RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

92. Confrontations

In loving memory of my cat Songs, 2004-2022. May he rest in peace.

Chapter 91: Confrontations

"You must have thought I was dead after all these years?" Nora asked Odinson as he stared directly at her, not paying Ren any mind. His face failed to hide his surprise at seeing Nora in the flesh..

"No," He managed to answer, "I knew you were alive. You came back to my attention when the Vytal Tournament happened and talk about the various Teams was circulating. Several of my old employees were buzzing when they noticed you, and couldn't stop calling me about it. Gotta say, I got a real kick out of seeing you zapping that other team. I think I recognize this Lie Ren guy here beside you, he's your partner, huh?"

"Among other things," Nora told him, turning to briefly look at Ren, "You still like to talk a lot, how's life been treating you?"

"Well, I'm imprisoned in a small cell on board an Atlesian battle cruiser, surrounded by start of the art security systems and guards that'll punish me if I step out of line, and I have a tracking device implanted somewhere within me…so I can't exactly say I'm happy, but at least I'm still alive," Odinson remarked before chuckling a bit, "Heh, you stopped calling me Papa Ody after you turned five, Nora. Sure brings back a lot of memories for me…so how's Team JNPR? They treating you right?"

"They're my new family," Nora answered, "And Ren's been with me ever since Kuroyuri... where my parents were killed, but you already knew that's where they died, didn't you?"

At the mention of Nora's parents Odinson let out a heavy sigh and simply nodded. The girl with pumpkin-colored hair leaned forward a little, her normally bright and cheerful jade eyes now a little angry, "And if you know about their…deaths, then you would also know details about others you've worked with. What do you know about Salem?"

The imprisoned crime lord laughed bitterly, his voice echoing around the interrogation chamber, "Did they really think it'll be that easy? Did Ironwood think I'd just sing out everything I know because they brought you to see me?" He looked at the one-way mirror behind Nora and Ren, where he guessed whoever General Ironwood had assigned to watch the interrogation were monitoring the entire scene through their security cameras and audio pickups, "You'll have to do better than this!"

"It's more than that," Nora told him with an uncharacteristically serious voice, "I want answers, answers about why my parents were being chased by that monster and what you had to do with it. I want you to tell me the truth."

Odinson just looked at her, his expression softening a bit as he let out another sigh, "It's surreal to see you so grown up after all this time, Nora. You're the perfect blend of both your parents."

"And if you have any affection for Nora or her late parents, you better start telling her the truth. She deserves that much." Ren told him. Even though his voice was calm, the green ninja's body language told a very different story; it's clear to anyone observing the exchange that Nora's partner was barely keeping his own anger in check.

Odinson looked at him, "Look Mr. Ren, you can't possibly imagine what it's like being in my position right now. No matter what I say or do, I'm a dead man."

"Then you basically have nothing to lose," Nora noted, "Tell us, what do you know about Salem? And why did my parents have to die?"

"If I tell you anything, I can kiss my chances of a merciful death goodbye," Odinson snapped as his eyes narrowed, "You don't know what Salem and her bunch are like or what they're truly capable of!"

"Wrong, we know exactly what they're capable of," Ren replied, "Our friend and teammate Pyrrha was nearly killed in a battle with Cinder Fall, before being captured and turned into a Grimm hybrid, then brainwashed into serving them."

"We were both involved in the battles for the capital cities of Vale and Vacuo, we also attacked their base of operations within Haven City in Mistral, we have also fought against that Cinder lady and Salem's other cronies," Nora listed off, with Ren noticing that Odinson's eyes widening slightly at the mention of Cinder, "And we have killed more Grimm than you have ever laid eyes on."

"That may be, but you've never laid eyes on Salem in person," Odinson answered, "Nothing is worth invoking her wrath. You think you know pain? Salem's punishments for those who betrayed her are far worse." The straightforward way he said it made Nora and Ren realize that the crime lord had probably been an unwilling witness to such punishments himself.

"True, we haven't encountered her personally but our friends have. Pyrrha was her servant for a few months, but she managed to break free with Jaune's help. Just so you know, our team leader also managed to curse Salem to her face and got away with it." Nora informed him, trying not to smile at the astonished expression that appeared on Odinson's face.

"Wait, you mean that blond kid cursed Salem out? And he's still alive?!" The Mistrialian crime lord asked, shocked.

Nora nodded again, "Yeah. And our friend Ruby Rose has Silver Eyes. We don't really understand how it works, but there's a special power in those eyes that can freeze Grimm creatures and kill 'em. She's the reason there was a dead Wyvern on top of Beacon Academy's tower for like half a year or so. If she can do that kind of damage to a Grimm that huge by accident, I don't have to tell you what she could do to Salem now that she's gotten a better grasp on those powers."

Odinson cautiously considered this, knotting the fingers of his handcuffed hands together, his mind racing.

"How long have you known Salem?" Ren inquired.

Odinson was quiet for a few moments, mulling over his options in his mind before he replied, "Why should I answer? What guarantee can these Atlesians give me that I can be protected from her? Besides; I've heard from my sources that the security on General Ironwood's personal battle cruiser didn't even put up much of a fight against Roman Torchwick and his mute girlfriend during the Vytal Tournament! And let's not forget how easily their android Knights and Paladins were hacked and then turned against them by the computer virus planted by Cinder Fall! They can't even protect themselves, so why should I believe their protection is worth a damn?"

"The battle cruiser's security was stretched thin that day because of the Vytal Festival, and the Atlas Military forces have upgraded their network's security systems significantly since then." Ren told him, "So I don't think that can happen again."

"And besides, you think you're screwed either way. So you don't really have anything to lose by giving us the answers we want." Nora told Odinson before adding, "Please, Grandpa Garrett, if you have any goodness inside of you, if you cared at all for me and my parents…just tell us what actually happened and why they had to die."

Odinson looked at Nora right in the eyes. The very eyes that once looked up to him with playful wonder, eyes that looked so much like her mother's. He glanced down, his mind toiling over what he had learned and the weight of his actions over the years. He finally nodded in defeat, "Ah, what the hell, between a life sentence or an execution it's not like I got much to lose anymore, right? Okay, I'll talk."

"Very well then, we shall start with what you know," Ren said as he mentally recalled the questions they were instructed to ask Odinson by General Ironwood, "How did you meet Salem in the first place?"

"It was about forty years ago, I remember that very well. You see, my predecessor, Hyman Dall, the former crime lord of Mistral's capital, was already one of her associates. My family ran a decently successful corporation but we owed much of our business to Dall, as he used his considerable influence and business savvy to help elevate us and hence our family were indebted to him. As we prospered, I had to make certain…morally questionable choices to keep it that way, and Dall gradually saw potential in me. He summoned me to his office one day and asked for me to become one of his lieutenants, to help deal with business affairs both legitimate and criminal. Well, how could I refuse? I agreed, and slowly but surely I became a major figure in the criminal underworld of Mistral after rising through the ranks.

"Then one day we received this weird order, Dall had blackmailed a large number of doctors at all the major hospitals and clinics across Mistral City in order to obtain a list of all patients with silver eyes, including newborns. The next thing I knew he said he wanted me to oversee a purge operation, one so extensive that Dall actually called in every favor he had with the various mercenaries and assassins he knew, that every person with silver eyes in or around the capital of Mistral was to be killed, regardless of age or standing."

"What did you do?" Nora asked, dreading the answer.

"Well, at first I was confused as hell. Why do something like that? Didn't make a lick of sense! Kill a bunch of random people, most of whom were just regular innocents who had no connection whatsoever to crime, I thought the old bastard had finally lost it. It was extermination, pure and simple and I felt no matter how much we bribed the cops they couldn't turn a blind eye to this. He wanted me to oversee it, but I refused…at first. I took out my gun and pointed it right at his wrinkled old forehead and demanded to know why he was ordering me and my boys to carry out a purge just because of some people having a certain eye-color. That was probably the last time I showed any moral backbone." He remarked with a bitter smile.

"What happened then?" Ren prompted, crossing his arms.

"Well…that's when I first saw her. Next thing I knew I was smashed painfully against a bookshelf, and this woman appeared out of the shadows at the back of Dall's office. She was beautiful in a terrifying sort of way, with bone-white skin and eyes as red as blood…it was as though a witch from a fairy tale had stepped out of the picture books and into reality. I thought I was dead for sure, but for whatever reason she allowed me to live, I guessed that she probably liked the fact I had the guts to pull a gun on my boss."

"Salem." Nora whispered.

Odinson nodded, "Yes, Dall was her liaison to Remnant's criminal underworld. He used his many connections and friendships with other crime lords in the other Kingdoms to serve her, though he was the only one who knew about her. I thought I was a dead man, especially when Dall told Salem to kill me for threatening him and refusing to carry out the purge, but she didn't. She saw potential in me, she said, and decided to give me another chance despite Dall's protests. Salem explained that she was the Mistress of Grimm and that all those with silver eyes posed a threat to her. If I did not eliminate them, then every single member of my family would suffer horribly before they died and I would be the prime example of what happens when one defies her."

"And you obeyed her, didn't you?" Nora said, her voice was soft but her glare was as sharp as a dagger. She didn't even need to turn to see a similar expression was etched on Ren's face as well.

"I don't have a choice, it's my life and that of my entire family! You honestly think having any sort of moral code would mean a damn thing to Salem?!" Odinson hissed, genuine fear showing on his face, "I never did it personally, but Dall and Salem wanted to test just how loyal I could be. I oversaw a lot of assassinations and murders for the next week or so, listening to report after report of people of silver-eyed adults and children dying in darkened alleyways and in their homes, cradles becoming coffins in the dead of the night… I couldn't even sleep. How could anyone? I pushed away a lot of my family after that, since I couldn't look them in the eye when I had so much blood on my hands. That's why I never let any of my own family members into my criminal operations, and why I kept them at arm's length, so to say. In the end, it didn't even matter since they eventually left me and never looked back."

"So the street kids and young criminals you took in became your new family, right?" Ren guessed.

Odinson have a small nod, "Yeah, Damien Ante was one of 'em, and so were your parents, Nora. Though Oliver and Eleanor were better people than any of my other agents, and far better than I ever was."

A message popped up on Ren's scroll, a text from Jaune which relayed a question from the leader of Task Force Omega. He read it and asked, "Commander Central says that Hyman Dall was later murdered and his killer was never caught. You were a suspect in the case but was eventually cleared. What happened to him?"

Odinson sighed, although there was a deprecating smirk on his face as he answered, "I guess a few more decades on my sentence couldn't hurt at this point. Yeah, I killed him. One night I was working late, and when I returned to my office I found Salem seated on one of the couches, with a Grimm Seer beside her. I initially thought that Dall had finally convinced her to eliminate me, but instead she wanted to speak with me. She said that Dall's age was catching up with him, and he had grown soft. Most importantly, he had lied to her. She discovered through one of her Grimm Seers she had seeded elsewhere that one of Dall's nephews was in love with a girl with silver eyes, and Dall had agreed to keep her in hiding with him on a resort island he owned.

"This defiance gravely offended Salem and she was impressed by my willingness to stand up to him. And since I did what needed to be done she decided to sweeten the deal by promising me all the power I could ever want if I eliminated Dall for her, and I would inherit his criminal empire in addition to becoming the head of her operations in the criminal underworld. Or she will just kill me and promote another individual to take my place. It was an offer no one could refuse." Odinson took a shaky breath, before continuing with, "The next week I discreetly spread the word to the other associates in Dall's organization who I knew were getting sick and tired of living under Dall's boot or had personal reasons to want him gone. Trust me, the geezer had a list of enemies a hundred miles long so it was pretty easy to get whoever I wanted. Eventually we made our move, I was part of the group who came in the dead of the night to his mountain mansion, used tranquilizers to take out Dall's bodyguards and I smothered the old bastard to death in his bed."

"Did Salem have anything to do with you getting away with it?" Nora asked him.

Odinson shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. To be honest, I don't even know. Besides, the cops were just happy that Dall was dead and they probably chalked it up to some internal gang dispute went awry. I was later brought in for questioning, but they couldn't find any evidence to pin me with and so a few hours later I was promptly released without any charges. I didn't really ask her but I wouldn't be surprised if she's behind it somehow. After all, Salem has agents working for her in many places, and ways of getting whatever she wants."

The two Hunters-in-training both nodded before Nora hesitantly asked, "And what happened to the silver-eyed girl and Dall's nephew?"

Odinson couldn't look Nora in the eye as he answered, "Car bomb took care of them."

Nora glared at him, a glare that reminded Odinson so much of her parents whenever their tempers were raised against somebody.

"Commander Central gave us some of the questions Winter asked you back at your mansion. Since they know you weren't answering them honestly, they want us to ask you again," Ren said as he opened his scroll's screen, "You admit that Damien Ante was one of your lieutenants?"

"Yes, though he was only a street thug when your parents worked for me. After they…left, Damien came to my attention since he saw opportunity in their absence and took it. He quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became one of my most deadly operatives until he requested to take over our operations in Haven City. He went independent afterwards but we still worked together occasionally." Odinson told them.

"What do you know about Cinder Fall?" Nora questioned

"Ah Cinder, she's a very beautiful woman but that's overshadowed by how ruthless and deadly she is. I believe she joined Salem about twenty or so years ago, and shortly after that she was dispatched to help me eliminate a rogue cell within my outfit that wanted me dead in exchange for assisting her in another of her assignments. They put up one hell of a fight, but when you play with a fire like Cinder Fall herself, you don't just get burned. You get incinerated."

"Since you know Cinder, do you know of any other agents that work for Salem?" Ren queried, as a series of pictures appeared on his scroll's screen.

Again, Odinson gave a small nod, "I know of them and spoke to a few of them, but only rarely. There's Tyrian Callows, an incredibly dangerous assassin from Vacuo. He's very unstable, and quite insane. I kept my distance from him whenever possible."

"We encountered him in Vacuo City. Apparently he got turned into a Scorpion Faunus and Qrow, Ruby's uncle, managed to slice his stinger off in a fight." Nora mentioned, and tried very hard not to laugh at the baffled expression on Odinson's face.

"Well…I knew Tyrian had changed himself into something called a Fusion Faunus, not much more than that, but him getting his ass kicked is surprising, since he's quite skilful." He thought for a few moments and said, "There's also Arthur Watts, who is apparently some bigshot scientist from Atlas before he began working for Salem. He got this faux-gentleman thing going on, very full of himself and likes to be addressed by his title of 'Doctor'. He's also quite skilled in computer and mechanical engineering, so I will put good money on him being the one who created the Black Queen virus that Cinder used to hack Beacon's CCT tower and corrupt the Atlesian military's security systems during the Vytal Tournament."

A hologram of Watts appeared and Odinson pointed straight at his image, "No doubt about it, that's Arthur Watts alright. I know that smug smirk anywhere."

"Watts was also spotted at Vacuo, and he stole something important from the Grand Temple of Vacuo. The temple guardians tried to stop him, but he got away." Ren told him.

"Watts probably had an escape plan prepared; he always has contingencies in place," Odinson gave a shrug, "And then there's Hazel…tell me, during any of the attacks on Vacuo or Atlas…was there a really huge man leading one of those attacks? Tanned skin, dark brown hair, with large scars running up his arms, seems to be unnaturally strong, built like a tank?"

Nora and Ren shared a glance with each other before Ren's scroll beeped with another incoming message. After reading it, the Team JNPR member confirmed, "Yes, a man matching that description was seen personally leading a deadly attack on Sentinel Base in Atlas. Many military personnel were killed and the remaining survivors had repeatedly claimed that he appeared to be indestructible."

The hologram changed to show a blurry image captured from the attack on Sentinel Base. Odinson nodded gravely when his eyes saw the blurred image., "That's him. Hazel Rainart. One of Salem's chief enforcers, and a member of her inner circle. Apparently he has some kind of Semblance that renders him immune to pain." He looked back at Nora, swallowed nervously and said, "Nora…I know you hate me for what I have done, and you have no reason to trust me…but if you ever encounter Hazel, do not try to fight him. Just run away as fast as you can, please listen to me."

"I don't trust every word that comes out of your mouth," Nora replied, "But why? How bad is he?"

"Horrible. I don't know his story or why he joined up with Salem in the first place, but Hazel's not someone you want to pick a fight with. Don't underestimate him, because he will kill you. I-I had the dubious honor of seeing him, Cinder, and Tyrian working together in action once…and it wasn't pretty for the opposing side." He paused for a moment, then said, "Tell me, the Vale authorities still don't have a clue as to who killed The Smiler, right?"

Nora was momentarily confused by the name, and so she said, "Who?" while glancing back at the one-way mirror.

"He was a crime boss operating in Vale," Ren stated, "I remember seeing something about his brutal murder on the news a few months before initiation."

Odinson darted a quick look at the one-way mirror and replied, "Well, I'll tell you. I'll even tell you how Roman Torchwick and Damien Ante came into Salem's employ, but only if Ironwood can guarantee me protection from Salem's retribution and a cozy cell to spend the rest of my life in."

Ren and Nora glanced at the mirror themselves, briefly unsure of what to say next.

Behind the one-way mirror, General Ironwood stood with his arms crossed with Commander Central as well as Jaune and Pyrrha beside him. The rest of Task Force Omega, excluding N1CK3L, were standing at the back of the observation room, along with a pair of stern-faced interrogators from the Atlesian military's intelligence division and a group of four armored soldiers.

"Old man must be really full of himself to be making a bargain like this with us." Shocker mentioned dryly.

"Guess old habits for die hard," Javelin stated while slowly shaking his head, "They tend to see the people around them as either a way for them to grab any advantage as they can or profit off their victims' misfortunes."

"Except this time, he knows exactly what we want from him." Central shared a look with his fellow Omega Trooper, "And he wouldn't be foolish enough to part with that piece of information without demanding some form of protection from us."

"His options are limited, but he has been a player of this type of game for a long time," Ironwood brought up a gloved hand to his chin in thought. A few seconds passed before he turned to Jaune and said, "Mr. Arc, please text Mr. Lie and tell him to say the following; I will personally ensure that he receives the necessary protection and prison arrangements he wants if he cooperates with us."

Jaune nodded and began typing on the screen of his own scroll. The Atlesian general glanced at the blond and then to Pyrrha, whose eyes were glued to her friends on the other side of the mirror, hoping that they were all right. While he had prepared for the worst, Ironwood hoped that they would both leave the Resolute as freely as they had arrived.

Because the alternative would be something that even he himself would have some reservations about with regards to its consequences, despite the necessity.

Inside the interrogation chambers, Ren received Jaune's text and said, "General Ironwood has given his word; he will grant your request as long as you cooperate fully and tell us all that you know. You will be protected to the fullest of the Atlesian military's capability."

Odinson scoffed and then slowly began to chuckle wryly, "Fine words, Ironwood, but you can't guarantee me anything, I'm a dead man walking. It's only a matter of time before they come for me."

"You really think Salem's agents can get to you here on the Resolute?" Nora asked.

Odinson didn't answer straight away, he looked down at his cuffed hands as he considered his limited options and any future left to him. A lot had been on his mind for the past week, and he knew he would never get his old life back.

"Because Salem has spies everywhere,"Odinson breathed hollowly, "Within the governments of all the Kingdoms, in every level of their social structures, in their militaries, in the streets! She has people everywhere working for her, from the Councils' towers to the darkened back alleys. You can't trust anyone, because not even I know who she has under her control. Believe me; no matter how hard you try, it's very unlikely that you'll ever be anything more than an inconvenience to her."

"So you won't tell us anything?" Nora frowned, her voice sounding hurt and disappointed.

He shook his head, "Oh, I'll talk alright."

Nora looked at him, surprised, "If you really think we can't win, then why help us?"

He shot her a brief smile, one which reminded her of whenever he'd tease or play around with her when she was little. "My life as it was…is over. Either Salem's agents kill me or I rot in whatever prison Ironwood puts me in once I leave this ship. If I'm going to die, I might as well die doing something decent for the first time in years. And besides…I always had a hard time saying no to you, Nora. Besides, if you two kids have survived the Nuckelavee, Cinder and everything else…then you and your friends might just stand a chance."

Nora smiled at him, "Oh, we do."

"You can start right now by telling us what happened to Grogan." Ren prompted.

Odinson took a breath, and began speaking, "It was about two years and a half ago, when Salem had her sights set on Vale and was planning something big for the Vytal Festival…and we all know how that turned out. However, she needed me to get in touch with the major crime bosses operating in Vale's capital in order to set up her opening salvo. I had called in Damien Ante and his boys for some extra muscle, since Salem also wanted to set up shop in Haven City as well…"

TWO YEARS AND THREE MONTHS AGO

A large building deep within the heart of Vale City was bustling with activity, armed guards could be seen on every level keeping an eye out for any presence of law enforcement officers. So far the coast was clear.

A black limousine pulled up to the main entrance, the door quickly opened by a Faunus valet. A bespeckled man with slicked-back pale blonde hair stood waiting to receive his employer's visitors and saw a pale man with brown hair and a deranged look in his gold eyes stepping out first. This was not someone he knew to be in Odinson's employ, nor was the next man; an incredibly muscular, bearded specimen with short brown hair and scars that could be seen on the opening of his shirt and broad arms with a few tattoos.

Next to disembark was Garrett Odinson, dressed richly as always and looking quite capable despite his age.

"Mr. Odinson, it's a pleasure to have you with us again," The blonde attendant greeted with a courteous bow, "The others have already arrived and are waiting for you."

Odinson nodded his thanks, though he didn't say anything. He turned back to the limo and offered his hand to someone seated inside, helping out a woman who the attendant found to be incredibly beautiful. She had a voluptuous yet fit figure, shining raven hair that flowed down her back, gorgeous amber eyes and dressed in an immaculate red dress that complimented her body perfectly by showing off her curves, strong legs and plentiful cleavage. However, her presence was indeed odd since Odinson wasn't one for bringing female companions to meetings. Perhaps this was a new wife they hadn't heard about?

The woman smiled at the attendant before looked around at the other guards who were openly gawking at her. She then looked up at the building before her, clearly seeing the guards keeping watch through the windows, spotting a few of them were looking down at her, some using the scopes of their guns to get a better look. The other two men were also taking notice, perhaps making sure the security was good enough for their liking or more likely, spotting how many possible threats they might have.

"Please follow me." The attendant said as he led them into the main lobby, which had numerous armed men on guard, and towards the elevators.

It wasn't long before they arrived at Grogan's personal conference room, which was packed with various men and women who were in positions of power from all over Vale's criminal community.

Damien Ante sat on the right seat next to the empty chair at the end of the table, while his Enforcers which consisted of Trooper, Lao, Little Steve and Zane Zhan all stood behind him. The first three were looking fairly professional while the last Enforcer casually leaned against the wall, as though he was already bored and hoping the meeting wouldn't last more than an hour.

Jack 'The Smiler' Grogan was a man in his sixties, and was presently the most powerful figure in Vale's criminal underworld. His influence spread all over the city and even into the government. He had earned the moniker of 'The Smiler' because he typically had a wide grin across his face, one that certain individuals found unsettling. Odinson remembered when they first met, he had asked why Grogan smiled so much.

His answer was simply, "Life's been good to me."

Sitting next to Grogan was an attractive young man dressed in a smart white suit with a bowler hat and fiery orange hair, Odinson knew him as Grogan's protégé Roman Torchwick, one of his top enforcers who was a skilled fighter and clever swindler. Sitting on the window sill behind Torchwick was his…female companion (sister or girlfriend, he could never figure out what their relationship was) Neo, her mismatched eyes spied the new arrivals as she held her umbrella within her hands. Torchwick kept his green eyes on them, which glistened with interest when he beheld Cinder.

Ante glanced back to acknowledge his old boss, but his eyes widened slightly upon seeing Cinder and he gave out a wolf whistle. "Now that is the sexiest woman I have ever seen." He muttered. He wasn't the only one to have that opinion, as many others in the room, men and women alike, couldn't help but look at her as though she was a provocative piece of art. She simply smirked at the attention she was receiving, but remained silent for the time being. However, she did notice that Roman was able to take his eyes off her and nudge Grogan on the elbow, gesturing at Tyrian.

"Smiler, I'm honored that you agreed to arrange this meeting. Calling in all of these associates of yours might be a little much, but you are nothing if not a gracious host." Odinson said, bowing to his fellow crime lord.

Gorgan nodded back, then steepled his hands together as he leaned forward, "I'd do anything to accommodate a good friend like you, Garrett. However, do you mind telling me what the hell is that psychopath is doing with you?"

He pointed at Tyrian, who simply sneered at the old man. He glanced around, spotting that Ante's men were more than ready to shoot him if the assassin made a move, and so were the many other guards and underlings. Roman traded a brief glance with Neo, who could instantly tell that she didn't like him at all.

Roman looked directly at Odinson, keeping a watchful eye on his two acquaintances, "I never thought you were bold enough to hire a crazed killer like him, Mr. Odinson."

"I trust you're referring to that nasty piece of business Tyrian was involved in back in Vacuo?" Odinson asked.

"Of course we are," Grogan snapped darkly, "I might have had some differences with Pariss, but I still considered him a friend. You have got nerves of steel to hire a man who slaughtered the benefactor who took him in."

"I know what you mean; Tyrian is quite the…enthusiastic assassin, but that's what my fellow associate Mr. Rainart is here, to keep him on a very firm, short leash." Odinson mentioned, glancing at Hazel with a good-natured expression.

Hazel nodded.

"Besides, Pariss had it coming." Tyrian muttered.

Grogan frowned, never a good sign, and snapped his fingers. A large muscle-bound man with a bald head and dark eyes stepped forward, 'One more word out of him and I'll have Crusher here rip his head off."

"I suggest you don't speak another word from now on unless permitted, Callows." Hazel reprimanded firmly, his voice letting the assassin know he meant business.

"By all means, Grogan. Should Tyrian here disrespect you, I'll have Hazel assist Crusher in teaching him some manners." Odinson placed his hands on the table, "Now, shall we dispense with the pleasantries and finally get down to business?"

Grogan gave him one of his signature grins and said, "About time. Why did you want to have this meeting, Garrett Odinson?"

"Well, let me start off by saying that I'm very pleased with your cooperation whenever I need something done in this Kingdom. My business ventures here have all been quite successful, but I have something else in mind beyond just riches." Odinson paused for a moment before adding, "I'm talking about power."

"Not happy with the power you already have, old boy?" Torchwick chuckled.

"I'm very happy with my lot in life Roman, but the truth is that it's never enough for people like us. No matter how much our greed accumulates for us, we'll always want more. And despite whatever blackmail or bribery might get us, there will always be those in the social, military and political structures of the Kingdoms who will not bend to our wills. Huntsmen and Huntresses, for example, have interfered with our businesses before and that's been quite a thorn in our side," The crime lord looked around the table for a moment, then continued speaking, "What if I told you there is a way to remove those obstacles? To make it so we didn't have to hide our activities, to make it so that we could flaunt who we really are wherever and whenever we choose and not be challenged by any holier-than-thou Hunters?"

Grogan's grin widened a bit more, "You've got a plan to share. I'm listening."

Odinson glanced down at the table's polished surface for a moment before his eyes darted to Cinder, "Not me, Grogan. You see, for many years now, ever since I inherited Dall's place as Mistral's crime lord I have been associated with someone very powerful. This beautiful young woman here, Cinder, has joined me as an emissary. Can I have your permission to let her speak?"

Grogan nodded.

Cinder stood up and surveyed the entire room before speaking, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I have heard many tales about you, Mr. Grogan. My master felt it appropriate to join Mr. Odinson, so as to display how powerful we are as his allies, and what you can gain by agreeing to cooperate with us. However, I can tell that you all may have questions to ask us."

"Yes, I have a question," Ante spoke up, "Where did you come from and can I have ten more just like you?" Several of the individuals seated around the table laughed loudly, with Grogan's wicked cackle being loudest amongst them. Neo rolled her eyes at the joke while Roman simply smirked, but he could tell there was more to Cinder than her beauty as there was something about her that just felt menacing to him.

"There are other girls in my Mistress Salem's employ, but I assure you that they're not on my level." Cinder replied, giving Ante a smile that wasn't exactly friendly.

"Salem? Who's that, your bordello madame?" Crusher asked, a frown on his features.

Tyrian glared hatefully at the huge man, but remained silent under Hazel's watchful eyes.

Cinder too stared at Grogan's associate and began to approach him, saying, "Not exactly. In fact, if she was here you would already be dead just for saying that. She's a very powerful woman, someone that the Councils of Remnant's Kingdoms, headmasters and headmistresses of various Huntsmen Academies want to keep a secret from the rest of the world. She's the evil from all the fairy tales you read as children brought to life, and she has always been there in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike. We are her disciples, and we are going to bring Vale and Beacon Academy to their knees, although we cannot do it alone. We require assistance from people like yourselves, allies to obtain as much Dust as possible to fuel our revolution and bring about something that will change the world forever."

Everyone looked at Cinder, silent as they considered what they just heard. The faces of some associates seemed incredulous, whereas others were stunned by what she was proposing. Grogan eyed her, not entirely convinced. Torchwick, however, was clearly interested in what she was talking about while Neo simply raised an eyebrow.

"This bitch has got more tits than brains!" A female gang member finally spat, which got a big reaction out of the others as they all laughed loudly.

Cinder grimaced as Grogan, chuckling darkly, glanced down at Odinson, "You always did have a good sense of humor, Garrett! This pretty lady is quite the storyteller!"

"I'm afraid she isn't joking, Jack." Odinson answered, "She meant every word she said."

Grogan shook his head as he stood up and faced Cinder, who stood directly in front of him. He looked her in the eyes and replied,"Listen my dear, I'm honestly in no hurry to overthrow Vale's government or do anything to Beacon Academy. I run this town, nothing so much as a purse snatching happens without me knowing about it. I don't know who you are or who this Salem lady is, probably some crazy anarchist who thinks riots are the proper way of achieving peace or something like that, but I'm not gonna let some crazy woman tear my city apart. Take your little scam somewhere else."

"Then perhaps we overestimated your skills, Mr. Grogan," Cinder replied, "This isn't some hustle or bank heist, and it's certainly no riot. What we have planned isn't anything you can imagine. This is about using the Vytal Festival and its tournament to begin overthrowing those in power and establishing a new world order."

"Ha! Listen to this! Who do you think you are? One of the Seasonal Maidens?" Grogan mocked, getting some chuckles out of the others.

"Oh you would be surprised." Cinder told him.

"So what? I don't care if you are! You think you're invincible? You really think you can just walk into Beacon Academy and take on Ozpin?" Grogan snapped, impressed by Cinder's nerve.

"Soon Ozpin's power will be nothing compared to mine!" Cinder retorted as she shoved the old man back. He cried out as he landed in his seat, many of the other individuals around the table gasped at this breach of courtesy and began to draw their own guns and other weapons. Roman shared a look with Neo as they both got ready for some kind of fight to break out at any moment.

Grogan wasn't smiling anymore as he looked down the table at Odinson and growled, "Garrett, is this how you show respect to an old friend? First you bring Dominic Pariss' killer into my presence without punishing him, then you let this crazy whore in front of me and just sit there while she goes on about some stupid revolution to kill off the Kingdoms' Councils and establish some new ruler over them? This is an insult which hurts me deeply, and I'll deal with you later. Crusher, get rid of that bitch." He snapped his fingers and the huge man approached Cinder along with two other armed guards who grabbed hold of her and forced Cinder to face Grogan himself.

He glared hatefully at her and snarled, "Take her to the club's dungeon, mark her up as 'free to use' and let all of our men and women have their way with her. Then I want you to break all of her limbs and bury her alive in the Forever Fall. Do I make myself clear?"

"It'll be a pleasure, boss." Crusher smirked.

Cinder rolled her amber eyes and scoffed, "As if any of your men could handle me."

She suddenly slammed her elbows and feet into her captors to free herself, she then leapt up into the air, somersaulting and kicking both guards away. She dodged a punch from the nameless one, who had quickly recovered and grabbed him by the neck hard. Her surprisingly strong hands crushed his windpipe before she turned and flung him into a set of drawers across from Neo. She then kicked the other one in the side of the head, smashing the thug into a nearby window. The glass panes shattered, but the steel frame held firm.

"Crusher, kill her!" Grogan shouted as she strode back towards Hazel.

Crusher charged towards Cinder, already throwing a punch but his fist was suddenly caught by Hazel whose face remained stoic as he held the huge man who was equally as tall as him back. "That was not a wise move." Hazel told him softly.

Crusher snarled as he threw his other fist, but Hazel caught that as well. Cinder watched with a smile as the others waited to see what would happen. Grogan's thug was notorious in Vale for his brute strength, and seeing someone stand up to him like this was unheard of.

Roman and Neo shared another look in which she made a quick gesture, silently asking if she should intervene. But Roman wagged his finger at her playfully, telling her to wait as the current situation was too interesting to bring to a stop. Perhaps this was the chance he was looking for.

Crusher snarled and grunted as he tried to overpower Hazel, but the bearded man stood his ground almost effortlessly. Crusher yelled furiously as he pushed back against Hazel's unyielding hold, but his opponent met that with a surge of his own, one that was much more powerful. Grogan's associate began to make strained noises as Hazel slowly forced him down to his knees, his aura flaring slightly as Hazel's vice-like grip pressed harder and harder against him.

Crusher looked into Hazel's eyes and for the first time in many years, he felt afraid. This man, or whatever he was, wasn't even breaking a sweat!

"Erm, should we do something?" Lao whispered.

Ante glanced at his Enforcers and quietly said, "No, remember which side we're on."

"Crusher! Come on! What kind of pathetic weakling are you?!" The Smiler shouted.

Crusher tried to get up, but Hazel clearly had superior strength. He felt a horrible pain in his right arm as Hazel continued pushing in even further, which caused his aura to flare until it shattered. Then, with a horrible sound of snapping bones and ripping flesh, a jagged piece of torn bone erupted through Crusher's forearm which was nearly ripped off, blood rocketing out like a geyser. Grogan's thug let out a scream of agony and horror as he saw what had happened to his arm, with those criminals sitting close enough flinching or jumping out of their seats to get away. Neo placed a hand over her mouth to keep herself from making a noise while Roman simply looked on in a mix of shock and fascination, whereas Ante looked like he had witnessed the most entertaining thing he'd seen all year but his Enforcers were clearly mortified by what they just witnessed.

Cinder nodded to Hazel, who, in one quick movement, grabbed Crusher's head and with a strong twist, snapped his neck before slamming him against the surface of the table, shattering it with a loud crack that echoed throughout the room.

"Who the hell are you people?!" The female gang leader from earlier asked, now terrified.

Cinder smiled at her, "We're going to be the new leaders of Remnant."

"Kill 'em! Kill 'em now!" Grogan screamed, spittle flying from his lips. His various underlings whipped out their guns, only to be fired on by Tyrian, who leapt over Little Steve and slammed his bladed-gauntlets into the open neck of the man nearest to them before he began shooting at the others, all the while sporting a maniacal-looking grin on his face.

Odinson swiftly dropped under the table and shouted to Ante, "Now!"

"You got it! Take 'em out, boys!" Ante shouted as he, Trooper, and Zhan opened fire on Grogan's people while Little Steve and Lao dashed to the main doorway and began mowing down the guards who had heard the screams inside the meeting room and were rushing to help.

Another one of Grogan's underlings smashed a chair into Hazel's chest, but it shattered easily and the muscular man barely even reacted, but he managed to grab a leg from the chair and then impaled his failed assailant in the chest.

Roman and Neo took cover under the table, with the ginger man loading up Melodic Cudgel. He looked over at his faithful partner and said, "Neo, my dear, I think the opportunity we've been waiting for just presented itself!" She nodded in agreement before they leapt back out from cover and began taking out their former allies.

"Roman, what the hell are you doing?!" The Smiler cried as he kept low, even as a bodyguard pulled him behind cover while another kept his rifle spitting bullets at Ante and his Enforcers.

"Sorry, Jack, but I tend to stick to the winning team!" Roman said before blasting down the blond attendant who had tried to shoot Cinder from behind.

Cinder nodded at Roman before she leapt onto the table and ran forward, leaping again and capturing Grogan's final bodyguard's head between her legs and with a deft twist of her shapely limbs, she snapped his neck, killing him instantly.

Grogan tried to get away into the next room, but even that escape failed as Roman dashed over and hooked Melodic Cudgel around his neck, pulling the crime lord backwards and forcing him back into his chair. Ante gave Cinder a thumbs-up gesture, and she used the Dust infused in her dress to create her sword which shimmered with orange flames.

"You won't get away with this!" Grogan shouted, fear showing on his face.

"I'm afraid they will, Smiler old buddy," Odinson said as he stepped over the corpses lying on the floor to join Cinder and Torchwick, "You really should have taken our offer more seriously."

Glowering at them, he shouted ,"You'll fail! There's no way you can topple Vale or Beacon! Not with these punks! You're gonna get killed if you go along with this, Torchwick! All of you will!"

"Eh, call me crazy but I think it'll be much more interesting working with them than wasting our potential being your errand boy and girl," Roman said to his ex-boss, "Besides, die with you or help them take over Remnant? Easy choice."

Grogan glanced back, hearing Tyrian and Ante's men moving off to finish off the rest of his guards. The situation definitely didn't look good for him. Knowing that he had lost, Grogan slumped in his seat and said in a shaky voice, "Okay, okay…you win. Maybe…maybe we can still cut a deal?"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mr. Grogan." Cinder said as she leaned in, placing a hand over his mouth. "Now, smile."

She activated her Semblance and Grogan began to scream in agony as his mouth, chin and cheeks were consumed by flames. Cinder then rammed her flaming sword through his chest, impaling the old man to his chair. He screamed through Cinder's burning hand as the flames began to consume him greedily. He kept screaming until the fire snuffed out his life and his burning body went limp in the chair, leaving behind a horribly charred body.

Odinson used some ice dust to extinguish the flames to make sure the fire didn't spread, as they didn't want a fire getting out of control and attracting attention from the authorities.

"Thank you for your assistance. Mr. Torchwick, is it?" Cinder said as she faced Roman and Neo.

Roman bowed to her dramatically, putting on a gentlemanly voice, "Roman Torchwick, criminal, thief and charlatan extraordinaire at your service. The same goes for my amazing friend Neo here," He said, gesturing to her and the colorful girl did a curtsey for her new superior, "How may we be of service to you?"

"We'll need someone working for us in charge of certain activities here in Vale. Since you were the only one of Mr. Grogan's associates wise enough to see the potential in our plans, that duty now falls to you. Congratulations." Cinder told him.

"Pretty good idea if I say so myself, Cinder," Ante said to her he came up to join the group, glancing at Hazel and nodding, "Like your style big guy. Name's Damien Ante, the top crime boss in Haven City. Odinson promised me a good time, but I didn't expect something this fun! Uh, anyway, my man Roman here is the best candidate you could choose."

"Thanks for the glowing recommendation, Damien," Roman said with a smile, "And I'd be more than happy to take over now that you've wiped away most of my obstacles. I'm at your disposal, Cinder…?"

"Fall. Cinder Fall. We'll be working together quite a lot in the not-too-distant future, Roman. I think it will be quite a beneficial working relationship between us." She said.

"So, what exactly do you have in mind for this revolution?" Roman asked.

Cinder smiled.

"What happened then?" Nora queried.

"Cinder, Hazel and Tyrian spent the whole night helping Roman and Neo wipe out Grogan's most loyal followers. Threw the bodies into a cargo container and tossed it into the bay. The few survivors that manage to escape the purge fled the city after that, not wanting to get wrapped up with Cinder and leaving Roman without much in the way of manpower." Odinson explained.

"Neo didn't tell us about any of this." Nora said.

"She probably didn't want us thinking that she's cruel, since she didn't exactly make the best first impression," Ren pointed out, "Though I suppose since the people she and Roman had worked with in the past were professional criminals anyway, we shouldn't judge her too harshly."

"You know Neopolitan?" Odinson asked, surprise creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, she helped Jaune, Ruby and Headmaster Ozpin to escape Salem. We did ask her why she wanted to help us, she just told us that Roman wanted her to screw over Cinder if she got him killed." Nora explained.

Odinson let out a wry chuckle., "Heh, that sounds like Roman all right."

"Moving on, here's another question the Atlesian interrogators wanted to know; do you know anything about someone called the Son of Salem?" Nora asked him.

Odinson thought for a few moments before slowly shaking his head, "Doesn't ring a bell, I'm sorry. From my encounters with Salem's other agents, I suppose it would be easy enough to spot if she had a son. Why?"

"Someone apparently attacked and wiped out the entirety of Borealis Base on his own, and he left behind his name in writing claiming to be the Son of Salem." Ren elaborated.

Odinson gave a nod, making a grave hum before saying, "Then it's a safe bet this new guy is the one who killed Meredith, if you're looking for the murderer. I seem to recall Salem mentioning that she would send a new operative to handle Meredith after I failed to persuade him against backing out of his deal with Ante."

"Are you sure about that?" Nora prodded gently.

"Not entirely, but I'm a decent enough gambler myself and my instincts tell me he's the culprit. Don't know who or what he is exactly, but I personally think there's a good chance he will be the one to take me out." Odinson told them.

"If he comes for you, then he'll have to face General Ironwood and his military forces." Nora assured him, but Odinson let out a bitter laugh.

"Nora, according to you, this son of a bitch took out an entire Atlas base by himself! If and when Salem's agents decide to come after me, no amount of security will be able to stop them from offing me permanently. I'll die, but at least I can give you some additional information that might just give you and your friends some hope, however small that is."

"Can't you just tell us where Salem is?" Nora said.

"I can't because I don't know where she is! We're always summoned by some sort of teleporting portal, once Cinder took me with her to this weird circle thing where we were both broken down atom by atom, the feeling like being incinerated alive and then we formed inside of Salem's castle," He explained, raising his cuffed hands. Nora and Ren glanced at each other, recognizing the odd method of transport the same way Cinder delivered Pyrrha into Salem's gasp, "All of Salem's associates wear black cloaks and hoods, and we are rarely allowed to speak, she wants complete anonymity just in case any one of us has our cover blown and caught. I don't know where her castle is exactly, but it seems like no matter what time of the day it is where you are, whenever you get there, it's doubtlessly night. Not one of the freezing wastelands either, because it wasn't cold or snowing.

Behind the mirror, General Ironwood carefully considered what the prisoner had just revealed to them. There weren't many places like that on Remnant, from what the Guardians of Remnant know of. The freezing wastelands, found at the very top and bottoms of the globe, were so desolate and inhospitable that few living beings were capable of surviving it. They were among the few locations that tended to be dark for most of the year due to the position of the planet in relation to the sun, but if it wasn't cold then that might just rule them out as possible hiding places for Salem and her Inner Circle. Perhaps he could reach out to the Remnant Knights to try to figure something out, but if they hadn't found her after all this time, it was unlikely they knew either.

Back in the interrogation room, Nora looked at the man she would often look up to as a young child and said, "I just have one last question for you Odinson, tell me about my parents. About their pasts, because they only told me a little about their time working with you, but I don't think I really understood it due to my young age at that time. When I got old enough, I realized that they were actually gang members, but I still loved them so much, and I even based Magnhild off my mom's personal weapon. I never told anyone but Ren the truth, so I just said that Dad was working in the Mistral government and Mom was a traveling Huntress, and both of my parents died defending the inhabitants of Kuroyuri.

"But what's the truth?" She stared at the handcuffed criminal, "What happened to them? Why did we have to flee Mistral? Why were we being chased?"

Odinson, to his credit, didn't look away from her firm stare. The usually friendly and cheerful jade eyes were now looking very harsh, but he knew she deserved to know the truth. It was a particularly heavy burden of his to carry, and the Mistral crime lord often looked back at that moment in deep regret over the years.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, then spoke, "Very well, since your parents aren't here to explain it to you and I had a hand in their deaths…I suppose I owe you an explanation. Nora, your parents may have been part of my criminal organization, but they weren't bad people. They were the ones with the moral backbone that kept my mooks in line. Oliver came from the Ragnar family, a family that were good friends with me, and that got them killed over a business dispute. Your grandparents were murdered by certain felonious people who wanted to take over a major business your family ran for me, those were eliminated for me by Cinder. After that I took Oliver under my wing and he soon grew up into a strong man, effortlessly taking to the criminal underworld like a fish to water. Even though he treated our raids, robberies and such as a kind of game, he was also careful to avoid unnecessary difficulties. He never hurt innocent bystanders, was cautious to leave no evidence behind and always treated those under our protection with proper respect…he was a better man than I ever was.

"Then there was your mother, Eleanor Valkyrie. She was an orphan who grew up in the streets of Mistral, started out as a pickpocket working for me until she rose up to become an enforcer. But she got into trouble when word reached me that she was skimming the profits from her scores and giving those money to the street orphans and runaways. I sent Oliver to teach her a lesson, nothing different from what he usually did for me, and instead he came back with a few bruises and a slightly dreamy look in his eyes."

"You mean it was love at first punch?" Nora asked, and she couldn't help but smile a bit. Ren raised an eyebrow, but remained quiet.

"Pretty much, he said he promised her he would talk to me and sure enough he managed to convince me to let her get away with her actions, after all the kids did prove useful as pickpockets and eavesdroppers. I gave her a promotion and promised to give the homeless kids a place to live and keep 'em clothed, fed and healthy. I eventually decided to make Oliver and Eleanor partners after a while, and though it annoyed her at first I could tell Oliver was grateful.

"They worked well for about a year," Odinson continued, "Though they argued a lot, it was obvious to everyone, including me, that they had way more in common than either of them wanted to admit. Hell, I remember the time they once worked together to save a cop car from going over a bridge and into the bay because they knew killing the officers chasing them only gave the rest of the police force a personal vendetta. It didn't end well for them though, Oliver was captured by the authorities but put up a big enough fight so Eleanor could get away.

"I used my considerable influence to bail him out, which wasn't too hard to do since the police officers were willing to be a little lenient due to Oliver saving some of their own. Eleanor was a lot nicer to him after that incident, happy to have him as a partner. She managed to pay him back a few weeks later when they were taking care of some troublemakers trying to move on our turf, which unfortunately resulted in a big fight and soon attracted unwanted attention so she saved his life by luring the cops away, letting him escape. He used almost all of his own money to bail her out that night. When they returned, Oliver informed me that after they left the police precinct and got into his car, Eleanor literally grabbed his face and gave him a kiss he'd never forget."

Nora, despite everything, felt her eyes watering at the story. Ren laid a reassuring hand on left shoulder, giving her a small smile and happy that she could learn more about her parents who were taken from her. The display of affection didn't escape Odinson's attention, but he said nothing.

"Their partnership grew stronger, they were practically unstoppable together. They didn't waste any time, they were married barely a few months later. I gave your mother my blessing at the wedding and even paid for their honeymoon in the Vacuo tropics. Nine months later, you came along," Odinson enlightened, smiling as he remembered what had happened, "Eleanor was not happy about being benched and couldn't wait to get back into the action since she didn't like worrying about Oliver. She took up reading, sewing and even video games to keep herself occupied while her belly grew big with you. Heh, and you were constantly kicking if memory serves me correctly.

"Oliver was over the shattered moon; he was smiling constantly, couldn't wait to be a dad. He had a few close calls and some minor injuries from the assignments I gave him, but the knowledge that he would have a daughter in a matter of months just erased all the worries from his mind. When you were born the joy on their faces was the happiest I had ever seen either of them, even though your mom had broken your dad's arm while she was giving birth, it didn't even seem like he was bothered by it." Odinson said, the ends of his mouth twitching into a tiny smile.

"After you were born I decided to give Oliver and Eleanor work in supervising and planning roles, which they were grateful as they didn't want you to lose either one of them. It stayed that way for some time until…until they found out about Salem." Odinson said before looking downwards, his face quickly showing how uncomfortable it was for him to discuss this particular memory.

"How did it happen?" Nora asked quietly, her fingers curling on the table's surface.

"One night they came back from a successful attack on some drug traffickers trying to push their stuff through our city without giving me a cut of the profits. They came straight to my office, intent on telling me how it went over and my secretary had stepped out for a break. It was…very bad timing." Odinson swallowed uncomfortably as he thought back to that fateful night.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO

Oliver Ragnar laughed as he tried to keep up with his wife Eleanor Valkyrie, who was already rushing out of the elevator and towards Odinson's personal office in his company's tower in the capital of Mistral.

"Hurry up! I wanna report to the old man so we can get home to Nora!" She said as she walked, and strapped to her back was a large hammer weapon she used for combat, and also the same one which her daughter had taken a keen interest in.

"Honey, relax! We got the weekend off, plenty of time to spend with her," Oliver pointed out to his wife as they approached his secretary's desk and saw that she wasn't present, "Huh, wonder where Mrs. Nilsen is?"

"Probably got sent home early or something, but I know the boss is in there. How about we surprise him?" Eleanor suggested with a hushed voice.

Oliver smirked mischievously and whispered, "You're a very bad influence on me, Valkyrie."

She grinned, "I know, just imagine what Nora will be like." She said before pecking her husband on the lips and sneaking towards the closed set of double doors. She pressed her hand on the scanner that adorned the wall and it accepted her identification. She quietly pried the doors open and waltzed inside, her husband following her.

"Hey boss! Mission accomplished without a hitch," Eleanor announced before she abruptly saw a rather nervous-looking Odinson sitting at his desk. Her eyes turned a little to the right, noticing that there was another female figure; a woman dressed in a dark outfit with long, elaborately made-up white hair sitting across from him with her back turned to the unexpected guests.

"Oh hey, did we interrupt your date or someth-" Oliver began to joke before the pale-skinned woman stood up and turned, allowing them to see her piercing red eyes. At the sight of her gaze being strangely intense yet calm, his words instantly died in his mouth before Oliver could finish his sentence. After all, he had never seen anyone that looked like a Grimm in human form before.

"B-boss, who is this?" Eleanor asked carefully before she stepped backwards, fear and confusion evident in her voice. Without even looking beside her, she could feel her husband stepping a little closer to her as though for safety.

Salem glanced at Odinson, who rose from his chair, and spoke pleadingly, "It's okay, your grace. They're among my most trusted subordinates. I promise they're no threat to you."

"I have come to expect better from you, Garrett." Salem snapped, "I do not like intruders."

"Who is she?" Oliver asked, his voice echoed like a gunshot in the office's silence.

Odinson didn't know what to say, but Salem looked directly at him with a faint smile of amusement, "Well Garrett, if you really trust them then why don't you properly introduce me?"

Odinson swallowed visibly, gave a meek nod and then stepped around his desk towards the couple, "Oliver, Eleanor, I expected you to announce yourselves before you arrive in my office. This lady here is named Salem, and she is…" Truthfully, he didn't really know how to describe Salem in a way that would make sense to them, "…a very powerful associate. She's been a close friend of mine for a long time now."

"If she's such a good friend and business partner, then how come I've never heard of her?" Oliver asked, skeptical.

"Ah…Miss Salem here prefers to keep herself obscure and her business dealings secret. Anonymity is quite the advantage when it comes to matters concerning her after all." Odinson carefully pointed out.

"Why does she look like that?" Eleanor asked as she pointed a shaky finger, "I was training to be a Huntress before I failed the entrance exams, so I know a Grimm when I see one and that lady is setting off my Grimm radar!"

"Miss Salem has a rare form of albinism, which is part of the reason why she likes to keep a low profile." Odinson lied, hoping that his assistants would fall for it.

They didn't. Salem simply raised an eyebrow as the ends of her lips quirked upward a bit.

"I have been around you half my life, Garrett. I know when you're lying." Oliver said, hurriedly drawing out his own weapon which was a rifle with a long bayonet that could generate electric bolts.

"My my, it seems that you have taught them a little too well, Odinson," Salem mentioned dryly, "Why worry? If they are as loyal as you claim, then why not just tell them the truth?"

Odinson looked at her, unsure of what to do. He flinched away from her terrifying gaze when she looked at him. He took a deep breath, smoothed the front of his business suit, and said, "As you wish, your grace. Okay, Oliver and Eleanor…Miss Salem here is how I usurped control from my previous boss Hyman Dall. He was her liaison to the crime syndicates in Mistral before she took interest in me, and I have been serving her ever since. I suppose you may have heard of those old legends about the Mistress of Grimm? Well, she's the real deal…and had been hiding out for the last few hundred years or so."

"B-but the Mistress of Grimm is supposed to be dead!" Eleanor cried out as her hands fell to her weapon, "If she's the real deal, then she's probably trying to take over Remnant too!"

Salem nonchalantly answered, "Indeed I am. My endeavors will likely take quite some time, but what's another few decades? Since you both have been loyal to Odinson I'm sure you're aware that you could benefit from that, my friends. I do reward those who join my cause, those who serve me faithfully."

"Oliver, Eleanor, please! Fighting her will get you killed! Think about this, think! Think about Nora! For her sake, just calm down and listen to reason." Odinson implored.

"Reason? We're not the ones working with that abomination!" Eleanor shouted, only to be grabbed suddenly by the tentacles of a Grimm Seer which suddenly appeared from behind a bookshelf behind Salem. She gasped in shock before she was thrown hard into another cupboard at the back of the room, shattering some expensive pieces of glassware that fell onto her. The Seer's tentacles grabbed her, wrapping around her body.

"El!" Oliver cried before jerking around, his face furious, "No one harms my wife, you Grimm bitch!"

He brought up his weapon and aimed it at Salem, but Odinson dived forward to grab his arms and force it down, "Don't do it, Oliver! It's a fight you can't win!" He pleaded, his voice angry and nervous, "Think of your daughter! Don't make Nora an orphan."

Oliver glared hatefully at Salem, who simply smiled at him before he lowered his weapon and deactivated it. She snapped her fingers and the Grimm Seer's tentacles released Eleanor, and Oliver rushed over to help her up.

The couple looked at their boss and his superior that were unlike anyone they had seen on Remnant, as though she had stepped right out of the darkest tales on Remnant, "What…what guarantee do we have that you won't just kill us?" Eleanor managed to gasp out, rubbing her neck where the Grimm Seer's tentacles had nearly strangled her earlier.

"Please, you have to hear me out. Aren't you tired of being criminals? When Salem overthrows the councils and the academies, we'll benefit tremendously from it! We'll be like royalty in the new world!" Odinson told them.

Odinson looked at Salem, his face ashen and pleading. They shared a look for several tense moments, before she nodded slowly, "Very well, Garrett here has served me well over the years and I wouldn't want to deprive him of his trusted associates so quickly. If you can continue loyally working for him with the knowledge of who he serves, then no harm shall come to your family. Betray my generosity in any way, and you both as well as your daughter will suffer the consequences."

Oliver and Eleanor glanced at one another, not sure of what to do. After a while, Oliver looked at his wife and grasped her hand, giving her a nod. She nodded back fearfully before they both took a knee in front of Salem and bowed down before her.

"Please forgive me, your grace. My fear got the better of me, and I sincerely apologize for my actions." Eleanor said, "I beg for your mercy, please spare my life so I can serve Odinson and you faithfully."

"I…apologize profusely for insulting you, Mistress Salem," Oliver added carefully, "Please show us mercy, so that we continue to prove our worth."

Salem's expression didn't change, but she simply nodded, "Very well. Since I'm feeling merciful tonight, so I don't think it would be out of the question to let you both off with a warning. Make sure such disrespect never happens again," She turned her head to look at Odinson and spoke sternly, "Make sure those Dust shipments arrive on time at the agreed location, and keep these two in line. Good evening, Garrett."

With that, she turned and waved her fingers, using her powers to open a swirling portal at the far end of Odinson's office. Salem walked through it followed by the Grimm Seer and it closed behind them, leaving the three alone.

Odinson wiped sweat from his brow as he let out a heavy sigh before turning to glare at the couple fiercely, "That was incredibly lucky, Salem could have easily killed you both like it was nothing! Four Gods damn it, you both should never enter my office without permission!"

"Is it true? Are you helping Salem fuel some plot to take over Remnant?" Oliver asked, his voice a little shaky.

Odinson sighed heavily and said, "Yes, it's true. It's a very long-term plan however, it won't be put into action for years…but it will eventually come to pass and when it does, I want all of my people to stand with me on the winning side!"

"This…this is too much," Eleanor agreed, "I'm all for screwing over rich assholes and stealing from fancy banks, but if what you say is real, Salem's plan will kill millions!"

"Countless innocents die from Grimm attacks every year," Odinson countered as he banged, "A few more won't really make a difference, especially if we survive even if Salem conquers Remnant. Hell, one of her agents even helped avenge your family, Oliver!"

Oliver was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "That doesn't matter, I won't be party to helping someone like Salem kill innocents or take over Remnant. We can't go through with this, Garrett. We gotta do something to stop her, before it's too late."

"My family was destroyed by the Grimm, and if the legends about the Grimm Mistress are true then that woman can control them. She's responsible for the Valkyries being slaughtered!" Eleanor argued, "I…I can't serve someone like her, we need to raise the alarm, we need to tell the Mistral Council."

Odinson glared at them, "You will never make it. You're both smart enough to know that I have got people working for me at every level of the Mistral government, and they know my agents well enough to inform me if any of my people go rogue to snitch on me. They will kill your warning before anyone in power ever hears it." He sighed, and his tone softened, "Please don't do this. Just calm down and we can talk this over. You want raises? A penthouse apartment? I can get it for you. Just forget this and go about your lives like this never happened. It will be our secret."

Eleanor and Oliver shared one more look with each other, as if speaking silently between themselves. They took hold of one another's hands and then looked back at their superior. "I'm sorry, Garrett." Oliver apologized before using his strength to fling his wife forward, catching Odinson by surprise. As she shot forward Eleanor brought her hammer arcing down and before Odinson could react she slammed her weapon into his torso, sending their employer flying across the length of his office and through several furniture pieces until he smashed into the opposite wall and leaving a small hole in it. Broken splinters and glass pieces landed all around Odinson whose aura flared for a brief moment before finally collapsing, and he groaned in pain even as he began to lose consciousness.

"Oliver…!" Odinson cried out feebly as he raised a bloodied hand towards their fading forms in his office's open doorway, "Wait…! Eleanor…!"

"Sorry, but we could never live with ourselves or look Nora in the eyes if we helped such a monster. Farewell, Odinson…and thanks for everything." Oliver's voice seemed to come from very far away, before everything went black.

"My secretary finally came back, just in time to see your parents running to the elevators. Took her a while to wake me up and by then Oliver and Eleanor had taken out the security officers. I wasted no time and quickly put out the word to capture them alive, but by the time my men arrived at their apartment your parents had already fetched you and escaped. They were smart and knew my people well, and they knew just how to avoid them. I had my men guard every possible way to Mistral Academy, the Council building and even the homes of the Council members and the mayor, so there was practically no one in the entire capital they could go to.

"I learned later that Oliver called up a favor from one of my smugglers, a guy named Chou who he had saved the life of once, so he decided it was time to repay that favor. From what I can tell, he was planning on making his way to Vale or Atlas, to get to the Huntsmen Academies there and inform the Headmasters about my relationship with Salem in exchange for protection. Later we managed to corner Choi, but he wouldn't talk and…well, he paid the price for his lack of candor. I had my agents spread very thin throughout Mistral, keeping an eye on every fishing village, harbor and airship port. But there was no sign of you or your parents." Odinson told them. He slowly looked up and saw that Nora's face was scrunched up as she tried not to cry, small tears welling up in her eyes. Ren placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, still glaring at him.

Nora wiped her eyes and collected herself, before asking Odinson, "And so you fessed up to Salem?"

Odinson sighed, "I did, and I begged for forgiveness like a beaten dog. Even though she appreciated my honesty, but still broke my arm and gave me one hell of a scar." He said, gesturing to his back and rubbing his throat, "She said she would take care of it."

"So that's why the Nuckelavee was following us." Nora surmised quietly, "It stalked us to Kuroyuri before we could get out of the Kingdom, and it killed most of the town's people…including Ren's family."

Odinson looked at Nora's best friend, the one who had become her family after her parents were so cruelly taken from her, "I'm sorry, kid…I never wanted it to happen. I have a lot of regrets, but I feel worse about what happened to your parents and that peaceful village than anything else I've ever done." He breathed shakily, "If you wanna hit me, go ahead, no one can deny I've got it coming."

Ren chose to remain silent while his eyes hardened considerably, while Nora nodded, "Okay, what about Thorn?"

Odinson briefly looked surprised, "Why do you want to know about her?"

"We met Thorn during the Battle of Vacuo, she's working for Salem now and during the fight she claimed that I looked familiar to her," Nora elaborated, "And Winter said that she did some digging in Mistral City and found out the police there suspected that she worked for you."

"You're right," Odinson's shoulders slumped, "Thorn was one of the street kids Eleanor found, one of the last before she and Oliver tied the knot. That teleporting Semblance of hers makes her a damn good thief and one hell of a dirty fighter, good enough to catch Salem's eye at least. She requested a meeting with Thorn and unlike your parents she was thrilled with the idea of world domination."

"She was trying to steal the Summer Maiden's powers, and actually came quite close to succeeding," Ren told him, "But she failed and managed to escape, losing an arm in the process."

"Tough break," Odinson commented, "But don't count Thorn out just yet, she'll be back and more determined than the last time."

"We will keep that in mind," Nora's partner then inquired, "Another question, didn't you fear retribution from Salem when you saw Nora at the Vytal Tournament?"

"When I didn't see Nora Valkyrie among the bodies, I had a gut feeling that she wasn't dead. And Salem had other far more important matters to occupy her attention than chasing after a little girl… We figured that Oliver and Eleanor likely wouldn't have told you anything, with you being so young and all," Odinson spoke to Nora, "I know my word isn't worth anything, but I want you to know that your parents were good people, and they would be very proud of the woman you've become."

Despite everything, Nora managed to smile at Odinson, "Thanks, Grandpa Garrett."

The next thing Odinson knew, Nora's fist met his face with a loud smack, causing him to fly out of his chair and collapse onto the interrogation room's floor, with the thin metal chain linking his handcuffs to the table. Blood dripped from Odinson's nose, which he was pretty sure was broken, he saw stars as Nora and Ren stood over him.

"That's for our families," Nora snarled, her face showing great anger, "You want to hit him too, Renny?"

He shook his head, "I think you hit him hard enough for both of us, Nora."

"I-I'll say," Odinson slurred as he pushed himself up, "Man, you hit just like 'em."

Ironwood and three members of Task Force Omega made their way into the interrogation room, with the general giving Nora a disapproving look, "That was not a wise move, Miss Valkyrie. But considering the circumstances I'll overlook it just this once."

"Sorry, sir." Nora replied, "I just needed to get that out of my system, and it won't happen again. Thank you."

"Are there any other burning questions you'd like to ask?" Odinson groaned as Jammer and Invictus hoisted him up.

"Now that Miss Valkyrie and Mr. Lie have gotten some well-deserved closure and we've gotten some answers, I suppose you wouldn't mind speaking with our specialist interrogators from the intelligence branch and some law-enforcement officials from Mistral?" Ironwood glared at him, "It appears that there are a lot of questions regarding your syndicate they would like to ask you."

"Heh, I don't see why not, I'm already screwed as it is," Odinson mumbled before turning to look at Nora and Ren, blood leaking from his broken nose and bruised lips, "Ren, I know my opinion is lower than dirt, but I think Nora's parents would be thrilled to have someone like you watching out for her. You're practically made for each other!"

Nora smiled at Ren as he accepted Odinson's compliment stoically. He simply nodded in return and turned back to face his partner, gesturing towards the now open door. She nodded before turning to look back at Odinson who was being checked over by the Omega Troopers, "Well, I guess this might be the last time we see each other. You better answer their questions honestly, or I'll have to get really rough on you!"

Odinson let out a chuckle, "I don't doubt it." He then watched Ren lead Nora out of the interrogation room before a pair of stern-faced specialist interrogators stepped in and waited quietly for their orders from Ironwood.

The Atlesian General fixed him with a look that spoke of how little compassion he had for Odinson, "Interrogators, begin when ready."

Then he turned and walked out, followed by Jammer and Invictus. The heavy door then slid shut leaving Odinson alone with the specialist interrogators in the cold interrogation room.

Nora and Ren left the interrogation room, finding Jaune and Pyrrha waiting for them. The red-haired could sense the variety of emotions rushing through Nora's mind, so didn't waste any time and captured her teammate in a comforting hug, which the orange-haired girl eagerly accepted.

"We're all so proud of you Nora," Pyrrha assured her, "I'm so sorry for everything that happened to your parents. And to yours too, Ren."

"At least now we know why it happened." Ren remarked as he shared a look with Jaune.

"And that it's all Salem's fault," Team JNPR's leader added, "I wonder how many terrible things she's responsible for."

Nora considered what Jaune had said, and a disturbing thought crossed her mind. Ren saw tears welling up in her eyes and approached her when Pyrrha released Nora from her hug "Nora, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I…I just thought about if it hadn't been for Salem having my parents killed, I wouldn't have met any of you." Nora replied while trying very hard not to sob, "I would never have known you, Renny."

"Well, every cloud has a silver lining." Pyrrha reminded her as she held her fellow teammate gently, "And we're here for you."

Nora hugged Pyrrha tightly, smiling as she buried her tears-covered face into Pyrrha's shoulder. Jaune placed a firm but comforting hand on Nora's lightly-shaking shoulder before he spied Ironwood observing them quietly at the far end of the corridor adjacent to the interrogation room which now had its windows completely opaque, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong, General?" He asked.

Ironwood let out a weary breath and answered, "I suppose you could say that. I would like to speak with you and Miss Nikos in private. Something has come to our attention that may concern you."

"'May concern us?'" Pyrrha echoed, "I'm sensing some uncertainty here, General."

"I'll explain soon," He said, "If you're ready, can you both follow me?"

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance. "Go ahead," Nora said as she pulled away from Pyrrha, "I'm okay, and this sounds important so you guys should probably go see what it is."

"We'll wait for you to return, I'll be with her." Ren replied, looking at Nora with some concern.

Pyrrha nodded, then she and Jaune looked to the cyborg and said, "Okay, lead the way General."

Ironwood nodded and gestured for a blond sergeant to come forward, "Krebs, please take Miss Valkyrie and Mr. Lie to the nearest rec room, and make sure they are well taken care of."

"Yes, General Ironwood." Krebs answered stiffly.

Jaune and Pyrrha gave their teammates encouraging and reassuring looks before they went their separate ways. The two Grimm-Hybrids obediently followed Ironwood down the metallic corridors of the Resolute, walking a step or two behind him

"So, what's going on? Must be pretty serious if you couldn't talk about it in front of Ren and Nora." Jaune said.

"It is, Mr. Arc," Ironwood replied, "I trust that you remember the name of the man who stole the charts to the Relics from the Temple of Vacuo?"

Pyrrha nodded gravely, "Arthur Watts. He's one of Salem's highest ranking agents; even though I don't remember much about him I still recall Giger chatting with him through conference calls and a couple of visits."

"Well, one of the temple guardians who came close to thwarting him managed to take a look into his mind and deduced several aliases, which were passed to me by Headmistress Luna and that helped our Specialists identify an office apparently owned by Watts under his alias name. The Specialists managed to recover several electronic devices worth of information as well as a computer, the latter of which self-destructed due to some fail-safe, but they were able to glean some information from it before it was destroyed."

"And that's what may or may not concern us, right?" Jaune guessed.

Ironwood nodded, but he didn't look back at them. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, they didn't need their Grimm halves to sense how uneasy the general was. There was something wrong, and not knowing what it was was very worrying.

They soon came to a large antechamber which led into one of the battle cruiser's large training rooms. Waiting for them and quietly chatting amongst themselves were the various members of Ace Ops; Clover Ebi, Marrow Amin, Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne and Harriet Bree.

Clover noticed the new arrivals and promptly ordered his team to stand at attention, "General on deck!" They all saluted.

"At ease." Ironwood dismissed, and they all shifted to a more comfortable stance.

Jaune noticed how uneasy the elite Atlesian unit seemed to be; Elm and Vine eyed them suspiciously while Marrow, the only Faunus member of the group, looked away from them as if trying not to give away how nervous he was. Clover and Harriet were a bit more professional, nodding at them casually but there was still some cautiousness in their body language.

"Hey Miss Nikos, Mr Arc, we've heard a lot about you." Harriet told them with a pleasant smile.

"Indeed, you've been through a lot for some trainees who are still two years away from graduation." Clover added.

"Most of it wasn't exactly easy," Jaune replied, trying to be friendly.

"But we wouldn't have been able to pull through it without each other, and our friends." Pyrrha mentioned, smiling Elm and Vine nodded, trying to be cordial while Marrow offered a sympathetic smile.

"Do they know, sir?" Clover asked his superior.

"Not yet, but I suppose there's no time like the present." Ironwood said before having some troops standing outside the room to lock doors before beginning, "The information we retrieved from Watts' computer was data about trigger words, phrases meant to provoke a psychological reaction in certain people. In this case, it was meant to activate some kind of subtle mind control in specific individuals that would prove beneficial to our enemy."

Jaune and Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror as it dawned on them what he was getting at.

"Y-you think those words are meant for us?" Pyrrha asked, her voice quivering slightly.

"I'm afraid so. We don't know for certain, but there's only one way for us to find out: to test it on you. That's why I've summoned Ace Ops, to properly restrain the both of you should you turn hostile," Ironwood said before asking Pyrrha, "You were under their control for months, under the 'care' of Giger. Do you think he would have implanted something like this in your mind? In Jaune's?"

"I don't know, I think Ziz would have mentioned something about it to me, but it's possible that she and the other Grimm Commanders don't know about it," The Spartan replied, "I wouldn't put anything past that madman Giger, but I don't think the trigger words would affect Jaune at all since his Grimm transformation was only halfway done thanks to his willpower and the fragment of my soul within him."

"I'm afraid it wouldn't be wise to take that risk, Miss Nikos," Clover said, "From what we've learned about Giger, he could have implanted something inside Arc's mind during that surgery."

"We don't like it any more than you two, but we need to do this in order to be sure. Better safe than sorry and all that." Harriet added as calmly as she could, "Can you please surrender your weapons?"

"So what happens if those 'trigger words' work on us?" Jaune asked Ironwood. He was trying to stay calm, but his voice was clearly on edge as he stood in front of Pyrrha as if to shield her, "Will you kill us?"

"No." Ironwood assured him firmly, "That's not what I have planned at all."

"We'll try to restrain you two without harm," Vine stated, "Then we will bring you both to a secure facility."

"And then do everything in our power to restore you to your true selves." Clover quickly amended, shooting a disapproving glance at the pale man.

"We won't harm you, I give you my word," Ironwood promised them, "I know what you have been through, and I personally know what it's like to be controlled by…them. You've suffered the same experience, Pyrrha. I don't want you two to have to go through that once more. If you are affected by the trigger words, we won't stop until you are yourselves again."

Pyrrha placed a calming hand around Jaune's wrist, stepping up alongside him, "Jaune, he has made a valid point. The trigger words may not even affect us, but it's best to be sure. I don't like it either, but Ironwood has given us his assurances that the Ace-Ops will only subdue us if the worst happens. It's likely the best solution, if it means preventing Salem from using us to hurt our friends or even our families."

Jaune calmed himself and nodded, since he couldn't deny the logic. He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, okay. I guess we'll do it then." The blond knight then removed Crocea Mors and handed it to Marrow while Pyrrha gave Harriet Miló and Akoúo̱

"I swear we'll try not to hurt you," Harriet informed Pyrrha. The Spartan offered the dark-skinned woman a grateful smile.

"Thank you, but don't go too easy on us." She replied, "If the worst happens and we are indeed under control, it's safe to say we won't be holding back."

"Noted." Elm answered curtly.

The group walked into the gym, with Ironwood leading Pyrrha and Jaune to stand in the center of the large room while he stood about twenty feet away. The Ace Ops took up positions, forming a circle around the two Guardians of the Aura Crystal with their individual weapons at the ready. Clover's weapon was a rapier-sword with a grappling hook attachment, causing his weapon to resemble a fishing rod which earned it the name Kingfisher. Marrow's weapon was a boomerang rifle christened Fetch, Harriet wore a strange apparatus on her back and arms named Fast Knuckles that gave her powerful fist gauntlets, Elm had a rocket launcher and hammer-like weapon called Timber that looked similar to Nora's Magnhild, and finally Vine had a large collapsible shuriken which was called Thorn.

Jaune glanced around at them; Clover, Harriet and Marrow looked a little uncomfortable with what they were doing but still maintained their positions, while Elm and Vine were uneasy but they didn't seem to be the type to have any qualms about fighting them.

He and Pyrrha looked at one another, standing mere inches apart, "If this does hijack our minds, I'll do my best to remember how much I love you." Jaune whispered to her.

Pyrrha's green eyes shimmered, threatening to spill tears. She quickly leaned in and gently kissed the boy she loved, "So will I."

Elm glanced away, giving the two Hunters-in-training their moment of privacy. Harriet and Marrow directed their looks to Clover, as if to ask him, 'Can we really do this to them?' The Ace Ops leader himself didn't really have an answer, but he gave a few quick hand signals that they had to obey Ironwood's orders and do whatever was necessary.

Jaune and Pyrrha grasped each other's hands and braced themselves. The blond knight looked at the general and said, "We're ready, sir." Ironwood nodded gravely before speaking a coded command to lock the training room's entrance.

The \general glanced at the various members of Ace Ops as they readied themselves for anything, before resting his gloved hand on the holster that contained Due Process, his white revolver with a six-chambered hexagonal cylinder. He then cleared his throat, and spoke the words, 'Pawn' and 'Destiny' in the old languages of Remnant, his fingers never leaving his revolver.

After several moments of tense silence Jaune and Pyrrha opened their eyes, both of them still sporting their original sapphire and emerald colors. Nothing had happened.

"I don't…feel any different." Pyrrha said.

"Me neither." Jaune added.

Ironwood looked at them for a few more long moments, scrutinizing them judiciously for several tension-filled seconds before he finally said, "Ace Ops, stand down."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the Ace Ops obediently deactivated their weapons. Jaune and Pyrrha turned towards each other and embraced, thankful to still be in control of themselves.

"Thank the Brothers and Sisters," Elm voiced as she placed the head of Timber down on the training room floor, resting her hands on the handle.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Harriet agreed, "I did not want to fight them."

"Me neither," Marrow said as he smiled at the young couple, his tail wagging a little, "And at least now we know those trigger words don't work."

"I'm afraid not everything's copacetic, Marrow." Clover interrupted the Faunus Ace Ops member.

"What do you mean, boss?" The Dog Faunus inquired by with a tilt of his head.

"Think about it, Marrow," Vine spoke up, "Those words thankfully have no effect on the Hybrids, so we may still count them as our allies, it's also very likely those words were never intended for them at all."

"Vine's right," Clover pointed out, "Perhaps whoever those words can control are still within the Kingdom of Atlas, or perhaps hidden in another of the other Kingdoms. After all, we still have no idea who planted that mind control device that placed General Ironwood under our enemy's control."

There was silence for a brief moment as everyone considered this.

"So we still have a problem, but at least we got some kids who can control Grimm on our side." Harriet said as she looked at the couple.

Ironwood approached the Crystal Guardians, offering them a supportive smile, "Thank you both for your cooperation. I believe that I speak for everyone here, including myself, that it's a huge relief that you're still free of Salem's influence. I also apologize for any inconvenience."

"Not as relieved as we are, sir." Jaune replied.

"And you have nothing to apologize for, General." Pyrrha said with a pleasant smile.

Ironwood nodded, "If you'll excuse me, I have to return back to my office since there's a meeting with the rest of the Atlesian Council that requires my presence. I need to fill them in on what we've learned today and give my opinions on whether to reveal Crawford's actions or not. I'll inform Task Force Omega to take you back to the Schnee Manor once you're ready. Have a good day." He told them before turning to leave the training room.

Harriet and Marrow handed the Crystal Guardians back their personal weapons, with Jaune glancing at Vine and saying, "So I guess you all know about our…condition?"

"Yeah," Harriet replied, "General Ironwood keeps us in the loop about certain things, but the rest are still in the dark because of security reasons."

"We don't think any less of you for it." Elm commented, "After all, it's not like you chose to be experimented on by some psycho scientist."

"Yeah, plus it's kind of handy to have someone who can control the Grimm as our allies," Marrow chimed in before looking at Pyrrha and asking, "So I've heard you actually rode a Grimm Dragon, is that true?"

"Marrow," Clover said in a warning tone.

"No, it's okay," Pyrrha assured him before looking at the Dog Faunus Ace Ops member and smiling, "And yes, I did ride a young Grimm Wyvern, it was an amazing experience."

"Do you think you'll ever do it again?" Marrow inquired.

Pyrrha's face fell a bit but she simply shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't really know."

Jaune took hold of Pyrrha's hand to comfort her, and she turned her head to smile at him, "I'm okay, just feeling a little wistful whenever I think about the Grimm Wyvern."

"I would be concerned about forming an emotional connection to a Grimm if I were you, Miss Nikos," Vine remarked, "After all, if you face it in combat there's always the possibility that our enemy will exploit that bond. In that kind of situation, you will have to do whatever it takes to stay alive."

Pyrrha nodded solemnly. Elm nudged Vine in the ribs with her elbow a little too hard, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Sorry about that, Vine can be a little overt at times." Elm told the redhead.

Pyrrha nodded, "It's okay, he may have a good point though. Who knows what they will try on me whenever we next face them?"

"Well, come what may, I have faith that you kids in Team Beacon will pull through with the Relic missions and will be a great help to us in the future." Clover grinned at them, offering his gloved hand to Jaune.

Jaune smiled and accepted, shaking Clover's hand.

---

Within the private study in the Maximilius Estate, Alexandria Maximilius listened to the discussion taking place between the various small holograms of the other Council members such as Willow Schnee, Headmistress Maple, Admiral Nemo, Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla, various other council members along with the Guardians of Remnant which included General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda, and Grand Knight Master Seraph. It had been an hour or so since Ironwood had reported that the trigger words discovered from Watts's computer system did not have any effect on Jaune and Pyrrha and what he had learned from Nora's interrogation of Odinson.

There was seemingly an endless deliberation about what to do about Crawford's crimes against Faunus-kind, with Willow Schnee, Headmistress Maple wanting to go public while others such as Ironwood, Sleet and Camilla wished to cover the incident up for the time being as they knew the public outcry would certainly be intense. The emotions that such a revelation could bring out would risk another large-scale Grimm attack.

"Well, we're at a tie," Maple noted, seeing the tallies of votes on a small screen floating beside her. She looked at the Maximilius matriarch, the only one who had yet to make a decision, "What do you think?"

Alexandria shook her head, "I'm honestly not sure yet."

"It's not an easy choice to make, Head Chancellor," Ironwood's hologram told her, "Perhaps you would need a little more time to consider?"

"We may not have that much time," The holographic image of Councilman Sleet put in with a frown, "The abrupt disappearance of Crawford and his accomplices will not go unnoticed for long. Crawford may be without a family, but we can't say the same for Nordstrom and Kenzo. If we're not going to go public with this we may need to come up with a cover story of some kind."

"I've had my fill of covering things up, Councilman," Willow Schnee said, "The Schnee Dust Company needs to be honest and begin to make amends for past sins."

"You have admirable intentions, Mr. Schnee, but the consequences could be dangerous. Riots within the capital city and additional Grimm incursions are the last things we need at the moment." Nemo's hologram pointed out. The Atlesian admiral was currently taking a break from overseeing repairs on the Nautilus II, which was due to be out of drydock in a week or so thanks to the repair efforts of an army of navy personnel and Atlesian knights.

"With the Capital's police force and the battle cruisers flying overhead, I doubt we'll have much trouble discouraging any rabble rousers," Camilla's hologram figure mentioned, "But follow-up attacks brought about by despair and anger are nevertheless worrying things to take into consideration."

Alexandria sighed, her hand reaching up to touch her chin in thought, and said, "Would anyone mind if I take an hour to think it over? I'd appreciate some time to clear my head and consider the options presented if I am to come to the best conclusion for Atlas."

The others nodded with Headmistress Maple saying, "I see no problem with a brief recess. Perhaps cooler heads may prevail when we return. Any objections?"

No one had any. "Very well, we will reconvene in two hours. Thank you, everyone." The Head Chancellor of the Atlas Council said.

Alexandria watched as the holograms slowly faded away in short order. Only then did she release an exhausted sigh as she sunk wearily against her chair, resting her chin on her steepled fingers. This was not going to be easy. Then again, none of the choices she had made ever since she became the Head Chancellor of the Atlas Council ever had been.

The current situation facing the Kingdom of Atlas was very troubling, not to mention the many sessions she had attended in both the Atlas Council's chambers and the meeting room of Omniscient Industries debating various social and economic measures while often watching the men and women making up the elite of Atlas and Mantle argue among themselves like bickering students.

She got up from her chair, and walked over to a sideboard beside her table where a few bottles of vintage wines and accompanying glasses occupied the tray at its top. Alexandria rarely drank alcohol during work hours, and usually no more than a single glass, but she did notice that her consumption had slightly increased to three glasses as of late.

Pouring a substantial measure of expensive Mistralian red wine into a glass, which she picked up and then walked over to the tall windows of her private study, mulling over what her next course of action would be. She took a few sips to calm her nerves before placing the glass back onto the sideboard. She returned to her desk and sent a short message to her attendants that she was not to be disturbed, before reaching underneath it and opened up a small hatch hidden in the firm mahogany, revealing a small button. Maximilius pressed it and looked up as an antique grandfather clock standing against the wall of an adjacent reading room slid away to reveal a large alcove in which a glowing tank occupied.

Within was a Grimm Seer.

Alexandria had known Arthur Watts during their days in Atlas Academy, but they had never been close and she had all but forgotten about him when their respective occupations in politics and science pulled them apart. Decades later, Arthur Watts had approached her a couple of years before the Vytal Festival, when she was still serving as a Councilwoman within the Atlas Council. He had revealed the existence of Salem and his place within her inner circle, and offered Maximilius a chance to join Salem's network of agents in her secret war against the Guardians of Remnant and the Knight Order.

Naturally she had refused and had attempted to have Watts arrested, but was forced to reconsider her choice when he revealed that Salem and her associates had the clear advantage over her by threatening to have her son killed. No matter where he was, it would be a simple matter for Salem to unleash a massive horde of Grimm on him, putting him in a battle he and the rest of Task Force Omega had no chance of winning. Even though the deployment of the task force or even their identities was considered highly classified information, the fact that Salem knew of it meant she likely had spies hidden within the military itself. Watts had promised Maximilius that if she told anyone about their secret meeting, Commander Central would die a slow, horrible death.

She agreed to keep quiet about it, for Valerian's sake. He was everything to her.

The day after Beacon fell, Watts had approached her again in secret, and Maximilius had decided to reluctantly accept his offer and become one of Salem's agents. As a test of her loyalty to Salem, she was then ordered to place an insidious program crafted by Watts himself into General Ironwood's cybernetic components while he was recovering from his surgery, placing him under Salem's control until Ironwood was able to free himself via a gunshot to the head.

She stood up and walked forward, mentally cursing herself with every step she took while trying to remind herself that this was for the best, for her son and the Kingdom of Atlas. Maximilius reached out and pressed some buttons on the panel of a small console in front of the tank containing the Grimm Seer, and a window on the tank opened up after releasing the small jellyfish-like Grimm out into the reading room. The bulbous red orb of the Seer glowed as its tentacles reached for her.

Maximilius spoke as calmly as she could, "Call Salem."

The Seer shuddered for a moment, before the pale visage of Salem herself appeared within the depths of its orb. Alexandria bowed deeply before her as the Mistress of Grimm offered the Head Chancellor of Atlas a pleasant smile, one that felt very condescending, before speaking, "Ah, hello Alexandria, how good it is to see you. I trust that you have news of profound value?"

Maximilius looked up and replied, "Yes, Your Grace. Ironwood has tested the trigger words discovered on Watts' computer that his Specialists recovered from one of the cover offices, but on the wrong targets. He, and the other Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knights, believed that your rogue Grimm Hybrid Commanders were the ones the trigger words were meant for."

"I see, and they still don't suspect who our sleeper agents really are?" Salem asked.

"No, ma'am. However, there is something else you should know. Ironwood arranged for Odinson to meet with that girl, Nora Valkyrie. From the report I have received, Odinson finally cracked; he talked and told the interrogators everything, how he met you, the truth about Kuroyuri, where that Thorn girl came from, and possibly more. We have to silence him as soon as possible, since his usefulness is clearly at an end."

"No doubt about that," Anger clouded Salem's features for a brief moment, "He will be terminated in due course, but I sense that isn't all you have to tell me, is it?"

Maximilius gave a nod, and explained the situation with the Schnee Dust Company that led to the arrest of Crawford, Nordstrom and Kenzo. Salem took this information into consideration, "Hmm…now this is an interesting situation you've presented me. Willow Schnee clearly has had a change of heart, you say?"

"His daughter's actions last year have evidently transformed him into a different person, Your Grace," Maximilius confirmed, "He's even going to be taking in a significant amount of Atlesian refugees, including many Faunus, into his estate and its surrounding lands so that the shelters and hospitals within Atlas City won't be so overcrowded."

Salem nodded as she considered what she had been told, and an evil smile soon spread across her lips, "Ah, I sense an opportunity here, Alexandria. You must vote to go public with Crawford's crimes against the Faunus, to cause strife so that the people of Remnant will be further divided. That may cause further problems for Ironwood, and hopefully turn the eyes of the Guardians and the Knights from the real danger," She then looked directly at Maximilius and asked "Tell me Alexandria, do you know where the Spring and Summer Maidens are?

She hesitated, but forced herself to answer and mentally hoping Salem didn't notice her hesitation, "They're at the Schnee Manor with Team Beacon. However, the location is heavily guarded by several Remnant Knight detachments and the Schnee's own private security forces, which are very competent."

"Yes, a full-frontal assault at this stage wouldn't be wise, but I have a plan already in place," Salem told her, "A way to lure the Maidens out into the open and eliminate Garrett Odinson. You will help, of course."

Maximilius glanced down, sweat forming on her brow as her heart pounded a little faster in her tight chest. She wasn't afraid of many things, but Salem terrified her without the slightest effort. She mentally told herself that it would all be worth it to discover where Salem's domain was and expose it when the right opportunity arises. It was also worth it to keep her son alive.

"Of course, Mistress," Maximilius answered and bowed her head, "It will be done."

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader

Surprise! We finally reveal who placed Ironwood under Salem's control back in the first arc! Took me long enough, huh? Also, I cleared up a contradiction regarding Nora's backstory I made in chapter 10 which I've since retconned.

So, so, so sorry about the delay! I promise the next chapter will be out sooner!

I really enjoyed my vacation to the beach, I even went to Universal Orlando and finally got to go on some theme park rides, I loved the three I went on (Spider-Man, King Kong and Jurassic Park), I had planned on going on the Transformers ride but some technical difficulties combined with rain that was coming down so hard I was practically blinded forced us to end the day slightly early.

If you liked this story, I hope you'll fave, follow and review.