Chapter 28: Dichotomy

A Nevermore let out a loud screech as it flew through the darkened skies. On the ground below, Goliaths roamed unhindered. Black pools of a tar like substance bubbled as a newly born Beowolf slowly crawled out, coated in Grimm essence.

The Dark Continent was absolutely filled with Grimm. To venture inland was certain death for even the most skilled Huntsman, not that anyone would want to do that to begin with. The Grimm pools eroded the ground, poisoning the land and eroding any potential natural resources.

"Grimm… Grimm and what a surprise, more Grimm," Mercury muttered, staring out the window.

"Annoying… Annoying and what a surprise, you've become more annoying," Emerald snapped. "Can't you keep your mouth shut for ten seconds? It's bad enough that I was stuck in that small cabin with you… now I'm stuck in an even smaller Bullhead."

Pausing for a few moments, Mercury smirked. "How long was that?"

Emerald growled.

"Hey, you're the one that said ten seconds. Don't blame me because you wasted your one request," Mercury shrugged. "You could have asked for an hour or a whole year, instead you asked for ten seconds… It seems that you like hearing me talk... you just don't want to admit it."

"Between listening to you and cleaning my ears with sandpaper..." Emerald trailed off. "I think we both know which would be more preferable."

"Take a chill pill, Emerald," Mercury hummed. "All that anger isn't good for you. Look at me, I'm stuck on a Bullhead with the man I hated for the entirety of my life and you don't see me stressing."

"That's because he's dead!"

"Yeah," Mercury snorted and kicked a bag resting by his feet. "Dear old dad… I like him better this way. It's just a pity that I can't kill him twice."

"Do you have to keep kicking him?" Emerald asked, looking a little green.

"He can't get any deader," Mercury said, kicking the bag once more. "Besides, I was the one that dug him up and I'm the one that has to carry him. I should get a little something out of this."

"Yeah well I'm the one that has to deal with the smell of a burnt asshole," Emerald snapped.

The Bullhead suddenly shifted and began descending. Taking a look out of the window, the duo caught sight of a large dark castle that they were quickly heading towards.

"I guess it's time for us to finally meet Cinder's boss," Mercury mused loudly. "Any idea what this Salem will be like?"

"I… no," Emerald shook her head. "Cinder only mentioned her in passing."

"Then I guess we're about to find out."

Reaching the castle, the Bullhead briefly hovered before finally touching down. The back of the Bullhead opened as Cinder entered the main compartment, leaving the cockpit.

"Cinder…" Emerald began, noticing a look of worry on Cinder's face. "Is everything alri…"

Cinder silenced her with a look. "While we are here, there will be absolutely no arguing between the two of you… do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Emerald answered stiffly.

"Sure, whatever," Mercury shrugged.

Nodding, she gave one last order for Mercury to carry the bag before leading them out of the Bullhead and into the dark castle.

There was an eerie silence inside as an orb like floating Grimm with long tentacles silently drifted through the hallway. A feeling of wrongness filled the air, but the trio pushed through, continuing onward unhindered.

"I see you've finally made your way here," Watts called out. "I trust that your lodging was acceptable?" A smug smirk came to his face as he made his way down a staircase.

"Watts," Cinder growled under her breath. "I've come to speak with our queen."

"And she wishes to speak with you," Watts said offhandedly. "She wasn't pleased with your catastrophic failure in Mistral."

"That wasn't our fault," Emerald defended.

"Not entirely, no," Watts sneered. "The majority of the blame lies on Lionheart's shoulder. It was you, however, Cinder, that pushed for the attempt to be made on the fake Maiden and Hazel who wished to recruit that Calavera boy. If you had both played it cautiously like I urged you to, we could have avoided this whole mess. We're down a member and I've currently lost my back door into the CCT."

Cinder smirked. "All I'm hearing is that you've lost the one thing that made you useful to Salem. You talk about how much of a failure I am, but what worth are you without your connections to the CCT? Perhaps I should help Salem by removing some dead weight."

"I said currently as in not forever, you nitwit," Watts snapped. "Once Atlas finishes investigating Mistral's CCT, I'll be able to install a new back door. As for your worth, however… I could throw a stone in any of the slums and still hit someone more useful than you."

Moving instantly, Dust burned in Cinder's hands as she formed a pair of glass swords that stopped right in front of Watts' throat. Emerald and Mercury shifted, uncertain of what to do.

"Care to rephrase that."

"What, have you gone bloody deaf too?" Watts asked, uncaring of the blades on each side of his neck. "Let me ask you something, Cinder. How have you proven yourself useful? You pushed for a plan that ultimately set us back and you've failed to become a Maiden. I on the other hand have provided much needed hacking skills and access to some of the most advanced technology on Remnant."

The glass blades scraped against each other as they began to close around Watts' neck.

"All killing me will accomplish is proving that you weren't able to dispute my argument," Watts continued. "That I was right about you."

Stopping, Cinder glared at Watts before removing her blades. Rubbing his neck, Watts let out an irritated sigh.

"Um, Cin… Ma'am," Emerald corrected herself. Gaining Cinder's attention, she simply pointed to one of the many Seers that roamed the halls, this one having stopped to watch the exchange. "That… thing seems to be getting closer."

"It would seem that our queen has grown tired of waiting for your presence," Watts hummed before shooting Cinder a gloating smirk. "Best not to keep her waiting any longer..."

Gripping her glass blades, Cinder gave one last scowl towards Watts before breaking them down into dust particles. The Seer raised one of its tendrils, gesturing for the group to follow.

Leaving Watts behind, the trio followed after the Seer, making their way through the long winding hallways. It didn't take too long before they came to a stop in front of a large black door.

The Seer gave off a low clicking sound before one of its tendrils wrapped around the handle, heaving the door open, revealing a near pitch black room.

"Thanks… creepy ass thing," Mercury muttered as he entered the room after Cinder and Emerald.

"Cinder, it's been too long," a feminine voice said, sending a shiver up Emerald and Mercury's spines. "I was beginning to think that I would need to send someone to collect you."

"I apologize for my late arrival, ma'am," Cinder replied. "Mistral was locked down tightly and I didn't want to bring any unwanted attention my way by fleeing."

There was a short spark of light, revealing the room. Shelves cluttered with various books, vials and an assortment of bones hugged the walls while the stone floor was cracked… eroded by a black tar like substance. At the head of it all stood a woman working on… something, her back turned to the trio.

"I am aware," Salem hummed lightly. "Hazel and Watts have informed me of what happened in Mistral. Lionheart failed me, Tyrian was killed and Ozma has gained a new champion. Stealing a Maiden's power will now be more difficult than ever."

Another spark of light revealed a half formed Grimm on the table in front of Salem before darkness once more reclaimed the room.

Mercury took a hesitant step back while Emerald silently shifted closer to Cinder.

"Yes," Cinder nodded. "Catching a Maiden off guard will be a lot more difficult as you've said, but I've come up with another plan… one that would make obtaining the Maiden's powers much easier."

"Go ahead," Salem urged her. "Oh, and do be sure to explain why you decided to bring a corpse along with you."

"Coal Calavera… his Semblance makes him powerful enough to survive an attack by the now disbanded Branwen tribe and even granted him the strength to kill one of the Ancients," Cinder explained. "He's an extremely public figure right now. If he were to die, the fallout would send the Grimm into a frenzy."

"And the corpse?" Salem asked.

"It's of a man by the name of Marcus Black, the father of Mercury here," Cinder answered. "He had an… interesting Semblance. One that was capable of stealing other Semblances."

Salem suddenly stilled. "And you're certain of this?"

"Yes, he used it on his son," Cinder explained while Mercury grumbled silently to himself.

The click of her shoes sounded through the room, nearing the trio. The dull beams of light shining in through the cracks of the door allowed Emerald and Mercury to finally see what she looked like.

A pale woman with black veins creeping up her face strode towards them, her bright red eyes glowed in the darkness. Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of Mercury's jaw before peering into his eyes.

"Interesting," Salem murmured before she released her hold on Mercury. "To steal a Semblance means to rip out a portion of another's soul. I never thought that such an ability could exist naturally."

Feeling his blood turn to ice, Mercury dropped the bag containing his father and took another step back while Emerald sought protection in the form of Cinder.

"You wish to take the Semblance of Ozma's new guardian… to grant yourself power that could potentially equal that of a Maiden," Salem mused, sounding amused.

"Yes," Cinder replied, her eyes burning hungrily. "With that Semblance, collecting the Maidens' powers will become much easier."

"And you will become that much more powerful," Salem continued. "I will allow you to make this attempt, but first, I wish to see how capable Ozma's new champion is. You can place the corpse on an empty shelf for now, I will see to it soon."

"Of course," Cinder said. "Mercury, if you would."

Eyeing Cinder as if she was crazy, Mercury cautiously passed Salem. Retrieving the bag filled with what little was left of his father, he cautiously placed it on the nearest shelf, doing his best not to accidentally knock something off.

"Before you leave, do be sure to send Arthur my way," Salem hummed lightly. "It seems that I've exhausted my stock of Silver eyes and am in need of replenishing them. Two should do for now… Your little request has given me some new ideas."

"I'm happy to be of assistance," Cinder replied. "I'll see to completing your request immediately."

"Then you may leave," Salem finished, turning back to the half formed Grimm splayed out on her table. "I have some modifications to make on my new specimen… I do believe that I'm going to have to ask Hazel to collect a… unique ingredient for me."

Seeing that Salem was now done with her, Cinder turned and left, followed closely by Emerald and Mercury.

Glancing at Emerald's shivering form and Cinder's unbothered one, Mercury swallowed the lump in his throat and focused on putting as many hallways between himself and Salem as possible. Forcing a cocky smirk on his face, he did his best to seem unbothered by what he had just experienced.

He had seen many things in his life that he had thought impossible or even a little unnatural, but Salem had been something else. It wasn't just how she looked either. There was a sense of wrongness surrounding her… as if she was something that shouldn't exist.

…Breathe…

The Schnee mansion was almost entirely different, yet completely the same during the day. The lack of people made for a relaxing, if somewhat empty building. It was actually pretty peaceful here now that there wasn't an event.

"We're here, sir," Klein announced as he came to a stop. "You may head right in, the master is expecting you."

"Thank you. This mansion is so large that I'd probably have gotten lost if I tried to find my own way here," I said.

"Not at all," Klein nodded as he left,

Grabbing the door handle, I paused for a moment before entering. Ever since I woke up in Remnant, I had been training in order to survive what was coming. I had a lot of experience with fighting Grimm. This however... this was something new that I had no experience with.

When I first started training, I jumped into it head first, trusting that everything would be alright. If I made a mistake, I would simply work harder to fix it... I would meet this with that same attitude.

Taking a breath, I turned the handle and entered the room.

"Ah, mister Calavera," Jacques greeted. "It's good to see you. Please take a seat." He gestured towards the couch across from him. "I trust that you've considered my proposal."

"I have," I nodded, taking a seat. "There's one thing that I want to know about before I make a decision."

"Then by all means, please ask me and I'll answer to the best of my ability."

It was still odd to see Jacques Schnee act so accommodating. If I had met him a few months ago, he likely wouldn't have given me a second look. Now, however, I had something that he wanted, so he had to be professional with me.

"I've heard that Faunus are treated poorly by the SDC."

"Is that all?" Jacques chuckled. "Let me personally assure you that the Schnee Dust Company doesn't discriminate based on race or well... anything. In fact, we prefer to employ Faunus as their senses are often much stronger than that of a regular humans to the point that a good percentage of them can see in the dark. The Schnee dust company is the leading employer of Faunus across Remnant."

I carefully observed Jacques, looking for any hint that he was lying, but ended up with nothing. His heart continued to beat at a steady pace and his body functioned without any unusual fluctuations. Either he was such a great liar that he was able to fool even himself or he wasn't lying.

"Then there's the White Fang that vilify humans in order to drive naive Faunus to join their cause," Jacques continued. "But that's another matter entirely. If you're still worried, you could always visit one of my mines and check for yourself."

He seemed pretty confident that I wouldn't find anything. I was almost tempted to take him up on his offer.

"That's alright," I declined. "There's actually one last thing that I wanted to ask you about. Have you ever heard of a Faunus by the name of Adam Taurus?"

"The name sounds familiar," Jacques admitted.

"He's a member of the White Fang," I explained. "And an ex-employee of the SDC. He left after having his face branded with the company logo... right across his eye."

Adam wasn't a good guy and if it became necessary, I would put an end to him, but he couldn't have been that old when he was branded.

Jacques didn't give any outward reaction. Inward however was a different case as his heart rate suddenly spiking.

"I won't deny that there have been some... events in the past that would put the Schnee Dust Company in a bad light," Jacques began. "What happened there was a... complicated situation. The Schnee Dust Company is spread across the entire world. A single person could hardly handle all the paperwork, let alone manage each individual mine by themselves. Regional managers were instated in order to help oversee the mines in the various Kingdoms and as it turned out, Vale and Mistral's managers had... less than ideal beliefs on how to treat Faunus."

"What happened?" I pressed.

"They mistreated Faunus workers and were eventually caught and arrested," Jacques replied, keeping it short. "Those that were harmed were offered reparations. Most took it while some decided to take a different path. The Schnee Dust Company has made significant strides since then in order to prevent something similar from ever happening again."

He was still hiding things in order to save face, that much was painfully clear to me. Everything that he had just told me wasn't available to the public. For the most part Jacques seemed to be sincere. He didn't discriminate against Faunus. Instead, he saw them as more useful than humans due to their natural abilities.

At the end of the day, Jacques was a businessman. Treating Faunus poorly would only ended up hurting his business, he had a reason to prevent that from happening again.

...Breathe...

I let out a tired sigh as I stepped out of Jacques office, several hours had passed since I had first arrived. After a lengthy conversation, I had ended up accepting his deal. Jacques had immediately gotten to work, contacting his lawyers in order to begin the paperwork, a process that I had to be present for.

With all the legal hoops that the lawyers were jumping through and the jargon, I was glad that I had decided to become a Huntsman. It was far simpler than what Jacques and likely James had to deal with on a daily basis.

Stopping at the end of a hallway, I suddenly came to a realization. "I have no idea where I am." Looking around, I found that I had somehow ventured into a section of the mansion that was completely empty.

Heading down several more hallways, I somehow ended up stepping outside, only to discover that it was a courtyard, likely at the center of the mansion.

"Who the... who the heck are you?" A feminine voice asked, her speech slightly slurred. "A new servant?"

Turning, I caught sight of a woman with white hair sitting at a table under a parasol. Several empty bottles sat in front of her and she was currently nursing half a glass of wine.

"Actually I'm..."

"Aren't you a little young to be working here?"

"No, I don't..." I tried to argue.

"Oh, then in that case, fetch me another bottle of wine," Willow ordered, before downing the rest of her glass. "Better make that two."

Being mistaken for a servant was far from the worst thing that could happen, but it was still a little annoying.

"Look, I don't really know my way around this house, so..."

Willow let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I'll show you where the kitchen is, but just this once." Pushing herself up, she stumbled slightly before catching herself on the table. "There... just give me a second here."

Taking a wobbly step forward, Willow struggled to keep her balance.

"You could just tell me where..." Seeing her trip, I rushed forward and caught Willow before her head made contact with the stone chair she had been sitting on.

"Whoops," Willow mumbled.

Sighing, I slung Willows arm over my shoulder and looped my arm around her waist. She was way too drunk to walk and leaving her alone seemed like a good way for her to end up getting a concussion.

...Breathe...

"So anyway, my husband... that bastard... is apparently meeting some young guy that's inherited a portion of Anima," Willow explained.

"I see," I hummed while leading Willow through her mansion.

"He's pretty famous too... Everyone's acting like the sun comes out of his ass."

I let out a snort of laughter at that. Willow had hit pretty close to the truth with that one. "Yeah, I don't think the sun comes out of his ass."

"See, you get it... I'm glad we hired you," Willow said, pausing for a few moments before continuing. "What did you say your name was agai..."

"Mother?! Coal?!" Weiss squawked.

Willow suddenly went silent as I turned us around to face Weiss who appeared more than a little horrified that I had met her mother.

"Weiss," I breathed a sigh of relief.

While Willow hadn't exactly been bad company, in her drunken state, she had lost the ability to accurately remember the layout of the mansion.

"What... are you doing here?" Weiss asked, glancing towards her mother who looked away.

"I got lost after having a meeting with Jacques and ran into your mother who's been helping me navigate your home," I explained.

"You're the one with the sun coming out of his ass?" Willow suddenly blurted out.

"Mother!" Weiss said, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"I am," I nodded. "But like I said earlier, the sun doesn't come out of my ass." It comes from my breathing.

...Breathe...

With Weiss's help, it didn't take us long before we had made our way back to a more familiar section of the house. To Weiss's relief, Willow had been escorted to her room by Klein who had taken my place in order to prevent her from falling over.

"So," I began. "I'm actually really glad that you found us. There's something that I want to talk to you about."

"There is?" Weiss asked eagerly, latching onto the first thing that would allow her to forget about how embarrassed she was of how her mother acted.

"I wanted to ask if you would do me a favor," I continued.

"If it'll help me forget today, I'm all for it," Weiss muttered under her breath.

"This might sound like an odd request, but do you think you would be open to recording a few songs for me?" I asked.

"Songs?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I've got quite a few memorized, but absolutely zero talent when it comes to singing. Broken glass has more rhythm than me."

"I can't say that I ever expected you to ask something like this of me," Weiss began, hiding an amused smile. "I would be happy to see what you have."

That was a start... and hey, it got Weiss out of her embarrassment. Swiping my scroll open, I quickly sent her several files. It would be nice hearing some of my favorite songs again. I'd done an extensive search on the CCT to see if they existed here in some form and had been disappointed.

Reading through the lyrics, an excited smile came to Weiss's face. "The language could be cleaned up in a few of these, but they're all really well done. I would love to perform some of these songs. Are these all of them or do you have more?"

"I have a few more in mind," I said, chuckling. In truth, I likely had a few hundred more. It was only a matter of remembering the lyrics and general tune. "Just give me some time to type them up."

It would be a while before I was able to write them all down. I still had to talk to Ironwood about Winter learning Total Concentration Breathing and I might need to meet with Jacques again.

I wouldn't be able to stay in Atlas forever. Mistral's lockdown had finally ended and I wanted to start hunting Grimm again. Thetis had also mentioned that she was going to have to get back to her job soon.

And that was without factoring in dealing with Salem and Cinder when they inevitably made another move. All in all, I had a pretty busy schedule ahead of me.

Cinder gives Salem some ideas, Willow makes a joke that fits really well with Coal's sun breathing and Weiss gets access to some new songs.

One thing I do want to say about Jacques though. He's a dick that married Willow for the company, but he's also a business man who prioritizes profits above all else and scandals like abuse, mentions of slavery and racism are bad for business.

Treating Faunus workers poorly just for the sake of it isn't something he would do. He doesn't really care about who's working for him so long as they can do the job properly and without issue.

In short, he's a dick, but he's not necessarily evil.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 33 on the P word website.

P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 11th of November.
See you all then everyone.