Somewhere on the continent of Anima
Osiris blinks a few times. Darkness, all around him. A burning smell reaches his nostrils. His body is compressed between two pieces of metal and he doesn't have much room to move his arms. A flame burns right next to him.
"The sheet metal above you is structurally compromised, you can hit it!" Sagira says. He nods, and charges some Light, converting it into kinetic energy into his palm and bam! He palm-strikes the debris covering him, sending it flying away. The side-door hits a tree and falls to the ground.
Sunlight reaches Osiris' vision, forcing him to blink a few times to readjust his eyes. His legs kick off any lingering piece of trash from the wreckage. His torso lifts itself, and his head swivels side-to-side.
"Behind the ship. Check it out," a woman's voice says, from a distance behind the ship, probably in front of the crash site. Someone approaches him with fast footsteps.
"Oh hoh! Found another one, boss!" A man wearing a maroon bandanna over one eye stands above him. A kit-bash rifle hangs loosely in one hand and the lack of trigger discipline is infuriating to say the least. That thing looks ready to fall apart the moment it fires. The man's entire attire reminds Osiris of bandits he had to deal with while defending the Last City in its early days. Soon enough, he is looking down the barrel of a rifle, pointed straight between his eyes.
The Warlock rolls his eyes as the man flicks his weapon upwards. "Come on, get up."
He will play their game. First, he has to verify if Weiss is alright first, then he will blow the lid on this. It's a solid enough plan.
"We found her bodyguard!"
"Good, that makes for a better ransom letter." The woman's voice sounds smug, which Osiris doesn't like. He'll wipe it off of her soon.
He stands up and raises his hands, forcing a smile as the bandit roughly tugs him forward. He doesn't stumble and slowly follows.
A group of two women and one man stand in front of Weiss, who is collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.
"…That's her bodyguard?" The tan, brown-haired one chortles, and twirls a rapier in her hand, almost dropping it. The brown vest over her torn shirt accentuates the whole marauder style. The one in the middle dresses with sophistication, which stands out. She seems to be their leader.
"She's gripping it wrong…" Sagira grumbles.
"What is the meaning of this?" Osiris asks, looking towards the long, black-haired woman in the middle. She has a bit more armor to her, with red, knight-like gauntlets, but that seems to be it. She wears a short maroon-crimson skirt and black leggings. The man to her left is holding the Monte Carlo, studying the automatic rifle with the face of a star-struck child.
"Does everyone wear such revealing clothing around here?" Osiris thinks, his brow furrowing as he looks at them perplexed.
"To be fair, it's been a while since you've been outside of the Infinite Forest…" Sagira says. He ignores the comment.
"Simply put, you two are going to make us a lot of money," the short-haired woman says.
"I didn't ask you, did I?" Osiris snaps, and she scowls at him. "I'm asking the leader of this…scavenger party."
The long-haired woman chuckles lowly. "The Schnee entitlement affects those that aren't even related to them."
"Perhaps." Osiris lowers his hands and moves one behind his back His movements are slow, so they can see what he's doing. He starts charging a Void grenade that will burst into a small Supernova. Ikora told him that Warlocks refer to it as a Handheld Supernova. "So, I repeat my question, what is the meaning of this?"
"What's he reaching for?" The short-haired one steps forward, pointing her new sword at him. "Take it from him."
"The one who attempts to put their hand on me will…not like it." Osiris feels the Handheld Supernova prime. It's ready.
The man in the bandanna steps forward and Osiris vaporizes him into nothing. "I warned you."
Osiris charges a Blessing grenade in the other hand, showing the shimmering white orb to them. He tosses it down to Weiss, giving her a small shield that protects her with the Light.
The raiders draw their weapons, except for the long-haired one. She only puts one hand around the hilt of what appears to be a big sword.
"What did you do to him?" She asks, steadily and cautiously.
"Would you prefer the short answer or the long one?" Osiris smirks under his scarf. "I am equally prepared to deliver both."
"Spit it out, old man."
"He's dead. More than dead, actually. I collided him with the Void energy of this universe, and transformed him into dark matter." He prepares another grenade, this time showing the boiling Light to them. "And I use dark matter to create more Void energy."
"I have a grenade for each of your lackeys here." Osiris charges two Supernovas in both his hands. "Then it will be just you, and perhaps I can have an interesting duel."
"Dang! You're on fire, today!" Sagira says. "Did you hit your head or something!?"
The short-haired woman snarls, baring her teeth and stepping forward. The leader raises her arm, blocking her.
"Raven, I can deal with this idiot!" She says, her knuckles going bone-white from gripping the handle of the rapier too hard.
"He's not worth the trouble," Raven says. "Give them their weapons back, see how they fare in the wilderness."
"But-"
Her eyes flare, small flames burning from the edges of her eyes. "I said, give them their weapons."
The man throws the Monte Carlo back to Osiris while the short-haired woman drops the rapier with a particularly nasty scowl.
"This won't be the last time you hear of the Branwen tribe…" Raven cuts herself short as if waiting for him to introduce himself.
"Osiris." The Warlock crushes the Void Light, returning it to himself. "And I estimate that your tribe won't be much to deal with."
"Damn! Where were you for a thousand years!?"
Raven smiles and laughs once, then turns her back to him. "Perhaps it's the other way around, you'll pay for this, someday."
The three bandits walk away, fading into the woods that surround a wide dirt road. Osiris turns his attention to the still-down Weiss, who's breathing a bit steadier now.
"Weiss, can you walk?" He asks, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine, just out of breath." She sighs and almost stumbles back down when trying to stand. "You were great out there, thank you."
"I suppose you could say that," Osiris hums, and pulls her up. He grabs her rapier, feeling the satisfying weight in his hand before offering it to her.
Sagira appears over his shoulder. "You know, for someone who's full of himself, you don't take many compliments."
"I don't need compliments, Sagira, I've been able to get by without them."
The Ghost rolls her eye and turns to Weiss. "Hi Weiss, I'm Sagira, this old man's Ghost."
"I'm not old."
Weiss smiles. "Good to meet you, Sagira."
Sagira flies over to her, next to her ear. "We'll be best friends if you say he's old," she whispers loudly, like she's trying to stir a reaction from Osiris.
"I'm not going to risk my life insulting him after he just saved me and…destroyed someone."
"Smart girl."
"Irrelevant discussion of my age aside, where are we going?" Osiris asks, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and crossing his arms. He looks down the road that seems to stretch forever. He wonders if it will build itself as he progresses through it, like in the Infinite Forest. He wonders if this world is just another simulation that he's trapped in.
"I'm heading to Mistral…where's my Scroll?" Weiss looks down to the floor, swiveling her torso as she searches for whatever a Scroll is. Her hands pat herself down, too.
"Is this it?" Sagira transmats a flat device into her hands.
"I've already read every single thing in that device. Mistral is a…kingdom that is still a bit far away from here."
"Kingdom? Did we find ourselves in the medieval ages?"
"Judging by what she's wearing, we've probably stumbled into some neo-medieval timeline of Earth. If we were on Earth, that is. This planet is called Remnant."
"Yes, this is it, thank you." Weiss fiddles with the device. "Oh no, we're still so far away. It'll take weeks for us to get there on foot!"
"Then we better get moving, and hopefully find ourselves some transport that can-"
Osiris' Ghost interrupts him.
"Way ahead of you!" A Sparrow materializes on the side of the road, facing the general direction of Mistral. It's a bit old, judging from the cobwebs that cover the engine exhaust.
"Oh." For the first time in quite a while, Osiris, legendary Warlock and master of snark, has nothing to say.
"Can you drive it?" Weiss asks.
"I can, but it's been a while." Osiris sighs.
"Careful, we only have one copy, so don't wreck it!" Sagira floats above the Sparrow as if she's trying to protect it.
"I know, Sagira," Osiris says, exasperated.
"Just reminding!"
"Do you always have to have the last word?"
"Yep! We've discussed this already!"
/
Raven, Vernal and a random tribe member traverse through the thick forestry of Anima. They progress slower than normal, because of the tension in the air. The silence between them is thick, ruining their previous mood.
Vernal is unhappy, maybe angry at Raven for her decision to leave the measly two survivors be. Both of which could have landed the tribe an uncountable amount of Lien. She wasn't sure about the robed one, Osiris, though. He looked like an outlander, like them. Atlas' choices in personal security seem to be getting weirder by the hour.
The bandit isn't one to stay silent about her issues, so she decides to raise them with Raven. Her voice is stolen from her when she studies her leader's tense walk and second-guesses herself.
"…Why didn't you let me take him down?" She manages to push out, managing to sound annoyed enough to mask the apprehension. "I could have handled the idiot."
"I had a bad feeling about him," Raven says, stopping in her tracks. The sound of an engine blasting in the distance sounds itself, though what kind is unknown. "He was holding back on us."
"Holding back?" Vernal asks. "How could he be holding back after killing someone like that?"
"Call it a hunch, but he was baiting us to attack." Raven sighs, looking down. "I don't think he's intent on going after the tribe, though. He has to take the Schnee girl somewhere."
"We'll deal with him if he tries to hurt us, right?"
There's a spike in tension. Raven seems to be at a loss for words, and she continues walking.
"Raven?"
"I'll deal with him myself if it comes to that." The leader says. Vernal doesn't feel that Raven is confident in what she's saying. She doesn't want to discuss that problem yet, though.
/
Menagerie, Remnant
The sun's rays brightly reflect on Saint-14's helm. It creates an unpleasant glare that seems too bothersome in the crowd gathered in front of the Belladonna household. He opts to step underneath the leaves of a tree for the shade.
A podium is already set up this early in the morning, and there are reporters littered all around. They are discussing the current topic that seems to be the White Fang.
Saint wonders what Ghira is going to say about them. The doors swing wide open as the mayor, Blake and Sun step out, greeted by light applause. The largest man steps onto the podium. He clears his throat once, and taps a few times on the mic, to verify if it works.
The speech commences. Ghira discusses general information about Adam Taurus, followed by what they gathered from the Scroll.
"His radical plans do not stop there, the documents on this Scroll proclaim his next target to be Haven academy, and its attached CCT tower…" While talking, he waves the device around with his hand, showing it to the crowd. "Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the fall semester, roughly two months from today, I have sent my swiftest messenger to the government of Mistral."
So that was what that small boat was for, Saint thinks. Ghira continues with his relationship with the White Fang, having been their leader at one point. He also describes his dreams and wishes for the organization, and how it was unsatisfied with its results. A bit of history about the Fang is unveiled. Mainly about its current leader, Sienna Khan and how she fought for equality between Faunus and humans.
Saint does see some similarities between this and the initial talks with the Fallen. He also remembers how they broke down after the first diplomatic party was brutally massacred by the House of Rain. That was the initial declaration of war against the species. He can't relate the two too closely, though. The Fallen were searching to take the Traveler while here, it's a battle for equal rights and respect.
It's a useful insight into the history of Faunus and man.
Ghira starts riling up the crowd by describing his plans to snuff out this "violent splinter group" and "restore the White Fang to its former glory." He kills the mood as quickly as he drums it up by putting out his plan for Menagerie's populace to go over to Haven academy and protect it at all costs. He clears his throat nervously, then invites Blake to take over the speech.
Saint looks down to a cloaked figure in front of him, and he can tell that it's Ilia underneath the garment. Did she choose a spot so close to him for a reason? She looks about ready to throw off her disguise, perhaps she wants him to hear her the loudest? Blake takes the stand and opens her mouth to speak.
"TRAITORS!" Ilia yells as she throws off her cloak. "Cowards, after everything the humans have done to us! Everything they've put us through, you're asking us to help them!?" Only her mouth can be seen underneath her face mask.
"I know we haven't been treated fairly-" Ghira attempts to say.
"Where was their help when the Dust companies treated our people like slaves, where was their help when kingdoms hunted Faunus for being who they are!?" She takes a quick breath of air. "Where was my help when my parents were killed in a Dust mine!? WHERE!?" It sounds like that hurt for her to say.
"The Belladonnas are the worst kind of Faunus-"
Saint puts a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough." She shakes him off.
"Get off me!" She steps forward, pointing an accusatory finger at Ghira. "They want us to work with the same people that are trying to hold us down!"
"If you truly, truly-"
"Enough," Saint says, quite a bit louder this time. "Enough of this!" A flaming hammer materializes in his hand.
Ilia uses her weapon as a grappling hook and pulls herself to the roof of the Belladonna household. He readies to throw his Hammer of Sol but holds himself back. He realizes that he would set the entire house aflame if he did.
"After her!" A guardsman says as the small group of police gives chase.
Saint-14 sighs, and lets the security forces do their work.
Oh, how he wishes for this to be a situation he's familiar with, but civil rights movements aren't one. He tries to remember his fight for equality but the only thing he can come up with is the vague blur of a general idea. What would the Saint-14 back then do?
Saint does remember that people mistreated him for being an Exo, but not to what extent. Did people try to dismantle him for parts? That couldn't be possible. He doesn't specifically recall such events ever happening.
Perhaps the fourteen resets on his body are taking its toll now.
. . .
Saint quietly observes Blake and Sun run around Kuo Kuana, desperately trying to recruit for Haven Academy's defense. Their main strategy of shoving tablets in peoples' faces doesn't seem to be working.
He doesn't envy the two, it definitely must be humiliating to be turned down again and again. He even spotted Sun pop out from a tree and almost injure himself because someone was cutting the tree down. The heart-break in Blake's eyes every time someone shakes their head or abruptly walks away does sadden him. He does see some similarities between her and Ilia, mainly their dedication to a cause.
The two hopeful Faunus sit down across from each other at a wooden table with drinks.
The drinks have coconuts as cups and small umbrellas as decoration.
Exquisite, he thinks. He's seen this once at a meeting with the New Monarchy. Executor Hideo had a certain chic taste.
Saint nearly knocks away the owner of the drink shop who is offering him one such coconut beverage. Her sudden appearance startled him. He considers refusing, but her hopeful makes him unable to, even though he doesn't need it. The moment his hand wraps around the cut shell of the fruit, she explodes in joy and bounds away, probably to tell her friends.
With his exotic-looking beverage in one hand, he grabs a chair but reconsiders when he sees the size of the seating. He puts it back at its place and opts to crouch down to Blake and Sun's table.
"Oh, Saint!" Blake sounds surprised at his arrival, despite the fact that anyone can hear him from miles away. Not only his heavy footsteps that make the wood dock creak, but also by the multitude of admirers. "I should've asked you first…" She turns around, her hands fumbling at her waist.
"Don't take out the tablet, I will be there to defend this Haven Academy," Saint says. He puts down his drink on the table and lightly pushing it away from himself. "I understand the consequences of the White Fang attacking it."
She sighs, and her hands return to around her drink. "It's only going to make things worse for the Faunus, everywhere."
"I see…I excuse for my unfamiliarity in this whole situation…it's so…odd to me, that people are against each other like this," he mumbles, looking down at the table.
"What do you mean? People never have disagreements with each other in your hometown?" Sun inquires, his eyes squinting a bit. His tail tenses up a bit.
"Not to this extent…back home, we had a common threat to fight. One that would try to bring about our very annihilation." Saint shakes his head. "Among them were the Fallen, scavengers, and pirates. Liars, cheats, savages." He seethes at the thought of the disgusting beings that were the Eliksni. "They would massacre us without remorse, and their lowest members would eat children."
There is a tense pause.
"I was unrelenting against them. They had come close to destroying our Last City, the battle of Twilight Gap…" He chuckles at the memory of the battle. "And I wanted revenge."
"…Twilight Gap?" Blake raises an eyebrow and looks at him confused.
"It was one of our largest battles versus the Fallen, and it was the closest they ever came to breaching through the Wall. They would have destroyed everything we held dear." Saint shakes his head. "After it, I embarked on a…oh what do you call it…a...crusade against the Fallen and killed them by the hundreds. I ended up destroying an entire noble line and its faction."
He pauses, the atmosphere warms up a slight bit. "I think about employing the same strategy against the White Fang, but I am not sure if it's appropriate, which is why I seek your opinion on the matter."
Blake regards him with a look that looks like she understands, but disagrees so much at the same time. Sun seems to be a bit freaked out, regarding him with a side-eye.
"Saint, I understand your enthusiasm but that's the same line of thinking as Adam," she says. "Have you ever seen someone and thought of them as the personification of 'this word'?"
Saint thinks for a moment. "Go on…"
"As in, the embodiment of something? Take Sun for example." The monkey-Faunus, as if on cue, grabs his drink with his tail and takes a very loud sip from the straw. He's trying hard to look cool, it seems. She giggles. "I'm leaning on 'earnest'."
"I see…" Saint says. "Keep going."
"And for Adam, at first, I thought it was justice, but I was wrong…in the end, it was spite." She sadly frowns. "He wants to do unto the world what was done to him, he wants to 'win' versus mankind, and make people feel the same suffering as he did."
Saint's thumb and pointer finger rub up-and-down the chin of his helm. "…I understand. I have felt spite before."
"You can't use your conflict with the 'Fallen' as inspiration on what to do against the White Fang, because they can't be compared," Blake says.
"Yeah! They sound more like the Grimm, with the eating children and all," Sun says. "Gross." He shivers once and makes a disgusted sound.
"I suppose that's true," Saint says, giving a moment for himself to ponder about Blake's thoughts. "About Ilia, though."
"She was my friend, and she joined the White Fang after losing her family to an accident in a Dust mine."
"You were part of the White Fang if I recall correctly?" Saint asks. The question seemed unrelated, but it did nag at him in the back of his mind.
"Yes, I thought of Adam and Ilia as my family, and abandoned my actual one." She pauses. "I admired the fact that she refused to live a normal life as a human-in-disguise, and I still do."
"You admire your enemy?" Saint asks.
"She's not my enemy, and I know we'll have to face her at one point." She looks down at her drink and pushes the umbrella around with a finger. "I don't want to kill her. I know that deep down, she can break free of the White Fang."
"You think highly of her," Saint says. "I can't say that I think of her the same way. She's trying to convince me of joining the White Fang, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't getting irritating."
"With your actions against those Atlas operatives and how you handed their butts to them, I can see why she would think that." Sun grins and taps him on the shoulder with his elbow.
Saint chuckles. "Blake, hand me your Scroll, so I can sign myself up, for the defense of Haven. Maybe, if the people saw my name on it, they would enlist." He nods to her.
"Oh, right," she says, bringing out her Scroll with the sign-up form.
Saint has trouble tapping on the screen with his giant fingers but manages to inscribe his name. His first hurdle with the form came in the confusion at where to put the "-14." He figured it would work out if he put it in the last-name section. He hands it back to her, and she reads it for a moment, but a look of confusion emerges on her face after a second. Sun peeks over and the same confused face takes him over too.
"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but…" Blake says, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is that...your actual name?"
"Is it the fourteen that is confusing you?" He sighs. "Since I haven't seen an Exo anywhere in this town…perhaps I should explain why."
"…Exo?"
Saint-14 pops the locks to his helmet and slowly removes the armor from his head.
"…Whoa." Sun drops his drink. "I did not expect that. So, the fourteen wasn't some pretentious, Atlesian way of saying your family's generation?"
"Correct."
"So you're a robot."
Saint rolls his eyes.
Osiris makes his way to Mistral, while the final act of the Menagerie storyline is coming upon us. Saint-14 obviously has some idealogical differences with Blake, despite the discussion they just had, and I'll be showing that next chapter.
I'll say it right now: It involves someone getting gruesomely injured, and brothers getting annihilated.
Edit: Thanks to that one reviewer who pointed out a redundant line, so I changed it.
Edit 2: Went through this one, and it seems I have fucked up some formatting.