A/N: College has officially started for me again, so after this chapter is published, I'm going to switch to the three-week format in order to keep up with my workload and give myself more breathing room with this thing as a whole. Chapters will be scarcer for a while. I apologize for that in advance. That being said, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Also, Astral Chain finally comes out today! Now I have something to play when I'm burnt out on Fire Emblem! Seriously, that game is so long, I and I'm not even through my first playthrough yet.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. It belongs to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.
I do not own the cover image.
Chapter 57: Unexpected Lessons, Overdue Escapes
A narrow pillar of flame emerged from Cinder's hand as she once more engulfed a hallucination of Ruby into ash. Emerald understood why she wanted to do this, and was more than willing to do as Cinder had asked, but...
"She's getting worse," Emeral whispered to Mercury, multitasking as she one more sent illusions of both Izuku and Ruby for the scarred woman to fight.
"And you're telling me this because...?" the grey-haired boy asked in disinterest.
"Because I need to tell... someone. This isn't just about getting revenge anymore, it's an Oumdamn obsession. Cinder's been asking about when Magnum's gonna get back, and the last time she spoke to Watts, all she wanted to know was how she knew Izuku's dad. The only thing she's been doing for training is... having me make copies for her to kill. I... I'm really worried about her," Emerald said.
"... well... shit, I've got nothing," Mercury responded, genuinely at a loss as to what to say to her.
As they spoke, Cinder had gone through multiple rounds of those illusions as, whenever one fell, another would replace it just as quickly, exactly as she'd asked her to. Her left arm wasn't in fighting condition at the moment, so, instead, she trained the limbs she still had: her still flesh and blood right arm, and her legs, now machine in nature thanks to Watts. She gave a roundhouse kick to one of Ruby's visages, causing her to hit the wall with a thud as it turned once more into a Creep, and immolated Izuku's visage as he melted into a Beowolf, a sadistic smile spreading across her face and sending shivers of fear up Emerald's spine.
"Cinder, dear. How goes the recovery?" Salem asked as she walked into the room, never making a sound as she almost seemed to glide across the floor. Cinder, now seeming somewhat sheepish, immediately tried to compose herself as the smile was wiped from her face. Before she could answer, however, her legs suddenly spasmed, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Or, she would've, if not for that fact that Salem had materialized a dark hand of pure shadows and gently placed Cinder upright once more, causing Emerald's eyes to widen in surprise. If Mercury felt similarly, he didn't show it.
"I see you still have a ways to go. Fear not, this is to be expected. Athens wasn't built in a day, after all," the pale woman said as Cinder gave a firm nod.
"Rest now. Let your body repair and come back stronger. Then you may continue," she said in a motherly but still cold tone, to which Cinder obeyed without question, even though Emerald knew that she was likely seething that she couldn't keep going.
"You," Salem said, gaining both Emerald's and Mercury's attention as she then continued, "You're Emerald, yes?"
"I am. Why do you ask?" the mint-haired girl asked.
"I would like to speak with you. In private," the woman said as she glided out of the room, her tone leaving no room for argument. Emerald gave an audible gulp at this, knowing just how terrifying someone like this could be when they were enraged. There had been plenty of people like that in Vacuo and Mistral, and she dwarfed them all in sheer presence alone. And now Salem was asking to speak to her in private. Needless to say, Emerald was nervous.
Still, she did as she was asked and followed Salem out of the room to the place that the last major meeting happened. She could still see where Torchwick's bullet had landed, straight through the ghostly dead wood of Tyrian's chair and heavily indented into the wall behind it. The fact that Salem hadn't repaired it yet was odd to her, but she never voiced her confusion over the matter.
"Sit, please," Salem said as she sat down in her throne at the head of the room, and Emerald took a seat directly in front of her, visibly stiff and somewhat awkward as she did so.
"I must say, your ability is quite... interesting. You can make people see things?" the pale woman asked with genuine curiosity.
"Yes, madam. I can usually use it fine on just one person, but... doing it with two gives me a real headache. I haven't tried for three yet, but I don't think it'll go any better," she answered.
"I see. And you received this ability...?" Salem asked.
"I... didn't. All I can remember is making someone see something that wasn't there. Then I took their Lien and ran like hell. I was... six. I think," Emerald answered once more. This was a bit confusing. Why was she asking stuff like that? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to ask how it worked and how far she could push it?
"I see you're confused by these questions," Salem predicted, to which Emerald reacted with surprise, almost as though she could read her thoughts.
"I'm not telepathic. Just good at reading people," the woman again answered, smirking in amusement as Emerald gave a blank stare of disbelief.
"Erm... okay, but... why did you ask me about this? There's nothing that special about my semblance," Emerald said.
"But that's just it. What you possess is not a semblance."
.
..
…
"... I'm sorry... what?" the mint-haired girl said in genuine confusion.
"What you possess, girl, is something far rarer and far more malleable than a semblance. You are one of the Inclined, one of the last people on Remnant to possess genuine magic."
Salem said it casually, as if she were simply saying something that was common knowledge or a basic fact, but the weight that Emerald felt when she heard that... dear Oum, for a few moments she wished she'd never heard it. She was like... one of the Maidens? Not as powerful, but... she could do magic? Actual magic?
"Of course, you possess a particular talent for the school of Illusion. And, considering the fact that most people these can't handle higher magic without being a Maiden, it's likely all you can use," Salem said.
"Wait... there are schools for this kinda thing?" Emerald asked in further surprise.
"Oh yes. Eight of them in fact. Before the old gods abandoned Remnant, it was common knowledge. It was simply the way the world worked. When they left, humanity was forced to survive on their own. After an encounter with a third entity, neither divine nor damned, they gained abilities all their own. But those with magic, what little of it was left, remained, and through that same entity, survived. It's quite the story.
"But that's for another time. Would you like to learn about them?" the pale woman asked. "The Schools, I mean."
"Erm... if it's alright with you," she replied.
"Of course it's alright. I haven't been able to talk much about this for such a long time. Well, let's start with the first one. There's the School of Abjuration, magic mainly focused on defense and, at times, even banishment. It was never a school many focused on, but those who did were said to make the mightiest defenses ever seen. I do have a few of those up my sleeve myself.
"Next is Conjuration. It's... well, to be entirely honest, it's one of the simplest yet most convoluted schools of all eight. Users of Conjuration do what the name implies: conjure things, whether out of thin air or other from somewhere else. It can be objects, elements, weapons, sometimes even copies to fight on the user's behalf. The greatest of them could even jump great distances by simply 'conjuring' themselves elsewhere."
"That sounds... convoluted," Emerald said.
"It was the result of many masters of the school pushing the rules of conjuration to their absolute limit. I honestly doubt you'll see someone with those kinds of capabilities, but it's a good thing to keep in mind nonetheless. Moving on, we have one of the rarest schools. It's simultaneously one of the most powerful. Divination, the power of prediction and foresight. Its users could often foretell great ascensions and natural disasters. The greatest of them even had the potential to change the outcome to their liking. As you can imagine, this didn't sit well with most people. There's a reason it's the rarest. But that's a story for another day.
"Then there's the School of Enchantment. And I know what you're thinking, but no, they aren't the ones who make things stronger or create blades that light on fire or anything like that. Those are the Smiths, and they're something else entirely. Enchantment magic directly interferes with the mind. They can make someone believe things they never did, or insert themselves into someone's life with a simple wave of their hand. It was abhorred as an awful art even when magic was still available to all. I don't blame them. Nevertheless, it is a valuable tool, one that you should keep in mind.
"Next, we have the School of Evocation. This is what most think of when they hear the word 'magic.' Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, and general attack spells are all a part of this school. It was by far the most popular, and every Mage worth their salt would know at least a single one of these spells. It was closely tied to the primary elements, and all things that came with them. But it, too, was closely bound to the power of mending. To evoke is to channel, and some thought to use that power to heal instead of harm.
"There was also the School of Necromancy, one so hated and feared in equal measure that those who practiced it were even rarer than those of the Enchantment school. The only ones rarer were practitioners of divination. I believe the name is enough to understand this field and its practices. Admittedly, I know some spells from this school. They are useful tools."
Emerald was still processing all of this, but there was something still that she couldn't understand. Why was Salem bothering to tell her all of this? Why was she admitting to being a magic-user? To knowing Necromancy? Was she just that confident? Or did she just not care?
"Oh, my apologies. I can see that this is all an awful lot to take in. We can continue later, if you wish?" Salem offered, noticing that Emerald was beginning to let her mind wander and process everything.
"No, no, I can keep going," Emerald replied. She was genuinely interested in what Salem was talking about, and if she could enhance her powers, maybe make it so that she didn't get headaches anymore... maybe she could be more useful.
"Alright. Well, there's only two more to go, so let's get to them. The School of Transmutation is the most technical and complex school of magic to understand. In effect, they could do many things. Change people's faces, turn one thing into another, and so much more. The road to mastery was difficult, but the ones who could were said to have enough power to bend reality itself to their will. There weren't many of them. And those who did were either regarded as saints or hunted down for 'misuse' of their power.
"And finally, there's you. Your magic, Emerald Sustrai, is the School of Illusion. Now, I know you may be wondering now if Illusion is simply a reskinned version of Enchantment, but I assure you it's not. While Enchantment directly interferes with the mind, Illusion only interferes with perceptions. Making people see and hear things that aren't really there. Those talented enough in this school could make illusions so great and so powerful that they had the potential to become real, at least for a time."
"... but... I can barely keep focused on one person," Emerald replied in shock. The potential of her school of magic was that great? It was... overwhelming. "How would I be able to do... that?"
"It's simple, really. You can't. At least, not yet. I see a great deal of potential in you, Emerald. It's true that you cannot use other schools, but Illusion is quite versatile. We must simply expand the scope of what you can do."
"But how?"
"Magic is a knowledge-based art. The more you know of it, the easier it will be to use. That's how it's always been," Salem explained, then standing as she continued, "When you return from Mistral, I'll teach you what I know of the Illusion school. Now, don't let me keep you any longer. I'm sure you already have much to do."
"Okay," Emerald said as she stood and walked away, still shocked by what Salem had told her. Then, a thought entered her mind, and she stopped. "Erm... Madam Salem?"
"Just Salem is quite alright, dear," the pale woman said.
"I just... I wonder... what's your school? And how do you know so much about magic?" Emerald asked.
"Ah. Understandable questions, young one. In truth, I've always had a talent for the Evocation and Transmutation, but I am now what those in my time once referred to... as an Archmage," Salem replied, a gleaming brand now floating in the air above her hand in crimson red, with eight sigils interwoven in a circle around her own symbol: a single, glowing crimson eye. "And until six months ago, there were only two of us left. Unless he manages to reincarnate again, I will be the only one left."
The sight of it was enough to send Emerald out, though she swore her mind was messing with her when she saw Salem about to leave her chair, and then deciding to let her be.
(meanwhile, the Schnee Manor, Weiss' POV)
Weiss was neither joyful nor regretful that she was leaving the manor she'd called home for so long. She'd done it once before, now she was simply doing it over the cover of darkness. With a distraction no less. Weiss wanted to take both Klein and Walter with them, but they'd shut down her argument fairly quickly, and countered that in order for them to escape, they'd need more than the cover of darkness. They needed to attract everyone's attention to one place.
She hated this part of the plan. She didn't want to potentially lose the only person who'd been an actual father to her. But, as Momo put it, a look of regret in her eyes, these were desperate times. They'd be back for them, there was no doubt in her mind about that.
But even as they snuck through the halls with bare feet quietly stepping against the cold floor, it would seem that the news of this distraction had not reached her father's ears. Nor Ironwood's for that matter.
"That is completely out of the question!" Jacque shouted as they came close causing Tenya to suddenly stop and Momo's hand to hover over bare skin, ready to make a construct at a moment's notice.
"You're not listening again," Ironwood replied calmly, as though he'd been through this argument multiple times beforehand. Considering exactly who he was dealing with, Weiss wasn't surprised.
"What's there to listen to?! First the embargo, then the security measures, and now this?!" her father yelled with a fury she'd not heard since the late days of her mother's resistance before she gave in to alcohol completely.
"I find your second reason for outrage rather ironic," Ironwood said, pointing out just how much ludicrous 'protection' the Schnee Manor was under.
"Do not change the subject! This isn't even about the Company anymore! What you propose could affect all of Remnant!"
"Don't even try to play the Good Samaritan here, Jacque. If I'm going to succeed; if Atlas is going to succeed, then we need to make sure we don't meet the same fate as Vale. I will not let it happen again," Ironwood said with a ferocity that stopped everyone in their tracks. There were several long, silent seconds before anyone moved again.
"... very well. I shall help you with the border, you blind fool," Jacque tiredly insulted as they crept past.
"Look who talking..." Ironwood's voice faded as they turned the corner, out of sight and out of mind.
No one said a word, but among the group was a silent understanding of what had just transpired. Atlas was closing its borders. To everyone. Even Mistral. It would make getting out of here even harder than it would've been before. She just hoped they could slip through before the blockade fully formed.
Finally, after several long minutes of quiet and patience, they arrived at their destination: the Schnee reading room. It was almost never used, and security here was light, now downright barren due to the distraction from Klein and Walter. The riddle to the passage from her mother ran through her mind. A book of blank pages, void of all meaning, placed among the scholars and thinkers, who all write their stories.
Tracing with her finger, she quickly found a book with a blank spine and a white cover, and gave the pages a quick flip-through. Empty, devoid of all words. Just as she'd said. Weiss quickly walked over to an opposite shelf and placed it among accounts and records of the greatest scholars and philosophers in Solitas' long history, hearing a click as the shelf detached one of its sides from the wall. It was there. The way out.
"Quickly, quickly," Tenya said with his pistol out and ready, ushering the two inside as he covered the entrance to the tunnel, closing it once more with a dull click as the shelf was pulled back into place. His chair made the glasses-wearing hunter no less intense or formidable, especially since she knew the truth of the matter.
The path down the tunnel was silent, lit by dust-candles that burned through the night as it began to wind further and further, deeper and deeper. They were getting close to the hangar.
When they next came to a wall that appeared to be a dead-end, Weiss quickly swept Myrtenaster up and channeled a moderate amount of wind dust into the blade, allowing her to move the wall upwards without any effort whatsoever. In front of them now was their personal hangar, with a wide gap for ships of several types to both dock and refuel.
But only two remained in there now. The Schnee's personal high-speed ship, and a single, long-distance cargo ship. The latter was their ticket out of here, and Weiss and Momo had already gone out of their way to pay the man in advance. It had never been their ideal plan, but since Tenya would never be able to get them back through official channels, much to his own dismay, he quickly realized that this was really the only option they had. At least, the only one that made sense.
"Leaving so soon?"
When everyone was about to draw their weapons, they immediately saw that they were held under the watchful eye and itchy fingers of three mercenaries, all with the same, standard-issue rifle, with Whitley standing just behind them with his hands behind his back. "Don't even try to activate your Aura. I know it comes up fast, but it's still not quite as fast as a bullet is from this distance."
Weiss, turning to Tenya and Momo to reassure them, simply nodded and dropped Myrtenaster to the ground, something she promised herself to make up for later by polishing it to the finest shine it would ever hold. They then did the same, Momo stopping her construct and Tenya lowering his gun.
"Alright, sir. Now that we-"
"My father can wait a little longer for a simple report," Whitley said with authority in his tone. Now Weiss was confused. If he was loyal to their father, as he claimed, he'd have them report this right away, without a second thought. What was he planning?
"I simply must ask, dear sister. You of all people must've known how futile it would be to try to escape. Especially with the reinforced security. So, I ask... why bother?"
"... I refuse to live as a prisoner in the place that should be my home. I refuse to stand by and watch while people keep dying and I can do something about it. So, I'll leave. And I'll fight for them. I'll slay as many Grimm as I have to. Bring justice to as many corrupt people as I have to. And if push comes to shove... if I have to, Whitley, I'll fight you too," she answered, surprised at the determination in her own voice. But what she'd just uttered was the truth. She didn't want to hurt her brother, but if he continued to block off their escape, she couldn't see any other way out of there.
A slight chuckle escaped Whitley's lips for a brief moment before, suddenly, he took a silenced gun out from behind his back and fired three rounds into the heads of all three mercs, their bodies quickly hitting the ground as he did so.
"Excellent answer, Weiss," Whitley said as he calmly undid the silencer from his pistol. "Don't worry about them. I used rubber bullets, and those helmets don't exactly offer a whole lot in terms of protection. They'll be out cold for the next few hours."
"I... Whitley, what did you just... if father finds out-"
"He won't. Before I came here, I stopped the cameras from recording and started playing footage for all of them on a loop. He won't know how you escaped, all he'll know is that you're gone," Whitley said as he began arranging the bodies in a more battle-esque manner, to assure his cover. "If you're going to leave, let it be now. They won't be fooled for much longer."
"Okay. Tenya, Momo, let's go," Weiss said as she made her way to the cargo ship with Tenya quickly following at her heels.
"Weiss, wait," Momo said as she trailed behind. Weiss nodded to Tenya, and he gave one back as he went to the ship to tell the pilot to prepare for takeoff.
"What is it?"
"I think... I'm going to stay. In Atlas."
…
"... but... why? I-"
"Weiss, we don't have time to argue about this. Walter and Klein are going to need someone to help get them out of trouble, not to mention the fact that Whitley won't be able to make it look like an actual battle took place here without help. And they're short of allies as it is. If I'm here, I can use what leverage I have within my family to at least make things easier for them. And, if you do come back, I'll be waiting for you. So please, go. Get out of here. We'll be alright," Momo said, tears threatening to spill as she said a hard goodbye to her best friend.
Weiss didn't hesitate to give her the tightest hug she could, one that Momo quickly returned. They had been through so much together. Their respective families influence, their childhood, most of their teenage years. It was hard to let Momo go after they'd just reunited not even two months ago. But she had to. And she did.
"I'll come back. And I'll bring as many people with me as I can," Weiss promised.
"Thanks. And I... I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you... give this to Shoto for me?" Momo asked, handing Weiss a letter, tightly sealed, with Shoto's name written across the back in her flowing cursive.
"Of course," Weiss said, taking the letter without hesitation and turning back to the ship, running up the ramp, and letting the door seal behind her, the hope of freedom in her reach, in addition to the feeling of tightened anticipation in her stomach. Whenever something was bound to happen, she could only think of one place that those who attacked Beacon could ever target. Mistral. It was time to head to the land of forests and paintings.
A/N: And that's a wrap for this one as well! Honestly, I was expecting this to be a lot longer than it actually was, but here we are. Like I said up top, I'm going to be getting busy for a while, so chapter uploads are going to be slower from now on. I hope you all enjoyed regardless. And now:
Review Responses:
Thunder Dragon: Well, Weiss and Tenya are heading to Mistral now, so they'll probably be heading into danger pretty soon.
Odin's Eye: Well, once this arc s finished up, I do plan on taking a little bit of a break for about a month or so. Gotta let my brain rest.
Phoenix Wizard: Indeed.
Mecha Manda: He was initially helping out in Vale, but someone super high up in Mistral requested his help specifically. The hope is that by helping them out, Mistral will be able to send Vale reinforcements and relief support.
Black Fang: Was in Vale, currently in Mistral, missing Glynda.
Madmagusmax: It'll happen, eventually.
DD Lore Nerd: Oh yeah. When he learns about them (and he will learn about them), I don't think he'll even hesitate to destroy them.
Gojifreak: No, no... he doesn't show up until the next arc.
guest: Indeed, it's actually one of my favorites. I love literally everything about it.
Next Chapter: Sep. 20th
Seeya in the next one!