RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late Monty Oum.
Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Seriously, you guys keep me going so share your thoughts. Please try to spread the word about this story so it gets more attention.
RWBY: Destiny of Remnant
Chapter 30: The New Mission
It was relatively early in the morning in Vale, the various Hunters, soldiers, and workers were all waking up, ready for another day of rebuilding Beacon Academy. Some of them, however, were already up.
Ozpin sat in his temporary office in a building near the hotel, looking over the schedule for today which included, among other things; continuing to rebuild the tower, the cafeteria, the school building, and the dorms, adjusting for newly arrived workers, checking the routines of the Hunters, and last but not least making the necessary arrangements for Jaune's training with his powers. While Port, Qrow, Winter, and several others would be looking over the reconstruction of Beacon, Glynda would take Team Beacon to one of the secured training grounds out of the way so no one could observe them and they were going under the guise of serving as that day's forest patrol. He had made the arrangements for a Beowolf, a Creep, and a Boarbatusk to be flown down from the Atlas science vessel.
Over the town a few of the Atlas airships had stayed behind for security purposes and one, a science vessel, was presently serving as a base for Grimm research and experimentation. It currently housed the corpse of the Wyvern Ruby killed at the Fall and the various Grimm she had killed when she came to save her friends, as Ozpin knew the non-disintegrating bodies of Grimm were an opportunity no one could pass up. Currently Oobleck and several of the top Grimm experts from all over Remnant were on board the ship running tests and examining the bodies.
Oobleck had also made sure to keep his promise to Professor Port and allow him to keep the heads of a Saber, Beringel, and Beowolf once he and the other scientists were done. The Wyvern was off limits and was now considered property of the Four Kingdoms.
For now Ozpin hoped Jaune's training would go well. He knew it was unlikely the blonde would be hurt as not only was Pyrrha there, but so was the rest of Team Beacon as well as Glynda, who Ozpin knew was more than capable of keeping them all safe.
There was a knock on the door, so Ozpin called "Enter."
His young secretary, a smartly dressed woman in her twenties with light brown hair named Melanie opened the door and said "Headmaster, you have a call and from what I can tell it is a very important one."
Ozpin nodded and asked "Is it from General Ironwood?"
"No sir, it's from... well... one of the maidens." She said, a little unsure of herself.
Ozpin nodded and said "I'll take it onscreen and alone." She nodded and closed the door as Ozpin turned on the monitor and connected to the transmission.
A rather beautiful woman in her late twenties with piercing pale blue eyes and platinum blonde hair looked at Ozpin with an unpleasant look in her eyes.
"Hello Elsa, I must say I've been wondering why you hadn't called me like the others have." He said with a kind smile. In the past he had known nearly a dozen Maidens, Cinder not included, and most of them trusted him and understood their purpose and importance.
Elsa Vorst, the current Winter Maiden, understood her purpose, had made great sacrifices for it, and had done her duties with dignity, grace, and humility. He knew Elsa saw the powers of the Winter Maiden as a small blessing and a major burden and curse. Ozpin knew that her lover Kaifin was the only thing that kept her sane at times as Elsa hated to be locked up in the mountains of Atlas as she couldn't travel very far unlike the other four Maidens could. The isolation would be unbearable for most people but Elsa managed to cope with it because of her lover and the friends she had.
"Hello Professor Ozpin," she opened venomously "I know it has been a while since we last talked and I am aware that you're smart enough to know I have been avoiding this call."
Ozpin sighed and admitted "The others have talked to me since my return but I knew you were cross with me and I know you have good reason to be."
"Good reason?! Amber is dead because of your incompetence!" she shouted.
"Elsa..." said the off screen voice of Kaifin.
Elsa sighed and collected herself. "If you had just listened to me, if you had gone with my idea she would still be alive and those poor children would never have suffered the way they did." She had heard about what Pyrrha, Ruby, and Jaune had been through in Atlas, Ironwood and Chamberlain told her about the Grimm hybridization, the brainwashing, the torture, the trauma they had endured. Elsa was not one for tears but when she had learned what had happened to them she wept.
Elsa's plan had been to have herself and the Summer and Spring Maidens travel to Beacon and use their combined powers to heal Amber's wounds. Ozpin had forbidden it has he had deemed the gathering of all four Maidens too dangerous, and he knew very well that Salem would have sensed such a gathering of immense power and could have attacked the school with every asset she had. Maybe Ozpin had just been paranoid but at the time it felt like a good strategy to shoot down Elsa's plan and keep doing things his own way.
Oh how wrong he had been.
"I know what they suffered through but believe me they are safe now. They will never forget those horrible experiences but their bonds are now stronger than ever before. I regret my choices and I can never get over the suffering I unintentionally caused those children but in the end things worked out alright." He said.
"'Things worked out alright'?! Oh Ozpin, you are some piece of work! A girl was nearly killed, taken away from her friends and family, mind raped, and turned into a freak! A boy had been tortured both mentally and physically and was on the verge of dying if it were not for the intervention of some old relic and a Guerrilla Huntsman! A girl with silver eyes was tormented because of the threat she posed to Salem and from what I understand was forced to kill!" she ranted.
"Yes, I know!" Ozpin snapped, "Recently I have had my failures and mistakes thrown in my face over and over again, I know I made some terrible decisions and if you are aware of the suffering my students went through then you should also be aware of what I was put through."
The Winter Maiden nodded and said "I am aware of what you endured while you were Salem's prisoner and your encounter with Norvik the Hunter, and I feel that you have been punished enough Ozpin."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow and inquired "Then why do you berate me?"
"To let you know that not everyone forgives you so easily. I will remember your mistakes and the fact that they have cost many people their lives... including Amber..." she said sadly, holding back tears.
Ozpin looked down guiltily, he knew that out of all the Maidens Elsa and Amber were the closest, they even considered each other best friends.
"She was so gentle and kind... she wasn't even the strongest of us so why did they pick her?" Elsa asked tearfully.
"Her powers were still great even though she used them with restraint. They took advantage of her kindness and her reluctance to hurt others with her gifts so Cinder Fall could take them from her." Ozpin said, remembering what little Amber had been able to tell Qrow before she slipped into a coma. He faced the screen again and said "You have every right to despise me but for good or ill I will remain in power, albeit sharing it with Glynda and with advisement from my friends."
"At least Goodwitch has some sense in her and whilst Branwen is a drunk he at least knows a good idea when he sees one." She said, remembering how Qrow agreed with Elsa's idea when she called Ozpin before the Vytal Festival began.
"Elsa, I am truly sorry for everything that has happened. I have been given list upon list, speech upon speech, and a lot of evidence that all point to my being a failure and a fool... but I want to make up for it. They have decided to give me a second chance and I will not waste it. I hope that in time you will learn to forgive me." Ozpin stated solemnly.
Elsa stared at him before responding "Who knows what the future will bring? I cannot forgive you yet, not after Amber... but I will not fight you, if Salem attacks I will fight alongside you because I know that is what Remnant needs and it is what Amber would want. Goodbye."
The transmission ended and the monitor screen went back to Ozpin's plain desktop.
The old wizard slumped back in his chair and massaged his temples, not ignoring the nagging voice in his head that told him that people like Elsa, the ones saying he had gotten off too easily, were right.
Jaune had been having a pretty good day so far. He had been waken up by Pyrrha kissing him, something that was common now that they slept in the same bed, but no matter how many times it happened he never got used to being woken up by a kiss from someone he now realized was as beautiful as a goddess. He looked into those awe-inspiring, playful emerald eyes and tried to speak but utterly failed to; she giggled and continued to kiss him. The basic sleeping position they had taken up was Jaune lying on his back with Pyrrha cuddled into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her waist, it was a good position that made them feel closer to one another and safe from any bad dreams they might experience, since if one of them should suffer one the other would be there to comfort them. After their morning kissing session they found themselves amused by the sight of the other half of JNPR sleeping together, as a distressed Ren had been rendered a human teddy bear by Nora.
After they took separate showers they had a pleasant breakfast, went for their morning jog around the block (during which they noticed that the reconstruction of Vale was nearly complete and that some businesses were already moving back in to prepare for the reopening of the city), and returned to the hotel to greet the other awakening members of Team Beacon. Nora, Sage, and Fox were still somewhat injured from the venom of the Sabers but they were in good enough shape to move around, they just couldn't fight very well but they insisted on being part of the patrols and were still able to keep lookout.
The entire morning, however, Jaune couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness he felt about controlling the Grimm. Despite constant reassurance from Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Velvet, Neptune, Sun, and all of Team RWBY he still felt anxious about it.
He knew that if he failed Pyrrha would be there to bail him out.
'As usual.' He thought bitterly but he shook the negativity away and tried to focus on the positive side; the Grimm they'd be using had been in captivity and tranquilized so therefore would be disorientated and a little easier to control. He could only hope.
They were presently at a one of the training arenas outside of the campus, one used for senior students who had more advanced skills and therefore bigger fights. Jaune stood in the sand pit with the Crocea Mors in hand while Pyrrha stood ready at the side, gripping Milo and Akouo tightly.
Above in the observation ring Teams RWBY, CFVY, SSSN, Ren, Nora, Penny, and Professor Goodwitch stood by ready along with several Atlas soldiers who knew of Jaune and Pyrrha's conditions. The Atlesian troops had brought down three cages from the science vessel with each containing one Grimm; a Beowolf, a Boarbatusk, and a Creep.
Jaune watched as Glynda used her Semblance to slowly lift up the cage containing the Beowolf into the pit.
"Are you sure you want to go with the Beowolf first?" she asked as it settled into the sand.
Jaune nodded and said "If I'm going to control the Grimm I might as well start with one of the most common."
Glynda nodded, seeing his logic as the rest of Team Beacon cheered for him.
"Go Jaune!" Nora cried as she lifted up a huge banner with those words written on it while Ren help up a little red flag with Jaune's head on it, giving his leader a confident smile.
"You got this buddy!" Neptune cheered.
"Kick its ass! Er... control its ass I guess would be better." Sun mused.
"You can do it! We know you can!" Velvet encouraged.
"Go Jaune!" Ruby called, which was followed by a cheer from Penny.
"Don't give up." Weiss stated.
Jaune nodded and stabbed the blade of Crocea Mors into the sand while transforming the sheath into a shield. "You ready Pyr?" he asked.
"Yes." She said with a nod.
"Okay Professor Goodwitch let it out." Jaune said.
Glynda hoisted up her wand and with that the Beowolf came tumbling out of the cage, snarling and swinging its claws everywhere in a panic.
Jaune held his ground and heard Pyrrha say "Get its attention!" He nodded and let out a loud, furious yell which made the Grimm look at him.
"Come on!" he beckoned.
The Beowolf barked and bounded towards Jaune.
"Reach out!" Pyrrha cried.
Jaune held out his hand and reached into the Beowolf's mind and like before with the Saber, feeling the hatred, misery, rage, and fear that filled up its mind. The Beowolf screeched to a halt a few meters away from Jaune, growling in resistance as it felt the strange sensation of Jaune's mind in its own.
"Don't be afraid, don't be angry, if you don't hurt me or my friends then I won't hurt you... can you understand me?" he asked.
The Beowolf fell onto all fours and looked up at Jaune, growling at him the entire time, its claws digging into the ground.
"You have to be firm Jaune! Keep a grip on it!" Pyrrha called.
Jaune nodded but kept concentrating as hard as he could to connect with the creature.
"My sword is down, I only have a shield for protection." He announced as he carefully and slowly got closer to it. "You have nothing to fear from me..."
Jaune's eyes snapped open as he could feel the Beowolf's mind become aflame with rage. It roared and jumped up at him, its claws ready to sink into Jaune's flesh. The knight knelt down and slammed his shield up just in time to catch the beast.
He cried out in pain as one of its claws landed a small slash on his forearm before he used his Semblance to power a throw that sent the beast flying to the left where it collided with the wall. Jaune's aura healed his minor wound in no time as he quickly reestablished his connection with the Beowolf's mind.
"Please! I know your angry and you want to fight, but you don't have to live this way. We can..." he brought up his shield again to block an attack from the spikes on its arm and drew back to avoid getting his neck bitten into.
With a rush of power the Beowolf slammed into him and he landed on his back with his shield on his chest as the Beowolf got on top of him.
"Jaune!" Ruby cried as she got out Crescent Rose and aimed for the Grimm's head, while Ren, Blake, Yang, and Neptune all got their weapons ready.
"No! I got it!" Jaune screamed as he shot out his arms and grabbed the Beowolf's head, reaching into its mind violently. "I can do it!"
The Beowolf roared in panic as it felt Jaune enter its mind violently, it tried to get away but Jaune's mental hold was strong enough to keep it still.
"Please! Don't fight it! We won't hurt you, I promise! We want to help people and if we can we can make it so other Grimm like you don't have to... I don't know." He said, he honestly didn't know what to say to calm the struggling beast but he had to keep trying. "Listen, I don't know what we'll do with you but I promise we won't kill you. Feel me, I have part of a Grimm within me, you can trust me. Please." He pleaded.
He felt the inner being of the Beowolf change, it became softer, calmer, still weary and hostile but it wasn't trying to tear Jaune's throat open anymore.
"Please get off of me." He ordered.
The Beowolf shook for a minute before slowly climbing off of Jaune and crawling far enough away so he could get up. Pyrrha took control of the Beowolf with ease and guided it back to the cage where Glynda quickly locked it inside.
Pyrrha ran over to the recovering Jaune and captured him with a hug.
"You did it!" she said.
"Way to go Jaune!" Nora cheered.
"You were wonderful out there!" Velvet called.
"I knew you could do it!" Ruby cried.
"Well done." Ren said.
"You had us scared for a minute there Jauney." Yang admitted.
"Aw, it was nothing." He said modestly.
"Nothing? Mr. Arc you just controlled a Beowolf, something only a small handful of people have ever been able to do and unfortunately most of them are our enemies, if we are to defeat them then you need to realize that your abilities are far from nothing." Glynda said wisely. She looked at her scroll and said "Your aura is still in the green Mr. Arc, would you like to proceed?"
Jaune nodded, "I can try it with the other three. Pyrrha you want to do the double team?"
"It would be my pleasure." Pyrrha
"What do they mean by that?" Sun asked.
"It's a plan they've devised; Pyrrha will take control of a Grimm first and then Jaune takes hold of it with her. She lets go of it but it will remain in Jaune's control. They know it will work but they don't completely know what will happen once she hands over full control to him." Ren explained.
Glynda nodded and said "Which one should I send down?"
"The Creep or the Boarbatusk?" Jaune asked his partner.
Pyrrha considered and answered "The Boarbatusk, Professor Goodwitch told me it was a young one." Boarbatusks were pretty weak compared to most Grimm, which was why they were used for Professor Port's first year classes, so it should be easy for Jaune to control one.
Glynda sent down the smaller cage with the Boar Grimm and said "Can you control it quickly?"
Pyrrha smiled as she held out her hand and said "Yes, let it out."
Glynda's Semblance opened up the door and the Boarbatusk charged out but didn't make it more than a meter away from the cage before Pyrrha took control of it.
"Boarbatusks are relatively weak Grimm so that makes them easier to control that a Beowolf or a Saber." She said as it calmly walked towards her. She kneeled down and placed her hand gently on its snout, making it make a pleasant rumbling sound, something no one ever expected to hear "Since you struggled a little with the Beowolf we should work with a weaker Grimm like this one, reach into it."
Jaune nodded and placed his hand on the Grimm's head and reached into it, feeling that its rage had already been calmed by Pyrrha. He took great care to make sure he had a firm grip on its being before saying "Pyrrha I think I got it."
"Alright Jaune, be prepared to command it as firmly as you can and get towards it back, those horns can gore you." She warned.
Jaune nodded and kept his grip on the Boarbatusk as Pyrrha released it from her control. The Grimm began to shake and screech as it slowly regained its will only to slip into Jaune's control.
"Come on..." Ruby said quietly.
Jaune took his hand off of the Boarbatusk's body and stepped away but kept controlling it. It turned around and faced him, the usual lust for violence that would be seen in a Grimm's eyes were gone.
"You got it Jaune!" Pyrrha said.
Jaune smiled and mentally instructed the Grimm to go to Pyrrha, which it did so.
"Well done Jaune!" Pyrrha congratulated.
"Can I ride it?" Nora asked.
"No!" Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Glynda all answered at once, but Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle at her friend's eagerness of riding a Grimm.
It reminded her of when she rode Wyvern in the sky above Haven...
Six Months Ago
Fotia nervously walked up to the large landing platform where Neo, Emerald, Mercury, Giger, West, Ziz, Steppenwolffe, and Cinder all stood waiting for her along with something that was hidden from the rest of the world's naked eye thanks to Neo's Semblance: The Wyvern.
The dragon Grimm was being held down by strong cables attached to powerful poles on the platform. The ropes were attached to a harness on its back that also kept the wings in check, making sure it couldn't move unless a rider detached the bonds.
Fotia had been training with the, now much larger, Wyvern for nearly two months now and she had a fairly strong bond with the beast, noticing how it would snap, roar, and even spit the occasional fire blast at others but it would act tame when she was close to it. This, however, would be the first time she ever flew with it, the most she had ever done was hanging onto it as it hovered a few meters in the air.
"Are you sure you wish to do this so soon my dear?" Giger inquired.
"Yes doctor, thanks to Neo's Semblance we can fly around undetected." Fotia said confidently.
"Just be careful not to fall, it would be shame it our secret was given away by the police finding a large black, white, and red splat on the ground." Steppenwolffe advised.
Fotia looked a little nervous at that but felt a reassuring pat on the back from Ziz. "You'll do fine kid, it was scary for me the first time too, just hold on for dear life and don't let go for jack shit." The older woman said with a grin.
Fotia returned the smile and said "Thank you." She climbed up the Wyvern's left wing, carefully so as not to hurt it, and sat down on the saddle harness. "Come on Neo." She beckoned.
The multi-colored girl hesitantly climbed up and strapped herself into the saddle as Fotia did.
"Okay Neo, remember, I'll be in control so don't worry." Fotia assured the smaller girl, who simply nodded in response.
"Good luck with your first flight Fotia, and remember to keep the Wyvern silent until you reach a high enough altitude so the city will not hear it." Cinder reminded her.
"I will make sure of that." Fotia said as she placed her hand atop the Wyvern's head, telling it to be as silent as it could until they got high enough. It grumbled reluctantly but it seemed that it would obey.
Fotia took a deep breath to calm any fears or doubts she had twisting around in her gut. She took hold of the reins and shouted "Let's fly!" She pressed a button on the side of the harness and all of the cables detached at once and the Wyvern's mighty wings shot out, making Emerald and West jump back.
It jumped off the platform and with a mighty flap it began to fly.
Fotia couldn't help herself and let out a cheer out excitement as they began to lift up into the sky. She looked down and saw the city getting smaller and smaller with each push of the wings.
Neo grabbed Fotia's head and made her look forward and Fotia directed the dragon towards a cloudbank. They burst through the clouds, getting Fotia and Neo slightly wet, and Fotia directed the Wyvern a little to the side and once they were away from the cloudbank she looked down and her breath was taken away by the beautiful sight of the city, the suburbs, and the countryside, forests, and the sea that surrounded the city.
From up here it was all so perfect, nothing evil or cruel or mean, just peace, beauty, and serenity.
She looked up at the full moon shining down on them. She let go of the reigns and spread out her arms, letting the air of the night sky surround her. For the first time since she woke up in Mistress Salem's palace she felt like she was truly herself. Up here, flying with this mighty dragon; it felt right.
"Hey! Don't let go of the reins!" cried a voice from behind Fotia, it obviously had to belong to Neo so Fotia didn't question her until she picked up the reins again.
"Sorry about that, I got a little carried away. I... I didn't know you could talk." Fotia confessed.
"Eh, few people do. I just prefer talking to people I like." Neo elaborated.
"You like me?"
"Sure." Neo said with a nod.
Fotia smiled and thanked the petite girl just as the Wyvern let out a roar into the night. Fotia quickly regained control of the dragon and began to fly them back towards the city where they continued to fly as fast as they could.
About five minutes later Fotia sighed sadly and said "I think that's enough for tonight. Miss Cinder will be angry if we stay out too long."
Neo said nothing as Fotia directed the dragon back to the factory.
Pyrrha snapped out of the memory as Glynda announced "Alright, now that I am sure Mr. Arc is going to be alright I want Teams RWBY, CFVY, and SSSN to move out. We have to keep up our cover so I need most of you out there looking out for Grimm. Mr. Alistair and Mr. Ayana can remain here as back up while Miss Polendina goes with Team SSSN as backup."
"Yes Professor Goodwitch." They all said obediently.
"So Pyrrha, how long will it be before Jaune can control multiple Grimm like the other commanders could?" Neptune inquired.
"A few weeks, it took me about two and if we work hard enough he'll have it done just as fast." Pyrrha answered.
"Very well, Mr. Arc do you have firm control over that Boarbatusk?" Glynda asked.
Jaune nodded and gave it a command, making it jump over him. "I got this one down pretty good; he's young though so if the Creep is older I'll have more of a challenge."
"Right, we'll work with the Creep next and once you make progress on a stronger Grimm we'll go back to the Beowolf since you struggled with that one." Pyrrha said.
Jaune smiled and said "Sounds good to me."
"Good luck Jaune!" Ruby called as she and the rest of her team went off into the forest.
"You two are phenomenal." Velvet cheered happily.
"You'll be controlling something major like a Goliath in no time bro." Sun encouraged.
Jaune smiled at the idea, but right now he'd just be happy if he could work with the Beowolf. He knew, however, that with Pyrrha by his side it was only a matter of time before he pulled it off.
Team JNPR, Fox, and Sage bid goodbye to the rest of Team Beacon as they went off into the forest together.
Jaune looked up to Glynda and said "Send it down Professor, I'm ready."
Up in the Atlesian Science Vessel Dr. Oobleck had been reunited Dr. Tremain to work with her, as well as several other highly regarded scientists from all over Remnant, on the corpses of the Grimm Ruby had killed with her powers. The ship was large enough to accommodate the oldest of the specimens, the corpse of the Wyvern that Ruby had killed when Cinder 'killed' Pyrrha and it also housed the various Beowolves, Sabers, and Beringels that Ruby had frozen during the retaking of Beacon, which gave the scientists a huge opportunity to finally study the bodies of dead Grimm without the problem of disintegration.
Oobleck reached inside the open gut of a Saber that had been brought out of the freezers that morning and pulled out a finger that belonged to one of the unfortunate Hunters who had been killed. In the week since they had began their work they had discovered that the Grimm, did in fact digest human and/or Faunus flesh and bones but the fear, anger, and panic from the dying victim empowered the Grimm and made the kill all the more wonderful for the creatures.
Oobleck made a disgusted sound as he placed the finger in a small container with other body parts he had found in the last few days, the Grimm seemed to have a very fast acting stomach acid for digestion and when Ruby froze them she also froze the acid as well, rendering it useless.
Oobleck looked over to the Huntsman he had been paired up with, his old partner from back when he was a student; Nicolas Crane. Crane had actually been, by a bizarre chance of fate, the Hunter armed with the telescope weapon who had been saved by Blake, Yang, Sun, and Neptune at the garage. Crane was a tall and lanky fellow, similar to Oobleck himself but with bigger ears, a larger nose, and wild black hair but where the two old friends differed was that Oobleck has continued his education after he graduated to achieve a doctorate while Crane became a professor honorably due to his extensive knowledge of Remnant's myths and legends. In that field he had few rivals and was by far one of the most sought after scholars when it came to mythological studies.
He had been allowed to come on board and study the Grimm in an attempt to see if any of the old legends were true. After so long Ironwood and Ozpin knew they needed help to separate fact from fiction.
Crane was presently using his telescope weapon in its microscope mode to examine the dead Saber's exterior.
"Hmm... healthy fur, perfect teeth, claws fit for combat and the musculature seems to be in perfect health. It's as if Miss Rose's eyes just flat out stopped its heart, some sort of instant kill-switch." Crane said out loud as he wrote a note down in his book.
"Yes Nicolas, I must be honest I always found your fascination with these old legends to be a bit irritating but it seems you were somewhat correct." Oobeck confessed as he examined the Grimm's heart, which seemed to have just stopped. He also could tell that this heart was nowhere near as old as the one he and Tremain had examined in the Wyvern some months ago, meaning that the rot had yet to set in while the Wyvern's had given in to an incredibly slow process of decomposition. Apparently rotting away took a bit longer after the Grimm had been rendered dead by the power of a Silver Eyed Warrior.
"I still can't believe you came this close to the Aura Crystal! Or that I'm close to it!" Crane said excitedly.
Oobleck nodded, he was under orders from Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood to not give out the location of the Aura Crystal, which Jaune and Pyrrha had locked away in a vault below the hotel, guarded by a squad of Atlesian Knights personally programmed by Dr. Polendina himself.
"I never truly saw its power, but from what my students have told me it is a sight to behold." Oobleck said.
"What about those Grimm Commander things? If they could control these beasts..." Crane began before Oobleck stopped him.
"I did see them but I didn't fight them. Port and I were taking on a mad scientist who had created the robotic warriors who guarded the factory. I only got a glimpse of them and their fighting skills but if you want to talk to someone who did fight them you'd have to ask Ozpin for permission." Oobleck elaborated.
Crane gave out a sigh of defeat and said "Well at least I know for certain things like the Mistress of Grimm, the Aura Crystal, and Silver Eyed warriors are real, that only leaves two of the big five."
"The Remnant Knights and the Headless Grimm Horseman." Oobleck said with a small smile.
"Oh come now Bartholomew, don't tell me you don't think they're the least bit possible after all you've witnessed! If anything the mere fact that a Mistress of Grimm exists..."
He was interrupted by the sound a throat being cleared; the two men looked to see Dr. Tremain standing before their station, looking a bit hassled from the lack of sleep she had been suffering through, as he hair was frizzled and there were noticeably bags under her eyes but she hadn't let it show as she had remained professional and firm in her duties as the head of Atlas' Grimm scientists. Oobleck mentally wondered what kind of coffee she used to keep herself going.
"Dr. Oobleck, Professor Crane I think I need to show you something. Have you looked at the molecular level of the Grimm's body, inside and out?" she asked.
"I was about to..."
"We have to look at it. I think I have found something but I want you to confirm it with me Oobleck, I don't want Ironwood to think I'm suffering from sleep deprivation." She said.
"Dr. Tremain, my good lady, how long has it been since you slept?" Oobleck inquired.
"Nearly three days but I think I can manage for a few more hours before taking a rest. I noticed something that I want you both to see. Can your weapon detect radiation in its lenses?" she asked Crane.
"Of course it can, but why? Surely the sensors would detected any radiation in here." Crane inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"That's what I want to talk to you two about. Examine the skin of the Saber at a molecular level." Tremain instructed.
Crane did so, sliding his weapon over the head of the Saber and adjusting the scope and lenses for the molecular level. He looked into it and immediately he looked back up at her with a bewildered expression. "Bartholomew, look..." he said.
Oobleck quickly took off his glasses and peered into the microscope/telescope and saw what appeared to be a small trace of a silver aura-like energy shimmering, invisible to the naked eye but with magnification...
Oobleck looked to his peers and said "I see it, I doubt that it's radiation because none of us have showed any signs of being affected by it. It's appears to be silver in color so..."
"That would mean the power of Miss Rose's eyes freeze Grimm like you initially theorized after we cut open the Wyvern and the energy keeps them in a suspended state of animation and we've actually been performing biopsies instead of autopsies or this is just a remnant of the energy." Tremain speculated.
Oobleck nodded, "It could be anyone of those things, shall we report our findings?"
"I'd say yes and then I can finally get some sleep." Tremain agreed with a small smirk "We'll do it tonight, just let me tell the others about this and see what they can dig up."
As Dr. Tremain left Crane looked back into the scope and took a closer look at the energy, it was eating away at the Saber's body, it was just there. "Oobleck, if this energy from Miss Rose's eyes can truly do this then maybe we can collect some of the remaining energy on the other Grimm and test it out on a live specimen." He suggested.
Oobleck smiled and said "Not a bad idea, I'll suggest it to Tremain."
The idea that Crane had proposed could go either way, since they would ultimately need approval from both Ozpin and Ironwood to kill one of the captive Grimm. Deep down Oobleck couldn't help but feel a little odd about this, if Ruby's eyes left behind some trace of energy then that meant it was possible for the power of her eyes to be harvested as a weapon.
He knew Ironwood and Ozpin would never let anything as dreadful as that happen, but that didn't quell what he felt towards the mere concept.
Meanwhile in Vacuo, more specifically the city of Oshatuk the Elite Guard's ship landed in a large, but cheap hanger on the edge of the city after releasing the freed slaves quietly from the lower levels of the cities' landing platforms they refueled and were now to prepare for their next mission.
Kane sat on one of the rafters overlooking the storage bay of the ship and called to Razor, who was helping some others load up crates filled with Dust. "So what exactly could be so important that Adam decides to swallow his incredibly over-inflated pride and call us for help? He usually just goes himself with a crap ton of guards, well it used to be just him and Blake but after she ran off he became moodier than usual." He asked.
Razor looked up at the flier and replied "It is something very important; we shall be dealing with the traitor you just mentioned."
"Belladonna? Good, I owe her one..." Kane muttered darkly before he said "Are you okay with using Claudandus? I mean you once answered to him, you respected him..."
Razor sighed at that, one of the odder things of Adam's plan involved allowing the members of the White Fang to know where Claudandus was being kept but Razor had been forbidden to let any of his crew know what the mission fully entailed until they rendezvoused with Adam in a few days, so far they only knew that it would involve the location of their founder. "And I still do, as hard as this assignment will be using Claudandus will be a surefire way to lure the traitor and her friends in..." Razor said until he was interrupted by Jinty running in and shouting out to Razor.
"Razor! Boss! I managed to decrypt the info on the drive you gave me last night!" he cried.
Razor turned to face the skinny Faunus and said with a pleased look "Excellent Jinty, have you discovered the location of any other slavers outposts or any potential buyers?" he inquired.
Jinty nodded, "Oh yeah boss, but the thing is all of those slaves we just freed were bought up by just one guy!"
The eyes of everyone in the room, Razor and Kane included, widened in surprise at that.
"Show me." Razor said grimly. Before he walked out of the room he looked up to Kane and said "Finish storing the Dust."
Jinty led Razor to his small, cluttered room and showed him to his computer. "It was pretty hard to work out and decrypt, those people have pretty tight security protocols, well I guess they have to since they're an illegal slave trade... um, sorry to ramble. Anyway I finally managed to find out who the buyer was, as well as the identities of other interested parties..."
"I don't care about them; we'll deal with them later. I want to know who bought all of those people from Fatalea." Razor stated firmly.
"You do realize we can't go after him right away, right? I mean we're bound for Adam's mission first." Jinty reminded him.
"I know, but I'm just planning ahead, after we're done with Adam's task we'll take care of this scumbag and free any other slaves Fatalea sold off. Just tell me who he or she is." Razor stated.
"Well look no further, the identity of our buyer is none other than..." Jinty said as if he were an announcer on some show.
The name was revealed on the screen and Razor growled out in anger at the identity of the buyer.
Willow Schnee.
It had been a few hours since the various members of Team Beacon went their separate ways into the forest on the cliffs that overlooked the Emerald Forests and the Forever Fall to patrol for Grimm. So far they had taken down a fair amount of Ursas and Beowolves in the time, spending their walk chatting with each other.
"So you can still summon the knight?" Ruby asked her partner.
Weiss sighed and answered "Yes Ruby, just because Cinder destroyed it did not erase the knight from existence, I can still summon it."
"Can you summon it now?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Why? That would be a huge and irresponsible waste of aura to just summon it here and now so you can admire it." Weiss scolded.
"Oh man, you're so right Weiss, sorry. I was just curious." Ruby defended.
"I know Ruby, it never ceases to amaze me how much you've changed since we first met while at the same time changing so little." Weiss mused.
"And we wouldn't have it any other way." Yang added from up front as she and Blake walked ahead of the younger girls.
"Aw, thanks Yang." Ruby said bashfully.
Yang nodded to her little sister as she looked back to Blake. "So did Ironwood tell you anything else about their raids on the Fang?"
Blake shook her head, during General Ironwood's recovery from his little incident Blake told him about the location of Adam's base, as well as bringing the information she gave to the sheriff of the village where Kane's group had been stationed. Ironwood had an entire army go to the location of the primary base Blake had discovered but only to find it abandoned, quickly and carefully as there was no hint of where they had gone, all the computers had been wiped and destroyed, so ship or equipment had been left behind, nothing.
All had not been lost, however, as the information regarding the White Fang's radio frequencies had been up-to-date enough to discover the locations of half a dozen White Fang bases but any word on the new location had been missed since Adam had altered the radio frequencies to hide the communications about the location of the new primary base. Despite capturing nearly one hundred and fifty White Fang members, all of whom either didn't know the location or refused to talk, even under intense interrogation.
"From what I know they haven't had anymore luck finding White Fang bases, after we captured so many Adam and his followers seem to be taking greater steps to hide their whereabouts." Blake informed her as they walked over a hill.
Yang sighed and said "Well as soon as we get some info about where he is I want a chance at him."
"We all do, but I want to talk to him first." Blake said.
Yang gave the Cat Faunus a bewildered look and exclaimed "What?! You don't honestly think you can convince him to turn good do you?! After everything he did..."
"Relax, I know Adam deserves whatever punishment you, Sun, Ruby, and the others have in store for him. Gods know he deserves everything that's coming to him... I just want to tell him just how far he has fallen, I want to look him in the eye and tell him he was wrong about humanity, we both were. I want him to know that he threw away what we had for his obsession, for his lust of violence..." she stopped and leaned against a tree to rub her eye.
Yang felt bad, she didn't mean to bring up something that obviously hurt Blake to talk about.
"Blake, I am so sorry, let's stop talking about this." The blonde brawler said as Ruby and Weiss caught up, having listened to everything.
"Blake, listen we..." Ruby began to say before her teammate stopped her.
"No Ruby, it's okay. It's hard to talk about it but it's unhealthy to avoid talking about your past, no matter how uncomfortable it is." She said.
Weiss intervened, saying "Well can we at least do it elsewhere? Right now we should be on our guard in case any Grimm are nearby."
"There's just a part of me that feels like I'm to blame for what happened at Beacon all those months ago, if I hadn't left Adam would never have joined Cinder. The morning before I left I overheard Adam talking to a strange woman and he turned her down and sent her away. When I asked him what had happened he didn't tell me, saying we needed to get ready for the day's mission. I left him that day and I can't help but wonder if that's what made him turn to her." Blake speculated.
"Maybe Cinder didn't give him a choice." Ruby offered, "I mean I saw her in action before she got all of the Maiden's powers, trust me when I say what you guys saw her do in the tournament was nothing."
Blake nodded but said "While that is possible Ruby I think Adam wanted in on the attack on Beacon just to get a shot at me, if I had been with him maybe he would have refused Cinder... I shudder to think of the 'what if'.
"Then don't think of the what if, think of what is." Weiss said. "You can't change the past but you can change the future Blake. I can't change what my family did to your kind in the past but I will make sure that we never hurt your people like that again."
Blake smiled at the heiress and said "Thank you."
Just then a small grey and black bird landed on a log a couple of meters away from them and made an odd, specific call to them.
"Hey, what's up with that bird?" Ruby asked.
"Swoop!" Blake exclaimed as she ran to the log to sit on it. The other three members of Team RWBY looked to each other in surprise at the fact that Blake apparently knew this bird.
Blake sat on the log and laid down her hand for the bird to hop onto her hand where she carefully took off the small scroll of paper tied around its right leg. Blake looked at the message and her amber eyes widened. "He found out..."
"Uh... Blake, mind telling us what's going on?" Ruby asked.
Blake sighed before she said "This is a message from a contact I have within the White Fang."
"WHAT?!" cried the other three girls at once, loud enough to make the bird fly up into the tree in shock.
"Look, after I joined up with Vale I decided to text an old friend within the White Fang, one who I knew had been disillusioned with Adam as well. While I was with Claudandus he informed me that some of his old friends in the White Fang are too scared to leave or to warn people about attacks because of Adam's rage and that my contact was still disillusioned with Adam. Luckily he is still in the White Fang Elite Guard and while he didn't want to sell out the White Fang entirely he knew that keeping its founder prisoner was wrong so he was willing to give me information about the whereabouts of Claudandus via his pet messenger bird." Blake explained.
Yang sighed in relief while Ruby grew a small smile, and Weiss' expression softened.
"So your buddy found out where Adam and his thugs are keeping Claudandus?" Yang asked, Blake had told them of her history with the elder Cat Faunus and how he had been a surrogate parent to her after she lost her own.
"Yes, he's being kept in the jungles of Vacuo, we need to get this information to Ozpin and Ironwood so they can send a rescue party!" Blake cried.
"Sounds good to me, let's tell them once we get back." Ruby suggested.
"Wait a minute! I understand that you had a contact in the White Fang who didn't want to sell out his fellow members but why didn't this contact warn you about Cinder?!" Weiss pointed out.
"After I left Adam I threw away my old scroll so he couldn't contact me. He said he would have warned me if he could, and he wanted me to know that the Elite Guard was actually opposed to invading Beacon, Razor saw attacking something like the Vytal Festival as dishonorable." She explained.
"Honor, huh? Maybe these Elite Guard guys can be talked over to our side." Yang suggested.
"No, Razor's loyalty is to the White Fang itself and whoever leads it. Defection is not an option for him or anyone who serves under him." Blake told them.
"Well then if they get in our way we'll fight them too! Let's finish up the patrol and get this info to Professor Goodwitch!" Ruby declared.
"Sounds like a good idea, just please don't keep anymore secrets Blake." Weiss said.
"I'll try not to." Blake agreed before she took out a small piece of paper and wrote something on it before tying it to Swoop's leg again. "Thank you Swoop, take this back to your master, I really appreciate both of you for this."
The bird cooed at the black and white clad girl before it took off into the sky.
Team RWBY watched as the bird vanished into the distance before Yang said "Why do I get the feeling that this is just the start of another adventure?"
"Because it is!" Ruby answered.
"To be quite honest; I have had my fill of adventures." Weiss stated.
Later that day, after the day shift was over and the sun had began to set Team Beacon had returned from the academy and all of them were currently waiting outside of Ozpin's office while Ozpin, Goodwitch, Qrow, Ironwood, and Winter spoke with Oobleck and Tremain about their findings. When RWBY had returned to the small arena they told Professor Goodwitch everything, and while she was annoyed at Blake for keeping secrets, she recognized a chance to strike the White Fang and to rescue someone who could help turn the Faunus population against the terrorist cell.
Jaune had made good progress in the hours the others were gone, as he had managed to get control over the Creep with some difficulty in little under half and hour and had spent the rest of the day taking turns with each of the three Grimm, even managing to conquer the Beowolf, which had been giving him the most problems. It had been exhausting work but he knew it would be worth it in the end but man he was looking foward to lying down in his bed.
"So who is this guy you're still friends with in the White Fang?" Sun asked.
"He's made we promise not to reveal his identity to anyone else, not even my teammates. I know it sounds silly but he's a little paranoid." Blake voiced.
Weiss nodded and said "Being amongst as many ruffians as he must be I'm not surprised he's paranoid."
"Yeah, I mean maybe the reason the White Fang has so many members is because they're too afraid to leave." Velvet suggested.
"With how crazy this Adam guy sounds I wouldn't blame them." Neptune added.
"They could be forced to join; it's not unusual for terrorist cells use force to get what they want, in this case numbers. Whoever Blake's friend is he could want to leave but is unable to, helping us may be a way to free himself." Ren commented.
"Good point, it makes sense and hopefully we'll be able to help him." Pyrrha agreed.
"I just wish you would have told us sooner Blake." Ruby said gently.
"I would have but I prefer to keep my secrets, even if I am getting a bit more loose. Besides you girls aren't exactly the best secret keepers." Blake stated.
"Actually Ruby kept the fact that I was a robot hidden from all of you for weeks. I'd say she was a good secret keeper." Penny pointed out, earning a thankful smile from Ruby.
"And we managed to keep Ruby's mission a secret." Yang said as she gesutred to Weiss and herself.
Blake sighed and said "You guys are right, I'm sorry for making excuses I just... I didn't want any of you to think I was still in league with the White Fang."
"We'd never think that." Yang stated.
"Not after everything you've done for us and how hard you fought them, we'd never think you'd go back to them." Weiss said.
"If there's one thing you have to get used to Blake; it's that we're way more trustworthy than Adam and his cronies ever were." Sun assured her.
Blake smiled and said "Thank you."
Ruby looked at the entrance to Ozpin's temporary office and said "I wonder what's taking so long?"
"They said it was something important to do with the Grimm, maybe Dr. Oobleck and the scientists found something." Neptune guessed.
Inside of the office Ozpin, Ironwood (who was only present via hologram), Glynda, and the others considered what Oobleck and Tremain had told them. The idea that could harvest left over energy from Ruby's silver eyes was interesting concept but one that was risky.
"It does sound promising I admit but I'd prefer not to openly test it out until you can collect a sufficient amount of this silver energy from the Grimm bodies." Ozpin said calmly.
Qrow wasn't so keen on the idea. "If any of your mad scientist buds even think about using my niece as some kind of energy source I'll..." he began before Oobleck quickly shook his head and hands frantically.
"Oh dear gods no, Qrow! I would never think about harming that girl and if I were to ever catch anyone attempting to do something like that I would demolish them! I'm just suggesting that if Ruby's eyes leave traces of their power behind we could find a way to salvage them and use them as weapons against the Grimm! It would even our odds against Salem's forces tremendously." Oobleck explained.
Glynda spoke up, starting with a firm "Ahem..." to calm Qrow down. "While I do not appreciate the implications of harvesting Ruby's powers I must say that using what her eyes leave behind is a good opportunity to understand more about her powers and to exploit the weaknesses of the Grimm. As long as it doesn't harm anyone I think it is worth a try."
"Agreed, we cannot allow Miss Rose to come to hard but her powers are far too great not to take advantage of. I know they only activate in times of great emotional stress and I shudder to think of inflicting that on one so young as her. If you can find a way to collect the energy you found then you have my permission to go ahead but only after you prove to me that you can, in fact, salvage it. Then I'll grant you one of the imprisoned Grimm to experiment on." Ironwood said.
"We're in agreement then, find a way to harvest this energy residue and harness it, then we'll see where it goes from there. You may begin tomorrow as I can tell you are both tired, so get some rest." Ozpin stated with a tired smile of his own.
They both returned it with Tremain saying "Gladly."
"Now, let's see what the children have to say." Ozpin said.
Oobleck and Tremain exited the office, the green-haired teacher giving his students a nod and a smile as he walked past them. Winter walked to the door and said "Come in, all of you."
The large group of young warriors all entered the relatively large room to see Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, and the hologram of Ironwood all awaiting them.
"Hello everyone, please take a seat or stand if you prefer." Ozpin greeted.
All of Team JNPR, most of Team SSSN, Velvet, and Fox all sat while RWBY, Sun, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Penny chose to stand.
"Now Miss Belladonna, Professor Goodwitch tells me you have received a message from a contact you have within the White Fang and that it could lead to helping out an old friend of mine." Ozpin said. He had been a supporter of the White Fang since Claudandus founded it after the last war, making it a policy to accept Faunus students into his academy, an example of tolerance and good will that many other headmasters and headmistresses would follow. After Adam took over the White Fang and made it clear that there would be radical changes in method and attitude Ozpin and many others withdrew their support.
"I'm more concerned with the fact that she has a contact within the Fang who refuses to give out any information that could lead to their downfall and the fact that she kept this secret for so long." Ironwood pointed out.
Blake began to long and redundant task of explaining why she had kept her contact a secret, how she got in touch with him and how he sent messages, why he hadn't given her any information that could lead to casualties for the Fang, and how sorry she was and how she would accept a punishment.
Ironwood sighed and said "While somewhat irresponsible it is also understandable and if this tipoff is sincere then it could work in our favor."
"It is, apparently Adam had kept Claudandus' capture secret for the most part, knowing it would entice mutinies against him but he's told the ranks about it recently, saying the Claudandus sold them out and was aiding the enemy... and since he gave me shelter it is technically true." Blake said sadly.
"So by helping you Claudandus, in turn, is a traitor as well in the eyes of the White Fang." Glynda stated.
"Yes, and they take betrayal very personally." Blake stated.
"All Faunus do." Sun provided.
"Hmm... if we free Claudandus and get the truth out it may cause the White Fang to turn on itself, creating schisms and chaos, allowing our army to strike and take them down." Ironwood said, considering the possibilities.
"That would lead to a lot of misguided Faunus being hurt." Glynda pointed out.
"I know but... we can't let them run rampant and do whatever they wish." Ironwood argued.
"And if this Claudandus is as respected as Ozpin and Blake make him out to be then maybe some White Fang members are suspicious of Adam's true intentions." Qrow said.
Ozpin nodded and said "Claudandus is a friend and I won't let him rot in a prison. Qrow, Winter, are you two up for a little rescue mission?"
"Beats staying here." Qrow said with a smirk.
Winter nodded and began to say "Yes sir, I shall pick some soldiers who are perfect for the..."
"No Winter, you won't be taking Atlas soldiers, you'll be taking Team Beacon." Ozpin said.
"What?" Most of Team Beacon, Glynda, Qrow, and Winter all exclaimed.
"William, why exactly are they going to be taking these students instead of trained soldiers?" Glynda inquired.
"It may seem reckless but there is a great deal of logic; Miss Belladonna has had an incredible amount of experience with the Fang and knows their methods, she knows Adam Taurus and she is his weakness, one we can use to defeat him." Ozpin said.
"Plus a lot of us have had experience dealing with the White Fang before!" Ruby pointed out.
"Yeah; Me, Blake Ruby, and Penny took them on at the docks, Team RWBY fought 'em off in the tunnels, my team managed to take out a whole base, Blake practically crippled a base on her own, and Yang and my team finished 'em off!" Sun listed off.
"And we know we'll have to fight them at some point or another, might as well get some experience on a rescue mission." Coco agreed.
"They're right Professors... and General... and Specialist..." Penny said a little awkwardly before continuing "In total we have defeated the White Fang many more times than they have beaten us. If we are to truly be the special team you want us to become then we need more combat experience with enemies such as the White Fang." she finished.
Glynda nodded, "I see your points and I must admit that as much as I dislike it... it would be best to have Team Beacon go on this rescue mission given the circumstances. However Team JNPR, Mr. Alistair, and Mr. Ayana will have to remain behind."
"Huh?" went Nora.
"What? Why?" Coco inquired.
"First of all I don't think the latter two boys nor Miss Valkyrie should be off on a mission so soon after their injuries, yes I know you're still recovering but at least rest. Second of all Mr. Arc still has to train and Miss Nikos has to teach him." Glynda explained.
Jaune sighed and said "She's right, if I'm going to be prepared for an all-out battle, especially one with Salem's forces, I'll need to train my new powers more." Pyrrha leaned into him, nodded in approval.
"It'll be sad to be left behind but if we're to become stronger we'll need it." she said.
"And I suppose I'll stay behind because Nora will refuse to stay without me?" Ren guessed.
"Correct." Glynda confirmed.
Coco considered it, she looked to Fox who nodded. "Okay, Fox is cool with it. Sucks that our first real mission with the rest of these guys will be without him but we got to share the last few battles."
"As much as I don't like the rest of my team going off without me I guess I'll stick around to keep Beacon safe, I mean, if I'm gonna live here I might as well get used to it." Sage stated.
"Then we are agreed, tomorrow I will make arrangements for you to travel to Vacuo via airship." Oizpin said.
"Not a good idea, my contact has told me that Adam has spies in the transportation hubs such as airports on the look out for White Fang turncoats, if they see me they'll attack us." Blake warned. Ozpin nodded and looked to Glynda and Qrow for advice.
"Actually Oz, I got an idea. About two years ago I got a quick, unnoticed ride from Vale to Vacuo when you sent me after those raiders. Last I heard that kid and his sisters were still operating and if we pay 'em they'd be happy to take us for a quick ride." Qrow said.
Ozpin nodded, "Very well. While I know some of you aren't happy with leaving an entire team and two others behind I have every confidence that you can pull it off, defeat the White Fang yet again, and bring Claudandus Pirinci back. You will leave the day after tomorrow, good luck to you all."
This chapter is dedicated in loving memory to Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the first seven Star Wars films, R2 has always been my favorite Star Wars character and it devastates me to know that his original performer is gone.
Next Time: Quoth the Raven
Well Elsa the Winter Maiden makes her second appearance after briefly debuting in Chapter 8 (finally) and Dr. Tremain who had a minor appearance in chapter 4 also returns.
And oh dear, what has Mr. Schnee gotten himself into?
Special shout out to jkphantom9 who did some artwork of Ashe, Mila, and Damien! Thanks bro!
If you enjoyed this and you're on FF. net then leave a review and fave and follow. If you're on Ao3 then leave a kudos and a comment, please give me feedback, tell me what you liked and what you didn't so this story can improve. Thank you all so much.