A Cosmic Journey

A/N: Updates have arrived! The classwork has stabilized for now, but I'll have finals for my summer classes in a few weeks, so there won't be a new chapter on August 11. Fear not, there's some progression to get to before that point, and there'll definitely be a chapter for the one-year mark of this story's first chapter!

Chapter 42: Deep Doubts, Deep Wisdom

Chapter Date: 07/23/2020

"So, to be clear on the facts, I'm supposed to have another talk with Mercury." I glanced over at Ozpin, who seemed quite relaxed compared to Ironwood's rigid posture at being inside Beacon's holding areas. Beside them was a passionately curious Penny, surely making note of certain details with senses and processing power that I assuredly did not possess.

"That is indeed accurate, Mr. Higure." Ozpin took a sip from his mug, but couldn't hide his amused eyes at the situation before him.

"And this talk is supposed to be alongside Penny here."

"Correct." Ironwood looked much less amused, though I wasn't sure if it was from being underwhelmed by my questioning abilities, or from entertaining the idea of bringing Penny along to something as delicate as questioning an assassin.

"And Penny will be there…because her and Mercury are friends?" I stressed the word as clearly as possible, looking directly at Penny as I said it. In her defense, I probably sounded like I was talking to a primary schooler from how slowly I spoke. In my defense, the situation was in the same boat as if Neo befriended and tamed a Grimm. Theoretically possible, but very unlikely, and really bad potentially for Remnant as a whole.

The gynoid with a supercomputer for a brain and databases worth of information was not picking up what I was laying down. "Your statement is factual! Friend Mercury and I have conversed with one another on multiple occasions, and he even stated that he didn't hate me, but if I were on fire and he had water, he'd drink it if he were thirsty! Therefore, he does not hate me!"

I desperately looked towards the two men responsible for training half of Remnant's best Huntsmen. "I can't help but have some reservations about how this will go."

"Ohhh, I was not aware that questioning individuals required reservations! General Ironwood, were you able to secure these reservations prior to today's session?"

Ironwood's smile looked refreshingly plastic, and I could see the gears turning in his head to talk to Pietro Polendina. "Rest assured Penny, you have already been cleared to join Mr. Higure in his conversation with Mercury Black."

"Sen-sational!"

Ozpin took another sip as I continued gawking at him. "Given the information gained from your previous interactions, I believe that allowing for this new addition will bring with it new and intriguing revelations. Now, I believe we have kept the detained waiting long enough. Mr. Higure and Ms. Polendina, you may head to the room and begin questioning." At Ozpin's word, I breathed deeply, before turning to an attentive Penny.

"Alright Penny, Mercury's room is this way if you'd come with me." Penny's joyful assent was indication enough, and we made our way down the halls of the building, the sounds of various Grimm within other areas doing little to pervade my train of thought.

'There's no feasible way that either Ozpin or Ironwood expect Penny to get information from Mercury, and I'm barely on forced speaking terms with the guy after our last tussle! So if intel on Cinder's plans isn't the objective, then…' I turned and locked eyes with Penny. "Hey Penny, would you be willing to wait outside of the room for a couple of minutes before I call you in to talk to Mercury?"

Lifelike red curls drooped slightly as Penny tilted her head sideways. "I find the request easy to fulfill, if not strange. Is there a reason you wish to talk with Friend Mercury without my presence?"

"Uhhh, it's a surprise for him. I'm sure he hasn't seen any friends in a while, so I thought it would be a nice change of pace during the talk to bring you in."

"…What a wonderful idea! I must thank you for thinking of mine and Friend Mercury's wellbeing in a such a way!"

"N-no problem." I ignored the guilt that came from fibbing to the innocent redhead, pushing an impassive expression into place as we neared Mercury's room. "Now, just wait out here for now. When I call out for you, you can come in, alright?"

"Affirmative!"

"Great…let's get this going then…" I opened the door to the holding area and walked inside, the illumination of the Hard-Light barrier washing my attire in a soft blue. As I took a seat, Mercury was already raising an eyebrow.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of another visit?" The assassin didn't pause in his workout routine, continuing to do handstand pushups while looking over at me.

"Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't come chat with you every so often. Plus, I came to see how the new prosthetics were working for you. Obviously they've gotta be pretty bad if you'd rather be on your arms than your legs at the moment."

"You just, caught me, in the middle, of my, afternoon workout." Mercury punctuated every few words with another pushup. "And I don't know about you, but crappy conversation is worse than none at all, especially when it's coming from you."

"I feel honored to be on the list of terrible conversation partners," I drawled, and was rewarded when Mercury chuckled and nearly slipped with his positioning. A thought popped into my head and I tried steering the conversation. "Then again, I can't be worse than the likes of Adam, Neo and Emerald after all."

"Seriously? That's the most blatant segue I've ever heard. You really do suck at intel gathering." Mercury reached the end of his exercise and sat up.

I smirked. "Humor me. Given from what I heard from my friends about Taurus, any conversation with him involves five extra servings of angst and edge. Meanwhile, Neo literally can't talk." At that, Mercury snorted. "And I heard enough between you and Emerald to tell that scintillating wit isn't exactly the theme."

"Congratulations, you rank above a terrorist, a sadist, and a two-bit pickpocket."

"Hey, I'll take it. But you can't tell me your work didn't have you interacting with some rather interesting types."

"Asking me about my rep won't work, least of which is because I've got no clue what the hell 'interesting' is supposed to imply." Mercury began doing pistol squats. "Seriously, you can be vaguer at times than bureaucrats explaining where their funding goes."

"Apologies for the confusion, but I legitimately have no idea how I'm supposed to describe such a unique individual, given the fact that I met her about fifteen minutes ago." At that, Mercury's brows furrowed in confusion, and I mentally rubbed my hands together. "You know what, it'd likely be better if she explains it rather than me. You can come in now!"

My expectation that Penny possessed a finely-tuned audio processor didn't go unrewarded, as the hydraulics of the door slowly hissed open and Penny stepped inside. As she neared the periphery of the light, Mercury's eyes narrowed, then widened as he actually slipped this time, his butt thumping against the floor.

"Hello Friend Mercury. I heard the news of your apprehension, and I requested to meet and speak with you." Penny strode right past where I was seated and made for the Hard-Light Barrier, heedless of my attempts to snag her arm before something drastic happened. The gynoid paused right before the humming Dust barrier. "Is it true that you are an assassin working for terrorists and criminals?"

Mercury engaged in the fine pastime of wordless jaw working, trying to fit the whole kit and caboodle that had waltzed into the situation. Eventually, gray eyes turned to me, then at the camera filming the session, then back to me. "Now that's vicious, springing someone like her on me like that."

I shrugged, unabashed. "She insisted. I didn't even know the two of you knew each other until I met her not twenty minutes ago."

"Heh, fair. I wouldn't have mentioned it considering that it wasn't any of your business." Mercury ruffled his hair back into its normal style. "And Penny, you can decide for yourself what kind of person I am. I don't exactly hide what I'm like."

"Not the snark perhaps, just the little murdery quirks." I drew an actual glare from Mercury for that one before continuing. "Penny, it would be safer for you to step a bit further away from the Hard-Light barrier. We wouldn't want you to be hurt."

Penny took a single step back, but was still far closer than anyone else had been to Mercury since his imprisonment. "My previous query goes unanswered, friend. I would ask if you have been contracted for murder and if you are working against the interests of the Kingdoms."

"It doesn't really matter whether or not it's true, does it? Only that Ozpin thinks that it is, and that's good enough to keep me locked up in here. Talk about due process." Mercury snorted again, before he looked at Penny. "And if you're here, that means General Irondick and all the other students have arrived."

"If you are referring to General Ironwood, then-"

"Man, I've been cooped up in here for more than a few weeks at this point, huh? Hard to tell with no windows or clock or whatnot." Mercury plopped down on his bed, before addressing Penny again. "And I'm not sure why you haven't caught on that I'm not the squealing type. Hell, even the stubborn piece of work behind you gets it. Then again, I'm pretty sure you're a few cards short of a full deck at this point."

I bristled at Mercury's insult towards Penny, but the victim in question merely blinked, expression unchanging. "I am unaware of the meaning of this statement. I believe that it is customary for most card games to be played with the removal of the jokers in a deck."

Only the soft hum of the barrier was heard for a moment, before outright chuckling and giggling crept past the hand covering Mercury's mouth. Then the assassin gave up all pretenses of composure and started full-on laughing, letting the sound bounce off the walls.

"Haha, see, this is why she's so much more of a conversation partner than you, Higure. None of the cloak-and-dagger, roundabout crumb-trail nonsense." Mercury looked more lively than he had in weeks.

"On the subject of jokers, I would like to question you regarding information you may have on an individual that you have encountered." Penny continued bulldozing her way through the conversation, and I had to respect where that earnestness was getting her, as Mercury seemed to be genuinely paying attention for the moment. "I would ask that you detail any information that you might have regarding the Specter."

If the camera for the room hadn't been centralized on the holding area and Mercury, Ozpin and Ironwood would've doubtless gotten to see my shocked expression boring into the back of Penny's head. On the other hand, it seemed like Mercury was in the same situation, though he recovered much faster to scrutinize the freckled girl facing him.

"…Huh. I'm surprised you'd be coming to me about something like that, but there's not much to tell." Mercury held his chin thoughtfully, and I waited with breath held for what would come out of his mouth. "I've only heard rumors about him, and seen him once. He was an operative based in Mistral, doing different kinds of jobs that're open to the less morally inclined. From what I heard, he also stuck it to the White Fang more than a few times, but whether it was at someone's word or a personal bent is anyone's guess.

The one time I saw him, his appearance lived up to the hype. Garbed in a black robe and gloves, no part of his body was laid bare. He had a mask on, which would've had me calling White Fang if it weren't for the fact that the Fang hates him. The only thing that was differed from the tales was that his eyes were shining red, with a tint of yellow too. Now that was a guy who made it a point to look like a Grimm, and it worked." Mercury's back tilted into the wall. "That's all I've got for ya, Penny."

"Thank you for your honesty, Friend Mercury. I would also like to ask if your current prosthetics are at an acceptable level of mobility and durability. If further adjustments are required, I would be happy to return them to my father." At Penny's words, Mercury smiled.

"So I've got your pops to thank for being able to do actual squats? Tell him thanks for me." Mercury seemed to grasp exactly what that meant after a second, his grey eyes darkening. "The specs are fine though. I'm getting by with them as they are now. Thanks though."

I didn't know if there were any other topics that Penny, really Ironwood, wanted to get to, but it was a very good idea to cut things off now. "If my witticisms aren't cutting it for you, I suppose it'll be another talk with Ozpin and the good general on getting you a new dance partner. 'Til next time, Mercury." I motioned for Penny to step out with me, and the glow of the room disappeared as the door closed.

… … …

"Well, that was certainly novel. Mr. Higure and Ms. Polendina make for quite the interesting conversational duo."

"That's one word for it, Ozpin." Ironwood's hand clenched. "That boy remains obstinate in the face of his situation, and Higure did little but poke and prod at insignificant subject matters."

"Calm yourself, old friend. Kouzai Higure is untrained in the ways of proper questioning, and I believe that is for the best in the current situation." Ozpin gathered his thoughts as he glanced at the monitor again. "It is clear that young Mercury has been conditioned on how to remain firm in instances of interrogation, be it verbal or the more…physical variety. Such efforts in that avenue would only rob us of actionable information. However, given his upbringing, Mercury may also be less than well-versed when it comes to casual interaction. By bringing in unconventional individuals to converse with him…"

"You aim to take Mercury off-guard and allow for more passive acquisition of information. Hah…that is quite the on-brand manner of plan, Ozpin. I can only pray that it bears fruit before Her agents make another move."

"There is a risk with this plan, like all plans, but I remain optimistic on its success. After all, we now have further confirmation on some of the Specter's activities, his locale, and his appearance from a member of the underworld."

"And that's another thing. Why exactly was Mercury so willing to divulge information on the Specter as opposed to Cinder Fall or Adam Taurus?" Ironwood turned to face Ozpin, looking the immortal in the eye. "If the Specter were truly on their side, information that could lead to his capture would only hurt them."

"Ahh, but that appears to be the nature of Mr. Black's thought process. Given our line of questioning, he is likely aware, as are we, that the Specter is not an entity that lies with either general agenda. Rather, he remains unattached, and the motive for providing such information would only narrow his options. Under duress, the path forward become unclear, and joining a side for protection or otherwise becomes quite enticing."

"So pursuing this individual could lead to the deadlock that has kept the Specter unaffiliated to break. But we cannot just sit back and blindly believe that a criminal such as that will act for the greater good!"

"On that, we are in agreement." Ozpin smiled in reaction to the surprise on Ironwood's face. "It is true that much of this Specter remains shrouded in secrecy, and that forcing efforts at recruitment might well end poorly. But gathering information is well within the realm of possibility. And with information comes motive. With motive, clarity. And with clarity…a course of action."

… … …

After parting with Penny, I was left alone with my thoughts, which was a pleasant change of circumstances, considering that I had a lot to juggle at the moment.

'Okay, so Ozpin and Ironwood are looking for the Specter. No big deal, that was bound to happen after Amber. Cinder and Adam are also looking for the Specter, which was pretty clear after the whole 'arm burned off' deal. If Ozpin and Ironwood are on it though, that definitely means Qrow and Winter are on it. And if they're on it, it won't be long till team RWBY are on it. And once that happens, it's back to my ass being back on the line with them, albeit they wouldn't know that it's me this time…well, except for Blake. And that's a whole 'nother can of worms to-'

The sound of a scroll ringing cut through my internal rant, and I felt around until I pulled out my burner scroll. Staring down at it with the expression normally reserved for waking up Melanie, I answered the call. "Please tell me this is about good news."

"The day I make time just to do that is the day Adam Taurus turns to pacifism." Roman chuckled over his own joke. "Yeah, I've got news of the 'oh shit' persuasion, and figured that the somewhat sane munchkins should hear about it before it gets to the less than sane ones."

"I resent the designation, but go ahead."

"I take it you're not shocked to hear that Neo was present in the audience during that spar you had with Little Red and her team." My flat silence was enough. "Yeah, she was far too smug for that to be otherwise. Great stuff, by the way. If things and Beacon don't work out, and Junior doesn't want you coming back, and you don't end up in a shallow ditch somewhere-"

"Roman."

"Yeesh, someone's been starved for good conversation today." I slid a hand down my face at the unfortunate accuracy of that statement. "Getting to the good stuff then. It's all good and dandy that the brats aren't going to charge out and get themselves carved up out of nowhere, but it does mean that someone's gotta handle things around Vale. And I don't mean the cops."

"Continue." I didn't like where this was going…

"Remember how I mentioned that Cinder's got me pulling in some experimental weaponry from Atlas? The very murdery kind?"

"Yes…"

"Welp, there's a pretty score that's made it's way across the ocean. Most of it is headed out of the city proper, but what's coming in is still enough to make life very bad for a good many people. So if Little Red and hers won't be venturing out of their own accord to cuff my dainty hands, then…" Roman trailed off, and the implication was pretty clear to the both of us.

"Just tell me it's something manageable, like a cache of guns, or a new bullhead."

"I would love to, really, I would. I did however say that I'd be supplying you all with intel, and Roman Torchwick doesn't deliver-"

"For the love of gods, get it over with!"

"It's a huge, piloted death robot."

"…Ah, Grimmshit."

A/N: So like I mentioned, I've got finals for summer classes coming up in a few weeks, so there won't be an update on August 11. There's a bit to get through before that point, so look forward to that. Now for reviews.

Fuyuki365: That's the nature of things, though at this point Kouzai is well-versed in forcefully turning losses around, as much as can be managed.

AlexFalTon: Well, you weren't far off the mark there on their first conversation, just with a little more cheerful forcefulness from Penny and a little less cluelessness from Mercury. It definitely leads to interactions that I enjoy writing.

Raidentensho: Unfortunately, not everyone can be the socially suave when it comes to matters of the opposite gender. As for the other characters, the buildup for things is being laid for events later on.

Eseer: Hmm, I'm not sure how a resemblance in their speech might exist, but I suppose I'll have to take a look. I'd like to think I've kept true to the characters' speech patterns, but we'll see.

Gizmo Gear: Kouzai's maturation has granted him an edge in terms of his training methods and studying, though some drawbacks might show themselves. And what irony it would be to have Dr. Polendina make prosthetics for someone working for a colleague of Watts.

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 07/28/20