RWBY: Dual Eclipse
Author: Master C.V.G.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Scene Breaks
Chapter 27: The Set-up
"And you're certain this is wise, Ozpin?" Glynda had her misgivings on this assignment that Ozpin was drafting up. Trusting one of their students to a complete unknown?
"Left as is, I know this situation will only continue to degrade." Ozpin reaffirmed. "And with even our enemy being targeted by that device, if we don't take advantage of this moment then nothing will change for the better... if anything, staying our hand may make our situation worse."
Glynda, much like Ironwood before her, was more than taken aback by Ozpin's sudden shift in tone. Something must've truly lit a fire within him to create such a shift in his plans from a defensive "watch and plan" measure to wanting more active plans.
Yet, as much as she wanted to continue debating, Ozpin may have been onto something. The lax nature of Vale had allowed their enemy to slip in and begin setting up shop, causing a diversion in one area to complete their tasks in another. The enemy knew them well... knew Ozpin all too well, and as such were able to plan around him.
Here now, by contrast, a pair of new elements had seen through their plans, and caused a disruption major enough to force enough of a change to their plans. This was indeed an opportunity, one that must be and should be capitalized upon before it slipped away. Much as she had her misgivings about trusting this new element, if it was something that could aid their cause...
"Is there a date set for this?"
"That's why I called you up here. As it is you're the only other one here with some experience in this matter. I want to eliminate as many potential issues as possible before I go putting a concrete deadline on this."
Unbeknownst to either of the office's occupants, a certain spirit was watching them, listening to their conversation with a heavy heart, knowing they were unable to communicate with one another. This soul had so much they wanted to say, so much they wanted to ask... but their words fell upon ears unable to hear them.
At the same time, a new idea was beginning to brew as it listened in on their conversation.
It knew its plan might be something of a crapshoot, but it would be better than doing nothing.
Time to seek out this one they called "Nelius Raoul".
Warship Yoshitsuna
Unknown Time
With Zio currently recovering from the loud screech of the radio, York decided to give it a go, Tarma and Tia having gone to get some sleep in the meantime and Zotia stopping in to observe and learn. His flippers adjusted the receiver, tuning it to a different channel.
"-FFFZZTT- Ten-Thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck! -"
He clicked to another channel.
" - he then proceeded to tilt every painting he passed on the way here."
"Heheheheheheheahahahahahahaahahah~"
" *sigh* Oh god. Walking through that hallway's going to give me such a headache now-"
York adjusted the signal a bit, hoping to catch a wider range just as Zio had done. Maybe he'd have a bit more success?
"We'd like to buy one child, please!"
This clearly wasn't working out. He's give it one final college try, and then switch to a new method.
"-ita, Atreya, Carl-"
York blinked. Was that - he tried to finely adjust it.
"We're both still alive, somehow. I don't know the exact details, but-"
A transmission? He'd question how Nelius was able to get ahold of transmission equipment, but that could wait. They were alive!
"This world, -FFFFFZZZZZTTTT- technology and resources-"
What world were they on? Damned interference... York tried adjusting the receiver a bit more, to clear up the interference.
"Look for a shattered moon - its nearby world is where we are." Epsilon's voice could be heard this time.
With that, York picked up the comms unit to contact the bridge. They had a lead... not much of a lead, but it was worth something to investigate. Hopefully the TDF would know of any worlds with shattered moons.
"Mita, dood? I think I found something!"
Beacon Academy
Sunday, September 25 9:41 A.M.
Cinder sat alone in her shared dorm room - Mercury and Emerald were out casing Vale under the cover of finding some supplies for their next class, and Neo had left a message stating that she was going to check out on some of Roman's old hideaways to ensure they weren't compromised.
This gave her plenty of time to think on the recent dream she had... or in this case, try to forget about it as she put together the next phase of her plan. Images from a time she had long put behind herself, memories she had chosen to bury... people she'd relish the chance to-
'No. I left that place buried for a reason.' Much as she wanted to ignore those thoughts and be on her way, they refused to leave her conscious... of course, trying to consciously avoid dwelling on or remembering something tended to make that thought more pervasive. Feeling the annoyance beginning to well up, she grabbed her weapon and exited the dorm, heading for one of the training rooms to work off her frustrations.
Around the same time out in the courtyard, Ruby had taken Zwei out for some exercise as the rest of her team had headed off to do various things - Weiss stayed at their shared room to study, Blake went to Beacon's Library, and Yang went to go tune-up Ember Celica - but as she lead the corgi around the grass her mind kept flashing back to that dream that felt more than a little too real.
It was undoubtedly her home on Patch, but everything looking like one of those old movies just weirded her out, not to mention a distinct lack of anyone she'd recognize.
'...and that voice... it sounded a lot like me, but also not like me...how does that even work?'
Zwei, oblivious to Ruby's current mental pretzel, simply stared at the crimson-clad girl, head slightly cocked to the side.
Atlas Academy
11:28 A.M. Atlesian Time
Ironwood had his desktop computer system open, a list currently visible as he selected many of Atlas's best coders and programmers. This list was one whittled down from his efforts last night, narrowing the selections down from close to thousands to around fifty or so of the best in each category.
'How...' His thoughts from earlier at Beacon began to return in full force. 'How did some random element manage to uncover what years of subterfuge couldn't?'
As he continued looking over and assigning coders and programmers to prepare to extract the malicious coding from Vale's CCT, a thought began to cross his mind.
'Maybe... just maybe that is why. Salem's had plenty of time to observe, plan, counteract us... counteract Ozpin. This new element? A complete unknown, even with his full honesty towards us.'
However, as he dwelled upon this, a new train of logic began to run through his mind.
'Yet, there is no way those two could be the only ones here... could they?' His mind began to race - if others like him had landed upon Remnant, then where could they be? How had little to no news of them ever come up? Could they have been here for even longer than Raoul and Epsilon?
That, in turn, was gently halted by a certain couple of facts.
'Then again, the one calling himself Raoul had been doing his best to stay out of the public eye, and none aside from us even know he has some form of digital-life hidden within his arm. If any others have similarly gone to ground...'
Ultimately, he had to put those thoughts on the backburner for the time being. For now, stopping Cinder's plans for Beacon took priority.
With the selections made, James closed his computer down for a moment. He decided to step away for a moment, mostly to organize his thoughts and begin putting together the final team for the CCT repairs. He felt his right arm spasm for a moment, but it managed to quell down swiftly.
'It has been acting up a bit recently...' He made a mental note to make a visit to the medical center.
The Base
12:21 P.M. Vale Central Time
Nelius stepped back into the base, the glowing orange portal of the Dual Diver closing behind him.
"So far, everything seems to be in order, no major glitches cropping up... now we wait for Ozpin to get back in touch with us." Nelius took a seat, looking over his Scroll to see if any new extermination requests were open.
"This is going to be a hell of a time." Epsilon spoke up. "I mean, neither of us have any experience in this kind of psychoanalytical field, and I doubt there's anything on the CCT that would give us a rudimentary understanding within just 24 hours or so."
"That's why Ozpin said he was going to get Glynda onboard with this. Ironwood is likely back at Atlas... hopefully he got that message about the data packet in the CCT, and Qrow's off doing his own work until then."
Silence reigned over the pair for a few minutes.
"Hm..."
"Something on your mind?"
"It's about something I intercepted a few days ago. Apparently someone over in Vacuo was cleaning house on a bunch of the Grimm, and some grainy audio of their work came in."
To prove this, Epsilon played a clip of the audio she had managed to download. Once again, the voice clip played, the person in question stating that they were merely passing by. It was a female's voice, and there was quite the boistrous tone to it.
"Huh... it does sound familiar, but I can't place my finger on it."
"Yeah, that's what has me bothered. Something in the back of mind is telling me I've heard it somewhere else before, but from where I can't properly pinpoint. I know it's minor, but it's been bugging me."
"Well, once things are settled here in Vale, we can head over to Vacuo and do some footwork to see if this person is still in the area. Getting a general feel for the place would also help us when Salem's forces decide to attack to claim Vacuo's Relic."
With all of the requests currently taken, he closed the Scroll down. He ultimately decided to head back into the city to grab some food.
Warship Yoshitsuna
Unknown Time
"A world with a shattered moon..." Aika, for her part, was somewhat surprised by this. "Well, that both narrows down and expands the parameters... paradoxical, I know."
"How so?" Mita replied.
"An unfortunate issue we've come across with our usual sweeps is that, in many cases, damage to the lunar structures orbiting many human worlds has started to become more common, with reasons ranging from looking for potentially rare minerals within its crust to defacing or outright eliminating it as a sign of power."
To that end, a diagram of one such world and its moon appeared.
"There was said to have been many a case of civilizations dwelling upon the moon, but unknown disasters fell upon several. Were this any other case, it would've been written off as mere fantasy-" The images changed, showing the decaying, dilapidated remains of genuine marble and gold structures upon the lunar surface, "-were it not for active investigations into these ruins to search for artifacts and other clues pertaining to these civilizations."
Another image showed what looked like a brilliant palace situation upon the moon, but it too looked dilapidated, mixed with what appeared to be damage to a various number of locations across it. Curiously, if one looked hard enough they might've seen preserved bodies, and from the wounds across each one...
"My word..." Mita looked quite intrigued by this, but quickly filed it away. "Anyway, you said there were many worlds with shattered moons?"
"Indeed. We're preparing the list of such known worlds now. Fair warning - it's going to be a bit of a doorstopper."
"Figured as much - if this were easy this story would've been over days ago."
Back with York, he was trying to get a better reception of the transmission channel, hoping that it would repeat and give him a better idea of where to look. They were close to an answer, he could feel it!
Beacon Academy
3:19 P.M.
"Here. This should be the final touch to the matter."
Ozpin and Glynda had been carefully crafting the situation concerning Ruby being targeted by the Dual Diver, accommodating for the possibility of the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR also being targeted by the machine upon learning more about it, and of course for the chance that Cinder's group would catch wind of this development.
Each trip Miss Rose made into and out of her heart - odd as that still sounded - would be extensively documented, and whatever questions she had would be quickly and confidentially answered as best they could.
However, another thought began to emerge: suppose that RWBY and JNPR's teams weren't the only ones to be selected by that machine? The earlier display just days ago showed the machine was capable of acting without either a power source or Raoul's command... a frightening prospect, all things considered.
"I believe this is about as airtight as we can make it. Whatever happens from here onwards will have to be dealt with as we go."
Glynda, much as she still had her misgivings about this, simply nodded, ready to bring this whole situation to a close.
Ozpin and Glynda double-checked the plan, and upon confirming that it would suffice, he began to type away on his Scroll - a message for Miss Rose.
Down a few floors, Ruby Rose heard her Scroll chime as she was headed back to her dorm room, indicating a message came in for her. Curious as to what it could be, she opened her Scroll up.
Sender: Headmaster Ozpin
Subject: Summons
Apologies for the sudden message, but during your fourth period tomorrow your presence is required at my office. There is a matter that needs discussed.
Glynda Goodwitch will vouch for your absence during said time.
Confusion crossed her face as she read the message. What could the Headmaster want with her? She'd already given her testimony regarding both the CCT break-in and the Mountain Glenn expeditions but on the bright side, this gave her a free out from Professor Port's class.
She'd just need to let her team know about this... and hopefully Weiss would be willing to share her notes again. Much as Yang did her best to look after her, her ability to take notes was... not the greatest, and she swore that Blake wrote hers in either some kind of code or another language.
The Base
3:43 P.M.
Nelius's Scroll chimed, indicating that a message had come in for him. Switching to the messages tab as he closed down his saved notes, he opened it up.
Sender: Headmaster Ozpin
Subject: Diver
It is complete. Miss Rose will be in my office tomorrow morning for the first run of the Diver.
Be at my office by 12:30 P.M.
"All right, Ozpin just contacted us. We need to be at Beacon by at least 11 in the morning to get everything set up."
"Very well." Epsilon responded. "Won't lie, still pretty damn nervous about this."
"Understandably so, considering this is going to be uncharted territory."
"Oh, right - didn't Mr. Qrow say he was going to be swinging by once it was time?"
"He did, didn't he? Wonder how he feels about this."
"Guess we'll know once this whole deal is underway."
To that, Nelius turned his attention back to the Dual Diver, which was undergoing a final systems check to find any programming issues or faults within the internal workings.
'Still, if someone or something is using it for their own ends... so far, it's been nothing but beneficiary, though at the same time such good fortune can't last forever...'
Almost as if in response to his thoughts, the spirit that had been eavesdropping on Ozpin and Glynda came floating down the stairs, with Nelius and Epsilon completely unaware of its presence.
'! This presence...' It shuddered for a moment, a sensation it hadn't felt in years returning. '...yet...it is different, somehow... just maybe...' It ceased its current train of thought, taking a moment to rack its mind and try to discern how it'd get their attention... Ozpin had been deaf to its pleas, so this one might not be any different-
'!' It suddenly felt a different presence - one that was a bit too close for comfort. 'Who..'
As the spirit looked over, it saw the other presence... another spirit... it looked human, but it was surrounded by four others, young souls... children's souls!
"You... who or what are you?"
"Someone who's found herself in quite the predicament." The other spirit responded with a woman's voice. "You seem to be in the same boat."
"I would guess so... I can't remember anything; not my name, not where I lived, yet that one in green... Ozpin, he called himself... he feels so familiar, and yet so different..."
"That right? Lemme guess - can't talk to him?"
"...yes."
"Yeah, that's common with ghosts like us. We're not meant to interact with the living... in fact, we're not supposed to be here at all."
"?!" That caught the spirit's attention. "What? Why?"
"It's a simple answer... but one with a long and complicated journey to reach it. I'd say grab a seat and have a listen, but..well, we can't exactly sit now, can we?"
Chapter 27 - Complete