Have I ever mentioned how much I hate accounting? Because if not, then I just want to say that I hate accounting.
While a necessity for my Business Admin degree, given my focus on supply chain logistics, one would think I could sort of avoid stuff like that… alas, such wasn't the case. In any case, my accounting classes are done for now and I can only pray my remaining classes aren't accounting related.
To any of you doing accounting, all the power to you. Seriously.
Now, rant done.
Focusing on this fic, I'd actually let out quite the sigh of relief when I'd uploaded the previous chapter since it was a sign that I can really start to branch out now from canon. Granted, it will still be a slow burner at times, but knowing the previous chapter marked the official death of canon for this fic – in terms of canon events, anyways – kind of helps me better plan out what I want to do now.
And boy, do I have quite a bit planned.
That said, whenever there is a notable event, there must always be an aftermath chapter or two. Naturally, this chapter is one such thing. But I will be continuing to plan my plot bunnies for other surprises further down the line. Hope you all will enjoy what I have in store – this one will be a fairly lengthy chapter and with plenty of shifting viewpoints to set things up for the future.
Now without further ado, let's begin!
Chapter 9 – Aftermath
The days that followed the Grimm incursion were, in a word, exhausting.
Once the mop-up operation had been completed, all available police officers, huntsmen and even Atlas' very own forces had committed to doing as thorough an estimate as possible of the damage done.
Though said incursion hadn't lasted particularly long – it was ascertained to have lasted perhaps just shy of an hour, from when the Grimm had first appeared to when the hole was sealed and a majority of the Grimm had been slain – the fallout had been significant.
Hundreds were confirmed to have died, either due to the Grimm or the White Fang, with plenty more people still unaccounted for. Property damage was estimated to be in the millions of lien, with numerous buildings and entire streets torn up in the process of suppressing Grimm and White Fang alike.
And Ozpin, as headmaster of Beacon Academy, had been at virtually the center of it all alongside Vale's council.
As was always the case, whenever a crisis occurred, the public turned to those in authority to solve the problem and provide answers afterwards.
…Needless to say, answers hadn't been quite so forthcoming.
While it had been determined that the Grimm had marched to Vale thanks to a long abandoned and forgotten train tunnel from Mount Glenn, it had remained officially unknown just how the Grimm had gathered in such droves in the first place. Additionally, while it swiftly became clear in these past few days how the White Fang had pulled this off – using vast amounts of Dust accumulated through Roman Torchwick's thefts to blow holes in the tunnel – it still wasn't known why the White Fang had done this. It was just too far from their usual MO, even when accounting for their obvious extremism.
Despite these facts being released to an angry populace, there was still plenty more being hidden for the time being…
And Ozpin, of course, knew what these hidden facts were. After all, he'd bore witness to much of it.
Currently aboard James' flagship alongside Glynda, he and his deputy headmistress were meeting with the good general within the man's office. Within said office, as pristine white as the rest of Atlas ships often were, was a huge 3-d map that they looked over with intense stares.
"Gods damn them all…" James growled out, slamming a fist into a nearby table. It shook from the impact, such was his anger. "To think they'd go this far. Even for the White Fang, this is ridiculous."
Only very recently have the three of them and others in the know have come to fully learn of the White Fang's plans in Vale, in part due to their own investigations out in the field and via interrogations with the few members of the terrorist group that had been captured alive during the attack. Given the sheer scale of the attack, less than reputable means of information gathering had been utilized to make them talk.
…It left a bitter taste in Ozpin's mouth to rely on such methods, but it had been yet another necessary evil in an already long list of necessary evils. The eternal war against Salem was far from a clean one.
Glynda would normally chastise the general by now, always so quick to keep the man's temper reined in before it had a chance to do more than simmer. However, Ozpin noted the deputy headmistress to be seething herself this time around. Understandable.
"In immediate hindsight, those tunnels should have been outright destroyed," she commented tersely, arms folded over her chest. "The tunnels may have been sealed off, yes, but controlled collapses should have been utilized instead."
A fair point, Ozpin silently noted as he looked over old map data of Mount Glenn, the trio making sure there'd be no chance of a second incursion at all.
"Hmph, well, hindsight is always twenty-twenty," spoke a voice – Theodore, headmaster of Shade Academy. Though he couldn't be physically present, they'd put out a call to him and he was all too quick in joining this meeting.
Ozpin turned to see the image of Theodore, visible on a large monitor that was currently acting as the source of the video call.
The headmaster of Shade Academy stood there with hands on his waist, grimacing as he looked over the map as well. "It's a damn shame that we all had to learn the hard way to have destroyed those tunnels long ago… but better late than never I suppose."
Ozpin finally chimed in. "Indeed. And on that note… James? Have your men been deployed?"
James' jaw finally seemed to not be wound so tightly, if only because he was now speaking. "They were. If all goes well for once, the other tunnels will be no more in just a few hours."
Following the realization of the White Fang's operations, James had been quick to dispatch several squads to venture out to Mount Glenn and locate any and all other tunnels. From there, these tunnels would be inspected to make sure nothing else was lying in wait and then destroyed after confirming there to be no more threats.
Granted, these other tunnels didn't lead into Vale, but this crisis had been a harsh lesson for them all. And they all sought to learn from their mistakes.
A minor win, all things considered, doing little to console any of them over the loss of life.
"What else do we know?" Ozpin continued, moving on from this depressing topic to other things.
James spoke up. "Sienna Khan has made a statement denouncing the White Fang cell out here. Apparently, these ones had not been operating with her orders and certainly not her permission."
"Do you believe her?" Theodore asked.
"Unfortunately, yes." James sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sienna is many things, but a liar she is not. And besides, the way the White Fang had been operating in Vale always did seem different from their established norm. They may have made good use of their usual tactics, but their goals here in Vale had clearly been different."
Ozpin hummed, acknowledging this. "Theodore, what of you?"
The man folded his arms across his chest as he spoke. "Not much to report on my end, Ozpin. Sadly, with these strange outbreaks of disease here, I haven't had much chance to act on our agreed plan. Been trying to pin down the exact source of these diseases, but no luck; we find one potential vector, then several more pop up out of nowhere. Vacuo's council is about ready to set fire to the whole damn continent to contain the spread, what with how unprepared we are for the return of diseases and illnesses once thought long gone."
His exaggeration aside, Ozpin could see why Vacuo's council was panicking so much. It's been ages since there'd been any sort of outbreak of disease, with people either growing resistant overtime or being administered treatment to combat it. Now these random illnesses and worse were making a sudden comeback, the population of Vacuo taken aback and with seemingly no way to combat them anymore.
It was as if these diseases had not only sprung up suddenly again, but had also changed in some way…
The ancient man shook his head very lightly.
Finally, he looked to Glynda.
He didn't even need to speak for her to give her own statement.
"Sadly, there still is no sign of Veratyr," she began with a degree of hesitance. "Even with using the CCTV as much as allowed these past few days, there's been no sign of him at all. Either he's gone literally underground or he's outright left the kingdom."
At that, everyone grimaced.
Following the immediate aftermath of the Grimm incursion, Ozpin had brought his allies up to speed on what had happened – that is, what had transpired exactly between him and the now deceased Eva Lambros, officially written off as yet another sad casualty in the White Fang's actions. It helped sell the story that some White Fang members had been found at the VNN station, armed and thus very dangerous.
He'd spoken to them all of this talk of the ones apparently called Liminals, of which Eva was counted among… in addition to what she'd said of Veratyr. If the woman could be taken at her word – and she'd had no reason to lie, not in a situation like that – then Veratyr was a man with goals that didn't align with anyone – not theirs, not Salem's nor even this group that Eva was a member of.
In other words, he was a threat possessing abilities and likely resources that were completely unknown.
The man had actually helped in pushing back the Grimm during the incursion and had even gone as far as aiding them stop the march of those charmed people towards the VNN station… only to then abruptly disappear once Eva had died. Given that the safety of the kingdom came first, by the time they could even commit to looking for the mercenary, he'd already been long gone.
Thus, Ozpin was far from surprised to learn there was no longer any sign of him being in Vale. Still, it was yet another infuriating fact to swallow.
"We should have taken him into custody from the start," James growled.
"Would that have actually worked?" Theodore commented, eyebrow quirked. "Don't get me wrong, I love a good fight… but going up against someone that could keep pace with Ozpin here? You think that's someone your men could take into custody so easily?"
"Assuming he would have resisted at all," Glynda murmured. "He's… a difficult man to pin down."
That was one way of putting it, Ozpin silently noted. Veratyr had been a genuinely polite young man and one that seemed to mean it when he said he was on humanity's side. Yet the two had still done battle because the mercenary had wanted a duel with him and he somehow knew Ozpin's original name as well, a name that only Salem knew.
Now combined with the esoteric traits and abilities Eva had demonstrated, if it turns out Veratyr had been hiding similar oddities, then having anyone but himself attempt to bring the man in would be extremely foolhardy.
"…" Ozpin made a complicated sound, his grip on the Long Memory shifting uncomfortably. "…We'll come back to the matter of Veratyr later, when we hopefully have some leads to work with. In the meantime, just note that he is armed and dangerous and act accordingly."
"Should we put out an official search warrant for him then?" Glynda questioned.
"…No. While doing so would likely mean he'll be outnumbered if he's ever spotted by any authoritative body or huntsman, it would also give him more reason to be cautious. He's already done an excellent job fooling us all until now. Giving him more reason to plan his next move carefully would just be a horrible decision on our part," Ozpin replied. "Instead… let's try and look towards the other oddity – Eva herself. Anything there?"
At a time like this, he'd ask such a thing of Leonardo, given that the woman had migrated to Vale from Mistral. However, given the Haven Headmaster's status as a reluctant traitor – Ozpin knew Salem had gotten her teeth into him – inviting him to this meeting would be passing on word to Salem herself. Obviously, that couldn't be allowed, at least not until he could figure out how to better pass on false information to lead the woman down the wrong path. In any case, he will have to keep Leonardo partially in the loop to keep up appearances, but that could wait until after the fact.
Therefore, the only other alternative to rely on here was James, at least until Qrow returns from his most recent assignment. The Q of former team STRQ was returning even as they spoke, though it would still be some odd days before the man finally makes it to Vale.
James stepped closer to the monitor that displayed the map and tapped away at some keys along the side. The map of Vale disappeared and instead replaced with something else – a display of one Eva Lambros, an image of her from her most recent interview in which she was all smiles, the apple of everyone's eyes. Alongside said image was a huge box of text, dry and concise as could be.
"Age thirty-three at time of death," James began. "Born in western Anima, near the borderline of the kingdom of Mistral. Parents' names are Titus and Nerosa Lambros. Town name is unknown due to that particular region being comprised of numerous nameless settlements from long ago, which tended to rely on trade with one another to get by. When she was approximately seven, however, she and her parents migrated here to Vale. Within two months of arrival, she was noticed by a talent agency for her charisma in spite of her age and asked to try acting. Though only a minor role at first, her acting ability was enough for her to begin her career… and the rest is as you likely already know."
James grunted now. "…For now, this is all we have. Nothing absolutely new to anyone that would bother to follow their favorite celebrity's life story. It'll be some time before I can properly have some of my recon teams do a much more thorough background search, even scope out the exact region she came from."
Ozpin shook his head. "This will suffice for now, James. Thank you."
"Her town of origin, right?" Glynda asked, all but reading his mind.
The Beacon headmaster nodded. "Perhaps it is a bit of a longshot, but that town could hold the answers we seek to at least some of our new questions."
"On that, we can agree," Theodore commented. "But I think looking into any and all people she was acquainted with would be a much better use of James' time, right?"
"Of course," Ozpin agreed. "Still, it is best to be thorough. Especially if these other 'Liminals,' to use Eva's word for them are as… esoteric as her in terms of ability."
Throughout his numerous lives, he'd born witness to all sorts of interesting phenomena. Perhaps not magical in nature, but the forms that semblances can take were certainly out there at times, ranging from straightforward abilities like increasing one's physical attributes to outright being able to directly affect the mind, the latter of which being something that Eva herself could do.
However, Eva's strange ability was in a class all its own.
Normally, semblances always had a hard 'time limit' of sorts no matter what form it took. Aside from a person simply running out of aura to power their semblance, the effects of more unique semblances still tended to wear off after a certain period of time.
The same couldn't quite be said for Eva's charms, sadly. Even now, despite a few days having gone by since her passing, those that had been 'persuaded' by her into being her followers were still showing signs of Eva's influence. Many, if not all, of them were outright depressed, as though the love of their lives had been lost forever. Those that had been more deeply afflicted by the deceased woman's charms had all but shut down mentally, little more than vegetables. It had been as if Eva had served as their entire reason to live and now with her gone, there was just no more reason for them to do… anything. They were now completely unresponsive to any and all attempts to communicate with them, their minds seemingly forever closed off.
…Roman Torchwick, who'd somehow survived his injuries and the collapse of the VNN station, was amongst this group of people. The professional thief that had plagued Vale and once upon a time Mistral was now little more than a zombie. Though not in a traditional coma, he might as well be given his complete lack of response to any other stimuli. If the doctors were to pull the plug on him, Ozpin doubted the man would even wheeze, not even on reflex.
Additionally, there'd been Eva's ability to fire beams of pure energy at him and create a barrier to protect herself. Said energy appeared to be a mixture of aura and raw magical power as well, further making it clear that the woman was certainly different from just about anyone else.
It made him both genuinely curious and deeply concerned about what else these Liminals could do.
At his remark, the others sported grim expressions. His point was well-made one. The fact stood that this new threat out there was a very unique one and thus warranted as much scrutiny as possible when it came to any information about them.
"Eva Lambros did ask you to say she did her best to the others," Theodore murmured. "That means these other so-called Liminals will be gunning for you in due time. Possibly even the rest of us. And even if not for us directly, well… that damned actress had already made it clear what lengths she'd go to just to capture you. If the others are anything like her in that regard, then we need to prepare for some serious trouble."
"…On that particular note," Glynda responded. "With all that's been going on recently, is there a chance now that a Liminal might be involved with the spread of disease within Vacuo? The timing is suspect in hindsight."
Theodore went deathly still for a second and then swore under his breath. "Damn it, hadn't even thought of that," he snarled out, angered at having missed that. "Not like it changes what has to be done by that much – contain the spread of disease, then locate and deal with any particular sources of it all. If your sudden hunch proves true, then that means my own forces and I have a very specific thing – person – to look out for… if we can figure out their identity, that is."
Ozpin thrummed his fingers alongside his cane. He'd actually thought as much too but hadn't voiced it until he had something to either support or discredit that line of thinking. But Glynda had spoken up on his behalf yet again.
James hummed. "Looks like we'll be very active then for the foreseeable future. Can imagine our respective councils not taking that well. Especially not with our strong recommendation on their next course of action."
At that, Theodore actually chuckled.
Given the severity of the recent incident and Ozpin's inner circle deciding now was the time to become much more active in their shadow war efforts, they had approached Vale's council with the idea of canceling the Vytal Festival. Although they had explained their rationale behind such a suggestion and the council had indeed understood the official intent, the council members had been less than pleased by it.
It had been their hope that the Vytal Festival could be used to unite the public across all the kingdoms and help vastly improve morale. By no means a bad decision to want to make, but one that Ozpin had nonetheless advocated against alongside James in a direct meeting with the council of Vale. With such a heavy loss of life thus far and the damage done to the capital's buildings and additional infrastructure, they'd reasoned that trying to carry out the event with anything less than full economic capacity would be a herculean task to achieve. Additionally, with efforts being split between recovering from the incursion and security for the Vytal Festival, it would only leave far too many gaps in security for other potential threats to exploit. Some councilmen had suggested to requisition additional support from Atlas, but James had shot down that idea on behalf of Atlas' council since doing so would only come at Atlas' expense, leaving them borderline defenseless.
Ultimately, even though Ozpin's position as Beacon's headmaster had been rather tenuous in recent weeks thanks to the council's views on his actions so far, this recent crisis had ironically helped bolster his political position. It helped that James had been in full agreement with his idea as well.
Thus, it was agreed to cancel the event, though it won't be officially announced until a full week has passed, primarily to give authorities enough time to properly assess the full extent of the damage suffered in this incursion and begin recovering.
Now this was something Ozpin was willing to call a true win. For so long, he'd been somewhat under the council's thumb thanks to the difference in position between them and himself. It hadn't helped he'd been far too focused on fighting defensively against Salem in this hidden war of theirs. But now he could finally afford to do more than just stand around in his office and issue orders.
…His heart was now beating a little more quickly at the realization of all this. That he could finally take to the field again after so long… But that was something he could dwell on later.
First, he must wait for Qrow to arrive so that the two of them could better coordinate their respective efforts. Then and only then can he finally take action.
As this meeting between himself and his allies began to die down, Ozpin was already silently figuring out what must be done next. Given that his options for the time being were still quite limited, he had to be very careful over what to choose here.
But one thing he was absolutely certain of was this:
No matter who it was, be it Veratyr or another threat entirely, he will stop them. Bad enough that Salem's plans for humanity were still so wicked.
The absolute last thing Remnant needed was someone else with plans just as grand.
Within their dorm room, Cinder grimaced for the umpteenth time.
And why wouldn't she when her efforts had all seemed to have just been for nothing?
Though she and her team's cover had seemingly remained intact, all the moves she'd taken up until now had borne either no fruit or outright poisonous fruit depending on how one wished to define it.
Her plan – one phase of it, at any rate – had been completely hijacked by Eva Lambros. Although it had done wonders for generating plenty of fear and causing much havoc, it still hadn't been enough to capitalize on before the incursion was stopped.
Not only that, but from what Emerald had been able to go out and gather, Roman had survived whatever had happened to him… but only physically. The man, frustrating as he was to deal with, was now just shy of brain-dead. Whatever Eva had done to him specifically had left him essentially comatose. The same went for many of the men Adam Taurus had provided to her and even with Junior himself and his men as well. For what little it is worth, however, Junior was still cognizant since the spell he was under hadn't been as strong as it had been on everyone else… but he was still heavily in mourning behind bars, thus he was still rendered useless.
Adding further insult to injury, in the wake of the failed Grimm incursion, Neo had come running back from wherever she'd been to check in… and once she'd learned what had happened to Roman, the normally smug mute had been absolutely devastated. Now the damned girl was holed up in one of their hideaways, crying herself halfway to death over her loss. Perhaps if Cinder played her cards right, she could turn Neo's grief into a targeted rage, but not right now when the colorful criminal was that far gone.
Put summarily, her plans have been outright stalled and with far too many pawns lost to even hope at continuing them as things now stood. Even if she did have a way of proceeding as initially thought up, Ozpin and his inner circle were likely already making moves of their own to fortify their defenses.
Having been lying down on her bed, she finally sat up now. Aside from being just shy of seething, she had been trying to figure out a way to end this quagmire she'd found herself in.
And her subordinates hadn't really been any help; whatever Eva had done to them, they'd sort of been in a mopey state ever since the incursion had ended. Eva's death clearly had ramifications that Cinder could never have expected.
…Was the actress' power truly not a semblance at all then? She's learned much under Salem's thorough tutelage, but compared to the immortal woman herself, Cinder was still quite lacking. But inexperience aside, she still knew enough to tell that Eva's strange charm power wasn't a semblance, but something else. Something… more, in some undefined way. That Emerald and Mercury alike were still reeling from the effects confirmed as much.
…
…It worried Cinder, to be perfectly honest, even if only with herself. She'd thought she had accounted for damn near anything that could be an obstacle to her, but now she'd been completely blindsided.
That said…
"Cease your whining," she commanded tersely. Both of her subordinates actually flinched at her tone. "Your precious little Eva is gone. That means it's back to focusing on how best to be of use to me."
"…Right, sorry," Emerald mumbled, rubbing her left arm. Mercury just grunted, but was nonetheless about as apologetic as he would ever get, Cinder supposed.
Cinder kept her gaze leveled at the two of them for a few seconds longer as she continued to ponder over the situation.
With this many screw-ups in so short a time, Adam would undoubtedly feel emboldened in trying to rebel against her for losing so many of his flunkies. The man may have been cowed by her power back then, but his hotheadedness and her current situation would likely give him the push needed to more openly question her. While she can't be certain just yet how to continue her plan, keeping him and the other White Fang members under his command in line would be beneficial. She'll have to take time to meet him then.
…She'll also have to modify her plan overall. Initially, her goal had been to bring down Vale in its entirety while also obtaining the remainder of the Fall Maiden power. However, with things being the way they are now, she might just have to give up on collapsing the kingdom and instead just focus on killing Amber by whatever means necessary. She already had a fairly good idea of where Ozpin would have the weakened Fall Maiden placed. It was now a question of how to get to her.
But more than that, there was the issue of timing.
With the Grimm incursion repelled and so many people either slain or arrested in the wake of the crisis, there was a chance that the Vytal Festival may not happen at all. Vale's council would no doubt be in favor of keeping the event scheduled but Ozpin and his cohorts would likely try to have it canceled outright. It would, after all, be the more practical decision to make.
If by some chance the Vytal Festival was carried out as planned, then that would be her most ideal time to strike at Amber's possible location. Ozpin and his inner circle were mostly well-known figures required to appear in the public eye during events like that, so personal security around Amber would be fairly light.
But if the entire thing is canceled, then it would only follow that all students be sent back to their respective kingdoms. She and her subordinates would lose their cover as students. They'd have two choices to make in such a scenario. One, they go into hiding with Vale and wait for a better opportunity to strike… something that could take a very long time to occur even if she tries to rig future events in her favor. The second option would be to abandon the objective entirely and return to Salem's side.
Cinder gritted her teeth at such a thought. She was just so close to her goal that it almost physically hurt. Her hands clenched at the sheets beneath her tightly and she could feel her control of the Maiden power she does have beginning to slip.
"Cinder!" Emerald called out in alarm.
"-!" Cinder, realizing what had been about to happen, let out a sharp hiss before proceeding to sigh. Slowly, she unclenched her hands from the now balled up sheets and reined in her temper.
"…Are you good?" Mercury asked after a little while passed by.
"Not quite," Cinder replied with genuine honesty. "But I will have to make do."
Right. One step at a time, just like always.
"So… what's the plan then? Things have gone so far off the rails – no pun intended – that I don't see us doing things like we'd thought," Mercury continued.
"For now, we lay low," Cinder began. "With the failed incursion, Vale will be on high alert for the foreseeable future. That goes triply so for Ozpin and his fellows. In the meantime, we need to prepare better. Firstly, we must meet with Adam and ensure he remains either under our thumb or at the very least will stay well out of our way."
"If we're going to be laying low, then we'll still be here in Vale?" Emerald asked. "Seems a little risky since we won't have our cover anymore."
Cinder hummed, mildly impressed that her most loyal follower was still of a mind to think the facts through instead of continuing to act like a beaten puppy over Eva's death.
"I'm thinking about it still," the half-Maiden said. "Remaining in Vale would be the most ideal option now, but given a more realistic take of things, we'll probably have to operate outside the kingdom as well. In any case, outright leaving is not in the immediate future."
Then a thought suddenly occurred to her.
"…Well, aside from continuing with my original goal, there is one other thing we must look into," she stated firmly. "We must look into Eva's past. She made it rather clear that she wasn't operating alone. We need to know how many others were in this little group she was a part of and determine what their own goals are. Eva appeared to be acting on both her own desires and another's orders, so there's a high chance these others are invested in this mess as well."
And if these unknown others are anything like Eva… then that meant they are obstacles that must be removed.
There was also the matter of that mercenary too, Veratyr being his name apparently. A man that can fight on par with Ozpin… and evidently someone that was yet another invested party in this entire hidden war somehow. Part of the same group Eva was once counted among? Unknown.
But regardless of his affiliation, he was yet another enigmatic factor that she'd much prefer removed. As things already stood, Eva's mystery group had plans against Salem. There's no guarantee to say Veratyr isn't against Salem either.
"Pretty sure Ozpin is already doing the same thing and he's got the backing of Ironwood and the others to pull that off," Emerald said. "So, I can't imagine we'll be able to dig up info as fast as them."
"Even so, we must do what we can," Cinder stated.
And worse comes to worst, she thought bitterly, she could contact Watts to have him hack Atlas or something for such information. She'd much rather not rely on him for anything given his smarmy attitude… but with Vale's near destruction being so heavily publicized, he and by extension Salem already knew of this setback. Why, she'd even gotten a message from him just a day or so ago about this whole thing. It was one she's yet to respond to since she'd prefer to have an idea on what to do before replying. And she actually counted her blessings that the smug asshole wasn't pestering her about this… yet.
As something vaguely resembling a plan now formulated as she continued to speak to her subordinates, Cinder's single visible eye began to glow an intimidating hue in response to her emotions.
This had been a borderline disaster for her… but still one that she could recover from. Just a bit more time was needed and she could finally obtain the power that was rightfully hers.
No matter what happens… she will get all that she wants.
"H-Hello there!"
"Alisa. Good of you to be so quick in your journey back here."
After Vale had barely survived the Grimm incursion, Watts had made contact with Alisa and requested for her to come back. It'd understandably taken some time for the young woman to return here, but all things considered, it'd been a rather prompt trek that had been heralded yet again by the Grimm panicking just from her presence alone.
Now after having been escorted by Watts to her chambers here, Salem found herself face to face once more with the peculiar woman.
"Oh, don't mention it!" Alisa mumbled, trying to smile confidently. "A-After all, we're partners, right? Only natural I come running to help!"
"Quite." Despite herself, Salem smiled ever so slightly. If nothing else, Alisa was marginally more entertaining than the others and their petty squabbles.
But that aside… Salem hadn't called Alisa back for such idle chatter and amusement.
The immortal woman gestured for Alisa to follow her towards a large table situated in the corner of her chambers. It was next to a massive window that could probably be mistaken for a glass wall due to its sheer size. It gave them an excellent view of the outside, where the twisted and tainted landscape stretched on seemingly forever, Grimm of all kinds idling about for the time being now that Alisa was no longer close enough for her power to affect them.
That said, the Grimm were certainly keeping a greater distance than normal from the castle…
"Let us get right down to business," Salem began as she elegantly picked up the cup of tea placed before her. Watts had prepared it moments in advance of Alisa's arrival. "Vale. I take it you know of what's happened."
"Y-Yes, I do," Alisa replied as she too picked up her own cup of tea and quietly sipped from it. "It's been all over the news."
"Then do you know what I'm about to ask?"
"…I can take a good guess."
Salem hummed and silently sipped at her, staring at Alisa all the while. "Then by all means, speak. After all, to make this alliance work, it helps to share information, does it not?"
At that, the young woman took a breath. "While I can't say for sure what exactly happened… it was most likely Eva's work."
Salem remained silent.
Alisa continued. "…She's… well, I suppose you could say she's like me and the rest of Cradle – someone with abilities that defy the norm. Her particular abilities allow her to charm anyone and anything exposed to her. While I can't say for sure if all that's happened in Vale is her handiwork, its escalation was indisputably due to her."
"And what precisely are you?" Salem now asked as she set down her cup.
The awkward yet enigmatic woman went still for a moment. Not out of sudden fear or anything like that, but simply taking this time to mull over her words. It was a sight Salem had witnessed many times before from many people.
Finally, after a long minute, Alisa answered. "We're known as Liminals – beings between fantasy and reality. Physically, we're human, but spiritually… that's a very different matter." Whatever social awkwardness the young woman normally had was nowhere to be seen. In her place now was a contemplative woman that seemed to be speaking more to herself than to another. "…We're all obsessed with fulfilling a very specific purpose in our lives. Our extra abilities revolve around this obsession – a Principle, we call it."
Alisa took another sip of her tea before continuing. "Eva's purpose was 'to shine' and her Principle was centered around that. Thus, her ability to charm just about anything – the ability to become the sole 'shining' thing in a being's or thing's existence, swearing fealty to her. And to her, any chance to 'shine' ever more brightly is a chance worth taking. Whatever the situation in Vale was… it was clearly an opportunity like no other for her. That it likely worked to the benefit of her allies was just a side bonus to her, no doubt."
"So, she was part of a group," Salem murmured. She lifted her tea for a second sip. "…Clearly not affiliated with your own?"
Alisa shook her head. "Unlike us, the group she is a part of has no name."
"I take it they're not on friendly terms with Cradle?"
Alisa bowed her head, saddened. "No, not at all. If they could do so right now, they'd kill us without a second thought. Rya, especially would love to get her hands on my leader… they've a history."
Rya. Salem could only presume based off context that this Rya was the leader of this unnamed group. And if Eva Lambros had indeed acted on orders from her to hijack Cinder's plan, then that likely meant this group probably had similar goals as well despite these obsessions they evidently have.
…To be perfectly frank, this was actually quite a bit to take in. The idea of beings between fantasy and reality existing was shocking due to the implications alone. That they could also have abilities that do indeed differ considerably from this era's norm was also something of note.
She will have to dig deeper into this. But first, more information on this unnamed group took precedence – they sounded annoying.
"Cradle desires to make a world where everyone can achieve their greatest desires," Salem began. "What of this other group?"
"…I can't speak for most of them," Alisa began. "Other than them wanting to fulfill their desires as best as possible. But Rya for sure wishes to dominate everything. It's her own purpose and she will stop at virtually nothing to achieve it."
"Oh? World domination, in other words?" Salem drummed her fingers along the table. "And how does she intend to do that? To what end would destroying Vale have achieved for her and her allies?"
"To capture the wizard," Alisa replied.
Salem went still.
Alisa, not seeming to notice or care, continued. "…And to eventually capture you as well."
Salem made a low sound at that. It'd been obvious from the very start that Alisa – and Cradle by extension – knew far more than they should given they'd been able to find her out here in these dark lands… but for this other group to seek out both her and Ozma while knowing exactly who and possibly what they are… that was something else entirely.
How did they know of these things? And what to end? If Alisa's words were to be trusted, then how would capturing her and Ozma lead to world domination?
"…What ambitious goals they've set for themselves," Salem eventually uttered, leaning back elegantly in her seat. "So, to put it briefly, this Rya commanded Eva to take over my own subordinate's plan to ruin Vale… all so that they would have a better chance at capturing the wizard now?"
Alisa nodded, smiling exuberantly. "Yes, that's right!"
"And what of capturing me? You've any idea how they would go about doing that? For that matter, is that your true reason for approaching me with this alliance?"
She'd figured Cradle had a reason beyond what had been initially stated for proposing an alliance with her. Evidently there was a feud of sorts between Cradle and this unnamed group, albeit it would appear to be more one-sided on the latter's part. In any case, this was quite the situation Salem now found herself in.
…Well, if this group was so eager to get both her and Ozma, then perhaps she could use this to her advantage to have the latter taken off the board for the time being. While allowing her former lover and bitter enemy to be captured by an unknown group with unknown abilities could possibly be a bad thing, the fact they appeared to be focusing on Ozma first was something she could make use of.
Still, such thoughts could wait until Alisa answered her questions.
"Uhm, I honestly don't know," Alisa said as she scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "I do imagine that Rya herself would like to be the one to confront you given her… peculiarities… but if she and the others see a chance at capturing you through some other way, they'll take it."
Salem hummed. "And as for my last question?"
Alisa nodded. "And of course, we of Cradle will be doing our best to prevent that from happening!" She pumped her fists fervently. "We've actually been trying to stall them for a few years now. Unfortunately, the whole situation has devolved into something where they can act more freely. To that end, we'll do what we can to ensure they can't interfere with you or your agents!"
"Hm, quite thoughtful of you, my dear," Salem commented. "Well then, consider me impressed – it's hardly the norm for me to learn of such interesting developments. This alliance had been the right decision after all."
As Alisa preened, Salem considered these new details.
Cradle may be perfectly willing to combat this group on her behalf, but it was obviously not out of pure altruism. Surely, the three-man group had its own schemes in mind… schemes that would involve her in some capacity. Why else would they approach her?
Salem also had to admit that they've done quite the job of pulling one over on them all. To think she could live this long and amass a myriad of different resources, only to somehow miss the existence of these… Liminals. She may be far from all-knowing, but her information network was still vast and powerful, more so with the addition of Watts among her forces to bolster her technological prowess in this modern age. This only made how well they'd remained hidden that much more impressive.
And on that note…
"Tell me then, before you go," Salem said. "What you said a moment ago about being a Liminal… please elaborate on that. What precisely do you mean by being in between fantasy and reality?"
Alisa paused, this time out of nervousness. The young woman had anticipated the question judging by her lack of surprise but had nonetheless been dreading answering it or so it would seem. Was this due to personal feelings on the matter or had her leader ordered her to keep certain details heavily under wraps?
Regardless, Salem intended to hear a proper explanation one way or another. And Alisa, while certainly unique, was not going to overcome her in a battle of attrition if it came down to that.
Seconds slowly go by as Alisa visibly pondered over the question. Her emotions warred upon her young and beautiful face.
And then finally, as Salem patiently held her stare, Alisa's posture slackened as she caved in.
…
…
About thirty minutes later, Alisa was dismissed from her chambers… though not before Salem, as a gesture of thanks for her time, granted her a room to stay in for the night. Watts was called and came to collect the young woman.
The man had noted Salem's expression and had looked understandably pensive before leaving with Alisa in tow, showing her to one of the Evernight Castle's many rooms to sleep in.
But Salem hardly paid either of them much attention.
She stood up… and actually stumbled. She hastily reached out a hand to the wall, steadying herself immediately. But that she had stumbled at all was undeniable proof of the shock that she was experiencing.
With her eyes as wide as they could be, she stared blankly outside her window.
What Alisa had just told her… it was madness. It was unbelievable, something that shouldn't be.
Yet it was.
For so long, the immortal woman had thought herself long past the point of being shocked, but now she was being proven wrong. Some small part of her desperately denied what she'd just learned… but to no avail. Alisa had known details from long, long ago that simply were impossible to know for anyone else in this world.
Anyone other than her and Ozma, that is.
Except Alisa knew. So did her two allies as per her own admission. In fact, it was their leader who'd first informed her and the other member of these details, though it had helped that Liminals seemed to have some kind of inherent memory, to use the term Alisa had coined on the spot.
…While it might still be possible to blow off the whole thing as some tasteless joke or a masterfully woven story meant to buy her cooperation for good, the details known lent far too much credence to be some fabrication. At least not entirely.
These details also meant that the unnamed group, led by this mysterious Rya, was in fact something that would prove far more than a mere annoyance like she'd initially thought too.
…Some of her plans will need to be modified, she realized after several long minutes of just standing there.
If nothing else… at least this era was proving to be far more interesting than any other era before.
Alisa was shown to her room by a very displeased Watts. She truly felt bad that her presence was causing him so much trouble but couldn't bring herself to voice an apology. He wouldn't accept it, after all.
The room she was led to was quite similar to Salem's personal chambers, albeit smaller in scale. Made sense since the immortal woman was the master of this castle, thus was granted the largest and grandest room around. Still, Alisa's temporary one was far from small, with a king-sized bed, a massive vanity nearby and a table off to the side. A large dresser was also lined against the wall that the bed was placed against, obviously for storing clothes and other items that would fit.
The young woman waited for Watts to leave, awkwardly standing there as the minutes ticked by.
Once she was certain the man was far away now, she lightly jumped and took off her Atlas jacket in midair. As the jacket was gracefully thrown onto a nearby chair, Alisa spun around so that she landed back first onto the mattress.
As soon as she landed, the young woman let out a heavy sigh of relief.
That… had been absolutely nerve-wracking, she thought.
Although it had been anticipated that she'd be called back to meet with Salem, going through with it had been something else. Nonetheless, she'd abided by the 'script' she and Veratyr had concocted, making sure not to give too much away to the ancient magic user.
For someone as awkward as her, it'd been a challenge like none other to keep from giving too much away via her expressions, but Alisa liked to think she'd managed it well enough.
That said… she couldn't help but worry.
Sitting up now and gently brushing her long hair with her hands, Alisa mumbled to herself. "Will this really be okay?"
The basic plan had been to ensure Salem focuses on Rya's group as the 'enemy' that needs to be dealt with first. Even if Salem suspected Cradle to be plotting something, so long as she was prevented from immediately acting on that (completely true) suspicion, that would be ideal.
Still, Alisa wondered if it had been truly alright to tell Salem of the Liminals' origins.
Not that it would make a huge difference in the long run… or so she liked to hope… but it was still something rather… personal. Granted, she had grown up knowing instinctively she wasn't normal and had only properly learned what she is over time, but it had still been something that had only worsened her social anxiety, something she'd tried to combat by learning how to fend for herself. Fighters never lacked for confidence, after all.
…In addition to learning how to fight due to other reasons, reasons that not even she could fully explain just yet. Veratyr was absolutely confident that these other reasons were tied to why she had the purpose she did and how she may be subconsciously defining it. She was confident that her friend was correct in this matter, but even so… crippling self-doubt had also been another long-lasting weakness of hers.
Getting back on track, however, she did hope spilling the beans about Liminals to Salem wouldn't spell trouble for them. Veratyr had anticipated this happening, as he tended to anticipate most things, and thus she had his blessing in advance to tell Salem the truth. Even so, she couldn't help but ponder what Salem's next move would be.
After all, even if motivated by immense grief at the time, Salem had gone as far as to unite humanity against the gods back then. To Alisa, who was so plagued with worry and fear, an act like that was the epitome of courageous – confronting a force that one had no chance of fighting against without even an inkling of doubt or fear.
Even now, with so many centuries and even millennia having passed, Salem remained staunchly committed to her goals, never once showing any sign of submitting. It was an act of will unlike anything the young woman could imagine aside from Veratyr himself.
Ignoring the morality behind it all, Salem's actions were truly admirable just from never backing down.
It left Alisa in true awe.
…Perhaps that is why she'd been selected to make contact with Salem in the first place, she wondered, even though Valentino was a much smoother talker than her.
If that was the case, then as usual, it showed that Veratyr's foresight was still as terrifying a force to be reckoned with as usual.
And on that note…
Alisa pulled out her personal scroll and began to type up a brief message to her leader.
Best to let him know things were still going according to plan… and that it was now time for him to continue keeping things that way as well.
"Is everything accounted for?"
"Yes sir. We can move out first thing tomorrow without a hitch."
Adam Taurus nodded. "Good. Tell the men to get some rest. It will be a busy day tomorrow."
The soldier saluted and took off to do just that.
Now left alone, Adam let out a huff as he gazed off into the distance.
For quite some time now, he'd been busy in the westernmost part of the kingdom of Vale. Only in more recent weeks had he and his men finally been able to make their way closer to the capital itself, though they were still some distance away.
From the start, it had been part of the plan with his 'ally' to meet with her and her insufferable lackeys to iron out the finer details of the operation that was to be conducted during the Vytal Festival. However, it had all gone off the rails – no pun intended – a few days ago when he and his forces had seen the news.
A Grimm incursion in the heart of the capital itself. Numerous people, filthy humans and fellow Faunus alike, had been slain by those insipid beasts. Buildings and streets torn up and now fallen into ruin. For a brief moment when he'd first seen the news, he'd thought that Cinder had chosen to accelerate the plan a great deal, but the longer the chaos had gone on, the more he realized that things had gotten out of control.
Put another way, Cinder was now vulnerable.
The very thought put a sneer on his face.
From the moment he and his men had been forced to bend the knee to her, he'd been plotting all sorts of ways to kill that arrogant bitch and take full control of the plans she'd laid out. He will admit that her ideas had held immense merit, and she'd provided opportunities he never would have dreamt of before… but for all the benefits that had come from their 'partnership,' it had still been one born from him having to obey a human of all beings.
That wasn't even getting into how many people he'd had to provide her with only to see them squandered like disposables. And with Roman Torchwick of all people added into the mix as well.
But now this may no longer be the case.
That the first major phase of Cinder's true plan would be wrested from her like this meant that something had changed in her circumstances. While he would be hesitant to imagine Cinder being genuinely weakened in some way, if nothing else, this now made for a good chance to better balance their 'partnership' so that he had much more say in everything.
Doing so would run the risk of earning her ire, but just as he needed her to bring Vale low, she needed him as well to accomplish this same goal. At least in this respect, they were dead even. And who knows? Perhaps in the near future, once their grudging alliance was about to end, she may finally drop her guard enough to allow for a killing blow against her.
Then once Cinder's gone… perhaps he'll finally get chance to meet with Blake again, damn race traitor that she is.
Adam took a moment now to sigh and adjust his mask at the very thought of his former partner. To think Blake would not only abandon their great cause but even join a huntsmen academy of all things… even now it just boggled his mind. She should know damn well how pathetic humans were. They'd even tried to kill her father in an ambush of all things back then! It'd only been thanks to his quick actions that Ghira had survived to return home to Kali and Blake.
…
…He should stop thinking about it now, he realized. Ever since he first learned of Blake's new lot in life, he's been dwelling on his former friend's very existence far too often. That wouldn't do. First, he must focus on the greater good… then he can focus on repaying the traitor for her treason.
With nary a sound, he walked back to camp.
Normally, the White Fang moved during the night. Their night vision allowed them to move with little in the ways of light sources, making the darkness their ideal ally. However, this time around, they'd taken the risk of moving during the day in order to cover ground as quickly as possible.
Now they were perhaps just two days' travel away from Vale's capital, currently hunkered down within a fairly large clearing surrounded by thick forestry.
Right now, his men were putting out the small fires that had been going earlier to cook some late night meals and were swiftly packing up what few goodies they'd had to keep themselves entertained.
Nodding as a way to say good night to several members of his cell, Adam prepared to head for his own tent-.
"Mm, a lovely night, isn't it?"
-Only to whirl around, hand going to Wilt's handle in an instant. All around him, his men reached for their weapons as well.
Out of the forest emerged a man – a human. He was tall and very well-built, moving like a warrior despite his shabby clothes.
…He also firmly held a blade in hand, a classical weapon that completely lacked any of the mechanical features found in most weapons today.
"My apologies for approaching when you were about to rest," the man began, smiling gently. "I'd been tempted to wait until dawn… but that just wouldn't do."
His words elicited growls from many of them, so more literally than others due to several of the Faunus here having the traits of bears, wolves, and other such predatory animals.
"Human," Adam began, snarling the word out. "You've chosen a bad time to go out on a night stroll."
The man chuckled. Despite wielding a blade in his left hand, his posture was somewhat lax – alert, but not actually in a combative stance. "To the contrary, I'd say I chose the best night possible to go for a walk, sir Taurus."
Adam's eyes narrowed under his mask. While he was well-known throughout Remnant, having this man address him so calmly felt off-putting.
He and his men prepared to attack, in no mood at all to be entertaining whatever farce this is…
…Only for the man to hold up his right hand in a placating manner. "Now, now. Pause for just a moment," he said. "I understand you're terribly eager to meet with your allies within Vale, but let's speak a little first."
Adam began to slowly draw Wilt out… though this was to be a feint. He intended to actually use Blush to open fire first, then charge in with his blade once the man defended himself from the bullets.
"The White Fang doesn't make it a habit of speaking with corpses," Adam retorted.
The still unnamed man merely smiled. "…Tell me, for what purpose do you fight?" he asked. "For the good of the White Fang? The betterment and prosperity of all Faunuskind? Or perhaps… something much simpler… more personal?"
…Those words got Adam to slow, if only a bit. "…What does it matter to you?"
"I've a vested interest in the goals of others," the man replied. "You see, my desire is to see a world where all can march onwards, assured in themselves and able to achieve their greatest desires, no matter how grand or simple it could be."
Adam's lieutenant, a tall and muscular man wielding a chainsaw, scoffed. "What pretty words you speak, human. Perhaps we'll bother writing those words on a makeshift gravestone for you afterwards."
His words elicited harsh barks of laughter from some of the others.
Yet the man remained unbothered. "…Hmm. It would seem many of you act out of spite and vengeance. You, most of all, young Taurus." The man uttered those words with nary a change in his tone or expression. It was still more than enough to make that laughter turn into sounds of bristling, only for the man to keep going. "Oh, but by no means am I trying to downplay your goals. Make no mistake here – no matter what your motivation is or what goals you have specifically… I wholeheartedly admire it. For you all know what it is you want."
He now gazed at them all with genuine fondness. "Yes, this is a nice change of pace for me – far too many others I've met so far tend to not realize why they do what they do, much less even realize what their purpose is in life… a true shame. One that I hope to wipe away. With your help, that is."
The man's words threw them all for a loop, but none more so than Adam, his grip on Wilt slackening…
…Only to tighten his grip just a split second later.
Something was odd here. The longer the man talked, the more… not at ease they felt, but rather it was a case of almost feeling more amicable, more willing to talk.
But Adam was never one for talking… and especially not with someone who was now beginning to remind him far too much of Cinder. She too had initially approached him candidly, false though it may have been.
For what little it is worth, however, this man's personability was seemingly genuine thus far.
Still, Adam wouldn't feel bad for what was about to come.
"Whatever offer you're about to make us," Adam began. "You could take it and shove it. We've already been forced into one partnership we didn't seek. Like hell we'll let that stand a second time."
The man stared at Adam for just a few seconds before responding. "Truly, you're a dedicated one." His smile only grew. "That will only make this much more enjoyable."
Faster than most could even keep up with, an enormous amount of power spawned into existence – directly within the blade the man now held up.
The blade was swung and the whole world felt like it was bathed in a hue of blue light.
On instinct, Adam threw himself to the side. Even then, whatever this was still struck him to some extent, blowing him away by tens of yards. He was quick to roll to a stop, stabbing his blade into the ground to slow himself afterwards.
Immediately, he looked up…
…And beheld devastation.
The entire clearing had been annihilated utterly. The tents and equipment he and his forces had set up were no longer there at all, reduced seemingly to nothingness. The thick forestry that had surrounded the area had been cut down as well, expanding the clear zone by at least a solid twenty meters.
But more than that…
"You… fucking…!" growled out the nearby lieutenant, who'd also had the good sense to dodge alongside a handful of others.
Yes, only a handful of others.
The majority of his men… were now dead, their bodies either cut apart by the swing or outright scorched from the sheer intensity of the energy released.
From underneath his mask, Adam's stunned gaze quickly darted between one body and another.
There off near where the tents had been was what remained of who he presumed to be Ignis. An older owl-based Faunus that had worked alongside Ghira himself long ago, when Adam had still been young. Though a bitter man thanks to his experiences with humans, he'd always made sure to treat Adam with respect even when he'd still been little more than a brat that had been far too brash to think properly.
Closer to where he'd once been standing was the cut body of Kuroka, a young armadillo Faunus that had once bonded with Blake over certain novels that the two had read. Quiet by nature, perhaps even more so than that race traitor, but still lively when discussing topics of interest to her and she'd been no less loyal to their cause than anyone else.
Further back had once been Nathaniel, Adam's fellow trainee when he'd first joined the White Fang, only vaguely recognizable now thanks to some band patch that he always wore around his right arm.
Jacob.
Svin.
Raine.
Hapi.
Adam's head all but literally swiveled as he took in the ruined area, almost immediately recognizing all those that had just been slain…
…Slain by this filthy fucking human.
"You," Adam snarled. His grip tightened on Wilt tightening to the point of hurting himself. "How dare you come here with talks of cooperation… only to do this! You humans are all the same!"
Adam's semblance began to activate. Although he hadn't been able to properly brace for that attack just now, he'd still been able to call upon his semblance in time to 'charge' it. Having gained an immense deal of energy, he now used it to catapult himself forward, directly at the still unnamed human, this soon-to-be-corpse.
But just as he swung Wilt, the man was already responding in kind. Casually at that, too.
Adam's swing went directly for the man's neck, only for that long blade of his to gracefully slide upwards to guard against Wilt. Then the man pivoted and tugged on Adam's blade, the motion allowing the bull Faunus' own momentum to work against him and send him flying past the man.
As Adam went sailing, the surviving members of his group went on the attack at well.
Some of them opened fire with what guns they still held… only for the man to swing his blade behind him without even looking. Bullets were deflected without issue, with some even being knocked back directly into the gun's users.
The lieutenant, having long since cast off his name as a way of furthering his dedication to the cause, howled like a man possessed as he threw himself at the human. With his signature chainsaw in hand, he swung down.
This proved to be a mistake, however, one that Adam wasn't fast enough to correct on his dear friend's behalf. The human simply moved to the side so that the swing missed, then he thrust his blade as if it were a rapier. The attack landed directly across the lieutenant's throat, somehow tearing it wide open despite the man's impressive aura reserves.
Adam screamed as he opened fire with Blush, but the human was already gone, disappearing with a burst of speed only to reappear several meters to the right. A limb went flying and a scream of pain echoed throughout the night as Lynn lost her left arm. One slice later and her head joined the arm.
Adam dashed forward, continuing to fire with Blush while concentrating the remaining energy from his semblance into Wilt. As he neared, the human continued to twirl his blade, deflecting the bullets as though it was absolutely nothing, much to Adam's frustration.
Tossing aside Blush as he closed the remaining distance, he feinted a thrust towards the man's torso only to then spin and go for a full powered attack towards his neck again.
But once more, it was for naught.
Blade wielded in his left hand and right hand placed against the blade itself, the human swung upwards, parrying Adam's strike and causing all that built up energy to tear into the very air above them harmlessly, though the blow was still enough to shake the area.
The human suddenly got in close and struck Adam across the jaw with cross-guard of his sword then followed with a knee to the gut. That same leg then extended fully and nailed Adam in the crotch with a powerful kick that brought the bull Faunus low.
An open palm then slammed into the back of Adam's skull, forcing him into the ground hard enough to make a crater.
"I did actually come here with every intention of speaking with you," the damned human said, not even sounding like he was in a battlefield at all. He spoke as if they were at a café or the like, even after doing all this. "But as I said, you're a dedicated one. I didn't say that as some jest."
The man removed his hand from him and spun around, blade glowing blue yet again. Repeating his first move, he swung yet again… and this time, the resulting wave was much larger – impossible to dodge.
The gunfire and cries of righteous fury were immediately silenced.
Now it was just Adam and this piece of shit human.
The latter of whom was now backing away slightly. He was giving Adam a chance to stand up.
"I knew from the moment I even gazed upon you that you are fully dedicated to this cause. The same goes for your forces," the human said, taking this time to adjust his ponytail, the pale blond hair gently swaying in the breeze. It was an act that contrasted heavily with the nightmarish situation that continued to play out. "No matter how much blood you'd have to shed or drenched in hypocrisy and hate you'd all be in…you would still give it your all for the White Fang. You know exactly what you want to do with your life – your purpose, defined by you and only you, filling you with all the vigor and fulfillment that could ever be required. I knew then and there that my attempt to speak with you would end in failure."
As Adam struggled to his feet, he beheld the human smiling softly.
"Many would likely label you all as fools, murderers and perhaps even monsters… but not I," spoke the human. "No, I can only feel respect for you. Even admiration, for you are what I am hoping to one day see on an even greater scale."
The man then sighed quietly. "Alas, letting you and your forces do as you please may possibly delay certain events that I've set up. Therefore, it became necessary to take you out of the picture in one form or another."
Adam could only gaze at the man with nothing but contempt in his eyes.
His exposed eyes – that slam into the ground just now had been strong enough to shatter the mask he wore, the serial number burnt into his skin visible now for the man to see thanks to the pale light of the moon.
"And just for that… you'd kill us all like animals?" Adam growled as he held Wilt with both hands, spreading his feet apart until his stance had firmed up.
By now, it was obvious that he stood no chance. As strong as he'd become over the years, Adam knew that against fully trained huntsmen, he'd be hardpressed to eek out a win. And this man was clearly at that level, if not even above it somehow.
Nevertheless, Adam wasn't about to back down. Not now or ever.
The human gazed at him softly. "…Ha, even when drowning in hypocrisy…" he mumbled almost affectionately. He then held up his blade in a salute, the sort of thing Adam had once read about long ago. "Though it is sad it must end like this, I will see to it that you end like a warrior, Adam Taurus."
The man now lowered his blade and switched his stance, holding it as though it were a katana. "Come when you're ready."
Adam's teeth gritted as he strengthened his resolve further.
…Despite affirming yet again his desire to win this, he somehow felt his hate for this human slowly ebb away.
How terribly odd.
This was the final thought he allowed himself to have before finally letting out a warrior's cry and charging at the human.
And the man – Veratyr – welcomed it with joy.
There, all done! Consider the length of this chapter as a way to make up for how long it took me to get around to this, ha ha.
But anyways, this chapter may be a bit… well, definitely not controversial, but perhaps not too popular in the long run. After all, Adam is yet another RWBY character alongside Roman and Junior getting unceremoniously taken out of the story now… and at the hands of an OC at that too.
Given just how long it's been since I'd last done a RWBY fic, I'm not too sure what the overall opinion the fandom here has towards OCs and their roles in stories, to say nothing of canon characters in general now. Thus, I wrote this chapter with a fair bit of hesitation towards the end.
That said, I do hope this further stirs interest in the plot I've planned. With Ozpin and Salem still operating on incomplete info (albeit to differing degrees) and my OCs doing their damnedest to keep it that way for a while longer, it will be leading all sorts of new and exciting situations.
And if it seems like my OCs are a little too OP as of now (well, my main OCs like Veratyr, Alisa, etc.), then not to worry – as time goes on, I'll be introducing some weaknesses/flaws to balance things out. Just keep in mind that they have the advantage in the information war going on still. Once that advantage is lost and both Ozpin's and Salem's sides learn more about Liminals, expect things to change and more viewpoints to be explored.
Until next time, everyone. Take care!