XandricTheBeater: The main reason for me to write this fanfiction was my little sister and my friend conspiring with each other to make me. After all, one does not ignore a smaller sibling. (although I love RWBY and writing as well) As my little sister is a big fan of Doctor who –and for whatever reason, she thought me to resemble the 11th- I decided to base the Character of Professor Adamant on him. Not entirely of course, as that wouldn't fit with what I had in mind. And regarding the word "easy"...I do hope that was aimed at you finding out about the Doctor Who thing, not about the overhanging plot :3
Lay Down Hunter: I do think that there are plenty of people planning to kill that baddy…the question is, is he the big-bad or merely the sidekick?
Tuutje07: Some people can do a Sherlock scan…other people can use Photosynthesis with ganglia-cells to reach conclusions. Humor is still my greatest friend, I must admit. I do love contradictions alright, like Onyx being the good guys. And the bad guys. Except the good guys. Thanks for the compliments anyway –and you totally got the RvB reference. That's awesome.
"There are those amongst humanity that specialize in using Aura, but not to fight Grimm. These people have the capabilities of a Hunter, but generally tend to use it for their own gains. The most dangerous group of these Aura-users are called "Mind-Breakers". These individuals are experts in reaching out with the manifestation of his soul and touching the souls of others…before breaking into their minds and subjugating them to their will. Individuals with lots of Aura, or with a high density of Aura, can defend themselves against these attacks. Individuals that do not use their Aura in such an extensive way are generally less successful against these attacks and people who almost never use their Aura can NOT and I repeat NOT defend themselves properly."
The latest topic of Aura-classes
Day 36, Wednesday, 16:21
"Two, stop fighting! You'll hurt someone!"
"Three, stop talking! You'll hurt yourself!" Lima Two-Two yelled back at his teammate, dodging a broken bottle that someone swung at his throat. He retaliated with a side-kick, slamming the armoured side of his boot right into the face of the man who had attempted to stab him.
The kid was annoying as hell, especially when it came to matters as this. They had been investigating a possible threat in one of the bars near the center of the Commercial district, as they could now move freely without fear for their presence being compromised. However, the person they had been looking for in the bar, code-named "Crimson", had not been present.
What had been present was a goddamn shitload of thugs, apparently having been waiting for them. There were seven of the bastards and there wasn't one among their ranks that wasn't looking for a nasty beating. Little Lima Two-Three, however, seemingly didn't feel the urge to fight back.
"We're not here to fight, we're here for Crimson! Stop playing!"
"Stop playing?" He screamed back, one of the hostiles currently trying to grab him in a stranglehold from behind. "Screw you! Find the target, I'll deal with them!" He reeled back and smashed his head into the face of the guy that had run up to stab him in his stomach. The heavy helmet crashed into the nose of the giant, who stumbled backwards with his hands reaching for his face. A thin stream of blood ran down his hands.
Then the Onyx soldier grunted and kicked backwards, catching the guy trying to choke him in his shins. Shins were painful when a guy easily weighing a total of ninety kilograms of combined man and gear kicked them with an armoured boot. Another bald dude jumped at him, but he countered the man by means of fist-to-face and punched him out.
As his second assailant let go of him to reach for his leg, the first one recovered from his broken nose and attempted to counter him by punch to face.
Two-Two was much faster and caught the man´s fist in his left hand, increasing his pressure on the wrist until the cried out in pain and fell to his knees. Then the bone snapped and the cry turned ragged and high-pitched.
"That's right you bastard…" he growled at the man and kicked him in his face, knocking him out. Had the guy had two noses, they would both be broken by now. That would be a funny thing to see.
He turned around, opened his mouth to tell at Two-Three to move his ass, realized that the person approaching him from behind was NOT Two-Three and promptly delivered a lightning-fast jab to his chin. And one to his stomach. And one to his side. And another one to the crotch. A little bit of overkill, but he was pissed off. These guys were obviously hired by Crimson and he didn't take kindly to hired guns
As his newest victim toppled to the ground, he turned around to see who wanted to mess with him next.
Nobody opposed him. He was finally done with kicking ass…now all that remained was to clean the ass off his boots and continue the line of work he had started when first arriving in the bar.
"So sweetie…" He asked the girl behind the bar. "Seen a woman with short, red hair coming here?"
The girl –couldn't have been much older than seventeen- shook her head rigorously.
"Great…"
His internal communicator set jumped to live with a burst of static and the voice of his teammate quickly came through: "Hey Two, I could use some help."
He immediately aimed for the exit and started running, replying to his partner in the meantime.
"You got Crimson?"
The reply didn't wait long. As the soldier made his way through the alley to the back of the bar, where he could hear the sounds of fighting, he heard his partner yelling back: "You could say that…but she's a mean lady. This city is filled with mean ladies."
Two-Two cursed loudly and rounded the corner, just in time for the body of Two-Three to come flying towards him. The armoured kid crashed into him and the two of them fell to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs and growling curses. He spotted a flicker of red hair and focused on the large, wooden tower with a tank containing fluids standing in top of it. At the very top of it, some six meters high, stood the target. Pale skin, blood-red, medium-length hair and an outfit that would make Cal blush. This was their target alright.
"Sorry boys," She playfully chirped, sounding rather... teasing. "Not interested."
"Listen red, don't make me-" Two-Two started to threaten the girl as Two-Three just managed to crawl off of his lap and get to his feet, but the sufficiently-annoying female merely blew them a kiss and jumped off of the container.
But not before pressing the button of a detonator -which he could have sworn was not on her outfit- and destroying the wooden frame together with the container of fluids it supported…which was positioned at the back of the alley…leading to the bar…which sold drinks.
"We lost her …" Two-Three muttered, without realizing what was about to happen.
"Oh for fuc-"
And then the tidal wave of brown, sticky fluids crashed over the two of them. He was severely thankful for wearing a helmet, as the stuff completely submerged them, like a strong current taking him with it. He couldn't see what was above, what was below or which limb belonged to him or to his teammate. Only when a boot smashed into his visor did he think a limb had hit him that did NOT belong to him.
The flood drove them all the way out of the alley and smashed the, onto the streets, where it finally came to a rest and washed away.
He grunted heavily as he rose, cursing the bar, cursing Crimson-
"That was actually fun."
-and cursing Two-Three.
Two-Two wiped the brown fluids off of his visor and clenched his fists. It was time to have a serious talk with Cal about pursuing dangerous women that could be a threat to people. "If I find that bitch," he snarled, ignoring the gathering crowd of civvies, "I will shove my boot so far up her ass that-"
"Excuse me sirs," a calculating voice cut his violent swear off. He turned around and looked right into the sunglass-wearing face of a police officer, who had brought his head close enough to violate personal space but not close enough to step into the splash of liquor. "I am going to have to arrest you."
"On what grounds?!" he demanded.
"On littering, public-swearing, violation of civilian weapon-laws and vagrancy."
"What is vagrancy?" Two-Three asked.
They were soldiers damnit! Working for a top-secret, independent and multinational military organization that worked to preserve all of mankind. OF COURSE HE WORE WEAPONS!
And as Lima Two-Two let the police officer know exactly what he thought of him, his department and his sunglasses and just where he could stuff his handcuffs, said officer merely flipped open a little book and started writing.
"Add…to…previous…charges…" The policeman slowly read aloud, "Insult of officer of justice...threatening of officer of justice…obstruction of justice…"
"How are we obstructing justice?" Two-Three asked the guy with more patience than he himself could muster, "We ARE the obstruction, right?"
"…and resistance to incarceration. Was that an admission of guilt?"
This was EXACTLY why they had operatives. So that THEY could drown in alcohol instead of good Troopers! And weren't they supposed to be having political immunity or something?
"You have the right to remain silent."
"Why do I want to stay silent?"
"And I must inform you of your rights-"
"Do we have rights? Is that new?"
"Three I swear I will personally drown you right the hell now if you don't shut up."
"Add to previous crimes…serious threats to life…"
Day 36, 19:42
The news of Will's actions had spread through Beacon rather quickly. The "Operative" had deceived his friends, his school and his entire position just to gather some information on Roman Torchwick…and the information that he had gotten hadn't been shared with anyone but the Headmaster, as Velvet hadn't heard a thing about it.
She had been unpleasantly surprised when she had heard about it. She liked the four students from LACG…and even though Will had also beaten CRDL up, she couldn't easily forgive him for hurting people who had never done anything wrong to him. But...the entire truth was worse than the partial one. Will was actually part of a secret, independent and obviously powerful organization called Onyx –a name that had initially been linked to a combat school, before the truth was revealed by Headmaster Ozpin. The concept frightened her.
Velvet wondered whether Will was the boy's true name or not…he had been called Operative Greystone…perhaps his name was also a part of the lies he had told the school?
Still, Greystone wasn't the person that worried her the most. The four people from Fireteam Lima had also been working with Onyx. Were still working with Onyx. The fact that the soldier known as Two-One hadn't told her the truth about himself had hurt her more than the news of their Operative having run amok ever could. He had been part of a sinister military organization all along…without telling anyone. Without telling her. What would he have done had he been ordered to do the same thing? And what if her team had been sent to deal with him? Would Two-One have been so blindly willing to obey people too? To the degree that he had have to hurt her too?
Velvet didn't hold any illusions about the boy; she knew that he liked being around her, but not more than that. Of course he would be willing to do what he believed to be right…and as long as there would be a direct advantage to gain from such a mission, Two-One too would have done something like that. With every consequence that might come with his choices.
Her sensitive ears picked up footsteps; very faint, yet close. She couldn't discern who it was, but judging by the stealth that went paired with the steps, it had to be either Blake…or someone working with Onyx.
She had been visiting Cho and Grace, who had been ordered by Ozpin to report to the medical wing of the school. Both of them had been fine –and probably happy to see someone else than the usual medical staff. But now, on her way back to the dorms, she was alone.
It seemed that her encounters with Lima always started like that; her being alone and one of them sneaking up on her. But things were different now; she was upset with Two-One…and she didn't care for the rest of them. If they wanted to work with Beacon, she wouldn't stop them. But she didn't want to work with people who willingly stabbed their allies in the back…especially when the only gain would be vague information at best.
She stopped walking and turned around when she smelled a familiar odour. It was the distinctive smell of the boy who identified himself as Two-One, together with…
She sniffed again, unsure of the validity of what her senses told her. Alcohol? Why did Two-One smell like Alcohol? Had he been drinking? But…he was a soldier! He shouldn't be drinking on duty…right?
The armoured figure of the soldier appeared around the corner, calling her name when he saw her. "Velvet! I have been searching for you."
"Have you…been drinking…?" She carefully asked him, aware of certain tales that military men could get aggressive and…demanding…when under alcoholic influence.
"What? No, I've been scrubbing Two-Three. He's had a… calamity in town."
She blinked in surprise. "What, an accident?"
Had this Two-Three been so incredibly drunk that he needed someone else to scrub him? And that person smelled of alcohol now too? How unprofessional.
Two-One walked towards her, waving with his hand as if he wanted to dismiss an annoying thought. "Oh, he and Two-Two nearly drowned when a person dumped a huge canister of liquor on them. And then they got arrested. It took us an hour to clean those two sets of armour... Four's understandably pissed."
Arrested? What had they done? And was it just her…or did the soldier almost sound…relaxed? He had spoken more words in one sentence than he had ever done before. "Are you sure you didn't get…tipsy…while cleaning the armour?"
"Why?" He asked.
"Well…" Velvet frowned, wanting to tell Two-One what was on her mind…why she was upset with him. But she was so curious to him –what he did, where he came from. She couldn't help it…he was interesting to her. "You seem so…peaceful…different from what you used to act like."
"Ah," He said, understanding what she meant. "That. Things changed when Greystone got compromised. I-"
"What is wrong with you!" She then snapped at him, feeling shocked a second later. She hadn't aimed at sounding so mad at him! Speak her thoughts, sure. But shouting at him?
"Ehm…" The soldier replied and brought a hand to the back of his head, similar to a questioning or apologizing gesture. "What?"
"Why didn't you tell me the truth? Why the secrecy?" At least she was capable of formulating her thoughts. "You work together with a person who is willing to harm allies because of an order! How can I still trust you after that?"
"Velvet…can I still call you that? I don't decide on what happens. The people I work for have a very strict chain of command. There is a reason why you haven't heard from us yet…you're not supposed to know of us."
"And why's that?" She asked, not convinced.
"Because we have always been working from the shadows. Operating…working and changing. Secrecy is our greatest ally. The only reason I can tell you all this without getting punishment is because Onyx has already come clean…partially."
"But…to do such things? Secrecy has nothing to do with that."
"I'm a soldier, Velvet. For all my training, they will not ask me to do something like that. But Greystone…he's an Operative. He did as he was told, but didn't kill anyone. It's complicated."
"I see…" Velvet muttered, not seeing what he meant in the least. It was obvious that he wanted things to remain private…but at least he told her things now. It was better than she had expected from him. "But…why…what are you doing in Vale?"
"Honestly, I don't know. We were tasked with protecting Beacon…and sometimes undertaking missions in the city."
The Faunus sighed, realizing that her friend had been in a tight spot all this time. "What now?"
"Now?" Two-One repeated and stepped closer to her, stopping when he was standing next to her. "We're stuck at Beacon. With Greystone compromised, things need to change."
"Change?"
"The Operative's botched it…and our superiors have told your Headmaster things. Important things. I think that the time of acting from the shadows is over…but…" The soldier sighed and lowered his head. "I'm sorry for…not…supporting you more. I wanted to but…we were prohibited from talking to students. I should have…been available…for you."
"You are talking to me now."
"Yes…our Captain has left, so now I'm in charge now. If you would want me to leave you alone from now on…I fully understand."
The boy was about to walk away, but she wasn't done yet. "Ehm…Lima? Eh…Two? Please wait?"
Two-One stopped walking and turned around. "You still want to… socialize…against me?"
With me. Even though he had started to talk and explain more, he still didn't say anything normal. He was still as socially helpless as he had been when she first met him. "I don´t want to stop meeting you. I like talking with you…'socializing' with you."
"You do?" The soldier said, sounding genuinely happy.
"Yes?" Velvet repeated, feeling a bit privileged that the person in front of her thought contact with her to be so important. Of all the more capable and attractive students to choose from, he had picked her to socialize with. It was a bit funny how he used the word 'socialize' like it was a tough mission.
"Cal," He then said..
"Ehm…what is that?" She asked, puzzled at that remark.
"It is my name."
She was silent for a few moments before her brains processed his remark. Then she placed her hands in front of her mouth, feeling embarrassed for not noticing it sooner. "Ooh! I'm so sorry! I was just surprised, that's all!"
Two-One –she meant Cal- had given her his name and she hadn't even noticed it. She truly hoped she hadn't insulted him; for someone who walked around all day with a helmet on his head, identity would be a very important thing.
"Don't disquiet yourself," He told her. "Do you feel like…walking…with me?"
She smiled. "Y-yes, I would love that. Can I ask you another question?"
"As long as the answer is not classified, sure."
"Why do you four use numbers instead if names?"
"That?" He asked, sounding bewildered. "It's because we don't exist."
Beacon Academy, 20:21
"Good night, Greystone. Sleep tight. Keep an eye open."
The Operative stared at the message with mild disgust. Cinder Fall, the brain behind Roman Torchwick and one of the three people responsible for sending him out to gather Dust, hardware and other forms of ordnance, wasn't the kind of woman to take treachery very well. She had warned him once at the beginning to never cross her…and then again, right before he had encountered LACG and RWBY. Now that Onyx –and, by extension, Ozpin- had revealed the truth about his Operation, Cinder would want bloody vengeance.
She was welcome to try and come after him. After the things that had taken place during the day, he couldn't care less. He was done. He had done his duty and the rest was history. It didn't matter that the students he had infiltrated hated him for it and it didn't matter that he had gotten hurt during the operation. KALEIDOSCOPE was a success…and now he would just have to wait for Onyx to send him on his next mission…away from Beacon.
It was a waste, really. There were quite a few capable warriors on this Academy…if Onyx had wanted to, they could broker a truce. Hunters were there to protect mankind…just like they were.
The soldier sighed and placed his scroll away, before walking out of the hangar bay. It was evening, so the school was bound to be somewhat empty now. He could move freely without anyone opposing him…not that he would put up a major fight if anyone had wanted to stop him. After all the things that he had done…all the things that had happened…he didn't want to harm one of these students without a good reason again.
He made his way to the eastern wing, where one of the multiple male-showers was hidden. The construction of the Academy hadn't spared any costs…before he had moved out to start his operation, he had heard that there was a hidden bathroom right next to RWBY's dormitories. For some reason, Beacon Academy had seen fit to hide most of their rest- and bathrooms.
It was the girl called Yang who had told him that.
He sighed, pressing the stone that caused the wall to slide away. The department he was currently visiting was in one of the most isolated segments of the Academy…there shouldn't be anyone there.
In a way, things would have been so much easier if RWBY had just killed him.
He stripped his clothes, placed them on the hanging framework that was suspended on the wall and stepped underneath the shower head. He had removed the clothes that Torchwick had given him, placing them all in a sealed container for investigative purposes later. He had been wearing his black cargo pants and shirt after he had parted ways with RWBY. Explaining things to them had been tedious and forced, but at least it had been quick. They had insisted on him getting himself to the medical wing before they continued their 'conversation', but they had disappeared after that. Not to be found in their dorms, nowhere near the dining hall and not even in the lecture hall they should have been having lessons at.
So he had left their 'appointment' for what it was and moved on. That had been a few hours back.
Greystone rotated the tap, allowing the cool water to flow through the pipes and exit the shower head. He sharply inhaled and felt his muscles tense when the cold water hit his skin. Flashes and memories shot through his head, but he banished them. The icy water chilled his lungs and cooled his skin, relieving him of the seemingly ever-lasting aching that had been plaguing him ever since he had escaped the hospital. Since he had remembered.
He didn't let the water warm. After all, what would be the point?
As the Operative ran his fingers past the various wounds that were inflected by the girls from Beacon, the water washed the caked up pieces of blood off his body and the sink slowly started to run red.
The most grievous of wounds had to be the twin gashes running down his chest brought upon by Alessa and the blunt force trauma caused by the Schnee Heiress and Yang Xiao Long. His ribs hurt with every breath he took, but he hadn't been burned to badly. Every human had an accelerated healing. It was the innate ability of one's Aura. Besides protecting and warning, a human's soul could heal wounds at a quickened pace.
His Aura didn't protect or warn. It only increased the rate at which his wounds healed –and even so, that regeneration worked slower than the average human. He knew that people like Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose healed faster than he did. But that only made sense; he hadn't expected to retain the ability to use his Aura and quite frankly, he was disappointed he had lasted as long without it. Without her.
He moved one of his fingers over a thin bump on his left shoulder and he remembered where the scar had come from. Vivid flashes of mud, screaming, gunfire and rain. He had been stuck, with no hopes of escaping on his own. Knee-deep in mud. As the bullets sailed over his head, someone had slammed a bayonet into his shoulder. Only one of her timely warnings had warned him of the impending attack, after which he had attempted to twist his upper body to avoid the backstab. It would have been devastating to recover from a spinal-wound in the middle of a battlefield.
He slowly wiped his face with his hand, touching the small collection of scars near his left eye. The medics had told him that he was lucky he hadn't gone blind from the impact…but it had still taken him another four days to be able to see clearly. Ruby had expressed curiosity at the scar, during his brief visit in the city. Perhaps, when Onyx would permit him to stay, he would tell her. Not the whole story of course, but the simpler version. If he got the timing right, he could even make it a funny version.
Turning the shower off, he moved to grab his towel. Being at a combat school had its benefits, it seemed. He should take a shower more often…he could turn it into a monthly habit.
As soon as he had finished off drying himself with the rough towel, he started putting his clothes back on, ignoring the continued images of dozens of dead bodies. It appeared he had still not completely gotten over that ordeal.
With his clothes back on, he stepped out of the room and closed it behind him. He didn't have much to do besides waiting for the call to pull him out of there…it would be a shame, really.
The Operative moved towards the right hallway when he suddenly heard someone walking, which was a strange thing as he hadn't expected any students to be in that sector so late.
He rounded the corner –and nearly bumped into the small frame of Ruby Rose. "Will?" The girl asked him, not sounding remotely surprised to see him.
"Ruby," He stated in return, hastily slipping the combat knife he had drawn back before she could see it. The last thing he wanted to do with Ruby was giving her the idea that he wanted to hurt her.
The redhead stayed quiet, which turned the situation a bit awkward. He had NO idea what to say or what to tell her, besides the obvious. "Why are you-"
"-here?" She finished his sentence. Why did she do that? "To be honest, I don't really know that myself. I guess you could say that I was looking for you."
"Looking for me?" He repeated, feeling skeptical. What would she want with him? "Here?"
"Yes," She replied, suddenly sounding more energetic. "I knew that you wouldn't go to the medical wing as you were told and I also knew you wouldn't hit the showers until nobody could see you –not that that I peeked- and I also knew that these showers were the closest ones you knew of."
Breathe, he thought, amazed at Ruby's ability to create oxygen by simply talking. She obviously didn't need to use her lungs to do so. And what childish breed of logic was that she used, anyway? It worked, but that was beside the point. "Why were you looking for me?"
Ruby's face turned serious again and she eyed him carefully, nearly staring at his face. "I wanted to talk to you, you know? I was really mad at you and I think I wasn't the only one…but…nobody was permanently injured. I thought Grace might have been traumatized, but I'm not sure. I wanted to know whether you were alright."
"Me?" asked Greystone. Why would she worry about him of all people? That was a waste of time.
"Yes. I know you were injured…like, twice in two weeks. I wanted to know why you did what you did…and perhaps talk about it."
There wasn't anything to talk about…but he saw where she was coming from. She wanted to know what his side of the story was, not the official one. That misconception was born from her lack of understanding.
Ruby turned around and slowly started to move away, leading him to suspect that she expected him to follow her. And as he walked after her, she started to talk once more. "So? How are you?"
"Nothing worth noting," He replied quietly.
"Liar."
"What?"
"Even if you could make me believe that you weren't in physical pain, I could still see your psychological one."
"Again, what?"
Ruby sighed explosively. "Why did you do it?"
"I was ordered to do so," replied the Operative.
"And why did you follow those orders? It could have permanently hurt one of us."
Why he followed those orders? Because they were issued. When your superior officer gave you orders, you followed them. It was just natural. "I did not want to hurt any of you…but my orders were logical."
"Nope."
"Excuse me?"
"Your orders were to infiltrate a criminal group, right? What do criminals usually do when someone wants to join them?"
"A rite."
"Right. And even if you passed it, how would you gain their trust?"
"Proving to be loyal to their orders…and proving to be useful."
"And how would you be useful to Roman Torchwick?"
"Harming his enemies. Beacon."
"Yeah. So…why were your orders logical then? And why did you follow them, knowing that you would hurt your friends? If it were me making the decision, I would think at least twice before abandoning everything I had going on for some vague order."
But it wasn't her, it was him. It was one of the reasons he always thought of when it came to doing the hard thing: the soldiers from Onyx stood ready to do the ethically questionable so that others might live in peace. But Ruby wanted to know why he followed those orders? Very well. "I followed those orders because it is what I do. In order to protect humanity."
"But to go so far?"
He did not understand. Protecting the innocent meant sacrificing things…be it his life, his body…or his humanity. Everyone at Onyx knew that…why didn't these people? "It's why I am here."
"In Vale?"
"No, it's why I live. I exist to serve humanity –and nothing else."
Ruby looked at him over her shoulder, a shocked and hurt expression on her face. "What?" She whispered. "Do you…truly believe that?"
Why would he say it if he didn't believe it? "Yes."
"Isn't there anything else that gives your life a purpose?"
He did have a purpose. There used to be other things…things that he held equally as important as his duty…but that all ended eleven months ago. Ruby Rose didn't need to know that. "What else should there be?"
She sighed, wrapping her arms around her small frame. "You know that's not the way it's supposed to be, right, Will?"
He frowned, noticing the accent she put on his name. She was aware of his other name…his callsign. His true name. Why didn't she call him that? Was it a statement of some kind? "It's the way that's needed the most."
Ruby sighed. "Nope."
She had an annoying habit of dismissing things that could not be dismissed "No?"
"Nope. There is a better way. It's the way we learn here, at Beacon. A way to protect those who cannot defend themselves without having to hurt or sacrifice anything."
"How?"
Ruby smiled; a warm and innocent gesture. It reminded him of the rare smiles that Mantis had cracked, some time ago. Ruby was right –partially. The Huntsmen and Huntresses were as important to the survival of mankind as soldiers were. But in direct contrast to what Onyx prepared their soldiers for, Beacon prepared these students for Grimm. Monsters, to be slain without any moral problems. When you did not see you opponent as a human being, you could look him in the eyes and murder him without difficulty. It was the sole reason why these kids were able to slaughter dozens of Grimm, but not bring themselves to kill a fellow human.
As such, the survival of mankind depended on the collaboration between Hunters and soldiers. But it wasn't something Ruby could possibly realize. In her eyes, Onyx were the people stabbing other people in the back. But that wasn't right. They were a necessity…they had been for a long time.
"Just wait. We'll get there eventually. "
He sighed. "Fine."
"Another topic perhaps?"
"That would be wise."
Ruby was silent for a minute, before speaking up with a whole different topic. "Where did you get that scar?"
"Which one?" He replied without thinking, completely forgetting that he only had one wound currently visible that hadn't been caused by her team.
"The…one on your face?" She hesitantly asked, sounding confused.
"You know what?" He then told her, somehow feeling better by his conversation with the redhead, "If I am allowed to stay, I will tell you what happened."
"You have a deal," The young girl smiled. They continued to walk together in silence for another two minutes, before he eventually took a right turn when she had to take a left.
Ruby had given him a lot to think about…but he couldn't help but feel like he had been manipulated in some way. He had never shown a part of himself to anyone, let alone tell them a story about it. Of course, the part was highly visible for everyone, but still.
On the other hand…he owed these people for what he had done.
Day 38, Friday, 14:03
"Guys, please!" Lisa yelled, pressing a hand against her forehead in frustration. Just a day ago she had been saved by her brother and reunited with her team. Just two days ago, she had fully realized that her brother had never been to blame for the defection of Roman Torchwick and just two days ago, Beacon had accepted Arnold Braunschweiger's offer for help. However, once she had taken him to meet a close family friend of the Adamant's –lovely Professor Tanzanite Johnson- the testosterone level had spiked through the roof. "Just behave!"
"No problem Miss Adamant!" Johnson barked at her while keeping his dark eyes aimed directly at his opposing Braunschweiger, "As soon as I have this shrimp what a real man is!"
'Shrimp?' Lisa thought, 'The guy is taller than you are!'
Braunschweiger merely laughed. "You fool, I laugh at you. You would not know man if he danced naked in front of you!"
Matt had asked her to take the Braunschweiger to meet his Johnson, so that they could employ him immediately. She had expected some sort of weird, guy-introduction. She hadn't expected an epic battle of manly presence that could chase an Alpha Beowolf off with his tail between his legs.
Johnson snorted. "A man does not dance!"
"He does…if he is naked."
Johnson's eyes narrowed and he averted his head ever so slightly, still keeping his gaze locked in on the giant man in front of him. "Hmmm…never thought of it that way. Are you sure we can pull that off?"
"What?" Lisa breathed, unable to follow the messed-up direction their conversation had taken. One second they had been ready rip each other's heads off and now they wanted to dance naked with each other? And why was she more focused on the dancing part than on the naked part?
Arnold placed his hand on Johnson's shoulder and nodded, as if he was inspiring someone to reach the greater heights than they had chosen to. "We are men. We can do anything."
Johnson then grabbed Braunschweiger's shoulder in return, with an expression of admiration on his face. "I think you're OK, Braunschweiger. You'll fit right in. We will have to celebrate our manliness later, right now we got work to do. The classes got a break right now, tomorrow it will be my shot at Physical Education and Badass Training…or PHEB."
She was silent for a little while longer, before her brains couldn't follow it anymore. "PHEB? Seriously? Did you…did you just make that up?"
"That is an excellent idea Johnson," The Braunschweiger told his new friend, still holding on to his shoulder. "What should I do now?"
"Our cleaning lady took a vacation two days ago. We could use-"
"A new cleaning lady? I see. I shall be the new cleaning lady," Arnold told him, completely missing the point. The two men finally let go of each other's shoulders and Johnson nodded, understanding.
"I'll make sure you get briefed. Cleaning in Beacon is a tough job, you think you're up for it?"
Why did Johnson sound like he was prepping a soldier for battle?"
"I can do this!" Braunschweiger exclaimed.
"Damn right you can!" Johnson barked right back, "Report to the personnel room at once. You will find a blonde woman there. She will debrief you on how to clean…Beacon style. Tell her that Sergeant-Professor Johnson sent you."
"Yes!" Arnold agreed and grabbed the card that his conversational partner then handed to him. "I will get to da room!"
As Braunschweiger turned around and left, Johnson just crossed his arms and stared at him until the man was gone, a smile playing over his rough features.
"What the hell just happened?" Lisa asked her teacher incredulously. She couldn't set the sight of a naked Johnson and Braunschweiger out of her mind and it was their fault!
"We just recruited a new man in our ranks Lisa," Tanzanite replied, "From this day onward, things will only get better with Beacon."
She scoffed. "What, because of a new cleaning lady?"
Johnson turned to face her with a surprisingly strict expression on his face. "NO! We got a new defector, beat Roman Torchwick's plans involving your kidnap, foiled Onyx' pet who attempted to hurt you and destroy Beacon's plans and now Ozpin is even planning to pressure Onyx into working openly with him."
"Right," she growled, remembering how the Saboteur had been that bastard Will. She still wanted to rip his head off, but her team had convinced her not to start a mess. What she had done this morning, however, was walking up to team CRDL and rubbing the palm of her hand into Cardin's face. "We lasted longer than you did!" She had laughed at him and moved on, leaving a severely confused CRDL behind.
That was called rubbing it in.
"And now, we have received official confirmation that Atlas is going to participate in the Vytal festival."
"So we're going to celebrate that we finally stopped acting like kids?" She verified.
"AFFIRMATIVE!"
"And what about the rest?"
"The rest will soon follow. Lisa! I need to go now!"
"Wait, Johnson!" She yelled, reaching out for the man when he turned around to leave. The man had been a friend of Matt's for a very long time, but she had only started to appreciate him as a kind man -instead of the epitome of badassery- in the recent months. "I need to talk to my brother; you know where he is, don't you?"
The Professor stopped, but didn't turn around. "I said things were going good, Adamant. Not great. He is helping Ozpin building a case against Onyx. Said he's been digging and finding all kinds of things he had never thought to link with the militant group. It would be better for both of you if you left him alone for now."
She frowned, realizing that Johnson was hiding something for her. And not just the general "military secrets bravado stuff" things, but an actual secret. "Are you keeping secrets, Sergeant-Professor?"
Johnson laughed –a short, sound that sounded more like a cry of war than humor. "You might be different from him, buy you got the same annoying tendency to stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Now run along Adamant, before something burns it off."
Lisa sighed, saluted the man and left the room. It was obvious that things weren't going good at all…and she needed help to find out what it was. Roman Torchwick suddenly getting active, a secret and seemingly resourceful organization trying to infiltrate both its allies as its enemies, her brother growing more broody every day and Johnson keeping secrets…it was all a bit too coincidental for her.
No…the trouble had started roughly a month ago, with the appearance of Will. It had to be linked to him somehow…and in order to find out what it was, she had to enlist the help of RWBY. They seemed to be the most interested in sorting this mess out.
Lisa had been running through the hallway for only a minute when she heard people talking. And not the good kind of talking. It sounded more like…discussing. A very serious subject.
She moved around the corner and almost ran into Blake and Weiss, both of whom were standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Hey! Watch out!" The white-haired girl snapped at her, but Blake seemed to be relieved.
"Hey Lisa," The bow-wearing girl greeted her. "For a moment there, I thought you were one of them."
"One of whom?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"One of the group that calls itself Onyx," Blake said with a grim expression on her face. Weiss' expression turned from annoyance into anxiety and she understood that she wasn't the only one brooding about the secret organization.
"What about them?" She carefully asked.
"It doesn't make sense. I've searched for that girl, Two-Four I believe she calls herself, but I couldn't find her. But I talked to Velvet this morning."
"And?"
"The Faunus managed to befriend one of those Lima-guys," Weiss impatiently said, "And he told her a few things."
"The Faunus?" Blake then replied, sounding insulted. "She has a name!"
Weiss waved her teammate's concerns away and continued talking. "Yeah yeah, but listen-"
"No, you listen! Besides, I talked to her, not you."
"Ugh, fine!" Weiss then snapped and crossed her arms. "Go ahead."
Lisa didn't think that was what Blake meant.
"The soldier had told her that this 'Onyx' has always been there, watching and acting from the shadows. The organization has a really strict chain of command, so they're obviously military. This 'Two-One' then proceeded to say that he and his team "don't exist"."
"What?" Lisa yelled. "Don't exist? That's bull! They're obviously here, aren't they?"
"As if we haven't had enough troubles with the White Fang, we now have an organization that is actually led by competent people!" Weiss sneered.
"Weiss! Can't you be quiet?" Blake snapped at the Heiress, who averted her gaze with an angry huff.
It seemed as if Blake wasn't actually mad for being interrupted by her teammate, but Weiss had a point. The White Fang really were just a bunch of incompetent morons.
"You don't listen, Lisa," Blake then said. "If those people don't exist, it means that there won't be any information on them. No ID's, no history, nothing. And if an organization has the power to send soldiers in high-tech ships...soldiers that don't exist…they might very well be more powerful than our own government."
The young Adamant swallowed, for the first time understanding just how deeply involved they were. Grace, Cho and Alessa had told her what they had seen and heard during their meeting with RWBY and JNPR; how the female soldier had threatened them for simply searching information on them. Why were these people in Vale? And why had they sought to contact Ozpin if they would only work against the man? It didn't make any sense. "So let me get this straight," She tensely said, "Onyx contacts Beacon to offer help. Beacon takes help. Onyx sends infiltrator to pose as student. Then, they send a group of soldiers to help us against attacking crooks, before telling their infiltrator to assist said crooks. And now they've been at our side the entire time, but they also threaten us with death. Am I the only one who was a problem with this?"
"Yes, you got it about right and no, you're not the only one with a problem with it," Weiss stated, still standing with her arms crossed. "Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of this group running behind the shadows with their threats."
"Like you're going to do something about it…" Lisa muttered, even though that Weiss stood about two feet in front of her.
"Hello!" The girl snapped, "Last time I checked, you weren't an Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company!"
"Well, last time I checked you weren't part of the Adamant family!"
"As if that would compare. My father is one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom; if he wants this Onyx shut down, he'll just have to snap with his fingers!"
"Then why hasn't he snapped with the White Fang yet? Besides; your family might be able to order others to do it, but I want to bet my family is already on it! They are a line of famous Hunters!"
"Girls…" Blake tried to get between them.
"Wow, how successful the Adamant family was! They didn't even know this organization existed until it kidnapped you!"
"Well, you didn't know about Will working for them until you took him down!"
"Yeah? I'm glad you're still in one piece!"
"And I'm glad you didn't get too hurt fighting the him!"
They both crossed their arms and looked away at the same time, insulted.
"What just happened?" Blake asked.
"Good day ladies," A fourth voice then spoke up, leading Weiss to quickly count the three of them and then turn around. Standing behind them, in all his masked and armoured glory, was one of the four soldiers.
Lisa felt her mouth fall open and Blake sighed in frustration. Weiss only stared at the sudden appearance of the black-clad male for a second before she regained her superior posture, placing her hands on her hips and staring at him with a furious expression. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"I heard yelling…so I thought 'hey, someone might need help.'"
Blake narrowed her eyes and stepped forwards, looking like she was about to attack the kid. She was wearing her weapon after all, as every student did in the school. Weiss had her Myrtenaster attached to her hip and Lisa had her Type-25 attached to her back. "And now you are here to help us? When your partner threatened us with death just yesterday? I'm not buying that."
The soldier didn't look very intimidating, despite his black visor and his full-protective helmet fully concealing his features. He wasn't the smallest one of the group –about the same size as the female- but for some reason, he seemed like the most timid. "She does that…at times. It's not very nice…did you do something to anger her?"
Weiss scoffed and stepped forwards, jabbing with her finger at the boy's chest –something she wouldn't have done with any of the other three Lima's. "We've got some very interesting questions for you, kid! Why are you four really here?"
…Two-Three! That was the name of the younger one!
"We are here to help you," The soldier replied, slowly stepping backwards as Weiss' intimidation factor rose. "To help fight the Grimm."
"Why don't I believe that?" Blake quietly added, somehow managing to scare the kid even more than all of Weiss' prodding ever could. "We met your friend. He calls himself Greystone."
"Yeah, Greystone. He's not very nice."
"He beat my team up, caused me to be kidnapped by lowlife scum and destroyed months of important research," She added.
"He does that…at times. Operatives tend to do nasty things. I don't really like them."
"Right!" Lisa growled, resisting the urge to tear Two-Three's helmet off and beat him to death with it. "So tell us the truth or I'll make you eat your gun. What does Onyx truly want?"
"To protect and serve!" The soldier proudly stated, "We protect mankind, whatever the cost. I'm sorry for what happened to your friends…but nobody died, right?"
"That's right," Blake agreed.
"Onyx wanted to get rid of Torchwick and move away from Vale again, but that won't work. Now, I'm hearing reports of the General wanting to work with Beacon to catch him. If that works out, Greystone and we can stay here. That would be nice…right?"
"No!" Weiss yelled, but Blake looked like she had her doubts.
"No more backstabbing…and no more killing people," The dark-haired girl tentatively said. "If we are to work together…and you need to talk to Ruby about that…but if… I think there is a possibility."
"That would be awesome," Two-Three said. There was something about the boy that was terribly off. He was a member of the same Fireteam that had mercilessly slaughtered dozens of criminals without merit. Not that she really gave a damn about criminal lives, but still. The act of killing should not be executed so easily…not like that. This soldier –this seemingly easy-going, innocent combatant- had the mind of a ruthless killer, but the demeanor of a child. He couldn't be much older than she was, or anyone from the first year for that regard.
There was something very wrong with this person. She wondered at his past –the things that he might have done…the reason he still acted so innocent when the rest of his unit were so stoic.
Day 28, Saturday, 17:03
"Your interference with an important and severely-classified Operation has cost us a valuable victory in the city of Vale, Professor Ozpin. You do realize that in doing so, you have made the situation many times worse, not only for yourself but also for Beacon Academy as a whole?"
"Your classified operation nearly caused the death of four of our students, leading to one of them being captured by the sole man you had hoped to murder!" Glynda scowled, her hand clenching tight around her wand.
They had been conversing with the shadowy figure of code-name "Yale" above their holo-table for a while now, but neither of them could reach a proper consensus. Of course the sinister group wouldn't send a real person to speak with them –such bravery would most likely be above them all. Ozpin had seen enough in the messed-up reasoning of the young Operative and the introvert behaviour of Fireteam Lima to understand what kind of leaders Onyx would have.
"We had no way of knowing that you would send your students to intercept the Operative. This meddling affair might damage our future relationships, disastrous results to the city aside.
"Relax, Professor Goodwitch," the Headmaster told his colleague, flexing his hands before folding them across the head of cane. The blonde had been very stressed as of lately…and quite frankly, he was starting to feel worried about her. They had finally managed to get contact with an official spokesman from Onyx, but the results of their conversation had been…less than pleasant. "The so-called meddling you speak of is nothing more than the result of an action deemed fit by Beacon Academy. We are training students to become the finest examples that humanity can offer…an idea I am sure you would agree with. In order for these students to become certified Hunters, they need to be prepared for everything. You send one of your pets to infiltrate my school, then ordered him to directly attack us. Whether or not that was in sync with his mission I do not care. By all rights, it should be us pressing the charges."
"You do not understand the position you are in, Headmaster. We know what happened between Adamant and Torchwick all those years ago. Onyx does not desire for history to repeat itself. However, as General Randall has officially granted you access to Operation KALEIDOSCOPE, my hands are tied. Consider this a stalemate, Headmaster."
"Don't take me for a fool, Yale. There is no way that you are in Vale simply because you want to catch a petty criminal –as dangerous as he might be. You are after something else…or someone else. And I do not want my school to be endangered because of it."
"You misjudge our actions Ozpin. I can't blame you. But this city is not the most noticeable one and this Kingdom is not the most unstable one. There is someone with more control guiding the actions of Torchwick, but don't assume that we are working in Vale simply because we want something from it."
"It always works like that."
"I take your point. Are we done?"
"It's not easy. We still have Greystone…and we still have Lima."
"Fireteam Lima is irrelevant to us at the moment. You can use them as you see fit, granted that we direct orders when a target of opportunity arises. Greystone is to remain at Beacon, where he will be under your direct orders to the point where we need him on a different mission. "
So basically the soldiers were going to stay right where they were, but now under his command as well. He wondered when Onyx would take control back again…and what that would cost his school.
"Furthermore," Glynda added, taking the opportunity to lash out at the hated group with both hands, "We request the information that Greystone has gathered during his mission. The damage to Vale's research and art was extreme, while it had not been a direct result of any orders issued by Onyx. The soldier acted on his own accord…and as such, we expect to be compensated."
The figure on the other side remained silent for a full ten seconds before replying. "Onyx has no interest in art. Art will not safe the world and as such, has been deemed expendable. We cannot share the information at the moment. It will be send to you in a few days. However, we will send materials to Beacon for compensation. In addition, you will be sent the files regarding Fireteam Lima. In return however, we expect to be kept up to date regarding the upcoming Vytal festival and the activities concerning Torchwick."
"Deal…" Ozpin absentmindedly agreed, "If you don't mind, I for one have better things to do now. Shall we agree to disagree and call it a day?"
"One more thing, Ozpin. We would advise you to keep away from Torchwick and those he affiliates himself with. We cannot risk another Atlas-incident, especially not in the near-future. We understand that the research and the art has been compromised, but we shall do our best to reimburse for the damage."
"I am sure you will. I am curious though; how did you manage to stay unnoticed for this long? I am willing to bet that there are quite a few people looking out for you."
"That information is classified on a need-to-know basis. You are cleared to know that Onyx has existed for a very, very long time, that is all. We expect an update in three days."
Then the figure terminated the link from his side, disappearing from the holographic-projection table and leaving them alone with a new load of information to process. Ozpin knew that he couldn't judge the entire organization purely based on his interactions with seven of their members, especially not if they were as large as they would like him to believe. But the things he had seen were fundamental in forming his opinion on Onyx. The ruthless nature of their warriors…the sole reason for Will to be send to Beacon and the arrogant demeanor with which the contact had talked to him all contributed to his opinion of the organization.
It was not positive.
"We are close to extending peace and allegiance to the Kingdom of Atlas," Professor Goodwitch sighed. "I am curious so find out what they know. Onyx has never aimed at being our allies, did they?"
"No…" He softly replied, staring at his Scroll. The communications device had received four messages…and the last one had contained a virus that had automatically erased the identity of the sender. The sheer lengths through which this group went through to prevent information from spreading was appalling…and intriguing. For all their secrecy and operations, "Yale" had made a mistake. He had given them too much information to work with…and using that information, he would find out more. He now had five soldiers in his school –and all five of them answered to Beacon. They couldn't tell him more than he already knew…but he could observe. Read between the lines. Learn. And he had just the right crew to find out more about them. "I have the feeling that Onyx has left their trails all over history…"
The door opened without a warning and he sighed, already knowing who would be standing in the opening.
"Professor Adamant!" Glynda yelled furiously, "This is the last straw! You cannot just barge in here everytime you feel like it!"
"Yes Professor Goodwitch, I like your make-up. So I've found out something interesting. Ever heard of the Viper? Of course you have, famous assassin and all. Well, she's in Vale now, and she has hacked my scroll. Hacked MY scroll. And she claims to know Onyx! Something about a war, years ago. So, who are we hunting?"
The Headmaster and the Professor shared a look. "That…is complicated. Are you up for a…challenge?"
"Professor Goodwitch?"
"What is it mister Greystone, I am very busy undoing the damage you caused."
"Established command in the Kingdom has reason to believe that a terrorist network is attempting to get to Vale. Fireteam Lima has been hunting for a target in the city, code-named "Crimson". She is believed to be the subordinate of a female target that has infiltrated the criminal group that had taken refuge in Warehouse Six. Both are dangerous and believed to be associated with this network."
"I…thank you, mister Greystone…for sharing this information. Have you finally received clearance to do so?"
"No ma'am."
"Then why?"
"Consider it an official attempt at partnership, ma'am."
"So now Onyx wishes to work with us again?"
"No ma'am. We do. I do."
Conversation betweenGlynda Goodwitch and Operative Will "Greystone", Friday, 19:13