"So," Selina asked. "How do we go about this?"
About ten minutes passed since they all woke up, no sign of Cinder or Lumina still being around. They slowly came to terms with what they learned; Raven scowled at nothing while Ruby read through the journal her aunt brought. The group as a whole congregated near the rock and set up a small camp.
Most of the other students looked to Qrow, who leaned against the mossy stone. He only shrugged at them. "This is for you to figure out, kiddos. But if you want some advice, here you go: Shade is suicide. Atlas too, but for a different reason. Jimmie has his army and Vacuo has the toughest hunters on Remnant."
"And they've got many of them too," Selina added to the last point with a sigh. "Honestly, I don't want to go to Vacuo. I'd rather take on Atlas."
Weiss frowned at the ground, adding her piece without looking at anyone: "Meanwhile, my return to Atlas would lead to complications due to my family."
"And Beacon has Professor Ozpin," Velvet noted.
Coco nodded at that. "Yep. We're golden if he agrees and fucked if he doesn't."
Selina dismissed that assessment with a shrug. "Meh, we're fucked either way. She said we need at least two, I'd say Haven and Beacon are the easiest ones?" There was little disagreement, so she carried on from there: "Good, Mistral and Vale are in then. Between Atlas and Vacuo, which one do we hate less?"
A moment of contemplation followed; quite a few of them were slowly digesting the fact they agreed to invade one of the two best defended places on Remnant.
"Well, Atlas may be a little better?" Blake reasoned in the end. She was clearly confused to utter these words, just like everyone felt. Seeing their expressions, she explained her train of thought: "Penny has ties to the military and Weiss is the SDC heiress. We may be able to snatch the Relic if we play their connections right. No one here is from Vacuo, right?"
"How do connections help with this?" Penny inquired. She earned a number of baffled looks for the mere question, especially when the others realised she truly did not know.
While Qrow took a moment to explain to a raptly listening gynoid, Weiss answered her teammate. "I hate that you have a point," she grumbled. "I went through a great deal of effort to get out of Atlas. But alas. Do we truly need three Relics?"
"We don't" Selina admitted, "but I want to do this right. We don't get a second chance, it has to work the first time. And I trust Lumina."
No one could argue with that, at least the first part. No one tried with the second either. It took a little while before Raven chimed into the contemplative silence: "It makes sense, even. In a twisted sort of way."
All eyes went to her immediately, even Qrow paused to listen. Raven continued to frown. "Even if her plan fails and Salem gets her hands on the gathered Relics, she only has three out of four. Whatever the full set may do does not matter, they can be reclaimed."
She made a short pause, scanning the group one by one. Only Ruby had an inkling as to the thoughts hiding behind her eyes.
"You are going to do this?" Raven asked of them, though the looks she got from the group seemed to tell her all she needed. Raven sighed. "Very well. I know the location of Haven's vault, its main defense is obscurity. Send a small team there."
Some were surprised, but no one challenged Raven on the matter. Qrow threw his sister a searching look that remained unanswered.
Selina hummed in thought. "Hm. And if old Ozpin agrees to give us what's at Beacon, that leaves the rest of us for Atlas? I mean, assuming we're going there?"
There was some grumbling, though no one outright refused.
Selina clapped her hands for attention, displaying a determined expression. "Alright, okay. Planning time."
From there they talked back and forth for a while. At first Blake was a shoe-in for the Haven run, but the existence of Mistral's anti-faunus sentiments made the team worry. After some time Nora facepalmed.
"We're dumb, guys!" She told everyone and waved toward their youngest member. "Ruby goes to Haven."
Looks were exchanged while Nora kept waving her arms as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Ren apparently picked up on her train of thought and explained for the others: "She's the only Huntress we have, not counting, well." He nodded toward the twins who listened attentively. "And Lumina wants us to keep a low profile, so we can not just have a legendary Huntsman walk in. Which does make Ruby our best option."
"You're not wrong," Ruby agreed thoughtfully. She motioned faintly for Qrow and Raven, too. "And, I mean, I guess I can take them along as birds?"
"...right," Selina deadpanned. "That was a thing. Remind me to ask what that's about later."
"Sure."
Coco interrupted them slowly: "So if I get this right, we somehow need to get all of us to Atlas. Preferably without getting kicked out of Beacon or becoming fugitives." She rubbed her forehead while the others nodded. "Yeah, we need Ozpin for this. If he doesn't help, we can kiss our careers goodbye."
"It is a considerable risk we're taking," Ren agreed.
Yatsuhashi nodded down at him and added his own piece: "Not to mention that we have several VIPs among us."
Eyes immediately wandered to Weiss and Pyrrha. While the gladiator merely squirmed, the heiress scoffed. "Please disregard that particular matter," she demanded, "at least where I am concerned."
Their argument carried on for a time, but in the end the fact remained: they needed Ozpin on board.
Suffice it to say, when they explained this to the headmaster, he stared at them as if they morphed into a singular entity before his eyes.
He slowly took a deep drag of his coffee, the lack of any commentary from Glynda behind conveying her shock better than any word could ever have. When the determined group of students did not suddenly vanish or declare a prank, Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he took a deep breath to address them.
"I hope you are all aware that this is madness?"
His incredulous question earned a few shrugs, which in turn made him take another deep drag. The empty mug was set down as he pondered how to even begin addressing this. "I understand the idea of dragging Salem into a trap, but using the majority of Relics as bait? Is Lumina even aware of their individual powers, or what will happen when all are united?"
Seeing that not a single member of the group gave any such indicator, he was not surprised by the worried looks and headshakes. Ozpin nodded to himself and decided to tell them at least this much. Salem knew it already, anyway.
"I see. Then let it be known then that you were correct in your choices for the wrong reasons. The Sword of Destruction below Shade is the last Relic Salem should ever hold. I need not describe its abilities, do I?"
More frantic head shaking at least told him they did not lose their common sense entirely. Ozpin continued: "The Crown of Choice held at Beacon grants its wearer visions of the future, although they are random. The Lamp of Knowledge will answer any three questions each century, provided one knows the name of its inhabitant. And lastly, the Staff of Creation allows to create anything as long as one can convey the idea to its spirit."
He left a pause for effect, but also to let the students digest it all.
"When brought together, these four Relics will recall the Brother Gods to pass judgement upon Remnant."
Though Ozpin looked at them one by one, nobody dared meet his gaze in the ensuing silence. Nobody except Ruby Rose. They stared at each other for a long moment, he stern and she determined.
"That's why we're not grabbing all of them," Ruby responded at last. "It doesn't matter if Salem gets some, we can take them back. You met Lumina yourself, if anyone can do it, it's her."
She was filled with conviction and kept going when given no response: "I know it's a gamble, the risks are high, but playing it safe didn't work, did it?" she tried while motioning for the window overlooking Vale. "She's still out there."
Ozpin's expression was unreadable. Nobody spoke, even Glynda was struck speechless. The old wizard thought of Ruby's words, her determination, and those who came before her. An endless line of champions struck down either by intrigue, violence, or time.
Then he thought back to the moment he beheld The Radiance. Although the Brothers might return one day, he realised, a goddess had already come to judge Remnant.
In the end he rose wordlessly and left the room. The students' befuddlement was an almost palpable force.
Yang expressed the question on everyone's mind: "Where is he going?"
"I have a hunch," Glynda answered curtly, "and suffice it to say, I do not approve."
"Since when do you approve of anything?" Qrow snarked, thoroughly unimpressed by the glare that earned him. His quip at least dispersed the tension to an extent and elicited a few giggles from the students.
Minutes passed in silence. Nobody felt quite like chatting or sharing their suspicions of what was about to happen. Each on their own already suspected why the headmaster suddenly left, yet none of them could truly believe it. Then Ozpin returned carrying an item wrapped in white silk that he wordlessly offered it to Ruby. She stared at it and then at him before reaching out, receiving the item.
She hesitantly pulled the cloth away to reveal a black crown. It reflected the light in erratic patterns, almost shining from within. Gasps were heard while the surprised teen held one of Remnant's four greatest treasures.
"Throughout my long life," Ozpin began, immediately the focus of everyone's attention, "I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on Remnant. I implore you to not let this be another, Ms. Rose."
He met her gaze throughout his plea. Ruby was dumbstruck and unable to formulate words.
After a second, Selina sidled up to the younger woman's side and slung an arm over her shoulder. "Don't you worry about it," she assured Ozpin. "We'll handle it."
"I do hope so," the headmaster said. Then his brows furrowed and he returned behind his desk before addressing the group.
"Unfortunately, obtaining the Staff of Creation will be quite the undertaking. Not to mention risk countless lives. Perhaps you will reconsider the number of Relics you seek in a moment."
He left another pause here to ensure he had their undivided attention. "The Staff's power is what keeps the city of Atlas afloat. The moment it is used for any other purpose, the city will fall onto Mantle."
Nobody quite knew how to react to this, much to his quiet amusement. Morbid it may be, but Ozpin had long since found solace in dark humour.
"...oh," Selina finally expressed the group's feelings. "Uh... that sucks?"
Weiss sniffed at that. "An understatement if I ever heard one."
Meanwhile, Penny remained thoughtful rather than worried or shocked. She hummed in thought before speaking up. "You said it only happens if the Staff is used. Does that mean removing it will not trigger any adverse effect?"
"That is correct. However, carrying it on your person means that you can not let the Relics fall into Salem's hand. The moment her hand closes around the Staff, she will doom them all."
His rebuke earned some awkward shuffling, but none of them seemed ready to relent on their plan. If nothing else, the lot of them were determined to see it through. Coco was the one to answer him and change the subject: "Well, we weren't planning to fail anyway. But while we're here, can you tell us anything about Salem's allies? How will she try to stop us, assuming she knows we're on our way?"
That was a good question to ask. Salem's only confirmed supporters at this point were Cinder Fall, Hazel Rainard, and Tyrian Callow. He expected there to be more, especially after the revelation of Cinder's existence. Yet ferretting them out remained as difficult as ever.
Glynda took the chance to interject while he mused: "Let it be known that I do not approve of this. The lot of you are far too young for such a dangerous task. That includes you, Ms. Rose. Huntress or no."
Another snort from Qrow earned yet another glare, once again ignored. The deputy shook her head and stalked forward, typing queries on a separate console; Ozpin saw full well that she pulled up dossiers on the known elements. Glynda pulled through as always and her justification followed just as expected: "But if I must see you head against Salem, then you will do so as well prepared as possible."
Smiles were shared around the room and the group received a thorough lecture on what to expect.
Meanwhile, Salem herself studied a wayward agent with a smattering of curiousity. She did not expect the girl to crawl back after falling out of touch for so long.
"You have returned after all. For a time I thought you to have betrayed me."
"It was merely an inconvenience, I swear," Cinder explained. She did not plead, never pleaded, but her gaze lay on the floor and she knelt before Salem's throne.
"Is that so?" the ancient Witch probed. She had turned the hearts of humans for many generations; nothing escaped her gaze and she saw no deceit in Cinder. Just the tension most of her servants displayed under Salem's displeasure. "I see. Tell me then, of your failure to obtain the Fall Maiden's power. Explain how our carefully laid plans could be disrupted so thoroughly."
"Is this truly necessary, my Queen?" Another chimed in before Cinder could speak.
Salem glanced aside to a somewhat slim and pale man, sharply dressed and with an almost insultingly full, sprouting goatee. Arthur Watts spoke in his usual drawl, each word carefully measured to drip disdain for the failure before them: "The girl failed on a level we should not even bother with. She is clearly incompetent when it matters."
Salem inclined her head, noting that Cinder held her silence. The girl had certainly learnt her place, perhaps recent events finally taught her humility.
"You do have a point," the queen allowed. "But despite it all, this was Cinder's first blunder."
She then turned back to the girl herself. "You will not disappoint me again."
It was an order and all in the room knew what failure would mean. Cinder bent a little lower, face hidden by her dark hair.
"Of course."
Arthur snorted, making his thoughts more than clear. In turn, as he often did, Hazel spoke up in an attempt to moderate: "It was not entirely her fault, either." The stout, scarred man motioned for the empty seat by his side. "That faunus girl, her power was beyond anything we expected. She killed Tyrian in a single shot after all."
Cinder nodded at that, still on her knees. "I tried to salvage it after pressing the White Fang into service failed. Brought all that Dust and sabotaged the walls. But because of her, even every Grimm in a hundred kilometres was not enough."
While Salem was not impressed, she could certainly see that these were extraneous circumstances. The moth had not died quietly. Nonetheless, she already saw the crux of the matter. Arthur did as well, speaking the words Salem already considered.
"Who would have thought that trying to suppress a group fighting oppression may backfire?"
His idle drawl normally would have riled Cinder up, but she remained in place without so much as a clenching fist. It was always better to have them squabble with each other, Salem could learn more of their hidden thoughts that way. For now however, she needed to plan. Her judgement had already been made; a single miscalculation could be forgiven.
"Enough," she declared. "For the time being, Cinder, take your seat." The girl obeyed without a word while Salem herself addressed the room: "The loss of Tyrian is a problem. We will need to seek a replacement. And there is a Huntress that needs to be taken care of."
"Is this my next assignment then?" Hazel inquired.
"No," she denied. He was a force to be reckoned with, but the current situation did not require a more direct touch. Something had changed and they needed to adapt before they could strike. "No. You will remain here for the time until we see where you can be applied best. The same for you, Arthur. You two will contact our allies in search of information. Cinder, you assist Arthur for the time being."
Her orders were accepted. Arthur allowed himself a little grin, well aware that someone as proud as Cinder would be humiliated by being demoted to a mere assistant. It was true that her failure was forgiven, but that did not mean it was forgotten. The girl took her punishment without protest, which Salem presumed to be a sign of her acrimony.
Once it was clear there would be no objections, reasonable or not, Salem leaned forward. "We will observe Remnant for a time while I see to that particular Huntress. This Lumina cost me a valuable agent. It is only fair her 'partner' learns what price is to be paid in turn."
