Chapter 70
"Where is she!?" Ironwood growled.
Watts shrugged, smiling under Ironwood's intimidation. "No idea. She must be fighting back. Surprising, but it's only a matter of time. Seeing as I can't locate her, I imagine Pietro is attempting to save her. But that oaf could never compete with my skill."
Ironwood took a deep breath. "Winter. Take the AceOps. Locate and bring back Penny. Harriet, join them after you've returned Watts to his cell."
Watts scoffed. "What, don't need me anymore? I'm sure I can bring her back if you give me some time."
Ironwood ignored him and turned to his soldiers. "Get it done Winter. We need Penny. Now."
"Yes sir." Winter saluted.
"Alright, come on." Harriet growled and grabbed Watts, pulling him to his feet.
"Ah! No need to be so rough. Atlesians aren't supposed to be so barbaric."
"Shut up."
Watts played up the pain as she dragged him out of the room. It was an effective way to hide the stolen scroll…
Crack.
Pyrrha's eyes shot open as the sound split the air. "What… was that?" She asked as she pulled herself from the bed.
"Not sure…" Ren muttered, quickly putting Stormflower back together after he'd been cleaning it. The pair left the small shack, and met with Jaune outside.
"It came from over there!" He said, pointing off in the distance.
The trio marched across the ice and snow…
And found a river of black and purple consuming the land before them. There was a strange heat to it, melting some of the snow and revealing the hard ground beneath. But that warmth was not how it was eating the earth. Instead, it was more akin to an acid, melting the packed dirt and erasing it from existence.
"What the…" Jaune muttered. He swallowed loudly.
Pyrrha bit her lip and fired a few bolts of ice and earth into the river, watching as each was consumed completely. "That's a… Grimm?" She whispered in horror as a familiar bone faceplate rose out of the inky liquid, followed by thick limbs as it tried to pull itself out. A bolt of lightning from Pyrrha slaughtered it before it could escape.
"We need to report this. It's making its way to the city. If it reaches them…" Jaune steps back. "It'll be bad."
The other two nodded, agreeing. The trio hurried back to the barely fixed hoverbike.
They had to hurry…
The chilly air of Atlas didn't give Ruby pause this time. She was a girl on a mission. A sad one, but one nonetheless.
The Schnee grounds were massive, one of the largest complexes on the floating city behind Atlas Academy and its joined military base. There were large gardens. The long driveway. Several outhouses and sheds full of tools and the like. Plazas and gazebos for outside parties too.
And then there was the mausoleum.
Tucked away in a well-kept corner of the estate was a small stone building. Inside was a staircase down. Ruby pushed open the heavy wooden doors and made her way inside. The interior at the base of the stairs was more cold stone. Around the entryway were pots and boxes, filled with the ashes of cremated servants, loved by the family for their support and friendship, Ruby supposed.
A little further in was a small shrine with two pots. A picture placed there showed a young Jacques, with his mother and father. It was as cold as the family portrait near Jacques's office in the mansion…
Deeper still was a shrine to a very old-looking couple. Likely Weiss' great-grandparents. Passed that was one dedicated to Nicholas Schnee and his wife. The man looked warm and inviting out of the armour most pictures had him in.
At the end of the room was one last shrine.
"Hey… Weiss…" Ruby swallowed and knelt. "It's… been a while, hasn't it?"
There was, of course, no answer. The picture on display was that of Weiss at some formal ball, wearing an incredibly beautiful white dress. She looked good.
But it didn't look like Weiss.
"... A lot has happened since… since we spoke back on Patch." Ruby smiled sadly and then sat down fully. "After leaving we had to walk across Mistral. I might have miscalculated the walk so… it kinda took longer than expected." She chuckled and rubbed the back of her head.
"We… had some issues, but we made it to Mistral. It was a pretty city, but it was far from perfect. We were going to take on Raven Branwen and get the Spring Maiden on our side with the help of Headmaster Lionheart… but it turned out they'd both teamed up with Cinder. There was a big fight, but we managed to pull out a win. Sorta. The White Fang badly damaged Haven, Cinder escaped and Raven vanished. But Lionheart changed sides again. So… a plus, I guess…"
She heaved a sigh. "Getting to Atlas was a hassle. Our train was thrown off the tracks and… we found out a lot of stuff. About what's really going on… about who I need to fight. Salem. She's… I can't beat her, but I have to. For you, and Yang and Blake… and mom too. But I don't know how to do it… I'm lost, trying to figure out something Oz hasn't managed in hundreds of years. How… can I do what he couldn't? I… I don't know if I can do it. If I can beat Salem.
"I have to try though. I have to. I can't just stop at Cinder…" Ruby paused as if remembering something she'd forgotten. Somewhat sheepishly, she continued. "Oh right… I… I did it, Weiss. You can tell Yang and Blake that I killed Cinder. I got revenge… against her and Adam. I've gotten it but… it didn't feel like anything changed… I guess it didn't. Until I beat Salem…
"What am I supposed to do? Should I just let go of this… desire for revenge? Should I stick to it and do everything for vengeance? Should I hold to my beliefs or… give in to someone else's?... Am I… in the right? Have I made the right choices?" Her voice cracked and broke.
Quiet sobs filled the mausoleum.
The grave held no answers.
"Merc you have to see something is weird about all this!"
"Weird? What's weird is how flighty you've gotten!"
"What!?" Emerald's eyes widened. Flighty? Her?
Mercury laughed, hoisted a bag over his shoulder and poked his finger at her. "Yeah, flighty. Ever since Cinder died you've been distant, like you're about to run away. What, got scared because your bitch of a boss died like a chump?"
"She wasn't a chump!"
"Wasn't she? Her only success was when she had a year of preparation! She failed at Mistral and she failed here! Cinder was trash masquerading as a competent leader. She was a liar, and completely undeserving of any trust. Not in her skills, not in her talent, and certainly not in her narcissistic and arrogant personality! Get over her already, before you get yourself killed."
His words were like knives stabbing into her, causing her to stumble back. "I… d-don't you feel anything for her!? She saved your life!"
Mercury scoffed. "Saved my life? That's not what that was. It was blackmail. She kept me alive to use me as a tool. She was just like my dear ol' dad. A user and an abuser. The only thing I feel about her death is catharsis. Cinder got exactly what she deserved. Death."
Emerald stared, wide-eyed. "I…"
Mercury frowned and looked away. "Don't look up to her. She was a monster. More than either of us are. So… screw her. We look out for ourselves. And if you get your head in the game… maybe we look out for each other. But I won't tie myself to a girl who doesn't know where she wants to stand."
He said nothing else, simply passed her by and went on his way.
Emerald shivered slightly. Mercury… I have to find where I stand? Then… There's someone I need to talk to.
She took a moment to breathe, then went on her way.
"And so the ass returns." Robyn remarked from her cell.
"Truly you are a bastion of sophistication. I see why you won the Mantle election. Oh, wait." Watts spat back as the soldiers shoved him back into his cell. The hardlight wall popped up a second later. Watts sighed, dusted himself off and sat down. "So, what have my fair prison mates been up to?"
"Wondering how long we'd be without your stench." Robyn fired with a grin.
"Thinking of me? How flattering." Watts smiled back. "But I have to say… I'm not quite interested at this time."
"Good. I'd rather not have a stalker."
"Will you please shut up?" Jacques whined. "This is bad enough without your constant bickering."
Watts huffed. "You should get used to it. Things won't be changing just yet…"
Qrow glared at him, red eyes glinting in the low light. "... just yet?"
Watts grinned back. "Oh, who knows?"
Qrow, Taiyang and Robyn all narrowed their eyes. But they knew Watts wouldn't say anything more. A single thought crossed each of their minds. We need to get out of here.
Zwei whined in the corner.
"It's getting smaller!" Ren shouted.
"Is that good smaller or bad smaller!?" Jaune yelled back.
"It's like it's drying up…"
"But it goes so far ahead of us…" Pyrrha looked in front of them, following the river as it stretched towards Mantle and Atlas. The hoverbike spluttered a couple of times but kept running as Jaune drove them alongside the once river of goo.
"Gr! Come on! Someone, anyone respond!" Jaune shouted into his scroll again, hoping someone was on the other end. "There's a river of Grimm heading right for Mantle! We need help! They need to be alerted!"
As he called for aid, the wind began to pick up around them. Wait… this isn't wind it's…
A Manta came to rest ahead of them. Jaune swallowed as he brought the bike to a stop. "... We should ask them for help. No matter what. Petty grudges can't get in the way." He whispered.
Pyrrha and Ren both nodded. They had to stop this river, not fight potential allies.
The Manta opened, revealing Winter, flanked by Marrow, Elm and Vine. Harriet was likely piloting. "Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. You are under arrest." Winter announced.
Jaune frowned. "Look, the river is right there! We can argue about everything else later! Right now we have to stop it before it reaches the city!"
"What river?"
Jaune turned and pointed. And then his blood froze. The river bed was empty. None of that strange goo remained, just barren earth.
"But… oh no!"
As his eyes widened in shock, a pillar of black and purple erupted near Mantle. The upwards flowing flood slammed into the rock holding Atlas. The strange goo latched onto the surface.
And then it began to spawn Grimm.
Creatures of all kinds fell from it. Teryxes, Nevermores, Griffons and Manticores took to the skies as Beowolves and Ursi clung to the side, some falling to their deaths. Centinels screeched moments before digging straight into the rock surface. The Atlesian Fleet hurried to fire upon the freshly spawned Grimm, but it was too late. Moments after the pillar struck Atlas, the flood of Grimm attacked one of the Barrier Towers on its edge.
In seconds, the great shield of Atlas fell. Shattered by a surprise attack from below.
With a lumbering wail, the great flying beast that Oscar had been taken to charged through the lines of airships and slammed itself into Atlas. As its host of flying Grimm attacked the Fleet, the massive whale Grimm began its assault on the city itself.
"... Get them in and cuff them. Now." Winter ordered.
Time was already slipping from their grasp.
"Hm hm hmmm hm hmmm…" Mercury hummed to himself as his Manta cut through the air. He got a great view as Atlas fell into chaos. They were too busy hurrying to deal with Monstra's landing to chase one small ship, which he used to his advantage to get close to Atlas Academy.
Already the lights of explosions went off near Monstra. The great whale opened its mouth, unleashing a deluge of oil-like goo, and with it a horde of Grimm. Could Atlas outlast the massive beast? Or would Salem slowly and steadily overwhelm the 'greatest military in the world'?
Mercury wouldn't get a front-row seat, but he was excited to find out all the same.
But the job comes first. So, Watts, show me where you are…
A/N: Time moves forward. As Ruby tries to get a little closure at Weiss's grave, she begins to break. Meanwhile, everything else is breaking too! From Atlas's shields to Emerald's 'love' of Cinder. I've always liked Mercury, and his rant about Cinder was fun to write.
I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you next time.