The Empty Seat Chapter 93 - Ranks, a rwby fanfic

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Oh, what's that? It's the NEW STORY ALARM!

That's right, my fifth story, titled The Murderess and Her Brain will be dropping on this Thursday! Join Neopolitan the murderess and Ozpin her brain friend as they forge a weak alliance in the name of avenging Roman and Beacon while navigating their own distrust of one another. Laughs, cries, fights, and plenty of excitement abound, in...THE MURDERESS AND HER BRAIN!

Anyways, on with the show:

Chapter 93: Ranks

In which ranks are pulled, closed, and expanded.

Winter entered the chambers alongside the general, as both his enforcer and his backup. Her sabers were stowed, as was the norm when meeting with Sleet and Camila. Should the councilmembers choose to needlessly complicate the situation, that may change.

To her great surprise, her younger brother was also in the room. She sent a glance the general's way, but he nodded in confirmation. After all the years she'd served beneath him, the pair of them had grown rather accustomed to reading one another's nonverbal communications. His nod was meant to say that Whitley had been invited.

The young boy had been something of a wildcard in the Atlesian political and economic arenas. Dust prices had gone up, and reliability had dropped, though not by enough to stop purchasing from the SDC. Winter did not closely follow news regarding Father's company, choosing to eschew that honey-plated life and the gossipmongering that came with it, but she made sure to keep abreast of any developments that would potentially compromise Atlas' security.

"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me," began General Ironwood. Winter stepped back to the periphery as the middle-aged man addressed his fellow councilors. "I am not sure if your security briefings have kept you up to speed on the most up to date intelligence, but if not, I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news. As we speak, our enemies are preparing to invade Atlas."

"What enemies?" asked Councilman Sleet, oblivious as ever. "The White Fang? They haven't been as active since they failed to destroy Beacon Academy."

"I'm afraid you're correct, counc–"

"Impossible!" screamed Whitley, rising from his seat. "They wouldn't!"

"Control yourself, boy!" chastised Camila. "The adults are talking, and we don't need children interrupting. Especially if what the general says is true."

Winter bit down her anger at the oafish woman's words. General Ironwood was not prone to lying about such serious matters, and she would know that by now if she truly paid any attention beyond the minimal amount required to convince voters. Politicians sickened Winter almost as much as her deceased father's corporate toads – neither cared about the people they trampled in the name of power or money, as long as their reputations remained intact. There were times when she wished she could get rid of all of them and let General Ironwood run the world.

"The White Fang is our enemy, but…!" General Ironwood sternly gazed at Whitley and the other councilors to prevent any further interruptions. "But, they are not alone in this. It appears that an extremely dangerous individual has convinced both the Faunus and the hunters of a foreign kingdom through trickery that Atlas needs to be attacked. This individual has presented false evidence suggesting we are guilty of harboring an enemy of theirs."

Whitley took his seat, simmering in anger but apparently satisfied by the explanation. Winter knew not why he was so defensive over a terrorist organization that had historically plagued their family's company, but she chose to set that issue aside for the time being.

Sleet raised a hand. "Which foreign kingdom?"

Ironwood frowned. "Vacuo."

"Pish posh. Who cares what Vacuoan hunters think? Our troops could trounce those runts with ammunition to spare."

"And Mistral."

That alarmed Camila. "An alliance? What are those barbarians thinking?! Vale isn't going to stand for this. We all know that an alliance between any two kingdoms only serves to push the other two kingdoms closer together. Did they learn nothing from the Great War?"

"And Vale."

"V-Vale too? Our closest ally?"

Ironwood nodded to Winter, and she cleared her throat to give them the sanitized version that had been agreed upon behind closed doors. Most facts were true, though the enemies' motives were forged in their entirety. "Intelligence reports suggest a major mobilization of transoceanic airships in all three other kingdoms, and two eyewitnesses have attested to an alliance between the White Fang and Haven. Furthermore, the general and I have personally been made aware of indisputable proof that a high-ranking individual in the hierarchy of Valean hunters forged evidence and lied when our alliance was initially brokered. It is indisputable – they have already begun preparations for invasion."

Camila clasped her trembling hands together in and covered her mouth in an attempt to maintain a guise of self-control. "So, w-what can we do? General? What are our plans? What do we do!?"

Sleet was entirely broken. "We have to…we can't…it's over…"

The pitiable man's ramblings were deplorable. A soldier he may not have been, but an Atlesian he definitely was, and a councilman at that. He should have been willing to defend his homeland to the last breath. Pathetic.

Honestly, telling the council was more or less a useless measure at this point. The rest of them were suited to rule in peacetime, but when a crisis arose, they would simply turn to General Ironwood and do whatever he said. It was nothing more than an extra bureaucratic step that benefited no one and slowed down Atlas' response time.

Winter was proud to note that Whitley, despite his tender age, was handling this crisis most maturely. Recognizing that Ironwood would not have called them here just to spell out their doom, he patiently waited for the general to explain the situation.

"It is not over, councilors and chairman. Atlas's very future is at stake here; nay, civilization's very fate is at stake here. We will neither cower nor surrender. We cannot afford to."

"James, you can't honestly believe the propaganda about our military being invincible," said Camila. "Dust, you're the one who writes up half of it!"

"We are not alone. We have an ally who stands with us in this dark time."

"Who?" Sleet desperately asked.

The general shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot disclose that information. Doing so prematurely may induce a panic due to extenuating circumstances."

"I can't believe – how are – this is –"

"Captain Bree. Please take two members of your squad and see that the councilor is escorted to his apartment before he suffers a panic attack."

The guards stationed at the doors lifted Sleet up by his forearms, causing the frenzied man to stop babbling.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. Forgive me for my outburst. I'll be fine."

"Please," said the general. "I insist. Until you're in your right mind, perhaps it's best that you retire. In fact, perhaps Councilwoman Camila should take some time to adjust as well. It was wrong of me to burden you with this information."

"No, please," assured Sleet, seating himself and straightening his dress shirt. "I can control myself."

"Captain. Please escort the councilors to their apartments. Place a guard at all entrance points and cut off any means of external communication. They are…ah, overly emotional and are not to be disturbed for any reason in this trying time."

Ah. Now I understand why he's bothered to inform them. Winter even recognized the captain, Harriet Bree, as one of the soldiers present when Ruby Rose had revealed to them the unadulterated history of Salem and Ozma.

"Whuh – this is an outrage!" sputtered Camila. "I'll have your head for this!"

"Councilwoman, when the war is over and Atlas is secure, I will voluntarily step down as both general and headmaster. There will likely be no need for either. Until then, we need strong, singular leadership. This is for the best."

Yes, Winter mentally agreed. It most certainly…wait. Why is Whitley here?

Winter held off on speaking until Sleet and Camila had departed. A united front was necessary in front of the troops. The captain performed her orders without voicing any concerns, and Winter suspected she was not thinking any either. Atlesian soldiers understood.

"General."

"Specialist. I understand you may have reservations about this subversion of –"

"I do not. In fact, I admire your willingness to sacrifice your own righteousness and adherence to law for the greater safety of the kingdom."

"I do it for the greater safety of Remnant as a whole. It is true that Atlas holds a special place in my heart, but you saw it as well as I did. Those gods casually eradicated the human race during a brawl of theirs. I sincerely doubt that the past will not repeat itself eventually when…if they return."

"I concur. But Whitley…"

"Ah, thank you for reminding me. Chairman Schnee."

Whitley closed his eyes and nodded. "Let me guess. You're taking the SDC."

"You have your father's intuition."

White eyebrows raised. "I shall strive to consider that a complement."

"It was meant to be taken as one. Jacques, though deplorable as a man, was undeniably cunning. You seem to have taken his better traits while eschewing his more…puerile tendencies. Unfortunately, regardless of how good a man you are or are not, we cannot have any hiccups in our supply lines. Dust is too vital a resource to be without, and too dangerous a hazard to provide our enemies. When the conflict is over, the SDC will be returned to you."

"Careful, General," Whitley said smarmily. "You've got the trappings of an up and coming dictator."

"Brother," growled Winter. Now that the who and why were clear, she knew which side was to be hers, and it was the same one she'd always been with: Atlas. Not the SDC, not the army, but Atlas. And to her, General Ironwood was Atlas.

"He is not wrong, Specialist. I've overstepped the capacities of my office and perverted the title that my people have placed on me. However, if you understood the threat as well as I did, you'd see that freedom will not matter if the worst comes to pass. I will gladly face any court martial or imprisonment deemed necessary if it means Atlas and all other peoples are defended, and I fully intend to accept the consequences of my actions without protest. Once the war is won, however, and not a fraction of a second sooner."

Whitley took this in. "I only ask that you do not undo the progress I have made in improving the quality of life of my workers."

Ironwood nodded his head. "I only intend to place an embargo on Dust shipments and guarantee that factors like economics and cost do not prevent my airship from being fueled and my soldiers from being armed. Your bottom line will be hit, but your workers shall not."

"Very well. The SDC is yours, granted voluntarily. Shall I bring Specialist Schnee up to date on our inner workings? We've made some recent developments to the process of Dust mining and refinement with which she may not be familiar."

"Make it happen."

Qrow couldn't see where he was going, but he had a fairly good idea of what was coming. Nora had carried him aboard the bullhead to Amity, and for once it seemed like her ditsy randomness was working in their favor. No one questioned when she brought a pet aboard, and no one raised any eyebrows when she began talking to it. After all, only Nora was crazy enough to give a caged corvid a mission briefing.

The rundown was this: Ozpin, dick though he may be, needed his help again. Qrow honestly hadn't given much thought to the immortal since his death in the vault. He'd been blamed for it, but that didn't mean anything. Oh, the wounds were consistent with a weapon registered to Qrow Branwen, were they? Even the incompetent VPD should've been able to deduce that any old shmuck could have picked up Harbinger when Qrow was out cold and used it to frame him. Yeah, he was the only survivor, but that didn't mean he was guilty! Buncha idiots.

It did raise the question of who was at fault. It couldn't have been Oz, Jaune, or Pyrrha. Not only had all three of them been victims of the same attack, but Qrow would have bet his bottom lien that none of those three would betray him. Oz was too invested in the cause, Jaune was noble to a fault, and Pyrrha would've spontaneously combusted from the excessive apologies that would have followed if she'd backstabbed him.

So, who was the baddie? Nora had filled him in on his niece's account of what actually happened, so it might have been the black cat. She had been the one to steal the crown, so she definitely knew where the vault was. The only fault with that theory was that Belladonna was accounted for at every step of the night. There was no way she could have snuck down there and killed Qrow's mates, regardless of how stealthy Yang said she was.

That left Cinder and her team, but…it just didn't make sense. After the Vytal Tournament, Team Caiman had just packed their bags and gone home. There was no secret plot to bring down Beacon, no bomb planted in the CCT to destroy it, no poison in the cafeteria soup, no nothing. And with it obvious that all the evidence implicating Cinder Fall as the maiden having been revealed to truly be about Ruby's own teammate, it seemed like she may have been innocent. As Qrow said, it didn't really make any sense.

Was it a third party, unrelated to the maidens and relics? Was it Raven, back from the dead? Perhaps it would simply remain a mystery. No one could shed light on it, because everyone who was a witness was…

…dead.

Well, he was heading to Ozpin's newest Oz anyways, so that would hopefully be cleared up soon.

Whatever beef he had with the man regarding cheating in the tournament and not using Nikos' semblance to find the relic had long since been forgotten when Nora informed Qrow of Ruby's fate. His own niece, the next Salem – Qrow wouldn't have believed it if not for the fact that Nora should have had no knowledge of who Salem was. If she was using the Grimm Queen's name, that meant she'd heard it from someone who did know Salem. And anyone who knows Salem knows that she isn't a joking matter. Rather, wasn't a joking matter.

Qrow figured that Oz would clear up any misconceptions about his innocence when he got to Amity. Until then, it was bird form permanently. Being a crow wasn't all that bad, but after months of shitting onto the same cage floor he walked on, he was ready to become a human. Also, Cardigan would occasionally mistake him for a black throw pillow and sit on him.

Amity Arena was to be their mobile fortress. It was sad that a symbol of peace and unity would be converted into a weapon of war, but the situation was extreme. Whatever advantage they could take, they would, regardless of what it did for morale or what message it sent.

The official word was that Atlas was harboring a dangerous criminal (a huntress, in fact) who had stolen several items of cultural and tactical value from Vale. General Ironwood, often known to be a paranoid and antagonistic man, was keen on gaining superiority over Vale and had seized the opportunity to join forces with said criminal.

The truth was that Salem had been killed through some unknown means. And make no mistake, Qrow was fucking stoked about that, but the war wasn't over. You see, in a final act of spite, Salem had thrown Ruby Rose into the pools of darkness, corrupting the girl and melding her into a successor for the ignoble title of Grimm Queen. The Grimmified Ruby had taken the relics and used them to brainwash Ironwood, manipulating him into obeying her every word.

See, this was the reason why Qrow couldn't stand the Atlesian 'obey' mentality. When the man at the top was compromised, ever commander under him went down too, and every officer under them, and every soldier under them, and so on. Hunters were trained to serve the greater good of all four kingdoms, whereas military men and women were dogs, leashed to a single person above them in the chain of command. James had never understood why it was wrong, but Qrow had a feeling the tin man would regret it if he were in his right mind.

Amity was currently a third of the way across the ocean to Atlas. When they landed, Qrow would meet up with those who'd already boarded. Among them were Haven's finest, an apparently reformed White Fang, Ozpin in a new host (it had certainly taken the old fart long enough), and as many Vacuoans as Theodore could send. The Valean contingent would have to meet them en route, as diverting from their path would give Atlas too much time to prepare.

Qrow would be happy to see some familiar faces. Apparently, Yang and the other teammate of Ruby's, Winter's little…actually, it would probably be best if he started calling her Weiss, now that Ice Queen had fallen to the dark side. Yang and Weiss were at Haven, as was Ruby's rather pedestrian boyfriend Dave. Cinder was going to be there too, as would her little green friend, but Qrow couldn't honestly say he was stoked for their presence. Either way, a little muscle never hurt, though he wasn't planning on turning his back on those two anytime soon.

The orange haired girl currently holding his cage squealed with excitement as the faint shape of the Amity Arena came into view. Qrow loved his nieces with all his heart, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a special bond with Team Castle. Nora, Ren, Cardin and Sky had given him shelter, protection, and crackers when he needed them most, and he'd never forget it.

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They boarded the colosseum, and Nora rushed out of the airship.

"Oh, thank Dust! I have to pee so bad. Let's go, Renny!"

Grabbing Ren by the shoulder, she raced out of sight from the other passengers of the bullhead, earning a quick nod from Sky. He and Cardin followed the crowd towards the personnel registering student teams.

As soon as they were clear, Nora unlatched the bird cage. Qrow flapped out, hopped two steps, then turned back to normal. "You know, you never really appreciate opposable thumbs, or any thumbs at all, until you have to go without them for months on end."

"Professor, what exactly is going on?" asked Ren. "I mean, what is really going on here?"

"You kids are a little young to be getting this lecture, but I guess that it's not going to matter soon. We're all a part of this fight, and with Salem gone, we're so close to winning that keeping it secret barely matters." Grumbling, he added, "So much for not starting a panic…"

"Is Ruby really…a Grimm?"

"Not quite. She's still a human at heart, with aura and a semblance and everything, but if she's anything like the previous queen, the pools will have morphed her body into something else. A hybrid, able to order the Grimm around like her own soldiers."

"Can we fix her?"

"I…I don't know."

"So what do we do?"

Qrow racked his brains for a solution, but nothing came to mind. "Maybe Ozpin will know what to do? He's a bit of a tight-ass when it comes to stuff that could threaten his perfect little world, but he might be in a better mood when we've given him the relics."

"It we cannot cure her of her…Grimmery, perhaps we can contain her until the cause is isolated and a solution is formulated," offered Ren.

"That's basically what Ozpin offered Yang. Hey, how exactly is the old headmaster still alive?" asked Nora inquisitively. "You were the only one there that night. What happen?"

"He's not a normal person. When he dies…he reincarnates as another person."

"A semblance?" asked Ren.

"No," said Qrow. "Not a semblance. Okay, listen close: something something something favorite fairy tale…"

"Oh," gasped Nora. "That's so shocking! He's an immortal wizard?"

"Who was cursed by the gods to stop his fallen love from stealing the relics?" said Ren.

"Exactly."

"That would make Salem the 'queen' that Morrighan served," realized Nora. "Do the horsemen now serve Ruby?"

"I don't think so," said Qrow. "The rodent Grimm that we– oh, shit!"

Qrow paused, waiting for Sky Lark to burst forth from the walls and correct him for his slip of the tongue. When nothing came, he continued.

"The Procyon Grimm said that the horsemen were like maidens in that they had a portion of Salem's power. If Ruby and her friends got rid of all the horsemen and Salem at the same time, the power would have nothing tethering it to this world. It should dissipate and cease to exist…I think. Maybe."

"Professor Branwen," cut in Nora, "the relics sound nice and all, but that stuff doesn't really concern the Castles. We just want to help Ruby."

"I know, kiddo. I do too. I'm just telling you so that when the time comes, you're better informed about what we're up against." Qrow shook his head. "Ruby…I only stayed with Oz all these years to protect her 'n' Yang. I'd rather see the world burned to ashes and soot by the relics than let any harm come to my girls.

"It doesn't make sense," said Ren. "Ruby was always the best of us. Why would she defect to the side of the Grimm?"

"The pools…they're evil. This is all new to you, but I've known the full story since I was in my twenties. That much darkness will twist a person around until they're just a shadow of their former self."

Nora placed a hand on Qrow's shoulder. "We'll save your niece, sir. We promise."

Her partner straightened out and grimaced. "Ruby is a dear friend of ours, and I fear that we may be some of the only hunters aboard this flying stadium that would care enough to bring her in peacefully. Others will simply see a Grimm and kill her."

"So we balance protecting her from our own guys while also fighting her and every Grimm in existence that're now under her command." Nora put a finger on her lips. "Did I forget anything?"

"Only the most militarized continent in the world fighting under Ruby's banner," added Qrow.

"Then it sounds like Team Castle has its work cut out for it."

To put it simply, Zwei was being a little bitch today. He wasn't eating, he wasn't going for walkies, and he wasn't even helping clean the house – peak bitch behavior at its finest. All Zwei would do was run up the stairs to the foot of Ruby's bed, yipping like maniac, and claw his way under the covers. The little gremlin's thought process was entirely beyond Tai.

Oh, and now, as if to make things worse, his scroll was ringing. No Yang, no Ruby, a bitch-ass motherfucker of a dog, and a loudly ringing scroll to top off his hangover. Just great.

Grumbling, Taiyang slowly stepped out of Ruby's room. If he walked faster than a slow creep, his head would act up. Maybe downing twelve glasses of sake and chasing it with a full flask of whiskey wasn't a good idea. Was this how Qrow felt all the time? Poor bastard…or maybe he drank so much because he was perpetually putting off the mother of all hangovers. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Tai was sure he had another bottle lying around somewhere. Why experience the pain today when he could push it off to tomorrow?

The scroll rang again, pulling him out of his alcoholic fantasies. He figured that he ought to go answer it. After all, it might be Ruby letting him know how things were going, and he would just hate to miss their first call since she'd left.

"I'm coming, Ruby, I'm coming," he called out to the scroll. Dust, this house was so empty. I guess that's what happens when a bachelor of two wives and two daughters finds himself living alone in the same house.

"Yello?" he answered, gripping the old device as the audio started up.

"Hello, Tai-Tai."

Next Chapter: A Cold Day in Vacuo – In which nobody is anybody's friend anymore.

Omake

Scroll: Hello, Tai-Tai.

Taiyang: damn Ruby u kinky

Author's Notes

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Oh, what's that? It's the NEW STORY ALARM!

Man, these old running gags are so old: Procyon vs Carnivoran, Qrow butchering Cardin's name – does anyone even remember Professor Qrow from The Empty Seat?

Happy rats, and don't do crime!