Chapter 9: Vale
Ozma opened his eyes quickly and gasped. He took a few quick breaths, realizing he wasn't drowning anymore. Instead, he was laying in a bed. Or rather, a metal slab that served as a bed. He looked around, noticing a metal door and a tiny window with bars on it. Going to the window, he grabbed it with both hands and saw more doors just like his.
"Wait."
He looked at his hands. Both hands. The arm that Blanca cut off with that weapon had returned. Or, in reality, he had found another new body. He was whole again. Looking into a mirror, he saw that his appearance was strikingly similar to the body he had in the first age of man. His attention shifted to an orange jumpsuit. That's when he realized what was going on.
The bed, the door, the jumpsuit? Ozma was a prisoner.
He had so many questions, mainly who was holding him here and why. But his body felt...extremely tired. So tired he was having trouble standing. Walking to the bed, Ozma immediately fell asleep. He would figure this out when he was refreshed.
A loud horn woke Ozma up. Jolting off the bed, he saw that his metal door had opened. Walking to the door, Ozma saw more prisoners leave their cells and walk to a larger door. Before Ozma could consider what to do, he felt someone bump into him. He turned around to see a man slightly shorter than him with a shaved head. He also had a black eye.
"Don't hold up the line." the man told Ozma. "You'll get us in trouble."
Ozma did as he was told and followed the other prisoners. As they left the door, he could see more prisoners walking towards a large open space. Just above them on rafters were more gray soldiers. Ozma immediately realized this was a Demon prison. Most likely built by Momin. But for what purpose? Did Ozma reincarnate as a soldier who fought against Momin? He looked around to see that the rest of the prisoners didn't have visible animal traits, so it seemed this was a human prison.
Ozma's eyes turned to a large shape coming out of the sky. Ozma thought it looked like a giant sea ship, only it didn't have any sails. It slowly touched the ground in the middle of the courtyard and a door on each side opened. Two more Demons came out and gestured prisoners into the ship. Curiosity got the better of Ozma, and he entered the structure. As the doors closed, the ship took flight.
Ozma decided to get some information from other prisoners. Turning to his left, he tapped a blonde woman's shoulder. She turned to him and he asked if she knew where the ship was taking them.
"The holes." she said. "Where we go every day."
"To do what?" Ozma asked.
Before the woman could answer, a guard walked up to the two of them.
"Quiet." he ordered.
The ship touched down five minutes later. Ozma and the rest of the prisoners were taken to the side of a crater. Looking down, Ozma could see more prisoners in the center of the crater. It looked like they were...digging?
A soldier walked up to Ozma and pushed a shovel at his chest. Taking it, Ozma was guided to another metal structure with two doors. Two guards joined the group and the door opened to reveal some kind of cage. When the doors closed, the cage began to move, taking its passengers down.
As it touched the ground and the doors opened, a soldier led prisoners out of the elevator. Ozma saw a man walking slower than the rest, so the soldier grabbed his shoulder and pushed him out.
"Easy with him." Ozma instinctively said to the guard.
The armored Faunus turned to Ozma. "You take it easy." he said as he pushed Ozma as well. "Get to work."
Ozma and the prisoners were put to work digging the hole even deeper. They would put the dirt in a mining cart that would be pushed by someone each time it was full and would be replaced with another one. While Ozma worked, he was thinking of a possible plan of escape. He could use his Magic, but it wouldn't be as strong without his staff. His staff acted as an amplifier for him, making his Magic stronger. While he could use Magic if he wanted to, it wasn't as strong without his staff. That's why he chose to rely on his fighting skills in Vacuo and could only use a limited amount in Mistral. The staff was a part of him, he had placed most of his Magic into it. Salem was different, she didn't split her Magic into another object. Even if he had his staff, his body was extremely tired. The work was hard, and the body he reincarnated into wasn't built for physical labor. It seemed he would have to come up with a better plan.
Ozma kneeled down to rest for a minute. This proved to be a mistake as he felt something hit him from behind.
"Worthless human!" a voice said. "Get up!"
Ozma tried to stand, but he couldn't. So, the soldier grabbed Ozma by the throat and threw him at an empty mine cart. Which fell over with the woman pushing it.
"Shit." the Faunus said as he pulled out a whip.
Ozma began to get up and he saw the soldier go towards the woman and strike her.
"Wait, stop!" Ozma called out. "That was my fault!"
The soldier turned to Ozma. "You're next." he said as he continued to strike the woman.
Seeing this cruelty gave Ozma his strength back. He stood up, grabbed a shovel, and hit the soldier in the head.
Two more soldiers saw this and ran to Ozma, blasters at the ready. The first one fired, but Ozma was able to dodge and spin the shovel to knock him on the ground. He turned to the other one and hit the end of the shovel into the soldier's throat.
Before he could do anything else, Ozma felt a stinging sensation hit his back. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
When Ozma woke up, he could feel himself being dragged by two soldiers. The metal floor suddenly turned to a soft carpet as the soldiers dragged him into an office. The guards picked him up and Ozma stood on his feet. The door behind him opened again, and two more soldiers dragged the woman who Ozma defended into the room.
"Thank you, gentlemen." a voice said. Ozma's eyes turned to a uniformed man in a chair, staring at the two prisoners who were brought before him. Behind him was a shelf of weapons and human skulls. The man stood up, and Ozma could see that he was a very...unique Faunus. He had horns on his head, similar to a goat's horns. But he also had goat legs to match. It was a wonder how he could stand up on them, they seemed...unnatural.
"My eyes are up here, human." the Faunus said. Ozma quickly looked up at him. "My men tell me you two are responsible for an incident at the holes." he continued, looking at the woman. She had an anxious look on her face.
"Don't be nervous, dear. I just want to ask you some questions." he said as he got closer to her. "But if you keep staring at me like that, I'm give you a reason to be nervous."
The woman closed her eyes. Which pissed off the Faunus even more. He sent a fist into her face, which caused her to fall to the ground. The soldiers who brought her in picked her up again, and the Faunus was about to grab her.
"That's how it started." Ozma said. The Faunus turned to him.
"Say again?" he asked. Ozma looked into his eyes and spoke again.
"One of your soldiers punished me for resting on the job. He attacked me, and I knocked into her. Seeing it fit to punish her as well, I intervened. This woman's only crime was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. So you want to punish anyone, punish me." Ozma was willing to risk his life to protect this woman, whoever she was. If he died, it seemed to be the only way to escape the prison. He would reincarnate again and make his way to the Land of Darkness, saving Salem in the process.
But this Faunus had different plans.
"I appreciate your honesty." he said with a laugh. "You're a real hero, you know that?"
"I...I suppose." Ozma replied.
The Faunus walked back to his large shelf. "Do you know who I am?"
"I...no, I don't."
The Faunus turned around. "Well, then. Allow me to introduce myself. I...am General Motaro, leader of Lord Momin's mission in Vale. It's not a position one gains easily, my friend. I take it you don't know how I got it?"
"I assume by keeping men and women like us in line?" Ozma asked.
Motaro laughed as he turned back to his shelf, looking at each weapon. "Well, I am good at that. But no, there's more it."
"Which is?"
"Well, Mr. Hero..."
Motaro turned around, holding something that made Ozma's jaw drop. It was a long stick with gold decorating on the length, and an emerald on the top. Motaro had somehow got his hands on Ozma's staff.
"it was by killing heroes."
Motaro approached closer to Ozma, examining the staff. It seemed this general was going to make an example of Ozma. His plans of willingly dying and finding a new body were immediately forgotten, he had to stay. If Ozma had any hope of rescuing Salem and defeating Momin, he needed his staff.
Ozma spoke again, hoping to buy time. "Where did you get that staff?"
"I found it in a cabin, before we used the land around it for the holes."
Ozma still didn't know what these 'holes' exactly were, but they were apparently important to Momin. He needed to find out why. But first, he needed to save his own life.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Motaro asked.
"You have no idea." Ozma replied. "But if you're going to kill me, would you mind doing it now? Seems this talk is a waste of time." he was baiting the general.
Motaro laughed and spun the staff, the sharp end facing up. "Well, the thing is...I've always had a method for killing heroes. Humans are one thing, but heroes are a different level."
"How so?" Ozma asked with sarcasm.
"People look up to heroes. They're a source of hope, you see. Hope to have freedom. And they'll be willing to fight for it. But what they don't see...are that heroes are like glass. Glass can be strong, made into different things. Windows, vases, mirrors. People like you come in all shapes and sizes, just like glass. So strong, able to catch everyone's eye. But...there's one trait about glass that I love. You know what it is?"
"...What?"
The general stabbed the sharp end of the staff into the woman's stomach and quickly pulled it out. She fell to the ground. Ozma fell as well, picking her head up. But she was dead before she even hit the ground. Ozma looked back up to the general.
"Glass...is breakable. Like you." he hit Ozma's head with the staff. "You try to help people, but there's always a way for you to you fail. Like, for example, me killing a person, or making them watch a village burn. And their spirit breaks just as easily as glass."
Ozma had tears in his eyes, which Motaro noticed. He held a mirror in front of Ozma's face. "See this? This is when I know...that it's the right time for me to do what I do best."
Motaro raised the staff again, preparing to stab Ozma. But before he did, Ozma caught the staff and concentrated. The emerald at the top shot fire into the general's face and he screamed. Ozma quickly took care of the four guards as well, blasting them with fire as they all hit the wall. Ozma turned around and knocked Motaro unconscious.
Ozma hated to admit it, but Motaro had a point. He tried to help that woman in the hole, but it only got her killed in the end. Ozma's heart ached just thinking about all of this. Ever since he came back to Remnant, he'd seen so much pain, death, and destruction. Now, he just caused some of it to a woman who was simply just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only thing he could do now...was focus on the bigger picture: find out about Momin's work in Vale. And in the end, make him pay.
Walking to the desk, he saw some kind of screen with an icon that said 'Play.' Pressing the button, a device on the table activated. It created a small blue figure, with a familiar mask. Momin.
"General Motaro, an emergency council meeting will be held in two days time. I require your presence to know of your work in Vale. Your efforts to take the cities that defy us and Operation Downpour are of upmost importance, I require an update. Two days. Do not be late."
It seems that Momin had just given Ozma a terrific opportunity. Ozma wasn't sure what 'Operation Downpour' was, but it must have something to do with the holes. Sabotaging it would make Momin...unhappy.
"Keep moving!" a soldier yelled at a prisoner.
This prisoner was moving a heavy mine cart of dirt to a large dirt pile on the side of the holes. This pile, and more like it, was where the dirt from the holes was being taken. Before he could dump it, the prisoner lost his footing and slipped. Which made the guard unhappy.
"Useless son of a-" he didn't get to finish as a green bolt of lightning hit his chest. The prisoner looked up to see someone flying towards him. As he landed, the man extended a hand to him.
"Are you hurt?" Ozma asked.
"N...no. I'm alright." the prisoner said as the man helped him up.
"Then you should go. It won't be safe here in a few minutes." Ozma said as he flew into the air again. Flying over the various holes, he shot more lightning and fire at each Demon, and made sure the prisoners had taken the elevators to safety. An alarm was sounding, but Ozma took care of every soldier he saw. And for the finishing touch, the dirt in the large piles began to levitate and fill each hole.
Ozma had done it. Whatever Momin was planning for these holes, filling them up again would set his plans back for a while. And the best part? He had no prisoners to dig them again. When he rested, Ozma would return to the prison and free everyone.
As he landed, Ozma's eyes fell on to the prisoner he helped earlier. He looked in shock at his savior.
"What are you doing here?" Ozma asked. "You're free."
"You...you just used Magic, didn't you?" the former prisoner asked.
"You...know of it?"
"Yes, I do! Please tell me, do you anyone by the name of 'Salem'?"
Ozma's heart skipped a beat. This man...he knew about Salem. Maybe he could help him find her. He ran to the former prisoner and grabbed his shoulders.
"Do you know where she is?!" Ozma asked. "I'm here to help her!"
"...I'm sorry, I don't know where she is." the man replied. "But...maybe we can help each other."
"What's...your name?"
"Oliver."
Author's notes: finally. Ozma helps people without dying. Sorry this chapter's a little short, but next one will be much longer. Hope you're liking the story.
To Legend Knight 00, you're right. Momin is using the art of war like Thrawn did.
To GojiraFan455515, 'yikes' is right.
To MidKnightMoonglow99, thank you very much for the advice and support. I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was a little short. But I'm trying to be original like you suggested. Thanks again!
To Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, I'm glad you like my work!
To D.N. Works, yeah that's true.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!