Intermission

Paint It Black

Accessing DTD

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Enter Passwords:

Willow

Winter

Weiss

Whitely

Dilan

Aeleous

Ienzo

Even

Braig

Password Accepted

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Accessing Threat Assessment:

World: Remnant

Top-Level Threats:

Salem

Grimm

Crimson Fang

Crime Syndicates

Bandits

Summary: In my attempts to create a peaceful much like my original home, Radiant Garden it is unfortunate that Remnant is home to many threats and entities that have no care for peace. To best help this world, I have worked to identify the most profound threats to world peace. Since the Great War, peace between the Four Kingdoms has been stable but rife with problems between citizens, most specifically between Faunus and Humans. It is unfortunate that Human naturally makes it difficult to trust those are not fully Human or do not fully resemble Humans in this World.

The Faunus Rights Revolution, started by Humans attempting to ensure Faunus would be centralized to living in Menagerie despite being given equal rights following the end of the Great War. The conflict was short in comparison but no less bloody. The end of the conflict led to the formation of the White Fang, an organization meant to stand for Faunus Rights which to this day remains a subject of heated debate, even here in Atlas.

In fact, I am sad to say that Atlas has the highest amount of Faunus prejudice in all four Kingdoms. In recent years, the White Fang seems to have split between two groups following the abdication of Ghira Belladonna, the longest running leader for the White Fang and was succeeded by Sienna Kahn. The White Fang loyalist to Ghira Belladonna and the Crimson Fang led by Sienna Kahn who took more aggressive actions against Humans most prolific in their bias. In Radiant Garden, such prejudices are no longer welcome and such behavior is scorned there.

It is sad that Remnant's conflicts have not helped them learn the ways of tolerance.

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Accessing Threat File: Salem

Salem, as the member of the first wave of humanity, has access to magic, which has seemingly only been amplified by her immersion in the Pools of the Grimm and her curse. With Ozma, the only other remaining member of the first humans, having given much portions of his magic to the Maidens, and the Gods having left Remnant, Salem's magical power currently is unmatched without the presence of the Keyblade taken into consideration. Her magic allows for elemental manipulation, telekinesis, clairvoyance, illusion, smoke manipulation, weather control. Having been cursed by immortality by the Gods, Salem is immortal, making it impossible to destroy her.

Not even the Grimm's Pool was able to destroy her and destroying her body and killing her will only cause her to resurrect, completely healed, regardless of how much damage she sustains. My friend Aqua has warned me that any attempt to kill her with her Keyblade would result in immediate intervention by the Brother Gods, an attempt to abide by her own rules of the World Order but clearly, they do not understand or are resentful for the Keyblade is able to harm even them. Still, my friend has confessed she has been tempted to kill Salem, especially during her captivity in Mistral during the Great War but refused since the Brothers warned her even if she broke Salem's curse, they would alter it so Salem would reincarnate in the same manner as Ozpin who I suspect is Ozma's current host.

It is rather obvious once you understand the story and the man's method of operation.

It is unknown if they would intervene if someone on Remnant would gain their own Keyblade, thus presenting a possible loophole but Aqua did not wish to risk, given her own history with the manner of possession done by Ozma' reincarnations. Seemingly due to the power of the Grimm Pool empowering her, Salem displays inhuman levels of physical strength, speed, endurance and durability, even without her immortality. Because she threw herself into the Grimm's Pool, Salem is the Grimm's master. As such, she can command them to do her bidding and even create them from the pools of black liquid outside of her home.

Salem possesses the capability to experiment with the Grimm to modify them as Aqua has seen during the many skirmishes between the two have had. She can generate and manipulate Grimm Liquid at will without needing the pools of Grimm Liquid from the Land of Darkness, seemingly able to conjure the substance on her own and proceed to use the Liquid to spawn countless Grimm. Salem can also summon Shadow Hands, an ability which she creatively uses in battle by summoning dozens of them from the ground in an instant to restrain her opponents and can also spawn them from her hand directly to grab and pull them to her.

Salem has always been an incredibly manipulative and cunning individual: She was even able to trick the God of Darkness to bring back Ozma for her, even convincing him to fight the God of Light for him, and the Dark God only realized the truth when his brother revealed how Salem went to him first.

After being made immortal, Salem was also able to manipulate many humans into rebelling against the Gods, using the fact that she was immortal and able to spend many centuries unaffected and able to endure any attack to her advantage. She along with Ozma would later successfully trick humanity into believing they were gods and establish a huge kingdom that would successfully conquer many other oppositions with Salem as the leader due to Ozma's reluctance to go that far.

Having lived for thousands of years has only made Salem more cunning and she has acquired extensive knowledge of the nature of Aura and Dust, as well as an understanding of Human nature, society, and history, her knowledge being comparable to that of Ozma despite his much greater activity in Remnant. Her centuries of experience have allowed Salem near-perfect control over anyone she wishes to serve her. Needing humans to subtly breakdown the unity of the kingdoms, Salem finds people displeased with their lives and hating the world. To this end, she tricks them into believing only she can grant their wishes.

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Counter-Method:

It is obvious that despite the belief of people like General Ironwood, a strong military force would not be enough to halt Salem, given both her powers and control of the Grimm. Her base of operations, in the Land of Darkness, allows her to summon an unlimited number of Grimm to her side and is too entrenched to risk open battle without suffering massive casualties. The current military power, that being Atlas, could not hope to defeat or even contain Salem for a long period of time.

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Options:

Remove Salem from Remnant?

Possible but finding a suitable world to exile her to would be difficult at best. It would have to be a world where she could not harm or manipulate anyone to aid her in returning to Remnant, no matter how much time would pass.

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Imprison Salem?

This worked for Aqua during Remnant's Age of Fairy Tales when she used the Staff of Creation to personally imprison in an unbreakable crystal. She did not channel the power of creation through her Keyblade to permanently imprison Salem due to the rules of the World Order but Salem was imprisoned for over a century before she managed to free herself and even then it was done with outside assistance. Salem has such made it a point to avoid Aqua if she is near the Relic of Creation so such an attempt would have to be made with very precise calculations.

Note: Currently the Staff of Creation is hidden in the Vault under Atlas Academy. Any attempt to use it would result in Atlas falling back down to the surface of Remnant, destroying it and Mantle and killing the population of both cities.

Another method would be to digitally encode her, transforming her into data and storing her in the Data-Stream but given the stream's nature of holding information on entire Worlds I would have to work to ensure she cannot access the stored Worlds. Deletion of these Worlds is NOT an option and Salem's immortality would likely halt any attempt to delete her as well.

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Remove Salem's Powers?

Salem, as a member of the early form of Humanity on Remnant is naturally gifted with magic. Removing her magic would be difficult, even for a former ruler of a kingdom that was home to many magic wielders. As a man of science, I am unlikely to device that can simply remove her magic.

Note: The existence of Silver-Eyed Warriors and their power to destroy Grimm has given me the idea that they could the Grimm part of Salem's being, possibly 'purifying' or petrifying. Perhaps that is why Salem has worked to eliminate anyone who has Silver Eyes. If they are that great a threat than perhaps, they can stop her, even temporarily.

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There is also the matter of Salem using non-Grimm as her personal acolytes, a cabal likely to help her infiltrate areas where the Grimm cannot reach, such as the Huntsmen Academies. Given the state of the Kingdoms of Remnant, she would need beings skilled in subterfuge, technology and are capable of battling Huntsmen.

Note: It is possible that Arthur Watts has been recruited as a new member of Salem's cabal. It is imperative that all systems designed by Arthur Watts be studied and overhauled.

Given her objective is to gain all four Relics hidden in the Four Huntsmen Academies, she would need to locate and convert the four Maidens who are tied to each vault:

Fall – Choice

Winter – Creation

Spring – Knowledge

Summer – Destruction

Status of Maidens

Current Fall Maiden: Amber

Location: Vale

Status: Alive

Current Winter Maiden: Fria

Location: Atlas

Status: Alive

Note: Fria is an elderly woman, suffering from memory degradation and is likely to pass on soon. General Ironwood will have likely chosen a successor.

Possible Successor:…Winter Schnee

Note: If Winter Schnee is the chosen successor, I will have to ensure she understands the burden of what she is being asked. Though I am against the method the General will propose I cannot ask Winter to refuse with revealing my true identity…No matter how much I wish to, even now.

Current Summer Maiden: Unknown

Status: Unknown

Location: Presumable Vacuo

Summary: Professor Theodore of Shade Academy has refused to reveal the name and location of the Summer Maiden, even to Ozpin. He likely fears that such information cannot be trusted even with his fellow headmasters, given he is noted to be more cautious than even Ozpin. Further surveillance will be required but for the moment, I will leave the Summer Maiden be.

Current Spring Maiden: Raven Branwen

Location: Branwen Camp, hidden in the Forests of Anima

Note: The Branwen Camp is known to change its location every several months to avoid being tracked down by Huntsman and local authorities

Status: Alive

Summary: Raven Branwen, a former member of Huntsmen Team STRQ and given her history with Professor Ozpin was a member of his own cabal. She eventually broke away and returned to her tribe. It is likely around that time she found and killed the previous Spring Maiden who fled from Mistral. At the moment, her status as the Spring Maiden remains hidden from both Ozpin and Salem and for the time being, I am willing to allow that so as long as she keeps to the agreement of keeping her tribe from attacking anymore villages.

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Current Method:

For now, Ozpin is utilizing his own cabal consisting of the Headmasters: Leo Lionheart of Haven Academy, James Ironwood of Atlas Academy, and Theodore of Shade Academy along with a select handful of individuals to discover and counter Salem's plans. Qrow Branwen, former member of Team STRQ and younger brother of Raven is Ozpin's main field-agent, given his skills as a Huntsmen and his ability to transform into a bird, likely done by Ozpin's own magic which makes him valuable in spying and espionage.

Note: Qrow Branwen, despite being a skilled Huntsmen apparently has a Semblance that induces a form of Probability Manipulation. In his own words, it brings Misfortune to himself and anyone he is in close range of. Thus, he keeps to himself and stays distant, even to friends and family.

Second Note: Given my own history with James Ironwood I can note he believes in military might and is likely building up his army for an inevitable battle with Salem. He is in charge of all military operations in Atlas and with his position as headmaster of Atlas Academy, he is able to immediately recruit any potential candidates into his Specialist Program.

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Summary

At the moment, I cannot reveal my true origins to Ozpin without revealing my own contingencies I made with Aqua during her time as Aqua Schnee and when I was an intern at the SDC. Having been made CEO and regained contact with lost friends has allowed me the resources I need to help build up a cabal of my own, a third faction to monitor the conflicts between Salem and Ozpin and how best to help counter her and ensure the people of the kingdoms are not drawn too deep into the potential bloodshed. Such methods would put me under scrutiny from Ozpin and the other members of his cabal, especially General Ironwood. I already have created Baymax 3.0 to help out in dealing with criminals in the kingdoms, a guardian to operate in the field while my close friends aid me in the shadows.

I had hoped that evolving of General Ironwood's Semblance would help him with the main weakness and he has shown a tremendous improvement in physical and mental adaptability, but I am unsure that it has worked as I had hoped. Thus, for now I turn away from Ironwood and focus on the other members of Ozpin's cabal who will be most essential when Salem finally begins her next scheme.

Glynda Goodwitch, the deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy and mother to Namine Goodwitch. She has expressed an interest in seeing if her Semblance can evolve into a Limit Break and I believe such an evolution would make her an even greater force to be reckoned with, especially in protecting Vale. Thus, as Ansem I will see to the best possible method of helping her evolve her Semblance.

And as DiZ, I believe Qrow Branwen, while a skilled Huntsmen suffers from the fear of his Semblance harming those closest to him. It's enough to contribute heavily to his habit of having alcohol on a daily basis. That is not only not healthy for him but could heavily strain his relations to people he considers his family.

So how best to help?

A Limit Break?

He would likely not accept, fearing his Semblance would become a greater danger. Fortunately, I have combed through the criminal database of all four kingdoms and have found something.

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Name: Marcus Black

Status: Alive

Location: Unknown

Occupation: Assassin

Summary: Marcus is considered to be the most successful and dedicated assassin in Mistral, having murdered over one hundred and twenty people. At least as far as the Mistral authorities are aware.

Semblance: Apparently, Marcus Black has a Semblance that can steal the Semblances of others.

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While I am loathe to use such tactics, perhaps this is one of the times when relying on a lesser evil to preform a task that can lead a form of good. Still, I will remain cautious.


"You are Marcus Black."

A man with white hair and wore a red shirt, black pants and green boots turned to face the red cloaked man with steel grey eyes, raising an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"I am a potential client." The man produced a case and opened, revealing it to be filled with Lien.

Marcus Black paused, staring at the Lien that looked to number in the thousands before smiling coldly. "I'd say you are a wealthy one at that. So, you want someone dead? For the right price, I am your man."

"And you are willing to assassinate anyone for the right price?" The red cloaked man questioned.

"Of course. As the best assassin in all of Remnant, I wouldn't make that boast if I couldn't back it up." Marcus retorted, crossing his arms. "So, who do you want dead?"

"A Huntsman."

Marcus raised an eyebrow but gestured. "Go on."

The red cloaked man held up a card and tossed it at Marcus who caught it and looked at the picture, seeing a man with graying black, spiky hair, faded red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline.

"His name is Qrow Branwen." The red cloaked man stated.

"Qrow Branwen? I've heard of him. Supposedly one of the best of the best as a Huntsman." Marcus mused. "You actually want him dead? What did he do to you?"

"My reasons are irrelevant to you. I ask only if you are capable of doing it and if not I will seek out the service of someone who can." The man said, hiding the case of money behind his cloak and turning away.

Marcus narrowed his eyes and shot forward, jumping over the man, and landing in front of him. "Now hold on, I am more than capable of putting a Huntsmen down. It doesn't matter what his reputation is for like any man he bleeds the same as anyone. I can do it…So as long as you have what I need?"

"And that is?" The man asked, not at all afraid of Marcus which irked the assassin, but he was more focused on potential job.

"His location, his address, any relatives he might visit." Marcus listed just off the top of his head.

"I have no interest in a blood bath, Mr. Black. I only have one target in mind and what I ask from you is the ability to produce results. As for information, allow me." The man produced a Scroll and held it in front of the card.

Marcus watched as the Scroll seemingly scanned the card and showed a map of Remnant, zooming in on one single dot in Mistral. "Is this some kind of tracker?"

"One only I can use." The man closed his scroll. "The information on that card will provide with the current location of the target along with information on his Semblance. All that is left for you is to track him down and end him. Is that enough for you to offer your service?"

Marcus looked at the card before pulling out his own scroll and using it to gain Qrow Branwen's location and smiled. "Hmm…So as long as it works and you're not wasting my time, then I'm all for it. Just have my payment when I come back with his head."

"You will be fully compensated for your service, Mr. Black so as long as you are successful." The red cloaked man stated coldly.

Marcus Black grinned. "Then, we have a deal, Mr…"

"For now you may refer to me as DiZ."