Chapter 26: Day of the White Rose

Salem heard them before the pair ever showed themselves on the field of view of any androids, and even so it was only for a moment. But she could see them instantly, without the delay that Yang's presence caused. That much was an improvement, but… Her beast, the one they named Cerberus, was forced to retreat from their fight. Crafty as it was, it chose to fall back and regenerate, setting up a trap as it made its way to her room at the very top of the tower.

The performance was acceptable. It knew its weaknesses, its strengths, the multiple minds were at some form of synchrony. It knew an angry Grimm is a predictable Grimm, if it attacked without thinking…

The results against a pack of Huntresses would be obvious.

Huntresses, they were troublesome no matter the era. Salem groaned in displeasure. The way Yang moved, the way she sealed them all inside the tower was too precise. Was she also predicting the future somewhat, perhaps on instinct? Huntresses could already do it in a way, their Aura warned them of imminent danger after all. Ozpin could make out the specifics of the future, through some sort of complicated set of calculations, but it was possible.

Salem sat on the only intact chair left in the room, put a hand to her chin, "She shouldn't be able to. It's too complicated for a single mind."

Elisa was confused, at the statement, unaware Salem didn't address her, "Who…"

Salem continued, "But the shared souls, the awareness of the soul…" she hummed.

If she knows her Aura will warn her of future danger, and has now merged her soul with her team's… then it was likely that factor was enhanced too, without any of them ever noticing it.

She sighed, "But Ozma noticed, otherwise these events wouldn't have come about. Ths set we're fighting in is his Modus Operandi."

Distressed, Elisa murmured something inaudible to Salem.

Salem glanced at the servant, reminded of her presence near the other end of the room, "Yes dear?" her tone a perfect enunciation of the words, as calming as she could make them.

"I… I-I don't understand…"

Salem clapped her hands together, "Oh! You don't need to. Merely stay in place, and it'll all be fine."

The nuisance silenced, she resumed thinking. She knew, from their short time together, that Ozma preferred strategic thinking to tactical advantages. He was focused on the war, not the battles, and even found ways to peer into the future through mundane uses of Aura enhancing his mind. That meant causing predictable outcomes, narrowing down variables.

When his plans came to fruition it would all add up and his enemies would be subtracted from the equation.

She had to be careful, even with her immortality, political connections and control over Grimm. She was sure this too was one of his plans… but such an attack, involving auraless fighters? It did not suit him. Ozma's plans spanned decades, centuries even, not weeks. Was it a part of his plans to make her believe he'd follow a predictable structure, or was it…

The Heiress. Oh it lined up too well. It involved the fodder they had with them as 'operators' whatever that title meant. The ambush during a natural disaster, the high risk… If Salem had to gauge it then she was likely on the same level as Ozma, at least in regards to her planning.

Five years ago Ozma nominated Glynda Goodwitch as the Headmistress of Beacon. I had assumed his plan was only to achieve higher power within the council. Was she incorrect? Part of it was clearly betting on mankind not relying on his machinations for survival, and so Salem had set out to do as much damage as possible with that framework. Sow distrust between nations, and at the same time turn his efforts against him in much of the same way. To create a structure that didn't rely on her control to spread the Grimm.

It appeared that, once again, she had to do things herself.

Salem glanced at Elisa again.

Fall, she commanded with a thought. The woman slumped to the ground, yet before she hit the floor Salem pointed a hand, willed magic that manipulated basic forces of the world around them to stop her body in midair. She waved it closer, the servant's body floated her way, resting on her arms.

Salem ran her fingers through Elisa's hair, a brief caress over her forehead… What was dormant within her? She peered inside the woman's soul, ah, a distant and almost insignificant ability to express Aura. that would do for when she woke up. The Semblance of Power was simple too, however disappointing.

You will sleep for me, and when the time comes- an impulse tugged at her mind, the Cerberus had found its mark, but the Huntresses, they were just outside her room…

Salem sighed in annoyance. Grimm Hunters, always so troublesome.

—❖—

She could see it through the walls, the ceiling and eventually, just above them. Her plan had paid off, it was too heavy not to be noticed by finer senses, and though her software could not be manipulated, Penny was outfitted with things a normal human was not. Acute hearing, different types of sight, if she forced, she could improvise a radar.

Improvised wasn't a word she liked, because it made it appear as if it was inadequate, ramshackle. That was far from the case, it was precise enough she could simulate a three-dimensional Cerberus in her mind, similar to how Friend Ruby was capable of doing such on instinct.

Well, Friend Ruby could map out entire pieces of architecture within seconds, a lot more than she could do but it was just a point of reference. Sometimes doing things was easier with a point of reference.

She stopped Winter with a hand on her shoulder, "Target locked," Penny warned. A quick and easy way to let Winter know her intentions and the current status of their target! If Penny said so herself, she was becoming so adept in the art of communicating, with about seven-point-eight percent more efficiency!

She charged blasts with both hands, fired them overhead a second later, blowing through the ceiling, the floor above it, and a pair of the Cerberus' arms. It wanted to lead them to a trap, but such could only work if it reached its destination to spring it. It was leading into a metaphorical pitfall, hidden somewhere within the concrete and iron of the tower.

She could simply destroy both it, the trap and the ground the pitfall lay in. No wondering on how to counter a trap. And through the walls she could see them, some androids —Paladins, she noticed —were left in the premises for the purposes of protecting nobles.

The followed with a Barrage, destroying structural walls in the way. As floors and Walls collapsed, they would neve reach the Ceberus. But, and that was the problem because there was always a BUT, it changed course, moved to one of the luxury rooms at the very top of the tower. Oh, Penny narrowed her eyes, she knew it was resorting to taking a hostage

At the same time, Yang chased Watts to the very same place. He fired at her as he ran through the corridors. His shots hit Ember Celica where Yang didn't dodge, but the gap between the two was getting smaller.

Forced to make a choice, Penny prioritized the General, he was the reason they were there in the first place.

Watts stopped for a second as Penny fired at him, avoiding her blast despite being unaware of her position, or even intent to fire. So he had Aura too.

The Cerberus ran to a hall, possibly the last one in the tower, and as Penny noticed, so did Watts.

After a glance at Winter, Penny extended a hand, "Change of plans, we need to move up there, quick. I'll open the way."

Winter nodded in response, Penny engaged her leg thrusters as she fired up, flying through the wreckage. Winter followed, leaping between floors with the aid of Glyphs.

The floor erupted as Penny burst through, hand outstretched toward Watts. She put her hand around his neck, flew at a wall, smashing the man into it.

As he raised his revolver, Winter surged from the opening in the floor, conjuring a Glyph that held down the firearm.

Yang finally reached them, pointed at Watts, "Playtime's over! You're done-"

A chill ran down every Huntress's spine, Aura warning them of imminent, infinite danger.

The double door to a luxury room opened, revealing a tall, pale woman carrying a servant in her arms in a bridal carry. Her white hair, the blackened veins and eyes, was she the Salem that Penny's friends had warned her about?

Wait, behind and to her side, Penny saw it, the Cerberus!

As she aimed her palm at the woman, her body froze in place. A quick glance told Penny Yang and Winter were struggling much the same.

Salem put the woman down on the floor, then waved a finger at Watts, and the man was immediately yanked out of Penny's grasp. He floated through the air, quick as a bullet! Did she have the same abilities as Glynda? Salem opened a palm and pulled Watts to it. The General had gone from having Penny's hand around his throat, to having Salem's

Salem let out a breath, long and deliberate. Unlike a normal human's, hers wasn't visible in the cold.

She tilted her head to the side, her expression one of complete and utter utter disgust, "... such a disaster."

Watts clawed at the hand on his neck, unable to speak. Salem's face shifted from disgust to worry, "I expected some semblance of competence, or failing that, loyalty. Ozma's students can do it," she tightened her grip, the General gasped for air.

"And where were you when the defenses failed? Abandoning the ship." Salem sighed, "Human, through and through."

Inexplicably, Watts stopped fighting back. A moment later, his body was split in two at the waist as Salem tossed his upper half to one side, and the legs to the other, out of view.

Penny fired a blast at the woman. Though her body was restrained and her mind plagued by terror, the systems obeyed. The blast hit Salem's forehead, tore a fist-sized chunk out of her head. Her back arched backwards, blackened blood poured out of her head.

Then Salem straightened herself up, the missing chunk of head barely a nuisance.

With the turmoil of terror and confusion, Penny broke through whatever held her stiff. Flew at Winter, grabbing her by the back of the armor, then Yang, carrying both down corridor and turning the corner. Out of sight.

Salem raised an eyebrow and her head re-knit itself, watching them flee with simple curiosity. Though there was no animosity from her look, Penny felt it in her presence, it was like an invisible wall she could not fly over. To try so would take all of her aura and still lead to failure. For a brief moment, there was a sinister smile of pure glee, unnatural, as if she didn't know how to make the expression. As if her skin was being pulled at both ends of her lips.

Penny landed, then refused to make a move. She checked on the others, Yang and Winter were both paralyzed as well, though Yang's grimace suggested pure anger beneath, pure fight instinct in the fight-or-flight dichotomy.

"Huntresses," Penny heard from the hallway. "You sure know how to keep a girl waiting…" she crooned.

There was silence. Carefully, Penny approached the corner…

Get down! Her instincts told her. Penny reacted before she even parsed the words, a hand burst through the wall where her head used to be, and disappeared just as quickly.

'Ah, I see." Salem's voice came from… From where she was before, just at the doorframe of the luxury room. Had she extended her hand? Or was she simply that quick?

"I thought you were merely an imitation," Salem continued, "Not an android then, a Huntress. I have a hostage you know? Aren't you going to try and liberate her? Won't even try to negotiate, buy time for the cavalry?"

As Salem spoke, Penny considered her next actions carefully, eyes wide. But, there was a…

Yang tackled Penny and Winter, who had almost broken free of her paralysis. Somehow she knew that if she didn't tackle both to the ground —

As the three hit the floor, a crevice formed on the walls, horizontally, as if a knife had cut through the building itself, then another. A v-shaped cleave.

The top of the structure collapsed to the side, like a cut bamboo, no doubt a feat aided by the strong winds of the snowstorm. It tilted and finally fell to the unknown, a loud rumble following moments later as it hit the ground many storeys below. Penny stood there looking at the damage, the roof cut off, and the lot of them exposed to the elements. Had she not reacted, all three of them would've been cut alongside it.

She'd turned the entire floor into one featureless arena. Was it even any effort for Salem?

"Sharp," said Salem, "Like some of the old Hunters. And you regained movement quite quickly too. I assume you already know who I am?"

Yang was the first with the courage to speak, "You can say that—" she said, then flashed to the side, a vertical cut cleaving through the concrete where she was before.

"Marvelous. So we have… Yang Xiao Long, Winter Schnee, and Penny Polendina, three of you against one of me. But you're too soft, you know?" Salem extended a finger — quite literally, elongating the digit — stopped just before it met the passed-out woman's neck.

The three of them separated, circled around Salem. Yang moved to the left, Penny to the right, where Winer followed.

"A Grimm Hunter in a different era would've let a hostage die to take out someone like me, even temporarily. But you'd never do that…"

Penny, Weiss and Winter exchanged glances. Was Salem bluffing? There was no way to tell. Moments passed, but they were left undecided.

"And I know a weak link when I see one!" Salem said as she lunged at Winter, crossing the length between them in the blink of an eye, and plunging a hand through Winter's chest.

Winter couldn't move as Salem leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes. Something wasn't right…

And Winter's figure shattered like glass. Two others revealed themselves from concealment, a pink-haired petite woman held Winter across the waist, having pulled her out of Salem's reach.

Neo! Penny thought. A Barrage of six shots hit Salem on the back, spraying black blood in front of the immortal.

Ironwood pushed himself up with the use of his prosthetic arm. Spun his revolver as he bellowed, "Let's run! Come on!"

—❖—

Jacques straightened his back, wiped some of the dust from his shoulders.

The blast was oriented, like that of a claymore mine, yet it almost got him too. He looked around, to see if was still in danger…

Weiss, his daughter, was buried beneath the rubble from the waist down, knocked out. Her rapier was nowhere to be seen, lost during the blast?

He walked away. The snowstorm was dying down, so he could make an escape through the secret passage behind the fireplace. There was going to be a problem in the future, especially in secretly burying his daughter's corpse, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

With the power that woman had given him, he almost felt alive after fighting, almost felt like he could take on all of—

A short blade pierced through underneath his jaw. A dagger.

"Goodbye father," Weiss said.

In truth, she had not conjured a Glyph as a shield. Her first line of protection was and would always be evasion. Weiss had conjured it as a feint, a way to draw Jacque's attention into the wrong conclusion. It was simply a way to hide her dagger.

Jacques twisted as he staggered back, fell to the floor as strength failed him. Blood cascaded from his wound, tainted his jet-white suit.

Weiss approached as he bled, to finish him off. Despite his crimes, his own lack of humanity, she couldn't bear to be cruel and let him bleed out.

Then, through the fog Weiss could see, far away in the distance, the old CCTS Tower, as the very top of it was cleaved free of the main body, fell to Atlas below.

And Jacques laughed, spitting blood everywhere as he did, "I think you're seeing it now. For every choice, a surrender, my dear..."

Weiss slashed down, separating Jacque's head from his body. As the splatter of blood hit, she felt it from the tower. A presence unlike any other, like a pair of eyes was constantly burning it's gaze into the back of her mind.

Salem was there, and she was fighting the others.