Apologies for the somewhat lengthy wait. Had to take care of some RL stuff. Primarily school stuff, such as an essay and getting used to my online schooling's new format and whatnot, which has been causing some dilemmas for just about every student in the program. Even gave me writer's block just from how much I had to focus on it all recently, heh.
Other than that, I'd also been having problems with my now old tablet. Battery drains from 100% down to 70% fairly quickly – about 2 hours at the most – and drains even faster if I'm playing FGO. Speaking of that, I'd had a hell of a time trying to play through LB7 as a whole in general due to my tablet sort of being outdated by now, crashing at least once per session and otherwise lagging like crazy during every battle.
Thankfully, got myself a fairly new tablet released in late 2023 and by God, what a massive improvement on all fronts. Obviously, much better battery life and I can run FGO smoothly so that I'm now steadily coming upon the dreaded(?) ORT raid. I just hope my new tablet can handle ORT's true form; I hear its UFO level puts quite the strain on devices.
In any case, not much else I have to say at this moment… other than that I FINALLY managed to platinum DMC3 Special Edition. Vergil made DMD mode so much more smooth a process than playing as Dante… though ironically, Heaven or Hell mode was made somewhat harder due to his mechanics as opposed to Dante, lol. In any case, managed to tear through Bloody Palace. Now time to move onto DMC4SE. Just hope I don't struggle too hard with the Secret Rooms there… I recall some of them from when I first got the game in its release year and I sure don't miss the SRs that much.
Anyways, enough of my rambling yet again. Time to get on with the chapter!
P.S. As usual, please consider purchasing any of my ebooks. Links to them can be found on my profile page, just remove the spaces!
P.P.S. This will be a much shorter chapter compared to the last one. Consider it a setup for the next chapter or two, which will be closer to my usual chapter length and focus on other events outside of Mistral.
Chapter 18 – Aftereffects
Not long after Veratyr's sudden appearance and departure, things began to sort of settle down. With a great deal of reluctance, Ozpin could only watch Rya and her group take their leave… and with the Relic of Knowledge in tow.
He could only pray that Veratyr had been correct when he'd said Rya had no way to actually use it, let alone think of a question to ask Jinn if she did figure out how to call the spirit forth. Given the woman's reaction, the weary man could only assume his prayers would go answered for once.
Not long afterwards, the chaos in the capital began to subside. Despite Rya's mighty attacks shaking the entire city and the surrounding areas, it had been surprisingly to the defenders' collective advantage, allowing them to subdue the remainder of the Spider gang and even Raven's own tribesmen… though Ozpin doubted it wouldn't be long before the woman, now allied with the Liminals, would attempt a breakout.
Now as cleanup operations were swiftly underway, Ozpin made his way up the path towards Haven Academy. He had every intention of going to aid the huntsmen and law enforcement officials in conducting search and rescues as needed… but for now, he had to be sure of just one thing.
He didn't have to trek particularly far in order to find whom he sought.
"Leonardo," he quietly called out, approaching his fellow headmaster. Said man was lying out in the open and on his back. Blood pooled slowly around him.
"Ozpin," the lion Faunus replied, a mixture of emotions in his voice. "Did they…?"
"I'm afraid so." Ozpin dutifully knelt beside the man and inspected his injuries. Despite the blood loss, Leonardo would actually have a chance at living if he received treatment soon enough. In the meantime, he could at least stop the blood from flowing out much further. Tearing a part of his own coat sleeve off along with some portion of Leonardo's own clothing, he went about staunching the bleeding as much as possible.
"…You knew, didn't you?" Leonardo whispered, causing Ozpin to slow marginally. "That I was under Salem's sway."
"…I had some suspicions," he admitted.
There was silence immediately thereafter. If only for a moment.
"You're not… upset? Disappointed?" Leonardo asked, incredulous. Apparently, he'd been expecting a much stronger reaction.
In the face of such shock, Ozpin could only chuckle. "You know as well as the others about my past lives. Did you really think you have been the only one to balk at the threat she poses?" He let out a sigh. "I am saddened, that much I can say. But disappointment in you is far from what I feel."
No, if anything, he was disappointed – in himself. How many lifetimes has it been now since he's started down this path? When did he start to recruit allies into his feud with Salem? And just how many times have these allies betrayed him out of fear of Salem? Honestly, even he's lost count.
He always went out of his way to hide many details, often out of fear that telling them outright would dissuade others from combating Salem. Yet some way or another, information would always slip – and they'd always be driven away by his lack of trust in them. Granted, trust was a hard thing to give, especially for him after all these decades and even centuries… but even so, he was often the catalyst of his own downfall in the long run.
And Leonardo was no different.
By keeping things hidden from his fellow headmaster and the others, all Salem had to do was just find a way to reach out to him and then reveal just a few of the details he worked to keep hidden. And that was likely all it took to terrify the lion Faunus into switching sides. It was a talent of Salem's and one that he had a bad habit of enabling in his own naïve ways.
"You may disagree with me on this, Leonardo… but I know you," Ozpin began even as he finished patching the man up for the time being. "You're far braver – more stalwart – than you give yourself credit for. I can tell just by looking around that you fought as hard as you could under the circumstances. You might think you did it to appease both Salem and myself… but even if not for us, you would have fought to keep the Vault and the Relic safe."
Leonardo could only stare, eyes widening all the while. But then they fell along with the rest of his expression. "Even so… I failed. They have the Relic now. There's no telling what will happen as a result."
"Better them than Salem," Ozpin immediately retorted. "And if you really want to blame yourself for this loss, then I must blame myself even more – indirectly and unknowingly as it may have been, I set this chain of events in motion. And I could've certainly done more to stop Rya and her cohorts from walking away with the Relic… but at a great cost."
In all likelihood, seeing that Rya had been able to withstand his final blow earlier without issue, Ozpin doubted he would've been able to secure the Relic of Knowledge from her. And she would have definitely used more force to subdue him for whatever purpose she possesses.
Though losing the Relic is a big deal, it is ultimately a short-term loss only. What really matters is in the long run. Losing the battle is not necessarily the same as losing the war, after all.
Now if only his heart would alleviate itself from its current woes…
"Still… I suppose I cannot go unpunished," Leonardo murmured. "Not after all I've done for her by now. You can connect the dots, Ozpin, I know you can. You're aware of how the huntsmen population has dropped here in Mistral."
The ancient man closed his eyes. Yes, he could surmise now just how such a sad state of affairs came to be. While it would be easy to blame it on Salem for it all, Leonardo had still been the one to carry out her orders.
While Leonardo may be indulging in self-recrimination a little too much, he did have a point.
That said…
"For now, what matters…" Ozpin started. "…Is getting you patched up. Then tending to the state of the capital. Pointing fingers and issuing punishments, officially or not, can wait until after things settle down a little."
He may have just patched up the Haven headmaster a little but moving him wasn't possible at the moment; it'd just undo his patchwork. And using his scroll to call for aid would be foolish considering the state of the capital. He'll need to go on foot to seek out any proper medics.
Leaning Leonardo gently against a nearby tree, one of the few that had survived all the fighting so far, Ozpin now stood up and turned around. But before he took off…
"You're not too surprised by my presence here. How did you…?" he asked.
Despite the circumstances, Leonardo chuckled. It elicited some pain in him, no doubt, but he clearly powered through it. "James. He called and mentioned you were out here on a self-assigned task."
Ah, of course. It would be their favorite general doing something like that.
Chuckling as well at such an oversight, Ozpin now made ready to leave for real. "…Sit tight, Leonardo. I'll be back soon with help."
And without another word, he dashed off into the capital.
There was much that needed to be done. Rya may not be able to use the Relic, but it couldn't stay in her grasp forever. Veratyr still needed to be dealt with somehow and Salem's own forces had to be properly put in check lest they take advantage of the Liminals raising hell wherever they went.
But before all that, helping a wayward friend of his took top priority. He's let down so many people throughout all his lives and in so doing had let down himself most of all. He had to start making amends.
Rya and her allies, including Raven and Vernal still, had made their way back to the hotel… only to be barred from entering. After all, all the shaking from earlier – and by her own hand, no less – was plenty of reason to evacuate the building in case of additional 'earthquakes.'
Thus, they had no choice but to wait at a nearby evacuation point along with the rest of the hotel's customers, much to the young woman's mild embarrassment, which she kept hidden by way of an excellent poker face.
However, said embarrassment paled in comparison to the more complicated emotions she had as a direct result of the recent battle.
She'd finally obtained a Relic, a cause for cheer… yet it came at the expense of not knowing how to use it. Quite an infuriating discovery and one delivered by Veratyr as well, which only added to the frustration of it all.
Still, at least she had one Relic in hand for the time being.
Sitting off in a far corner of the area with her group surrounding her, Rya eyed the Relic as she gingerly held it in her right hand now while using her left hand to lean into.
"So…" the bandit named Vernal suddenly spoke. "That's what all this fucking fuss was about?"
Rya slowly eyed her, causing the younger woman to flinch away. "Quite so." Her response was brief but lacked in the usual biting tone she used. "Why are you still here? I'll be honest, I'm shocked neither of you had tried to part ways with us by now."
Though Vernal remained quiet in the face of her question, it was Raven who stepped up to respond. Rya silently applauded her for such simple strength of spirit, even if it still paled in comparison to her own might in both spirit and body.
"Because while I'm sure you really would just let us go, there's no point risking you all coming for us immediately thereafter," Raven replied. "Sure, I could just make a portal and leave… but given you were able to track my tribe down the first time, there's nothing to say you won't do it again if you have a reason to."
"And so you wish to ascertain our motives and make a move from there." Rya nodded as she saw Raven's logic now. "Reasonable."
"Then your motives now are…?" Raven continued with a quirked eyebrow.
Rya huffed. "You were merely needed to open this particular Vault. Now that we've obtained the Relic, you're no longer of use to us. Whether you live or die now is completely irrelevant so do as you please now. But, of course, if you decide to continue seeking vengeance on us for your tribe's losses, you will be dealt with accordingly."
The leader of the Liminals here responded to Raven's query with no fanfare and absolutely zero emphasis on any particular word. Rya spoke as though she was speaking of some random small talk topic.
Raven stared. "…And what of the other Relics? And Ozpin?"
"What, you're actually concerned?" Gwrtheyrn suddenly spoke up, an amused smirk upon his face. "Don't tell us that some sense of justice is finally awakening in you."
Rya watched Raven give Gwrtheyrn a small glare. "As if. All that matters to us is the state of the tribe. I just want to make sure this doesn't somehow blow back onto us."
"It won't. Honestly." Gwrtheyrn lied as easily as he breathed, Rya noted. A pity that Raven and Vernal alike couldn't tell when he was making use of his Principle even if they clearly didn't believe his words in and of themselves.
"He speaks true," Rya confirmed. "What we seek the Relics for as well as for Ozpin and Salem… whatever goal you believe us to have, that is not the case. My ultimate purpose is not widespread destruction or any such generic tripe if that's what you fear. Leave us be and we shall return the favor. Let the matter lie."
Once more, Raven stared at her. Rya didn't bother returning the courtesy, instead opting to study the Relic in more detail. She could feel the magic – the power – pouring off of it, working in ways that even she had never seen before. Sadly, no amount of brute force, which she certainly had in overabundance compared to others, would be enough to suddenly make it work.
Still, figuring out how to use the Relic… it wasn't entirely impossible, just difficult.
There was, however, what Veratyr had said. That she wouldn't know what to use it for even if she could activate it.
In other words, there were at least two steps to using this Relic. Activating was merely step one. Step two was unknown, but given what that infuriating man had said about 'what to really ask,' that strongly implied a question was needed…
Rya suddenly sneered. Ah, she understands now – the Relic is a wishing lamp of sorts, only it could answer questions rather than grant wishes outright. In many ways, answering a question could be more useful than just granting a wish.
Well, that solves at least part of the problem at hand.
With that out of the way, she finally bothered meeting Raven's stare. "So, what will it be, Branwen?" she finally asked. "Peace? Or would you rather try to oppose us?"
Raven held her stare with an almost admirable fierceness… but Rya knew better. For all her posturing, Raven Branwen was a coward, only challenging 'the strong' when she felt it was necessary, otherwise being content to avoid attention and raid towns and villages for supplies.
Vermin, there was just no other way to put it. Just about the only redeemable feature the older woman had was her being at least willing to avenge her people when it mattered, not that the results were anything to speak of. She may have offered some words of praise to the woman earlier, but said praise had been only in the moment. Outside of that, Raven and her entire tribe of posturers were worth less than dirt to her.
"…Just don't try to seek us out again," Raven finally said.
Rya huffed. "Then begone from my sight quickly, else I might change my mind about letting your impertinence slide."
Looking away from the bandit leader, Rya listened for the woman's footsteps, which swiftly came. Her subordinate quickly followed suit, her expression torn between elation at surviving yet another day and indignation at her tribesmen going unavenged. Rya likewise felt no sympathy for Raven's fellow coward.
"Don't get too comfortable yet," Gwrtheyrn uttered a moment later. "We've another 'friend' coming over."
Rya sighed, knowing who her fellow Liminal spoke of. She supposed she could afford their 'friend' a few minutes of her time.
After all, they'd been excellent patsies.
Lil' Miss had hung around the capital the whole time this little 'operation,' if it could even be called that, had gone on. It was a decision she'd regretted when all the quaking had occurred and had only hung around afterwards because… well, it wasn't as if running away had been a feasible option at the time.
After gathering her wits, she'd finally decided to try and find the ones she'd pledged her gang's service to. This had been an impromptu decision after it looked like all the fighting was finally dying down. Said decision was partly born out of actual curiosity to see if all this fuckery had been worth something, and partly because she was pretty pissed now that a huge portion of her gang had gotten taken down in the process.
Rebuilding her gang's power base would be a hell of a challenge now, but it wasn't outright impossible. And perhaps, having now scratched their back, maybe they'll be willing to scratch hers. With power like theirs, terrifying as it may be, it would give her one hell of a leg up in getting things back under control.
With this in mind, she finally found and began to approach Rya and the others, all of whom had noticed her impending arrival.
"Having fun?" quipped Gwrtheyrn.
"I've had better times," she grumbled as she neared. Ignoring the cheeky young man, she spoke now to Rya. "Got what ya wanted?"
"Indeed," Rya answered, glancing at her but not bothering to outright face her. "Your gang proved useful."
"Then I'll get right to business, sugar – any chance this earns my Spiders some goodwill here?" The same overwhelming presence from before that Rya emitted was still very much present. Perhaps not to the same extent, but enough to make her break out in a sweat just from being this close. It was the reason why the area in the immediate vicinity was so clear, with all other evacuees keeping a healthy distance from the muscular young woman.
She wanted to be anywhere but here. But even so, she had to try.
Rya finally looked her way, her kaleidoscope eyes boring into Lil' Miss's own. "Oh? Bartering for our support now? I suppose this is now how you try to wriggle your way into my good graces – by capitalizing on your men's work."
Lil' Miss grunted. "I know we had this little song and dance before I gave 'em the signal, but I still got to try, honey." She bravely – or suicidally – took one step forward. "You're strong as all hell, sugar. No doubt about that. But you also told me earlier that a subtler approach was needed here. And that's where my gang came into play. Without us, things woulda been different."
Rya stared for a few seconds, but it felt like hours to Lil' Miss Malachite. "…Hmph. While you and your Spiders are little more than pond scum, you were admittedly useful. I suppose some measure of reward has been earned, seeing as your gang has been mostly apprehended by now."
Lil' Miss could feel the tension in her body almost completely dissipate – until Rya spoke again, slowly pointing a finger at her. "But don't get too comfortable with my words just yet. The reward for your service is ultimately an even greater service.
"Mistral's capital is now in dire straits – Grimm are steadily flocking here and will put the kingdom's already thin forces to the test. Your gang is mostly behind bars or even dead in light of today's events. These facts mean your competitors will be aching to seize more power in the coming days and weeks. Thus, you need to ensure what remains of your little empire doesn't get swallowed up in all the chaos, yes?"
Lil' Miss could only nod, fearing what might be said. She didn't have to wait long.
"Then we shall aid you in rebuilding your forces. Your competitors and outright enemies will rue the day they ever thought to take anything from you. Consider us your allies for the time being," Rya said. The woman then stood. She didn't approach Lil' Miss, thankfully… but the pressure her entire body gave off naturally suddenly spiked. The sensation from earlier – of her very existence feeling overwhelmed by Rya's own to the point of agony – steadily returned as Rya continued. "But in exchange, what is yours shall now be at our disposal. Specifically, your connections and any other funds you can spare. If we wish to travel to any of the other kingdoms, it will be up to you to charter a bullhead or ship for us… and swiftly. If we wish to make contact with another gang that might prove useful, it will be up to you to make the introductions. So on and so forth. Am I understood?"
Lil' Miss had to make a conscious effort to keep on breathing. As it is, it was taking an awful lot out of her just to remain as stock still as possible.
"…As long as you help me and my Spiders out first," she responded lamely. "Can't get ya what ya want if we're too rundown to do it."
"But of course," Rya replied, the pressure alleviating almost immediately. "I'm not so ungracious as to not acknowledge that much. We will lay low for a little while and allow this crisis to subside. Once that happens, however, I expect you to make the most of our aid quickly."
"Don't gotta tell me that," Lil' Miss said, feeling just a bit more like herself now. "Since we're talking about this already, well, there is another gang or two that have been tryin' to make plays on my turf for a while now. Pretty sure they'll try something soon if I don't make some kind of grand show of strength."
"Rya," Viktoriya suddenly spoke up. "Could I…?"
The leader of the group glanced Viktoriya's way and nodded quickly. "Mm. I'd been thinking the same." She looked back to Lil' Miss. "As fate would have it, our dear and demure friend here is feeling famished. Take her along with you back to your territory. She'll solve the problem you just mentioned. Two birds and one stone, as I believe it is said."
Lil' Miss shuddered. "R-Right." She damn near gulped when she felt Viktoriya's eyes on her in the following moment.
"Please treat us well," the veil-wearing woman said.
The Spiders' leader couldn't exactly find it in her to reply at all.
Just what the fuck had she gotten herself into now?
In the coming hours – and days and even weeks, really – as the chaos caused by the Spiders and the bandits and even the Liminals started to die down, people all across Remnant would swiftly band together…
…Not out of a sense of true unity, but in confusion and anger.
First the incident in Vale and now this in Mistral. The kingdoms' capitals devastated with unknown events, summoning Grimm from across the lands to further terrorize the cities involved. The huntsmen and other local authorities with their backs against the walls, caught completely off guard by the sudden bursts of violence and destruction.
Theories, some almost sound in nature and many more that were ludicrous, would quickly form in the wake of this madness. Fingers would be pointed at anyone and everyone in a position of power, those whom the civilians entrusted to prevent crises exactly like this. More fingers would be pointed at other groups, no matter how contrived – the White Fang, for example, along with others group both real and imagined. Not even the Grimm, humanity's natural predators for time immemorial, were spared from this blame game, with explanations about new types of Grimm that could overcome conventional barriers.
The confusion and terror and sadness and rage that directly resulted from these events would soon morph into something even greater, with people getting angry at each other over disagreements over what caused these incidents and what should be done in the wake of them.
Ever since the end of the Great War and the establishment of the Vytal Peace Accord, a sense of peace had existed between the four kingdoms… but now in the coming times, that 'peace' would prove to be a terribly fragile thing indeed.
This was a new state of being for Remnant that would only soon grow worse as tensions mounted in Vacuo.
And once more, it was all thanks to the actions of a select few.
In this case, a single individual.
Valentino adjusted his sunglasses with a smirk. He'd finished casing out Shade Academy as best as he could, in addition to spreading about some other illnesses and diseases all the while.
But he was far from done just yet.
It was time to advance the plan he and his two fellow members of Cradle had concocted.
"Let's begin," he murmured as he strode out once more into the capital's increasingly desolate streets.
All done for now!
Yeah, as stated in the AN above, this chapter was basically an aftermath chapter to finish up the Mistral 'arc' for the time being. Obviously there will be more repercussions to address such as Leonardo's ultimate fate and Ozpin talking with James about the role he'd unintentionally played in setting this all in motion… in addition to his own fuckup in not informing the good general about Leonardo being compromised by Salem. Raven's role in this fic also isn't done yet either.
But those will be addressed at a later point in time.
Up next, Vacuo. I'll be focusing on Qrow and Theodore, Hazel, and the resident member of Cradle – Valentino. Valentino is a whole other kind of beast compared to Rya and her group. Not in terms of raw power or anything like that, but in terms of mindset. I can say right now without spoiling that he'll be a lot more talkative than the likes of Rya and Shen, but not in the sense of talking a lot – rather, what he talks about, if that makes any sense.
Put another way, this is going to be where the title of this fic really starts to come into play in a number of ways. I hope you all will look forward to what I have in mind.
Until next time, everyone. Please stay safe out there!