RWBY: Glowing Embers
Chapter 5
oxoxoxo
Francois could only describe his mood as amused when he found out his little brother Damien had decided to stay at the inn belonging to Thatch's mother, Mary Ebonwood. When walking his younger brother back to the inn he had been unable to hold back a chuckle as the boy introduced the innkeeper to him. Mary had played along at first, but eventually conceded to the young boy that she had already known Francois, and was in fact the mother of one of his teammates. Francois had thanked her for putting up his younger brother while he stayed in Vale, and had even offered to pay for his stay, but she promptly declined the offer, stating that the stay had already been paid for. Upon further investigation, Damien had revealed that their parents, more specifically, their mother, had agreed to pay for his stay while they were in town.
"I asked maman if I could come to Vale to watch your team at the tournament," Damien explained. "She agreed to let me come, and said that she would pay for my stay here, so long as I was back as soon as the tournament ended." He scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile. "I may have had to also bring my studies with me as well…"
"What are you studying?" Francois inquired. The brothers, along with Velvet were seated at Mary's bar, three non-alcoholic beverages sat in front of them, Mary ensuring that they didn't get proper drinks. Francois had a feeling that while he could likely bribe some bartenders into getting them alcohol, but attempting to do so to the mother of his teammate was likely a bad idea, especially in front of his brother, as well as the young Nyx Lupin who was helping Mary wash dishes behind the bar.
Damien reached into his coat and pulled out a small notebook, opening it to show the elder Delatrois brother the notes that spanned the margins. "Papa has me learning business and calligraphy." The young boy explained. "He wanted me to tell you that, I don't know why."
Francois had an idea as to why his father wanted him to see that. It was a threat, and based on the look Velvet gave him, she understood it just as well: come home, or the family fortune goes to Damien.
"And maman has been getting me lessons in fencing." Damien continued, catching his attention once again. "She says I am advancing quickly, and even allowed me to forge a weapon."
"She allowed you to forge a weapon?" Francois asked. "Our mother allowed you to be near a forge? Guns? Blades?"
"Papa doesn't know, and maman had a reason." Damien explained, reaching into his coat once again. This time, what he produced was much less expected. The item damien produced was a pistol, resembling in its construction his own rifle, Mademoiselle. It was made from blue metal, and had a grip more resembling the hilt of a sword, extending just over a foot and a half in length, with the last half foot being a bayonet. "What do you think?" The young boy asked, eyes sparkling as he handed the weapon to his older brother.
Francois took up the weapon and held it carefully in his hands as though concerned it might shatter if he held it too tightly. He had to admit, he was impressed. The weapon was very well balanced, slightly heavy, but requiring the extra weight to make up for the bayonet at its head, but still managing to be elegant. "C'est magnifique Damien." Francois exclaimed, offering the pistol to his brother once more.
Damien, however, shook his head and pushed the weapon back to his brother. "Try its other form, Francois."
The elder Delatrois brother was quick to find the formshift switch and brushed his finger over it. The barrel of the gun unfolded much like his own rifle, revealing the foot and a half long dagger encased within the pistol. Impressed, Francois ran his free hand over the blade's surface, the shining blade had clearly never seen battle, as it was spotless and had nary a scratch on its surface. The blade was well forged, but simple, a double edged stabbing dagger, the edges coming together to a needle like tip, while the barrel of the gun formed a basket hilt once it had folded back. "Fantastique!" Francois whispered as he kept his eyes on the blade.
"You like it?" Damien asked, stars dancing in the young boy's eyes.
"Oui, it's amazing." Francois said, shifting the blade to its pistol form and offering it to his brother. "You've made an impressive weapon."
Damien shook his head and pushed the gun back to his brother. "I made this for you, Francois." The boy replied. "Keep it, please." He continued, producing a belt mounted holster from his coat and handing it to his brother.
Francois smiled with pride at his little brother, accepting the gift and mounting the now holstered pistol to his belt, opposite his sword. "A perfect fit." Francois intoned, pulling his brother in to an embrace. Damien responded in the typical little brother way, squeezing tightly enough to make Francois silently thank any deity he could think of for his breastplate.
"You just gave it to him?" Another young voice demanded. The Delatrois brothers and Velvet looked up from the brothers' embrace to see the speaker was Nyx Lupin, the young wolf girl frowning at Damien in confusion.
"I have other swords in my pack in my room, and this gun was made for Francois. He's fighting in the tournament so he needs good weapons." Damien replied.
"But why give him that one? You could have given him one of the other swords or something."
"Wouldn't you give your brother a good weapon if you could?"
"No, he's got his own gun, why would he need mine?"
"Well, I guess Francois will just have to show him what having two good guns is like." Damien said, sticking his tongue out at the young girl.
"Noctus could totally beat him!" Nyx snapped back.
"Nuh uh!"
"Ye huh!"
The two children glared at one another, Francois and Velvet sharing a worried glance as they contemplated the nearby escape routes, but before either one could make a move, Mary intervened, seemingly on their behalf. "Alright, that's quite enough you two!" She called from the bar, her 'mom voice' clearly on display. The two children at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, with Damien kicking at the ground while Nyx just blushed and looked at her feet. "Now both of you, it's getting late, and these two lovebirds have to get back to Beacon before Noble Boy's fearless leader calls for curfew."
The mention of Maria was more than enough to get Francois to move, the nobleman ignoring the use of his partner's nickname for him and resisting the urge to pull Velvet out of the building before he could even say goodbye. "She's right, mon petit frere," Francois said, toussling the young boy's hair and planting a kiss on his forehead. "I must return to my team for the night, but I will see you again before the end of the tournament, I promise."
Damien grabbed his brother in one last quick embrace. "I'll hold you to that, mon gros frère. Now get back out there and win the tournament!"
Francois gave his brother one last smile before turning and walking out with Velvet.
The rabbit faunus smirked at him once they were out the door. "You still didn't tell him you aren't fighting in the doubles round?"
"After everything he did for me, he doesn't need to know that just yet." Francois explained. "Did you see the look on his face? How could I ruin that for him?"
Velvet just smiled once again and leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder as the two of them began the long walk back to Beacon.
oxoxoxo
How quickly a good night could turn into a less than ideal morning.
Maria mused on this as her team sat in the stands of the Amity Arena, the latest match having just ended. And to think last night had gone so well.
Maria had gotten off a call from Ben as soon as Francois had arrived back at the dorm, the smile on his face telling all present that his date night had gone well. Maria had chosen to ignore the fact that he was later than he said he would be since she had just gotten some rather interesting news from Ben and his new information gatherer, Emily Dage, formerly known as Masque, a name that had Francois bristling as his was an infamous one in the underground. That was proof enough that the information she gained was likely correct.
When Maria and Emily had been introduced, they had bonded quite quickly, so when Maria sent her a pair of names, Derek and Onyx Blanch and had asked for a connection, Emily had gone to work in seconds. Soon enough, she had answers.
Derek Blanch was a huntsman and cartographer who went missing some time around the end of the last Grimm Incursion. His mission was buried so deep that not even Emily could dig it up, though Team EMAD and Ben had a pretty good idea of what it was. With that much red tape, it had to be Fantine's mission to the Abyss. Derek's disappearance was the last time anyone heard his name for nearly ten years, aside from one mentioning. Three years ago, the parents of a young boy were brutally murdered in their own home. The young boy's name was Onyx Blanch, and he was Derek's nephew. Onyx had claimed to the police that Derek was responsible for his parents' deaths, but since the man had been presumed dead, the trail of the killer went cold.
Onyx, however, refused to give up, and had been keeping tabs of his search for his murderous uncle on his scroll. He had apparently followed clues across Vacuo, with all traces leading to Vale, apparently the last place anyone resembling Derek had been seen recently. His last journal entry ended as follows.
Derek was last seen in Vale, that's the last time anyone's seen anyone looking like him. Black hair and blue eyes are a common combination, but the people he talked to all were either contacts of his, or turned up dead. That sure sounds like him. The Vytal Festival is heading to Vale this year, so when our school leaves for the tournament, I can continue my investigation. If I find him… well, I'm not sure what I'll do. I want him dead, but he's not going to make that easy if I try anything. If I can get the authorities to help me, it would be great, but getting them to fight a supposedly dead man is gonna be tough. I'll just have to make it up as I go along.
Onyx Blanch
That was, however, nearly a month ago from when Onyx had arrived, and Blanch hadn't been seen by anyone since the Abyss was destroyed. Maria could only wonder if anyone had gotten off that island alive before Julia and Team FRST had destroyed it. Micca had seemed sure that her sister and their commander would have escaped, and that likely meant Derek Blanch had escaped with them. All they could do was keep their eyes open, a lot of eyes considering Emily had remote access to all cameras in the city, and wait for him to reappear. And when he and the White Fang did rear their ugly heads, they would be ready and waiting.
With the connection between Onyx and Derek revealed to be nothing close to an alliance, Maria felt confident in allowing her teammates to hang out with Onyx, on the condition that they continue to keep an eye on him. They wouldn't want anything happening to him, after all. Other than that, Rick and Micca would continue to track down White Fang and Fangbreaker cells in the city, Emily would find them targets, and Ben would run the operation. Maria made a note to recruit Emily, should she prove herself useful and a good teammate.
But, only time could tell that, and she would have to let that time pass, giving her team plenty of time to enjoy the festival and make a name for themselves in the tournament. Giving the boys the first use of the bathroom, Maria prepared herself for bed and enjoyed some quality time with Alison, chatting with the artist about any number of topics, from the tournament, to her ongoing relationship with Thatch, and her choice to have the renegade be her partner in the doubles round. Alison had even made a joke, warning Maria to keep her hands to herself unless she really needed to.
Maria had at least hoped that was a joke. The look Alison had given her was as close as the artist got to murderous.
Even with such a look haunting her nightmares that night, Maria and company had gotten up bright and early to watch the next round of the tournament, and when it was discovered that Velvet's team, Team CFVY was fighting this round, the centurion had been completely ready to see what the rabbit's team could do.
And then they lost. The opposing team had taken them apart with near surgical precision.
Francois and Fox had taken it upon themselves to cheer Velvet up after watching her leader's defeat, but it looked like they could use their space. Deciding to give Thatch some time off with Alison, she got up from her seat at the stadium and started towards the fairgrounds. Saddened by her friends' loss, Maria thought to cheer herself up with a good snack and maybe some fair games, but at the same time, part of her also wanted to head back to campus and hog a training room, wailing on a dummy until either she or it fell apart.
In the middle of her thoughts, however, her decision was seemingly made for her, as her scroll began to ring. She almost didn't want to answer after seeing her sister's face pop up on the screen, but at the same time, she and her sister had been at least trying to bridge the gap between them for some time now. With that in mind, she decided to grin and bear it, pushing the button and accepting the call. "Julia, how are you?" She asked, her words coming out almost forced.
"I am well, Maria, thank you. How are you?" Julia replied, her words just as out of place as hers.
It gladdened the centurion to no end to know that her sister was struggling with this just as much as she was. "I've been better, my friend's team just lost their match."
"Oh…" Julia replied, hesitating for a moment. Maria already knew why. Her sister was deciding whether it would be better to berate them and hope they grew through that, or offer sympathy. "That's disappointing." She decided.
Maria frowned. Middle ground, that was unexpected. Deciding to cut the unexpected down a tad, Maria decided to get to the point. "Why did you call, Julia? We've never been that close, so I assume this isn't a social call."
"Actually," Julia replied "That's exactly what this is."
Maria frowned at that statement. "Come again?"
"My friend Winter Schnee, whom you met the other day, asked if I would like to attend an afternoon tea with her." Julia explained. "Since her own sister, Weiss will be there as well, she said I could invite you as well."
Maria hesitated at her sister's words. It was not long ago that the two could scarcely be in the same room as one another without starting an argument, but now things had gone so far that her sister was inviting her for tea with her friends. Confused, but also intrigued, Maria answered the only way she could think of. "When and where?"
Julia was silent for nearly as long, clearly not expecting her to agree. "Ten minutes, Beacon's gardens. Afterwards, I would also like to show you something."
"Okay, I guess." Maria said, not knowing what else to say. "I'll see you soon."
"Affirmative." Julia replied, ending the call.
Placing the scroll back in her pocket, Maria tried to remain optimistic about the meeting. Worst case scenario, at least Weiss was also there and could possibly help out in a pinch. Maria could hardly believe what she was telling herself. This was a meeting with her sister, and yet she was planning it like a military operation.
oxoxoxo
Weiss had to force the words from her mouth as she heard her sister's news. "You're… leaving?" She asked, desperately trying not to appear weak in front of not only her sister, but Maria and her sister as well.
"Yes." Winter said, lowering her cup of tea to the table they sat at. Winter herself had supplied all the accommodations they currently enjoyed, renting out Beacon's gardens, and supplying the four of them with a selection of fruits, tea and croissants. Maria was currently enjoying one of the pastries in question, trying not to make eye contact with her elder sister, while Julia and Winter both enjoyed the tea the older Schnee sister had made. Weiss herself and Maria also had cups of tea in front of them, but Weiss had yet to touch hers, and Maria was trying to restrain her voracious appetite in the presence of high ranking officers. "I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale, and to oversee operations in the kingdom. Our last shipment was lost to an ambush, though I believe you had a run in with its cargo, actually."
Weiss had to blush slightly at the mention of her team's extracurricular activities… Though inside she was also somewhat proud that her team had managed to take down a piece of Atlesian technology.
What Winter said next, however, brought her pause. "It's fortunate those Paladins were still in the prototype stage, otherwise your team might not have fared so well."
Weiss cringed somewhat at her sister's remark, though Maria placed a hand on her shoulder, offering her a smile and a reassuring squeeze.
What the younger Schnee sister did not expect, however, was for Winter to place a hand on hers, and offer a light smile. "Weiss, you've done… well out here on your own. You should be proud."
"Your sister's right, Weiss." Julia said. "You might not be leading your team, but from what I've seen, you're a vital part of it."
"She's not wrong." Maria added. "I've seen you in action personally, and I'm rather impressed."
"I have to admit as well," Winter continued, chuckling somewhat. "It was highly amusing to see father's face the day you left for Beacon."
"If it was anything like our dad's," Maria added "He probably looked ready to blow."
Weiss rose from her slumped position and smirked, crossing her arms and puffing up. "I can't wait to show him what I've learned."
"Oh?" Winter replied, her posture almost matching her sister's for confidence. "And what do you think you've learned?"
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, confidence falling somewhat. "I'm getting better and better with my glyphs, and I've even started time dilation."
"And what of your summoning?" Winter pressed.
"I…" Weiss hesitated and sniffed somewhat. Summoning was supposed to be the pride of the Schnee family, and yet Weiss found herself unable to perform it. She had wondered for some time whether the ability had skipped her. "I can't…"
"Don't be ridiculous." Winter replied. "Every Schnee has the ability to summon. We have for generations."
"I've tried!" Weiss shot back. "It's just… It's the one thing I'm having trouble with." Weiss was most certainly bitter about this. After all, all her teammates and friends save for Jaune, who lacked proper training, seemed to have full access to their semblances. Ruby could run so fast she could create tornadoes, Pyrrha could control all metal in her vicinity, and Maria could memorize complex strategies and fighting styles after only seeing them once, but Weiss was unable to summon a single creature to aid her.
"We Schnees are unique." Winter continued, ignoring her outburst. "Unlike many, our semblance is hereditary, but that doesn't mean that it will come easily. Your semblance is like a muscle. The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become." She said, summoning a small glyph in the palm of her hand. "But if you only focus on one aspect of it, if you fail to test the limits of what you think is possible," The glyph suddenly spread, bursting into a flash of white and blue light, making Weiss cover her eyes for a moment. When she looked again, a magnificent beast stood behind her sister. It was a beowolf, but more than that, it was a bright white, with its normally blood red markings a pale blue, her sister's influence over the creature showing through its colour. The beast lowered its massive head to her sister's level, allowing the elder Schnee sister to pet it. "Then you'll never truly grow."
Weiss could only look up to the summoned beast, though her attention was soon gained by Maria as the younger Gaia sister spoke up. "She's not wrong, Weiss. My semblance can help me memorize entire fighting styles, just by watching them once. But if I don't practice them, I'll never be able to use them properly."
"But I watched you copy both of our teammates in the same fight last semester." Weiss countered.
"Adrenaline helps, but I can only copy someone for so long before I start to make mistakes." Maria explained.
"It certainly took a lot of time to master my own semblance." Julia added. "Almost lost my mind while trying to learn it."
While Weiss was certain her friend and sister were only trying to help, it did very little to offset her frustration. She had always been a star pupil in any subject she put her mind to, and while she had gotten over not being leader of her team (yet) she was certainly still upset at not being able to control this one aspect of her power that her sister seemed able to access with no effort. The heiress let out a sigh as she took another sip of her tea.
Winter frowned and looked to Maria and Julia. "Julia, didn't you say you had something you wanted to share with Maria while we were still here?"
Maria looked quizzically at her sister. "You're leaving as well?"
Julia shook her head. "Not yet, no. General Ironwood wants me to stay in the kingdom at least until the tournament ends. Wants me running operations when he's not around."
Maria rolled her eyes. "So what, do you want to show me how great your new ship is?"
Julia hesitated and frowned. "Not… quite that."
"We talked about this, Julia." Winter said. "After what you told me, you agreed this would be for the best."
Julia nodded and finished off her tea. "You're right, we did agree on that." She said, placing the cup down on its saucer and frowning slightly. "It's just… kind of difficult."
"Maybe it would be wise to, for once, learn from our sisters, wouldn't you say?" Winter said with a small smile.
Julia smiled back. "You're right, of course. You always were…"
"Do either of you want to explain just what's going on?" Maria interjected.
Julia's response was to take a breath and stand up. "It would be better if I showed you." She said. Beckoning for Maria to follow her, Julia strode out of the garden. Weiss exchanged a look with Maria, the heiress gesturing for the girl to follow her sister. Maria nodded and followed her own sister.
Winter smiled as the two Gaia sisters made their exit. "Now, let's give this a shot together. As sisters."
oxoxoxo
Maria scowled as she followed Julia through the halls of her new dreadnaught, the Rubicon II. Julia had assured her that what she wanted to show her had nothing to do with how much she was missing as an Atlas soldier. Maria rolled her eyes. She had explained herself to her sister enough times at this point, and if Julia started explaining another possible role in the army for her, Maria was going to turn right back around and leave, hijacking an escape pod if needed.
Surprisingly enough, that was not what Julia did. The elder Gaia sister brought her to the lower decks of the ship, a small door with a handprint scanner marking it being the only noticeable feature.
Julia sighed as she showed her sister the room. "What I am about to show you does not leave this ship." Julia said. "It does not even leave this room, understood?"
That was Julia's way. She wasn't asking Maria to keep quiet, she was telling her why and making sure her orders were answered. "What are you talking about, Julia?"
"Say the words and I'll say mine."
It was a simple enough demand if Maria had ever heard one. "First tell me why."
"Because what you're about to see is classified Atlas tech. Only myself, General Ironwood and the staff of my ship are to know of this weapon."
"So why tell me?" Maria replied.
Julia frowned as she looked down at the scanner on the doorway, it's glass face being the only part of the door not made of metal. Her own reflection stared back, mirroring the expression of frustration she bore. "Because that secret is not as safe as I once thought. A certain… mutual friend of ours took it upon himself to find out about it. I don't know if he intends to share that little bit of information, but I don't want it weighing on my conscience. Especially when I just saw what a secret too closely kept can do."
Maria grit her teeth. She knew the Abyss was a closely guarded secret shared only between the governments of Atlas and Vale, and even then only amongst the higher ups of the kingdoms. Without an actual solution to the problem the Abyss posed, the problem had been allowed to fester and grow until the it hit Vale. Maria cringed inwardly as she remembered the Impact. Had even one of those creatures gotten past her and her teammates, all of Vale might have suffered. She didn't dare to think what might have happened… "So what is this secret you wanted to share?"
Julia sighed. "There is another reason General Ironwood brought me to Vale with him. Part of it was to help keep watch over the tournament, but the other… the other was because of this." The general placed her hand on the scanner, a light from below slowly running across it.
"Password required" the machine said in its digital voice.
"Veni vidi vici." Julia said, voice clear and crisp. The scanner screen lit up for a moment and Julia withdrew her hand. Within a second there was a hiss of pneumatic pumps and a whirring of motors as the door pulled itself open. When a series of blue lights activated, Maria saw the room's contents. Within the small room was a human shaped space, seemingly made perfect for Julia. It was her height, with just enough space for her and her armour, pending the removal of her cape. "Maria, meet the Atlesian Vanguard Mark I."
"What is it?" She asked, examining the small chamber.
"To put it simply, Atlas' ultimate goal is to remove human activity from the field of battle. It's a step by step process, and the new Knight and Paladin models are just the first step." Julia pushed past her sister and removed her cape, dropping the crimson garment to the floor next to the chamber door. Standing with her back towards the chamber, she took a step backward, stepping into the room, her form fitting perfectly, as Maria expected, into the space. Metal bindings immediately shifted into place, holding her into the chamber by her wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, shoulders and hips. "The Vanguard," Julia continued "Will be the next step up from the Paladins. A personalized combat apparatus, designed for one person and them alone. This unit has been designed specifically for my biology, and unless I designate otherwise, only I can operate it."
"And Atlas wants these things across their army?" Maria demanded. The technology on display was incredible, but one question was still nagging at her mind. "But what about the other kingdoms? How will they access it?"
Julia took a step forward, the restraints immediately releasing as she stepped out of the chamber. "When it becomes mass produced, as General Ironwood has planned, the other kingdoms will receive versions for their own soldiers."
"And until then?" Maria asked. "Are the other kingdoms just supposed to be okay with only one kingdom having this kind of weapon?"
"Not one kingdom, one person." Julia replied. "This is tied to me, and me personally. Try it for yourself, put your hand on the scanner."
Maria snarled, but still did as her sister asked, placing her hand on the handprint scanner. Just as before, a line of light ran over it, but unlike the previous attempt, no reply was given by the scanner. "You really are the only one able to use this thing, aren't you?"
Julia nodded. "We'll eventually have them across the kingdoms, but for now, it's still in the prototype stage." She said.
"And this is why no one trusts Atlas…" Maria muttered.
"Pardon me?"
"You heard me, Julia, this is why no one trusts Atlas. How much top secret tech do you have just outside the Kingdoms' view?" Maria demanded.
"I don't know, but it shouldn't matter, it's for protection against the Grimm." Julia countered. "Any time General Ironwood gives a presentation of our new tech, people grow more secure, knowing we're here for them."
Maria was about to shoot a reply back, but before she could speak, the ringing of her scroll caught her attention. Opening the scroll, it was Thatch's face that greeted her on the other end of the call. "Hey fearless leader," The renegade greeted. "Today's tournament matches are about to start, where are you?"
With all that had happened that morning, Maria had almost completely forgotten about the Vytal Festival Tournament. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Thatch." She said, closing the scroll and quickly ending the call. The last thing she needed was Thatch seeing more than Julia approved of. On the subject of her sister, Maria turned to face the elder Gaia sibling. "Any chance you can give me a lift to the stadium?"
"Agree to put this conversation aside for now, and you have a deal." Julia replied, retrieving her cape from the ground and replacing it on her shoulders.
"Deal." Maria said, Julia gesturing towards the exit as she spoke. "This discussion isn't over though, mark my words."
"I would expect nothing less." Julia replied. "Just know that everything I do, I do for the good of the Kingdoms. Whether you can see it that way may be another matter, but I swear to you I believe it with all my heart."
"I know you do," Maria said, taking one last look back at the Vanguard as the door closed behind her. "It's just a matter of whether the rest of the world thinks so."
oxoxoxo
Well, that took way too long to update, but between work, class, and a complete inability to decide how that last scene between Maria and Julia should go, it was a tough chapter to make.
Next time though we should get a return to some good old fashioned action, as well as a few more character moments. Who will Maria and Thatch face off against in the next round of the Tournament? Can I match what the actual RT did for their doubles match? Probably not, but hopefully that fight comes out quicker than this chapter. I've got a lot planned for the Fall, but first I have to get to it.
Until then, if you guys would be kind enough to drop a review, that would be lovely, and I'll see you all next time!