Chapter 59
(AN: Sorry for the super long wait - I hit a big writer's block and ended up going through a mental retreat to get myself back on track. It's been rough finding time to write since the new college semester has been rough, but I plan on continuing the story, especially since Volume 9 is close to releasing in just a handful of months. Thanks to RokenDarkly and Triscythe59 for helping with this chapter, as well as any and all future planning.)
I gave a short wave goodbye as Clover and Qrow entered another room, probably another interrogation room. Turning back, Emerald and I headed down the hallway, towards the infirmary and one of its heavily guarded rooms.
Locating the one with Liya inside wasn't hard with how many guards were posted around. Dove and Sky were guarding what I hoped was the only entrance in. "I need to see both of your IDs please," Dove asked and stepped forward when Em and I got close enough, with Sky blocking off the door.
"Have you gotten a lot of people coming through?" I asked curiously but complying, Em following suit.
"Doctors mostly," Dove said as he looked over the IDs, returning to his precious position once he was satisfied. Though, he didn't look through them for very long - he seemed confident that it was really us. "But with all the infiltrators Salem seems to have, we need to play it safe."
I nodded in grim understanding, before I entered the room. It was the same room as before, but with a few Atlesian Knights protecting the patient. Cardin stood by as well, looking very vigilant and concerned. It was clear he was stressed - and I couldn't help but feel sympathetic. I haven't been feeling very relaxed either. Biscuit sat at the floor of the bed, asleep. It looked like he hadn't left the room either, much less moved from that one spot.
"How is she?" I asked Cardin as he stood in place, watching over Liya.
"Nothing's changed so far. That's probably a good thing, right?" Cardin asked.
"Yeah. Means nothing's getting worse," Markus said as he eyed his partner. Sighing, he reached over and stroked Biscuit's ears - the sleeping dog growling softly in his sleep. I spent about ten minutes there, chatting with Emerald and Cardin and petting Biscuit. "Take good care of her boy." I whispered to the still sleeping Biscuit, before I let myself out, Emerald still petting him.
I couldn't look at my partner for too long without potentially breaking down. Burns, lacerations and more injuries littered enough of her body to leave her looking partially mummified. I know that the amount of care they were giving her was probably unnecessary, they just needed to ensure their Winter Maiden didn't have any complications whatsoever, but the sight still retched my heart.
That fact that I didn't know if she'd wake up again just made it a hundred times worse.
When I was gone, I felt my smile slip off my face. I was pissed, my determined march cluing in any soldiers that were quick to get out of my way. The glare that refused to leave my face likely didn't help.
"Hey Markus, wait up." I turned to see Emerald catching up to me after my abrupt departure. "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked.
"I've come to a realization," I said as we made our way to the cell block. "I haven't been doing enough. Because of me, Liya's trapped in a coma. She's a target, and until I find out who's been targeting her, she'll remain in danger. Despite everything I still almost lost someone I love," I continued as a snarl took over my face. "That ends now."
There was some silence for what felt like a few minutes, and I looked back to Emerald to see a somewhat worried expression. Why was she worried? "I understand, I'd be reacting the same way if that was you in that bed. But what exactly are you planning to do, to just attack anyone you see as a threat?" Emerald asked.
"No." I responded curtly. That would just make things worse. I'd be too distracted with false leads, and if word got out to civilians about it, things would turn ugly fast. Fortunately we still had a lead, three in fact. "I just need to have a talk with some of these people."
Not long after I said that, we arrived at my destination, the cells holding the captured infiltrators.
"State your business," The guard posted outside the cell demanded.
"I'm here to interrogate the inmate," I said.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that sir. I was given orders to not allow anyone in or out."
I was quick to bring out my scroll and flash my ID to the guard. "I am Specialist Onissa. I'm sure I don't need to explain how I outrank whoever gave the order."
I didn't let the guard respond as I pushed past the guard as I unlocked the door and entered the room. "Keep an eye on things for me, please?" I asked Emerald as she tried to follow me in. I couldn't let her though. I didn't want her to see what I was about to do.
She looked unhappy with the request, but gave a nod and didn't try to follow. Closing the door and locking it, I turned toward the bandit handcuffed to the table. He was relatively short, but well built. He had a scar on his forehead and a birthmark on his neck.
"What's this? Is it lunch already?" the man asked smugly.
"I'm here to ask some questions, and you're going to give me everything you know. Everything."
"Tsk, I already said everything I know, ain't my fault you can't make use of it," The man smirked, like he thought he was untouchable. Knowing how interrogation was supposed to work, he likely was.
And you know what? That didn't anger me, actually it made me quite happy. The smile making its way into my face proved as much, causing the man to relax furthur, confident that he was in the clear.
"Now I won't regret this," I thought as I sucker punched him across the face. A meaty thwack echoed around the room as his head snapped to the side, a bruise already forming due to his suppressed Aura. The chair nearly tipped over, and he probably would've fallen were it not for the handcuffs attached to the table.
I didn't give him a chance to gather himself as I was quick to grab his hair and forced him to face me and look me in the eye. "Tell me everything you know about Salem, any plans you have, everything," I all but demanded, my voice coming out silky smooth from his perspective, even if in reality it was more of a snarl.
"I-I…I d-don't," He tried to mumble, still trying to gather himself from the near knockout inducing punch.
"You do. Go on, you can tell me." I insisted, as I continued to push in more aura into the semblance.
All he could do was cough and gasp for breath as my vision drilled down through his own.
- Atlas Military Complex: Interrogation Room -
Clover and Qrow reentered Stella's room - where she was still in cuffs. Her restraints would remain necessary, but due to her cooperation and wanting to stay on her good side, Clover had seen to it that her stay here would be more comfortable.
One of the first things she was given was a proper - and rather comfortable - bunk for her to sleep on, than forcing her to stay chained to the table like her friend's. She was currently using it, but was quick to sit up when she saw who it was that entered, her movements freer as while the chain's were now attached to the wall behind her, they were long and allowed more movement.
"If you guys are going to disturb me, at least bring the eye candy along." Stella grumbled but with no real bite to it.
"She's quite the busy woman, we were quite lucky she was able to help us honestly." Qrow said, as Robyn mentioned earlier, how she needed to check up on some of the people from Mantle.
A grin came to his face quickly as he figured that messing with her wouldn't be a problem, it would probably help her relax if anything. "Who knows though? Maybe she's planning that special reward for you that she promised."
Clover gave him a disapproving glower for essentially throwing Robyn under the bus like that, however Qrow just continued to grin evilly. Stella perked up at the reminder, matching Qrow's grin in its intensity.
"Tell her not to keep me waiting too long then," Stella said, before she smoothed her expression, knowing that the two huntsmen weren't here for idle chat. However she decided that if she was going to answer any of their questions, they could answer some of hers as well. "So what was the emergency about yesterday?"
Qrows grin was equally wiped off his face at the question. Yesterday had been a shit show, and it was almost unbelievable how lucky they had honestly gotten. Freya may have been damn near senile, but her age proved how ferocious and powerful she must have been to survive so long. At the moment they had no idea who had attacked her, not until Liya woke up.
"An unknown individual- probably with you - snuck into the base and attacked some of the personnel," Clover responded in Qrows stead, wanting to keep as many details close to their chests as they could. While Stella could prove useful, he did not let himself forget that she was sided with Salem, and more importantly, more interested in her own personal well-being.
Stella gave a light intake of breath. "What did they want?" She quickly questioned. She hoped it wasn't to tie up any loose ends.
"They attempted to assassinate one of our soldiers. However they proved unsuccessful and were forced to retreat," Clover continued, as the two men each finally took a seat.
"The kid that knows how to kill the Grimm bitch?" Stella asked, it probably wasn't him because Salem had wanted him alive, and those that worked for her probably weren't disloyal enough to disobey. But they had never directly answered her previous question about the boy, so it would help to try and explain the interest that Salem had for him. If she was going to gamble her life, then she needed to be sure that they could pull this off.
"No, not him," Qrow answered with a contemplative frown. He didn't know if Stella's assumption was all her own, if Salem truly thought that Markus knew how to kill her. But no that couldn't be the case, she wouldn't be so lax in trying to capture him then.
Honestly Qrow would have loved it if that was the case, but unfortunately they still had to figure that particular detail out. Still, if Stella thought Markus was their ticket to victory then he wouldn't correct her.
"Good, good," Stella replied, as long as that kid didn't die she didn't care who it was.
"But we won't be able to make proper use of his knowledge if Salem counters us at every turn," Clover said, getting the attention back on him. "We've answered some of your questions, do the same for ours and we can ensure she can't hurt anyone else."
"Yeah, just get on with it," Stella grunted. She still intended to 'help' them, her mind already made up the day before. While the potential of someone coming to end her while she was still locked up was more than a little disconcerting, if she was going to die anyways she was going to ensure she took them down with her. As long as she made it out of this shit hole and out from under that bitch.
"Thank you." Clover said amicably. "We know that the flying whale Grimm, dubbed 'Monstra', is Salem's current base of operations. Were you and you men there before being dropped off for your mission?"
"Ugh don't remind me of that disgusting thing," Stella said as she scrunched her nose like she smelled something particularly bad. "The thing was built like a fortress inside, but you could never forget the fact that you were inside the stomach of something when the walls moved."
And that's how the interrogation continued for almost an hour, Clover or Qrow asking Stella a question and letting her talk to her heart's content. When she'd finish, she would typically ask one of her own. Most times the questions were easy enough to answer, so the two huntsmen obliged her. And when the information was classified they wouldn't answer, she'd typically grumble and complain, but after a while she'd just drop it or they'd give her something to appease her.
"And then that bastard has the audacity to talk down to Jackie, and tell her how we were mere pawns with meaningless sacrifices," Stella spoke with genuine hate as she recounted the events before they were sent on their 'mission'. "Bastard's lucky he had that Grimm looking after his spindly ass."
"And who is this individual? They'd have to be at least somewhat important to have a Grimm protecting them." Clover asked.
They had some idea of the man's identity, based on the rough characterisation Stella used for him. With Markus's detailed descriptions as well, it would have to be Arthur Watts, unless Salem had recruited yet another smug beanpole as one of her lieutenants.
But the clear animosity Stella held for the man is what they were more after. It could be an easy thing to direct, and any more reasons for her to snitch on Salem, the better.
"He surely likes to think so," Stella scoffed. "Always smug, like he's always one step ahead of you." She continued, before she gave a menacing smile. "If that was the case though, he wouldn't need that guard dog."
"That's probably the Hound," Qrow said, recalling an intelligent wolf-like Grimm from Markus's warnings. "Big, mask covering most of its head, no eyes and looks like a dog?"
"Yeah," Stella said as she mentally rolled her eyes. Of course the big dog was called the hound, while they decided to name a whale Monsta. "Thing was apparently never far from him, but it kept out of sight. Snuck up on all of us as we thought of giving Watts a piece of our minds," She continued before shivering lightly, remembering how quiet the beast was, and yet a sense of danger just screamed as soon as you realized it was there.
"it just growled at us, but that was enough to keepmost of us from acting. From there the other's went back to packing those weapons taken from the White Fang. While I was sent off with a few others to dress up and begin the infiltration."
"Something actually survived the explosion?" Qrow asked with an eyebrow raised in disbelief.
Stella just shrugged. She'd been told that the weapons came from those animals, but for all she knew they could have always had them. It didn't make a difference to her.
"Why wouldn't Salem try to recruit them then? We know one of her lieutenants was down there at the time, surely more manpower would have been useful," Clover asked when Stella didn't continue.
"Beyond the prick calling them incompetent? I couldn't say, never met the fuckers. Probably more trouble than they were worth though," Stella said, feeling no sympathy for them.
"So for this mission, how many others came along with you and what were your objectives?" Clover asked.
"Nah, my turn to get some answers." Stella said as she shook her head. "I wanna know what happens to my boys after this. Lots of them are still under that bitch's thumb."
"We can't make any promises that they'll all live, but if your information is accurate we can end this quickly. They wouldn't have to die," Clover responded.
"Why not just let me convince them to bail? They'll listen to me, but you need to tell me how you're going to kill this bitch, I need reassurances." Stella said. She'd tried a few times to get them to explain that little detail to her, but they'd typically brush her off with, 'You could be a spy and tell Salem' or 'Don't worry about it'.
Well tough shit. She'd been answering all their questions without any fuss, and the only time she complained was when they refused to answer. While the info she had given so far wouldn't be too incriminating, she doubted Salem would forgive any type of talking, unless she somehow managed to convince her she was acting as a double agent.
She could keep that idea in the back of her mind, but right now she needed to know how they'd beat her.
"Giving out that information has the potential-" Clover said in a voice that said he'd repeated this exact sentence many times before, but was quickly cut off.
"Oh fuck off!" Stella shouted. "I'm putting my ass on the line here!"
"And we appreciate it, but you have to understand-" Clover tried to calm her down.
"Then prove it by telling me!" Stella continued shouting, as she lurched forward as best she could, the chain's connected to the walls going taunt. "Do you even have an actual plan?!" She shouted some more, her own doubts creeping in.
"We do. But Salem is a tough opponent, we can't take unnecessary risks." Clover continued after he quickly backed away from Stella. Qrow meanwhile was occupied with telling the guards outside that everything was fine, after they heard the commotion.
"Then why haven't you killed her yet?" Stella said, calmer. "If you can, then why wait until now, when she's right outside?"
Clover could only curse inside his mind. He had hoped they could get more from her before this happened, however unfortunately it seemed his luck had run out, he needed to find a way to diffuse the situation.
"We'll tell you," Qrow said once he came back inside, stepping in between the two.
There was no way he could tell her that Salem was immortal. Nor that Markus didn't really know how to kill her. But he'd dealt with worse situation's, he could do this.
"If you can tell us how many people were with you, and what your objectives were, I'll be able to convince the General to tell you everything you want to know. And if you behave yourself, I can try and get a pardon for all of you."
Stella knew he was likely bluffing, but there was little she could do about the situation. This was the best she was probably going to get, so she sat back down.
"We didn't know what the others had to do, could've been just to cause some chaos for all I know. I was tasked with trying to look into your security system and find where the kid is, you'll have to ask the others for what they needed to do. Assuming you have them."
"How many of you are here?" Clover asked.
"Six," Stella answered.
"Do you mean six in total?" Qrow asked with a worried frown.
"Yeah. Why?" Stella asked.
Stella wasn't lying - the two knew that. But Qrow and Clover were completely aware that there were currently six captured infiltrators already awaiting further interrogation.
But Clover remembered there being seven missing soldiers the moment they were alerted to intruders in the complex.
- POV: Pyrrha -
Pyrrha slammed her shield into the Beowolf before backflipping, landing for a second before bouncing back up into the air, driving her javelin down onto an Ursa that tried to swipe at her from behind.
Jaune smashed into the nearest Sabyr with his shield, the field of gravity Dust sending it flying into the rocks with enough force to shatter it. Sighing, Jaune turned to see a Goliath stampeding towards him, its trunk flailing as it screeched. "Pyrrha?" he called as he raised his shield.
"On it!" Pyrrha shouted as she vaulted over a nearby rock and landed atop Jaune's raised shield, her boots magnetically clamped to the shield thanks to her semblance. "Wait..."
The Goliath was less than twenty meters away now, and Pyrrha closed one eye, her weapon held out in front of her as Jaune held her up with impressive strength. "Now!" she shouted.
Jaune roared and lunged forward, firing off the gravity Dust as Pyrrha shut down her semblance at the same time. Launching like a bullet, Pyrrha's spear pierced right into the Goliath with enough force to shatter the plating and bury most of the polearm into the flesh of the Grimm.
At once, the creature toppled over, now nothing but a corpse that began to fade away. Pyrrha got up and brushed herself off, before picking her weapon up. "Looks like this area is clear," she said.
"Ren and Nora are almost done with their section," Jaune said as he texted back to his teammates before he pocketed his scroll. Sighing, he looked around at the wrecked cityscape around them. Even though it'd been so long since Mantle fell, black smoke and smoggy dust was still visible. "So, we're back in Mantle."
"Indeed. General Ironwood hasn't explained to us why he needed us to fight down here," Pyrrha said. "I don't suppose he plans on taking the city back?"
"I don't think so. We'll ask once we head back," Jaune said. "You wonder if team RWBY's doing alright?"
"I hope so. Ever since Weiss came back, she's been very worried. And if she's worried, her friends are bound to worry as well. It makes me wonder if her family is doing alright," Pyrrha said. She looked down, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "It makes me wonder if my family will be alright."
"Hey, everything's going to work out," Jaune said. "I worry about my family too, but...well, they're all in Argus - a whole continent away! So are your parents."
"I know they're far, but that won't matter if we fail," Pyrrha said. "If we lose Atlas, the relics, and the maidens..."
"Hey, we'll stop them," Jaune said. "We have Markus and-"
"Will that be enough?" Pyrrha whispered. Jaune fell silent, and the redheaded warrior continued to speak. "The only difference between now and the destruction of our world is him. And he's just like us - stuck in something too big for us to comprehend."
"I know he has a lot on his plate, but he has all of us to help him," Jaune reassured.
"Does he know that? How do we know if he's been accepting help, or if he's been trying to shoulder the burden on his own. Because he feels it's the only thing he can do?" Pyrrha asked, remembering how she used to do that same as the Invincible Girl. She looked over at Jaune. "How do we know if he's alright if he has the weight of everything riding on him?"
Jaune was quiet. And he remained quiet, for he had no answer.
- POV: Markus -
Emerald waited for me as I left the room. I'd just interrogated the third captured infiltrator. I was certain now that I got all the answers I could possibly get, Salem had recruited these people to find me, as well as cause discord and mayhem throughout Atlas Academy and its military complex.
It helped to use Vocal Persuasion - I hadn't forgotten that Jacquelin had used it on me when Emerald and I were still prisoners of her tribe. Though, I was a little bit forceful with the prisoners - demanding as I slowly pushed my semblance on them. Despite using it, I couldn't get any answers involving Salem's plans of an attack, or any of her motives. All that I was able to learn was that Salem wanted me captured for some reason.
Yet, that little fact didn't really scare me - it more or less pissed me off. Everything that had happened was because of Salem, and I wanted to just get this over and done with as quickly as possible. Yet, there was no way for me to know how Salem could be properly defeated without all of the relics, especially since she triumphed in Atlas before.
"You alright?" Emerald asked as she took my arm, smiling up at me.
Sighing, I wiped my forehead. "I'm alright," I said as I felt my arms get cold. Running out of aura was always an odd feeling, and one that induced anxiety - like a blanket being ripped off you on a cold night. "I just need a rest. I can continue later."
Emerald leaned on me, and I instinctively leaned back on her. "Just be careful," she said, somewhat concerned. "It's been a while since we had time to ourselves. And...I wanna make sure you're feeling okay."
"I'll be fine," I said as I heard a door open down the hallway. Clover and Qrow walked towards me, their faces looking indifferent. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Just checking up on you," Clover said. "The General wants to make sure you aren't burning yourself out. And he wanted to make sure you're feeling alright." It didn't take a genius to know he was referring to Liya's current state, and how I was acting because of it.
"Don't worry, I'm not," I said. "What about James? Did he come to a decision?"
Clover grinned. "As a matter of fact, he did. He chose to redirect power to the city," he said, which surprised me. While there were many reasons why that was a bad idea, there were likely even more if the opposite decision was picked - at least, that's probably what General Ironwood thought. "And he's coming up with a new plan to draw Salem's attention away from Atlas itself."
I felt stupid immediately when he said that. Why didn't I think of that? Keeping Salem's attention from Atlas would have been such a good way to keep the people safe. And we wouldn't need to sacrifice the defenses on Atlas either. "That sounds great," I said, trying to sound excited, but feeling more embarrassed and inadequate than anything.
"Heh don't worry about it so much kid," Qrow said, having picked up on my feeling. "It's why he's the leader. If anyone's expected to have the answers, it's him."
I know his words were supposed to be reassuring, and I certainly appreciated the effort, and yet the words rang so close to the doubts I kept having.
"Thanks," I said, trying to give my best attempt at a smile, but I couldn't keep the weary look off my face. "Even so we should help out as much as possible. Have you guys gotten any more answers out of Stella?"
The looks I received told me how unsubtle I was about the topic change, but I didn't care right now. Qrow and Clover would excuse it as stress anyways. "Remarkable success actually," Clover said. "We know alot about Salem's potential motives, plans, and current power base."
"So we'll be finally able to take the fight to her," Emerald asked what we were both thinking.
"That and potentially more," Qrow said with a crooked grin, before it fell away to a frown. "We've just hit a few potential snags though."
"What?" I hurringly asked, I couldn't take any more surprises that had the chance of blowing up in our faces.
"Our biggest issue is that we have an agent unaccounted for, lurking out here in the base somewhere. Likely being the one that attacked the Winter Maiden," Qrow said.
I clenched my fists at the reminder, having to actively stop them from shaking. How did someone else manage to sneak in? How did they know how to get to the Winter Maiden? But more importantly, where could I find them? Because I sure as hell was going to make them pay.
"The second issue is something we may need your help with," Clover continued after Qrow, drawing my attention back to the conversation. What would they need me for? "Stella has since stopped giving us information, until such time that she gets to see you and have a talk."
"Why does she want to talk to me?" I asked with a suspicious frown. As far as I knew I had nothing to offer her, but now that I knew that one of her and the rest of her buddies' missions was to capture and deliver me to Salem, it wouldn't be entirely out of the realm of possibility that she wanted to complete said mission. Unlikely with her being locked up and all, but not impossible.
"Salem wanted you captured and brought to her," Qrow said it like it was supposed to be some huge reveal to me. "Because of how important you seemed, she got it into her head that you have knowledge on how to kill Salem".
"Kill Salem?" I blinked, asking rather dumbly even for myself. Though it did manage to hide my lack of reaction to Qrows first sentence, even if he was a bit suspicious about it. "What makes her think that I could do that?"
"Easier than believing in time travel," Qrow said with a shrug. "Helps her explain why you're so important to us, and why Salem wants you so desperately."
"So what? You want Markus to go in there and convince her that he can actually do that?" Emerald asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow.
"We can try and brainstorm how we'll explain it," Clover was quick to jump in. "We'll keep it vague, but give enough details to satisfy her. It doesn't even need to be truthful, as long as it convinces her and we can get her on our side-"
"Whoah whoah whoah whoah whoah. Whoah. What do you mean on our side?" I asked with more than just a little bit of disbelief. Why would they ever think having the second in command of a bandit tribe on our side was smart? Especially one that admitted to being after me.
"Look, we know it's risky," Qrow tried to reassure me. "But doing this lets us kill two Nevermore with one bullet. We get more info on Salem, and we deprive her of her allies. It's not like they'll be fighting side by side with us, we'll just make sure they take a hike as far as possible away from here."
"You really want to put your faith in her?" I asked with a frown. "She tried to kill me multiple times. Even after they held me and Em hostage. And she's a bit of a creep."
"Believe me, we know," Clover said, his face wrinkling at the thought of something - whatever that something was, I didn't know..
"The potential reward outweighs the risk." Qrow continued, before giving me a deadpan look as he crossed his arms. "And you of all people should be onboard with this. With seducing ex-criminals and all."
An angry frown quickly came to my face. Qrow was completely correct in what he said, but that didn't stop the anger from the perceived slight against my girlfriend. Emerald had frowned as well and crossed her arms, but I could tell that was more out of guilt than anger.
Realizing how that potentially sounded, Qrow winced and was quick to apologize and assure us that wasn't what he meant. All the while internally cursing his big mouth. "You don't need to," Clover said as he placed a hand on Qrows shoulder and tried to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere. "We can find another way-"
"I'll do it." I cut Clover off, before releasing a big enough sigh to cause me to slump. Wrapping an arm around Emerald, I looked back up at the two silent men. "I trust you guys. So if you think this will work, then I'm willing to take the chance, just give me a few minutes to grab a bite and recover my Aura."
"You were training?" Clover asked as he and Qrow followed us from behind.
"Not quite," I answered a bit more cryptically than I'd like, as I led the way.
Entering the mess hall and grabbing a quick bite was a simple affair, the food being laid out like at an all you can eat buffet, as cooks kept watched and refilled. Meals were constantly being provided as soldiers changed over rotations, causing a steady stream of people entering and leaving the hall. I grabbed a plate and filled it with a bit of everything. Meats and greens were quickly grabbed, but different starches like potatoes and bread were what really dominated my plate. It wouldn't be a quick boost, but I was hoping that once I got my aura going again that it would refill quicker than - if - I used it.
The other three were more conservative, either not having any energy to refill or just not being hungry. One interesting thing I noted however was how the cooks would try and give Clover some better options of food that wasn't being served on the front, or simply what was freshly out of the pan or oven. He always politely declined the offers and insisted on having what the rest of the soldiers were. The food was by no means bad, it was quite good in all honesty. But I suppose having the clout of a Specialist would do that.
We had some idle chatter while I stuffed my face. About how everyone was doing and what they had been up to. Clover updated me on Liya's condition - stable with little chance of any possible life-threatening complications.
Once that was done we made our way to Stella's cell in short order. Having had some time to cool off a bit, I was starting to feel a bit nervous. I knew how important this meeting was for any of our future plans, but I honestly couldn't convince myself that working with her was in anyways a good idea. But when have I had any of those right?
"Ready to do this, kid?" Qrow asked as he prepared to open the door for me.
Closing my eyes, taking a deep breath and releasing it just as quickly, I gave him a determined nod.
On the way here we had discussed what I was going to tell Stella. We didn't want to mention her immortality at all, but we eventually all decided that her gaseous form was the best excuse. Salem could be killed, but she was very slippery like that, and it was hard to tell if she was truly dead. But 'thanks' to me, I designed a weapon that destroys that gas, and if it couldn't it would contain her. This allowed me to use some sketches and blueprints, that she couldn't make any use of, like the railgun and helicarrier I had designed if she had any doubts to my claim. So all in all it was a fairly solid plan.
Returning the nod, Qrow opened the door and allowed me to enter, before closing it behind me. Clover, Qrow, and Emerald would be watching the cameras in the cell from a terminal room nearby. Emerald hadn't liked the idea of me going in alone, and Stella did say that she wanted the conversation alone. Qrow and Clover apparently thought it best if she didn't feel like they were bearing down on her, or that they were there to stop/coach me when I answered her questions.
Stella sat at the table in front of me. "Well, well, look who decided to drop by and visit," she said.
"You say that like you didn't personally ask for my presence." I replied dryly as I went and sat in front of her.
"Maybe so," She shrugged. "But I didn't know if you'd really decided to come, or if your little buddies would keep their word. You must really want my help then." She finished with a self satisfied smile.
"You doubt them even after so long?" I continued in a light tone. I didn't need to give my opinion on the matter, I just needed her talking.
"One of em's a Branwen," Stella gave me a look as if I was an idiot. "You don't earn that name without getting right down into the dirt."
"You said you wanted me to give you reassurances," I said as an annoyed frown began to creep onto my face. "Get on with it." I said as I laced my words with a little Vocal Persuasion. Hopefully enough to keep her in line, without potentially alerting anyone to what I was doing.
"Fine," Stella relented with a roll of her eyes. "Forgive me for trying to catch up with my old pal." She continued, resting her arms on her knees before she got serious, her gaze boring into my own. "Can you really kill Salem?"
"We can," I answered smoothly, preparing to give my rehearsed explanation. "It won't be easy mind you, we would have done it sooner otherwise, so the less distractions we have the better our chances."
"And by distractions you mean us," She scoffed. "Say I could convince the others to listen, what exactly do you want us to do? Because we sure as hell ain't joining you and fighting her."
"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you." I said with a shake of my head. "Convince your people to stay out of our way, go wherever you want and do whatever you want, but don't mess with Atlas. Do that, and you won't be pursued."
"Free passage? Just like that?" Stella asked a little dubiously.
"Just like that." I promised, pushing even more aura into Vocal Persuasion.
Stella just "hmm'd" as she observed me. I kept a stony mask up the enter time, unblinking, before she seemed to decide that she got what she needed. "So how are you going to kill her?"
"I can't tell you all the details, BUT," I cut her off when I saw the indignant expression she was suddenly making. "I can prove that it is possible."
With that I started projecting from my scroll schematics, pictures and even videos of some of the tech I had helped Atlas create. Most of this was already being widely used, so even if Stella went and snitched to Salem, she couldn't make much use of this. Even so I had taken precautions to keep everything as basic as possible, like removing eye components from the schematics and not showing how long the Railgun needed to reload. Things she wouldn't notice at first glance, but something that would prevent someone with an experienced eye from making use of it.
"I've personally had a hand in creating everything here," I said as Stella continued looking through everything being displayed. "I can't say anything without worrying about it being leaked, but I trust this is enough to show you that it is possible?"
I pushed just a little bit more aura into the end of my sentence. Things had been going well so far, but it was a little confusing that Stella didn't seem as affected as I expected her to be. I had enough practice with the semblance that I didn't need to be as rough as I was with the first prisoner.
Even if I still chose to be.
"Well, color me impressed." Stella said as she turned her gaze back to me. "Definitely come a long way, even if you're relying on dust." She shook her head as she leaned back, like a disappointed mother.
"You can keep your biases," I said, giving her a deadpan look.
- back in the observation room -
"Looks like we got our ticket for weakening Salem." Qrow said with a grin, as they continued to watch Markus and Stella converse, muting the audio for the moment so they could chat.
"It is quite fortunate," Clover said with a nod. "We wouldn't have gotten this far without his help."
"Better make sure he's rewarded for it then, you guys have interrupted our breaks enough as is." Emerald snarked as she crossed her arms.
"Not like we do it on purpose, but sure, we'll give you little love bird's all the free time you need." Qrow replied with a teasing tone and equally teasing grin.
"Good. Because he shouldn't be the solution to all your problems."
"And we regret that it's often the case that we need him. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of people we can always trust on." Clover said, genuinely regretful about putting so much pressure on someone so young.
"Just make sure you always use a damn condom though," Qrow continued to tease Emerald. "I'm too young to be a Grand Uncle!"
"Tch, like we - wait." Emerald switched from annoyed to concerned in a sudden move. "What the hell is happening?" She asked, her attention on the screen showing Stella's cell.
The screen showed Markus holding Stella up against the wall with his neural dust. She fought and thrashed with all her might but was unable to break free. She seemed to be screaming and shouting all the while, Markus replying in kind.
"Shit!" Qrow swore, before bursting out of the room and running to stop Markus, Clover hot on his heels.
Emerald stayed behind to watch the unfolding scene for a second, before swiftly going to catch up.
"I'm going to kill that bitch!" She vowed.
- interrogation Room, a minute earlier -
"You should really think about it. Once you're done here, come and join us. You and your girlfriend would be treated like royalty, and with your strength, no one would mess with our tribe.
"And spend the rest of my days shitting in holes? Pass," I flatly denied. Like hell I'd ever think about going back there.
Stella could only laugh at my rejection of her offer. "You say that, but you managed to fit in quite well once you beat most of your challenger's."
She wasn't wrong, not really. Everyone I beat respected me after the fact, and once it was established that I was near the top of the pecking order there, I did get my pick of the best they had to offer. When Jackie or Stella weren't keeping an eye on me that is.
"Even so, I have no interest in ruling a bunch of murderers. I just want a quiet life after having to deal with all this shit." I said, trying to keep the flat tone, but unable to let a little annoyance slip through. This hadn't been the first time she tried bringing up the offer, and if this interrogation went on any longer, it likely wouldn't be the last.
"But if you-"
"Just drop it!" I said more forcefully this time, my fine control of my aura slipping, as Vocal Persuasion hit her full blast.
Stella seemed stunned and disoriented for a moment, shaking her head and blinking her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. "The hell?" she mumbled a bit as her head continued to clear. "That was like..." She continued before the realization of what I'd done hit her.
"You used Jackie's semblance on me," she said calmly once she got her bearings. "How long have you been using it?"
I was silent for a moment, trying to think of the best thing to tell her, while also cursing myself for my slip up.
"How long, dammit!" Stella shouted, as she lurched forward as well once she decided I took too long to answer her. "Trying to mind control me for your own benefit?!"
"I only used a small amount to keep you on topic," I hurringly tried to explain. "Besides, even if I wanted to, you have too much of a resistance to it."
"Jackie wouldn't use her semblance on me, not me!" Stella continued to shout, a mad look in her eye.
"I never said she did!" Even if I knew it was likely, it's how she kept everyone in line and how I suspect she got many of them to join. Why would it be different for her second in command? But for now, I was too distracted on how difficult she was being.
'Fuck it' I decided as Stella contiued to rant and rave, probably some sort of repressed denial and other issues being forced to the forefront of her mind because of me.
She was now trying to break her restraints and get to me, so I summoned all of my Neural dust and sent it flying at her like a burst water pipe. Stella was slammed into the back wall as my dust held her in place, keeping her tightly restrained.
"What do you know about the attack on the Winter Maiden? Who was sent to do it?" I asked again what I desperately wanted to know, but this time with the faith that I know any answers I got were one hundred percent truthful.
"Fuck you! You lying, backstabbing-" Stella shouted, before I used some of my dust to slam her head into the wall.
"I won't ask again," I grit my teeth in anger, as I tried to pour every drop of aura I had into the semblance. "WHO HURT LIYA?!"
"I don't..." Stella managed to stammer out, her glare broken by the dazed expression she had, as I finally broke through her resistance.
But before I could get any more from her, the door to the room slammed open. I didn't notice in time, until several hands pulled me away from her. Things were hazy after that, hearing yells for me to back off, to release the prisoner. Others called for me to calm down and leave, but I didn't listen. I struggled to get back to Stella - yelling at everyone to get away so I could interrogate her further. Eventually, I remember losing consciousness as my aura finally broke. Looking up before my vision went dark, I saw a very stern looking Qrow.
It was hours later when I woke up, in a normal bunk room. "Ow..." I mumbled. Turning to sit up, I saw that I wasn't alone. Blake and Yang were waiting, sitting near me as I rubbed my head. "Uhh, what're you two doing here?" I asked.
"Ironwood wanted to make sure you're alright," Yang said, her voice was calm and soothing, but I didn't miss the concerned look she was giving me. "He wants us to make sure you stay here, to keep you away from other prisoners."
I frowned as I looked down, the full weight of what happened hitting me at full force. "I screwed up, didn't I?" I mumbled, remembering the struggle, my near torture of Stella.
"Yeah, you did. Emerald's fine, by the way. You nailed her in the gut a few times," Yang assured me, and my head shot up. "She's fine. Aura, remember?"
"I almost hurt her?" I whispered, and Yang frowned. "Dammit...what happened to me?"
"You don't have to blame yourself," Blake said. "You made mistakes, but you were desperate. I get why you felt like you had to push the limits. Liya's condition shocked us all as well."
He at least knew he messed up Blake thought to herself, even if he hadn't purposefully hurt Emerald. He wasn't uncaring of the fact nor did he play it off. Not like it had been done to her so many times before.
Yang nodded. "Look, you made mistakes, but you didn't make anything worse. Liya's still safe and-"
"But how long? How long until she gets attacked again?" I asked. "I needed to know who it was, and where they were...but I don't think it was planned."
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, confused by the change of topic.
"I interrogated Stella. Before I lost it, I remembered her answer. She had no idea what was going on," I said. "She doesn't know who Liya is. She's not even a target. And I might have just screwed us all by losing our chance to rid Salem of allies," I continued as I put my face in my hands.
"Maybe their job was just trying to cause damage, and they came across Liya," Yang suggested.
"Or maybe, she was always a target," Blake muttered. "Salem would want the maiden to be eliminated. Maybe for the purpose of obtaining that power. But the best option is likely to land a personal attack on you."
The three of us fell silent, digesting this information. "Then everyone I know and love is a target..." I mumbled. Before I could speak again, our scrolls rang. Opening mine, I read the new message notification that had popped up. "Ironwood wants us to head to the briefing room," I mumbled. "What for?"
"It's not just us. He placed the entire military on alert," Yang said before a loud rumbling sound was heard outside. Looking out, the three of us saw Mantas flying overhead, with the many airships of the Atlesian Navy slowly veering away. "What's going on?"
As if this wasn't cause for enough concern, the room lights flickered red, alarms blaring in the hallway outside. "What the-" Yang shouted, as Blake and I covered our ears from the sudden alarm.
"All personnel, assume Phase Three Battlestations," a female voice echoed over the loudspeaker, and the three of us paled at once. When we arrived in Atlas, Ironwood had us read on military protocol, as well as everything to know in states of emergency.
Phase Three was only used in the most dire of situations - when the entire kingdom was to prepare for all out war. If we were entering Phase Three positions now, that could only mean that shit was about to hit the fan.
"It's starting," Yang whispered. "What do we do?"
I got up, feeling my aura now at one hundred percent, as I grabbed my Dust and headed to the door to open. "We get ready to fight," I said, opening the door and rushing out into the hallway.
(AN: The final battle for Atlas is nearing its beginning.
RokenDarkly: Angst, Trauma and Explosions Galore! Sorry for the late update, life and Writers Blocks are always a pain in the ass, but we'll always eventually update. Happy Late Halloween Everyone!)