"It's the war that will end all war."
"Will this war really end all wars? Can a war really end all war? Will this war bring another war?"
"It's the war that will end all wars."
- Joakim Broden, Versailles
Yang's leg bounced nervously, looking out the window at the fast-approaching island of Patch. She unconsciously bit her lip. Dad was gonna kill her…
Looking a bit left of the window, she leveled her best glare to frustratedly little effect.
"And what're you smiling about?" Yang snapped without any real heat in her voice, crossing her arms and going back to staring out the window.
"Nothing, just remembering being a kid." Percy told her, but Yang didn't have to be looking at him to know there was a shit-eating grin on his face.
"I'm so screwed." she muttered.
"You said you told him where you're going, right? You're fine." Percy assured her.
Yang huffed and shot him a side glance. "Easy for you to say. I was gone for weeks. I'm dead."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Any dad that's fine with you hopping on a boat into an active war zone isn't gonna be mad you were gone a couple extra weeks to vacation in Atlas."
Yang snorted. "Yeah, well then you don't know my dad very well. I missed finals in my last year of school, I'll be grounded for months. I'll be lucky if any academy accepts my application now — Pyrrha too."
Percy shot her a quick grin that made her avert her eyes quickly out the window, doing her level best to ignore the heat that rose to her cheeks. "Don't worry about that. I'll put a word in. Besides," in her periphery, Yang could see his smile grow frosty. "your dad let you help Pyrrha sneak out to Mistral. He should be the nervous one."
Yang laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that…"
Percy waved it off. "You're her friend. Helping her do stupid stuff is what you're supposed to do. I won't pretend I'm not upset, but… well, I think I'd be more upset if you were more afraid of me than willing to help Pyrrha. Besides, I owe you one."
Yang blinked. "You do?"
He nodded. "Pyr told me you convinced her to talk to me. I have you to thank for the fact that we're speaking again, don't I?"
Yang scratched her neck. "Ah, yeah, well, it was nothing. Really! That's what friends are for, right?"
Or at least, she thought that's what friends should be for. She had no idea what had made Pyrrha so upset with Percy, but there was a point after Pyrrha had started locking herself away to avoid him that Yang knew that isolating herself from him was hurting more than whatever it was he'd said to her in the first place.
As the bullhead began sweeping in for its landing, Percy smiled. "You have my thanks all the same. And thanks for keeping her out of trouble, too. You're a good friend, Yang. I'm glad you have each other."
"What? Nah, if anything it was Pyr keeping me out of trouble. You know how I am." Yang stammered.
Percy chuckled and shook his head, half standing as the bullhead touched down in Patch's small bullhead docks. "Give yourself a bit more credit. I talked to the crew of the ship that got you two here."
Yang paled. "Yeah, uh…"
Percy snickered and hopped out of the bullhead, offering Yang a hand. "Now come on, I have to go yell at your dad before I head out to Vale."
As Yang reached out to take the hand that she definitely didn't need to get out of the bullhead, this time she knew she'd failed to conceal the heat that rose to her cheeks.
Less than an hour later Percy was on the bullhead to Vale to pick up Ren. He'd have had him picked up by someone else, but he owed it to the kid to pick him up personally so that he could come back to Mistral for the few weeks before Beacon's school year started.
He took the ride to reflect on the last week or so following the peace conference in Mantle. He'd taken the relic of destruction back to Mistral with him, and stored it in a nondescript crate in the most secure vault in the base under Mistral. Along with a very secretive increase in security around the vault they'd made the base in general far more secure.
And so relic number two was safe. If only he knew how to use either of them…
Otherwise, the scientist which had claimed to have built the automaton capable of using aura had returned with Shiro, and Percy had let him have access to the scraps of the machine they'd collected after the battle. He'd been more than distraught, apparently, but had been more happy than anything else at the chance to rebuild the machine. To Percy, he appeared to be a classic mad scientist. One who valued his creations over his own life; Percy had enough common sense to have him very closely monitored, and make sure he didn't bring back that fighting robot until Percy was present to stop it if it tried anything. Not that a decently competent huntsman wouldn't have been able to put it down, but he didn't want to find out how much damage it could cause before Heather sent a team of huntsmen to intervene.
The familiar lurch of the bullhead slowing for its landing brought Percy back to reality, and within moments they were on the ground, the doors sliding open to reveal Ren already approaching.
Percy hopped out of the bullhead to greet him, noting with satisfaction that he looked to be in perfectly good health. No missing limbs, no bandages, nothing. The closest thing to an injury he could find were the bags under his eyes, which he assumed was because Ren had kept on a Mistral sleep schedule, where it was already dark.
The two Malachite sisters walked next to him on either side, trying — and failing — to flirt with him by the look of things. As Percy took note of their state of dress, his hopes that they'd retain some innocence went out the window.
"Glad to see you doing alright." Percy greeted Ren with a smile, "Everything went well?"
Ren nodded as calmly as he always did. "There were no issues."
Percy patted him on the shoulder. He was conscious of the sisters who kept themselves within a hair's breadth of him and who weren't privy to the nature of his visit, only that he'd be staying with the Xiong clan for a few weeks.
Looking over their heads, Percy saw blue and red lights flash as a number of police motorcycles rounded a corner, followed by a black SUV.
Even as more turned the corner behind them, Percy nudged Ren towards the bullhead. "Go ahead and hop in, and tell the pilot to close the doors. I'll join you in a moment. You two should get back to the club, give Junior my thanks." he shot the Malachite sisters a quick grin, but did a poor job of concealing his urgency. Ren didn't question him, quickly moving past him to the bullhead, the door sliding shut moments later.
Melanie went to leave as well, but Miltiades loitered. "I'm sure we can help you with these police guys. You just gotta let us know. Right, Mel?"
Melanie rolled her eyes and pulled her sister. "If he wanted our help, he would've asked for it."
Percy nodded, watching as the procession of police SUVs ended to give way to long, black limos. "Listen to your sister, Miltiades. Get going now."
She pouted and stalled for a few more seconds before Melanie finally managed to pull her away, not a moment too soon as the first of the motorcade pulled through the loop in front of the bullhead docks.
Percy took a few steps further away from his own bullhead and stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently. The early September air was refreshing, and Percy took the few moments before whoever the motorcade was for arrived to just appreciate the weather.
He knew it was outstandingly likely whoever it was had come here because they'd heard he was here, and he cursed himself for not asking the pilot to use a different callsign. But even so, the Malachite agents should've kept everything quiet. Another failure to discuss with Irving.
But still, he could deal with whoever and whatever was on its way now. It just might end up being more annoying than he'd hoped his day would go.
As Percy's patience waned the rest of the motorcade pulled through the bullhead docks, garnering a small crowd. Already men in suits had deployed from the SUVs to scatter around the docks, securing every angle possible. Within moments everywhere Percy looked there was a man in a dark suit or a police uniform, and he took a moment to be thankful that the bullhead's windows were tinted.
Finally the limos pulled up in front of the bullhead docks just a few dozen feet from where Percy was standing, and one of the suited men rushed to open the door of the back limo.
Percy had to admit, he was surprised by who it was that lumbered out.
"Perseus!" Alfred, Percy's pet councilman in chief, called out to him. He bustled towards Percy hurriedly, breath audibly coming out heavier as he scaled the shallow stairs to where Percy stood.
"Alfred." Percy greeted him, not bothering to hide their familiarity at this point. "I didn't expect you to greet me here. I'm not planning on staying."
"Oh, nonsense." he huffed, finally clearing the distance between them. He wiped his hand with a handkerchief before extending it for Percy to shake. "Of course I wished to welcome you in person! The chairman of Vale is at your service."
Percy blinked, taking the man's clammy hand and shaking briefly. "Chairman? I didn't realize Wolke's replacement had been selected so soon. Congrats."
Alfred wore a wide grin. "Of course! The vote was unanimous; after all, Wolke's partisans were removed in the fraud scandal surrounding his untimely passing, and the remaining council members were all too happy to elect me." he leaned uncomfortably close and spoke softly. "And I am the most senior of your allies on the council. Those who had not already agreed to your terms received your message clearly."
Percy quirked an eyebrow. That… was an unintended side-effect. Though, thinking about it, he had to imagine how it looked to the council members. Percy shows up, tries to buy them out, Wolke and his supporters say no, Percy is revealed as Perseus, and Wolke goes poof along with everyone who supported him — including the SDC, the richest company on Remnant. Not only were most of the remaining members in Percy's pocket, but all the others wouldn't be itching to make themselves a target.
Percy wiped his hand on his jeans absentmindedly. Unfortunately he'd already made a deal, and he didn't want to find out what would happen if he went back on it. Ozpin might not have been nearly as well secured as Percy would have made himself in his situation, but the man still had magic and who knows how many centuries to prepare contingencies.
Nothing he couldn't deal with, he was sure. But he was equally as sure it wasn't anything he wanted to deal with either. At the end of the day, he didn't need Alfred. He didn't need Vale as anything more than an ally. The reason he was willing to fold to Ozpin over vague threats was because even if Ozpin didn't exist, Percy wasn't sure he'd want to move in on Vale more than he had. He'd convinced himself war had been a necessary eventuality to gain a position powerful enough to protect the relics. He knew that was not the case now.
"Well, congrats on the election Alfred." Percy nodded at him, shelving his internal monologue. "I'm here to drop someone off," he lied "but I'll be heading back to Mistral now."
Alfred spluttered, "But you've only just arrived! Allow me to host you at the chairman's mansion! Or perhaps a tour of the Valean museum of art would be more to your liking? I've asked the finest chefs in all of Vale to prepare a state dinner in your honor, if you'd stay to join me."
Percy looked at the man dubiously. He'd arranged that on the drive over here?
He shook his head. "Sorry, but I have business to take care of, no time to stick around. Junior will be in touch." he said, turning and walking back to the bullhead.
"O-of course! I wish you safe travels, Perseus! If there should be anything you desire, you need only ask!"
"I'll keep it in mind." Percy waved lazily over his shoulder while hopping into the bullhead, the doors staying open just long enough for him to hop inside. A moment later, the engines spooled up and they were on their way.
Percy blinked in surprise at how quickly they'd taken off. Apparently noticing his confusion in the mirror, the co-pilot briefly turned in her seat. "We've been given priority." she explained. "You and the chairman were both there, so they considered it a security risk to let aircraft in the area. There's a no fly zone around us for about a mile."
Percy hummed. "Got it."
The co-pilot turned back around, and they were off. Out the windows in the bullhead doors, Percy could see some Valean bullheads pull in on either side of them.
Sharing an exasperated look with Ren that he pretended the boy reciprocated, Percy huffed. Apparently, Alfred didn't know what subtlety was.
Nor, for that matter, did the Malachite's agents.
That was a growing trend he did not enjoy.
"One seldom recognizes the devil when he is putting his hand on your shoulder."
- Albert Speer
When Percy met Cinder at the base of Atlas tower a few weeks later, she was more… standoffish than usual, her excitement from when she'd called him apparently having dimmed.
"Perseus!" she greeted when she noticed him, wiping the scowl off her face and replacing it with a smile Percy would place about halfway between pleasant and plastic. A for effort, at least. She'd definitely gotten better since he'd met her — if he hadn't known her for years, he might've fallen for it.
"Cinder." Percy greeted politely. "What is it you wanted to show me?"
"Patience." she told him, and this time her smile was real — if a bit unnerving. "It's just a walk away. But first, we go down." she told him, stepping over onto the elevator platform next to her.
Curious, Percy joined her. She swiped her scroll on the control panel, and then they were descending. Considering they were already at the base of Atlas tower, Percy found himself a bit confused. He knew it was reasonable there were rooms inside the island itself, but the basements he knew of were small, few, and far between — almost always they were bunkers, for when things got truly ugly.
"How did you get access to this area anyway?" Percy asked suddenly, realizing that where she'd asked him to meet her was located behind several restricted access doors — ones he'd never given her access to.
"Oh, some of the men must have recognized me from the fighting." Cinder didn't bother hiding her amusement. "They know I'm on our side; let me right through."
Percy scowled. The commissioner — York. That settled it, he was gone.
"Must have been an incredible display of skill for even the Atlesian soldiers that are guarding the place to recognize you." he drawled.
"I've improved greatly since our… spat, all those years ago." she told him, the same confident smirk never leaving her lips.
"Oh?" Percy replied absentmindedly, taking in their new surroundings as the elevator platform descended into a relatively spacious hallway. "Maybe we should go another round sometime?" he suggested, following Cinder off the platform and down the hallway.
Cinder laughed airily, and even though the lightness of it was almost certainly faked, Percy was pretty sure she was genuinely amused.
"Oh, Perseus." she paused briefly to turn back and rest a hand on his upper chest. Despite himself, goosebumps spread from the light touch of her nails. "The last time I suggested that, you declined. We can 'go a round' whenever you'd like."
Percy did his best to keep from visibly reacting as she turned away, her fluttering crimson dress just long enough to keep him imagining.
He'd decided a while ago, Cinder was off-limits. She was too important to risk his impartiality, but not important enough for him to know that he wouldn't let his decisions be impacted by a hookup.
Someone like Sienna hadn't been off-limits, because he knew at the end of the day he wasn't going to sacrifice any of his control over the White Fang because she was a good lay — the White Fang was far too important for him to consider that.
Cinder, though…?
He was honest enough with himself to know that if it came down to it, he wouldn't mind a crate or two of dust going missing for a night with what was currently sauntering away from him. His judgment would be impaired, and while normally that wouldn't be the end of the world he knew that Cinder was far too manipulative and enigmatic for him to let his guard down.
So as much as he wanted to, he couldn't touch.
Jerking his gaze away from where he'd been staring, Percy could see a busted-open bunker door just a few dozen feet away at the end of the hallway. Blown inwards from the middle, by the looks of it. He had to assume it'd been breached during the battle, but he wasn't sure what Mistral had access to that could do that sort of damage.
"So, tell me Perseus." Cinder broke the silence that had descended between them, trailing a hand along the hallway wall as she slowly strolled in front of him. "What do you know of fairytales?"
"Not much." Percy said, a bit confused at the sudden question. "Pretty much nothing." He admitted, not having any idea if the common fairytales back on Earth had any basis here.
"I see," Cinder hummed curiously. "Are you familiar with the tale of the four maidens?" she asked him.
Percy barely caught his stumble, thankfully recovering gracefully enough to not make a noise. Where was she… Did she know?
"I might've heard of it." Percy managed. "Why?"
Cinder shot him a teasing glance, leading the way through the broken bunker door. "Allow me to refresh your memory. Thousands of years ago, before the grimm, a great kingdom reigned over all of Remnant. The kingdom had a king and a queen who ruled as equals and, using their powerful magic, brought prosperity to their people. Slowly, the power they wielded corrupted them until they turned their powers against each other."
He listened intently, stepping through the door to a wide open cavern of rock and futuristic floating platforms moving seemingly randomly in a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie.
"The queen won their battle, but before she could finish him the king used their most powerful magic items — called relics — letting loose a final attack that shattered the moon, engulfing Remnant in darkness. The blast killed their children, and in the aftermath the disgraced king managed to escape with the relics. Distraught with grief, the queen vowed she would have vengeance no matter the cost. In desperation, she used her own power to birth a race of predators to hunt the disgraced king to the ends of Remnant. He, like her, was immortal, so instead of creating them with the intention of ending him once and for all, they were created to hunt him perpetually, without end, without rest. Trained to track down and hunt any source of the king's power until they died. Unthinking, unfeeling, unrelenting, with one purpose. To keep the disgraced king from resting for all time." she continued, stepping onto one of the floating platforms. Percy joined her, nervously peering over the edge to find nothing but darkness below.
This… this was how grimm were created? Wracking his brain, Percy couldn't remember ever being told how exactly they came to be, nor could he remember actually being told the story of Salem and Ozma. Was this… was Cinder telling the truth? But that didn't explain…
"But the disgraced king, now a warlock who dwelled in the wilderness, survived the constant horde of grimm. With time, he learned how they worked, how they tracked his power. He knew he couldn't fight eternally, and came up with a plan. Traveling from village to village, the warlock gave the villagers he came across fragments of his power, performing a ritual and imbuing their very souls with his magic; allowing them to hit harder, run faster, keep going longer, even blessing them with a semblance of his own abilities. Where he went, so too did the grimm. Where his power lay, the grimm would hunt."
Percy sucked in a breath. Bereft of any other explanation for… any of Remnant's oddities, Cinder's story was beginning to make far too much sense.
"So he kept traveling for generations until a tiny fraction of his power lay within every person on Remnant. But while humanity now viewed grimm as an evil to help destroy, the warlock was still far more powerful than anyone else and so grimm continued to hone in on him like moths to flame. During his endless retreat a kind young maiden, believing him a weary traveler, offered him a part of their village's harvest. For this act of kindness, he 'gifted' her with a fourth of his remaining power and one of the powerful relics he had taken, deeming her the maiden of fall. His plan worked; the grimm were drawn to this maiden far more than an ordinary human, and he, with much less power, drew far less attention. He did the same three more times, cursing three kind maidens with his power and a relic until their death when the curse would pass on, and the location of the relics would be lost."
Percy stayed silent, mouth dry. He knew he couldn't take Cinder at face value, but…
What else did he have to go on?
It had the ring of truth. Rather than a good guy and a bad guy like he'd subconsciously assumed Salem and Ozma were, there were levels of gray — they were both flawed people, corrupted by power. Percy had seen it too many times to dismiss the possibility that it was the truth. It explained Salem's motives, it explained aura, it explained grimm, it explained semblances — it explained far too much to be a complete fabrication, and it even matched up with everything he'd actually been told — the only parts it ran contrary to were the things he'd assumed on his own.
"The warlock was without his power, but he succeeded in the end." Cinder said wistfully. "He turned humanity against the queen, and escaped his fate. Now the grimm hunt all of humanity mindlessly, while the Queen — stricken insane with grief as she is — refuses to relinquish her goal."
As the platform finally made it to the other end of the abyss, Cinder glanced back at him. Percy's mind registered Cinder speaking, but his eyes were locked over her shoulder. Embedded in a rock dozens of feet above them and across another wide gorge was a grandiose door with ornate blue and gold designs embedded across it.
Smiling predatorily, Cinder prowled off the platform and Percy was quick to follow.
"I don't think I need to tell you that the story I just told you isn't just a fairytale." she said easily. "This is the vault of creation, home to the relic of creation." a scowl crossed her lips. "The relic is one of those I told you of; powerful artifacts the warlock hid away."
Adrenaline singing in his blood, Percy studied Cinder. He knew she knew about the relics and maidens now. He knew what kind of person she was — if she had the chance to get her hands on a relic and the only price she had to pay was shoving him into this darkness below, Percy doubted she'd hesitate a picosecond.
He knew he couldn't trust her. But, that didn't mean he couldn't use her — or even work with her. She had known where the vault of creation was specifically in Atlas. Percy hadn't bothered looking for it too much because he didn't have the maiden to open it, but Cinder…
"Can we open it?" Percy asked carefully. "To get the artifact."
Cinder's scowl deepened, but unlike so many of her mannerisms it wasn't faked in the slightest. "We need the current winter maiden to access the vault of creation." she said icily. "Which we don't have."
While Percy's hope that she knew where the winter maiden was died a quick death, it did reassure him. He knew where two of the maidens were. He had two relics. Cinder, whatever resources she had at her disposal, did not. Considering the other maiden and relic — other than winter and creation — were in Vale where Ozpin was, Percy sincerely doubted she knew where a single maiden was, or had a single relic. He hadn't expected differently, necessarily, but it helped put this into perspective. She knew about the maidens and relics, yes, but she'd only shown that she knew where one vault was. One that she could have looked for and found during the battle of Atlas.
…it explained too much, too well.
She was a power-hungry woman doing her damndest to get the most powerful thing she knew of; a relic. But that made her useful. And, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of Percy's mind, a possible ally. If he could convince her she had no shot at a relic without him and then offered her secondhand power more than she could get from anyone else, she'd be his.
He just had to make sure she would lose more than she gained by planting a knife in his back.
"I haven't been able to spot her." she told him. "But with your resources and my knowledge…"
Percy grinned. Yes, they could certainly use one another.
Cinder brushed past him back towards the platform they'd arrived on, trailing her nails along his shoulder as she passed. "Come now, I simply wished to show you the vault so you would believe me. Without the maiden, the vault may as well be a part of the wall." she told him.
"My employer would like to meet you." she said once they were both back on the platform again, heading back to the surface. Though, Percy noted, they stood much closer together than the ride over. "She wishes to control you. To use you to gather the relics."
"Your employer?" he asked, surprised. She hadn't so much as hinted at an 'employer' before, but knowing Cinder she had a plan to ditch this 'employer' and take a relic for herself the moment she had one in her hands.
"My employer." Cinder affirmed smoothly. "She'd love to meet you, and I think you'd be interested in meeting her as well. She's a powerful friend to have, but when the time comes she'll be no match for you and I working together. But, all in due time."
The platform they were on jolted to a stop and while Percy's feet remained rooted to the platform, Cinder rather obviously let herself be thrown off balance into his chest, where her hands braced against his torso. She smiled like a cheshire cat, and for once Percy felt like her plotting smile was shared with him rather than directed at him. He knew he could trust those eyes. Not to keep their word, or to follow through on promises or even do the decent thing — but to latch onto the largest source of power and refuse to let go until there was a more appetizing option.
Right now, with her pressed against him and her hands gripping his abdomen, Percy knew she'd just latched herself onto him.
They stared into each other's eyes and a mutual understanding passed between them. She would be useful to him. He would give her more power than anyone else could. The moment one side of that arrangement fell through was the moment one of them would find a knife in their back.
Percy found he enjoyed the simplicity.
Apparently Cinder enjoyed the prospect as well, because her cheshire grin widened.
"After all, we still have so much to talk about."
Stepping back with a relieved sigh, Ozpin stared at the relic of creation on its new pedestal.
"James was clever. Foolhardy, but clever." Ozpin mused. "If I had known about his plan beforehand, I certainly wouldn't have gone along with it. I suppose he wished to give me one last 'I told you so'."
Ozpin took a sip from his mug and turned away, strolling back to the elevator to leave the vault. "Though he couldn't have known for sure Perseus would share his last words with me, I must admit that removing the staff from the vault of creation may be the only reason Remnant has not already fallen."
"So I guarded that damned vault for nothing?" Qrow groaned, shoving off the wall and joining Ozpin in the elevator.
Ozpin smiled amusedly. "Not as such. It is imperative that Salem's agents believe the relic to be in the vault. If they knew it was empty, they might not know where it is but I wager they'd have a guess. If she believed Beacon to hold both the relic of choice and the relic of creation, it would only be a matter of time before she focused her efforts here."
"How'd you even know where to find it anyway?" Qrow asked, befuddled. "What of 'Ozpin will make things right' was a code?"
"Not a code." Ozpin denied. "It wasn't pre-arranged, nothing so clandestine. Simply an old promise he took care to remind me of in his final moments."
"A promise?" If anything, Qrow was even more confused. "To make things right? But how would that-" Qrow cut himself off mid sentence, and Ozpin nodded at the unasked question.
"Mountain Glenn. After the city fell, you promised Ironwood you'd make things right by stopping Salem, didn't you? That's how you knew it was hidden in Mount Glenn."
Ozpin said and did nothing; he had answered the question before Qrow had thought to ask it.
Qrow frowned. He doubted that it was a promise that would be kept any time soon. Summer dead, Raven AWOL, and Tai retired — Qrow had been the only one left doing the good side's dirty work for a decade now, and there was no new generation of huntsmen to take his place in sight. Salem wouldn't be defeated in his lifetime, or probably the next.
He'd always figured he'd die on the job, he just hadn't thought that meant of old age.
"Hey, where are you going?" Qrow blinked, noticing the sudden absence of green in the elevator and spotting Ozpin walking calmly away through the empty hallways.
"I have an appointment to keep." he replied without pausing his stride, raising his mug absentmindedly. "I'll tell Headmistress Shields you said hello."
Qrow paced out of the elevator and made to follow the old man. "That's it? Nothing? You don't even have a mission for me?"
"Go spend some time with your nieces." Ozpin suggested, "I'm busy, and I'm sure they'll appreciate having you around." Qrow caught up to the man enough to see his amused smile "They need all the practice they can get, after all. Initiation is just a few short weeks away."
Hope you enjoyed :)
Last chapter a lot of you seemed to be concerned about the potentially less than platonic nature of Percy and Pyrrha's relationship. No. The relationship between the 17 year old and the 23 year old that helped raise her is platonic. Stop being disgusting - or rather, stop thinking im being disgusting. I'm tryna be wholesome here.
On another note, friendly reminder that I appreciate the reviews, and it does affect the story. I won't change elements of the story because someone doesn't like it, but a lot of times I'll leave things unsaid for you guys to pick up on yourselves. Sometimes, I'm opaque enough that a lot of you guys need something a bit more implicit. For instance, I went back to this chapter and made some edits to go further into Percy's thought process regarding Ozpin because that seemed to be a point of frustration.
That being said, nice reviews have the benefit of gettin nice and warm and fuzzy inside and never making me want to rip my eyes out :)))))) so thanks for all the reviews in good faith regardless of your opinion. I'll try to respond to a lot of reviews this chapter, even if it's just a "sorry I can't answer that" which is probably going to end up being 90% of my replies.
Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!
Next Chapter January 30
