Recently, the Fate Apocrypha event started for the US servers of FGO. Got Achilles with the very first summon ticket I spent, then got Chiron in just a few ten rolls without even meaning to. So, yeah, may have just used up all my luck for the next year or two. Thankfully, Achilles and Chiron were the exact two Servants I'd wanted, so it's not as if this was unwanted on my part, heh.
Now to just hope I can get Sigurd whenever he becomes available… oh boy, I can feel my wallet crying already.
Now, onto the chapter!
Quick edit (as of 4/28/20): kept accidentally saying the Relic of Choice was beneath Haven. Fixed it so that it's the Relic of Knowledge as per canon. My bad.
Chapter 39
Jaune stood stock still with his arms crossed whilst his friends sat around RWBY's dorm.
It's been a few days since his talk with the headmaster and Qrow. The day after that had happened, he'd managed to gather all his friends at Yang's hospital room and after making sure they had no one eavesdropping, he told them all of everything he'd learned, not a single detail left out.
The thought of them not believing him at all, of saying he was full of shit, hadn't even remotely crossed his mind at the time, his faith in them and vice versa being that great. Sure enough, they hadn't accused him of making things up and they'd spent a long while in that hospital room in complete silence as they'd digested the info.
And in the days since then, it's clear they'd still been adjusting to what he'd told them about Salem and the Grimm.
Was it a bit much for them all to be this crazily silent about this? Some people, if they knew of the circumstances, might say yes, but not to Jaune. Much like with him at the time, what he'd had to tell them subverted a lot of what they'd grown up being told was common fact.
And more than that, his friends, for all their potential and resolve, they were still just like any other bunch of teens. World-shaking truths like this would naturally leave them in a deep funk.
But while he wholeheartedly understood and empathized with them, he'd gathered them all here – well, except for Yang, she was still in the hospital but would be released in another day or so – with the intent of seeing how they were doing.
He'd just asked as much and was now awaiting a reply.
And after a minute of waiting, a reply did come.
"W-Well," Ruby began, trying to smile and succeeding somewhat. "It's just a lot to take in, you know? I mean, we're basically talking about a demon king, like in fantasy games! Only this one is real… and is likely responsible for who knows how many Grimm attacks over all this time…"
Jaune could only nod. "I know," he replied softly. "But… I'm sure you can guess what else I'm going to ask about."
It was his partner that answered this particular question. "Do… do you intend to get involved in this, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with more than a little bit of disbelief.
"I think the better way of putting it would be getting more involved," he gently corrected. "Remember, that guy – Hazel – works for Salem. And he's made it clear to me that he wants me dead. Whether I do anything or not, it's only a matter of time until he comes for me again. And as he's demonstrated in both Sol and recently in Vale, he doesn't care much for who or what may get in the way."
"True as that is, you're out of your mind…" It was Weiss who said this, the SDC heiress sitting on her bed next to her partner. "Though I would never turn down the opportunity to do some good, we're talking about something above and beyond the norm for trainees and even fully fledged huntsmen! We're talking about a literal immortal with all the Grimm at her command and with people – humans like you and me – willingly doing her bidding! It's madness!"
And that really was a good point. Once again, as talented as his friends are, that didn't mean they must necessarily be the ones to charge in and solve every situation. They were all still too green, too inexperienced. Even Jaune himself was only a little better thanks to his experiences on the frontier and his semblance.
But even so…
"…If nothing at all is done, Salem will win," he said in a firm tone, grabbing everyone's attention. He sighed before continuing. "…I don't know what exactly her ultimate plan is or anything – the headmaster didn't tell me and there wasn't any info to work with there on that front to start with… but whatever she has planned, it goes without saying it won't be good for humanity as a whole. And as recent events have shown, the headmaster and whoever else is working with him are being put on the backfoot. That I was able to blindside him well enough to get this much information out of him says enough – he's slowly grasping for straws."
"But surely there's a chance he could turn this around," Ren quietly said.
"Plus, he's got uncle Qrow on his side!" Ruby brought up before turning away. "I still can't believe he knows about this too."
At that, Jaune quirked an eyebrow before staring at his fellow leader in worry.
When he'd first told them all about this, Ruby and Yang had been quick to say that this Qrow was actually their uncle. Apparently, he'd stopped by to check in on them too, not so long before Jaune had explained this all to them too, making it a case of missing out the perfect chance to question the huntsman about this.
Since then, their uncle hadn't swung by, presumably already back out in the field on the headmaster's orders. Jaune wasn't too sure if that was a good thing or not because it seemed like Ruby and Yang had a fair few questions they'd love to beg their uncle to answer, questions that they've yet to tell him or anyone else about.
He hoped he hadn't gone and put a strain on the girls' relationship with Qrow. Unfortunately, whatever was done was done. There was no going back here.
"…Maybe," he finally said, answering Ren's question. "But whatever it is he plans to do next, it doesn't seem to be something he's much confidence in. You guys didn't get to see him – he looked genuinely exhausted. He did a good job looking calm, but that's about it. He didn't project the same level of energy or control like he used to. Things are getting to him now, more than ever before. I don't doubt his ability to make a comeback but putting all our faith in this possibility whilst doing nothing when we could at least try to do something doesn't sit well with me."
"Then just what exactly do you want to do?" Blake asked from where she stood, standing right across from him on the other side of the room. Out of everyone here, the B of RWBY looked perhaps the most in control of herself. That isn't to say she was taking all this in stride, but as she looked at him and he met her gaze, there was a certain level of trust there in her eyes that most wouldn't have.
With perhaps the exception of Pyrrha, Blake was quite likely the one person who trusted him the most in this situation right now.
And he intended to live up to that trust.
"For one thing, I intend to get a new sword," he began as he patted the hilt of his blade that still hung by his side. "Using just the one sword after the other broke had proven educational, but in order to really get back into the groove of things, I need to replace the sword that was broken. I'd already put in a request to a local blacksmith and paid for the materials. It should be ready soon."
He now moved forward a bit, his brief stride full of determination. "Then, it's my goal to try and track down Hazel… and finish this… this feud between us once and for all. Doing that will most likely deprive Salem of a very powerful asset."
"How do you plan to track him down?" Blake then asked.
"In all likelihood, he's somewhere in Vale," Jaune answered with confidence. "This may sound odd, but the… the vibe. It feels so terribly off. Can't you all feel it too? A storm brewing, cliché as that sounds? Whatever plan Salem currently has in motion is likely nearing its ending phase. Hazel is no doubt a big part of the plan, so having him retreat from Vale entirely and then coming back later would just be a waste of time. And considering the oddities of comms and the cameras going down during the White Fang's attack on city hall, it's also likely that she has a hacker on her side too; it felt far too coordinated to be some random chance. And like with Hazel, that hacker is most likely somewhere within Vale. And now that I've a feel for Hazel's movements and character, tracking him shouldn't prove impossible."
"So then," Pyrrha now spoke as she followed along with his logic. "You intend to track down Hazel, fight him… and end him. And presumably, if you can track him back to wherever he may be, you'll likely find the hacker too."
"That's right," he answered. "Do that, and two of Salem's presumably greatest assets are taken out of the picture in one go. They're clearly meant to stir up discord and negativity within the kingdom, so taking them down should at least slowdown that bit."
"But if she can control the Grimm, what's stopping her from just having them swarm the kingdom's walls?" Weiss then asked as she folded her arms over her chest, huffing as she spoke.
"For that, I've no real answer," Jaune openly admitted. "I'm assuming the headmaster has some kind of measure that's been preventing an all-out Grimm assault from happening. Maybe negativity levels have something to do with it. Who knows. But if putting a stop to this building negativity can prevent that, then I'm not going to just hang back."
"You really think doing that will work, Jaune?" Ruby asked. Her expression indicated that she was steadily investing herself in doing this alongside him.
"Not to sound overconfident, but yeah, I think it will work," he answered with a small smile. He raised his right hand a little and made a tight fist. "Honestly, I can't say for certain that doing this will put a stop to everything… but even the smallest of accomplishments can eventually add up to something great. If we can slow down Salem, buy some time for a proper counterattack to be conceived… then this is as good as things will get."
He opened his hand and lowered it, looking back up to eye his friends one by one. "So, what do you say? Are you with me?"
Just like that, he was making it clear that he was going to do this no matter what. What he was asking right now is if they would join him in doing this too. He didn't simply only one or two of them, but all of them.
There was a long minute of silence.
And then, it was broken.
Nora, ever so lively, pumped a fist and practically cackled. "Well, it's not every day we can stick it to a real-life demon king, right? I'm all for it, fearless leader!"
Ren chuckled quietly. "Guess that means my own decision just got taken from me," he quipped.
"Damn right, Renny! Thick as thieves for life, us two!" Nora exclaimed as she slung an arm around her partner and shook him. He just rolled his eyes, but was smiling nonetheless.
"Well, it certainly wouldn't do to leave my partner go it alone," Pyrrha then said, also smiling but there was no mistaking the determination in her eyes. "I wanted to become a huntress for the sake of protecting the world. This feeling is clearly going to end up fulfilled a lot earlier than I'd thought it would be… but life is often like that, throwing things at us all when we least expect it. All we can do is just rise to the challenge… and I would be honored to meet this challenge alongside you, Jaune."
The blond smiled, his team being the first to officially join him on this self-imposed quest. He then turned to the three members of RWBY and awaited their answers.
And to his lack of surprise, Blake was the first to respond. "All my life, I'd dreamed of making the world a better place. At first, I thought to do that was through the White Fang, except I'd only ever been focusing on making things right for Faunus and Faunus alone. But now? I want to make the world a better place for everyone. I'd been too narrowminded and full of anger back then. After all that's happened since I left the White Fang… now more than ever is the time to truly do the right thing. Count me in." She smiled at him. "Of course, I'm sure that went without saying, anyways."
"A little bit," Jaune quipped, smiling in return. "But thank you, Blake."
"Then I'm definitely joining!" Ruby said next, pumping her fists energetically. "There's a lot of questions I got now that I need answers for… and I mean a lot, especially from uncle Qrow. If doing this will get me some answers, then I'm all for it! Besides… doing the right thing is just what huntresses do!"
The young leader then whirled around on the bed and faced her partner. "How about you, Weiss?!"
"H-Hey! Don't shake me!" Weiss complained as the younger girl quite literally shook her in seeming desperation. After breaking free of Ruby's weak grip, she composed herself before actually replying. "If you all are really this intent on joining this craziness… then I guess it's up to me to make sure you don't get in too far over your heads."
Nora loudly snorted. "Come on, Weiss-cream, be honest with us!"
Weiss rolled her eyes but did adopt a much more serious expression. "I will admit that at the very start of all this, I'd come into this being too rigid… too focused on personal goals. But my time with you lot… well, it's changed me." She blushed in embarrassment but there was genuine gratitude in her expression too. "…Like the rest of you, I too wish to do the right thing, not simply for me but for others. Of course, taking down a threat against the entire kingdom counts as doing the right thing."
Ruby cheered and hugged her partner, who just sighed and returned the hug. "Of course, that doesn't mean we should go charging into this in a suicidal fashion – if things do seem to reach that point, I reserve the right to order a retreat for our own good."
They all laughed lightly. "The honor will be all yours," Jaune replied with a chuckle. He paused. Then… "Do you think Yang wil-?"
Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all snorted. "Oh yeah, she'll definitely join in," Ruby immediately said. "My sister isn't going to be scared just because of some immortal woman thingie."
"Mm, as much of a wake-up call as this recent incident had been for her, Yang is still very much the same stubborn brute," Weiss quipped. "She'll no doubt be restless by now to punch some bad guys in the face."
"And may the gods help them if they damage her hair in the process too," Blake added with a quiet laugh.
"Ah, but don't worry!" Ruby suddenly added as she looked to Jaune. "We'll still ask her later to make sure and stuff!"
"…Thank you," he said. "Really."
Ruby's smile was positively blinding. "Hey, we're friends, right? Friends are always there for each other, no matter what!"
Always there… that's right, he thought. All that time out on the frontier, he'd been all by himself. But ever since coming to Beacon, these people have been by his side most of the time, suffering through the same trials and dealing with his 'oddities' all the while too.
They're his friends and they'll see this through to the end.
As the lot of them now began to act much more like themselves after days of tense silence, Jaune found himself enjoying this time more than ever before.
It wouldn't last for much longer, he realized given just how severe the situation appeared to be, but that meant he should just cherish this time that much more.
And so, he did just that.
Within a special holding cell aboard Ironwood's personal flagship, Cinder Fall lied upon the bed it had. Said bed was surprisingly soft, comforting even, which made it the only thing worth noting about this place.
It's been days since her plan had been horribly thwarted… and by Ozpin himself of all people.
She'd been briefed extensively about the man's true history by Salem, of the many lives he's lived, of the dwindling magic power he held. She'd been told of all the times Ozpin had managed to pull a fast one and push back Salem and her forces time and time again.
Even with that prior knowledge, Cinder ended up underestimating him. With how Amber was able to freely travel the lands, she'd assumed him to be losing his touch over the ages, especially with how little he and his own cohorts had seemingly been doing over the more recent years. It'd all seemed to her as if the infamous wizard, dare she say somewhat feared by Salem herself, had finally hit rock bottom.
Oh how wrong she'd been.
She and her two subordinates had stood no chance against him. Even if she'd been able to kill Amber and fully obtain the Fall Maiden power, the woman doubted how much good that might have done her… probably not enough. He'd been relentless and hadn't hesitated to get dirty. He'd even managed to get around Emerald's semblance somehow… that'd been a first.
And as if to further shatter the image she'd had of him, she'd assumed that after being captured the man would be too soft to push his interrogation of her too far… yet another assumption she'd been proven wrong about.
Pain was by no means a stranger to her, but the forcefulness of the beatings dished out to her by Ironwood and even a little by Ozpin himself over the past few days with an increasing intensity was testing her discipline.
Whatever information she had about Salem's current plans was naturally highly prized by the man and his allies, now more than ever in light of Adam Taurus' clearly failed attack, for all the measly good it'd done.
That her cell was oddly comfortable complete with plain looking but otherwise tasty meals served as an odd contrast with the harshness of their questions. A way of trying to screw with her mind? Oh, most definitely.
But it would not work, she thought, seething as she unconsciously rubbed at the eyepatch she'd been given. Her left eye had been crushed by Ozpin himself during their 'battle' and the black eyepatch, which contrasted heavily with the plain white prison garments given to her, served as a constant reminder of her screw up, made all the more perpetual by how needlessly clean the cell was, the somewhat reflective properties of the walls, floor and ceiling making it so that she would always see herself unless she closed her remaining eye.
Truly, this was a humiliation greater than anything she's experienced before… and in light of her past, that was saying something.
No matter. They will not break her. She will not give them the satisfaction of that. Even if that meant her rotting away in prison for the rest of her life or being put to death outright, she wouldn't let them win.
Of course, that didn't mean she was just going to continue being their punching bag here – even now, in the midst of her physical aching and nigh-uncontrollable rage, she was watching every little thing, thinking it all over.
So far, there's yet to be a gap in their security – whenever out of her cell, she had cuffs on her arms and legs that were tough enough to easily withstand the heat of her flames and every hallway in this damned place was monitored by cameras and patrolled by soldiers. But she knew that no security was ever perfect. Ironically, her cell and the room where Ironwood and Ozpin conducted their 'talks' with her were the only rooms she's been in so far that have no cameras, though that wasn't saying much. The walls here were exceptionally thick and made from pure metal. Using the half of the Maiden power she had to melt her way through them wouldn't be impossible, but it'd be far too noticeable and too slow to pull off.
That wasn't even getting into all the soldiers and other workers aboard this damned ship just to keep it running too… but even so, Cinder refused to be done in. She hadn't come this far in life just to be trampled upon into nothing now.
It would just take a bit of time to think of a way out of this situation… time she may not have, but it wasn't as if she had anything else to do.
However, her primary concern now… was what Salem intended to do. Oh, that immortal woman may have taken her in, treated her as something akin to a daughter in many respects, but there was no mistaking that Salem really only viewed her as a pawn that was just more useful than the average one. With her failure to obtain the Fall Maiden power and subsequently obtaining the Relic, to say nothing of failing to paving the way for the magic user here in Vale, Cinder highly doubted she would still be viewed in a favorable light by her mentor.
If Salem decided she no longer had any use for her… that, more than whatever Ozpin could do to her, is what scared her. For the ruler of the Grimm can be as violent and cruel as she could be patient and understanding. And her many centuries of life had given her more than enough time to learn how to be creative.
…
…
…?
"Hmm?" Cinder's sole eye narrowed. Something felt amiss.
Steadily rising off her bed, she headed for the door and looked through the small opening it had near head level. It was too quiet out there, she realized. And though only barely, she could see one of the two cameras this hallway possessed… and it was pointing downwards now, as if it were…
Suddenly, she grimaced as she detected movement and she immediately backed up.
A minute later, someone stopped right outside her cell… and she wasn't happy to see who it was.
"Oho. Looks like James does know how to provide for his 'guests' to some extent," spoke a haughtier than usual Watts, the former Atlas scientist leering arrogantly at her through the opening.
Cinder tried not to make any sudden movements lest she end up aggravating the injuries she still had. "Watts… how very kind of you to pay me a visit. And here I'd thought you and Hazel would go and forget about me."
Watts quietly snorted. "Hardly," he quipped before then clinically looking her up and down. "Hmm, well, your luxurious little cell aside, it would seem the good general isn't quite so gentle with women."
His snarky way of putting it aside, Watts was essentially right; the many 'talks' she'd ended up having with Ironwood and Ozpin have really taken a toll on her. With her aura kept at extremely low levels at all time, the bruises and cuts and more that have resulted from the beatings have gone untreated with only the worst of the injuries suffered having been properly tended to by some medical staff aboard this flagship in addition to Cinder having no choice but to use what little aura she had at any time to speed up the recovery.
Honestly, it was a good thing indeed that magic was separate from aura or else she'd truly be in trouble here. But she was digressing…
"…Just what are you doing here?" Cinder asked quietly. "How did you even get aboard unseen?"
"Do you not remember that I was once part of Atlas' R&D? Did you really believe their systems would be able to keep me out?" Watts started with a growing smirk. "Well, my own skill aside, Adam Taurus' notes did help a fair bit – he'd been charting out flight paths that personal aircraft could take to flank Atlas' fleet. Combined with my technical skills, going undetected by their radars was truly effortless… a real pity the fool will never get the chance to mimic this feat."
Cinder narrowed her eyes. That wording… looks like that bloodthirsty Faunus had died. Cinder would hardly say that was a sad thing, but it did mean there was yet one less pawn she had at her disposal again.
Damn it all.
…She didn't like this. Not one bit. There's no way Watts came all this way solely for her – he was here for something else. And there was also very little chance that Salem had ordered him to rescue her.
Though her posture remained lax to avoid putting any unnecessary strain on her tender wounds, Cinder was ready to call upon the portion of the Maiden power she possessed. If Watts tried anything, she could get off a quick enough fire blast that'll catch him right in the face. Even with aura, he wouldn't survive it unscathed.
But to her surprise, rather than try anything, Watts merely stepped back. "Now then, I really must be on my way, Cinder. As much as I'd like to continue chatting, I've a much more important matter to tend to. Goodbye, Cinder. Our time together shall be banished from my memories."
"What?" Cinder couldn't help but utter that one word, confused by Watts' sudden backing off. He was a snide and petty man who'd always made it clear how much he disliked her. Now was the perfect time for him to take her out and yet he wasn't doing so, which was truly unlike him. "Just what is your goal?! Watts!"
She got close to the door just as he backed away from it and gave a quick wave before strolling down the hallway.
Even when she called out to him, uncaring if anyone else could possibly hear her, all she saw was the man striding away like a man on a mission.
Hissing as she swiftly lost sight of him, Cinder headed back for her bed and sat down. Just what had that been about? What was that bastard up really up to?
She didn't get a lot of time to dwell on this, for she suddenly hissed again but this time in pain. She swatted at her neck as it felt as if something had bit her.
And sure enough, something fell and she could only stare dumbly at what looked like one of Watts' rings, only this one had machinal legs sticking out of its sides, making it akin to some kind of robotic spider.
As ridiculous as the thing looked, Cinder's one good eye bulged in horror as she realized just what had happened.
Unfortunately, before she could do anything of note, she began to convulse, her already light skin paling further while her heart felt like it'd just been injected with growth hormone and crank.
The very last thing she was conscious of before her world became one of absolute agony was the sight of the 'spider' quickly scuttling towards and up the door, exiting through the opening…
…And then, Cinder's world went dead and dark.
Watts was truly in a good mood.
As he'd just told Cinder, Adam Taurus' notes had proven shockingly useful, showing flight paths that the radars of the flagship and other ships likely wouldn't have been able to detect. What few risks there would've been otherwise were easily taken care of via hacking said radars with his rings. It'd helped even more that the personal aircraft he'd taken here was one of his own design, made for just one individual to use and to blend in with the night sky, for it was currently night that he'd decided to move out in. He'd have personally liked to head here soon, but no matter, what did matter is that he was now here.
And of course, he couldn't have just gone on this little journey of his without first seeing to Cinder. What, if anything at all, she could've told James or Ozpin was completely irrelevant, for Salem's machinations were not things that could be so easily slowed or halted. Even so, it was always best to cover up potential loose ends before they became the real deal. He may have told Hazel that things are how they are and that's that, but… well, Watts had always preferred to play things safe when possible.
Also, it was just finally nice to be rid of Cinder for good. Her role in all this had always been infuriatingly overblown, the so-called 'great' power of the Maiden having long since gone to her head.
Now, that said…
Watts chuckled very quietly as he moved through the hallways, turning slightly and looking towards the floor just in time to see the extra 'ring' catch up with him.
In reality, this little trinket, naturally of his own design, was an assassination tool meant for occasions just like this.
It may look like one of the rings he normally wore and indeed it could be worn as such too during its inactive state, but it was really a robot based on a spider. And just like any real spider, it could easily and even more quickly scale walls and ceilings to reach its intended target. Due to its small size, however, it couldn't pack a lot of venom, meaning in order for it to be effective, the venom would need to be exceptionally potent especially if the intended target was exceptionally large and/or resistant to such things, but most fortunately for the former Atlas scientist, Tyrian had been all too glad to offer some of his venom long ago for study.
And as recent history has shown, Tyrian's venom was extremely deadly even in the smallest of amounts. Really now, though not in the same way as Hazel, the crazed serial killer was just as much a monster, Watts thought with a little shiver as he allowed the robot to catch up and climb up to his hand. Upon reaching his open palm, Watts deactivated it via his real rings and as it assumed its inactive form, he gingerly placed it upon his right middle finger. Juvenile, he knows, but apt.
The sound of footsteps off in the distance grabbed his attention and Watts was quick to hide. He may have control over the cameras, enough to hide his presence while leaving everyone else aboard this ship in the dark on it, he still had to watch out for patrols. Thankfully, Taurus' notes on Atlas soldiers' protocols along with his own memories of these things made it easy to predict their patrol routes and utilize what little darkness there was to stay out of sight.
But as confident as he is about staying out of sight, he'd need to move fast. The longer he dawdled, the more likely he would be discovered. Same thing goes for Cinder's corpse too given that she was a popular prisoner. It would only be a matter of time until someone passes by her cell to see the results of his handiwork.
Now, that might seem as if killing her so early on was a bad move in hindsight, but only marginally; James and his forces were all too confident in their technology, technology that he had heavily contributed to the advancement of. Thus, it would prove their undoing. They relied primarily on the detectors within the cells themselves to monitor the conditions of prisoners. That would go doubly so for Cinder, but just like with everything else, it was something that he could easily hack and loop, meaning it would take a patrol to finally realize what had happened.
That would be a while, but he wasn't going to stick around and let that happen while he was still nearby.
Picking up his pace, Watts headed for the flagship's main generator, which naturally powered the entire ship. The layout of the flagship was not one unfamiliar to him and thanks to his control of the cameras, he could easily monitor through a small projection provided by his rings where each patrol currently was along with the additional staff this flagship had aboard. Using this, he charted out the quickest and safest path there and he hustled as quickly as he could.
It took a solid several minutes, minutes during which he'll admit to getting increasingly worried over though he kept his cool. Finally, he reached the generator room and with just few taps at what looked like open air, the electronic locks to the doors undid themselves and he stealthily entered.
Of course, he was by no means the only one in here – there was a small crew dedicated entirely to making sure the main generator and backup generator were always functioning at optimal capacity. However, they were all so utterly focused on their work that, when combined with him also muting the usual sound that emitted whenever someone entered and exited the room, the man went unnoticed.
Standing there as the door closed behind him, Watts spent all of just a second to deliberate on how to go about this. Though undoubtedly potent, there was still only so much of Tyrian's venom contained within his robot, meaning he could only have it take out so many of the people here. Of course, having his robot kill everyone would also be impractical, for as fast as it can scurry about, this room was obviously not small and these people weren't just going to stand around like idiots when some start to drop and scream.
Of course, he didn't come unarmed, packing his usual revolver, but it went without saying that shooting up everyone here would make a lot of unwanted noise.
Hmm, perhaps his goal of doing this stealthily was an impossible one.
Unless…
Smirking, Watts moved low and quickly towards the most obscure corner of the room. As demeaning as it was for him to have to crouch and act like a common thief, it just had to be done.
Once he did so and was confident no one would see him, he fiddled with his rings.
And a split second later, the automated sprinklers went off.
Immediately, everyone here squawked and sputtered and groaned in sheer shock and annoyance. Had an actual emergency warranting the sprinklers had occurred, there'd have been an alarm blaring, flashing red lights and all. As it was only the sprinklers going off, everyone here quickly came to the false conclusion that a malfunction had occurred.
Grumbling in annoyance but also partial amusement, the workers were quick to exit the room, but not before making sure the generators weren't at risk of suffering water damage, after which they gathered up whatever belongings they didn't wish to see get wet and left.
Even before the last person exited the room, Watts was already moving. Several of them would no doubt get on a radio and contact maintenance about this 'mishap' and they'll come check it out and remedy the situation. But that wouldn't be an immediate thing. At bare minimum, Watts was looking at perhaps two minutes or a bit less before someone came around to look inside this room personally to see if it were the sprinklers themselves that were faulty and not something else.
That meant he'd have to move even faster.
But that was no longer an issue.
Rushing up to the main generator, he started to fiddle with the controls. He will give James just this much – he was wise to make sure that the generators couldn't be controlled remotely like everything else aboard this damned ship. That meant if generators were to be turned off and on or switched, it must be from this room and this room only.
And of course, given the nature of his greatest invention, once he switches the ship to run off the backup generator, there will be a noticeable difference in energy levels, so once he switched them the jig will really be up.
Getting off this ship will likely not be as easy as it'd been to get on it, but it would be a challenge he'll readily accept. As he'd told Hazel yesterday, he's more than willing to push his limits if it came down to it.
Thus, without hesitation, he switched the ship over to the backup generator before shutting down the main one. Because he'd chosen to do things this way, he'll go undetected just a moment longer, but once anyone at all comes back into this room, they'll know something is off even if he's able to get out of sight.
The both generators were wonderfully large contraptions that seemed to be almost suspended in midair due to a combination of gravity Dust and other equipment. Shutting these things down, Watts was able to lower the main generator, at which point he operated the control panel to open the hatch on the very back of it.
The instant he did so, the brilliant blue hue that emitted from the generator ceased and he immediately rushed forth and around so that he faced the opening.
And there it was – his greatest achievement… or rather, what would serve as the basis for his greatest achievement.
Within the generator was a mechanical device that was vaguely shaped like a heart. And just like any real heart, it could beat, something that it did even now with the generator switched off.
This was something he dubbed the Eternal Motor, made back when he'd still been working with Atlas' R&D.
Back then, when he'd been just foolish enough to believe his genius would be recognized for what its greatness, he and several others had been tasked with coming up with designs for Atlas' next greatest project. There'd been no particular goal per say, the only stipulation being that whatever their invention may be, it would be something truly revolutionary.
By that point in time, his genius had gone underappreciated time and time again by not just his peers but James Ironwood himself, whom he'd sought to please the most, not out of any desire for 'asskissing' as some would say, but just for the sake of being able to make that arrogant and foolish man submit. And so he'd channeled that frustration in its entirety into that task. He'd vowed that he would come up with an invention that wouldn't simply revolutionize Atlas, but the entire world as everyone knew it.
Having utilized every last bit of knowledge he had regarding mechanical engineering, computer programming and particle physics, Watts had sought a way to incorporate all of that into something that would improve upon humanity itself, make humans more than what they were.
He'd always despised how pathetic humanity was, how little they've really evolved over the course of centuries and was convinced he could find a way to make it better, improved. And since eugenics have been tried and ultimately unsuccessful over the course of entire lifetimes in the past, Watts had sought to instead achieve a true evolution for humanity through technological means instead. It was this that ultimately lead to the formation of the concept behind the Eternal Motor and it was one he'd always had in mind ever since he first started his studies, but only vaguely. It hadn't been until this official task was heaped upon him and the others that he'd been able to fully realize his vision and do what he could to make it a reality.
For weeks and then months, he'd agonized over how to actualize his vision and more than once, whatever plans and actual prototypes he'd made had simply gone up in smoke, sometimes literally. But after many sleepless nights and rage-inspired bouts of mania, he'd finally done it – made a proper prototype.
When he'd presented it to his peers and to James, he'd been in a state of true euphoria, so utterly convinced that his work will be recognized for the revolutionary thing it was and proper production would begin.
Except that didn't end up happening.
Instead of him being the one lauded as the true revolutionary genius he knows he is, it was his colleague Pietro Polendina whose idea was picked as the one with which Atlas would pursue the realization of. And it'd been at that exact moment that what little loyalty Watts had had in James and the Atlas military as a whole had simply withered away into absolute nothingness.
Really now, creating an artificial lifeform with its own aura? While Watts would admit to it being a novel idea, the very fact that it was known from the start a portion of a living human's aura would be needed to infused with an artificial construct should've seen that idea scraped from the get-go. Instead, it ended up being deemed a truly miraculous thing and everyone cheered Pietro's name. Now that perpetually cheerful bastard was deemed Atlas' greatest living mind? What rubbish!
Not only was a portion of a person's soul needed to merge with a construct, the success ratio of this venture was abysmally low and regardless if it was successful or not, that portion of the soul would be forever lost to the original person. And as Penny Polendina's very existence proved, the fusion between a portion of a soul and artificial body led to the formation of a whole new personality that must be taught from scratch about everything, much like teaching an overgrown child. Truly ineffective, in Watts' opinion.
Oh, certainly, he will admit to Pietro's 'daughter' possessing commendable combat prowess, prowess that could theoretically be maintained indefinitely since she can't tire out, but as she was a machine, aura couldn't heal her the same way it could heal the wounds of an actual person. Whatever damage she takes must be fixed back at a proper facility. And even 'killed,' in order to be 'resuscitated,' Pietro would have to permanently give up yet another portion of his soul to do so, an action that would only cripple him further and leave him that much closer to death's ever welcoming door.
This only made it so much more ironic that his idea was more or less the opposite. Whereas the insane Pietro would see to combine a human soul with technology to create artificial lifeforms like Penny, Watts sought to elevate humanity by infusing them with technology.
In this case, that would be the Eternal Motor. It looked and functioned vaguely like a heart for a reason.
Since time immemorable, the heart itself had always had a great deal of symbolism among humanity. Though commonly used to represent love and other extoled virtues, it also served as a symbol of humanity itself. To sound cheesy if only to himself, in order to be human one must have a heart. Not just in the literal sense but in the metaphorical sense too; to be capable of emotions like love and joy and sadness and grief.
Another way of putting that, would be to have a soul.
And considering aura, a manifestation of the soul, existed… just what would happen if the heart, a synonym for the soul at times, were to be replaced by something else? Would a person still retain their soul, their heart? Would they become heartless, soulless beings? Or would something else entirely happen?
That last question had been Watts' driving force for a very long time and the Eternal Motor was his answer to it.
He will admit – he knew not what would actually happen should his device be used. But the theory behind it was this: what if, this device which produces energy via quantum fluctuations, were to affect the human soul itself? What if through its function it would be able to effectively merge the human soul with the quantum forces that bind everything together? Would it not lead to a form of evolution, of transcendence? Would humanity, if it adopted his designs, not end up becoming more than it was before?
He obviously thought so, otherwise he never would've come up with this in the first place. But alas, when his prototype had been shown off, it'd been deemed far too risky, too dangerous, too… frightening. Seeing as the Eternal Motor was meant to be a literal replacement for the human heart, there'd naturally be the risk of the body rejecting the transplant, to say nothing of the usual risks that accompany any surgery. And of course, performing such a surgery on not just one but many people and eventually all of humanity? It was deemed ridiculous from the outset.
As if Pietro's proposal was any less dangerous and risky as far as his fellow humans were concerned…
But he was getting too far lost in past memories here. He had but perhaps a minute to grab his prize and flee.
"If nothing else, James," Watts began as he reached into the generator and grabbed the Eternal Motor. "At least you had enough sense to not destroy it."
After his proposal had been rejected, his prototype had been confiscated and locked away and all his research notes – or what James had thought to be all his notes – had been destroyed, the prototype and its research deemed too dangerous to continue existing. But the sheer amount of energy it produced was truly out of this world and it would seem that James had eventually opted to utilize it this way rather than destroy it and risk a potential explosion.
Again, it enraged Watts immensely to see his prize treated so horribly below its station like this, but their loss would be his gain. In hindsight, he now understood that mass production of the Eternal Motor would have been impossible due to how dangerous its construction is, meaning this prototype was and will forever be the only one of its kind… and if James would be unwilling to take the step needed to realize its full potential, then it was up to Watts to do that himself.
And of course, he shall gladly be his own test subject. Never let it be said that he wasn't willing to subject to himself what he'd subject to others.
With his possession now regained, Watts bolted for the door, all thoughts of complete stealth thrown aside.
Exiting the room, he raced back the way he came, using his rings to tap into the comms system to monitor radio traffic. He could've easily multitasked, running back to his aircraft whilst also looking at actual camera feeds and the like, but he wouldn't risk failure here thus his decision to stick to purely auditory means of monitoring the situation.
His heart did skip a few beats when he heard two soldiers coming down the adjacent hallway, but at the last possible second, he was able to hack into the lights system and cause a second-long blackout. The suddenness of this naturally took everyone by surprise as their eyes tried to swiftly adjust. This included Watts himself, but as he already knew the layout, he was able stay on the move without losing speed.
Of course, he made sure to turn the lights back on once he was clear lest he raise everyone's alertness that much more, but even he was not so confident as to presume the crew would just shrug that off. With all that's happened recently, they'd be combing over the ship for any and all oddities any moment now.
Hurrying some more, Watts was eventually able to make it to the emergency hatch that he'd entered through in the first place.
Unlocking it and killing the alarm before it went off, the strong winds blew right into his face, which was expected given that the flagship was suspended high above ground over Vale. If he even remotely slipped, he would undoubtedly fall to his death. But his death wasn't a concern – the potential loss of his Eternal Motor was.
Thus, securing his hold on it even more, he used one hand to grab onto the emergency hatch's handle and in a show of strength, flung himself at an angle out of the flagship, closing the hatch behind him with a wiggle of his fingers.
As he did so, he naturally ended up getting blown away in mid-fall, but as this was intentional, he worried no longer.
With yet another few taps at the air in mid-fall, he activated his aircraft's autopilot and it detached from where it was attached to the underside of the flagship and raced towards him. Its cockpit opened as it neared him and he flipped around so that he landed elegantly within it without the aircraft losing speed.
Only as the cockpit closed and he secured himself properly did he let out the breath he'd been holding, his prototype still in one piece and now resting in his lap. Its heart-like beatings were truly hypnotizing now that he had a moment to properly inspect it without fear of being caught. After all, his aircraft was still invisible to their radars and its plating functioned very much like a chameleon, able to cloak itself from physical detection. For all intents and purposes, he was truly invisible.
And as he now manually operated his aircraft back to his little hideaway, he began to let out a long laugh.
With all that he's learned ever since meeting Salem and observing Hazel's and Jaune Arc's abnormal qualities, he should be able to give his greatest invention the final few tweaks it needed to be considered truly perfect.
Once that was done, he shall bequeath unto himself this new and improved Eternal Motor. After all, he was the only one truly worthy of its power.
And once that was all said and done, James and the others will finally pay for their transgressions.
With the fulfillment of all his objectives so close at hand, Watts flew off into the distance, unseen by everyone and laughing with ever greater joy.
His time was finally at hand.
Leonardo Lionheart, despite his status as a huntsman and headmaster of Haven academy, was not by any means a brave man as of recently. Once upon a time, he was brave, but ever since Salem had reached out to him and made it known just what sort of power she so casually wielded, the person Leonardo had once been had died.
And now, here he was, a cowardly wretch that could only pretend to still be brave and trustworthy towards his friends when in reality he desperately bent a knee to Salem out of a desire to save himself.
Truly, he was the lowest of the low, or so he thought of himself.
"Oh, Ozpin, just what would you think of me now…?" the headmaster murmured. This was a question he asked himself a lot nowadays, more so recently than ever before. That he couldn't fathom an answer to this question only made him feel worse.
Alas, no matter what his friends – if he still held the right to consider them that – may end up thinking of him once the truth is brought to light, it didn't change the fact that he had no way of actually opposing Salem, not by himself.
It also didn't change the fact that he'd done numerous things on that woman's behalf many times already. From providing Salem what little bit of info Ozpin gave to him, something that was becoming rarer by the day it seemed, to deliberately sending out Mistral's finest huntsmen and huntresses out on suicide missions, he's ended up with quite the track record.
And now, here he was attempting to meddle with yet another thing that he had no right to meddle with at all.
Beneath Haven Academy lied a vast chamber that wasn't natural nor made entirely by man, at least not conventionally.
This… this was the chamber where the Relic of Knowledge was kept secured in, a chamber that is accessible only to a Maiden.
Or rather, it should be.
But soon that may no longer be the case.
Leonardo grimaced fiercely as the Seer Grimm wriggled from where it was at, having latched itself to his back and its tentacles roping around his arms and the feelers at the end of said tentacles essentially resting in his open palms.
The headmaster had known about the existence of magic ever since Ozpin had first brought him into the fold so long ago. He came to know of what wonders it could be capable of. But thanks to Salem, the lion Faunus had come to learn the horrors of magic too.
Back then, even as he'd feared the ruler of the Grimm's actions, he'd still been confident that the defenses Ozpin had put up around the Relics would remain impossible to breach so long as a Maiden wasn't included in the picture.
However, Salem aimed to circumvent this defense and it'd fallen to him to see to it that she was able to do just that.
Though Salem wasn't always monitoring him through the Seer, she'd long since established the fact that she could still get a read on his situation at any given time through the empathic bond she shared with it. Thus, even if she was preoccupied with something else, should the Seer notice him doing something that it didn't like, Salem would sense its discontentment and promptly check in. That the Seer didn't even have to be nearby to monitor him either meant that he couldn't simply lock it up somewhere and then go elsewhere to avoid being watched. And of course, if the Seer is killed, Salem will definitely feel its death throes through their connection and simply have all the Grimm in the surrounding regions rush the academy.
And with most of the students still in Vale until things calm down for them to return here, that meant the academy was severely lacking in defenders. Sure, there was himself and the teachers here, but while their power and skill were well above that of any students', they were also significantly fewer in number, a factor that the Grimm always had humanity beat in.
Thus, he really couldn't risk much of anything here. He can't hide from the Seer nor can he risk killing it. Even trying to hint its existence to someone else to get them to kill it for him would be seen through by Salem and the Grimm would come regardless.
The frustration over his lack of options combined with his guilt over his betrayal and fear of Salem was really wearing him down, so much so that as he stood before the door to the vault that held the Relic of Knowledge, the Seer would hiss threateningly into his very mind whenever he so much as lowered his tired arms even an inch.
But how could he not be so tired? All the stress aside, he's been standing in this very same position for over an hour now and this hadn't been the first time he's been forced to do this either.
The Seer's hissing ceased as he once again straightened his posture and raised his arms properly, his hands and the Seer's feelers pressing directly against the vault's door.
Even now, he knew not what exactly this was supposed to accomplish. Salem, as usual, had simply told him what to do but not why he had to. Now the stress of not knowing was gnawing away at him.
But then the Seer's bulbous form suddenly shifted and with such an intensity that Leonardo nearly groaned in pain as its hold on his limbs and torso tightened immensely.
One of its tentacles was wrapped around his throat and that one tightened as well, nearly cutting off all attempts to breathe properly. He was quickly choking out for air and his vision was slowly beginning to blacken out-.
-Only for the Seer's hold to lighten up, just enough to avoid his untimely demise for now.
He gasped for air and blinked several times as he shook off the disorientation. As he did so, he focused on what was going on. And just as he did so, he stiffened as he saw the feelers of the Seer begin to glow a few multitude of colors as they retracted slightly from the door.
In a moment of true inspiration, Leonardo gasped. He now figured out just what it was the Seer was doing and why Salem had wanted this done.
He didn't know a whole lot about magic, but what he did know in terms of relevancy was that the vaults the Relics were kept in were basically keyed to the magical signatures of the Maidens. With this one security feature, Ozpin ensured that he himself nor Salem could just waltz up to any of the vaults on their lonesome and open it themselves.
But, just as how electronic locks can be hacked and fingerprints can be faked to fool hand scanners and how even retinal scans can be fooled sometimes even with just the right type of contacts, the security feature of the vaults could likely be fooled too.
Leonardo concentrated for a moment, trying to sense his own aura levels. And to his horror, he realized that his aura capacity was currently running low. No wonder he'd been so tired recently – somehow, whenever he had to come down here in the dead of night to do this task, the Seer was siphoning his aura to fuel its probing attempts. That's why it had to latch onto him like this, most likely.
And through the connection it had with Salem, the Seer was analyzing the magical power the very vault itself gave and sending whatever information was provided back to Salem. By doing so, she likely sought to artificially reproduce the magical signature of a Maiden!
If she succeeds in doing that, then…!
Leonardo shuddered as the full implications of this struck him.
If Salem succeeded in replicating the magical signature of a Maiden then she'd have no need for capturing the Maidens anymore. She'd just be able to get through the defenses in place all on her own. It'd just be an issue of figuring out how to then transport the Relics from their vaults safely back to her. But with how many human agents she seemed to have at her disposal in any given era, that'd be a non-issue too.
The sheer terror that coursed through him was such that the headmaster of Haven subconsciously backed away from the fault, breaking the physical connection between it and the Seer. But he didn't even get a few steps back before the Seer hissed shrilly and the teeth it possessed bite into him. And with how drained his aura was, the teeth dug deep.
He screamed in sheer pain as the Grimm quite literally ate a chunk out of him as it writhed, its surprising weight making him stumble forth and falling onto his knees… but with his palms and thus its feelers once more making contact with the vault door.
His scream died off quickly enough, devolving into whimpers and broken sobbing.
This was it, he thought, this was Salem's victory for all intents and purposes.
The world simply didn't know it yet.
A whole new level of despair sunk into the very core of his being. And so, with his spirit truly broken now, he could only kneel there in subservience to Salem's shadow.
So, what do you think, guys? Quite a bit longer than the previous chapter, yeah? And with quite a few surprises too at that, ha ha. Hope said surprises are pleasant ones for you guys.
Yeah, from the start, I'd always intended for Salem to try figuring out a way to bypass the vaults the Relics are kept in. Now, I know the Relic of Creation is being used to power Atlas, but as far as she still knows, it's in a fault, complete with the same magical defenses the vault the Relic of Knowledge is in has. Anyways, it's always bothered me how in canon, only a Maiden can open any of these vaults. After all, if it's simply a matter of having magical power, then Ozpin should still be able to open it even with what little magic power he has left and that goes triply so for Salem who still retains her full might. Now, I'm aware such a thing would make the existence of the Maidens redundant, but still, just an oddity in my mind. Now, if the magical power bequeathed to the Maidens ends up developing its own unique signature and that's what Ozpin used as the basis for the vaults, that would make a lot more sense, but even then, it shouldn't be that almighty a defense or whatever. Hence Salem's way of getting around it in this fic. Hope that makes sense to you guys. If not, please PM me if you feel like it.
As for Watts, expect him to become much more active in the near future thanks to the Eternal Motor. On that particular note, the Eternal Motor is not something of my own creation, but rather something taken from yet another of Light's many chuuni visual novels titled Zero Infinity – Devil of Maxwell. Now, as the VN is untranslated, I was left with only what few reviews and wikis there are on it to get a feel for how exactly the Eternal Motor works, so if any of you happen to be fluent in Japanese and have played it, do feel free to correct me about it.
Anyways, as I'm sure you can now guess, Watts will be gaining quite the power boost thanks to it, but I intend to make it far less story-breaking than how it is in its home series, where, trust me, a number of the characters are ridiculously OP, especially in the latter routes. That said, Watts is going to be far more formidable than he ever was in canon, at least in terms of direct combat. Do look forward to what's in store for him.
And yep, Cinder's dead too. She's served her purpose for this fic. Plus, well, at the risk of sounding petty, I've just never liked her as a character. Not sure why she's as popular as she is (same goes for Neo too in my opinion) but yeah, that's just how it is. Granted, I didn't just off her because I don't like her, rather she just doesn't have that much development potential in fanfics from my point of view, not when compared to Jaune or a bunch of other characters that are ripe for development. By that, I mean that in fanfics, it is so easy to take the likes of Jaune or some other side character and develop them into something unique while still retaining some core character traits from canon. With Cinder, not so much, at least not to me. To all you other writers out there, I'm confident you can take Cinder and make her into something truly fun to read about and stuff much like how Couer does in his RWBY fics, but I just don't have that kind of imagination nor writing ability when it comes to her, so yeah. Again, hope you understand.
Whelp, not much else to say on the fanfic front, so I guess that's about it for now.
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!