Chapter 4: The Semblance Of A Shadow
Elsewhere, down in the City of Vale, a solitary individual stood at the docks on Vale's Northern Harbor, looking out over the water in deep thought, contemplating the events that had taken place in recent weeks. He was considering the enormity of what he had planned for the Four Kingdoms of Remnant, the world after which his most loyal servant was named. He was pondering the chaotic effects of his plan, the sheer destruction it would cause, the lives that would be consumed in the fires of darkness that would soon envelop the world, along with all who lived in it.
And he was, very much so, reveling in it.
Erebos Kraid stood on one of the many long docks that stretched out over the deep blue water, a solitary figure of darkness, a mighty Black King on a colossal chessboard, the boundaries of which would soon spread to consume all that lived in the world. He reveled in the sheer chaos that his plan would cause, the mere thought of it pure ecstasy, the desire to destroy all things all too powerful within his being. But it had to wait, it had to wait. For to lose control now would bring years, decades, in fact, of careful planning to ruin, and all would be wasted. After all, why end it all right then when he had such powerful pawns at his disposal? Remnant, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury...pawns, the lot of them, mere scapegoats, expendable assets for him to dispose of at his leisure. But not now, for he still had much use for them, and he would thoroughly enjoy watching them all play his little game, not knowing that, really, his plan was not a plan at all, but pieces of a gloriously chaotic puzzle, ever changing, ever shifting in shape and consistency, and yet always fitting into place, creating the picture that Erebos envisioned. Oh, yes, he would very much enjoy watching them play, very much indeed.
Approaching footsteps broke Erebos's thoughts, and a familiar scent entered his nostrils as the footsteps began to clunk on the dock behind him. His most loyal servant had arrived, his footsteps breaking his master's thoughts at their sudden sound, garbed in a dark hooded overcoat and a black mask over his face, which he proceeded to remove as he knelt behind his master, and he lowered his hood to expose his black and red-streaked hair, his bright green eyes closing as he bowed his head in reverence and respect to his master.
"My Lord," Remnant stated, this being his required greeting of his master, a greeting which he had practiced on many an occasion and felt absolutely no difficulty reciting now.
Erebos made no move to turn around, but nodded in response to his servant's greeting, acknowledging him by simply stating, "Remnant."
Remnant, at his master's acknowledgment, stood up and straightened his coat, keeping his hood down and his mask removed, for his face was to always be showing to his master, he who had dragged him from the pit of Hell and had given him a new life and a new purpose for which to live it.
"My Lord," he said, "I have successfully obtained information pertaining to the whereabouts of the one known as Neopolitan, and I am ready to proceed with my mission. All I need to know are your orders, my Lord. Do you order capture? Or termination?" Remnant said these things with an air of confidence he had picked up in his training with Erebos, though in the presence of the man himself, it was considerably less than it had been in the presence of Cinder Fall, who for all her confidence and elegance, quailed in fear in the face of her dark father.
For a few moments, Erebos did not reply, remaining perfectly still where he stood. He seemed to be considering his servant's report and he had the baring now of man prepared to reward or punish. Finally, he inquired, "Has Roman Torchwick's former base of operations in Mountain Glen been neutralized and sealed off?"
Remnant winced slightly, for this was one subject in particular that he was rather more than certain he was going to be punished in some way over. Indeed, his air of confidence was noticeably less than before as he replied, "I ran into a minor hiccup in the process of doing so, but yes, it has been done."
For several minutes, Erebos was silent, and as Remnant waited for his master's reply, he sensed a change in his master's aura. It was thickening and darkening, like coagulated blood, and it was becoming almost suffocating like smog. His master, it seemed, was less than pleased by this report. No surprise there.
After several agonizing minutes of silence, Erebos spoke, "What kind of minor hiccup?"
Remnant's air of confidence was gone completely now as he replied, "It seems that they were expecting someone to return to the base, and so they had the Military's Atlesian Knights waiting in an ambush for any who attempted to return." Remnant bowed his head, fear slowly taking him as he said this, "I more than took care of them, Master, and if I didn't kill them all, they are blocked off, trapped in the underground tunnel forever..." he trailed off as Erebos's angry aura thickened even more. His master was not pleased, not in the slightest.
"Did you see them die yourself?" the imposing monster of a man inquired, his deep voice as calm as ever, however now a hint of a growl was underlying that calm tone.
"I had no time to..." Remnant replied, hoping against hope to high heaven his master would not be angered further by this, "The cave began to collapse after I cut everything into shambles and blasted them to flames...Master, no one survives a mission you send me on, and no one ever will..." The teen was almost pleading now, frightened by his master's anger.
"Silence." This one word from Erebos immediately shut Remnant up. He was in for it now.
Erebos finally turned towards his servant, and in one smooth motion struck Remnant right across the face with a backhand, the force of the blow knocking Remnant off his feet and sprawling on the dock.
"You young fool!" Erebos snarled, "It is not enough if you do not witness their demise! Do you realize what you have done? Do you realize the loose end you left, fool? Any one of those individuals you trapped down there may be alive! Any one of them might even dig their way out, and for all you know, they already have! What, prey, tell, did I tell you when I gave you this mission?!"
"D-destroy all evidence...and, if any...kill all witnesses..." Remnant's voice was now shaking in fear of his enraged master, regretting ever having come here to see him.
"Precisely. No. Loose. Ends." The growl underlying Erebos's baritone rumble was more than apparent now, his anger palpable as he stood over his trembling servant, "Fortunately for you, Neopolitan is a looser end that must be dealt with immediately. Find her, track her down as quickly as you can. Your primary objective regarding Neopolitan is to capture her and imprison her. If she proves too much of a loose cannon and liability, then you have my permission to kill her. In the meantime, I will handle your sheer idiocy in Mountain Glen." He looked down at Remnant with a scorching glare that would have made an alpha deathstalker shrivel and die of fear. "For your own sake, you had better pray that they are all dead."
Remnant slowly got back to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood into the water below the docks before finally managing to say, "Yes, my master."
"Now get out of my sight." Erebos turned back towards the water, folding his hands behind his back as Remnant also turned to leave, quickly walking away and rubbing his chin.
Before he had even left the dock, Erebos, without turning around, spoke once more, "And Remnant?"
Not turning around, Remnant stopped dead in his tracks. What could his master want now? "Yes, my Lord?"
Without turning around, Erebos gave Remnant a warning, "Watch your step around the individual whom you call 'The Nightstalker.' He is not what he seems, and not to be underestimated."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Meanwhile, back on the rooftop of the Beacon Dormitories, Noir Harceleur found himself face to face with Royal Gené Bivera, a member of Team TRRF (turf; led by Topaz Kogamo), and a girl who was standing 3 yards in front of him, dressed casually in a white sleeveless shirt, matching capri pants and a pair of white high top sneakers, her hair streaked with every color in the rainbow.
But these streaks of beautiful color in Royal's hair were not artificial. Her mid-thigh-length hair was one of the most unique heads of hair Noir had ever seen. From the top of her forehead to the tip of her crown, her hair shined in every shade of red imaginable, flowing together seamlessly and perfectly. From her crown to her neck the red slowly flowed into orange, and at her shoulders it was yellow. From there to mid-spine it flowed into green and at her waist it flowed into blue, with the tips of her lovely locks flowing into deep purple at the knees. Her hair was not dyed. This was simply how her hair looked. How her hair looked like this, no one knew, and who her parents were, no one knew either, for she had grown up an orphan.
Like her hair, her wide eyes also flowed through the color spectrum, however unlike her hair, her eyes were one color, but constantly fluctuating, from green to yellow to orange to red to purple to blue, spanning every possible shade in the color spectrum. Her eyes made a full cycle through the color spectrum every 17 hours, the changes being slow but steady. It was for her unique eyes that she had been named, her name being an anagram for the colors of the rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. ROYal Gené BIVera. Royal was an object of fascination at Beacon, for students and teachers alike, for as far as anyone knew, she was one of a kind, with hair and eyes being palpable representations of what defined their entire generation, the basis of art itself. Royal took this attention in her stride and was unashamed of her beautiful hair, purposefully wearing all white clothing to call immediate attention to her unique beauty.
She now stood 9 feet in front of Noir, who contrasted starkly in his sheer lack of color that went right down to his name, black. The two were very much opposites, and yet they were very close friends, Royal being one of the few people at Beacon that truly understood him, through and through. Royal was very much like a sister to Noir, and it was because of this close friendship that she now she stood in front of him, her arms crossed across her medium-sized chest, her eyes, now a vivid shade of green, narrowed as she stared down the bat faunus with a disapproving look.
"Mind telling me what the hell your problem is?" she demanded, with the air of a sister preparing to slap some sense into her brother.
Noir simply stood there, raising an eyebrow at her as she demanded this, his rage at Check Cremissi still fresh in his mind as he returned Royal's narrow-eyed glare, not even slightly intimidated by her glare; on the contrary, her unique beauty made it rather difficult to take her anger seriously. After a few moments Noir turned away, snarling, "I'd rather not discuss it right now..."
Before he could move to leave the roof, Royal closed the distance between them and grabbed him by the collar of his trench coat and yanking him back towards her, using her leg to trip him up. Noir barely shifted his wings in time as he landed flat on his back, Royal's foot planting firmly on his chest and holding him down as she glared down at him.
"Wrong answer, Batman. I just got a call from Yang telling me that you stormed out of Junior's Nightclub after punching some guy named Check in the face and telling him to fuck off. You didn't tell Yang where you'd be, you didn't thank her for taking you out, and you never even said good bye to her before you stormed out. What the fuck is your problem, Noir?!" The rainbow girl looked ready to kick his ass right there on the roof.
Noir looked right back up at her, silent as ever. There was simply no arguing with her, and it was obvious that she wasn't going to let him up until he told her the truth.
"The man I punched is named Check Cremissi. He is an old classmate of mine from my first year at Beacon, and I haven't spoken to him in nearly a year. Now will you let me up?" Noir said flatly.
"Not until you tell me why you punched him and left Yang hanging." was her reply.
"Well I won't exactly be able to concentrate with your foot on my chest, Royal. Now do you want me to explain myself calmly, or do you want me to break your foot off, because right now I'm angry enough to do just that, and unless you give me a chance to calm down, I won't be very accommodating." The blunt and flat tone with which he said this shocked even Royal, for even she had never seen nor heard him so angry before.
"Noir..." Royal stopped herself, knowing that as stubborn as she was, Noir was far more stubborn, to the point of idiocy, and in his current state of anger, perhaps it was best to let him calm down. Royal consented to remove her foot from his chest and stand a few feet away, however her intense gaze did not waver from Noir's.
She waited patiently for Noir to finish calming himself as he stood, tenderly rubbing the spot on his chest where she'd pinned him with her foot. He took several moments to fully calm down, slowing his breathing and lowering his heart rate as much as he could. As he slowly calmed down, Royal decided it safe to continue speaking to him.
"Okay, Noir, let's get this whole thing straight. You and Yang went to Junior's club together to relax. Everything went fine until you met a man who you apparently know, and then you greeted him by slugging him in the face, snarling at him, and then storming out of the club and flying away. Why? What the hell could have possibly warranted such a hostile greeting? Who the fuck even is Check Cremissi?"
Noir inhaled deeply before returning Royal's gaze his own now flattened, but the flatness an emotionlessness of his gaze not quite reaching his eyes. He then said, "Check Cremissi...was a member of my team back in my first year of Beacon. In fact he was the team leader. And my partner."
Royal's eyes widened at this bit of information. Never before had she or anyone else at Beacon heard Noir even mention his partner or team. This was the first she or anyone else for that matter had ever heard him mention he had a team. As she processed this information, Noir continued.
"Check and I partnered up during our initiation. We came from very different backgrounds, and were very different people. We were partnered up after I saved his life, and he soon afterwards returned the favor by saving mine. When we completed our initiation, we were teamed up with Midas Turo and Sherry Vulpa, and we became Team CMSN." (Crimson)
Royal suddenly realized with a jolt that Noir was speaking of it as though it was ancient history, as though such was not the case now. "But...if they're your team, how come no one ever sees them around Beacon? Where are they?"
Noir didn't answer this immediately, and as Royal waited for him to speak, she noticed that though his face was determinedly flat, his eyes were filled with a massive torrent of emotion she'd never seen before. In his eyes at that moment she saw rage, much like that which she'd seen in his eyes earlier, but now there was more. Joining the rage in his eyes was a profound sadness unlike anything she'd ever seen him, and grief. What he was about to say obviously pained him beyond anything he'd ever discussed with anyone. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Noir spoke.
"It happened during our second semester. We were starting our missions where we shadowed huntsmen, and our first several went perfectly...in fact every one of them was a complete success. Alongside Team CFVY, we were considered one of the most successful first-year teams to ever attend Beacon. Our first six away missions were complete successes. Then...everything changed.
"For our seventh mission we were shadowing Professor Port on a search and destroy mission to a village outside the kingdom. We were confident we could complete it without failure, compared to our other missions it was much more simple and straight to the point. To us, that would be a walk in the park in comparison to other missions we'd done. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way."
Noir's expression now noticeably darkened, his face physically reflecting the torrent of emotion that was coursing through him.
"When we arrived at our destination, a small village on the outskirts of Vale, we were met with a concentration of Grimm that we'd never seen the likes of, a legion of beowolves that had already torn the village apart. We were unprepared for the number of Grimm infesting that poor village's remains, and within moments we were surrounded and fighting for our very lives."
At this Royal spoke up. "Wait...if the concentration of Grimm as far more than you were prepared for, why didn't you pull out of there?"
"I asked Port the same thing. He simply, and bombastically, stated that Grimm were Grimm no matter the number, and not every mission goes how one would expect. So, we attacked the horde head on. Not in years had I ever fought so hard for my own survival, let alone for that of my teammates. We were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and separated in the chaos that followed, each fighting for his or her own life." Noir's gaze became glazed, as though he was witnessing the events all over again in his mind. Royal was beginning to understand now, what Noir was getting at, and her eyes widened in horror as Noir continued.
"Midas and Sherry were partners, and when in combat together they were unstoppable, a perfect balance and juxtaposition of speed and strength. But when separated, they weren't as lucky...and during the chaos of the fighting, Sherry was mortally wounded."
Noir paused for a moment. "My semblance holds a marginal risk. If I dissolve for too long or traverse too far, my ashes will become too scattered for me to reform, and I'll die as a result. I normally limit my semblance's distance to 10 feet when I am in top condition. However...upon seeing Sherry wounded, I didn't think of that risk. I traversed 50 meters to reach her, weaving through a horde of beos simply to reach my fallen teammate. But for all my speed and desperation and determination, I couldn't reach her fast enough...and..." Noir was starting to choke up slightly, something Royal had never seen him do before. With a jolt of shock she realized Noir was actually crying, tears falling down his pale white features.
"I was too late...her wound had already taken a terrible toll on her, and Sherry Vulpa died in my arms...the closest thing to a sister I had ever had...torn from me in an instant. Moments later, Midas was killed as well, suffering multiple mortal wounds and dying from shock and loss of blood. In mere moments, two of my closest friends were taken from me by the very monsters they had sworn to protect the world from."
Noir finally broke down, crying in earnest as the memories of his loss flooded his mind, all his rage disappearing, if only for a moment. Royal gently patted the faunus on the back, trying to comfort him as best she could as the memory of his greatest loss tormented his mind. It took a few minutes, but soon Noir straightened back up and continued on.
"I lost control when that happened. Port described it as the most vicious display of rage he had ever seen. I killed every last beowolf in that village, and when it was all over, I stood upon a mountain of their dissolving corpses. And as it turned out...Check had fled. He had fled and hidden from the onslaught and had only come back out of hiding when they were dead. The boy who was supposed to put his teammates before himself had fled like a coward, and as a result, two of his teammates were dead." Noir's rage returned as his blood red eyes burned with intense rage, the memory of Check's cowardice angering him beyond belief.
"We returned to Beacon with Sherry and Midas in body bags. Check was first bombastically scolded by Port, and believe me, that man is quite a sight when angry. He then was taken to Goodwitch, who screamed herself hoarse at him for betraying the trust of his teammates, dishonoring their families, abandoning his partner, and shaming Beacon. After that he was taken to Ozpin, who made it very clear in the most eloquent way possible that he was displeased with Check's performance and behavior. Two days later, Check dropped out of Beacon, and went back to being a street criminal, which was all he had been before I'd met him. Because of his resentment towards his own leadership, he had gotten my two closest friends killed. I have since not seen him nor spoken to him. Until tonight."
Royal had been upset with Noir before, but now, hearing his reasons for treating Check the way he had, she couldn't blame him. Anyone would have been angry upon seeing the person responsible for half their team getting killed. However Royal still wanted answers for something.
"And what about Yang? What's your reason for leaving her hanging like that? She's worried about you more than you realize."
Noir sighed and looked down in shame. "I don't have an excuse, Royal. I know it was wrong of me to do so...I owe her an apology."
"Yes. Yes you do. Now if I were you I'd go look for her so you can." And with that Royal strode towards the door to the staircase leading into dorms. Noir turned towards the distant skyline of Vale, prepared to search for Yang. Before she entered the dorms, Royal turned back towards Noir with a small smile on her face.
"She's really fond of you, Noir. Yang is. In fact she likes you a lot more than most people she knows. She has for some time now. I'd suggest taking that into account when you speak to her. It may be the best thing you could do in the present situation." And with that Royal entered the dorms, and Noir, after a moment of thinking this over, took flight, soaring back towards Vale to find Yang.
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Meanwhile, just outside Southeast Vale, a single airship landed in middle of the ruins of Mountain Glen, a solitary figure disembarking from the vessel and regarding the ruins of the failed expansion of Vale with cold, calculating silence. Erebos turned back to the pilot of the airship and coolly instructed him.
"Leave me here and wait for my call. I do not want any huntsmen or huntresses seeing you nor any one else here aside from myself. I will call you when I am ready for extraction."
The pilot, a member of the White Fang baring features of a boar, nodded and took off in the airship, leaving the tall suit-clad man standing alone in the ruin. Erebos strode forward at a slow measured pace, in no hurry to reach his destination. He wasn't there for anything other than to sever a loose end.
As he strode through Mountain Glen, the eerie silence of the once Grimm-infested ruin calmed Erebos, assuring him that there would be no interference from the mindless monsters. He had no time for any deliberations, and he soon reached his destination.
At the center of Mountain Glen was a gaping hole in the ground, a deep chasm that led to Roman Torchwick's now vacated hideout. Erebos jumped into the deep chasm, landing lightly mere feet from where Ruby Rose had landed barely a week earlier. He then quickened his pace, trekking deeper into the caves within. He soon came upon a section of the caves where his servant had been earlier that day, and his handiwork was clear. Large sections of the cave ceilings had been collapsed, with scorch marks and crushed machinery everywhere.
However, he was not alone there.
Several dinged up but active Atlesian Knights were lifting debris and moving it, evidently searching for survivors in the rubble. And standing in their midst was none other than General James Ironwood himself, looking very grim indeed as he surveyed the wreckage. Erebos smirked upon spotting the General; this was exactly what he'd hoped for, for if anyone was certain to be looking at this particular part of the Mountain Glen caves after the events that had taken place, it was Ironwood. Erebos, retaining his calm expression, strode fearlessly into the open.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't James." Ironwood spun around drawing a firearm at the sound of the deep baritone rumble. Upon seeing Erebos he froze, his gray eyes widening at the sight of the man before him.
"No...it can't be..."
"Can't be what, James? Possible? Probable? Thinkable? That I, of all people, would find you, of all people, here, of all places?" Erebos actually smiled, thoroughly amused by Ironwood's shock, before shaking his head. "Ah, James. You have not changed one bit."
"Erebos Kraid..." Ironwood breathed the name with a mixture of reverence and fear; this was not the man he'd wanted to see here, armed and well dressed as he was. "You..."
"Yes, it is me, James, you can forego the shock of reunion." Erebos's expression became one of mock-pity, his amusement clear in his baring as he regarded Ironwood. "Really, it is unfortunate that I am meeting you here, James. After the events that have transpired recently, with a nefarious criminal behind bars and you now being in charge of security here in Vale, I would think that you would be in the safety of your office or at least anywhere but here. Really, James...I did not expect, nor desire to meet you here."
"Why...what exactly brought you here, Kraid? You certainly have some nerve to show your face to me here..." Ironwood was cut off by a sharp retort.
"Spare me your eloquence, Ironwood. I have not the patience nor the time for it." All amusement and mock pity was gone now, Erebos becoming much more serious as Ironwood's feeble attempt at intimidation and taking charge in his present situation only succeeding in annoying the towering monster of a man.
"Do you have the time to fight?!" And with that, the Atlesian Knights all charged Erebos with their weapons drawn and loaded, ready to fight and kill the man before them. Erebos, undeterred by their charge, strode forward, and as they came within a few meters of him, he raised his right hand and snapped it into a fist.
A blast wave of electromagnetic energy exploded from his clenched fist, and the Atlesian Knights instantly shut down and crumbled to the ground, their circuits fried beyond repair and their weapons more than useless. Ironwood raised his weapon to fire upon Erebos, but upon pulling the trigger the firearm merely emitted a low sizzling sound and smoked a little. The weapon was as useless as the Knights.
Erebos actually laughed aloud at this, relishing Ironwood's defenselessness. "You have nothing, Ironwood. Nothing to threaten me with, nothing to intimidate me. And without those...things to threaten me and attack me with, you are weak, weak and defenseless against me, just as you always have been. You always were then, and so you are now."
As Erebos approached the helpless Ironwood, he backed away from him, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Erebos, please...I am not your enemy...we were friends once...please don't hurt me..."
There was no pity in Erebos's voice, and it was clear that Ironwood's feeble attempt to beg for mercy simply annoyed Kraid even more than his attempt to take charge just moments before. "We were friends, James. Years ago, when we were young. We are not the same men we once were."
Ironwood glared at Erebos, hatred for Erebos Kraid filling his gaze and his heart. "You never were a man, Kraid...you were a monster then and you're a monster now!"
"Oh, I am not monster, James. I am simply ahead of the curve. And now, I am afraid that I must take another step yet even further ahead." Erebos's features split into a smirk of pure malice. "Know now, Ironwood, that before the sun sets, only one of us will walk out of this ruin. Your death will come with a message, James, a message to our mutual friend and all who know him."
Before Ironwood could defend himself, Erebos drew his wicked blade and in a split second was directly in front of Ironwood. Ironwood, recovering quickly, flipped his pistol around, revealing an axe-blade, and countered Erebos's strike. The taller man snarled like and animal and began to rain down a series of lightning fast blows upon Ironwood without mercy. Ironwood barely had time to block the series of vicious strikes, each of them delivered with a level of precision that bespoke decades of training and refinement of a wicked style of swordplay. It was clear that Erebos had trained in the old style of fencing, and as Ironwood struggled simply to hold to monster off, he recognized in a brief moment that was no match for the deadly swordsman.
A moment later, Erebos caught Ironwood off guard and struck with lightning fast precision and accuracy, his wicked blade finally finding its mark. Ironwood gasped sharply as the shining silver blade was thrust into his torso and protruded out of his back, blood staining its length. Erebos, smirking and relishing his victory, cackled softly as the General slowly began to die, and he pulled his blade out from the General's torso before turning and striding away, whispering just loud enough for the General to hear in his last moments of life.
"Darkness shall soon rise again in this world, Ironwood. The flames of war will soon engulf this kingdom and all others with it. None will survive in the chaos of death and destruction."
As Ironwood breathed his last, one final statement, spoken just loud enough for Ironwood to hear, was whispered ominously from Erebos Kraid.
"The Shadow has now come."