Vol: 7 Chapter 10: The Tormentor's Body Count
(Play: Red Fraction from "Black Lagoon" Eng cover by AmaLee)
I have a big gun
I took it from my lord
Sick with justice
I just wanna blame you
(A somewhat dirtied image of a Lien card flashes momentarily before it swaps to a blood stained wall of the Schnee manor a cigarette being smoked and an image of either Weiss or Winter from behind holding their weapons which seem bloodied. This then switches to a panning shot of Wolf's Pack going down its barrel.)
I am your angel
Only a call away
You make wanna break you
No matter who you are
(A bullet casing goes flying, showing Weiss' reflection before it cuts to a newspaper article mentioning a shooting in the Forgotten Shore with Weiss being shown holding a side arm, which she fires a few times)
It's all up to you
No one lives forever
Been burned in Hell
By all the pigs out there
It's always been Hell
Ever since I was born
They make we wanna break them
No matter who they are
(The next shot shows the same side arms barrel as Weiss points it at the area in front of her and a cigarette that she had in her mouth falls out as she pulls the trigger and then drops the magazine.)
Get down on your knees
Got a good head on your shoulders
If for you, I'd
Go to the end of the earth
Do what you want
Do it with dedication
I'll put out your misery
(The next shot shows a blood splatter that stains a flurry of feathers that had been blown away by the force of either a gust of wind or gunshot. Another shot shows that an empty bullet casing is rolling on the ground of the streets of Mantle in a pool of blood before it's blown away by the same wind that carried away feathers)
You made a mess
For Christ sake, this rotten world
Shit out of luck
Go with my vision
Light up the fire
Right on the power
A weapon … I have it all
(Weiss is seen sitting in the middle of the streets of Mantle for reasons unknown as the feathers drift through the air around her as the sunset flashes a few times. Then images of Jaune, Sky and Wolfgang are shown before 'Rise of the Iron Wolves: Forgotten' appears on the screen… And is shot at a few times and filled with bullet holes.)
-Atlas Academy Dorms-
The girls were all sleeping soundly in bed in their dormitories, until they were suddenly awakened by Penny barging in, causing Blake to fall on top of Yang and Ruby to fall on top of Weiss.
"Sal-u-tations Team RWBY! Everyone ready to start our huntress work again?" The robot girl asked them.
"Ugh… Penny, what time is it, even?" Yang asked with a groan.
"It's time to get to work! Follow me!" Penny chirped as she marched out of the room. Blake meanwhile looked at Yang as she sat in the blonde's lap, her face peppered pink as she brushed her hair away.
"Morning." She said to her shared girlfriend, her ears perking slightly. Yang smiled as she stroked her cat girl's cheek and kissed her softly.
"Good morning, kitty." The queen replied.
"I can't believe you two actually agreed to that kind of relationship." Ruby commented.
"Hey, it's mutually beneficial for all four of us. Why wouldn't we agree to it?" Her older sister said.
"I'm just surprised." The silver eyed girl shrugged.
Weiss sighed as she looked down at her engagement ring. "Girls… Do you really think Sky can bring Wolfgang back with the magic Xol has?" She asked her teammates.
"He's already done several impressive feats. If he can do what he's done so far, then that should be fairly simple… Or whatever qualifies as simple with magic." Blake replied, that last part being an afterthought.
That was enough to put the former heiress slightly at ease.
(Later)
All the teams were doing different jobs all over Mantle, everything from Grimm containment to helping deliver needed supplies and aid, raising awareness of the new peaceful White Fang (something Yang, Sun, Foxxianna and Blake did together) to even keeping kids safe as they went to school.
The last job in particular one that Jaune enjoyed doing when he didn't have any leads or other bounties on the Forgotten Shore. He did it with Pyrrha since she always said she liked kids, however there was one thing that annoyed the formally invincible girl more than anything else...
Were the thirsty mothers trying to look sexy for her man. Jaune was hers, dammit! Luckily the boy was quick to not play into their advances, albeit quite nervously.
"Uh… Help?" He chuckled to Ren and Nora at the other end of the street. Nora smirked as she looked at the boy before nodding.
"It's definitely the haircut." She said.
Other days, the kids also trained with the Ace Ops, Team FNCI, or passed the time in either the Crucible or Gambit. Speaking of…
"I gotta say, sister, I haven't had this much traffic in Gambit in awhile. Whatever you did to spread the word really drummed up business like a pack of Mega Goliaths." Nomad told Ruby as she took payment for her latest match of the game. "So here's a little extra. You scratch Nomad's back, and he scratches yours. Trust."
"Fair enough." The girl shrugged.
Qrow meanwhile watched his niece do business with the man, and he couldn't help but scowl. He never really liked Nomad, the man was basically a doomsday prepper and hermit who did shady dealings for his own ends while seeming friendly. He didn't like him at all.
Meanwhile, Sky was checking things on the Immortal Rage to make sure things were in order. For the most part, they were. But then he noticed something…
"Crap. With my forces helping out with the construction and watching over Mantle, the ship's tourism sector is understaffed." He cursed. "What am I gonna do…?" He asked himself as he continued the usual checkup.
(Elsewhere)
Shan was busy trying to train Sun in fighting hand to hand better and get stronger, however the giant of a man was able to facepalm his son into the ground easily.
"You're far too weak, Sun, do you honestly expect to be able to protect your lovers with that meager level of strength?" He questioned.
"Well… I'm not as strong as you, am I?" The monkey Faunus groaned as he was let up.
"No, not now. But you have the potential to be. Stronger even." Shan told him. He then looked over his shoulder and saw Nora talking to Elm and the woman peaked his interest. "Now, if you excuse me." The gorilla Faunus said. "I'm going to better acquaint myself with our coworkers." He added.
Blake walked over to Sun and handed him a bottle of water. "Don't worry, you'll get there." She told him, kissing him on the cheek.
"Thanks Blake." He smiled, kissing her back.
(Later)
Days passed and both Jaune and Sky were going around Sorik's Cut looking for more clues about the captain's… When they saw some innocent SDC miners who were dead in a cage, having bled out and looked to have been mauled.
"These people, they've been drained." Joan said. "No, mauled." Jaune kneeled down and noticed that the men's arms were docked, and the arms were hanging from the cage bars with the name, Rex Kahn, carved into them. The blonde had to forcibly keep himself from throwing up.
"The Tormentor, he did this." Sky noted. He looked like he was trying to keep his food in his stomach, too.
"Ah yes, young Rex. Indeed he did inherit quite a few things from my side of the family. None the least of which being his naturally strong physique and latent… Sadistic tendencies." Shan chimed in over the radio.
"So we're hunting one of Sun's brothers… Fuck me sideways." Sky sighed.
"Uh… What now?" Sun asked in confusion, having gotten on the line the same time his dad did, with Blake joining him.
"Are you telling me you don't even tell your own children that they may have siblings from your little… Affairs, Shan?" Sienna growled on her end.
"High leader Kahn? When did you get here?" Blake asked.
"I was already here, Blake." The tiger woman replied.
"Can I get an explanation please?" The monkey faunus requested.
"Long story short: The Tormentor is one of your many siblings, bro." Sky told his friend.
"What he said." Sienna added, confirming Sky's words.
"... I don't know how to feel about this." The blond faunus said to himself.
"I'm here for you." Blake said in a comforting tone. As this discussion was going on the two boys were walking around and searching for more clues, when they heard screaming in the distance.
"Let's move!" Jaune barked as they ran toward the source. Once they reached the source of the screams they saw two more cages, both were set on fire and had more SDC workers and miners inside them, surrounded by Corrupted who were terrorizing them as the heat and fire was slowly trying to burn them alive.
"Oh fuck the hell no!" Sky roared as he fired several dark bolts at the Corrupted, killing them. He didn't waste a second and bolted over to the cages before using his power to snuff out the flames.
"Oh fuck, thank you so much!" A male worker said gratefully as the cage doors were opened up by the two boys.
"Who did this to you? Did you see where they went?" Jaune asked as he used his semblance to heal the people who were hurt. They were all trembling, as if they were traumatized.
"I-I-I-it was the T-t-t-Tormentor." A female worker said shakily.
"We saw him heading in that direction. There could be others. Please, help them!" Another female worker pleaded, pointing in the direction of Thieve's Landing.
"Thank you. We'll call for a transport to pick you up, for now, stay safe." Sky told them. Hopping on their sparrows, the boys blasted off towards thieve's landing, where Gurren picked up the signatures of five cages. They quickly found the first one, which was guarded by Marauders and a Sergeant.
"The SDC is known for using cheap labor with all its workers, human and Faunus." Blake told them. "So it's shocking that the Corrupted, which were once Faunus, would even attack these workers."
"Yeah, you'd think they'd be able to like each other at least. The Faunus and human workers that is." Sky added as Jaune and Sky started attacking the Corrupted guarding the first cage. Once they were dead, they got the worker out.
"Hey, are you hiring?" The worker asked, having wondered what a job on the Immortal Rage would be like.
"I'll consider it." The King replied.
"Okay… What the hell happened to these Faunus?" The worker asked as he looked at a dead Marauder.
"Dark Dust, it's toxic to Faunus and turns dead ones into these zombies, the Corrupted." Jaune explained.
"Damn, whoever did this has gotta be stopped. Some of my best friends are Faunus, so this just looks… Wrong." The Man said in distaste.
"We know the feeling. Stay here. A transport will be here momentarily to pick you up." Jaune told him.
"Right. Be sure to send the others here. They should be nearby." The man told the boys with a nod. The boys then started releasing several more cages full of hostages, one being a cage full of some of the school kids Jaune helped walk to school and their moms.
"Okay, Shan, Sienna, can someone please tell me what the actual hell is the Tormentor's deal?!" Jaune yelled.
"You can blame his upbringing for all this. Humanity has given him a very dark impression on them." Sienna told them. "After Shan abandoned my sister to raise the child he left her with, she unfortunately was killed in a riot by a human and Rex witnessed it. This made him resent humans as a whole and he took to my violent White Fang quite well. Though as his training continued, I noticed that he took… unusual amounts of pleasure in causing pain to humans, regardless of who they were."
"Tch. Of course that's how it went. What the hell is the matter with this world?" Sky questioned himself in disdain for the racism running amok.
"Additionally he saw action as his only option after his well… injury." Shan added.
"You mean how he was shot in the throat sixteen times, right?" Jaune asked.
"WHAT?!" Sun and Blake yelled.
"It took him weeks to recover after that…" Sienna sighed. "After his injury he was never the same." She added. Sky and Jaune shook their heads as they continued looking for the last cage, only to see it, and the hostages inside suddenly blown to bits as the Tormentor appeared.
Rex Kahn was a truly massive man. In terms of height and build he was similar to Ghira and Hazel, he also had dark skin like Sienna, tiger stripe tattoos on his arms, dark blonde hair in a ponytail like Shan, and his Faunus trait was a set of powerful tiger claws. He was wearing the same Captain garb, and this included a helmet that looked like a tiger's head. And his weapon of choice was a giant flaming flail mace.
The Tormentor chuckled darkly as he looked down at the splattered blood below his boots before he looked at the boy's and pointed at them, a sick smile across his face as he dragged a clawed thumb across his throat before retreating to the slums.
"Did he just threaten to kill us?" Jaune asked flatly.
"Yep. And considering I died once already, I find it kinda… Lackluster." Sky nodded, a flat look on his face.
"Like I said, sadism runs in the family." Shan said.
"I'm not a sadist." Sun retorted.
"That's because you take after your mother, Sun, and quite frankly, I'm proud you do." The man said.
"Me too." Blake nodded, hugging her shared boyfriend.
"He's heading to the slums, let's go after him." Joan told the two.
"Right." The two boys nodded as they gave chase. Running through the caverns of the slums, Corrupted marauders and raiders were everywhere, the flailing headless zombies proving to be particularly annoying for Sky when they got in close while Jaune was having trouble fighting the Shield carrying Raiders since their fighting styles were so similar.
"Ugh. I hate it when zombies get creative." The Grimm Knight growled as he used Epilogue to shoot a few Marauder's lanterns, causing them to explode while Jaune shot at a metal panel to cause a ricocheting bullet to bounce around and kill the Raiders by hitting them in the head.
"Bright side, they're not that smart." The blonde said as they continued. "Hey Sienna, the records say that Rex used to make a habit of docking the arms of White Fang soldiers who failed to complete a mission or just regular humans with his bare hands." He stated. "When and why did "docking" become a thing?" He asked.
"It used to be a custom that involved removing the animal traits of other Faunus who were to be punished. Removing what made them Faunus. It was soon mitigated to limbs when pride in our features grew." Sienna explained.
"And Rex made it his favorite activity." The Enthrallen King sighed.
"That's disgusting." Blake said as the rest nodded in agreement.
(Elsewhere)
Back at one of the designated Crucible areas, Team RWBY was playing a control match with the Ace Ops. Right now, Ruby was busy giving Marrow the literal run around trying to distract him from getting zone B. Then Harriet came to help him, and Ruby used Gravity Dust to launch herself and slam into the ground sending them flying before she started firing rounds at them to keep them back.
"What? What? What?! I can't believe what I'm seeing!" Shaxx yelled in surprise as the girl froze them in place with two ice bullets. "Zone B is yours!" He added.
Meanwhile with Blake and Yang, they were trying to fight Elm and Vine. Blake was launched into the air and then she used her ribbon to swing Yang around as she used her semblance and threw her with extra force. The blonde then used her weapons and semblance to break up the ground and sent them flying.
"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE, GIVE THIS HUNTRESS HER CROWN?!" Shaxx yelled as Yang blew both the operatives like she did Neon Kat in the Vytal Tournament. Weiss meanwhile simply captured the next zone as she stepped over both Marrow and Harriet.
"That should make things go by smoothly." She said to herself as she finished claiming the zone. Marrow meanwhile couldn't helped but chuckle.
"We shouldn't have gone easy on em." He groaned.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Jaune and Sky, they finally made it to the Tormentor's lair. It was lined wall to wall with cages with corpses of people. And fire was billowing from the floor through vents. Chains swung from the ceiling, and a few corpses were even what seemed to be… A slaughter freezer.
"I've seen a lot of disgusting shit growing up in the wilds, but this… This tops all of it." Sky commented with a disgusted look on his face as he looked around. Jaune tried not to throw up as they stepped into the lair, and the Tormentor appeared, summoning Corrupted Marauders to fight with him.
"Just stomach it. We can puke after this is over." The blond boy said as he brought out Croerca Mors.
"Right." The King nodded as he took Dark Eater out, ready to fight. The Tormentor laughed as he pointed at the two boys and the Marauders charged towards them while he slammed his mace on the ground and sent a wave of fire towards them.
"Yikes!" Gurren yelped as the two boys jumped out of the way of the flames. "Man, talk about a heat wave." He joked to try and ease the stress.
"We gotta keep away from their maces. Figure out a way to break his aura from a distance and then disarm him so we can off him." Sky said.
"Is that really necessary? I mean he's my brother. I know he's a killer but…" Sun said, sounding understandably conflicted.
"He made his choices, Sun, now he must pay the price." Sienna told him. "But please, boys, make it quick at least." She added.
"Of course." Sky nodded. Jaune meanwhile was conflicted on if he should make the Tiger Faunus suffer or not. They then started firing their guns at the maces of the Marauders, causing them to explode, before Jaune used his bow and Sky used his Dark Bolts to drive the Tormentor back and slowly weaken him, only for him to disappear again and move Marauders and Brutes appeared, as well as a Hulk.
"Oh come on!" Jaune exclaimed in frustration. Though he was unable to voice anything else when Rex appeared again behind him after Sky went to deal with the fodder with his Enthralled. The Captain had the blonde in a chokehold before he used his semblance to send all the pain he had suffered to Jaune's nerves.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" The boy screamed, drawing the Grimm Knight's attention. Acting quick, he hurled Dark Eater at Rex's head, causing him to drop Jaune as he caught it. Sky then called his sword back and both Knights moved in close and started slashing at the man from all directions. Jaune rolled away to start shooting, as did Sky, which made the man drop to his knees.
Thinking it was over, they walked up to him, but Rex suddenly swung his mace up and sent Sky flying before he leapt on top of him and transferred his pain to the Grimm soldier. However, when compared to death… It felt rather simple. As such, Sky only flinched when the pain was sent into him before he shoved Rex off, which shocked the tiger faunus since that had never happened before.
"Well that was a hassle." He yawned. "Jaune?" He asked his partner. The blonde nodded as he jumped over Rex and shot rounds at him with his pistol, blocked a flame wave with a banner shield and then charged forward as the man followed, bashing him against a wall and breaking his aura, before he readied his sword to strike.
"And that, is that." He said as he stabbed him through the heart, Rex tried to grab him again, but he soon fell limp and died right there. "... That's odd, my Law didn't strike me down. Come to think of it, it didn't happen with Salas either." He noted. "How come?" He asked.
"I think the Dark Dust is having adverse effects on the Captains. It could be slowly killing them or destroying their souls to the point that their auras are the only thing keeping them alive." Sky theorized. "As such, your Law isn't able to recognize them as living beings." He continued.
"That… Actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it." Jaune nodded before they started releasing the humans who were still alive.
"He liked all this, causing pain." Blake said in disbelief.
"Come on guys, let's get out of here. I don't even wanna think about what he did to Wolfgang." Jaune said with a dark shudder.
"Three Captains down, five to go." Sky added.
(Elsewhere)
Back in Atlas, Winter and Weiss were having a summoning battle with Weiss using her Arma Gigas and Winter a giant Beowulf. The two constructs clashed briefly before the Beowolf came out on top, but dissipated since the Arma Gigas managed to stab it. Weiss let out a sigh as she sat on a simulation cube.
"You've been practicing." Winter noted.
"I have, thank you for noticing." The former heiress nodded.
"Though your style still has those sloppy touches, but you seem to have made them your own." The older continued.
"Wow, that almost sounded like a compliment." Weiss teased.
"I didn't intend it to be that way." The older sibling retorted.
"I guess we all make mistakes." The snow themed Iron Lady stated with a smirk.
Winter let out a sigh as she smiled at her sister. "You really have grown up. You're no longer the same little girl clinging to the family fortune." She said.
"I've had some help." Weiss admitted. "But yes, I guess in a way I have. We both have really, and the same goes for my friends as well. They've all changed." She added.
"I can see that." Winter nodded. "Truth be told, leaving the family and joining the army was probably the best decision I ever made. It helped me become my own person. Away from father, the same way Beacon did to you." She continued. "And even though I didn't much care for Wolfang and his attitude when I first met him, I can see that you both were good for each other. Plus, at the time I never expected one of my own family to fall in love with a Faunus, to be honest."
"I never expected one of my friends to fall in love with a Grimm Knight, but it happened anyway." Weiss pointed out. Winter couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"You certainly lead an interesting life." She mused. "Though I truly am surprised with how candid Sky was with us about everything regarding Ozpin and Salem. I honestly expected him to hide things from us."
"Funny, Sky said something similar about the general." Weiss mused.
"He may not have done everything perfect, but he's doing what he thinks is right, Weiss." Her sister responded.
"That's what a lot of people say, but in the end, they're just looking out for themselves." The younger Schnee girl rebuked.
"General Ironwood isn't, he'd never keep things from the people he trusts." Winter retorted.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked, causing Winter to be taken aback, recognizing the tone she was using.
"... Come with me, I want to show you something." She told her.
(Elsewhere)
In the frozen tundra of Solitas Penny, Ruby, Sky, Qrow and Clover were all busy riding to a checkpoint for a supply run with Amity Tower. However the silver eyed girl was slowly starting to nod off, which caused her to slump onto Sky's shoulder.
"Easy, Rubes. I know it's boring, but hey, we got beautiful tundra to look at." He told her gently.
"Yeah. I guess." She yawned.
"I'm personally really excited to work with you both." Penny told them.
"That reminds me, how come you don't have a team, Penny? Haven't you made any new friends?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Ruby nodded.
"I… Don't have a team anymore. And the General says I don't have tone for friends, either." The robotic gingerette sighed sadly.
"Okay, what is up with that shit?" Sky said before shaking his head. "Good lord, I'm starting to sound like Wolfang."
"That means you miss him." Ruby remarked sadly.
"Yeah… I do." The black haired boy replied just as sadly. Shaking his head, he glanced to the back where the supplies were. "You two alright back there?" He called.
"Yeah, we're good!" Qrow called back.
"Ya know, if you'd told me a month ago that we'd be getting help from a Grimm Knight with his own giant battleship. I'd said you were crazy." Clover noted.
"I know. I didn't expect a Grimm Knight to become a new member of my family, either." Qrow nodded.
"Wait, what?" The good luck charm asked, doing a double take.
"Yep. My oldest niece is engaged to him." The man confirmed.
"Oh." Clover nodded as they continued to play cards. "Well, looks like I win again." He noted after a few minutes.
"Yeah yeah." Qrow retorted.
"Maybe we should stop for now." He suggested.
"Just shut up and deal." The bad luck charm said. Sky listened to the men and couldn't help but chuckle.
'Those two are like an older version of me and Wolfang… Man I really do miss him, don't I?' He thought. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the truck suddenly slowed down. This drew the attention of the two men in the back as well.
"Grimm?" Qrow asked as he faced front.
"No, worse." Clover sighed.
"Well I'll be dipped." Sky said as they saw three women standing in the road.
"Who's that?" Ruby asked.
"Trouble." Clover said simply.
"Penny, come out from the rear. We may need an element of surprise." Sky instructed.
"Right. I will plan for six possible outcomes." She nodded, causing everyone to look at each other. As the truck stopped, Sky got a good look at who the leader was.
She was a young woman with tanned skin and violet eyes. Her light-blond hair was tied in a ponytail. She also had a beauty mark under her right eye and another one on the left side under her mouth. Her attire consisted of a black sleeveless coat with gray accents over a red double-breasted sleeveless vest, a brown high neck shirt, and a light gray short-sleeved shirt with one right short sleeve that has a black cuff whilst the other sleeve is longer. She also wore a brown belted waist cincher with matching brown pants tucked into black knee-high boots with dark brown cuffs. Around her neck she wore an olive green scarf with tattered looking tails hanging behind her. She also wore a pair of black archery styled gloves with the index finger missing on both of them.
As the group got out, Sky slowly opened a portal behind the truck which Veridas and Xeronas stepped out of, making sure they weren't attacked from behind. He then stood next to Clover.
"Robyn, fancy seeing you here." The man said to the woman.
"Fancy seeing you so far out here, Clover." The woman replied. "These supplies were supposed to be going to Mantle for the next round of infrastructure repairs, so why is it all out here? You get lost?"
"You know, with how the tundra looks, it's hard to tell where we're going." The good luck charm shrugged. "Thanks for checking on us, but no. We're not lost, this supplies is supposed to be going to a classified military operation. The materials for Mantle's repairs are being mined and refined as we speak by the forces of this man right here." He added, gesturing to Sky. "And the Iron Wolves. So if you have an issue, take it up with them."
"Wow, throw me under the bus why don't cha?" Sky snarked.
"The Iron Wolves I can trust to a point. But him…" Robyn trailed off as she looked at the Grimm Knight. "I can acknowledge that he's done right by Mantle, but I can't stop myself from being skeptical of him." She finished.
"Trust me, Miss Hill, I mean absolutely no ill will to Mantle, in fact I hope to help it the best I can." Sky said.
"Oh yeah? And how do I know you're not lying?" Robyn asked.
"As you may know, I am the Knight of Yul." The boy replied. "And as the Knight of the Honest Worm, I am physically incapable of telling lies." He added frankly.
"I've heard." The councilwoman candidate nodded. "Though I'd prefer if you proved it." She told him.
"How so?" He asked.
"What exactly is Ironwood doing with Amity Colosseum?" The huntress/politician asked. Sky was about to answer, but Clover cut him off… Big mistake Clover.
"Oh that. It's due for an annual check—." He said, but the second he did that, he turned to stone, which caught Robyn and her partners by surprise.
"Um… Huh?" Was all she could say.
"This is what I meant when I said I'm physically incapable of telling lies or keeping secrets: If I do that, I turn to stone. It applies to others around me, too." Sky explained.
"Might as well just tell her and get it out of the way." Ruby shrugged.
"Amity Colosseum is about to undergo a huge change." Sky explained. "I can't go into specifics because of the fact that we've found out that one of our deadliest enemies is in Mantle and can't risk him finding out, but I will say that if this works, the world will be united once more by a common voice." He said, taking a page out of Yul's book and alluding to the truth through riddles. Robyn seemed to partially catch on since she realized what he meant and nodded.
"I'll take your word for it." She conceded. "And, if it's not too much trouble, would you consider setting up job opportunities on your ship?" She inquired. "It would really help the people of Mantle out."
"I'll give it some thought." He nodded as he returned Clover to normal.
"What did you-?" He asked.
"I just got our way clear. You're welcome." The king told him before they were allowed to leave. As they did, the sheep Faunus next to Robyn spoke up.
"What did he mean back there?" She asked.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think it might have something to do with the chatter we've heard about new construction of a new CDC tower… but what does it have to do with Amity, I wonder?" Robyn mused as they watched the truck leave.
(Elsewhere)
In the same hospital that Weiss was in weeks before, Winter brought her to a room that was guarded by soldiers and security cameras. Inside the room was an elderly woman with blue eyes and judging by the paints in her room, was an artist.
Winter went into the room and talked to the woman for a little while before she left and joined Weiss in the observation room. "Who was that?" Weiss asked.
"Freya, the current Winter Maiden." Winter replied. "Both me and Penny are the only people she's been allowed to see. She's probably only got days to live now." She told her sister, causing the Iron Lady's eyes to widen.
"Ironwood, he plans to make you the next maiden." She said.
"And if not me, Penny. Yes." Winter nodded.
"How long have you known?" Weiss asked.
"Since the fall of Beacon. Penny's known ever since she was revived." The woman told her.
"And you're just going to accept it? Accept that you had your destiny chosen for you? You're not even going to protest?" The former heiress questioned.
"I did, when he first proposed it to me." Winter nodded. "Penny wasn't sure how to feel about it, I doubt that she will any time soon, she's still a little girl on the inside." She added. "But, as I thought about it more and more, I soon came to think of it to be a chance to really make a difference. And when the time comes, it'd be my choice to make, not father's, not the General's. But mine, and mine alone."
Weiss couldn't help but admire how determined she was about it. The way it was said, she sounded like she had her mind dead set on it. "Okay." She nodded in understanding. A moment of silence passed between the two as they left the room and passed another hospital room, and saw that Autumn and Emerald were inside, the two were having an ultrasound done.
"Wanna stop and say hi?" Weiss' AED asked. Weiss looked at the couple as Autumn smiled and kissed her wife's forehead as an image came on screen.
"No, let's let them have their moment." Weiss said as they kept walking. "... Sky says he may know a way to bring Wolfang back." She said as they walked out of the hospital. Winter looked at her with wide eyes.
"He does? How?" She asked.
"Xol. He's heard from his Worm god that he has a secret that even Akka never knew: Necromancy." The girl said. "After he and Jaune are done in the Forgotten Shore, he'll go after Xol and his Knight and steal that secret."
"That's a pretty large undertaking." The older sibling commented as they got in their car and started up the engine.
"One that he's done before." Weiss stated. "I should know: I was there when he killed Akka and his Knight." She added.
"I… See." The older girl nodded as she pulled out her scroll. "Speaking of worms. Father's making an address for his campaign." She said.
"I bet he'll try and make a jab at Sky and the Iron Wolves to make himself look better." Weiss hissed as the video started playing. As per usual, the man was as pompous as ever.
"I've made it no secret that I will be opposing General Ironwood and his senseless Dust Embargo that's crippling all of Atlas." The man began.
"All of Atlas? What about Mantle you worthless—?!" Weiss started to say.
"Shh!" Winter hissed as their father continued, continuing his words about the embargo.
"It is my belief that these actions are not only reckless, but also criminal. Perhaps his most reckless move was trusting an underage child playing king with ensuring our safety." The man continued, causing Weiss to bristle angrily. "And let us not forget his failed attempt to reclaim the Siva nanotechnology from the clutches of the Worm God Xol—Costing this kingdom the loss of many of the brave men and women of the Iron Wolves, brothers rest their souls— as well as his poor job containing the beast." He continued. "And if that wasn't bad enough, in another failed attempt to do something substantial, Ironwood allowed not only for the Prison of Elders to fall and its inmates run amuck—including the Deadly Captains and their leader Roman Torchwick— but also cost us the life of a young and promising Huntsman. Wolfang Amadeus Prowl, a boy who in fact would have become my son in law." He continued. "Please, a moment of silence for him before I continue, ladies and gentlemen."
"He's lying out of his ass! If Sky or Blake were there right this moment, he'd be a statue right now!" Weiss grumbled furiously, tears running down her face. "He hated the fact that Wolfang proposed to me. He said so himself!"
Winter pulled her sister close to her as Jacques continued his speech. "So in light of these developments and how it's affecting the efficiency of business, effective immediately I am closing all non essential SDC projects and branches." He said. "So I want you to ask yourself before the vote: who can stop ironwood? Robyn Hill? Will she get your jobs back? Ask yourselves this. And who do you trust more? Her, me, or the so-called "Enthrallen King" who's watching us all from his city destroying battleship with his army of monstrosities?!" He explained as several reporters raised their microphones to him, questions flying.
"That rat bastard! How dare he!" Weiss barked with an angry glare.
"I think father just gave the people the spark that will set Mantle on fire…!" Winter breathed.
"Not if Sky snuffs it out before it can burn." The younger girl seethed.
(Meanwhile)
On the Immortal Rage, Sky was glaring at the image of Jacques angrily. He was not happy with what the greedy bastard said about him or his army. In spite of it all, this did help him come to a decision.
"Veridas, I want the word to be spread around Mantle! The Immortal Rage is now hiring!" He ordered.
"Of course, my liege." Veridas nodded. After he left, Sky allowed himself a smirk.
"Jacques, you fucking dumbass. You just fucked yourself over. Thanks for the new employees." He said to himself.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile in the Forgotten Shore, more specifically in Jetsam of Saturn, a very familiar looking ice cream palleted girl was walking through the strong winds of the archipelago's coast, a pink, white and brown poncho keeping her warm as she tried not to lose her parasol or hat.
'Roman, my love, please wait for me! I'm coming!' Neo thought as she made her way to the giant ancient watch tower in the distance.
She had to find the one thing that mattered most to her in the entire world, before it could be taken from her a second time.
Dragon Emperor0: It's chapters like these that make me wish I had a girlfriend who was just as dedicated to anything as much as Neo is to Roman.
ThermalsniperN7: I hear that. Also, Sky hinted at what was going on with Amity Colosseum to Robyn. Also, he got dissed by Jacques before deciding to start hiring unemployed people in Mantle to compensate for the understaffed part of the Immortal Rage… Solving problems must be a specialty of his or something.
Dragon Emperor0: In canon, Ironwood didn't take Blake and Yang telling Robyn about Amity very well. Calling it betraying his trust, so how should Sky frame this to make it look like a good thing?
ThermalsniperN7: He could say that it would get Robyn to ease up on the pressure, and that he used riddles to allude to the truth without actually saying the truth. That could work.
Dragon Emperor0: True. Also guys, how'd you like the BMBLB moments in this chapter? Also, the Tormentor… God that lair was nightmare fuel.
ThermalsniperN7: No kidding. That sick bastard was gonna torture children for fuck's sake! That's where I draw the fucking line!
Dragon Emperor0: And moms! Moms are off limits! Anyway guys, see you next time.