"Sun's almost down."
"Yeah."
Neither of the two men had any enthusiasm within their voices as they walked the length of the three-story wooden gate. Both of them were dressed in dark black robes with deep blue plates of armor on their shoulders, forearms, and shins. Each wore a black multi-tiered breastplate of ebony steel with dark blue outlines along the ribs, as well as metal-framed open masks.
The whirling snowflakes descending from above obscured their vision of the horizon line somewhat, but both could clearly tell that the day was coming to an end by the dark orange splash of color that was disappearing behind the far off mountains.
"What do you think has our leader so worried? It's not like him to assign so many patrols on every side," one of the men pointed out as he came to a stop and put his hands upon the wooden railing. "Isn't defending the main gates enough?"
The man's partner sighed and shook his head as he offered only a shrug.
"I don't know, but I bet it has something to do with Raven. Everything's been tense ever since those two left the camp, and it's only been getting worse as time goes on. There's something we're not being told."
The original speaker sighed and rolled his neck as he gave the other guard a serious look.
"…there are always things we aren't being told, because it's not our place to know. That being said, I did hear talk around the camp that the rest of The Watchers have been called back. The first of them should be here before the end of the week."
"Really?" the other guard asked. "So, Shrike would be the only one out on assignment, then. Wouldn't that put a significant damper on the flow of inform-"
"Wait. Do you see that, down on the hi-"
The frenzied whirling of a flying short scythe and the heavy impact of its blade splintering the rail as it embedded itself into the wood cut the man's sentence short. Immediately afterward, the purple gem inlaid in the weapon's head glowed brightly, and a skull-faced spectre clad in fluttering dark robes ascended through the dusky sky at a dangerous speed. The two guards drew their swords as they saw the woman coming, only for one of the pair to lose their head to the embedded scythe's twin as it tore through their aura and neck in a single reaping swing. Maria Calavera's feet hit the walkway atop the gate before the man's body, and the other guard soon found the woman's second scythe embedded in his chest after she hurled it through the air.
The man's sword clattered to the wooden surface beneath him as Maria walked forward and wrenched her waiting scythe from the railing. She slipped past him without a word and moved toward a large spoked wheel sitting near the end of the gate. The dying guard turned to face Maria as she began to turn the crank, and let out a blood-choked gurgle as he reached a hand for her. The woman responded by depressing a button on the haft of her scythe, and the other tore itself from the man's chest before flying through the air to snap to its mate and form a short, double-bladed staff.
"So far, so good," Maria mused to herself as the giant gates began to creak open. Through the intensifying snow, signal fires began to alight from all around the perimeter of the camp, and Maria's face pulled into a scowl. "Or not…"
The moment that she felt the gate was open enough for the others to slip through, Maria vaulted the railing and dug one of her blades into the side of the tower to slow her descent. Within seconds, she reached the ground on the inside of the camp and glared out through her mask at her surroundings. The snow seemed to be intensifying by the minute since her arrival upon the mountain, and the outlines of buildings and torches around the area were blurred and uncertain against the darkened sky. Shadowed figures began to move between the buildings before her, and Maria tensed as she split her weapon back into dual scythes and held them at the ready.
"They know we're here," Raven called out as she, Qrow, and Professor Ozpin ran through the gate and joined Maria's side. "It won't be long before we're surrounded."
"They are aware that someone is here," Professor Ozpin corrected. "Two parties. One to distract, the other to approach the temple with minimal contact. Raven, with me, to Arowana. Maria, take Qrow, and begin a distraction that they cannot ignore."
"Right," Qrow agreed as he drew Harbinger from his back. "We'll head for the center of the camp. Follow me!"
Raven laid her hand upon the hilt of Omen and squeezed the sword in a death grip as she watched her brother take off for the center of the encampment.
"…we move for the temple. Come, Professor. Stay in the shadows."
"Right," the man replied as he followed Raven.
The girl pressed her back to the wall of a nearby building and began to slink along the wooden surface. Her shoes crunched subtly in the snow as she went, while Professor Ozpin's long coat dragged a trail behind him.
"You are sure you'll be ready to do this?" Professor Ozpin asked in a low voice as the pair reached a gap between buildings. "We are well beyond the point of any hope for compromise or peaceful resolution. Several allies, including me, have died in pursuit of this place."
Raven sucked in a breath and peeked out into the small alleyway. Several shadowed figures ran past as a pair of gunshots rang out between echoing whirls of wind, and she quickly leaned back to safety as she closed her eyes.
"…I'm ready. He needs to be put down, for good. You've really been fighting against him for multiple lifetimes…?"
"…in a sense," the headmaster answered. "Not just Arowana, but the clan leaders before him. His father, his grandfather… in truth, I've never seen Arowana himself in the flesh."
Raven opened her eyes and leaned out from the corner once again before quickly darting across the gap and pressing her back to the waiting building. Professor Ozpin followed after her in short order, and the pair began to inch along the new wall together.
"So… then you don't know what his semblance is, either…"
"…actually, I was hoping you could tell me," Professor Ozpin replied. "It's a secret even from his own children…?"
Raven sneered as they reached the next gap to cross and took a moment to shake her head as she spoke in only a whisper.
"He wasn't much of a father at all. More like a harsh mentor. I always thought that he never showed us because he didn't need his semblance to beat the two of us into submission. Now, though… maybe he didn't show us as a way to protect himself. Maybe he didn't trust us with that information even when we were just children…"
Professor Ozpin placed a hand upon Raven's shoulder and moved around her to peer out around the corner of the building. The man pulled back almost immediately and eyed the long distance between their position and a far-off rocky outcropping covered in snow.
"…take my hand, and do not stop running," the man commanded as he offered his gloved hand to Raven. "Trust me."
"…I do," Raven answered hesitantly as she clasped her hand with the professor's.
Almost immediately, an odd, almost groaning sound rang through Raven's head from all sides. The snowflakes just before her seemed to slow to a crawl as they traced lazy, impossibly floaty patterns through the air in midflight. The flames of the flickering torches mounted upon the wall surrounding the compound licked the air without any sense of urgency, and Professor Ozpin's footprints took a full second to even begin to appear in the snow as he broke out into a run. Raven followed the man as he ran for the faraway rocks at seemingly normal speed, her mind racing as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. To her left, an entire line of guards was facing her, though none of them seemed able to see her or Professor Ozpin despite their vulnerability out in the open. Finally, just as they reached their jagged shield of stone, realization hit her and the world returned to its normal speed.
"…time dilation. So that's what it feels like…"
"It is indeed," Professor Ozpin confirmed as he crouched low and ran alongside the rocks with Raven in tow. "When we begin, it will appear as though I am disappearing entirely. Focus foremost on protecting yourself, Raven. Your safety is my priority, here."
"Before, or after the artifact?" Raven asked flatly as they reached the end of their cover.
Professor Ozpin looked over his shoulder, his eyes hidden entirely behind his darkened circular glasses.
"You needn't ask. The temple is just ahead, yet I see no guards. Proceed calmly and quickly- I have a feeling we're being allowed to approach…"
"Wouldn't really surprise me," Raven said darkly as she stood and placed a hand upon the rocks to peek over the surface. "And I think I know where his elite guards are."
"I do, too," Professor Ozpin agreed as he began a brisk jog toward the massive stone temple. "But don't worry- I was caught off-guard by one of his subordinates and in a failing body, last time. Here, now, with you at my side? I have all I need to finish this."
"You'd better," Raven insisted as she followed her professor up to the waiting wooden door. She stared hard at the gigantic, familiar carving of a six-eyed bird and took one last, deep breath as her entire body shivered. "Professor…?"
Professor Ozpin paused just before the gargantuan portals and turned to face Raven once again.
"Yes?"
Raven looked down to the snow-covered steps and hugged her bare arms as she continued to shiver.
"Before we do this, I just want you to know that I'm… scared, for many reasons. I know we can't afford to draw this out and talk right now, but I just…"
"Raven," Professor Ozpin began in a calm, reassuring voice, "it's alright to be scared. Arowana himself is clearly scared of you, after all… and if his guards have indeed been moved into the temple, it only reinforces that very fact. Fear is a common factor linking all humans, faunus, and animals on Remnant. Fear is a byproduct of belief and value, and the presence of fear means that you have something to fight for, something you cannot stand the thought of losing. Fear should be reassuring, and only becomes a real problem when you let it stop you from taking action… which is exactly what it has done to Arowana, and your clan. When you face an enemy incapable of fear, that is a much greater cause for concern. That day will come, eventually…"
Raven raised a brow and tilted her head.
"…what do you mean by that…?"
"…it's an answer for another time. For now, steel yourself, and follow me."
Without another word, the man turned and thrust the giant wooden doors open before stepping inside and beginning to take long strides down the entrance hall. Raven quickened her pace to walk at Professor Ozpin's side, and jumped slightly as the doors slammed shut behind her. She once again wrapped her hand around the hilt of Omen as her father came into view.
Arowana sat upon his usual throne, one leg crossed perpendicularly atop the other. He wore his usual straw hat and a robe of deep black, his aged and yet imposingly muscular chest somewhat visible in the opening of his garb. His hat obscured almost all of his face, leaving his silver, wispy beard to denote where his mouth would be. In his right hand was a long, black pipe with golden banding upon it, which he twirled deftly through his weathered fingers.
A set of four guards, two on either side of the throne, stood waiting with spears, their eyes locked on Raven as she approached with her professor. The pair stopped around fifteen feet from the steps at the bottom of the throne, only for the guards to level their spears at them in perfect sync. Arowana raised his free hand in a lazy backward wave as he shook his head, his wide-brimmed hat rotating from side to side with the motion.
"…as though you can touch either of them without my assistance," the man mused before lowering his arm and clutching the head of the armrest with his leathery hand. "Ozma. I see that a little bird finally helped you find your way to me. I thought a man as dignified as you would be above petty revenge."
"…Ozma…?" Raven asked as she looked up to her mentor. He paid her no mind as he took a step forward and rested both of his hands atop the head of his cane.
"Indeed she did. You know why I've come. It has nothing to do with revenge," Professor Ozpin stated as he lowered his chin to look at Arowana over the rims of his glasses.
The elder clan leader's immediate frown was barely visible beneath his wide circular hat, though it still carried the same intensity of his voice as he spoke once again.
"…regardless of what happens here tonight, you will not be leaving with the relic."
"That isn't up to you to decide," Raven interrupted as she sank into a fighting stance and pulled Omen and its sheath back behind her waist.
"Is that so?" Arowana questioned as he pushed down into the armrest and slowly rose from his throne. The man began to descend the steps with heavy footfalls, the impact of his sandals upon the stone echoing throughout the chamber. "Finally, she speaks. Tell me, dear daughter- has this man told you what he intends to do with the relic once h-"
Before Arowana could finish, Professor Ozpin had closed the distance in an instant by blinking forward and thrusting for the man's throat with his cane. Arowana jerked his head to the side and grabbed the weapon as it grazed his neck, only for the cane to knock his hat off and send it spiraling to the ground while Professor Ozpin appeared near a wall on the side of the room. Raven rushed forward and began to draw Omen as Arowana put his pipe up to his lips and blew out a slow, calm stream of smoke. She stopped mid-stride as the smoke expanded rapidly and seemed to swallow the entire room around her in great, choking clouds. All at once, Arowana, Professor Ozpin, and the guards all seemed to disappear from her line of sight, and she spun in place while trying to track any hint of movement around herself.
"…Professor?" Raven called out, only for the man to appear at her side with his cane raised.
"I'm here. Stay on guard," the man warned as the smoke slowly began to clear.
"No amount of preparedness can save you," Arowana's voice echoed from somewhere within the room as the chamber began to clear of smoke. The four guards stood as still as statues as the tendrils of grey material snaked through the air and began to surround them in coats of swirling, intangible armor. "You cannot fight that which has no form."
Raven's shoulders tensed as Arowana casually strolled out from behind his throne, carrying his pipe in one hand and what appeared to be the hilt of a sword in the other. She watched him take a long drag from his pipe before bringing the bladeless hilt to his mouth, where he drew it outward while smoke billowed down and out from his mouth. A roiling, ash-colored, formless blade of searing gas manifested attached to the hilt as the man drew the weapon around and behind himself. In the end, the ever-shifting gaseous blade extended to be longer than Arowana was tall, and he once again brought his pipe to his lips upon its completion.
"Now then," the man said calmly as his smoke-shrouded guards began to advance, "let us begin."
Author's Note:
Next chapter- the final battle. Two more to go in Volume 1…
-RD