A/N: I was on hiatus writing this. But here is chapter 2. Enjoy!
10/19/2016: Chapter edited for grammar and consistency.
The halls of Beacon Academy echo with a stillness that only occurs late at night. The once bustling halls are dimly lit, as students and teachers are gone for the day. All but one.
Professor Ozpin works in his office typing on his large scroll. Beeps rapidly sound as he types notes on a prototype that is hidden from the public eye. All but himself and a select few are aware of this secret project.
A rush of wind moves the thick curtain in his office. Ozpin stops typing and scans the room. He spots an irregularity on one of his bookshelves. The books became concave instead of a flat image.
"You can come out, Cobalt. There is no one in the office." Ozpin said calmly.
A beep streaks through the quiet office and part of the book shelf that was camouflaged changes into a silhouette of a man. His powered suit of armor replaces the surrounding bookcase. Servos whir as he crosses his arms. His armor is sharp, colored black as the night sky, with lines and squares forming an illusion of blades throughout his armor. His armor is full of claw marks and bite marks from years of combat. His helmet is painted with the design of an Ursa head.
Steam escapes underneath his helmet as he removes it. He sighs in relief as he takes a deep breath and exhales. He cradles his helmet on his right waist, and as he moves towards Ozpin's desk servos whir with every step.
Now in his mid-twenties, Cobalt is far from youthful since his incident in Mistral. His face is starting to wrinkle from years of working as a Hunter and taking part of Ozpin's Grimm reconnaissance team. He is the eyes and ears of all Grimm activity, apart from Qrow Branwen's intel. The only things that remained the same from his youth are his cobalt eyes and his grey hair, still flowing and long. He cracks a smile as Ozpin continues to type on his computer.
"What brings you here on such a late night?" Ozpin asks. Cobalt scoffs.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. I saw your light was on from your office and I just wanted to stop by and say..."
"Why are you really here Cobalt?" Ozpin interrupts.
"Fine." He hands a flash drive to the annoyed headmaster. Ozpin places the flash drive on his computer and videos start to fill his screen. Videos of numerous Grimm taking over various villages. One video shows an Ursa attacking a villager ruthlessly in Mistral. While another video shows a Nevermore as it lifts a young girl away from her parents in an undisclosed location. Cobalt slams his hands on the desk with ferocity.
"That's why I'm here, Ozpin." Cobalt said furiously, "The Grimm are becoming relentless as we sit around doing absolutely nothing. Innocents are dying at the hands of these beasts. Whatever you're doing it's not working." His eyes start turning red as he breathes heavily. Breathe in, breathe out, Cobalt thinks repeatedly. Then with a last sigh his red eyes turn back to its cobalt hue. He turns around and walks away from the desk. "Look, either we find something to save Beacon or let these menaces overrun us..."
"Do you know what project I'm working on right now?" Ozpin interrupts.
"Look there are more important things than..."
"Hear me out Cobalt and let me finish." Ozpin interrupts again. He reluctantly sighs as Ozpin starts talking. "This prototype is for a life support system that can stabilize a person's semblance without any dust." Cobalt slowly turns around and looks at him.
"What are you trying to imply here?" Cobalt asks cautiously. Ozpin's smile turns to a frown as he takes out his scroll and opens a photo to show the current Fall Maiden named Amber. Cobalt's face changed from frustration to concern as Ozpin swipes his screen to show numerous pictures of her. Her joy is non-existent in those pictures. Her glee is replaced with somber neutrality. Her once youthful face splattered with an unknown black substance. Cobalt turns away from disgust from the pictures as Ozpin stops flipping through his scroll.
"Do you know her?"
"I...I...she was family to me. Why are you showing this?" Cobalt asks nervously. Ozpin gets off his seat as he locks his scroll. Cobalt goes down on his knees, tears slowly falling from his face. "Don't tell me she's..."
"She's in a coma. Someone attacked her in broad daylight." Ozpin said. Cobalt looks up at the headmaster.
"Who would do such a crazy thing? Who would have the audacity to take down a Maiden like that?" Cobalt asks bitterly.
"Rest assured we will find the ones responsible for..."
"Where is she now?" Cobalt stops Ozpin. He didn't care about who attacked Amber. All he wanted to hear is to see if Amber is even alive.
"Somewhere safe."
"No. That doesn't cut it, Oz." Cobalt isn't buying the idea of his version of 'safe'. "Just tell me where she is. Plain and simple."
Ozpin sighs, as he doesn't want to see him be in any more pain and misery. He walks toward the exit as Cobalt follows him. He places his helmet back on his head as they leave the office. As they head for the elevator, Cobalt presses a button on his gauntlet to turn himself invisible. It's as though Ozpin is walking towards the elevator by himself. As the elevator doors open a person is in already there. Qrow Branwen.
"You can tell that there's someone right next to you, Oz." Qrow said in a brash tone.
Cobalt smiles underneath his helmet. He turns off his active camouflage as they enter the elevator. The elevator doors slowly close as it starts to descend deep underground. The silence is deafening as no exchanges are made on the elevator between the three men. Qrow suddenly breaks the silence.
"Is he going to be okay?" Qrow whispers on Ozpin's ear.
"He's still processing what's happening to Amber. His helmet is probably muting our conversation right now. He tends to be isolative when he's under stress." Ozpin replies. And he was right. Cobalt's helmet is muted as he didn't hear the conversation.
Cobalt on the other hand is still processing what is going on. He still has to work on his intelligence gathering with the Grimm activity in Remnant. But on the back of his mind his concern for Amber is still present. What if she's really dead when I get there? Cobalt thought. What if it's just a plan for Ozpin to cover up whatever he's trying to do? Then he remembered the one thing Amber always said to him that always made a big impact on his life.
"You can do it!"
A/N: Chapter 3 is on the way. Comments and reviews are welcome.
