8-2: Rekindle

"Amazing, isn't it?"

The voice came from a scientist. At least, Qrow thought he was a scientist.

His target certainly looked the part, given how the awestruck man was dressed up in the stereotypical white lab coat. Sure, he didn't exactly have the hair for it, but he still had the glasses, so that counted for something, right? He even carried around one of those clipboard things, written with a whole bunch of stuff that Ozpin probably wanted him to grab, the surface clutched in one hand as the scientist's other hand pointed towards the center of the room.

And as the huntsman's gaze followed the man's gesture, he couldn't help but frown. Or, well, do his closest approximation to one.

He had to admit... they did a good job with the thing. It hadn't been that long since they took over the old fort, but the corporation already felt the place was secure enough to ship their smartest eggheads over here. And if their source was to be believed, they'd been setting up shop here for the past month of so.

It certainly looked it. They had the damned thing all wired up and everything. The artifact that Rhinestone had taken ownership of looked the same as before, except this time it had a few wires plugged into it, as all sorts of cables connected the device to a bunch of they had set-up around the room. A few more scientists lorded over the consoles, tapping away at stuff as the guy in the center turned to the people behind him.

Qrow's gaze narrowed as he watched them, suspicion in his eyes. As reliable as their source had been, he had not been told of a visit by three people in suits. And unlike the scientists or guards around the building, these three people looked like trouble.

"Tch. Amazing?"

A voice emerged from the trio, a shorter man of considerable weight stepping forward as he scoffed at the Scientist. Qrow instantly recognized the man, though that was more due to the fact that he saw his stupid face on the CCTV every day. Councilor... something-or-other. The huntsman didn't really remember the name, nor did he really care, either. What was important about that tiny angry man was the fact that one of Vale's most influential idiots was having a secret meeting with Rhinestone's research team.

"This looks worse than some of the corner store junk I've seen during my trips to Mistral. This pile of scrap is a waste of time, Dust, and Lien."

The Scientist, to his credit, kept his composure. Qrow did see the man flinch a bit, but the egghead apparently had experience in dealing with noisy idiots, since his expression shifted to a false smile moments later. "...With all due respect, sir, you've yet to see the demonstration."

"With all due respect, Dr. Arkadia, I've seen plenty enough as is. Do you not understand how much I've risked just by flying out here? This used to be a White Fang base! I had to contract a bodyguard, just to assure my peers that this visit would be worthwhile." The huntsman raised his eyes at that statement. This wasn't a secret meeting? "And yet, in the four hours I've wasted visiting this dilapidated ruin, all I've seen are a bunch of scientists and guards clamouring over a metallic wreck. So, unless your demonstration can prove to me otherwise..."

The words hung in the air for a few moments, as the politician threw an expectant gaze at the Scientist. What worried the huntsman more than anything else was the fact that the Scientist seemed completely unaffected by the thinly-veiled threat. If anything, the lab monkey was smiling, his lips curled upwards as he slipped his hand into his coat, only to take out a small vial.

"Of course, Councilor."

The Scientist named Arkadia turned to one of the others at the console, giving his associates a silent nod at their general direction, before turning back to the three visitors. From his position, Qrow could see some of what was happening, the telltale glow of aura emanating from a few of the assistant scientists as they placed their hands onto the workstations. And within moments, the machine at the center of the room came to life, a low hum echoing as electricity coursed through the cables into the metallic spire.

"Now, for demonstration's sake, can anyone tell me what this is?"

All eyes fell on the Scientist, as he slowly waved the vial around. One of the visitors, a tall man with short white hair, snatched the vial from the egghead's grasp, quickly bringing it up to his eyes while the Senator threw him a curious look. "... Well, Marcus?"

"Is this a joke?" The man named Marcus leveled his eye on the Scientist, slowly handing the vial back towards him as he did so. Then, he turned to his associates, shrugging at the politician and the dark-haired woman as he casually waved his hand. "It's just leftover Dust. Barely enough for one of my cartridges. If this is what you're wasting your money on, then-"

"Please, allow me to continue."

The Scientist's voice was firm, and the visitors remained silent, the Politician giving the man a doubtful look while the other two merely watched in disinterest. With all eyes on him, Dr. Arkadia made his way to the spire. "Thank you. Now, before I begin, I'm sure you've all heard the worrying little rumour we had about an accident in the lab a few weeks ago."

Even Qrow was surprised by the sudden change in topic, and he could see the Politician's face shift into a grimace at the sudden reminder. Still, they remained silent as the Scientist continued, his eyes turning towards the metallic spire.

"I am pleased to inform you all that we've discovered what we believe to be the cause of that incident. You see, The Obelisk, as we've taken to calling it, has a curious aura imbued into it. We surmise that it was its previous owner's Semblance, but whatever the case may be, this Aura interacts with things in a... shall we say, unique manner?"

"Dr. Arkadia." The Politician's voice was steely this time, his eyes fixed on the scientist. "Unless you're reminding me of that incident on purpose, I suggest you get to the point."

"Ah, yes, well... As I was saying, this energy interacts with its environment differently. When supplied with a small amount of Aura, it seems to take it in as a fuel or resource, not dissimilar to a battery. We suspect that this was what caused the 'Bubble' phenomenon that it projects around itself, though we are not quite certain how that function manifests."

"I'm hearing a lot of supposition in your statement." It was the woman's turn to speak, and her gaze was firm as she stared at the man. Unlike the other two, Qrow had no idea who she was, only that she too was wearing a business outfit. But, unlike the Politician or the man named Marcus, she was visibly armed, her left arm equipped with a very suspicious looking metallic bracer. "Is there anything you are certain of?"

"I was just getting to that, miss." Despite the criticism, the man kept his smile up, as he quickly pulled out another item. This time, he held up a... pen. Sure, why not. Scientists were always crazy, and this proved that fact more than anything else to Qrow. "Now, as you can see, this is a simple pen. Nothing too interesting about it, except that I have channeled a considerable amount of aura into it. Interesting, no?"

"N-"

"Of course not. What's interesting is what happens when I do this." Rather than wait for a response, the man threw the pen at The Obelisk. As the small device approached, the metallic construct began to glow with a strange blue light, only for the strange energy to discharge instantly, arcing towards the pen and detonating it in a violent display. "Now, this demonstrates that the device, while somehow capable of taking Aura, has a certain capacity to it... Or just dislikes it in high concentrations. Kind of like me and coffee, really."

He chuckled to himself at that little statement, but no one else seemed to find humour in his words, completely silent as the rest of the room kept their attention on the Scientist.

"But... But. That's only with aura. Dust is another thing entirely." His smile turned into a full-fledged smirk, casually holding up the vial of nearly discarded dust as he waved the thing around. "Mr. Marcus, you said that this was just useless leftovers, correct? Trace amounts of low-quality Dust that you wouldn't even use for your weapons?"

"...Yes? What about it?"

"Observe."

The man approached The Obelisk this time, his hand outstretched as he slid the vial into a depression at the center of the machine. The same blue energy appeared again, except this time, it seemed to run through the vial, completing some sort of obscure circuit as a flash of light surrounded metallic construct.

And unlike last time, nothing exploded. Instead, that light remained on the Dust, a faint glow of the construct's power that encircled the trace amounts of blue powder. Carefully, gingerly, the Scientist took the Dust vial back, his smile not leaving his face as he turned back towards the three.

"Now, tell me, Mr. Marcus. The dust you appraised..."

The Scientist threw the vial to an empty corner of the room. The vial impacted against the stone floor, and almost immediately, exploded out in a shower of icy sparks. The air instantly chilled, the temperature lowering for a few degrees at the sudden burst of energy. And with a knowing expression on his face, he turned back to the three, his eyes never leaving them as he stood with his arms crossed.

"Could it have done that?"

There was a moment of silence, before Marcus shook his head, a concerned look on his face as he turned back to the corner. The politician, on the other hand, seemed to brighten visibly at the new finding, and even the mysterious woman had an interested expression on her face.

Qrow's eyes narrowed. This... was bad. Of all the things he had expected to find when scouting out Rhinestone's secret pet project, it certainly wasn't this. That stupid thing could enhance dust? He had to let Ozpin know.

As a dusty old crow began to take flight, a single thought echoed in the huntsman's mind.

Let's hope Amber has some good news, at least.

The Maiden couldn't help but sigh. Not because she was worried or concerned or anything.

All things considered, Amber's current situation was relatively peaceful. There wasn't anything that immediately required her attention, since her search didn't exactly have a deadline, nor did she accept any time-sensitive contracts. Likewise, she wasn't in a precarious situation that teetered on life or death, surrounded by mysterious assailants that had wished her ill will.

No, she was just sitting on a park bench, idly taking in her surroundings as she waited. And the reason why she couldn't help but sigh because she was bored.

Her attention gradually turned to her side, where the huntsman named Mills was still teaching the three kids. He had been at it for an hour already, and surprisingly enough, had the patience to answer any and all questions the children had. At least, anything that pertained to Math, Science or Dust. He seemed as lost about History as the children had been, and his proficiency in Language wasn't much better. As for aura studies... well, honestly, it sounded like the children were teaching him, rather than the other way around.

Which was weird, since he was a huntsman and all. Maybe he was self taught? He was certainly knowledgeable about some things, and curiously ignorant of others. Considering the fact that he had this weird accent, as well as lacking insight on a few things Amber thought common knowledge, she couldn't help but wonder about him. Was he just one of those weird hermits or something that lived in the wilderness? She had met a few in her travels, and heard stories about many more from Ozpin and Qrow, so... maybe?

Nah, probably not.

From what she could see, Mills was far too friendly to be a hermit, given how he was currently helping one of the children with some math. Not only that, but border towns weren't exactly known for nominating mysterious strangers to be their favourite huntsman, given the precarious nature of their location. So, with all that said and done, who was this Mills person?

Amber sighed again, before turning her gaze back down to her Scroll. If she was going to waste time anyways, might as well waste it doing something enjoyable. She quickly activated her device, navigating to the CCT's primary video repository page... only to raise an eye in confusion as the Maiden noticed something odd.

For some weird reason, she wasn't getting reception. And in a port town like Everblue, which was constantly connected with the rest of the kingdoms, this was beyond unusual. The woman quickly turned to the Huntsman beside her. "Hey, Mills?"

"Hmm?"

He turned to face her. At least, his hat did. And that, more than anything else, confirmed to her that he was a huntsman, and not some crazy hermit; only Huntsmen wore silly outfits like that. Regardless, that wasn't the issue at the moment, and Amber quickly pushed that thought out of her mind as she continued.

"Do you happen to have any reception with your Scroll?" If it was just her device, then she'd simply have to requisition a new one from Ozpin, since it was probably Qrow's fault—if not his own—that her Scroll wasn't working. If not, however... The woman's eyes narrowed. They weren't completely convinced that White Fang had left the area, after all.

"My... Scroll?"

Mills' tone immediately pushed those thoughts out of her mind, replacing her doubts and worries with genuine confusion as the Maiden turned to face the Huntsman. Maybe he hadn't heard her? He was teaching at the moment, so Amber gave him the benefit of doubt and repeated herself, gesturing to her own device as she did so. "Yes. Your Scroll."

"...I'm afraid I do not have one."

"What?" That was surprising. More than surprising, and she had to stop herself from asking again as she stared at the huntsman. "How do you not have one?"

There was a moment of silence as the man looked up from the books, staring straight towards her. At least, she assumed so, since his silly purple goggles or whatever were getting in the way. Again, she was reminded of his ridiculous outfit, which muted some of her surprise as she couldn't help but wond-

"I do not have much in the way of possessions, unfortunately." His voice was low, almost emotionless as he interrupted Amber's thought. No... not exactly emotionless. Subdued? Yeah, that's probably what his tone was like, underneath his weird helmet. Slowly, Mills turned away from her, his gaze settling somewhere beyond the horizon as the huntsman leaned back into his seat. "I was recently involved in an... accident, I suppose you could say. I'd rather not describe the ordeal, but it left me in quite a disadvantageous situation."

"O-oh..." Amber's voice did little to hide her concern as he stared at the hunter. Accidents came in many shapes and sizes, especially near the outskirts of the Kingdoms, a pit grew in her chest as she immediately regretted asking that question. At the very least, she had enough tact not to press the issue, since she doubted the man wanted to be reminded of-

"What do you mean? What happened?!"

Children, unfortunately, lacked tact.

The Maiden winced as the youngest of the trio looked up at Mills, concern and worry in his eyes. Amber didn't blame the kid for asking, and she doubted Mills would either, but... Those sorts of memories were better left undisturbed. She of all people knew that, and moved to interrupt the kid, to try and change the topic.

"I made a mistake."

But the man spoke first. And unlike before, where his voice was an unreadable, neutral tone, she could feel the change in emotion in his words. His posture shifted slightly, his shoulders falling as he turned away from the three kids. And just as she had noticed it, so too had the children. After all, kids were especially sensitive to changes in emotion and tone, and these three were certainly no different, immediately falling silent as their attention turned to the huntsman.

"... I made a mistake." There was a sense of finality in his tone this time, his gaze focused in the distance as he repeated those words. "One that I cannot take back. So now, I must live with it."

Silence hung in the air for a few moments, neither the children nor Amber herself able to say anything as they stared at the huntsman. What was she supposed to say? She barely knew the man, considering she had arrived at the city earlier today, and she certainly knew him less than the children. Yet, this uncomfortable silence was suffocating, and she didn't want to leave the burden of clearing it up to the children. She had to think of something to say...

"Apologies, children, but I do not believe I'll be able to assist with your studies today any long." But, once more, the huntsman interrupted her train of thoughts, dispelling some of the silence himself as his voice was back to its ambiguous, subdued tone. "However, even if I'm unable to help, I'm sure you can get some help if you ask miss...?"

"Amber." The Maiden answered, her eyes falling to the children. They remained still, silently staring back up at her.

"...If you ask Miss Amber for help." He finished his statement, his tone as mechanical as his motions as he slowly rose to his feet. The huntsman gave one final look to the three kids, bowing his head forward in apology. "However, I believe I must retire for the day. Goodbye."

And with that, the man walked off, the sound of his feet slowly disappearing into the distance.

As the man gradually left their view, the woman felt a light tug at her side, as a tiny hand pulled at her cloak. Turning to the source, the Maiden found the three kids looking up at her, their stare gaze locked with hers as each of the children wore a look of concern on their face. The youngest child spoke, peeking out from beneath his hat as he stared at her. "... Miss Amber?"

"Could you... make sure Mills is okay?" The middle child spoke next, a worried frown on the young girl's face as she continued her brother's words. "We wanted to go, but he lives outside the city, and we're too young to go outside the gates."

"He lives outside the city?" Amber's eyes widened at that little bit of information, instantly turning her gaze to Everblue's distant gates. She couldn't help but worry at this point; After all, it was clear that he had been disturbed by the question from earlier. So why did he immediately decide to leave the city walls? He was a huntsman, and he of all people should've known that that was the quickest way to attract grimm.

Her gaze turned back to the children, and she gave a resolute nod. "Of course. You three stay in town, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you!"

The three kids brightened a bit at those words, showing the smallest hints of a smile as they stared up at her. As she began to set off, she caught the sight of tiny hands raising up, slowly waving at her as she turned to the city's gates.

Mistake... Indeed, that was certainly a way to describe it. No matter how he looked at it, the Xelor had made an exceptional mistake today.

His original intention had simply been to visit the town in order to acquire resources, maybe seek out more knowledge about the local culture or surrounding region. And, for a time, he had done just that. Nox had accrued a respectable supply, and the interactions with the locals had given him insight as to how this world's people and politics behave. For a time, he had accomplished his task of re-establishing a starting foundation in this world.

But somewhere along the way, he lost sight of his goal.

Pathetic, wasn't it? It was scarcely four months ago that he had made his public declaration to this world's broken moon, yet all it took was a few interactions with the local populace for him to lose his drive. Now, rather than devoting entire weeks to his craft, the Xelor had found himself spending more and more time at the settlement, performing tasks that were ultimately inconsequential to his goals, in exchange for local currency that he no longer needed.

Truthfully, he could've left weeks ago, sought out a resource-rich site to properly fuel a new base of operations. Instead, he merely chose to unleash more Noxines, using the excuse of increased coverage to hide his reluctance to depart.

Truthfully, he didn't need to interact with the locals, as he had long since reacquired the combat capability to simply take what he had wanted. He had done so in the World of Twelve, after all, and while he did not necessarily have his original forces, he also did not need them. Instead, he allowed himself to stagnate, accepting the inefficient conventions of this world and its culture as he milled about pointlessly.

Truthfully... Truthfully, Noximilien Coxen knew the exact reason why. How could he not? The Xelor understood it the moment it had manifested, and rather than try to distance himself from it, Nox had allowed himself to grow complacent. The moment those long-forgotten emotions had emerged—emotions that had been drowned out by time, grief, and the Cube—he had let them grow, had allowed them to fester.

And for what? Just so he could languish in a half-tattered memory, long abandoned by everything but the scraps of his mind?

The Xelor scoffed.

Those fleeting moments had long faded away. They were a haze now, fragments of a broken mind that had been forced whole once more. He could scarcely even hold onto those memories, torn apart and pieced together again and again by none other than himself, all because he had been driven by the Cube. Nox knew that the torn remains of the life he once had were all but gone, and even if he somehow got the chance, he would never be able to hold them properly anymore.

But he would not get the chance. Neither fate, nor luck, nor circumstance nor he himself would allow that opportunity. After all... The Xelor's little bout of lucidity earlier, back in the local settlement, had described his situation perfectly.

He had made his mistake. And no matter how much he tried to hide it, he would never be able to escape that fact. Nor would he ever be able to take it back.

So he must live with it.

And for the man who had spent centuries of blood chasing a hopeless dream, dragged along by ambition and insanity born from the Cube, there was only one thing Nox could do... Only one way he would truly be able to live with his mistake, and live with himself.

The Xelor clenched his hands, looking up into the sky as he rekindled his vow to the moon.

And in the distance, the wolves howled once again.