"We're so proud of you," the short graying woman told Titus as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight for a long moment. He beamed in the warmth of the moment, his mother's love washing over him as she held onto him, perhaps longer than she needed to, but Titus didn't want her to ever let him go. They had always had a rough life living in Mantle, one of Atlas' many forgotten cities after the capital had been built. It was run down, broken, impoverished, and yet they had always managed to get by despite the odds. Titus' father had worked hard in the Dust mines every day and sometimes at night too until his third and final younger sister had been born and his father died in a collapse. It was no one's fault, and no one could have seen it coming, but life always had a way of keeping the residents of Mantle down.
That's why Titus needed to leave for the Capital as much as he hated the Military and the Schnees. They were the reason for the poor state that Mantle had been left in, but they were Titus' only way out of poverty. He would become one of the greatest generals that Atlas had ever seen and he would save his mother and three sisters. He'd be rich and powerful, and he would never have to worry about the safety of his family ever again. He had been training hard for years now, and at the age of 15, he was being summoned to the Capital for his final test to determine whether or not he was able enough to be considered Atlas Military. His mother finally let him go, clinging to her rags as the wind began to blow in, a storm was on the way.
"I will come back. I will save you." He told her. She smiled and nodded.
"I know that you will." She replied and hobbled back into her hut, preparing to secure everything before the rains arrived. "If you see that Natalia girl, please tell her that I say hi." Titus shook his head as he smiled.
"Mom!" He scolded her. She laughed and coughed and Titus frowned. He would save them, it was his one and only goal, failing was not an option. He headed for the airship and climbed on as it lifted off, sitting beside the pilot as they settled in. Titus gyrated his shoulders, trying to loosen them before they arrived in roughly 10 minutes.
"Who have you been training with?" The pilot asked trying to make small talk as she flew the plane north.
"General Admon," Titus told her as he leaned back. She chuckled. "What is it?"
"You must be Titus then," she told him. He looked at her in a bit of confusion and nodded.
"I am, why?" He inquired. Thunder rolled in the distance as it began to rain hard and she flew lower to the ground, turning the airship towards the east slightly. "Where are we heading, I thought that I was supposed to report to the Academy." He told her. She turned towards him slightly and smiled.
"Don't worry. This is all a part of Admon's plans," she reassured him. A static came over Titus' radio, bringing it to life suddenly and he pulled it up off of his hip.
"I'm sorry command, what was that? That last message didn't come through clearly." Titus replied.
"Titus, stay where you are! Our airships have been sabotaged, we're not able to come get you! We think it's the work of Admon!" Winter Schnee's voice yelled over the radio. A confusion filled Titus as he glanced over at the pilot whose lips parted as she smiled.
"I'm already airborne. I was picked up a few minutes ago for my last test!" Titus informed her.
"Get out of there!" Titus reached back for one of his blades, but the pilot had stood and looked into his eyes. Her pink eyes lit up and he was paralyzed, fully aware of what was happening, but unable to move.
"Damn," she said. She snatched both of his blades from him and tossed them out of the airship where they landed in a field below. "I was hoping we'd get to have a little fun before things got kicked off, but it looks like there won't be any time." She grabbed his uniform and manipulated it off of his body, pulling it off of his arms and throwing it to the ground below as well. She shoved him out after another minute or two, his body landing hard on the ground as the paralysis wore off. He bounded to a stop and planted his hands, his left arm folding under him as he managed to halt, pain shooting up through it. He looked up and surveyed his surroundings, noting that she must have headed back towards Mantle before dropping him out of the ship. What was happening?
"Titus! Titus! Are you there?" asked Winter over his radio which the pilot had decided to leave him with.
"Schnee, what's going on?" He managed as he slowly and gingerly found his feet. "What do you mean that Admon is behind this?"
"General Admon was appointed by the Remnant Peace Council after distrust surrounded Ironwood because of the Fall of Beacon. Since he took over, he's made many questionable decisions, but up to this point, we were unable to have him removed from his position. After further investigation into the Taurus incident as well as numerous others, we were able to strip him of his rank, but his personal followers are everywhere. It's incited a riot here at the Academy and we're working on clearing his men out. He said he had one last mission to complete and took off for Mantle," Winter explained. Titus didn't quite follow, but he still stumbled towards Mantle, the rain soaking him and wind trying to pull him back down to the ground. He struggled as he marched towards the city, which appeared to be on fire now. He heard the roar of Grimm nearby.
"What do you mean final mission?" Titus asked.
"I think he planned on finishing your training, but now that he's no longer obligated to follow our rules, there's no telling what he might do…" Winter's voice was cut off as static blared over the radio followed by someone breathing heavily into a microphone.
"Titus. I'm so glad that you could make it back to see the rest of your training through. It would have been a shame had Winter finished it with you, you would have become soft and pathetic, but I'm not going to let that happen to you," Admon's voice said over the radio.
"What do you plan on doing?" Titus asked. Admon cackled into the radio and sighed.
"Look at what I've already started!" Admon shouted, his voice ringing out from the city and into the storm to greet Titus. There was no doubt now as the Grimm rushed by, Mantle was on fire. "I'll give you five minutes to get here and stop me, Titus. If that's not enough time, then they will die. If you call for help, they will die. If you die, they will die. You had better hurry."
"You don't mean," Titus grunted. Silence fell over the radio for a moment.
"You live on Bakers Road, right Titus?" Titus froze as a sickness and dizziness slammed into him and stopped him dead in his tracks, he landed on his knees. This man meant to kill his family. This was how he was going to teach Titus how to become stronger?! Titus latched the radio back onto his hip and moved more quickly towards the city despite the pain he felt, hoping and praying that his arm would heal before he arrived. A Beowulf charged towards Titus from behind, but Titus felt the beast coming close and spun around, slamming his fist into its jaw and watching it crash to the ground. The rain fell harder now and lightning streaked across the sky, revealing the silhouette of the previous general, his body and sniper rifle quite visible from the top of the old clock tower in the middle of the town.
"Dammit!" Titus swore under his breath. He grabbed the small back up dagger that he kept in his right boot and leapt onto the back of an Ursa that was storming towards the city with the rest of the beasts, as he neared the outer wall, he could hear the screams of confusion and fear of those inside. He clubbed it in the back of the head and pulled out his knife, leaping off as it toppled over and rolled to a stop at an old section of the wall that had begun crumbling some years ago. Titus quickly snuck in and turned towards his road, hordes of citizens racing out past him in horror. His mother was too weak to leave, and his sisters wouldn't be able to get her out. He snatched his hand back as a gunshot rang out and removed the weapon from his hand. He glanced at his empty palm before looking up at Admon. "What's the big idea?!"
"This is how you'll become a legend Titus! This is how you'll achieve greatness!" Admon shouted in reply from his perch. The fact that Titus was soaked to the bone began to set in and he trembled as the wind blew even harder, throwing wooden debris past him. The gale became too strong and it destroyed what was left of the tower's structure, forcing Admon to come down on the other side of the building, out of Titus' line of sight. Grimm tore past him, not stopping to acknowledge Titus as he struggled against the wind. A street market stand smashed off of him, tossing him onto the cobblestone road and causing him a great deal of pain. He managed to find his feet after a long moment, but they were removed from under him again as he was thrown onto his back, a bullet slamming into his left shoulder.
"Admon! Stop this!" Titus demanded.
"Time's almost up Titus! You really are worthless, aren't you?! I always knew you couldn't do it. That you wouldn't be strong enough to save your family, let alone yourself. You call yourself an Atlesian Soldier. How will you live with yourself if they die?!" Admon's menacing voice called out through the chaos. Titus found his hands and knees as a sizable chunk of debris hammered into him and drove him back to his chest. He reached for the radio and fumbled with it for a moment before it was shot out of his trembling grip and bounced away, landing in a pothole, waterlogging it completely.
"I need help!" Titus screamed out. Someone! Anyone! Please! Help Me! The shooter laughed but sounded disgusted and Titus could hear him drawing closer, his boots splattering water off of the soaking wet road with every step. The man leaned down and grabbed Titus by the collar of his shirt, his pink eyes menacing and terrifying, piercing his soul. They were the same as the pilot's, but that didn't matter at the moment, it was the furthest thing from the front of Titus' mind. The crazed smile left Admon's lips as he tossed Titus back onto the ground and got on his hands and knees beside his pupil.
"If you can't do this alone Titus, you'll never be strong enough!" Admon screamed. He pointed his gun towards Titus' road and looked down the sights, spending a long moment trying to focus. "I think I can see them from here."
"Admon!" Titus shouted. The sniper in the black trench coat laughed as he turned quickly and kicked Titus in the ribs. Titus grunted, coughing up blood as he hit the ground, was his body already close to its limit? He felt the muzzle of the rifle being pressed against the back of his head.
"That's General Admon to you!" He shouted out. "You have failed me Titus, and just like all of my other failures, you will die!" The gunshot rang out as the gun jerked away from Titus' head and Admon slid backward.
"You must be Titus," a voice said from above him. Titus tried to pull himself up but fell back onto the road. "You're fine kid, just stay there for a moment."
"So, Winter was unable to get out of Atlas and sent her messenger instead," Admon asked.
"I prefer the term fiancé," Qrow told him. "But don't worry, Winter will be here shortly." Admon scoffed and looked back at his target.
"Titus has failed, his family must pay for his failure," Admon informed him. Qrow chuckled as he set his feet and held his sword in front of him.
"We'll see about that," Qrow replied. Admon propped his gun against his body and placed his fingers in his mouth, whistling loudly.
"Camellia, some help if you would!" The villain called out. The paralysis that Titus had felt on the airship gripped him again and his eyes twitched as he felt like something was being ripped from his body. He watched as the brunette pilot wearing the Atlas Uniform with the pink eyes from before formed in front of him, smiling at Qrow and locking him under her power. Had she trapped herself inside of Titus' mind? Qrow fell to his knees as she disappeared again and his eyes remained pink.
"What the hell is this?" Qrow grunted.
"My sister Camelia is a femme fatale if you will. She draws men in with her looks and then traps herself in their eyes. She can't control you entirely, but you will be a bit more sluggish now," Admon divulged to Qrow. He swung his rifle around. "And the great thing is that I can kill you, and she'll be just fine." Titus felt immediately different and dashed past Qrow, snatching the gun away from Admon and swinging it around like a bat, smashing it against Admon's face. He stumbled back and chuckled as he regained his footing on the wet ground. The rain seemed to be coming down even harder now, and Titus quickly maneuvered the gun, pointing it at his teacher and pulling the trigger, but nothing happened. "Of all people Titus, you should know that my gun will only work with my finger or Camellia's on the trigger."
"Go to hell you monster!" Titus shouted out. He swung the gun again, missing Admon by quite a large margin this time. Admon's eyes lit up, much like Camellia's, only this time Admon's appearance had changed and he looked like Titus. "Confused?" Titus looked down at his hands to find that the gun was gone and was being aimed directly at his chest.
"What did you do?" Titus asked.
"A body-swapping. All because you looked into my eyes," Admon told him. He slowly gripped the trigger but the gun was knocked out of his hand by Winter's sword. He looked up at her quickly and growled, snarling at her and running after his gun, but a glyph was thrown under him and stopped his movement. He looked back at Qrow who was forced to look at him by the woman in his head and swapped spots with him, swinging Qrow's sword and glancing it off of Winter's. "Camellia, we may need to go. Kill the family." Qrow fell to the ground as Camellia leapt out and slid across the wet earth, grabbing up the gun and pulling the barrel off, spinning it one hundred and eighty degrees and slamming it back onto the gun. She placed it on her shoulder and fired, a rocket slamming into the house behind his own and blowing the wall apart.
"No!" Titus yelled. He sprinted after the woman, reaching her in a few steps as she aimed to fire again. He yanked the gun out of her hands and she let the two electric prods slide out of her sleeves. She slammed them both into his chest, driving him back to the ground and grabbing the gun away from him.
"Admon!" She shouted rolling out of the glyph's affected area. The siblings swapped bodies and Camellia attacked Winter harder, keeping her from stopping her brother as he reformed the rifle and aimed towards the house. He slammed the butt of the gun back into Qrow's chest as he came too close and smirked as he found his mark.
"Helpless Titus." Another gunshot rang out and Admon's eyes grew wide as he was thrown onto his side, the gun flying from his hands and landing several feet away. Ironwood walked over to Qrow and helped him up as Camellia gave a final push at Winter and disappeared into a flash of bright pink light. Winter's chest heaved as she looked down at Admon who lay on his side, mouth stuck in that evil smile that he had always worn, laughing at something that he found amusing. "You make me sick Titus."
"Shut up Admon!" Ironwood demanded. Admon shook his head as his body curled into the fetal position.
"No! Titus isn't worthy of joining the Atlesian Army! You and your family would have died if they hadn't come along! You'll never be strong enough to do it on your own!" Ironwood kicked Admon in the face, knocking him out and moving next to the man's rifle. Titus trembled as he finally found his feet after the electric shock had worn off and he stared at Admon without looking away. He was right. If they hadn't come along, his family would have died. He wasn't strong enough. He needed to be stronger. Winter slowly grabbed his shoulder and he flinched, his eyes casting daggers at her as he seethed slightly.
"Titus, you can't listen to him. There's no way that any of us could have taken him on our own. Sometimes we need to rely on others," Winter explained.
"Then perhaps…" Titus walked towards his house, leaving them behind him as the rain dripped off of him and the sky began to clear up. "Perhaps none of you are strong enough." Titus shook as he reached his house and climbed in through the window, noting that the door had been locked. He opened the trapdoor and climbed down into the cellar. His mother ran to him and threw her arms around him again.
"Titus! Thank the Maidens you're okay!" She proclaimed. "You saved us! We were all counting on you to save us!" Titus felt the emotion of the fight build inside of him and he placed his head on her shoulder.
"I wasn't strong enough to save you on my own!" He told her sobbing. She pulled him away and looked into his eyes.
"It's not important that you can do it alone Titus. What's important is that you make a difference however you can, even if it's with the help of others," his mother told him.
"I can help carry your pain too if you'd like," Eliana told him. Titus wrapped his arms around her in return and pulled her in tight, lightly swinging her from side to side as he took a deep breath.
"My teacher. One of my mentors back in Atlas tried to kill my family once. I was able to stop him with some help, but after that moment I always felt like the people around me would be safer if I didn't let them in. What would happen if I put others that I care about in danger, and I can't save them?" He confessed. She looked up at him with a smile.
"If that happens, you won't be alone. You don't have to face these things by yourself, Titus," Eliana explained to him. "What's important is that you can make a difference, even if it is with the help of your teammates." Titus didn't know what to say to her. Eliana had somehow seen right through him. She was so naïve and innocent, and he had dropped his guard. Now she had seen him in his most vulnerable state. This wouldn't change anything, not right away, but maybe he could work on being more open towards them and letting them help him. He could help them in return as well.
"Eliana…" He began as he let go of her. She smiled and stepped past him, gathering up his book and assignments for him and handing them over. He looked at them as he took them and then back at her.
"You'd better get going, that test is going to be starting soon," Eliana told him. He nodded. He opened the door and stepped into the hall but was stopped as she called out. "Oh, and I won't tell Neela and Ilia." Titus smirked and nodded to her one last time before leaving the room.
"Thank you, Eliana."
A little on the shorter side this week, pacing somehow ended up a little off between this chapter and the last. Next week we'll see what the criminal Orion Nova has been up to in Chapter 18 - The Stardust Gang!
A big thank you to Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!