The God of Remnant Chapter 11: The Calm Before the Festival
" " – Dialogue
' ' – Thinking
Vale - Location
"Renewal Taekwondo" – Technique
It was a beautiful morning at Beacon. The sun was shining, the dew on the grass gave it a heavenly sparkle, the birds were chirping, and the students were out and about.
After the White Fang's failed breach of the city a week prior, morale was at an all-time high as the Vytal Festival came closer. The attack, which momentarily dampened the spirits of students and civilians alike, had the opposite effect upon its failure and had everyone on a pre-festival high. The effects of which could be witnessed from anywhere on the campus as, even with the tournament a week out, festivities were actively being advertised.
One team chose to express their excitement in a different way, however…
"Your leg isn't planted firmly enough." Mori pointed out as he knocked down his sparring partner with a swift low sweep kick. Mori was dressed in a white muscle shirt with his usual jeans being replaced with blue sweatpants. He was currently without shoes as he enjoyed feeling the grass beneath his feet.
Groaning in slight frustration at being knocked down for what must've been the hundredth time today, Seraphina rose to her feet again. "Got it. Let's continue." She said, sliding back into a basic CQC (Close Quarters Combat) stance. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, dark pink exercise shirt and a pair of long black yoga pants that led to what used to be pure white sneakers. The toils of training had caused them to pick up a slight green-brown color that would only get worse.
The two members of Team Jasmine were training in an open field near the main campus in preparation for the quickly approaching Vytal Festival. They decided to brush up on each of their weakest areas, as reducing the chances of them being exploited seemed better than just polishing their strengths. Currently it was Seraphina's turn, and her weakest area was combat against someone whom she couldn't disable with a quick use of her semblance.
Seraphina's semblance ,Time Manipulation ,was a powerful tool. The only problem was that such a tool came with a devastating drawback. Stopping time completely was a maneuver that drained Seraphina's so fast that it was inadvisable to use unless she could guarantee a knockout, like with the worn-out White Fang member on the train. Slowing time in bursts was a viable technique, but not against human opponents. Human opponents adapt much faster than the creatures of grimm, so slowing time would be a waste of aura, a dangerous prospect. Thus, in the Vytal Festival where aura is essentially your health bar; she'd be better off using her semblance as little as possible, if at all.
To correct her over-reliance on her semblance, She and Mori were training in hand-to-hand combat. Neither semblances nor weapons were allowed, so they could focus on upping her hand-to-hand abilities as quickly as possible.
Beginning their bout once again, Seraphina charged Mori and led with a simple right straight. Normally, this move would be easily countered and ill-advised in a fight, but they had decided to keep the moves simple as to strengthen Seraphina's fundamentals.
Easily deflecting the attack with his left palm, Mori responded with a punch to her exposed midsection. The attack would be dodged, however, as Seraphina spun to the side of the attack. She countered with a backhand that utilized the momentum she'd gathered from her spin. The attack actually managed to catch Mori off-guard, landing cleanly on his right cheek and causing him to stumble a bit.
"Nice hit," He complimented as he rubbed the contact point. "You're getting more comfortable with counterattacking instead of dodging, but your power could still use some work." He analyzed more deeply than usual.
"Enough with the basic drills then. I think I'm ready for a more hands-on approach, like without stopping after every hit." Seraphina requested, getting a smirk from her partner.
"I was wondering when you were gonna ask that!" He said as he began to stretch. "Taking this slow was starting to get really boring." He said as he stretched his legs more thoroughly.
"So how about we go until one of us has a knockout blow or if our aura reaches the red?" She suggested.
"Sounds good, since that's pretty much how the tournament's gonna go." Mori said as he finished his stretches. "Ready when you are." He said, getting into his stance. Seraphina's response was entering her own stance, staring down her opponent as they both waited for a signal to start.
A gust of wind chose that moment to blow through the clearing, causing the grass as well as the combatants' hair to flow in the breeze. Right when the breeze abated, both faunus charged at each other, beginning their final bout.
Seraphina fired the first blow, a right straight that ended up being deflected by Mori's left forearm. Mori immediately followed this with a straight of his own that ended up captured in Seraphina's waiting palm. Quickly breaking the stalemate, Mori swung his left arm outward. This shot Seraphina's right arm out of position and left her unable to block the kick that was now approaching her head.
Thinking fast, Seraphina released Mori's right hand and ducked to her right, letting the kick sail harmlessly over her head. Her crouched position left her unprepared for Mori's follow-up, however, as the monkey faunus flowed his previous high kick into a low sweep. This caught Seraphina off-guard enough that when she tried to jump it, she was caught at the ankle when she stood, sending her onto her back.
Grimacing from the impact for just a moment, Seraphina opened her eyes immediately to find Mori's heel heading for her head. Thinking fast, she rolled to the side, avoiding the flipping axe kick that would've ended the match and sliding to her feet in one slick move.
Wordlessly, Mori eyes locked onto hers, his eyes having never lost track of her during their last bout. He retook his stance as Seraphina began to charge once again.
Seraphina would end the session with several bruises despite her aura because, as it turns out, a full-power Mori is a scary thing to face.
-GoR-
Beacon Library
-Early Afternoon-
Beacon's Library was a wondrous facility. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were packed with books of all shapes and sizes. This was not to mention the bookshelves that permeated the library proper, creating a pleasant maze of literature. To break up the monotony of the book labyrinth, there were a set of circular tables in the dead center of the facility. At one of those tables sat a person of interest.
Face jammed in a book, with blonde hair as vibrant as ever, Yang Xiao-Long was a woman on a mission. The cover of the book would clue one into the contents being martial arts related as the punching man on the cover left little to the imagination. Book held between arms lacking their usual golden bracelets, Yang was fully engrossed in her choice of reading.
This was the sight one Bake Belladonna would find upon entering the Library, having exhausted every other conceivable place her partner could have been. There was clearly something wrong with the blonde if she was in the library…by choice, anyway.
"Hey, Yang?" She began, pulling up a chair next to the girl.
No response.
"Yang?" She attempted again, only to receive no response once again. Getting a little annoyed at being ignored, Blake didn't pick up on the irony of this particular situation.
Mentally preparing herself for the potential fallout of her actions, Blake decided on a way to get her friend's attention. Placing her finger on top of the book, Blake pushed it down onto the table, revealing Yang's face to her for the first time that day… as well as the frown that currently marred it.
"…yes?" Yang asked with a pointed look of annoyance towards her partner, who's stoic face hid her apprehension at Yang's expression well.
"I've been looking for you all day and you were holed up in the library this whole time? That's not like you…" Blake began, being careful not to set off the obviously volatile Yang.
"Well, you know. Maybe I'm trying to make a small change for the better." Yang said, her frown growing a little deeper as Blake's joke failed to lighten her mood. "Now if you'll excuse me." She said, going to lift her book once again.
"Actually," Blake said, making sure to hold down the book so Yang couldn't lift it. "That isn't all. You've been acting weird all week. Ever since the day after the breach, you've been around less and less and haven't smiled once. We're all worried about you." Blake said, her words doing little to change the sour expression on Yang's face.
"Oh, well you can tell everyone not to worry then because I'm perfectly fine." Yang said as she stood up, wrenching the book from under Blake's hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me." Yang said, annunciating her point as she walked towards the counter. Presumably with the intention of checking out her book.
Internally panicking a little at the sight of her partner's retreating back, Blake quickly scoured her memory for something that might've signaled this change. Blake was about to give up when she remembered something from when they were sitting around the campfire.
"Is this related to why you lied about wanting to be a huntress?" Blake asked, causing Yang to freeze mid-step.
"Blake-" She began.
"You know, Ruby began talking about it once. When she realized you might not want it known, she stopped but she got far enough. You're looking for someone, right?" Blake asked, noticing the visible frustration that began to overtake Yang.
"Blake, I'm warning you." Yang said, stepping closer to her teammate.
"Look, there are other ways to go about this…" Blake said, standing stalwartly in contrast to her slowly marching partner.
"No. There. Isn't. This is something that I have to do myself." Yang emphasized, now standing face-to-face with Blake.
"Just like how I felt like I needed to handle the White Fang all by myself?" Blake countered.
"This is completely different!" Yang responded defiantly.
"How." Blake said, her question sounding more like a demand.
"Because this is my…!" Yang said, eyes widening upon realizing what she was about to shout out. Yang's guard slightly relaxed and her frown subsided to a neutral face as she took a deep breath. "Alright, you win. I'll tell you, but not here. Follow me." Yang said as she made her way to the counter to check out her book.
Neither Yang nor Blake could suppress the shiver upon seeing the angry look planted firmly on the librarians face, however.
Neither of them would ever yell in the library again. Never.
-GoR-
-Ten Minutes After Blake and Yang's Departure-
"What game are we gonna play?" Mori asked, carrying a medium sized box into the library.
"You'll see, it's a game of conquest and capture. One that never gets boring because of how many different ways there are to play." Seraphina hinted with a small smile at what was to come.
Seraphina and Mori had concluded Seraphina's portion of their training sessions earlier that morning. Mori, of course, came out the victor of their spar. The event left Seraphina with a few purple bruises that her aura made short work of. She was still left with a thin white bandage on her cheek from it, however, as a stray stone cut her semi-deeply.
Being back in the school, the two had showered and gotten dressed in more casual clothing. Mori wore a variation of this standard outfit. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with black sleeves, paired with blue well-fitted jeans. He now covered his feet with a pair of casual white sneakers and had on his signature sleeping mask.
Seraphina had decided to dress a little more intricately than usual. She now donned a white shirt beneath a pink solid collar double breasted trench coat. Her shirt was neatly tucked inter her fashionably torn jeans, held securely by a fancy-looking belt. She finished her outfit with a pair of black flats. Finally, the newest addition to her wardrobe was her hair. Seraphina had ventured out into Vale and visited the same parlor she'd had her hair cut at. This time, she requested that they put neon green highlights in her hair, and they agreed. Thus, her hair (minus her cat ears) had a partial neon green tone. In addition to this, Seraphina invested in extensions that matched her hair, giving her the appearance of having long hair again, but these only came down to her shoulder blades, and came with the advantage of being removable in a combat situation.
"This looks like a good enough place." Mori said, placing down the box at a smaller table with a view from a nearby window.
"It better be, we're gonna be here for a little while." Seraphina said as she opened the box and began to place the pieces on the table. "Actually, it might be better if we lowered the table a little." She said as she bent under the table to adjust the height. Once she felt it was good enough, she stood back up and resumed assembling the game.
"So, you still haven't told me what this game is called." Mori pointed out as he watched her set up two small pots on opposite sides of a large 9x9 gridded board.
"Oh, my bad. This game is called Go, and it's going to be the way we help train your strategy." Seraphina revealed as she chose a side. "Go ahead and sit and I'll teach you how to play." She invited with a wave towards the other chair.
They had decided that Mori's portion of the training would be better spent refining his strategic mind. Mori was very physically strong. Combo that with his semblance for mobility and his skill with the staff and he was a veritable powerhouse. This was his greatest strength as well as his greatest weakness. While it is his greatest strength for obvious reasons, his overwhelming strength often left him without a need for strategy. This has worked thus far, as he has yet to run into an opponent that uses more than brute strength, but the day would come. Thus Seraphina had decided to use Go, one of the most strategic board games ever created.
"How hard could it be? I'll get a game off you by the end of the day." Mori proudly proclaimed while Seraphina could only smile with a glint in her eye at Mori's blissful ignorance.
He'd be feasting on those words by the time she was done with him. And, for the record, this had nothing to do with her repeated losses that morning. Nope, none at all.
-GoR-
With Blake and Yang
Blake had been following Yang for about ten minutes now, neither saying a word the entire time. Blake was taking the time to curb her expectations of what Yang might say, as she truly had no idea what to expect. The slow pace at which Yang was guiding her led her to believe that Yang was in a similar situation, just opposite.
Blake would prove to be completely correct, although she would never know it, as the short walk for Yang was the beginning of a cathartic experience. The walk felt like the beginning of something big. She could feel it. Doubt creeped up on her, but her mind pushed it away almost completely before she became conscious of it. The doubts of Blake still being there when she finished her explanation lingered ever slightly, but a small shake of her head cleared them.
She needed to do this.
Arriving at the roof of the main school building signaled the end of their journey, as Yang walked up to the railing overlooking the courtyard and leaned on it. Turning her head to the side, so she wasn't facing Blake, Yang began the discussion.
"It all started back when I was born. Cliché, I know." Yang remarked sardonically, receiving no response to her small joke, she continued. "My mother and father were not really happy together, from what I could gather and remember. This culminated in her leaving a year after I was born, without leaving a trace." She said, pausing slightly as her fists clenched at that particular part.
"But pretty soon, a much better suited woman entered the picture. Enter Summer Rose, Ruby's mother." Yang clarified. "Summer was an amazing woman. She was warm, kind, loved me like her own and raised me. All things that my birth mother could never lay claim to." Yang commented bitterly. "This would all change when Summer died, however. Dad was despondent for weeks and Ruby couldn't really comprehend what was going on. I was looking for an escape, so I gave myself a goal to distract myself. To find Raven Branwen, my mother." Yang said, pausing for a little before continuing once again.
"With that goal in mind and no adult to stop me, I loaded Ruby up into a wagon and set out to a nearby location where my mother had taken a picture. Naively, I thought that there would be some clue to her whereabouts there. I was wrong. Very wrong." Yang said as she bit her lip briefly before continuing.
"Upon arriving, I was disappointed because anything of value there seemed to have been lost to time or grimm, leaving nothing behind. As I prepared to head back, there was a series of small problems that were much bigger for a defenseless child. Those being a pack of beowolves that wanted nothing more than to see me and my defenseless, sleeping baby sister in pieces. Before I could move, they began to charge towards Ruby. There was nothing I could do." Yang said as her hands clenched and her jaw locked. Flexing her jaw a little, she continued after a short pause.
"But then, a black object came barreling out of the surrounding forest and made quick work of the grimm, killing them faster than I could say anything. That black figure turned out to be our uncle Qrow, my mother's sister and Ruby's scythe teacher. He saved us and brought us home without a word outside of making sure we were alright. On the bright side, the shock brought Dad back to the real world and he began to care for us and himself again. But I couldn't let that kind of thing happen again, not to Ruby. Not to anyone. Thus, I swore that I would find my mother all on my own." Yang finally concluded, looking at Blake with a cold fire burning within her blue eyes.
Taking a moment to find the proper words to respond with, Blake made her only question known. "But why did you only start acting like this now? What happened to you after the breach?" She asked calmy, not expecting the frown that appeared on Yang's face nor the reddening of her irises.
"Raven Branwen called me out to meet her." Yang said, earning a gasp of shock from Blake. Yang began to recall the event, getting lost in the memory as she recalled every word said that night.
Flashback
-One Week Ago-
"We have a lot to discuss, Yang."
"Yeah, let me start. Why did you abandon us? Why did you abandon me?" Yang asked, anger causing her to burst out with most her burning question immediately.
"The short answer? You were weak. Plain and simple." Raven said, not even batting an eyelash at the shock that crossed Yang's features.
"I was a baby!" She said incredulously at the absurd answer.
"Yes, you were. And yet your weakness has remained." Raven coolly stated, striking Yang a lot deeper than she may have realized.
"What do you know about my strength? You've never even been there to see it much less experience it!" Yang shot back ferociously.
"Foolish child. My physical absence had no bearing on my ability to watch your growth. I've always had an eye on you. Always." Raven repeated. Any warmth that the statement may have had being completely negated by Raven's apathetic tone.
"Wait… so on the train…?" Yang questioned, getting a nod in return.
"I watched as you were easily and carefully dismantled by one of Roman's underlings, a weak one at that, quite disappointing." She said with a slight sigh at the memory. "But what wasn't disappointing was your monkey faunus friend. He had the strength, speed, and will that I long expected of you. He will certainly be someone to keep my eye on, Ozpin better be careful before I take him for myself." She said with a sinister grin briefly crossing her face.
Yang didn't see this grin, however, as she was currently deeply wrapped in her thoughts. 'Monkey? She must mean Mori. Mori is as strong as I need to be? He managed to get her attention without trying but not… me?' Yang thought as her mind sank into a spiral of sadness tinged with more than a little jealousy.
"Anyways, we're getting off topic." Raven said, pulling Yang out of her self-deprecating spiral. "I came to tell you that you should get as far away as you can before the Vytal Festival. This place is going to experience something that even I won't want to protect you from." Raven said cryptically before slicing a black and red portal open with her sword. "Be sure to get stronger before we meet again, it won't do if you disappoint mother dearest again after all." Raven said before stepping into her portal, disappearing before Yang could even say anything.
That was supposing Yang could even walk, much less speak. As she crumbled to her knees, she proved to not even be able to stand either as one thought swirled in her mind.
'I'm not strong enough. I'm not…enough'
A single tear accompanied this thought, ending Yang's first real meeting with her goal.
Flashback End
"Yang…" Blake started as Yang finished her tale.
"No, it's alright Blake. Raven was right, I'm just not strong enough yet. After all, what have I really done on my own since coming to Beacon? Or even before?" Yang asked rapidly.
"I don't think that-"
"I'm weak, Blake!" Yang yelled out, interrupting Blake. "I lost to Mori at the beginning of the year in a no holds barred spar and I lost on the train to that short criminal! The only two real fights I've been in on my own and I lost!" Yang continued to shout as tears began to fall from her eyes. "To make matters worse, Raven is more interested in the guy that beat me and saved me than me, her own daughter!" Yang peaked as her tears began to flow freely. She was now only a couple steps from Blake as she moved with each shout.
Yang was surprised to feel a heat around her as her vision became obscured by her tears. It took her a second to register that Blake was hugging her. The most reclusive, physical-contact-avoiding member of her team was hugging her of her own volition.
"Yang, you never let me speak." Blake pointed out, as she hugged her friend. "First of all, you're not weak. You're one of the strongest people on this campus and are going to get much stronger by the time we graduate. You're only 17 after all, you're not even an adult." Blake pointed out. "Second of all, don't worry about your mom being interested in Mori. From what it sounds like, she has nothing, but nefarious things planned for him, so if anything he's going to need our help soon." She reasoned. "And last but certainly not least, I'm going to help you." She declared, getting nothing but a confused grunt from the still upset blonde.
"I said, I'm going to help you find your mother and I'm going to punch her." Blake declared.
….
…
It took a couple seconds before what Blake said registered, causing Yang to laugh uncontrollably as her tears abated. Yang backed out of the embrace to hold her stomach as she let out a joyous laugh that was bright enough to make up for the last week of gloom.
Blake could only look on owlishly as her friend bellowed out in happiness at her declaration. "I was being serious, you know." She said in her usual deadpan.
This seemed to have the opposite effect as Yang began to laugh even harder before running out of air and being forced to catch her breath.
"Ha…Ha… don't worry, Blake. I hear you loud and clear. It was just really funny thinking of you trying to cheer someone up by saying you're going to deck their mom." She explained with a grin on her face, spreading a small smile to Blake's face as well. "About what you said though… Thank you. Seriously, thank you." Yang said as she re-engaged the embrace.
The sudden move shocked Blake a little, but she quickly recovered and returned the gesture with only one thing being said and a strong sense of Déjà vu.
"What are friends for?"
-GoR-
Beacon Library
-Evening-
"wanna go again?" Seraphina asked innocently, delighting in the frustrated look that crossed Mori's face as he prepared to challenge her once again.
They had been playing Go for the last few hours and Mori had yet to win a match. The small black and white pieces seemed to all be against him as Seraphina's intricate patterns overtook hit time and time again.
Clearing the pieces off the board, they prepared to start again but were interrupted by the sound of Seraphina's stomach growling in a most-unladylike manner.
"I guess we can call it for today, you're probably tired of losing too, huh?" She asked with a smirk that turned into laughter at the pout that her partner gave her.
"It's not that funny! I'll definitely get you back tomorrow!" Mori shouted in a hushed tone, wary of the terrifyingly vigilant librarian.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go eat and come back for this later." Seraphina said as she stood from the table, leaving the now repacked board game on the table. She then turned and walked out of the library with a joyful spring in her step as her far sullener partner followed behind.
"Hey, cheer up already. The rest of the week is gonna be really boring if you spend the rest of it sulking every time you lose." Seraphina admonished as they approached the cafeteria. Seraphina was gonna continue teasing Mori when she accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry, I wasn't…looking where I was going…" Seraphina said slowly as she locked eyes with the person she ran into.
"John…" Seraphina said slowly as her brain moved a mile a minute.
"Hello, traitor. Why are you here? When you didn't go to Atlas Academy, I assumed you just ran away." John said with a sneer.
Mori, who snapped out of his saddened state, was sizing up the guy who stood before them. John, as Seraphina called him, was a boy of equal height to Mori. The boy had messy, black hair that looked like it had avoided a comb for a good amount of time. He had a set of piercing amber eyes that were accentuated by the dark bags that hung under his eyes. He was dressed in a modified version of the Atlas boys' uniform, forgoing the gloves and gray vest. This left him clad in a partially tucked, white dress shirt, a gray tie, and a pair of white dress pants. None of this mattered to Mori at the moment, however, the only thing that mattered to him was the dangerous vibe this guy was giving off.
"look, John. I was just headed to the cafeteria with my teammate so if you'll excuse us." Seraphina tried as she began to walk past him.
"Wait." John commanded as he roughly grabbed her right wrist, preventing her from proceeding. "I wasn't done talking yet." John said as he squeezed, expecting Seraphina to crumble like all of the other garbage he'd done this to. To his surprise, all he got was a withering glare from Seraphina.
"I'm only going to say this once. Let. Go." Seraphina said as she began to gather her aura for a use of her semblance.
"Make me." John said as he tensed up for a fight.
"What's going on here!?" Commanded a powerful voice from down the hall. Seraphina stopped gathering her aura as she turned to look at the originator of the voice and John just clicked his teeth and released the girl.
The originator of the voice was none other James Ironwood, the leader of the greatest military on remnant as well as the headmaster of Atlas Academy. Ironwood was walking towards them, flanked by Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin.
"Nothing, sir. Just saying hello to an 'old friend'" John said, the meaning of which only being caught by the students present.
"Really? Well, it's nice to meet you two. I am James Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas Academy. I hope to see you fight in the Vytal Festival next week. For now, though, if you could take your reunion elsewhere that would be great because blocking the entrance to the cafeteria is not ideal." Ironwood said, noting their location directly in front of the doors to the cafeteria.
"That's alright. I was just leaving. See you around, Sera." John said, causing Seraphina's eye to do an almost imperceptible tick of annoyance as he walked away.
"Yeah, you too. I hope we meet again at the Vytal Festival." She responded coolly, despite the tense atmosphere.
"Well, we should be off as well. It was nice meeting you both, Seraphina, Mori." Ironwood said as he began to walk away with Goodwitch and Ozpin in tow.
Ozpin stopped briefly next to Mori and whispered something that only they could hear before tapping his cane once and continuing to walk with his associates.
With what Ozpin just told him in mind, Mori turned to his partner to find her with a hard expression on her face, presumably thinking about what just happened. "Seraphina, you alright?" He asked, seemingly snapping her out of her thoughts as her face returned to a neutral state.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I just didn't expect to see that guy until the festival, but I guess fate has a funny way of playing with us." She said, shrugging as she continued into the cafeteria.
As she walked away, Mori stared at her back as he pondered Ozpin's words to him before he walked away.
Sometimes it's better to not get involved.
-GoR-
After delivering his message to the young faunus, Ozpin fell back into step with his associates before turning to the general. "James was that-".
"Yes." He responded solemnly. "That was John Doe, the problem child." He clarified as Glynda pushed her glasses up before continuing where he left off.
"John Doe, below average grades, immense combat power, but an attitude bad enough that he's only kept in school for the hope of harnessing his abilities for good." Glynda listed off from the description Ironwood had given them earlier.
"It was listed in his student profile that he had a particularly poor relationship with a student called Seraphina, but I never would have imagined they'd meet here…" Ironwood said, considering how best to handle the situation.
"I believe the best course of action is to leave them be." Ozpin said, earning looks of shock from his two companions.
"With all due respect, have you lost your mind? We allowed the situation with Team CRDL to work itself out and that barely worked out due to them sabotaging their own trap. But you want to leave a delicate issue like this to the students once again?" Glynda questioned incredulously, shocked at the laissez faire attitude Ozpin chose to take.
"I must agree with Glynda here, Ozpin. While John follows orders for the most part and hasn't caused any major issues since coming to Atlas; we simply can't predict how this event will cause him to act." Ironwood attempted to reason to the man who had begun calmy drinking his coffee.
Finishing his drink and sighing in contentment, Ozpin turned and addressed his worried allies. "Now, now. You two are giving our students far less credit than they deserve. The issue with Team CRDL was a tragic one and ended up costing them their right to compete in the Vytal Festival. The solution to that issue had more to do with our students than you may think, Glynda." Ozpin said cryptically as he gained a small smile. "As for you, James. You give my students less credit than they deserve. In the event that Mr. Doe decides to take matters into his own hands, I'd be more worried for his safety than my students'." He warned with his smile taking on a mirthful quality.
"Now then, shall we proceed to my office? Qrow should be there by now and I'm sure he has a wonderful explanation for why he got into a fight with your second-in-command." Ozpin said with amusement in his voice as he plotted course for his office.
-GoR-
"Are you sure this is wise, my lady?" Emerald reluctantly asked her superior.
"I understand your concerns but rest assured; this is all apart of the plan." Cinder assuaged.
Currently, Cinder and her team were in their assigned dorm with a table between the entire team, with a projected screen placed between them. Cinder and her usual two underlings were present, but they had a new addition with them.
The new girl was a petite woman of a height even shorter than Ruby. She had black hair with light streaks in it that was pulled up into twin tails and a pair of shining green eyes. She was dressed in an outfit with a black and white color scheme. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar and a black ribbon bow hanging from the front of the collar. The blouse exposed her midriff, and she wore medium-length black armbands on both of her wrists. Along with the blouse, she wore a knee-length skirt fastened with a white belt.
Although her aesthetic is completely different, this woman is actually Neopolitan. The very same Neopolitan that fought Yang on the train, and she was brought in for her expertise in espionage and… Assassination.
"So, to summarize and also so I can comprehend how insane this sounds. One, we had our little friend here," Mercury gestured towards Neo ", break in and spring Torchwick."
"Right. This has already been done." Cinder confirmed.
"Second, we use the access you gained by raiding the CCT earlier to manipulate the bracket of the Vytal Festival. This all makes sense to me so far." Mercury clarifies. "This is the part that makes no sense, though. Three, we don't participate in the Vytal Festival but covertly take down the teams we have no interest in before the tournament?" He asked incredulously. His questioning gained him a small smile from Cinder and an ice-cold glare from Emerald. Neo just sat there; a mirthful smile plastered on her face that seemed immovable.
"Yes, we're going to… cleanse the pool of participants a little in order to hurry along the events that we want to see." Cinder explained cryptically.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Mercury asked, reasonably confused at the shady explanation.
"Don't worry about it, just focus on getting the bracket to look similarly to what is on the screen now." Cinder said, having the teams to be eliminated colored in red.
"One more question." Mercury proposed.
"Let's hear it, I'd prefer as little confusion as possible." Cinder said.
"Why are these two names in gold?" Mercury asked, pointing to two seemingly random names, one of which is seemingly only special due to its uniqueness.
"Those are just a few subjects of particular interest that we've been advised to keep our eyes on for… various reasons." Cinder explained. "No matter, if you all understand your assignments, then start immediately. We only have a week to get this done, then we can move onto the next stage of the plan." She concluded with a tone of finality, dispelling the projection.
Mercury still had one question that he decided not to voice, however.
'What's so special about Ilpyo Park and Pyrrha Nikos?'
-GoR-
Ozpin's Office
Arriving at Ozpin's office had proved to be more of an…exciting experience than any of the trio had expected. Before the elevator doors even opened, all present had a feeling that they were going to find something odd.
Odd was certainly the word to describe the sight of Qrow sitting in Ozpin's chair, feet kicked up on Ozpin's desk, taking the occasional (read as frequent) swigs from his flask.
…
After a swift use of Glynda's semblance as a greeting and a reluctantly mumbled apology, the quartet settled down to discuss the purpose of this meeting.
"Salem is beginning to move." Qrow began suddenly.
Those few words seemed to set the entire room on edge as the tense atmosphere became so thick that saying you could cut it with a knife was a gross understatement.
"Tell us what you know, Qrow." Ozpin ordered in a tone reserved for when that particular name was brought up in conversation.
"I wasn't able to get much before being spotted, but I do know one thing. Salem is making her move and I believe she's targeting the maidens." Qrow said, further shocking the occupants of the room. Ozpin only narrowed his eyes at the revelation.
"But that would mean-" Glynda began.
"Yes. That would mean that she's going to send someone or something here to collect the rest of the fall maiden's powers." Ozpin concluded as a pregnant silence fell over the group.
"There is hope, however. Right, Oz?" Qrow asked his closest confidante.
"…Yes, there may still be a way. Glynda, please send for Ms. Pyrrha Nikos, and tell her it is of the utmost importance that she come here alone." Ozpin ordered in a more sedated tone.
"As you wish, sir. I assume I will get an explanation while she's on her way here?" She asked receiving a nod as her answer.
With no further concerns, Glynda sent the message and Pyrrha was in the office within minutes. Not at all prepared for the news she was about to receive.
-GoR-
-The Next Evening-
"Are you alright?" Mori asked his partner amidst their second bout of Go playing.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Seraphina asked in return, a quizzical expression on her face.
"You just went three times in a row." Mori pointed out, causing Seraphina's eyes to widen in disbelief.
The boy was right, she had just placed three of her white pieces before Mori placed even a single one of his black ones.
"…This game doesn't count-"
"Seraphina." Mori interrupted. "What's really going on with you?" He asked directly.
"Look, it's really nothing. How about we just get back to the game?" She tried, as she collected the pieces from the board.
"Is this about that guy from yesterday?" Mori asked, causing Seraphina to drop the pebbles she had collected.
Her now-multicolored hair shielded her eyes from Mori's view as she took a deep breath. "Yeah, he was someone who I knew I'd see eventually. Seeing him yesterday proved to me that I didn't and still don't know what I'd do when that happened." Seraphina confessed.
"An ex-boyfriend?" Mori asked.
"No way. Why would you ever think that-" Seraphina began but cut herself off as she considered how it looked. The nickname, the lack of hesitation for physical contact, her never talking about him. They totally did look like a broken-up couple.
"Okay, I can see how you'd think that, but no. His name is John Doe, and he was basically my only real friend before I met you." Seraphina explained.
"But then how did you go from the best of friends to… this?" Mori asked, needing details before he weighed in on the situation.
"To put it simply, he hid something from me for a long time. That something was major enough that it destroyed the lives of several people, and when I found out, he began to change. This all culminated into a huge verbal argument that resulted in me leaving and never looking back after graduation. I think John took that harder than anything, though, which is why he calls me 'traitor'." Seraphina explained, her expression becoming more downcast as the explanation wore on.
"Tell me, Mori." She pleaded. "What would you have done? What would you do in this situation?" She asked, sounding genuinely unsure of herself.
Mori for his part, sat across from her in a thinking pose. His hand was planted on his chin as he weighed his options. He knew exactly what he would do, but should he tell her? Ozpin's warning kept coming up in his mind every time he thought of saying something, however.
Sometimes it's better to not get involved
…
…
This time was not one of those times.
"what would I do?" Mori parroted back to her. "isn't that obvious?" He asked with an innocent expression on his face that morphed into a grin upon uttering his next words. "You've just gotta knock some sense into him until he apologizes, right?" Mori asked.
Upon processing Mori's words, Seraphina's eyes widened as she thought about what he said. Her eyes returned to normal and her mouth formed into a small smile as she thought about it for a little, however. 'That's definitely a Mori Jin answer.' She thought as she composed herself and picked up a Go piece from her pot.
Silently placing her piece, Mori followed suit. Neither uttered a word for several minutes as the area was filled with the melodic sounds of marble impacting wood.
Both understood that no thanking nor apologies were needed, as having each other's backs had become a given.
Chapter 11 End
AN: Here we are at the end of another chapter of The God of Remnant and the first one of 2021! I was excited to write this chapter but also unsure of what to fill it with for the longest time, hence the (Sorta) long break. I don't think this is the longest I've taken to update, but man it feels good to write this again.
About the story: I really wanted to have a chapter taking place between the breach and the Vytal Festival because I felt like some things needed to happen. The show just kind of jumped straight from the breach into the first rounds of the Vytal Festival, but I think they missed some important chances for character development.
For one, they completely destroyed Yang's chance to confront her insecurities. Yang's character can more or less be boiled down to her insecurities and the things she does to cover them up. The show would address this in later volumes when Yang confronts Raven at her camp but then what was the point of the volume 2 post credits scene? Who knows? I changed it a little to my liking and to fit the story, so I digress.
Secondly, we saw the introduction of one of the villains of Seraphina's character arc, John. In the story of Unordinary, John is a pretty messed up guy. He hides it well for most of the series, but as of the writing of this, man is off the chain. Their personal bout coming to a head is going to be one of the highlights of the Vytal Festival, so look forward to that.
Finally, I glazed over elements of the story that are consistent with cannon in order to spare you guys the details that you're already aware of. Ironwood taking over security for the festival, Winter's whereabouts after meeting Qrow and such are those kinds of things. Less obvious things like Torchwick's escape from prison are things that I'll reference in passing so you guys don't get confused by minor things suddenly becoming major plot points.
With that, it's good to be back and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of The God of Remnant.
Sidenote: Glynda sounded so much like a pokédex when describing John that it was really hard not to crack a joke there…