I have returned from the abyss. Still super busy and have my event this Thursday, so no Headmaster Arc upload, but things after that should go back to normal. It's been a stupid month and I'm looking forward to November.
Thanks to all for understanding why I needed that week off, been in and out of work constantly fixing things that shouldn't need to be fixed. Going to be doing more of that tomorrow and Wednesday and Thursday, but I thought it would be a little over the top to take two weeks off.
Cover Art: Serox
Chapter 36
The alarm within the building blared as Neo withdrew her thin blade from a man's lung, stepping aside so that his body could slump to the floor and join the others dotting the corridor. Six in total, two claimed by her and four by her partner, though that was mostly because she had to close the distance before she could kill them. Jaune Arc walked through the carnage leaving bloody footprints in his wake, carefully reloading his handgun while the three huntresses dithered behind, caught somewhere between shock and horror.
"Did we have to kill them?" the blonde asked.
Neo sneered.
"I warned you." Jaune said. "You told me you were ready."
"I am! I just… Everyone? I figured we'd kill the ones responsible and let the rest go."
"You figured wrong."
"We're fine." Blake lied. "Now what? Ruby is probably being held in the testing labs or the cells if we assume this place is lined up like the other labs we raided. They might be moving her to a hangar, though. We should cut that off."
"Hm." Jaune agreed. "I don't want this bastard escaping."
A loud and echoing ringing sound buzzed through the hallway as a microphone was brought into focus. Team RWBY looked around wildly, while Jaune simply waited, Neo silent by his side. The constant noise reached a high pitch, cracked and then evened out. When next it came, it was a smooth voice playing out from speakers set further down the corridor, blasted through the entire building.
"There's no need for such language now, is there? We should be able to talk this out like adults."
"Fields?" Jaune asked out loud. "Matthew Fields?"
"Of course. It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Subject 000 and, if I'm not mistaken, the teammates of Subject-S."
"Subject-S?" Yang hissed. "That's my sister you're calling a test subject, you suck freak!"
"Freak? How rude. Not nearly as rude as breaking into our esteemed company and murdering our employees, however. I wonder what Beacon would think if it learned about that."
The girls flinched, though Jaune sent a quick nod to Neo. Illusions formed in the shape of her, while the real Neo vanished and darted down the corridor in search of the speaker. While he longed to kill the man responsible, keeping him talking now would hopefully keep him busy."
"They won't say anything once we reveal what's been going on here!" Blake said. "You're a criminal, Fields. Your time is up."
"Is it? Am I?" The man chuckled richly. "I expect the world will disagree with you, my dear. You see, criminality is not some black and white matter as many would have you believe. Laws are guidelines, and like all guidelines they can be broken in moderation. Whether or not you are a criminal is decided in a court of law or, in some cases, behind closed doors. Considering that my actions are sanctioned and in no small way funded by Atlas, do you truly believe it is I who will be considered the villain here? Or will it be you? Three girls breaking into a private business, murdering its staff and causing millions in damages, to say nothing of consorting with a wanted terrorist. It all looks rather… suspicious, don't you think?"
Team RWBY looked shocked. Or Yang and Weiss did. Blake was scowling but not at all surprised, as well she shouldn't be since this was how things had always been for them. Still, Jaune took a little pleasure in the helpless rage on Yang's face. Now, she understood what he felt like. Congratulations for living a day in his world. A world where the rich and powerful decided what was the truth, and you had to deal with it.
"Don't let him distract you," Blake said. "Just as Atlas would disavow us and force Beacon to do the same, they'll drop him the moment he stops being useful. If he dies here today, Atlas won't raise a fuss. Not and risk their good relations with Vale."
"Yes, there is always a downside to every up, isn't there? I have the freedom to do whatever I wish so long as I put some small effort into concealing it, but should I be discovered, the Council of Atlas will turn on us in an instant. They have to, you see. Their power comes not from wealth or technology but public opinion. And opinion. Opinion is easy to sway, at least en masse. Take a single man with an opinion and no amount of proof, evidence or fact will force him to change his mind. But take a crowd, take ten or a hundred thousand, and suddenly it's a homogenous blob of apathy and disinterest. As long as they themselves are not affected, they will accept whatever inconveniences them the least. It's quite sickening, honestly. For all that I use it, I'd give anything for people to care just a little more about the world we live in. Alas. I work with what I have."
"Where are you?" Yang yelled. "Face us!"
"Face you? My dear, you come here and break into my business. I believe it is you who should come to me. My office is on the second floor. I look forward to meeting you face to face. And you, Subject 000. I have wanted to meet you for the longest time."
Jaune gritted his teeth. "Then just wait there. Wait there and I'll come find you."
"Hmhm." Matthew Fields chuckled. "I intend to."
"Where's Ruby?" Weiss called out. "What have you done with her?"
No answer. The line went silent and Yang stomped her foot angrily. "That son of a- oi, where are you going!?"
"Second floor." Jaune answered, already moving on. "I'm not here for your teammate. I'm here for Fields. You three can do whatever you like." He walked away from them, headed toward the end of the corridor as the illusion of Neo shattered into pieces and fresh screams began in the distance.
Chivalric Arms had prepared for Null. They'd brought their special units dedicated to dealing with him, ranged specialists with gas grenades and military training. They had little defence against Neo, who could appear in the midst of them and start killing before they could react. By the time he reached the corner and turned it, the blockade ahead was silent. Four people, he noted. Their bodies were strewn around with blood splashed up the white walls and one body humped over the railing of a staircase. Neo kicked a grenade launcher off the bottom step, wiping her sword clean on her white sleeve.
"Second floor," he said in case she hadn't heard. Neo nodded. The elevator went ignored as too dangerous – gas could have been pumped in from above. Aware of the possibility of an ambush above, they took the stairs slowly, making their way to the first floor before pausing for Neo to make herself invisible and scout ahead.
While she was doing so, he heard footsteps below, followed by the clack of heels coming up the steps. Blake, Weiss and Yang caught up, hunching down when they saw him crouched before the final rise.
"You're coming with me?" he asked, surprised. "Your teammate is probably in the lower levels."
"That's assuming this place has a basement," Blake replied. "It's not one of their labs remember, it's a rented building."
True. He hadn't thought of that. Chivalric would be making do with whatever the layout of the place was before, which might explain why it was an easier attack. Also the lack of a hangar. What business in the middle of a city has a hangar? That meant no escape for Fields unless he dove out a window. Jaune licked his lips, fingers rubbing over Mors as his heart raced. Finally. Finally, he had the man. He had all of Chivalric.
"We figured he's our best bet of finding out where Ruby is," Yang said.
"You will let us question him first, right?" Blake asked. "We need him alive for a bit."
"Sure." He wanted to take his time with the man anyway, and he had his own questions to ask. Fields might have been behind all this, but there were others too. This Council of Atlas had to pay for what they'd done, and he had to rescue Sable, Saphron and Terra anyway. "You can ask your questions as long as his fate is mine to decide. Otherwise the deal is off."
"He's yours," Weiss rasped. "Though I imagine you've already decided what his fate will be."
Of course. For everything Fields had done, there could only be one punishment.
/-/
Project-P, Codename: Penny, watched as Target Designated: Subject-S awoke from medically-induced unconsciousness. Her processors considered the array of options available to her before defaulting back on her prime directive, instructions from father, to obey Uncle Fields. He had told her to watch and maintain Subject-S. Penny stood in silence, face impassive as the human girl woke up.
"W-Where am…? No. It… It wasn't a nightmare…?" The girl's voice broke into a strangled sob at the last. "I want to go home."
Penny shuffled as an uncomfortable feeling worked its way through her CPU. It was little to no surprise Subject-S did not want to be here; Penny could not see why anyone would desire to be in such a place. That she was here against her will was also painfully evident, and Penny's searches had brought up numerous laws and regulations that prevented such, rendering this endeavour highly suspect despite father's hasty assurances there was nothing wrong here.
Penny was not foolish. Or at least Penny liked to think so. Penny could accept being incorrect on that assessment, but the array of medical equipment, shackles and bindings keeping the small and helpless girl down suggested she was not.
Follow Uncle Fields' orders. That was what she had been told. Father had been clear that Uncle Fields' instructions were to come even before the laws of Vale, though not, he had added carefully, before his own. When she had asked why he felt the need to distinguish that, he had clammed up and told her to do as he said and ask no more questions. Frustration was not a concept Penny had been designed with, and yet she still felt cheated.
"P-Penny…?" Subject-S was looking at her, and more surprisingly, appeared to know her name.
"Good evening, Subject-S. It is 0017 hours. How may I assist you?"
There. Nice and polite; her father would surely approve.
"Penny? Why are you here?" The girl's eyes widened. "Penny, you need to get me out of here! There's this crazy guy – he's looking to steal my Semblance. Or my eyes! My team, Beacon, I need to get back to them! Quick, before he gets back!"
"I am afraid I can't do that!" Penny said happily.
Subject-S flinched. "W-What? Why?"
"Uncle Fields has told me to keep you here," she explained. "I am to prevent anyone taking you without his permission. Therefore, I cannot take you to Beacon as I have not been given permission to." Penny tilted her head to the side. "Is there some other way I might assist you?"
"Penny?"
"That is my name. What is yours?"
"Penny, it's me, Ruby! Ruby Rose!"
Ruby? That was a name she'd never heard before assigned to a person and yet… it was familiar. Somehow. Not emotionally, but like she'd seen it before and couldn't quite place where.
"Hello Ruby Rose. I am Penny Polendina. It is nice to meet you!"
Less nice for her, Penny imagined, but it didn't hurt to be polite. If she could cheer Subject-S up with a smile then she would. Sadly, it didn't seem to have the right effect.
"You… You don't remember me…? Wait, Null hurt you – he killed you!"
Null. Jaune Arc. Designation: Subject 000. Penny nodded, having read the limited reports father had allowed her to. "That is correct. I was ambushed, attacked and put out of commission by Subject 000. I am not aware how you factor into that, however."
"I was there! We all were! Penny, don't you remember? I'm your friend! It's me, Ruby! Friend Ruby!"
Friend…? Penny's first instinct was to deny it, yet the girl looked so distraught. Penny scanned her memory banks of human interaction – father had stuffed her head full of so much theory on how to interact, and though she couldn't apply it all perfectly, she could draw on it.
This kind of response from Subject-S implied pain, grief and loss, alongside the fear that was almost certainly warranted given her unenviable position. Why such a poignant reaction to her demise, however? And the suggestion that Subject-S had been there was also out of place. Penny's memory of her demise was absent, removed and corrupted, or so father had claimed, and the damage done to her body would have supported such a claim.
Why would father lie about someone's presence in the fight, though? That didn't make sense and she would not have believed it at all if it weren't for the fact Subject-S knew both her name and the fact she had died. And to whom it was. Hadn't father said that knowledge was classified information? Why would a student of Beacon know it?
"Penny, we were friends!" the girl continued quickly. "We met in Vale, I showed you around, you said you were coming for the Vytal Festival with your team."
All of that was true. Father had made the decision to remove her from the tournament, however. Something about General Ironwood no longer being trusted to support Project-P. Now, she had Uncle Fields to rely on. General Ironwood was only to be followed so far as politeness dictated, but his directives were to be forwarded to Uncle Fields for consideration.
Still, Subject-S appeared to be convinced she had met with her body prior to its destruction. This, Penny reflected, was entirely possible. Father had stated that she'd been allowed to roam through Vale, and since her cover had been as an attendee to the tournament, what was to say she had not met this girl before?
If so, Penny thought, then there is a chance we were indeed friends!
How exciting!
"Please, tell me more."
Subject-S looked hopeful. "Will you help me escape?"
"I will not." She felt bad for crushing the girl's hopes like that, but honesty felt deserved here. "Uncle Fields has told me to not let anyone take you, and I will not. I am sorry, Subject- I am sorry, Ruby Rose. You are an asset of Chivalric Arms now."
Just like her.
/-/
"Is it just me or are there less people here than there were on the ground floor?" Yang asked.
"It's not just you," Blake said.
"That suspicious?"
"Not really," Weiss replied. "They will have sent the majority of their forces to the ground floor to deal with us. Once we broke through those, I imagine we dealt with the most of their men."
"We, huh?" Yang snapped. "Doesn't feel like much `we` involved."
Jaune could have laughed. They hadn't killed a single person between them yet, not even when those people had been shooting back. They ended every fight with unconscious or disabled opponents, only to cry out in shock when he or Neo would walk up and execute them. They didn't stop him, though Blake had to hold Yang back, but neither did they take the step and do it themselves.
Easier to outsource the responsibility onto him.
Did they not realise what would happen if those people woke up? An attack from behind would be fatal with his Semblance active. They couldn't afford to leave anyone behind to stage a counterattack or call for help. No, they realised. He'd told them as much himself. They just didn't want to dirty their hands, and when they had a killer like him on call, they didn't have to.
"Your own sister has been kidnapped and is likely being experimented on, and you still want to waste time criticising my methods. I guess she doesn't mean that much to you."
"Fuck off!" she snapped. "Ruby means the world to me and I'll do anything to get her back!"
"Really?" Jaune kicked the last CA soldier over to her feet. "Prove it."
The man groaned weakly, clutching a deep and likely fatal would in his side. Yang Xiao-Long looked like a deer caught in the headlights, her body rigid and eyes locked on the dying man's.
"Y-You want me to kill him…?"
"Of course. He's part of Chivalric Arms. This guy was willing to open fire on a bunch of girls coming for their missing friend. Do you really think he wouldn't hold your sister down as people carved her open? He's one of the elites if he's trusted to guard the CEO. He knows what Chivalric is about."
Yang licked her lips nervously, looking up between the injured man and Jaune Arc. Her shoulders began to shake, and there was no telling if it was because she was angry or about to burst out crying. Neo scoffed silently from beside him, and he held a hand over her chest, telling her to give the blonde time.
"Yang. Don't," Blake whispered.
"Typical Blake. She said the same to me as well, you know. Don't take vengeance on the person responsible for murdering your father and ripping your family apart. Don't kill someone who personally suggested he should be able to molest and assault your younger sister because there would be more test subjects if she got pregnant." Yang and Weiss flinched and looked to Blake, while Jaune laughed. "She didn't tell you that one? The first person I killed in cold blood, though I didn't do it. I asked Adam Taurus to. He was a junior researcher who liked the look of my sister enough to suggest having his way with her. All in the name of science, of course. Blake said I should have let him go."
"It wasn't about his crimes," she argued. "Killing one person is a slippery slope, and you've gone tumbling down it. Look at you, Jaune. Lavender wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Don't you dare tell me what my own sister would want!"
"The real Jaune was a kind young man hurting and desperate to save his sisters from injustice! He wasn't a stone cold killer like you!"
Jaune couldn't hear past the thumping of his blood rushing between his ears. His hand tightened on Mors and nothing sounded better than pointing it at Blake, activating his aura and blowing her head apart. She was so close that she had no hope of dodging and she knew it.
She also knew he'd be proving her right if he did. As satisfying as it might be, she'd die knowing she was in the right, and as petty as that was, he wasn't going to do it. If, when, he took his revenge on her, he wanted her to beg. He tore his eyes away from her and back to Yang.
"The point remains. You three can't be trusted if you're not prepared to do this. It's your sister, so decide what is more important. Her safety or keeping the moral high ground."
Slowly, Yang knelt. The CA soldier didn't say a word. He didn't let out a peep. He knew his life was over the moment he met Null, and the man kept his lips sealed shut as Yang held his face gently between her hands, staring down with eyes clenched shut. The gasmask likely helped. It made the man look less human. Blake looked away, eyes closed, but Weiss Schnee stayed watching as Yang tensed her arms and twisted the head violently to one side.
The crunch of bone was incredibly loud.
It wasn't as satisfying as he'd thought it would be. The body dropped, lifeless, and Yang Xiao-Long stood up shaking and gritting her teeth together, tears leaking down her cheeks. What he'd expected would be a slap in her face and a win for him was simply a slap to both, more because she could still feel bad for it and he didn't.
Am I really that far gone? I don't `like` killing. I just have to do it…
"There." Yang stared at him through her tears. "Is that enough for you?"
For once, it was Jaune who looked away, uncertain. "Yes." He took a deep breath and turned back to the corridor, moving ahead and pushing the uncomfortable feeling to the back of his mind.
Vengeance first. He could figure out why that hurt so much later.
A large and ornate door lay at the end of the corridor with two men in suits beside it. They looked nervous, terrified even, and when they approached, the two men placed hands on the doors and opened it, keeping their heads down in clear submission. Inside, a large and ornate chamber floored with tiles was revealed. At the back of it, before a giant window, stood a heavy wooden desk with a single figure sat behind it.
Matthew Fields.
Jaune's blood boiled and he stomped through the door despite Team RWBY's warnings. He kept Null down, expecting an attack or some form of trap on the inside of the door. None came. Yang, Weiss and Blake filtered in behind him, only to flinch when they heard two gurgles and thuds behind. Neo pulled the doors shut, leaving the two suited men bleeding to death outside.
The room was a good twenty metres by twenty metres, far too grand to be a simple office even if it had been turned into that. Six pillars ran down the left and right and toward the tall windows, scant space behind between the pillars and the walls. Paintings hung from those, numerous figures and scenes from across the world. There was even two sets of couches on the left and right, in the corner by the entranceway they'd come in, with little coffee tables and a barista machine. A long rug ran down the centre of the room, leading up to and under the hefty desk at the far end. Matthew Fields sat in a tall-backed leather chair, leaning back with his hands linked before him.
He was not the kind of man Jaune would have expected for the CEO of a powerful company. Matthew Fields was lithe and tall, well shaved and with his black hair slicked back. He wore a perfectly pressed suit, but it fit him well and there wasn't an ounce of fat on the man. He looked as fit as the soldiers he employed, and as calm as them. Despite watching his men be annihilated, he remained steadfast, standing slowly behind his desk with a warm smile.
"Welcome home, Subject 000. Chivalric has missed you."
Mors flew up and cracked loudly. Blake shouted out, but she needn't have bothered. The round impacted the man's hand as he brought it up, deflecting off his aura and smashing into the wooden desk. With the distance between them, he hadn't even bothered activating his Semblance.
"There's no need for that. I'm here ready to welcome you back into the fold. I'll even make a deal of it. Surrender yourself and I shall cease all pursuit of your family. I will personally ensure those General Ironwood has are released to join their fellows in Menagerie. They will all be safe."
Jaune fired again and a third time, each bullet deflected. He snarled and shook violently.
"Hm. You're angry. Is it because I mentioned Menagerie? Oh dear, was that supposed to be a secret?"
Chuckling, the man picked up a manilla folder and waved it in the air before tossing it onto the floor. Images spilled out, one skittering across the floor to him. On it, Ilia Amitola was sat beside Lavender sharing an ice-cream. They were both smiling. Jaune was not. He was shaking badly, eyes wide and heart pounding in his ears.
Chivalric Arms were in Menagerie.
"I have not yet ordered my agents to make a move on them, but I could. Personally, I don't see the point. I knew you would be coming for me eventually and yours is the Semblance I desire. They may have the potential to manifest it, but it's not a given. If you agree to aid us, I will allow them their freedom." Matthew Fields smiled genially. "How about it?"
"Never!" Jaune spat out.
"Really? Even knowing your family is in danger, you will prioritise your own comfort and revenge. Could it be that you don't care as much about them as you believe?"
Jaune flinched. "No, I… I'm doing all this for them." He steadied Mors on the man. "I'm just not willing to accept even one of us being locked up. It won't be an issue when I kill you."
"Won't it? Chivalric Arms will still exist without me. The empire I have built is too valuable for Atlas to do away with. My crimes, if exposed, will be swept away, I will be replaced and forgotten, and another will take my place. As it should be." He removed his jacket slowly, pulling each arm out before folding it over the back of his chair. His white shirt flexed as he moved, pulling against his muscles.
"Chivalric Arms is bigger than any one person. It is an ideal, and that ideal is for a perfect world where humanity isn't held back by the potluck of Semblances, where they can be chosen, propagated and shared at will. It is an ideal we all hold in our hearts, even if subconsciously." He offered his hand. "Won't you join me in reaching out for it?"
Twenty metres. He needed to be much closer before Null could take hold. Even then, he wouldn't let it end with a single bullet unless he had no other choice. I have to rip Chivalric Arms down or it'll just come back like he says. I need evidence. Something to expose them. His eyes slid to Team RWBY. They're the perfect vehicle for it. I just need to get them the proof and let them do the rest.
"If you're all about manufacturing and sharing Semblances then why do you want his in the first place?" Weiss asked. "It's the antithesis of a Semblance."
"Even the lack of a Semblance has its place. If we are to hand out Semblances, then we must also have a way of taking them away. This is the responsible thing to do. Criminals, those who have abused their own or even just those with disadvantageous Semblances, an application of Null could take them away, rendering them harmless."
"It also lets you control them," Blake hissed. "If everyone relied on Semblances for everything then the one who could take them away becomes king."
"That's it, huh?" Yang mocked. "You don't want some ideal world. You just want to be the top dog."
"You may believe what you wish," Fields said, removing his tie and setting it on the desk. "It's not my place to convince you." He opened his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up, revealing thick corded muscle and a tattoo on his right bicep, an emblem with a scroll of text beneath it. His neck cracked as he stepped out from behind his desk and stood before it, arms held up in a loose boxing stance, as if he really thought he could take the four of them. "Come. Let me give you a vision of the future we shall build. And you want your sister back, don't you?" He curled his fingers at Yang. "I'll tell you where she is if you can beat me."
Lilac eyes flashed red and the blonde rushed in.
"Yang!" Blake yelled. "Don't!"
Jaune made no effort to stop her. Fields wasn't confident for no good reason and she would prove a useful way of figuring out the trick here. Whatever it was, it wasn't getting out the way. Matthew Fields kept a defensive stance as she raced in, throwing a haymaker toward his face. At the very last second, he slid one foot back to take the blow, and caught the fist against his forearms.
A wave of fire washed out from the point of impact, fed by Yang's own Semblance. It scorched the desk behind him and sent paper scattering to the corners of the room. Despite the punishing impact, however, Fields wasn't knocked back an inch.
Unwilling to be stopped, Yang pulled back and kicked up, spinning and smashing the back of her heel at his neck in a roundhouse kick. Fields wasn't fast enough to block it and her foot struck his neck hard enough to shatter bone. His head was knocked aside, but again his body didn't move. His aura held, and his feet remained locked to the floor, glowing a bright and obvious green.
He looked up at Yang with a dangerous smirk. "My turn."
Matthew Fields ducked and cancelled his Semblance, returning his feet to their normal colour. He stepped under Yang's body before she could fall, reared an arm back and delivered an uppercut into her stomach. At the last possible second, his aura flared, and his body bulged. His shirt ripped as muscles visibly expanded, his biceps growing as thick as a tree trunk an instant before the impact.
Blood and spit flew from Yang's lips as she was thrown up into the air, sent crashing into the ceiling before coming back down.
"Yang!" Weiss shouted, moving to rush forward.
Fields pointed at them. "Stay!"
Weiss, Blake and Jaune froze. Physically. A white sheen expanded over the two girls while Jaune's body locked up. Panic ripped through him before his eyes flared bright colours and the white aura shattered, releasing all three of them and sending Weiss stumbling forward. "W – What? What was that!?"
"His Semblance?" Blake whispered. "But I thought it was a strength-based one if he could take on Yang. How do verbal commands fit into that!?"
"They don't," Jaune hissed. The glowing feet, the bulging muscles and now a white aura spread over them. "He has multiple Semblances."
"Impossible! Semblances can grow and adapt but you can't have more than one!"
"Impossible?" Fields laughed. "My dear, flight was impossible before it was invented. Medicine was a mystery before someone discovered it. People used to think the world flat before we knew better. The impossible is simply that which has not yet been made possible, and thanks to Subject 000, our dreams are closer to fruition than ever before. And that's why your Semblance is so important."
Fields caught Yang as she fell and tossed her aside. The huntress crumpled in a corner, curling around her stomach. As the businessman strode forward, his arms and chest retracted to their normal size, leaving his now ripped shirt to flutter off a fit, but not ripped, body.
"You have so much potential. Subject 000 we named you, and there's a reason for that. You are the beginning of everything. It's no small lie to say you alone catapulted our research decades ahead, maybe even centuries." He cracked his shoulder and moved forward, and Weiss and Blake fanned out, Neo slipping into the shadows between the pillars. Fields kept his eyes on Jaune the whole time.
"The thing about Semblances, you see, is that they are very personal things. They tie into your soul. Souls don't like being mixed, however. It causes problems. It's like transplanting blood in a sense, but a thousand times more difficult. Two souls in the same body will inevitably fight and destroy one another. Unless, that is, we can dampen or even deactivate those Semblances."
"You used my Semblance to render others inert and then injected them into yourself…?" Jaune raised Mors but didn't dare use Null without knowing exactly what he was dealing with. "That's ballsy. What if it hadn't worked?"
"Then I would have died, of course, but don't worry, I didn't test it on myself immediately. There are always plenty of criminals available, and small villages outside the safety of the cities disappear all the time. Who would notice if one or two vanished under Atlas' watch?"
"You've been experimenting on innocent people."
"Yes." Fields smiled. "I'm sorry. Did you think you were special in that regard? Rest assured, we were very ethical in our selection and research. Alas, we reached a bottleneck in trying to graft Semblances onto new people. Their auras really did rip them apart. Quite literally in some cases. I thought for the longest time that we would never find an answer."
He breathed out, smiling blissfully. "And then we heard of you. Of your Semblance and the breakthrough it might represent. Oh, the excitement I felt. You wouldn't believe it. I almost called for Ansel to be razed to the ground, but luckily, your family decided on a nice holiday to Atlas and saved me the effort. And the rest, as they say, is history."
"How many?" Jaune gritted. "How many Semblances?"
Matthew Fields spread his arms and laughed. "Hundreds. Genetic material acquired directly from key huntsmen, borrowed from our employees and taken from the blood of every member of the Atlas military to have enlisted in the last fifteen years. I am a living gene bank for every Semblance to ever pass our doors."
Fields took one step too many.
Jaune lunged forward, hand outstretched and eyes flashing gold, purple and green as he roared, "And I can take every single one of them away from you!"
"Uh-oh."
The man smirked as Null reached him, only to shatter into glass.
Jaune's eyes widened. Neo's Semblance! Then that meant-
A bullet impacted his aura scant milliseconds after he dropped Null, saving his left leg from being blown away. It still knocked him off balance and sent him stumbling onto all fours. His head turned left and right, taking in the six copies of Matthew Fields stood at varying spots about the room.
"Now you see what you're dealing with," all six said at once, voices mingling into an echoing tenor. "The perfect human. Imagine this but expanded out across all of Remnant. How could the Grimm ever hope to stop us? Chivalric Arms will create a new world, arming the chivalrous with the weapons they need to take back Remnant."
Not without Null, they wouldn't. They needed him. Jaune clenched his teeth together, pushed his hand down and stood up, holding Mors loosely in one hand as Weiss, Blake and Neo tried to decipher which enemy was real. Assuming they all weren't real. They had no idea what these clones were, what they did, or what other hundred or so other Semblances Fields had hold of.
"It is time to return to the fold, Subject 000. As for our huntresses from Beacon, I am sure the world will despair to learn that `Null` killed you, but rest assured you shall live on within me."He smiled and threw the remains of his shirt away. "You will live on within the next stage of humanity in this bloody world of evolution. Now come. It is time for a field test."
With a loud laugh, all six copies of Fields rushed in.
The bold at the end is literally just to emulate the sound of six of him speaking at once. It won't continue next chapter once the clones aren't in play thankfully.
Next Chapter: 2nd November
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur