The Cosmic Cycle
Interlude
Several Hours Later...
It was in Ozpins personal opinion that the port for dropships was at its most busy during the night. Such a thought did not come without good reason.
The cacophony of Bullheads and small scale airships coming and going turned into background noise as they dropped their cargo. Ranging from foodstuffs, eccentric articles of clothing, school materials and letters from home to ammo, dust and the like, one could have nearly everything bar illegal narcotics or the like. There was a great flurry of movement as people came and went in absolute silence under the surrounding lamps and the glow of the moon, which was currently showed its whole side. The storm that had raged hours earlier had finally dissipated late into the night. Both Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch stood within the center of the docks, waiting for a special cargo to arrive.
Along with them stood their old colleague, James Ironwood, the current acting general of the atlesian army, dressed to the nines in the atlas generals formal attire and jacket; which were colored white and gray, with a grayish blue vest and black sweater with a red necktie, along with regalia indicative of his rank placed on the collar of his uniform. His graying hair was cleanly cut and combed, giving the look of a man with all his affairs in order. His revolver lay holstered on his belt by his right hand for quick draw.
With him was Winter Schnee; a specialist within his forces that had already graduated from Atlas Academy with honors, and currently one who was trusted enough by him to be part of their inner circle, though on a minimal basis for the time being until they got to know her and her goals. Her outfit consisted of a lightly modified military uniform similar to the general's. Long gray boots were held aloft by garters placed over her white pants, and her jacket's arms were split open from the shoulder, all the way down to the top of her forearms. The rest of the jacket, much to his continued confusion, was closed from the belt and collar, leaving most of her body exposed; showing the blue dress shirt that lay underneath. Her saber was sheathed on her hip, and her hair was tied neatly in a bun on the left side of her head; with a small ringlet running down past her ear and her bangs cupping the right side of her face.
Both had flown in on one of their high-speed bullheads when Ozpin was able to inform them of the incident. James was moments away from bringing in a small fleet of ships to begin search and rescue, but he managed to talk him down into simply letting him send in one of his own ships for pickup under the pretense of keeping their cover. Unfortunately the bullhead he had sent out had been significantly delayed due to the storm and the grimm, falling a few hours behind and further aggravating the general.
Truthfully he was just glad to be able to stop yet another of the generals paranoia trips. He was a good man at heart, but when reason evaded him he had the tendency to let his thoughts run off. Not that it was unjustified mind you; his actions had saved more than his fair share of civilians. But his inability to disassociate himself from the possibilities made him dangerous at times; both in his arrogance and his tendency to go overboard from certain situations. They were still working on dealing with that, even after the last several years he had been made headmaster of Atlas Academy.
"You're sure they're on their way here?" Ironwood questioned, staring at his old friend with a quizzical brow. He was anything if not polite, so long as his ego wasn't terribly bruised.
"We received word of their entry into Vale airspace James. It won't be long now. Just be patient." Glynda chided him, looking back towards the clipboard in her hand. She periodically wrote in a percentage of what could be deducted from certain facilities in the school. Medical had to be left alone; what with a student or three being sent down to the nurses office every few days after a sparring session taken too far. Food could be minimized to a degree...
Ozpin grinned as he watched her from the corner of his eye. It hadn't even been twelve hours before she delved into their budget. That wasn't to say she put the rest of her paperwork on hold, but rather double-timed to finish it so she could solely focus on their current problem. He would've given her a raise, but it was just as likely she'd say no to it on the grounds of already having a pretty substantial income from being a professor, not including being deputy headmistress. That's not to say that Peter or Bart weren't attentive in their own right, but the amount of paperwork she did made theirs look grossly pale in comparison.
If she ever retired during their tenure, they were well and truly doomed.
He returned his focus towards the sky at the sound of an incoming bullhead, which looked to be coming in for a landing. The group walked towards the landing pad, coming to a stop several feet away from the jet. Four small legs sprouted from its belly, hitting the ground with an audible thump as a ramp extended from the opening side door, showing both Qrow, who looked little worse for wear.
Not so much for Amber. Badly restrained gasps and narrowed eyes echoed out at the sight of the dark scars marring her face, to say nothing of the pale complexion being in stark contrast to her normally light brown skin. She looked to be completely exhausted; her eyes having half-developed bags underneath them, and the way she wobbled just slightly as she walked helped to point in that direction. The clothing, bracer, pauldron, greaves and cloak she wore were ruffled and covered in dirt stains.
It didn't surprise him when Glynda was the first to move, speed walking towards her out of barely concealed worry. Ozpin and Co followed at a more reasonable pace, making it to the edge of the ramp just as Amber and Qrow did, with Glynda lightly supporting her with a hand on her shoulder.
"How are you feeling Amber?" Ozpin asked kindly after taking a sip of his coffee. His eyes lingered on her scars with concern, and a small amount of interest.
"Absolutely exhausted despite sleeping for the last several hours." She tiredly grinned. "Little sore too."
"You certainly look a little worse for wear." He quipped, getting a eye-roll in return. "I'll have a room prepared for you in the teacher's wing. However, I do stress that you visit our infirmary for a quick check-up before you rest for the night."
"After we debrief her." James quickly cut in. He looked indifferent to the small glare Ozpin gave him behind his glasses. "The sooner we can get to work on finding her attackers, as well as their helper, the better off we will all be in the long run."
"James, for the last time, we don't know if Jonas is working with them!" Glynda retorted sharply, earning a small wince from him. "Why in the world would he fix the damage they caused if he was?"
"Mind if we save this little chat for somewhere a little more secluded?" Qrow deftly cut in. He groaned as his spine let loose a few audible pops when he stretched. "There's ears everywhere."
"Indeed. Though I reserve the right to leave the decision to you, Amber." The beacon headmaster looked toward her. "You're more than welcome to leave this be for another day if you are not feeling up to it."
She looked to the ground in thought for a brief moment, her brows furrowed. They gave a vexed sigh. "May as well get this over with..."
"And you're absolutely certain he can use magic?"
"General Ironwood, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been party to the signs." She confirmed without hesitation. "That's not mentioning that he holds power equal to all four of us maidens...or at least, it certainly looks like it."
"There is the possibility he's lying to us." Winter countered. "We can't take everything he says at face value; not with the recent turn of events. We cannot afford to rule out anything."
"Winter does bear a fair point." Ozpin said, however reluctantly. "We know very little about this Jonas individual, or his goals. With everything that's occurred we can't simply pass over the likelihood of his involvement with this group, or a third party we know nothing of."
"...I don't think he is." Amber quietly cut in, gaining everyone's attention. "With them, I mean. The entire time we were talking with him Jonas seemed far too relaxed for it to be a trick. He looked genuinely relieved to see me awake."
"He could be acting." The general argued. "Its an age old tactic to manipulate your foes."
"Gotta agree with her Jimmy, don't really think he's bluffing." Qrow affirmed. He smirked when he scowled at him. "Kid seemed plenty uncomfortable when we asked him a few questions, but when he was helping us out or explaining something related to the attack or Amber's powers there was no doubt or delay in anything he did." He shrugged. "Not to mention the whole dragon thing. Coulda not called it if he was really after her. Sent it to follow us all the way back here to gather any info he needed without us being any the wiser, since the damned thing can phase through solid objects. But he didn't. Trust me, I checked."
"And how do we know you didn't imagine the whole thing up?" Winter snorted derisively. "You're often drunk enough that we need to consider that."
"Maybe because I finished my only flask long before Amber woke up the first time after having her soul split?" Qrow ground out.
"I saw the same thing Winter." Amber interjected. "He's telling the truth. He had a dragon for a companion; though it was rather strange looking."
Silence took over the room as everyone retreated into their thoughts, and while some of them knew better from meeting him, the others minds fell into darker territory; if the pensive looks both Ironwood and Winter were a clue. Both Glynda and even himself couldn't help it either. The secrets their inner circle carried was hidden since before the official founding of the huntsmen academies. For over a hundred years this knowledge was kept secret, and in a single day not just one, but possibly two different groups also knew of their existence; with one knowing potentially even more than they.
His own powers were cause for concern. Being able to wield the powers of the maidens, and as a male no less, while being able to stay under the radar long enough to reach what they believed was the pinnacle of magic; the same level that the hermit himself once stood upon in power alone. That alone was a frightening thought. Not to mention his apparent ability to hold on to, take out and put away items out of thin air. What else could that man be carrying on him?
There was also his spiel about all the different ways he could have killed both Qrow and Amber with relative ease, but that was a can of worms he didn't really want to open; not without more information.
The intensity permeating the area was thick enough to cut through. He could already see the gears turning in both James and his protege, their eyebrows furrowed together, and only growing tighter with every scenario they thought of. Though they didn't show it, both Glynda and Qrow weren't too far off from that themselves, looking towards the ground in carefully disguised worry. The only one who didn't seem affected by them was Amber, whose eyes were wandering between them all in concern.
"In any case, you two would know best what they're like." Ozpin cut into the strained silence. "Is there anything you might have missed?"
"Not that I can think of." Qrow shrugged. Their eyes wandered to Amber, who looked pensive. As if she were unsure about something.
"Is everything alright Amber?" Ozpin asked. She blinked, looking to have come back to reality, before her eyes wandered to his.
"Nothing its just..." She shook her head. "Nothing, nevermind."
"If you think it might help us learn more about Jonas, then by all means." He said gently. Her eyes wandered towards him again, before she broke out in a light blush.
"...After I was knocked out by that girl and her group, I...had a strange dream." She talked just loud enough to be heard.
"Dream?"
"Mm." She grunted. "I honestly didn't think much of it, but I've had the same dream three times now. One after my soul soul got torn, another after our conversation, and again on the ride back here."
The other occupants looked at one another curiously. Ozpin could understand why she wouldn't mention it, what with the possibility of it merely being a figment of her own imagination. But with recent events, anything and everything needed to be taken into account.
"And what was this dream about by chance?" He finally asked.
"...It always started out the same...with fire and ash. Every time I wake I'm surrounded in an endless inferno, yet the sky full of falling ash above me is always pitch black. Over the crackling of the flames I could faintly hear the sound of screams of terror and anguish in the distance. Whenever I tried to follow the sounds to try and help whoever was in danger the flames lashed out like whips, grabbing me from my wrists and ankles before it wrenched me inside."
She shuddered a bit before she continued, though not without noticing the concerned expression coming from Professor Goodwitch. "Next thing I know, I'm being held above that hell with my body splayed out, and my arms and legs feel like they're turning to charcoal from the heat. I can see a dark clawed hand reaching out from the dark sky." Amber started to shiver, and at that point Glynda quickly made her way over to the disturbed woman. "I try to fight, to free myself from my fiery shackles...but Its not enough...never enough. The hand pierces right through my body, and i scream as it starts to dig around; as if its looking for something. I call out for someone, anyone to save me..."
"Its alright if you want to stop miss tawny." The deputy gently rubbed her shoulders. "No one would begrudge you for doing so."
"No, no...its alright." She shook her head, giving her a tired, but genuine smile. "Besides, that was the worst of it."
Amber looked at Ozpin. "...Someone heard me in the dark, because next thing I know, I hear the sound of water rushing towards me. I look over, and low and behold, Its an utterly massive, glowing tsunami."
"Huh...that might've been the holy water the guy used to get your other half back from that black-haired chick." Qrow commented.
"That's what I think too." Amber remarked. "It tore through the flames, and when it reached the hand, I could hear this unholy screaming coming from its owner. Free of my chains I fall, right into the water." She chuckled. "Thought I was going to drown, but shortly after taking a breath from the force of the fall I could breathe somehow. And when I opened my eyes...I realized I was swimming in an ocean full of stars. Right after that...I wake up."
The room was silent. Some of the occupants, save Ozpin, Ironwood and Qrow, blinked at her owlishly. Though he wasn't sure about both of his comrades, he could guess why wouldn't think much of it, let alone ask. Ozpin wasn't a complete stranger to prophetic dreams though. Her ordeal was highly unusual, and everything and everyone involved was of a class he couldn't write off without further info.
Still though, a field of stars within an ocean? He hadn't a clue what that might've referenced. It could have been the holy water the man used to release her, or the essence of the man himself, or a mixture of both. He wasn't quite sure. The other two were clear as day; with the dark hand reminiscent of the grimm if one considers the soul-stealing insect, and the flames possibly representing the personality of the individual who attempted to take her powers for their own.
If only they had an image of their face to go along with it, things would be so much easier. Sadly it appeared one of the three had a semblance that was able to make them hallucinate; make them see whatever the controller wanted them to see, as was evident with Amber's story about the crying child.
'So many unknowns in such a short span of time...' He thought with a sigh. "Is there anything else you might have missed miss tawny?"
"Nothing comes to mind." She replied tiredly, a yawn moving past her lips.
"Then I recommend bed-rest for the time being. It certainly wouldn't be lost on you. You can visit the infirmary in the afternoon after you've had time to get some proper sleep."
"Wouldn't mind that." She grinned, standing with a slight wobble. Glynda was quickly by her side.
"I'll see to it she has everything she needs." The deputy said in a tone that brooked no argument as she stood by her side, gently leading her towards the elevator.
Ozpin sighed when the doors closed, leaning back into his seat. That whole conversation had been surprisingly tense, and while they had received a good deal in information, most of it left more questions than they previously had.
Those words he had said in his confusion for instance. What exactly did they mean? Mana Instability? Mana Degeneration? Primary Elements? So much was left up in the air that they had no answers to. They certainly weren't in the texts, so that just left talking with him in a few months time.
If he came to talk anyway.
"This is worrying..." James finally entered the conversation, voice laced with no small amount of concern.
"What, the dream, the three who attacked her, or the one who helped us?" Qrow asked sarcastically.
"I'm being serious Qrow!" He snapped. "We know next to nothing about them, and despite the mans willingness to explain certain subjects, the fact that he chose to conceal his background from us is a major cause for concern!"
"And what is it you propose, James?" Ozpin looked him in the eyes, Neither breaking their staring contest.
"I want to send a contingent of my troops to where he was last sighted and bring him back to atlas. I intend to uncover the truth."
"Spoken like a true atlesian." Qrow drawled. "If ya can't understand something, attempt to beat it into submission. Just like the faunus."
"And what would you suggest Qrow?" Both he and Winter glared at him, his slight not going unoticed.
"Let him come here on his own time." He shrugged. "He said it himself, it's gonna take a couple a months for him to get down here. Gives us plenty of time to prepare." Qrow gave him a pointed stare, something that was rather irregular coming from the man. "Better plan than yours is; which is amazingly stupid might I add."
"What was that?!" Winter sneered. Her hand laid upon her hilt, gripped tightly.
"Don't know if you heard ice queen-" She gave an indignant yelp in protest. "-but this is a guy who proclaimed that he had power equal to the hermit himself. Now I'll admit that I'm a little skeptical of that, but he still showed that he had the powers of a maiden, and to a greater degree; considering all the terms he spouted that we know jack-shit about; if he's being honest with us that is."
"Not to mention how easily he disarmed you with abilities similar to our dear Professor Goodwitch." Ozpin nodded. "There are a great many unknowns about this man. We know next to nothing about him beyond our theories. Attempting a head-on attack against him this early would be foolish without more foreknowledge."
James looked to him with a small amount of irritation and disappointment.
"The fact that he's willing to make the effort to talk to us, and the chance of him being the indomitable warrior we've been trying to locate is good enough reason to leave him be for now. Until we know more about him and his objective, it would be best to simply let him make his way here on his own time. It will give us the time to shore up our own defenses and prepare for his arrival."
"Not to mention if we went with your plan and attacked him, and everything he said was the truth, then we'd be putting all of vale and its surrounding towns at risk of retaliation." Qrow pointed out. "Now I don't know about the two of you, but I'd rather not piss off the possible second coming if I can help it."
The generals eyed wandered between them for several moments, before he let out a small, quiet sigh.
"Very well." He said after a few seconds of silence. He looked to be disgruntled at being shut down so easily, no doubt to Qrows great enjoyment. "I'll defer to you on this Ozpin, if you truly think this is the best option to take."
"I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't think it was, old friend." Ozpin nodded. His eyes wandered to their scout. "I apologize for having to ask more of you Qrow, but would you continue to watch over Amber for the time being? Sufficed to say, after everything that's happened, I'd rather not leave her unguarded for the time being; at least not until she has fully recovered."
"You got it. Though if you don't mind, I'm gonna go hit the local bars. Need a frickin drink." He grunted. "Need to fill my flask too."
At the headmasters nod Qrow turned and left the room, his walk devoid of the usual sloppy movements. James quietly grumbled as the elevator doors closed.
"Honestly, how a man like him is still a huntsman is beyond me."
"You know as well as I why he drinks so much James." Ozpin gave him a firm glance.
"Drinking his sorrows away doesn't solve anything Ozpin." He stated. "I understand his semblance can be as much a detriment to his allies as his enemies, but what happened a decade ago couldn't have been his fault. He was well and far away from wherever Summer vanished from; impossible for his own powers to have influenced her significantly. He shouldn't need to drink himself into an early grave for something out of his control."
"We all deal with our loss differently James. Both you and I know this better than anyone else here. As much as what transpired all those years ago was through no fault of our own, we can't help but place blame on ourselves. Gods know I still do."
The general nodded at that. Even decades after the events of Mountain Glenn they still haunted them to this day; wondering if they couldn't have done more to stem the death and destruction that came in the way of civilians, and the path they took to save as many lives as they could at the cost of so many others.
The general shook the gloom off of him. "In any case, what miss tawny told us about the other three is rather disturbing; and that's not including the whole 'Dark Magic' business that man was talking about."
"It's quite a shame that both Qrow and Amber couldn't see their faces." Ozpin gave a small hum of acknowledgement while sipping his drink. "They even managed to block out the name that man shouted out. Whoever did this was resourceful enough to find an individual who is both able and willing to use some form of illusory semblance."
"And it does us little good when they're able to change their clothing and hair color, which is the extent of everything we currently have on them besides their weaponry." James grunted in annoyance. "Quite the professionals in their field, whoever they are."
"Yes...they are." Ozpin muttered to himself, his fingers cradled together in thought.
"In any case, I'll be heading to the CCT tower for the time being. See if I can't dig anything up on her attackers based off of her testimony."
"So soon, James?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"Like I said, the sooner we get to work on this, the better off everyone else will be. A little lost sleep is of little consequence when we can lose so much more."
He could only nod. What else was there to say?
Meanwhile...
To say she was frustrated would be a gross understatement to her mood. The closest she could think of would be a wrath that was close to equal to the flames of hell itself.
There she sat in an ornate meeting room, each seat but one made of bone that was crudely tied together with black cords. An ivory chandelier hung above the black and purple table laid out in the center of the room, with small crystals hanging off its ends, glowing a dim purple light. Windows covered nearly every inch of the walls, with the upper half shaped like a sideways eye. To add to the aesthetic were large black and purple crystals that jutted out of the ground between each window, most of which had a lone candle standing at the top of the tallest. The room rounded out a half oval, and at its end lay a two-tiered table made of the same material as its larger counterpart, with candles placed in a way that almost made her think it were an altar meant for prayer.
She had come so close. Enough that she had managed to gain a piece of the maidens powers. And what a feeling that had been. An electric trill ran down her back as she gained control of it, its powers running between her fingers, and for the first time in her life she had felt like she could take down any who stood against her! She felt as if she finally had control!
Then her new found power was ripped from her grasp mere moments after obtaining it.
And by an unknown no less. Whoever that blue-coated man in the mask was, he took them out systematically, and with surgical precision. Having had the time to think back and analyze the way he had fought, she had found no wasted movements when she and her group and combated him. The fact that he wielded no weapons as he tore them apart with only his bare hands served to worsen her temper, while her wandering mind aggravated her fears.
She didn't know if they knew of them and their movements beforehand or if it was by pure happenstance, but she would be a fool to think that he wouldn't keep a sharp eye out after fighting her and her kind. And while Emerald may have hidden their faces with their semblance, considering the hairline fractures she obtained when he made his entrance she doubted they had gotten so lucky, though now she had fallen into a coma. The underground doctors had insisted that it was only temporary, her brain needing time to recover from the blunt force trauma it received, though she might not remember anything that occurred during the battle. Not to mention Mercury had run to the toilets as soon as they made it back to their base and hasn't left since. Last she heard before coming here was the sound of heaves and wretches, along with a smidgen of crying.
She would have found it amusing under better circumstances.
It had only been half a day and already her plans were starting to fray. Most of the current project relied upon the powers of a maiden. Without them there was very little she could do on her own, bar making herself appear as if she'd succeeded.
But there was no fooling her mistress in the end.
The chairs other than hers remained vacant, the other members of their faction currently out on their own missions. A small relief at least. They would likely have derided her on her failed mission. At this point, she truly didn't need that, lest she snap and attempt to try and end them; though in her current state, chances of her being successful were not all that high. Thus, Cinder was left in silence. The shattered moon hanging in the crimson sky her only company.
She straightened in her seat at the sound of distant, muffled footsteps. Cinder turned her head and stared at the large door that led out into the long hallway, and after a few moments they slowly opened with a small creak.
Beyond them stood her mistress, the mother of grimm herself garbed in black and red robes with two eyes embroidered on the back of her shoulderblades, forming lines that met together on her lower back in the shape of yet another eye, and a ring shaped like an insect on her right hands middle finger. Her hair was tied into a massive bun from the back, with six offshoots that were wrapped haphazardly with ribbons; some of which had small black ornaments hanging of their ends. But what exemplified her has an alien existence was her ghostly white skin, the red and purple veins that stood out in contrast, and her eyes; with their black sclera and red iris.
Which also seemed to be currently glowing slightly in carefully disguised dissapointment as she looked at her, sending a shiver down her spine. Though she knew she was safe, everyone who worked under her knew all too well what would happen if her mistress became greatly displeased. She was the replacement for the last failure after all. And none would tell her what she did to them when they earned her great ire.
A lithe black brow raised in consideration for a moment as she paused, the glow in her eyes fading somewhat as she stood in place for mere moments.
"...I sense the remnants of the maidens power-." She spoke, walking around to the head of the table, taking a seat in a chair made purely of black crystal. "Yet I do not sense the soul within you."
"Y-yes mistress, you are correct." She stammered, knowing better than to break eye-contact with her. Malice quickly filled her tone. "I had managed to obtain half of her power, if only for a moment, before it was taken from me by force."
"Oh?" Her mistress' eyes lit up again. Fortunately it wasn't directed at her. "And tell me, who was it that did this to you and yours?"
"I'm afraid I can't say for certain." Cinder said regretfully. "Though I, at the very least, have most of their looks based on their clothing and the sound of his voice, he had enough intelligence to wear a mask before confronting us. Its just as likely that he'll change his clothing in order to hide himself. The most I can say, and even this is not certain since they may have been wearing a wig, is that their hair color is brown."
"I see..." She hummed in interest. Cinder mentally sighed in relief. At the very least, her mistress' displeasure wasn't pointed her way. "Was there anything worth noting?"
She gave a slight nod, reaching into a hidden pocket in her shorts and handing her a small, folded piece of paper. One that carried the image of that cursed liquid that undid the spell meant to contain the maidens soul. Upon her unfolding the paper, she was shocked to find an expression of complete surprise dawn on her face, before it slowly vanished into cold neutrality.
"...Are you absolutely certain this is what he used?" The tone in her voice was enough to make cinder sit straight in her seat.
"Yes mistress." She gave a nod. "When he poured the contents of that bottle onto my back, I felt pain unimaginable. There was black and white lightning arcing from what I assumed to be the symbol that was supposed to house the maidens powers before it vanished. Next thing I know he's holding a ball of orange and yellow light."
"I see..." Her words dwindled, looking towards the table in thought. A disturbed quiet took over the room while Cinder sat there uncomfortably.
It had been the first time she had seen this kind of reaction from her, and considering how the rest of their group acted around her, though they might have been hiding it, she doubted they had seen anything similar. It set her on edge, making her wonder.
If this was her reaction to that glass bottle, then what about the person carrying it? What was their story?
"...Any and all movements or actions done by you or our other colleagues will go through me from hereon in." Her mistress cut into her thoughts. "Whoever this man is, he seems to be versed in the old ways to some degree."
"Mistress?"
"If this is the case, and he somehow makes his way to Ozpin, if he hasn't already, then it will make it much harder to move on my own part. The rest will have to be done solely by the rest of you. But not without my permission. Am I understood?" She stared directly into her eyes, continuing only when she nodded in affirmation. "How are things running on the invasion front?"
"O-oh, well-." Cinder took a deep breath to calm her mind and body. "As it stands, I'm still waiting on Adam. Whether he accepts or not is moot, but it may take some time yet to get him on our side. As for obtaining the dust for such an invasion into Vale, we already have someone in mind to accrue the materials we need."
"Yes, I've heard. I believe his name was Roman Torchwick, correct?"
"Yes. After some persuasion, he wholeheartedly accepted our deal." She continued, falling into this conversation far easier. "Until further notice he'll obtain as much dust as we need through whatever methods available to him."
"And you're sure he's the man for the job?"
"If he isn't, I can have both Mercury and Emerald make him vanish. Their abilities are more than enough to deal with someone like him."
"How are those two doing? From what I understand, they took the brunt of the physical damage." Her mistress asked in concern. That was the one thing that was odd about her. Despite her absolute hated for mankind, she held no small amount of respect for them. Perhaps it was due to dealing with them for so long while being unable to wipe them out made her consider them to be admirable warriors in their own right?
"Most of the injuries they took were only superficial, and their aura will no doubt speed up the healing process. Though it will take time to get back at the top of their game, it should be well within the month."
"I see..." She went quiet for a moment. "Very well. For the time being, you and yours should take the time to rest and recover from your ordeal. I want you to focus solely on getting Adam to join us, whether he wants to or not. We will need the manpower for the plans ahead. And whatever you do, do not attempt to go after this man until I'm sure of him and his intentions."
"And how will you be dealing with him?" Cinder asked in curiosity.
Her malevolent smile and brightly glowing eyes were answer enough.
Two Months Later...
It was early morning in the rocky range. The wind whistled as it came and went by the mountain, giving Jonas a gentle breeze on his back while he worked. Small mutters and swears passed his wrench-filled mouth while as he tweaked his latest project, periodically looking back at a book he held down with his lowers leg so it wouldn't flip pages in the wind. Replacing the wrench with a screwdriver he gave a stubborn bolt another twist, sighing in relief as it finally gave way to his intentions. On the rocky ground lay his pet project. A thick yet hollow, half-built bracer partially filled with springs, cartridges of various types, and the framework of a round shield mount. All of it remained loose until he decided on a design he liked.
While his system allowed him the benefit of switching between weapons and carrying cargo, it had the habit of becoming moot if he wasn't given the time to jump between them. His main bar carried the benefit of being able to ignore that, but if he needed anything that wasn't there, then it was an agonizing two to three second wait in trying to find it; something he couldn't afford in the midst of combat.
So here he was, haphazardly throwing together a jack of all trades weapon made purely of Hallowed bars, and crafted with his own two hands. He only got as far as he did due to recently finding the altars he had been looking for over the past several weeks to spawn the six different ores he was looking for, not to mention getting the materials needed to forge the metals. Don't even get him started on how long it took to get the hellforge!
Though on a side note, the underworld seemed pretty quiet nowadays. There still seemed to be the occasional demon, bat or the like, but they were pretty sparse in this day and age. Before, back in the day, he couldn't go a city block without coming across one. Maybe it was because of the grimm event?
Another thing worth noting was the lien he managed to amass. The current level of metal the world of remnant operated on was a shoddy version of what they called titanium. It was a bit of an insult, really. He did a comparison of the durability of theirs and his in the form of a simple short-sword, with their version being an all time low of one thousand; the level he'd expect with cobalt or palladium. The regular kind he used was at least four times that! For being considered tied with adamantite for the rank of third strongest metal, the state of its durability was rather concerning.
Though it wasn't completely unexpected. In fairness to them, a great deal of time had passed since the era he lived in; a couple of eras in fact. Those metals he released into the world all those years ago were bound to have been mined dry and lost by others in his absence. Also, in comparison to what he dealt with regularly, not to mention the fact that he usually dealt with his enemies alone, their current level in that regard wasn't that unusual. With everything the world of remnant had going for them, bar the treatment of the faunus as well as the frontier colonies, there was very little need for them.
That's not to say they couldn't do with an upgrade. He could only speculate at this point, but if they could manage to get their hands on some of the metals he carried, the grimm probably wouldn't be as great of a threat as they are. Though introducing it in their now could carry a whole host of other problems.
So he sufficed with selling a few bars of every type. Not enough to be turned into any weapons, but enough to hopefully make a decent amount of cash for the future. What he didn't expect was the freakout he got in doing so.
At first, the dealer he went to in attempts to sell them looked more confused than anything at what he was looking at; believing he had simply dyed one of the already known metals pink in order to make a decent profit off of it. It was after that first testing that the man had started to act a little bit crazy, asking him where he had managed to obtain such materials, which he kept to himself for the time being. There were a few reasons he refused to answer, but the biggest was due mainly to the fact that he wanted information of the metals brought into the hands of the proper authorities; which is harder to do if one considers the racism and everything. Looking into Qrow's boss would be a good start, but he couldn't take too long in doing so, hence him making a beeline straight to Vale.
The man didn't particularly like his answer though, and tried to force it out of him with the two security personnel there, namely two policemen who were regularly sent to the inner colonies to guard them. Luckily they didn't do that, much to his relief and continued amusement at the time, getting the man to calm down after an hour of frothing at the mouth; screaming at him 'Where did you find this?! Tell me!' over and over again during said period of time while they held him back. After that, the man settled on simply buying all the cargo he was willing to part with.
He made over seventy million Lien.
Yeah, he was just as shocked.
He had expected to make at least thirty to forty selling three of each to them, but apparently their tensile strength being beyond anything they had seen, and that's not mentioning the rarity of it; what with no one ever having found them before. They measured its worth by the gram, and since it was pretty damn heavy all on its own, with the exception of mythril because...well, mythril, you could pretty much guess.
So yeah, he had enough money that he could retire in the best part of the rich mans district in Vale if he wanted to.
And boy howdy, how much he really wanted to do that.
'Why does the world always have to be in trouble again right after I deal with another problem?' He sighed, giving a small grunt when the store-bought iron wrench finally gave and broke under the pressure and snapped. He chucked the broken pieces over the lip of the cliff he was on in annoyance.'Mister Incredible was right, it sucks when it won't stay saved.'
Scratching the back of his head he looked towards the skyline. He had gone a little ways up the side of a mountain to work in peace without the grimm up and bothering him every five minutes. Little buggers had a habit of appearing more often than a slime.
The sun had just started to crest the horizon, painting the blue sky with purple, orange and red. A few birds fluttered in the sky, leaving the nests that lay in the ruins of the city he had come across. If he remembered correctly, it was called Mountain Glenn. To his confusion the area wasn't labelled on any map he came across. The only reason he came down this way was from word of mouth. Apparently, there was an old, neglected dust mine that remained here even after the city was overrun. It was the only reason he made a detour instead of heading straight to Vale via train.
Though he would be remiss if he didn't compliment the picturesque view he had of the sun rising to the retreating clouds, the forests and broken down buildings casting long shadows. The sight was stunning to behold.
Though he didn't much enjoy the thought of combat unless it was for competition, he probably would never get rid his wanderlust.
To see sights like this often made his dreary life a little more colorful and amazing.
'If only the others were here with me to see this...' Jonas thought glumly. He shook his head after realizing where his mind was going. As much as it sucked losing everything and everyone again, he couldn't afford to let himself fall into depression. They wouldn't want that, and neither would he.
Not after everything they did for him.
He slapped his cheeks to snap him out of his funk, pocketing his project before standing and facing the view in front of him. He took a few minutes to take in the sight, making a mental note of the place if he ever came through here again; which he very well might if his plan manages to go through the way he wants it to. Not that he doesn't have a plan b mind you; it would just work out better for everyone involved.
Even the higher ups, though they may say otherwise.
Jonas jumped from the ledge, falling in mid air for a second. Eventually his feet met with the rocky slope, and he slid several hundred feet down; dodging various rock outcroppings and small protruding stones that would have tripped and sent him tumbling. When he came close to the ground he threw himself forward, going into a roll to dissipate most of his momentum. He threw his hands to the ground and straightened out his body, ending up in the air for half a second until his feet met the ground, feeling little force crawling up his legs for the maneuver.
He imagined he'd get a solid ten in acrobatics if he were in the Olympics.
Dusting himself off, Jonas took a quick look around his surroundings, finding himself several dozen meters off the mine entrance he found earlier yesterday. Several towering buildings that were once at least a dozen stories tall were laced around it, probably meant to aid in its function in one form or another. The roads were cracked and dull, and there were no signs around; probably lost with the passage of time from the elements. But its sheer size, not to mention what he saw of it from his earlier perch, told him of how often it was used before all this. Though he didn't take that route in, as long as he followed it he'd find his way to the forests edge before the sun fully rose into the sky.
Taking a deep breath, as well as a cursory glance to his surroundings for any enemies, he quickly but quietly started to make his way down the road.
Completely unaware of the mad giggling and gruff grunt that occurred a ways away.