In the wilderness of Mistral resided a single log cabin, surrounded by soldiers of the Mistral military. Two were standing on the roof as they kept watch over the forests that surrounded them, while another squad comprised of four privates stood guard at generator which gave the cabin power. Nearby was an armored vehicle of military design, which had a large machine gun turret at its top that swiveled from side to side as it scanned the area.
A patrol was due to return from their rounds shortly, but one of the rookie soldiers in that patrol became distracted as he heard rustling in the bushes nearby. Hesitantly, he strayed from the group to investigate and inched toward the shrubs to peer over them. After a quick search, he concluded that there was nothing out of the ordinary tonight.
"You know, I haven't bloodied my blade in a long time."
The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, yet came from every direction at once, which startled the soldier and left him frozen in place. He heard footsteps behind him and quickly debated in his mind whether to call out for help or run. It was too late, however, as he heard a blade cut through the air, which was aimed at his neck.
Later, the rest of the patrol quickly stopped and turned; the rustling grew louder as a mixture of birds and smaller birdlike Grimm flew away. At this point, they did a headcount and discovered that they were missing their comrade, after which their squad leader decided that they should cautiously backtrack in an attempt to find him. After walking nearly half a mile back the way they came, they spotted his helmet and a puddle of blood, but there was nobody in sight. As they moved in to retrieve the helmet, the air was then filled with blue and orange light, as beams of similar colors speared the soldiers.
"Where is the patrol?" One of the soldiers standing guard outside asked through their comms. One man, the Captain in the charge of this area's operations, had different colors on his armor to show his rank. He reacted by placing two fingers against his ear as he was about to reply before being interrupted.
"Oh, God! He found us!" A man in civilian attire yelled out frantically, digging his fingers into his hair and pulled on it as he paced back and forth. The soldiers looked on with eyes wide, while others shrugged off his nervousness as paranoid fear. The Captain slowly lowered his hand and walked over to him, grabbing him by the arm to snap him back into reality. It had the opposite effect, however, as he yelled out in shock and tried to pull away at the sudden contact. Only after he had noticed that it was the Captain did he stop fidgeting, but still held a nervous posture as he huddled to himself as if he was trying to disappear.
"You're safe with us, sir." He told the civilian confidently and tried to sit him down on the couch, but the man quickly jumped up and backed away.
"Safe!" No, no! This man is a monster! There is no such THING as safe! If- if he wants you dead, you ARE dead! We have to run while we still can!" He screamed frantically, then tried to run out the door, but two soldiers stopped him, holding his arms as they pulled him back to the couch and forced him down. The others who were watching chuckled to themselves as they witnessed this man's outbursts.
"One man against a squadron of special forces. I doubt he will do much damage," he said calmly but also dismissively as he was getting fed up with the man's constant paranoia. Putting his fingers to his head again as he was about to issue another order.
"Sir, we got incoming Grimm." The sound of gunshots could be heard as a soldier reported on the intercom. The armored vehicle's turret turned and started to fire on the Grimm as they appeared from the forest. The men outside were able to handle the handful of Grimm but as the shots rang through the trees, more Grimm became attracted to it and they appeared from the forest's edge in steadily increasing numbers. The men had a moment to reload their weapons and ready them again but noticed that this new wave of Grimm stopped and all turned their heads in one direction. After a few moments, the Grimm lowered their heads in fear before turning around and running away.
"Sir, the Grimm are– they're falling back, sir. I've never seen anything like it!" The Captain nodded to himself as his men cheered outside, and feeling a sense of pride at this victory, he turned to face Buddy. He had been ordered by the Council in Mistral to protect him, the urgency for his safety was made clear by both Ozpin as well as Peter Port, as they explained his importance.
"If we can handle the Grimm, I am sure we can handle one man."
"NO!" Buddy yelled out again, some of the soldiers continuing to look at him with annoyance, while others with morbid curiosity wondered why he was so afraid. They pondered to themselves as to whether or he was shivering or merely shaking his head.
"No! The Grimm are not mindless! They will not stay if they know they're going to die."
"Good! If you are smart, you will not mess with the special forces." One soldier replied to try and raise the morale as more soldiers began to turn their attention to Buddy. Some were wondering why they had been sent so far from the capital just to protect one man and questioned if it was worth the resources. They looked on as Buddy began to rock back and forth on the floor of the room while he quietly whimpered to himself. The fear that he felt began to creep into the other soldiers, and they all began to feel uneasy. Buddy shook his head again and raised his head to look the Captain in the eyes.
"They were not afraid of you! They were afraid of HIM!"
A thud was then heard above, followed by a sound that could only be described as something sliding down the roof of a house before a body appeared briefly in the window and dropped to the ground with a muffled thud. The men guarding the generator left their position and went to check on their comrade, then sounds of blades cutting through the air could be heard as the four men were quickly killed. The cabin went silent as the soldiers snapped to attention, raising their rifles slowly as they began to back up against the walls and pointed their weapons at key entry points. Then the cabin went dark as the generator outside was shut off; the only source of light was now coming from the fireplace nearby, which Buddy began to huddle next to and continued to whimper quietly as his head darted from the left then to the right and back again.
Suddenly, the bulbs inside the cabin all began to burst, leaving behind a couple of sparks from their shattered remains. One of the soldiers noticed one of the bulbs, in particular, had created a small arc of electricity, which began to oscillate. It moved faster and faster as the soldier slowly approached it out of curiosity before a jolt of electricity struck him in the chest. One by one, the other soldiers were quickly killed as the other light bulbs shot similar bolts into them. Then the flames from the fire jumped up and engulfed one of the remaining soldiers, and Buddy pushed himself away from the soldier as the corporal screamed before collapsing as he lost consciousness from lack of air.
Buddy began to huddle closer to the flames that remained in the fireplace and his whimpering grew as he saw a figure begin to form in the darkness. Watching as the figure waved his hand slowly with electricity pulsing around his hands, and the remaining energy from the light bulbs disappeared.
"Afraid of the dark, Buddy?" The all too familiar voice of Ash could be heard, and even though he couldn't see the man's face, Buddy could see a grin and glowing eyes that slowly grew bigger as he approached.
"A-Ash! What are you doing here?" Buddy asked as he slowly got up and tried to hide his fear with a smile. Ash continued to slowly approach, and the fire was finally able to illuminate him. Stopping for a moment as he looked around as though just noticing the mess he had created for the first time, looking at the fallen soldiers, all of whom had black carbon on their chests where the electricity had speared them. Then, turning his attention to the charred body that he had set ablaze, he chuckled to himself and raised his head, closing his eyes before combing back his hair with his fingers, and looked back down at Buddy.
This time, his grin was gone.
Buddy quickly got up and backed away with his hands raised in the air, looking behind him as he almost tripped over one of the soldier's bodies and tears began to flow down his cheeks.
"I don't like it when people betray me, Buddy," Ash said as he advanced towards Buddy with a scimitar in each hand.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Ash! I- I would never betray you!" Buddy exclaimed as his faced expressed shock, which only grew as his back touched the wall behind him.
"Really now? You see, when I went in to kill Snyegh, it turned out that she was waiting for me along with her Huntress friend. Ironwood then came by with a detachment of soldiers. Now tell me, who would have told them that I would be coming?" Ash asked as he tilted his head with mocking curiosity, his brow furrowed in anger as he looked down at Buddy as the sniveling man slinked down on to the floor.
"It wasn't me! I swear! It was that freak, the one who always wears white and talks weird! I always knew it shouldn't have been trusted!"
"Really?" Ash asked with his eyes widened in surprise, and then laughed loudly to himself.
"Buddy, you cowardly little snake! I never thought you'd have the stones to lie to me! Since you see, I never told anyone of my plans to kill her, or at least, no one besides YOU." After that statement, Buddy's eyes grew wide and they darted from side to side as he thought of an excuse, but instead looked back up at Ash as he advanced towards him. Ash immediately stopped as he heard a click behind him, then leaned out of the way as the Captain, who was still alive, shot a holdout pistol at Ash. The shot missed, and with a quick and fluid motion, Ash lifted Buddy on to his feet then proceeded to advance towards the Captain while using Buddy as a shield. The Captain tried to aim for Ash's head, but he kept ducking behind Buddy's, preventing the Captain from getting a clear shot at the fatigue and ataxia began to take its toll. He dropped his pistol as he accepted defeat and looked up at Ash defiantly.
"You! I like you! Even when you are supposed to just keel over and die, instead you fight on," Ash said with a smile as he pushed Buddy away and gazed down at the Captain, who in turn continued to look at him with eyes narrowed.
"However, I am pressed for time, so I'll have to make this quick." Ash sighed, then knelt down and gripped the Captain's throat, lifting him in the air so that his feet were dangling just inches from the floor. His body began to convulse, and he stared wide-eyed at Ash while he shakily gripped his wrist in an attempt to get him to loosen his grip. Ash then twisted his hand and snapped the Captain's neck easily, then let go and watched the body fall on to the floor with a sick grin. After a few moments, he turned back to Buddy to see that he was trying to make a hasty retreat, and escape through the window.
"I don't like loose ends, Buddy. I will deal with the traitor Ossea myself, and I do hope it has better protection than these sorry sots." He then connected the hilts of his scimitars together and as they touched, an electric charge pulsed through the blades, arcing at the tips and connecting opposite the curve. The discharge of electricity kept the two blades connected and formed a shape similar to a bow.
"Electricity, or fire?" he asked Buddy as he curled two fingers together and hovered it over the handle of his "bow". Buddy began to cry as he fell on his knees and noticed that Ash was plucking at the arc of electricity, pulling it back as though it were a bowstring. As he pulled his fingers away, a blue "arrow" of electrical current spawned between his fingers, which grew larger and larger as he continued to pull. Buddy's fear intensified as the light in the fireplace died out, and the only light remaining was that of the arrow which pulsed and crackled, while illuminating Ash's face. The last thing that Buddy saw was a sick and twisted grin, which glowed in the darkness as Ash let the arrow fly; as it flew, it left Ash's face bathed in a profound darkness that was not unlike his soul.
0-RWBY-0
While leaning against the wall with her arms folded, Cinder's patience grew thin as she waited while tapping her foot on the floor. The tapping echoed through the corridor, which she eventually turned into a rhythm subconsciously while also wondering to herself why Ash was allowed to come back. She mused that having been offered such clemency after such an epic infraction, he could at least show his gratitude by being at least remotely punctual. After a few moments, the second set of footfalls could be heard, and Ash emerged from around the corner at the end of the hallway. He stopped in front of Cinder with a grin that wasn't directed at her but was merely the result of the fun that he'd just had. Cinder noticed that he was slowly coming back to reality after being lost in thought, as he turned his head around to identify where he was, before turning his gaze to Cinder.
"You're late. You're always late," she said to him before he was able to get in a greeting and began to walk down the hallway while motioning for him to follow.
"Oh please. Why should I be on time if I don't even know why I'm here?" he asked with a scoff, again, looking around as he walked behind her and noticing how much of the building had changed since he was last here. For example, he noticed that it was much cleaner and tidier than he had left it.
"He wants to have a chat with both of us."
"Have you been complaining about my coming back, Cinder?" he asked in a patronizing tone and pursed his lips to imitate someone crying. She immediately turned around and stopped as she noticed the face he was making. As usual, she was annoyed at his childish behavior, which could be seen in her furious scowl at him.
"I was not complaining, but instead I brought up legitimate concerns about letting you come back. It is almost time to move, and we can't have you screwing things up," she told him sternly.
"Aww, and here I thought we could still be friends, at least," he said while trying to run his hand down her cheek; Cinder quickly reacted by grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm. His body reeled to the right as he tried to ignore the pain, and was laughing to himself maniacally as he looked Cinder in the eyes, which began to glow orange. Cinder thought about burning him right then and there, but then something pinged in her mind, something that caused her eyes to immediately turn back to normal. The thought made her flinch and freeze in position while staring at nothing. Ash noticed, and his grin grew wider.
"He is telling you to calm down, isn't he?" He asked her in a mocking tone. She swallowed back, then let go of his wrist and quickly turned around to continue to walk to their destination, but this time at a quicker pace. After a couple turns down the corridor, Cinder stopped at a set of double doors and silently waited for Ash to catch up. When he finally arrived, she noticed that his grin was gone and that he began to fix his hair with some pomade. After he was done, he looked down at Cinder and nodded to her to signal that he was ready. They both slowly opened the doors, which lead into a room that was similar to Cinder's: a fireplace at one end, with two chairs set up in front of it with no other source of light except for the fire roaring in the hearth. The curtains were arranged a little bit more neatly, and there weren't any books lying around like there were in Cinder's. As they approached the fireplace, they could see someone sitting in one of the chairs, but they couldn't see his face, as he wore a hood to cover it.
Cinder stopped just short of the second chair and stood with her hands together in front of her while Ash grinned lightly at her. He stepped forward to take the empty chair before the man raised his hand and motioned for him to stop. Ash froze immediately and his grin disappeared when the hand then motioned for him to back away. Ash responded with a hesitant bow before returning to stand beside Cinder.
"You two would fight each other while I am here?" he said to both of them with a hint of concern in his voice. Cinder turned to Ash, who swallowed nervously and kept his hands behind him as he stood straight and at attention.
"It is almost time to make our next move. I can't have my best clawing at each other's throats."
They both bowed their heads in response, but Cinder shifted in position as she desperately wanted to speak. Ash noticed her body language immediately and the figure seemed to know what her concern was about but waved a hand to stop her before she could utter a word.
"Now, to address Cinder's concern about you, Ash. She has raised some interesting points: why should I let you come back, let alone live?" Ash took a deep breath when the question was asked while Cinder grinned to herself and looked back at him as she waited to hear a wrong answer that would allow her to kill him.
"I am a people person, first of all. I can manipulate people to do my bidding, which is really yours, and I am really very, VERY good at killing." His face twisted into a wide grin when he brought up the part about killing.
"You are right. You can do those things, especially the part about killing, which can be a good thing. Except when you kill the wrong person!" The hooded figure growled at Ash and Cinder, both noticing a black Aura begin to shroud him, which seemed to distort the air around his form.
"I knew Snyegh for a long time. I cared for her, and I had hoped to make her see reason, to see that this was the best way." As he said this, the Aura around him slowly died down and turned to white as he began to calm himself.
"Yes, but we both know that she would not have joined us, and that made her dangerous," Ash explained and remembered that the last time they talked, it was when he had first killed Snyegh. As Ash recalled, his Master would not even listen to his reasons, and instead issued a kill-on-sight order. The figure's Aura slowly disappeared, and for some strange reason, the room around them went cold.
"True. She would be dangerous to us if she didn't join. I often envied the sense of hope that she had for the future. For a moment, that had blinded me to our mission, but now with that distraction out of the way, we can move forward. I won't say that what you did was correct, but I will not hold it against you. However, if you do anything that endangers our mission again, my hands will be the first around your throat!" Ash swallowed nervously behind his grin as he bowed his head in reply.
"Thank you for your mercy," he said in a tone that caused set Cinder off, as she thought he was making a mockery of the man.
"You can't be serious! He is a loose cannon, you can't control him!" she yelled out, but then realized she had stepped out of line and backed away. The figure, however, did not react immediately to this outburst but instead hummed as he thought.
"I have noticed this of you, Ash. To work with us again, you must obey our rules, and how we go about doing things. You will take orders directly from me and you will comply with them to the letter," Ash's grin vanished, and he nodded slowly in response. Cinder attempted to speak again, but this time the figure suddenly threw a pitcher of water into the fire, and the room went dark as the flames were extinguished with a hiss and a cloud of white smoke that went unseen in the sudden black.
"Let your eyes adjust, you two." The figure said in the darkness, with Ash and Cinder not knowing where it came from as it seemed to echo and originate from all around them. For a few moments, Cinder thought that she could see a figure in the darkness, but concluded they were only silhouettes of the objects around her. Ash, however, had his eyes closed and was breathing slowly as he was calm, and was waiting for his leader. Then a light suddenly appeared in the darkness, originating from a candle which illuminated the hand holding it, but not the person.
"Do you see how the darkness attempts to enshroud the light? The darkness is just the absence of light; you can never erase the shadow. As long as there is light, erasing shadows will do no good. Two sides of the same coin, only when the light ceases will the darkness then lose its meaning."
Ash and Cinder both stared at the light but at first, it blinded the both of them. Cinder began to look around to see if she could see anything around her, but because of the light from the candle, the silhouettes had disappeared, so she centered her vision solely on the light.
"Beacon. Signal. What is the significance of these two words?" As he asked, Ash and Cinder then looked back to one another, asking each other with their eyes as to what the point of the question was before they both pondered the answer.
"They were the first combat School and Huntsmen Academy," Ash responded, and Cinder looked at him, then back at the candle.
"True. For when the world was reborn under the darkness, which was fueled by hate and misery, humanity succeeded in surviving and thrived thanks to the Huntsmen and Huntresses. However, this is not the full answer to my question." Cinder could then feel a gaze being trained on to her, leaving her frozen as she wondered if it was "him" looking at her, but she wasn't able to determine that.
"Both words point to a light, a light that is meant to guide the way," she responded after a few seconds, which felt like minutes to her.
"Exactly. When the first Huntsmen Academies were formed, they were 'beacons' and 'signals', for humanity, meant to give them hope and a light to lead them through the dark path. As the darkness continues to encroach upon the light more and more, the more the people will look to it in the hopes that they will be delivered."
"And forgetting that even the light can be just as blinding as the darkness," Ash said quietly, making Cinder turn her head quickly, as this response surprised her. She sighed in wonder to herself as to how these wise words could come from someone who could only be described as cold and cruel. Even the figure was surprised by this, as he did not answer immediately.
"Focusing so hard on the light to save them that they don't realize that even the light holds its own dark secrets," Ash said while gritting his teeth as he grinned and narrowing his eyes on the candle.
"Exactly. There is no such thing as good, nor evil, and there is especially no altruism in this world! Their hate, greed, and lies destroy what so many have sacrificed to make. Even through their hate, their insidiousness, and their lies, they believe they can save a world that is not worth saving." As the figure concluded, his dark Aura appeared, which again distorted the air around him. Even through the darkness of the room, the distortions and the Aura could still be seen. As Cinder quietly thought to herself, she narrowed her eyes and smiled as she felt a new sense of determination for their mission. Ash's grin grew wider and it was wider than Cinder had ever seen.
"After years of preparing, we can finally make our move. Ash, go now and tend to our enemies. Continue to plant and nurture the seed of division among them." Ash looked up with his grin and his eyes widened as he let out a loud, manic laugh.
"Finally! Unleash me!" He said as he laughed uproariously, and covered his face, his laughter dying little by little before he finally concluded with a sigh. "This is going to be good."
Cinder stood straight and re-lit the fire in the fireplace despite the logs being wet. She smiled to herself when Ash had finally left the room, leaving her and the figure alone in the room. After a moment, he slowly began to sit back down.
"Although I'd never admit it in front of him, you were always my favorite, Cinder. Your fire burns as brightly as your Semblance, and now it is time for the world's fire to burn out."
"I am ready, sir. We have prepared for this for a long time," she responded.
"You are right; we have been preparing for a long time. If you feel we are ready, I believe it is safe to say that we can proceed to the next phase of our plans."
0-RWBY-0
Back at Beacon, Ozpin was standing in front of his desk while facing the windows as they slowly went dark, and images began to appear. The images began to show the silhouettes of the Council of Vale with their faces hidden to protect their identities, while another, a smaller image appeared on the side, which revealed that it was Ironwood on the other end. He quietly looked down and was whispering to the technicians that were with him, making preparations and final checks to make sure that the communications were secure.
"Let us begin this meeting," said one of the council members who was a male whose voice sounded young, which conflated with his impression that the Council member was a young man.
"Have you had the time to think about our request, Ozpin?" asked another Council member; this time the voice belonged to a female.
"I understand that you want one of my teams to undertake a mission against the White Fang," he responded while standing with his hands behind his back, with Glynda watching on the side, staying out of view of the Council members, as well as Ironwood. Ironwood then looked down on his to his scroll to input some information. During this distraction, Ozpin looked towards his desk to see the four folders that he had left collecting dust over the past few weeks.
"They threaten the peace, here in Vale as well as the other Kingdoms. Although we know that your students are just children, Mistral feels that this cell group is plotting a major attack."
"Call upon the military, then. This is not a mission for my students, and they do not need to be involved in this ridiculous conflict." Ozpin responded with a hint of aggression and assertiveness in his voice.
"Watch your tone, Ozpin! You are leading the security for this year's Vytal Festival, and you will help with any security concern, military or otherwise!" replied another male, but this one sounded older and more mature. Ozpin sighed to himself, and hesitantly nodded in reply; upon seeing this sign of defeat, Glynda hung her head and closed her eyes. Ozpin then thought to himself for a moment as to the different teams he could have chosen. He wondered back on the beaming faces of RWBY and JNPR, thinking that this was not something that they, nor any of his students, should be undertaking.
"I've already sent you the information of the team I thought would be best to handle this mission," Ozpin replied.
"Yes, we saw the files you sent to us. A Faunus, two disgraced erstwhile soldiers, and a Ghost. Ironwood, what are your thoughts on this?" Ironwood then stood straighter when his name was mentioned and looked from side to side, as he had been caught off guard.
"I believe they will do well. I have no objections." He responded and a hint of concern flashed on his face as he looked down at the image of Ozpin.
"That settles it. Team HAVC will be deployed to Mistral. We will first contact Penumbra Lipesce to make preparations, and he will contact you when he is ready to receive your team at your earliest convenience." As he finished his sentence and the meeting was concluded, the images of the Council disappeared, while Ironwood's image grew larger.
"You really think that this is the best team, Ozpin?" Ironwood asked with concern in his voice.
Ozpin shook his head and sighed, not reacting when Glynda appeared from behind and put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"They will not be happy when I inform them of this," Ozpin said quietly to Glynda but was still audible enough for Ironwood to hear.
"If it helps, I can get on a call to talk to them as well," Ironwood said with a shrug.
"Perhaps. Maybe it will help since we can both help to reason with the students. I am mostly worried as to what Haiiden's reaction will be," Ironwood sighed and wanted to scratch the back of his head, but instead looked away.
"We both know that there was nothing I could have done. It was outside of my purview as a Captain at the time."
"I know," replied Ozpin. "It hit him hard, and he has continued to carry that ever since."
All of a sudden, another image then appeared on the screen, and Ironwood turned to his subordinates and began to yell angrily about this breach in their security. After a few moments, they realized that all that was shown was a static image.
"The 'King' has begun to move," said Qrow, but his voice was warbled and choppy through the forced connection. Ozpin and Ironwood both narrowed their eyes at the mention of the "King", then look towards Qrow's frame.
"Also... his 'Bishop' has returned." The mention of the Bishop took Ironwood by surprise, turning around for his subordinates to leave while Ozpin continued to stare at the screen.
"Keep your distance, for now, Qrow. This isn't the time for revenge, as we need to keep watching and counter them at any turn. We also cannot risk losing any more friends because of him," Ozpin told Qrow, who didn't respond but instead, the image flickered a couple times before it disappeared as the connection was cut.