Chapter 39
"I wish there was something I could say in order to prepare you all for what's next, but English…no, human language, in general, is completely incapable of describing the experiences you'll face." Lionel stated as he brought a tray of plates and cups into the living room of his manor.
"I'm still not quite familiar with what you said earlier. When we were on our way back here, you said something along the lines of '…it will probably be painful and terrifying, or maybe not; it never has a consistent effect.' What did you mean by that?" Blake asked as Lionel was walking back to the kitchen after setting the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Well…it never has a consistent effect." Lionel chuckled as he picked up something in the kitchen. He then emerged from the kitchen holding a large pot with a smaller tray balanced on top of it. "But in all seriousness, I told you that Omni-dust, before you're capable of controlling it, is basically a powerful psychoactive drug upon entry to the body. How and why there is a point where the body is capable of turning it from a psychoactive substance into a powerful hunting supplement is currently unknown." He continued as he placed the pot on the coffee table before taking the tray balanced on top and sitting it next to the pot.
"Seriously? We're going to do something that has practically no known mechanism of action?" Weiss stated.
"Yes." Lionel stated as he opened the pot revealing a delicious-looking stir-fry. "Go ahead and grab some food, I feel like we're going to have a lot to talk about…we might as well get comfortable." He finished as he scooped out a large portion of the food for himself. He then uncovered the tray revealing a series of neatly laid eggrolls.
"Then here's my first questions, and probably the most important…what's in this?" Yang asked as she scooped herself out a heaping portion of food.
"Rice, obviously, green and red peppers, peas, carrots, onions, egg, and teriyaki chicken. The eggrolls are made from cabbage, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and egg." Lionel said as though he was completely expecting such a silly question.
"Now that the important stuff is out of the way, on to a more menial conversation." Lionel said with a smirk.
"You're welcome to begin explaining everything. I'll wait until the end to ask my questions." Blake, to which Weiss nodded her head in agreement. Both Ruby and Yang we're already well on their way with eating the food.
"Very well. I'll start with something very important. The saviors." Lionel began, which seemed to attract the attention of all of the girls. "You girls…should know that…" he paused, very painstakingly weighing the pros and cons of revealing such information. "…there is a very high chance that they will appear in this fight with the Alpha." He said after releasing a sigh.
"How do you figure?" Weiss asked while making herself a modest plate of food.
"The Saviors, more or less, are artificial Grimm." Lionel stated which earned quite a confused reaction from Team RWBY. "During the first Grimm War, one of the ways we were attempting to beat the Alpha and his Grimm was to control the Grimm in a manner similar to how the Alpha does, though with artificial means. Ultimately, this turned out to be a failure. Through the process of studying the Grimm, however, we discovered the way in which Grimm reproduce, which is, of course, quite well known today." Lionel explained.
"They don't actually have children, they simply corrupt other normal animals." Blake stated after swallowing her food.
"Correct. And this 'corruption' is carried through their blood, which is why the White Fang needed a series of different types of Grimm DNA to resurrect the Alpha. Put simply, we extracted quite a bit of blood from many different Grimm and purified with, what we would consider today, as a very crude dust purification method. The allowed it to stew in a warm dust bath before sending the blood through the bodies of many volunteers, allowing our own innate auras to destroy as much of the corruption as possible." Lionel explained.
"Did you give this blood to The Saviors?" Weiss asked.
"This blood created The Saviors, actually." Lionel stated. "There were four volunteers, four Knights who took it upon themselves to step into uncharted territory. We injected the blood into their bodies and, at first, they were normal, just like when we sent the blood through the bodies of many people for the purification process. The purification volunteers, however, did not get to experience what it was like for the blood to enter their brain, we didn't allow that during the purification." Lionel said.
"What happened to them?" Ruby asked.
"They went completely psychotic, with incredible power. Since it was Grimm blood, we had prepared for it by having a second injection ready to sedate them. We did just that before locking them in a dungeon as a failed experiment. Then, some time later, maybe a week or two, a dungeon guard's attention was focused entirely on the four volunteers who, at this point, looked to all be meditating in their dungeon. He alerted the Knight-General, who quickly came to questions the four." Lionel explained in between taking bites of his food.
"Did they become superheroes or something?" Yang asked.
"In terms of power, yes. However, their demeanor, their attitudes had completely changed from who they once were. They each seemed to embody one of the four aspects that we attribute to all Hunters, to this day. What does it mean to be a Hunter?" Lionel asked.
"The use of intelligence…" Weiss stated.
"…with the means of justice…" Blake continued.
"…to achieve the goal of peace…" Ruby followed.
"…and the determination to do it." Yang finished.
"Precisely. Intelligence, justice, peace, and determination are the four aspects that every Hunter must be intimately familiar with. And they have their roots directly connected with The Saviors." Lionel said.
"What happened next?" Ruby asked.
"We readmitted them into our forces, and they went on to kill the Alpha. As to how they will appear in this battle after hundreds of years, I believe that those aspects have been passed from Hunter to Hunter throughout the years. In the very same manner that the Alpha had to regain his power since it was scattered throughout the minds of each of the Grimm, I think The Saviors will do the same." Lionel explained.
"You said you had a plan, and a backup plan, right?" Weiss asked.
"I specifically remember adding the words 'sort of' and 'kind of' into that statement." Lionel chuckled. "But, to answer your next question, The Saviors are my plan. My backup plan is for me to take a lethal amount of Omni-dust into my body and take on the Alpha myself, hoping for the best." Lionel explained.
"I don't think the 'kind of' and 'sort of' do the stupidity of your plans justice." Weiss stated coldly.
"I agree. But, it's all that we have to go on right now. Any questions?" Lionel asked.
"I've never like the idea of putting much faith into anyone else besides me and my team. So I'm actually way more interested in this whole Omni-dust thing that about The Saviors." Yang said.
"Me too. This sounds like it's something we should be more concerned about at the immediate moment." Ruby said.
"I'm sure Blake and I both agree with that." Weiss said.
"You still never answer my question from earlier. About the effects of the Omni-dust never being consistent." Blake stated.
"It acts like a powerful psychoactive drug when it is initially introduced into the body. You can have a great time with all of the enhanced happiness, euphoria, and other things that come with it, but, it's so strong that you don't really have much control over your mind. On the other hand, it is quite possible that it will bring forth insecurities and traumas that you've endured throughout your life and make you face them. Since your perception and mood are all enhanced so much on this substance, you won't be able to simply put it at the back of your mind. It's actually quite common that, when things begin to get negative, you will feel that the only way to make it stop is suicide." Lionel explained.
"What the hell?!" Yang asked in surprise.
"That's why I'm going to be watching over each of you throughout the whole thing." Lionel finished.
"How do we make those thoughts stop?" Blake asked.
"You don't. It seems that how your mind reacts to the Omni-dust is different every time. Regardless of the dose, sometimes you'll still be capable of slight coherent thought, and other times you will be at the complete mercy of the Omni-dust. If you're able to still think, even a little, you have to tell yourself that you've taken something and hope that calms you down. To answer your question, though…you simply have to wait it out. That's why I'm going to be here watching over you." Lionel explained.
"Is there any specific method for teaching our body to use the Omni-dust faster? To reduce the potential mental anguish?" Blake asked.
"That's actually something I was going to elaborate on earlier. There is only one reasonable hypothesis for why the psychoactive qualities disappear and how your body begins to use the Omni-dust as a supplement…and it's not even a scientific one. Put simply, a monk from Menagerie stated that the Omni-dust is a 'teacher' but will only give you it's power if it finds you worthy. To be considered worthy, must face your inner demons and beat them." Lionel said.
"So this guy basically said that the worse you feel during this…drug episode, the quicker you are to getting the power?" Blake asked.
"Yes; and though I would personally desire a more substantiated claim to be available, I do certainly see how and why he would think that. Every single person that has undergone this endeavor, regardless of race, gender, species, or any other genetic variable, have all stated that they felt a sense of clarity upon gaining the effects of the Omni-dust. They all feel like they have the answer to the most important questions in the universe…though they can never articulate the 'answers'. Myself included." Lionel stated.
"How long do you think this will take?" Ruby asked.
"The Knights have a month-long program for people who meet the requirements and choose to volunteer for it. Though I'm sure it will take time for the Alpha to build up his forces, I highly doubt we're going to have anywhere close to a month to prepare. We're going to try and have it done in a week's time, but we'll use every moment that we can before the Alpha attacks." Lionel stated.
"You also said that it can feel like much longer than it actually lasts. What did you mean by that?" Weiss asked.
"The substance alters your perception so much that it will slow your 'internal clock' to the point that the amount of time between each inhale and exhale can feel like many years. This is not something that should be taken lightly." Lionel explained.
After a few moments of silence, Ruby looked up to speak. "It's obvious that the experience we'll have cannot be described by using words…so the only question left to ask is when will we begin?" Ruby asked confidently.
"If you're ready for it…then we will begin today. Something that helped me get through it was to go into this experience with a positive mindset. Do anything and everything that will help you relax and be happy. Write me a list of foods you each enjoy to eat, I would also recommend taking a shower and getting in comfortable clothes. Every little detail will change how you'll experience this…so you might as well be happy when you go into it." Lionel stated.
"You know…a shower sounds wonderful." Weiss stated with noticeable exhaustion.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound bad…" Ruby mumbled.
"Rubes, are you still able to track the position of our weapons?" Yang asked.
"Uhh, sure…hold on just a second…" Ruby stated as she began to look for her scroll which was probably thrown to the side of the room with the rest of their equipment. Upon returning to Beacon, Lionel called an immediate meeting between the four headmasters, out of which Haven and Shade did not even bother to attend.
"What does it say?" Yang asked as Ruby turned her scroll on.
"The signal was lost about three hours ago. Let me look up the coordinates…" Ruby said as she quickly began to piece together their weapons' whereabouts.
"Of course…" Lionel said under his breath after his scroll vibrated.
"What's up?" Yang asked.
"The headmasters of Haven and Shade academy are filing for a void to the Knight-Remnant act. How childish…" Lionel explained.
"What would that even solve?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing. They're using the excuse of 'a lack of evidence' to void the Knight's conscription of the four kingdoms. In actuality, they don't want to be under someone else's control." Lionel explained.
"What can be done about it?" Blake asked.
"The Knight residing within the kingdoms are going to counter them in court, but, ultimately, they're just going to buy time. Even during the court process, their militaries are still under our control. All we need to do is keep them from voiding it until the Alpha attacks, then they'll have all the proof they need." Lionel stated confidently.
"It's unfortunate that we have to resort to treating them like children." Weiss stated.
"I found it, guys…" Ruby said. "The signal disappeared at Mount Kuana in Menagerie." Ruby said.
"Yes. There's a massive White Fang base there…their Central Headquarters." Blake stated.
"They have their headquarters on top of a mountain?" Yang asked.
"No, the mountain is their headquarters. Over the years, they've turned it into an almost completely hollow base. It's very well fortified, has a significant number of forces guarding it, and one of the largest cities, Kuo Kuana, is placed next to it." Blake explained.
"I assume the base being next to a large city isn't just for the good view, right?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, they're basically using the people there as a shield." Blake confirmed.
"All the more reason to get this show on the road." Yang said.
"Indeed. But, a shower first." Weiss said as she began to walk into the hall. "Klein is on his way with some of our more relaxing clothes." She finished after walking around the corner.
"When did you even contact him?" Yang asked as she followed behind.
"I would also ask that, but I really don't care." Blake said as she began to walk back toward the hall.
"I'll be in there in just a minute." Ruby said as she ran up to Lionel who was still texting on his scroll, presumably making sure that his Knights had the correct instructions.
"What can I do?" Lionel said after noticing that Ruby was patiently waiting for him to finish. She said nothing as she embraced him in a bear-hug rivaling her sister's. "Are you trying to kill me?" He coughed out jokingly.
"I'm glad you're okay." Ruby said as she jumped back.
"I'm glad you four could see through the message I sent to Ozpin." Lionel stated as Ruby made her way toward the hall. He walked through his kitchen and into the den; connected to the side of the room was a door with a staircase leading down.
He slowly made his way down the stairs revealing what looked, at first glance, to be yet another living room. Upon closer inspection, the first difference that is noticed is the fact that the walls are completely sound-proofed. There are a series of cameras that, to the untrained eyes, would simply look like normal everyday décor. There were vents and sprinklers, that were just as well very hidden from the untrained eye, that were in place in the case of a fire. Overall, the room looked like a place to relax, though it was quite obviously meant for someone, who was not in their right state of mind, to relax in.
He closed the door back, went back up the stairs and closed his eyes. All of the memories and feelings from his time learning to use the Omni-dust came rushing back into his head. Tears began to roll down his eyes, something he would otherwise never let anyone see. "The feeling of enduring it is the worst thing you'll ever experience, but the feeling of overcoming it is the best. You four will thank me for this…I swear." He muttered to himself as the tears continued to fall.