Hello everyone, how are you doing? Hope you are all doing fine!
Ch. 79 is here. As always, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks again for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You are all awesome.
See you next week with Ch. 80. Until then, have fun!
A couple hours before Velvet received the report about the gruesome incident, in a place far, far away from New Vale City, team RWBY had just managed to reach the southern part of Cornfield Town.
The thin mist still obscured their faraway vision, but Blake could at least deduce the outlines of the docks and the remains of the lake port, with its half-stone, half-wooden houses and pubs meeting the boardwalk.
"Here we are" she finally exclaimed, pointing to the only building in the area that seemed to be made of stone. It also happened to be the most modern-looking as well as the least destroyed one.
Cornfield Minerals Museum was bigger than they expected. It was a two-floor building that spread across a town square as vast as five normal houses, covering the leftmost part of the docks on its own.
Two human-tall black stone monoliths stood at the door's left and right, as if still receiving visitors. Lots of small windows covered by wrought-iron railings could be seen on the washed away yellowish stone walls.
"This place has some questionable aesthetics I see" Weiss crossed her arms while staring at the antique-looking gate. Yang giggled and Vivian rolled her eyes, trying to not vomit at their light-heartedness.
"Let's get in; no time to waste here. Blake, if you will" Ruby bowed in an extravagant manner, making the yellow-eyed faunus smirk in fake discomfort before she carefully pushed the double front doors open.
One after the other, with Blake always leading and Ruby being the last, the five women stepped inside the building. They moved through the wide corridor, passed the broken glass door and reached the reception.
Ignoring the moldy desk and the rotten tour guides, they moved to the main hall. Said hall was vast and spacious, an open area spreading up to the roof, numerous doors leading to various exhibition halls and stairs that connected to the first floor rooms via a series of interior balconies.
In the middle, a large monolith stood. As their torchlights fell on it, the massive shard was revealed to be the same as the ones in the entrance, albeit ten times larger. Its pitch-black color contrasted the white marble tiles that formed the floor and the stairs in a rather modern fashion.
"Why" Yang licked her lips "is this place so well-preserved? The rest of the city looks like it was hit by The Apocalypse, but this seems like it could open after a little dusting and sweeping!" she voiced her surprise.
"There are no Grimm prints… marks of battle… blood, human remains; it looks like it was just shut down and never opened again" the silver eyed reaper agreed with her sister. "How's that possible?"
"The only thing I can think" Weiss tapped her fingers on her arms "is that there were no people around here to draw Grimm in, so nobody bothered to tear it down."
"We must search for the others" Vivian continued playing her part. "If this place is in such good shape, they could have easily survived a night here with the provisions we had."
"If my memory doesn't fail me" the white-haired girl told her "there should be a museum map around here to help visitors navigate. We could use some help in locating the safest places"
"Yes; here it is" Blake's voice sounded a few meters away from them, standing beneath a large map. "I had the same thought" she explained while they walked up to her.
Team RWBY stared at the rather spacious museum's chart, noticing two small rooms in the second floor, next to the History department. One was the curator's office and the other was labeled as personnel bath.
"This is where we go" Ruby told them "they have access to a bath, an easy to defend place with one single entrance and a window in case we need to make an emergency exit. It's a good place for them to hide."
"I hope they are all fine" the cream-haired woman said in a worried and anxious tone. "So do I" Blake nodded at her, as she led them towards a wide marble staircase on the left.
They climbed up the stairs to the balcony, their lights constantly tracing the main hall behind them in search of hostile movement. On the stairs' right side, small built-in mineral specimens accompanied their ascent.
Blake and Ruby jumped forward as soon as the team reached the first floor, securing the balcony corridor before the other three followed.
A series of small stone arches decorated the balcony, three-foot marble columns filling the interior instead of statues of paintings. Remains of light brown ceramic pots added to the rather scenic interior design.
Blake pointed to the second room ahead of them. Weiss and Yang, with their teammates covering their backs, moved towards it. Vivian moved behind, holding her breath due to her anxiety.
Of course, that was a carefully crafted deception as well. She knew very well what her 'saviors' would come across once they stepped inside the old curator's office; actually she counted on it to buy her some time.
Lilac eyes met cyan ones after the Freezerburn couple stepped in and took a good stare at the dark room. "The place is empty, but someone was here recently" the alabaster girl informed the others.
A small bed, a chair and a wooden desk were the only furniture. They were rotten and barely standing, as was the dusty and rusty old PC that rest on top of the desk. A small window and a second door completed the curator's room's image.
Besides them, however, a small array of bedrolls was spread, carefully pitted next to each other around the remains of a fire. Yang rubbed the ashes with her left index finger. They were cold.
"They were here" lilac eyes narrowed as she heard Prof. Crem's voice stating the obvious. "But where are they now?" she asked her. "Not here, for sure" Weiss replied while staring through the second door.
"This is a warehouse and a makeshift kitchen" she told them. "Empty and dusted, as expected." "You don't think they got-" "Attacked? Fat chance" Ruby interjected as she and Blake stepped in as well.
"There are no traces of combat-or slaughter" she exclaimed. "For some reason, it seems they fled and left their bedrolls behind" her sister added, rubbing off the ashes "maybe something scared them away?"
"If that's the case, it becomes harder and harder" Blake's yellow eyes narrowed "we have no idea why they left and where they could have possibly fled to" she explained to Vivian, who stared at her in shock.
"You are not saying we are leaving them behind, are you?" her big, dark eyes opened wide and she stared at team RWBY in her best fake pleading face. "They will not survive here on their own!"
Weiss rolled her eyes "nobody is leaving them behind; please calm down Professor. We are just saying that unless they are still inside the museum, we can't search for them until morning, am I right, Ruby?"
The red-caped reaper winked at her partner and turned to the other two girls. "Okay; we set our temporary camp in here. Weiss and I will, along with Prof. Crem, make some coffee and something to eat."
She shot a quick glance outside the window. The fog had almost subsided and the pale moon gently reflected on the broken, deserted docks. The entire place was both serene and creepy; it unnerved her.
"Blake and Yang will search around the building for survivors. I think it's a pretty safe place, but call for us even if you suspect anything. Scrolls are still not working, so scream or use a red flare. Is this ok?"
The Bumblebee pair nodded and then moved outside, weapons ready and senses sharp. Vivian thanked Ruby for her understanding and then proceeded to set her bedroll, barely able to conceal her satisfaction.
-o—
The small light emanating from the lamp placed in the middle of the room cast huge shadows in the wall as all five women sat opposite to each other on top of their bedrolls, sharing respective information.
Correction; four of them sat down on the floor and Weiss had easily occupied the single bed, after Vivian's adamant refusal to claim it as her own. She had spread her bedroll over it, currently immersed in reading.
"So" the Professor said "there are no signs of them are they?" "Nope" Yang replied "and we were pretty careful in our search. The only things in here are us, dust and the rocks."
"That was really sophisticated" Weiss jabbed at her, earning a mocking gesture from her girl. "We will find them Professor" Ruby glared at her in determination. "I am sure" she smiled back in a meek manner.
I am sure you will, trust me. As soon as I find an opening, all four of you will go meet them in the lab. Or at least some of you will little goody-two shoes.
"It's so ironic" she exclaimed "all those excellent specimens around the place, yet I can't even spare a moment to think of studying them" she added, playing the studious professor part.
"It is ironic indeed" Ruby concurred before she turned her eyes to the pale girl on the other side of the room "did you find anything important in the old book you got from the History Department at least?"
"A few things, yes" the reply came. She showed them the cover. It was dusty, yet preserved, only a few scratches marring its thick, coated red surface. Large vague letters formed the phrase 'Newspaper Records.'
"It would seem that, despite their attempts to hide it, the people of Cornfield had a serious case of draught and harvest problems in 38 AW" she said, fixing her reading glasses "the fish were getting scarcer too."
"Wasn't that about the date when the destruction came by?" Yang, visibly interested, asked her. "According to the last record, it was about six months before the destruction, yes. Curious coincidence, isn't it?"
Not even one person inside the room failed to get Weiss' sarcasm. "A series of measures had been taken to help the town overcome the issue; careful agriculture, use of dust, extensive excavations in Crone…"
She raised her mismatched blue eyes, acknowledging she had captured everyone's attention "they even prepared offerings of food and drinks to the Grand Mother as a means to plead for her help."
"I can't believe people did that as recently as fifty years ago" the blonde woman snarled. "Well, it's not that Salem's followers were less religious or less devoted to their Goddess" her sister noted. "Point taken."
"Anything else, Weiss?" Blake was staring at her intently. The ex-heiress knew how much her friend valued information extracted from books so she continued reciting the last important parts to them.
"Apparently, there was a scheduled mass prayer in the town square on October 15th. That is, a day after the last archived newspapers" she said "and that would put the last day of Cornfield being the same date."
"Wow" the brawler commented "they got attacked the day they had a mass scheduled? Geez, Gods have a really twisted sense of humor. If you can call this creepy statue a God to begin with."
There was no reply for a while. Ruby pulled out a small kit out of her pack and set Crescent Rose in front of her "I am going to give our guns a quick cleaning if you want" she said.
"I'll pass; Celica is pretty much unused and I want to take a nap before my shift" she yawned audibly. "I will comb the book for information a little more, you can do mine any time you want" Weiss told her.
"I am taking first shift then" Blake stood up "keep me some coffee for later" she grabbed both weapons and slowly walked out, her boots making zero sound as she opened the door and started patrolling the balcony.
"Oh that reminds me" Ruby said and stared at the small door leading to the storeroom "I could use a cup right now" she stared at her sister and her partner in anticipation- only to see both avert their gaze.
"I am not getting up; check it yourself. And pour me a cup if it's ready" Weiss commented. "Same here; keep a cup for me when I get up" her sister smiled as she spread down and covered her eyes with her hat.
Vivian, on the other hand, jumped in joy in the inside "do you want me to check it?" The girl's silver pools stared at her and she smiled in deep appreciation "five sugars, please! The sticks are in the small black sack!"
"Five sugars?" the woman blinked. "As if, five sticks of sugar?" she then asked once more; obviously dumbfounded. "For your own sake" Weiss' voice replied "it's better to not give this atrocity much thought."
After noting everyone's preferences, the woman stepped inside the makeshift kitchen and reached out to the dust-powered self-heating thermos that was currently filled in rich, aromatic coffee.
She stared at it for a couple seconds and threw a few careful gazes behind. I can't even believe my luck! She was still dumbfounded, but for a totally different reason than the previous one. How stupid are they?
It was an ironclad rule for huntsmen and huntresses to not blindly trust any stranger out there, no matter what. Great and powerful warriors had fallen prey to 'honest' individuals quite numerous times in the past.
And here, in the middle of a type-1 disaster zone, the four huntresses of team RWBY- the legendary team that fought Salem herself- allowed access to their coffee to a total stranger! She was both elated and a tad disappointed that her job had proven to be such an easy task!
Carefully, trying to act all naturally in case someone barged in, she took out a small vial. It contained a very strong sleeping drug that could send them all asleep if properly administrated- or worse in case of overdose.
Well, she would just empty it inside and hope that at least one would survive. The job was to deal with them, after all. Rose had even smiled at her! What a bunch of greenhorns! How did they take on Salem?
She stretched her arm to open the thermos. "I can't believe how easy it was." Vivian's eyes opened wide. Her body stiffened at once and her brain went into hyper drive.
For the voice wasn't hers, no. It belonged to someone else; someone who was pointing the tip of a very, very sharp sword in the back of her neck. How did they step in without making a sound- oh, no! Belladonna!
"Raise your hands in the air and get ready" Blake's cool voice filled the small kitchen, stimulating her sense of self-preservation. "Ruby is going to be really angry."
-o—
"I… don't know what to say" for some reason, staring at Rose's silver eyes being filled in righteous fury, made Vivian feel more terrified than Schnee's scrutinizing glare or Xiao Long's menacing stance did.
After Xiao Long had punched her in the face, she had been thoroughly searched, stripped of all her possessions save for her basic clothing and tied up in the middle of the room.
The three girls stared at her in anger while Blake stood guard outside the open door, throwing side glances inside on occasion to not miss any important stuff.
"Prof- Vivian" she stared at her again. It had started becoming a little unnerving "where is the rest of your expedition?" A pair of large black holes gazed at Rose and an idea formed in her mind to buy some time.
"I will tell you all, but can I ask something first? How did you realize I was trying to get you? My act should have been perfect" she asked her.
"It was something you said when we met" Yang was the one who gave her a reply instead. "You said you all reached this place together and got separated at the plaza yesterday night."
She pulled out a small device- Martina Waite's scroll. "The girl says in here that you got separated in the fields when Janet Fish was lost. That made me suspicious and I discussed it with Weiss while we walked."
"I agreed on Yang's rare burst of wisdom and talked to Blake while you were preoccupied with Ruby to stage the whole coffee plot in order to give you the perfect chance to show us your true colors."
"By the way" Ruby licked her lips "your weapon has truly been in a lot of combat but quite a few scratches are made of knives, not claws, like that mercenary band in Vacuo that used this method to highlight their kills by carving lines on their handle for each person they have killed."
She grit her teeth "you are not worthy of the weapon you carry; is it truly yours or did you steal it from Professor Crem when you killed her?" Ruby knelt next to her, her voice a flat and emotionless threat.
"I didn't kill her" she replied. "I truly am Professor Vivian Crem" she had no idea what they would do to her and if they could see through her act then lying was a no-go. Better come clean and try bargain with them.
"I have been working for Professor Azure for six years and, under his orders, joined the university by faking a few papers." Weiss twitched her nose "why would you do that?"
She bit her lips. "I could establish connections through the city and lure people here for him to use as test material-" Yang's fist collided with her jaw for the second time today and this time it hurt even more.
Yang grabbed her before falling down and slammed her on the wall "are you even aware of what the fuck you just said, you daughter-of-a-bitch? You lured people here for this asshole to experiment on?"
"Yang. Sit her down again. I am not done talking" the blonde obeyed her sister's wish, albeit a little begrudgingly. Nobody wanted to mess with Ruby when she was in that state of anger.
"We know who you are, then, who you work for and why you tried to poison us. Where is Azure and where are the other people you led here despite them trusting their lives on you?"
"Don't preach-" "Say this load of bull once more and this time it will be Crescent Rose, not Yang, that will hit your jaw" she said it so naturally it made Vivian shiver. "Now, answer my question."
"They are all in the laboratory. As for where it is, I am not telling you. I can't disclose more information about my client" she firmly stated. A loud sigh was heard and Ruby sat down next to her, crossing her legs.
"At least you have some decency; that's good I guess" she told her, the outline of a smile appearing in her face. "But it's important for us to know, you see. We will have to do something else to have you tell us."
Vivian gulped; were they going to torture her? She was true to her code yes, but she didn't know if Azure's paycheck was worth getting- a loud beep echoed in the room, as Weiss finally managed to make the older woman's radio connect, filling the room in static.
"Call your boss and tell him you defeated us" Ruby smiled at her. Vivian blinked in shock and visible confusion. "That's all you want?" she asked.
"What did you expect?" Weiss asked her. "Torturing you? Who do you think you are dealing with?" she added in visible disgust. "Make the call lady" Yang told her. "If you are on a paycheck, I suggest you do it. You have much more to gain by cooperating with us, trust me."
Vivian stared at the radio in Ruby's hand. What should she do? What could she do? Should she accept the offer and plead for the four girls' mercy? Or should she decline? Was this act a breach of contract?
"Look" Yang towered again above her, cracking her metal fingers. "The night is nice and clear and the fog has vanished to the point I can see the docks from here. Want me to hurl you to the lake?" she asked her.
But the woman didn't listen. Or at least, it didn't register with her. From the very moment Yang's lips uttered the 'fog has vanished' phrase, her mind and heart sped to overdrive, her stomach filling in bile from fear.
"Ahm Yang; I think you scared her a little too much. She is turning even paler than her name suggests" Ruby noticed in concern. "Something is coming!" Blake's voice interrupted the interrogation, alerting everyone.
The faunus was expertly hiding on the balcony, her thin figure standing behind a column. Her trained eyes gazed around for enemies, until they had sensed a movement a few seconds ago.
The sound of heavy footsteps filled the interior of the museum, echoes of them resonating in the empty walls and exhibits as their owner took their time to move in plain sight. A few tense seconds passed this way.
And then it came into view- a human shaped figure. Its legs and torso were totally concealed under a long black cloak and the large hood hid its face. A large lump protruded on its back under the cloth.
Its only notable feature was the pair of thick, black arms that reminded Blake of carved, charred skin and the monstrous staff it held. It was made of bones and had a glistering, decorated human skull on its top.
The faunus held her breath and signaled to her teammates to keep as silent as possible, Yang closing Vivian's mouth to stop her whimpering. "Chill out" she whispered "you will draw this thing to us!"
The Grand Mother was no mere legend-she was real. And if the massive suffocating aura that everyone sensed from her was any indication, her malice was enough to put Salem to shame.
Not that it was news to the daughter of the God of Darkness of course. Since the dawn of time, no human had ever been able to compare with her.