The news was abuzz with images and recordings of explosions outside of Beacon. Along with the recent breach and rumors of a Beacon professor resigning amidst the deaths of students, there was much public doubt and backlash to the security Huntsmen provided as well as the questioning of Atlas' military presence if it failed to prevent that which its very existence was based on.
To further damage Atlas' reputation, images were being spread online against General Ironwoods' demand for censorship of one of the cruisers above Beacon being sent back for repairs amidst heavy damages. Its starboard bow bore a large hole that streamed black fumes out as it soared through the air at a cautious pace.
That very same man who demanded censorship of the events and sidelined Ozpin within his investigation and pursuit on Beacon grounds had one thing to say amidst his anger when pressed for question.
"Citizens of Vale I ask you to fear not. We of the Atlas military and Beacon academy have already discovered the cause behind the recent attacks on Vale and the explosions of last night." He then presented a small hologram in his hand of four young boys.
"While not the masterminds of the incidents we are certain that these four are implicated. These young men are wanted for crimes against Remnant and the safety of her citizens."
Every news station in Vale would then follow up with information directed from the General's office and Atlas itself.
"Raiden Gorm, Lukas Coil, and Niel Taklashin, students and citizens of Vale and her territories, are believed to be under threat of coercion by Caelum Hyalus. Hyalus is also believed to have ties to the White Fang and other criminal enterprises. Despite the fact, that there is a generous bounty on these boys and the first three are considered possible to reason with Citizen of Mantle and the kingdom of Atlas, Caelum Hyalus' intentions are unknown and he is believed to be dangerous if approached. If seen please provide information to help in their arrest. This is Lisa Lavender signing off."
The explosion that night had left an irreparable scar on Atlas' prestige, their indomitable fleet and army, damaged and outwitted, surprisingly to all, by their own admittance, and by no more than a boy. Ironwood had naturally been furious and Ozpin was unable to talk him down from going to the media with condemnation on his tongue. It was as the man was suggesting drastic measures for security and to hunt down the rogue students that Ozpin presented the evidence that Qrow had obtained.
Try as Ironwood did, he could not wrestle the data from Ozpin nor enforce his will through words. His final ploy was to suggest they had tampered with evidence In a case he had deemed solely regarded Atlas. However, the loophole of Qrow obtaining it before his order of no outside interference held upright as Ozpin held a steadfast expression and Qrow leaned against his employer's chair with a mocking grin. With the recordings, data, and Ports' testimony, Ironwood had to bitterly cede to Ozpin's demands that the other three team members of CRLN not be labeled as terrorists and that if he would continue the course of persecuting Hyalus, Atlas would take responsibility for their citizen-turned-student of Beacon and clarify such.
Ironwood accepted as both men felt bitter at the compromise. Ozpin wished to handle things his way but could not keep James out lest he lose a valuable ally and asset. Ironwood had his hands tied in Atlas and Mantle politically regarding the boy's family and not wanting him or his army to be outcasted from Vale, and thus losing more face, begrudgingly accepted.
Both men however were adamant about one thing. Ozpin wished to see the boys reinstated, having witnessed the recordings of their battle with the 'Wendigo' as Hyalus had called it, he believed they would prove valuable in the fights to come.
Ironwood, however, swore to find the boy and have him answer for his crimes. He never liked the state of Atlas' handling of the Hyalus' lineage and once he found that boy, he would eradicate the last vestige of Mantle's past that held back Atlas.
Headmasters and Generals were not the only ones to have their own opinions and heated discussions regarding their involvement with the fugitives. Among them was Team CFVY, among who, their leader was most upset.
"He's been what?!" she demanded again, disbelieving what Velvet had just told her despite the news article playing on the scroll before her.
Velvet instinctively shrunk in on herself at Coco's shouting. "Apparently he's on the run and since Atlas hasn't refuted it, they're saying he's also behind the damaged cruiser.
Coco's intense eyes burned behind her shades as she grabbed her beret in frustration, fighting the urge to throw the accessory as her fashionistic instincts restrained her. The rush of emotion led her to act out in a way only her team ever saw of her. Emotionally vocal with no attempts at trying to be 'cool' as she was known.
As Coco ranted in their dorm and began venting her frustrations at the absurdity of the past twenty-four hours, returning from a mission only to assist in sealing the breach, to civilian aid, and now their juniors being arrested then fleeing after attacking the Atlas military. Velvet sent a pleading glance at her male teammates for help. Neither of which, came to her aid.
Both Fox and Yatsuhashi were intimidating seniors in their own right, their reputation in Team CFVY only bolstered their reputation among students. But compared to their friend and leader, Coco's temper was not something to stand in the way of. This was something they had learned their freshman year after Fox had accidentally broken one of her designer brand sunglasses before blaming Yatsuhashi. Coco was quick to punish both without taking testimonies and when the truth was discovered, had dished out a second punishment for Fox.
If even her 'dear Vel' as Coco occasionally teased, couldn't assuage the indignant anger then the two boys stood no chance. The three teammates stood by as Coco paced and ranted to herself in their dorm. "That ungrateful, bratty, bastard! I can't believe it after all-" She glanced at her teammates and quickly amended her words. "We did for him and his team! The hours of training! The time our teams spent together! I even offered to be his confidant! And he's been a terrorist?!"
"I-I'm sure there's more to it than we know Coco" offered Velvet. "Not that it's an excuse for attacking an Atlas cruiser or evading arrest…" As her words trailed off into a whisper with her ears flattening against her head, Coco's tone immediately shifted.
"It's not that Vel it's just… remember when we went to Pharos Academy?"
"Before Beacon? Of course." Velvet nodded as she recalled. "You were quite the heartbreaker and trendsetter back then."
"That's just it!" groaned Coco. "I was the heartbreaker! Yet this, leaving after everything without a word? It feels as if he just dumped me!"
Velvet's polite smile returned as she struggled for a proper response. "A-ah. I'm sure it's not… quite like that Coco."
"I know it's not! But nobody just ups and ghosts Coco Adel either!"
"I'm sure he had other things on his mind Coco!" shouted Velvet competing with Coco's exuberant volume.
"She's speaking in third person now" commented Fox, asking a follow-up question in a hushed tone to Yatsuhashi. "Were they even a thing?"
Dismissively his large teammates replied, hiding behind the back of his hand "No, not at all" while lost in thought. Fox could not see the bags under Yatsu's eyes but he could hear and sense his exhaustion.
"You hardly slept, have you? What's wrong?" asked Fox as Coco and Velvet got the excitement out of their systems.
Yatsuhashi tensed momentarily as he searched for what to say. "I… used my semblance on Mr. Hyalus.
Silence filled the room as all eyes darted to Yatsuhashi despite his quiet statement.
"You didn't mess with their memories did you?" asked Fox cautiously.
Of course not but I wanted answers to the situation when they were being arrested. For fear of being caught, I avoided targeting the general and the headmaster. When looking at the team members of CRLN, only their leader seemed to have a clear mind. The others seemed clouded amid their confusion. It helped that he was also distracted by the situation."
Suddenly Velvet and Coco were before Yatsu, staring up at him expectedly. "So what did you see?" asked Coco curiously.
Yatsuhashi grimaced. "You know it takes focus and much aura for my semblance to take effect. To manipulate memories, I have to see them, experience them. Although that is not the most apt description. I… feel them and sort through them as if wading through a marsh with different emotions and images striking me." His lips then pursed, as if not wanting to remember what he had experienced in their juniors mind.
Velvet placed a hand on Yatsuhashi's arm. "You've told us before. It's not always pleasant right?"
"This was perhaps the worst." he blatantly answered. The solemn statement drew quiet gazes as his team waited for him to continue. "At first it was a a feeling of warmth. I saw the image of a young boy, Mr. Hyalus I presume, looking at his reflection. Next to him were several figures. I've felt that sensation before, it was his family."
Yatsuhashi then shook his head. "Then there was a wave of negative emotions. A cold sensation then enveloped it. The reflection was gone and he stood there with a lifeless look."
Coco and Velvet shared an uncertain look at the mention of a reflection. The two recalled the minor incident with Caelum before. Yatsuhashi was so preoccupied with recalling the feeling that he hadn't even noticed their short visual exchange.
"Next came sharp feelings, as if my mind was being struck by pain, fear, and anger tearing at me. I can only conclude it has to do with General Ironwood's presence or perhaps his memories in Atlas. As I waded through those surfacing emotions, I felt his recent memories from when they were on their mission…"
Yatsuhashi ran a hand over his face as a cold sweat took him momentarily. "I wish I had not. Just feeling the residual emotions, I felt a rush of adrenaline. Rage, despair, grief, and hate. When I finally saw the memory… It was the most monstrous creature I have ever had the displeasure to see. And it's acting, the things they witnessed it do. I could not describe it justly. I feel pity for Team CRLN having to face it and return to the treatment they did."
"It was that bad?" asked Fox incredulously at Yatsu's gaunt tone as the girls went silent at his expression.
"Worse. Team SSSN, the remnants of it, is lucky to be alive. I'd dare say Team CRLN barely did so by a mix of luck and tenacity."
Velvet kept her hands over her mouth as a frown crossed her face, her ears hugged her head tightly while she thought over her teammate's statement. Coco, however, stood to her feet. No longer was there irate anger instead she held a look of determination.
"That decides it then. We're going to get some answers! Come along, we're going to the top for this, Ozpin has to know!" With varying expressions, her team's curiosity won out as they followed their leader.
The meeting, however, went worse than Team CFVY could have pessimistically imagined. What had started as any other interaction between Coco's exuberant attitude and Ozpin's obliging open-door policy, quickly turned south at her request.
Ever forward, she immediately requested to know everything. Ozpin grew quiet as Goodwitch averted her gaze and pursed her lips. The team's expressions varied as they realized their prospects for answers had dissipated.
Disbelieving at the cold turn of character, Coco pressed the matter but was immediately rebuked by Goodwitch. The charismatic leader stiffened under Glynda's glare, her intent clear.
Ozpin gave a small sigh and asked them for their forgiveness before ending the matter in a single sentence. "Ms. Adel and company, I apologize but as you can see this matter, as sensitive as it is, would be best left forgotten until resolved."
The two faculty members' expressions and tones incited worry among team CFVY as much as it spiked their curiosity. Pushing further would amount to nothing and insinuating by their tones, trying to dig around themselves would land them in hot water. The worry of punitive actions such as expulsion crossed their minds.
But just as much they wondered why the two most powerful huntsmen in Beacon were so caught up in this event when they were usually so stoic and calm. The illusion of infallibility their Professors held had begun to crumble in their minds just as it had for the Atlas military.
Meanwhile, in the Southeastern fringes of Vales territory.
Caelum had the pestering feeling that he had forgotten something. He wasn't sure what and couldn't even voice it to his teammates as it was so vague he didn't know where to begin. His expression however told them all.
"Forget to turn the oven off?" asked Luaks sarcastically.
Brushing off the usual snarky response, Caelum responded with sincerity. "I feel as if I forgot to do something of importance, something that'll come back to bite me for forgetting."
Given an honest response, Lukas grimaced. "Oof, I know that feeling. But hey, if you forgot it in the first place how much did it really matter?"
Feeling there was room for forgiveness in not being able to remember something after the abhorrent 72 hours he and his team had experienced, Caelum excused himself for not remembering everything.
It wasn't just he and his team whose lives had been uprooted either. A sparse crew, just enough to run the Nyx had been assembled and paid in secrecy by the Coil syndicate. And with the drop of a single message from Lukas' father, the men on board had loaded all materials pertinent to the retrofit so far in a few hours as the four young 'prodigies' as they had come to be known within the Syndicate, magically appeared for departure.
Despite gracious pay to their families and absolute orders to the syndicate, it was obvious that homesickness would take those unused to being outside the walls, especially aboard an unknown ship for an unknown duration.
Still fresh in their minds was the fleeting image of Vale at night. What had been tantamount to prison for Caelum was their home for his new crewmen, where Lukas' dynasty lay, and Niel and Radien's first adventures as young adults began. Yet as he piloted the Nyx that night, dragging these men from all they knew, guilt was not on his mind. Only revenge.
It had been hours since their daring escape in which their ship's identification beacon that labeled them as a cargo ship had been disabled and they found favorable terrain to hide their ship as they awaited their next moves."
Here tucked away in a ravine, having confirmed they were not tracked, and having confirmed the amount of supplies to sustain the crew as well as continue repairs, the four teammates sat alone on the bridge. Notably, Raiden was more enthusiastic than the rest as he gushed on about his infatuation with the ship now that he could see it in broad daylight.
Raiden was nearly stumbling over himself as he spoke. "The idea behind the Nyx's retrofit was to leave behind Atlas' doctrine entirely. Instead of ultra-precise weapons like lasers and disposable infantry like robotic compliments, Caelum and I decided to return to Mantle's preferred tactic of superior firepower and traditional infantry. Though we have no way of fielding infantry now or in the foreseeable future, we designed the Nyx to be the absolute embodiment of firepower."
Not pausing to take a breath Raiden continued, tapping a few times on his scroll one of the main screens on the bridge flashed, showing a slowly rotating 3D image of a completed Nyx.
"Well hell, he had a whole presentation ready…" Lukas grumbled and kicked back in his chair, fishing a small flask from his vest. "May as well get unsober, we'll be here a while."
The aft section of the graphic was highlighted first. "The first focus of the retrofit was to bring the engines up to snuff with modern versions, the Nyx still had her old engines from way back in the Great War though they were held together with hundreds of patch jobs. Even as old as they were they were still the most advanced of her time, so instead of completely scrapping them and slapping some piecemeal modern engines on we tore out what was unusable and modernized all the old equipment. The old engineers from the war really knew their stuff, with just a few upgrades and some polish her engines are comparable to even the new stuff the Atlesian military mass produces nowadays!"
His boisterous claim came without shame as he gushed further. "Along with this we completely gutted all the old wiring and electronics, the old was too outdated to even be used for scrap. Now all primary functions of the ship, the engines, weapons, and even the HVAC are all on a closed-loop system with no way to access from the outside. All outbound communications are on their own loop, with no way to interact with any of the important functions, this was a last-minute addition after the Beacon CCT tower had been cracked. Took a while to scrub every system of that nasty bit of code." Raiden held a tone of admiration at the programming of which. The virus had been very sophisticated and only served to make both him and Caelum increasingly paranoid. They'd both lost a few nights of sleep running damage control on that particular issue.
"He's still going," Niel stated in a whisper, almost awestruck and slightly worried. "He hasn't paused to breathe has he?"
"Nope," Lukas replied with hazy eyes as he tapped his flask on Niel's arm. Niel slowly grimaced recalling his first run-in with liquor but seeing Raiden rant on, he took a quick swig before suddenly coughing at the extremely potent liquid within.
With a few more taps on the console, the superstructure on the Nyx was highlighted next. "The major focus was her superstructure and the hull. Old, rusted sections of the skeleton were replaced, and two decks running the length of the ship parallel to each other were completely removed, though for what, we'll get to that in just a moment. To reinforce this void we modified the skeleton around this section with a honeycomb lattice of reinforced titanium to make up the loss of strength." Finally pausing to allow himself a short breath Raiden eyed his audience with more excitement than all three combined.
"Next that brings us to the armor, the best spear needs an equally strong shield after all. This was of my own design, taking reference from the weapons and capabilities of the world's militaries I came up with a multi-layered armor that can mitigate or nullify anything from Atlas or the Grimm. The first inner layer is a foot-thick of specially manufactured titanium, made specifically to have as close to a monocrystalline structure as possible, giving the metal an unparalleled durability."
"The outer layer is also composed of the same titanium layer however on the outside we have applied a layer of synthetically produced diamond through a process of chemical vapor deposition. This gives the outer surface a layer of reflective and semi-ablative properties practically nullifying the capabilities of mainline laser-based weapons such as Atlas' which have become common across remnant. As for kinetic countermeasures, sandwiched between the two sections of titanium is a ferrous sheer thickening fluid that takes care of both internal spalling from powerful hits to the armor but also acts as an emergency sealant to patch up any fractures in the armor by hardening upon contact with the atmosphere."
"These plates come in ten-meter-wide, hexagonal sections that are applied to the outer superstructure side by side, this gives the hull a degree of flexibility and even serves to isolate overall damage making repairs go by much faster what with being able to isolate and replace just the damaged sections. This excessive defense prototype ended up requiring the Syndicate's full cooperation and a portion of Vales industry, hence why we were on operations and hesits for them almost nightly in case you were wondering."
"We weren't" jested Lukas with a groan.
By this point, Raiden now had a slightly manic look in his eyes as he continued to ramble on regardless of his teammate's interest. Growing increasingly impatient, Caelum took the seat next to Lukas and reached for his flask without even being offered.
"Finally we come to the crowning jewel of the Nyx and my pride." The two voids running nearly the whole length of the ship were now highlighted. "In these two sections, we laid down superconducting magnetic rails the length of the ship, along with a whole battery of massive capacitors all powered by the Nyx's massive engines. You all are very familiar with the efficacy and strength of my Railgun, so imagine the sheer power of two massive railguns accelerating thirty-pound tungsten rods to a speed of nearly nine times the speed of sound. There isn't a thing in the air that wouldn't be completely gutted by the Nyx. Her two main guns will be the epitome of shipborne weaponry, she will have no match."
This revelation left both Niel and Lukas dumbstruck, they knew very well just how lethal Raidens' railgun truly was. It was an ultraprecise scalpel that could not be stopped and struck so fast it could not be avoided. The implications of not one but two such weapons massively upscaled to the size of a battleship's main gun were daunting and in the hands of Caelum's ambitions…
Lukas set aside his flask and reached down to a bag at his feet, pulling a bottle of top-shelf bourbon out, a prized possession he ensured to bring along, and took a hearty swig straight from the neck.
Niel glanced at Caelum who shrugged. "The price tag for that project was a little cheaper than the armor. Raiden had it all laid out and the bill was paid when we dug up dirt on that competing enterprise from Mistral. Once they were busted, Vale, ergo the Syndicate was allowed to liquidate their assets for redistribution for public funds, I.E us."
It took a long while but eventually, Raiden had his fill of speaking as his throat went dry. Caelum and Lukas then engaged in a more concerning conversation as Niel listened in.
"We've bought ourselves time, freedom, and a means to protect ourselves but that will all dry up eventually. I understand your father will provide us with foreign assets and limited supply if we set the groundwork but what of Torchwick? Has there been any word?" asked Caelum.
Lukas shook his head. "Messages from my father have been sparse but he's given me the important bits. Syndicate paid off an Atlesian officer who runs data logging for interrogations. Documents provided weren't even censored as there was nothing of notable evidence or confidentiality other than who ran the interrogation."
"Did it at least shed some light on why he did something as uncharacteristic as launching a terrorist attack on Vale?"
Niel joined in. "It's not what one would think a 'gentleman thief' would do."
Lukas shrugged as he spun in his chair. I'll send ya the documents but there ain't anything of note. All I can say is that he at least used to play ball with my father and the locals of Vale. Don't know why he would uproot and destroy his own center of profit and publicity."
Caelum received the documents on the disposable scrolls graciously provided to them by the syndicate. On the local network of the Nyx, it at least provided them a means of communication outside the CCT.
Used to having read hundreds of briefings and debriefings over his few years of life, Caelum scanned the interrogation report as his eyes stilled on the last lines of dialogue exchanged between the interrogator and Torchwick.
"Isn't it obvious, Cloudchaser?"
Caelum's chest tightened as shock and rage intermingled within him. How had Torchwick known about his past? No of course he would look into it after all they'd been through just as he had done regarding him and Neo, but how did he get past Atlas' info block on his background?
The word, so seldom heard by those outside of the small circles that persisted in its use, especially in Vale, could only condemn a handful of people. It explains Ironwood's firm belief in his guilt.
Then Caelum noticed the final line of dialogue, picked up by microphones in Torchwicks cell which had recorded the conversation just before disconnecting.
"Sorry kids. Gotta see the big picture here and look out for number one."
"Sorry" sneered Caelum looking down at the scroll as his peers glanced with worry at his shifting expressions. It was a hollow word that meant little next to one's actions. It did little to ever avail one of pain, something he knew well, especially when it was insincere. Despite the understanding of 'looking out for number one' Caelum had no misunderstanding of what Torchwick had done.
He had betrayed him.
As thoughts of killing his former business partner and supplier filled his mind, Caelum informed his companions of the situation. "It seems Roman is now a write-off. He's traded one leash for another."
-Chapter End-