Divinity's locked away, gone. Lisbon doesn't have it.
"Ghost, what did we lose!?" Lisbon-13 yells as he pulls the control stick as far down as it can go in a desperate attempt to realign the ship. A Ghost in its standard grey shell appears to his right. "Better yet, what hit us!?"
"We passed over Argus! We got shot down by anti-air defenses," Ghost says, scanning the control panel at the center of the cockpit. It flashes red and beeps periodically while a monotonic voice drones on about something. "We've lost an entire wing, we're going down!"
"Fuck." Lisbon groans and points at his two weapons. "Transmat those and get ready for some skydiving!"
Omniscient Eye and Ancient Gospel disappear. Lisbon stands up and almost loses his balance. He stumbles his way to the side door and a good kick sends the piece of hull flying away in the air. A deep breath enters his metal lungs and he jumps.
The cold winter air rushes through his sensors as he reorients into a nose-dive. The loud whistling right above him nearly forces his phonoreceptors to shut off. The Manta falls faster than him and he leans to avoid it.
Lisbon can see the snow-covered ground. He readjusts himself to be falling feet-first and activates his jump boost. His downwards speed is instantly negated and he lands without much trouble to any of his body parts. His boots crunch against soft snow and he sinks maybe a centimeter or so into the ground.
The Manta doesn't crash far in front of him, which happens to be facing a wooden banner that has the words "BRUNSWICK FARMS" etched on it. The shockwave causes the vehicle access gate underneath the banner swings wide open and recoiling back and forth while screeching harshly with every pass. It settles into a semi-open state, about big enough for a standard Sparrow to fit through.
"A squad should be dispatched soon. Get inside the house behind you," Ghost says. Lisbon turns and sees a big, rotting farmhouse in front of him. There are vines coming out of the second-story windows and the dull yellow paint is peeling from the walls. "We have a couple of ammo synths left."
"Good, load one up for the sniper," Lisbon huffs and walks towards the house. He stops at the front door. Something surges in his gut; a bad feeling.
"…Alright," Ghost says, his voice quiet and guilty. "Shoot to injure, please?"
"I have to get these dumbasses off of my case and the only way that happens if I send a message." Lisbon kicks the door in. He draws the Ancient Gospel, holding the gun close to himself and pointing the barrel to the roof.
"These are people, Lisbon! They're only doing their jobs!"
"I know that, if their jobs wasn't serving a weirdo like Ironwood I wouldn't be shooting them," Lisbon says, lowering his gun. He steps on the first step of a staircase. "They won't leave me alone if they think I'm a lousy shot. They'll just send more."
Ghost disappears without a word.
Lisbon shuts the door behind him, barricading it with a nearby drawer. He gives one last look to the entrance, before turning around and walking up the stairs.
"This place looks pretty homey…" he mutters, staring down a hallway with four doors, two on each side. He twists the doorknob of the first door on the right. It leads to a barren bedroom. There is a nightstand next to the bed with a lamp on top but that's it. Dark mold grows in the top corner of the ceiling.
Two blackened and shriveled up corpses are tucked in bed. Ghost appears again.
"By the Traveler…what happened here!?" The construct scans the two bodies. "It's like something sucked the life out of them!"
"We'll clean them up later, now let me set up." Omniscient Eye appears in Lisbon's hands. The rifle is smooth to the touch, made of the chassis of a Hydra and forged with Solar Light. The underbarrel has a glowing white pattern akin to the black stripes on a zebra that pulsates in brightness. Lisbon pulls a window up and sets his sniper rifle up. The barrel protrudes a bit outside but no one should notice until it's too late.
The Hunter waits, staring down the computerized scope.
. . .
Twenty minutes pass. Something crashes in the distance while the humming of a Manta sounds nearby.
"That must be the response team," Lisbon says, stretching his arms and wrapping a hand around the grip of his sniper rifle. A ship lands behind the crash site and a team of about eight Atlas military soldiers unload, filing out in a neat line. Their rifles are raised and they scream various jargon which includes acronyms and the positions of a clock.
A trio of troops begin entering the farm compound, holding a triangle formation as they move forward. Lisbon holds his breath. His aim steadies. The dot of his scope aligns with the chest of one soldier.
The rifle goes pew as an energized round strikes the soldier in the chest. They drop, blood spewing out from a new cavity. Lisbon readjusts and fires again, another one done. A second later the third falls dead.
"Five seconds…new record," he mumbles, loading a fresh magazine. The last record was two in five seconds and that was on…
Yardarm tumbles back when the bullet lands in the center of his chest. He falls into Rekkana, who trips and tumbles with him down the hill.
Another shot…
He shakes his head of the thought, refocusing on the task at hand.
The rest of the soldiers take cover.
"Come on…you didn't see the muzzle flash?" Lisbon chortles.
Someone throws a smoke grenade, obscuring his line of sight. The thick white gas covers the pathway to the house. He spots movement inside it and fires a few potshots. Nothing hits. The front door rattles as a boot tries to kick it down. The drawer holds for one but not for a second as what sounds like a battering ram knocks it down and forces the door wide open.
Lisbon throws a Voidwall grenade at the entrance of the hallway, burning a soldier and forcing their squad back for a second. He twirls a heavy throwing knife in one hand, Ancient Gospel in the other.
A helmet appears in his field of vision and a second later there's a knife piercing through it. The Atlas trooper falls backwards into their colleagues. Lisbon steps out, firing a few shots that land haphazardly. Someone tries to rush him but he punches them in the stomach with an Arc-charged fist and finishes them off with a round to the skull. His foot kicks the body away before its head explodes. Blood splatters on his armor, tainting his copper shoulder pads.
Lisbon chases the rest, who have started a retreat. He throws a knife at someone's leg and shoots them twice; once in the stomach, the other on the shoulder.
About three left. He'll let them go.
"And don't come back!" He yells as they board their Manta and fly away, back to Argus or wherever they came from.
Lisbon blinks once. He looks at the blood-stained snow and falls on his ass.
. . .
Thirty minutes pass. The cold makes his entire body feels numb. His Ghost works in silence, healing him bit-by-bit so he doesn't succumb to the storm. He feels hollow, empty. He's beginning to regret his actions.
He rejected the darkness, only to perpetuate it in another world.
Lisbon looks up and sees the faint silhouette of people. The storm's getting worse.
"I should get back inside," he mutters before standing up and returning inside the house.
Someone opens the gate to the farm.
/
Saint-14 smiles as he sees Ilia approaching. She has a small grin on her face that shines in the sunlight.
"Ilia! Blake told me that you were staying in Mistral, to help with the causes here," he says. "I know you will do well."
"Thanks, Saint." Ilia snorts and crosses her arms. "I also want to thank you for everything you've done for me. I still can't believe that I was your enemy just a week ago."
"I would stay to help you but there are more…pressing matters at hand," Saint looks towards Team RWBY, as the four girls call themselves. "And Ilia, you were never my enemy, you were just...misguided." He laughs.
"Misguided, is how you put it, huh? Anyways, you're off to Atlas, right?" Ilia smiles and takes two steps to wrap half of Saint's torso in a hug that only reaches to the sides of his back. "Kick some ass out there."
"Of course, Ilia." Saint wraps an arm around her. "If you need me, don't be afraid to send a message, or a letter."
"Will do, big guy. Pigeon mail sound good?"
The two share a laugh.
Osiris walks to his side. "Saint, we're boarding now," he says.
"I'll see you around, I hope?" Ilia asks.
"I'll come back once this is all done, you can count on it," Saint replies, turning away. "Don't burn anything while I'm gone."
Ilia looks down to Saint's feet. "You have a few fans," she says, giggling. He looks down himself and sees that a flock of pigeons has amassed around him, walking without much direction.
. . .
Boarding the train to Argus was a troublesome affair for Saint. The first hurdle came from his Exo body, which set off quite possibly every alarm in the building.
The Weiss Schnee girl had to come in and clear everything up, giving a story about Atlas' personal bodyguards and experimental technology. The guards came to their senses and let them through.
The second hurdle was finding a room for both Saint and Osiris as the entire train was booked and the former wasn't exactly a space saver. They solved the dilemma by lingering around the lounge cars, which had plenty of room for the both of them. The pigeons couldn't come, unfortunately.
The final hurdle was trying to find a good environment for the two to talk without anyone snooping.
The Warlock and the Titan, eventually manage to secure a table in a dark corner, out of view from most. They sit across each other.
"Saint, Sagira and I dove more into the Vex presence in Atlas and…it's not good, at all." Osiris shakes his head. "The Undying Mind is powering a secret communications project that is going to float into orbit. It's intended to provide communication to every Kingdom on the planet after Beacon's CCT tower was destroyed."
"In orbit, the Mind would be able to contact its brethren," Saint says, his tone grave.
"It's not its position that is the issue, but it's current strength. A project to empower it to be able to fly to orbit will give it enough power to be able to bring Vex in by the thousands. When we get to Atlas, our top priority is to destroy it before the project is completed." Sagira appears and displays a hologram of a Hive-looking being with wings and a head that resembles the top of a tomahawk. "Are you familiar with Oryx, the Taken King?"
Saint shakes his head and looks at the portrayal a bit closer. "I can tell he's Hive already. Disgusting."
"This Salem that everyone is worried about, she is related to him," Osiris says. "Fortunately, Oryx has been slain by a fireteam of six guardians. Including Her."
"Of course, she would kill the Hive's King, has she also killed Crota?"
"Yes," Osiris says, now sounding a bit annoyed. "Quite a bit has happened since you were gone. The Last City was attacked by the Cabal, we nearly lost everything. I really do hate to glorify her like this."
"What about…Father?" Saint's voice dries and he feels something turning in his stomach.
"The Speaker…we couldn't find him…or a body," Osiris says. "We suspect that he died on Dominus Ghaul's ship. It was a terrible time, losing the Light."
"Those bastards," Saint mutters, hitting the table once and making a dent. "Have we gotten payback yet?"
"Fortunately, yes and thanks to our Guardian, she spearheaded the final attack on the Red Legion's command ship and slew Dominus Ghaul."
Saint chuckles. "And you all think I'm crazy for thinking she's a miracle maker."
The train shakes. People scream. Something screeches above.
Trouble, as always.
Jaune rushes past the two, yelling frantically about Grimm. Saint almost didn't understand what the boy said but thanks to a much calmer translation by Lie Ren the message was received.
The Titan nods to Osiris before opening a window and pulling himself to the outside of the train car. Glass shatters as he climbs out.
Saint's feet plant on the roof, making a light dent. He turns to Team RWBY, who are fending off winged Lion Grimm. Osiris is already hard at work plucking Grimm from the sky with his automatic rifle.
Saint thinks for a moment. He remembers a report from Vell Tarlowe, one where he describes with great detail how he took down a Warlord by kneeing them in the air by coming down from above. A flash of inspiration comes to Saint.
"Blake, get ready to catch me!" He yells as he backs up and takes a running start to his attack.
"What are you doing!?" Blake stops and turns to him. "What the-"
Saint jumps and his Solar-charged knee makes contact with the head of a Grimm, sending it crashing into its friends. He feels the reassuring tension of Blake's ribbons wrap around his chest before being pulled back to the train. His knees scrape against the train's roof, bringing him to a halt.
"Perfect timing!" He says, dusting his kneepads off.
"Saint, you're crazy sometimes," Blake says before jumping backward. "Manticore, above you!"
Saint summons his Sentinel Shield and spins around, raising it to block the Manticore attempting to land on him. His boots grind against the metal floor, forcing him to back up one inch. It proves a worthy sacrifice, as the Grimm beast is stunned. He takes the opportunity to bash it in the face, making a crack in its bone mask. He throws his shield directly downwards and it bounces back up, cutting through the beast's face and dissipating it in an explosion of Void Light.
Saint sees Oscar running down the train cars and stops a Manticore from diving at him with a well-placed throw that parries its dive. The beast turns back up. The boy reaches one of the two pathetic Huntsmen that tried to convince the group to pay more for "special protection." Whatever that meant.
"TUNNEL!" Oscar screams. Saint snaps his head to his direction and there indeed is a tunnel. He jumps between cars and punches the doors to one, making a large crevice, before finishing it off with another in the same place. The doors fall forward out of their frame, pushing up dust as they land on the ground. He steps inside the train car.
His grand entrance attracts wide-eyed stares from the passengers. A baby starts crying, somewhere.
"Everything is okay, I'll make sure of it!" Saint says.
Someone yells out in pain a few cars away. He pushes a few people aside to make his way through the crowds of civilians.
Upon opening the door, he sees Ruby, Jaune, Oscar, and Qrow crowded around a Huntsman, who's clutching his arm and in agony.
Osiris throws a Blessing grenade to the Huntsman while Jaune empowers the Warlock. Both their powers combined make for a rapid recovery.
"Fine," the man says, tossing Ruby his Scroll.
"Ren, could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train? With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us!" Nora says.
Ren hums once. "I never attempted to affect this many people."
"Well, you've never had Jaune's help before," Ruby says.
"And you've never had my assistance either," Osiris says. "Jaune and I can provide a powerful boost to your Aura."
"They could amplify your aura!" Weiss exclaims.
Qrow nods. "Yeah, that's an alright plan."
Nora lightly punches her friend on the shoulder. "Don't look so worried Ren, you can totally do this!"
Oscar takes a sharp inhale and his eyes change glow. He steps forward.
"I'm afraid there's one complication. The Grimm are also attracted to this." Ozpin moves his hand to show off the Relic of Knowledge.
"What's that?" The Huntsman asks.
"None of your business," Qrow snaps back. "Oz, are you serious?"
"Why wouldn't you tell us that!?" Yang demands.
"I—"
"It doesn't matter right now!" Ruby steps forward. Yang crosses her arms and looks away, frowning.
"Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets... we just can't come with you." Ruby nods to Team JNPR. "If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus."
"Saint, go with them, they'll need your expertise," Osiris says. "I'll help Ren with his…Aura."
"I punch things for a living, Osiris, anyone could need my expertise," Saint says, earning a chuckle from the Warlock. "I'll meet you there."
"Of course, old friend." Saint shakes Osiris' hand and looks to Jaune. "Don't get too scared of him." He cracks a grin under his helm.
The boy laughs with an on-edge nervousness.
"Good luck," Saint says before climbing out the window once more. A second later he hears the connection between the cars break. Blake jumps up and lands beside him, not making a single sound against the metal surface.
The Titan looks behind himself and sees Osiris standing on the opposite car that is getting farther and farther away by the second.
They exchange one last nod before the Warlock turns to Jaune and Ren. Osiris reaches one arm up towards the sky and pushes his palm to the floor.
Saint turns back around and the Sentinel Shield is already on his forearm. A Manticore but a bit slimmer lands in front of him, snarling and angry. It spreads its wings out and screeches. A scorpion's tail with a bone-white stinger hovers next to its face.
The tail lunges first. Saint rolls forward and slices it off with his shield before doing away with it and clutching his arms onto the severed appendage. It takes him to the air, flailing with violence. Once above the beast, he lets go and falls forward head-first, summoning his shield over his head. As his weapon of Light makes contact with its body, he hears a resounding crack and the creatures screeches before falling forward. Once it's crashed onto the ground, Perfect Paradox appears in Saint's free hand and he finishes it off with a single blast.
The shotgun disappears and he puts his shield up as he sees the bottom of someone's feet race to his head. They bounce off in a swirling red blur that slices up Manticores with a giant scythe. One flies past Saint's head and hurtles into yet another one that's dueling with Oscar.
Blake yells something to Yang and the blonde-haired bombshell slides under a giant beast that looks like a Manticore. It isn't the same though, there are a few key differences, notable ones being the snake-headed tail and its more feline appearance. Blake shoots her ribbon above and it wraps around the monster multiple times before anchoring it into the roof.
Ruby sets up her sniper rifle, using the tip of the scythe part as a type of bipod. Saint steps in front of her, scoots to the side and puts up his shield. She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Trust me, shoot!" Saint yells. She shrugs and fires once. Her round gets charged with the Light and it disintegrates the Manticore-like beast's frozen wing. "Take it down!"
Ruby smirks and takes a running start as she jumps into the air and begins spinning to create a circle of blades that slices through its torso. Saint sees it charge a fireball in its mouth and throws a Suppression grenade. The explosive doesn't explode in time, and the Grimm releases its attack, striking the rails in front of them.
Saint unsummons his shield. "Everyone, with me!" He kneels and brings his two arms out wide, casting a Ward of Dawn. Blake enters the purple bubble with him. He feels his legs plant to the ground as black runes appear under them.
The train derails and there is a great deal of shaking but Saint doesn't falter and keeps his half-dome up. He clenches his eyes shut and keeps them closed until everything stops moving. Once that has happened, he opens them and stands up. The Ward of Dawn disappears. Blake is next to him, completely unscathed.
"Good work, Saint," she says as she hops down from the train car and helps Yang, who's sprawled out in the snow.
"Is everyone alright?" Saint jumps down and lends a hand to Oscar, who takes it.
"Still alive!" A grandmother's voice exclaims. A short old woman with silver hair in a dark blue poncho and shining blue visors steps out of the trashed train car. Her skull-topped cane clicks against the floor. "That sure was a close one, huh?"
Saint blinks a few times then helps the woman into the snow. "Did you know that the passengers were being evacuated?" He asks.
"Oh, please, a couple of Grimm isn't going to scare me!"
Yang groans and walks over to her bright-orange and yellow motorcycle. "Great, this is just great!" She puts her hands on the handles. "We're stranded, we've lost a third of our party, and we've gained a defenseless old lady!" She heaves her vehicle out of the snow and falls backward. The motorcycle falls too.
The old lady is helped by Oscar but turns around upon Yang's last remark. "My name is Maria Calavera, and I am not defenseless!" She points one finger to the sky. "I'm just a little hard of hearing, and blind without my eyes, that are in desperate need of repair." She taps on her visor, which opens wide and then closes, before opening a tiny a bit again.
"You're not making a good case for yourself," Saint mumbles.
"Okay, I'm starting to see your point," Maria says as she turns back.
Qrow grunts. "Yang, knock it off, will ya? If we lose our cool now, we'll just be inviting even more Grimm." He puts his hand at his hips.
"Where's the relic," Saint mutters to himself, scanning the ground for the glowing lamp.
"Oh, and how could I forget that?" Yang turns to Ozpin. "What happened to 'no more lies and half-truths'?"
Saint separates from the group to find it while they focus on pelting Ozpin with questions. The Titan finds it next to the crashed train and scoops it up by the ring handle. He dusts it off with a few swipes of his gloves and blows off the remaining snow. "There you are." He returns to the group.
"…You may have met professor Lionheart but you never met the man he was before Salem found him." Ozpin has his hands crossed behind his back and is walking away from the crash site.
"We're supposed to be in this together, you can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you!" Yang exclaims, incredulous and astonished.
Ozpin turns in a swift, snappy movement. "Do you really think Leo was the first!?" He says sharply.
The sudden anger makes everyone stop in their tracks. "That he didn't say those exact same words to me? I'm sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience. I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me."
Saint cuts him off. "I've held a position like yours, Ozpin. I told the people the truth, no matter how dangerous it was. Then I went and dealt with it." He pauses. "I don't know what kind of fools you take us as but it's not true. We're all here to fight Salem, not start a shadow war that keeps everyone in the dark."
"I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I…" Ozpin stops and a realization dawns over his face. "Where's the relic?"
"It's here." Saint raises it in front of him. "I found it next to the crashed train."
Ozpin reaches his hand out. "Please, hand it over."
"No, until you tell us why only you want to hold it," Saint says, pulling the artifact back. "You said it couldn't do anything, correct? Then what would be the point of having you as our exclusive relic-bearer?"
"I need you to listen to me-" Ozpin steps forward and reaches his hand out again. He freezes and his body starts struggling with itself.
"Hurry…he's…trying to stop you!" Oscar's less mature voice sounds out.
"Stop me from what?" Saint steps back and Perfect Paradox materializes in his other hand.
"He's afraid…you'll find out what he's…hiding!"
"Ozpin struck me as a man who kept secrets," Saint mumbles. He shrugs and hmphs.
Oscar collapses to his knees. "Her name is Jinn. Say her name to summon her."
Saint hesitates.
"Well…what are you waiting for?" Yang says, the shotguns on her arms clicking.
"This reminds of something too familiar." Saint stares at the relic. He takes a deep breath. "This isn't a good idea." He pauses, scans everyone, who are at varying levels of readiness to attack him. He goes against his instincts. "Jinn."
The relic begins to float and slowly flies backward, to open space. It hovers above the ground then rises into the air.
Cyan blue mist begins to flow out of the lamp and it swirls upward, forming into a vaguely humanoid shape. It glows white at some edges.
The shape turns into a sky-blue person with various…dragon features on it. It defines itself as a woman.
The blue woman stretches and gold chains wrap around her body.
"Wonderful." Jinn's voice sounds like it's being spoken many times at once.
"Tell me, what knowledge do you seek, oh bearer mine?"
:)
Edit: Don't mind me, just tightening up my writing.
Edit 2: whoops