Atonement VII Part II
"Are we there yet?"
Hazel Rainhart had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the impatience of his…partner.
Tyrian Callows was not someone he would usually associate with.
Then again, almost anyone working under Salem was someone he would like to associate with.
However, for the sake of his revenge and for carrying out Salem's orders, he swallowed his dislike and calmly answered. "We'll be landing in a few minutes."
"Good." Tyrian grinned.
Hazel could see the kingdom of Atlas growing closer. Clayton had spared no expense in coming up with a way to sneak them into the kingdom onboard an airship that was carrying supplies imported from Vale. It was important they sneak in, meet up with their contact and get out without alerting the Atlas military.
"Do you remember your mission?" Hazel asked, opening one eye to glance at Tyrian.
"Oh yes." Tyrian nodded feverishly. "The queen demands the presence of…Ansem the Wise. Preferably in a mostly undamaged condition."
From what Hazel had heard, Ansem the Wise has the biggest connection to Salem's most dangerous enemy outside of Ozpin. It would explain how the SDC had become more than just the biggest supplier of Dust on Remnant.
Renewable energy sources.
Selling ice, water along with soil and plant seeds to Vacuo.
Hazel had heard a lot and personally he had no personal issues with Ansem like he did with Ozpin. However, Salem had ordered his capture and while Hazel took no joy in it, he would not stop Tyrian from carrying out the queen's order.
"Just remember to be quick and make sure no one sees you." Hazel advised Tyrian.
"Oh, I will be quick." Tyrian snickered as his tail unfurled from underneath his coat. "I will be very quick."
Dilan was not one for crowds.
This was a constant in both his life as a guardian of Radiant Garden, a Nobody of Organization of XIII and a body guard to his master's family. Despite their dedication, even he and Aeleus took time off every now and then, especially since the Master's children were growing up and were learning to fend for themselves. Of course, it was hard to adjust sometimes to life in Atlas when the people here were so different from the ones in Radiant Garden.
Radiant Garden, the City of Light.
Its people were kind, hard-working, and many of them skilled in one way or another as a warrior, a magician or something that helped contribute to the peace that the world had enjoyed for so long.
And then there is Atlas, the City in the Sky.
Many of its people were apathetic, caring for their wealth and images than the common good. It did not help that many of them were disrespectful of his master's beliefs that all people were made equal, even if they were not born that way. Human, Faunus, it did not matter in the eyes of the master.
Too bad some did not see it that way.
Perhaps that was why the Master chose to have his main castle, his headquarters located down in Mantle, to live among the people who knew and understood these beliefs better. The people of Mantle had to endure living in the shadow of Atlas and everything they worked for was promoting the city over their heads while aside from the Master, barely anyone thought to give back to the city that provided the people of Atlas everything they could want.
Such apathy was not something Dilan liked.
Still, when he was not on a mission or tending to the Master's children, he would walk the city of Atlas, if only to enjoy the fluttery wind, no matter how cold it might be.
Perhaps it was the winds that brought him somewhere where there was trouble.
BOOM!
Dilan turned his head, hearing an explosion from inside a building called the 'The Glass Unicorn' and rushed inside. He rushed inside, seeing a cloud of stream on the walkway of an upper floor. People were shouting in surprise and whispering to each other as Dilan entered and looked around.
It was a lavish looking place but he frowned when he saw a sign on the check-in desk saying 'WE DO NOT SERVE FAUNUS'.
He looked over and saw a man standing apart from everyone else, his feature calm and his posture that of a seasoned warrior.
A Huntsman.
"Excuse me." He called out, approaching the man. "Do you know what has happened?"
"I'm not sure but I can guess." The man answered, glancing to Dilan. "You a Huntsman?"
Dilan cleared his throat. "I'm more of a guardian."
"Uh? Of what?" The man questioned.
"I protect the family of my mentor." Dilan placed a hand over his chest. "I cannot say I'm a Huntsman if I prioritize one family over others."
The man looked to Dilan for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, at least you are protecting. That's good enough for me, Mr…"
"Dilan." Dilan offered his hand. "Just Dilan."
"You can call me Rhodes."
"Alright, what gives? Someone took my damn sword."
"I apologize for the inconvenience. We'll help you look for it."
The young girl crawled out of a vent carrying a bundle of fabric. She laid the bundle onto a sleeping mat and then unwrapped, revealing a sword. She picked up the sword, smiling.
"Now that's not yours, is it?"
Cinder turned and threw the sword at Rhodes, who deflects it into a wooden beam with his dual maces. Dilan stood behind him, simply watching as this played out.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Rhodes said and to prove his point he rolled his maces over to the girl, who picked one of them up.
She ran forward and swing the mace at him, but he caught it in his hand, using his Semblance to coat his hand in metal. Dilan raised an eyebrow, interested by the man's Semblance.
"I've seen you around, and I think it's safe to say you're not getting the most fair treatment. Yeah? I can't really blame you for what you're thinking." Rhodes gently said.
"You don't know what I'm—"
"But hurting them isn't going to make your life any better. You can run, but you're going to be running for the rest of your life. Or you could find another way to handle it." Rhodes continued.
The girl hung her head and lowered the mace, letting it rest on the floor.
She began to cry. "Like you? You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want."
"Ah, how old are you?" Rhodes asked.
"Ten." The girl answered.
"And you want to be like us? You want to be a Huntress?" Rhodes gestured to himself.
Cinder nodded.
"Then we've got about seven years." Rhodes walked over to the sword still stuck in a beam.
"For what?"
He pulled the sword from the beam and tossed it to her. "To train you for the Huntsman exam."
Dilan walked over to the girl and knelt down in front of her, taking in her malnourished face, dark circles around her eyes and noticed the 'necklace'.
"You cannot remove this, can you?" He asked.
She shook her head.
He reached out and grabbed the back of the 'necklace', snapping with a mere grip. The girl gasped as it fell to the ground, revealing burn scars around her neck.
Dilan narrowed his eyes. "Barbaric."
The girl looked up at him with widened eyes, reaching up with one hand and feeling the markings.
"Such injustice cannot go unpunished." Dilan stood up. "I will report this abuse to the authorities."
"Dilan, it won't be that easy." Rhodes pointed out. "The system here in Atlas…"
"It does not matter. This is barbaric." Dilan replied. "The collar and the markings would be enough to prove they are guilty."
"Assuming they haven't bribed the police and the officials." Rhodes replied. "Chances are, they made sure to cover their tracks such as where and how they adopted her and brought her here."
Dilan narrowed his eyes. "Then I will find the evidence and bring it into the light."
He looked down at the girl who was staring up at him in awe for what he had done and spoke.
He knelt down in front of her. "This will not be easy for you. Your caretakers will not be kind and if they see you without this collar, they will place another one on you. I would advise you to run if you have the chance. I would take you with me if I could, but such actions would drag my master and his family into it and the woman would have many people to call upon to help slander the good name of my master's family.
"I am a guardian, sworn to protect the hearts of my master and those close to me. You do not know me and I do not know you, but if you ask of me I will help Rhodes train you to protect yourself and I will work to expose the barbarity of this place."
He picked up the collar and removed the yellow Lightning Dust crystal in the center.
"The best I can do for now is offer a reprieve from the pain. If you can hide this and falsify the pain perhaps things will be easier." He offered it back to her. "That is not enough but it is all I can offer at this moment."
The girl took the collar back and hesitantly put it back on.
"Until then, we'll have to do our best to help you the only way we can." Dilan produced his lance, Lindworm.
Ever since that night in the storage closet at the Glass Unicorn, Dilan had found a second purpose beyond redemption in helping his mentor and his new family.
Helping the servant girl named Cinder.
He had reported the incident to Atlas' Child Protective Services but as Rhodes had expected, they had already been expecting calls like this and refused to even listen to the idea that slandered the Madame of the Glass Unicorn. Dilan had made sure to remain anonymous so it would lead to a backlash against the Schnee family. Since he could not solve this the honorable way he would have to be more stealthy. The Madame was considered a saint in Atlas, donating large sums of Lien to various charities, some of them including charities hosted by the Schnee Dust Company.
Dilan had started there, looking for ways to trace the source of the Madame's money and to find out if she had been acquiring it illegally. In between the times he had as the bodyguard to the Schnee, helping Ansem, he would be helping Rhodes train Cinder…
Rhodes would train her sword combat while Dilan would teach her how to wield a lance. He presented a smaller one to her and helped her through the basics, showing her how to hold it, the proper stances and then how to fight with it.
"Remember, these stances are to help you to better strike or block." Dilan instructed as Rhodes watched from the side. "Start with an underhand grip and then bring your weapon close to the right hand up on the right side of the body and then down to the left side of your body. Then bring it up to the left side of your body and then then down to the right side. Make sure the other blade is trailing in the same path."
Cinder did so, the lance in her hand seemingly spinning in front of her as she brought it back and forth, left and right.
"Don't be afraid to loosen your grip as you make the transition. It'll be easier and less stiff." Dilan continued.
Then came to doing it with one hand.
"Make sure your hand is gripped in the middle of the staff." Dilan said while Cinder kept her free hand close to her chest.
She got better and better to the point she could twirl her lance in one hand like an expert, spinning it like a baton and even switching which one hand was holding it. Dilan nodded with a pleased look on his face while Rhodes was smiling.
Over the years, when Dilan had some free time he would head over to the Glass Unicorn to check on Cinder while Rhodes was away and he would bring healing cream and ointment for her burns. He hated having to just allow this, but Atlas was much different from Radiant Garden in both law and how people responded. The stench of corruption was strong, and he had to hope the kindness he offered to Cinder was enough to keep her from falling to the darkness that he himself had been lost in. He had worked with Rhodes in trying find evidence of the Madame's abuse and corruption but she made it difficult for him and despite his skills and intelligence, Dilan was not a detective and he couldn't hire one without Aeleous or Ansem learning of what he was up to.
He had taken it upon himself to help this child and he would not fail.
And then they caught a break.
"I have some wonderful news, Cinder." Dilan said once they were finished training for the day. "Rhodes and I found the evidence we need to free you and place the Madame behind bars."
Cinder was still as a statue…and then she latched onto Dilan, giving him a deep hug that surprised him but he returned it all the same. "Thank you! Thank you!"
"Rhodes will be back later today. We discovered the evidence in the very orphanage the Madame had found you in and we traced it back to her." Dilan patted Cinder on the back. "It'll be difficult as the Madame will try to bribe her way out but we can convince the authorities you are not safe here. Rhodes has volunteered to take you in and if he cannot, I will take you in myself."
Cinder pulled away with a tearful smile. "Really?"
Dilan nodded. "For this occasion, we have a gift for you."
Dilan reached behind him and pulled out a gift wrapped present that Cinder took. "A Huntress always has a weapon that is unique to themselves. I believe this will suit you perfectly."
Cinder unwrapped the presented and gasped at what she saw. A pair of swords, just like the ones used by Rhodes.
"They are not just swords." Dilan said with a smile. "Combine them."
Cinder looked surprised but did so, watching as the hilts of the swords joined together, forming into a double bladed staff…or a lance.
"And your final gift. Channel your Semblance through the hilt." Dilan instructed one last time.
Cinder looked confused but did so, watching in awe as the blades lit up, blazing with fire. "Wow…."
"You have earned this, Cinder. When I first met you, I suggested you run when you first had the chance, but you endured far more than anyone had the right to ask of you." Dilan placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you tonight when Rhodes comes with the police."
Little did Dilan and Rhodes know was that things were not going to go as expected.
Dilan felt his Scroll vibrate and he immediately answered. "Yes."
"Dilan, we have a situation in the Academy. Master Ansem has ordered security to locate Dr. Watts who is suspected of trying to kill General Ironwood." Aeleus spoke as his face appeared on the screen.
Dilan's eyes widened before narrowing. "I'm on my way."
He ended the call and briefly looked back at the Glass Unicorn before rushing off.
It seemed he would have to leave Cinder to Rhodes for the time being.
It happened so fast…
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He felt the pain again, falling to the ground, struggling to breath, struggling to stay alive..
But not struggling to stay awake.
Mettle would not let him pass out.
It was focused on keeping him awake even as it repeated.
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It kept him focused.
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It willed him to live through the pain.
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Because that's what he wanted.
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The will to do whatever was necessary to win.
To power through any problems.
This was Mettle.
BLAST!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Mettle gave him power because deep down he was afraid.
Afraid to lose.
Afraid of losing everything.
He needed strength…
He needed to find a way…
He needed to know every step he was taking was towards a Remnant that would be saved from her!
"I can't override it!" Pietro said frantically, typing away at the controls. "I'm locked out of the computer!"
Ansem came up behind Pietro, looking at the monitor and seeing the controls were locked on the specific simulation General Ironwood was experiencing. "What is this?"
"It's the accident that cost the general his arm, leg and nearly the left side of his torso. He should have been dead but his Semblance kept him alive long enough for the doctors to get him to the hospital." Pietro rubbed his face. "I came up with the cybernetics that saved his life. Arthur and I worked together to save James."
"Arthur?" Ansem looked over his shoulder, only to see Watts was gone. "Arthur?"
He was gone.
Ansem quickly pushed the intercom switch. "Security, find Arthur Watts."
Watts had slipped away while Ansem and Pietro were frantically trying to save Ironwood's life. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they find out what he done but it didn't matter. He had just made it out of Atlas Academy when Ansem had called for security to locate him.
"Sorry to rain on your parade, Ansem but James does have this coming." Watts remarked, looking at his Scroll in satisfaction to see James being tortured in the holographic fantasy he had set up.
Ironwood had publicly disgraced him when he turned and shut down his project in favor of Pietro's. It was no secret amongst the Atlas elite and once that happened, the prestige Watts had enjoyed as being the greatest mind in the history of Atlas was lost.
Watts had dedicated his entire life to the scientific advancement of Atlas and this was how he was repaid?
To have Ironwood take credit for absolutely everything because he was the leader?
Watts was supposed to accept he would never be given credit for everything he had done for Atlas while James stood atop his achievements looking like a giant?
Like hell Watts would just lie down and accept being a mere pawn of that fool!
He was slightly regretful that Ansem had been caught up in all of this but only slightly. No matter how hard he tried, he could never compete with Ansem the Wise.
Such a humble title.
'It doesn't matter now. I know who you are, what you are, Ansem.' Watts thought to himself as he walked through an alley. 'My eyes have been opened to the truth of the world by her…'
A woman in black, turning around to face him with red glowing eyes…
Another woman with eyes and hair the color of the ocean, wielding a powerful key shaped sword…
A man covered head to toe in bronze armor, wielding a similar key shaped sword.
'It was not enough that Ironwood hid the truth of such power from me for so long, using me to build up his fortress to protect his precious trinket from her, but the knowledge that people could be revived from the death…And even be revived from other worlds.' Watts left the alley and made a light sprint towards where he needed to go.
Ansem, lying on the ground and disappearing into a shower of golden light.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." The blue haired woman from before, greeting him with a kind smile. "Ansem has told us a great deal about you."
'To think she was in Atlas that time, right under everyone's nose and by the time anyone had realized, it was too late. She set in motion for Ansem to be born here, to be blessed with the knowledge of everything out there and he used it to rise above even me…Only he was given credit for all his achievements even though he never worked with James at all except now!' Watts narrowed his eyes. 'I never had a chance to measure up because Ansem had a life time of knowledge inside him already and worst of all James let him do as he wanted and gave him full credit while never as much giving me any appreciation for my own work! Work he uses in his secret war!'
A war of gods and monsters.
'I have to know what Ansem is hiding from everyone before I leave. I have to have the knowledge he possesses so I can become as great, if not greater than him!'
Watts stopped as he came upon his destination.
The Schnee Dust Company headquarters.
Ansem had labelled Arthur Watts as many things, but petty enough to torture and attempt assassination on General Ironwood was not one of them. Didn't he realize that by doing this, Arthur would be labelled a criminal charged with treason.
Treason was punishable by the death penalty.
He looked back in the simulation, watching with remorse as Ironwood was tortured over and over by the very same incident that left him in need of his prosthetics.
Only he was noticing something.
Ironwood was getting up, panting, his face sweating, his neatly combed hair a mess and his clothes scorching as the plasma blast hit him again.
BLAST!
And his Aura blocked it.
Ansem's eyes widened as he watched Ironwood hold up his prosthetic hand, his Aura shimmering as it strained against the blast while Ironwood pushed forward.
Then his Aura seemingly broke and he was screaming again before the simulation reset itself and Ironwood was hit again.
BLAST!
And like before, Ironwood's Aura had recharged had an astonishing rate as he pushed his way through the blast.
"Pietro, show me Ironwood's Aura status." Ansem quickly said.
Pietro quickly did and the screen showed Ironwood's Aura meter decreasing…and then rising. "His Aura is recharging faster than I've ever seen before. Even after it breaks, it shouldn't be recharging at all."
Ironwood continued pushing through the plasma beam as his Aura shimmered, he was panting, groaning and limping but he was strong. He kept pushing and pushing his way through the blast…
And then his arm touched the cannon.
SMASH!
BOOM!
Ansem and Pietro watched in silent awe as Ironwood smashed the plasma blaster with his own mechanical arm. The simulation reset and the weapon fired again but Ironwood dodged, moving much faster than before and smashed the cannon.
Ansem shook his head and pulled out his Scroll. "Tron, the simulation has been locked and we've been locked out of the main computer. I need you to override."
"Right away." A voice replied.
The cannon fired again but Ironwood's Aura seemingly grew powerful enough he actually shrugged off the hit and smashed the cannon again.
And then the simulation halted.
"General Ironwood, are you all right? Something happened and we lost all control!" Pietro exclaimed into the microphone.
Ironwood stood in the center of the training room, his clothes smoking but he appeared unharmed. His hair was a mess, his face sweaty and dark circles around his dimmed eyes as he turned around…and collapsed onto the ground.
"Medic!" Ansem called out.
Okay, everyone. Hope you all like this new chapter in the Atonement Saga. Now, I mentioned in my last chapter that I changed some things in chapter 30: The Lost Dragon to better incorporate events from Volume 9, believing I shouldn't have done it all. Now believe it or not, I do understand why you would think that but when I started this story, I always intended to have it when Aqua returned it would be in the middle of Volume 9, only after RWBY and Jaune find out their world has been destroyed. The added stress from their time in the Ever After just better helped it all build up until it all exploded, causing them to drift apart and become what they were when Aqua first encountered them.
Ruby alluding to the Red Queen in her mad vengeance, even though that's the Red Princes' role in canon.
Weiss being White Queen, or even the Snow Queen in this instance.
Blake being the Cheshire Cat because of how she has spiraled into madness, even though there is already an allusion to Cheshire.
And Yang...well, I just settled for Lost Dragon because she couldn't fit any allusion in what state she was in when she found Aqua and Neo.
I started this before Volume 9 came out and it built up from there but I was always careful not to include too much about the Ever After other than speculation as to its origins and what the Tree AKA Yggdrasil was supposed to represent as well as guessing as to what was happening with RWBY in that time. Now, I have kept up with Volume 9 and I understand that some of you have varying opinions as to its pacing and maybe even certain events that has happened and I understand that too but I always intended to do this to better incorporate the RWBY elements into this crossover story and so far they are the only changes I intend to implement, mostly because it's been easy so far without being too contradictory to either franchise. The main differences is that Aqua's appearance and travel through time has likely altered history of not just Remnant but possibly the Ever After which can explain the changes I have implemented.
Hope this is a good enough explanation to everyone reading and looking forward to what you think of this new chapter.