Chapter 22: Let the Games Begin!
"I don't understand," Ozpin folded his arms as Ironwood continued to pace back and forth. "We used the backup servers, and your little silver eyed prodigy vouched for that…that horrid thing. But nothing seems to have been stolen. And we can't even put a trace on copied information."
"Perhaps the little freak lied about it to cover his tracks." Winter grumbled.
"The problem with that, snow queen," Qrow hiccuped as he downed a shot from his flask. "Is that my niece got there before that little evil kid did? And she recounted Torchwick's assistant who evaded our capture. Not to mention, the kid has no technological expertise, if the one your sister is messing around with on the other hand-"
"Don't you dare." Winter hissed at him. "Weiss knows better than your niece to see through a lie."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Glynda scolded as she smacked both adults over the head with her wand. "Can't you two just be nice to each other for a second, we told you to put your stupid one night stand behind both of you."
"I will admit," Ozpin finally spoke up. "I do see the holes in Mr. Wolfe's story. However, from what we've had going on, their story needs to be taken with seriousness. Unfortunately for you, Winter, Qrow is correct. Moon needs to rely on Erick for any technological issues, their corruption alone is not enough to help hack our systems. So he cannot be a prime suspect."
"We'd advise you to try putting your emotions of Weiss' feelings for Erick aside if you want to continue talking to her." Glynda continued. "Did we not make it ABUNDANTLY clear to you that those children will take any sort of barrier set between allies and use it to their advantage."
"Now, let's rediscuss this." Ozpin said. His desk flashed as a holographic bracket popped up. "I'm certain Team MESS will find ways to make themselves look shady and give you reason to investigate. We barred them from participating in this tournament for a reason. In the meantime, however, I'd like to discuss something a bit more…fally. I've sent a call for Team JNPR to come see us. It is best that we prepare them for the duty that will follow them ahead as the new knights of the Fall Maiden. Doing such means we all must help them train against telepathy. No doubt in my mind that Moon will eventually become suspicious of their behavior."
The elevator dinged open and the adults turned as Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren walked out into the office.
"You uh…you requested to see us…Professor Ozpin." Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it…is it urgent?"
"Amber's time didn't get reduced faster than you expected…did it?" Pyrrha asked.
"Thankfully, no, matter of fact, she's been stabilized for a decent amount of time now since you last saw her." Ozpin gave them a reassuring smile. "Unfortunately, as we made you aware Amber is only stable, she is only stable, we told you exactly why we need to replace her."
"I…I don't understand." Ren said, placing a finger on his chin. "If you guys have known about the alien race that team Moon and Sarah are descendents of for longer than they've been here…how did you find out about them?"
The adults looked at each other.
"It is natural that you have questions, so we might as well lay it out to you." Ozpin replied. "As the existence of the Maidens has taught you, the fairy tales you have grown up with as children are indeed true…to an extent. There does…however, exist a fairy tale long forgotten to time. Think of it as a follow up to the Story of the Seasons. The tale of the maidens."
"The tale goes as follows." Glynda crossed her arms. "The man who gifted the maidens their powers once came into contact with an evil entity. This evil entity was not of this world, and, as a result, was unaffected by the presence of Grimm. They also had a variety of psychic powers."
"The tale that Sarah told you all, the one that their village was visited by aliens who mated with humans, that one was true. However, what they left out is what the consequences were. The aliens were responsible for the creation and separation of Grimm."
"Then…why would they have no idea what a Grimm was? They're human after all," Nora questioned.
"Like we just told you, Moon and Sarah's heritage leaves them undetectable to the Grimm, and, as such, they form a protective barrier around Erick and Sapphire. Theoretically, we could try to exploit their powers to hide civilization from the Grimm…but there's only two of them, and considering the aliens viewed Grimm as friendly, I doubt they'd be willing to comply." Ironwood continued.
"With that being said, the Maiden Powers were not actually given to those women out of generosity, they were done so to counter the weaponized children that the aliens wanted. It would seem that Moon and Sarah are the last two remaining members of this family."
"But…they've been quite nice…and helpful to us as well." Jaune was puzzled. "Don't you think that maybe not everything from the fairy tale turns out to be true?"
"The knowledge that these fairy tales are real has been passed down by the ancestors of these academies for generations." Ozpin replied, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "We were told that, one day, the inheritors of the aliens' goal would return. Based on what we've seen, Moon and Sarah appear to be those children."
"So…wait…if Moon and Sarah are the last two…why did the man create four maidens?"
"It was said in the fairy tale that four children would come. Unfortunately, we cannot determine if Sapphire and Erick are the same. But…as we know, they have no reasonable connection. It's possible that they're being manipulated and don't know what the two of them truly have planned for Remnant."
Team JNPR each looked at each other.
"As Erick told you, one of Moon's powers allows him to read other people's minds." Ironwood continued, crossing his arms. "There was a little trick passed down that could prevent someone from reading their minds."
"And we're gonna train you brats about it." Qrow hiccuped. "Can't have you brats spilling our beans to that little freak. You may have noticed that your tournament round was rigged for last, and that's exactly why."
"Don't worry, this won't hurt you, the training is simple." Glynda said. "We have ways to simulate what mind reading can be to you. We know it's effective, because we all got the feeling when we first met Moon."
"Surely there has to be a better way to handle this diplomacy than simply jumping to conclusions." Nora shook her head. "Do you not think you are acting super uncivilized? I mean, sure, Moon's dark side or whatever it's called has come out once. But it was for a good reason, you know."
"Maybe so," Winter placed her hands behind her back as she looked at the team of four. "However, that will not stop him from potentially bending the rules at some point into the future. Or even lying or fibbing situations entirely. I mean, did you not find it odd that not a single Grimm has ever so much as glanced in their general direction? Especially when that hole was blown up?"
The four team members again exchanged puzzled looks with one another.
"We don't have a whole lot of time remaining." Qrow grumbled as he pulled up the tournament footage showing Team RWBY as the first victory of the tournament. "You brats may be purposely made to go last, but these fights can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour."
As the adults took team JNPR to the basement. Qrow quickly stopped Winter as the elevator filled up. Once the adults had gone down, Winter turned to him with an angry glare.
"What?" she growled.
"Touchy." Qrow hiccuped. "I just thought I'd give this to you." he handed her an envelope with a snowflake emblem on the back. Winter puzzled as she looked at Qrow, who was giving her a sly grin. "It was meant for your sister, but I thought you'd be interested in its contents."
Moon, Sarah, and Sapphire each walked out into a clearing within the forest. The three of them had been asked by Ruby and Yang to come with them after they had watched Team RWBY successfully take down their opponent team from Haven. A team name that had already left the back of their minds. Erick had gone off with Weiss and Blake with Sun. Leaving the five of them to just awkwardly fumble around before Ruby invited them for a short visit to their father's house to return Zwei. Strangely, Penny was also accompanying them.
Moon had to admit, for a single father raising two girls. Their dad sure owned a nice place. It was a bit of a log cabin in a more rural section of Vale. Though, as the Glenn settlement had taught them from Ironwood, Vale was the only place with more ruralish areas behind their tightly bordered walls.
"Your father…pardon my rudeness…is quite young." Sapphire observed as Ruby took Sarah and Penny on a more guided tour of their house. "Honestly, he looks like he could still be doing field work as a huntsman now that you and Ruby are in Beacon."
Yang glumly watched her father planting flowers in the garden. "Yeah…you aren't wrong." she said. "But, after my mother abandoned us without warning. Then Summer just vanished and died. Dad just kind of…shut down. I had to sort of bear the responsibility of raising Ruby."
"So he was neglectful?" Moon asked. "You make it sound like you only come back here because Ruby still likes him."
"No, not like that." Yang replied. "I can see where people get the idea. But it wasn't like I was raising Ruby as he did nothing. Like Ruby told you, because of Summer's death, our family got compensation, and with two little girls, we had to call in Uncle Qrow to basically help out with financial providence. Dad was not neglectful, but after Mom and then Summer…I guess he just does not have it in him to do hunter work anymore."
Moon just nodded his head, as Sapphire side eyed him.
"So…you don't know what's become of your mother," he asked. "But you do know what happened to Summer?"
"Not entirely…" Yang replied, she twiddled a bit of her golden hair in her fingers. "Her grave is actually through the clearing. But Ruby and I were never allowed to see her body as we were so young. Dad didn't want us to have…resting scars."
"Wise man." Moon hushed as Yang looked at him. "He obviously raised you two correctly if, even after everything he's had happen to him. He still allows both of you to become Huntresses. I'm certain Summer would be proud of both of you."
Yang gave him a bit of a suspicious look with her lilac eyes. Not that he particularly blamed her given their past interactions.
"I think she would." The older sister said after a bit. "Speaking of which. Ruby told us about what happened at the dance. I suppose I should thank you for going after her. If you hadn't…I don't know what would've happened to her."
Moon wanted to make a retort so badly. But instead, simply nodded his head. "It was nothing, I just thought it was strange to see her leave the dance you all prepared. Did you not think it was weird?"
Yang just bit down on her lip. "Truth be told, she didn't really notify me, so I just assumed she was going to the bathroom or something."
"Ah, so both sisters are equally as bad at communicating to partners and allies when something shady is going on. You'd think they would've learned that by-"
"Shut it." Moon hissed as he cleared his mind of Dark Moon.
"Communication between team members is important." He said, after a moment. "When I noticed Ruby leave, I let Sarah and Sapphire know I was going to follow her."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Yang asked, her tone shifting more sharply.
"Calm down," Sapphire butted in, sensing his leader's frustration. "Moon doesn't mean to bring down your sister's leadership skills, or the abilities of Team RWBY. He is just speaking from personal experience between us all. If the four of you keep splitting up without effective plans or communications. You'll only serve to harm each other, and potentially the lives of more people in Remnant."
Yang continued to give both of them a bit of an angry glare. Moon effectively stood up as Penny came back down the stairs and walked over to her.
Sapphire huffed out a breath as Yang watched his leader follow Penny back outside, with Ruby and Sarah following shortly after.
"What's your leader's problem?" She asked, in Sapphire's mind, it sounded more like she snapped that at him. But he couldn't really be that mad given how Moon treated Yang in the past. "He's so judgemental about my team that he doesn't recognize the issue he has with you. He looks down at everyone like we're all nothing but ants doing his work."
"It's…a bit more complicated than you might expect." Sapphire replied. "Firstly, if you truly believe that Moon views the people around him as ants with him as their god. You could not possibly be further from the truth. Palutena, a goddess, ruined his life, and the lives of Sarah and Erick. Even with the vast amount of powers you know he has that allows him to basically turn people into puppets, much like Giygas, their creator. He does not use them unless he is protecting his identity."
"That does not give him the right to judge us. Especially if he can't communicate with you effectively."
"He does not judge you out of spite or hatred. If I had to guess, he sees your team as an alternate version of his own."
The golden girl's eyebrow raised. "What makes you say that?"
"Think of it this way." Sapphire said, folding his hands together. "Within the context of how they are portrayed in Mother 4. Tell me how Moon, Sarah, and Erick come across in that game?"
The girl honestly looked like she was going to burst out laughing, but she sighed.
"Well, that's simple." She replied. "Unlike the Moon that leads you, the one in the game was quiet, mysterious, sneaky, and friendly to an outsider to hide his dark past."
"Go on."
"Sarah in the game was sweet, innocent, and excited, but taking her lightly would get you blindsided by a fierce and quick fighting style. Lastly, Erick was smart, snarky, and professional, but came off a bit arrogant at first but that was before we learned about his rocky relationship with his successful father."
"Very interesting." Sapphire replied calmly. "Does what you just said sound…familiar? Maybe…remind you of people you know?"
Yang pondered on it for a bit, before her lilac eyes dilated in realization.
The Moon, Sarah, and Erick you see before you today are very much the same kids they were in that video game you played. Like Moon told you, what you saw in the game is not exactly what happened to them. However, the similarities are clear as day."
"But then that would mean that…"
"I'm not going to say that you have any similarities to how Dyson may have been portrayed in that game. Nor am I going to say that you are anything like me. Because we most certainly could not be more opposite. However, one thing is very clear to me. Moon sees your team a bit like how they used to be. I cannot say the same for Sarah and Erick, but I know that Moon does not forget the past."
Yang bit down on her lip as Sapphire gave her a bit of a sympathetic look before standing up.
"Perhaps I am reading too far into it, or perhaps there is now weird nonsense of faith going on." He said. "But Moon, Sarah, and Erick all became the people you see before you today because of one big domino trigger. And while it most certainly wasn't the death of Dyson, I can say for certain, that if there is one constant, history and faith are bound to repeat. And if my memory serves correctly from what Moon told me. It all started crumbling apart with blind rage and poor thinking from the team."
Weiss closed the door to her and her team's dorm as Erick looked at her nervously. She had been quite adamant to get him away from his teammates despite the fact that Ruby offered all of them to come. And his nervousness did not at all get soothed when he found Winter in the room with them. Much like Moon had prep talked, Winter certainly was everything Moon had said. Her icy blue eyes, much like Weiss, could pierce through the heart if he wasn't careful.
"Sit, both of you," Winter ordered, pointing at the team's table. Erick half glanced at Weiss, and his nervousness was really propelled by the fact she looked just as lost as he was.
"Winter, what is this all about?" Weiss asked.
"You know exactly what this is about!" Winter snapped. Erick watched her pull an envelope with a snowflake emblem and she slid it over to Weiss. The envelope was no longer sealed, so he knew Winter had already read the contents.
Weiss also looked puzzled, but in a more confused way. Though Erick could see her shaking a bit.
"When I told you that you needed to write to Father, I didn't mean for you to tell him everything. What were you thinking?!"
"What's…what's going on?" Erick asked.
"Zip it." Winter growled at him. "Weiss, read the letter father has sent you."
Shaking, Weiss took the letter out and unfolded it, Erick glanced over at the letter as well.
My dearest Weiss,
I appreciate you getting back to me. I am still very disappointed in your failures to become the leader of your team, as well as your failure to establish a connection with Pyrrha Nickos. Furthermore, your teammates' academic performances are nothing short of embarrassing. Which, while good for propping you up. Absolutely speaks volumes that your Schnee talent is not only being wasted by Beacon Academy. Which makes the family legacy look nothing short of embarrassed to be outclassed by a grade skipper. But also that the leader is not taking you seriously. I do not care what Ozpin has told you, that grade skipper is inferior to you.
Now, moving past that, I hope you have been keeping up with the local news. That little bullshitstain terrorist Faunus Adam is still propaganda against the SDC's Legacy. It grows increasingly more infuriating each day on my insurance claims and nobody seems to give two shits about the destruction. Costing us fortunes, so I hope you've continued your investigation into the White Fang's Vale section.
Lastly, I've gotten word that you have found yourself a boyfriend. I must admit, you certainly did well nabbing a team member of those mysterious kids at Beacon. I've seen the footage of what that kid's teammates can do; they're a marketing machine. Almost made me wave aside my disappointment that you failed to get a connection with the Nickos Prodigy. Almost.
Anyway, as I am sure you know, we cannot risk these teammates leaving you in the dirt. So, effective immediately, I will be announcing your hand in marriage to Erick to the world. We can make arrangements when you both return to Atlas during vacation after your 1st year at Beacon. I'm certain you can find a way to lock the boy down, from what I've seen in the photos, I assume you pinned down the nerdy looking one. He should be easy enough to convince, but if he doesn't comply…we have the methods to make him.
Also, it should go without saying, but make sure that, when you return to Atlas with the nerdy boy. He either keeps contact with his teammates, or you've trained them to look professional in the Schnee way. The World of Remnant may be fascinated with them. But I can see that they are savages deep down.
Now, if his teammates really don't like you, I'm certain you can try to blackmail them. You are a woman after all and he is a nerd. I'd imagine if he is actually attracted to you it can't be that hard to make him knock your pathetic self up. Would be unfortunate to have your own bratty teammates involved too due to how the god-parent system works here. But the nieces of Ozpin's best huntsmen and a Faunus can be useful for press propaganda, the Faunus girl especially could be nice against Adam.
Anyway, it goes without saying, but don't fuck this up. There will be drastic consequences for it.
Signed,
Jacques Schnee.
Both of them looked at Winter, who had a look that Erick struggled to determine if it was more angry or desperate pleading. "Weiss, you need to end your relationship with this boy. You're too young for this nonsense! Father is just using both of you like objects. This charade has gone on long enough! End this, the general and I can take care of you. We can protect you from our father."
"Winter I can't just end this with Erick." Erick could hear the stutter in Weiss' voice. And it didn't take long for him to see why, as he could see a glint of red in her older sister's icy eyes as she struggled to maintain any composure she had.
"Why…NOT?" At this point, the genius wondered if he should pull out Gaia for self defense.
He looked over at Weiss, and he could instantly tell she was juggling between what exactly she was going to say next. As if choosing the wrong one would have Winter slice his head off frame one with her sword.
"Because…Because…um…" Weiss stuttered over herself.
Erick bit down, and just decided to take a hail mary. "Because I love her!" He snapped at Winter. Making both Schnee sisters give him shocked looks. "And she knows I love her, much more than your deadbeat dad does."
"Erick…I…" Weiss started.
"No!" he said, maintaining a calm but strict tone. He turned back to Winter. Who's shocked expression rivaled that of his own team at times. "Weiss has told me all about her life with her dad. I know he abused her. I know he abused your mother, who took her own life. I know that you both believe your father is the one who actually killed her. I know he abused you just as much as he did to Weiss."
At this point, Winter had stood up and drawn her sword in an agitated manner. But Erick didn't back down.
"I understand why you are so protective of Weiss. I understand that you still feel guilty for leaving her with your jackass of a dad when you fled. Sure, your mother may have still been alive at that time, but you didn't know she'd take her own life and leave Weiss all alone. Did you?"
The second-in-command of Atlas lowered her sword.
"Jacques tried to make you go through the same thing Weiss is going through with me? Didn't he? That's why you're so concerned isn't it? If it did happen back then, I'm certain you were not actually dating anyone. But I do love Weiss, and if marrying her to protect her from that piece of shit dad is what I have to do? I'll do it. She knows I'll do it. I can make her feel safe for the first time in her life. If you keep this up…what do you think Weiss will think of you?"
Through Winter's glare, it was easy to see she was holding back tears. But she did lower her sword and sheath it eventually, before shutting her eyes. "I'm sorry…Weiss." her older sister said. "Excuse me please." The operative then left the dorm.
Weiss turned to Erick as they watched Winter leave. Her face was tomato red as she rubbed her arm. "Did…did you really mean what you said to my sister? I mean…I know that we'd have to do all that stuff with marriage because of the HeartBound. But…do you actually feel that way?"
Erick chuckled, "My dark side didn't lie to you on the train." he replied, giving her a smile. "They may be evil little shitheads. But they aren't liars. I am in love with you, Weiss. And even if you don't feel the same way because of the HeartBound, I promise I'll treat you like a lover should."
Weiss blushed even harder. "Well...in that case. I must admit I had a crush on you as well. Why else would I have been so comfortable with such a ridiculous scenario?"
What? Did you honestly expect me to write out those early round tournament fights? Please. We do not have time for nonsense fighting featuring characters that exist purely so this tournament can happen and then never be seen again. This isn't the RWBY Show! There's a conspiracy going on around here. Everyone is being shady around each other. Nobody trusts anyone! Wooooo spooky!
Anyway, messing around aside, yeah, I don't really have it in me to show off those tournament scenes. Like, yeah, the fight of Neon Katt and Flynt vs. Yang and Weiss was cool. And sure, watching Team CFVY get mowed down by Emerald and Mercurcy was great, and of course, some of the most memeable moments in RWBY happened during these fight scenes.
But I'm only interested in two fights in particular and if you think you're going to see both. Do not get your hopes up. Currently, I know that next chapter will be that fight. But I'm currently deciding on how to do the other fight in a coherent manner. After all, as we who watched RWBY know. Both fights are important to the plot. But only one has enough going on with buildup for me to write a coherent focus around one.
Probably shot myself in the foot with planning, but oh well, can't win them all I suppose.
Anyway, that's it for this month's chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, if you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions I'm happy to answer and respond to them. Like I say, your criticism is heard and is valid, provided its respectful.
See you all, next time ;)