Chapter 9: Immobilis Argentum
A lot of the people who cried out in upset about Adrian's death need to realize - Salem is NOT a good person. She may care for Jaune but that care is special.
The sensation of being in the air in a moving craft sucked balls. It sucked worse than that, actually, but he wasn't going to be able to voice it, even as he tried to push the bile and vomit down through the manipulation of the power inside him, willing himself to maintain his personal sense of style. The hoodie was still on, a memento of sorts of a day before, whilst the formal clothing that were to be used for fighting had been properly prepared for him by his mama.
Huntsman-level meshes woven into the clothing that she had bought him, with only the armour as well as the weapon that had belonged to his family in hand right now, he would be able to fend off the Grimm, without a doubt! He was going to be a hero, he just KNEW it!
The phone call that connected to his Scroll was linked to the number that his family used, opening the Scroll call. "Hello?" The connection was a little shaky, undoubtedly due to the fact that he was on a moving transport, to get to Beacon Academy, the connection jittery.
"Are you okay?" The voice of his oldest sister, Rouge, sounded, awfully concerned. It was a little relief, even as the smart one of the family seemed to be so full of concern.
"It's a flight... Of course I'm going to be sick." He said, trying to will the courage to keep on going, his whole body shuddering faintly as the bile started to come up again. Her voice sounded concerned, so there must be something.
"I've... Well, heh. I've sort of heard dad rant about irritating women."The tone of voice was light, just as Rouge usually kept it. Being a psychologist, it was better to speak softly and hope that whatever was wrong wouldn't lead to some sort of psycho-analysis of things.
"So... Was it a nice girl? Verde and Jade were terribly incoherent when they called me, asking me why the world decided to stop making sense." The understanding in her voice was enough, and he was sure that she would be able to write volumes on how the interaction between Weiss and himself had been thus far.
"She's a wonderful girl. Warm. Friendly and a little needy for contact. She's got one friend... that's me." There was a pause, as he could hear the scratching of a pen on paper. She liked the old paper notebooks, working with them nearly exclusively.
"And Selene... in comparison to the girl you've made into your friend... How did that work out? Verde and Jade said that you got a chauffeur, but..."The hesitation was there in her voice, even though it seemed more like a pause. It worked to spur on paranoid thoughts, even as he took a breath, exhaling with slight exasperation.
"She's not using me, if that's what you're curious about. This morning, when she'd heard that I'd eh... did that, she went off to confront the girl, and well... She's... She's a bit like mom if she gets angry." The understanding tone was enough to get him to talk, as he felt more at ease with Rouge because she didn't judge.
"All things I've seen thus far indicate that she has a nurturing personality, wishing for you to reach the heights that you can reach." The clinical statement was something that he had heard before, even as she changed tone. "Dad was a little annoyed by your friend's dismissal."
He smiled at the way that she phrased that. Dad had never really been one to hide much of his emotions... and neither did he hide his disappointment at his actions. He was able to just tear you down with words alone, before it would come to personal contests of strength.
"Yeah, she was... She was pretty amazing, ripping the Scroll out of my hands and telling him that she thought I was a wonderful friend." Weiss was nice like that. He could feel the sickness inside him swell and rumble, the pain slowly brushing over his senses as he felt the sickness burn away with the power within him.
"Seems like you've made a friend... So..." The smile he could see on her face was enough. "How was the sex?" The question was blunt and to the point, even as he remembered Weiss' enthusiasm. She had been on him like a fiend, moving, squeezing, touching...
"Different. She's all passion, and she's..." He paused, considering his surroundings, his eyes catching the eyes of another student with red hair smoothed down and combed back, wearing armour that seemed to give him the image of a knight from the old stories and a massive mace, who raised an eyebrow, giving an apologetic smile and mouthing a 'Sorry' as he tuned down the conversation with his sister.
"She's great. Going to Beacon as well, so I'm happy to be her friend." Rouge took a moment to respond, scribbling something down on the pad. It was a tic that she'd gotten into ever since she graduated with honours at university. Why she did it, he didn't know.
"Good, good... I was a little worried." He smiled. His sister was worried for him, not only in a manner where there was something to gain from bullying her younger brother. There was always some care in his eyes, even as he grabbed the picture of their little 'coffee date' from the folder, dragging it to the icon for Rouge's call, sending it.
"Ooh, she's pretty. How'd you run into her?" Rouge asked, even as he chuckled softly.
"She made a comment and my escort put down her bodyguards. Selene is... protective." The words were true, as he knew his mama to be able to inquire casually about whether he would need someone dead or not. She was one of the reasons he was going to learn how to fight and defend her, after all...
"Ah, yes. Has Selene lost someone important to her? That usually is a reason for such actions to be taken towards younger individuals." Rouge looked at things with reason and intelligence, even as she sounded almost bored. It was a quirk, yet she knew well when to be serious.
"Children. A very bad divorce." The sigh of relief could not be faked, as his sister was honest enough about that.
"Saphron's wife was all concerned that she was a part of the underground circuit. I've had a college roommate check out her finances and it seems all to be above the ground. Did you know that she's one of the primary shareholders of the Schnee Dust Company?" He smiled a little, imagining that mama would indeed be someone like that.
"She's been going on about making me learn economics." There was a pause there, even as he wondered briefly on how Doctor Watts was going to ensure that would happen. He hadn't gotten any lesson plan yet, though he was sure that the man would have to find something in his schedule first to make such a plan.
"Does she want to make you her replacement son or something?" The question was strange to his ears, even as he laughed at the notion. He would be the son that she'd need, even if she didn't want him to. She'd shared with him so much... She'd even brought him the joy of feeling one with her.
"She was talking about me becoming her successor, yes." The soft 'Ah' sound came from Rouge's mouth at the words.
"It is not unusual for those who remain childless, through accident or through their own intent, to donate their funds for the next generation to use." The clinical perspective, she had once called it. "To pass on the torch of hope to the next generation by personal choice, as Professor Ozpin of Beacon had once said in a rare TV interview during his early years."
"She's... She's like an aunt. If we need the money, she's willing to help out. I think... I think she sees something akin to her daughters in me." There was so much that he didn't know about Selene yet, but which all seemed so trivial.
"An older woman like her is something to watch out for, little brother. Wouldn't want you to be ensnared to be some toy-boy, hmm?" The teasing tone in her voice was something that most of his sisters seemed to have mastered, even as she was oddly humoured, a picture sent to him suddenly from her side.
A drawing of an older woman with dark hair, eyes that looked to be shaded in the colour of a pen that didn't quite match the other sketch-pen, a face that looked much like his mother's there. "A picture of what I imagine her to look like, based on your description and how she's said to look by Saph's wife." Rouge never called Terra by name, there being some bad blood between the two of them for some reason, something that Saphron had sheepishly admitted to him once upon a time. It was plain that Rouge did not fully approve of Saphron's lifestyle, being the closest in age to her.
"She looks... early thirties? Late twenties, if I could guess..." To give an accurate picture of Selene would be to send a photograph, yet there was never a chance for that. She did not enjoy being photographed. "Younger than fifty, but dad also looks like he's still in his late thirties, doesn't he?" The amused laugh from Rouge was enough to banish his worries, even as he felt the excitement rise, an announcement about them arriving at Beacon Academy drawing him away.
"Yes, he does." It was something that had been an in-joke amongst the family. Their mother had aged normally, showing a little gray at the temples and looking more her age than before, whilst their dad still managed to look like a spry and able man, despite the ever-growing collection of scars on his arms.
"Beacon awaits, big sis." He said, even as she made an amused sound.
"I was just checking up on you. I've got an appointment in about thirty minutes, so I figured I'd check to see what the fuss was about. Good on you for getting a friend and some action to boot. I'll mail you a box of condoms as a gift. Practice safe sex, little brother. Wouldn't want to knock up some poor teenage girl besotted by your romantic gestures, now would we?" The teasing tone was so Rouge that it was like he was back home.
A surge of something welled up in him, the urge to destroy the Scroll rising, even as he exhaled slowly, the feeling fading. He wasn't going to get mad at Rouge for teasing him... Saphron would be doing the same, even though she didn't like boys. It was something that he had gotten used to over the years.
Salem looked at the building, the sign outside stating that it was 'private property', her gaze going to the man at her side for an instant and nodding to him, Hazel moving forwards in a single motion, even as the doorbell was ringing already when he came on. "Who's it! If it's any of you people for the bills, I'm a legit fighter for freedom and justice! I pay mah taxes!"
The female voice was something that sounded shrill and distasteful, her face carefully put in the mask that would show emotions that she did not feel to her core, the feeling burning inside her about the surroundings, the words of the woman still sounding, even as the door opened on a crack. "I have an appointment..." She said, her voice barely hesitating, a look on her face that was proud yet not overconfident.
"Ah, you must be the Umbra lady, spoken of by the globalist scum that runs this city! There's a lot of words that's being said about you, Miss Umbra." The woman's voice was coarse, with an accent that was uncouth and boorish, yet there was some sort of warmth in her, even as her smile thinned slightly. 'Some lips will need to be silenced, if it appears to be so...'
"Come in, come in. I'll show you to the war room... There's... yeah, there's a few guys that'll be doing the work for me in Atlas and Mistral, declarin' the good word against the pigs who control our Kingdoms!" The woman was not the tallest that she'd seen, standing at a solid 5'7, her blonde hair combed to the side and a cocky grin on her face, even as she puffed up her chest. Compared to Salem, she was by far a little rounder.
"An... unique place that you have here." She said, her voice giving no sign of her own appreciation, merely stating that it was unique. It was by far one of the more peculiar locales that she had visited recently.
"It isn't much, but it's what I've got. Ahh, let me get some of my juice. Guaranteed to make your ovaries grow balls, yeah! Made with the best vitamins and all sorts of good stuff! Female Huntress Vitality: To awaken the Huntress in YOU." The slogan seemed a bit out-dated, even as she amused herself with the image of herself growing male parts.
It was a wry smile that blossomed on her face at the image of such a thing happening. 'Perhaps an illusion of sorts, in the case of Cinder overstepping her boundaries...' Let it not be said that she had no sense of humour. It would be amusing to twist the imagery for the young woman a little, to show her something unexpected and insinuate...
She had called Jaune something that he was not, so it was time that she... toyed with her a little.
"So, this is the war room!" A room that was smaller than she'd expected, yet enough for the message to spread. If one wished to spread one's message, one should go for those who are already maligned enough to not be trusted by the public at large.
The doomsayers who spoke hale and heartily about the dangers, speckling shreds of truth through the false lies that Ozpin would wish them to believe. "Ah, would you want some Super Female Vigor? I've got a package here somewhere..." The woman bent over, rummaging, her hands searching through a box, setting a bottle with what appeared to be male enhancement drugs on the counter, labelled as 'FAUNUS-FORCE TWENTY' with the image of a Faunus man with a horse tail wearing rather provocative and few articles of clothing.
"I'll pass, Miss Stones." The tone of formal dismissal was enough, as the woman peered up from the box.
"And how 'bout you, handsome? You wanna have some Super Manly Force, pep up that love life of yours and the misses?" The implication was there and she cast a look at Hazel that was merely a raise of the eyebrow, yet the implicit instructions that were carried within undoubtedly had reached the man.
"I am her bodyguard, Miss Stones." The woman smirked, confidently, pushing herself up against the man.
"Ooh... Call me Alex. Alexandrite Stones, at your service. Ready to mingle and still darn single. Fuck yeah!" Her disapproving look at the woman was enough to silence the woman.
"Please refrain from using such words in my presence." The woman looked a little embarrassed, even as she turned around. Salem raised the eyebrow once more at Hazel, who looked a little beleaguered in the way that he stood there like a statue.
"Alright, so eh... What do I gotta have the big bad Selene Umbra, who looks darn fine in her appearance if I may say so mahself... eh, here." The bait was out, before the fish would be able to be hooked. Her eyes glinted a little as she saw the woman's interest.
"It has come to my attention that you speak the truth, where others would lie." A minor exaggeration, as Alexandrite Stones' broadcasts had only been picked up by the VBC for the past three years, the woman being in her mid-thirties and having a failed marriage behind her.
"That I do, ma'am. The plebs don't know about what I tell... It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! Big bad Huntsmen telling us that the Grimm're evil, but being all sneaky-deaky about them darn illegal Faunus." The fist-gesture that the woman made was detestable, yet Salem did not mention it out loud, nor did she show it.
"What if I invested a hundred thousand Lien in your radio show, Miss Stones?" It was not a simple thing to do, to invest such an amount, yet it was all tax deductable, according to the accountant. It was a company thing, investing in failing companies and then writing it off as a loss...
It was something that Selene Umbra did from time to time in order to ensure that the taxes in Atlas remained low. Even the Schnee Dust Company did such things in Vacuo, with failed start-ups being money laundering schemes in order to fund their exploits in the sand-baked hellscape of Ozpin's creation.
"Well, I'd be mighty thrilled, Miss Umbra. But... Ain't you one of them Industree-a-lists?" The way that the woman spoke the word industrialists was strange, yet Salem did not flinch from the challenge, even as she smiled. With this woman, she could work a little.
"I prefer to think of myself as more of a royalist, really... I do still remember Mantle, back when it was great."There was a pause there, even as she let that sink in. The words 'royalist' would call up images of the greatness of the King of Vale, would allow the foolish woman to imagine that she stood for the sovereign right of the Kingdom to govern itself, all carefully tailored to the rhetoric that the woman used. 'A pawn who would be able to become a bishop... The masses are easily swayed... Every time one of the media bans one of its smaller competitors, the voice of the masses grows swayed by thoughts of conspiracy...'
It was a delicate game that she played, one which could backfire... But she had time. She had plenty of that... And if it came to it, she would be able to retreat to her castle, to let a century or three pass, with dear old Ozpin ensuring that the world would be somewhat at peace... before she would tear it all to shreds once again to reset the board.
And if he dared to harm one single strand on her little boy's head... It would be so easy to wipe it all away. Nobody remembered the Kingdom of Bastion either, aside from archaeologists and Ozpin.
"Ah, a royalist! Things were better when the King was still in power! Great guy, that fella! His whole 'yeah, this thing is stupid, let's get you all relegated to some international confederacy ran by the globalists!" The hand gestures were annoying, even as the woman smiled. The sentence didn't make much sense... But she supposed that for such rhetoric, it was an easy price to pay. Perfection did not need to be acquired... Just enough of it to ensure that her plans would go off without a hitch.
"Pleasure to work with you, Miss Umbra. We at Knowledge Wars will be glad to spread the word of liberty with your donation! We'll even mention you at the end of our daily show." Salem held up a hand to forestall a lengthy manner of speech.
"It would be unwise to immediately tip them off to the fact that Selene Umbra invested, would it not? Imagine, the investigators destroying your personal property... No... I think that it would be best to merely mention a donation from a TRUE patriot. One who loves this Kingdom and would like to see it rise to greatness again." The words were the cold hard truth, in her eyes.
When she had eradicated the pest that was Ozpin, she would unify this world into an empire... Nothing would stand in her way. Peace through the successive force of her designs... and the people would sign away their freedoms with just a simple acceptance of her empire's goals.
'And when that throne finally stands upon this world...' An empire needed an empress. An empire needed an emperor... and she had just the person in mind to be her emperor. A man beholden to none, superior to all who were around him...
"Couldn't have said it better mahself, Miss Umbra. We at Knowledge Wars acknowledge your sacrifice!" It would all be written off as idle fancies of a madwoman selling snake oil and such services, yet the advent of radio had been an enlightenment for herself... The music was worth keeping the medium around, if anything. She quite enjoyed the classical musical compositions, after all.
"Oh, it would be hardly a sacrifice in order to know the truth of the matter, is it? Why, Mister Rainart has suffered under the cruel yoke of the Huntsman Academies..." The push for Hazel to speak of his story was enough, even as the man's voice was low and with precision. The man knew his role, as she had spoken about it on the trip towards this place.
"My sister. She would have been twenty-five this summer. Dead due to a training exercise that went wrong." The words were emotional, even as Salem herself kept her mind calm and placid, surface-level tension barely noticed, as she let her gaze rest on the woman's face, who seemed to lap it all up.
"Conspiracies at th' level of the Academies ta hurt our young men and women brave enough ta fight for the freedoms that we have earned! Damn, this sets my blood on FIRE!" The woman took the easiest bait, working herself up. Salem smiled, genuinely. There would be some hiding of the sources, obviously...
But what person did not feel some stab of pain at the loss of a family member during what seemed to be a 'training exercise'? Who had not lost a loved one thanks to Ozpin's cruel desires?
The truth was the diamond-hard blade that carved through the hidden motives of her former husband...
"I swear, it's almost as if you do magic." The innocent look in those eyes were like the light beyond the darkness, even as her fingers brushed over pale blue hair, the innocent girl looking up at her. It was nearly an age after humanity had come back, changed...
The beast-kin were enough to be enslaved, she found, yet the home that she had built there upon the forest's trail was enough. "Perhaps it is a kind of magic?" She suggested to the girl, who smiled at her gentle tone. She could hear the sounds of people coming, even as she willed the balls of energy to go away, the sight of seventeen of the villagers of the nearby village standing there, wielding their simple farming implements. It was not like the technological marvels of her time, when magic fuelled most things...
"Let her go, Witch!" The term hurt, as she looked at the child, the child looking at her and shaking her head, darting out of her presence.
"Mama told me you're an evil woman, and now they've got proof. Bad witch." It had hurt. Oh, had it hurt her to let herself play with a girl of sufficient age to be a daughter of her and Ozma, to let her walls down and to just try to entertain the little creature, a girl whose dress she laundered, in hopes of having the little family that had always been denied to her.
The men were crude, her body thrown to the ground. Anger blossomed in her, even as she could feel groping hands touch what could not be, touch what should not be touched by anything less than a husband. It was obvious that their intent was not to be here to 'punish' a Witch, yet rather to...violate.
The simple little creatures should have stayed in their village... Anger surged and power shot from her, incinerating the simpleton who dared to touch her privates with his groping clumsy dirty hands, a growl from her throat that was less human than the caged mongrels that were caught and sold as mere chattel.
A typhoon of gale forces swept them up, as the power inside her burned and she twisted the world to suit her needs. A low growl came from the depths of her mouth at the feeling that she felt, as their bodies were torn to shreds and blood rained down, all of it over in less than half a matchstick's time.
The girl she caught up with about half-way on the path back to the village, stopping the little creature with a hand and smiling lightly. "Hello there, sweetheart... Do you want to see a little magic trick?"
Pulling outward, she sent out the call. From each little point of the stretch of land that she called home, the Grimm answered, coming for her. There was no dissent, no frustration... They heeded the call of Salem.
The girl's mouth was silenced swiftly, lifting the girl up, letting her tire herself out as her hand kept elegantly over the mouth of the girl, walking towards the simple little creatures that had replaced her Humanity... Remnants of a mere remnant...
The Grimm were relentless, the girl's body struggling, yet the people barely noticing. She walked amongst the Grimm without even being noticed, the darkness of the pool of the Dark Brother making them ignore her presence as she walked among them, the girl's tears moistening her hands. A cold vengeance burned in her. "See... A magic trick."
The girl's pain and despair was almost like a trick, even as she saw the woman who she believed to be the girl's mother be slammed into a wall by a charging Boarbatusk Grimm, the creature collapsing half of the wall with the woman gored on its tusks. "Everyone... is going to disappear. Poof. Gone."
It was phrasing that mattered... As their souls would be joining Ozma in death, they would be gone. The girl would undoubtedly swear vengeance, even as the Grimm roamed. A light breeze rustled through her hair, even as the last embers of the living flickered away, the Grimm milling around. Only her presence kept the girl from being spotted by the creatures that had been spawned by the Dark Brother's pools...
Her pale as the snows of winter face looked at the bodies, even as the girl's mouth was freed up, the sobs much like her own, as her world was devastated. A girl alone, held by a witch who could control the Grimm, a faint chuckle given as the girl was limp in her hands. "Why?"
It was a question that she had heard before, before the long silence had set in. The girl, whose name had been something that sounded like 'lah', no longer was an irritant, even as she smiled at the terrified girl. "Because you hurt me, little girl. Now, we're going to play a little game..."
Her face did not change as she pushed the girl out of her arms, the girl taking a few steps forward, looking back at her with frightened eyes. "Run..." She said, smiling. A little snap of the fingers and every Grimm in the vicinity gazed at her direction.
"One... Two... Three..." A childish game's call, yet the girl ran.
She never made it out of the village. A Beowolf snapped its jaw around her arm and tugged, tearing the arm off. The screams of the girl were like a fine wine, even as her body was torn into by an Ursa, the shuddering of the ground as one of its massive paws hit the ground like an endearment to the ground itself, the girl's body laid there like a useless puppet.
"Oops... I didn't count to five. You don't mind, do you?" She asked the girl's body, which had been half bifurcated, the Grimm starting to move out, even as she plucked a fresh shirt from one of the wooden laundry racks, fitting it to herself to clothe a little more properly for civilisation.
It was time to move on, once again. This betrayal was the final nail in the coffin... These new humans would not learn how to leave her alone... and so they would know how to know fear.
She zoned back into reality, Hazel's voice animated as he spoke about the plight of Huntsman students without specifically delving into the subject of his hatred for Ozpin... Why, the man seemed to have charmed Miss Stones already.
"Ah-huh... And say... Are you free this eveni- no, wait, I've got a show then, I can't... Say, tomorrow morning? How about we go and get a cup of my special blend of Male Virility, huh? Get some REAL frogs grilling." The enthusiasm of the woman for dalliances with the stern man was something novel, as she looked at it. Her Scroll beeped, and she looked at the caller ID, noticing that it was Doctor Watts.
"Do enjoy yourself... I will need to take this." The woman who had been trying to coax her bodyguard into a date of sorts, looked at her. "Do you have a place where I can have a private conversation?"
"Yeah, th' toilet's good. Shielded with lead against them Council spy cams!" As she was led to the facilities, she briefly noted that perhaps it would be wise to hold her breath at least slightly, as the odour of this 'Female Vitality Power Juice' or whatever the woman was peddling, seemed to severely upset the stomachs of those who consumed such a thing.
"My dear friend... What is the news?" The fact that she was currently trying to block the scent out whilst speaking made her voice sound a little more nasally than she usually did, yet it was unlikely that the man would complain about such a thing. He knew well where the power laid in this working relationship... and it was not with him.
"The coursework for your young protégé has been sent to his Scroll device, and we have received word from Argus about an event happening to his oldest sister. There has been an explosion in their household, the watcher that we have assigned to their place reporting massive debris scattered around the street." The man paused, even as she waited, patiently for more information.
"Thus far, it seems like a cascade failure of Dust, used in Terra Cotta-Arc's line of employment." The man concluded, even as she nodded to herself, the horrible smell invading her nostrils.
"Thank you." The words of thanks were curt, the man understanding completely.
"I have made reservations for the boat to Argus." The way of travel was slower than an aircraft, yet she had to moderate her pace. One could not appear too swiftly, with suspicion so thick. 'Time is my ally...'
"Thank you, my friend." The man knew that she wanted results, and she had gotten them. A file loaded, an article from the Argus Gazette speaking of a Dust explosion at the address that they knew the Cotta-Arcs lived at, a small smile on her lips.
A report of a medical technician appeared below it, detailing the fractures on the body of one Cotta-Arc, Saphron. Her eyes knew well the points on the body, having been maimed there more than once. With her immortality, it was as simple as merely willing them to go away... She would not die, until the gods themselves were but mere specks of dust.
The call disconnected then, joining the woman and Hazel once more. The way that the woman was stroking the man's arm was intimate, and her companion through multiple bloody periods seemed unaffected. "... know what you mean." The man said, as he made a gesture, turning to her. "Has there been news?"
She nodded, a faint glance at the Scroll that laid on the recording table, Hazel's symbol visible upon it. "My trip to Argus has been planned already." The assurance was enough for her, even as she worried not about the logistics, even as she pulled up the schedule, making a few adjustments. 'Seeing Jaune off to Beacon' had been allotted for nearly half of the afternoon, with this little side-diversion having been more than a little fruitful in nature, given that it would show the world just how the truth could be preached.
"Ah, home of the globalist Atlesian military in Mistral! Secret black Dust transports to grind innocent Faunus into meat paste to feed to the starving children! Cordovin's secret machine to make people taller by fueling it with Faunus babies!" The rant was starting, she could see it in the woman's eyes, yet there was little that she did to stop it.
"We should go. We have bags to pack." Not quite needed for her, yet Hazel would need to find himself something to occupy with, rather than some washed-up conspiracy nut.
Her Scroll rang nearly three hours later, the familiar tone of the number that she craved to hear the most lingering in her ears. "Good evening, Jaune... Has everything gone well with your entrance to Beacon?" She inquired in the gentlest of tones, knowing that the poor dear must be so excited to inform his mama.
"Selene, please... My sister's... There's been an accident at her home. My little nephew, Adrian..." She didn't care what his nephew was called, even as her baby boy's voice cracked with obvious concern. "He's... gone. Can you... Can you travel to Argus quicker with my dad to be there for her? Please? Dad doesn't have the money and..."
A smile came to her lips. "Of course, my dear. Whatever you want." The words were meaningful to her, her face taking a lighter cast, as she turned the camera on, her expression concerned. She was concerned, for him.
'And so, we are yet another step further on the road to my dreams...' She smiled, even as she looked at him with that same look. "I'll need your father's number." She said, and he rattled it off. Her little baby looked tired... He should find the Schnee girl and quench his frustrations inside her. It cooled men off when they laid with women, or so she had been told by the one who had instructed her on a woman's poise.
"I'll be in Argus soon, Jaune." She would have to take a direct flight there... But that wasn't important. This would change her schedule slightly, leading to an earlier arrival... But that hardly mattered when it was her precious baby asking for a favour.
"Thanks... I don't know what to do, I..."He looked so cute, floundering there, even though it was little to be concerned about. He was better than these lesser humans, after all... He should not waste that much time with their petty little squabbles. A king did not behold the commoners, unless they were appealing to the eye.
"Everything will be fine... I will deliver unto you what you deserve, my dearest." The words were unhurried, and they were genuine. She would never lie to him. She would make sure that he had the best time at Beacon.
"I love you, mama." He said to her, her heart fluttering a little at the words.
"I love you too, Jaune." She said, her voice oddly sweet, even as she glanced at the power that was left within the Scroll device, before she turned the connection to Jaune off. Dialling the number, she waited patiently for the man to pick up.
"Ashton Arc speaking, I'm sorry if I'm a-" Hurried voices spoke, some people were trying to talk over each other, a ruckus of any other name, even as she heard the manly voice of her Jaune's father.
"Mister Arc, your son has informed me about the tragedy that has happened. I am here to offer you a flight to Argus, so that you can be there for your daughter." Her voice was contained, concerned, a little hint of care in that voice.
The man's voice sounded angry, as he barked at someone to 'shut their face', the grateful voice coming from the speaker. "Ah, thanks... I mean, you're a friend of Jaune's, and I know we've been..."
"It is for him that I do this, Mister Arc. I happen to have a meeting at Atlas later this month, so skipping through Argus may be for the best. I want what is best for your family." The smile on her face was beautiful to behold, even though others might see it as a terrifying thing.
'Oh... I do want the best for your family, Ashton Arc. You are not the man your father and his father was...'
"Meet me at Vale Airport. I will make the arrangements." The man's stammered gratitude was grating on her ears. She only craved one man to speak of gratitude to her and he was not present within the place right now.
"Hazel? It seems we will be going by aircraft. Do be a dear to arrange a private craft for our usage, please? Mister Arc has nearly lost his daughter and Jaune has requested that I go to bring his father to her." The look on the man's face was easy to read. The gritting of the jaw, even as he looked at her with that half-restrained look...
'Oh... That passion to safeguard a young man whose sister has been harmed by forces outside your knowledge... That is why I have selected you, Mister Rainart. The moment those desires interfere with my own though...'
They were mortal. They would fall, eventually.
Looking at the number in her Scroll, she smiled softly. 'I really DO want the best for your family, Jaune...'
The feeling of being on solid ground again definitely was a better one than to feel one's own stomach trying to escape through one's mouth. Jaune Arc was glad to be on solid ground, even as a muted explosion sounded in the background, his eyes catching sight of a small plume of reddish Dust rising into the air. He saw a crowd in front of him, pushing through it without really caring about who he offended, a red-haired girl at the centre allowing him to pass with an expression of surprise on her face as he pushed past her whilst he mumbled to himself – "Why do these people decide to get in the way of people just wanting to get somewhere?" – as he aligned himself a little more to push through the people, freed from their oppressive mask.
'Eesh, you'd imagine there was some celebrity there or something and everyone wanted an autograph...' He wasn't going to be worrying about that just yet, even with how the energy seemed to flow in this place. So much emotion, so many different feelings all mixing together. Like a crowd of hyperactive puppies on a sugar rush, running roughshod through a pillow factory.
He saw the girl lie within a crater, someone stomping away with a sensation hanging around them that felt somewhat familiar, yet the headache that he had gotten from the way that the people around him had been hyper-active did not go away. Looking down at the girl that laid there, seemingly unconscious, he sighed.
"Hey, are you alright?" The girl roused slowly, his eyes taking in the sights. Petite build, reddish tips in the hair and a cute as a button face. A girl's face that held no secrets, and slowly opening silver eyes...
Pain erupted inside him, his hands going for his eyes as he felt the burn go straight through his body, his eyes aching and boiling. An image came to him of his Mama, standing before a massive golden dragon, holding a man whose features looked a little familiar. Selene was enraged, speaking to the dragon with frustration in her voice.
"Are you okay?" The soft voice was there, even as he rubbed at his eyes. He avoided her gaze, knowing that those silver eyes held pain and not pleasure. 'What the hell was that?'
He'd never reacted like that to someone's eyes. "Yes, sorry... Something got in my eyes, a bit of dust." He hadn't meant to be offensive with his words, even as she seemed to shudder for a moment.
"Ah, yeah-heh-heh... I may have something to do with that. Sorry!" The tone of chipper optimism might be something that he had not heard in a while, Weiss being more soft-spoken and elegant, in comparison to his Mama, who was more mature and more willing to converse with a certain sophistication.
"The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue and ladies love it!" Both the ladies that he'd shared a bed with loved it, at least. Weiss had not been shy about using his name, albeit Selene used it in moderation when they were enmeshed in passion.
"Do they? Like the name, that is. I don't know, Jaune Arc looks a bit..." He frowned at the girl, who seemed to worry a little about things, even as he smiled at her.
"And what's your name, crater face? Crater, middle name Head, surname Face?" The frown and snort that she gave was adorable, even as her silver eyes met his own again, a feeling like someone was trying to shove hot knives through his own body unpleasant.
"I'll have you know that it's Ruby Rose! Huntress extraordinaire!" The introduction was a bit less impressive than Weiss had given hers, though hers had involved a lot more moaning and pleasured sounds. He wasn't sure what to think of this girl.
"Oh, Huntress extraordinaire?" He teased, tapping her on the forehead. She frowned at him, those silver eyes looking like miniature flashlights. "Looks more like a new friend to me! Mom always said that strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet." The girl brightened immediately, the smile on her lips lighting up her whole face.
"Gee, thanks Jaune. I'm glad that I met you as well.. ehh.. friend? You said I was a friend, right?" The question was light, but it was there, the girl's insecurities to the fore already.
"Of course. I want to get more friends." The smile she gave him was magnificent, even as she pulled out... a very big scythe.
"Well... This is Crescent Rose and... She's a-" The look on her face was enough to tell him that this was going to be a story that would last for a long time if he didn't cut her off, tapping her lightly on the shoulder.
"It's a scythe... and it's got a scope, so it's a gun as well." The technological aspects were something that he'd rather leave to his youngest sister, who technically was two and a half years older than him. Technically, because she'd been born early.
"Gee... High-impact sniper rifle, pleb! And... what do you have, Mister Hot-shot Jaune Arc, rolling great off a girl's tongue." The taunt was there by her nature, the girl challenging him, even as he pulled out Crocea Mors. Her eyes looked at them and he could detect the faint trace of surprise.
"A sword and shield. The shield collapses into the sheath." He didn't trust the girl, yet her eyes seemed to widen.
"Ooh! Is this a Great War Original Valean Sword and Shield combination? There's only eighty of those and seventy-five of those are in the museum! You must've... No... Don't tell me you're..." He smiled at her, knowing that she'd accurately guessed that he must've been one of the people who'd been allowed to keep the blade.
"Jaune Arc. Not so short, sweet, the ladies love me!" He did a little ta-dah pose, even as she looked at him, her expression more amused.
"Seriously, is this your family's? It's an heirloom, y'know?" The girl looked at his sword and shield, weapons that he'd never really considered.
"They were used by my great grandfather, Julius Arc." Ruby's eyes went wide, looking at him with little stars shining in her eyes.
"Ooh! I know him! So you're one of THOSE Arcs." There was a little bit of pride that he felt, even as he looked around.
"Eh... I think we should head to the auditorium... Which should be that way." The map that Selene had procured for him to familiarize himself with the facilities at Beacon came in handy for the first time, even as Ruby followed after him, Crocea Mors clipped back on his belt.
"Gee, thanks Jaune... Normal knees, yep... Tooootally normal knees." The girl might be a little weird and her silver eyes might hurt a little, but he still had gotten another friend. 'Wouldn't it be nice if Weiss and Ruby got along well?'
Three hours later, he nearly dropped his Scroll, the voice of his mother coming through. "Something's happened to Saphron and..." The pause was poignant, even as his mother seemed to muster up the courage to say it. "Adrian died. I thought it'd be best to tell you, even if... Even if things are..." His mother started to tear up a little, even as the emotions roiled inside him as well. Adrian had been a lively baby, and he remembered when he'd held the little kid...
"I'll... I'll give Selene a call. If she can offer help..." He knew that his father wouldn't be leaving yet until about a month or two or so, his periods of work enough, even as his mother's voice sounded concerned.
"Your father's not gathered the money ready for the flight yet... By boat is slower, but... it's Saphron, Jaune." He could imagine his happy older sister now in the hospital, knowing that her adopted son had been killed through... whatever. He couldn't imagine anyone would want to hurt his sister.
"I'll ask her... If I'm... If I ask, then she'll help out. She's a good woman, she'll... She'll understand."His mother's voice degenerated into sobs once more, as he looked at the Scroll and shut the call off, his own emotions turning messy.
He was lucky that the order had been given to go and find a spot to sleep in, several of the other teenagers engaging in a little impromptu wrestling match. He called Selene immediately when he found a quiet spot.
She'd know what to do... She was mama, after all.
Another chapter, wooh. Salem, a totally legit enhancement powder saleswoman (We dun' own nuthin'.) and... well, the Arc family disturbed. Next chapter... Prelude to Initiation!
This chapter was Beta-read/edited by Agent of the Divine One, who is hereby thanked.
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