Chapter 69
Atlas, the pinnacle of technology and the strongest remaining academy on Remnant. It was also a big tall grey building that brought on a dull sense of boredom. It felt as if the massive construction was just waiting to drain them of their willpower. It made Adam sneer in distaste.
A dozen soldiers surrounded them, escorting them into the Academy and through its long, grey halls. Every few moments those same soldiers glanced at him, looking as if they expected a fight. It was almost cute that Atlas seemed worried about him causing trouble while still in cuffs.
As they were brought down the corridor towards the heart of Atlas, both the Kingdom that cared little for his people and the General who had so hated him during his time at Beacon, Yang leaned in towards Ruby and whispered.
"We'll follow your lead."
Ruby looked around in surprise, but everyone nodded. They put their faith in her, built on all the trust they had. Ruby. You can do this. Adam smiled as she nodded back, her resolve growing. Seeing her grow more confident rose their own.
It was just in time as the soldiers brought them to a set of heavy doors. With a slight swishing sound, they slid open, revealing a circular office of more greys and some blues. In the centre was the Atlesian emblem in a stark white. The far wall was made up of thick windows, providing an enchanting view of the city. Just before those windows was a desk with a high-back seat. To the left of the desk stood Winter at attention, while Penny stood on the right, giving them a wave.
Standing at the windows was a tall man in a beautifully pressed white military uniform. James Ironwood turned to face them, his face as if it had been carved from granite, and stepped towards his desk to sit down. His elbows came to rest upon it, his hands steepling together.
"I'm… glad you've come." Ironwood said, his face morphing into a smile. Adam almost laughed at how forced it was. "Men, remove their restraints and then leave us." The soldiers saluted and rushed through them. They were left without their weapons of course, but they no longer were restricted by gravity bolas.
"We could have done without the rough welcome." Adam muttered, glancing at their reactions. Winter scowled, obviously angry. Penny simply smiled, as if it didn't concern her and to be fair it wasn't her fault. Ironwood's mouth twitched, momentarily turning into a frown or even a scowl. However he had far better control over his expressions, so it lasted but a moment.
"We are glad to have arrived safely though." Ruby said, shifting the focus away from Adam. It was too late though. Adam already got what he wanted. Ironwood is trying to act as if he doesn't care about me, but he does. He still wants me in chains, facing trial almost certain to be rigged. But he isn't trying right now. Which means he wants the others on his side. Adam grinned.
Ironwood knew Adam was a former member of the White Fang, and after Beacon Blake was known as well. Two ex-leaders were right here, but there were also ten people he wanted on his side. He won't know about Ilia, so he'll assume she and Oscar are competent allies we made in Mistral. It's not wrong, but it tips things in our favour. He thinks he's ignoring two problems for ten allies when he's really ignoring three problems for nine. It wasn't much, but it gave them a slight advantage.
All that to say that Ironwood wants Ruby and the others, so he'll ignore the fact Blake and I were terrorists. Or try to at least.
"I'm sorry we had to do it the way we did, but you'll have to understand that we're on guard against Salem and her forces." Ironwood said, both apologizing and not.
"Uh… James what about them?" Qrow hesitantly asked, pointing to Winter and Penny.
"Hm." Ironwood let out a slight chuckle. "Did you think you were the only one who told others after Beacon? I found it… prudent to have more allies. The Ace-Ops know as well. I'll assume you've all been brought up to speed. I have a few questions, namely what happened in Mistral and Haven."
"Lionheart was helping Salem." Ruby said, stepping forward. "He's the reason Cinder got into Beacon. He was also feeding information on Huntsmen to Salem's forces so that they could be killed on their missions. We also learned more about who's on their side. Namely, a man named Hazel Reinart, and a scorpion Faunus who called himself Tyrian."
"So Leo betrayed us then…" Ironwood slumped back slightly, his eyes downcast. "What happened to him?"
"He drew in the White Fang and Cinder's team so they could attack. We managed to repel both and capture Lionheart. The Vault was opened though, so we brought the Lamp here for safety. Which you guys uh… well took." Ruby let out an awkward laugh.
Ironwood smiled and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out the gold and blue-fog filled lamp. "Clover brought it up a few minutes ago. He's the leader of the Ace-Ops." He gently laid it onto the desk, where it floated peacefully. "You said the Vault was opened? So you found Spring then?"
"Kinda. It turned out to be Raven Branwen. She teamed up with Cinder at first but planned to betray her and steal the Relic. Wanted it as a bargaining chip. So we used it for that. We got the Lamp and we never mess with her again." Ruby shrugged. "We brought it here because… well Ozpin said it would be safe."
"Ozpin!?" Ironwood's eyes went wide. "He's back already?" He scanned over the whole group, searching. Oscar stepped forward.
"It's um… me I guess."
"I… I'm so glad you're back Oz!" Ironwood jumped out of his seat and made his way over to hug the young teen.
"Uh! He's not… I mean… uh… he's not here…" Oscar stumbled over his words getting it out, causing Ironwood to stop in his tracks.
"He's… not here? But why…"
Ruby cleared her throat. "On our way to Argus, the train crashed and… well he's been silent ever since." She said. Adam's eyes almost went wide, but he kept it suppressed. She's decided not to tell him then?
"That's never happened before… did he say anything beforehand?" Ironwood slowly returned to his seat, shaken.
"Only a little about the Lamps rules. Three questions every hundred years, but he said all the questions are used up." Ruby answered, again keeping the truth obscured.
"I see… well, it's good you came anyway." He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"So then, can we seal the Lamp in the Atlas Vault?" Jaune asked. Ironwood shook his head. "Why? Don't you have the Winter Maiden?"
"We do but…"
"She ain't exactly a spring chicken if you know what I mean." Qrow answered for the General.
"And she's only deteriorated since you were last here Qrow. She isn't strong enough to make it to the Vault. Using her powers would probably be too much for her body now. We'd like to avoid her dying of anything other than natural causes if possible."
"Okay. No Vault then." Jaune sighed.
"We may not have an easy way to open the Vault, but we are working on several projects that should help against Salem." Ironwood smiled once more and grabbed his scroll. With the push of a button, the windows were covered in thick metal plates, sending the room into darkness. A low blue light filled the room as the centre symbol of Atlas opened up, transforming into a round table with a holographic projector. "With Beacon gone communication between Kingdom's has reverted to a crawl. We came up with a way to fix that."
A hologram appeared of Amity Colosseum. Ironwood stepped down from his raised desk and stood next to the projector. "Amity. It's already got most of what we need. All that needs to be added is extra boosters and the communication tower. Then we send it high into the sky. It'll be able to cover the world, restoring worldwide communication."
The projection changed, showing a large tower coming out the top of the Colosseum. "But that's just the first step. Once it's ready, I'm going to tell everyone about Salem."
Ironwood dropped that bombshell like it was nothing. A ripple of shock flew through the group. "But that… that'll cause fear. Anger. Chaos!" Ruby argued.
"I wouldn't be surprised if people riot." Yang added.
"It certainly won't help matters. People are afraid of the Grimm for being mindless beasts, but once they learn someone is controlling them?" Adam shook his head. "It'll be terrible."
"But… that's why you called back your fleet, isn't it?" Qrow asked. "To deal with that terror?"
"Yes." Ironwood nodded as he shut down the projection. "I'll inform Atlas and Mantle first. We'll deal with the chaos and then inform the rest of the world. Our fleets will be ready to help quell the chaos. I believe that, once everyone knows the stakes, we'll be better able to gather the allies we need to repel her."
Silence reigned for a moment, only broken by Adam's sigh. "I can see the logic. If everyone is aware of what's happening, then we may get more Huntsmen signing up. More will be willing to give things up for military campaigns against her. They'll be more on guard against potential servants of hers too. But that's a double-edged sword. She can use it to more easily find those who would aid her, and paranoia may cause civilians to attack each other on baseless suspicions. And I'm sure that won't affect any specific group more than others, now will it?"
Ironwood frowned. "We won't allow that to-"
"Are you gods? No? Then don't claim that you can stop it all." Adam snarled back. Yang placed a hand on his arm, reminding him to calm down.
"You're right." Ironwood said with a heavy sigh, earning surprised looks from everyone. "But we can't let the fact that racist's will be racist's stop us from doing good. I believe this will offer more pros than cons, both in the long and short terms. We will do what we can to clamp down on such paranoia. But yes, there is only so much we will be able to do. So… if we have your assistance…"
Adam felt his eyes bulge in surprise and shock. Ironwood was actually… asking for his help? Is… is he serious? Has he changed, or is this a ploy to get us loyal to him? I… I can't tell. He swallowed and glanced at Ruby.
She nodded. "We'll help. Getting communication back up is vital."
Ironwood let out a sigh. "Thank you. As a first mission, we're retaking a mine. It will be used as the launch site for Amity. Clover and the Ace-Ops will work with you. In addition, as a sign of cooperation and trust, I'll have our scientists work to upgrade your gear. You work with Atlas now, so the best is to be expected. Penny, guide them to their rooms."
"Yes sir!" Penny bounced over, giddy at being able to guide them. "Just this way everyone!"
"Sir?" Winter asked when the door closed. James let out an explosive sigh and collapsed into his seat.
"What a day…" He frowned. "I didn't expect Taurus to appear."
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"No. But to be honest with you… Qrow is too valuable as an ally. Even with his Semblance. The others: Ruby, Yang, Weiss, JNPR… they're all talented and skilled. They want to help people and I have no reason to distrust them. Oscar and that other girl are unknowns, but Oscar seems to be the next Oz so we can trust him. So many potential allies Winter, and I could alienate them all by imprisoning Taurus and Belladonna."
"She led the White Fang at Beacon, yes?"
"If the reports are accurate and I believe they are. Two terrorists are now working with us. We'll need to clamp down on that information. Don't let Jacques or the media hear about it. Until I can remove Taurus and Belladonna without jeopardizing our relationship with the others we need to keep them all happy."
"So you do plan on getting rid of him?"
"Of course. He's a monster that has terrorised and killed hundreds. He can't be allowed to roam free. At the very least we can keep an eye on him now. The moment he screws up…"
"We'll take him in." Winter finished for him. She smiled and saluted before leaving the room. She had to go and attend to Fria after all. James reached over and picked up the hovering Lamp. Its blue fog shimmered as he stared into it. The desk drawer opened once more and he placed the shrinking lamp inside. He would find a secure place for it later.
James sighed once more. Things had just gotten far more complicated.
A/N: Apologies for the delay, my internet has been having issues. Chapter 69! Nice. The gang reunite with Ironwood, who of course still hates Adam but wants the others on his side so puts up with it for now. He's looking for any chance he can get to get rid of him though. Adam and Blake will have to be careful. Upgrades next chapter! Including Adam and Ilia. Hehehehe. I got some good ideas brewed up.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time.