They're also coming for the villagers – they know Father Ghira is providing shelter for them in his church, and when they come there…you know what will happen." Sun said, with a defeated look on his face.
Adam knew that he couldn't leave the villagers to suffer. His buddies at Tukson's can handle themselves well enough, he knows they're a far cry from helpless and defenseless.
The villagers on the other hand only have Father Ghira to protect them. He highly doubted that Ghira's faith will be enough to protect all of them from a hail of bullets.
Adam Taurus already made his choice.
"I know what I have to do. What about you?" he asked.
"I've arranged a car to get me to Sonvelde. I'll be safe there, for a time being at least."
Adam went towards the door and said his goodbyes to his friend. He hoped up right into a parked assault truck and rushed towards the town of Skadu.
He passed by Tukson's bar on the road to Skadu. But Adam had to curb down whatever doubts he had in mind. He knew he can't be at two places at the same time. He could only hope that his buddies will survive the night.
When he reached the town, he immediately noticed that the town was completely quiet. Usually he would be greeted by the sight of frightened civilians that minded their own business and armed, loud assholes who either talked about some trivial stuff that happened to them or were crapping their pants when they saw him.
He had to give his buddies some credit – reputation around this place does wonders in cease-fire zones. Even outside of town, the mercs who would previously shoot him on sight now give him a reluctant pass through their guard stations. He does get an occasional idiot with less than half-a-brain who tries to riddle him with bullet holes. That same song-and-dance routine was honestly getting boring after the nth time it happened.
Still, he can't help but feel a bit unnerved at how the Skadu felt…abandoned. Adam didn't waste time and headed straight towards the church.
When he entered, he saw Ghira leading what it looked like the last of the villagers down a hole that lead to an underground passage to safety.
"My friend, you're here! And you're healthy! Good, good! Come here, there's still time to escape!" Ghira spoke.
"Father, it's…it's my fault. All of this is my fau-"
"Don't apologize for something you didn't do, my child. You couldn't have foreseen something like this." The priest interrupted the mercenary. Adam could tell that Ghira wasn't angry at him at all – something that eased his mind a bit.
"Listen Father, I'll stay here and try to stall them as much as possible."
Ghira looked at him with concern. But he knew that there was no point in convincing the young mercenary to change his mind. Once he's set on something, he does it.
And who knows? Perhaps with God's help, he may even survive.
"Then please, move the cabinet over the entrance so they can't follow us."
Adam nodded and went over to the cabinet. As he pushed it to cover the door, he could hear Ghira thanking him for what he's doing.
For Adam, the only thanks he needs is the certainty that all the people Ghira leads would escape unharmed.
Adam readied all of his guns. They were freshly picked up from the armory not even an hour ago – the chance of a gun getting jammed was pretty low. One less thing to worry about.
Pistol loaded up, automatic rifle checked, flamethrower ready. Grenades and bottles are also accounted for.
Taurus was ready.
Not even 2 minutes have passed and he could already hear some commotion outside the church. The commotion was actually the sound of a van ramming through the entrance, blocking any kind of exit for the mercenary.
This was it, and Adam knew it all too well.
The windows of the church shattered, UFLL men coming from everywhere.
Adam wastes no time.