A bunch of shady-looking men and women were mining before one dug out what looked like an Old Atlas rifle. "Ha-hah! Frozen gold!"
"Who knew the crap from Atlas would be worth so much these days."
"Glad you're finding the garbage you want."
"You still looking for the tin man's guns?"
"Hell yeah, I am. Do you have any idea how valuable the Due Process is? The guns of the last General of Atlas. And if we find the cannon, we can make enough to take out even the Ice Bitch."
"Oooh, I would LOVE to murder that whore," a woman laughed.
"Better yet. If you kill her, I'd bet you'd get her powers."
"Oooh, I'd like that."
"Might be a bit hard. The Vale Knight's in town," a thug said as he was rummaging around a pile before his face was grabbed and was yanked away silently.
"So what? Do you not see all this Old Atlas tech? Bet we could even kill the Knight with this stuff."
"I thought he was being called the Grimm King these days," a thug called before a whooshing sound was heard.
"Think we can take his power, too," another woman asked as she found some Old Atlas jewelry. "Ooh, sparkly."
"Hm? Oof. This guy was burnt to a crisp."
"IS IT IRONWOOD?!"
"Nah. His skeleton doesn't have any metal on him. Clothes look too tight-fitting, too. Ooh, but he had a nice-looking gun. Hm, looks like it could hold about twenty bullets." The bandit was about to bag the gun before something grabbed his wrist. He looked only for his mouth to be covered and to be dragged away somewhere.
The main thug searching for Ironwood's guns took his pickaxe and swung it down on a sheet of ice. When he struck it, it began to crack. "Uh-oh." He then screamed as he fell.
"YOU ALRIGHT?!"
The man groaned before he looked up, his eyes widening. He then began to chuckle. "Oh, I'm better than alright," he said as he saw before him... the preserved corpse of James Ironwood. And in his right hand was the thief's prize.
The man immediately ran up and tried to take the gun, only to struggle. The man saw that the gun was frozen in Ironwood's hand. The man then smirked as he stood above the corpse. "You won't need this anymore." The man then stomped on Ironwood's hand, the appendage crumbling to pieces.
The man then dusted the white Due Process off before checking Ironwood's corpse. "SHIT! Where's the rest of his-" The man then saw the other three parts of the full Due Process cannon and chuckled.
The man walked over and combined the weapons, pulling the trigger lightly. He laughed when it actually began to charge. "It still works! Fifteen YEARS under the ice, and it still fuckin' works! Old Atlas tech is freaking awesome!" He then looked back and smirked at the corpse. "Thanks for the toy, General."
He then looked up towards the hole. "Oi! Throw down a rope!" No response. "HEY!" No response. "I SWEAR TO THE GODS, IF YOU FUCKING ABANDONED ME DOWN HERE, I'LL USE MY NEW GUNS ON YOU!" The man then looked at Ironwood before smirking. "THE OLD GENERAL'S CORPSE IS DOWN HERE! DO YOU REALIZE HOW VALUABLE THE METAL ON THIS FUCKER IS?! SEND DOWN THE ROPE SO WE CAN CARRY THIS PAYLOAD OUT OF HERE!"
"So, it's not enough you rob from the dead." The man jumped. Had he looked behind him, he would have seen a pair of glowing red eyes glaring at him. "But you wish to further desecrate him by selling his body? James Ironwood may have been a flawed man, but he deserved better than that."
The man gulped. "V-Vale Knight, Jaune Arc." The man lowered his arms. "What did you do to my crew?"
"Don't worry. They're very much alive. A bit miserable, maybe."
Jaune had left Apathies with all of the tomb raiders. One man was staring into nothingness, while another was lying on his stomach. One of the women had her head on the lap of a sitting Apathy, while the woman who wanted to kill Winter was laying over some rubble, drool dripping out of her mouth.
"So, tomb raiding, theft of New Mantle property, conspiracy to assassinate General Schnee-Branwen, and the desecration of the corpse of the former general, James Ironwood. That's enough to put you away for life. I suggest you don't make things worse for yourself unless you want to give me the proper clearance to kill you."
The man chuckled. "You... have no idea how glad I am you're here."
Jaune raised an eyebrow before he heard a magazine clip into Due Process.
The man turned towards Jaune and fired. Jaune simply tilted his head. 'Wow, those are slow bullets.'
"Well, resisting arrest. Fortunately for you, that's not enough to increase your se-"
The sound of something going off was then heard. Jaune then cried out in pain after he felt like his back was doused in acid. He stumbled forward, shuttering in pain before looking behind him to see his back actually sizzling.
The man laughed. "So, you really ARE a Grimm!" Jaune glared at the man, who was waving Due Process by hanging the trigger with his index finger. "Gotta love Silver Eye Dust." The man then fired at Jaune again.
Jaune raised his arm in time to take the bullet, but he watched while groaning in pain as his arm turned to stone. He then swung his free arm, sending wind blades from the claws of his hand racing at the thief.
"OH, SHIT," he yelled as he threw down Jaune's old Shield Grenade but was still sent flying over a pile of rubble. "YOU DAMNED MONSTER," he called from the other side of the pile.
Jaune growled before looking at his arm. He found the bullet and yanked it out. He then looked at his arm and began to concentrate. Moments later, he flexed his arm with enough force to shatter the stone, his arm free. "Alright, NOW I'm allowed to kill you."
"BRING IT, GRIMM! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU'RE WORTH?!"
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
"ENOUGH TO MAKE ME CREW RICHER THAN A SCHNEE! AND THAT WAS BEFORE YOU BECAME THE NEW SALEM! NOW, AFTER I KILL YOU WITH THESE SHINY SILVER BULLETS, I'LL HAVE ENOUGH CASH TO BUY AN ISLAND THE SIZE OF MENAGERIE!"
"Alright," Jaune said as he stepped forward, growing Nevermore wings, a Death Stalker tail, Sulfur Fish tails, and Beowolf claws, and grew some bone armor over his existing armor. "Let's see you earn your paycheck," Jaune said as he prepared to hunt down a grave robber.
A couple of students were sparring before one landed the decisive hits needed to win.
"That's enough," Neon called. "Good match, you two, but try to use your agility a bit more, Comet. And Ru, you don't seem to be relying on your Semblance that much."
"What good is a glowing red nose?"
"Honey, that nose of yours is bright enough to blind someone. Hint, hint."
"Oooh."
"Alright, who wants to go up next?"
"I'd like to go up next," the muscular student went.
"Okay, Milo. Who would you like to go up against? Gaia?"
"Don't drag me into this, Mrs. Coal," she scoffed.
"Come on, sis. You're the top of our class," Ice said.
"Besides, aren't you and Milo tied in sparring," Heat asked.
"I'm not interested in fighting him today."
"Good, because you're not the one I want." Milo then looked down.
Argent was looking at the platform, analyzing it before he felt people looking at him. He looked up to see Milo staring at him. He then looked around to see the other students staring at him before he pointed at himself. "Me?"
"What the hell, Milo," Gaia yelled. "He's just a kid!"
"He's the kid of the Strongest Man in the World," he said, not taking his eyes off of the young Arc.
"Alright, I change my mind, Mrs. Coal. I AM going to fight!"
"You're not my target today, Meiser."
"If you think I'm about to let you fight a freakin' ten-year-old, then you're even dumber than I thought, Beef Brain!"
"Um, Milo?" He looked at Neon. "Argent is a special case. The General actually told me she only wants him to observe since he's technically too young to participate in class."
"He wasn't too young to travel with the World's Greatest Huntsman."
"Well, yeah, but that's his dad. It's not like we have permission from him to let his kid fight. Just choose-"
"I don't mind." Everyone looked at Argent. "Sure. I'll fight you."
"Arie, sweetie, let me deal with this," Neon said with a smile.
"Deal with what? It's just sparring. Besides, the guy wants to fight me, so why not let him?"
"Kid... YOU'RE A KID," Gaia yelled.
"Hey, you're only, what, five years older than me?"
"Try seven! We're all in our second year, kid! Next year is our graduation year! We're practically New Mantle operatives!"
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Argent said with his hands behind his head. "My mom got into Beacon at a young age, didn't she?"
"Kiddo, your mom was fifteen," Neon said.
Argent shrugged. "Five-year difference. Not too bad."
"The kid wants to fight," Milo said. Let him."
"But-"
"Mrs. Coal?" She looked at Argent. "I've dealt with an armored samurai who turned my dad into the Grimm King, a cult that wants him to be just like Salem, an army of criminals that really wanted to kill my dad, the most powerful bandit tribe in Anima or more accurately the world, and I rode on a Nevermore's back to New Mantle. I think I can handle one little sparring match."
Neon slumped forward. "You realize that most of those were your dad's fault, right?"
"Shishishi. Most of it was because I disobeyed my dad and tagged along without his permission," Argent laughed.
"Oh, you little troublemaker." Neon sighed. "Fine, but I'm reporting this to the General."
Argent shuttered. "I feel like I'm going to get a lecture after this."
"More than likely."
Argent sighed. "Aunt Winter can be seriously scary. . . Still gonna fight, though."
"So not even a lecture from the General is going to convince you to stand down?"
"Nope."
". . . You're DEFINITELY an Arc, sweetie. Alright, you two, get on stage."
"But Mrs. Coal-" Gaia began.
"Be quiet already," Milo said as he walked onto the platform, earning a glare from the beauty.
Argent jumped onto the platform and immediately took his sword and shield stance. He always liked that stance over the greatsword stance. "Hm? Boxing gloves?"
"Disappointed, boy," the muscular student asked. He then swung his arms. When he did, his gloves were now on fire as the student took his stance.
Argent smiled. "Nope. Especially since you're a southpaw."
"Heh, you know your stances, kid."
"Yang Xiao Long is my aunt, after all."
Gaia had her arms crossed, looking judgmental. "What is wrong with that beef-brained idiot? Why would he want to take on a kid?"
"Sis, that kid is Argent Arc. ARC. You know, the son of the greatest Huntsman in the world," Ice went.
"If that's not enough, the kid is surrounded by the other greats: Yang Xiao Long, Sun Wukong, Weiss Schnee. Hell, the kid's mom is Ruby Schnee."
"You idiot. His mom is Nimueh Arc."
"Does the heat mess with your brain, lava lump? Nimueh is the Sword of Destruction."
"But he was raised by Nimueh, making her his mom."
"That's not how it works!"
"That is SO how it works!"
The brothers then began to argue about who was Argent's actual mother when Ru walked up to Gaia. "They have a point, though, Gaia. That kid knows all four Headmasters, and they're all practically family to him."
"Doesn't hurt that his dad dated two out of four of them," a student taller yet plumper than Milo with wild white hair said as he walked up.
"No need to bring that up, Bumble. Anyway, the kid has been around the best of the best. I'd honestly be more worried about Milo. He's about to go up against someone who's been trained by the Strongest Man in the World AND by the Most Powerful Relic. Plus, I've heard that Yang Xiao Long herself was the one who taught the kid how to throw a punch."
Gaia looked at Ru before looking back at Argent and Milo. "Still, Milo is no slouch. That kid better not let his guard down, or else it won't end well for him."
"AND BEGIN," Neon went when the countdown ended.
With that, Argent and Milo charged at each other, beginning their fight.
The thief was running through the ruins of Atlas, trying to find a way out before Jaune could find him. He only had eighteen bullets left, after all. Once he runs out, he's screwed.
The man then began to feel miserable. Knowing why he switched his ammo. When he turned a corner and saw the Apathy, he shot its head immediately, killing it.
His crewmate jumped up. "The hell?!"
"Get your shit together," the leader said. "Arc's here."
"OH, SHIT," he said as he took out the gun he found. He then loaded it with Electric Dust bullets.
"You know Silver Dust is the only thing that will hurt that man."
"It ain't for him." He then threw his Silver Dust cartridge at his leader, who caught it. "Ya got two guns, don't you?"
He took out the black Due Process. "Yeah," he said as he loaded it. "Come on. Let's find the o-"
"MOVE," the guy yelled as he jumped away, his comrade doing the same. When they did, an Old Atlas hovercycle crashed past them.
They looked at it in fear, knowing how heavy those things were. "Fucking monster."
"There you are," Jaune yelled in a terrifying way.
The men scrambled to their feet and ran off without even looking to see where Jaune actually was.
"SHOOT, ASSHOLE!"
"I'M NOT WASTING THE BULLETS! IF I SHOOT, I WANNA SHOOT HIM IN HIS FUCKING FACE!"
As the men run, an Ursa ran into their path. The Grimm looked towards them, stood on its hind legs, and roared.
"NOT AFRAID OF TEDDY BEARS, PAL," the other guy said as he shot into the Grimm's mouth, the Dust making the Ursa convulse before it fell to its back, fading away.
"Compared to Arc, these things ain't shit," the guy laughed.
However, the moment he said that a hand burst out of a wall and dragged him into the building screaming.
The leader looked into the dark hole to hear his comrade scream the voice mixed in with the sounds of growling and barking. "Beowolves," the guy went before running away.
Now he was scared. When his crew found Old Atlas, there were no Grimm to be found. It was just a frozen dead city with treasures galore. It should have been an easy payday. Search the ruins of the city, take anything that sparkles, take anything that looked fancy, and take whatever you were actually looking for.
They weren't supposed to deal with the new Salem.
The man looked down at his new guns and looked at his backpack, which held the cannon component of the weapons. 'Screw it! I may be leaving behind a fortune, but I got what I wanted! Besides, I got proof that this Dust really does work on Arc. That info alone is going to make me a fucking mint,' he thought. He then took off running towards the exit his crew made.
As he ran, he noticed that he wasn't running into any Grimm and didn't feel miserable at all. 'I wasn't that far from my crew when I fell. Did Arc already drag them out of something? THE EXIT!' He stopped to catch his breath, staring at the escape route in victory.
"Leaving behind your team? How pathetic."
The man quickly turned, gun at the ready, only to see no one there.
"It must be absolutely terrifying for you to abandon your friends so quickly. That, or you're just plain pathetic."
The man looked around, taking out the white Due Process and exchanging the bullets for the Silver Dust bullets. "SHOW YOURSELF!"
"What are you talking about? I'm behind you." The man quickly turned to see no one there.
"Or maybe I'm above you?" He looked up to see nothing but the sheets of ice New Mantle was built upon.
"Or maybe below you." The man looked around frantically, now becoming terrified. He then just threw caution to the wind and fired, the bullet giving off a bright silver flash.
"Well, that was a waste."
The man shot towards the voice, another silver flash.
"Winter told me the process needed to make those bullets. Takes a lot of time and money. And of course, Dust."
He shot even more frantically; the entire area was engulfed in silver light. The man was now panting, terror filling him. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Here," Jaune said behind the man, into his ear. The man gasped as he looked, only to get a hand covering his face before he was slammed to the ground, knocking him out.
Jaune looked down at the man before looking up and whistling. Mere moments later, Apathies and Beowolves walked up, carrying either unconscious or lethargic thieves. Jaune then took out his scroll and called someone.
"What do you have to report, Jaune," Winter asked.
"I found a tunnel leading into Old Atlas."
"You WHAT?!"
"Thieves created it. They were trying to rob the fallen kingdom."
"Disgusting."
"Winter... one of them found Ironwood's guns... on his body."
The scroll was silent for a bit. "Winter?"
"What are the coordinates?" Jaune could hear the pain and sadness in Winter's voice. He sighed as he gave the location.
"Did they take anything else?"
"Well, one seemed to find a unique gun and a lot of Old Atlas tech. I heard them talking about a client paying them handsomely."
Winter sighed. "Of course. Old Atlas technology is still quite advanced. It would be valuable, especially in this day and age. They may not compare to current New Mantle technology, but it would still give a criminal organization or bandit tribe a leg up."
"Then it's a good thing it was found by us before they could sell anything. There aren't any Grimm down here, save for the ones I summoned. Sending in an excavation crew should be no problem."
"That's good to know. I'll begin the process immediately. Maybe... we can give some families closure as well."
Jaune sighed. "We can only hope. I'll be waiting by the entrance with the thieves. So far, their crimes involve-" Jaune was interrupted by a powerful quake that made him stumble a bit, but not quite loses his balance. "The hell?!"
"Jaune?! Jaune, what is it?! Report!"
The quake stopped. "What just-"
"JAUNE!"
"Winter, Winter, I'm fine. It was just... a quake."
"A quake?"
"It was strong enough to make me lose my balance."
"I'll have the Science Division inspect for seismic activity. Still, that's odd. Solitas isn't known for quakes."
"I wish you hadn't told me that. Feeling a quake like that can't be a good sign."
"We'll deal with it, Jaune. Just stand by for operative arrival."
"Yes, ma'am," Jaune said before letting Winter hang up.
'That wasn't a normal quake,' Nimueh said.
'I know,' Jaune thought. He then looked down at the ground. 'I just hope it's something we can handle.'
Far, far beneath Solitas, an Ice Dragon was digging through the ground. It then stopped before looking in a direction. The massive Grimm growled, looking ready to attack whatever was heading towards it. As the train-sized Grimm readied an ice beam... it was eaten... whole... in one bite, the creature growling at its meager snack before roaring.
Argent was sent skidding back after he blocked Milo's punch. Argent shook his arm to get rid of the vibrating feeling before looking back at the carefully approaching Milo.
"They've been at it for almost ten minutes," Bumble said.
"I thought you were the only one who could fight him for that long," Ru said to Gaia.
Gaia was just shocked. 'He's just a kid. What the hell has he been through?' She then remembered the Lavender documentary. 'Still, even going through all that... how is he THIS skilled,' she thought.
Argent kept his defense up, trying to find another opening like he had been throughout the fight. He got in a few good slashes, but not nearly enough to end the fight any time soon. Milo's punch, on the other hand, took out a huge chunk of his Aura. Argent sighed at the fact before he made a decision.
He sheathed his sword.
"What are you doing? Are you giving up," Milo yelled?
"In a way," he said as he held up his sword. He then activated the greatsword. "Defensive tactics definitely won't work on you, so I'm giving up playing safe."
Everyone looked shocked. Milo's eyes were wide before he chuckled. "You've got grit, kid. I respect that." Milo then swung his fists, dousing the flames on his gloves. He then took one glove off and pushed a button on both of them, cartridges popping out of both. He then exchanged the cartridges and swung his fists.
"Hard Light Dust," Argent went when he saw the glow around Milo's fists.
"You know your Dust," Milo said as he punched his fists together. When he pulled them apart, the ends of his fists had spikes on them.
"You can mold it? I thought you needed special tools to do stuff like that," Argent said.
"That's what our Semblances are for. Molder is mine. I can manipulate the shape of any non-living thing I touch, including Dust. I could make a fire sword out of pure Flame Dust Ore with my bare hands if I wanted to."
Argent blinked at that. "I have a really pretty stepmom and a cool older brother who would like you," he said with a genuine smile.
Raven and Sparrow were having tea in Raven's tent when they both sneezed at the same time.
"You have what," Milo went
"He has what," everyone else went.
Argent then took his stance, Milo doing the same. The two stared at each other before they charged.
Argent's swing clashed with Milo's punch, the force of the two attacks causing a shock wave that made the students cover their faces, save for Gaia, who was unaffected. Argent jumped back and swung his sword downward, aiming for Milo's legs, but the boxer instead countered by punching the blade away once more. Milo then tried to counter with a backhand strike.
However, Argent dropped his sword, grabbed Milo's arm, and used one of the techniques Ren taught him to throw Milo halfway across the stage, shocking everyone. Not letting the chance get away, Argent grabbed Crocea Mors and swung the sword with the extra aid of his Semblance, sending a massive wind blade rushing towards Milo.
Milo, in midair, reeled back his fist and actually punched the wind. The strike caused a great boom that sent Milo flying, but he was still able to land on his feet, admittedly a bit shakily. He then looked at the screen to see his Aura was dangerously low, but not lower than Argent.
Argent blinked. "Did you just punch my wind blade?!"
"I did," Milo said with a smirk as he stood up.
"That's insane! That's practically the Arc Family's signature move! Even my Aunt Winter is impressed by that!"
"Can't say I blame her," Milo said as he pounded his arm to make it stop shaking. Honestly, it felt like his entire skeleton was vibrating. "You Arcs really are as powerful as the rumors state. That means this fight was more worthwhile than I thought," he said as he took his stance.
Argent smirked as he took his. "Don't you go regretting those words when I beat you."
Milo chuckled. "Cocky little brat. With Gaia, it's annoying. With you, it's oddly entertaining."
The two were about to charge at each other once more.
Then, the bell rang.
"Alright, that's enough," Neon said with a clap.
"Huh," Argent went.
"School's over, sweetie."
"Wait, what? You mean-"
"The match is a tie," she answered.
Argent slumped over. "Seriously?"
"Those are the rules." He looked at Milo, who was already taking off his gloves. "Don't let it get to you. You're the only one besides Gaia who's ever lasted long enough to tie with me. Think of that as an accomplishment," he said as he walked away with some other classmates.
Argent watched him as he turned Crocea back into a sheath, holstering the heirloom. "Still a bit anticlimactic," Argent softly grumbled.
"To tie with Milo. That kid is amazing," Ru said.
"Hope I don't ever have to spar with him," Bumble joked.
"Same here. I mean, who would want to spar with the kid of Nimueh Arc," Ice asked.
"You mean the kid of Ruby Schnee," Heat went.
"No. Nimueh."
"Ruby."
"Nimueh!"
"Ruby Schnee is New Mantle's greatest Huntress! Of course, her kid would be a badass!"
"Oh, please! Ruby Schnee can't compare to a literal goddess! Who, might I add, WAS THE ONE WHO RAISED THE KID!"
"CAN'T COMPARE?! YOU CALL YOURSELF A MANTLIAN WHILE DISRESPECTING OUR GREATEST HERO?!"
"GENERAL WINTER SCHNEE IS OUR GREATEST HERO!"
"OF COURSE YOU'D SIMP FOR HER, YOU SNOW-SUCKING BITCH!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SIMP, YOU ROSE PETAL-EATING, ASS-KISSING, TEN-DOLLAR HEATER?!"
"WHY YOU-" The two began to punch each other... for all of three seconds before Gaia literally knocked their heads together to render them unconscious.
"Idiots." She then looked at the exiting Argent, who was talking to Neon as they left. She continued to stare at the boy before looking down at her brothers. "Back to class, morons," she said as she picked them up by their collars.
"I'M NOT CUTE!"
Hearing Argent yell surprised Gaia enough for her to drop her brothers. "Kid's got lungs."
