Cover Art: Aristeo Storm

Chapter 38

Mountain Glenn was gorgeous.

Most cities were built piece by piece, evolving along with the needs of the people. Bits were constructed, other bits fell into disrepair and were demolished and then rebuilt. In Vale, along with other cities, it led to a kind of mismatched look, with different coloured sone and styles of brickwork giving way to metal and concrete, then back to stone. Some buildings were older than others, made from original rock, while others were quite obviously fabricated in more modern times, and had angular blocks and concrete.

It led to everything being different, which wasn't a bad look by any means. It had an organic feel to it, and created interesting contrasts, even if some companies competed to make taller or more expensive buildings and thus ended up ruining the overall appeal of an area through their desires to show off.

Mountain Glenn was different. The city had been designed and built all in one go, which meant it was a lot more unified in style. That might have seemed boring since it meant a lot of buildings had identical shapes, architectural styles and materials, and maybe it was lacking on an individualistic scale, but it also meant everything fit together. Buildings complimented one another, none standing out over others, none being left trapped in the shade or surrounded by ugly construction.

Parks flowed toward pedestrian areas into cycling routes, and roads were neatly and efficiently laid out, designed to be good from the start and not left to the mercy of sudden corners and constant traffic jams because city planners couldn't bulldoze houses to fix the issue. Someone – or a whole lot of people, most likely – had sat down and asked themselves how they would make this city operate both efficiently and effectively. And a whole lot of engineers had probably experienced collective orgasms on being given carte blanche and a staggering budget to go design the most effective city layout possible.

The results showed. Everything was clean and meticulous, having that "new" feel like a TV once the plastic covering it was peeled off. Roads were free of potholes, traffic lights shone in the light, and building windows were that kind of clean you only ever saw in showrooms. There was little to no litter, the people living here being too proud of the cleanliness to want to ruin it, or too guilty to be the first to do so.

It looked a little Atlesian in places, which was likely more due to where they'd gotten construction material from than Atlas having an influence. There were a lot of whites and greys, however. Thankfully, the abundance of greenery helped offset it, with every road having at least some stretch of grass between it and the accompanying footpath. Trees rose up between them, casting shade over the pedestrians, and in some places gently winding around buildings.

Qrow turned and stared in awe, moving out the way of others on the trains who walked on by a little more used to it all. A store nearby, with a man selling newspapers, stood mostly empty. Qrow wandered over to buy a can of soda and ask some questions. He purchased a local newspaper as well, a weekly that looked to have cropped up to cover local news in Mountain Glenn only.

"Hey. First time here and I'm wondering what there is to do."

"That'll be twenty lien." The man accepted it and handed the drink and paper over. "And it depends, really. There's a big park in the centre of the city, a sports stadium on the west side and I believe they're finishing up a shopping mall not too far from here. It's not finished yet, but the bits of it that are done are open to the public. Every store is rented out. Bit expensive, though. There are cheaper places throughout the city. Independent boutiques."

"What's the stadium for?"

"Sport, music, just about anything really. It's open to the public again. Has some tennis courts, badminton, running tracks and all that – even has its own gym. They're saying we'll host big games there once things settle down, but for now it's more like a community centre. A couple of local schools do their sports competitions there."

Local schools. Children. Damn it all to hell. There would obviously be poorer families moving here with their children and enrolling them nearby. It was supposed to be safe, after all. A new life for them, a chance to build their own future without the exorbitant prices of living in Vale. Qrow opened the can and thanked the man, then wandered over to a wooden bench to sit down. There wasn't a single bit of graffiti on the thing, not even a scraped in love heart with initials in it. That was practically unheard of in Vale.

Sitting down, he picked open the paper and scanned the stories. It was full of good news – a rarity in a lot of newspapers in the future – about investment in the city, new attractions being greenlit, and new businesses coming to take advantage of the abundance of people. There were little to no bad stories at all, and even crime seemed to be at a low. Brand new city meant brand new police department, and it wasn't yet overwhelmed with a backlog of cases. That'd probably have changed in the future, the natural progression of human nature, criminal opportunism and budget cuts eventually making things worse, but, for now, the police had little to do but patrol, and that was keeping crime down.

Other than that, there was a story about Atlas' new research institute in the city – cybernetics research, apparently. No doubt it was a precursor to Penny and the Knight-Class robots they used in the future, all of which would be seen as nothing less than fairytales right now. AI was at the stage in this time where it featured in movies and sci-fi novels and nothing more. Computers could be programmed to do a set list of tasks, but the fully automated infantry Atlas would boast in twenty years was probably still in the early stages of research and development.

Qrow read the story, noting the lack of detail on what they were researching – expected, given it was Atlas and military, but they hinted at augmentation. Qrow's mind went to Ironwood's arm rather than zombie cyborgs like most kids his age would. In the future, Atlas would be quite well known for its cybernetic prosthetics industry. A good thing in his book, especially since Atlas had agreed to provide it at heavily discounted rates to any and all huntsmen. Before he left to chase after Ruby, he'd put in a word with Ironwood to have one designed and delivered to Yang.

It made him wonder if she received it, or if that world even existed anymore. Was it carrying on with him having died from Callows' poison? Or was he still alive and in a coma there? Or heck, maybe that Qrow woke up and was fine, and he was the copy sent to the past in another dimension. This was the kind of stuff Ozpin would have loved to discuss and debate. Qrow just hoped that if things were continuing over there, Ruby and Yang were doing okay without him.

Reading on from there, it was more of the same – new investment, new people, new business, new opportunities. There was a whole double page spread at the back dedicated to job offers in the city, some with genuinely good wages offered. Full-time as well as part-time. Honestly, if he could keep Mountain Glenn alive, then some of those would be good part-time jobs to pick up! The pay was well beyond what anyone in Beacon would make waiting tables.

Interesting thought. If I got a job here, I could come more often and keep an eye on the city... Qrow considered it, then shook his head. No. That's no use. All it'd do is put me at ground zero when everything goes wrong. I need to find what went wrong in the first place. Grimm got in somehow. He raised his head, eyes narrowing. Guess my first stop is the walls.

Mountain Glenn's walls weren't quite as tall or study as Vale's, but they were made with more modern technology, and so didn't need to be. The walls of Vale were one of those things every political party promised to upgrade and never did, because the costs would be measured in the tens of billions and construction meant deconstruction, which meant creating a big hole in the wall first that Grimm might take advantage of. People hadn't been in a risk taking move after Mountain Glenn fell, so it always got pushed back.

Not that it mattered. Cinder and the White Fang had brought Grimm in over the walls, and that bat-creature had dropped yet more into the city from the air. In the end, the walls had done their job of keeping land-based Grimm out. It was the anti-air defences that had failed to stop Cinder's creature, and that was in no small part due to Roman hacking the Atlas battleships.

Ruby and the others didn't know because it wasn't important to them, but the reason shit went bad was because the AA was down to protect those Atlas ships. Naturally, having the AA live when Atlas had those ships in the air was a no-no, so the systems had been partially shut down. When the flagship fell and the AI units were taken over, most of them hadn't actually been sent at Beacon. A lot had been directed to the walls to destroy the AA before it could be turned back on, thus creating an opening for Cinder's creature to swoop in and drop Grimm in the city.

Cinder's plan hadn't just been to cause a ruckus on Amity and attack Beacon. There'd been a whole lot more to it that the girls hadn't noticed, and which he hadn't bothered to tell them because it would have been too late to do anything about. Glynda had been tried to reach the walls to reactivate the AA systems, but she'd been sidetracked with a lot of huntsmen by citizens in danger needing saving. And so, with the AA down, the creature had landed on Beacon and spelled the end of the school.

It took Qrow an hour to reach the closest stretch of wall on foot, and another hour to find the tourist's office. Tours of the walls were fairly common back in Vale, it being a big deal for local schools and the like, so it wasn't a big surprise Mountain Glenn would have one.

"The tour groups are done for the day," said a young woman around his age. "We're only allowed to bring people up before twelve noon."

"That's fine. Do you have any material about it?"

"Sure." Sensing a sale, she smiled and hopped around from the counter. "We have pamphlets and booklets about it, along with this magazine that goes over the technology and material used in its creation. It even has breakdowns and images from when the walls were first being made, so you can see how it all worked."

The level of openness wasn't as surprising as it sounded either. This was an era where the White Fang were peaceful, and where the most dangerous people were criminals and crime lords. Sure, they'd kill a man and rob him blind, but they weren't about to crack the walls and release Grimm into their own city. There simply weren't any enemies who would want to damage the walls for anyone to worry about secrecy.

"I'll take 'em. Thanks."

The woman rang up the purchase and made a token effort of selling him some keychains and a wall-focused scroll case, which Qrow resisted. A wall didn't exactly make for exciting merchandise but she was doing her best.

Outside, Qrow paced back from the walls and looked up. He couldn't make out any cracks or signs of instability. In fact, they looked damn good – better than Vale's. Short of a Goliath or two, he just couldn't see how the Grimm could get in.

"It'd have to be another aerial attack like on Vale," he said to himself. "It's the only thing that makes sense." He pulled the magazine out the bag and flicked through it. "I wonder if this mentions AA systems."

It did. There was even a diagram from the side of one of the weapons, cut in half with labels pointing out the various bits and pieces. The system was mounted on the wall and used computer targeting, but it had a human operator who was strapped in and protected by a full metal tank-like bunker on the weapon itself. In the event of Grimm attack, there'd be Nevermore to contend with, so it made sense any operators should be protected by several inches of steel.

And they were, and the weapons were good – more than good enough, and they wouldn't have been shut down by Cinder, either, so Qrow really couldn't see an aerial attack working. To say nothing of the fact that it'd be seen coming a long way away to boot. That gigantic bat had not been small.

"How the hell did they pull it off, then? It's almost like they came up in the city..." Qrow looked back away from the wall. "Inside the city... could it be the tunnels? No, that doesn't make sense. Everyone retreated into the tunnels, and those were empty enough that the children could be evacuated."

Those that made it to the tunnels in one piece, anyway.

"If they were coming in through there, we couldn't have had the fighting retreat we did. Plus, there would have been Grimm cropping up in Vale as well. It definitely wasn't through our tunnels, but could the Grimm have made some? Maybe cracking open in the middle of Mountain Glenn?"

Again, he considered it.

Again, he discarded it.

"No, we'd have sensed the readings. Plus, there'd be a big-ass sinkhole in the city after all was said and done. It's not like there was no shortage of investigations into what went wrong, and they wouldn't have missed a whole tunnel network of Grimm."

It would require Grimm being intelligent and working together as well, which Salem could accomplish if she put her mind to it, but she hadn't made any real pushes at this time. This had been her period of gathering allies and support, to ready her big attack in Ruby and Yang's time that would place Ozpin in check, destroy Beacon, and secure her the Fall Maiden. Right now, Salem would be laying the groundwork for all that.

Meaning she wouldn't have time to orchestrate some genius attack on this city.

And, if she could, why not Vale? Mountain Glenn had less people, but better walls and more advanced weaponry. If she could pull this off, she might as well go for the juicier target and really set Ozpin back a century or two.

It just didn't make sense to hit here with so much force, win, and then do nothing with that victory for twenty years. If she hit that hard, that successfully, she wouldn't go and sit on her laurels for two decades. She'd push and try to strike a decisive blow.

So, if it isn't the walls failing, it isn't Grimm coming from the tunnels, it isn't an aerial attack and it isn't Salem controlling them, then what the hell is it? What went wrong with this wet dream of a city?

The happy people going about their days had no answer for him.

/-/

Qrow travelled down the wall for another two hours just in case, looking for any weak points that only a huntsman could pick out. It almost would have been a relief to see them, because at least then he could take a picture and show it to Ozpin acting like he was just curious. It'd also answer the burning question of how this was all going to go wrong in the first place, because try as he might, he just couldn't see any weak spots.

These walls were built to last.

And, from what he remembered, they had lasted. They'd stayed standing after the city fell.

"This is such a bloody mess. Hm—?" Qrow felt his scroll vibrate and drew it out. "Yo."

"Yo," Ozpin replied, voice thick with sarcasm. "But, in future, you should answer by giving your name."

"You're the one that called me. You know who it is answering. What's up?"

"I'm checking up on you since your sister says she has no idea where you are."

"Yeah? Well, my sister is lying or simply didn't pay attention when I told her I'd be visiting Mountain Glenn."

"Mountain Glenn? You're there?"

"Yeah. Took the thirty minute train. I assumed that'd be fine."

"By all means, I have no problems with it other than Miss Branwen making me worry you'd been lost somewhere in the city." Ozpin sounded annoyed, but more at Raven than him. Good. "How are you finding the place?"

"It's pretty damn impressive. Downright gorgeous."

"It certainly is."

"You been?"

"Of course I have," Ozpin replied, chuckling. "I was involved in some of the planning, not the construction so much as ensuring it would be adequately covered by huntsman support. This city is a big deal for all of us. I'm pleased you saw fit to visit. I'm hoping to arrange field trips in Beacon but... well... budgets."

Bane of every teacher's life.

There were the usual costs like heating, new textbooks, equipment and such, but the biggest costing for any huntsman school was damage. Incidental damage, accidental damage, vandalism. If it wasn't someone unlocking their Semblance and taking out furniture, it was two people getting in a fight involving shotgun-gauntlets and scythes. Once upon a time, Signal had invested millions in state-of-the-art, rugged chairs and desks.

They lasted half a year.

Never again. Cheaper to buy shitty wooden stuff and replace it when it inevitably got broken. He didn't imagine Beacon was much better, seeing as how Ruby's team had gone and turned the beds to bunks, essentially ensuring they'd have needed to be thrown out after they graduated – or when they snapped the thin ropes, dropped and broke apart. It was testament to the regular damages in any academy that Beacon hadn't even batted an eyelid at such blatant vandalism. It was just expected at that point.

No one even cared when he and Winter had sparred in the courtyard and torn chunks out the masonry. Ozpin had just sighed, pinched his nose, and gone to make Beacon's insurance provider cry.

"Yeah, it's pretty impressive. I like how uniform it all is as well. Got to say, though, isn't this all a bit dangerous?" Qrow forced as much innocent curiosity into his voice as he could. "Is this new city really safe?"

"It's as safe as we've been able to make it. The walls are sturdy, the defences strong, and with a rapid connection to Vale, we can respond quickly in case of any Grimm sightings outside the walls."

"What if they get in?"

"Then things would be worse, but we could still respond. A few Grimm aren't going to be a problem. That's not to say we aren't taking the risk very seriously, of course. We've done everything we can. The headmaster has even promised a standing force of huntsmen each year."

Headmaster...? Oh right, Ozpin wasn't the head yet. Come to think of it, the old headmaster had resigned after the Mountain Glenn fiasco. Just another unfortunate casualty of a disaster no one had seen coming. He hadn't been at fault, but almost everyone in a position of responsibility over it had resigned, been charged, or committed suicide. Few good people could withstand tens of thousands of dead on their shoulders.

"It just seems a little too good to be true is all."

"Don't worry. Many share the sentiment. You know, I'd be happy to show you, Summer and Raven around it if you wish. I can get us access to some less open places and let you all see the defences up close."

Another bold statement but, again, there was no reason to be afraid of showing some future huntsmen around. No terrorists, no big threats, no criminals. This was a golden era for Vale, at least up until the city would fall.

"That sounds fun to be honest. I can ask Summer and Ray. Mind if I bring another. Willow is in the city and it feels bad to leave her out."

"Ah, you've found out, have you? Her father asked me to keep it a secret from you – I do believe she wanted to surprise you."

"Ha. Yeah, it was a surprise all right." Especially since Willow had not been in Beacon in the past. A change in the timeline made by him, though thankfully not a bad one. "But it'd be cool to bring her along, and I need to introduce her properly to Summer and Raven anyway. We didn't get that much of a chance in Mistral."

"By all means, then. At least I can be assured she'll be more behaved than you and your sister."

"Harsh."

"Accurate."

"Oh, I didn't say it was inaccurate. Only that it was harsh. How soon can we do this tour?"

"As soon as you convince them. Term time is over as you know, and I'm free. The job of a combat instructor isn't so time consuming in private hours as most other teachers. I can't exactly prepare a syllabus for the classes."

Because it was just them fighting one another. Glynda would have had it easy too, if she hadn't taken on so many other responsibilities from Ozpin. Speaking of, he wondered how Glynda was doing in Beacon. She'd still be there by the time he arrived, though maybe only for a year or so. He wondered if he should talk to her, or if she was still upset about the rumours in Signal.

"I'll convince them to agree, then. I reckon Raven will be interested when I mention big anti-air canons, and Summer would just enjoy a day out. As for Willow, I'm not sure what else she has going on so I'll have to see."

"Very well, then. You have my number. I only wanted to make sure you weren't lost. Enjoy your day out in Mountain Glenn if you intend to stay there. Just keep in mind the half-hour trains become one hour between seven and ten, and then one every two hours from ten until six in the morning."

"No students clubbing in Mountain Glenn, then?"

"I'm sure there will be in the coming year. We'll just have students coming back at odd hours and being exhausted because they stopped for a drunken kebab and missed their train." Ozpin sounded more amused than upset. "We don't mind what they do in their spare time, so long as they show up to lessons on time. If they are hungover in my class, I'll simply pick them to fight first and make them regret it."

Qrow felt like that warning was aimed at him. "Sounds fair. Hey Oz, while I have you, do you know anything about this Atlas cybernetics thing?"

"The research facility? I do. I'm surprised you do."

"It's in the local paper. Sounded interesting."

"Ah, I see. Well, it's a research facility for new cybernetic chips from what I understand. They'll be used in rudimentary computers for now but, in the future, they might become the basis for fully automated defence units."

"Replacing huntsmen with robots?"

"No. Never. But they'll be useful to make our jobs easier, perhaps by being dispatched to defend a village to buy huntsmen time to arrive or seek out the Grimm. With no lives on the line, we could theoretically throw them into unwinnable situations to buy time for evacuations, which is something we can't do with huntsmen."

"Makes sense. Better a bucket of bolts dies than a real person. I was just curious is all. Seems very hush-hush."

"Much of what Atlas does is `hush-hush` as you put it. Technically, it is a private research facility, but it works for the military so there's a certain degree of confidentiality behind it. I believe it's run by Doctor Merlot."

"Never heard of him."

"He's quite the name in cybernetics, particularly in meshing them – and machines – with the human body. Think prosthetics, though I hear he's even managed a successful mechanical eye implant as well. Perhaps not so exciting to someone your age, but a big deal for wounded huntsmen threatened with early retirement."

"Nothing shady, then?"

"Not to my knowledge, no. Atlas is an ally of Vale and this was sanctioned by their command. And, as I said, it's a private company. It follows our laws, pays taxes, and must adhere to all safety practices. I've not heard anything bad from or about them."

Yet, anyway. It was just about the only lead Qrow had, and he wasn't about to give it up. Ah, to be able to turn into a bird on command. It'd be so easy to fly over to this lab and peek in under the guise of a crow perched by a window. You never truly realised the value of something until you lost it.

"Sounds interesting. I'll talk to the girls and get back to you."

/-/

"Why would I care to go on some tour?" asked Raven.

"Because you'd get to see huge fuck-off guns that can tear Grimm in two from the force of the bullet alone."

Raven rubbed her chin. "Mmmm. That does sound like fun. Would I get to fire them?"

"Yes," he lied.

"I'm in."

"He's lying..." Summer tattled on him without hesitation. "But, whatever, I guess there's nothing else for us to do. Mountain Glenn should be fun. I've heard good things."

"It's sexy as hell," Qrow said. "Looks amazing. Plus, there's a shopping mall and all sorts there. Even some well-paying part-time work if we decide we want any once we're in Beacon. You know, to make some extra money—"

"I'll just use yours from the Schnee," said Raven.

Qrow glared at her. "After asking me, right?"

"Better to seek forgiveness than ask permission."

"You won't be getting any forgiveness from me if you rob me blind, bitch." In return, Raven just smirked. "But speaking of Schnee, Willow will be coming."

Raven shrugged.

Summer scowled. "Why?"

"Because I want her and you to get along?"

Summer's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because... she's my friend. Same as you."

Silver eyes became starry pinpricks. "Are you stupid or just a bastard?"

"I... don't understand..."

"Stupid, then," she said.

"Definitely stupid," Raven agreed, nodding her head. "Not an intelligent thought goes on in that head of his. It's just an empty chasm, vast as space, and a signal fired into it desperately searching for intelligent life. Alas, there is none."

"You two have been kinda bitchy to me of late. What did I do to deserve this?"

Summer sighed. "The fact you have to ask that really doesn't help your case, Qrow. Figure it out."

"Or – and hear me out here – you could up and tell me!"

"But then you'd expect us to explain every little thing to you." Summer brushed by him, and Raven followed. "You're a smart guy. Allegedly. I'm sure you can figure this out if you put your mind to it."

Maybe he could. It'd be a damn sight easier if he didn't have a hundred other things vying for his attention, all more important than the last. Whatever this was between them would have to wait, because Mountain Glenn sure as hell wasn't going to. Between the lives of over a hundred thousand people and some awkward behaviour from Summer, he knew what he had to pick.

It was fine, though. He'd have all the time in the world once he was in Beacon and on Team STRQ to dig to the bottom of whatever was eating away at her. He hadn't seen Summer this evasive since Taiyang and Raven became a couple and Summer had to swallow her feelings and act like everything was okay.

Next Chapter: 13th July

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