"The term huntsmen? I know why that came about. King Dias wanted a bunch of Grimm wiped out, and well… The Emerald Knight and the rest of his team, Odyssey opted to do the job. A four man team in a forest filled with Grimm? It was insane we all thought, what was more insane however, was how the team went after the Grimm. They stalked them for days, and then at the end of the second week, we saw nothing but gunfire and hell within the Mistralian mountains, and a day later, Fireteam Odyssey came back- unharmed and well."
-Colonel Arlen of The 35th Lancer Regiment
Safehouse Alpha
"It won't work."
Adam Taurus scowled at the response, glancing to his left from his peripherals to catch the neutral yet cautious look from Hazel. He could tolerate one shadowy benefactor interfering with his organization's plans, but another was already beginning to put a damper in his plans. One that he had thoroughly planned out with the rest of the reconnaissance team that had managed to get a layout of Haven.
"What do you mean it won't work?" Taurus demanded, almost glaring at the foreign man dressed in red and black garb, as if mocking his own attire.
"Simple, you're sloppy," the man continued, his massive frame overshadowing the holographic layout of the Mistral Academy. Adam had just been a second away from retaliating before The Enforcer elaborated, "I had gotten an apt description of your so-called Siege of Beacon. From what I'm looking at and what you're telling me, this plan will fall apart the minute a single error is made."
Adam's glare deepened. This man was sent by The Court to act as an "advisor" and yet here he was, trying to take the entire operation!
"Then pray tell, oh Holy Enforcer. Exactly how will my plan fall upon a single error?" questioned The High Leader of The White Fang.
The Enforcer ignored the hostile tone which came from the faunus and displayed the layout of Beacon Academy, prior to The White Fang's attack.
"Look at the size of both academies. When you attacked Beacon, your men had the advantage of space due to its courtyard being much larger than Haven's, however if you were to simply repeat the actions you took at Beacon, your men would be too close to The Grimm and with the amount of negativity soldiers give off in times of battle, along with your men's thirst for blood, The Grimm would go out of control and they would immediately attack your troops." he said.
"You idiot, you're supposed to control The Grimm, aren't you?" asked the irritated Adam.
That was The Enforcer's primary role within all of this, he was to control the Grimm and overwhelm the enemy with them, as well as slay a… certain individual, all whilst advising Adam on what to do come the Battle of Haven.
An individual whom The Enforcer longed to meet in the battlefield once more.
"I do not control them," replied the knight cooly, ignoring Adam's insult. "I merely guide their instincts. The Grimm are lesser than animals, animals know kindness and can be taught tricks, but Grimm? No, the only things that the creatures of my mistress can learn are how to kill, and they are attracted to only hatred. Like a moth to a flame," he explained.
"Then guide them away from my men so they don't get mauled by your Grimm!" exclaimed Adam. "Is that so hard?"
The Enforcer took only a single step and leaned forward, placing his hands on the holotable. It was an action that was done so calmly, and so quietly that one would think he was just getting a closer look, however, the energy he was now giving off was something that was completely different from his actions.
"Surely, a leader such as yourself knows how much of a threat The Grimm can be, especially in close quarters scenarios when there are plenty of negative emotions and the smell of blood in the air." he said.
Adam stepped back. The Enforcer had said the words clearly with such a calm and cold tone, yet the High Leader could feel it, it was something that he had grown used to over the years fighting in The White Fang. The sense of danger, it had come from his abusers within The Schnee Dust Corporation, it had come from the Grimm and humans that he killed. That sense was coming from the dark warrior in front of him, and worst of all, it was being amplified by a tenfold.
"You will do as I say, if not then should any of your men die because you refused to listen to me, I just might kill you myself." The Enforcer said.
This was not some simple threat spoken by a punk off the street, Adam thought. He realized that the man in front of him was a man who had killed a great many, who had led forces into battle. Not some small scale conflict against a bunch of mercs or huntsmen, but an actual full fledged military battle.
Therefore, The Enforcer had not simply threatened him. He had promised that he would kill Adam should any of the White Fang die, and while Adam was sure he could take on The Enforcer, this was a fight not worth having…
Not yet, anyways.
"Fine," said Adam. "What would you suggest then?"
The Enforcer then stood up straight, practically towering over the table in front of him and began showing a projection of Haven Academy.
"While Ms. Fall's team are all distracting the enemy, I will have my Grimm take position in key points in the forests outside of the academy." explained The Enforcer as he pointed at the forests he mentioned. "You will have your stealthiest troops place the explosives on the CCT Tower, while you will have your best marksmen take hold on rooftops." explained The Enforcer.
"Marksmen? Surely you don't think mere rifles can best a huntsman, especially the few teachers that are in Haven," replied Adam.
"No. If they're huntsmen, their auras will be strong enough to ward off rounds from your rifles. However… the Grimm will be after the huntsmen that flee and attempt to defend their base." said The Enforcer.
Adam caught onto what The Enforcer was wanting, and understood.
"You're wanting my men to act as a distraction," spoke the faunus.
Adam was surprised to see he was proven wrong as The Enforcer only shook his head.
"Close," he said. "Your men aren't the distraction… they're the executioners. The Grimm on the other hand are the distraction,"
Now Adam understood the role his men were going to play. The Grimm were going to overwhelm the huntsmen in numbers, sure they'd probably wipe out a lot of them but, in doing so they would leave themselves open to other attacks and with a weakened aura, two well placed shots could swiftly kill them.
It was a good plan.
"Once the Grimm get started, I won't be stopping them so make sure your men are far from them when targeting the huntsmen, and make sure these marksmen of yours aren't fools." ordered The Enforcer.
Adam narrowed his eyes. This man said he was going to guide and control the Grimm, yet he wasn't going to be there?
"Where are you going to be?" asked Adam, who leaned forward and glared at The Enforcer beneath his mask.
The Enforcer once again responded in that cool tone of his, "I will be with Lady Fall's team, and I will be killing my assigned target."
There was no response, and The Enforcer looked around the room, gazing at Hazel Reinhart, who had been watching the situation unfold with an emotionless expression on his face and then back to the few White Fang guards, who stood near the entrance of the Safehouse, their spears in hand.
"I have said everything that needs to be spoken, should anyone have questions then I would like to learn what the intelligence teams have uncovered. We need to know every little detail about the enemies," he said.
With those words being spoken, the meeting went on.
The Emerald Knight
Hideout Ranger
"This man… is The Emerald Knight," said King Dias.
After such an announcement was made, the entire home went ablaze with excitement. Cortana had given him quick information as to who everyone in the room was as they overwhelmed him with their reactions.
There was Ruby Rose, the leader of temporary team RNJR and former leader of team RWBY, a team that was starting to become famous in Vale. From fighting against stolen Atlesian mechs on highways to arresting Roman Torchwick. She was the young girl who wore a black and red attire, a red hood included.
Then, there was Jaune Arc who stood beside her. He was the young man who wore the black hoodie that reminded him so much of Kelly's rabbit insignia, and he had formerly led Team JNPR, a team that wasn't exactly as famous as RWBY, but they were just as skilled as them and by his side were two people who had been former members of JNPR and were members of RNJR- Lie Ren and Nora Valkyire.
Then, in the far back there was a man in a black and white attire with a flask in his hand. His red eyes focused on The Master Chief with curiosity… This man was Qrow Branwen, a famous and infamous huntsman. He was known for his skill in slaying Grimm alone without a team, and also known for being a serious alcoholic.
"Is it true that you fought with Magical Amber against the evil NECO-Chaos?" cried the young Ruby Rose, leader of Team RNJR.
"Or how you went to Hell with The Grimm Slayer and killed demons together?" asked Jaune Arc, the former leader of JNPR.
"No, wait!" cried Nora Valkyrie. "Was it true you got summoned by a cute girl and fought alongside her in a magical war against OTHER awesome heroes for The Holy Grail?" she asked.
The Master Chief hardly understood what these questions meant, he didn't remember a "Magical Amber" and he recalled himself being known as a demon, but he did not find or kill any with a supposed "Grimm Slayer." and he certainly was not summoned by anyone. The Spartan-II was about to ask exactly what all of these students were talking about until he saw Qrow take a step forward.
"YEESH! That's enough," he demanded, and then took a look at Oscar and The Master Chief. "Would you mind explaining how you got a hero that fought in a war that happened nearly a century ago here?" asked Qrow.
Oscar, who was still under Oz's control smiled and nodded.
"For starters… I would like to shortly talk about the tales that were mentioned that involved our friend here," he said as he then looked to the students that were in front of The Master Chief, ogling at the power armor he wore and the heavy sword that was on his back. "Miss Rose, the tale you refer to was a children's fairy tale, it did not happen." he said.
Ruby bowed her head down in shame, that or the young girl was sad that the story simply was not true.
Ozpin then looked to Jaune, and replied to his tale, "Mr. Arc, The Grimm Slayer didn't exist until 10 years after The Great War, and no they certainly did not fight demons."
Jaune also had the same reaction as Ruby, and then Ozpin stared at Nora and just shook his head.
"I don't even know where you got such odd ideas, Miss Valkyrie…" he said. "But The Emerald Knight certainly didn't fight in a war to claim a 'Holy Grail',"
"Not yeeeett!" replied Nora with a grin on her face.
Ozpin sighed and as he was about to answer Qrow's question, Cortana finally spoke up,
"It's a long story, but lets just say… we were never from around Remnant." she stated. "The ship we'd been in crash landed during The Great War, and after we fought in it, we both went on ice while waiting for rescue. We were hoping that our friends from home would find us, but sadly, it seems that Salem has run amok again. After we nuked her," explained the AI through Chief's helmet.
"What's a nuke?" asked Ruby.
"Oh, bless this world…" Cortana quietly muttered to The Master Chief until Qrow once again spoke up.
"That makes some sort of sense," he replied. "I heard you both were sent by The Gods, I guess in a manner of speaking those words are true, and now I have a lot more questions… like who you are, for starters."
"Oh, right." said Ozpin. "Chief, it's probably best if you show them Cortana." he said.
"Right," The Master Chief finally spoke as he reached into his helmet and pulled out the data chip that his friend had been kept in for so long, and she swiftly projected her holographic image as soon as her chip was pulled from John's helmet.
"I'm The Emerald Knight's partner, essentially. You can call me Cortana," she said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Branwen,"
Qrow stepped forward, and began getting a closer look at the bright blue tiny projection.
"To think a computer chip would look so good," Qrow chuckled as he leaned over towards the AI.
Cortana put her hands on her hips, and smirked.
"Sorry bird boy, but I'm a one man kind of girl." she replied.
Qrow smiled, and he stood up straight and took a step back and began to laugh, "Holy cow! She's the best computer I've gotten to talk to, she definitely beats those Atlas AI!" he said as he took a drink from his flask.
"And to you, RNJR… it's certainly a pleasure to meet you all, and The Master Chief feels the same way, even if he doesn't admit it." Cortana said.
The Master Chief smirked under his helmet. He was glad to see that Cortana's "unique" personality was still intact.
"I can admit it," he replied as he put her chip back into his helmet. "However, I'm going to have to skip introductions. Cortana and I have acquired some information, and it's bad news." The Emerald Knight informed.
The students all looked amongst each other, and then back at The Master Chief.
"Did something happen with Leonardo, Chief?" asked Ozpin, finally speaking up before the silence went any longer.
"I… hacked into his scroll, to see if I could get anything and it's bad, Oz." said Cortana. "Do you by any chance know a Doctor Arthur Watts?"
Ozpin raised his eyebrows and so did Qrow, and the two looked at each other, then back at The Master Chief.
"He's supposed to be dead," Qrow stated.
"Qrow is right, Doctor Arthur Watts died in The Paladin Incident a couple years ago as far as I'm aware." Oz confirmed.
"Well he's alive, and after I tapped into Leonardo's scroll, I've learned that he's been giving Watts information about huntsmen and huntresses out in the field. Not only that, but The Cerberus that Chief and I took out was what's been making these huntsmen appear as missing." Cortana explained.
Qrow widened a brow and looked at The Master Chief's golden visor. The man's grip on his flask tightened as he looked at him and Ozpin.
"Missing huntsmen? Just how many have apparently gone 'missing'?" he asked.
"So far… all of those that are seen on the board are gone," replied Cortana.
The atmosphere of the room was filled with an unpleasant chill and a disturbing silence after that revelation. Nobody seemed like they wanted to speak up, and how could they? They all realized that their best chance at defending Mistral from Salem was gone.
"That bastard!" cried Qrow as he slammed his fist onto the table. He grit his teeth as he stared at The Master Chief and Ozpin. "We need to take care of him now, if what you're saying is true then he's betrayed all of us!" the huntsman exclaimed.
"Yes, which is why we need to be careful from now on and develop a plan!" replied the former king. "It's painfully obvious that Leo's going to be leading us into a trap, we can use this information and quickly gain the upperhand."
Qrow's eyes went wide upon hearing Ozpin's reply and he cursed loudly.
"What's the problem, Qrow?" asked the former headmaster.
"They know where Raven and The Spring Maiden are!" replied the huntsman.
The room once again fell silent and The Master Chief looked at Oz, gauging his reaction and saw that his eyes had widened with shock and fear but his features soon relaxed and hardened, once again becoming the calm strategist that he was.
"Can you get a message to Raven? Warn her about everything that's going on?" he asked.
Qrow shook his head as he scratched his chin, and then sighed.
"It's hard to get a hold of her, I know where the camp is, but it'll take days before I could get there. The good news is that Raven will probably retreat if things get shaky," he said.
The Master Chief then spoke up, "Where's Raven?" he asked.
Qrow turned his head towards the Spartan-II and replied, "She's my twin sister, was once a huntress but now she leads a uh…" He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words, but instead he shook his head, as if he was no longer going to bother with such a thing. "Tribe, though they're all a bunch of bandits in actuality and they have The Spring Maiden." he explained.
"A former huntress leading bandits? They must be pretty successful," Cortana commented.
Qrow nodded, and a grim expression appeared on his face.
"Maybe they're a bit too successful," he said.
"At the moment," Oz said speaking up, "We don't exactly have days, if Salem knows the location of Raven's tribe, she won't hesitate to arrive there and we sadly can't divide and conquer. The best we can do is send a message to Raven and trust that she and her tribe will flee before her forces arrive, but for now we must make sure that The Relic in Haven is secure." he said.
"So… what will we do in the meantime?"
Everyone looked towards Ruby, who had asked that question and then everyone looked back to Ozpin. The students all looked worried, even Qrow did as well, although he didn't show it as much as the students did.
However, The Master Chief was certain Oz would have a plan, he had served and fought alongside him for three years during The Great War, and very rarely was he unable to think of something, and whenever he wasn't, it was either one of his many advisors or The Master Chief himself and Cortana who cooked up a plan.
"Before I go onto the plan I have in mind… should anything happen, it's best that we don't let anyone know that I've merged with Oscar." said Ozpin. "I figured something was off whenever Qrow informed me about your meeting with Lionheart, and with Chief's and Cortana's intel, we now know he's betrayed us."
"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand," said Qrow. "It's a good start, especially now that we know the enemy is two steps ahead,"
Ozpin nodded, and continued speaking.
"Now, for our plan… we need to start gathering more allies, and by more allies I mean we enlist the aid of more huntsmen." he said.
"What about the Mistral Council, and the fact that most of the huntsmen in the kingdom were killed?" asked Ren which elicited a chuckle from Qrow.
"Those old fools don't own every huntsman in the kingdom. Granted, there's not much at the moment, but… I do have friends, friends who are trustworthy and will put up one hell of a fight," he said.
"Then what? Do we just barge into Haven, secure The Relic for ourselves?" asked Ruby.
Ozpin shook his head and replied, "No, most likely Lionheart is going to inform Salem about the location of The Spring Maiden." he said. "Of course, knowing her whenever she sees that the tribe is gone, she'll be sending a few of her forces to question Leonardo personally,"
"You want to take out her lieutenants at once," said Chief.
"Exactly," replied Ozpin. "Like myself, Salem has had a multitude of lieutenants, but if we can take them out, we'll start gaining the upper hand." he said and then looked at Cortana. "Cortana, start monitoring Leo's scroll, check all of his messages and inform us if anything changes. We need to be prepared for the worst," he said.
"So, all of us, led by a gigantic space marine in futuristic power armor and cute little boy Ozpin kick down the door and take down Salem and her forces!" Nora loudly cried, shocking just about everyone around her from her loud and energetic response.
"That's only part of the plan, and please don't call me that." Ozpin replied.
"Wait, that's only part of it? What else are we supposed to do?" asked Jaune.
Oz smiled and he gracefully jumped into the air with a brilliant flip and landed onto the soft green chair behind him.
"We get you all into tip-top fighting shape of course!" he said.
"But… we already know how to fight," Ruby replied.
Ozpin narrowed his eyes and soon pointed his cane at the young huntress and he replied, "You can only fight as long as you have Crescent Rose, but I've watched the training matches from Ms. Goodwitch's class and I can tell you, you are lacking heavily in hand to hand combat." he said.
"Well uh… yeah," said Ruby, who backed away from the young Ozpin, who was now pointing his cane at Jaune.
"Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved, but you haven't unlocked your semblance!" said Ozpin, who now placed his cane down and looked at the rest of the students. "You all have a-ways to go before you can pose a real threat against Salem and her lieutenants, and though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his aura, while yes he'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process." he explained.
"So… if Qrow's going to be out looking for huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" questioned Ruby.
"I believe I was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and The Master Chief is a war hero who has almost as much experience as I when it comes to combat," Ozpin replied.
The Master Chief widened a brow, and the students all looked at him as soon as Ozpin brought up the idea of him as an instructor.
"You want me to train them?" he asked.
"Will that be a problem?" Ozpin questioned.
The Master Chief looked at the students, observing their shocked and puzzled reactions, their movements, everything… and he saw that these four children had went through Hell, it wasn't anything like he went through during The Great War or The Human-Covenant War, but it was still something.
They lost a comrade, they travelled far and wide to Mistral to avenge her death and to stop a powerful witch who led an infinite army of monsters and had lieutenants to properly lead and divide humanity. They were soldiers, but The Master Chief knew that in order to be a threat to Salem, they had to be more than soldiers, more than just huntsmen and huntresses, and they had the potential to be just that.
"I will not train you to become a huntsman or huntress," he finally said.
The students all widened their eyes, they were shocked and clearly disappointed, at least until they heard The Master Chief speak further.
"In order to be a threat to Salem, you need to be more than that, and so I will push you as hard as I possibly can, so you can at least be an individual clearly worth being a Spartan." he said. "I promise you all that I will make you the best fighting force that Remnant has ever seen, and I swear that upon those who died fighting alongside me that I will make this be true."
"According to Haven's scheduling… classes aren't going to resume until a month from now, and if Salem's going to do anything, whether it's an attack or sending in her lieutenants, we won't have much time, as she'll most likely be striking prior to classes resuming." Cortana told The Master Chief. "Are you sure you can do it, Chief?"
"Even after we hold off Salem and her forces, the training won't end." Chief said. "These four aren't going to die, and they will be the best I can make them out to be."
"Wait, so The Emerald Knight is going to train us?" cried Jaune, a wide smile on his face.
"No," said Chief. "The Master Chief is going to be training you all, starting early in the morning tomorrow." he sternly replied.
Everyone was surprised by the reply, and their spirits were lifted. If they were trained by both, Ozpin and The Master Chief then what could possibly stop them now?
"All of you have worked hard to get where you're at, and you should be proud of yourselves." said The Chief. "I expect you to work even harder tomorrow, but until then… relax, rest."
The students nodded, they cheered and had wide smiles, all of them were prepared for what was to come tomorrow, and the day after.
"If I recall correctly, you gave that exact speech to Odyssey before you took them under your wing," said Cortana privately.
"I know, and we both know how they turned out," Chief replied.
"They really were the best… are you sure these four will do better than them?"
The Master Chief stared at the four students for only a moment, and he couldn't help but think back to The Great War.
He had told four soldiers, who were as old as the students in front of them those exact same words. They were said to be the worst out of The Valian Army, those who were probably going to die within the next one or two battles, but The Master Chief saw something in them, a fire, a spark.
In the end, those four along with him became the heroes of Vale, their names were praised and many would begin naming their children after the team, unfortunately, this was at the cost of the lives of three members within the team.
The Master Chief saw this same spark in Team RNJR, it was a spark that ignited their fighting spirits and it was a fire in them that would only be put out until the day that they all died in the middle of combat.
"It's possible they might not be better, but they'll certainly be just as good as them." he declared. "I've sworn on their lives after all and promised them,"
"And when you make a promise, you keep it." replied Cortana.
The Master Chief finally got up, he needed to prepare himself for what was to come tomorrow, and to finally have some proper sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had that, that was for sure…
Ruby continued making repairs to her brilliant scythe. Crescent Rose had gone through a lot during these past months, and Ruby never did get enough time to maintain her beautiful crimson beauty!
The young girl found it shameful, truth be told. A weapon was an extension of a huntress, a part of them to be more precise, and the owner should always, always keep their weapon nice, clean and properly maintained.
"It's OK sweet child, you'll be as good as new…" she said to the weapon as she began cleaning the sharp blade with the cloth she carried. After cleaning it, she'd need to make sure to sharpen it once more, it'd be bad if the blade became dull.
"Why, hello there." a voice spoke up.
The young huntress jumped from her seat, almost cutting herself with her lovely scythe.
"Oh my gosh there's a ghost in the-"
Ruby paused for a moment as she turned around and saw that her scroll which was on her bed was lit up and projecting the holographic image of Cortana.
"Oh, nevermind… it's just you, Cortana, right?" she asked.
"That's indeed correct, apologies for scaring you like that. I… wanted to check up on you while The Master Chief is showering," the AI replied. "How are you feeling? Are you nervous at all?" she asked.
Ruby paused for a moment, then she got up from her chair and walked over towards her bed, taking the scroll and then walking back over to the desk in which Crescent Rose rested upon and finally she responded,
"Yeah, I am… who wouldn't be?" she asked. "I mean, other than the fact we're going head to head against some woman who controls magic and the grimm, there's also the fact that Cinder is The Fall Maiden and has a small army of her own." she said.
Cortana smiled as she watched Ruby get back to work on maintaining her weapon. "You'll be having that feeling a lot, it's not the time Chief and I have faced insurmountable odds like all of you are doing, but I think you and your team will be just fine." she said.
"Thanks," said Ruby with a smile. "I'm sure with you and Chief on our side, we'll have better chances." she said.
Then a thought came to her, she would be fighting alongside The Emerald Knight! Meaning that he had to have had his weapon, the mighty Sigurd that was told in the stories! The legendary sword which was said to have slain thousands of grimm, in fact, Ruby even heard how The Emerald Knight made a technique with this sword which was said to have cut off all nine heads off a Hydra at once!
"Hey… Cortana?" she asked, trying to hide the smile on her face. "Does The Master Chief have Sigurd?"
The AI smiled and nodded, "He in fact does, actually, that's one of the reasons why I came to talk to you." she said. "According to your uncle, you made that scythe all by yourself, so I imagine you're a bit of a weapon nut, aren't you?" asked the AI.
"Yuh-huh!" said Ruby, who put down her cloth. A wide smile appeared on her face. "I made this baby all by myself, maybe I went a little overboard, but I think she's perfect!" she said.
This was the truth, Crescent Rose was the embodiment of perfection, it was truly the perfect grimm slaying weapon and had been based off of her Uncle Qrow's scythe, Harbinger. The weapon was so good in fact, that Ruby was certain that if The Grimm Reaper from days old were around, she'd praise it!
"I'd like for you to give Sigurd a… tune up, so to speak." said Cortana. "While the weapon has some advanced technologies put into it, it's still almost a century old. I imagine that weapon, and mecha-shift technology in general has improved extensively."
Ruby's heart jumped as her mind processed the words Cortana spoke to her. She was being asked to work on SIGURD, THE Sigurd!
"Really?" she shrieked. "You really want me to work on it? I mean, I don't have much in terms of improving it, there's not really any tools around here and I'm not a professional-"
"Chief and I aren't expecting you to make a complete overhaul on the weapon," Cortana said, interrupting the young girl. "We… just want you to make the weapon a tiny bit modernized, whatever upgrades you can implement into the weapon." she said. "At least until we reach a proper weaponsmith, someone to provide whatever for it."
"I'll do the best I can!" said Ruby. "Once I get done with Crescent Rose, I'll gladly take a look at Sigurd!"
"It's best to wait until Chief is done showering," said Cortana. "That sword is… a bit too heavy for the normal person to carry," she explained.
"Eh? Why would that be the case, I mean, The Master Chief can hold it just fine." Ruby replied.
"Right, but he's a little… different, so to speak in terms of strength. His strength was heavily altered during his training and so when Sigurd was first acquired, it had to be completely redone and modified in order to accommodate his strength,"
Ruby was amazed, she had heard many stories of the weapon but she wasn't aware that the blade had to be completely redone. Such a thing was hard to manage, in fact The Master Chief would have been better off constructing a weapon from scratch.
"Alright, well… when The Master Chief gets done, I'll be more than happy to fix up Sigurd!" the young girl said cheerfully.
Cortana smiled and nodded,
"Thank you, Ruby. We appreciate this a lot," she said and then turned her head to the side. "Sorry, but I got to go, Oz needs me."
"Alright, well bye-"
Cortana swiftly vanished, as if she had never took over Ruby's scroll at all, leaving the young girl to her work.
The Emerald Knight
Haven Academy
"Since I hold a position on the council, I can't exactly tell my security detail to leave without the other councilmen knowing, but… the other huntsmen are away," said Leonardo Lionheart worriedly. "Have I done a good job?" he questioned.
The Enforcer scoffed, the man speaking to him was nothing more than a mongrel, a pathetic dog who was practically asking if he did good, if he could get a treat. Truly, he was as worthless and as cowardly as his Queen said he was.
"Stay in the academy," he replied as he took a hold of his weapon. "Do not leave The Academy whatsoever, we wish the enemy to be convinced that you had nothing to do with this," said The Enforcer.
"Of course, I will do as you ask." cried Lionheart as he switched off the communications.
The Enforcer looked at the weapon in his hand, at one point it was a tiny piece of junk that he had hobbled together during his days as a scavenging honorless vagrant, truly it was a brilliant piece of work back then, but thanks to the modifications and repairs done by that scientist, the weapon had grown from a strange piece of junk to a clean and shining small device with the activation mechanisms fully restored.
"Now, let us test the blade…" he muttered as he activated the small weapon, and his eyes widened with delight as he did so, for two blades of light, parallel to each other shot from the small trinket. The blades crackled with hunger and The Enforcer could see bright blue sparks as well.
He swung once, and then he swung again, and he listened to the blade's strange humming and the noises it produced as he swung it. It sounded different than before, it had a higher pitch but the menacing noise it made when the blades ignited were still there. Truly, the weapon had been repaired and the scientist certainly deserved more than the treasures that The Enforcer kept.
Now, it was time for the hunt. The Enforcer had everything he needed, he had his armor and he had his sword, a sword worthy for a knight to wield. He activated his armor's invisibility function and soon charged into the academy's yard, and he began sneaking throughout the night, searching for those that needed to be killed.
He prowled like an animal searching for prey, he took soft quiet steps and made sure to conceal himself within the darkness, and when he found a place to hide in, he activated his helmet's night vision software and soon his hunting grounds became enveloped with a green light.
"Hey, did you hear what happened on Bently's podcast?" The Enforcer heard.
The Enforcer turned his head to the left, seeing two guards, armed with rifles walking throughout the campus of Haven.
"No," replied the second guard. "What happened this time?"
"Oh damn, he had to get taken off his own podcast cause he started screaming racial slurs at some crow faunus, can you believe that?" asked the first guard.
The second guard shook his head as he and his partner patrolled throughout the area and chuckled, "Jeez, he should stick to writing. Wasn't he supposed to be writing something with some guy named HeyMrHack?" he asked.
The Enforcer quietly snuck about, and he soon made his way over towards the two guards as they continued talking.
"Hack? No way, he's busy watching that Fate shit, moron hasn't written in centuries, seriously, do you even see Only Huntsmen Ever Cry finished?" said the first.
However, before the second guard could reply, The Enforcer placed his weapon up against the man's back and ignited the weapon! With a terrifying hiss, twin plasma blades tore through his back and went out through his chest.
The first guard pointed his rifle and as soon as The Enforcer was in the man's sights, he began to fire his weapon. An automatic stream of bullets began hitting the target, but it was to no avail.
"Son of a bitch! Security Command, this is Corporal Bruno over in Section Two, I need reinforcements-"
The Enforcer was impressed by the man's reflexes and swiftness, he would have been a good soldier to fight alongside with, that was for certain.
The invisible killer pulled the blade out from the second guard's body and watched as he slumped over, his wide green eyes stared at the dark sky and swung at the first guard, cleaving his entire body in half before he could finish his request.
"Corporal!" cried a voice from the man's communication system. "Corporal, are you there?" he asked.
The Enforcer snatched the comm piece from the corpse of the man he had just killed and spoke into it,
"He is dead," he said with no emotion in his voice. "Just. Like. You,"
"Who the hell are you? I'll have your fucking head for this-"
The Enforcer dropped the piece and smashed it with his foot, then he deactivated his sword and went back to the hunt.
The hunt continued as The Enforcer had planned. He began picking off the security detail one by one, he appeared from the shadows, he appeared from the trees. His twin blades of light sliced through their bodies like butter, not a single one was smart enough to keep their aura active before going on duty.
Truly, they were foolish.
In the end, their corpses littered Haven's courtyard, but The Enforcer was not finished, no, not yet… he looked outward, and glanced at a small but heavily fortified building. That place was his true target, for it was The Security Team's HQ, and it was over there that they monitored grimm activity outside the academy and made sure that the academy was safe and secure. The plan to attack Haven would only be successful should the security systems be destroyed beyond repair and if they no longer had the men to pull off a proper resistance.
"Hunt, my wonderful knight. Hunt them all, slay them all." The Enforcer heard in his mind. "Your blade shall clear the way for a new beginning,"
Yes, that is what he shall do… he would slay every single one of those security officials in the building, and take it for her, his wonderful queen.
The Enforcer began sneaking his way toward the building, soon all would be well and eventually, things would commence. He just needed to wait, was all.
Haven Security
"Son of a bitch," commented Major Crimson. "Are you sure you can't get any of them to respond?"
The new private looked at the Major, his tired green eyes widened with fear, "Nuh- no sir, not a single one of em are replying. I've even tried getting a hold of The Headmaster, but I can't get to him either!" he cried.
Crimson shook his head, everything really had gone to shit.
"Alright… put this place on lockdown, do you understand?" he asked. "If The Headmaster suddenly starts replying, tell him the situation and if he refuses, put it on lockdown anyway and tell him I said that he can go fuck himself."
"Understood sir," replied the private at the terminal, who began typing away.
"Major, what are we going to do? We don't have any huntsmen or huntresses to rely on,"
Major Crimson turned his head, eyeing a young man wearing leather armor and carrying a rifle in his hands.
"We stay in here, Sergeant. It's clear that this threat, whoever it is is wanting to pick us off one by one. However, he can't possibly take on all of us so long as the security systems are enacted and if we're well armed." replied the Major. "So, start getting everyone together, tell them to grab a weapon and get situated."
"Yessir!" cried the Sergeant who quickly rushed off.
The Major turned and was prepared to get into his personal office, he was going to need his weapon as well to assist his men in killing off the sonofabitch who dared to strike at this lovely building.
"Major!" cried the private from before.
Crimson turned away and looked back towards the private who sat at his desk, shaking with fear.
"God dammit, what now?" he asked as he walked over and stared at the screen.
"INCORRECT PASSWORD"
The Major groaned and looked at the kid. After this, he was going to chew him a new one and probably throw him out to the curb for forgetting the password to the security systems within the base.
"Move," he ordered as he pushed the private away from the computer and began typing in the password. "Katarina dash 2513…" he muttered as he slowly typed the password into the terminal.
"INCORRECT PASSWORD" it read once again.
That's when it hit the Major. The kid didn't forget anything, the entire software was completely compromised.
"We can't put ourselves into lockdown," the Major said.
This was bad. Since that was the case, then the base's defenses wouldn't come online, which also meant that the intruder can easily get in and not be torn to shreds by them…
"Get a rifle, link up with everyone else and inform the Sergeant of what's gone on, I'll be with you all shortly." he finally ordered.
"Yessir," said the Private who quickly got from his seat and began running off to the armory.
The Major turned away and went into his personal room, and grabbed his shotgun. It was an old piece of equipment, Great War era, but the boomstick had been with his family for generations and it packed a punch, being able to kill even Alpha Beowolves with two shots. He opened a nearby box of shotgun shells and quickly started loading the weapon, and as soon as it was filled with eight shells he rushed off to join his men.
However, as he charged through the halls with his weapon in hand, he stopped. His eyes widened and his body began to shake with fear, for what he was now hearing was the screaming of his men.
He heard their pained cries and screams, their pleas for the killer to stop what he was doing, but of course the killer didn't. Instead he slaughtered them all, one by one.
"Dammit!" cursed Crimson as he started rushing through the hallway. He took a right and quickly kicked the door open to the entrance of the facility, and what he saw horrified him.
His men had been swiftly slaughtered like farm animals, their corpses littered the entrance and the clean white walls had been dirtied with their blood splatters and bullet holes. Not only that, but as Crimson looked at their corpses, he could smell burning flesh.
Crimson then stared at the man, no, the monster who did this heinous act. It was a human in shape, but it wore a suit of black armor and was much taller than he was. It was such a strange sight that Crimson couldn't tell if this murderer was a man, machine, or something completely different.
"How pathetic, a good leader would have at least been with his men as he watched them die, but you stuck around in the back like a coward." it spoke with a deep voice, filled with dread and disgust. "You don't have the rights to even call yourself a man,"
Crimson lifted his shotgun and aimed it at the armored figure in black and fired twice, the first shell pushed the killer back, but the murderer rendered the second one useless due to the strange weapon he activated.
It wasn't something Crimson had ever seen before, a truly unique design. It was a small curved hilt that crackled and emitted two bright blue blades that were parallel to each other. Crimson wasn't sure what the blades were made out of, they weren't cyan, meaning they weren't made from hardlight dust so it had to be something else.
"Perhaps you do have some merit after all, very well then, Major Crimson." said the monster. "I believe you said you would have my head for the destruction I've caused, so feel free to collect it if you dare."
"Gladly," replied the Major who once again fired his shotgun.
The monster only swung his energy blade, and in one fell swoop he destroyed all of the pellets and then charged at the Major with speed like no other and brought his blade down upon the man.
However, Crimson lifted up his shotgun and managed to fend the beast back with it, but upon doing so, damaging the once old and beautiful weapon.
The Major examined it, noticing that this weapon wasn't simply slicing through his shotgun, but rather the weapon emitted such intense heat that it was boiling his firearm, and while his shotgun was being protected by his aura, it wouldn't last for long.
"Impressive," complimented Crimson's foe.
The Major did not respond, instead he once again aimed his shotgun and charged at the monster in black, however…
The charge was soon ended, as the beast swung his sword with such extreme speed. He sent three strikes, the first two swiftly breached the Major's weak aura, and the third…
Lopped his head clean off.
The Enforcer watched as Major Crimson's body fell onto the floor, the man looked ridiculous without his head, which was now rolling on the floor like a bowling pin. Truly, this battle had ended so quickly and it was boring as well. The Enforcer was certain that if The Major had a stronger aura and better equipment, then he would have fought on even longer.
Such a thing would not happen in The Queen's new world, a world in which all the soldiers would be properly trained, and they would be given the best equipment after being built up from nothing just like he was.
The Enforcer could see it now, hordes of men conquering the Kingdom of Vale, all armed with the best weaponry that could be provided and using tactics that had never been seen before. No huntsman, and no Atlesian soldier would be able to withstand such a fighting force. However, in order for that world to be made, Mistral would need to be taken, and Haven would need to fall first.
He began walking through the halls of the Security Headquarters, and very shortly he reached his intended destination- it was a simple terminal that was to his right, there were tons of them throughout the facility, but all The Enforcer needed was the nearest one.
The Enforcer pulled out a single datachip provided to him by the scientist so he could complete this mission. With it, he would be sending out a virus that would outright fry all of the security systems, allowing the Grimm to approach freely without any resistance.
He began tapping away at the keyboard, the same password that the scientist had given him.
"Lancelot-2558" if he recalled.
PASSWORD ACCEPTED
The Enforcer plugged the chip into the terminal, and he began seeing a series of programs that quickly popped up on the screen in front of him and then… nothing. It remained like this for a few short seconds, until the terminal swiftly turned off, along with just about all the electronics in the building.
His job was done, and with that being complete he accessed his comm's, it was time for Phase Two of the plan.
"Adam, my tasks are complete. I will be joining you shortly, once I lead the Grimm to the location, we will wait until further orders."
He shut down the comm's, his transmission ran through fine and there was no need to hear a response, for he knew that there were no problems on Adam's end. Now, was the time for him to wait… wait for a new world to be made in his Queen's image.
With that marks the end of this chapter. Hope you're all enjoying the Holidays, I apologize for taking so long to update. I've still been a bit lazy, but also busy as I had finally gotten into college (Got through this semester with no problem also!) and I've been working on something.
I said the chapters would be longer, however I've come to remember that long chapters don't equal quality, so I've tried to put as much quality into this as possible, though looking back I really should start doing a better job of double-checking my work. I don't exactly have anyone editing this and I have a bad habit of posting things as soon as I get done, which is why some fics or chapters look a little... half assed, so to speak.
I'd also like to say that this is going to be the final AN for a good while. You're tired of them, I'm tired of them (It also feels like I've said this before lmfao) so I'll make this brief until we reach the final chapter (Yes, we're not far from ending this entire fic!)
I hope to not make the next update so long, and if it is I hope to make it worth it. I plan on writing the rest of the chapters and then uploading them on a weekly basis as soon as all of them are complete, meaning no extreme wait time and I get to finally finish this fic. It's not the ending I originally wanted, but at the same time it's an ending that will do this fic some justice and can end on a high note.
Oh right, before I FINALLY end this chapter, many thanks to Roach99 for helping me out with this chapter. Your help was very much appreciated, on God.