Chapter 61
"Get down you idiot!" Adam roared as he pushed Dee down and opened fire on the oncoming Manticore. Blush loudly barked, slamming his buckshot into the Grimm's face. It roared in pain and flew back, away from Adam. "If you're going to be useless then go stand next to your partner!" He bellowed, kicking Dee into gear.
The Huntsman - how the hell did he graduate? - ran to meet up with his partner, friend, twin or whatever they were, near the front of the train.
I'm really starting to hate trains. Adam bemoaned to himself as he pushed forward, warding the flying Grimm back with sword and gun. Times like this make me wish I had a longer range weapon. Blush had quite a bit more range than you'd think at first glance, but it still wasn't a long-range weapon. Yang could outrange him with the right ammunition, and Weiss and Ruby always had a range advantage.
So instead of focusing on killing the Grimm, he joined Jaune and Oscar in warding them off. If they couldn't land, they couldn't attack. Of course, the Sphinx leading this pack had a fire breath with good range on it, but that was the only one.
Still, they had plenty of kills, especially with Pyrrha focusing on using her daggers and Semblance to pull Grimm onto the train roof and/or cut their wings. Adam's dull red blade had plenty of chances to slay their foes.
But then came that one word that sent them scrambling: "TUNNEL!"
Oscars shout had them all pausing for a split second, but they quickly recovered and jumped back inside of the train. The doors easily opened before them, letting them gather once more.
"Aahh!" Dudley cried out, nursing a badly broken arm. Dee was nearby, trying to figure out how to fix it. Jaune rushed over to help, his newly unlocked Semblance proving to aid in healing wounds. At least judging from their testing. It might have unlocked to recharge Jaune after being hurt, but it was a lot more versatile than they had assumed.
"That was a lot more Grimm than I expected to see." Qrow grumbled.
"We need to get them away from the passengers." Ruby declared.
"But how?" Yang asked, arms folded.
"Maybe release the back train cars?" Adam offered. "If we're on board, they could come after us. Letting everyone else escape."
"Use ourselves as bait? But we have no way of making them come after us specifically." Weiss rebutted. "They could ignore whoever is on the detached cars and go after the passengers anyway. It'd leave them open."
"There is a way." Oscar said, his eyes glowing as he let Ozpin take over. "The Grimm are attracted to the Relic. If it's on the detached cars they'll come after it."
"That's important information." Adam growled. "Did they attack the train because of that?"
"No. They are drawn to it, but the range is small. They attacked the train because it's full of people. The Relic was a bonus to them."
Adam scanned Oscar's face, looking for any deceit. There wasn't any, however. He was being honest. "Alright then."
"We'll talk about this later." Yang growled.
"Okay! We'll go to the back cars and distract the Grimm. JNPR, stay on board and protect the passengers. Jaune, you and Ren have been working on that stealth technique right? That should help. We'll take care of the Grimm and meet back up with you guys in Argus. Should only be a day or twos walk."
"... Okay. Take care, you guys." Jaune nodded, agreeing to the plan after a moment's thought.
"Let's do this then!" Ruby cheered.
How many times am I going to get on a train and then have to go decouple some of the cars? This is what, the third time? Trains are just not my thing.
Adam grumbled to himself as he slashed down, separating the train in two. As he did he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, but he couldn't see anybody around even with his Aura sense so he dismissed it.
As the cars they were in slowed the Grimm poured from the tunnel and combat began anew. Without Pyrrha and her flying knives, Adam and Oscar were right back into covering the backs of their allies while they did the main job of shooting down the Grimm. It kind of reminded him of the days where he would guard White Fang members while they planted explosives.
At least this was something he could truly be proud of.
A Manticore roared as it flew in, trying to crash into him and throw him off the train. Adam ducked under it and cut open its throat, killing it as it plummeted into the tree line. Another came in but he leapt up over it, cutting off its wings. As he landed on the other side Oscar came in and crushed its head with his cane.
Ruby and Qrow teamed up on the Sphinx after Weiss' icicles cut through its wings, keeping it from escaping. The pair of scythe wielders made short work of it, however, the Sphinx seemed to want to take them down with it as it lobbed a ball of fire ahead of them, blowing up some of the tracks. With the speed they were going at they'd be thrown off the track and into the forest.
"Brace!" Adam yelled as he stabbed Wilt down to create a handhold. He reached out his other hand and grabbed Oscar who was still nearby. A shell of ice formed over all of them as Adam pulled the young boy in against him, to shield him from the crash.
Fuck. I really don't like trains anymore!
"-am! A-m!" A voice made its way through the ringing in his ears. He groaned. "Adam!" The voice came in clearer. Damn it! Adam groaned again and shook the cobwebs from his mind. He opened his eyes but saw only darkness. He shifted and realised why.
He was practically face down in the snow. Fuuck. He thought as he pulled himself up. His head hurt like he'd taken a sledgehammer to the face. Or a red-hot brand maybe. Oscar was next to him, unharmed and eyes wide with worry.
"You… you okay?" Adam asked.
"Yeah. Thanks. You?"
"No. But I'll manage…" Oscar helped him to his feet. Taking a look around Adam saw that everyone else was fine too. Mild injuries were all anyone had. The train was a wreck though. Not that it would have been moving even if it wasn't broken.
"Everyone okay?" Ruby called out, brushing her skirt clear of snow. Hmm? He could have sworn he saw something gold attached to her hip, but he couldn't see it now.
After a quick chorus of affirmations, they all gathered together in a clear patch of snow. "So, what now?" Yang asked.
"We should gather supplies and then walk." Adam replied, clutching his head and wincing.
"Right. We could try following the tracks maybe. Though I don't know when the next train will be coming and it doesn't have much spare space…" Ruby trailed off.
"Well, then you find a trail!" A voice called from the wreckage. It wasn't a voice any of them recognised, so they all drew their weapons and faced the new, possible, threat. Standing there was an old woman with a set of high-tech goggles.
"And you are?" Weiss asked.
"Maria Calavera!" The elderly woman replied with cheer. Everyone slowly lowered their weapons. The woman was unarmed and seemed barely able to walk. It was hard to see her as a threat.
"So now that we have time to think…" Yang said, turning to Oscar. "Oz. Why didn't you tell us about the Relic? What, are we not trustworthy?"
Ozpin quickly took control. "Yang, once you live as long as I have you come to meet many who betray you. Did you think Leo was the first? Or that he would be the last? No. As long as I live I will always be betra-" His eyes widened as he glanced down at his waist. "Where's the Relic?" Panic filled his voice as his eyes darted around them.
"I have it." Ruby answered, revealing the lamp was attached to her hip.
"Ah, thank you, Ruby. I'll take it." He held out a hand towards her. Adam stepped in between, joined by Yang. "... What are you doing?"
"If you won't trust us with the truth, then we can't trust you." Adam replied.
"We're supposed to be a team. But you don't trust us. Don't believe in us. Do you think we'd betray you? Really? Do you actually believe we would side with Salem?" Yang pushed back.
"No. I doubt you would ever join Salem. But you don't have to work with her to betray me! Look at you now!" He took a step forward but stopped as weapons were drawn.
"Woh! Hey! Calm down, everyone!" Qrow said, trying to insert himself between them.
"You said the Relic has no questions remaining." Yang said.
"Which means you should be fine with telling us how to activate it. After all, if it can't answer any questions then there should be no issue, right?" Adam added.
"Now that- Aaah!" Ozpin cried out and clutched his head. When he next spoke it was in a different mannerism. "The password! It's Jinn! Quickly!" Oscar yelled.
"Jinn?" Ruby asked. In response time froze. Adam felt dread fill him. Snow and smoke no longer moved. The trees no longer swayed in the breeze. Their feet no long left imprints in the snow. But all of that was eclipsed by what happened next.
A woman, her skin blue and wearing only a select few golden items, namely chains and the like, came forth from the lamp. Despite her lack of clothing, she wasn't really naked. A thick blue smoke fell off of her, as if shrouding anything she didn't want people to see. Though whether she had anything she wanted to hide was a question that didn't really cross Adam's mind. He was too busy trying to understand what was going on.
"Aaah!" The woman moaned and stretched. "It's been too long! I am Jinn, created by the Gods to provide aid to Humanity in their search for Knowledge. Two questions remain this era."
"What the…" Adam blurted out.
"This is crazy." Yang whispered.
"No…" Oscar, or really Ozpin now, whined.
"Ah. Old Man. You're here. Of course, you are." The woman, Jinn, let her smile fade as she looked down at Ozpin. She sighed and turned back to Ruby. "You had a question, did you not?"
"Ah! Um. Right." Ruby took a breath. "What is Ozpin hiding from us?"
The moment she spoke things went mad.
Ozpin screamed and rushed her, bursting past Adam and Yang before they could react.
Ruby flinched and Qrow tried to jump in between them. Yang and Adam tried to leap and grab him.
Jinn simply smiled and floated back as the world around them faded away completely.
Locked in a world of pure white, Adam looked around. And then he heard it. Jinn's voice, followed by accompanying visuals that turned this white void into a beautiful landscape.
"Once upon a time there was a tower. Many had tried to breach this tower and died in the attempt. A great and powerful knight guarded it, but he had fallen to corruption. He was a menace. The reason so many tried to take the tower was simple. The woman trapped inside promised them all the wealth within."
First, there was a tower, surrounded by grassland that was full of old and broken swords. It was followed by a beautiful room at the top of the tower. There was sat a beautiful woman with blonde hair. She turned around and huffed.
"And her name…" Jinn paused for dramatic effect, showing she enjoyed this. "Was Salem."
Adam choked.
"My lady, you called?"
"Yes. I did." Salem's fingers tapped against the armrest of her throne. The meeting room was still a mess. She didn't care. "I have a new mission for you, and a punishment for your failure's and arrogance."
"I understand." Cinder replied, kneeling on the floor before her. Watts and Tyrian stood near the door. They had already heard the news and revelled in it.
"You underestimated your foes and overestimated your allies. You have shown a failing in your leadership. As such you shall not lead this next mission. You will head to Atlas with Watts and Tyrian. And you will follow every order Watts gives you."
"I! No! I can't! But! I!" Cinder scrambled for the words to disagree. But there were none.
"This is your punishment. Succeed under Watts and I will forgive you. But if you disobey him because of your idiotic pride then your next punishment will be far worse. Am I understood?"
"I… yes, my queen. Without you, I am nothing." Cinder said it, but Salem knew her true thoughts. Cinder was easy to read. She hated this, which is why it was a good punishment.
"Then go. Destroy Atlas and bring me the Relic of Creation. Go."
Cinder stood and the trio bowed then left.
Foolish girl. Allowing her arrogance to control her. Watts won't be too hard to work under, however. She'd already told him to not be too harsh and he always obliged her. He may hate his cohorts and love beating them down with words, but he always put the job first. He had a better head on his shoulders as well. At least now.
Cinder used to be so very talented in everything. But after her injuries, she's trying too hard and not thinking everything through. No longer at the level she was during her operation against Beacon. It pains me to have to rebuild her from the ground up, but I will do it. Working under Arthur should help to foster her former talents. In the meantime…
Salem would prepare. Their mission was to set the stage. With Watts and two powerhouses he should be able to succeed. That would leave the rest up to Salem herself. Time to craft some more Grimm. Perhaps I should use that? It does seem stable now.
Salem smiled. Atlas would fall. Her new experiment would aid in that greatly. It was time for her to act personally.
It's been so long since I personally crushed a city. I can hardly wait.
A/N: So I mostly breeze through the train fight. Nice fight, but not as much to change really. The meat is of course after. I added a little info from the Girl in the Tower fairy tale, which makes Salem even more tragic really. It plus adds an interesting parallel. Her father went mad after the death of his wife and Salem went mad after the death of her husband. I find it interesting anyway. And then Salem sends Cinder off with Watts, her punishment being that she has to obey the guy that constantly shits on her. A dream come true for Watts, a nightmare for Cinder.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!