Chapter 4: The Masters
14 Days after The Breach, CRDL's dorm room, Beacon
Cardin prodded his wound, hissing when his finger made contact with edge of the wound. The flow of blood had stymied to the point of a papercut, and he grit his teeth as Sky inspected the wound.
"Well, I don't know what the hell you did to get this, but it must have a been a monster of weapon to do this damage," he said calmly. He leaned in closer to the wound.
"Cut clean through muscle, and I think I can see a tiny bit of bone. It isn't all bad though," his voice became a bit lighter as he stepped away from Cardin. Cardin scoffed.
"Gee, it's so good to have a spear skewer me in the shoulder. I'm so honored to have my arm be nearly useless," he spoke, sarcasm layering his voice. Sky shook his head.
"Smartass," he muttered. Dove watched the two from his seat next to them, leaving Russel alone to scavenge their room for a first aid kit.
"What kind of combat school doesn't have a aid kit in the dorm rooms?" Russel grumbled. He thumbed through the bathroom cabinet. Sky crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
"The school that also has an infirmary meant to handle such a situation? The infirmary we could be using right now, seeing as how it's open all night and has an automated treatment and messaging system." He looked back over to Cardin.
"Why aren't we using that right now?" Dove nodded in agreement.
"How did you get that anyhow? I doubt any of the staff would allow a spar to go on long enough for Aura to fail." Cardin looked up at the ceiling and debated on telling his team about what he had saw that night.
What do you think Archer? They're my team and I'll be dealing with them for probably the entire War.
It would be nice to have allies that understand what we'll be dealing with. Might save us some trouble in the future. Archer paused.
But once you tell them, you can't go back. I'll leave it up to you. Cardin closed his eyes and waited a moment. He opened them again and looked at his teammates.
"Guys? I'd like you all to hear this." Russel stopped his rummaging, pausing before shrugging and making his way to the group. Sky didn't move from his position against the wall and Dove kept his attention on Cardin. He took a deep breath.
"I was attacked by some woman in the library. And that's not all. Archer." On cue, Archer materialized behind Cardin, arms crossing his chest. The rest of CDRL, to their credit, didn't immediately overreact. Sky's eyes bulged and his mouth opened and closed dumbly. Dove was in a similar state to Sky, but to a smaller degree and attempted to appear calm. Russel didn't react at first, but gradually he started to frown, and his frown turned into a look of horror as he attempted to speak.
"Wha- Hu- Fuck," he croaked. Archer said nothing, going over to Cardin.
"I can take a look at your wound if you want, master," he said, gesturing at the wound with his hand. Cardin nodded and rubbed his face with his hands, keeping his gaze low as Archer put a hand on his shoulder. Slowly, he felt a small warmth cover his shoulder and the pain began to lessen. As Archer continued with his healing, Dove spoke up first.
"So, uh…. Archer, who, or what, are you?" He asked slowly. Archer didn't look away from Cardin as he answered Dove.
"Simply, I'm a hero. Someone whose deeds and actions have been recognized after death. Cardin here summoned me, and he's to be my master for the Holy Grail War," he explained simply. Sky spoke next, still leaning against the wall.
"So, you're a dead guy, but a famous one. And you're going to fight a cup?" Archer nodded.
"Mhm. Supposedly it can grant any wish one wants, but really it can only grant what can already happen. Miracles are out of its power." He looked over his progress, bringing his other hand to cup his chin.
"Needs a bit more work," he murmured. Dove looked to Sky, who shrugged his shoulders.
"The Grail isn't what it's made out to be. It would be far safer to destroy it, and stop any destruction it might cause, trust me," Archer spoke, never taking his attention from the wound. Dove frowned at the information, but decided to not argue the point at the moment, instead focusing on another topic.
"Well then, who are you? It would be nice to know who we're dealing with," Dove asked. Archer stopped his healing, inspecting his work. He nodded and looked towards Dove.
"I'm afraid you wouldn't know me, unfortunately. It wouldn't give you any insight into what I can do, but you can help me with some questions I have." Grabbing a chair, he turned it so he was sitting in it backwards. He looked at the two of them.
"First off, do you know of anyone who could read minds?" Russel was beginning to get over his shock and stood up, and once he saw Cardin testing his shoulder he sighed and went back to the bathroom, cleaning up his mess. Sky motioned his head to Dove.
"Better ask him, he's the guy who knows the most about Aura and Semblances." Dove nodded, getting an excited look on his face.
"Yep, I've been studying a lot on past Semblances. So far no one has ever been documented with a semblance to read a mind." He leaned in closer, a conspiratorial look coming onto his face.
"But I have a theory that semblances can be passed down from family members. The Schnee's are the only ones to be reported with this trait, but given the number of humans and faunus throughout history, as well as other animals, it wouldn't be hard to believe that some semblances have been repeated." Archer's face was serious, absorbing all the information.
"While we're on the topic, can you explain what Aura is?" Cardin stopped testing his shoulder and looked over at his servant.
"Shouldn't you know about Aura already? I mean, you're a hero so you must have fought someone with Aura." Archer shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"The summoning must have been botched, because I didn't come with all the knowledge I would've. It seems to be the case, given that Lancer was there when I arrived." Cardin brought his chair over to the group, sitting in it normally.
"It was a spur of the moment thing, yeah. And what information are you talking About?"
"Language and history, mostly. I'm speaking to you with modern terms, am I not? But when a summoning is botched, not all of that comes through. Fortunately for us all I remember who I am, but not other things." Cardin nodded and motioned for Dove to continue.
"Aura's essentially someone's soul given form. Usually, we use it like a shield to stop blows, and it can even heal us when we get injured, though that varies. Semblances are essentially abilities that are unique to each individual, though I have my doubts as I said before," he finished. Archer rubbed his chin and mulled over the knowledge.
"I see, that would explain why Lancer deflected my blows in our fight." He looked over at Cardin, who was pulling a chair over for Russel. Russel waved him off and dragged the chair into the group.
"Don't need to fill me in, heard everything in there. My question is, what're we gonna do when that chick comes back?"
"We're going to fight them, Rus. It's called a war for a reason," Sky spoke, his voice taking on an annoyed tone. Russel waved his hand at him as Cardin looked back at Archer.
"How many are we going to fight? Lancer called me the fifth master back in the library."
"There's about seven Masters, meaning we might have to fight six. And if she called you the fifth then the other two Servants have yet to be summoned." Archer's face still carried a look of deep thought and a bit of concern.
"Without knowing which of the other classes has been summoned, we can expect almost anything to be targeting us. Or watching us, if Assassin has been summoned." Russel cleared his throat.
"I know I'm late to this little group chat, but how can an Assassin be considered a hero?"
"Someone's got to do the dirty things in life. Heroes are usually paragons of morality and human ideals, but Assassins are the exception in this instance. In any case, how they're qualified isn't the concern, merely that they're a part of the war and will most likely be our enemy." The others nodded, no one knowing what to say next. Russel spoke up again.
"So, these classes. What should we be expecting? Swords? Guns? Gunswords?" Archer blinked at that, but schooled his face fast enough to make Cardin question himself.
If he's a hero, then he should be familiar with unconventional weapons. Cardin kept his gaze on his servant.
Just who are you, really? He broke off his line of thinking as Archer began speaking.
"The classes should follow a fairly standard system, if my records hold true. Seven classes, Saber for swordmasters, Archers for bowmem, Lancers for spearmen. These three are the knight classes, each having some level of semblance resistance. Saber is usually considered best due to their balanced and high stats. Then Riders for those with mounts, Casters for those with dust, Assassins for assassins and Berserkers for heroes cursed with madness." Sky sighed.
"It's like a fucking rpg," he muttered. Archer shrugged slightly.
"A good comparison, if nothing else." He pointed a finger at Cardin's hand, which Cardin now realized had a strange red marking on it.
"That marking on your hand are your command seals master. Three absolute commands that you can give me at any time, they can force em to do something or can be used to help in battle. I hope we don't have to use them." Archer looked at the clock nearby.
"You all should get some rest, especially you, master. I don't need food or rest, so I'll keep watch on the room." Cardin yawned at the mention of sleep, his muscles aching and nodded, moving towards the dorm closet. He dressed into his sleepwear and seeing that the lights were off and everyone in their bed, dropped onto his own.
Just so you know master, you might get dreams of my life. It's a consequence of our contract. You shouldn't have to worry about it now, but later in the war it may get more prominent. Cardin mentally sighed, too tired to care about the implications of what Archer said. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
14 Days after The Breach, RWBY's dorm room, Beacon
Weiss stared at the woman in front of her, who was looking back at her patiently. Long black hair stretched to her waist and blue eyes staring into hers. She wore a sleeveless red vest with two thin gold stripes running down the center, and she had on a short black skirt and full length stockings. Her arms had sleeves separate from the vest, and red gloves covered her palms. It took all Weiss had to not squeal like a child at the sight of her summon.
Yes! I've done it! Though I don't remember ever fighting someone like this… Weiss ignored that train of thought, and watched her summon, waiting for a reaction. The woman placed a hand on her hip, her face remaining neutral.
"Are you my master?" Weiss straightened herself, clasping her hands behind her back and imitating Winter as best she could and stared at her summon in the eyes.
"Yes. My name is Weiss Schnee and you are my summon. I admit though, I don't recall ever meeting you." The summon cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face.
"Why would you have met me? I don't recall to have ever meeting you," she said, her voice containing a hint of confusion. Weiss started a bit, unprepared for any response aside from acknowledgement from the seemingly sentient summon. Weiss attempted to compose herself.
"Winter's summons never talked before. Though I never saw her summon a person either…Never mind that. My goal was to summon a familiar and I did so. You can go," she dismissed her with a wave of her hand. The woman scrunched her face in annoyance at Weiss's statement.
"A familiar? You think I'm some common familiar? I'm a heroic spirit. I'm worth a thousand regular familiars," she said. Weiss stared in shock as her famil- spirit, kept on talking.
"I see now that I have a clueless master to work with." She put a hand to her face, shaking her head.
"Do you even know what the Grail War is, or do I have an accidental summoning to deal with as well?" Weiss hadn't said a word in the short rant the woman had been on, too shocked by having what should have been a normal, if slightly more intelligent, familiar speak back at her. She fumed at the mention of an accidental summoning and determined to make her mind known to the upstart spirit.
"I'll have you know that the summoning wasn't an accident. I did it! I won't have some familiar or spirit or whatever diminish my accomplishments! Not when I can prove that I'm just as good as Winter," she muttered the last bit under her breath. The spirit didn't move during her speech, deciding to pay her attention and stayed quiet. Seconds passed by, silence awkwardly filling the air as the two stared each other down.
Eventually the other woman sighed and sagged her shoulders. She waited another second before returning her gaze back to Weiss.
"Look, perhaps we should start over. It's clear that neither of us is what the other expected," she said calmly. Weiss glowered at her for a few seconds before nodding hesitantly. The spirit gave a small smile.
"Good. Now, I'm your Caster class servant for the Holy Grail War. Caster will suffice for a name. Who are you?"
"Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the largest dust company. Can you tell what this whole war business is about?" A small frown appeared on the servant's lips.
"I'll condense it as much as possible. It's an object that can cause a great deal to occur, but cannot grant miracles. It allows you to summon heroic spirits such as myself, and grants the master of these spirits three undeniable commands. It should be located on your right hand." Weiss rubbed her hand, taking apart the bandages enough to peek at the red designs on her hand.
That explains the mark at least.
"You mentioned a war. Who are we fighting?"
"Other masters, about seven in total, including us. The other spirits are in similar classes as mine, but each is specialized differently. They include Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Assassin and Rider. Each is a hero from myth and legend, and each will be fighting to win the grail, most likely trying to kill the others involved." Weiss felt her mood worsen at the news.
"I'd like to avoid killing anyone, if possible." Caster merely kept up a relaxed posture.
"The servants themselves are already dead. As for the masters, even the weakest servant can outclass most humans. It shouldn't be too difficult to incapacitate them master." Weiss felt a small amount of her mood be lifted.
"Anything else I should know?" Caster nodded.
"Usually there would be overseers to referee the war. I'll begin looking for them tonight, as sleep and food aren't necessary for servants. In the meantime you should rest, it's getting a bit late." Weiss nodded and checked outside the bathroom door. The rest of RWBY was asleep and appeared to have not been disturbed by the conversation, thankfully. Weiss looked behind her as Caster spoke again.
"I'll start the preparations for a workshop to be made here at the dorm. Don't worry, your teammates won't notice it and it'll help us out in the long run. And you mentioned being an heiress, correct?" Weiss fully turned around, shooting her servant a questioning look.
"Yes? Why?"
"She's rich, too," Caster said under her breath. She raised her voice as she started her search for materials to build the workshop.
"Good, I'll need access to some of that money for my magecraft," she said simply. Weiss became even more confused.
"Did you just say for your magic?" Caster let out an annoyed huff.
"No, not magic, mage- look, I just need the money, ok?"
"I'll see what I can do," Weiss spoke, and after getting a confirming hum, left the bathroom and went to bed.
15 Days after The Breach, waterfront, Vale
Carmine Russet admired the rising sun shining on the calm water, leaning against the railing of the bridge he was on. A cool breeze came along, and he sighed in content as he watched the city of Vale start to come alive. The tall black-haired man stayed there for a few more minutes, content to take his time on his way to Beacon Academy.
"Pretty, ain't it?" Carmine didn't turn as the voice of the man he had met a few days before filled the air. He merely nodded, and the stubbled man leaned on the railing next to him. Shaggy blonde hair ruffled with the breeze, and both men kept silent, neither wanting to end the calm. Carmine eyed the dark leather jacket and jeans the man wore.
"Where'd you get those?" He asked, curious. The other man shrugged.
"At the store. Had to use your money," he said unapologetically, offering his wallet back. Carmine sighed softly and took the wallet, already anticipating the amount of jobs he'd have to take to make up for losses.
Being a huntsman isn't easy. Forever poor… He spotted the morning populace start to appear at the end of the bridge and stood up from the railing. He started walking in the opposite direction of the crowd.
"Come on Saber, we should get going," he called out. The other man walked away from the railing and fell in step with Carmine, the two heading deeper into Vale. It wasn't long before the streets were filled with a modest amount of people, each moving separately from one another and going on with their lives. Saber propped his hands behind his head and looked left to right, staring at each new building and attraction the duo came across.
"It sure has changed since I was last here," he remarked, his tone neutral. Carmine put his hands into the pockets of his unzipped windbreaker and looked behind him.
"Oh yeah? In a good way or bad?" Saber didn't immediately respond, instead looking at a cafe that was populated by a few people outside. He wasn't at them, though, instead staring at a flyer nailed outside on the doorway. Carmine moved to his side and read the paper.
"Huh, what do you know," he said. The flyer had a message from the cafe employees, saying how grateful they were to a huntsman who helped them during The Breach. Saber read the flyer and went inside the cafe, Carmine following close behind. The cafe was spacious on the inside, small tables dotted throughout the premise and a large window next to the counter. They walked over, Carmine looking over what the cafe offered and Saber calmly staring ahead.
They hadn't waited long before an employee came over, a cat faunus with ears and a tail, tying her apron together. She looked at the two men and put on a polite smile, getting behind the register.
"What can I get you gentlemen today?" she said politely.
"I'll just have water, thank you," Carmine said, waiting for Saber to order his drink. Saber looked directly into the employee's eyes.
"Do you have any ale?" he said bluntly. She looked taken aback at his request. Confusedly looking over at Carmine, she spoke.
"Ale, sir? Like alcohol?" Saber nodded, not breaking his stare. Carmine gave her a shrug.
"Might as well give him some if you have any. Best way to get him out of your hair," he said plainly. She nodded and looked back at Saber.
"Well… we have a cask of beer from Mistral from 60 years ago. The boss doesn't want it, so I guess you could have it." Saber smiled and nodded at the news, happy to get something that was hopefully strong. Carmine gave her a questioning look.
"Why hasn't anyone bought it yet if the owner doesn't want it?"
"Because it's 400 Lien. We don't get many wealthy customers here, and no one wants to spend 400 Lien on a cask of beer in a cafe." Carmine rubbed the bridge of his nose, digging out his wallet and dropping it in Saber's already held out hand.
"Just don't spend too much, alright?" Saber waved off his concern.
"Don't worry, this is a worthy goal to spend money on. We could get drunk during the festival! And get others drunk!" The employee flagged down another employee, a well built man going towards the back of the establishment.
"Robert, can you get the cask up here for these guys? And might as well give them the dolly too…" she instructed. She gave them another look.
"You're probably not going to finish it here, right?"
"Yes."
"No." They spoke at the same time. Carmine gave his companion another look and looked back at the employee.
"No," he reaffirmed. Saber let out a small whine but said nothing else. The woman nodded and put in their orders. Handing her a credit card and giving back the wallet, Saber looked around the cafe, noting that more people were coming in.
"Hey mister, can I ask you a question?" Saber looked around at the voice, and looked down as he felt a tug on his pant leg. A boy was looking up at him with a curious gaze, and Saber knelt down to eye level with the child. He wasn't older than nine if he had to guess, and he gave the kid a grin.
"Sure, what do you want know?" The boy crossed his arms.
"Are you a hunter? You look like one I met?"
"I am one, you could say. Although I didn't go to a school like most do." Carmine watched the pair. The boy's eyes lit up and another question immediately burst out.
"Cool! Can you take on ten Grimm at once? Uncle Viz says any hunter could do that." Saber's grin widened.
"Please, I can take a hundred, easy." The boy's excitement grew.
"Have you ever gone into a Grimm nest?"
"Yep. I even fought in a cave a few times. Next question."
"Did you ever kill a nevermore?"
"Fought three at once. Tough birds, those ones."
"What's your weapon? A gun, or a spear?" Saber leaned conspiratorially towards the boy, who followed suit. Looking around, he whispered to the boy.
"I can you show right now, if you want." The boy nodded enthusiastically, and Saber stood up. As he was standing up he turned around put his hand close to his body. As he stood up to his full height he pulled his hand back out, a sword materializing in it, and held it out towards the ceiling. The sword finished materializing, small flames licking the blade as it did so.
The sword was slightly shorter than a hand-and-a-half sword, with a leather wrapped handle and a crossguard angled towards the blade. Saber proudly held the blade high, and Carmine heard both several sounds of awe, as well as more than a few yelps of surprise, including one from the woman next to him. Saber kneeled down to the boy again and held out the sword. The boy grasped the handle and fumbled slightly with the long weapon, but kept it in his hand.
"Best part is, it's on fire. Useful against the Grimm, believe me," Saber said to the boy, ruffling his hair. He grabbed the sword again and it dematerialized, and the other patrons returned to their previous activities. The boy nodded and ran off to another part of the cafe. Turning back to the woman, Carmine saw a look of surprise on her face.
"You… You're huntsmen? So that means you're going to Beacon, right?" Carmine nodded. She looked conflicted for a moment, but the look soon disappeared as she gave another polite smile.
"Alright then, take a seat and your order will be brought to you soon." Carmine followed Saber as they walked the open air portion of the business. Taking a relatively excluded table, Carmine turned his attention to his servant.
"You think it was smart to take out your noble phantasm?" Saber leaned back in his chair and scratched his stubble.
"Didn't detect any servants nearby, and the it pleased the kid."
"It also scared half the cafe." Saber shrugged.
"Thought you people would be used to seeing Grimm, what with only having a single city to fall back to." Carmine leaned back in his chair as well, preparing himself to once again inform his servant.
"Most of them haven't seen a Grimm in person until two weeks ago, and you pull a sword out of nowhere when they weren't expecting it. They're not like you and me," he said. Saber conceded the point with a nod.
"True, still, any servant bold enough to attack us in broad daylight deserves what they receive fighting me," he said proudly. Carmine sighed, and the two sat in silence for a minute before the employee from before came to their table, a glass of water in one hand and a mug in the other. The man from inside pushing a large cask on a dolly towards them. He stopped at the table, his cap at the woman and heading back inside.
Carmine took the glass and drank from it, watching as Saber went to the cask and filled his mug with the alcohol. He drank from it, taking a few seconds to process the taste, and gave a satisfied nod.
"Not as strong as I'm used to, but still good. Thank you," he said to the woman. She nodded and moved to go back inside. She stopped at the door, turning around and making her way back to the table, making Carmine raise an eyebrow.
"Yes?" He said. She didn't speak for a few seconds, finally speaking up as he was about to ask what she wanted.
"You're going to Beacon, right? That's what you said inside," she said hesitantly. He nodded, not taking his eyes off her.
"Then can you give a message to someone for me?" He looked over at Saber, who was going for his second mug and then back towards her.
"I could, but I'm from Shade, not Beacon, so no promises I'll know who're talking about." She shook her head.
"It won't matter, I can help with that. I just want you to deliver a message to a student for me."
"What for?" At this point Saber took an interest in the conversation, leaning forward in his chair.
"A student saved me and that boy during The Breach, and I didn't get a chance to thank him. He's a student from Beacon, his friend helped him out. His name's Cardin, I think? He has orange hair, wears armor with a bird on the chest." He nodded, filing the information away for later.
"I'll see what I can do. Just a thanks right?"
"Mhm," she nodded.
"Alright, got it." She nodded once again and headed inside. Carmine looked over at his servant, who had an interested look on his face.
"So, we're going to mingle with the students? Good, I'd like to see what the kingdoms have come up with since my time." At that, the two stayed silent and finished their drinks. Looking at the clock in the building, Carmine got up from his seat.
"We should get going before we're late." He looked over at the dolley with the mostly full cask.
"And that's going to be a hassle to keep steady on the bullhead," he sighed. Saber patted him on the shoulder, taking the dolley and went in the direction towards Beacon, Carmine following behind him.
15 Days after The Breach, Beacon Bullhead, Vale
Cobalt Mauve opened her eyes to an empty room. She sat up in the small bunk the bullhead had in every room onboard, stretching her back of crinks and knots. Looking around the small room, the first year noted that her team was nowhere to be found. Thumbing through her scroll, she found a message from her teammate, Ross.
You were still asleep when everybody woke up, decided not wake you and the guys and I went to talk with the others. Captain said we'll be landing in an hour. -Ross
P.S. I stopped Svanrig from drawing on your face with a sharpie. You can punch him when you catch up with us. Cobalt silently thanked the red-haired girl and got up from her bunk, moving to the even smaller bathroom. Checking herself in the mirror, she was glad to find that Ross hadn't lied.
She took another look to clean herself up and once satisfied moved out the bathroom. She looked down at her hand, the red seals contrasting with her tan complexion and thought of ways to hide the seals.
The gloves can work well enough, but I lose those than the other masters will easily spot me, she thought.
Then it's a good thing you have an excellent servant, isn't it? Cobalt startled at the sound of her servant responding. Her words did nothing to reassure her, however.
It won't do us much good if the others decide to pair up against us. I doubt we could handle an Archer and Saber at once.
True, but that should give you more incentive think your strategy through, shouldn't it? Cobalt ignored her servant, not wanting to argue early in the morning. She checked the time, and with the message being sent a half-hour decided on finding her team. She grabbed her scroll and headed out to find her team.
She went into the hallway, taking time to stare out of one of the many windows on the bullhead. The distant city of Vale looked back at her, contrasting with the swaths of farms and forest they were traveling over, reminding her of a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.
Sure is different than Mistral, she thought, already feeling homesick. She was as surprised as the other teams in Haven when their headmaster had informed them of more teams leaving for Vale. But the announcement gave her a convenient reason to bring her team along with her to Vale for the Grail War. Preparing herself for the doubtlessly long search ahead of her, she continued making her way through the ship.
15 Days after The Breach, Beacon mess hall, Beacon
Cinder studied the mess hall, memorizing the faces of the teams entering and eating in the hall. Emerald and Mercury were off wandering the hall, making small talk with the other students and keeping up appearances. Watching Emerald converse with a second year team, Cinder's mind drifted over to wonder where their fourth member had gone to.
As long as she doesn't bring the wrong type of attention, she can do whatever she wants, she thought. The quiet girl had been added to their plan at Torchwick's insistence, as a form of insurance that Cinder wouldn't leave him at the mercy of the authorities. She hadn't minded, the girl proving to be much more competent than what she initially expected, and giving her free reign over her activities had given Cinder more time to focus on other subjects.
She looked at her hand, where the diamond portion of her command seals had faded out, examining the design thoughtfully. She hadn't wanted to use the command seal this early in the war but her servant had forced her hand at the summoning.
I won't fail you, not like the others, she promised. She had left Vale during the week after their plan had started early, to the forests far outside the borders of the kingdom. There, she had consulted the hive, intent on explaining the issue that had occurred. But the hive had other plans for her, it seemed, as instead of the punishment she expected, she had been graced with her new servant.
Of course you won't, not with Berserker at your side. Cinder felt a familiar presence enter her mind and relaxed, the entity providing her a small relief from the dealings of the people in Vale.
Yes, I can't lose this war, not with Berserker… Berserker had given her trouble, but the command seal would handle that issue. The early attack had put a dent into her plans, and the loss of some of the stolen dust on the train had put their allies into a precarious situation, but with Berserker…
Berserker would render all those problems moot. After all, what was an army of street thugs and dust to a servant, especially one as old as hers? Taking comfort from that fact, she squashed the mad voice of her servant and kept it muted. No need to lose composure in front of the other students.
She returned her attention back to Emerald and Mercury, content to watch their progress and enhance her new plan of attack. Yes, Berserker would take care of it all.
15 Days after The Breach, Headmaster's office, Beacon
Taking a sip of his coffee, Ozpin reviewed the footage of the previous night that was captured by the campus security cameras. The footage had revealed nothing out of the ordinary, students going to their dorms and finishing projects, and then showed an empty school. Nothing interesting until a multitude of cameras lost connection, their screens only showing static. The affected cameras covered a portion of the academy, near the library and outer grounds, and all of them had gone out within seconds of each other. Ozpin continued to sip his coffee and concentrate on the footage when he heard the elevator open with a soft ding.
"You wanted to see me, Oz?" The figure of James Ironwood walked out of the elevator as Glynda Goodwitch followed behind him. Ozpin nodded, turning a scroll to show the pair the security footage.
"Yes, it seems someone or something has decided to interfere with our cameras last night. All of the camera feeds on that scroll went out within seconds of each other, and each of them were in a specific area of the academy." Ironwood stroked his chin as he studied the the scroll, Glynda moving over to Ozpin's side.
"And the grounds outside the school was found damaged early in the morning," Ozpin finished. Ironwood looked up from the scroll, his eyes meeting Ozpin's.
"Do you think it was the woman from before?"
"Possibly, or maybe an accomplice of hers."
"I believe we should be more worried about what caused that damage. The pavement was destroyed in multiple places and the earth was utterly mutilated," Glynda piped in. Ozpin nodded in agreement.
"Whatever fought there could still possibly be in the school, and endanger the students. So far, our story is that an altercation between two individuals caused the damage, and we shouldn't mention this to any of the faculty."
"When does Qrow arrive? His help might shed some light on this," Ironwood asked. Ozpin hit a button on the console on his desk, opening a new screen on the scroll.
"He should be arriving today, in the afternoon. I spoke to him about this earlier in the morning," he said. Ironwood set the scroll on the desk and made his way back to the elevator.
"I can increase security for the festival, see if I can send some of my men into the crowd and find something," he called over his shoulder. He stopped in the elevator and turned around to face Ozpin.
"You should send huntsmen to scour the city for leads. I have a feeling this won't be the end of strange vents." The doors closed and Ozpin stared at the feeds again. Glynda made her way to the elevator as well.
"I'll see to the cameras, see if I can recover anything. Headmaster," she finished, and went down the elevator. Ozpin remained quiet and continued to look at the feeds well past the impromptu meeting had ended.
A/N: Hey there, I'm really sorry for taking so long to update, but I had to deal with other things and had been dealing with a little writer's block. Originally I decided this chapter would only follow on Cardin and a bit of Weiss, but I changed it to introduce most of the other masters, and to have a small Ozpin scene, just to get it out of the way for future chapters. Next chapter will focus mostly on Cardin, so if you like that stuff then you have something to look forward to.
Caster is pretty obviously Rin, and for her design I pretty much designed it off this picture, which belongs to Elleybug on tumblr and I'm only using it as a reference as to what she looks like.
Edit: Some weird stuff happened, had to repost the chapter, sorry. I'll see if I can post the link to the picture on my profile.
Im a guest: Ok?
idea gethe: I picked Cardin because I wanted to make a story that had a different premise than other stories in this crossover. And there was a catalyst, the broken blades in the rom he was summoned. Rin's pendant was a personal thing for Shirou and if he became a hero on his own merits like it's assumed in this fic, than his blades would be the most obvious catalyst for him due their importance him to him. And Jaune wants to be the Hero archetype, wants to be the guy everybody looks up to and respects, imo. Ruby is probably more like Shirou because she wants to help and save people despite how naive or childish it might be. At least, that's how I see it.
TheHokageNaruto: Thanks for the review, I'm thinking of possible reactions right now, actually.
As always, please review and give feedback, and I'll try to update as soon as possible.
Updated Servant info:
True Name: Rin Tohsaka
Class: Caster
Alignment: Neutral Good
Stats:
STR: D MGC: A
END: D LCK: B
AGI: D N.P.:C
True Name: ?
Class: Berserker
Alignment: Mad
Stats:
STR: A+ MGC: C
END: B LCK: B
AGI: A N.P.: B+
True Name: ?
Class: Saber
Alignment: ?
Stats:
STR: A MGC: B
END: B LCK: A
AGI: C N.P.: B
True Name: ?
Class: Rider
Alignment: ?
Stats:
STR: C MGC: C
END: B LCK: C
AGI: B N.P.: B
Words: 6,155
Pages: 14
