I have to apologize for how long this took. The new semester and it's been really rough so far. I could complain about the BS that I have to deal with but it won't make it any easier.
One thing that did seriously delay this was that I started novelizing the DnD campaign that my friends and I are apart of. The story so far is pretty insane and we just completed what could essentially be classified as the third major arc and a temporary end to the story until the semester ends again.
So hopefully by April I at least finish the first arc of the campaign so those of you who are interested can experience the misadventures of my PC, Locke Ruin, and his unlikely companions.
I proofread this a few times but in case there are any errors or inconsistencies let me know. I ended up trying to do too much and I got pretty sick again... yes my immune system has the resistance of wet paper.
Chapter 68: Brewing Darkness
"Hey kids, long time no see," Randolf Wulf announced as he barged in through the door, his dark grey winter coat covered in ice and snow, proof he'd been walking through the tundra, there were even icicles in his beard.
Several guards rushed to stop him but he was too nimble, easily sidestepping them and tossing them aside, not even bothering to draw his blade.
"So this is where you've been you old asshole, you look as shitty as ever," Qrow commented as he gazed at his old friend.
Randolf nodded toward Qrow with a smirk before wordlessly stepping forward, dusting off the white powder from his clothing, slicking back his hair, and pushing up the pair of glasses over his eyes. It was times like these that Nova was reminded of the dignity his teacher carried with him, the air of pride and strength.
Olwen growled viscously, "How dare you come into these chambers uninvited, mongrel!"
Mongrel, was a term used to describe half-breed wolf Faunus, it was extremely derogatory and degrading, but Randolf just smirked, "Ugh, you're still alive? I thought your age would've sagged you six feet under by now."
"Don't you dare mouth off to our leader!" another guard roared and tried to attack Randolf. This one was faster, his feet working so quickly that he almost blinked behind Randolf, but it wasn't an instant transmission or a teleport, and he was easily caught in Randolf's right hand, held up by his throat.
"What made you think you'd fare better than your friends?" he cocked an eyebrow at the man he was holding by the throat, "Those who do not learn from history…" he reared his arm back with force, "Are doomed to repeat it!" he yelled as he flung the man into a pile of the others.
Fenrir wasted no time, drawing what looked to be a pair of ice-covered nunchaku from his belt and rushing at Randolf.
The older man's eyes widened briefly as he realized who was coming at him and instinctively drew his katana to block. The clash of weapons released a wave of frost that would've blown everyone away, had Nova not protected them with a shield of heat.
"I didn't come here to fight you!" Randolf hissed as he forced Fenrir back.
"Then why did you attack?!"
"BECAUSE YOU ATTACKED FIRST DIPSHIT!" he yelled back at Fenrir, and just like that the air of pride and dignity dissipated.
Ruby's hands were turning slightly blue, despite aura protection, since she didn't opt for gloves since it got in the way of wielding Crescent Rose.
Nova quickly whipped around, taking her hands in his as he saw her teeth beginning to chatter. His angry demeanor quickly melting as he expanded his zone of heat to focus more on her. His mother and Weiss seemed unaffected and due to Luna's semblance and thick clothing, she was fine.
"Rubes, I told you to opt for at least some thin gloves. What would I do if you freeze to death?" he chastised.
She smiled sheepishly, "F-F-Figured w-with you a-around I w-wouldn't n-need it."
Nova turned back to glare at them, "Can you stop this frost and talk things out like civilized people?"
Fenrir growled, "Stay out of this hatchling. Just because you have noble blood doesn't mean you get to dictate on our soil!"
The old woman who'd seen Nova furiously trying to warm Ruby clicked her tongue in disgust.
Olwen scoffed "Fornicating with one of them? Have you no sense of properness boy?"
Qrow wanted to mouth off that, that was his niece she was insulting, but the look in Nova's eyes said he was about to tear this woman asunder.
Nova spun around, the visage of death glaring from his face as he gazed onto Olwen, "Did you just call her a thing?". There were certain things he was willing to put up with, but the layers of insults were draining away his patience.
Olwen huffed, "Of course! Humans are pathetic, disgusting creatures. Fit to be nothing more than tools! We were made to be perfect beings!"
"Hey," Ruby squeezed his arm gently, "It's okay. You don't need to get mad for my sake, it doesn't matter really…" though, despite her words, Nova could see she felt bad as if she was the cause of the commotion.
The dragon leader had felt the string that was holding his patience together in his mind snap. He was pissed.
"Perfect beings?" Nova glowered again, "Tell me what part about a stuck-up old bitch on a chair who cares not for the living, breathing creatures of the world be them human or not, is perfect?"
"You sound just like your father, and that feather brain who pioneered the peace treaty… what was her name? Aeros or something?"
"Do you ever get tired of spewing bullshit all the time?" Nova spat on the floor.
Olwen shuddered at the glare he was giving her. She didn't know why, but for some reason, this boy was making her blood run cold, she felt as though she was staring down the barrel of a hair-trigger shotgun.
Still, she had to maintain composure. She was the matriarch of the Frostfang clan, no brat, royalty or no royalty, was going to deter her from her goal, "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?"
"You know… it's rude to answer a question with a question," the dragon growled, as he let out a force of flame, like a wall of pure heat, crashing into Olwen.
The old woman countered with her own cold, her eyes glowing bright blue as her white aura radiated around her. The cold in the room began to converge and seemingly focus on the fire as the two forces collided once more.
She was Olwen Frostfang, Aspect of Frost and leader of her clan. She'd lived for a century and had mastered her control over her element. There was never a person to stand before the might of her Absolute Zero field.
"Your mastery over the natural force is minuscule before mine…" she said as the stone in Weiss' hand began to vibrate violently as if it was being forced against its will, a giant mass of cold energy erupted from it and fed into Olwen, who used it to push against Nova. The entire floor froze over as the tendrils of ice began to climb along the walls. The air became harder to breathe for those without powers, and Ruby began to choke, gasping for breath.
Each inhalation felt like breathing in shards of ice, freezing her throat dry and her lungs began to burn for air.
Weiss seemed fine, the stone was protecting her, Randolf and Elain also seemed unaffected, most likely due to their wolf-blood. Luna's eyes were glowing as Nova could see that the space around her and Qrow seemed distorted as if she'd somehow separated herself into a bubble of untouchable air.
But Ruby, who had no such protection was suffocating. To harm Nova's comrades was a grave offence, but to harm his family… to harm his best friend, his lover, that was something else entirely.
"A battle of power is it?" Nova muttered under his breath, deep red anger boiling up within him, ready to burst forth, "If that's the case… I will not lose!"
A flash of fiery orange erupted around him as his body transformed into a female, and the scales erupted over her skin.
Her eyes now glowed with brilliant fury as the Agniseki responded in kind, the glow of the Maiden's power manifested in her eyes as suddenly the natural force of fire which fed off the Agniseki and Nova's aura was bolstered by a spark filled magic, a wild, almost white flame erupted like a wave, backing up the orange fire as it created a double layer field that melted the room.
Olwen began shaking as her force had been pushed back, dissipated into nothingness as the heat took her on the throne, the ice melting into water and evaporating into steam.
The once sub-zero room was almost a sauna now, as Nova stood with a sweat matted forehead, whipping her hair to the side and standing with her left hand on her hip and right hand pointing at Olwen, "You can't beat me, even if you all worked together. So why don't you just calm the fuck down and act like an adult?"
The matriarch sputtered uncontrollably, "Magic?! AND The Agniseki's power?! In the same body?! You shouldn't be alive let alone able to wield both! Opposing forces should never inhabit the same existence!"
Nova hummed, "Well, I'm also living with two sexes in one body, so I'd say everything about me is contradictory."
"A human bonding with the Cryoseki, a half-breed mongrel, a dragon prince with the power of a Maiden and an Aspect… you're all living contradictions… things that should never exist, never in history have existences like you come to be!" Olwen snarled.
Nova shrugged, tightening the belt around her waist since the trousers had gotten slacker due to her waistline slimming, "What can I say? We live to break tradition."
"Tradition exists for a reason! Because they work."
"Haven't you heard old woman? Tradition is the corpse of wisdom," Nova responded in kind.
A stillness enveloped the room that was the foundation of uncomfortable silence. Both parties were actively glaring at each other as if there was a thin piece of paper holding down the pressure of a geyser.
Randolf looked awkwardly between the two, he needed to diffuse the situation before their natural animosity ruined his months of work, "Aaalright… now that that's over," he turned to Olwen, "Old hag, now that they're here," he gestured to Nova and the others, "You will agree to my negotiations."
Olwen huffed, "Negotiations? Our agreement was that I let you stay in our village while you provide us with your knowledge on the Fragments and how to track them. I don't remember anything about negotiations."
Randolf inwardly groaned, this woman was impossible.
After the Fall of Beacon, he left for Atlas to seek her out, because he knew that in the coming times, they would need her help to deal with Salem's armies, and Onyx's. He agreed to help her track down the Cryoseki in order to gain her trust, it was because of him that they found Nova and Weiss. What he'd hoped is by now she'd understand how valuable he was to treat him on equal footing, a shot in the dark, but he must've missed.
Racism and prejudice was a huge factor in the proverbial bullet's deflection.
"Uncle, what do you have in mind?" Nova asked Randolf.
The man sighed, "What I've been trying to do for the last year," he turned to Olwen, "Lady Frostfang, a war is coming and we need your clan's help."
Olwen blinked in surprise, "A war? What bullocks are you spouting?"
Even Nova was now concerned, to say she was surprised would be a lie. Since they left Haven, she'd felt an uneasiness. Onyx was silent for too long, Salem was expanding, Ironwood was preparing for something he didn't tell us. The forces of the world were moving in a direction, moving toward something, but now that Randolf had said it out loud, it was making sense.
"What do you know Uncle? What war?" Nova asked, though her expression was more of, tell me everything.
Randolf nodded, "This is also why I waited for this moment to reveal what I've been doing. In the past, I worked to infiltrate Onyx's research facility…"
Nova nodded, "Right that's where mom was being held."
"Yes, and since the Fall of Beacon, I'd been tracking him. He left for Vacuo, but that much you know. What you don't know, however, is that since his defeat at Haven, he's been working on something, and he's bunkered down like a landmine. See… he's no longer in Vacuo…"
Everyone in the room besides Olwen and the guards wore alarmed expressions, "WHAT?!"
"As you've already surmised, Salem is coming to Atlas for the Winter Maiden, since the Summer Maiden is still unknown. If Salem is coming here, so is he, and he's already on the move."
"How do you know this uncle?" Luna asked this time, curiously.
"He always follows a pattern, no matter what he does. He goes quiet, then a few weeks before he strikes, he sends scouts, case in point, what happened at Vale," he let his words sink in before reaching into his cloak and pulled out an object, tossing it onto the floor.
It looked like a human head, except, instead of fleshy tendrils and blood, it was leaking oil and had wires coming out of the neck, "Highly advanced, human-like androids. They are strong, versed in combat techniques and their hides are bulletproof, but not blade proof. This thing was out in the tundra, lurking around the SDC abandoned mines."
"If there's one, then there's more…" Weiss said thoughtfully.
Randolf nodded, "Precisely. What it was doing around the SDC mines, I have no idea. The Grimm density was too thick so I couldn't do proper investigations."
Elain studied the head, "I've seen this tech before…"
"You know something, mom?" Nova asked, curiously.
Luna perked up in realization, "Wait… this looks like the soldiers we fended off on Menagerie! But, these are more advanced."
Nova recalled the story Luna told her about what happened on the island, "So the fight's coming to Atlas huh…"
"We need to warn my sister!" Weiss said in alarm.
"Before that…" Randolf said turning to Olwen, "You have the proof of an imminent attack upon you. What do you say about lending us your aid? Your trained troops would do well to defend against the enemy when they arrive."
Olwen scoffed, "And cooperate with Ironwood? Fat chance. I'd prefer to take my chances out here. We've survived on our own for decades and we will continue to do so."
Nova was feeling irritated, "What makes you think you'll survive? I've seen fully well what that man is capable of… what that bitch Salem can do. Whether you like it or not, war is upon you and you need to pick a side."
"And what if I don't?"
"Then hope to the gods that aren't here that at the very most you get to see the day after the world burns down…" she responded, a grim expression plastered on her face.
Nova slipped her hand into Ruby's and began making a move toward the door, "What'll it be Olwen? Freedom? Or Extinction?"
As they were about to leave through the door, two guards blocked the entrance, "Not so fast…" Olwen said, "The Cryoseki. Hand it over."
Nova pinched the bridge of her nose, it was like this woman didn't learn, "No, that's our final answer. Now stand aside before you really get on my bad side."
The woman anxiously gripped her throne rests, "You won't make it out of the village unscathed, we'll pry it from your hands!"
Nova sighed heavily, she hated it when people didn't fully grasp their situation, "Look… Olwen. You dislike humans, you think the stone is your property, but the thing is. It's chosen Weiss, and the power of that stone could be a key factor in turning the tides in the war. What business do we have giving it to someone who would choose to hide in her cowardice?"
Olwen gaped, "HOW DARE YOU…"
"Try all you want to take it from us hag, maybe you get us, maybe you don't, but be damned sure that if you attack me again, I will fight back," she summoned a large ball of fire in her hands, the power of the Maiden displaying through her eyes, "I don't want to have to accidentally raze your village to the ground."
"You wouldn't dare… there are innocent people here!" Fenrir snarled.
Nova quirked her eyebrow, "I'm not saying I want to hurt your people, but I can't guarantee they won't accidentally get caught in the crossfire."
Olwen felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat, the dragon's eyes were deadly serious. Her clan needed the Cryoseki, with its power, she could properly protect her people. She knew fully well of Salem's oncoming attack, it was no secret that the Grimm Queen was on her way, the shuddering of the universe was enough to tell her that. What she needed was that stone so that at least her people would be safe…
Now she was faced with a difficult choice. Let the hatchling and his friends leave, nothing would be gained by either of them and this whole interaction would have been meaningless. Her second option was to fight him for the stone and risk the lives of her people, and her third option was to give in to their demands, offer her aid and gain their cooperation, however, that also meant having to work with humans.
Humans who knew nothing of honour, only of betrayal and selfish greed. It would mean risking her people on a whole other platform, but… she would stand to gain a great deal.
"No risk no reward huh," she said under her breath, "FINE! I accept your conditions!"
Randolf smiled slyly, "Good choice…"
Olwen snarled, "The hatchling is right. It's time to pick a side…"
Elain blinked rapidly, her mouth slightly agape. She didn't think she'd see the day when her mother, the stubborn and hate-fueled Olwen Frostfang, would cave in before someone.
She looked at her daughter/son with a sense of overwhelming pride… and fear. Nova was a terrifying existence, even if she was her child.
-Atlas Academy-
Neopolitan was tired of training with the remnants of team ASHNRWBYJNR. The Arc boy was decent enough at teaching, surprisingly, but he wasn't nearly as skilled as Weiss or Ruby. The Ace-Ops wouldn't give her the time of day and the others were busy honing their own skills.
It presented her with an interesting opportunity. Deciding to call it a day on her public front, she made her way down the halls of the academy, being sure to make a mental note of every security camera. Thanks to her years as a thief, she was an expert in determining the camera ranges, rotations, and capabilities based on a glance.
She slipped into a nearby broom closet, using her semblance to disguise herself as a helmeted soldier.
This was her chance to explore the facility and locate the Winter Maiden, and possibly the vault.
She debated changing into a member of ASHNRWBYJNR or a member of the Ace-Ops, even Ironwood or Winter Schnee, but playing a high ranking position, while it did give her an all-access pass just by looks alone, it also drew attention.
The more attention on her, the easier it would be for them to pick up on something amiss, so an unimportant, faceless soldier suited her perfectly. It also meant she didn't need to think of fancy ways to hide her disability.
Skulking around the facility, she made sure to walk in front of the cameras as a soldier so nothing seemed out of the ordinary to whoever was watching.
After about an hour of exploring, she had ended up back where she started, at the training hall.
The interior of the Academy was like a maze, and there were no signs of a directory anywhere.
That much was to be expected, it's not like they would have a giant sign that read, 'This way to the Winter Maiden' written on a wall somewhere.
As she was about to move forward, she bumped into, quite possibly the worst person imaginable for her.
Winter Schnee stood glaring at her with an ice-cold gaze, "Soldier, guard rotations were changed fifteen minutes ago," She studied the fake serial number on the guard uniform, "Your division is supposed to be in the loading bay handling incoming transports. Why are you not there?"
Neo felt a wave of panic wash over her. How would she answer this? Her experience never had such a difficult situation before.
"What's the matter, soldier? Cat got your tongue?"
Somewhere in the facility, Blake Belladonna sneezed briefly.
Neo's mind was working a mile a minute, she bowed repeatedly as an apology.
"Oh, you're apologizing? At least you know your place…" Winter said surprised. "Well… if that's the case… just get to the bay!"
Neo breathed a sigh of relief as she saluted stiffly and jogged off.
"WAIT!"
Neo felt her blood run cold.
"Soldier you… never mind… be on your way…" Winter sighed, looking as if she was contemplating something.
Neo, confused, just shrugged it off and was on her way to find out what the facility had left in store.
Throughout her search, she'd managed to locate the main control room, and map out the general location of points of interest in her head.
Back at the isolated Faunus Village, the team had begun acclimatizing themselves to the environment, mainly the people. They had spent some time discussing all that had transpired so far with Onyx and what he was capable of, as well as discuss any information they had on Salem.
Fenrir suggested that the humans stay in the clan building, since their presence disturbed the general populace, while Nova was adamant that the people learn to trust humans, an idea Olwen was not very fond of.
They had just broken off from a meeting in the throne room again when Weiss pulled her friends out of earshot of the others, though she doubted they were concealed since the primary inhabitants were canine.
"We've been here for several hours now. The General will no doubt be wondering where we've been," she hissed to her team.
Ruby quirked an eyebrow, "So what?"
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, "You dolt! If he suspects something's happened to us, Winter… the General will mobilize a squad to our last known location. We need to get going before trouble comes looking for us."
Qrow nodded, "Ice Princess has a point. Someone needs to get the word out to Ironwood before shit hits the fan for all the wrong reasons."
"That might be a problem," Olwen said stepping out of the room.
The Schnee cursed, she knew they weren't out of reach of their sharp hearing.
Elain folded her arms and sized up to her mother, "And why would that be?"
"Well, first of all, I still don't fully trust you to leave and not tell Ironwood where we are. Secondly," she pointed a finger at Weiss, "You specifically need to stay."
Weiss blinked rapidly, "Huh?! Why should I?!"
Olwen's eye twitched, "Idiotic human, you have bonded with the power of our clan, yet you know nothing about us or how to use it. If you want to be of some help in whatever comes in the future, you need to learn to harness that power."
"Harness it…?"
Nova understood, "Like how Luna, me and Blake use our powers freely? She's saying you can do the same thing."
"What?! But I'm not like you, I'm just…" Weiss was confused.
Olwen rubbed her temples, "For such a smart girl you can be really dumb. Well such is the limit of the human knowledge…" that earned a protest from Weiss, "Look, kid. You froze one of my guards solid, that shows you can use power."
"Me? No that was the stone…"
"Stone or not, it responded to your will. It protected you, and if it did that, then it can most certainly be used as more than just self-defense. I don't know how a human is able to bond with the Cryoseki as you have, but reality is often not what we want."
Weiss hummed in thought, "I… understand…"
Luna who'd been silent for most of the time spoke up, "Um, Grandma? How much do you know about how the stones work? About the marks? Our powers?" she then reached into her bag and pulled out the book she'd found in her basement a long time ago.
Olwen was pleasantly surprised by the child's politeness, "Oh? You are much more reasonable than that brute of a brother you have…" Nova then stuck out a tongue and blew a raspberry, "Err… sister…thing. If it's knowledge you want, our clan holds records of most of our history. As for how these things work…" she pulled down her left sleeve to show the mark of an Aspect on her shoulder, surprising everyone. It looked like a snowflake, with jagged edges.
"I can teach you. No doubt my ignorant daughter has told you nothing since she never paid attention when I was teaching…"
Elain huffed, "You suck at teaching. Boring old hag!"
"Ungrateful welp," Olwen then looked at Nova, "You to abomination, you might learn something. The rest of you…"
"I can escort them back to Atlas," Randolf finished for her, "You have my word they will not disclose this location, nor will I."
Ruby and Nova's eyes both met at the same time, "I won't be leaving you here. Our team can handle things for a couple days on their own," Ruby pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
The dragon sighed, "I won't stop you but at least get word to Atlas to let them know we're okay."
Randolf perked up, "I can get a signal to them from my place," then he saw the look Olwen was giving him, "The douchebag can come with us if you're that suspicious we'll give out the location, geez lady…"
Fenrir snarled at the offensive name, "I will tear your head off, half-breed…"
Randolf pushed up his katana with his thumb, the silver blade glinting in the light, "Feel free to try…"
"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty, now can we get on with this?" Ruby raised an eyebrow in disdain. She was getting tired of all the bickering.
Qrow snickered at his niece's words. He'd been quiet most of the time since it wasn't really his place to say anything, but now that it was over…
"Human you do not get to…!"
Ruby shot him a death glare so intense that Fenrir felt as though the intensity of her Silver Eyes would burn him alive, quickly shutting him up.
"I'll come with you, it'd be better if James hears the situation from me as well." Qrow input, as he took to leave with them.
Once, Ruby, Elain, and Randolf were successfully gone, this left Nova, Weiss, and Luna.
Olwen escorted them through the large building, through several doors, and into what seemed to be a massive library, with bookshelves stocked high with literature of varying genres and categories.
Luna marveled at the expanse of knowledge as Olwen, after sifting through the various shelves, pulled out a dusty book, it was extremely thick and heavy. Curiously enough, it resembled the one Luna was carrying, except much older and clearly more extensive.
"This book is one of the few original copies of our kind's history. It details everything from our time of conception to the fall of our empire," as she filtered through the pages, Nova took note of what seemed to be red stains on the delicate, yellowed sheets of paper. He highly doubted that it was ketchup.
"This book has survived war and seen death more than any Faunus alive," she held it close to her, "If you are to read this… be very careful."
Luna pulled out her version of the book and began skimming through the pages until she found the space where the missing pages were and held them up to Olwen, "Grandma, these pages were torn from this. Do you know what was here?"
Olwen looked at the pages with intense curiosity, "Even I haven't read this entire book… if you're curious, then feel free to explore," she handed the book to Luna.
Weiss glanced at the pages, "Miss Olwen, I know of your clan's history, how it all began. The continent, the wars, the original creation of the purebloods. What I don't understand is how Aspects came to be?"
Olwen looked surprised, "For a human to know of such things… well I won't ask how. As for the Aspects, well… it'll be easier if you tell me what you already know and I can fill in the blanks."
Nova answered this, "Well so far we know that the Aspects are the universe's way of balancing the Maidens. If there is a power imbalance then Aspects are born to revert the balance. That's the only reason they really exist."
Olwen blinked, "Who told you that malarky? It was that fool of an uncle wasn't it…"
"…"
She sighed heavily, "He's not completely wrong but it's more complicated than that."
"Then explain it to us in a way we can understand," Weiss said forcefully.
The old woman pondered for a moment, "There exists Four Maidens and Four Relics. You believe that the Maidens were made to protect the relics. This is not the case. The Maidens were never meant to exist. Magic was never meant to be given back to the humans, but the gods didn't predict, or rather they couldn't fathom, that children born of the original humans would foster Magic when the art was ripped from them. Magic coming into the world of Remnant was like a disease upon a world that was made to function without it.
In the beginning, Aspects were commonplace, more than you think. There was one for every Maiden. Fire, Water or Ice, Wind, and Earth. Eventually, as time moved on, and the Maidens sedimented themselves into part of the natural order, as in the Four Seasons, the world had adapted to them. They were necessary bacteria, like the kind in your stomach."
Luna nodded while Weiss made a 'Eugh' face.
"Of course, like any bacteria or disease, once it starts adversely affecting the body, the universe will deploy anti-bodies to take care of the problem, in this case, the Aspects."
Luna hummed, "That explains why there aren't more of our kind. So if I get this right, you guys can harness the natural forces around you to produce a power based on the gift granted to you by the gods? How does that make us different from magic users like the Maidens?"
"Our powers are based on the raw primal energy. We cannot conjure ice from nothing, we can manipulate the temperature to make it cold enough to freeze moisture, but creating things like blizzards, as the Winter Maiden can, is beyond us."
Despite them asking these questions, Luna and Nova had already figured this out on their own, or rather, understood the underlying aspects, but hearing it from someone who was considered a true expert on the topic with evidence to back it up was interesting. Olwen's perspective was more of casting more light on an already illuminated object, to further understand its details.
Nova summoned a ball of magical fire and generated a force of natural fire. She studied them but didn't say anything. She remembered all that time ago, she could only control the temperature as well, producing heat, now she can just freely summon fire. This was most likely due to the nanomachines made from the Maiden's DNA. At the time she saw it as a simple power-up, now she realized the greater implications of what she had become.
Olwen was right in calling Nova an abomination. She was a living contradiction, a mutant amongst people. An existence that was set apart from her species.
Most pure-bloods, or at least those with direct lineage, could harness the powers of their ancestors, Blake and Fenrir were proof of that. Aspects wielded much more dominance and strength over the power as well as the versatility of form. Olwen's clan seemed limited to a simple emission of a frost wave while Blake was more malleable and could manipulate shadows almost fully.
Blake was also an exception within the rule, since she was technically a pseudo-Aspect, her powers would eventually disappear to her next of kin, like Kali to her.
Then there was the question of the wind Aspect, the last recorded one was Aeros before she died of old age, and since the Spring Maiden had never turned against the flow of the universe, like what happened with the fall Maiden, then a new one was never born.
And lastly, there was Luna Sapphire Flareheart.
Her power was obscure, mysterious and seemingly limited only by her imagination. What exactly it was, none of them knew. The mark on her lower back instead of her shoulder, the nature of the power itself. Then there was the reaction with the Fragment that Onyx possessed.
If Nova based the description of the Fragment Onyx on the information they gained from Jinn, then what Onyx wielded was most likely the Fragment of Death, the one formed from the soul of the God of Destruction to balance the Fragment of Life formed by the God of Creation.
Luna may very well be an incredibly dangerous existence, even if the exact nature of her strengths were still a mystery.
Meanwhile, back in Atlas, Yang and the others were crowded around the conference table in Ironwood's office, a holographic projection was brought up of a voice call. It was from Ruby.
"Miss Rose, it's good to hear from you. When we heard word that you'd gone off. We were quite worried." Ironwood said as he answered the phone.
"General Ironwood? Is that you? Sorry, the reception out here is pretty bad," Ruby answered back, a bit of static coming through the poor audio quality.
Hex frowned, for them to have that much static, then they'd have to be pretty far out of Mantle boundaries.
"Yes, and your team is with me as well. They were eager to get in touch once they heard a call was coming in from you," James said.
Yang butted in quickly, "Ruby?! Are you guys okay? What happened out there?!"
"Um well, long story short, we met up with Nova's grandmother and we're trying to convince her clan to join the fight against Salem," Ruby tried to explain, but everyone in the room just held an awkward silence.
"… Uh Guys?" she asked, unsure if they could hear her.
James took a deep breath, "Miss Rose, can you start over from the beginning?"
Ruby just sighed, "Too much work, it's better if you hear it from uncle Qrow…"
"Uh… James? Firecracker? Kids? Can yah hear me?" Qrow said as the sound of something like tapping on the microphone was heard.
The resounding yes was heard with the additional, 'Old man' comment, no doubt from Yang.
"Alright here's the long and short of it…" Qrow then proceeded to explain the whole situation, recapping the events of the throne room and why they can't disclose their location until Olwen fully agrees to commit to their cause.
James was silent for a while before speaking up again, "This Olwen person? Are you sure they can be trusted?"
"Not really," Qrow said instantly, "She's a bit of a racist toward Humans, and well Ellie and the kids don't seem too fond of her, but Randolf here swears on his life that she's trustworthy so… there's that…"
Ironwood quirked his brow, "Wulf is there?"
"Indeed I am, James, it's been a long time…" Randolf said into the mic.
James chuckled, "Well if you're the one swearing on her then I'm willing to accept it. Qrow are you still there? Or Miss Rose?"
"We're here," they both resounded.
"Good, I don't know how secure the channel is so I'll be as discrete as possible, but until they properly agree to help us, keep the unnecessary details out of it."
Qrow, Ruby, and Randolf shared wary glances at each other, then at Fenrir who had an angry look on his face, "Yes sir, understood," Ruby was the one to reply.
It quite sometime before Ruby returned to the complex. Being escorted through the village, the looks of fear cast upon her by the Faunus struck deep in her core. In all her time as a student and now a Huntress, she'd always known that the Faunus were inherently afraid of humans, but in the environments, she'd lived in, she'd rarely seen signs of oppression.
It was a reminder that people still lived with such mindsets, that the world was not as open and progressive as she naively thought it to be. It also made her realize just how lucky she was that Nova and Luna hadn't turned out like that. Though to be fair, those two originally hated both sides equally, they had every reason to, but now things were different.
She found the rest of her companions in the grand library, sitting silently and listening to Olwen teaching.
"Oh, you're back…" Olwen noted begrudgingly.
"I'm not gonna pretend to be nice to you," Ruby said with disinterest. Her tone was quite different from the normal cheerful Ruby they all knew. She'd certainly learned to express her negative emotions, particularly anger and irritation toward people she genuinely disliked.
"At least we understand each other on that end," Olwen returned the sentiment.
Ruby had been through a lot, she'd watched friends get hurt, injured, and killed. She'd gained a lot, but she'd lost just as much, including whatever remained of her naiveite. In the past, she'd have probably tried to be as nice to Olwen as possible despite the woman's harshness, but Ruby learned that responding to bitterness with kindness was just too exhausting, especially to people who were so blatantly against her.
Being unnecessarily nice was a chore she was no longer going to commit to. She ended up pulling up a chair alongside her girlfriend/boyfriend and listened to Olwen explaining her clan's history. At first, Ruby was disinterested, but the story began to pick up when Olwen mentioned what happened after the war of the Four Kingdoms.
The Grey Wolves had exhausted their military power in a futile effort to turn the tides against the humans in their race's fight for freedom. Olwen's mother, the previous head of the clan, was killed in the crossfire between Mistral and the Faunus tribes there. Her father had to sacrifice most of their identity and heritage to safely get what remained of their clan across the sea and to Mantle where the war was almost non-existent.
When the war finally settled down and Humans took up residence in the tundras, the Faunus weren't too keen on giving up their home, but they couldn't attack due to the peace treaty and ended up being driven out of their homes. Their tribe became nomadic, picking up Faunus who chose to forsake their civilized lives, and eventually, they settled down where they were now.
Their hatred of the humans was justified, but it didn't mean they needed to be as closed-minded as they were.
"Now you see, why I despise your kind so much?" Olwen glared at Ruby and Weiss.
Ruby quirked an eyebrow, "I hope you don't expect me to feel bad."
Olwen blinked rapidly, "I assume you should be ashamed for your race's atrocities."
The reaper rolled her eyes, "Lady, I'm not my race. I'm a person, an individual, and I will not be held accountable for the actions of people I don't even know."
Weiss was astonished by her forwardness, her leader had certainly learned to stand up for herself. This gave her the courage to speak up as well, "Miss Olwen, my leader is right. If you let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch then you miss out on the good parts."
"Good parts? Ain't nothing good about humans."
Ruby wanted to refute but Nova shook her head, "Words won't ever convey what needs to be understood. I only know about the kindness of humans because I experienced it first hand. If I hadn't met Hex, Nitro, or you guys... I'd be just as bitter as she is, if not more."
"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here, brat. Now either you pay attention to my lessons or you leave," Olwen glared at her.
Nova just rolled her eyes and got up, tugging at Ruby's arm, "Come on, let's go. I'm not interested in her boring lectures anyway."
Olwen muttered something about Nova being just like her mother as they were leaving the room.
Stuck in a frozen village with no wifi, no cell service, and no places to hang out, with only the freezing wind as company. What else were two lovebirds to do when the weather was freezing and one of them was a walking furnace?
Explore the village of course!
At least, that was the original plan until people saw Ruby and suddenly found it more productive to drop whatever they were doing and scramble indoors or stare at the snowy ground. To say the reaper was feeling dejected was an understatement.
The village was relatively small, it was roughly the size of Beacon Academy in terms of floor space, but the homes, simple as they were, still had all the functionalities of modern buildings. Nova had to wonder how they got electricity and water in a place where no visible power lines could be seen for miles. Cobblestone roads linked the various houses but the path itself was frozen over, several warning signs posted up that said 'Careful, slippery under intense weather', which made Nova beg the question as to when were they ever not frozen?
The main street was a straight shot from the border of the village to the central complex that served as the clan house, so getting lost was never an issue. The only thing that seemed to not change where they went were the children playing in the streets. They didn't seem to care whether Ruby was human or Faunus, so when she waved at them with a smile on her face, they would often wave back.
Adults were seen carrying carts and wagons loaded with firewood, most likely to power their fireplaces or heat their stoves. They had electric lighting but Nova doubted they had access to gas for stoves and most likely used wood as a fuel source. She made a mental note to ask Hex and his mom to maybe engineer electric stoves for these people so they wouldn't have to rely on the finite resource of wood.
"It's a wonder where they get all this wood from," Nova pointed out as she stepped aside to avoid an antlered Faunus dragging a cart-load. It may have been since she'd been standing around for too long but her naturally high heat had semi-melted some of the ice that covered the frozen cobblestone roads, "SHIT!"
Ruby quickly grabbed her and pulled her out of the way, "Watch it there clumsy. Don't go breaking that pretty face of yours on the sidewalk," she said as she steadied the now pouting dragon-girl.
"Hey it's not my fault I'm hot," Nova shrugged with a smug grin.
Ruby just rolled her eyes, "Mhm, yeah sure..." suddenly there was a loud crunching sound like wood splitting apart and a man screaming out in panic.
The two whipped their heads around to see the same man they'd just avoided sprawled on the ground, the wheeled cart of wood now hurtling down the street. It seemed that one of the supporting wheels had dislodged and caused him to slip on the ice, the momentum of his initial speed and the force of the slip caused the cart and the wood to propel forward... directly toward the group of children they had just passed.
"HEY KIDS LOOK OUT!" Nova yelled, alerting the group to their oncoming danger. The kids turned around in time to see several large blocks of wood hurtling toward them, sending fear across their faces.
Nova got into gear but her propulsion wasn't fast enough, but there was nothing to worry about as a flurry of rose petals rushed past her and swooped in, picking the kids up and depositing them safely on the opposite side of the street.
The children were huddled together, initially shocked, then relieved as they realized they were no longer in danger.
"Are you kids okay? Is anyone hurt?" Ruby asked as she inspected the Faunus children.
The oldest one, who looked to be about seven-years-old, shook his head, the canine ears flopping around wildly, "Nope, we're okay! Thank you miss!" he responded with a bright smile.
"Yeah, thank you nice lady!" a little girl said, she sported similar ears but of a different colour hair. The two were probably siblings.
Ruby smiled warmly at their gratitude, she responded by ruffling their hair, "Try to play a little further away from the street next time okay?"
Before the children could answer, the frightened voice of a woman was heard, "Get away from my children you human!". It was a woman who resembled the little girl, most likely their mother.
Ruby faltered, looking slightly hurt, and backed away slightly, "Ma'am I wouldn't hurt..."
"Liar! All humans are liars. I don't know why clam leader Olwen allowed you in but you should take your kind and get the hell out of our village. You bring nothing but misfortune to us!" The woman pulled her kids to her and was glaring at Ruby. Suddenly, a large crowd was beginning to gather around them, the angry faces of Faunus people surrounded the young reaper.
"Oi you cursed human! What are you doing to them?!"
"Get out of our village! Piss off!"
These were the cries of the mob.
Nova saw the gathering mass and knew she had to intervene, "Miss, that is no way to thank the person who just saved your children's lives," Nova said, having now caught up to where they were. Her voice permeated the atmosphere with a distinct air of authority and command that all suddenly quieted themselves. "If it weren't for Ruby, your children would be injured or worse!"
The woman eyed the dragon, "Who are you? I've never seen you before! Are you one of those human lovers?"
Nova's gaze was stoic, "Nova Alexandrite Flareheart, and the savior of your children just so happens to be my adoring girlfriend so yes I am a human lover," she said, frowning and standing in front of Ruby defensively.
The woman's eyes went wide, "F-Flareheart?!" she then noticed the horns and scales, "Y-Your highness! My apologies!" she bowed a complete ninety degrees. The mob who recognized the name also bowed in suit, their faces turning red from embarassment.
Nova was surprised at first but realized the people of this village were lead by Olwen, who treasured their history. She probably made sure everyone was aware of their ancestors and who the lineage of nobility was. If the people of this village respected the old noble family as much as she suspected they did, it made gaining their trust a lot easier.
Still, that was a card to play at a later time. "Madam..." she was searching for a name.
"Firn, Janice Firn," she responded stiffly.
"Madam Firn, please raise your head," Nova instructed. The woman did as she was told.
"I understand that you and those in this village are fearful and wary of humans. You have every reason to be," Nova stated.
"Then...!"
"But! I can assure you the same things you say about humans can be said for our kind as well. No one is perfect and at the end of the day, we all succumb to the same faults that we project onto the other. My friends are very much the same as you and everyone else, and I can assure you that they would gladly jump into fire to save anyone of you." as she was giving the speech, the rowdy mob was now paying close attention to her.
Several people were now listening intently and Nova was aware of that fact, so this was her opportunity to give her two cents.
"We are Huntsmen before we are people, and people before we are human or Faunus. I know it might be hard to overcome your fears, but please treat us as you would do your own. We're only here for a short time but, in this period, I do hope you will come to see us as not enemies, but friends." Nova finished, looking around to see the faces of many adults.
They were silent with thoughtful expressions.
Nova took Ruby's hand in hers and led her out of the crowd that parted away easily, waving goodbye to the kids before heading back toward the main complex.
Ruby interlocked her fingers with Nova and squeezed her hand lightly, "Hey, thanks for back there..."
Nova smiled warmly and returned the squeeze, "I did what I had to, to make them understand. If they don't give you a chance, how can they see how wonderful you are?"
The reaper blushed, "You're so cheesy..."
"You love me anyway." they burst out into laughter.
-Far out of bounds of Mantle, in an abandoned SDC mine-
Bortz Flint Flareheart was a simple, calm, and easy-going individual. He toiled in his workshop by day and enjoyed quiet evenings with his family, his loving wife and two splendid children whom he was very proud of. His passions ranged from baking pastries to creating trinkets of unfathomable ludicrousy, so it was very strange that he woke up one day without arms, legs, or even a head.
Yes, he was simply an untangible consciousness, floating around in a mindscape of data and networks. He could not reach out and touch anything, but when he tried to move his arms, all he could do was navigate the databases before him, his legs weren't there and whenever he looked around, all he saw was an empty blackness.
He didn't know where he was, or rather, who he was, which begged the question as to why he remembered his name, or the things of what was supposed to be his past. He was like an observer of his own mind, separated and segmented from himself like looking through a window, except on the other side of the window was a mirror image that lived in an alternative world.
When he thought about his purpose, what he wanted to do, he could only think of fulfilling the orders given to him by his creators, so why did images of a wife he didn't know and children he was unaware of, floating in front of him through the window?
"Obsidian Network, what's the status on the scouts I sent out? It's been a week and I haven't gotten a report!" an angry voice said, as Flint's vision suddenly changed from a network of data to an extremely large man standing in what appeared to be a control room of sorts.
Flint was about to ask what this meant when his mind was suddenly overcome with a flood of information as if his subconscious had drawn the information for him, and against his will, his mouth began to move... if he even had a mouth, "Master Onyx, the scouts have been out of contact range for three days. They were last seen heading west of the Mantle supply road."
Onyx grumbled, stroking his large beard, "That's the same bullshit as the last time... Stein!"
A feeble looking man in a labcoat stumbled into the room, "Yes commander?"
"Are you sure this A.I of yours isn't faulty? I refuse to believe I keep getting the same report every time I send scouts out..." he said, folding his arms and glaring at the man.
Stein flinched and pushed the spectacles on his nose up, "I-I assure you, sir, the team and I do maintenance on the systems every other day. All the systems are in top condition!"
Onyx stroked his beard again, then turned back to the machine, the glint of suspicion shining in his eyes, "I see... Obsidian! What is the range at which all the signals were lost?"
Again, Flint began speaking against his will, "All signals disconnected in this location..." a map was then displayed that showed the co-ordinates and general range of where all signals were lost. All of them had disappeared in roughly the same location.
"So that's where you're hiding..." Onyx grumbled as he observed the area several miles from Mantle, if he judged by location alone, it was double the distance between him and Atlas, so it would take a squad at least an entire week to cross the gap let alone moving a whole army. On that note, it would be foolish to mobilize his whole task force this early in the game, especially when he knew nothing about what lay in wait.
Cursing vehemently, Onyx slammed his fist onto the control panel, "It would be so much easier if that bitch would just let me move on my own!"
He was stuck in this godforsaken mine that he coveted from Jacques Schnee after Arthur Watts seduced the CEO with promises of winning the council elections. The mine on the outside was inconspicuous, it was inoperable under the pretense of it being depleted of Dust. Under the abandoned exterior was a fully furnished underground network of what was essentially a miniature base, close but not nearly as grand as the one he had in Vacuo. One would ask how such a facility was set up in a short period of time, but in truth, the mine had been in the works for quite a while, since permissions were granted long before they made their move on Mistral.
Mistral... his first failure... no his second. His first failure was not killing the dragon children over a decade ago.
"Incoming transmission from Mistress Salem," Flint the A.I said.
Onyx froze briefly before nodding to allow it through. Salem's face appeared on the large screen, "Onyx, how are things?" she asked with a mysterious smile.
The bear Faunus clenched his fists in his folded arms in anger, the witch obviously knew how frustrated he was, but was provoking him out of sadism, "The same as always. I've found the general location of the Grey Wolves..."
Salem's expression lightened, "Well done, once again you prove to be a valuable asset... unlike some people..." she grumbled, narrowing her eyes at someone off to the side. A faint glimpse of flinching grey hair and similarly coloured jacket was seen retreating out of the side of the picture.
"My Queen, how long must I wait to hear from Cinder and her team?" Onyx questioned begrudgingly. He knew better than to upset the woman who could kill him.
"Your impatience is something that needs to be worked on, lest I remind you what it means to cross me..." Salem glared, and Onyx could feel the sense of danger emanating off her.
Onyx flinched, "My apologies. I was simply asking for a time frame..." he tried to amend his words.
"They will be ready when they are ready. Espionage is not a fast-paced process. I know you crave battle, but the Atlas Military is still quite formidable... especially with those particular nuisances..." she replied, referring to team ASHNRWBYJNR.
"Indeed... those brats... those two hatchlings. The blue one exuded power similar to my own..." he said referring to Luna.
Flint searched his database for a reference to who Onyx was talking about when the imagery of Luna, Nova, Elain, and their friends flashed before him. Suddenly, a metaphorical... or perhaps it was physical, light bulb went off in his circuitry of a brain. The images of these people began connecting to the ones he saw in the window of his mind, like the shattering of a barrier and connecting of wires, he began to remember.
He now understood why he thought he had a wife and children despite not having a physical body. Why he called himself Flint instead of his designated name of Obsidian, he was a person. He had a life, a family.
The memories of the past flooded into his brain while his subconscious responded and calibrated to Onyx's commands against his will. It was like two minds operating simultaneously but only one was in control. He remembered his death, when he thought his family was killed, the despair that had over-taken him then was now replaced by the joy of seeing that they were actually alive.
That joy was quickly gone, as burning rage built up inside him, frustration and anger at the man who was the cause of this, and the reality that he was now unconditionally working to aid Onyx against his own will.
Instead of once again falling into despair, Flint took to the one thing he was good at. Tinkering. He began to attempt to unravel the chains of code that bound him to a set of instructions, to go against his programming, but soon found out that trying to do this was akin to telling yourself not to think or breathe.
Still... it wasn't impossible. He was nothing if not a genius, and he would be damned if he didn't fight to the end, for his family's sake...
'Mark my words Onyx. I will ruin you from the inside out...' Flint swore silently.
Stay cool everyone, I'll see you in a couple weeks when I manage to get free time...
( *Cries in mountains of work* )
