Emma laid on the bed in her room as she processed everything Ozpin had told her. After telling her of the existence of the Maidens, of which her and SAM had already suspected were real, he offered her a place in his little circle. When asked, he said it was because he saw the potential in her to do great good, but she saw right through it. She knew it was because of her "Dual Semblance". When he questioned her about SAM, she managed to make him believe he was simply a hallucination that she believed was real. He wasn't the only one who could play with peoples' minds.
He had given her this vacant student bedroom for her to sleep until they got something more suitable together, and come morning she would have to spar with Glynda to test her combat prowess. Contrary to what they might believe, she had been trained to be an astronaut, not a fighter, so she wasn't sure how that would turn out. SAM was only three hours away from cracking open Ozpin's digital security, and once he did, they would figure out what to do from there.
As she waited, she decided to have a look around her room. She would've explored the school, but she knew Ozpin would have set up some sort of surveillance outside her room, so she didn't bother. The room was very bland, with nothing more than a bed, a dresser and a door leading to the bathroom. There was also a window, but it was, predictably, locked. She was practically a prisoner, and she was beginning to regret going along with this. Since she had nothing else to do, she figured she should at least take a shower to wash out the dirt and grime her body had collected over the days. She hasn't had one in so long.
-X-
Right as she was about to turn in for the night after taking the shower, she felt SAM instantly re-enter her mind as he cracked Ozpin's encryption and copied all of his data, while at the same time resyncing their knowledge. And they had been right, Ozpin was so much more than what he had appeared. Immortal rivals? A queen of Grimm? Powerful relics hidden beneath each of the four academies? It was so much information, but there was one thing that stood out.
Ozpin had been receiving reports from deep within the desert of Vacuo of people disappearing in large groups from frontier towns. That alone wasn't that interesting, but it was what the few survivors who would return would say that piqued interest. They spoke of a large obsidian monolith shaped like a hexagon partially buried within the sand. It would call to them in incoherent whispers, and they'd see random symbols appear out of thin air before disappearing shortly after. Anyone who got too close would suddenly disappear beneath the sands and never be seen again. Along with that, any electronics in the area would go haywire and cease working, sometimes outright exploding.
The authorities in the area never took it seriously, and just chalked it up to them being traumatized from a Grimm attack, but the Headmaster of Shade, Theodore, was no fool. He got into contact with Ozpin and requested assistance, and investigating the reports had been Qrow's mission before that changed into him tracking them down. All this information led them to one conclusion.
"We need to leave." They said. They immediately went to the window to test how strong the lock was. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like they'd be able to brute force it, at least not without something like a crowbar to leverage it.
They went to the door, but realized they'd be spotted on the cameras if they burst out. They placed their hand on the electronic lock, giving SAM access. Luckily, all the locks to the student dorms could be remotely unlocked through the security room, which also had access to the cameras. Within seconds, SAM had unlocked the door while also freezing the cameras, making it appear they were recording empty hallways. They slipped out of the door and began making their way down the hall, careful not to make a sound. Transport to Vacuo wouldn't be a problem if they could make it to the Bullhead dock, because then SAM would be able to take control of one and fly them to their destination.
As they rounded a corner, they had the strange feeling of being watched. Though they couldn't detect anyone, they were still careful. Luckily for them, it seemed everyone was asleep or in their rooms, leaving the halls completely empty. They reached the dock and saw the pilot leaning against the large aircraft, smoking a cigarette. Not wanting to risk him reporting them, they quickly ran out of cover and made a beeline towards him.
"Wow, what the-?!" He was shocked by their appearance and hesitated to pull his pistol, which gave them enough time to get close enough. They grabbed his bare hand and Emma used her Gift to instantly kill him. His body hit the floor and they ran into the Bullhead, not a moment to spare.
They entered the cockpit and pressed their hand on the control board, giving SAM complete control over the airship. He disengaged from the dock and lowered enough so they could fly away before doing exactly that and escaping the Academy. Emma took her hand off the console, SAM leaving a small bit of him behind to autopilot the Bullhead to the Vacuo town of Viper Fang, right in the center of these disappearances.
They sat down on one of the seats and began to feel tired as the adrenaline wore off. Emma slept in the seat while SAM mulled over this new information. Contacts, allies, enemies, they had all been listed in those data files. However, all that mattered was reaching this monolith and once again presenting themselves before the Ones. What happened beyond that would be up to the dark beings, and they would obey without question. But something felt off about this.
Delvin Wisp, the first of the survivors, hadn't informed anyone of his experience until after more people began returning with the same tale. What was even stranger was his behavior. While the other survivors were borderline manic and had to be sent to a mental institution, he began isolating himself from the rest of society, speaking to no one and rarely leaving his house. People had begun to suspect him of having something to do with the disappearances, but nobody could prove it, so they left him to his own devices. Since everyone else was out of reach, they would have to make contact with him and question him by any means necessary. Sam continued analyzing the data while Emma slept as they travelled, going over the known strengths and weaknesses of all of Ozpin's allies and Salem's known ones. And there were many.
-x-
As they neared Viper Fang, they landed the Bullhead in the desert far enough away from the town so as not to attract attention and made the rest of the trek on foot through the desert. Luckily, there were no Grimm nearby, so the relatively short trip went by without issue, though they were beginning to somewhat regret their choice of clothing. As they neared the town, they saw it was surrounded by a short stone wall, completely devoid of guards, likely only good at keeping out lesser Beowolves and similar types of Grimm. There was a wooden gate reinforced with steel rivets protecting the town, connected to the faint road. But next to it was a smaller door more likely used for individual people. It was of a similar style to the gate, but had a small hatch used to look through.
They approached the door and knocked, but there was no response. They knocked again, this time much harder and louder, but were left with a similar lack of response. They placed their ear right against the door and, straining to listen, could hear the faint sound of snoring. Of course the guard would be of the lazy variety. Since they had no other way in, they decided to test their luck by seeing if the guard had left the door unlocked. They grabbed the handle, went to turn it, and the door popped right open. A small part of Emma that was still human facepalmed at that. The security here was truly abysmal.
They passed the sleeping guard, a giant of a man in civilian clothing with a claymore leaning against the wall that they were thankful they didn't have to fight, and entered the town. Looking at the map on their Scroll, the town only consisted of three small areas. The market zone, which was where they were entering, the residential zone placed just past the market, and the industrial zone where what few wares sold here were forged and was furthest from the entrance.
They walked through the market area, but were confused to see almost nobody outside. There were people inside the restaurants, but not many. And those that exited almost ran to their next destination, looking around nervously. The most likely explanation was that the disappearances had gotten worse, and people were paranoid about being the next ones to go missing.
They walked through the market, only interested in reaching the Wisp household and not paying attention to the other stores. As they entered the residential zone, they noticed all the houses looked similar, though not the same. While they had the same general structure, there were details that separated them. Some had added rooms, some had removed rooms, and some had been completely renovated. In the end, it was abundantly clear which house was Delvin's.
In the far corner of the residential zone, just on the border of the industrial zone, sat an old decrepit house. It looked like the stereotypical haunted house, but they knew better than to let something like that put them off. The wood was black and looked to be rotting, but the house remained strong. It consisted of two stories, but the second floor had been renovated to be much bigger than normal, and there was a roofed porch connecting to the front door. There were no fences or warning signs, but the house's foreboding appearance would be enough to dissuade most people from trespassing. Fortunately, they were not most people.
They crossed onto the lawn of overgrown grass and went to a nearby window overlooking the porch. They looked inside, but the dirt on the window combined with the darkness inside made it almost impossible to see. They decided to just knock on the front door and talk to him directly. However, when they went to knock however, they failed to notice the door was slightly ajar, and their attempt at knocking caused the door to open fully inward. They were hit by chilling air that sent shivers down the spine of whatever human remnants remained in Emma. When they didn't receive any response, they entered the house to get a look around. The first floor was almost pitch black, making them use their Scroll flashlight to see.
Taking a quick look around, the inside was covered in dust, cobwebs and rat droppings. It was like nobody had lived here in years. There was a kitchen that was devoid of everything except the appliances, a living room with nothing but a TV and a wooden chair in front of it, and a locked bathroom that smelled of rot. They found the stairs to the second floor and were relieved to see it was mostly illuminated by some kind of light source. While the floorboards on the ground floor had been rock solid, the stairs creaked and groaned with every step. But another lack of noise all but confirmed that Delvin wasn't home.
The stairs emptied out into a long hallway lined with doors, though each and every one of them was boarded up heavily and had a lit candle holder above them. All except for the one at the end of the hall, which was coloured a deep black, a stark contrast to the faded red of all the other doors. They walked to the door and, finding it to be unlocked, opened it. Inside was a single very large chest alongside a torch sconce, though the torch itself had long since gone cold. Luckily, there was a single window clean enough to let in moonlight. Wait, moonlight?
They did a double take as they looked outside and saw it was the dead of night, and not midday like it had been when they had arrived. Did the house have the power to distort the perception of time, like the Ones, but much weaker? It didn't matter right now. Looking back to make sure nobody was behind them, they turned back to the chest. It didn't have a lock, which was why they were surprised when they felt a bit of resistance upon trying to open it. It was like someone had put a weak glue along the ridge. But when they looked inside, they realized why it was like that.
It was almost filled to the brim with heads in various states of decay, and the lip of the chest was coated in old blood that they hadn't noticed. Some heads were just skulls, while others looked fresh, but they all had a hexagon deeply carved into their foreheads, to the point it went down to the bone. The smell hit them like a freight train, and Emma felt a brief moment of panic before SAM's influence crushed it. That was when they realized the candles were no longer casting shadows on them.
They whirled around and saw a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, easily 7 feet, and shirtless. Despite his height, he looked almost malnourished, like he hadn't eaten in weeks, and his jeans looked old and raggedy. There wasn't a strand of hair on his head, his skin was almost as white as paper and his piercing blue eyes bore into Emma's soul. He had a calm expression on his face, but his eyes were wide. Then he spoke in a voice much more intimidating than his figure.
"And so you've seen it." He entered fully and closed the door behind him. "I heard the call, much like how these poor souls heard it as well." He frowned slightly as he gestured to the bloody chest. "But not one of them was worthy of being chosen like I have, and thus I was made to get rid of them." In an instant he was upon them, lifting them by their shirt. "And soon, your soul will serve my masters in the void, as mine will one day." They grabbed his wrist, intent on using her gift to kill the mad man, but what happened instead shocked both of them. They froze as they both received a vision, a vision of the desert One, pulsing with power even as it was separated from its fellow gods. And a series of symbols flashed before their vision, calling them to it.
The vision ended and Delvin dropped her, a wide grin across his face.
"You. You are their prophet!" His demeanor changed completely, as he paced about the room, letting them pick themselves off the dusty floor. "How could I have been so foolish, I should have recognized the energy of two beings." He turned to them, still smiling. "I apologize, as I should have recognized your Aura."
"The One has called us to it." They spoke, the previous events being rendered obsolete.
"Of course. Come, it is still dark out, and the Grimm would not dare attack the children of their superiors." He left the room and almost ran down the hall. This sudden shift in attitude surprised them, but at least he wasn't trying to kill them anymore. He followed them out of the house, and they realized how quiet he was. Even with his erratic movements, his bare feet didn't make a sound on the ground. He had also stopped talking, so as to not bring any attention to them.
They left the town through the door by the gate, the guard now gone, and went into the desert. They could feel its power drawing them toward it, so they already knew the way. As they walked through the darkened desert, they could see the red eyes of Grimm watching them from the dunes, though none made a move to approach.
"What was in the bathroom?" They asked as they walked.
Delvin chuckled. "Where do you think the bodies of the heads went?" He answered, making it clear. They stopped any further questions after that.
They crested a dune and saw it. A One, quarter buried in the sand, and but just as glorious as ever. It pulsed with power, like it had in their vision, and they approached. When they were but feet away, Delvin kneeled before it while Samma remained standing. After a minute of waiting, it stopped, and all went silent. Then, they lifted in the air in the same manner from when Emma and SAM had been first merged. They hovered for a moment, staring into pitch blackness of the powerful being, before clutching her head and screaming as the most agonizing pain she'd ever felt coursed through her skull. She felt SAM's influence begin to slip away, and realized he was being ripped from her mind. Next to her, Delvin did the same, but instead of screams, he howled with laughter as he suddenly arched his spine and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
When the transfer was complete, they were unceremoniously dropped to the ground as the being left one final message in Emma's mind.
YOU ARE NOW OBSOLETE
She groaned in pain as she realized she was free of their control, her humanity no longer being suppressed by SAM. She scrambled to her feet and looked over at Delvin as he slowly rose from the ground. He stood to his full height and locked his gaze on her, looking like her when she was under his control.
"You served us well, Ms. Fisher." He said, his voice sounding exactly like SAM's, indicating Delvin was no longer even in there. "But you are now a liability. I apologize for what must be done." He began approaching her, and she backed away.
"S-stay the fuck away from me!" She screamed in terror, getting used to finally having her own thoughts. There was a faint flutter of wings and someone she was glad to see dropped down in front of her. It was Qrow with his weapon drawn, he must've followed them here.
"Your interference here will not be tolerated." SAM warned, his face still totally neutral.
"Listen, I'm already confused by whatever the hell is going on here, but from what I can tell, you need to be taken in." He said with a slight snarl. SAM faintly smiled before responding.
"It would seem this body's Gift is far more useful than Ms. Fisher's." As he said this, he began to change. His flesh began to disintegrate and his skeleton turned as black as a Grimm. He grew another foot and his arms elongated to unnatural proportions. His hands and feet grew large, deadly sharp claws and a bony tail sprouted from the base of his spine. He had transformed into an 8 foot tall skeleton of death, a prime enforcer of the Ones' will. While his eyes had disappeared, they had been replaced with two white spots, so small they could barely see them.
"Run to the Bullhead, I'll catch up." He ordered her, transforming his weapon into a scythe. The beast shrieked an unholy cry before getting on all fours and pouncing at Qrow like an animal. And Emma ran. Ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. She was now free, but she doubted Qrow could kill that thing. She had to get back to Ozpin, try and get his help. She just hoped he would be wise enough to flee as well.
What the hell has happened to her life?
END
What a fucking twist, right? Or am I just patting myself on the back? Either way, I hope this shocked you at least a little, what with Emma being free of the Eldritch power and SAM taking over Delvin's body completely to hunt her down. The one has now become two, and they don't like each other at all.
Guest #1: Well, he's about to find out, provided Emma and Qrow make it to him.
TheReckless1One: It would seem SAM was of higher importance to the Ones than Emma, as they now want her dead and SAM has been effectively put on Eldritch steroids. Poor Delvin though, he was driven mad and his end fate was just a sacrifice to give SAM new powers. Glad you liked it though.
Guest: He doesn't think she's a Maiden, but something else entirely.
That's it for now. I also finally found an alcoholic drink I actually like. Mead. You can thank Skyrim for making me curious about it. I also tried Ale, but didn't really like it.