Disclaimer: I do not own either RWBY or Star Wars
"I am glad you deigned to appear, Qrow Branwen." Wayle greeted the scruffy Huntsman as he entered the room.
"You make it sound like you thought I wouldn't." The man replied, with a distinct lack of slurring.
The man was, relatively, sober. While the young Sith didn't quite know if this was a good or bad sign, he figured, from what he had heard of the man, that it was unusual.
"You do not have the best of track records when it comes to being there." He replied with a casual smile. "At least from what I have gathered."
"I see you do have some venom when you 'deign' to, Tyran." Qrow retorted. "I guess underneath all that niceness and 'benevolence', there really does lurk something else."
The Huntsman sneered, and for a few moments it looked like he would pick a fight with the young Lord. The only other person present, Glynda, looked horrified at the prospect, for a number of reasons.
"Qrow! He is our host, and is currently harbouring your nieces and their friends! And he's offering to provide aid to us!" She voiced one of them. Perhaps she was going to voice more.
But she wasn't given the chance.
"I do not particularly care. He is not wrong. And here, where only I can hear those words, there is no problem." Wayle said with a smile. "But I do feel compelled to point out, that there are those amongst my followers who might not appreciate such words… And I am not capable of keeping track of their every activity."
He left those last words hanging, their message clear.
To their credit, the veteran Huntsman and Huntress didn't even flinch.
Qrow seemed like he might say something, but he was prevented from doing so by Wayle.
"I believe Ruby has reawakened. You should go. They demand answers. That is why you are here, is it not?" He said.
The Huntsman looked slightly puzzled, but ultimately, he did leave, although he did give Glynda a pat on the shoulder, as well as a sympathetic look.
Then he was through the door, and on his way.
Wayle shook his head bemusedly.
Glynda took a deep breath, to steady herself he assumed.
There were many things he admired about the woman, her professionalism, her self-discipline… she truly was of a high calibre, in every way possible.
And perhaps it was this that caused him the most puzzlement. That despite all this, the woman was afraid of him. She was one of the only people on Remnant he had met that feared him from the first time they met and onwards.
He had come to form a theory on why that was, but lacked the facts needed to properly judge it.
"I assume you want answers about the Maidens." She said, not a hint of a quiver or hesitation in her voice.
"Indeed."
She sighed resignedly.
"Are you familiar with The Story of the Seasons"?
"Hmm…" He gave it some thought, and after quite some pondering arrived at an answer.
"You mean the tale about the four maidens and the old hermit? Of course, that does make some sense."
"Yes. The maidens spoken of in the tale are the first four, and since then their power has been passed down to others upon their deaths."
"And this inheritance, are there any rules for it?"
"I am not fully familiar with the details, most of our knowledge on the matter came from Ozpin and…"
"And now he is not here. Tell me what you know."
"I only know for certain that they have to women, potentially with restrictions on age but…"
"It is difficult to test them."
"Yes. Usually the power is passed on to the last person in the Maiden's thoughts, if they are eligible. If not, it goes to a random eligible person."
"I see. The last person in their thoughts…" He started thinking.
This confused Glynda.
"Then the reason they are kept a secret… Is to protect the Maidens from those who would want that power for themselves." He then suddenly said, shocking the Huntress.
She adjusted her glasses and took a breath to regain herself.
"I see you figured it out. Ozpin, Qrow and I were part of a cabal dedicated to protecting the Maidens…"
"But it seems to me like you failed. Do you know the location of any Maidens beyond Fall?"
Glynda was taken aback by this statement.
"How- how did you know she was the Fall Maiden?"
This time it was Wayle's turn to be confused.
However, it was short lived, as he finally managed to connect all the dots.
At which point he burst out in laughter, thoroughly disconcerting the Huntress.
"I see…! Such irony…! Could it be she chose that name for that specific reason?! Or was it merely an unfortunate and self-fulfilling prophesy?!" He said in the midst of his laughter. "I was referring to Cinder Fall. So, she is the Fall Maiden as well? How convenient." He then clarified once he had calmed down.
This seemed to ease the Huntress somewhat, but she was still startled, her composure having been broken.
"I-I see…" She said, and, trying to gather herself, she then took a deep breath. "W-we do not currently have any information regarding the other Maidens' whereabouts…"
"None of them?" Despite his wish to remain friendly, he still scowled in displeasure. "How long have you been unable to ascertain the location of Spring, Summer and Winter?"
Glynda at least had the self-awareness to look ashamed. "For several months."
He took a few deep breaths. Under the circumstances, it wouldn't be odd if the lost track of one or even several of the Maidens during the same period, but this…
"You are also fighting 'her', are you not?" He suddenly said.
Once again, the Huntress was taken aback.
"You know about her?" But this time she didn't freak out completely.
"I do not know her name, appearance or motivations. All I know is that she is dark, ancient, and that she desires to destroy the sentient life of Remnant. We managed to contact each other somehow, and through that I gleaned what I know. My worry lies in what she gleaned from me… It was during that contact that she let slip that Cinder was her pawn, and it was then that I gleaned a hint that they would attack Beacon."
"And that is why you arrived so quickly."
"Yes."
"And what do you intend to do about her?"
"She stands in direct opposition of my goals. I have no choice but to fight her."
"And what is your goal?"
He looked the Huntress straight into the eyes, his eyes filled with determination.
"To save all the people of Remnant."
Her eyes widened in response, but she couldn't find the strength to speak.
He sighed once again. Was it becoming a habit?
"Why are you so afraid of me?"
Of all the things that had been said, it was these words that took her the most aback.
"That's- It's... I-"
"Forgive me if that was too personal. It is merely something that has bothered me for some time."
She collected herself somewhat, but was unable to meet his eye.
"I can't explain it. I think it is connected to you power." Her answering surprised him.
He had not expected her to answer at all. She seemed hesitant, but even so she talked. Maybe she felt compelled to talk about it, to try and confront and perhaps gain answers for herself.
"The Dark Side of the Force?"
"Yes. When you unleash it, I feel… something. I can't explain it, but I feel dread, fear… I believe it to be instinctual…"
Her words made him think. It wasn't Force Sensitivity. He doubted she was Force Sensitive, and neither Latune nor Ouka reacted that badly…
But something similar did seem to occur in other Aura users…
"Perhaps it is connected to your ability to use Aura? If mayhap it gave a simple, instinctive sensitivity, then that would manifest in a way that makes sense to your instincts…"
"That- that does make some level of sense… After all, I suspect most of it is merely a phantom from our first meeting…"
Their first meeting… had he been-
Actually… yes. Yes he was. He had been channelling a large amount of the Dark Side, and when she appeared he had, due to the stress of his situation and from the adrenaline directed a lot of his hostility towards her…
And if he did all of those…
A memory of a youngling losing consciousness out of terror came unbidden to his mind.
"What an unimaginable blunder…" He put his hand upon his forehead as he muttered these words.
If Glynda heard she made no clear indication.
"Forgive me for pushing you. This has been most enlightening. I will work to counteract our enemy, and your people will always find sanctuary and assistance here." He continued. "Honestly, I feel that the Hunters should stay out of politics, and merely focus on combating the Grimm, and her."
This statement seemed to surprise the Huntress, but it also brought a small smile to her face.
"Thank you." She replied.
-Break—
"So, how is the situation?" Wayle said as he entered the War Room.
He was the last to arrive, which reassured him. He did after all call for this meeting before he talked to Glynda.
His inner circle stood arrayed around the planning table, an interactive device capable of displaying various types of information which could be updated in real-time. He had seen and used similar devices while working with the Sith Empire's military, although this one was a slight bit more archaic.
They all turned towards him, coming to attention.
"My Lord." Aureus started. "The situation is… uncertain. The CCTS has been disrupted, hampering our communications. We are attempting to improve upon it using your communicators but…"
"We lack skilled technicians and engineers." Ouka filled in. "I have been looking for them, but most of them work for Atlas and… well…"
"Atlas are not friendly towards us." Wayle said. "I see. Ouka, this is an important issue that needs resolving. Focus your efforts on obtaining skilled personnel, be they scientists, engineers… Atlas has the technological edge. We will work to close in on that."
"It will be difficult with the current communications problems, but I will do my utmost." The pink-haired Faunus replied.
"Felis, how is the situation at Beacon and in Vale looking?" The Sith moved on.
"Grimm are pouring into the ruins of Beacon, and Vale proper is in the process of being abandoned by its people."
Wayle narrowed his eyes at this news.
"Hmm… Captain, Aureus, work to assist in evacuation and protection as well as sheltering of civilians, if my suspicions are correct public support for the government, and the Atlas military should be at an all-time low. We should capitalise on this and build public support." He replied.
"No need for a revolution if people respect what you're saying." The Captain said with a grin.
"I agree. It will be difficult, but now is most certainly the time for us to show solidarity and compassion." Aureus said. "It will show that we are serious about our ideals. They might even welcome your ascension my Lord."
"It is hard to tell." The Sith replied. "What is Atlas doing?"
"Rumours seem to spreading that Atlas had a hand in the past events, particularly thanks to recordings of their rampaging Knights. Mistral and Vacuo seems to be treating it as a possibility and are making moves implicating that they might declare war on Atlas if it displays any suspect behaviour." The administrator then reported.
"Damn fools, they are playing into her hand…" Wayle muttered angrily.
"By 'her' are you perchance referring to Cinder Fall…?" Roland queried.
The young Lord hesitated for a few moments. Should he tell them about the mysterious woman behind Cinder?
He took a decision.
"I speak of the person pulling Cinder Fall's strings… the true mastermind of recent events…" He said. "In fact, she seems to have power over the Grimm. Perhaps she even controls all Grimm… I do not yet quite know."
These words brought shock and distress to those assembled.
"She is our enemy, seeming to desire the end of all sentients on Remnant…" Wayle continued, snapping the others out of their shock with the sheer imperiousness of his tone. "Felis, have your agents seek out those spreading these rumours. They work towards the end of us all, whatever they realise it or not."
"Yes, my Lord!" Felis quickly replied.
"I will check our ranks." Ouka added.
"Good. Roland, our first priority is the security of our people, assets, and land. I suspect that Grimm activity will rise, and that stronger and more threatening Grimm will start appearing." He said.
"Of course, my Lord. I will dedicate all my skill and experience to securing the Army of Union and those that it protects!" The elderly man replied.
"Excellent. Our course is set. Dismissed."
They all provided affirmatives and started to leave.
"Ouka, Latune, I need to speak with you, remain for a short while."
His Apprentices stopped. "Yes Master" they echoed.
Once everyone else had left the room he spoke up again.
"Start searching our ranks for those with potential. Our enemy possesses power… power far greater than we expected. So we will have to adjust by using all potential we can grasp."
The smiles on his Apprentices' faces were quite disconcerting.
"Your will be done, Master." They echoed once again.
Author's notes: Holy shit it was a long time since I last updated. I am so sorry, and blame school, as well as train rides. If anyone sees any mistakes or errors, I would love it if you would tell me.
I hope you enjoyed and that you have a nice day.