"This is... utter nonsense." Weiss shook her head a little, wearing a mix of perplexed exasperation. "Do you even know what you're proposing?"
"Heck yeah she does!" Nora was - expectedly - over the moon, but that did little to convince the Schnee. "And you all thought it was crazy! Well who's laughing now?!"
"Let's bring back our indoor voices." Ren popped in, facing Ruby as he offered his own take on her proposition. "Like you said, this may just be a case of similar names."
"I know." Ruby admitted, feeling a little embarrassed that she even told them of her suspicions to begin with. "But after seeing Jinn's vision, and the dreams I've been having. What am I supposed to think?"
"That's true." The guy let out, and Nora once more bore the mask of victory, a mask which Weiss saw fit to rip off her face.
"Okay, so things are crazy now, but this is a whole other level." She sent a strong look towards Ruby, and the silver-eyed successor couldn't help but feel a little foolish under her snowy partner's gaze. "Ruby, if we try this and ask Jinn, and our assumptions end up being wrong, we'll essentially be wasting a valuable resource. We can use the question for anything, but if we waste it here, we'll have nothing."
"I know that!" Ruby didn't mean to shout, but the way Weiss was looking at her, it made her feel stupid. Weiss, in response to the sudden increase of volume, looked to soften her expression just a little, and she spoke up again.
"I'm not trying to say it's a terrible idea... because at this point I can't say I completely disagree. But it's risky, and what if we're wrong; what do we do then?"
"I don't know... I just don't know okay." Ruby muttered bit by bit, doing her best to restore some of the excitement from moments ago. "I know it sounds crazy, but with everything going on, I just wanted to fine some kind of answer. I want to know something, and not just be running around in the dark, okay."
"Okay people." Yang leaned in, drawing everyone's attention as she raised her voice. "Let's just cool our jets for a second. Yeah, it sounds kind of insane, but we've all read the stupid page, right?"
"That doesn't mean her guess is true." Weiss threw in, and Yang glared faintly, throwing on a minor scowl with it.
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean she's wrong either. You've thought about it too, haven't you Weiss?"
"Thought about what, this?" Her expression morphed into a 'are you serious' type of look. "Of course I am now. You don't just get suggested something so... illogical on a daily basis."
"That's not what I mean." Yang narrowed her eyes, and Weiss appeared to pause as the blond continued. "When Nora first suggested the idea, I bet your mind instantly went back to what we saw with V; what Jinn showed us, and what it implied."
That caused the heiress to shift, taking a moment to flip between a series of minor expressions as she appeared to mull it over. Yang looked to visibly smile as Weiss's faces grew more and more irritated. Eventually the girl reached her limit, having to stop and breath, only to face Yang again with a plain, yet dignified look, and admit the truth to that assumption.
"I've played with the idea a little, but stopped after I realized just how deep of a rabbit hole that idea would open up. If any of this is true, and that's a big if, then we'd be given a whole new plate of concerns to think about. Why did Ruby go back, how did Ruby go back, and more importantly, what was she doing and why?"
"Because of Salem, maybe?" Yang guessed, her voice falling off a little near the end, before she started up again with a tilt of her head. "I mean... it's the most obvious answer, right?"
"Yes, Yang, so tell us, what would that mean?"
"Huh?"
"Think about it. If Salem is the reason that Ruby, and perhaps a few others, found themselves traveling through time, what does that mean for her, us, or Remnant as a whole?"
"I...uh..." Yang was struggling a little, but not because she didn't know the answer; quite the opposite actually, as her thoughts were plainly visible across her face. The slight scowl, followed by the barest shift and stilling of breath. Clearly, whatever she was thinking wasn't exactly positive, but even though unspoken, it was a sentiment shared by everyone.
And then Blake broke the mold, finding the courage to speak, and shared the unspoken thought aloud.
"Nothing good. If anyone went back in time because of Salem, then it means we lose."
"Well, not necessarily." Weiss said, shuffling on the spot a little, albeit barely. "We don't exactly have to 'lose' per say, but we, or Ruby in this case, would need to be insanely desperate to try such a crazy idea."
"It could also be both." All eyes turned to Qrow, who fashioned a stern face as he continued. "It's possible we fail to stop Salem, and because of that we try a crazy idea like time travel in an attempt to rectify that."
"But how would we even do that?" Jaune was the one to toss out the question, with his face carved of honest confusion. "That stuff's the kind of thing you only see in comics and movies."
"Not entirely." Weiss began, her eyes moving to look down at her hands, which were clutched firmly in her lap. "With our glyphs, the Schnee family has had the ability to speed up time to an extent, specifically for an individual or object, but there have been debates on whether we're just speeding up the decaying process, or the person or other's movement speed. We can also slow down an individual's perspective of time too, but like before, a few have theorized we were just enhancing the senses of these people to make it seem like slowing time."
"Okay, cool." Yang leaned in. "But you said theorized. They don't know the answer, but it sounds like you do."
"Of course I do, it's my family's semblance!" Weiss crossed her arms. "As an aspect of our souls we know it better than anyone, and because of that I can say definitively that we can alter time in a limited fashion, even if people think otherwise." Her face scrunched up again, and a lowly bitter anger burned at the base. "We don't know how, or why, only that this is true."
"So..." Jaune broke the mold again, and the two were reminded once more who it was that asked the question in the first place. "If that's the case, why were you so against the idea of going back in time initially?"
"Because the Schnee family semblance can only alter time going forwards. Time moves forward in nature, not back; there's a big difference, and it's this difference that makes the idea of travel one way more believable than the other."
"Okay, I think I understand." Jaune admitted, only to back it all up with one final question. "But that still doesn't explain how it could be possible that we go back to begin with."
"The relics." Once again Qrow stole the floor, and he did so while delivering a slightly disappointed look. "We have literal objects of the gods that can not only answer every question known to man, but also alter reality on a fundamental level; I don't think I need to say more, do I?"
It was a fairly solid argument, and from the silence it brought, it seemed everyone was in agreement with that fact.
"So, we're all on board with the idea now?" Yang asked, to which everyone nodded. Weiss was still looking skeptical, but didn't deny it, so Yang assumed she was cool for now. "So when do we do it?"
"Certainly not here." Weiss said with crossed arms, and a focused look in her eyes. "Summoning Jinn now will cause too much of a commotion."
"True." Blake agreed, sending a swift glance to the relic. "All it takes is someone looking through a window, and that's not to mention Jaune's family."
"Yeah." The boy admitted, looking a little more than concerned. "Jinn isn't exactly 'family friendly' so I don't think sis will be too thrilled if we did it here."
Pyrrha appeared to have an idea, and she voiced it aloud with a calm demeanor.
"We could do it just outside of town. With all the forest, there wouldn't really be anyone around to witness it."
"Sounds good. I mean yeah, there's the tiny chance someone might walk by, but really, that chance is always there no matter what." Yang leaned back, crossing her arms behind her head. "So... we doing it tonight or?"
"I think tomorrow night would be better." Pyrrha told, which was followed up by a yawn. "I think it's best we all sleep on it first, and come up with ideas on how we present the question. We don't know how Jinn will answer, or how exact she'll answer based on how we ask, so I think it would be best to think about it."
Everyone, again, appeared to agree, however Ruby was left questioning herself. If it worked out, it would be both a massive benefit and a loss. In stories, time travel was an absolute last resort, which meant terrible things for them in the future. However this was only if they were correct; if they were wrong though...
Ruby shook her head, deciding it was best to leave that train of thought on the back burner for now. She was tired after everything, and a nap sounded lovely right about now.
.
.
Looking down from above, one would assume nothing was even wrong with the world. The Atlas cityscape was a beautiful reminder of everything he fought for; everything he stood for.
Relaxed prosperity.
To James Ironwood, the lack of visible trouble showed just how far Humanity as a whole had come, and while it was far from perfect, he couldn't help but see it as a steppingstone to peace. There was still strife, inequity, and general trouble yes, but to see the rewards of the people's labor so vastly spread about brought with it a sense of hope.
Even through the waves of hate and distrust thrown his way.
It was unfortunate, yes, but even this was reassuring. The people below, especially in Mantle, despised his decision. The embargo was hated by both halves of the kingdom, and yet the lone general couldn't help but see this as a good thing. In this mindset the people distract themselves, allowing their protectors to work from the shadows undisturbed; a luxury once only reserved for the snake slithering through the innocent masses.
The fall of Beacon taught him many things, but the most important of such had been the knowledge that one of his own had causes such catastrophe. To know Salem had pawns inside their very ranks was more than concerning, but it also allowed them to react and plan accordingly. Restricting the movements of the kingdom, while an unpopular move, allowed him to cut off all routes of escape for this traitor of theirs, and soon enough he'd find them.
They couldn't run forever.
Of course the people knew nothing of this, and with the control of information he introduced with drastic action, Ironwood had set in place a system that prevented any truth from escaping. Only rumor and assumptions could be drawn from his actions, and such things were dangerous to a clever spy; they knew not to trust such ideas fully, and would spend all their time searching through the rumors for any scrap of certainty, preventing them from action. This, while tanking Ironwood's popularity, would prevent the intruder from attaining any major pieces of real information, and should they show acquisition of such knowledge...
The sources of the leaks would be majorly limited.
He'd be able to know at that very moment where such a leak had occurred, narrowing his area of search greatly. All it costed him was the trust Atlas had in him, but to James, that was a miniscule price to pay for their safety.
The citizens below would vandalize the machines, attack the patrol units, and scream about his decision to strictly monitor them, but that was fine; the machines were just that, machines. They would never fight back, and would follow orders to the exact, as they were designed. This would remain true so long as they stayed in his control, and they would remain in his grip; the fall would never be allowed to happen again.
Technology was growing, and thanks to that, it allowed him to produce a series of soulless soldiers, both capable, and willing, to tackle the most dangerous of tasks without risk. When destroyed they could merely be rebuilt; when finished with the job, they could be scrapped for resources; never to feel pain, and never to think: these steel soldiers held no dreams or aspirations; only loyalty to their users.
With these lifeless companions by their side, no innocents would have to suffer or risk their lives with dangerous work; they could relegate the demanding and dangerous work to the hollow devices, and the people could focus more on safer tasks. However, this utopia of progress wouldn't come easy, as even the slightest mishap could come with demanding costs.
Half of his own body could testify to that.
Like anything, the machines needed to be properly controlled, otherwise everything would fall apart. Technology speaks its own special language, and it does so by exacts, to both its benefit and detriment. Like crafting the perfect speech for an audience, speaking to the machines required the perfect wordplay. The language may look different, but the purpose remains the same.
If you task a man to get you an apple, he will do so within the limits of his ability and ideals; he will not break law if his morals dictate so, and he will not risk his own safety without a solid reason. A machine possesses neither morals nor limits; regardless of if it will survive, the machine will dive head first into danger, and if it needs to, steal from even a child if it means obtaining the apple. Due to these factors, the right questions and limits were needed to maximize the effectiveness of these inhuman creations, and any loss or carnage caused by incorrect commands were the responsibility of the user.
If a man were to roll a bolder down a hill to kill another, the blame is not shoved onto the stone, but on the man who pushed it.
"Sir." He was interrupted from his thoughts, and so he turned away from the skyline view to see Winter standing center floor in salute.
"Specialist Schnee." He nodded before walking over to his desk. Taking a seat, he prompted her to continue.
"Both 'Candle-Light' and 'Black-heart' have arrived. They are on their way now."
"I see." This was a massive relief, more than Winter realized. "Thank you for bringing this to me. Is Penny available?"
"She's in the midst of an upgrade to her equipment down in Mantle I'm afraid."
"I understand. We'll just have to carry this out without her, and inform her afterwards."
"Sir, might I ask something?"
"Go on."
"Are we sure bringing Torchwick into this is a good idea?" Her face remained strong, but he could hear the mild shift in her voice, displaying her concern. "He's a rogue well known for his thefts back in Vale, and that's not to mention his involvement with the White Fang."
"I'm positive." The general knew Winter would accept the idea, but even so he wanted to at least calm some of her concerns. "While previously an adversary, Torchwick is a relatively simple man; money is his main concern. Not only that, but we have his own words to go off as well; he's a survivor."
"That's what concerns me." She was finally admitting it, good, he was hoping she'd be honest and speak up. "He seems like the one to jump ship if it's for his benefit. He possesses no loyalty or sense of order. From what you've explained already, Salem often reaches out for these people to take as allies, so what happens if she tries with Torchwick."
Quite the fair concern, but even so, Winter seemed to be missing the bigger picture.
"Salem is, as I've explained to all of you, an entity of chaos. She does everything in her power to harm and potentially destroy all of Humanity. She is a monster, and as such, it is reasonable to assume the people she takes under her wing are monsters as well. Ironically, this is Roman's one defence against her: he is not a mindless killer. Roman Torchwick is a man who does whatever it takes to come out on top; an opportunist, and gambler. Salem offers nothing but destruction, and once he knows, he'll have no other alternative but to join us. Roman wants to continue his life as he did before, and he can only do that if there's a world around to do it in."
"And what if Salem lies?" Winter challenged, her stature faltering briefly.
"We remind him of Vale; of Cinder." Ironwood knew he won the moment Winter's doubtful face stilled. "He'd told us of her before. She was the one to orchestrate the assault, the one to direct the Fang, and the one to infect the CCT."
Cinder; if only he knew that name beforehand. Had he the chance, he would have captured her, but she escaped. However, the greater concern afterwards was miss Nikos' mutation. When he'd arrived back on Beacon grounds, he'd seen the woman's change up close. She looked so much like Ozpin's champion that, had he not known better, could pass for the man's sibling. Ironwood noticed how they carried with them the pauldron Vermillion once wore, and he'd naturally asked about him.
They did not know.
The man's disappearance was worrisome, but with Salem involved there was a chance he'd chased after her. Ironwood opted to deal with the aftermath of the Vale attack first, and thus headed back to tackle the coming storm. The hacking of Atlas military tech wasn't something pulled off by an amateur; it required extensive knowledge of the code itself. This meant one thing: there was a traitor in their core. With this in mind, James set in motion a way to bind said enemy, so he could flush them into the light.
Cinder had merely been the one to infect the systems, and from what Roman told of her, not the one to hack them herself. This meant there were more of Salem's goons at work, and James was dead set on taking them all down, supposing he was stripped of all dignity and position to do so.
Roman Torchwick had been a lucky draw, but then again, what criminal would turn down a government pardon to keep doing what they were doing?
A beep echoed out, and as the door opened, Ironwood was greeted to the noisy man of the hour, as well as the relieving sight of pale cracked skin.
"Sheesh, talk about pushy." Roman spat in his usual manner, looking up to offer a curt huff while holding his cuffed hands up and glaring; clearly lacking any form of intimidation from the multiple highly trained hunters surrounding him. "Hey, iron-hand, mind freeing our hands so we can get this show on the road?"
Hmm... jumpy this time. While he wasn't yet sure why, he kept those concerns in the background, waving for Clover to free the man. His loyal student did so, and after a fairly animated stretch, Roman opened his mouth again.
"There we go; finally, I get to really work these muscles." One last twist of his wrists and he was facing the front again. "I've got to say, your kids work fast. I honestly thought they'd drag our little dance out longer than they had."
"Good." James let out, holding back a brief bit of amusement. "I'll take that as a compliment to their productivity. Now then." He turned his sights to the man of the hour, and noticed something off.
The boy was... different.
That look in his eyes, it was something he'd never seen before. Ignoring all the physical differences about the man, as those could change on the fly, the spirit in his sights seemed... lost. No, 'lost' wouldn't quite do it justice, hollow was a much better fit for the complacency James saw before him. At a first glance V bore the eyes of a broken man, seemingly the same as many veterans he'd seen personally; the ones who struggled to let go of the past. This would be incorrect however, as V's eyes held none of the confliction or doubt those individuals suffered from every single day.
It was like staring at a doll; lifeless, and yet mouldable into whatever pose you desired.
"Vermillion, I'm glad to see you unharmed." The boy's glazed eyes twisted slowly to him, sliding in place mechanically. In response to this unusual behavior, James decided to go on the offensive, standing from his seat and walking around to approach. Now positioned before the trio, as well as his Ace Ops core, he got a better look at them all.
Neo was, as he'd expected, her usual self, however her curiosity was placed firmly on the boy with the pale skin, who's veins smoked no different than a dirty fire. Roman seemed a little ruffled, but that was to be expected given the means of acquisition; 'capture' was required to look convincing, otherwise the ruse would fall apart. V however, he bore no signs of struggle, which in and of itself was questionable. Despite his almost undead appearance, there were no signs of prior combat on the man, which pulled from the general a spoken concern.
"You must have handled yourself well, or have my students gone easy on you?" There was no response, at least not from V himself. A retort came from Clover however, which put Ironwood's wonderings to rest.
"He never fought against us." James turned his view to the leader of Atlas's newest official defenders, and Clover held a slightly plain expression. "I confronted him at first while the others took on Roman, but he just... stared at me. He never answered, or even said a word. He just... stared at me. The best response I got out of him was when the others took down Roman-"
"After a good scuffle." The well-dressed thief interrupted, smirking as he taunted. "Still a little slow for my tastes, but that's to be expected when dealing with the kids."
James sent a quick look to their less than noble agent, catching sight also of the other Ace Ops withholding their possible retorts or counter-claims; a sign of their self-control, and a pleasing one at that. Ironwood twisted his eyes back to Clover, who coughed shortly before he spoke.
"Yes, well... once we took down Roman, we cuffed them both, and when we did that... it felt different."
"Different how?"
"I'm unsure. It felt like everything changed, but none of us could tell what it was." Clover's face contorted into a perplexed view of mixed thoughts as he did his best to explain. "Being next to V felt different once the cuffs were on him; the air felt less... heavy. That's the best I can describe it."
James hummed, facing the boy in question. He could attest to how different V felt now, as opposed to their time at Beacon, and this certainly was a concern that needed to be dealt with. However, Ironwood had brought them all to his office for a reason, and he felt it was time to get down to business. Whatever overcame V would have to wait; keeping his best and brightest all locked up in one place only gave the snake more time to roam unchecked. With this in mind he backed up, clicking a few holographic keys across his desk, and summoning forth a map in the center of the room. The transparent icy visage would work well enough for this demonstration; at least the first half anyway.
"Now then, I'll get straight to the point." He swung around, approached the map, and his eyes shot towards a single location south of Mantle, out in the snowy tundra. "As of yet we have no leads on the snake, which for one of you, is our prime target."
"Not trying to be a bother for this-" Roman piped up, his head nodding a few times towards V. "But I don't think the kid here's gonna get squat from any of this. He's been moot since he woke up."
"We can fill him in later." Ironwood shot back, his voice calm and collected. "Right now I suggest you listen; there is more at stake here than you've been privy to before."
"Uh huh." The gentleman thief gave a half-smirk. "Really? I don't suppose it's an offer for a few hundred lien or so?"
"This isn't the time for games." Winter shot curtly, only to back off a little as Ironwood waved her back, to which she settled on a scolding glare towards their 'soon-to-be' companion.
"At ease Specialist, we've no time to bicker." James tried to relax the tensions between his two allies, but it looked like Roman wasn't in the mood to make this an easy endeavor.
"You heard the man, now be a good girl and do as daddy says." Winter's scowl fell deeper with that one, but as Ironwood expected, she remained composed; discipline won out over petty indulgence.
"If we're done." Ironwood stated, shutting even Roman down, who just looked back to him skeptically. Returning his focus to the hologram, James sectioned out the snowy hills and zoomed into a certain spot with some physical gestures. "The snake has yet to be located, but we know of their connection and familiarity with Atlas code. The levels of knowledge needed for the attack back at Beacon narrows it down immensely; leaving only the few with top security clearance, or previous business partners with a potential grudge, as suspects. Down here, we have the Amity Project in full swing, and despite the contempt from Robyn and her group, we will not slow or cease our supply chain."
"You know-" Roman broke in again. "Our local 'heroine' isn't exactly happy with how many of your guys she's seen headed that way. She's starting to question why you're sending so much supply to what amounts to an old mining facility. She hasn't checked it out yet, but if we don't speed this up soon, or at least create another scene for her to focus on, she'll decide to have a look for herself." The ginger crossed his arms, and his frown turned less comical and more real. "Robyn isn't stupid, she'll know from a glance what you're really doing, and once she does, she'll attack the project directly, not even bothering to ask why you're repairing the old arena."
"We know this, and we've got backup procedures at the ready for when she tries." Ironwood explained, sending his vision back to the three-dimensional map of Atlas and Mantle. It wasn't a matter of 'if', but 'when'; one that was inevitable without a major event. This however wasn't the focus, and Ironwood quickly set himself back on track. "With this in mind, the Amity project serves two functions. One, it allows a restoration of global communications; which should calm Robyn and her followers down. Two, it serves to bring our snake out into the light; the prospect of global unity is one our foes cannot allow to come to fruition, and once it is revealed, we can be certain they will strike at it."
"And you have a way to prevent this, how?" Roman asked, tapping the tip of his shoe impatiently on the hardened floor. "Look buddy, these 'foes' of ours have already taken down Beacon. Yeah, yours truly had a hand in it, but who's to say they won't have others like me; little goons you overlook, and guys who slip in unknown right under our noses?"
"Simple." Roman immediately appeared uncomfortable with the ease of which James delivered the word, which was fine; he was sure of his next claim. "Because the time of which our opponents know of Amity, will be the same time everyone else in Remnant knows of them."
"Them?" Roman bore a look of near disbelief. "Sorry to say pal, but Cinder ain't that special. Now I don't have a clue about what other suckers she surrounds herself with, but they cannot be as freaky as that woman. Keep in mind: the public already knows about Cinder, and I haven't seen any of them go wild yet. How do you expect just telling people about criminals to do anything but cause a bunch of senseless fear? You, out of everybody else, should know how people get when told about anything even remotely bad."
"Cinder is simply a pawn; a tool to her mistress." James knew the risks, the fear it would cause, and it was for this precise reason he would be limiting the initial broadcast to Atlas alone.
The embargo kept people contained, providing cover from the rest of Remnant. Coupled with his orders to recall all available Atlesian mobility and soldiers - aside from the essentials to maintain their foreign build-ups - it meant that the initial panic would be handled swiftly by the recalled militia. Ozpin would be against the idea were he here, but with the fall of Beacon, it became clear to James that the time for complacent defense was over. Salem was on the attack, and they couldn't allow her the chance for another victory; hunters and soldiers alike needed to be ready for her assault.
You cannot fight a shadow, but you can fight name.
"Mistress. And just who is this mistress?"
"That, Torchwick, is exactly why I brought you here."
It all lead up to this, the first step towards building up the network of Remnant's defenders. The dark queen may have enjoyed the shadows for eons now, but with the world in such a state of disarray, it was necessary to take the fight directly to her doorstep. It would be bloody, brutal, and unsightly for the people, but once they won, it would all be worth it. Bringing her down would lift a great burden from the shoulders of the world, and as he spoke, he watched as both Roman's face paled, and V's eyes pulsed with a faint crimson glow. He'd gotten a reaction from V, and hopefully over the next few weeks, he could re-awaken the spirit Ozpin's knight seemed to have lost.
"Her name... is Salem, and she is the queen to Remnant's greatest darkness: the Grimm."
Author's note
...
Oh gosh, he's back.
Yes folks, the fairly controversial general has made his return, and in what I believe is a fittingly bombastic fashion - not so much in physical action, but more so psychological fortitude. Love him or hate him, James Ironwood is back.
Ruby has told the others of her plan, and our heroes strive to go ahead with the idea, willing to take the risk for even a chance at a solid answer, and with how much uncertainty - as well as unknown history - plagues them, who can blame 'em?
V remains hollow, but not for long. I guarantee next chapter will be a bit... revealing in this sense. Remember, don't be surprised if expectation fails you, as much like Pyrrha and Ruby's false recollections of times long lost, even the simple guess of what's happening can lead to answers not previously considered, or perhaps the wrong path entirely.
Until next time.
Side Note:
I apologise if the last chapter felt a little 'off' in terms of quality; last week was a bit of a mess for me personally, and I never got much time to really focus and touch up that one. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, but who knows at this point. Take care.