"…and you're certain that you had seen Mr. Winchester summon the Grimm?" asked headmaster Ozpin. When NPR returned to Beacon Academy, they were immediately reported their findings to the headmaster and client. It was hard to tell what his expression was as much of his face was covered by his hands. He looked to be in deep contemplation as he looked at them with unreadable eyes. When Pyrrha recounted the tale, Ozpin never once moved from that position. He stayed stiff like a statue as he listened intently to their report. Next to him was Professor Ann Greene who stood in the usual spot that Professor Glynda Goodwitch would often be founds. Pyrrha looked at Greene who nodded at her in confirmation. The task of reporting to the superiors was one of the things that they were taught as leaders as well.
"Yes, sir," said Pyrrha. "We would have engaged but Professor Greene had given the command to stop and report back to you."
The first sign of a change in Ozpin's statue-like stillness was the nodding of his head. "Very well," he said. "You are dismissed then, team JNPR."
NPR looked at one another. That was it? They were certain that the headmaster still had things to ask. Did Professor Greene tell him ahead of time about the details? Ren shrugged and the three of them then made their way to the elevator. Their trip to the lower floors were held in silence. Questions filled their head as to what they had just witnessed. Cardin summoning Grimm? When had he been able to do that? How was able to do that? Even as a Semblance, not even the supposed summons that Weiss' own was said to do were able to match that. Those were legitimate Grimm, not some familiar obedient to their summoner.
Speaking of Weiss, Pyrrha had met with both her and the rest of team RWBY waiting for them at the end of the elevator. "You're back early," said Weiss. "We didn't even get to go on our mission yet and you three are already back."
It was Nora that retold the tale. There were exaggerations this time. No corrections coming from Ren as everything Nora had said was as they remembered it. No armies of Grimm nor giant monsters. It was just the retelling of Cardin being able to summon the Grimm and him running away the moment he had been caught. How was team CRDL handling this? Were they even aware of the state of their own team leader?
Throughout it all, Weiss had a contemplative look that marked her face. At times she shook her head and muttered something inaudible to anyone. When Nora had ended her retelling to their report with the headmaster, Weiss then asked, "I'd like to know just one thing: did Winchester have some kind of book with him? An peculiar-looking one?"
"He did!" Nora nodded. "Like the kind you'd see people use for RPGs. It looked awesome! Personally, I wish I could borrow and—"
"Excuse me," said Weiss and immediately left. The other three members of team RWBY looked at one another and shrugged in confusion. None of them know the reason of Weiss suddenly leaving them. Nora continued on her recounting of the tale as the two teams were walking down the hall. Pyrrha, on the other hand, was zoning out of the conversation as she eyed the shrinking figure of Weiss Schnee taking a left down the corridor. She was headed towards Beacon's library.
It was Pyrrha's turn to excuse herself. She followed in the similar path and true enough, Pyrrha managed to find Weiss enter the library. Rather than finding her in the history section, Weiss was found looking through the fantasy section. Odd. Why would she be looking into the fantasy section? Wouldn't it be more fitting to look into history or folklore? The Schnee heiress' search was furious as she would occasionally double check the book titles as she quickly scanned through them all. At times she would pick out a book only to return it because it wasn't the one that she was looking for.
Weiss groaned in frustration. She kept looking and even used her Glyphs to speed up her own search. The problem was that at that speed, she wouldn't be able to properly read the book's titles and would make multiple mistakes. Pyrrha approached her and carefully took hold as Weiss was surprised by the sudden grab. It took a while before the heiress managed to calm down. Pyrrha then asked what book she was looking for.
"Of Faith and the Way of the Sword," she replied. "Written by Ozma the Wizard. It had an eerily similar book like that of Winchester."
Pyrrha then nodded. "Let me help you, then."
Much calmer than before, the two girls then began their search once more in the fantasy section. Beacon's library was rather large and they needed a ladder to be able to reach the books stationed above. It was unlikely that the book was there with how unused most of the others were up there. Still, someone may have returned the book there rather than the librarian. Some most certainly weren't arranged properly.
After some time, it was Pyrrha who managed to find the book with that title. Weiss thanked her just as she yanked the book from her. Quickly, Weiss then began to scan through the pages until she found the passage that she was looking for.
"Here it is!" Weiss exclaimed. She then began to read the passage. "For the terrible creatures that it could bring were but shallow things to the ones that the original could create." Her voice then grew quieter as she began to mutter and even skip a few sentences. "…it is like fine wine: one must never drink too much less they be drunk from it."
Weiss then closed the book with a loud slam. The two were reprimanded by the librarian but they were let go on the count that no one else was in the library other than them. Pyrrha had never seen this side of Weiss before. Usually, the heiress was calm and collected. She would never let herself be consumed by emotions unless that was irritation. It was usually around team RWBY and their own does Weiss ever let loose a little. Outside of those, she usually keeps herself collected and even plastic-like, especially when dealing with PR. Pyrrha, being of similar status in that regard, could recognize the difference between genuineness and playing up for the sake of the camera. This was genuinely Weiss.
"So this book," said Pyrrha. "This is what is happening to Cardin? Isn't that a bit far-fetched, Weiss? I mean your point here is because of a story."
"Dr. Oobleck once said that fairytales shaped much of Remnant's history," said Weiss. "This one was based on the Mad Saber. It might not be the most accurate of things but there is certainly some truth in them."
Suddenly, a new voice was heard saying, "I can tell you right now that it is true for Cardin." When Weiss and Pyrrha turned, the were met with the serious look of Russel Thrush, Cardin's teammate. "So that's what's been happening to Cardin?"
"Russel?" Pyrrha asked. "What are you doing here?"
Sighing, Russel replied, "we were supposed to be on our mission but Cardin wasn't showing up. Said that he had something to do real quick." Shaking his head and laughing bitterly, he continued. "Mr. Arc is with the headmaster right now, asking about what is going on."
"Mr. Arc?" Weiss asked. It then clicked a second later. "Jaune's father?"
He nodded. "Had that same sword and shield at his hip." Russel must have meant Crocea Mors. "Should have seen how Cardin reacted at the sight of it. You'd think he just saw an Ursa." He laughed bitterly. The three of them knew of that memory of a long time ago. "Is there a way we can bring him back?"
Weiss shook her head. "It says that the book needs to be destroyed but it corrupts those who use it. Makes them want to protect it at all cost."
Russel slumped defeatedly in a chair. His elbows fell on the table with a thud as his head was buried in his hands. "I should have noticed sooner. Should have stopped asked him what was wrong. He was the boss so I didn't really question him much. I should have said something when Cardin went to the headmaster. Maybe… maybe…" his voice then became interlaced with sobs as his fingers looked like it could rip out his face. His shoulders rose and fell as his breathing became labored.
Weiss and Pyrrha looked at one another. While it was true that they and team CRDL weren't exactly the closest of friends, they most certainly have never seen Russel in a state like this. He wasn't as much of a follower of Cardin's antics as the others but he also never made any moves to go against the leadership of his team. Seeing him in this pitiful state made them unsure of what to do. They said no words of comfort nor did they pat him on the back and told him that it would be okay. Instead, they let him air out his emotions and simply waited until he was ready to open up again.
When Russel had finished, he said to them, "come to team dorm. Best if I show you girls what was going on. Sky and Dove should be elsewhere for now."
The two then followed Russel to the dorm of CRDL's room. It held a rather peculiar place for Pyrrha. Just above it was the same rooftop that Jaune's transcripts were exposed to her. It must have been there that Cardin managed to overhear it and began to blackmail. Their training would have just above this room and she wondered how much of disturbance they might have caused if both Pyrrha and Jaune had actually done their training sessions up there.
Opening the door to their dorm, Russel was right about Sky and Dove being absent. Their dorm was no different from the others with the exception of a few posters of some band that Pyrrha has never heard of. There were also a few posters of idols and animated characters who are visibly of questionable age. Pyrrha hoped that it was one of those actually immortal and has lived for thousands of years on the latter. She didn't want to know who among the four members put it up there.
Russel knelt by one of the beds. He took out of an empty, black case. It was empty. Russel didn't appear surprised but it did not stop him from slamming his fist on the floor. "He kept it in this case," he said. "Always quadruple—sometimes quintuple—times. He was never satisfied with anything else until he was absolutely certain that it was safe. Sometimes, he would even hold onto it like a child would a teddy bear."
He then stood and turned to face them. "If any of you find him, tell me."
"What do you intend to do?" Weiss asked.
"If I can, bring him back," Russel replied. "If not, I'll make sure that Cardin doesn't hurt anyone else." His eyes then drifted to Pyrrha. He bowed in shameful humility. "I'm really sorry for what happened. I should have stepped up." He then stood up and turned to them. "Whatever it is that you guys have planned, I'm in."
Pyrrha and Weiss looked at one another. They then looked back at Russel. They saw that his eyes were filled with conviction. He had already made his choice. Whether they would accept his help or not, Russel will do what he must for Cardin. It doesn't matter to him whether it would lead to success or failure. Russel Thrush had made his decision. Weiss sighed and nodded. She extended out a hand which he took and shook it.
/-/
Cardin Winchester had taken the long way route as he circled his way around Beacon and made it to the city of Vale. Keeping himself hidden, book held tightly to his chest, he sought refuge between the alleyways of the different buildings. It was there where he found himself in a dumpster behind a café of sorts. The scent of caffeinated drinks filled his nose and the baked goods made his stomach grumble. He kept himself hidden in the shadows, he didn't want to reveal his face lest he be recognized.
Then, a little girl appeared, carrying a trash bag full of trash. When she had seen him, she dropped the bag and nearly screamed. She did not for she had seen the pitiful state he must have been.
"Are you okay, sir," she asked. "Do you need help?"
Cardin looked at her. He then felt the book tingle. What was it about that book that it needed? Aura? Aura was the soul made manifest and the book needed said soul in order to feed itself. Cardin's own reserves were spent yet that yearning to use it continued to eat at him like an endless maw. A cruel thought entered his mind.
"Yes," he said. His voice was course and rough. The dryness of his throat made it ache. "What's your name?"
"Gillian," she replied. Her smile was filled with sunshine that for a moment, Cardin felt guilt graze his heart. "Gillian Rais, sir. Wait here. Let's get you some water first."
As Gillian Rais returned inside, Cardin finally stepped into the light. His once muscular form had begun to fade. His flesh had begun to hug his bones as his skin started to turn pale. His red veins have started to become visible. His eyes were larger, rolling and oily. Bulging outward, Cardin was nowhere near the man that he was before. In his place was something inherently inhuman.
His lips curved upwards, revealing a deathly white set of teeth. "Yes," he said. "This will do."
AN: Just picturing Cardin (or any character really) with Caster Gilles eyes.