Well shit.
In all honesty I should have seen it coming, then again how was I supposed to know there were Grimm nearby.
As I sat in the chamber I began to wonder just what happened back at Beacon. Most looked to blame me, and made a point of showing it as I was escorted away. The headmaster ordered me to surrender as if we were in battle, and while his face was stern his eyes held a hint of softness to them. I complied, but even so I felt something pick at the back of my mind.
Could I really have summoned that Beowolf on accident?
I didn't remember summoning it, but then again I've recently been able to do things I've never even dreamed of. But if not me then how would it have even gotten in? The garden had been deep within the school, so any Grimm that tried to break through would have been drawn by others and have started a ruckus before even getting close to where we were. So far the first option was likely the most valid, but that left a brutal question in my mind. How did I summon it?
More importantly how did I do so without my armor?
Up to this point all of my new abilities required it to be covering me; even the more mental based one of emotion reading. Was it something new? Had I just been doing it wrong before?
"Hey kid, got any threes?" The words were followed by a laugh and I sighed as my back hit the wall.
"What is it Roman?" I asked tiredly.
Unfortunately for myself I ended up right next to the man, who had been arrested back in the city. Whether intentional or just plain coincidence my cell ended up right next to his on the airship, and Roman took every chance to point it out as well.
"Nothing really. Just thought you might be up for a game of cards. Things tend to get slow in the cells you know?"
"We don't have cards." I pointed out as he gasped.
"You're right! Oh how could I forget." His tone made it clear he was enjoying the little show he started, and I found myself more irritated than ever.
"Have anything important to say, or are you just wasting breath?" I let out as he chuckled from the other side.
"Believe me I have plenty of important things to say. Unfortunately they're not for you. But hey, at least we can be buddy-buddy for a while as prison mates right?"
I rested my head back intent to let the man have his fun. Surely he'd get tired sooner or later. In the meantime I thought back to the looks of the others, and the look of fear on one particular girl's face. She was there alongside Mercury, but something had been off about her. I could have sworn I saw her face somewhere before. But that wasn't so much a concern as what happened during the Grimm attack.
The way she moved and how she looked to just barely avoid each attack, it was... weird. The way she bent, yet never once stumbled from every 'last minute' dodge looked off. It was like she'd done it before, as if she were used to maneuvering at the final moment. It made me wonder just what happened to her to force such a skill.
"Hey you!"
The shout was followed by a loud knocking on my cell door, and I watched it open as two armed men approached and hauled me to my feet.
"Come along. You've got somewhere to be." The man uttered with venom in his cold tone. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble - and a healthy spark of curiosity - I complied and followed the two out.
"Aw no fair. When do I get my special walk?" Roman taunted as the two ignored him and dragged me along.
"Where are we going?" I tried in a plain tone, only to receive a shove forward.
"Keep moving."
With a grumble I continued along the halls, taking occasional glances at my surroundings. A single look out the window showed we were far from land, and looking closer I saw what looked to be the stadium floating high above the forest just outside the city limits. Amity arena looked magnificent from the angle we were at, although I never got to admire it for long as the men tugged me into a hallway and cut off my view.
It was much more cramped with the three of us side by side, but even so I shot my eyes back and forth around the various doors as we passed. Others went about their day in the rooms. Activities varied; anything from chatting, working, and even laughing at points. Of course much like the window I lost sight of them moments after as I was halted before a door. I watched one of the men place his scroll next to a pad on the right before speaking.
"We have him sir."
"Good, send him in."
I recognized the voice, yet as I tried to react the door flew open and I was shoved inside. The sound of a solid clang told me the door shut again immediately, and I stood with a grunt.
"Vermillion. I trust my men weren't too rough with you?" The general spoke as I faced him.
"Pushy, but otherwise no." I told as I walked closer, only to stop as Winter drew her blade towards me. Yet the general raised his hand, and she begrudgingly sheathed it.
"Before we continue I want to ask you one thing: what happened back at Beacon?"
"I would assume you've heard about it already." I countered as he nodded.
"I did, but I want to hear it from the one said to be responsible." He said as Winter scowled at me.
"Fine." I stood straight as my eyes locked with his. "I was speaking with the reporter, trying to answer all her questions, when the Grimm came out of nowhere." It was blunt, but I didn't see any point in stretching it out..
"And do you know where it came from?" He asked as I shut my eyes and sighed.
"No."
Winter looked to move before the general held her back. With a slight growl she stayed put as he continued.
"Well this proves our theory."
"Theory?" I asked as he sent a small nod, all the while Winter looked to flinch for a moment.
"For a while we've known somebody's been trying to sabotage the Vytal Festival; the break-in of the CCT as well as you 'suddenly' going rogue without provocation. We know you weren't responsible for that Grimm, you need your armor to do any of that. On their own these events may have been believable, but together it points to the fact that our perpetrator has eyes everywhere."
"So what does it mean?" I asked, wondering why he brought it all up when I was arrested already.
"It means that whoever set you up wanted you out of the picture." The general told as a weight fell upon my shoulders. There weren't many who knew of me or my abilities personally and yet this 'saboteur' wanted me out of the way, meaning that they must have known about what I could do.
There was a small chance that they didn't and simply assumed I could summon multiple Grimm, yet the fact that only one showed up demonstrated they knew more about me than I was comfortable with.
This is bad... this is very bad.
Overall it meant that the attacker was someone I'd been close to, which didn't exactly put me in a bed of confidence. Despite all of this I had a healthy suspicion that a certain head terrorist may have been to blame. If this were true then it would mean I'd need information on the group once more, and there was only one person who could provide detailed enough accounts of their activities to help.
Sienna.
I'd not spoken to her much since my arrival, then again I didn't exactly have the most pleasant time so far anyway so time wasn't exactly on my side.
"Sir, are you saying that he isn't responsible?" Winter questioned as her gaze remained locked on me.
"Positive. His physical state at the time would have made it impossible. I apologize for not telling you, but with the two of you being seen together it would have raised suspicions in out shared target. We needed to keep everyone's reactions as real as possible."
"But how could anyone get a Grimm that deep into the school without detection?"
"I don't know, but they did, and now we have a whole different set of problems to deal with." The general spoke as he leaned forward; eyes locked on mine. "As far as the people are concerned you just murdered an innocent woman, and while we may have been able to explain it away before this time we cannot."
"What does this mean then?" I asked as he sighed.
"As much as I would like to have you around the festival to keep our mystery infiltrator at bay, the people wouldn't allow it. There would be too big of a commotion, and no explanation would work. For the time being you'll need to stay locked up here, at least until the festival is over. From there Ozpin and I will work out a plan." The general explained as I let my shoulders drop.
"So I'm stuck." The comment slipped out, and I saw him cross his fingers with a calm look.
"Not quite. While it's true you'll remain here until further notice, we suspect that something big may be approaching. We think this mystery woman of ours will make a move. If we're correct then we'll need you and your powers to combat it."
"I don't understand." I told as he gave a slight smirk.
"Just because you're locked up here doesn't mean you're trapped." He told as his fingers flashed a small object. It looked like a tiny thin scroll, yet it was solid metal with no joints in sight. "Should something extreme occur I'll use this remote to unlock both your cell and shackles. From there you'll have permission to approach the situation how you see fit, so long as you get into contact with either Ozpin or I." He explained as I felt more tension well up inside me.
"How I see fit... does that include the use of any allies I may have, no matter their reputation or position?" I asked as his looked hardened. He let out a sigh and nodded.
"Against my better judgement yes. So long as it can keep potential casualties down and protect civilians I'll disregard whoever they are in terms of potential criminal history. I'm assuming you have a few friends on the other side of the law?"
"For the most part, but I feel as though even they would see something this big as a detriment to everyone." I told as the man grunted, clearly upset to an extent but keeping it locked away.
"Very well. So we're in agreement with this plan?" He asked as I nodded. He turned to Winter. "And how about you? Are you willing to go along with the idea?"
"You already know the answer to that sir." Her tone was proper and direct, yet there was an edge to it; she was tense. The general seemed content with the answer anyway as he stood.
"Well then." He faced Winter once more. "Would you kindly escort the prisoner to his cell? The festival is in full force and a jury won't be available until it has concluded."
"Of course sir." She replied before heading my way. I felt her grip on my arm as she pulled me towards the door.
"Come along."
.
.
"Okay let's calm down a bit."
"How can we calm down!?" Yang yelled as Ruby recoiled slightly. "We've watched it six times already!"
"I think what she means is we should try and think things through more clearly." Weiss spoke up with a sharp edge in her voice. "From what I'm getting online common news is that he's been apprehended already."
"And what!? let it go!?"
"No Yang that's not what I meant." Weiss spoke as Blake stepped between the two.
"What she's trying to say is don't lose your head. So let's take a moment to look it over okay?" Blake suggested as Yang held back a retort, instead letting out a huff as her body tensed.
"Fine, okay. What's there to look for then?" She let out, barely holding back a growl.
"Didn't something seem... wrong with the whole situation?" Blake asked as Weiss looked over.
"Yeah... he didn't seem to know what happened at first."
"Almost like it came out of nowhere." Ruby chimed in as Blake nodded.
"That's what I mean. He had no real reason to summon it, and from what I could see he didn't even try."
"Maybe, but that only makes it worse." Yang growled through gritted teeth. "If he can't control his semblance then people die; as we saw."
"What if it wasn't his fault though?" Ruby asked as Yang shook her head.
"Doesn't matter, he still murdered her even if unintentionally."
"That's not what I mean. I'm saying what if he didn't summon it?" Ruby spoke again, only to receive a set of questioning looks.
"What make's you think that?" Blake asked as Ruby crossed her arms in thought.
"Something's been bugging me about the video. Remember back in Vale when he first fought alongside the Beowolf?"
"Yeah?" Yang asked as her brow raised slightly.
"Well at the time it had the weird red mist around it, and so did he. And when the mist disappeared from them the Grimm began to turn to smoke just like when they normally die."
"What are you implying?" Weiss asked as Ruby replayed the video. The group huddled closer as the gruesome scene repeated.
"There!" The young leader called as she paused it, pointing to the Grimm.
"There's no mist." Blake uttered slightly as her eyes widened. "Ruby hit play!" The young girl did so and the group watched through as more questions began to form. Yang was the first to speak up as the video ended.
"No mist at all, not once the entire time."
"So he wasn't in control after all." Blake let out as Weiss interrupted.
"We can't assume the mist will always be there when he summons them. It might only appear when he gives orders."
"But you saw it defend him in the end, and even there the mist never showed up." Blake pointed out as Ruby hummed.
"But it didn't look like he was giving orders. He seemed to just stand there and stare at it, like he was shocked."
"What are we thinking then? Did he or did he not do it?" Yang asked as frustration embellished her words. Blake intercepted as she stood between the three with her hands raised.
"We can't afford make assumptions. Things have been weird since he arrived; so much so that even the headmaster's worried. We should wait until we get the chance and get his side of the story before deciding on anything."
"Then what do we do now?" Weiss asked as Ruby interjected.
"Well we were going to look around before the video went viral. Why not see if that leads us anywhere. If V isn't responsible for what happened it means that someone else is. Maybe we can find some clues."
"True, and if it is someone else who's responsible then they must have some control over Grimm, just like V." Blake added as Yang's shoulders dropped.
"Great, now there are others who can control Grimm." She placed her hands on her hips with a huff. "Fine, so where to?"
"We should check around the arena. It's quiet and off limits, plus if anyone is set on enacting plans with discretion then they'd get as far away from the scene as possibe, it would allow them to avoid any suspicion if something went wrong." Blake suggested as Yang leaned back against the wall.
"Can't get any farther than a flying stadium. Alright I'll bite. Let's give this a shot. But if it turns out V's responsible for this then I'm kicking his ass."
"Okay, let's go team!" Ruby cheered with determination as they began the march towards the landing docks.
.
.
"Everything's all set sir. Just say the word and we'll be off." Magenta told as Adam gave a nod.
"Good. When I give the signal we'll strike."
"Sir, if I may?"
"Yes?" Adam questioned as he turned back, his mask shrouded in shadows as his body stilled in wait.
"About your orders for Vermillion... wouldn't it be best to capture him instead?" Magenta tried as Adam turned away.
"As I stated he is to be dealt with. He's to dangerous for us to risk anything, especially if he keeps growing more powerful."
"I know, but he helped us before, and from the way he acts it's as if he believes to be doing the right thing. He's almost like a child, and always seems surprised at every little thing. He doesn't know how the humans act, at least it doesn't appear that way." She explained as Adam's tone dropped.
"Everyone believes they're doing the right thing, only difference is in what lies we tell ourselves to fuel the delusions." He scoffed and started off. "Regardless of his reasons he made his choice, and I've made mine."
Magenta stood there as the man seemed to whisk away in the darkness. She understood everything he said, but a small part of her couldn't let go of the sickening feeling wedged in her gut.
Vermillion had been an odd case even when he was on their side, and while she'd not known him long she couldn't help but notice the way he held himself. It was as if he kept an eye out for everyone around him, all the while being more than willing to do what was necessary. She'd thought him weak at first, but watching him adapt and move filled her with a sense of hope. Not to mention his semblance; as if the monsters they'd chosen to masquerade as had arrived to save them.
When it was revealed he'd betrayed them she didn't believe it at first. She'd thought it a prank until she'd seen the reports of him at Beacon. Her reaction was more of confusion, and she couldn't even muster the strength to be angry. The rage was not lost however as Gold made a great showing of his displeasure towards the guy. Lapis had been silent, and soon left for Menagerie. Despite this the plans made were set, and Adam was ready to bring about their grandest play.
A play of hatred and revenge.
Author's note
...
It's done, and personally I'm feeling beat, so sorry if this chapter doesn't feel up to stuff with the others. The story's coming along fine, but I'm finding myself with less time each and every day. Hopefully the new year brings better things.
Anyway this time we get the aftermath of the incident, all the while a few familiar faces return. Things are about to get hectic, and I'm feeling excited for it.
That's all for now, mostly because I'm too tired to continue this note, so be ready for the coming event, it'll be wild.