Ruby Rose would be described as many things. She was an excitable, fun-loving, empathetic, and passionate individual. Despite being the at of fifteen, she still had a certain childish charm that was adored by many. Everyone around Beacon knew her as the girl who adored fairy tales. Now though? She was torn, like someone had ripped the fun loving stories she had known as a child and twisted it. She had met him, back when she was taking on a mission to Mount Glenn, and she had been so excited to actually realize that he was real. Her excitement turned to absolute horror when she entered that train car, the amount of bodies littered across would haunt her for years. So much blood, all of it caking the walls and floor of the train that it looked like something out of a horror movie. At first, she thought that it couldn't be him. The person she viewed as a hero that saved towns from Grimm would never do such an atrocious action.
The concept of death wasn't that familiar to her. She knew people died, that much was obvious as she grew older, but the initial concept of it was like a foreign feeling. To witness it first hand; the scent of blood and bodily fluids, the viscera painting the walls, to even the look of horror on each of the victim's faces. It was absolutely devastating to find out that the one she looked up to had caused this. From that point on, things started to get worse for her. Murders happening in the city at an alarming pace, each one more violent than the last. So much death in such a short time span shut her down for a day or two.
She wasn't the only one to feel devastated that her childhood hero turned out to be a vicious killer. Ruby's older sister, Yang, was completely distraught that the figure she heard so many stories about as a child was like this. The train incident severely damaged her outlook on him, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Both siblings wanted to be just like him as they got older; they thought he was the coolest thing since Huntsmen and Huntresses. Now... they didn't know. After witnessing the aftermath of his massacre down in the tunnel, they didn't know if they wanted to be like him anymore. It felt like they had been lied to for several long years.
They were confused about the whole ordeal. Their confusion only worsened when they started to look at the news and saw murders happening in the city, much more than what they had seen before. Pretty soon that confusion turned into fear as the body count climbed into the hundreds, and they saw reports of of two Huntsmen dead near a sewer drain. Why was he killing people when he was supposed to be saving them?
"Yang?" Ruby called out.
"Yeah?" She looked at her younger sibling.
"He's not a bad person, right? Maybe it's someone else doing all this and he's out there saving people?" Ruby blinked back some tears. She always looked up to her older sister for answers, and she was hoping that she had some now.
"I... I don't know. Maybe he's always been a bad person... I mean, heroes don't kill people... right?" Yang sent an uncertain smile. To her, this was a harsh slap to the face; one that would sting for years on end. Who could blame her? Seeing the aftermath of your childhood hero's bloodbath was enough to send anyone into a flurry of negative emotions.
"Right! Heroes never kill... anyone..." Ruby tried to say confidently, only to trail off towards the end. This was horrible, even more horrible than when they realized a giant Grimm had escaped. Everyone heard the roar from miles away, they could feel the dread envelope their bodies when they saw it flying towards Beacon at an alarming pace. When it suddenly shrieked out in what appeared to be pain then turn away from the school, a wave of confusion had brushed over everyone. For the next several minutes, pained roars and shrieks were heard before a massive cannon-like boom bounced off the walls. After that, all was silent for a while. Most had come off their little adrenaline filled state and sought out the professors for answers.
Even the professors looked alarmed and confused as to why the Grimm started to fly away from the school, the only person that didn't look alarmed was Ozpin. To Ruby, the man looked impressed, like he had seen something truly amazing. When she asked him if they needed to fight the Grimm, he stated that it was gone and that someone special had handled it. He sounded so sure of himself, which put her at a state of unease. She didn't like the way he put that; it was like he had everything under control and expected something.
"I think we should check on Blake. By the way, have you seen Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"I think she's in the infirmary with Blake. I still can't believe Nora and Ren did that, what were they thinking?!" Yang suddenly raised her voice.
"I don't know..." Ruby said quietly. In truth, she held a newfound fear of the two. She did know that they traveled with her childhood hero, which she was completely jealous of, but she was scared of how protective they were of him. Blake had made the mistake of calling him a monster and a reckless killer, which prompted the two to attack her viciously, much more than she thought they were capable of. It took two professors and Yang to fend them off before Blake had to be rolled off in a stretcher. The faunus had three broken ribs, a dislocated arm, a cracked clavicle, and internal bleeding. Needless to say she would be in the infirmary for the next few weeks, regardless if her aura had helped her.
"Come on, let's go visit her." Yang said as she walked out of the room, with Ruby following shortly after. The two of them walked in silence as they just stared at the halls of Beacon. They were worried about Blake. She began to sleep less ever since the murders started happening and it was clear she was showing signs of paranoia. By the time the festival hit, she was so paranoid that she didn't register what she had said to the two before they attacked. Right now, she was about as fearful of them as she was of Six.
The halls were bustling with activity, but to the sisters it was nearly dead to them. Nothing needed to be said for the two of them, all that was needed was the comfortable silence to avoid the harsh reality of the situation. At first, Beacon started to turn out great and they were excited for a new chapter in their lives; it slowly started to get worse as time passed. It all recently went downhill because of their discovery of the White Fang massacre down in the train, then to the murders in the city. It all led to one person and that rubbed them the wrong way.
Several minutes of walking passed by and they were in front of the infirmary, going into the room and walking to the end of it near the window. They saw her in the bed with bandages still on her and a notebook in her hand. Weiss was still next to her with some notes in her hand as well, she had taken the liberty of getting Blake her notes so she kept up on her school work. After Blake had revealed she was a faunus, and a former member of the White Fang, Weiss had been put in a new perspective of her teammate. Yes, she was still bitter about the White Fang affiliation part, but she was willing to look past that. In some aspects, she pitied her teammate. It was all because of her father's company.
Due to the White Fang being scared of the frontier in every kingdom, they had no choice but to comply with the demands of the SDC. As of now, the SDC was one of the most powerful companies on Remnant due to the workers afraid of causing a revolt and defecting to the White Fang.
"Port really needs to stop rambling when giving lectures. I almost took a page out of Ruby's book and fell asleep." Weiss commented.
"I heard that!" Ruby cried out as she entered the room with Yang.
"You were meant to, you dolt." Weiss shot back.
"Why so mean, partner? I thought we were best friends?!" Ruby said dramatically as she suddenly engulfed Weiss in a bear hug.
"Get off of me!" Weiss shouted as she stuck her hand on Ruby's face and started to pry her off. They stood up and started to roughhouse around the room before being forced out by one of the nurses. While the two were struggling outside the room, Yang went up to Blake's side and sat down in a chair. A look of sympathy flashed across her face when she saw her partner flinch.
"How are you?" Yang asked.
"A bit better. I still won't be able to attend classes for the next week." Blake said.
"Your aura isn't helping?" Yang asked.
"It is. The doctor told me to avoid using it for the most part, she said that if I forced it to heal my broken bones too much then they could heal wrong." Blake said.
"... I'll make them pay." Yang said bitterly.
"Yang, no." Blake said.
"They literally put you in the infirmary. All because they can't handle someone talking about him." She said. It went silent between the two for several seconds.
"I thought you looked up to him?" Blake asked.
"I don't know what to think anymore. I mean, I'm extremely grateful that he saved my mom all those years ago, but he literally killed three hundred people. That's not to say he hasn't killed more. To be honest, I feel conflicted about the whole situation. Yeah, he's my childhood hero and I want to be like him, but I also don't want to kill people." Yang said quietly. It was almost too quiet for someone like her.
"He's terrifying." Blake said.
"Was this because of the train?" Yang asked.
"No. I've... always been terrified of it, or him. Back... back when I was in the White Fang, when we started to get violent and I wanted out, that's when he struck. All around the kingdoms in the frontier, he always found out where camps were and never left any survivors. Years went by and we all started to make a rumor about him, that he was the personification of all the humans that the White Fang killed. The literal Grim Reaper. I wanted to go after him in the city... until the body count started rising..." Blake trailed off fearfully.
"What else?" Yang asked. She knew Blake was in the White Fang, she didn't care so long as she didn't kill anybody innocent. If she did... then there'd be some problems.
"He's never gone in the cities before, so can you imagine the literal embodiment of death coming so close to this place? It's why I've been so paranoid lately, I thought he would come after me next..." Blake said.
"..." Yang didn't know what to say to be honest. She had always adored her childhood hero while her partner feared him like he was some type of demon.
"I had never really seen the aftermath of his killings, only heard about them. The train incident was the first time I've actually seen it." Blake said.
"Yeah... me too. My mom always told me and Ruby that he was some type of hero, of how he saved towns from Grimm. The way she painted him, it made it seem like he was an all around decent guy." Yang said.
"Looks like we were opposite ends of a scale." Blake said lightly.
"Yeah..." Yang said quietly. Silence seemed to bask over them for a few minutes before Ruby and Weiss walked back into the room. The former looked happy while the latter just looked exasperated by her teammate's antics.
"How are you, Blake?" Ruby asked.
"I'm doing a little better, thanks for asking." She smiled a bit.
"I made these cookies to make you feel better!" Ruby beamed brightly and shoved a tray full of cookies in her face.
"I'll eat them when I recover. Is that why you two took so long to come back?" Blake asked.
"Yes! The dolt over here decided to run around the campus and grab her cookies." Weiss huffed.
"I baked them with love and hard work! Maybe if you weren't so uptight, then you'd appreciate them more." Ruby jabbed.
"Why you little-" Weiss stomped her feet before pulling on Ruby's cheeks. The redhead whined in protest and tried to pry her partner off before Yang separated the two. It would've been funny had the nurse not been glaring at them from across the room. The two muttered an apology then went back to Blake, talking with her for a while. It was nice, just the four of them talking about their interests. The topic soon shifted to the murders and then about the Grimm dragon that was seen in the distance. It was just conversations like that for the next several minutes.
Jaune walked into the infirmary nursing his hand slightly. The four of them looked as he walked up to the nurse and she started to bandage his hand gently. From their perspective, it looked like a bite mark. He noticed them and waited for the nurse to stop bandaging his hand before he walked up to them, giving them a friendly wave with his bandaged hand.
"Hey." He greeted.
"Hey, Jaune." They waved.
"What happened to you?" Ruby pointed out.
"Nora bit me." He sighed.
"She what?" Weiss blinked.
"Nora bit me, hard too." He repeated.
"Why'd she do that, and why didn't your aura take care of it?" she asked.
"I was training with Pyrrha a bit and she put me through a lot, so it was out. She literally knocked all of my aura down. As for why Nora bit me, it's because I was cleaning our room and I touched their chest on accident. I didn't even know she could move that fast and her teeth was the first thing that came to her mind. Ren was quick to jump up too. He was more concerned about my hand after she did that." He said. The other four just stared at him, out of the two teams, Nora was the most unpredictable at times.
"Did she at least apologize?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, she apologized afterwards and she looked really regretful, but man did it hurt. I didn't even know she could bite that hard." He winced as he gently touched it.
"You going to be okay?" She asked.
"Me? Yeah, I'll be fine. The nurse already put disinfectant on it, so it should heal up when my aura comes back. I... should've remembered she and Ren don't like people touching that chest." He said.
"What's in there?" Yang asked.
"Some cloaks that the guy they look up to made. They called him Six, I think." Jaune put his hand on his chin.
"What's his real name?" Weiss asked.
"I don't know, not even they know. The guy just called himself that. He's really scary to be honest, he's one of those guys that take silence over everything. Plus he wears this super bulky armor underneath his cloak." He said. They all looked at one another then back at him.
"What else?" Blake asked.
"He's uh... he's really fast, when he attacks I mean. Half the time he just threw me around or put me in grappling positions that made me tap out. He's really big and intimidating when you combine those things, it makes him even scarier. I think when we did a bounty and waited for him, he gave us different scenarios regarding people." He described.
"I don't... I don't really see the big deal with this guy. I mean, who is he?" Weiss asked.
"You don't know about the legend around Remnant?" Ruby asked.
"No." Weiss shook her head.
"The wolf of the frontier, basically a children's story that surfaced like... eleven years ago?" Yang asked.
"Nope." Weiss shook her head again.
"The Grim Reaper to the White Fang?" Blake asked, earning looks to from the others. "Force of habit." She murmured.
"When I mean, no, I literally mean no. I've never heard of this guy before, all I know is that you two freaked out down in the tunnels and rushed up to him." Weiss said.
"Well, I'll just get going. I can see that you guys are busy, so bye." Jaune waved and left the room before they could get a farewell out. On the way out, he winced at his hand and the four of them just sent a look of pity towards him. That was actually scary if Nora literally bit him like a wild animal because he touched a chest, what would she do if he touched the cloaks? Just thinking about that made them shudder.
To them, Nora and Ren seemed a little... different in a sense. Both of them were always looking around a new area or were cautious of the meal they had picked up, checking to see if it was poisoned or not. They were always so quick to defend one another and wouldn't tolerate people talking about them. Both of their grades in their survival class was leagues above some of the others and they seemed almost at home whenever they went to the frontier for an assignment. The girls could see that they were uneasy about living at Beacon, it didn't take a genius to tell that. It felt like they were caged and that everyone was an unknown.
"Hey..." Blake said, getting their attention.
"What?" Yang asked.
"You ever notice how Nora and Ren never said where they came from? That they only traveled with this Six guy for a few weeks and didn't see him for several years. Why do you think they're so protective of someone who hasn't been in their lives for so many years?" Blake asked.
"Well... Nora said she and Ren saw Six as family, despite him probably not feeling the same. She said he saved them years ago and taught them things, so who's to say he didn't shape their core mentality?" Ruby guessed.
"That's a possibility. Both of them did say they pretty much grew up in the frontier, so there's a chance that his deeds probably shaped them." Yang nodded.
"There's also the fact that they're so defensive of him, it's almost like they're wolves." Blake said.
"I doubt that." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut up, you just don't understand because you grew up sheltered. Like a little princess in an ice tower." Yang sassed. She swore she could see steam start to erupt from Weiss' ears.
"How dare you, you bimbo!" Weiss fumed in place. Blake laughed as her three teammates began arguing and teasing one another, before having to be escorted out of the infirmary by the nurse.
Silence slowly enveloped the room and she was left alone with her thoughts once again. It was a nice visit and she'd thank them when she got the chance, but her fear started to bubble up in her system again. Her hands clenched tightly against the sheets as her heart rate picked up again, the phantom pain of her beating at the festival played over and over in her mind. She supposed she deserved it; after all, she'd probably react the same if someone talked like that about her parents as well. She was terrified of Ren and Nora, now more than the time she found out they were the ones who traveled with the Grim Reaper himself.
There were times over the course of the school year did she want to try and talk to them about him; how much of a monster he was and that killing countless faunus was wrong, especially when they could've been helped. She wanted to say that a compromise could be settled to where they could convince him to stop his killings. So much could have been said to them, but she screwed it up when she saw the news. Someone was killing any White Fang they came across and purging the city of them, countless sleepless nights all led to the man that put so much fear into her in the first place. Some nights she would look at the news and see how the families of his killings were affected, it broke her heart to see so many people distraught over their loved one gone.
From that point on, she held nothing but disgust towards the man and wanted to fight him, to stop his reign of terror he was causing. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw how many bodies he had managed to stack up, in the span of a month. Fear consumed her and she began to grow paranoid whenever she heard about another killing that had occurred. That feeling soon morphed into terror when she saw how he killed two veteran Huntsmen without hesitation near a storm drain that led out into the wilds. She didn't know whether to cry at the amount of deaths he caused or spite him with all her being. It was leaning towards the latter as of now.
Those people he killed were just misguided. They were lied to and had the possibility to change themselves if they had the chance, but they would never get it now.
By the time she had fought Ren and Nora, her paranoia and hatred of the man got the better of her. If she couldn't take it out on him, then she'd take it out on the ones who looked up to him the most; his metaphorical children. She didn't realize how quickly the words came out of her mouth until she saw their faces, and by that time the damage was already done. First it was hurt, then came the anger when they literally attempted to kill her. A mixture of guilt and resentment crossed their faces when they realized what they had done to her. She supposed the resentment was to be expected seeing how she spoke ill of the man that had practically raised them, but the guilt part confused her. Was it that they were guilty that they had stooped to that level, or that they had hurt her?
She didn't know. All that she knew was that she'd probably avoid confronting them from now on, only doing so if she had no other choice. She was terrified of them, because of what they did to her and what they would've done had nobody stopped them. They were unpredictable and dangerous, those were two things that were a lethal combination in the right set of hands. She supposed she deserved this in a sense, this was her punishment for acting out of line and letting her emotions get the best of her.
"I think it's best if I stay away from them for a while." She murmured as she threw her blanket over her shoulders, wincing when her wounds became irritated.
Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose tightly, that miniature headache was right on schedule. She listened to Ozpin and Ironwood argue back and forth, both about the Grimm dragon, or the Wyvern, and about Six. Everyone had been alarmed when it suddenly erupted from the mountain top and started to fly towards Beacon, throwing everyone into a frenzied state. It covered ground at an alarming pace and was close enough to the school for people to see it from a distance, before it suddenly veered in the opposite direction. It sounded like it was in pain, that something on it was causing it so much agony that it made the Grimm fly away from the school.
Ironwood immediately mobilized his forces to track the thing, only to retreat when a flock of Nevermore started to attack them. She had to urge to roll her eyes when she heard how his fleet wasn't able to handle the Grimm. Despite having an entire fleet at his disposal, he couldn't muster up the necessary manpower to handle the Wyvern. She knew he was using his fleet for something else, and it bothered her that he wasn't using it for the people. Another thing she didn't like was how Ozpin seemed so smug about the matter, like he knew something.
She knew what it was, it was about that man that he had been obsessed over for the last several years. The one man who had not only killed three hundred White Fang, but also two Huntsmen, and possibly the Wyvern. While she would admit, the man was interesting, but he wasn't interesting to the point of obsessing over. Ozpin's viewpoint of the man was almost fanatical and it was concerning. It was as bad as Ironwood's vengeful viewpoint of the man. Both men had disregarded several factors and blindly rushed into situations that made themselves look like fools. Out of the three of them, she was possibly the only one who thought about the people first.
"Will the both of you calm down?" She finally spoke, drawing their attention.
"I am perfectly calm." Ironwood said.
"No, you're not. You're rambling on about how this man is such a threat, saying that his presence has thrown the kingdom into a frenzied state." She said.
"He killed this thing, by himself mind you. If he wasn't a threat before, he sure as hell is now." He argued.
"Is there any way to tell if he actually did it? Do you have footage of him doing so?" She raised an eyebrow. His mouth clamped shut and pressed into a thin line at her question, the only thing he actually managed to capture was the aftermath of the area, and even then that was a day after it happened. There's no telling if the nearby settlement had any intervention.
"No." He grit his teeth.
"Exactly, so there's no telling that he did it by himself. I'm sure the nearby settlements had dealt with it." She crossed her arms.
"Yet, you seem to ignore the small speck of brown on it, as it turned away from Beacon." Ozpin quipped.
"You know I'm nearsighted. If it was him, then it just meant he avoided damage to the school and kept the students alive. That's another concern I have, why do we not have defenses in case something like this happens?" She asked.
"We do not need the students worrying about why we have so many guns-" He started.
"So you'd rather have another attack like this happen? I'm sure they can deal with guns near the perimeter. Half of the students use firearms anyways." She scoffed.
"Hmm." He hummed.
"That still begs the question, what are we to do about this man?" Ironwood asked.
"We get into contact with him. He has shown to be willing enough to direct such an attack away from the school, which means he is possibly willing to-" Ozpin started.
"We discussed this several times over, he's not going to join. If he eliminated the Wyvern, then it means he's not openly against us. Just because he's tipped the odds in our favor does not mean he's going to join us." She interrupted.
"Why must you interrupt me so much lately?" He asked.
"Because I know you're going to say something foolish. I'm tired of hearing you obsess over this man and you're just as bad as James." She scoffed.
"That was uncalled for." Ironwood commented.
"No, it's not. Both of you are fixated over this unknown man. You seem to ignore the fact that explicitly stated he has no interest in us years ago. We should be trying to gain the people's trust in the settlements. Have you forgotten that people are more wary of Huntsmen and Huntresses now? They hold more trust in a man that never stays in one spot very long more than us. We're supposed to represent Humanity and defend it to the best of our ability, or you must have forgotten that." She gestured.
"Do not preach to me about being a Huntsman, Glynda." Ozpin said evenly, there was a slight bite in his undertone which she chose to ignore. It didn't bother her in the slightest, this fixation Ozpin had was doing more harm than good and she wouldn't just sit here and do nothing. She'd do whatever she could within her limits to ensure that people at least did okay, and the future generations learned how to be proper Huntsmen and Huntresses.
"It's obvious someone has to. I will not sit here and tolerate this... this obsessive nature, especially if means I get punished for it." She said.
"..." Ozpin just stared at her while she did the same. His attitude in the recent years was a growing concern; him doing actions like these would bring about his downfall, something she didn't wish to see.
"Your intentions may be good in some viewpoints, but it does not mean they are morally correct. I seen reports from Qrow about some of the financial issues in some of the settlements, forcing people to give up information, sending soldiers to each settlement, and enforcing a set of rules that put people at unease. Have you two lost your minds? Those kind of situations are bound to attract Grimm." She looked at the both of them.
"I don't know what you're talking about. The people have been cooperative in giving up information regarding this man. This is a success in my eyes." Ironwood said.
"They're scared, James. You've put more fear into people's hearts than reassurance. They're scared what your soldiers are going to do to them and they have no choice. How many people have you incarcerated in the past because they refused to give up information about this man?" She asked.
"None, because they realize the gravity of the situation they are put in." He answered.
"I refuse to believe you're telling the truth. Throwing them into unnecessary and stressful situations is the reason they have no trust in the military. Ozpin, how many people don't like Huntsmen or Huntresses in the last couple of years?" She asked.
"Very little." He answered instantly.
"Wrong, a healthy portion of the settlements in Vale are wary of us now. I understand that training is long and we can't spare any hands all the time, but we've been slacking off when it comes to people in need. Ozpin, people are starting to push us away and don't see us as reliable people who will come to their aid." She said.
"What do you suggest?" He leaned forward in his desk.
"We start taking the students out more, give them a more hands on experience. It's either that or continue to have people lose faith in us and perish waiting for that man." She said.
"Hmm, I'll think about this." He nodded.
"I sure hope so. Now I must attend to Ms. Valkyrie and Mr. Ren accordingly." She sighed and began to walk towards the elevator. Both of them had proven to be troublesome students sometimes, it was clear they were used to being out there in the frontier. She shuddered when she remembered having to use her semblance to keep them away from Belladonna, that was possibly one time she actually feared that a student would kill another one. That needed to be handled delicately, any errors on her part could result in a catastrophic situation that she didn't need to happen. She ignored them as they looked at her, closing the elevator doors before they could say anything to her.
The two of them just basked in silence for the next few minutes. Ozpin spoke up while placing his his hand on his chin.
"I will send Qrow to that settlement I visited last. From that point on, information will come in and we will be able to find out more on this man." He reassured.
"We better, the man is nothing but unpredictable and we cannot have someone like that roaming around Remnant. Especially since Salem is making her moves." Ironwood said.
"In time, we just have to play our cards right. This is a delicate situation we are in." Ozpin nodded. He watched as Ironwood nodded also then walked towards the elevator, waiting for it to open then stepping inside. Both men stared at one another and bid each other farewell as the doors closed, leaving the Headmaster by himself. A odd feeling had festered in his gut; it felt like he was doing something wrong but he brushed it aside. Everything he did was necessary and sacrifices needed to be made.
He just hoped it didn't come back to haunt him sooner or later.
A pale hand slammed on a dark conference table, creating a small spiderweb of cracks in it. Black and red eyes gleamed brightly in fury at the recent series of events. The biggest card she had in this foolish war was now gone, blown to smithereens without hesitation, and all because of one man. The cloaked individual that roamed around the frontier, giving hope to the denizens and the only person to take away one of her subordinates unknowingly.
When she first heard of the rumor of him, she just thought it was a mere local legend that people created to bring a false sense of hope. Some time had passed and the story about him grew more popular and she took an interest in him. It wasn't until seven years ago did she come to know of him and get a description of him, which was nothing short of useless half the time. Tall, quiet, and wore a cloak; those were the only things she had known about him for years. Nobody knew where he came from, who he was, or what his motives were. All anybody knew was that he wandered around aimlessly in the wilds, making him nearly impossible to track.
Originally, she thought he was one of Ozpin's pawns; eliminating Grimm and saving people, but that was soon debunked. Her various sources claimed he was a dangerous killer, often striking without mercy and disappearing shortly after. Those characteristics didn't fit Ozpin's little group. It intrigued her greatly, so much that she sent one of her best subordinates after him. Several months later, her underling came up empty handed. While it surprised her, it also disappointed her that they weren't able to find him. Soon, her interest slowly turned into irritation and finally annoyance.
The man was a thorn in her side, much more irritable than some of the others. Now though... he was basically the knife in her back that wouldn't come out. It was like he was the blade that was digging into her flesh and causing more trouble. His most recent action was what made her want him dead. If he couldn't join her against her war with Ozpin, then he was no use to her and needed to be taken out of the picture. She knew he often traveled around the kingdoms, which is why she wanted each of her subordinates in them. Unfortunately, she could only have three since her most recent one, Cinder Fall, was captured and being held at an undisclosed location.
This was fine though, had the girl done her job properly then she wouldn't be in the situation she was in. Now she was just dead weight to her plans.
The pale hand flexed and clenched into a fist before three jellyfish-like Grimm floated into the room, their bulbous head glowing brightly. She waited for a few minutes before three male faces appeared. The first one was a tall-middle aged man with tan skin and a thick mustache, the second one was a burly, muscular man with tanned skin, and a pale slim man with a ponytail. His eyes showed nothing but sadism as he stared at his superior.
"Arthur, Hazel, Tyrian... I have a task for each of you." She said respectively.
"As you are, my grace." Arthur bowed a bit.
"What is it?" Hazel asked politely.
"Anything for the Goddess." Tyrian cackled slightly, making her internally scoff.
"This man, that has been a thorn in my side. I'm sure you three know of him. The one with the cloak and managed to take out the Grimm in the mountaintop on Mount Glenn. The wolf of the frontier as the denizens call him." She said.
"Yes." They answered in unison.
"Have you found any information?" She asked.
"We have found out that he seemingly visited a family of four." Hazel informed calmly.
"Oh?" She asked, suddenly intrigued.
"Although we had to leave due to some of the locals becoming suspicious of our presence. It seems that everyone in the settlement knows of one another." He said.
"Interesting..." She placed her hand on her chin and thought about this for the next few minutes. While she was furious that he managed to take out one of the ancient Grimm, that was immediately replaced with interest. This just meant that the man had people he cared about... good.
"What of the tasks?" Arthur asked.
"Each one of you will reside in a kingdom and gather valuable intelligence regarding him. Hazel, you will reside in Mistral for the time being." She ordered.
"I understand, is there anything else you need of me?" He asked.
"No, that is all." She shook her head, several seconds later his image vanished from one of the Grimm near her.
"Of me?" Arthur asked.
"I want you to get into contact with Dr. Merlot and find his location. His mutations of my Grimm may be a valuable asset to us in the future. Also... find out if those rumors of children and Grimm experiments are true. From that point on, head to Atlas and reside there for the time being." She ordered. His task was rather complicated, but the smirk on his face showed he was up for the challenge.
"Understood, it shall be done." He nodded then left shortly after. There was a rumor six years ago about children being kidnapped and sold, something she didn't hold lightly, but later brushed it off. It had been going on for years, but through her Grimm's tortured eyes, she caught glimpses of them. Ultimately, she didn't care what happened to them, writing them off as dead. She had more important matters to attend to anyways.
"Goddess, what is my task?" Tyrian asked.
"... I want you to gather information and do something about the family then remain in Vale. If this flushes him out then you have my full permission to kill him and remove the thorn that he is. If you succeed, then you will be rewarded for your efforts." She said and watched his eyes light up in glee.
"It shall be done!" He cackled sadistically then his image fades shortly after. She sighed and shook her head before leaning back in her chair, that man was a problem to her and her plans. Had she managed to get into contact with him and convince him to join her, then she would've left the family alone. Knowing Tyrian, he was bound to make it messy. It didn't bother her considering she had seen her fair share of gore, but the buffoon had a habit of making it too messy and causing several problems due to his unpredictable nature.
They only way she kept in contact with them throughout the kingdoms was miniature Grimm. They were capable of creating a smoke that acted as a screen to communicate with them, and were small enough to fit into their pockets. It took a while to create such creatures, but they did prove to be rather useful in the end. If this whole thing worked out, then she got what she wanted most.
Salem always got what she wanted, even if it meant risking her downfall.
So, yes, here I am again. I don't really have much to say other than let's get into these reviews because there's a lot. Therapists claims that's it's good for me to talk, but I don't really say anything during our sessions, but whatever... you guys aren't here to read about that.
Janne Rolfe Jalandoni: I'll think of something.
Guest: Countless years of tidbits of information.
JCarrasco: Thanks.
MysticMauler: It's all I can do at this pint, but thanks.
Cerberusx: The ammunition is a yes, the weapons is a bit of a stretch, but the Covenant weapons... I don't know. Six doesn't really know the ins and outs of the weaponry. He may be proficient with using each one and interested in them, but I don't think he'd really know the science of one off the top of his head.
Halofan2117: Hope this answers your question.
Sm0keyPanda: Didn't know that. I'm alright, I've dealt with depression before so it ain't my first rodeo with this, I'll be okay.
Guest: She said some unnecessary shit.
darkromdemon: Pretty much. Although, I'd like to expand upon her character some more rather than just make her that annoying ass character we all know as of now.
Gundam-Knight-Chris: Indeed.
forthose8675309: I see, I will try to improve upon my writing style some more. It might take a few chapters, but your review has been noted.
Reader: Indeed I have uploaded a bit sooner. I always read reviews, it's the only way to tell what you guys feel about the story. I have not watched volume 7, I barely got through volume 4-5 and 6 was an improvement before they dropped the ball at the finale in my opinion. At this point, I just stopped watching RWBY all together. It's kind of the reason I turn to fanfiction also. Thanks for reviewing.
Justanotherhalofan: Thank you.
bignub243: Originally, that wasn't my end goal, but you did put into perspective of what it's like to be treated like that for so long. About Ren, Nora, and Blake, I did try to put a small twist on the first two while keeping the third the same for the most part.
John Lenard: More like symbolism.
Lord Demolitions: That certainly would be interesting.
Rogue-eL: I'll try to expand upon the drama so more as the chapters progress, and thanks.
Foxcomm: Maybe, maybe not...
Blaze1992: Perhaps.
InfernoKnightmare: Yeah, I found someone to talk to, it's kind of hard though. I don't really talk about my emotions to other people because for the most part, I've learned over the years to just push it down, which is extremely unhealthy. Anyways, your review did make me laugh a bit, so kudos to you.
Guest: Love you, purely platonic.
Jdkem: Same, college is a bitch to deal with. Good luck to you.
rvrwby: I have taken it for consideration, it is currently logged in my mind.
ADAMU KADOMON (Kana Yoshizawa/Shiranui Mizuki): Yeah, I looked up Chekhov's Gun and decided when I make a new chapter, that every single aspect needs to make sense. You certainly helped me a bit because half the topics I was going to incorporate would just conflict with what I already had, so thanks for keeping me from avoiding unnecessary topics and mistakes. I agree about Blake though. Congratulations about the wolf motif, you somewhat got it.
Ghostly: Possibly. He is heading to Patch, which shouldn't be a surprise seeing how it was stated last chapter, so there might be a chance that he meets them.
LunaAnt: Here it is, I hope it's good enough.
AMW Riptide: Love you so much, purely platonic.
daggercloak000: Perhaps...
rick12: Indeed, good analysis.
scottusa1: Thanks, laters.
free man writer: You're awesome. Also about the character driven chapter, I kind of wanted to experiment with it. I don't know why, but it feels more satisfying to actually expand upon a character like a Spartan. Thanks for reviewing.
captaindickscratcher: To be honest, I actually don't mean for those things to happen. I don't even notice that until someone points it out, so imagine my surprise when that was what I read when you put that review. Thanks for reviewing though.
Malgrath: Indeed.
Helluva Pawn: She did.
Czechus: I agree about her character, some interaction might happen later in the story, so there's that. You stay safe also.
SuperRealMahjong: Nice analysis from the TV Tropes, didn't know about some of those things.
IncensedBus87: I tried to capture that in this chapter, I hope it is good enough for you.
Josephi: Knowing the character, he still would.
Fredric: Yeah, I wanted to break away from some of the action for a minute.
The Prussian Gamer: I should've been more descriptive when I said the black-haired female. It was meant to be Blake that said that.
The Baz: I personally feel like it would be a stalemate, at worst he'd lose, but at best he'd be at a stalemate. It would be cool though.
PhoenixGuy: Why? I like it better when people smile.
yangn33: Believe it or not, that was not my intention, it just popped in my head. Though some of the story is inspired by Goblin Slayer, I at least tried to differentiate it. Not my intention in the end though.
CODE 8: Nice, very informative.
Fenrir Wylde Razgriz: Well, it was nice that you did. Thanks for it.
Imperial Stormtrooper: Indeed.
bigbossHayden98: I don't know if I'm going to do that.
Guest: Whoa, calm down, it was just an idea.
shadowless15: Thanks.
Ghostly: You described the man perfectly.
Guest: You're fucking great.
Merlin Odinson: Is... is that a good thing?
Zeratul360: Meh, people had mixed opinions about that topic, so it's all good.
Spoooooner: I mean, it was an odd topic for some.
rarepepe40: I should've been more clear in my description. It was meant to imply that he was growing more comfortable around people, not to the point of telling them his life story or who he is. Plus, it's only seven people in total. I apologize for ruining your immersion with the story.
sacke110: I sometimes forget too, but that's okay.
Specter: It was just an opinion.
Somebody10101: I didn't want to do the whole different universe thing, it would've confused me and ruined some things in my opinion. The topic of him getting on Remnant was something I didn't think of back then when I first made this, but I will try to think of something that fits into the story. It may not be satisfactory to you or several others, but I will try to think of something.
Guest: It was just an opinion.
Guest: It was just an opinion... once again.
Hoodini panini: Can't impress everyone, meh...
So that's it, kind of wanted to set something up for the next possible arc. On a side note, I finally got the MCC, it only took me six years but I recently forgot they added Reach and ODST so nice. I guess this is a see you later. I'd like to thank you guys for reading and waiting patiently and if this chapter doesn't meet your expectations... meh. I can't please everyone. Goodbye and take it easy.