Redeemer
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I'm sorry for the things I said before I had my coffee.
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In the lowest chamber of the lowest Tower, a figure casually immersed herself in the memories of different worlds.
Cinder breathed a long sigh after finishing the most recent recollection. The burdens of being Queen were accumulating with no way to relieve it. There was little time to rest. The only solace she could take—to her surprise—was she did not have to carry the weight of the crown alone.
"What a surprise. You're spending your time here again," a voice came from behind.
"Only in hopes of gaining some insightful answer to our predicament, my fellow Queen."
At the greeting, Weiss joined Cinder's side in watching more projections play out.
"And, have you found anything we can use?" she asked.
"Not even remotely."
"…What should we do?"
"Vacuo may very well fall before our Fleet's arrival."
"And, if by some luck, it manages to get there in time, will it be enough?"
"Difficult to say." Cinder answered evenly.
"We can't send more of the Fleet. Vale and Mistral could start a second campaign any moment."
"This is also true."
Weiss couldn't help but frown at her coregent's indifference. It annoyed, but also put her off. The fellow Queen was usually so sure of herself, confident in her actions. It might have been the closeness they were beginning to develop, but she was able to detect the small cadence changes in Cinder's mood. When complete indifference stuck to her tone, it usually meant the Black Queen was depressed.
And this war between Vacuo and Salem was very distressing.
"Do you think we can trust Temujin?" Weiss asked.
"Possibly."
"We might lose a large portion of our army and a new allied Kingdom in just a week."
"The very thought did cross my mind."
"We have to at least, evacuate Team ENMY."
"I find myself agreeing with that sentiment."
"…Should we send more of our forces to Vacuo?"
Cinder finally turned to face her.
"As always, you make a good point of asking all the correct questions, while providing none of its key answers."
"Hmph!"
The Black Queen smiled teasingly at the White.
"Salem is taking the field, according to Temujin's spies. We can either dedicate more of our limited resources to saving a potentially lost cause, or…"
"Or we should cut our losses now," Weiss finished shortly. The words left a sour aftertaste in her mouth.
Trapped in an endless loop of bad decisions followed by dire scenarios, a loud groan escaped her.
"If only the Bridge Project was finished!"
"Ah, yes. Our little gamechanger. Unfortunately, our dear Masa and Polendina estimate another month's work before its completion."
"…We should send more forces."
"…"
"We didn't account for Salem," Weiss added. "Her arrival completely changed the landscape of the situation there."
"A bold move on her part. At the same time, she knows we cannot commit too many forces to Vacuo's cause."
"We also didn't have an accurate measurement of the Grimm she's capable of gathering."
"Any additional reinforcements sent will arrive days late."
"We have to try."
"We risk forsaking any chance of defeating Salem in the late game."
"We can't lose Vacuo."
"I understand your noble intentions…Weiss—"
The serious use of her name, without any formalities, drove the graveness of Cinder's tone deeper.
"—But we cannot allow our emotions to dictate judgment. I doubt Temujin would make any less of a decision were she in our position."
The White Queen went silent for a moment.
"…Is this how we win the war, Cinder? Is this how we expect to defeat Salem? By abandoning Vacuo?"
"…"
"And may I remind you, Team ENMY would probably be even less inclined to abandon our newfound allies just to save their own lives."
Cinder visibly tensed.
"That is a very serious problem."
"We've read the reports. They're fond of Temujin and the Kingdom's people. Team ENMY won't evacuate just because we order them to."
"So, what moves do we have available to us?" Cinder held her chin in thought. "Should we deploy a second Fleet now, the fact remains they would likely never arrive in time. And there still remains the issue of Salem. What amount of forces could we possibly send to could contend with the Witch?"
"I know. We agreed, whenever the time finally came to face Salem, we could only hope to do so with you, Yang, and myself. Anything short of the Maidens would…Wait a minute—" Weiss stopped.
Her brow wrinkled with focus.
"What?"
"Someone who could match Salem AND arrive in Vacuo in time."
Cinder stared blankly before the realization donned on her.
"I must be getting tired, if I failed to think of that myself. Do you think he will agree?"
"He has been taken a turn for the better lately."
"Hm. Indeed, the work seems eerily suited to him. Both of them—"
"Let us offer him the role of Redeemer, then."
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X
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"My word…"
As Professor Oobleck saw the capital city of Vacuo peek just above the horizon, he also saw rippling black specks dotting the skies above it. They could only be one thing.
"Grimm! I must hurry!"
His mind raced as he turned the accelerator on the bike he was riding and tapped the clutch to switch gears. The motorcycle's engine roared. Its large wheels kicked up a dust storm behind him.
As he closed in, he saw what was actually being attacked was a moving caravan, not the city itself. The expedition faced heavy harassment in their attempt to return home. Judging by the damages they were accruing, they would not last by the time they reached the safety of the wall.
At least, not without a little help.
As Oobleck maneuvered the bike closer, he assessed the situation more carefully. A pack of great beasts hounded the vehicles' flanks. Grimm with the bodies of lions. They had the additional head of a ram's and a tail in the form of a snake. A species called Crymera, classified as A-Class Grimm.
Although the four-pawed monstrosities posed their own threat, Vacuo's warriors should have been adept at handling them. The true problem lied with the Grimm hovering above.
Oobleck set his sights to the apparitions circling the line of trucks like vultures. Bony cloaked figures with matching chains swooped up and down. The dark wraiths haunting the party were Daemontors, classified as Aberration Class.
Not only were they able to render Semblances unusable, they could only be disposed of via Aura concentrated arms or Magic. This was due to an almost complete lack of physical body. The threat they posed was usually small due to their small numbers and lack of direct harm, but coupled with the Crymera…
Oobleck watched as the caravan could only use raw Dust rounds to combat their pursuers. Without their Semblances, they would not be able to fight off the Crymera. But they needed to leave their vehicles and bring the battle close-range if they wanted to dispose of the Daemontors.
The Professor took one last glug of his thermos before collapsing it into its Torch setting.
"Yang may not be very pleased when she hears what I am about to do with her bicycle."
He aimed his tracks for the tallest dune.
"Allons-y!"
Flying off the ramp of sand, Oobleck popped a wheelie at its very end. With an acrobatic grace, he backflipped off, and drew his Torch in a wide arc. Flames spewed from his weapon's mouth.
"HAH!"
Like a professional batter's homerun swing, Oobleck cracked the motorcycle into the cloud of Daemontors. The vehicle then, exploded with all the extravagance of fireworks. Shrapnel, reinforced by the Professor's Aura, pierced and burned the Grimm caught in its destructive radius.
When he landed, some of the chasing Crymera broke off to focus their new prey.
"Oh, dear."
Just then, the caravan line divided, and rounded back. The expeditioners understood what the professor did and were not ready to simply abandon him. With their Semblances unlocked, they practically leapt off their vehicles before they came to a full stop.
…
The battle was over within minutes.
"I am very grateful for your help," Oobleck shook the hands of the party's leader.
"We should be the ones thanking you," the female Faunus returned the gesture. "If you didn't take care of those Daemontors, we would've been done for. You're a brave man."
"You give me far too much credit."
"No, you truly are a brave man. Temujin loved that bike."
"…Pardon?"
As Professor Oobleck was guided to the city and to the Hanging Gardens, he came upon the hectic scene that was supposed to be Temujin's throne room.
A number of officials shuffled back and forth. The great doors, which used to remain close, were now kept open. Soldiers, as well as executives, constantly filtered through its threshold.
"Ah. Good work, Professor. Nice to see you again."
Ilia Amitola was the first to pay him any attention. With a clipboard in hand, and a number of assistants at her side, she looked every bit the government official.
"You know Temujin loved that bike, right?"
"So, I've heard. In my defense, I thought it belonged to Miss Xiao Long."
"Yeah, well. You're lucky the old lady isn't around at the moment. I'd like to say thank you for helping our people, but first things first."
Ilia produced a shard of Dust from her pocket, and thrust it to him.
While Oobleck obediently obliged, he couldn't help but note the subtle movement the Chameleon Faunus paid towards the sword-whip at her waist. As a result, the dry swallow he made wasn't solely due to downing the energy supplement.
"…Glad to know it's really you. You can make your report to Mouse," Ilia pitched her thumb to the throne. There, he could see the young boy sitting where Temujin once sat.
"Where is Temujin, might I ask?"
"She has her hands full with another of her selfish whims. The Rakis siblings are in charge in the meantime. And, you," the girl turned to the expedition leader. "After you take your own Dust, you are officially being assigned to the guard unit."
"WHAT FOR?!" the woman cried.
"Are you kidding me? You disobeyed a direct order. There were supposed to be no more expeditions until Mouse or Temujin's say so."
"Our city is running low on food supplies and there were still settlements on the outer reaches that weren't completely evacuated!"
"And let's not forget, anybody that goes outside the walls might come back as someone else. You risked more Cuckoos infiltrating the city."
"Yes, wouldn't want our best Huntresses and Huntsmen to kill their own people."
The chamber paused silent at the statement.
Ilia and Mouse were struck with a temporary loss of what to do. Would they have to take the expedition leader aside? If they punished her, then and there, what kind of repercussions would they be looking at? How much farther would their morale fall?
As they contemplated, a small Knives stepped forward, and buried her fist in the expedition leader's gut.
"Demoted. Report back to your quarters and await reassignment," she said with a callous tone.
"Since when, *Cough!* did our Kingdom become something like this?"
"…"
"And where the hell is Temujin?!"
"Survival of the Fittest," Ilia echoed the creed. "We have to do what we can in order to survive. The best way our people can do that is by following orders."
"And what about Strength in Numbers?! How are we supposed to survive if we don't have each other?!"
"…You're right. Fine."
"What?"
"No demotion," Ilia said with a dead tone.
The words rung hollow in a chamber full of people. Knives was about to protest, when the Chameleon Faunus grabbed the scruff of the expedition leader's neck, and brought her face close.
"But if I find ONE Cuckoo in the party you brought back, I swear by the Khans of Vacuo…!"
"They will be dealt with."
Mouse was the one to answer this time. From the throne, his voice echoed with an authoritative clarity.
"She understands, Ilia. You, too, Knives. Just let it go."
"But, Mouse—!" his sister started.
"We have enough supplies to last us until Atlas arrives. The outer settlements are now completely evacuated, so we can put that discussion to rest. I can assume no more reckless expeditions will be taken?"
The leader of the caravan nodded warily.
"We still have work to do and a war to win. We cannot be divided whenever Salem's true attack comes."
More silence followed the proxy king's command. Then, one by one, the officers in the room resumed with their work. The chamber returned to its bustling environment of chaos once more.
Meanwhile, Professor Oobleck made his way before the throne.
"So—"
"Where is Temujin?"
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X
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In a world that was constantly spinning like the inside of a disco ball, eight figures were working to catch their breaths.
Their private pocket of the Never Realm never failed to warp their sense of time and placement. More often than not, they felt like they spent years within the dimension as opposed to actual days passing in the physical world. A tax heavily affecting both body and mind, if the training wasn't already enough.
"How long is this four v. four deathmatch marathon going to go ON?!" Emerald shouted in exasperation.
"Actually, it appears our time is up," Minerva answered. "Our Kingdom is reaching its breaking point."
"So, we're ready?!" Yang banged her fists together.
"Well, you'll have to be," Raven scoffed.
Neo only grinned with a thin smile of playfulness.
"It is time Vacuo strikes back against the Witch," Nai nodded.
"Finally. I always wondered what those characters felt like when I put in those infinite life cheat codes. Not what I imagined," Mercury laid, spread-eagle on the "floor".
"Hm…"
Temujin threw a cursory glance between her Khans and Team ENMY.
The four youths answered their expectations and then some during their hellish training. They sat around the ruined nightmare-scape exhausted. Temujin could feel their frayed nerve-endings. Their insides were practically the stuff of ragdolls. Still, a fierce light burned inside them, as well as a trace of cockiness in their sneer.
Her Khans were in similar shape. Scraped and battered from their endless matches, and it wasn't due to any carelessness or ease on their part.
In any other situation, Temujin would have dubbed ENMY successors to the "team" that ended the Third Crusade. But she decided to keep that thought to herself.
Can't have them getting a bigger head than they already have.
"I hereby recognize Team ENMY as Huntresses and Huntsmen officially licensed under the Vacuo Kingdom," Temujin spoke up.
"Excuse me?" Minerva turned a stern glare towards her.
"What, I have the authority! It's not as if you weren't thinking the same thing, you hypocrite!"
"I was thinking they would only be granted the title once they fulfilled an actual Grimm Extermination Contract."
"Then, we'll just give them one!"
"Ugh!" the Headmaster rolled her eyes, and then scoffed hard into her hand.
"Team ENMY!" Temujin carried on without a care. "You are herby contracted with a Grimm Extermination Contract of the highest order! Eliminate all the Cuckoos within Vacuo's city! Upon doing so, you will be granted the official titles of Huntresses and Huntsmen! In short, an impromptu graduation!"
In spite of the elder woman's rousing declaration, Team ENMY could only return the gesture with an expression that communicated, "What a jip." Though, Yang did feel a warm tingle tug at her heartstrings.
Emerald, who had grown too intimate with Temujin's personality over their time together, simply chose to ignore her. Instead, she clapped her hands with a business-like fashion. The attention of her team concentrated on her.
"Alright, hostiles. You know how this song goes. Get some sleep—"
"Tomorrow, we commence Operation Gun Dog."
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X
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At a certain training room within Cerberus Tower, Weiss and Cinder came upon three of the room's occupants.
Ruby was sitting beside Masa, viewing the record of her most recent attempt to utilize her Silver Eye abilities. Meanwhile, her Uncle regarded their sudden visitors with a suspicious look.
"Qrow Branwen," Cinder spoke with the allure of a devil. "Or should I say, Titan?"
"…"
"Your assimilation with your host is to be allowed to complete, but in return—"
"We have an urgent mission for you."