Hello again, it's that time of the week. This one sure went fast, probably didn't help my weekend was shot between working and driving a couple hours each way to visit my grandparents. At least this weekend I finally have nothing to do but relax, get some cleaning done, cook the next two week's worth of meals, get my license plate and credit card renewed, get a picture taken for my grandparents' anniversary gift photo collage, and write the next chapter of this story. Sadly, no omake for this one, as I've been rushed for time lately.
Enough griping about how there aren't enough hours in the day, I'll address the reviews.
To HeartMachine, now's when I take your advice to do some slice of life stuff. Now that the Breach happened, it's the perfect time to explore some more character dynamics. And no, Grimm do not have the best of poker faces. How do you think Oobleck won all those rocks? I'm glad you liked the underground stuff as well.
To AxDevilman, it's good to know I wasn't being too subtle with that. I prefer letting the reader piece things together with context clues – it rewards attentive reading - but for those that don't quite see it yet, there's plenty more hints in the upcoming chapter.
Chapter Twenty-One: Awakening
Beta: HybridAlabaster
Cardin woke up in a hospital bed. He blinked as harsh light flooded his eyes, and with a groan, he sat up. There were three chairs in front of his bed. On the left, Yang snored loudly in her chair. Dove was looking at his Scroll on the right, and sandwiched between them, Emerald watched him intently. When he propped himself on his elbows, Emerald shook Yang's shoulder and left. Yang opened her eyes, blinked drowsily, and saw Cardin.
"Oh, my bad. Thanks Em."
The only response from Emerald was a closed door. Yang stood, stretched, and went up to Cardin's bed.
"Hey."
Cardin looked up at her. "Hey," he croaked.
"You saved my sister. Blake too."
Cardin blinked. It felt as though someone had smashed his short-term memory and gave him a pile of pieces, but after a moment's thought, he had the cavernous adventure sorted.
"I suppose I did."
Yang crossed her arms. "Blake told us everything."
Cardin looked at Dove. He was still looking at his Scroll, but his fingers had stopped. "Everything about what? Her being a Faunus?"
Yang raised an eyebrow at him and followed his gaze back to Dove. "Yeah, that. You're not going to harass her for it, are you?"
"Not if you're going to break my nose for it."
Cracking her knuckles, Yang said, "Good enough. Thanks for saving Ruby, even if it was your teammates that did all the heavy lifting."
"I literally carried Blake by myself with a swarm of Grimm beetles chasing me."
"And the rock that you dropped on her legs." Before Cardin could reply, she cut him off. "Yes, I know that was an accident. But still, I think you should get docked points for that."
That reminded him of what happened with his Semblance. He decided to pay Professor Oobleck a visit, only to remember that he had been left behind in Mount Glenn.
"How is Ruby?" he asked.
Yang frowned. "She's okay and she's out of the hospital bed, but she's been getting a lot of headaches. It's not a concussion, thank the Gods, but it's not going away." She glanced at the door. "I'm going to check up on her. See ya."
Once Yang was gone, Cardin tried to get out of bed, but as he leaned over the side, his hand slipped, and he fell sideways. He barely caught himself on the nightstand, and Dove rushed to help him while he hung half-tangled in the sheets.
"Wait for the nurse," Dove said. "Also, Ozpin and Ironwood want to talk to you."
Cardin groaned and sank back in his bed. "Can we get this over with?"
"The nurse is with Blake right now, and she's not letting Ozpin interrogate you until she checks your vitals." Dove sat back down and read his Scroll. After a minute, he asked, "Why did you do it?"
"Go down in the tunnels?"
Dove nodded, and Cardin struggled to get the gears turning in his head. He could feel sparks bouncing off his skull. "Partly what I told Goodwitch, partly to get on better terms with Team RWBY. They might be useful during the tournament."
"Why go after Blake, then? You nearly got yourself killed, for someone that's hardly said a word all year." Dove gave him a level look through his Scroll. "It's not like you."
Cardin took a deep breath. "If I was the one carrying Ruby, Yang would be suspicious. She'd think I did it so she'd owe me a favor. By going after Blake, she'll be less certain about it."
"I see." Dove's eyes went back to his scroll.
A moment later, the nurse strode into the room. To his disgust, fuzzy brown ears poked out the top of her head, making her hair net bulge. She had stern brown eyes, high cheekbones, and a long white coat that hid the rest of her.
"Good, you're awake," she said. "Let's get you checked out."
After some probing, squeezing, and other medical indecencies later, the nurse had a string of statistics that proclaimed Cardin's perfect health. She scribbled them down on a clipboard and nodded to herself.
"Alright, let's get you on your feet. I have to check your back."
Before he could protest, she grabbed Cardin by the ankles and swung his legs out from under the covers. She pulled him by his right arm, grabbing him at the wrist and shoulder. He pushed off with his free arm, swayed on his feet, and leaned against the bedframe.
"Good. Let's get that shirt off."
He felt himself blush as the nurse unbuttoned the thin hospital shirt. He shivered as a draft brushed his skin and left goosebumps in its wake.
She studied his back and hummed tunelessly. "Haven't seen anything like it before." She ran a finger down his lower spine. Cardin clenched his jaw and willed himself not to move. "The skin isn't damaged, just stained, like a tattoo, but there's no pigment there either. No telling how long it'll stay like that."
"Could I see?"
The nurse guided him over to a standing mirror. She held up a hand mirror to his right and angled it until Cardin could see his back through both mirrors. Radiating outward from his spine was a stringy, tangled pattern of dark lines, like rusted roots, that stopped at his shoulders where his armor had protected him. He touched the marks and felt nothing but skin.
"Could you try activating your Aura and Semblance?" the nurse asked.
Cardin concentrated, and a white veil surrounded his hand. When the nurse took a scalpel and lightly cut at it, the glow pushed back the blade. The light shrank back into his arm. With the other hand, he activated his Semblance and lifted one side of the bed. Weak as he was, his arms bore the load without effort.
With a final scribble, the nurse said, "I'll need to see you for check-ups every morning for the next two weeks, but it looks like you'll be fine."
"Two weeks? Isn't that a bit much?"
"We don't have any cases like this one on record, and that coloration on your back worries me. We don't know what to expect."
Cardin took a deep breath and stretched his legs. Now that he was on his feet, he was feeling aches and bruises from his tumble on the stairs, but the dull twinges told him his Aura would fix them within a few hours.
"Can I go now?"
"Yes. Headmaster Ozpin would like to see you immediately. He said to take the elevator up to his office."
When he swiped his Scroll against the terminal at the elevator door, it flashed, and the doors parted. The ride up felt longer than it was, silent except for the soft hiss of the elevator as it rose up Beacon's clock tower.
Ozpin's office resided in the guts of the clock's mechanism. Giant gears rotated soundlessly overhead. On the far wall of his office was a giant glass clock face, softly ticking away the seconds in the day. More gears turned underneath the glass floor, and even Ozpin's desk had clockwork inside its glass shell.
Ozpin and Ironwood sat on either side of the desk, with an empty seat off to the side. A chess board was set up between them, and a cluster of chess pieces sat next to either player. Judging from the size, Ironwood had claimed more pieces, but the height said they were mostly pawns. Ironwood's hand went from piece to piece, and he hummed in frustration as he picked out a move, while Ozpin studied him with a soft smile and stroked his mug of coffee.
"Just give it up, James. Either way, it's checkmate in four."
Ironwood moved his rook forward two spaces. Ozpin took it with a knight.
"Make that one," Ozpin said. "Now you can't stop queen to F7 checkmate."
Ironwood examined the board, and with a sigh, he tipped over his king.
"How do you keep doing that?" Ironwood asked.
Ozpin sipped his coffee. "Years of practice." His eyes went over to Cardin, and a smile touched his face. "So, on the topic of tactical disasters, have you figured out how the White Fang got a hold of your latest and greatest military technology? I for one feel slighted that you let them give your toys a test drive before me."
Ironwood sighed put his head in his hands. "I already told you, Ozpin, I have Winter working on it. Whoever compromised that transfer, I'll have them court marshalled before they can blink."
Ozpin raised the mug to his lips and savored the coffee. "It's enough to make me wonder if we're going to have to change our security arrangements again." He tutted and added, "It'll make the Council of Lords look like idiots, that's for sure." This time, Ozpin made it more obvious that he was looking past the General. "Just in time, Mr. Winchester," he called. "I take it you're doing well?"
A sarcastic response was on his tongue before he bit it back. "Yes, Headmaster."
"Good. Have a seat."
Cardin took the unoccupied chair. It felt good to sit down, but he kept his expression neutral as he regarded the two Headmasters. Ozpin cleaned up the pieces and set up another game, while General Ironwood stared warily at him.
"Would you care to play, Cardin?" Ozpin asked.
Ironwood chuckled, but his shoulders stayed tense. "Looking for another victim, Ozpin? I don't think there's anyone in the world that can beat you."
Cardin accepted the black pieces. Ozpin opened with C4, and Cardin put his pawn on E5. When Ozpin brought out a knight, Cardin did the same, and on the next turn, both knights were mobilized.
"We have already heard many details about what happened in Mount Glenn from your teammates, Team RWBY, Goodwitch, and Cinder," Ozpin said, "But we would like to hear what you saw and experienced, particularly what happened when the Beetle latched on to you."
"Where should I start?"
"From the beginning. Take your time."
Ozpin pushed a pawn to G3, opening a path for his light-square bishop. Freeing up his own bishop and forcing a trade, Cardin pushed forward to D5. They traded pawns, but instead of trading knights, Ozpin put his light-square bishop on B2, readying another attack on Cardin's knight and stopping a queen capture on that spot. Instead of backing off, Cardin captured Ozpin's knight, and a pawn captured his in return.
As they exchanged pieces, Cardin told everything he remembered about Mount Glenn. As he recounted the phone call, this time confessing that Blake had called him, he felt more of yesterday's events come back to him. He skimmed over everything until they entered the cave and encountered the walking corpse. Both Ozpin and Ironwood listened intently as he described how the impact had felt and from where the motes of dead Grimm had drifted.
After examining the board and checking multiple ways to attack Ozpin's pieces, he brought out his dark-square bishop to attack F3. Ozpin countered by castling king-side, defending the square with his rook, and Cardin followed suit. Ozpin shored up his defenses, bringing a pawn to E3.
When he described the petrified Grimm at the unfinished train station, Ozpin was quick to jump on Sky's Dust theory. Sensing a secret, Cardin decided to probe a little deeper into it.
"We didn't see a train car in the area, so we're not sure how the Dust would've been there."
"Glynda found the train car by the entrance with the others," Ozpin said. "It hadn't been detached like the other cars."
A lie, and they both knew it. Ozpin shot a quick glance at Ironwood, but the General didn't seem to notice.
"We don't need to hear any more about the Dust explosions," James said. "Our forensics experts have gotten what they needed from the final blast zone. Please move on to the new type of Grimm you had encountered."
Cardin skipped over digging up Ruby and the issues with his Semblance and went to the moment the beetles broke through the cave-in. He gave as much detail as he could remember, the color and shape of their bodies, the clacking sounds they made, their numbers, sizes, and relative speeds. The Headmasters only half-listened to this account, clearly waiting for the end of his story.
Putting his attention back on the game, Cardin thought about attacking Ozpin's knight with his pawn. It was the safest option, but of course, the chess game wasn't the point. It might be best if Ozpin thought him reckless. He charged forward with his queen, putting Ozpin's rook in the line of fire. Ozpin brought back his knight to attack the queen, and Cardin retreated, putting his queen on G6.
Ironwood and Ozpin probed him for every detail he could remember about the beetle's attack. He told them about the numbness, how heavy everything felt, the draining of his Aura. They asked question after question, forcing details out of him he hadn't remembered until they squeezed it out of his sluggish mind, such as that last stair he crawled up on his chin and knees, and the icy sensation the numbness left in his back.
Once the tale was over, Ozpin smiled at him and brought his pawn to D4, forking a pawn and a bishop under the protection of two more pawns. Cardin moved his rook on that column, pinning the pawn to the queen. Ozpin ignored the move and brought out his other bishop. Cardin moved his bishop to attack the queen, and Ozpin brought his own forward to attack the black queen, under the protection of his knight.
General Ironwood drummed his fingers on the desk. His right hand, though muffled by the glove, made a heavy thunking sound against the glass. "From what we understand, the Grimm was attempting to absorb your Aura. Do you feel that anything is missing, any memories, or a piece of your Semblance?"
"My head's been a bit foggy today," Cardin said, "But no, I don't feel anything like that." He concentrated a moment, and blinked drowsiness out of his eyes. "Has something like it happened before?"
Ironwood looked away. "No, this is a first for all of us. We are trying to gather as much information as we can."
Cardin watched Ozpin as the General said this, but the Headmaster's expression gave nothing away as he appeared to study the board.
Though he knew it would cost him the game, Cardin captured one pawn with another. They ended up exchanging queens, a pawn each, and a bishop. Cardin fell behind by a knight, only getting a pawn in return, and after he took a second bishop with a pawn, Cardin lost a rook. By that point, it was a matter of Ozpin bringing out his rooks, sweeping up Cardin's pawns, and forcing the black king into checkmate.
"Well, that was fast," Ironwood said. With a chuckle, he said to Cardin, "I warned you."
Cardin feigned a yawn, but halfway through it, it became the genuine article. "I didn't feel like messing around. I figured the more pieces I took, the faster the game would go."
Ozpin set down his mug and rose from his seat. "Then we won't keep you any longer. Thank you for speaking with us. We hope that what you have shared with us will shed some light on what had happened in Mount Glenn." He gave him a stern look and said, "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from spreading rumors about this new Grimm. The last thing we need right now is more panic in the streets."
Cardin struggled out of his chair, refusing the hand that Ironwood had offered him. Once he was on his feet and able to stand on his own, he shook both of their hands. Ironwood switched to his left hand for the handshake, and his grip was light, as if Cardin were made of china. Ozpin gave him a more firm, hearty handshake, and thanked him for the game.
When Ironwood offered to have one of his soldiers escort him to his room, Cardin politely refused. With his ignorance of Ironwood's standing in Atlas and among the Valean Dukes, coupled with the threat of being associated further with the SDC, Cardin couldn't risk taking that offer.
As the elevator descended, Ozpin's secret niggled at the back of his mind. While he thought it wisest to leave the matter alone, Cinder's request forced him to look into any secret of Ozpin's he could find. Whatever petrified the Grimm could be Cinder's missing possession.
Cardin made his way to the student dorms. As he was about to open the door, it was flung open in his face, knocking him to the ground. Moments later, a foot came down hard on his stomach. Even with his Aura sponging most of the pressure, he gagged and coughed from the force on his diaphragm.
"Hey, did someone leave a package at the door?" Nora asked. Her foot tapped him in the stomach a few times, eliciting another cough, and a plastic stick slapped him in the face. "Feels weird."
"Nora, that's Cardin you're stepping on," Ren said. "You should get off of him, he doesn't look very good."
"Ren, dogs don't speak. You're supposed to say 'woof'."
"You should get off of him, woof."
Nora stepped back. Cardin sat up on his elbows and wondered if he was still in the hospital bed, dreaming this all up. Nora had a blindfold tied around her eyes, but just enough light showed through for her to see. In one hand, she held a white cane, and in the other, she had one end of a dog leash. At the other end stood Ren, in a full canine costume, wearing a glittering pink collar. Even to Cardin's eyes, Ren seemed completely unfazed by the humiliation subjected on him.
Nora swatted Ren with the cane. "Doggies aren't supposed to stand either. Walk around on all fours.
"How can you even tell I'm standing, woof?"
"Because I can smell it. Now sit!"
Ren obeyed, sitting on his haunches like a dog. Cardin tried to get up, but a twinge of pain in his gut forced him to lie down.
"Nora, Cardin's not getting up, woof."
"Oh. Did I kill him?"
"No, you didn't, woof."
"Darn. Which way is he? I'll try stepping on him again."
Cardin had to roll out of the way as Nora's foot came down where his ribcage had been.
"Nora, be nice, woof. He saved Blake."
"All the more reason to finish him."
"And Ruby."
Nora paused, one hand under her chin and one leg in the air aimed at Cardin's chest. After a moment, she set her foot on the ground, a safe distance from Cardin's ribs.
"Fine, I guess he did do a good thing. Come on, Ren, let's go on our walk."
She tugged on the leash, but Ren pulled her towards Cardin. "Are you just going to leave him there, woof?"
There was another long pause as Nora processed his question. With a long sigh, she knelt next to Cardin. "No, you're right, I can't leave him here." She asked Cardin, "Want me to drop you off at your room?"
"That's all the way on the top floor," he wheezed. "Just get me to Ruby's room, I was on my way there anyways."
"You got it!" She wrapped the leash around her arm and held the cane out to Ren. "Hold this for me. I'll need both hands for this."
Ren tried grabbing the cane with his hands, but the costume's paws wouldn't close around it.
"Use your mouth, silly, dogs can't grab things with their paws."
With a glance at Cardin, Ren gripped the cane with his teeth. Nora opened the door, and Ren propped it open. With a single scooping motion, Nora had Cardin in her arms like a stack of firewood. Despite the strength of her grip and the wild way she swung him about, she was surprisingly gentle. She followed Ren inside and knocked on Team RWBY's door with her foot. Yang opened it and smirked when she saw Cardin.
"Looks like you make a fine damsel in distress," she said. Her eyes drifted to Ren at Nora's heels. "Shouldn't you be a horse?"
"No silly," Nora said. "There aren't any seeing-eye horses. They're too big to go inside buildings. Anyways, here's your package!"
"Oh, you're supposed to be a mail person!" She darted back in the room and came back with a pen. "Where do I sign for this?"
"I can't be a mail person, I'm blind! How would I tell which address I'm supposed to send the mail to if I can't read?"
"You could have your seeing-eye horse read it for you."
Nora giggled and mimed handing Yang a clipboard. Yang made her signature in the air and handed it back.
"Right, everything appears to be in order," Nora said, pretending to hold the clipboard in front of Ren. "Have a nice day, mam."
"You too mail-lady. Way to show the world what the physically handicapped are capable of."
Cardin got handed to Yang. He wasn't sure which set of arms were more dangerous for him.
"So, this is awkward," she said, once Nora closed the door. "Mind if I set you on my bed?"
"Sure. Where's Ruby?"
"Out walking Zwei. Why, did you want to talk to her?"
"Yeah. I wanted to know more about what happened in there, especially about Neo."
Yang scowled. "That bitch. I couldn't get a single hit on her. She was playing with me. Just as I think she was about to kill me, Torchwick called her. She ran to the front of the train, saw him, well, you know, and went ballistic. Blake ran to the top of the train, and Ruby got dragged into it. I tried to catch up with her, but the train cars split up, and Weiss and I got left with the front end." She crossed her arms. "She's probably dead anyways, since she got stuck with the Grimm."
"Maybe not. She could've escaped out one of the holes the Dust explosions made."
"Yeah, true. That's how Oobleck made it back. Anyways, that's about all we know about her. Is that enough?"
Cardin blinked at the news that Oobleck had made it out, but he forced himself back to the topic at hand. "I was hoping to get an idea of her Semblance."
Yang shrugged. "We talked about it. Something with glass, maybe, since copies of her kept shattering when we hit them. Kind of like Blake's Semblance."
Cardin fought back a yawn and struggled to make another point. "Knowing more about her weapon would also help." His head felt fuzzy, and he still had trouble breathing. "It might track down where she came from, and who is supplying her."
"Yeah, Ruby would know about that. Just wait here, she'll be just another minute."
After a short while, they heard Ruby shouting on the other side of the wall. She fumbled at the door handle, and after a few attempts, the door opened. Ruby had a thick, black cloth tied over her eyes, and she held a leash in both hands. At the other end was a gray and white corgi that made a beeline for Yang and licked at her face.
"No, Zwei, you're supposed to be my seeing-eye dog!"
"You could always use the cane," Yang suggested.
"How am I supposed to use a cane when I need both hands for Zwei?"
Yang shrugged, a gesture that Ruby failed to see. With a huff, Ruby sat down on the bed, right on top of Cardin. He let out another wheeze as his diaphragm was crushed yet again. Ruby leapt from the bed with a high-pitched yelp, and Zwei ran around the room barking. Within seconds, the leash was tangled around Ruby, and when she tried to step back, she fell and hit the floor with a thud.
"Ow, what the heck was that?" Ruby asked.
"That was Cardin," Yang said. "He wanted to ask a few questions about Mount Glenn. Was there anything unusual about Neo's umbrella?"
That started a ten-minute torrent of information, from the possible alloys used in the construction of her parasol fabric to make it bullet and cut resistant, to the engineering of the parasol's framework, most likely Valean but could be anywhere, and an in-depth analysis of how she wielded it and what counter-play could be done to work around the weapon's unique defensive capabilities. Blake and Ruby, remembering the open area further back on the tracks, retreated there to attack her from all sides. After a few minutes of fighting with more room to maneuver, the Grimm had swarmed them all.
"What happened to all those Grimm?" Cardin asked the moment Ruby left just enough space in her lecture to get a word in edge-wise. "It looked like Earth Dust, but Blake said there wasn't a train car there."
"Yeah, the train was already long gone," Ruby said. "I dunno, it was the weirdest thing. I saw a King Taijitu lunge at Blake, I panicked and tried to warn her, then there was this pounding pain in my head, my eyes started burning, like, really bad, and a bright light blinded me." She reddened. "It was probably when the rocks hit me. It all went dark after that, and, well, I woke up here." She rubbed at the blindfold. "My eyes still feel hot, it's driving me crazy."
There was a knock at the door. Yang went to open it, and Emerald looked past her at Cardin. "Cinder was hoping to talk to you," she said.
Cardin grunted and rolled to his feet. He took a few deep, painful breaths, and crossed the room. "Lead the way," he told Emerald. To Yang, he said, "Thanks for letting me rest a bit. See ya later."
Each step made his gut twinge in pain, but Cardin focused on what he had heard from Ruby. None of it added up, no Dust car, nothing to petrify the Grimm or cause the rock slide, and the two people who were there had no idea what had happened.
Before he could get his thoughts in order, they had arrived at the transfer student dorms. Emerald waited next to Cinder's door, watching him. With a deep breath, crushing the urge to grunt at the pain, Cardin reached for the door knob, and turned.