Chapter 23: Dealings
"And you're absolutely sure it's them?" the female voice on the other end asked.
"Yes," the burly man replied. "If we rescue them, it may be the prefect way to earn their trust. I wouldn't suggest we wait any longer. The Golden Monkey will be returning soon."
"Very well," a male voice said. "You and the sisters have our blessing. Just send out the signal, and the other members nearby can come help you."
"Understood," the man replied. "If we go through with this, what will become of the two on the inside?"
"We'll just have to hope everything they've told us is true," the female voice said. "For Crown and country."
"For Crown and country," the male voice said.
"For Crown and country," the burly man repeated one last time before hanging up. He glanced over at the two teenage girls waiting nearby and nodded at them. "It's time," he said. "Give the signal."
Bertilak Celadon walked down the dimly lit halls of Haven, a strong step in his stride. He liked making good time to wherever it was he was going. As he walked, a hand suddenly extended from the shadows and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a darkened alcove.
"Gods, don't sneak up on me like that!" Bertilak exclaimed in a loud whisper.
"I just got a call," Carmine Esclados reported. "The Beacon group is in trouble, and they've decided to rescue them."
Bertilak's frown grew, but he stood straight. "We're making our move now?"
Carmine nodded. "I think… I think it would be best if we told Lionheart and Rainart ourselves. It might ease the shock for them if we come clean."
For once, Bertilak agreed. "For Crown and country?" he asked.
Carmine nodded again. "For Crown and country."
"What are you on about?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lord Ozpin tilted his head back and stared at the girl through the bottoms of his glasses. "There is one more trophy… that I can show you." He walked over to one of the walls next to the desk, and pushed on it gently. There was the sound of rumbling stone as the previously invisible outline of a door was made apparent, and the slab of metal and stone that made up the ornate wall slid backwards. Ruby stepped back, curious but also on alert. A green light flickered on inside, and Lord Ozpin stepped back to reveal a small, dark room.
Inside the room, barely contained within its tight space, was a pair of cylindrical devices hooked together with wires and tubes. Behind the green-tinted glass of one of them was a young woman with extremely short dark hair. She was nude, and had one arm covered in black tattoos. Her eyes were shut tight. However, her other arm was unmistakably Grimm: it was humanoid to an extent, but appeared as an elongated black limb tipped with white claws and pulsing with dark aura. The black corruption spread across her shoulder and breast, all the way up her neck and onto her cheek.
"Ooh, who's that?" Ruby asked, smiling cruelly.
"Her name is Vernal," Lord Ozpin said. "However, her name means little compared to her true identity. Have you ever heard the story of the Four Maidens?"
"Nope," Ruby grinned.
Lord Ozpin scoffed. "Well, to summarize, they were a group of immensely powerful magical beings. When they died, their powers would transfer to another young woman to carry on their abilities." He leaned down and eyed the woman in the tube. "This one here is the current Spring Maiden. She was being harbored by the Branwen Tribe, until your uncle and my Huntsmen… retrieved her."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Please," she said. "Magic? Maidens? Come on, I'm not three. I don't believe in that shit. Next you'll be saying that my soul can generate a force field."
Lord Ozpin eyed her in frustration. "Oh, but it is true. As true as the Grimm that wander Remnant. For the Spring Maiden here, her unique abilities have kept her heart beating long enough for me to run my… experiments on her." He gestured towards her Grimm anatomy. "Grimm and human, fused together. When the subject is agitated, it produces some rather… unique results." He clicked a button on the side of the pod. Suddenly, there was a loud zap as an electric current surged through the interior of the capsule, torturously shocking the woman inside. She screamed aloud, but did not open her eyes. As she was electrocuted, her Grimm arm began twitch.
Ruby felt something brush by her foot. She glanced down to see a Beetle Grimm scurrying next to her boot. She jumped aside and prepared to kick it away, well aware of its poisonous tendrils and acid spit, but it just kept moving instead of attacking her. As Ruby stared at the Grimm curiously, she heard skittering noises. She looked up and could not help but hang her mouth open when she saw dozens of Beetles and Spider Grimm crawling from the shadows and towards the pod. Even some bat-like Ravagers swooped down from the ceiling and landed on the container.
The electricity stopped, and Vernal fell limp again, never having opened her eyes or seemingly gained consciousness at all. The Grimm still surrounded her pod, crawling on it and looking like they were trying to get in.
"I hypothesize," Lord Ozpin stated, "that her powers combined with my experimental fusion have given her the ability to control the Grimm, at least to an extent. They do not come to feed on her, nor are they simply attracted to her pain and misery. They come because they are called." He waved his hand to the machine. "I believe this machine will allow me to transfer that artificially-created ability to another body. If that succeeds, then strides can be made to forcibly transfer the natural powers over as well." He turned back to Ruby and crossed his hands behind his back.
Ruby stared in awe at the man before her. She eyed the woman in the pod, then began to chuckle. "Just how dumb to you think I am?" she laughed. "I admit it, Ozzy, that's a neat trick. But those Grimm are just attracted to her pain. You must have her in a lot of it for them to completely ignore us. And while I love torture as much as the next person, I don't see any signs of magic here."
"You take me as a liar?" Lord Ozpin growled, lowering his arms to his sides. His eyes turned black, and the air in the room began to swirl and rush. Electricity sparked from his fingertips. The air grew cold as it blew, and the Grimm all began to make noise and chatter.
Ruby, instead of being frightened, smiled smugly. "Ah. So you are magic," she said. She shrugged. "I don't need to understand it, I just had to make sure you weren't pulling my leg." She eyed the other pod. "So, you want me to crawl in there so you can pump me full of scary Grimm magic, is that it?"
The wind died down, and Lord Ozpin's eyes returned to their natural state. "In its most basic form, yes."
Ruby raised her eyebrow again. "How do I know I'm not just going to end up like Springy there, all naked, comatose, and such?"
Lord Ozpin was not a man of his word. He would backstab anyone he needed to, including her. "You said it yourself," he said. "You are an asset. If you survive, you gain power over the darkness. If you die, I go back to what I was doing and forget this ever happened."
Ruby's smile faded as she stared at the pod. There was considerable risk involved. Her temporary ally posed enough threat himself, but there was also a chance she would not survive the procedure? Her one goal, her one purpose was to surpass everyone and everything. She could not afford for that mission to be cut short by something as inconvenient as dying. Then again, power over the Grimm, true power, would mean that she would have surpassed them. Then only the gods would be next. She had been playing it safe for too long. Memories of her defeat at the CCT tower flooded back. She had not committed to her desires. She had backed down from a threat because she had been afraid, afraid that her purpose would be ended. And in doing so, she had lowered herself below her opponents. Opponents she had to surpass.
It was time for a new solution. It was time for bloody evolution.
"Alright, Ozzy," Ruby said, stepping forward. "Plug me in."
Pyrrha glanced down the hallway. "I wonder what's going on," she said.
"None of our business," Jaune replied. "And frankly, I don't want to know what… the very fact that the Reaper left that office alive means that she must have convinced him of something. I don't want to know."
Pyrrha sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall. They would be heading on a mission soon, but both she and Jaune had elected to stick around and make sure the Reaper didn't try anything. Pyrrha tuned out the only sound, Jaune's nearby breathing, and relaxed, though still alert enough to spring to action should she need to. The hall was quiet, save for the occasional distant echo.
One particular echo sounded like a footfall, proceeded by another, slowly growing louder and closer. Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes and looked down the hall. In the green light, she could make out the white-clad figure making its way towards them. Pyrrha sighed.
"Where's Lord Ozpin?" Weiss demanded as she grew closer. Jaune groaned, but tuned to answer her.
"He's busy right now," Jaune remarked. "Come back later."
Weiss stopped walking, but stomped her foot. "I just got word that one of my mines was destroyed by the White Fang. I would like to ask him how he expects me to provide enough Dust to power his death machines if he can't even keep my operations secure."
Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "That sounds like your problem, not ours."
"Yeah," Jaune added. "Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't just guards-for-hire. If the Schnee Dust Company having security issues, it's up to the Schnee to handle them."
Weiss huffed, but did not argue. Her dealings with Lord Ozpin were getting worse every day. She decided to change the subject. "Where is he, anyway?" she asked.
Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other, and Pyrrha shrugged. "I guess there's no harm in telling her," she said. "It's not like we know much as it is."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"
Pyrrha glanced over to her. "The Reaper came in today. She wanted to talk with Lord Ozpin, and they left together to one of his private elevators."
Weiss could not help but take a step back. "The Reaper?" she asked, remembering her confrontation with the killer at the CCT tower. "What on Remnant could that maniac possibly want?"
Jaune shrugged. "Don't know, don't want to know." He smiled slightly and laughed nervously. "But if she ends up joining our side, I'm going to flip out."
Weiss huffed again. "I think I'd quit altogether."
Pyrrha's lips raised in a subtle smile. "I know you're joking, Princess, but I still wouldn't say things like that. We are a Huntress and Huntsman, you know."
Weiss' brow furrowed in frustration. She hated it when her rightful authority was undermined. She had worked hard, killed for where she was now, and now she could not even speak freely? The nerve. Still, she recognized the warning and what little compassion the two had of not taking her remark seriously.
"I'll be back, then, I guess," Weiss said, chasing the subject again. She turned on her elegant heels to leave.
"By the way," Jaune called, "there's that armless, eyeless girl chained up near the exit. The Reaper dragged her in. Just don't get too startled when you see her."
Weiss did not reply, but kept walking. What were her alliances coming to?
Cinder pressed at her bindings again, but they did not loosen. She squinted in the darkness, trying to find some kind of sharp surface she could potentially use to cut or saw at the ropes. She could not see much. Emerald moaned and started to sit up.
"No, no no," Cinder said, leaning over towards Emerald. "Keep laying down."
"But…" Emerald stammered.
"No buts," Cinder said. "Just rest, okay? Adam and I will figure things out." She glanced over at Adam's cell. "Right?"
"I don't know," Adam said, shaking his head. "I don't see a way out of this one. Even if we could get loose, the only way out's through the building, and there are more than enough bounty hunters to kill us or put us right back where we are."
"Any chance we can do anything when they come to get us?" Cinder asked.
"Unlikely," Adam replied. "I'll probably be the only one they take out, since I'm the only one with a real bounty, and they'll probably knock me out before they do that."
The trio sat in silence for a moment, only the sounds of their breathing and the faint sound of the music in the next room.
"What if-" Cinder started.
Suddenly, another noise could be heard. It was faint, but was loud enough to drown out the others. It sounded like a small explosion.
"What was that?" Emerald groaned. She jumped when she heard the sounds of yelling and gunfire.
"Maybe a fight broke out?" Cinder asked.
"Sounds bigger," Adam said.
The yelling and shooting continued, and then there was banging on the wall and door separating their room from the other. It was followed by a loud bang on the metal door, one that startled all three of the occupants. The bang returned, and Adam's Faunus eyes could see the door dent in the darkness.
"Someone's trying to break down the door!" Adam said.
"But are they friend or foe?" Cinder asked.
There was another bang, and suddenly the room was filled with light, and the mixed sounds of yelling, music, and gunfire rose to much higher volumes. Silhouetted in the door was a large man, and when he stepped forward, Cinder recognized him as the burly man that was getting the lap dance. He was wearing a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants, and carrying what appeared to be a dark grey bazooka on his shoulder. He marched inside, and was quickly followed by two teenage girls, one in an off-white dress with high heels and a white flower in her long black hair, and the other in a crimson dress and red gloves with a pair of grey and red feathers in her shorter black hair. The two girls carried bolt cutters, and immediately walked around the man and over to the cell doors, cutting through the locking mechanisms with loud clangs and opening the doors simultaneously.
"Let's go," the man said in a deep voice.
The twin girls dropped their respective cutters, then simultaneously unsheathed daggers from loops on their belts. The girl in red cut Adam loose, and the girl in white freed Cinder and Emerald.
"Who are you?" Cinder asked, rubbing her wrist.
"We'll tell you after we get out of here," the man replied. "Hurry, we don't have much time."
Cinder looked down towards Emerald and extended a newly-freed hand. Emerald took it, and groggily they both stood up. Emerald's legs wobbled slightly, but Cinder raised one of her friend's arms over her shoulders to keep her supported. Adam jumped to his feet, and the girl in red handed him another blade.
The man turned and hurried out the door, the girls following behind. Adam glanced over to Cinder and Emerald. Cinder nodded for him to go on, and he took the lead as Cinder carefully but quickly carried Emerald, who did her best to walk with Cinder, out the door.
The gunfire grew louder. Cinder glanced over to see a table flipped over, and some bounty hunters taking cover behind it. They would pop out occasionally and shoot their guns at a group on the other side of the room. They were a diverse group: men, women, Humans, Faunus. They all wore different clothes and welded different weapons. The only thing they all had in common was a grey armband on one of their sleeves. Some of them shot at the bounty hunters, and some were engaged in hand-to hand combat. A few even weirded swords, axes, and other bladed weapons and were dueling the bounty hunters.
On the ground were several bloodied bodies. They were about half bounty hunters, and half the other group. Among the dead bounty hunters were the sheep Faunus, the man with red hair, the girl with the facial tattoos, and the one that had harassed Velvet and Coco when they came in. The latter had been completely decapitated by what looked like a sword, his head lying in a pool of blood nearby, while the others were filled with bullet holes. Four of the other group lied dead either with gunshot wounds, stabs, and one even had an arrow sticking out of his neck. Two of the strippers were dead as well; the one with the pigtails had been shot and the one with rose hair somehow had her neck broken.
"Keep moving!" the burly man called. "We're almost out!"
Cinder turned her eye away from the carnage and towards her rescuers. She still did not know what to think.
Both the city and the surrounding forest were usually without any kind of activity. Most of the time, the Grimm just wandered aimlessly, looking for something to kill. Occasionally it would come across a weak traveler or small animal to devour, but most of the time there was no activity.
However, there had been a sudden spike in negative emotions. The Grimm's feral mind had sensed it. It was anger, stress, violence, and death. They were like pheromones to the beast, drawing it from its dwellings in the forest of Forever Fall onto the outskirts of Vale. It raised its skeletal head and looked out upon the decrepit city, drawn ever closer to the negativity and misery nearby. It raised a hoofed leg and began lumbering with its massive stride. Its eyes glowed red as it grew ever closer.
