Main theme: Death Hymn by Lucas King
Arc theme: Rise from the Destiny 2 soundtrack
Theme: Deep Stone Lullaby from the Destiny 2: Beyond Light soundtrack
"It's aura transference technology."
Ozpin looked up from his desk and the dozens upon dozens of reports and papers and whatnot that littered his desk like bad rubbish, and gave the glowing blue holographic projection of his long time friend and ally, General James Ironwood, a curious glance, "What do you mean?"
"The specs on the Cult's technology that you sent back? The devices that supposedly allowed them to mass teleport out of the Emerald Forest? I had Doctor Pietro inspect it, and he confirmed that, in essence, it's aura transference technology. The same kind of technology that we're using to keep Amber alive for the next Fall Maiden to take her place," Ironwood replied as he had his arms folded behind his back, his posture as formal as ever, but Ozpin could tell that he was barely keeping his professionalism together.
Everything that had happened today was just... Was just too much.
To Ozpin's side, Glynda Goodwitch, his most trusted ally and right hand woman, looked at him inquisitively, and went, "How is that possible? Did we not already do everything in our power to keep that technology hidden from the public?"
"Clearly not, Miss Goodwitch, otherwise this technology would not exist," Ironwood retorted with. The stress was getting to him, otherwise he would not be so sarcastic with them. Something had happened in Atlas. Something more than just a security breach, "He's only done a preliminary sweep as of now, but Pietro has explained to me that whatever this cult are using for their mass teleports, it's piggybacking off of the already existing technology. According to him, each device is a remote signal that can be linked to a specific person's aura. Once that aura is transferred into the device, it allows that person to activate their semblance and spread it out across every device linked to it. And since the Cult's leader, according to Miss Rose, has a teleportation semblance-"
"It would allow her to teleport everyone in the Emerald Forest to anywhere at will," Glynda finished for him, cursing to herself as she then said, "If that's true, then that woman could teleport an entire army onto Beacon's grounds at will, and we would not be able to do a thing about it."
"Fully aware," Ironwood sighed out, "It's bad."
Glynda glared at him with such power that she might've killed Salem herself with it, "Bad, James? It's not bad, it's apocalyptic! That woman can jump to anywhere in the world, and has an army at her call! And if we're right, then she not only has agents in Atlas, but in every single system of government in every single kingdom! We are not talking about a meagre gathering of bandits, we are talking about an entire empire in hiding!"
"I get it, Glynda!" Ironwood shot back with impatiently, before letting out a deep breath, and recomposing himself to the best that he could, "I apologise for the outburst," he told them, "And I already have my Ace-Ops, as well as my most trusted allies in Atlas, performing sweeps and checks on every rung of Atlas' society and military, including the CCT network. We'll do our best to weed out the Cult's agents on our end, but there are already reports of rising Grimm attacks on our frontier settlements, as well as movement from what we must assume to be Cult-friendly agents and groups out there as well. And with the rise in Grimm breaches through Mantle's walls and into the city, I'm afraid that I already have my hands full, on top of everything else."
Ozpin caught onto that last part, "'Everything else', James?"
The general let out a sigh, "Ozpin... It wasn't just Beacon that was attacked. I only learnt about it when I was too late to do anything, but..." he let out a shaky breath, "Atlas' initiation was attacked too. As was Shade's and Haven's as well. I believe only Beacon Academy was the only one who could repel them before they did anymore damage."
Ozpin's eyes widened, and Glynda put her hand to her mouth. It was Ozpin who then replied with, "Why wasn't I informed about this sooner?"
Ironwood looked at him with a pitying glance, "Ozpin... Even I know that the councils refuse to trust you, now. Not after that what was said on the radio. They must've hidden it from you because of what happened. And besides, it's not like they don't have their own issues to deal with, anyways."
Ozpin couldn't help but wince at that. That was... That was unfortunately true.
Everything was falling apart.
Ever since the Cult's transmission earlier in the day, including his recorded... Confession, as well as the dozens of documents and files and videos that they had released as well, things had begun to break apart within all of the kingdoms. Riots were beginning to break out across every major city, from Argus to Wind Path, and mass protests and demonstrations against every one of the kingdom councils were taking place everywhere on Remnant. There were reportedly mass pull-outs from the SDC as their stocks had begun to completely collapse, leaving the SDC possibly sinking into bankruptcy as the global dust trade began to collapse in on itself, and from what he had seen on the CCTnet, there were entire families of people that were planning on just hording as much dust as they could and hunkering down to weather out the storm. Across Remnant, there were hordes of people that were heading into their shops and panic buying as much as they could, leading to global shortages of, well, just about everything as the kingdoms began to fracture and break apart.
The councils would need to start rationing as much as they could if they weren't before. However, that would be hard considering that, thanks to the revelations of the corruption within Mistrals council, no one trusted said governmental bodies anymore. And since no one trusted the councils, no one trusted their enforcers, ergo the police forces, which then let to more rioting, and thereby an increase in crime, not helped at all by groups like the White Fang and the Human Liberation Front using the information leaked out by the Cult for their propaganda campaigns, with both sides pulling in new recruits and committing newer, even more daring attacks against their targets as a rising number of White Fang sympathisers, both Faunus and human, began to helped the Fang commit even more terrorist attacks in Mantle, the SDC, and even Atlas itself.
And that wasn't even going into the actions of the settlements out in the Frontier. Thanks to the feudal nature of the settlements out in the wildlands, many of them began to battle and fight against each other, going even more tribal than ever before as they drew each other's blood and scoured the world around them for their resources, which were sometimes just destroyed in the fighting, and left out for bandits and raiders to steal away into the night as the fighting only continued to escalate further and further and further...
Thereby drawing in the Grimm.
All across the world, Grimm attacks were beginning to grow in size and strength, threatening to overrun entire settlements as they grew fat from the negativity flowing out across the entire world. Entire settlements were swarmed and overtaken by the monsters of darkness as the kingdoms continued to fall apart at the seems. People were slaughtered wholesale by the Grimm as they continued to fight amongst themselves, warring and sparring for this and that in an increasingly violent world.
But then...
They were saved.
By entirely the wrong people.
Entire groups of people, either Cultists themselves or people allied to them, began to intervene in these attacks and defend the settlements from these vast Grimm armies. Whole battles took place out in the Frontier between the Grimm and the Cult of Silver and their allies.
And each and every time, the Cult would drive them back.
Ozpin was seeing the recordings being sent out by the Cult after the attacks, as part of their giant propaganda campaign. None of the Grimm attacks were staged. They were all natural consequences of the swelling amounts of negativity spreading across the world. And each and every time, the Cult would drive them back. Hell, the Cult even sustained casualties themselves, ranging from the minimal to almost all of their forces, making their stands seem all the more genuine.
Was the Cult so fanatically devoted to their cause that they would willingly sacrifice their own lives in the droves, just to create an entirely false image?
Apparently so.
And it was working.
Even if they knew about what the Cult of Silver did out in the Emerald Forest, many of the settlements out in the Frontier were beginning to show support for the Cult. There were even entire settlements out in the wildlands that publicly pledged their support for the Cult of Silver, turning themselves into monasteries and beacon towns for the group to organise and base themselves. Ozpin was already assembling teams of Huntsmen to assault and raid these settlements for any information that they might have on the Cult. However, those teams were most likely going to meet stiff resistance just getting there, thanks to the swift movements of the Grimm out in the wildlands, and the swifter militarisation of the settlements against them as well.
And even then, finding the support and manpower to actually make those teams was becoming increasingly difficult on top of that.
The Huntsman system, as fragile as it was, was beginning to splinter apart as well. Entire teams were turning tribal and going out on their own instead of listening to the headmasters or the councils, choosing to fight for themselves instead of the people of Remnant. In fact, it was these teams, as well as entire scores of people from Atlas, that were being poached and stolen away by Providence, the massive private military megacorporation that were now recruiting even the police forces of the kingdoms themselves to work for them. Already, Ozpin had received reports and letters of resignation from dozens of Huntsman teams, with almost all of them signing up for Providence, whilst Ozpin also received dozens of letters from parents and families, demanding that their children be removed from his care, or that they were just pulling their children out of Beacon, for their safety.
All of this could've been avoided if Ozpin had the tools needed to make it happen, but unfortunately, his entire reputation had been sunk into the ground.
The council was angry at him, the people were angry at him, even a lot of his own Huntsmen were angry at him, with so many of them demanding his resignation from office. Unfortunately for the council, they had a million other problems to deal with at the moment, and at the moment, they didn't have the time to look over these demands, or even freeze Ozpin's credentials and put him on ice, thanks to all of the rioting and the Grimm attacks and the dozens of investigations into their own political lives, so for now, Ozpin was safe.
Or as safe as he could be, considering that there were now dozens of investigations on him as well. As of now, he was just headmaster in name only. He no longer held any power outside of those whom trusted him. Luckily, he himself had completely designed the councils and the Huntsman system in one of his previous incarnations, and had created dozens of backdoors and loopholes that only he knew about, so that he could use to pull himself out of trouble if the time came to it.
But unfortunately, he couldn't do that right now. He was effectively on trial in the eyes of the public, thanks to his leaked confirmation of Salem and his secret war, and if he started to exploit loopholes and legal backdoors, that would make him look untrustworthy in the eyes of the public. He needed to play this by the book, otherwise he would never be able to gain their trust again.
The Cult had accomplished in 5 hours, what Salem had been trying to accomplish for 5000 years.
Everything that he had ever built was falling to pieces. The kingdoms were coming apart, everyone was even more divided than before, and there was no doubt that Salem wouldn't use this all to her advantage. Her, the Cult, or some other player on the board.
Everything was falling apart and he didn't know how to solve it.
"Thank you, James, for this news. This will be..." it took Ozpin longer than he would've liked to find his words, "Useful, to us," he finally finished with, "But in the meantime, we must be ready for any moves that Salem and her allies might make against us. There is no doubt that she is already attempting to destroy everything else that we have worked to build. Remain ever vigilant."
That was his way of saying that this conversation was over.
Ironwood looked like he was about to say something else, but Ozpin just cut him off with, "That'll be all, James... Good night, to you."
There was a long pause- Too long for Ozpin to like- But Ironwood then gave a solemn nod, and said, "And to you too, Ozpin, Miss Goodwitch," and with a flicker, he was gone.
Ozpin got out of his feet and walked to the edge of his office, staring out long and hard at the city of Vale through his windows, against the chiming of the clocks and gears around him. In the distance, the city of Vale was lit in white and yellow and orange, but not all of it was street lamps.
Just another symbol of his failures.
He had made more mistakes than any man or woman alive...
This was one of them.
…
…
…
…
He had to look to the future.
He had to fix all of this. He had to repair his reputation. He had to reseal the gaps and repair the bonds of the kingdoms. He had to stop Salem, and he had to stop the Cult.
He had to fix everything. He would fix everything, and damn him if he didn't- If he couldn't.
He had to fix it all, and win this game, before all of his pieces were taken from him.
A girl who survived a possession.
A champion whom could summon a familiar.
A girl whom just unlocked a very special pair of eyes.
And then...
Jaune Arc.
Formerly 'Orion', apparently.
The boy whom wore a cloak like Summer.
And also the boy whom used Summer's semblance.
A strange conundrum indeed.
Behind him, Glynda walked up to where he was standing, and joined him in watching the world around them fall apart, right by his side as they stared out into the darkening, unforgiving world.
And then, in a tone of voice that surprised even him, Glynda asked, "Why is everything changing so much?"
Everything ran slower, and then froze. It was as if the world was put on pause, stilled for a cruel pair of gods to point and laugh and mock.
Ozpin's hands gripped around nothing. His cane was gone.
And then, his hand pressed against the glass.
"...I don't know."
It was the only reply that he could give.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
Jaune gave Nana a sincere look as they walked out of the hallways of Beacon, and out into the open. The world around them was dark, and lit by lamps and streetlights as they walked through the cold air of the dimming light, lit up in the distance by shades of artificial yellow and orange. Around them, the nightlights of Beacon began to close off as the various residents of Beacon's dorms closed their curtains and locked themselves in their rooms, too scared or too untrusting to come out into the world again. Bullheads continued to fly through the night time sky and ferry between the academy and the city below, cutting through the cloudy air like knives against the light of the shattered moon and the few stars visible through the holes in the clouds. The air around them was cold and wet. Had it been raining recently? That would explain the puddles on the floor.
He couldn't help but shrug at her, "I mean, I don't know. You're asking me how we can stop the Cult, and I don't-" he shrugged again, and threw his arms up into the air, "I don't know! I mean, I'm just, I wish that I could take them on- Hell, I wish I could take them on the Cult on my, well, on my own, but I just-"
As they looked over the cliff face at the edge of Beacon Academy, he just pointed down to the city below, with such a despondent look on his face.
"Look at this. Look at this all and tell me how the hell we're supposed to fix all of this."
Vale was alight with violence.
In the distance, mass riots and protests were tearing apart and dividing the city below. Great plumes of fire and smoke were rising up from the city's walls and streets as the kingdom continued to fold in on itself, becoming destitute and crippled by division. Bullheads were circling overhead like vultures and carrion birds, filled with people that either wanted to help, or just wanted to pick the bones for what was left as the world around them continued to fall apart at the seams.
Everything was coming apart and falling into darkness, and he didn't know what to do about it.
GODS... THIS CAN'T HAVE JUST BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY THE CULT'S BROADCAST ALONE... THE CULT MUST'VE HAD- MUST STILL HAVE- PEOPLE IN ALL FACETS OF LIFE, SPREADING AND WIDENING THE DIVISIONS FOR YEARS, BEFORE-
THEY GAVE IT THE FINAL PUSH... THE CULT MUST'VE BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR YEARS.
THIS IS THE CYCLE OF CIVILISATION. EVERY SOCIETY WILL RISE AND FALL, ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF CHANGE. THESE KINGDOMS THAT STAND NOW HAVE STOOD FOR AROUND A THOUSAND YEARS, AND IT HAS BEEN THE MOST FRAGILE SOCIETY ON REMNANT THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.
Really?
YES, REALLY. STUDY THE ENTIRETY OF THESE KINGDOMS, AND COMPARE IT TO WHAT THE CULT THEMSELVES HAVE SAID. WHILE THEY MIGHT BE FLAWED, YOU CAN'T DENY THAT THEY AREN'T WRONG WITH A LOT OF THE POINTS THAT THEY HAVE MADE. THE KINGDOMS ARE A COLLECTIVE SOCIETY CONSTANTLY ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR, AND THEIR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISENFRANCHISED FOR YEARS BY CULTURAL AND SOCIETAL DIVISIONS AND FRACTURES. THE ONLY THING THAT SURPRISES ME IS HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR THOSE DIVISIONS TO BOIL OVER.
WE CAN'T THINK LIKE THAT. I WILL ADMIT THAT THE WAY THAT THE CURRENT POWERBASES OF REMNANT ARE INCREDIBLY FLAWED AND IN NEED OF RENOVATION, YES, BUT THE KEY WORD IS REFORMATION, NOT REVOLUTION, AND CERTAINLY NOT A VIOLENT REVOLUTION. WE CAN'T JUST TEAR DOWN THE SYSTEM WHEN ALL THAT WE NEED TO DO IS HEAL IT. WE HAVE TO BE THE TREATMENT THAT CURES THE SICKNESS, NOT THE VIRUS THAT KILLS IT.
…Yeah... I can work with that last one.
"Are you having a conversation with the guys in your head, or something?"
Jaune blinked, and then looked to Nana next to him. Her face was shaded, yet also lit up by the streetlamps of Beacon nearby.
"You spaced out on me," she added onto her previous sentence with a tilt to the side.
Jaune winced, "Did I?" she gave a nod, "Sorry," he responded with, before looking to the other side of himself, and going, "And yeah, I... I guess that you can say that."
She blinked in turn, "What did they say?"
Jaune looked at her, curious as to why she wanted to know, but pushed it to the wayside as he paused, trying to find his words, and then said, "They... They said... They said that the Cult... Well, they aren't wrong in a lot of the points that they made, but... But what they're doing is wrong. The right thing to do is reform the system, not destroy it," another pause, and he looked at her, "We have to cure the sickness, not kill the patient."
"..."
"Yeah, that was a terrible analogy, I know."
HEY...
"..."
"...Nana?"
Nana looked away for a few seconds as her lips pursed for a word, "I mean, I... I get the sentiment, Jay, I really do... But..."
She looked at him, and gave him a sad, sincerely mournful look.
"Jay... Jaune… Sometimes it's not the sickness that kills you... It's the treatment."
"...What do you-"
{BOOM}
Jaune and Nana jumped in place, and looked behind themselves. Not too far away, a giant plume of ice shot up from the ground and sliced the air in twain as sheets of frosty air flowed from its very being.
Nana pulled out her twin pistols from their holsters, and pointed them towards the evidently escalating battle in the distance, "What the fuck!? Are we under attack?!"
"Goddammit," Jaune got out as he pulled his sword from his scarab and held in both hands, "I am really not in the mood for this-"
"Get away from me, Fang!"
"You stay away from me, Schnee!"
The 2 of them blinked, and then looked at each other as the voices echoed out across the courtyard.
"Isn't that..." Nana began, "Isn't that Weiss and Blake?"
"...Oh, for gods... Let get over there."
The 2 of them ran to the freshly made battleground, and found that they weren't the first ones to have gathered there. A crowd of former initiates- Fresh from the Emerald Forest- Were crowding around the fight as Blake and Weiss continued to duel it out against each other, trailing blows and punches and jabs and swipes and kicks and sword slashes with each other, each one drawing blood and soiling their already battered clothing. Plumes of dust shot out from Weiss' fencing sword as Blake continued to create what looked like statuesque clones of herself that took the blows for her, creating shattering explosions that clouded the area in torrents of smoke and dust.
Around them, Jaune witnessed a few of the former initiates running off or falling to their knees with stuttered breathes and shaking hands. Their fight was triggering their fresh trauma.
This had to stop.
"Barf Boy," he jumped in place as he looked to the side, to see Ryuzu suddenly standing right next to him, not even looking at him as she then said, "Ryuzu will take Miss Schnee, you restrain Neko Emo," it wasn't a question as much as it was a command.
"Neko what?"
"Just do it, Barf Boy."
"R-Right."
The 2 of them then moved, and began to barge through the crowds that had gathered around the 2 fighting women-
"Hey... 'Scuse me... Pardon me... Coming through- Ow! Watch it!"
-Passing by the likes of Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, the jerk jock guy, a bunch of other people that he had seen in the Emerald Forest, and others that he had not, until he, Nana, and Ryuzu reached the front of the crowd, just to see-
"Why won't you people just leave me alone?!"
"Leave you- I've been trying to! I never wanted anything to do with you!"
"Then why did you follow me into Beacon!?"
"That was a coincidence!"
"Do I look like I believe that?!"
"Do I look like I care!?"
-Blake applying a kick to Weiss' jaw, sending her flying across the makeshift arena, and almost into the crowds as they backed off to a safer distance, only for Weiss to quickly recover herself as she whipped her sword to in front of herself, and let out a series of hardlight dust blasts at Blake, though the girl quickly dodged these shots and released a round of bullets at Weiss as well, though the girl quickly deflected them with her own blade as Blake threw her sword down at her, the 2 of them clashing blades as Blake pulled at her sword with a ribbon, twirling it through the air as she spun it around and threw it down at Weiss once more, only for the Schnee heiress to summon a glyph in front of her and deflect it, the gravity dust within sending it flying right back at Blake, only for the bow wearing woman to quickly catch it in her free hand and continue the fight once more.
The 2 of them seemed too absorbed in their fight to notice all of the people around them.
Jaune motioned for Nana and Ryuzu to keep themselves back, "Not yet. We need a better opening..."
"Don't tell Ryuzu what to do."
Nearby, just as they duelled with blades, Weiss and Blake duelled with words as well, with Weiss getting out the opening barb with, "Oh, you care! You care a lot! About how to try and kill me and the people I know and love every single second of the day! Just like every other White Fang in the world!"
"I am not part of the White Fang!" Blake cried out as she twirled over Weiss and deflected her blows on top of that, "Not anymore! I left them because of how violent they were growing!"
"Violence that you directed against me and my family! How many innocent people have you killed!? How many of my friends and family have you executed and slaughtered like animals, just to make your point!?"
"And how many people have you condemned to die in your mines!? How many people have you allowed to be butchers by racists and monsters that work under your family's banner in the mines, for them to be whipped and violated, just because of their race!?"
"I had nothing to do with those!" Weiss called back as she shot a plume of ice dust at the black and white themed girl once more, "I was a child! I had no control over what my father did! No one did! The bastard did whatever the hell he wanted, just to make a profit!"
"And I had no control over what the White Fang became!"
"You knew their leader!"
"I couldn't control him, even when I tried to! The White Fang was devolving into something monstrous! No matter what I did, nothing was stopping them from turning into monsters! I just had the sense to get out when it started going to hell! Unlike your father, who just continued to drive everyone under him into further- Further... Despotism!"
The 2 of them had stopped fighting now, and were just glaring each other down, waiting for the other to recommence the battle between them.
"You think I don't know that!? How many times do I have to say that I am not my father!"
"And I am not Adam!"
"Now!" Jaune called out.
The 2 girls looked to where he was standing, ""Wha-""
{BAM}
{CRASH}
{CLUTTER}
From the side, Ryuzu forced Weiss down to the floor with a concentrated burst of wind from her hands, knocking her weapon down to the ground and far away from her as the maid kept Weiss' arms pinned to her back-
"Ack! Ryuzu! What are you doing!?"
"What's best for Miss Schnee, Miss Schnee."
-Whilst nearby, Jaune and Nana chose the simple action and just-
{CRASH}
{RUFFLE}
"Augh, dammit! Let go of me!"
-Tackled Blake to the ground as well, kicking her weapon away as they kept her pinned to the floor and disarmed her.
"We'll let go when the both of you calm down!" Jaune yelled at her as he and Nana fought to keep the kicking and scratching woman restrained, whilst Ryuzu looked like she was having a much easier job of keeping hold of the much physically weaker Weiss. Either that or Ryuzu was just really, really strong. Jaune continued, "For god's sake, we only just got out of the Emerald Forest! We just survived fighting against the Cult! We don't need to start fighting each other as well!"
"Oh, get lost, Arc!" Blake snarled out to him, "I'll stop when the Schnee stops accusing me of being a monster!"
"And I'll stop when you-"
"Miss Schnee!"
"Shut it, Ryuzu! And I'll stop when she stops thinking me a monster, too!" Weiss retorted with as she was lifted up to her feet, only for her arms to be held behind her by Ryuzu still as she kicked against her captor.
"Oh for the love of- Hey, I get it! We're all pissed off!" Jaune called out to the both of them, as well as everyone else in the crowd, having grown tired of their little tiff, "We're all tired, and we're all scared, and we're all pissed! But that doesn't mean that we should-"
"Oh spare me the patronising rubbish, 'Orion'," Weiss called out mockingly as she wormed her way out of Ryuzu's grip, through one hand was still held by her maid as she lashed out and yelled, "Where were you when we were being attacked by the Husks!? Where were you when we were being slaughtered by the dozens!? You were off on top of the troop carrier, trying to run away with it!"
"Hey, he did nothing of the sort!" from the side lines, Anima Senterra walked out and pointed to Weiss, "He was trying to hijack the airship to bring it down on the Husks! And let me remind you that it actually worked!"
"Only because the engines were shot out, and it's not like it actually accomplished anything anyways," from beneath them, Blake finally got herself free, and back onto her feet, pulling her weapon into her hands as she gave Weiss a quick look, only to look up into the sky and mutter, "I should never have come here," and-
Someone grabbed her hand. It was Anima. Sparing Jaune a look, she then said to him, "I'll take care of her," and then began to pull her along, "C'mon, Blake, don't you want to spend some time with a fellow Faunus and her friends?" and with a mutter from Blake, Anima gave Jaune an apologetic look, and pulled her away, her 3 boys- Dove, Sky, and Russel- Followed along with her.
"Word of advice: Keep her away from me!" Weiss angrily called out to them, before picking her weapon up off of the floor, "Let's go, Ryuzu," and then allowing her maid to pull her away to parts unknown, the pink-haired and red-eyed woman sparing Jaune one last look, before they disappeared off into the distance.
Seeing as the spectacle was over, now, the crowds now around Jaune and Nana slowly began to disperse and go their own separate ways. Some, like the ginger jock guy, Cardin, just barked out a laugh at him and marched away. Some, like Ren, gave him a suspicious glance and dragged their partners and friends away hurryingly. Some, like Pyrrha, looked like they wanted to say something to him, but lacking the courage to do so, they hurryingly scuttled away, not wishing to be called out. The rest simply did not wish to look him in the eyes, and marched away as best and as inconspicuously as they could.
And soon...
They were all alone.
Jaune looked down at his hands as he sat down on the floor, and let out a tired sigh...
"That... Could've gone better..."
Nana sat down besides him, and hugged her knees to her chest, "And yet, it also could've gone a lot worse."
"...I guess."
Up above, the heavens opened up...
And it began to rain again.
Pitter patter pitter patter pitter patter pitter patter went the sound of the rain against the ground as they felt their clothes and hair and skin slowly getting soaked in water. Jaune's bare arm was left exposed, and the dried blood from his jumper began to leak out and mix with the rainwater on his bare skin, turning it a light shade of pink.
"...I don't know what to do."
Nana gave him a questioning look, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't know what to do," Jaune repeated, "I mean, I want to fight to Cult, but I don't know how to do that. They're an army that somehow knows everything about me, and I need to call my parents to warn them about it, but there's god knows how many of them are actually out there, and I don't- I don't know what to do because the entire world is ending, and I want to help, but now know one trusts me at all because of what happened in the Emerald Forest, and-"
"I trust you."
Jaune looked at Nana with a questioning glance. It was a repeat of what happened earlier, because despite how much she reassured him, it was still hard to believe that she did.
"I would never betray you... You know that, right?"
YOU SEE, SOMEONE OUT THERE TRUSTS YOU! THAT'S A START!
You really think so?
YEAH, IT'S A- IT'S A SMALL START, BUT IT'S A START.
"...I... Thanks..." he said to her as they began to pick themselves up, and walk back towards the dorms, "Hang on, I need to- I need to call my family. Where's the- No, not the CCT tower. Where are the first year dorms?"
"Oh, er, it's- It's over that way," Nana went as she pointed to the side, taking his hand into her own and pulling him along, "C'mon, I'll take you there."
"Oh," Jaune smiled, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it, Jay…"
She smiled widely.
"Don't mention it."
"What do you mean, they knew your old name?"
Jaune looked at his phone as the face of his elder sister, Saphron, was projected wide on the screen, the image flickering occasionally as he looked down at the imposed portrait of the blonde-haired woman, "I mean, they know my old name. They know that I used to be called Orion. And I think-" he stopped himself, and paused. There was no one else in the room. Nana had excused herself to go to her own room ages ago, and all of his windows and doors were sealed and covered and locked, "I think that they knew what I did, before I was... Before I became an Arc."
"...Oh my god."
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, me too."
Another pause, this time from Saphron, before she finally opened up with, "Do they... Are any of those cult people familiar to you?"
"No, I've never encountered any of them before. I never even heard about them until today," something nagged at him in the back of his head, but it lasted for only a second.
"Well, maybe- Maybe they were told about it by someone that you once- I don't know! Maybe they were told about it by someone that you once knew, or someone who found out about it on their own. I don't- I don't know. Maybe it was that. How else could they have known about out about it?"
Jaune nodded to her, "I... That's a good idea, I guess. A good point, I mean."
I SUPPOSE THAT IT IS AS GOOD OF AN EXPLANATION THAT YOU CAN GET, BUT IT STILL DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT.
I agree... Too many... It just feels too convenient... Too obvious... There has to be more than it than just that.
OR MAYBE WE'RE JUST OVERTHINKING IT AND IT IS THAT SIMPLE OF AN ANSWER. I MEAN, NOT EVERY ANSWER TO A QUESTION NEEDS TO BE SO COMPLICATED.
AND YET IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE THE RIGHT ONE.
YOU THINK THERE REALLY IS MORE TO IT THAN JUST THEM FINDING OUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT HIS PAST THOUGH A LITTLE BIT OF DIGGING?
They're right: I just- It might be the simplest, and possibly most logical answer, but it just doesn't feel like the right one. There has to be more to it than that.
"Are you okay, little bro? You're spacing out a bit."
Jaune blinked, "Sorry," and then continued the conversation, "But, really, I don't... I don't know. Maybe-"
"I think you should come back home."
Jaune stopped, "...Huh?"
"Jaune, you were attacked," Saphron began with an incredibly worried expression on her face, "Worse still, you were almost killed! And this Cult thing isn't just happening in Vale: It's all over the world! I would rather- I'd rather you be here, with family, instead of all the way out there, in a place that's going tits up into hell and back! At least here in Argus, it's relatively safer than the major cities."
"..."
"Jaune… Please."
…
…
…
…
This... Gave Jaune quite the bit of pause.
When he had left his home and ran away to Beacon, he had done so with the intent to get away from his family's controlling grip, and honour his adopted family legacy by carving out his own path into herodom, saving as many people as he could, and living up to the name of Arc as he saved everyone in the world, and then the world itself...
But now...
Now...
He didn't know anymore.
Could he actually do that? Could he actually become a Huntsman? Could he actually honour his family legacy- His ancestors?
Could he actually become a hero and save people?
Even when the world was collapsing in on itself, and turning inside out through flame and ice...
Even when a fanatic religious order was tearing apart Remnant, just to remake it in their image...
Even when everyone was against him, and nobody wanted to trust him because he was a failure who couldn't save anyone at all as the world around him turned into bloody ribbons illuminated by a silver gaze...
Could he really do any of that?
Could he really be a hero?
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
He really didn't know anymore.
"I'll... I'll think about it, Saph," he finally said to her as he turned his head away for a few brief moments, "I don't... I just need to think on it for a while..."
"Jaune-"
"Saphron, please," he interrupted her with as he looked back to her, "I just... I just need to think about it... Please..."
"...Alright then..." Saphron said to him as she looked the other way, "I'll tell Mum and Dad, but..."
She gave him a sad look.
"Please... Just stay safe, okay? Everything... Everything's going to hell, and I would probably die if I lost you to this chaos..."
"...I'll be... I'll be okay, Saph," he gave her a little wave, "I love you."
She gave a sad smile back, and waved too, "I love you too... Talk to you later, little brother..."
He smiled, "And to you too, sis," and with that, he ended the call, and the room fell into silence once more.
He let himself rest against the bed underneath him. He didn't know where Nana had found this room for him, what with the nice bed and all, with it all for himself, but right now, he was too tired to care.
He just wanted to sleep again.
He would have to thank her later...
…
…
…
…
IT'LL BE OKAY, JAUNE.
How can you be so sure?
…YOU'RE RIGHT. I CAN'T.
BUT WHAT I CAN DO IS HOPE THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER.
THINGS WILL GET BETTER FOR MY- FOR MY FAMILY.
THINGS WILL GET BETTER FOR YOU.
THINGS WILL GET BETTER FOR ALL OF REMNANT.
THIS I HOPE TO BE THE TRUTH.
A hope isn't a guarantee.
NO, IT ISN'T...
BUT IT IS AN IDEAL WORTH LIVING BY.
…
Jaune couldn't help but nod.
Summer was right.
He had to hope that things would get better in the future.
He had to hope that things would get better...
If not for him...
Than for everyone else.
He would unlock all 8 of these semblances...
He would beat the Cult of Silver...
He would save everyone from the Emerald Forest...
He would save everyone...
Or he would die trying.
But in any case, he refused to not give it his all anyways.
He refused to go down swinging.
He would defeat the Cult, and save everyone...
Or he would fall to his feet, and die with his words.
In any case, he would die doing good...
And maybe that was good enough.
…
WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK.
…
And for the first time in his life, as he drifted off to a well-deserved sleep against a word that was being torn apart...
Jaune appreciated their words.
(From deep within his soul, another pair of eyes stirred and smiled.
"And I shall be watching you too, Jaune… Orion…
A laugh.
"From now, until the end of time.")
"Remnant?"
"Crippled."
"The Huntsmen?"
"Fractured."
"Vale?"
"Broken."
Xaphan, the Will of Flugel, smiled.
"Good..."
The sight of Vale burning was just so beautiful.
"It is time for Vale to bow down to the Crown."
Reviewer response time:
ReDestrobo: Yeah, I never really understood Yang's motivations for wanting to find Raven, either. I assume that it's got nothing to do with her abandonment issues, but if she really did feel that way, then she would've treated Blake the same and gone searching for her as well... Or maybe she would've completely cut Raven otu liek she did Blake... I don't know. I'll figure it out.
Greer123: And here we have Ozpin's reaction! I hope that you enjoyed it.
Guest: Yeah, well what else could he do? I mean, it wasn't like Yang wasn't going to hunt him down about it later, you know?
And here we are! The final chapter of the very long and very tiring Beacon arc!
Gods, this one took a lot out of me! Like, seriously! I don't think I will ever get used to writing so many words in such a short amount of time! I mean, I wrote this chapter alone in just more than 24 hours! What am I doing with myself, man!
Just a quick word, though: I am going to be moving away from this fanfic for a while, now that this arc is done. I'm not abandoning it, mind you! I just need to work on my other fic, Ascendancy, and wrap up the arc currently in progress in that story, as well as add some more onto it, and on top of that, my university has just started up as well, so I've got work to do for that on top of this, so there's that!
So, hurray for me.
But, before we go, some discussions about the new faction and characters:
The Cult of Silver is an original creation, yes, but it was born out of an idea that I don't think has ever been explored in the FNDM: Antagonistic Silver-Eyed Warriors. Like, seriously, I feel like that should be a goldmine for story potential, and yet I don't think I've ever seen it explored at all in fanfiction. Like, it should be such an obvious idea, and yet we never see it in action!
And so, this is me pulling out some of that potential, if only my own take on it.
The Cult of Silver themselves are aesthetically based on the House of Salvation from Destiny 2: Beyond Light, which is why there are also multiple music ques from the Beyond Light soundtrack as well. And on top of that, the Cult's ice powers were also inspired by the darkness powers of Stasis, though in this fic, these powers weren't given to them by darkness, but by something far brighter...
And speaking of which, there are the new characters themselves, but for this right now, I shall only be speaking about the Aspects of Emotion, the leaders of the Cult of Silver:
Ruby Alter is, of course, based off of the Ruby Alter designs on Google Images, obviously, but, as if befitting of the Re:Zero inspirations that are littered through this story, she also takes some ques from Satella herself, though, like the Witch of Envy herself, the answer behind what she actually is, is a lot more complicated than it originally appears to be...
Baobhan Sith, the Aspect of Inspiration, as someone on Ao3 pointed out correctly, is based off of Echidna, the Witch of Greed. I just find her to be such an entertaining character, even if she is incredibly amoral. And because of that, Baobhan is actually one of my favourite characters to write.
Lamia and Lilith, the twin Aspects of Amusement, meanwhile, at least appearance wise, were visually based off of Mion and Shion Sonozaki from Higurashi, though to be assured, their personalities (Personality?) Are quite different.
Kasha, the Aspect of Serenity is visually based off of Crowbar from Transformers, while his personality is more like those propaganda radio hosts that would be heard during literally every war since WW1.
Upyr, the Aspect of Joy, was based off of Lye Batenkaitos, the gormet aspect and Archbishop of Gluttony, from Re:Zero, though his outfit is radically different, and is more akin to that of an average schoolgoer, while his vampirism is more in line with the inspirations behind their names, whilst his powers are more like that of the deadmen from Deadman Wonderland.
Jaracas, the Aspect of Forgiveness, is based off of Pirrha, the Rifleman from Destiny 2: Forsaken, but with a more stoic and less mocking personality.
Hsi-Hsue-Kue, the Aspect of Pride, is visually based off of Val Ca'uor from Destiny 2, but with a colour pallet change, and a much more bombastic and violent personality to go along with it.
Draugr, the Aspect of Interest, is visually based off of Shaula from Re:Zero, down to the cape and ponytail, though, like so many others, her personality is radically different.
And finally, Cihuateteo, the Aspect of Awe, is visually based of of the Diadact from Halo 4, though with a few cosmetic changes here and there, as well as being a young boy and not a 9 to 10 foot alien with what looks like a scrotum for a face.
And as for Jiang Shi... Well, we'll get there when we get there.
Fun fact! The Emerald Forest battle was going to be radically different with each and every variant that went through my head. Originally it was going to be just the Aspects that attacked, but then it shifted from less of a battle, and more of the entire Cult occupying the Emerald Forest, with our heroes doing their best to avoid the Cult's forces as they would've begun a guerrilla war against them, with the Cult even owning a navy battleship that they built from an old cargo ship that would've sailed up a nearby river adjacent to the Emerald Forest, before I eventually decided to settle on the battle that we got.
If I had to change anything about the Emerald Forest battle, I would've turned it back to that original idea, and focused more on the occupation of the Emerald Forest instead of the battle itself, but I'm already satisfied with what I've got, so I'm not going to change it.
To be honest, I've included a lot in all of these chapters that none of you guys have picked up on. I was, and still am to be honest, really surprised that you all just missed a lot of that stuff, and also a little disappointed.
But, that's enough from me! What did you guys think? Please, spill out all of your thoughts and questions into the reviews sections, don't forget to favourite and follow, and with all of that said and done, stay safe, stay healthy, and I shall see you all next time!
Titanmaster117-
THERE'S A MONSTER INSIDE OF ALL OF US.
IT SPEAKS AND WEEPS AND WISHES TO BE FREE.
IT CLAWS AND NASHES AND WISHES TO BE LET OUT.
IT WISHES TO CUT AND SLICE AND DASH AND LAY TO RUIN.
IT EXISTS BECAUSE IT IS OUR MONSTER. IT RUINS ONLY BECAUSE IT EXISTS TO RUIN.
THERE IS A MONSTER INSIDE OF ALL OF US.
AND YET WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT IT.
WHY?
BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, THEN IT WILL SPELL DOOM FOR US ALL.
SO WHY...
WHY...
WHY ARE THERE PEOPLE WHO WISH TO EMBRACE THEIR MONSTERS?
MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE NO CHOICE.
MAYBE THEY BELIEVE THAT IS IT IS THE ONLY OPTION THAT THEY HAVE LEFT.
MAYBE THEY JUST DO IT FOR FUN- FOR THE SHEER HELL OF IT.
OR MAYBE...
JUST MAYBE...
MAYBE THEY BELIEVE THAT IT IS SIMPLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
THERE'S A MONSTER INSIDE OF ALL OF US.
WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE NEVER TO LET IT FREE...
OR LET SOMEONE ELSE LET IT FREE.
-Out... What the hell was that?