RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
CHAPTER 6
"Approaching LZ now, Guardians." The pilot of an EDC dropship reported sharply. "Seems quiet."
"Thank you, Matilda." Sven replied from his seat in the back of the transport. The side hatch of the craft opened, flooding the interior with wind, causing Sven's cloak to flap wildly.
"Anytime, Sir. I'll be on standby if you need me."
"Copy that. Rei, let's go." The Reaper gestured for his fellow Bloodline to follow him as he stepped off the dropship and onto the shattered concrete below the aircraft. The other Guardian thudded to the ground next to his companion. With her passengers dropped off, the pilot pulled the Dragonfly dropship back into the sky, leaving the two armored individuals standing among a forest of crumbling concrete ruins.
"... Never thought we'd come back here for a mission of any kind..." Rei commented.
"Yeah..." Sven nodded and pressed the side of his helmet. "I'll run the scans for Sam. Keep an eye out for me, would you?"
"Got it." While his companion went about gathering data, Rei began to wander a short distance away, towards the sole undamaged landmark within the city. He knew where he was going. After all, he and the others came here often to pay their respects.
It took the Rage inheritor only a few minutes to reach his destination, a simple monolith atop a pedestal. The structure was made of smooth polished marble, so reflective that Rei could make out details on his armor from over twenty feet away. He kept walking towards the monument until he could discern the engraved text in the slab's side.
"Here, on January 15th, 2998, thousands of brave souls gave their lives in service to the Earth Defense Coalition, their homes, and their families. The once proud city that stood on this land will remain barren, a testament to their hardships and sacrifices. May our friends, parents, siblings, and children make the most of what they have given us. What they have taught us. What they won for us."
Rei paused as he read over the inscription. He knew it by heart by now, but actually reading it made him feel like he was at least extending a basic courtesy to the dead. Quiet footsteps from behind alerted him to Sven's presence.
"I've confirmed what Sam was thinking. There is one of his 'residual portals' floating around." the Reaper reported.
"Be sure to let him know so he can start working on that gateway of his."
"Already done. Now we just wait."
"Hm." Rei made a small sound of acknowledgment and nodded his head once. Sven joined him beside the monument.
"Paying our old friends a visit?"
"...Something like that."
"I wish we could've done more back then, that we could've saved even a few more lives."
"Don't we all?" Rei let out a puff of air. "We were kids back then. We did what we could."
"... I suppose so..."
As the pair of Guardians stood in front of the EDC memorial, they did not notice another pair of figures. A man and woman in sets of black armor with golden trim. This other pair watched the Reaper and his companion from the shadowed interior of one of the partially collapsed skyscrapers nearby. Using one of their abilities, they were all but invisible to the Guardians.
"I do hope your plan works, Ion." the woman whispered.
"Of course it will. We let the EDC and their friends find out where Lord Agony went, we let them start building their 'gateway', we ambush them, I finish up the 'gate', and then we go regroup with the High Lord. It's not exactly complicated, Enmity." the other armored figure responded in an equally hushed voice, though a tad more annoyed and impatient sounding. "Until we make a move, just keep us hidden."
"Fine. You do your job and keep watch, then."
"I'm always doing my job."
After greeting the guardsmen at the gate, Agony had been guided into the city. They had questioned him for a short while before ultimately coming to the conclusion that he wasn't a threat. Now, the Lord chatted calmly with the Guards' Captain, Aegeus.
"So, where are you from?" Aegeus inquired as he escorted Agony deeper into the city.
"I can't say I'm from anywhere in particular." the Lord answered. "I've spent many of my most recent years on the move. Never found my way out here before, though."
"Aye, Mistral's a bit out of the way compared to the other Kingdoms. Not as many sights to see out here in the East." Agony made mental note of any information the Captain let slip. Since they had begun speaking, the Lord had deliberately led the other man on to reveal as much about where they were as possible. "So if you've been all over, you're sure to have seen some interesting things, yeah?"
"More than my fair share, I'm afraid. Some would likely prove hard for you to believe."
"I find that hard to believe." Aegeus laughed. "I actually should ask, you looking for any place in particular here?"
"Not especially, though I must admit I admire the architecture as we walk." Agony's statement was not a lie. Mistral's buildings had an appealing mix of painted and carved stone aesthetics, similar to that of the Greeks and Romans back on Earth.
"If you're into that, you should probably head up to the Senate building in the center of town." the guardsman pointed to a large building with a domed roof that towered over its nearby neighbors. "It's the oldest building in the kingdom."
"That's certainly a testament to its builders it it's still standing." Agony nodded. "I would not want to keep you from your work any longer, Captain. I believe I can find my way from here."
"Alright, no problem. Enjoy your stay in Mistral." Aegeus gave the Lord a civil nod, then walked back the way the two of them had come, towards the wall around the city. Once he was gone, Agony let a different kind of smile flash across his face.
"Oh, I trust I will."
Agony took calm strides up the gently curving road ahead of him, following it to the Senate building. The structure was even larger than he had estimated from afar. It stood as tall as the skyscrapers on Earth, but was many times larger in width. Truly, it was a marvel of engineering. The building appeared to be accessible to the public, so the Lord strode through the main entrance into a large atrium. Above him, detailed mosaic images of warriors doing battle with dark creatures dotted the ceiling.
"Peleus!" Agony turned at the sound of a woman's voice and a tug at his sleeve. The woman had blood-red hair and green eyes, and maintained a significant amount of beauty and grace despite her obvious advancement in years. "Oh. My apologies. I thought you were my husband."
"I regret to say I am not. Though it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance regardless, Mrs..."
"Thetis Nikos. No titles, please, that is my husband's thing."
"An honor to meet you then, Thetis." Agony bowed politely. "My name is Godfrey Evrain."
"What brings you to Mistral, Mr. Evrain?" the woman smiled kindly.
"Business of sorts, I'm afraid. I represent a rather large group that requires a place to rest their bodies and minds, and was wondering whether your Kingdom would be willing to host us in exchange for our services. Though, personally, I'd much rather enjoy the people and architecture."
"Hmm, if that's what you're looking for perhaps I could put you into contact with- Oh, Peleus! Peleus, over here!" Thetis waved to her husband, a man with similarly colored hair and eyes, though from what Agony had seen, those particular hues were not exactly uncommon in this region.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Thetis." Peleus Nikos said apologetically. "My blasted secretary is going to be the death of me. Who's this?"
"Peleus, this is Mr. Evrain. Mr. Evrain, this is my husband, Senator Peleus Nikos."
"A pleasure." Agony extended his hand, which the Nikos patriarch shook readily. "I wished to speak to someone about housing a group I represent."
"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem at all. I assume you ask about this because your group does not have the needed funds to purchase rooms at the local inn?"
"There a tad too many of us for that, I'm afraid." the Lord laughed. "I was hoping I could arrange some sort of agreement."
"The Senate will be having a session in around an hour. If you'd like to put your proposal on the floor, I'd be happy to show you in."
"That sounds wonderful, thank you, Senator Nikos."
Peleus showed the Lord to an empty seat within the circular chamber used by the Mistral Senate. As he walked away, something caught the Senator's eyes. At Agony's feet, sat a metal briefcase.
Where did that come from? He didn't have it when we came in... Peleus shook his head to clear his mind and took his regular seat within the chamber. However, his eyes kept wandering back to the case. His interaction with the Lord had been polite enough, the man seemed articulate, well-educated, and quite intelligent... but something about the man rubbed Peleus the wrong way. Despite the kind words and smiles, "Mr. Evrain" was not what he seemed.
The Senate quickly went over their typical repertoire of matters, as they always did. Once the issues with taxes, budget, and potential changes to laws were covered, the floor opened up for guests to bring their matters to the table. As it so happened, they had only one today.
Peleus eyed Agony as the Lord rose from his seat and stepped down into the center of the room, his briefcase in hand.
"Greetings, Senators. My name is Godfrey Evrain. I represent an organization that requires somewhere to stay for a period of time. We, however, lack the monetary means to simply purchase a place for us. Instead, I would like to offer these as payment." Agony placed the briefcase on a waist-high pedestal in the very center of the floor and clicked it open. The case was empty aside from a holographic projector, which the Lord switched on. A three-dimensional image of what appeared to be a heavy machine gun popped into existence.
"You're offering us weapons?" a Senator asked.
"As I entered the city, I noticed that the guards on your wall were woefully undersupplied. They had no heavy weapons, only small arms and melee weapons. This, my good Senators, is my offer. I can promise five thousand units of these weapons as well as the personnel to train your soldiers in their use. In exchange, I simply require an empty plot of land to dock my ships."
Peleus couldn't believe it. The Senate hadn't even debated all that much. Enough of their number had been taken with the prospect of acquiring new armaments for essentially free that they'd agreed with almost no thought.
Agony had thanked the Senate for their time and departed the chamber quickly, apparently to call his ships. Against his better judgement, Peleus had decided to follow the other man. Thetis tagged along behind him, occasionally whispering something to try to convince her husband that nothing was wrong. Peleus stopped and peered around a corner as Agony pulled out a small communications device in an isolated section of the building.
"Lord Agony. It is good to hear from you. I trust that you achieved your goal?"
"Yes, I have found us a place to stay, at least temporarily. Have the crew stow the Shades and prepare a shipment of five thousand heavy weapon units."
"At once, my Lord. We will arrive shortly."
Peleus and Thetis both froze. "Shades". Their daughter had mentioned that word before, associated with a horrifying organization that had terrorized Vale for several months. The Order. Peleus was suddenly operating on instinct rather than logic. Without thinking, he pulled out his scroll and began writing a message to his daughter. He had to keep her safe.
"Pyrrha, I know this is very sudden, but I need you to not return to Mistral during your break. There's-" Thetis let out a choked sound, causing Peleus to stop and lift his head. He was suddenly thrown to the ground, his scroll landing beside him. A small, but surprisingly strong hand was placed over his mouth. A woman or girl, Peleus couldn't tell, had appeared out of nowhere. She wore something resembling a straightjacket, as well as a helmet with no eyes. She was holding Peleus with one hand, and silencing Thetis with the other.
"Thank you, Enigma." Agony strode over to the masked girl and looked down at her two captives. "And here I thought we might get along. Enigma. Take them back to the flagship and put them in a holding cell. Then pass on commands to our scouting teams to continue their search."
"... As... you... wish... my... Lord..." the girl's voice almost sounded like it hurt for her to speak.
"Move along, then. I believe I have a plan coming together." The Lord did not notice Peleus manage to hit the scroll's "send" button with his foot.
Barnes' Log: Bloodlines, Part 3
"Okay... time for the next part of this... Since you let me know that you were only more interested in the 'big players' back home... that really only leaves two, Ignis and Agony."
"Ignis was the right hand Lord to Esprit when he was still in charge of the Order. As the Bloodline of Flame, he has total control over fire. His weapon of choice was a blade that could be split into a whip-like form when heated. Personally, I didn't like the kid. Maybe it was the bad blood between the Order and EDC..."
"Agony... well, truth be told I can't say anything meaningful about him. What little I saw of Agony in action was from the battle that brought the EDC to Remnant. His weapon of choice was a large mace. Before he took over the Order, Agony spent his time heading up the "research division" of the organization. Most of the technology the Order used was created by him."
"... And... I guess that's it. I'll record more later. Barnes out."
A/N: Nothing really much to say for this one. I think it turned out fairly well.
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