There you go, chapter 6. which happens to be out on Halloween. And has Ruby's birthday. Which is on Halloween.
Yep, I calculated that when I published the first chapter so that this chapter would specifically be out on Halloween.
selfishgecko: I'm never going to get the date right, am I? Also, canon events? How bold of you to assume Gemini won't accidentally derail the entirety of Remnant with his mere existence by the time we hit the timeframe of the canon events. Case in point: the end of this chapter.
CinderBestGirl: Oh, okay. Yeah, that makes sense.
The little dig at how common harems are in this kind of fic was actually to deconfirm the harem route, since it also revealed Gemini didn't like the idea of having one. I can understand why you'd think it's Ruby, since she is in the tags and the early chapters will have lots of interactions between the two of them due to the beginning of the fic being pretty much the only 'happy times' they'll get to hang out as friends before shit hits the fan, but Ruby is in the tags due to being the deuteragonist of the fic, not necessarily being the love interest. I don't want to spoil too much though, and I'm not sure how much I can say without saying too much. But yeah, it's not gonna be Cinder.
It's hard to judge the age of the characters. Like, I thought Salem was in her early twenties when she was cursed with immortality, but according to her wiki page, she was apparently 16. All we know for sure about Cinder's age is that she looks young enough to pass for a second year student. For all we know, she's actually 18, but she could also easily be in her early twenties. I'd say mid-twenties would be pushing it, but then again my mother once came to school to take me back home and the school staff refused to believe she was my mother, they thought she was my sister. I don't have a sister, and she was in her late thirties.
I think I'm going to go with early twenties for Cinder, but even if Gemini and her were the same age, they're going to hate each others way too much to be together. That would be one very dysfunctional relationship. I almost want to write it for the fun of it, but it would break my plot.
Hey, on the bright side, Cinder makes her first appearance in this chapter, as does Salem and the rest of their group. All six of them.
FORD B: Glad you liked it.
Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth, not mine. I'm just having fun with the world and the characters. Also, I think I forgot to put the disclaimer last chapter. Oops?
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
I walked out of the music store empty-handed.
I'd seen Ruby's headphones in her room and I remembered that she was listening to music during her first appearance in the show, the red trailer notwithstanding. So I thought of buying a cd for her birthday, but realized that I didn't know what type of music she liked.
Sure, in episode one she was listening to 'This will be the day', which was alternative rock, but I didn't know if that was what she was actually listening to or if that was just Rooster Teeth playing the song.
This wasn't a fictionnal story I was in, but a world in which the story I knew happened to match. I couldn't expect every little details to be identical.
Plus, even if I knew what style of music she liked, I still didn't know what cd she had or didn't have. I probably would have ended up buying her one she already had. So I was better off finding something else.
I was getting a bit desesperate, though. Her birthday was in two day and I didn't have any idea left.
And yes, I knew Mr Branwen said I didn't need to bring a gift but he said that thinking I had no Lien, not knowing I was loaded. Just because he was being dumb didn't mean I should be too. Also, it felt wrong to show up to a friend's birthday without a gift.
Wandering the streets of Patch in hope of finding something for Ruby, I came across a petshop. I thought it might help takes my mind off my worries for a few minutes, to avoid stressing too much, so I approached the store's window, which displayed the kitten's enclosure.
Aww, those little furballs were adorable.
I put my finger in front of the window, expecting one to notice and come closer before I entered the shop. Maybe I should get myself a cat?
That idea went down the drain when the kittens reacted to my presence by hissing at me, their back arched, ears flattened and tail tucked under their body.
I quickly backed away from them.
This... this wasn't normal. Zwei was one thing, he was a dog finding a stranger in his home after all.
But cats always loved me, even most of the stray cats I met let me pet them. So what changed?
...Wait, now that I was thinking about it, these memories of interactions with cats were all from my past life.
In this life, I'd never actually interacted with animals. I kept moving from hideout to hideaout with my father. The need to quickly evacuate if one of my father's ennemies found us meant that we couldn't take the time required to move a pet and would have to leave it behind. So it was better to have none.
The hideout themselves were mostly in the industrial district, the one which had the less animals running around, except for rodents and birds, which were obviously not fans of letting people getting close to them.
So what changed?
Why was it that cats in my past life loved me, but they couldn't stand me in this one?
Was it my body? It was different from my last life, so could there be something about it they didn't like? Did they smell something they find unpleasant?
No, that couldn't be it. These were domesticated kittens in a petstore, they were used to people, and there was no way my natural body odor would diverge so much from other humans that it would cause such a reaction. Plus, I was really doubtful of them being able of smelling me through glass, better sense of smell than humans or not.
So if the issue wasn't with my body, then...
What did the Cackler do to my soul?
/-/
I knocked on the door, gift in hand.
"Oh, hi Gemini, you're right on time. Come in." Mr Xiao-Long said, after opening the door.
He brought me to their living room, where Ruby, Yang and Mr Branwen already were.
Ruby was surprised to see me, but that surprise quickly gave way to eagerness, and she jumped in front of me.
"Gem! You're here. Did you know it was my birthday?"
"Yes, Mr Branwen told me. That's why I'm here."
"Thank you." I tensed a little as she hugged me.
It wasn't that I didn't like hugs, it was just... well, I wasn't used to this kind of physical contact. At least, not outside of family. It caught me off guard.
As she let go off me, she finally noticed the wrapped box in my hands.
"Ooooh, you brought me a gift! What is it?"
"Be a little patient, you're literally going to find out in a few minutes."
"Oh, right. Sorry." She said, with a little embarrassed giggle.
"Hi, brat." Mr Branwen said with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't I tell you you only needed to show up? No gift required?"
"Yeah, but I still felt bad and tried to find at least a little something." I said, before adressing Ruby. "Don't expect much, though. I failed to find a good gift and settled on a joke gift. Sorry, I'll find something better next year."
"Ah..." Ruby wasn't sure what to say to that. "A joke gift? You really find it to be that bad?"
I nodded. "The joke aside, it's basically a derpy looking paperweight."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Yang asked, before coming over and leaned over me, her elbow resting on my head. What is she doing? "Now's as good a time as any to open those gift, and don't worry. My gift is cool enough for two, because I'm the bestest big sis ever."
"No arguing that last point from me." Mr Branwen said, laughing.
Yang snickered.
I'd bet. If Raven was as good a sister as she was a mother, then she set a very low bar. I wasn't sure Yang caught what her oncle really meant, though.
"Great!" Yang said. "Here's mi-"
But as she was picking up her gift, Mr Xiao-Long interrupted her.
"Wait a minute, firecracker. I have to go check on the cake soon, so I'd like if mine could be opened first." He said, before picking a wrapped gift and giving it to Ruby.
I stepped back, happy to wait my turn and let her family have their moment.
To be honest, I felt very out of place right now. Intellectually, I knew it was normal for a friend to be here for someone's birthday, but between my own birthdays being between my family and me, and me being the only one here who wasn't part of Ruby's family, I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding.
Ruby didn't wait before ripping the wrapping, revealing a pair of black and red combat boots.
Oh, hey, I'd seen those before, those were the same boots she wore in the first three volumes. Was she not going to outgrow these by the time she hit 15, though? Eh, must just be the same brand.
"Your shoes were getting worn-out, so I bought you a pair of high-grade combat boots. As a huntress, they should serve you well." Mr Xiao-Long said. "I hope you'll like them."
Ruby put them on, testing how they felt.
"They're great, thanks dad." She said and hugged him.
After his gift was opened and they had their father-daughter moment, Mr Xiao-Long left us for the kitchen.
Then she opened Yang's gift, which turned out to be Kung Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle II.
It was already out? How did I miss this?
...Oh, right. I was busy killing Grimm and making money by plagiarising Yu-Gi-Oh.
Erm, anyway, according to Ruby, Kung Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle II had a co-op story mode. Sounded cool.
Then came Mr Branwen's gift, a metal brooch of Ruby's emblem, which she could attach to any part of her outfit.
Uh, I only just noticed she didn't have her emblem yet.
She was completely overjoyed with it, though I didn't get why. Sure, the whole emblem thing was deeply entrenched in Remnant's general culture, to the point where even my father and sister had one, but I personally didn't care to have one. I just didn't see the point.
Why would I want an easily recognizable symbol when my whole thing was acting in the shadows, unnoticed?
Either way, it now came to my gift's turn.
But at the moment I had to give her my present, I got hesitant, and kept my grip on it as she tried to take it.
She looked at me, a bit annoyed. "Gem, you have to let go so I can open it."
"I know, I know," I averted my eyes, "just... please don't dislike it too much. I've already made my sediments on it know."
My choice of words confused not only her, but Yang and Mr Branwen as well.
She opened the gift, revealing a hand-sized stone with googly eyes.
"...What's that?" Ruby asked.
"It's a pet rock."
"Eh eh, sediments." Yang snorted, "That was a pretty solid pun."
"Thanks, I'm only able to make puns like these because my sense of humor has hit rock bottom." I said.
Ruby and Mr Branwen groaned as Mr Xiao-Long's laugher came from the kitchen.
"Great, now there's three of them." Mr Branwen complained, before Mr Xiao-Long's voice came from the kitchen.
"AH! That was a good one, kid. A pet rock sure was a boulder gift than ours."
I loved puns so much.
"Ugh, please, just for my birthday, no more dumb puns."
"Eh, sorry." I said. "But yeah, I told you it was a pretty lame gift. On the bright side: it's at least a very low-maintenance pet."
"'Low-maintenance' is one way to put it," Ruby giggled, "but I can see why you called it derpy. It does look pretty funny, eh eh."
"Again, sorry I couldn't find a better gift."
"It's fine. It's probably just going to stay on my shelf with my Grimm miniatures and collect dust, though."
That was fair.
Afterward, Yang, Mr Branwen and I played with Ruby at her new game. The three of us each took turn with the second controller as Ruby, being her birthday, keep the first one. We continued to play until noon, when Mr Xiao-Long brought the strawberry cake, with lighted candle and we sung Remnant's traditionnal birthday song, which is a little different than Earth's.
Hooray, she still live!
Hooray, she still live!
Hooray, the Grimm didn't take her!
Happy birthday, Ruby,
Happy birthday, Ruby,
Hooray, may she still live one more year!
Hooray, may she still live one more year!
Hooray, may the Grimm fails to take her for one more year!
Happy birthday, Ruby.
Yeah, just a little different.
/-/
Halloween.
Back on Earth, most people seemed to think it was the pagan holiday, Samhein, under a new, christianized name. Which was... sort of true, sort of false?
Those were actually two different holidays who developped independantly, but stuff happened and they'd kind of influenced each other.
Wearing costumes and going door-to-door to ask for food, which became candies only recently in Earth's history, definitely came from the Samhein. But the pagan holiday used to work on a moon-based calendar, which meant the exact date varied by as much as a week depending on the year. They later changed the date of the Samhein to October 31. Though I didn't remember which century it happened.
Christians didn't put 'All hallows' Eve' on the same day as Samhein to steal the pagans' holiday, pagans rearranged Samhein on October 31 to stop their people from going to both celebrations (what? Any excuse to party was a good enough one) and getting converted to christianity. Didn't work.
While Samhain's traditions caught on in America and some parts of Europe, many European countries still celebrated All Hallows' Eve, and All Hallows' Day, from October 31st to November 2nd, according to the original christian traditions.
The historical competition between holidays of different cultures was an often overlooked subject, yet it was no less fascinating.
Remnant's holiday, however, resembled Samhain and modern Halloween and bore no similarities to the christian's original holiday.
According to Remnant's tradition, during the night of October 31, the souls of the deceased walked on Remnant. If they saw the living during their visit, they would grow jealous of them, and the hatred that filled their souls would damn them to incarnate as Grimm and hunt us. Thus, to avoid increasing the amount of existing Grimm and allow the souls of our ancestors to return in the afterlife in peace, we wore Grimm masks to fool their ghosts into believing there were no living humans left in the world.
So, yeah, some similarities to Samhain's tradition, in which the boundary between this world and the other was believed to be thinner and allowing various spirits and faeries to cross over. The tradition of wearing costume was thought to have originated from trying to disguising oneself from these faeries, whose pranks on mortals were sometimes cruel or even harmful. People also believed that their dead kin's ghost came back to their homes to seek hospitality, so they would set aside empty chairs around the dining table for them, along with a meal. Although Remnant's holiday never had anything similar to the bonfires or sacrifices of livestock.
Of course, nowadays nobody believed this stuff about ghosts turning into Grimm. The whole 'Grimm masks' also turned into wearing a variety of costumes, though almost half the population still disguised themselves as Grimm. The good ol' trick-or-treats was also part of the holiday, but that was a very recent addition that happened when my father was still a kid. The council pushed for giving candies to kids to become part of the holiday, they thought it'd make kids happier and counterbalance the scarier aspects of Halloween and avoid having more Grimm attacking the border.
Not that there actually was more Grimm attacking than any other day of the year, but I wasn't complaining for receiving free candies.
This Halloween, I was disguised as the Chill, the monster from 'The Grimm child' fairy tale. A fairly old scary fairy tale on Remnant. While it was the sort of stories the council had been trying to suppress since they'd been in power, but any attempt to erase this one failed because it was already a widespread folkloric tale present in every household.
According to the story, two siblings, Poppy and Oak, were playing outside a forest despite their parents telling them to stay close to their home. They went in the forest and came back from it terrified, with Oak's face pale-white and his eyes blackened.
That night, Poppy woke up and found that her parents were killed and Oak disappeared. She went to her friend's house, only to find everyone inside was dead. And Oak, who now had his hair as pale as his skin and red veins covering his face. Oak then went on from house to house and killed everyone in the village as Poppy went back home to grab a few bags and try to escape. It didn't work and the story ended with her being possessed by the Chill as well. Spoopy.
It inspired a children's party game: The Chill. It was pretty much Remnant's version of Wink Murder.
Uncle Perry helped me with the make-up and I bought a white wig. The only thing I couldn't change were the eyes, but it was close enough. And yes, I did notice the similarities between 'The Grimm Child' and Salem. The fairy tale was clearly inspired by her appearance. Someone several centuries ago must have gotten a glimpse of her, talked about it, and then people's imagination ran wild.
So it was while looking like Salem that I stepped out of the bullhead alongside my father and sister. They came to bring me to Vale to pass the holiday together.
They hadn't put as much effort into their costume as I had, though. Father just wore normal clothes and a Beowolf mask to avoid being recognized and sis didn't even have one... Nevermind, she just used her semblance to 'turn' into a Geist.
"Alright, kids, remember the rules," father said, "You two stays within eyesight, we stay in the residential district, you two wait until we are home and I've inspected your candies before stuffing your face full," he looked at me when saying that part. I plead guilty your honor, I promise I won't do it again. I was a reformed criminal now, "and, most important of all, Neo, I swear if you sneak into Beacon again and use your semblance to make the students and teachers think there's a teleporting Beringel inside the school, you will pass the next Halloween locked up into your room."
Oh yeah, sis did that two Halloween's ago. The only ones who stayed calmed were Ozpin and M Goodwitch, it was hilarious. Father disagreed.
The 'Geist' gave a poor imitation of a military salute.
"And for the love of the gods, will you drop the Geist illusion? People are staring."
We were in the streets, and they were full because of the holiday. I think the only reason people were staring, instead of screaming and running away, was because the Grimm they were watching was being admonished like a problem child. They were still giving us a wide berth, though.
Sis shrugged and stopped using her semblance, many amongst the crowd visibly relaxed, as it confirmed that it was, indeed, a disguise. It was the obvious conclusion, since it was Halloween, but Neo's illusory disguise looked exactly like the real deal, so that still spooked them.
"All right, let's get started." Father said.
And so we went from door to door, with sis changing her 'costume' depending on what she felt like at that moment. More than one person stood frozen when seeing a Beowolf or other Grimm knocking at their door for candies, needing a second or two to register that there was no actual threat, or at a Chill standing silently behind them. Yeah, sis and I were almost more interested in scaring people than we are at the candies, to father's exasperation.
Not that him complaining about our shenaningans stopped him from getting worried when I suddenly stopped.
I played it off as having my fill of fun, but the truth was that the last attempt had me scared.
I had gone behind a tall woman in a black dress, playing my usual trick. I had stayed silent, as the Chill of the fairy tale didn't talk, and instead purposefully made a louder step to make her look behing her. With her death pale skin and the red veins on her face, I had almost mistaken her for having the same Chill disguise I had, it was a common Halloween costume after all. But make-up couldn't change the eyes.
She had raised an eyebrow, her red eyes and black scleras staring at the child who approached her.
"Was that an attempt to scare me, child? How quaint." She had snorted, before giving me a few candies and walking away.
I recognized her voice. It was over a decade since I'd last heard it, but I recognized it nonetheless.
It was her.
The Queen of the Grimm.
/-/
Halloween, and the free week following it, was a welcome respite for Beacon's staff.
The one of two years ago nonwithstanding, of course. They still hadn't found who was responsible for that chaos.
But usually, with the mid-year exams during October, both teachers and students were eager for the Halloween's celebration by the time the holiday came around. Especially the years with the Vytal festival, with its tournament taking place toward the end of September.
So while the students were busy walking the streets of Vale, or eating their candies in their room for those who went trick-or-treating sooner in the day, Ozpin and Glynda were relaxing at a nice little cafe, on the east side of the residential district. A coffee for her, but a cup of hot chocolate for him.
Contrary to popular belief, he almost never drank coffee, as his current body's taste buds just couldn't stand the beverage.
But concerning this year's Vytal festival...
"Atlas really shone during last month's tournament." Ozpin said in a soft tone.
Glynda nodded. "Yes, Miss Schnee, leader of team WHTE. Their victory was well deserved. I'm sure James will be pleased to have recruits like them join his army. But I can't say I'm impressed by Haven's performance."
Mistral did show poor result. Being the ones to host and organize the events might only give a slight advantage, but one would think it would be enough to avoid being last. As it was, not a single mistrali team made it past first round.
To be fair, Haven's best team fought team WHTE in the first round. If it wasn't for that, they probably would have reached the semi-finals, if not the final fight itself. That, and a few of the lost fights were very close, so some of that humiliating display could be attributed to bad luck, rather than a lack of skill.
Still, it didn't look good on paper, and with reports of huntsmen mortality in Mistral steadily climbing in the last years, Ozpin couldn't help but worry that Haven's teachings were slipping.
"Mmh, I'll go and talk with Lionheart soon, maybe I can help him with whatever he or his academy are struggling with." Ozpin said. "Putting that matter aside, are there been any other sighting of these 'aura crystals'?"
"No, it seems we really got all of them. I don't suppose James's scientists have found anything from the one they're studying?"
"I'm afraid not," He shook his head, "Their test on the crystal that appeared in their lab may have furthened their knowledge of aura in general, but they have yet to make a discovery concerning the crystal itself."
Honestly, Ozpin would have rather keep that crystal hidden with the others, but James put his foot down and refused to 'ignore a potential asset'. Hopefully they wouldn't come to regret it.
Apart from this one, and the one that appeared in his office, there were three others he retrieved: one was not far from Beacon, right in front of the CCT, another was at Vacuo, in Shade's courtyard. But it was the third one which worried him the most.
So far, all crystals had appeared in notable locations. But the third one was in Tai's home, right in his living room. This suggested that whatever was behind the crystal had an interest in Summer's daughter (for what other than a silver-eyed warrior in this household could have attracted the interest of the thing these crystal came from), which worried him more than just a little.
And that something, likely the source of these crystal, retrieved the ones at the Two Brothers' church and Vale's Royal Library suggested that not only this unknow entity was active, but that these two crystals had already fulfilled their purpose, whichever it may be.
Either way, the four he found will remains hidden in his desk. Hopefully that was enough to make them out of this thing's reach, but if it wasn't, then it would be forced to reveal itself to him to try and get them.
And with the one in Atlas and the two that are already taken by the entity, that was a total of seven crystals. Ozpin shuddered at the thought that this creature might accomplish his goal, and what it would mean for Remnant. He must keep the remaining crystals away from that thing, lest Remnant might suffer something, that for all he knew, could be even worse than Salem.
"Ozpin." Glynda pulled him from his thoughts with a short whisper, her face suddenly pale. "Behind you."
Before he could look back, a pair of unaturally white hands seized his shoulders.
"Yes, Ozpin," A voice he would recognize out of a thousand said in an uncharacteristically cheerful tone. "Behind you. Guess who?"
"Salem."
"Oh my! I see your current, old brain hasn't gone senile yet."
Of course not, he was only in his late fourties. While not exactly young, he still had ample time before senility started to set in.
"What are you doing here?" Ozpin said, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Ah, there it is. I knew you were getting old already. Have you forgotten? Halloween is the day I can visit the kingdoms and enjoy civilization, as ordinary people look at me and think my appearance is a mere disguise."
"Yes, I kn-" He tried to talk, but Salem cut him off.
"You remember what Halloween is, do you?"
"I am not senile. What I'm trying to say is that on this holiday, you usually stay away from me, so why are you here? Why have you come to meet me?"
Salem let go of his shoulders and circled the table to face him, keeping her smile as she did.
"Well, it is true that the sight of you always sours my mood. But with my coming victory assured, I just couldn't resist coming over to gloat."
"Assured? Don't just think we'll let-"
"Your input is neither needed nor wanted, Miss third wheel. Now if you please, go away and let the adults talk." Salem waved dismissively at Glynda.
"I am not leaving you alone with him." Glynda said. It was only the 142nd time Salem heard that specific line. These hero types really needed new material.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt your boytoy."
"W-what!?" Glynda stammered. "Our relationship is strictly professional."
"Wait, really?" Salem said, genuinely surprised. "I could have swore you two were having intimate relations on a regular basis."
"Where did you even get this idea!?" Glynda said, both shocked and appalled by Salem's unexpected and vulgar attitude.
The paler woman shrugged. "What can I say? When a woman in his circle has a stick up her ass, it's usually his."
Ozpin rubbed his temples, trying to quell his rising headache.
"She's just going to continue until you leave. I'll be fine. If she wanted a fight, we'd already be in one." He said.
"He always did have a thing for blondes." Salem mused out loud, proving Ozpin's point.
Glynda sighed in surrender. "Fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on the situation."
She got up from her chair and went sitting further away, just out of hearshot. Salem then sat in front of Ozpin, legs crossed, and started drinking in his cup of hot chocolate.
"That's m- nevermind," Ozpin sighed, "you don't care. So, may I know why you think your victory is inevitable, again?"
"Why, Ozpin, you say that as if I had a habit of making such claims."
"It'd only be the 24th times." He pointed out, unimpressed.
"25th, actually. But I'd hardly count 25 times out of 42 millenia to be a 'habit'."
"You were still wrong 24 times, and Mankind will prove you wrong a 25th time."
"Confident, are you?" Now that was the pot calling the kettle black, as far as Ozpin was concerned. "But things are different this time"
"Yes... That's what you said every other times, too"
"Yes, but this time I'm not saying this because all your allies are dead, or because by the time you reincarnated I'm already ruling over a loyal humanity and it's your turn to play the anarchist. No, I'm saying this because I've acquired something entirely new, something Remnant hasn't seen before." Salem said with a smug smile.
Ozpin raised an eyebrow at her words, it wasn't the first time she claimed to have obtained an advantage she never had before, but 'something Remnant has never seen'?
"And what is this new thing?"
Salem put his empty cup on the table and leaned toward him.
"Tell me, dear Ozpin, how many soul fragments have you found?"
Her question first confused him, but then what she was talking about dawned on him and he stiffened.
"Soul fragments, you mean the aura crystals?"
"Ha! That's how you call it? Yes, that's what I was referring to."
"How do you know about them?" He asked, eliciting an eye roll from her.
"Oh, please. These things were all over the news when they appeared, and bringing me a newspaper on a regular basis is hardly out of Hazel's capabilities. But that doesn't matter, what I'm curious about is how many there are."
"And why would I share this information with you?"
Salem chuckled. "Now, now, don't be like that. It doesn't matter how many there are, it changes nothing."
"Then you'll forgive me if I don't tell you, since it doesn't matter."
"No, I don't think I will forgive you for anything, ever."
'Typical.' Ozpin thought. "Then I'll have to live without your forgiveness. At least I'm in know territory."
"Very funny," Salem said, unimpressed, "Am I mistaken, then, in believing that you already knew there was 10 of these soul fragments?"
Ozpin's eyes widened. 10? How would she know that?
"You have the three lefts." He whispered in horror, to which Salem shook her head.
"No, I've only found one. I know how many there are because it told me, but it doesn't know where the others are. I'm not surprised those you have told you nothing, though. How could you make sense of the memories inside them when you first have to find them amongst 40 000 years worth of your past hosts' memories? It would takes you decades, at least."
Ozpin gritted his teeth. Indeed, so far he hadn't found anything of use from these thing. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, except that in this case, the needle wasn't a needle, but another strand of hay identical to every other one, the haystack was the size of Beacon and he could only identify which strand of hay was which if he physically touched it.
But if Salem only had her own memories to contrast the foreign ones, then it would be child play for her to make the difference between the two. If she knew how to do that As far as Ozpin knew, Salem never bothered learning how to use her aura, judging it to be useless since it couldn't protect her body and everything else aura could do, she believed it to be inferior to her own magic, for good reasons.
Yet, she apparently managed it, so who knew what otherwordly knowledge she was able to gain.
"You've been very naughty, Ozpin, hiding little Ruby's existence from me like that." His blood ran cold at her words.
"How do you know about her?"
Salem smiled. "The being these soul fragments came from, I do not know who it is, or what it is, but he possess knowledge of what even Jinn does not."
The old wizard stiffened even more. Knowledge even Jinn didn't have? This could only mean one thing.
"The future... But how? Choice is still locked away, it couldn't-"
"It has nothing to do with the relic of choice, his knowledge is too extensive for that."
He stared at her, his mind racing. "...How extensive are we talking about?"
"And why would I share this information with you?" The witch threw his earlier words back at him, laughing. "Do not worry, though. Even knowing about Ruby Rose's existance and that she lives somewhere in the kingdom of Vale, I have yet to find where exactly she is, and it is unfortunately too late for me to find her before our next game start. Rejoice, for you have once again kept a silver-eyed warrior out of my reach."
With that, Salem got up from her chair and said one last thing to her old ennemy. "You will need to change your plans for the next decade, though. Not only because I already know what it is, but because it's not even a good one in the first place. I would appreciate having a minimum of a challenge, lest victory feels unearned."
The Queen of the Grimm then took her leave, passing by Glynda on her way out.
Ozpin really hoped she was telling the truth about not knowing where Summer's daughter lived.
According to Qrow, his younger niece was just like her mother, so the chances of Salem managing to win her loyalty was slim, but there was still the risk she'd poison Ruby's mind and turn her against him.
He couldn't allow Salem to gain that opportunity.
No, the silver-eyed warrior must stay under his control, and if impossible...
He wouldn't enjoy it, but he would kill Ruby if it meant protecting the world from ruin.
Ozpin had long ceased to be a hero, and was fully aware that the passage of time had turned him into a monster.
"Have a good Halloween, Glenda." Salem said to Beacon's professor as she left the cafe.
"It's Glynda."
"I couldn't care less."
/-/
You killed 16 Beowolves. 51 XP.
Yay! I was finally able to beat a Beowolf pack on my own.
I mean, it wasn't a big pack, nowhere near the size of the one Ruby slaughtered in the red trailer, they also didn't have an Alpha so they lacked coordination. But still, progress!
Those three levels I'd gained since Halloween were paying off. But I was getting a bit worried because it was almost March 6, my birthday, and I didn't really feel like I was getting strong enough in time for Cinder's coming.
I took a look at what my character sheet looked like, ignoring the squeaking of a mouse, which had become background noise by now.
Name: Gemini Alexandrite Torchwick
Level: 26
Exp: 413 / 2600
Age: 12
Sex: Male
Aura: 6 000 / 6 000 (60%)
Stamina: 460 / 460
Strength: 30 (50)
Constitution: 16 (36)
Dexterity: 50 (70)
Agility: 38
Intelligence: 128
Skill Point: 5
These three levels weren't much of an increase, but it was finally enough to be able to get rid of the smaller pack around, so farming exp should start getting a little faster now.
Beowolves were the 'weakest' of Grimm, individually. But they were still dangerous because their numbers and speed allowed them to surround and submerge a single opponent. Most huntsmen had a ranged weapon so they could cull the pack's numbers while keeping a distance between them, allowing them to avoid being submerged, but someone like me who only had close quarter options was almost garanteed to be ganged up on when fighting them alone.
I could only counter attacks from so many different directions at the same time, after all.
Which was why it was time I started using these throwing knives of mine. I only had five of them, hence why I had been hesitant to rely on them, as they could only take down a small part of a pack before I was out of munitions and ended with the same problem as before. But it should do if I was fighting a pack no bigger than the one I'd just found.
Yes, that was exactly why I haven't used the throwing knives yet, which was a perfectly acceptable reason. Totally not because sis gave me so many knives I forgot I had these. Why would anyone think otherwise? I wasn't that dumb, ha ha...
Ahem... anyway, I started the hunt for a Beowolf pack of a size I could manage. I moved from tree to tree, from bush to bush, until I found a Grimm.
But it was not a Beowolf, nor one that I'd seen before on Patch. It was one that, by all account, shouldn't be here.
I observed it, hidden behind a large tree.
Looking like a jellyfish with a round, crystal ball-like, body, there was no doubt that it was a Seer. It did look different that the one who killed Lionheart in the show, though, as it had less bone plating on the ball part and no barbing at the end of its tentacles. It likely was a younger specimen, one which was less of a threat in direct combat.
Not that direct combat was the problem here, there was only one reason for this thing to be on Patch.
Ruby.
That Salem didn't know I exist was my biggest advantage against her (that one time during Halloween didn't count, she thought I was just a random kid). With its 360 degree vision, any attempt for a sneak attack would guarantee that she would know about me and that I was an obstacle to get rid of. Yet, it was a risk I'll have to take.
As far as I knew, Ruby was the last silver-eyed warrior alive (Maria didn't count, she couldn't use them anymore). Her and her bloodline were Mankind's best hope against the Grimm.
I couldn't allow Salem to kill her.
I must ensure she stayed alive, at all cost...
I wouldn't enjoy it, but I would bring ruin to the world if it meant protecting Ruby.
Well, regular, civilization-can-eventually-get-up-from-that kind of ruin, not Humanity-goes-extinct. There was no point in saving Ruby so Mankind survived if Mankind died in the process. I wasn't a monster, just a guy trying to keep his family and friends alive.
Thankfully, I did have a way of killing that Seer without exposing myself to its view. If I could just hit its bulbous head with one of my throwing knives, then I should be able to have my cake and eat it. Although that depended on how tough its head was.
I threw another look at the Grimm bobbing his way in the forest. It did look pretty soft, it should be fine.
One of the knives in hand, I peeked around the tree, aimed, and threw it.
The Seer's tentacles moved to intercept it, but the knife was too small and too fast for them to block the projectile. The knife's blade pierced the head. It wasn't dead center, a bit off to the left, but black smoke bleed from the injury and the Grimm slowly fell to the ground, disintegrating without issues.
Uh, that was easier than I expected... it felt like I thought that a lot. Was I just pessimistic?
I wondered how much I got from killing a Seer.
I reopened the Game.
You killed 1 Seer. 5 XP.
About as good as a non-alpha Beowolf could get. That was kind of disappointing considering how important killing it was but I guessed it was pretty weak to begin with.
Did Salem send a younger one because it was more expendable, as she could just create a new one to replace it immediately where an older one would have to be replaced by waiting for one to age? No, I might be assuming too much on how she created Grimm. For all I knew, she could create the older version directly if she felt like it. Either way, if she sent a young one, did it mean she considered finding Ruby a low-priority?
That didn't make sense. Ruby's eyes, once mastered, were pretty much an 'I win' button against most of Salem's forces. How could Salem consider getting rid of her to be anything but her highest priority? Now that I thought about it, didn't Salem not even care about Ruby's existance in Volume 4? She didn't even bother with making a plan to deal with Ruby until Cinder asked 'what about the silver-eyed girl?' Even then all she did was adjust her plans to send Tyrian to capture Ruby.
Capture, instead of killing. Tyrian, alone.
If I was her, I'd have sent not only Tyrian, but Hazel, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Watts and at least a small army of Grimm. The order would have been to kill her and all of her allies presents, too. None of that 'capture alive' nonsense. Why would I want to risk the biggest threat to my plans getting rescued in time?
Actually, I'd have come along too. Just to be sure.
...Was Salem just incompetant?
Seriously, give me magic, immortality and control over the Grimm and I'd be able to get all four relics in the span of a single century. Heck, give me a single one of these and I'd still stand a fair chance of succeeding and I was convinced I'd still be guaranteed to win even with two of these advantages. I could already think of a dozen different plans to do that off the top of my head, even if they were only at the 'general idea' stage of planning.
She had been failing at gathering the relics for how many millennia?
Not that Ozpin was much better. Salem being immortal was no excuse to be unable to beat her. Just throw her into space and leave her to drift for all eternity. It'd even be easier if by studying magic like they've done aura, Atlas managed to make a machine like that aura-transfer one but for transfering magic directly. Give Atlas a few more decades and they might manage to miniaturize it. There, magic-stealing gun, that'd make forcing Salem to pioneer Remnant's space program easier. Alternatively, throw one of the relics into the sun. Even if it couldn't melt it'd still be stuck inside because of the star's gravity, making it forever impossible to gather the four relics and summon the two jackass brothers.
I didn't care if dust didn't work in space, push the spaceship with enough kinetic force and the velocity will take care of the rest without needing dust anymore. Didn't even need a full spaceship, just a container with a big engine with enough fuel and it was good to go. It wasn't like we had to care about keeping the relic alive. Or Salem.
But enough with the plans on how to do Ozpin or Salem's job better than them, I needed a plan on how to deal with future Seer activities. I couldn't let Salem find Ruby's home.
If she was searching in the forest, then she must know their house was somewhere there. I was starting to sit on a sizable amount of Lien, not enough to buy them a house inside the city, real estate was insane on Remnant, but I could pay an appartment for them until Ruby joined Beacon. Once there, she'd be safe.
But how could I convince Mr Xiao-Long of moving out? If I revealed that I knew about Salem, that'd bring the question of how? Only Ozpin and Salem's group knew about the latter, and 'I come from another world where your life is a fictionnal story' wasn't exactly the best when it came to credibility. The only reasonable conclusion would be that Salem told me, which would be a sure game over that I really couldn't afford until I've thrown the relic of choice into the sun.
Why choice? Because knowledge, and creation depending on how it worked, were too useful as problem solvers for Mankind and I doubted choice would be the better relic compared to those two. Heck, depending on creation's rules, I might be able to create a triforce and then use said triforce to wish the Grimm stopped existing. Or just teleport Salem outside of the galaxy. I might even be able to resurrect Ruby's mom, or mine. Now that I thought about it, I knew nothing about her. I might want to ask dad. Later.
And come on, I wasn't throwing away destruction and that was final. Why would I get rid of the magic sword? Once I get my hands on it, I was holding it forever and screw anyone who had a problem with that. I call dibs on the magic sword.
But anyway, back to the Seer issue...Oh crap.
I just realized, forget convincing them to move out, the real problem was that if they moved into the city then Watts could find out their adress on the public records with only a few taps of his fingers. Rather than save Ruby, that'd be her death sentence.
I guess I could invite them to my own home, since it was registered to uncle Perry's name, but we didn't have extra bedroom. Although... I didn't need my bed, Ruby could take it. But that would only save her, if Salem found their house... Well, Mr Xiao-Long was a veteran huntsman and Yang was far from defenceless too, they could probably fight their way to Patch. But if they couldn't and the worse happens...
If I could only save one, Ruby took priority.
Wait, nevermind, I could just buy a bunk bed so Yang could crash in my bedroom too. And I guessed Mr Xiao-Long could sleep on the couch. Or I could buy a second bunk bed for him to share with uncle Perry. Or uncle Perry could just go back to dad since I wouldn't need him to supervise me anymore, not with a huntsman family at home.
Mr Branwen could take the second bunk bed with Mr Xiao-Long, I guessed.
Not that any of this mattered, if only I had a reasonable explanation for knowing about Salem.
Scratch that, if only I had filmed the encounter with the Seer. My options would be limited, but at least I could have worked with that.
/-/
"HEREEEEEETIC!"
Cinder winced at how loud the madman's scream was.
"HOW DARE HE ATTACK OUR GLORIOUS GODDESS!? HE IS A HERETIC! A BLASPHEMER! PERSECUTE, EXECUTE HIM!"
Now she understood why Watts kept earplugs on hand. It was because of Tyrian.
She didn't understand how this Hazel guy could stay stoic under the insane screaming of that madman. Not that she cared for his eardrums, she was currently more concerned with her... mistress' reaction.
Salem was frowning, but was otherwise calm. Good.
She really didn't want to know what the Queen of the Grimm, because that was a thing, looked like when angry. Especially if said anger put her in danger.
When this Hazel guy approached her and promised her his mistress could give her power, she expected some kind of old martial art master living like an hermit. She thought she could just see if said mistress would be able to train her and if not then she could just walk away. But this...
There was no walking away. She hadn't been threatened to be killed if she refused to join them, but she was no idiot. It was obvious Salem wouldn't allow her to live while knowing about her if she didn't swear loyalty.
So long as she lived, she could become stronger, and while learning that the strongest in the world would forever be Salem was somewhat disheartening, those maidens she'd been told about, even promised their powers, were very interesting.
If becoming the most powerful being in the world was impossible, then swallowing her pride and settling for number two was the next best thing. And if she was stuck with her new... associates, then she might as well go the extra miles.
Cinder would do anything to not find herself at the bottom of the world again, crushed under another's heel.
"O Goddess! Give the order, and I shall go take the head of this wretched unbeliever."
"Do we even know who that was?" Hazel asked.
"It doesn't matter who it was! All that matter is to kill him!"
Salem raised a hand, and silence reigned.
"Unfortunately," She said, "the Seer couldn't take a good look at our little attacker. All that we have to identify him is that he uses knives."
"Then I shall go and kill all those who own knives on Sanus."
Cinder hoped he didn't include kitchen knives. He really seemed insane enough to try doing that.
"No. Doing so would harm my goals more than it would help. You wouldn't want that, right?"
The nutcase's eyes widened in horror at the thought of being detrimental to the object of his worship and he dropped on his knees. "N-no, of course not. I would never dare."
"Then you will do nothing. I will just have to use an older Seer for the next search, one able to fight back."
Cinder didn't know was the deal was with these 'silver-eyes', but she did see an obvious flaw with her new employer's plan and with it, an occasion to be useful. She wouldn't want to be seen as replaceable after all.
"Forgive me, Mistress-"
"My lady will suffice." Salem half-absentmindly corrected her.
"A-ah, my lady... Forgive me for asking, but why are we only using one Seer? Would you not find your target faster, and more easily, if we used several? We could deploy a hundred young and expendable Seers and quickly cover the entire forest in a matter of days." Cinder was careful to sound humble while she talk, out of fear of angering Salem, but she had to admit she was pretty proud of her plan. It was nothing but efficient. So when Salem refused it, it took the wind out of her sail.
"No, doing so would attract Ozpin's attention. It is better to fail at finding the girl without Ozpin noticing our activities than it is to find her and have Ozpin kill her." Salem's plan A to find the silver-eyed girl was to spook Ozpin into trying to mover her closer to him, accidentally revealing her position so that her agents could snatch her during the transfer, but he didn't take the bait. It was kind of expected, Salem admitted to herself, they knew each other's trick by now.
"Next time you might want to let the adults talk, rather than wasting our time." Watts said to Cinder, voice dripping with contempt toward her.
She gritted her teeth, not daring to talk back after having her idea refused.
She couldn't say she liked her new... co-workers, but of them all, the one she distrusted the most was Arthur Watts. The atlesian scientist might have only been recruited two years before her, but with the jealous and hateful looks he threw at her, along with Hazel and Tyrian for that matter, she fully expected him to stab her in the back if he thought he'd get away with it.
"Now, now, Watts." Salem said, "As a scientist, you should know that questions are a necessary step in order to learn. So long as Cinder remains polite when asking her questions and sharing her ideas, I see no problem. Why, I'd even say I am pleased by her initiative."
Cinder perked up at her words, a slight smile showing on her face. She hated it.
Sure, it was good for herself that Salem was happy with her as a minion (how she hated to think of herself as one, yet it was what she was now). But reacting like her own happiness depended on someone else being satisfied with her performance brought back... unpleasant memories.
"Finding little Ruby is a longshot anyway. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work." Salem said before turning to her left, toward the corner of the room. "Tell me, Augur, do you know of any other silver-eyed warrior?"
If Watts was the one she distrusted the most, then Augur outright freaked her out.
The sixth occupant of the meeting room, who was until now waiting in the corner, walked forward and gave a formal greeting to Salem, bowing with his arm held across his torso.
He wore only pants and a pair of boots, exposing his skin, as pale as their mistress. He would have looked exactly like her, with his white hair, red irises and black sclera, if it wasn't for the lack of dark veins.
But the part that made Cinder's hair stand on end was the pulsing green crystal in the middle of his chest. A fractured soul, according to Salem. If she failed her, would she take her soul and split it apart to make more of that thing?
Augur gave Cinder a predatory smirk, as if he could tell she was distressed. He probably could, being a Grimm.
And that he looked liked a barely pubescent child only made him creepier, somehow.
"Yes, your Majesty." He said. "One Maria Calavera. She lives in Mistral, somewhere in the city I believe. She's old however, and has lost her eyes."
"No matter, find her and bring her to me."
Yes, one of the soul fragments was at Salem's castle and she made an intelligent Grimm out of it. *Insert spooky sound effect.*
I've seen a few fics make it sound like Ozpin and Salem have been in conflict for barely a few thousand years. I don't understand why. The show has been pretty vague on how long exactly they've been at each other's throat, so we're free to go absolutely ham with how old they are. I decided to make them really old. In the Grimm darkness of the 41st millenium after Ozpin and Salem's divorce, there are only the consequences of their overstretched alimony battle.
Also, diplomatic discussions between the leaders of different faction is merely an extension of the battlefield and the battlefield is merely an extension of diplomacy. Ozpin and Salem have both been at the head of a nation several time in this fic, and at least once in canon, so that's something they'd understand. If nations keep open communications between each others even when trying to kill each others, then Ozpin and Salem can sit down every other century and have a discussion with mutual insults in which they try to extort intel from each other and try their hand at mind games.
'Screen-peeking' is when, in slit-screen multiplayer, one of the player look at its opponent's side of the screen to try and gain an advantage outside of the scope of the game. The title of this chapter references how Salem gained informations through Gemini's soul fragment she otherwise couldn't have.
Chapter 7, AdVenture Capitalist, will be out on November 14th. (Did I finally get it right?)
Have a happy Halloween.