ARROWFELL II - EVERYTHING IN REVERSE
**(WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE PLOT OF THE VIDEO GAME: RWBY ARROWFELL)**
In a way, I think this is the world's way of saying I need to come visit my elders. The moment I set foot in Atlas, I think faith has lead me to this path. Though grandmother was never the kind to believe in such 'madness'- as she would call it. 'Faith is nothing but an excuse to let go of the things you should be controlling.' In her mind, faith was nothing but...
"Laziness. Even after all these years, you're still lazy and impatient."
I scratch the back of my head as me and the rest of my team hesitantly followed Hathaway through the dark alleyways of Mantle.
"Lazy? We we're followed and set up. We had limited time to move! Our actions were restricted."
Hathaway ignored my complaints, choosing to only look back with a disappointed face.
"All that effort I did to warn you about the corruption within the Atlas Military, gone."
Nora added a bit more pep into her step to catch up and walk beside me.
"What do you mean, uh, ma'am?"
Grandmother suddenly stopped the moment she came face to face with an intersection between two buildings. She swiveled her head left and right before tapping her cane on the brick floor twice. Silence engulfed the night as we all waited for grandmother to make a move, till suddenly, an echo from the left side began to ring faintly from the shadows. As if she was being beckoned, grandmother courageously walked towards the sound and into the darkness.
"The person who gave you the mission likely is the one pulling the strings."
The person? That would mean-
"Winter!? No way!"
Jaune stepped in to complain, but Hathaway was unfazed at Jaune's sudden outburst.
"Trust this person, you do?"
She asks.
"I do."
I replied without hesitation, but was instantly met with a disheartened sigh.
"Foolish-"
But I cut her off, knowing for a fact that Winter is not and would never be that kind of person.
"No, not this soldier. She's annoying yes, but she has her own code she lives by... and she cares for the people her siste- she cares for us."
Hathaway could only scoff after hearing what I had to say.
"Doubtful. On the contrary, people will do more horrendous things for the people they care about more so than if they never cared at all."
Before Hathaway could continue, lights began to turn on all around us out of nowhere, suddenly exposing a market square. People began to flood the streets and acted like the lights were never off to begin with. So this is it, huh? We found the Nest. We followed grandmother deeper into the square till we ended up in a bench in the middle of a plaza. A top the table were five porcelian cups filled with green tea, judging from the smell.
"Wow..."
Ren awestruck at what he had just seen, could do nothing but blurt out what we were all thinking. Grandmother escorted us towards the table and sat amongst us, refusing to speak till she took a sip of the tea that was waiting for us.
"Best drink the tea while it's hot."
She lifted her palms towards us, urging us to drink, which we all gladly obliged.
"As I was saying, grandma, Winter isn't-"
Grandmother suddenly dropped her cup on the table, light enough for the tea to not spill, but strong enough to interrupt what I was trying to say.
"Even if that was true, why didn't you do your research properly?"
Th-thaaaat's true. It's because my mind's been filled with my relationship with Blake at the moment.
"You act without information. You die. Or did you forget?"
She sternly lectured me. In front of my team too, which is admittedly embarrassing.
"So impatient, you and your sister."
Everyone flinched at what she had just said. Even I was speechless, and only Jaune had enough of a grip on his senses to ask the question that was lingering in our heads.
"Him and his sister? You know Swan is-"
Hathaway cut him off.
"That Swan is Eliza, yes. Yes I do. I trained her just as I have trained you, Ezra."
One look at me, and grandmother already knew the questions I had in my mind, rather, she's always known. There wasn't any need for me to say anything any more, at that moment, she already knew that she had some explaining to do.
"Ezra, I need you to listen carefully..."
Hathaway curled her fingers into a fist, all except for one, which she gently dipped into the boiling hot tea. As she pulled her finger out, blood began to ooze out of her skin, before vaporizing into red mist.
"My name is Linda Hathaway, this you know, but my real name is Erlinda Snow."
S-Snow? Did she say Snow? I knew the Nest were defectors of the Snow Tribe, but I didn't know grandmother was an original member or somebody they recruited once the group relocated to Vale.
"You're a Snow?"
The red mist twirled around the palm of her hand, solidifying into a scarlet dagger the moment she closed her palm.
"I am- was. I reckon by now Eliza have told you about the dealings of the Snow Tribe's past, correct? Our history- our dark history."
Oh, how can I forget? The atrocities we've committed over the years to 'create' the ultimate versions of ourselves- a concept the tribe believes can only be achieve by exercising power, fury and authority. The three feathers- our insignia.
"I am... painfully aware now, yes."
Hathaway nodded with regret in her eyes.
"My story starts with my late husband, your grandfather..."
Wait, that would mean...
"We're related, yes. Don't get me wrong, the person posing as your grandfather now, I love him too, but he wasn't my first husband."
The dagger in her hand began to dissipate into thin air, after she was satisfied that she had proven her point.
"You're grandfather was one of the Tribe Elders, he believed that our way of life needed to change. He wanted to move away from our traditions. After all, countless of generations have passed since our ancestors led us to this power hungry path, with nothing to show. We just wanted a peaceful life, and so did a good chunk of the Tribe."
A good chunk, huh? I'm assuming that's what the Nest is comprised off now.
"The rest of the Tribe didn't agree of course, and it led to a civil war that eventually took my late husband's life. But your father, my son, was a brave young man. Determined. He took over your grandfather's wishes and carried on his beliefs. Eventually, the tribe grew tired of the bloodshed and exiled us instead. We came in contact with Headmaster Ozpin in Vale and formed a contract that allowed us to stay in Mountain Glenn in exchange for the budding town's protection."
Hathaway absentmindedly stared at her tea, as she recalled the memories of her past- our past.
"Yes, where was I? Exiled? Ha. What a lie, and we were naive..."
Me and Jaune looked at each other as Hathaway fell silent once more.
"Grandma, what happened?"
She closed her eyes and held back her tears, trying her best to finish the story.
"I don't know the exact details. I was in Vale when everything came crashing down, but I do know this: The Tribe didn't uphold their promise... they kept the receipts of our family's transgressions and attacked the Mountain. All that animosity attracted an absurd amount of grimm, leading to the death of our family. Elric, my son... Edelweiss... your mother, gone. My world after hearing what happened. The worst time of my life... by far."
Grandmother stood up and clenched her cane, as she turned her back on us.
"Then you came crashing into the city, young and afraid, clutching your infant sisters in your hands in an out of control train that Edelweiss turned on in her dying breath."
Hathaway reached for the knot behind her neck and loosened the scarf that hid the lower half of her face, then gently turned her face towards me and smiled softly. She had a scar that stretch from her left jaw, running across her mouth and along her right cheek. It was a unique looking scar, it was purplish in color, a scar that I'm all too familiar with. It's the same kind of wound Shirayuki leaves on her victims when I slash them.
But looking at her- looking past the scar, despite the mutilation on her face, something inside me suddenly clicked... a memory I thought I lost.
"Grandma..."
The face of my grandmother. Tears began to flood my face, as I quickly ran towards her and hugged her as tight as I can.
"When I saved you from that crash, I set out to find your sister. I received word that your father sent her out during the attack to ask for help, so I knew she was alive somewhere in the wilderness. I looked for days on end, weeks almost, till I eventually found her... but when I did, she wasn't Eliza anymore."
Back in Haven, I remember rejecting the idea that Swan was Eliza because I've always known her to gentle, kind, and strong. Swan was cruel and devoid of the things Eliza was known for. I've always been told that was she went missing and died during the tragedy in Mountain Glenn. Even Swan herself acknowledged this... that Eliza was dead.
"She already became Swan."
Hathaway stepped back and wrapped her scarf around her face once more, and quickly regained her composure.
"Eliza was the one that gave me this wound, it was no grimm... I barely escaped with my life. I didn't have time to understand why she became the way she is. Eliza has always been full of hope, love, and happiness... everything started to change after she fell Banshee, the truth of which is a story that only she truly knows. After seeing what happened to her, I decided to keep part of your past a secret. You were too young to understand, so I took advantage of that. I made the decision to give you a fresh start- a life free of the Snows."
Regret began to drape over her face, as she continued talking.
"I acted as if we adopted you, when in reality, I was your true blood all along."
She sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder. Hathaway tilted her head to the side, as she lovingly caressed my arm.
"But it seems our past has a way of finding its way back to us... no matter how much we run from it."
If there's one thing I've learned with my time in Beacon and with all my friends is that...
"The past is only a part of who you are, grandma. I've come to terms with it. The present is where we live, and the future is something I look forward too, one I'd hope would be a happy one."
She smiled for a second before nodding in agreement. Seems like this conversation's coming to an end.
"It would seem you're not so foolish after all. Very well. Your counter parts, Team RWBY, has successfully captured a union leader by the name of Hanlon Fifestone. The man has been known to be able to harvest raw emotions as his semblance. We've been keeping tabs on him since we arrived in Atlas. Based on the nature of the orbs, it's quite logical for the military to suspect him right off the bat. Even more baffling is that the military has always been aware of what Fifestone's semblance can do."
Ren crossed his arms in front of him, deep in thought.
"Yet, we were never informed. Until now."
Impressed at his deduction skills, Hathaway nodded and continued.
"Indeed. Someone has been gate keeping information from you, and if you insist it's not Winter Schnee, then it is someone higher up from the chain of command. Very bad for business, if higher ups like that have their hands too deep inside the underworld's pockets."
If not Winter, then it really only leaves two other people - Harper or Ironwood, and I doubt the General would have started all this commotion to risk his master plan of setting Amity up.
"Take care children. Fifestone is very crucial to the activation of these orbs. If he was captured now, after information has been kept from you must mean this whole saga is about to come to a close, and it's looking like the conclusion would be nothing short of chaotic."
Ah, there it is. Clarity has never been grandmother's strong suit.
"I take it that's all you have for us?"
I ask, to which grandmother simply nodded.
"Listen Ezra, Atlas holds a deeper meaning in your life than you think. You being here... Eliza too, it's like the two of you have been drawn back here by faith. Now don't laugh, I know I've always said I wasn't a believer, but how else can I explain something so mystical."
Okay, now I'm curious.
"What's so special about Atlas?"
Hathaway turned her back on us and began to slowly walk away. Red mist began to engulf the entire market square, as everything slowly faded away with the sound of her voice.
"Did you forget already? Your mother is Atleasian..."
Mom. Dad calls her Shirayuki so much that I forgot that her real name is Edelweiss.
"Yikes, now that's creepy."
As the mist fades away, so did the lights and people surrounding the market square and we were left yet again with the sight of the empty and lifeless buildings this part of Mantle is known for. I've been away from the Nest for so long that I forgot how mystifying this illusion really is. Choosing to sway my team's attention back to the problem at hand, I walked in front of them and spoke.
"So, that's the gist of it. My past I mean..."
Jaune tilted his head down, probably because he's overly worried about me after hearing what Hathaway just said.
"Ezra, I don't know what to say honestly. Are you okay?"
He asks. Sometimes I wonder how his soul can be so gentle.
"I am, but this is not really the time to be worrying about such things, Harper for instance."
Jaune set aside his feelings and focused on the task at hand. Well, tried to at least. He held his head high like he was about to say something
"Speaking of Harper... I think it's something we need to discuss to Winter about"
[Winter: Team JNPR report-]
He promptly raised his scroll up to his face to talk to Winter, but me and Ren snatched it away from him just as quickly as he raised it.
"Whaa- hey!"
Before Jaune could say any more, Nora butted in as Ren disconnected his and Jaune's scroll from the military's network.
"If what Ezra's grandmother is saying is correct, then we can't risk spilling information out."
I nod, as I don my OWL mask once more.
"Nora's right. Even if Winter is innocent, Harper out ranks her. She simply has more resources. If we out Harper now, then we run the risk of endangering Winter and everybody else on this case."
Jaune reached out his hand, and grabbed his scroll from Ren.
"Meaning our option is to go dark and investigate ourselves."
With that being said...
"Where do we even start?"
Nora blurted out the one thing we were all thinking. Thankfully, grandmother didn't fully left us alone in the dark. The interface inside my mask started to beep as information from the Nest started to flow through.
[INCOMING FILES - DOWNLOADING - ]
[DOWNLOAD COMPLETE - OPENING FILES - FILE SYNC: LIE REN, NORA VALKYRIE, JAUNE ARC - COMPLETE]
"Ezra what are these?"
Ren asks while he looked at his scroll.
"Video files hacked from the security cameras here in Mantle. Courtesy of Hathaway. Let's see here..."
They were videos of the Atleasian soldiers that attacked us earlier in the evening. Some of them I recognized.
"These aren't just soldiers... they're mercenaries... but that- wait, that's weird. According to Hathaway's files, their military IDs checks out."
Which can only mean one thing.
"They're not posing as soldiers, THEY ARE soldiers. Most likely under the mafia's paycheck. That's smart. They get to eliminate rival gangs under the disguise of justice."
"Wait! Play that back!"
Jaune suddenly yelled, pointing on the screen of his scroll. Curious as to what he just saw, I played back the video.
"RIGHT THERE, STOP!"
He yelled yet again, but I'm still confused as to what he saw.
"Glass is gone."
He's right.
"Before those soldiers- mercenaries, whatever. Before they walked in, Glass is gone and it looks like they're looking for him."
I see, he's right. -BEEP- BEEP-
"Hold on, I've got another incoming transmission from the Nest."
My eyes widened in shock, as I gazed upon the photo of Amoncio Glass, handcuffed to a hospital bed. Barely breathing but alive.
"Glass is alive. The Nest have him."
My team's face all had a shocked expression, as they slowly processed the implications of what I just said.
"Glass didn't make bail then, he was released... likely because he was still important, and the attack wasn't an ambush, it was a rescue mission."
How very astute of Ren to conclude all that in just a few seconds.
"Which would mean we have our leverage. In keeping Winter in the dark, we trick Harper into thinking Glass is with us. The longer we wait, the higher the likelihood Harper would trip up."
Everyone seems to agree, and with that in mind, the team and I scattered throughout Mantle to keep a low profile. We waited days, choosing to live in the shadows all this time, before we made any sort of significant move, all the while keeping contact with the outside world to a minimum, even with team RWBY. We would lay low in the morning and deviced our plan at night, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. After six days of hiding, we finally decided to break our silence and contact Winter.
-RING- -RING-
[Winter: Jaune! You're alive!]
Winter's voice sounded more surprised than she is concerned.
[Jaune: We're okay. All together and unharmed.]
She nodded in relief, before furrowing her brows sternly.
[Winter: Why haven't you been reporting this whole time?]
Jaune looked past his scrolls and deep into my eyes, making sure one last time if the plan is a go. I nod back without hesitation.
[Jaune: Cause we've been set up. We were attacked by Atleasian soldiers. We don't know who to trust.]
Surprisingly, Winter didn't even flinch at the idea of what she just heard.
[Winter: Odd, Team RWBY was attacked too under similar circumstances...]
[Jaune: Are they okay?]
[Winter: Yes. Yes they are... we're currently trying to figure out who could plan such a thing-]
Before Winter could finish her thought, I swiftly moved beside Jaune and interrupted her.
[Ezra: You. You can. You have all the access.]
Winter flinched and broke character.
[Winter: You dare-]
But I couldn't care less about all that.
[Ezra: Let's cut to the chase. We've secured Glass. It's obvious you have insiders in your organization, so we're telling you this since we trust you.]
Winter bit her tongue and hesitated, before eventually sighing and relenting.
[Winter: Fine.]
The four of us looked at each other, knowing full well that the next words I utter will start the chaos that will lead to the end of this case. For better or for worse.
[Ezra: Case Code: 9987763 - Paragraph 4 Line 6; Case Code: 008712 - Paragraph 17 Line 2; Case Code: 235689]
Confused, Winter stared at us, but before she could say anything back, we cut off the line.
"It's all up to her now."
Jaune comments, as he smiles softly.
Winter
What are those kids up to? I hate to admit it, but Snow is right. Team RWBY and JNPR's ambush is not a coincidence, far from it. Somebody in our ranks is using our people for their own good and I have to figure out who. Those kids have an idea- possibly already know who. They're just caught up in a situation where they can't' reveal everything in one go.
"That or..."
The message isn't for me. I swivel my chair to face my laptop and quickly dug through the archives, desperately searching for the case files Ezra mentioned.
"Hold on just a second."
Case number 9987763 is that case three years ago. This relates to the Polendina files that got corrupted. It's a miracle Pietro was even able to recreate the data. Let's see here.
"Paragraph 4 Line 6 is 'around 2241 hours, a silhouette of a young man and an older woman was seen fighting a top the roof Dustin and Gustin's Law Firm.' This is an address- a coordinate. This is here in Atlas. So is he saying, Glass iis n Atlas? Or is that the coordinates of where JNPR currently is?"
How about the other case then... what was it... 008712. Huh, same thing. This is the case file from three years ago, where a military depot was infiltrated from the eastern side of Atlas, and the explosion on the western side.
"So if I plot this on the map, and mark the the coordinates from Arc's last transmission... which is in Mantle? Mantle, why there? Do they want me to transfer Atlas coordinates down to Mantle? If I do that then... it creates a cross."
X marks the spot. Brilliant. But that doesn't tell me anything... wait, there was one other thing wasn't it?
"Paragraph 17 Line 2 was it?"
It's a testimony from a barber down in Mantle, when asked where his employee 'Sonny' was. Of course we now know it's Ezra, but back then we were just scrapping for whatever we could find, hence why we catalogued such a useless conversation like this.
[Audio File: Playing-]
[Well, see when you cut hair, it's always better to rely not just on what you see, but on the mirror too. A mirror helps you see things in a different angle. You cut a certain way, and it may only look good at that angle, but if you reverse it, it may look stupid. That's why you need to check your cuts at the mirror as well, cause everything-]
"Is in reverse."
Clever. So if I reverse the coordinates and then re-plot them back to Atlas instead of Mantle then I would get...
"Lieutenant Colonel Harper's office... by the gods, she's the mole."
Heh. Sometimes I wonder if they really are kids.
Time to send this to Harper then, minus the coordinates of her office of course. These kids have put their lives on the line for this mission and now they're trusting me. It's time I return the favor.
Ezra
It's been a couple of hours since we've sent the coded message to Winter, and sure enough, we were ambushed shortly after. Waiting all those days have really made Harper impatient, forcing her to come out with her crew this time around. Fortunately for us, Winter had a separate crew, along with the Ace-Ops waiting to back us up. It wasn't even a challenge.
Thanks to the evidence the Nest got for us, combined with Harper actually popping up on the crime scene, Winter and the Ace-Ops were able to apprehend Harper. It didn't take much interrogation after that for her blurt out that Bram Thornmane is the real mastermind behind this orb debaucle going on around the Kingdom. Everyone was relieved, but we all knew there were still more work to be done. Though I wouldn't mind some alone time right about now.
It would seem, however, that I don't have a choice at the moment.
Amidst the rubble where Winter's crew and Harper's fought, our savior herself elegantly made her way through while I rested on one of the fallen concrete on the street floor of Mantle. Winter proudly stood beside me with her hands on the small of her back while stared off into the distance.
"That was masterfully done, cornering a mafia boss, thwarting off serial killer, surviving an ambush, and uncovering a conspiracy all in a week's work. I suppose I owe you and your team an apology. I may have underestimated you."
That much is true, and is admittedly satisfying, but I wasn't about to let Winter see that on my face.
"After all that I've done to this Kingdom, the least I can do is right some of my wrongs. Wouldn't have done it without the support of those three."
Jaune, Ren and Nora stood stoicly as the Ace-Ops continued to flesh out some of the details of what we had done within the week, while Winter looked on.
"Indeed. Right some wrongs, huh? Speaking of wrongs, you know it's illegal for a civilian to look through case files without proper documentation right?"
Ah, she must be referring to the case files we used to hide the coordinates.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do."
Winter smirked, tilting her head down, almost as if she was trying to hide her laughter.
"Yet you still did it anyways. Why does that not surprise me?"
I shrug my shoulders at her question.
"Case Code: 235689. I looked over it, and I admit, I had almost forgotten about it... my first mission. Why did you add it?"
I couldn't help but grin, knowing that she actually read through it. It wasn't relevant to our plans, I mean it is, but it's not.
"Nothing quiet like your first ain't it? I find it helpful to look back at where it all started and compare it to where I am now, good or bad, it's a good reminder of why you do the things you're doing now."
Though her confusion was evident, she still nodded and agreed with the parts that she did understood.
"So you sent those case code to be sentimental, hoping that I'd feel some type of way towards your team? In order for me to what, trust YOU, the OWL?"
She's on the right track, but somehow still off.
"That's part of it yeah, but really, it's quiet the opposite. It's us showing telling you that we trust you... the real you."
Winter loosened her arms and dropped it to her side and smiled.
"I am not so emotional to be swayed by such things, Mr. Snow. I am here to do a job- the right thing. It just so happened that Harper was in the wrong and you were in the right, though I appreciate the kind words."
There's just absolutely no way me and her can be friends if that's the case, but this is probably for the best. At least we know what her true intentions are, and what kind of person she really is... the right thing huh? Winter was right though, why did I send those case codes? I guess grandmother's cautiousness and lectures have caught up to me. She even got me questionning whether or not we can trust her. Speaking of grandmother...
As Winter began to walk away, a thought suddenly popped up into my head- one that Hathaway planted in my mind before we went our separate ways a couple days ago.
"Winter."
She slowly tilted her head, but did not turn it all the way. A sign that meant I didn't have her full attention, and anything uninteresting I'd utter will be completely ignored. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot, and asked the question that's suddenly started to make my brain itch.
"By chance, do you know of a woman named, Edelweiss?"
Upon hearing my mother's name, Winter suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her head that was once only half turned was now facing me directly. All her attention suddenly focused on me as her eyes began to widen by the second. It took her a couple of seconds, but she eventually managed to utter some words out of her mouth amidst her confusion.
"How do you know that name?"