TO ME, YEARS FROM NOW...
Three Years Ago, The Kingdom of Atlas...
There's something about the way the streets of Mantle that's just absolutely mystifying to me. To bear weight of the bitter cold outside the city walls while you watch the floating city above you hover as a reminder of how harsh life hard is in this kingdom... I can only imagine living here full time. Three weeks have passed since I've arrived in Mantle, been undercover since as a barber for this old dog faunus named Toff.
I'm a natural at cutting hair, he says. Never seen someone pick up a scissor and cut the way that I do, he would hysterically yell to every customer that would walk in, not that there were many to begin with.
"You're pulling my leg aren't yeah?"
Toff, slouched down on one of the barber chair as he spun it around carelessly, all the while staring at the dirty ceiling with a deadpanned expression painted on his face.
"What do you mean?"
I ask, to which I was casually met back with a sarcastic gasp.
"Your technique is flawless, I still can't believe this is your first time cutting hair."
Finally, he stopped himself from spinning, still a little dazed, tilting his head down with a cheeky grin and said.
"You've done this before, haven't you? From wherever you're from... Mistral!"
I smiled back, secretly hoping he'd drop the topic we'd talked about... actually I've lost count since I first started working here.
"...Vale, Mr. Toff. I'm from Vale."
Upon hearing my hometown for the thousandth time, Toff's expression quickly changed to that of boredom.
"Right, Vale..."
Like Mistral was any more exciting than Vale. I grew up in Mistral, lots of bad memories there, Vale too, but Vale is where home is now, so I honestly prefer that.
"Sonny, you know, you never did tell me, why you moved to Atlas..."
Good question, grandmother also hadn't told me why I'm here. I was just told to pack my bags and await orders. But obviously can't tell him any of that. Who would want to move to this cold kingdom?
"I...uh..."
Actually, there is one reason I can think of for moving here.
"Hope."
Toff's dog ears perked up upon hearing what I had just said.
"Ho-hope?"
It's a weird reason, but...
"Everyday we slave away here in Mantle, while we look up at the city, envying those fortunate enough to live up there. General Ironwood, the students of the Academy, the Schnees, but after being here for weeks, I see the floating city above for what it truly is."
The old man's curiosity got the best of him, as he leaned in a little closer than he normally would, urging me to continue.
"A symbol of what we can be, of what we can achieve. The people down here in Mantle are just as responsible for building the city above, it didn't just manisfest itself there, it started right here... in Mantle. That city is hope incarnate. I may be here now, but tomorrow, I'll be up there, closer to the stars."
Just then, my scroll began to beep.
[Mission Files Received] \ [Project Polendina] \ [Retrieval]\ [Estimated Value: 1,000,000 Lien]
Bingo. A million Lien. Seems the city above is much closer than I think it is.
"Anyways, gotta go old man."
As I put my jacket on, Toff stood up from his chair all flustered.
"Go!? It's only 3 o'clock!"
With a fake smile, I turned around and waved back.
"Yeah, and our last customer just walked in three hours ago. You'll be fine, it's not like there'll be anybody here! Take care Toff!"
And with that, I was away, disappearing into the night amidst the constant swaying of the falling snow.
Swan
"Project Polendina, for a million lien? For something like this to be priced from Atlas..."
I'm a bit suspicious about it. Something this expensive from this kingdom must mean this 'Project Polendina' really is this special, or it's a trap to lure somebody out. Is it me, or is it my employer? Quite the predicament I found myself in, though I can't really blame anybody since I accepted the request. There's something about the way this Arthur Watts speaks that's so... captivating.
[Incoming Call: Unknown]
Speaking of which.
[Unknown: Swan, are you in position?]
[I am.]
[Unknown: Good, sending you the coordinates now. Your reputation precedes you Swan, to be able to sneak into the city of Atlas undetected. Marvelous...]
His praises mean nothing to me. After all, I assume it was his handiwork that killed all the security cameras around the city.
[... Swan out.]
Game time, as important as this Project Polendina is, I still don't know what it is. So let's start with something that I do know: The name of the guy this project was name off of, Pietro Polendina.
"No matter how many times I've been here, this floating island never ceases to amaze me."
Barely any place to hide here, the bright lights of the city illuminates every inch of it, to the point that you'd almost forget that you're living in the middle of the godforsaken frozen tundra, yet here I am sitting comfortably in front of a corporate computer console, hacking through Atlas security without a care in the world. I have to admit, without Watt's intervention, I'd probably be inside an Atlas prison right about now.
[System Infiltration Complete: Accessing Personnel File 556783 - Pietro Polendina]
"Let's see what you're hiding, Mr. Polendina."
[Accessing Files: Project Polendina: Commencing Download: 5%]
Any second now.
[Commencing Download: 97% - ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. Download Interrupted]
Interrupted? Atlas Security? Can't be, it's too soon... unless.
[System Refresh: Tracking Alternate Access Ports: Personnel Code 990764 - Unidentified Personnel - WARNING: SYSTEM BREACHED. COMMENCING LOCKDOWN]
Just my luck, somebody else is after the files, but what kind of idiot would attempt to hack such a high value project without the proper security codes!? Let's see.
[Breach Source Detected: Site Coordinates: 156756 189087]
"That's not far from here."
I quickly pull out the flash drive Watts handed me, out of the console, and briskly dashed towards the building's rooftop. If my hunch is correct, my competition should be panicking right about now, about two blocks away... and there he is.
From one of the building's ventilation system, out comes a man- no a teenager, wearing a pair of black faded pants paired with a torn down brown leather jacket. Half his face was covered by a red scarf, while he had on a pair of goggles, whose glasses were as big as an owl's eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me. A child, really?"
Ezra
The lead was a bust. That'll teach me to trust some random tech junkie from Mantle. Got passed two firewalls, but he never mentioned a third one.
Even worse, it would seem I'm not the only one looking for the Polendina files. In front of me stood a silhouette of woman clad in black, whose robe fluttered with the breeze of the Atleasian air. Even through her dark bird mask, I can tell how menacing her stare is. From just that one look, I can already tell who this person is...
"Swan."
Swan let off the small grin while she tilted her head ever so slightly upwards.
"You know me?"
She asks in a monotoned voice.
"Of course..." I reluctantly reply. "Who hasn't heard of the Black Swan? Your name is one of the most prevelant name on Remnant's list of most wanted."
Without the rest of her body flinching, Swan gently nodded her head.
"I see you're well aware of who I am, that I at least I can praise you for. As a reward, I'll let you off easy with just a warning: Drop it, the Polendina files. They're mine."
The Black Swan is after Project Polendina? Jackpot. If a high end criminal such as her is after the files, then I can probably raise the price if I succeed. Only problem is- the Black Swan is after it. How I'd navigate my way out of this I don't know, but still... 1,000,000 lien MINIMUM. That'll be more than enough to leave the Nest with my siblings. Double if I'm lucky, oh the luxury we'd be living in.
I slowly bend my knees and stepped back, but not before Swan gave me a stern warning.
"Don't be foolish now, child..."
But still, I reach for my back pocket, a bladeless hilt. I've been practicing my semblance, but I've yet to fully master it. I don't know if I can use it...
"Dance-"
No, I still can't. I quickly drop the bladeless hilt, and pull out a kunai instead, throwing it at Swan as hard as I can, but in a blink of an eye, Swan ducked down so low into the shadows that her black robe cloaked her entire figure, causing her to disappear from my sight.
"Where in the hell."
And just as quickly as she disappeared, Swan popped up in front of me just as fast.
"Right here."
I barely had enough time to react, as she swung a knife straight through my neck. I wouldn't even call it reacting more so than it is flailing backwards.
"OOH, I wasn't expecting you to react to that."
In panic, I pull out another kunai to block and parry her next attacks, but the speed and strength she's exhibiting were unbelievable, especially from someone of her frame.
"What do you want from the Polendina files anyway?"
I ask, hoping that my question would be enough to distract her, but alas, Swan was too focused on getting rid of me to care. That...
"Wouldn't you like to know!"
Or that I'm just so pathetically weak that she doesn't even see me as a threat.
"Damn it!"
I continued to block and parry her attacks, but it was clear that I was only to counter because she was letting me, like she was judging my skill level, and if that big smile on her face was any indicator... I'm clearly not up to par. I stepped back to dodge her swing then faked her out by lunging forward and striking back, but she saw that coming too.
Swan agilely backflipped away to dodge my attack, all the while laughing maniacally.
"Impressive! Keep trying hard like that! I like it. I like it... Let's see, your whole get up, it makes you look like..."
She stops for a second to ponder, but I have no intention of wasting this opportunity she's giving me, even if it is a trap. I charge at her as fast as I can, blindly swinging my kunai, but she nonchalantly parried my attack with ease.
"An OWL! That's what you look like! With those goofy goggles of yours!"
Well that was my intention, I'm glad somebody acknowledges it, but I wish it was under better circumstances.
"Shut up!"
I cock my arm back and stabbed at her, but Swan instantly raised her robe up, blocking my line of sight, as she pivots sideways and out of the way, slashing me at my side, and breaking my aura in one swift stroke. The pain was so bad that I could do nothing but flop to the ground.
"ARRRGH!"
Swan paced herself back and forth, as she childishly twirled her knife in between her fingers, seemingly contemplating what to do with me.
"I warned you, remember?"
She whispered softly, but loud enough for me to hear.
"I told you not to make any sudden movements, but you had to. Now look at you, grovelling on the ground. I wonder..."
How you're going to kill me, yeah I reckon that's what she's thinking, but I'm not gonna let her. She may be a better criminal than me, but I'm not without a few tricks. The moment I saw who I was facing, I activated a beacon signal that I got from that shady tech junkie in Mantle. I didn't think I'd need it, but I sure am glad I wisened up. It's a GPS tracker meant to signal the Atlas Military. Simple concept of bait and switch, activate it to distract the authorities and swiftly move the other direction while they're not looking.
That's the idea at least, but right now I really don't much care if they're looking or not. I need help, military or no.
"Heh."
I chuckled, as I crawl away from her.
"What's so funny?"
She ask, quickly dropping the smile off her face, unamused of my smug laughter.
"Nothing, it's just that you're so distracted by the fact that you're winning, that you didn't even notice that-"
Before I could even finish what I was trying to say, an Atlas Airship dropped from the sky, hovering over us, as its headlights flashed the rooftop we were in.
"The Atlas Military!? How the hell did they pinpoint our location so quickly? The software should have covered that up-"
Just then, Swan realized what I had done, tilting her head my way with a mean snarl painted over her face.
"YOU!"
Software? She has a software that advance? Her sources must have surpassed the info the Nest gave me, that's not an easy task.
[HANDS UP WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!]
It must have been her panicking at the sight of the airship, but when she turned around, she inadvertedly exposed her side pocket that had the flash drive in it.
"That has to be it."
Without even thinking, I jumped forward as far as I possibly can and reached into her pocket, but not before she noticed.
"You dare!"
In retaliation, Swan swung her knife down, stabbing me cleanly deep into my side.
"AAHHHH!"
With whatever strength I had left, I pushed my hand in her pocket and grabbed the flash drive, and ran as fast as I can into the edge of the building and jumped. The last thing I heard of the chaos behind me was the sound of another woman yelling at both me and Swan.
"THIS SPECIAL OPERATIVE WINTER SCHNEE! I ORDER YOU TO HALT!"
The sounds of blades clashing flooded my ears, as I struggle to keep my wits about me, slowly losing consciousness and focusing my mind to use my semblance and save myself.
"Come... on... I really need ME... to come through."
With each passing second, the ground came closer and closer, and panic slowly began to take over me. I was convinced this was it, so I simply closed my eyes and accepted my fate, but at that moment, something deep in the back of my mind came rushing in: a memory I thought I had lost. The image of my mother when I first unlocked my semblance. Her snow white hair, her porcelain like skin, and her warm touch that calmed me down as my life slipped away back then, just as it is now.
How I miss seeing you again, mother.
"Dance, Shirayuki."
I reach out my hand, as white mist began to pour out of my skin and swirl around my arm, forming the shape of a blade.
"HIYA!"
I pour all my strength into stabbing the wall next me, slowing down my decent to a speed that was barely enough for me to survive. Lucky as I am to be able to control my semblance at this moment, I've yet to learn how to properly maintain it, as the blade I created eventually shattered. The impact itself from the fall was enough to knock the wind out of me, made even worse by the knife lodged on my side.
"I need to... get out of here..."
Sirens began wailing from a distance, and are slowly inching closer and closer, but alas, I had no strenght left in me to even crawl away, but as fate would have it, I was once again offered an olive branch.
"Is that you Sonny?"
Mr. Toff? If he recognizes me, then I must have lost my mask.
"Hey there... old ma-"
What happened after that was a blur. My consciousness faded in and out. I recall seeing an alleyway, then the inside of a cargo ship. I remember descending from the skies, down to the streets of Mantle. I can never mistake that for anything else... how depressing the place is. Every time I closed my eyes the sceneries changed, and I ended up finding myself in front of a clinic with a green cross sign on top.
"Hold on there, Sonny you'll be alright. Almost there."
Was the last thing I heard before my consciousness completely faded away, though the voice didn't belong to Toff.
When I awoke, I was greeted with the sight of an old ceiling, a bunch of monitors displaying my vitals, an IV needle jammed into my arm, and a pulsating pain on the side of my gut. It would seem somebody patched me up. I slowly shook my head back forth, but that did nothing more than made my nausea even worse than it already is, still I have stuff I need to figure out, like is my cover blown? Well, scratch that, of course it is, the real question is, has Toff and this mysterious doctor informed the authorities already?
"Wh-whe-re am I?"
But no one answered. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the flash drive on the side table next to me, along with my scroll. Slowly, I inch my arm towards it before anybody else can come in, and plug the flash drive into my scroll. I prop my scroll up and digest, as best I can, the files stored within.
[DATA REVIEW IN PROGRESS: FILE COMPLETION: 97%]
Damn, she got pretty close to completion. It was a high value data, I wouldn't have been surprised if there were security measures put in place to limit access to one person at a time. I might must have caused this, the reason she didn't complete the data retrieval. Good, good, now I know I have sole access to this. I wonder if the Nest can use any of this information, it may not be worth a million lien, but ninety-seven percent is still probably worth something right?
[OPENING FILE: LOADING. LOADING. LOADING. FILE EXTRACTION COMPLETE]
Hmm, data on advance tech. A helmet with communcations technology embedded on it, improved visual functions, retractable. A portable grappling hook you can load into a pistol. Light weight armor tech, huh, what's this? They even have a cape made out of fluid fabric that changes its shape, and a... humanoid robot frame, covered with a gel-like substance meant to imitate the texture of a human skin. Weird. Atlas is seriously amazing for even thinking about this crap, let alone actually turn it to reality.
"But... none of this has anything to do with Polendina."
"Yes, Dr. Polendina. That's my name."
I quickly dropped my scroll on my bed, as a chubby old man with a big bald spot on his head strolled in on top of his chair that had four mechanical limbs attached to it in place of wheels.
"No need to be alarmed, child, I know who you are..."
I tried to keep my composure, but in reality, I was panicked beyond belief.
"You do?"
Dr. Polendina moved right next to my bed as he chuckled. He pulled a flashlight out of his side pocket and gently inspected my wound.
"Of course I do, you're Toff's assitant over there at the barber shop down yonder."
It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. That statement right there meant that not only did Toff and Dr. Polendina not go through my stuff, they also didn't know anything about what I'm doing in Atlas. Though I reckon that question was about to come soon, so I went ahead and asked.
"So... you're not gonna ask why the old man came here with an unconscious dude in the middle of the night?"
Again, the old man chuckled.
"This happens more than you think, young man. People here in Mantle had to do... things that are not necessarily within the limits of the law to survive. I frown upon it sure, but it's not exactly... unexplainable- yeah, let's say that."
I could do nothing but return his laughter with mine.
"SO you know I'm a-"
But he cut me off.
"A thief? A scoundrel? Arsonist? A terrorist? Probably even a murderer?"
He said jokingly.
"No, not a murderer. Nothing that serious."
He nodded his head, relieved that he didn't just save a maniac I'm assuming.
"A thief then?"
Dr. Polendina ask.
"Yeah, let's say that."
My cheeky response got him to laugh heartily this time.
"Young man, I understand that you're doing what you have to do to survive, but I must ask you to stop. That's all I'm asking as payment for my treatment, after all I am doing this for free."
Sincerity like his don't come too often. In fact, it's so rare that it's almost suspicious. So I had to ask...
"Why?"
Dr. Polendina stroked his beard, pondering his answer before speaking it out loud.
"Well... They call me as one of the brightest minds in all of Atlas, but when you're up there in the clouds, I can barely see if my efforts are affecting the people I intend to help, so I tend to spend my time here in Mantle, where I can have a more- personal touch with the people."
Up there in the clouds? Wait- Dr. Polendina? How can I be so stupid. This is him! Project Polendina! Pietro Polendina!
Before I could ask him anymore questions that might lead me to an answer about what Project Polendina really is, a young woman walked in. She had on a pink bowtie above her orange bob cut hair. She wore a green dress that matched the color of her eyes, awkwardly pairing it with a pair of black jeans that had a green seamline running on the side. Of course, how can I forget her overly polite yet perky personality.
"Penny! You shouldn't be here!"
Pietro panicked, completely ignoring me, as he made his way to the young lady.
"But Dad!"
Dad? That's weird... Pietro's skin color is brown, Penny's pale as snow- is she adopted? Wait. No it can't be... A robotic humanoid frame, covered in a gel-like substance meant to imitate the texture of human skin. Project Polendina is... Penny Polendina.
"The last three percent..."
Was the schematic of how to upload a human soul to an artificial body, cleverly hidden within a data cache meant for weapons and armor for the Atlas Military- granting it the highest cyber security level possible.
"No way."
I inadvertedly said out loud, which Pietro caught.
"No way what?"
Once more, I giggled and closed my eyes.
"Nothing. Doctor, I'm sorry."
Before he could inquire any further, I closed my eyes and pretended to fall asleep. I'm sorry that I'm going to steal your tech. I owe you my life, and now that I know that Project Polendina is your daughter, I can't let anybody else get a hand on this information... not yet at least, not until I've repaid my debt, but that just made my life ten times harder.
Thankfully, I know a gal who can deal with all this in one go, Swan included. Winter Schnee.
Swan
It's been three days since I've had a tussle with this kid dressed up as an OWL and the Atlas Military. It was a close call, barely managed to escape and it cost me the payload I was supposed to retrieve. Shame Watts turned off all the security camera in this area, makes tracking OWL that much harder, but I'm not out of the game yet. I know that this kid is after the same thing I am: the last three percent of the Polendina files.
"Which means he'll eventually pop up here in Atlas sometime soon."
Thankfully, even here in Atlas, goons and scoundrels are everywhere. Information is available all the time, and money isn't the only currency you can use as payment. I hate using my reputation cause it alerts people who doesn't need to know of my presence, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Criminals talk, especially when they're scared, and right now, nothing is scarier than the Black Swan staring them in the face when they're at death's door. There's been a hit on a military depot yesterday, on the west side of Atlas, and according to the West Side Mafia's it was OWL, and he's planning to hit the east side this time.
East side of the city- a military depot full of prototype weapons and armors. Seems to match up with what I was able to read before losing the Polendina files. Heavily guarded, but nothing I can't handle. Best part of all this is the high chance of a young OWL sighting.
Hours passed, as I patiently stalk the depot from a distance with a pair of binoculars, till finally, all my waiting was finally rewarded. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadowy figure dashing pass every guard and obstacle unnoticed like it was nothing.
"It would seem I underestimated this brat, no matter, tonight, his life ends."
I quickly retraced OWL's steps and followed him covertly inside the facility, stealthily making my way through every vent imaginable, every corner without a camera, pass through every guard till I finally caught up to him in one of the command centers. He stood stoicly in front of a computer console, calmly hacking his way through every firewall.
"Ah I see you got an upgrade."
He beefed up his gear quite a bit. He had on a black jumpsuit littered with metallic bracings all over his body. From his chest to his arms and legs, all elegantly covered by a cape that drapped over his entire body, but most captivating of all was the OWL like steel helmet that covered his entire head.
"Swan."
He casually whispered, while he slightly tilted his head.
"OWL."
I sarcastically returned his greeting.
"I have no time for games, I'm taking it back. After I kill you."
I proceed to threaten him, but OWL didn't even flinch. He must have a lot of faith on this new armor of his. I guess I can always put it to the test. I lunged forward as far as possibly can, pulling out my knife and slashed at him, but at the last second, he evaded. How careless of him, seeing that he left the flash drive still attached to the console.
[DOWNLOADING FILE: COMPLETE]
"Heh, careless."
I mocked him, but all he did was shrug his shoulders, which is really pissing me off. He seem to have forgotten that the last time we did this dance, I won handily.
"Fine, it's your funeral."
Once more I leapt towards him, but instead of pulling out a kunai like he did last time, he stretched out his arms and exposed the retractable talons from his gauntlets, swiping them at me as I landed.
"Easy enough."
I parried both strikes with ease, but he never let off the gas pedal and kept up the offense.
"You're never going to get those files, Swan!"
He arrogantly yelled as I slowly overpower him.
"Tough talk coming from someone who can't even keep up with me! How foolish of you to think you can steal all of this stuff without a contingency, or without planning for me!"
I yell at him, as I strike my knife down so hard at his gauntlets, it brought him to his knees. But even through his metal mask, I can see him smirking.
"Who said I didn't."
OWL swung hard up top, which I easily ducked under, allowing me to pull back my leg and kick him straight in the chest as hard as I can, catapulting him across the room and knocking the wind out of him, but despite all that, he still insisted on mocking me.
"You really think I'd be stupid enough to access the files and expose myself without a plan?"
I hate to admit it, but he's right. Not unless you have a death wish, and he doesn't strike me as the suicidal type. I rack my brain as hard as I can to think of what else he could have possibly done, but all I'm drawing is a blank. I march my way over to him and grab him by the collar, pulling his face mere inches towards mine.
"What!? What did you do!? You know you can't beat me!"
His laugh echoed loudly inside his helmet, as he struggled to keep himself up, probably from the wound I gave him a couple days back.
"I didn't hack the system to download the files, idiot. I hacked the system to do this."
With a snap of a finger, the alarms all went off over the military depot, accompanied the irritating flashing of the red lights along with the PA system blasting through the speakers.
[SELF DESTRUCTION COUNTDOWN INITIATED: T-MINUS 10 MINUTES TILL DETONATION]
"DAMN YOU! No matter, 10 minutes is more than enough time to beat you down!"
But again, I was met with his annoying laugh.
"I know, that's why I called back up."
Back up? Just as I wondered who he could have called, the Ace Ops, along with Winter Schnee arrived, smashing through the command center windows.
"Criminal Code #17: Black Swan, you're under arrest."
One second I was beating a helpless kid down, the next I'm surrounded by the Ace Ops, what a cunning child. Winter raised her sword up and pointed it at my face, as she glared at OWL, who I promptly dropped on the ground.
"You're also, under arrest, anonymous tipper, or should I call you, OWL?"
OWL fell silent, only raising both his hands up in surrender.
"You can do that, but I've hacked through the entire compound's security cache, this place will blow regardless you push the emergency stop switch. Even your best hackers won't be able to stop this in time. Only I can stop the detonation sequence now."
Winter and the Ace Ops looked at each other, cautiously weighing in their options till finally, she gave in.
"Fine, stop the detonation sequence, but if you make any unneccesary moves, we end you. Is that clear?"
OWL simply nodded at Winter's warning, as he struggled his way towards the computer console to stop the place from blowing up. A wise move, maybe, but something inside me is telling me kill him right now. To think that this insolent child, who could barely stand up to fight me, pulled a fast one on me, made me look like a fool, put my reputation in question, use me as bait and hold me hostage here.
No, the Black Swan will be made a fool!
Without even giving it a second thought, I jumped at OWL, and chaos ensued. Every single person in that small room brawled and fought for control, till OWL, broke his promise and initiated the detonation sequence right away instead of stopping it. The floor caved in, and the roof collapsed, as fire engulfed the whole facility. Dust filled my lungs, and debris began to pile on top of me one after the other, as I lose consciousness.
When I came to, I was in hand cuffs inside an Atlas Airship with nobody in sight but the two guards sitting close to me and a banged up Winter Schnee sitting across me on the other side. She had her scroll up and open with the news broadcasting loud enough for me to hear.
[A gas leak perpetrated by the criminals known only as OWL and the Black Swan, caused an explosion on the east side of Atlas, leading to the destruction of a Military Depot that housed the R&D department of the Atlas Military...]
"You and you're accomplice really did a number on us."
She arrogantly whispered, though she did make one mistake.
"Not my accomplice. OWL. Where is he?"
I ask, making sure I stare back at her, as menacingly as I can.
"Not an accomplice, sure, sure. He escaped. Gone... really hoping you could tell us where, but we'll have plenty of time to talk it over."
A statement that made me want to laugh, but I decided to hold my tongue.
"No? Fine, keep your lips sealed, we'll find a way to loosen them one way or another."
Winter Schnee gracefully stood up and made her way out of the airship, never breaking eye contact with me till the platform closed completely, as we promptly took off. How naive of her to think that we'll see each other again at the end of this trip. I'm not OWL, I've made a contingency plan, and judging from our distance from the military depot, my path to freedom is just right around the corner...
"Scream, Banshee."
In a blink of an eye, icicles began to form and protrude out of my suit, instantly stabbing and killing the two guards sitting close to me. After that, it's just a matter of how I want to kill the pilot. Of course I opted for the quickest way possible: stabbing him through the heart while he's sitting down. I push the pilot's dead body away from his seat, and quickly activated the autopilot.
[AUTO-PILOT: ACTIVATED]
"Watts is still expecting me to deliver this file for him."
I pull out from underneath my tongue, the flash drive OWL so carelessly forgot to pull out, and stared at it while I cross my legs.
"Now, about that remaning three percent. Security levels have probably been raised already, so only one other console in this entire kingdom, outside of the council and Ironwood's, that has the technological access to link up to the Atlas Military files without raising an eyebrow, and thankfully, it's not that far ahead."
Later that evening, Schnee Manor...
"As I thought, Jacques Schnee would be crooked enough to have some sort military access... now that that three percent is secured, I wonder what's really on it? No, that doesn't really matter. I get paid regardless, the less I know the better... now as for the matter of OWL..."
Before I could finish contemplating on how to track down OWL, Jacsques' door swung open, and in came a drunken middle aged woman. It was very obvious by the way she was slurring her words, and how uncoordinated she was that she was highly... intoxicated. She quickly made her way towards the dresser to her right and pulled out a glass and a bottle of whiskey, and immediately started pouring it out. Quite frankly, it'd be more efficient for her to just drink from the bottle the way she's pouring it than to waste time dumping it on that glass.
"Watching the glass fill all the way up is part of the pleasure, you know?"
Willow asks without even tilting her head my way. I knew even in her drunken state, and even with my clothes blending perfectly with the shadows of this poorly lit room... even through my mask... that she'd noticed me. I've never known her to be ignorant and rude like that.
"Hey, don't mind me. Drink away."
I extended the palm of hand, urging her to drink. An invitation she gladly accepted. Willow quickly drank the whiskey, and slammed the glass against the shelf. Without looking back, she gathered herself for a moment, as she anxiously ran her fingers along the lip of the glass she just slammed down.
"It's been a while, Eliza..."
I took a deep breath and calmly stood up.
"Yes. Yes it has, Aunt Willow."
Ezra
[A gas leak perpetrated by the criminals known only as OWL and the Black Swan, caused an explosion on the east side of Atlas, causing the destruction of a Military Depot that housed the R&D department of the Atlas Military...]
"I guess this means, I'm famous now?"
I ponder the consequences of my actions as I sit atop the building overseeing Mr. Toff's barber shop. I looked at the Faunus that saved my life and wondered if I'm ever gonna be able to repay him. Pietro, at least, I was able to save his daughter for the time being, but Toff? Things are bit too complicated now for me to do anything, I'd be risking myself... and my family.
"The OWL huh?"
I yank my helmet off and stared back at the metallic OWL helmet straight in the eye.
"Too bad I lost those Polendina files in the fire, could have really made some serious bank with that money. Oh well, maybe one day."
[RECORDING IN PROCESS]
Oh! I must have accidentally pushed the record button on this thing... Heh, might as well.
"AH, HELLO! Future me, this is... you from the past. Wow, this is dumb, but here we go. Remember this day? Atlas... Mantle... the cold, the suffering, the damage you caused and the people you owed. You justified all of this in hopes for a better tomorrow- that one day, you'll make something out of yourself that doesn't involve hurting others. Maybe I'm just being naive now, and the world really is full of despair."
I look down and contemplated the idea of what I had just said... that there's no escape to all of this madness.
"Maybe the OWL is the salvation you are hoping for for you and the triplets. I hope it's not, but it if is, then I really have some growing up to do, and quick. But hey! I am in Atlas! There's literally an island floating above me right now, if humans can do that, then anything is possible."
One last message before turning off the record button.
"To you, from me, years ago... Hoping that tomorrow will bring something new- a better life."
Do me a favor, and tell me how's that going for us.