Atonement VII Part IV
"The entire factory has been surrounded, General. We're just awaiting your word and we'll storm the place."
Ironwood nodded. "Good work, Clover. All right, you and the Ace-Ops are with me. We're going in and while I obviously am fine with you all defending yourselves, I want Watts taken in alive if possible."
"Yes sir." The Ace-Ops all answered in compliance.
Ironwood brought one of his pair of guns, Due-Process, the white pistol as he opened the door leading into the factory where Arthur Watts had been designing his Paladin project. The entire factory was cold, dark and seemingly deserted.
Emphasis on seemingly.
"Welcome, James!" The voice of Watts came over the speakers, causing Ironwood and the Ace-Ops to freeze as the lights suddenly came on, along with the machines.
Ironwood narrowed his eyes as his free hand settled onto his black pistol. "Arthur, you are under arrest for attempted murder. Come out now and I'll give you as light a sentence I can give for what you've done."
"I think not, James."
STOMP!
"In fact, I think it's time you pay me for all my services."
STOMP!
"After all, I built Atlas from the ground up and this is how you repay me?"
STOMP!
With each stomping sound came a tremor that seemingly shook the entire factory. Ironwood looked around carefully, eyes darting back and forth for the slightest hint of movement.
"Unfortunately for you, James I am bit more clever than you give me credit for."
A large mech emerged out from behind a conveyor belt, making a stomping noise with each step. Ironwood's eyes widened as he and the shell-shocked Ace-Ops beheld the machine before them.
"Allow me to properly introduce what should have been the next protector of Atlas: my Paladin!" Watts laughed from seemingly inside the machine.
It was a dark colored mech, still in the prototype stage with its part still showing. It arms were modified with rotary guns and missile launchers, all of which were locking onto the six intruders.
"Take cover!" Ironwood shouted just before the machine fired.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BANG-BANG-BANG- BANG-BANG-BANG!
The Paladin walked towards them, firing its cannons before they could get away. However Tortuga stepped in front and used his Semblance to project a green glowing domed energy shield around himself to block the bullets and rockets, giving the others time to get to cover.
"Torg!" Harriet shouted, having already run for cover.
"Take cover!" Torguta shouted, his shield already starting to strain under the barrage.
Harriet's eyes widened as she knew it would break in a matter of seconds.
"Bree! Move!" Ironwood shouted, his Semblance racing as it told him that Torguta's Semblance was in danger of breaking under the constant barrage.
Harriet's eyes flashed yellow, electricity shooting from them and through her body as she shot forward, the enhanced speed provided by her Limit Break allowed her to perceive everything around her much slower than before.
She could see the bullets freezing in mid-air.
She could hear the gears in the machine, the rockets being fired, the shouts of her comrades…
She could even hear the hearts of the general and her fellow operatives beating much slower because of her perception of time.
Slow but loud enough to even eclipse the barrage of gunfire.
And she could hear the cracking of Tortuga's Semblance as he struggled to protect everyone…
In under a second she was at his side, grabbing onto him…
And in the next, she shot over to the far side of the factory with Tortuga in her arms, alive but well.
"Hare?" Tortuga gasped, having only been able to perceive his shield about to break…
And then he was here with Harriet holding him and putting him against the wall.
"You stupid idiot." Harriet whacked him up the head. "What are you thinking?! The general said to get to cover, not get yourself killed!"
"Interesting." Watts noted from his…cockpit.
He knew Miss Bree's Limit Break had propelled her Speed Semblance to levels beyond anything ever seen before, but she was able to outpace even the sensors of his Paladin.
There had only been a blur…
And then Tortuga had disappeared.
Only a quick diagnostic had revealed that Miss Bree had moved in and saved her comrade at the very last second.
'Ansem's Limit Break Theory would be a major boon but in this case it's an annoyance I had not anticipated.' Watts narrowed his eyes. 'I know Salem will be very interested in learning more about this theory from Ansem.'
That was another downside Watts had to deal with.
For most of his life, Arthur Watts had to struggle with his jealousy for the intelligence of the great Ansem Schnee, better known as Ansem the Wise. He had prided himself on being one of the greatest scientific minds of this generation, quite possibly the greatest scientist in the history of Remnant.
There were only a handful who could rival him and even then, they were pitiful in their own manner:
That fat imbecilic Pietro Polendina who wished to build himself a little girl…
That lunatic of a cyborg, Dr. Ivo Merlot who died in the collapse of the Mt. Glenn Disaster.
And Ansem Schnee…
Watts respected Ansem as much as he loathed for being the genius that he was. A man who had changed everything about Atlas as much as he had. New breakthroughs in sources of power without the need for Dust, better ways to make life easier on Remnant, even in places like Vacuo and the man cared nothing for the prestige many gave him.
He considered the fame insignificant compared to the honor of having the intellect and the resources to make life safe for everyone.
How noble…
How maddening.
It was even worse that people were always hailing him as the greatest mind on Remnant.
Him, Ansem!
Not Arthur Watts!
And Arthur had hated Ansem for that, even when they had acted cordial with each other.
Ansem had believed him to be a friend but to Arthur Watts, friends were just people of lower intelligence that surrounded you to make you feel good so you could lift them up onto the pedestal you stood on.
A chance to bask in the glory.
To share the power.
To think that Ansem, a man of such wealth and intelligence that he could have easily bought and owned everything on Atlas and made himself into a literal king would dare to lower himself to such a common and primitive form of thinking. Arthur Watts would debase himself to such trivial labels, lowering his standards and casting aside his pride.
He was a man of principals, at least his own kind of principals.
He enjoyed the prestige of being the greatest mind in Atlas, no, the greatest on Remnant. He enjoyed being right about everything, being the man that everyone looked to have the answer.
And then it was gone.
He was passed over in favor of another.
Watts had not seen it coming but when he was called into that office…
The sheer betrayal he had felt from it.
Someone else had been chosen over him and he was reduced to a mere assistant to help in the so-called new defender of Atlas.
Watts had been angry, furious even that his reputation had been disgraced.
And he had even been angry at himself for not anticipating the betrayal.
He had been so confident in himself that he had believed no one, not even Ansem the so-called Wise would take his glory from him, and he had been right for the most part. It wasn't Ansem who had ruined him but that fat idiot Pietro and the tin-man, Ironwood himself. A man child masquerading as a college and the man he had given everything.
It was enough to make Watts sick.
Frankly, he never understood the need for friendship. He knew people looked up to him and he could understand that. People would naturally respect those who are gifted and above them in intelligence and power. People naturally respected power and that was even considered a virtue in Atlas.
Emotions on the other hand were naturally created by the limbic system of the brain, a system to control mood, motivation, and judgement. They influence the life decisions of the lesser folk. Watts understand some emotions but only the ones that the most sense to him:
He understood jealousy and possessiveness for he is fiercely protective of what is rightfully his.
Intolerance of the lesser folk and their limited intelligence is what he felt all the time.
Spite is recreational to him for he took joy in hurting those who crossed him.
Pride is a natural response to someone like him and as mentioned before, a virtue amongst the elite of Atlas. He is proud of his intellect and is driven to be the best.
Indignation is what he felt towards those who dared challenge his intellect, authority or his ideas of how everything should be in the world that revolved around him.
These are all emotions he felt naturally and could not feel anything else, even towards people of higher authority such as James Ironwood. He cared only for those who he could benefit from and anyone else…just wasn't interesting enough to warrant attention.
They might as well be less than real to him.
That is why Watts felt no hesitation towards trying to kill those he once worked with.
If you could not benefit him, you were less than an asset to him.
You were either useless or a threat.
Those that were useless did not warrant a single thought.
And those that were threats, he would crush them and likely in a painful and humiliating manner.
And Watts planned to do that here and now.
Back with Ironwood and the other Ace-Ops, they were still ducking for cover from the Paladin as it turned its weapons to them. Elm aimed and fired rockets from her weapon, but the Paladin's scanning systems easily identified, tracked, and destroyed the rockets before they even got close.
"Damn it!" Elm cursed to herself as she ducked back under. "We're getting nowhere like this!"
Ironwood narrowed his eyes as he stepped out in sight for the Paladin to see. "Arthur!"
The Paladin 'stared' the general down as Watts chuckled through the speakers. "Ah, James. I see you recovered nicely from that little episode I left you."
"You forced me to relive the same incident that nearly killed me, over and over again." Ironwood stepped forward. "I knew you were disappointed in my choice but not to the point I thought you would actually kill me…And for such a petty reason too."
"Petty?" The voice grew dark. "Petty? Is becoming fed up with you standing on the backs of everyone who built this kingdom for you petty? Is wanting knock you down a peg for disgracing me petty? Are you truly that arrogant, James?!"
"Let's find out." Ironwood said as his Aura flared around him, and he charged at the Paladin.
"General!" The Ace-Ops called out behind him, but he paid them no heed.
He was focused on the enemy in front of him.
As he ran forward, his newly enhanced Semblance known as Hyper-Mettle was already strengthening in his Aura, increasing the physical capabilities of his body, enhancing his reflexes and cognitive thinking. Ironic that Watts sabotaged the simulation to torture him, but the continued torture he had been forced to live through again and again had actually caused his Semblance to evolve, to break through its single ability of keeping him focused on the problems in front of him and broke through its metaphorical limit.
A Limit Break as Ansem called it.
His Aura hardened, blocking the bullets being fired at him.
His reflexes and thought process doubled in speed, allowing him to dodge the rockets fired at him.
Hell, he grabbed one in mid-air as he jumped and spun, throwing right back at the very machine that fired it.
BOOM!
The left arm of the Paladin was blown off by the rocket, taking the rocket launcher with it.
Ironwood would not let it recover.
He leapt up and delivered a punch to the cockpit with his fist surging with blue energy as sailed forward.
POW!
The Paladin was literally knocked off its feet and crashed onto its back several feet away as Ironwood landed perfectly on the ground.
He stepped forward, planning to rip the cockpit open when he heard Watts screaming. "System overloading! Help-!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
It was a clear sunny afternoon at Beacon Academy when Ozpin found himself answering a direct call from Atlas.
"Hi, Ozpin." James Ironwood spoke as soon as he appeared on the screen.
The General of the Atlas military looked like he had not slept for a few days, judging from the dark circles in his eyes.
"James, how's it been going? Did your limit break test when well?" The Headmaster of Beacon asked.
The general had a smile on his face, but his eyes showed a disconcerting look.
"James, what happened?"
The general failed on putting that convincing facade but was not surprised as almost nothing got pass the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. "Well, Oz this is an eventful story I have to tell you. That involves me of my ignorance and poor choice."
The General told Ozpin everything leading up to the test, including how Dr. Watts had sabotaged the test in an attempt to kill him as well as the attempted arrest.
"How did you survive the explosion?" Ozpin asked at the end of the tale.
"By the skin of our teeth…And because Miss Bree's Semblance had evolved to the point she rescued all of us just before the explosion burned the entire factory to the ground." Ironwood answered. "All evidence points to Dr. Watts being dead…But Ansem has his doubts."
"How so?"
(Flashback)
"There's a difference between thinking and believing. Those who think they have done it they're not sure had it. Believing that has been done that they are fully certain with all the facts they have together." Ansem said to the general never wavering with his daughter at his side. "And I do believe Dr Watts is alive. That he faked his death in his laboratory to deceive you once again."
(End Flashback)
"Do you believe him?" Ozpin asked.
"As it hard as it might be to believe, yes, I do. Watts would certainly have the skills to possibly remote control the Paladin, but we have no evidence to suggest he is alive either." Ironwood answered. "We plan on telling on the news that we think that Arthur Watts is deceased. But we also told on the news that we found evidence that he was secretly transmitting resources and funding to the Wild Hunt. That shows and proves his actions and why he was truly disgraced."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Why this story?"
"Simply put, if Arthur is out there and watching the news, he will likely be very unhappy at what the tabloids are now calling him." Ironwood answered with a small smile. "Now once the kingdom and the whole world has been told on the news that the people should not pity a lowly criminal of a scientist like Dr. Watts. He was a respected scientist of robotics insistence of technology and now after the truth about who he is then told through the news he is now nothing more than a disappointing petty man of a scientist."
"A petty man?!" Watts threw his scroll against the wall of the bulkhead. "James, you utter-"
"That is not all." James Ironwood told to Ozpin. "Ansem nearly got abducted by someone we believe to be one of Salem's subordinates and an old friend of yours: Hazel Rainart."
Ozpin took a deep breath, the memories of his last few encounters with Hazel appearing in his mind. "Did he succeed?"
"Thank the Brothers, no. Someone or something stopped him." Ironwood answered. "The cameras on all roads leading to the warehouse where Hazel was taking Ansem were shut down but a few eyewitnesses claim they saw some kind of machine…A robot unlike anything we've made or seen was fighting Hazel."
"Do you think this abduction is related to Arthur Watts?" Ozpin questioned immediately. "Perhaps he is joining forces with Salem and they were determined to use Ansem Schnee's knowledge and research to help them to improve their cabal."
"It's possible which is why Ansem is replacing every single system that Dr Arthur Watts had for both Atlas and Mantle. We also received word of four murders happening in an Atlas hotel. The owner, her daughters and a registered Huntsman were found in the basement, but I have yet to find any connection." Ironwood continued. "There was something to add…"
"What is it?"
"One of Ansem's bodyguards, Dilan had come forward and explained that the owner of the hotel had been keeping a girl there illegally and had been using a Lighting Dust Shock collar on her."
Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "I was under the impression that was illegal in Atlas."
"It is. Dilan had already forwarded what he knew but the Madame had bribed certain parties into turning him away, accusing him of falsifying evidence. This started a few years ago and he has been diligently working on finding evidence."
"And did he?"
"He did. The girl was purchased from an old rundown orphanage in Mistral, and she was personally flown back to Atlas on a private flight. That's how she was able to get in through customs. She was doing all the work in there that required a full staff." Ironwood clenched a fist. "She was hiring cheap labor and enslaving them."
"What happened to her?"
"We don't know. All we know is that Dilan was helping the deceased Huntsman train her to eventually take the Huntsmen test, which would legally emancipate her from her 'adopted' family. Dilan was of the opinion she should run whenever she had the chance, and he was afraid the Madame would use her influence to have the Schnee family name mired with baseless accusations of corruption." Ironwood answered. "The Huntsman Rhodes could only stay briefly while Dilan checked on her whenever he had the time while looking through every channel he could find for evidence. He found some and was going to deliver it that night, but Watts and the near abduction of Ansem distracted him. By the time he made it back, Rhodes, the Madame and her two daughters were found dead."
"Any guess to what happened?"
"Our best guess so far is that the girl snapped and killed her tormenters and then the Huntsman if he tried to intervene, but we have no way of knowing. That hotel does not use updated security." Ironwood answered. "Still, it's unlikely the murders had anything to do with Watts or Salem."
"Perhaps but I doubt it was a coincidence either. Perhaps we should both consider keeping a closer eye on our kingdoms." Ozpin suggested.
"Agreed. I plan to do a fine and thorough investigation into anyone possibly connected with this incident and see if this was unique or if there have been other similar actions." Ironwood nodded.
"Well, now we know Salem add another member or two to her group now. Which means we have to be more on guard than usual." Ozpin said, concerned.
"That is very true even for right now we end up saving the man that is keeping all of us together and set aside our differences." James replied. "I'm letting Winter to spend more time with her family. She was feeling very upset that she couldn't do anything to save her father from being abducted."
"This proves one thing: Aqua's son-in-law is not only reliable, but he is very important that he is able to help many people. But if Salem catches Ansem and forces him to give what he knows his mother-in-law's knowledge long ago…We will all be in deep trouble."
General Ironwood breathed in and out heavy from Ozpin statement. "That you're right on that one." The general stepped up. "He has already helped a great deal with improving the quality of life in all kingdoms, including Vacuo."
"Ansem is very important and the key to bringing this world together. Aqua had taught him very well, perhaps even better than any of her other apprentices." Ozpin said to the general.
"I'll make sure to support him more and be open to his wisdom. Rest assured of that. Even also helping more of the huntsmen and huntresses in the kingdoms but let's just make sure that this limit break test is not limited just to Atlas but to Beacon as well. We have to make sure we'll find trustworthy individuals and future protectors in the meantime." General Ironwood explains to Oz.
"You're right. We don't know of anyone trustworthy of heart like Aqua seemingly always does to lend the power to the people to defend themselves." Ozpin said as he remembered the second life being offered to him when he was Diggs. "I am glad that you and the Schnee CEO are safe. Let's just keep each other in touch in the meantime."
"Will do, goodbye Oz." James Ironwood signed out.
The headmaster of Beacon Academy laid back on his chair and sighed heavily.
"Word to the wise. Right Aqua." He said to himself. "You always find a different solution than I do."
He remembered seeing someone looking over him before he blacked out…
He felt cold then but now he felt…
Warm.
"Are you all right?" A voice asked.
He managed to open his eyes and glanced over to see a woman dressed in a furry coat sitting next to him, looking at him with patience and yet concern in her eyes.
"Where…Am I?" He asked slowly.
"You are in Essen." The woman answered. "I found you after you…landed outside of our village. My name is Cerise Claire."
He slowly sat up and looked around, seeing he was in a wooden shack with a fire next to him to help keep him warm. "You…brought me here?"
"It was better than leaving you out in the cold." The woman, Cerise shrugged with a smile.
"Thank you." He nodded to her. "My name is Hazel."
