Alrighty then, we get some more meat on Weiss' story. I do hope you all get what I'm implying about her father's "friends". And yes, it's 40k related.
"I'm not your pet, not another thing you own.
I was not born guilty of your crimes.
Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore.
I won't be possessed,
burdened by your royal test.
I will not surrender.
This life is mine."
Weiss finished her song and bowed to the audience. The audience began to applaud but in the corner of her eye she could see her father not clapping, an expression of indifference on his face. Next to him was Whitley, slowly clapping while leaning closer to his father, whispering something into the man's ear. No doubt something condescending about her and it almost looked like Jacques nodded at the boy's words.
She finished her bow and exited the stage, finally able to quit her feigned smile. She did not enjoy being her father's tool for political and financial gain. That was all this concert was. But there were oddities. She recognized some of Atlas' elite, both financial giants as well as major political players, and then there were new faces. And she would have to mingle with them later. What soul-sucking 'joy'.
The party proved to be every bit as tedious and boring as she had feared it would be. And then there were the actual people. Dust, how she despised them. But even so, she behaved, even trying to smile at her father's poor excuses for jokes.
She was stuck seeing and listening to her father entertaining some quests. At his side was Whitley, who unlike his sister, didn't seem to mind his father's humor.
The guests were some of Atlas' financial and political elite as well as other individuals, many of which wore a white armband.
Both of the male Schnees wore the same sort of white armband. It was of the same cut as the one Weiss had seen her brother wear before only now she got a much better view of it. Atlas's crest was embroidered on it in silver, surrounded by a crown walling it off from the other kingdoms' crests. They called themselves 'The Friends of Atlas' and seemed to be mostly focused on bolstering Atlas' prestige and financial situation. As well as their own.
And then there was another bunch that she had never seen before. They did not belong to the other groups she had seen at the party but all of them seemed to have been invited by either her father or by other quests. Many wore the same armband as her brother and father and did greet each other like they were old associates. A common feature Weiss noticed among these people were their girt. They all seemed to be quite fat.
"Ah, Jacques, how nice to meet you again." said one of them, approaching the Schnees. "How have you been? I trust business is going well?" The two men shook hands and locked eyes for a moment. It seemed weird, but Weiss almost felt like she was seeing the two men conversing without words somehow as their faces for brief moments displayed different emotions ranging from surprise, confusion and acceptance.
"Oh Crassus, I've been doing quite well. And as for business, well it's as well as one could hope it to be, what with Ironwood's embargo and all."
"Yes, yes, but our leader-"
"Our chairman, you mean. The chairman of the Friends of Atlas." said Jacques and tossed a look at those not wearing an armband before resuming eye contact with the man. To Weiss it seemed like he wanted something to not be heard by those not affiliated by The Friends of Atlas.
The fat man was quiet for a while, looking into Jacques eyes without saying a word. "Ah! You are right, As always. I misspoke. But as I meant to say: our chairman has expressed the thought that the closing of the border might be good for our interests."
Jacques gave the man a stern look and the fat man flinched ever so slightly as if struck on the head and Whitley seemed to grimace as well.
"Oh, pardon me. I meant, good for Atlas' interests. It would allow us to mind our own business without the fear of our enemies putting their noses into them. But I see that I'm intruding on your conversation. We'll speak later Jacques. Our… Chairman wishes to discuss some of our future plans with you at your earliest convenience."
The fat man gave an awkward bow and then moved on to another gathering of guests with remarkable speed for someone with his bulk.
"Who was that?" asked Weiss.
"A concerned citizen of Crassus, Crassus Nothi."
"I can't help but share Crassus' and your chairman's sentiment. The closed border is a necessity right now, but personally I would push for a bit more aggressive strategy." said an elderly man Jacques had been talking to previously. "With the development in Vale, Atlas just cannot afford to remain passive."
"Why, whatever do you mean, my friend?"
"You know what I'm mean. I'm talking about the Angel and his take-over of Vale. It should be obvious that the Angel is a serious threat to Atlesian interests. We should muster our forces and take the fight to the Angel!"
"Hear! Hear!" said many voices in agreement.
"An interesting proposal." said Jacques and Weiss could swear that he was edging the man to go on.
"I think it's only right for Atlas to restore the legitimate government of Vale to power. I say that we should capture Vale and restore order."
"An fine suggestion." said Jacques. "But I fear that might prove difficult. Given how quickly Vale was taken over, it would not surprise me if the Angel had our old friends put to the sword. A restoration of Vale's legitimate government would probably require Atlas occupying Vale and instating an government to serve during the interim, until Vale would be able to reelect its council, that is. A council which would certainly know and remember those who helped it get on its feet in the beginning."
A lot of people hummed their agreement at this. "Aye, I think maybe the new government might be willing to grant Atlas a small boon, say a new trade agreement regarding the dust trade."
"Or perhaps the right to move troops across the border to safeguard Atlesian interests, like SCD transports. Or to help hunting down rebellious elements."
The crowd started to talk and murmur about these things. Weiss could see many of the business people seem very eager all of a sudden. And then there was the Friends of Atlas. They did seem eager about the speculations about occupying Vale but what they really seemed pleased about was the emotions Jacques had managed to stir up in the crowd. They now seemed to edge the crowd on in their speculations.
Old, unfavorable, trade agreements with Vale were often brought up, as were the old memories of Mantle's defeat at the hands of Vale and Vacuo.
"Yes, pity that such a thing will never happen." said the fat man Weiss had seen before, loud enough for all to hear him. "The council would never sanction such a plan."
"Why do you say that?"
"Why, just look at them! The Angel takes our one of our allied kingdoms and they do nothing but bicker and quarrel! Why, one should make away with them and replace them with one single and effective leader, if only to see justice done."
"Oh, that is and dangerous idea and not to be taken lightly. But it's an interesting idea worthy of consideration."
This stirred up another round of murmurs.
Weiss carefully stepped away from her father, not wanting to get dragged into this debate. Were these people out of their minds? Klein had told her that she might not appreciate the company Whitley and her father had begun to keep. Well, he had been right. Now she just wanted out of here.
She felt someone grabbing her arm and she looked up at her father's face.
"Weiss, where are you off to?"
"I need something to drink."
"Weiss, that is what the servants are for." he said and raised her arm to call for one of the serving staff but Weiss stopped him.
"Actually, I do need to stretch my legs. Now, if you don't mind…"
With that she turned around and quickly stepped outside of her fathers reach. But as she walked away, Weiss did not notice the expression of disapproval on her father's face, nor the smirk from Whitley.
She dodged a few people as she moved forward, making sure to put as many bodies between her father and herself as possible without being spotted or engaged in conversation by any of her father's associates.
Her hopes of getting away from her father's war-eager companions as she overheard a group of Friends of Atlas complain about the current situation in Vale. But also about Ironwood.
"I hear he's got his troops chasing White Fang in Mistral rather than to take the fight to Vale."
"Why, I reckon that he is trying to appease the Angel, trying to deliver the ones responsible for the attack to him."
"That might be it, but aren't we a bit hard on him? Surely there couldn't have been much sense for Ironwood to fight the Angel's forces when they took our troops completely by surprise in Vale"
Weiss blinked. Was this real? Was there actually a reasonable person apart from her in this room?
Then the man continued. "But now that Atlas' forces have regrouped, he should strike!"
Weiss reconsidered. She was surrounded by idiots and fools. Did these people not know what had happened in Vale? Did they not realize that Atlas mustn't attack Vale?
She kept walking, trying to stick to he walls and tried to seem focused on the artworks on display. A particular one caught her interest. It was a painting of Beacon in all its glory. Oh, how she missed it.
She had barely had time to enjoy the painting to its fullest extent when she heard someone approach her from behind. "You two make quite the match. You're both beautiful."
Weiss did not respond immediately to the young man and kept looking at the painting. "Yes, it is truly a piece of art."
She turned to face her new conversation partner. He was dressed in fine clothes and she supposed he could be described as handsome, were he not such a douche. He reminded her of Neptune, only a lot shittier. Despite his youthful and otherwise healthy appearance, he seemed a bit chubby around the waist. No other part of him was fat, only his upper body. And he kept eyeing her with such an indecent expression. More often than not his gaze wandered down from her face to her bosom. To Weiss it was quite clear what this young man was after.
"So, me trying to break the ice. How am I doing so far?
Weiss just looked at him coldly and said "You are leaving a lot to be desired."
"Well, I do appreciate honesty in a woman. Name's Henry. Marigold. Maybe you've heard of me?" he said and offered a hand.
Oh, she had heard of him. Nothing good though. There were even some rumors saying that Henry had a bastard or two around Atlas, but his wealthy family had helped to sweep that under the rug.
"Weiss Schnee." She shook his hand very loosely. It's said that you can tell a lot from a character's handshake. If such talk was to be believed, then Weiss would have considered Henry a spineless coward or someone of ill repute.
"I know, I saw your performance. Obviously. You were wonderful. And I promise I'm not just saying that 'cause you're pretty."
Bleh! Yang would have probably decked this guy in the schnoz by now for that line. Or something like that. Good havens, having Yang with her at this party would've been interesting to say the least.
Weiss turned her attention back to the painting, and there was a brief silence between the two.
Good havens, what she wouldn't give for Neptune to kick in the doors and push this fool away right now? Or Yang? Heck, at this point she would have settled for Jaune before he began changing.
"So, this painting is nice. But it's a bit pricey for my tastes. I mean, that much for a painting of some stupid school?"
"It's to raise money." Weiss grabbed the railing so hard that her knuckles turned white. How dared he call Beacon stupid?
"Oh, charity? So does that mean this is another Mantle fundraiser or something?"
"It's meant to go to Vale. To help them rebuild."
"Ha-ha-ha! Good one, but nah. My dad said this was a pro-Atlas gig or something like that. Besides, Vale is in the Angel's hands. If he wanted it so badly that he had to stage a coup, then he can fix it himse-"
"Get. Out." That was it! She was fed up with this nonsense.
"Pardon?"
"Get! Out!"
The sheer venom in Weiss' voice made the boy turn tail and seek shelter among his peers who had turned around to see what the commotion was all about. The entire room seemed to have turned around to face her. Jacques pushed his way through the crowd, tightly followed by Whitley. The elder seemed absolutely furious while the younger seemed absolutely ecstatic at his sister's behavior.
"All of you, get out! This is meant to be a charity for helping rebuild what Atlas forces destroyed in Vale, what the grimm destroyed because Atlas failed in its duty to protect Remnant! And you all are can't be bothered about anything else than lining your own pockets!"
"Weiss Schnee, that is quite enough!" hissed her father as he stepped forward and grabbed hold of her arm. "You are making the Schnees look bad!"
"Let go of me you heartless bastard!" She pulled herself free but Jacques insistent attempts to seize her made her fall over. Desperately to resist him, Weiss reached for the only thing she had that could ward off him with. And so, without thinking, she reached inside and pulled on her semblance. Jacques stepped backed as a glyph formed next to Weiss, bringing out the form of a white Boartusk.
It let out a roar as it stepped forward to protect its mistress, making the crowd scream in fear. All except the strangely fat ones. They seemed confused and looked to Jacques for guidance. Some were already spreading out as if they were looking for a clear line of fire. All without a word being spoken between them.
The Boartusk looked as if it was about to charge as Herny, one of the greatest sources of Weiss' anger at the moment. The Grimm charged, leaping into the air to slam into the young man when it just seized to be. One moment it was there, the next: gone.
All head turned to see general Ironwood almost casually stroll through the room, smoking revolver in hand. He looked utterly at ease with the situation, almost like it was another day's work to him.
"Thank havens you're here, general!" shouted a woman hysterically. "Arrest that madwoman at once! She in insane! What are you waiting for?"
"Shut up." the general's tone was measured but there was plenty of irritation in it, and he made no attempt at hiding it. The woman looked at him slacked jawed. "She seems to be the only one here making a lick of sense. And given what she just did, does not speak well for many here."
"Ironwood, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing here?" demanded Jacques as he stepped up to the general and began to walk side-by-side the man.
"Why should I not be here? I got an invitation."
"But I- Of course. How could I forget? It must have slipped my mind."
"Yes, you must have. Now, you have a room full of spooked quests. I would suggest that you talk to them while I speak to your daughter about what she just did."
"I am perfectly able to disipl-"
"Or do you want to chance another of your daughter's rouge summons? I only have so many bullets, Jacques."
Jacques narrowed his eyes. "I'll see to the quests."
"See that you do."
"General, I didn't-" said Weiss but was cut off by the general.
"Quiet." said the man in a hushed tone and as he put away his gun he discreetly pointed out one of Jacques strange associates trying to come closer. "Walk with me."
They walked a bit away from the rest of the quests. The background music grew stronger and soon they couldn't hear what the other quests were saying. But neither did the quests hear them.
"I want you to know that I understand why you did what you just did."
Weiss looked up. "Really? Oh, thank-"
"Keep your head down! I'm supposed to be scolding you!"
"Apologies, sir." She bowed her head as if she was being scolded for real.
"Better. Now I want you to know that you have just made a very big mistake. A bigger mistake than you could possibly imagine."
"Yes, father will no doubt be angry with me for ruining his PR."
"That's only part of it. You have just jeopardized his plans as well as played right into your brother's hand." The general tossed her a sideways glance to see if what he was telling her was sinking in. Alas, Weiss seemed mostly confused.
"I'm sorry sir, but you seem to have me at a disadvantage. What plans do you mean and what about Whitley?"
"Foolish girl!" the general said, loud enough so that the other attendants would think that he was still scolding her. And maybe he was in a way. "Tell me, what do you know of the current situation?"
"Very little." Weiss admitted. "My only real source of information has been Klein. But father and Whitley have been keeping him busy lately."
"Yes, he told me so." said the general to himself. "I'll be brief for we don't have much time and I fear Jacques has eyes and ears everywhere these days. You have to flee Atlas."
"Wha-"
"Don't argue! Jacques is planning something big and you have just turned from being an asset to him into being a liability."
"But I'm in line to inherit the SDC."
"No after this you aren't. Whatever Jacques is planning, these people's support for the SDC is paramount to it. And you've just put that at risk. And knowing Jacques, he will try to save face. I would guess he will have you disinherited by tomorrow. And that is why you must flee. Atlas is not safe for you."
"Is this why you wanted me to attend Atlas Academy? To get me away from father?"
Ironwood nodded. "That would have been the easy way, but now I fear that is no longer legally possible. He will not be letting you out of sight after this."
"But why? Why would I be in danger without the SDC?" Weiss was confused. What was going on? She touched her sleeve to make sure that the card Ironwood was still there, hoping it held the answers she needed.
"Whitley, that's why. Klein did tell you of how that snake has been worming himself into your father's good graces, did he not? Whitley wants the SDC for himself and with Winter out of the picture and your mother drowning herself in alcohol every day, you are the only obstacle between him and the company. He will want to cement his position by any means necessary."
Weiss looked at the general in disbelief. How on Remnant would Whitley be able to make away with her?
As if he had read her mind the general answered. "His got your father's ear. He might convince Jacques that you still constitute a threat to their grander plans. And he is not wrong. You were at Beacon, you saw what happened, you might tell people the truth. Not to mention that you know the Angel. They fear him and so they might fear you."
"But how?"
"Stupid girl!" the general let his temper flare, but he also did it to make it seem like he was still scolding her. "Jacques' is using the supposed threat of the Angel to gather up supporters. But if they learn that you might convince the Angel to leave Atlas alone, they might begin to follow you instead of Jacques. Either alternative would not work for him."
Weiss was quiet for a moment. She was not ready for any of this. "What will he do with me?"
"My guess is that he would keep you locked away from public view forever. But I can imagine that you disappearing completely might be more convenient for him."
Weiss nodded slowly, the situation finally sinking in.
"What about mom? It was her father that founded the company, not Jacques'. Will she be alright?"
"I doubt Jacques considers her a problem, not with her alcoholism anyway. I doubt that she even has enough will to give her husband a stern no anymore unless it's about her cutting down on the booze."
"Leave. Leave as soon as possible. Leave Atlas, leave this party. Trust nobody but Klein, he will help you. Get to Mistral. Your sister is stationed there and Arc is leading his forces there on a hunt for Cinder Fall."
Weiss nodded but kept her head bowed down. Ironwood signaled for someone and soon Klein was at her side.
"Butler, do see Miss Schnee home. She must be quite tired after this ordeal." said the general as they stepped closer to the crowd.
"Very well, sir. Whenever you're ready madam."
"Oh, of course. Let's go Klein." As she walked through the crowd that looked at her like she was a dangerous animal, she caught a look at her father glaring at her.
Ironwood leaned closer to Klein before the Butler as he followed the pair to the door. "Make sure she gets out safely."
"Are you certain about this, sir?"
"Does the Ursa shit in the woods?"
"Very well, sir. I shall see to it." With that, the butler escorted Weiss to a waiting limousine. She sat down and began to ponder on her next move.
"Snowflake." there was a seriousness to Klein tone that she had seldom heard. "I probably do not need to tell you of the great risk the general has taken in informing you of these matters. For the sake of our friend, I suggest you make sure that what you've learned today does not reach your fathers ears. Or you brother's for that matter."
Mistral
"I'm bored!" groaned Ruby as she leaned against a snoring Nora in the Thunderhawk. Around them were the rest of JNPR as well as some astartes, all tending to their weapons in some way.
"Have you tended to your weapon?" said Skoraen without looking up from his own. With a few finishing touches he finished the appeasement of its machine spirit.
"Yes. Several times, and I've oiled the machinery, cleaned the barrel and prepared new dust rounds. I've done everything apart from redesigning Crescent Rose completely. Can't we go hunt some grimm?"
"Ruby, we just finished hunting down a Geist a few hours ago." said Jaune as he was cleaning Crocea Mors after said encounter. The local blacksmith had offered to mend the weapon for free as thanks for the aid the group had brought to the village. Alas, Jaune had decided to look after his sword on his own.
"Yeah, but then you had to spend sooooo muuuch time negotiating for that village to join the Imperium! Do any of you have any idea how bored I was?"
"I do. I had to look after Nora while Jaune was talking. But I must admit, fighting that grimm was quite the fight." agreed Ren. "I never thought I would get to blow a Golem to bits with demolitions charges. How is the wing Jaune? It looked like the grimm was about to get you when you and Ruby were putting the charges on it."
Jaune flexed his right wing carefully. It ached. He had hoped that a bit of exercise, even a mere glide, would help restore it to normal after Cinder's mistreatment of it. It hadn't. Instead he had almost gotten smashed flat by the Geist, only saved by Pyrrha pulling him out of harm's way by his armor with her semblance. "It's not quite healed yet."
"Shouldn't you let Deon have a look at it? Just to make sure."
"Ren, if I did that he would try to confine me to the Thunderhawk until we reach Haven, and probably even after that. It will just take some more time for the wing to heal, that's all."
"Ugh, boring!" said Ruby, again.
"If you are so bored, young huntress, then enlighten us on what you learned in the last village." said Amaretto. His Librarian's hood seemed to crackle with power as he shifted his focus to his immediate surroundings. The Librarian had been keeping a metaphorical eye on the condition of the warp, hoping that the turmoil would die down enough for the expeditionary forces to have their astropaths contact their chapters and summon more of their brothers to Remnant. But so far he had had no luck.
"Wha-what? I didn't see anything. It was a village in the sticks. I'm sure you all noticed more than I did, what with your auspises and-"
"Auspecs." corrected Skoraen. "And it not like they would tell us anything when we're stuck attending to some damn meeting to bring some backwater into the Imperium."
"Skoraen's temper aside, he is quite right. And besides, as a huntress, or rather as an unaugmented human, people will tell you different things than they tell us."
"Weeeel~" said Ruby, thinking back. "Me and Nora decided to check up the local blacksmith for some supplies and repair. He made it sound like things were worse than the mayor claimed it was, apart from them not hearing from Shion in a long time, but that's just because the Mistral Council hasn't booted up the CCT yet."
"How are things worse than they seem?" asked Pyrrha. "Everything seemed fine apart from the Geist that was roaming around. And the CCT will be back online soon enough."
"Well, the Blacksmith didn't know what it was, but he said people had been hearing strange noises and that some people had gone missing. Sometimes the dogs would just be on edge, as if something was out there."
"Obviously, it was the Geist." said Ren, brushing off the matter.
"Yeah, but would the people have noticed that thing getting near? That thing was huge!" Ruby pointed out.
"They were probably not paying attention."
"Yeah, that's probably it." said Ruby. The astartes however remained silent. "So, where are we headed now?"
"Shion, a larger town than this last one." said Jaune. "A lot better defended as well."
"You seem to know it."
"My family used to visit it all the time. It's quite a peaceful place."
"Oh yeah, your sisters did mention something about going camping." said Nora, waking up from her nap. "Didn't they give you pigtails until your parents gave you your own tent?"
Jaune nodded and gave a brief account of the time he had spent in Shion in the past. He did not hold back on the embarrassing details, no doubt would Ruby and Nora ask his sisters for more details if they suspected him of holding any back. After Ruby had gotten cheered up at his expense, Jaune decided to have Skoraen tell of his homeworld instead for a while.
"My lord, we're approaching Shion." said the voice of their pilot over the vox. "There is smoke."
At the mere mention of smoke the mortals tensed up while the astartes donned their helmets. Ruby and Pyrrha collected their things and prepared to move out while Nora and Ren moved to look out of the Thunderhawk to try to get a look of the damage. Even as they were landing landing they kept on looking until finally Amaretto got them to focus and prepare to disembark. The Librarian cast a glance to Skoraen who just nodded back.
As they stepped out they were met by the sight of ruined buildings and assaulted by the smell of smoke. Jaune and his sons were assaulted by the smell of smoke. They smelled blood, and the descendants of the IX knew blood. The town seemed desolate and Jaune counted more than just one corpse on the ground.
Ren and Nora moved as in a daze, eyes wide open with dread as they kept taking in what was in front of them. Despite the devastation they had seem in Vale, this was overwhelming for them.
"There could be survivors!" said Ruby, looking over to the experienced warriors for guidance. They were already looking with their armors' auspecs.
Jaune and stepped forward, quickly followed by a group astartes that had come to act as his personal guard but with a single order he had them search the area instead. He contemplated taking to the sky to get a bird's eye view but the pain in his wing made it clear that such an action would not end well.
"Over there!" said an astartes and pointed ahead. Ruby darted off in a cloud of rose petals quickly followed by Deon, his narthecium ready. Ruby had barely come to a stop when the Apothecary was at her side.
"It's a huntsman!" shouted Ruby and looked at the man's wounds. They looked bad.
The huntsman was propped up against a broken wall, breathing heavily, and bleeding from a vicious gut wound. He looked up in disbelief at Deon and at the tool attached to the arm of his armor. But he wasn't afraid. If anything, he looked relieved at the sight of the new arrivals. Even as the apothecary began to treat the man's wounds, his eyes drifted to the winged figure that was approaching him.
"What happened?"
"Bandits. The whole tribe…" the man stopped to cough up a fistful of blood. "Then, with all the panic…" Another cough, even worse than the last one, interrupted him.
"Grimm." said Ren, matter of fact. The huntsman's eyes were wide with fear as he nodded in return. But even as he did so his eyes grew dim and he began fading.
"Deon, do what you can for him." ordered Jaune, wanting answers. But man was fading fast.
The Apothecary shook his head even as he did as he was ordered. "It's too late, my lord. He is gone." He looked around and with a finger prodded at a pool of blood on the ground. Judging by how the dryness of the blood, the huntsman had been there for quite some time. "With these wounds it was a miracle he even lasted this long. He probably just held on just in case someone could come along so that he could warn them of what happened here."
"Should we bury him?" asked Nora.
"No, we should leave here. It's not safe and there is nothing for us here." said Ren and walked off towards the landing area in a hurry.
"Ren, we are not alone here!" shouted Nora, but quickly hurried after him as the others remained in the ruined town, hoping to find some more clues as to what had transpired there.
That bandits could be destructive they knew. Jaune's memories from his past life with the Tribe of Pure Blood and the harassment they had suffered at the hands of the rowing bands of mutants came to mind. But even those had not destroyed settlements in this way. Then again, that could have been the grimms' doing.
Jaune noticed Ren standing still and with Nora at his side, silently looking at the ground. He let them. Seeing the destroyed village seemed to have stirred something in them. He recalled Nora telling him that they were both orphans. Had it been something like what had happened to this village that was the reason? It might well have been, and it might explain how Ren had come to know of the use of a dream journal, something he had told Jaune about when his changes began. Alas, Jaune had promised Ren not to ask about that matter. And as an Arc his word was his bond.
He hoped that the two of them would confine in their friends about this. But for now they still had other things do deal with.
After a while the space marines returned, having completed their sweep of the area. There were no other survivors and nothing to be salvaged. What the bandits didn't take had been destroyed by the fire.
Amaretto called to a gathering and was soon joined by Skoraen, Furion and Deon.
"What troubles you, brother." Furion's tone was flat but he too was troubled. He had seen devastated settlements before, but this time was different. They had looked at the scene around them and concluded that it looked wrong. The way the fire had touched some of the buildings looked unnatural. Like how at a single point there was nothing but a scared spot surrounded by untouched greenery. And then there was the smell. Apart from the stench of blood and smoke there was a lingering smell of ozone. "Warp craft." some of them muttered and turned to the Librarian.
"I've sensed something. This place, there is a faint hint of warp energy here. It's faint but it's here. Look at the devastation of this village. It was not caused by mere bandits, nor does it match what we have seen of the grimm in Vale. No, this is something else."
There was a sharing of glances among the astartes and many moved their hands to their weapons without thinking it.
"Is it the ruinous powers?" asked Furion, eyeing everything with suspicion. He did share the Librarian's sentiment. Some of the destruction he had seen to the walls were unlike anything he had seen on this world so far.
"No, there is no corruption as far as I can tell. If anything, it feels similar to what the traitor Cinder Fall did at Beacon. And it's fading. Now there is nothing left here but questions without answers." said Amaretto.
Deon nodded in agreement. "Let us do honor to the fallen huntsman and collect his body for a proper send-off and quit this place. Perhaps the next village will have answers for us."
"Ren, are you thinking about what happened back then?" Nora ran up to her partner and grabbed him by the hand but Ren kept walking towards the Thunderhawk at the same pace.
Ren didn't answer her. This place, this village, the devastation, reminded him of a part of his life that he wished that had never happened. But it wouldn't. His home, his family, everything he had back then had been destroyed in a single day. And no one had the power to change that. Not the Brothers, the grimm or even the God-Emperor!
"Renny, that was a long time ago. That thing must be dead by now. That thing must've pulled attention to itself. Huntsmen must have been sent to deal with it."
Nora smiled as Ren stopped, eyes wide open in realization. 'Yes! He is seeing reason!' she thought. But then she saw what Ren was looking at and she fell silent. On the ground there was a giant print of a cloven hoof.
Ren had realized something and that was that the thing that had taken everything from him was not just around, but nearby. He felt Nora take his hand, both to try to comfort him as well as to get comforted.
"Amaretto, why are you halting?" Skoraen slowed down his pace and turned to the Blood Angel. "You had better not fall behind or we might leave you to march to the next settlement alone."
The Librarian had halted with his gaze directed at the two mortals that had made towards their vessel earlier.
"They are worried." said Amaretto and resumed walking, trying to look as casual as possible as he tried to see what the youths had seen.
It was a strange feeling, to look into the mind of someone else, or even to just feel the surface thoughts of someone else. It was even stranger with Remnantians and their odd connection to the warp, like it had been circumcised. But even so, he could feel the waves of worry emanating from the mortals bashing against his own mind. All of a sudden it had gone from a quiet buzz to a roaring storm to his senses. He could understand why they would be uneasy after seeing the village destroyed but so had Nikos and Rose and they had not reacted like this.
He could go deeper into their minds of course, but doing so would require preparations on his part, and preferably the cooperation of the Hunters-in-training.
Moving quickly they came across what the mortals had been looking at and it intrigued them quite a bit, especially the Flesh Tearer.
"Blood of the primarch, look at the size of them." Skoraen said over a shared vox-link to the Librarian. "I've seen many beasts on Cretacia, but none like this."
He followed the trail a bit and came across a clear print of a massive set of claws. "No doubt another kind of Grimm. Maybe the Lamenters could compare it to some sort of Tyranid."
"But have you seen bigger?"
The Flesh Tearer scoffed at that. "Of course, but these tracks would explain a few things." He indicated a few long and deep lines in the ground, going parallel with the tracks. "The Lamenters said that they had seen such markings around the area. Horizontal marks on walls and trees that were not made by a blade. Supposedly they almost looked like the traces of a whip-like weapon with a lot of weight behind it. Most likely this thing is responsible for some of what we have seen."
There was a slight twitch in Skoraens fingers and Amaretto could feel a sense of excitement emanating from the Flesh Tearer. This had gotten him excited, something he had not really been in a while. Not since they hunted the Geist earlier, of course. "So how do we proceed? Do we confront the mortals and learn what this thing is or do we hunt for it now?"
"We're quitting this place for now and whatever it is, it is long gone by now. Whatever this creature is, its gait is long and we should have detected it if it was anywhere near here. Nor do I think the humans would appreciate you prodding at the matter right now. Save your desire to hunt for later. Knowing our lord, you will give you the opportunity to sate it at some point."
Skoraen shrugged, but Amaretto could tell that the Flesh Tearer was restless. As they boarded the Thunderhawk they noticed tossed a quick glance at their lord's friends. Try as they might, the youths failed to hide their worry.
The space marines helmets clicked a few times as they finished their discussion over their vox-link. They would keep an eye on the mortals and also inform their father of their discovery.
The City of Mistral
Oscar stepped off the train and beheld Mistral in all its splendor. The city was a marvel of architecture and city planning.
'Welcome to the City of Mistral, capital of the Kingdom of Mistral and home to Haven Academy.' said Ozpin in Oscar's head.
"It's beautiful."
"It is. Would you like to get a better look at the views? I can guide you to the sights if you want to."
"Shouldn't we try to get to Lionheart? Ask him to help us contact Jaune Arc? Look for your friends?"
"Lionhearth will be at the Academy. As for the rest of my friends, well, I guess we'll be seeing a dusty old crow soon enough. But truth be told Oscar, I think you deserve some sort of reward for putting up with having a cranky old man in your head, and for all the sudden physical training I've been putting you through. Besides, I want to get a feel of the city and its people. If there is any reason to worry about Mistral arming up to fight the Angel, we will notice. But first, let's see if we can't get hold of one of my hidden stashes. And Oscar?"
"Yeah?"
"Talk to me with your mind, less people start thinking you're a loony. Or worse, guess the truth about us."
'Why would that be a bad?' thought Oscar, intentionally forming a sentence in his mind for Ozpin. And not a moment too soon as a few people were throwing him weird looks.
'Not all of the people that know of my condition are friends of mine. You better make sure to remember that. Now, let's get going.'
And so Oscar walked, taking a scenic route provided by Ozpin, and also getting a sense for the political climate in Mistral. It did not to their moods any favors. Ozpin's least of all. Asking about casually, often striking up conversations by asking directions, they learned that most of Mistral's huntsmen were busy outside the walls. Many of these huntsmen had been gone for quite a long time.
As the grimm had become more active since before what happened in Vale, the council had commissioned many huntsmen and huntresses to get the grimm under control. Many had yet to return home.
Throughout the city were armed men and women, donned in similar clothes. Not uniforms, but similar enough for one to recognize them as part of one and the same group.
'Militia.' muttered Ozpin in Oscar's mind. 'About the last thing we need.'
They had seen plenty of posters advocating for Mistral's citizens to take up arms against the looming threat of Vale attacking. The situation was not helped by the fact that the CCT was still down. Some officials feared that the Angel's forces might hack into it just like they seemed to have done when the Angel summoned his legion to Vale. However, this did mean that communications outside the city were limited and the only real way of getting news or messages across were by courrier. And with the grimm more active than before, no one had heard much in a long time. Mistral was isolated, barely in control over its own territory and had no real idea of what was going on outside the city's walls.
Without any hard proof to deny them, rumors about the Angel's offensive into the Kingdom had spread like wildfire.
"This is worrying." said Ozpin as Oscar was walking along the streets unguided. The boy's stomach began to growl and he was looking for a place to eat.
'So what now? Do we go to Lionheart?'
"No." the word made Oscar shake even if it had not been verbal. "Not yet, at what I've heard, Lionheart has been acting a bit oddly lately. I did give his some instructions in case of my demise, several of which seems to have gone unheeded. No Oscar, we will wait for now and observe, lay low and listen to the word on the street."
"I didn't think of you as being all that 'street'." commented Oscar.
"When you've been around the block as often as I have, you do pick up a few things. Oh!" Suddenly Ozpin took control over their body and directed Oscar away from where he had been going. "And do stay away from the red light districts. The only thing we will get there is robbed."
"Right." Oscar swallowed and quickly turned around. "So, you wouldn't happen to know where we could get a bit to eat?"
"I do. And I think it might also be a very good opportunity for us to get some more insight into what is going on here in Mistral. Turn right and follow the street for a few blocks. There should be a diner frequented by students there."
"Students? Are we looking for anything in particular?"
"Haven students, Oscar. There were some at Beacon when Cinder Fall sprang her plans into action. I'm hoping that there might be someone that might be able to tell us about Mr. Arc and this mysterious legion of his."
As they entered the diner, Oscar noticed that it was full of students. More than Ozpin had expected. Some of the older ones were nurturing drinks or enjoying large meals like they had all the time in the world.
Oscar felt a bit out of place in his simple farm clothes as he stood in the same room as the huntsmen and huntresses in training but he carried on. He walked down a small set of stairs and walked through the room, trying to look for the people Ozpin had described to him. Unfortunately, Ozpin seemed to have pulled back to the depths of Oscar's mind to rest, leaving Oscar to manage on his own. That made finding anyone more difficult than before. And he was tired and hungry. Maybe if he sat down and ate and waited around for a bit the students would show up?
After getting a plate of food and drink Oscar looked for a place to sit and found a seat by a table with only one occupant, a sullen girl nurturing a bit bucket of ice cream.
"Hey, is this seat taken?" asked Oscar.
The girl shook her head, not bothering to speak up as she kept scooping up the ice cream. Soon enough she hardly even seemed to notice that he was there, only continuing to eat her ice cream.
After a while of waiting something finally happened that made Ozpin reawaken and made Oscar look up from his plate.
"Man, this is bullshit!"
Oscar turned his head, trying to find the source of the angry male voice. It seemed to be coming from a more isolated part of the room. A bit of prodding from Ozpin helped him pin the source down. As bit away from his table were a bunch of students playing cards and talking. The subject matter seemed to be what had happened at Beacon and the Angel.
"Jackpot." said Ozpin and Oscar could swear that the dead man was actually smiling.
"Hey, be cool Cardin. You've already gotten us banned from two diners."
"Up yours! You know this stupid militia is seven kinds of stupid. Why not go out and beat some sense into them before Arc gets here?"
"Shut up! That's just the sort of talk that's made so many join the militia in the first place. What Jaune will do once he is ready is for him to know and for us to learn. Besides, what are you gonna do? Take on all of them by yourself?"
The first boy who had spoken didn't seem to answer.
"See? That's better. Now it's your turn to deal."
'Are these the ones we are looking for?'
"Indeed they are. Oscar, meet team CRDL of Beacon and SSSN of Haven Academy, minus Sun Wukong for whatever reason. Last time I checked, they were in the thick of the fighting at Beacon, after Arc recruited them to help."
After considering how to approach the group and how to introduce himself, Oscar got up and approached the students. "Uh, hi?"
All students turned quiet and turned towards him. Some looked annoyed, others neutral and a few seemed curious as to why this country boy had just walked up to them and began to ask questions.
"Um, you guys wouldn't happen to be from Beacon, would you? I mean, were you at Beacon when the grimm attacked?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Lay off him, Cardin." said the guy with blue hair, taking over the talking. "Sorry about Cardin's lack of cool, but he's got a point. What if we were at Beacon?"
"Um, I'm looking for someone who used to be at Beacon. A guy named Branwen, Qrow Branwen. I think he might have been at Beacon when it happened."
"Branwen? I might have seen a guy by that name at Beacon? Can you describe him? Just to make sure we're talking about the same guy."
'More like making sure you actually know Qrow. Here, this should do the trick.' said Ozpin and let loose a flood of memories into Oscars consciousness.
"Uh, sure. He's lanky, got bad hair, always wears an old red tattered cape. Oh, and he is always drunk."
"Yep. That's the guy. I remember seeing him when the battle began."
"So what happened?" asked Oscar and pulled up a chair.
The huntsmen-in-training shrugged and hesitated to talk. Oscar recalled from what he had previously overheard that this group had been banned from other places due to Cardin's vocal opinions regarding the militia and what had happened at Beacon.
'Great. How do we get them to talk?' asked Oscar of Ozpin.
'Not to worry Oscar. I have an idea. Let me take control for a while.' Oscar obliged and soon felt him arm being raised as Ozpin called for a waiter. He let the other boys at the table order some drinks, telling them that it was his treat.
"Telling stories is thirsty work." said Ozpin as he let Oscar take control again, a large glass of soda in his hand. Some of the other boys had glasses as well, but being older, not all had opted for sodas. All the better, Ozpin had told him. It would make loosening their tongues so much easier.
After taking a few swings Cardin began to speak. He proclaimed that he had been the one to discover the first clues of Cinder Fall's intentions and how he, and admittedly the rest of his team, had played a crucial role in unveiling the plot. Cardin claimed to have been chosen by the Angel's father, the Emperor himself, to aid the Lord Primarch.
Ozpin interjected by showing what Cardin actually meant by being 'chosen' by flashing a mental image of Cardin getting hit in the balls by Jaune Arc. Oscar forced himself to keep a straight face.
The story went on, as the rest of team CRDL told of how Cinder had infiltrated the CCT while everyone else was distracted by the Vytal Festival Ball. Well, almost everyone. CRDL had gotten their first suspicions about Cinder and her cronies that evening.
"That's when we got first contact with the astartes. They noticed what Fall had done and sent a message to the Lord Primarch. Once he knew of the virus in the tower he informed Ozpin. Too bad that the old geezer didn't do shit about it."
Oscar could swear that Ozpin took offence to that one and sure enough, Ozpin took control and spoke up in the hopes of not having to hear of his shortcomings and mistakes in such a rude manner.
"That's interesting, but I'm curious of what happened when Cinder was exposed. At the arena." Ozpin mimicked Oscar's speech pattern well enough for the boys not to notice.
Neptune shrugged. "Arc gathered us up, along with RWBY and CVFY and some others. Had us search for Cinder and her goons among the crowd. We found them just in time. Cardin & co. got Sustrai and Branwen got Mercury. Tossed the bastard onto the arena for all to see. I guess Cinder figured the game was up and tried to scare everyone with the last piece of her plan."
"But she failed?" Oscar leaned forward as to not a single detail, his drink all but forgotten.
"Oh, totally! Jaune stepped up and basically told her to shut up. Then he called them, the astartes. And they answered."
The story continued and Oscar found himself spellbound by the tale. Torchwick's commandeering of Atlas' flagship, the appearance of the Wyvern, the hacked robots, and the attack of the White Fang.
"Then Arc quit the field. His teammates said that he went off to help his partner with something."
'We know where they went.' said Ozpin and the mental image of the vault flashed in Oscar's mind. 'But what happened next?'
"What happened after that?"
"I don't know what they did but next we heard of them was when Pyrrha called Weiss. Somehow they were by the tower. Like the tower the Wyvern was clinging to! Like that's the worst place to be in!"
"Hey, it get better." interrupted Cardin. "We later learned that Cinder Fucking Fall was in the tower. Could you imagine if she and that grimm had spotted them when they were there?"
'Oh, that would have been bad.' agreed Ozpin. 'It's a good thing I told Ms. Nikos to call Qrow and the others.'
"Next thing we know, Pyrrha told Weiss to look after Jaune while she went up after Cinder."
'SHE DID WHAT!'
The dead man's shout made Oscar's head spin.
'I gave that girl specific instructions to go and call for help! I explicitly told her that Cinder Fall was beyond her capabilities! And she does what!?'
"Um, you okay there pal? You look a bit out of it." said Neptune and gently shook Oscar.
"Yeah, just thinking. Did she make it out alright."
The boys shook their heads. "She got wounded badly. Shot in the chest by an arrow. The astartes showed up just in time to grab Branwen when he was hauling both Pyrrha and Ruby away from Cinder while Jaune kept her busy. I swear, they came down like shooting stars in these massive ships, guns blazing. Tore a clean path through the grimm the first time they flew over us. After that they just pushed the grimm back into Forever Fall." said Neptune.
'Skip the unimportant things and tell us of what happened to Nikos!' demanded Ozpin but nobody but Oscar heard him.
"So anyway, they touched down at our safe zone and began working on Pyrrha's injuries. It was… bad. Really bad. I don't know how they did it but somehow they got the splinters out of her, but…"
"But what?"
"It was weird. Mind, the astartes kept everyone away so none of us ever saw what they did but there was this... light. A light suddenly popped up and just floated away."
The pure, unadulterated anger from Ozpin made Oscar clench his fist despite still being in control. There was another feeling as well: disappointment. But surprisingly enough, it wasn't all directed at Pyrrha Nikos, but at Ozpin himself.
'I should not have turned to her for it in such a way. I should have made it clear that she could back down from it all while there was still time. Now the power of the Fall Maiden is probably under Salem's thumb.'
Oscar was surprised to learn that the stories and legends of the Maidens were in fact true. Had this been suggested to him before he had a dead man freeloading in his head he would have scoffed. Now though, things were starting to make a bit of sense. And if the tales of the Maidens were true, then what of the other fairy tales?
"What became of Cinder Fall? The Angel fought her? He won, right?"
"Yeah, but only because he had to keep her from killing Nikos and that Rose girl." muttered Cardin. "He managed to drive her off but that's about it."
'So no corpse. Bet you my stash of coffee that she is still alive then.' muttered Ozpin.
"Yeah, Jaune got her good but he got pretty licked himself. The astartes took him away and no one was allowed to see him after that. His last order was for the astartes to keep Vale safe. After that, we were all put on bullheads and sent off to the other academies." Neptune downed the last of his drink. "And that's how we are here. Well, except for Sun. He went off chasing skirts."
"More like booty." said Sage.
"Bellabooty." agreed Scarlet.
Oscar nodded and tossed a few Lien on to the table. He had plenty more on him thanks to Ozpin's hidden stashes around the city. "Thanks fella. I have to go. Got plenty to think about."
More like Ozpin had plenty to think about. All Oscar would bother to think about now was where to find a place to sleep for the night.
Not gonna lie, I had hoped to get more stuff into this chapter but I wanted to get something out. Now, I do believe a lot of you are expecting Xenos soon. And you would be right. If my guess is correct the xenos-arc will begin in 1 to 2 chapters or so. And I really hope you all are able to get what I tried to insinuate with the Friends of Atlas. I just didn't dare to give out too much detail on them yet as I do want some build-up for them.