Several minutes of silence between Ozpin and the Praxic Warlock Shayura before him after her revelation of Summer Rose having a hand in the murder of Cayde-6.
A silence broken by Ozpin. "How dare you." He said leaning forward, his eyes now obscured by his glasses, which themselves were now obscured by the lights in his office reflecting in the lenses. "How dare you suggest that Summer Rose, a former student of mine, former member of Team STRQ, mother to two of my students which are members of one of Beacon's finest teams, Guardian who has done numerous things to save not only Sol, but Remnant as well, had a hand in the death of one of the Vanguard."
"I do dare, and we have proof of her guilt."
"What sort of proof?" Ozpin asked. Eyes still obscured, but listening.
Shayura sighed and bid her Ghost to the table. "While this is an active investigation, and technically, you are not authorized to know said evidence that came to light. But since you know her so well and most undoubtable be her defendant…" "You're damn right I would!" Ozpin nearly shouted, remembering one of his previous lives where he was a lawyer.
Her ghost hovered over the table and the first piece of evidence appeared. This being a green spike with Hive lettering.
"This was the spike recovered from the Prison of Elders. The one responsible for killing Cayde-6's Ghost; Sundance. Energy signature confirms that it is Hive in origin and made of the same energy found in Weapons of Sorrow. Deeper analysis shows that it is made out of a Weapon of Sorrow identified as the hand cannon Thorn."
Ozpin nodded in understanding since he had partaken in Guardian Byfs lectures on the Hive and Weapons of Sorrow.
"While there have been many Thorn hand cannons, those ones are lesser compared to this one, since it's the original. As per Last City protocol 456-23-C: all Weapons of Sorrow in the possession of Guardians that wish to use them must register them to the Praxic Order and Vanguard Authority prior to their use. This Thorn is the original being last in the possession of one Summer Rose, as seen from these pictures." Another series images were shown where Summer Rose was fighting the enemies of the Last City, wielding the hand cannon in question. Image after image after image it showed her with the weapon.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't she lose her weapon during the opening of the Red War?" Ozpin stated.
"She did, according to these reports." Her Ghost showed a series of documents where she stated she lost said weapon facing against Dominus Ghaul. Unknown to them both, the report was written under the supervision of Guardian Lux Syphoid of Fireteam Nero threatening to start a city-wide ban on her getting cookies ever again. "But reports can be falsified or misleading. She could have 'lost it', given it to the barons prior to their incarceration and have it melted down into the spike you see before you. Then there's the other piece of evidence." She nodded to her ghost and another image appeared. This one was a man of Asian descent, green bandana around his head, furred pauldrons on his shoulder, brown and green robes with a jade coin in his fingers. If Ozpin squinted his eyes, he could make out conjoined serpents.
Ozpin eyes narrowed a bit in recognition. "Ah, so you met this one?" Shayura asked him. "I did a few weeks back. He came to me with a proposition of creating a series of trials pitting my students against Grimm and a few Taken he managed to wrangle up. Called himself Drifter." Ozpin replied, recalling every detail how the Lightbearer came to his office after hours, pitched him the idea. He went on saying that something was on the horizon and the Huntsmen and Guardians needed to be ready. Even if it means walking that fine line between the Light and the Darkness.
"I told him I needed time to consider his proposal. He was understandable and went to the Vanguard with his pitch. From what I hear, he got full approval."
"The one you call Drifter is known by another name, Dredgen Hope. As in Dredgen Yor. As in the Shadows of Yor. You know as much as I do how destructive those fanatics are."
Ozpin knew very much. After the Vex Invasion of Remnant, the Shadows of Yor made landfall and quietly teamed up with Salem and a few other factions on Remnant. During the Vytal festival, they attacked, creating massive panic and destruction, almost turning Summer to Darkness, if what he heard was correct. If it wasn't for the intervention of the recently revealed Eliksni House Light and Ruby Rose bringing her mother back from the brink, it could have ended a lot worse.
"I was under the impression that one Shin Malphur was currently hunting down all of the members of the organization." Ozpin said, neglecting to mention that Shin Malphur himself founded said organization to have all Guardians that were too fanatical with Dredgen Yor's works and teachings in one place, keep tabs on them and kill them without them knowing.
"I don't know how the Drifter got away with it, but Shin Malphur ignores him…for now." She said bringing up a picture of Summer Rose in front of the Xiao Long household, selling War beast puppies to those who want them. Circled in red was the Drifter, holding one of the pups in his arms, paying for it and handing said funds to Summer.
"This image shows that Summer and a former member of the Shadows of Yor interacted with one another before the murder. He could have easily handed her something, anything which led to Cayde-6's death."
"Listed as well are the numerous rules in place regarding Summer Rose." She continued, her ghost bringing up a roster of said rules. Ozpin gazed upon the list as it scrolled by. "Ever since she has been revived by her ghost, she had demonstrated complete disobedience to Vanguard authority, committing disturbances of the peace within the walls of the Last City, making 'sick' jumps over the Hellmouth on Luna, scaling the very face of the Traveler itself, the list goes on!" She ranted. "Time and again she has broken the rules, instead of conforming to the standards we Guardians uphold to. Any other Guardian would have been either banished or executed by my Order. Yet all she has gotten were mere slaps on the wrist. But not this time, the weapon used to murder Cayde-6 may have been wielded by a baron in service to Uldren Sov, but he got it from Summer Rose, effectively making her the mastermind of the whole thing."
Ozpin listened to her. Her points, he reluctantly had to admit were valid and the evidence was a tad damning. If this was a huntsmen, any Kingdom would have arrested them on the spot with evidence like this, stripped him of said license and either threw them in prison or executed them as a warning to others. As for the rules listed against Summer, the Summer he knew wouldn't break any of those rules, wouldn't do any of the things Shayura accused her of. But a voice in the back of his head whispered to him.
But this isn't your Summer Rose. She's been revived by a Ghost. Her past erased and replaced with someone else.
Ozpin Shook his head dispelling those thoughts. Just as he was about to say something, the Warlock's Ghost popped up. Her eyes widened as she got up from her seat. "It looks like I've got work to do in your fair Kingdom. Good luck on your escapees. Based off of what I've read, you best hope none of them join with Salem." She said making him grip his coffee mug, porcelain cracking under his grip. She pressed the button for the elevator, but not before turning around to look at the headmaster one last time. "If you have the means of contacting her, call her. Tell her to turn herself in…before I have to do it myself." The doors opened and she stepped inside. He watched as the elevator sent her down, already having a good idea of what kind of character she is.
A fanatic, one who would get the job done, put down anyone or anything in her path, regardless of the consequences.
00000
Guardian Lux Syphoid sent another Nova Bomb at the Hive Knight before her. The blast impacted the Knight before he disintegrated. In his place was a green smoke that shone bright before flying away back into the complex.
"Damn it all! That's the third time we've killed this bastard!" Lux said, kicking a toolbox on the ground in frustration. Her fellow Titan, Prometheus-23 killed the last of the Thralls before turning to her. "This one is indeed a tough opponent. One that we were made fully aware of before we took the bounty."
They were on an old offshore Rig in the Pacific Ocean on Earth hunting an escapee from the Prison of Elders. This particular Knight by the name of Takul-Dar, nicknamed the Unbreakable had an ability to self-resurrect himself as many times as he needed to. While Hive surviving death itself wasn't entirely uncommon amongst those that are considered Ascendant, Takul-Dar wasn't. He was an ordinary Knight.
"I've seen something like this on Mars with Nokris own Hive sect. Perhaps this Knight is an experiment for them to resurrect themselves without the need of an Ascendant Realm?" Prometheus-23 hypothesized. "Maybe, but according to the dossier, Takul-Dar belongs to the Hive sect associated with Savathun." Lux said looking over the file regarding said Hive Knight.
Lux's Ghost, Luscious appeared. "There's a message coming in from headmaster Ozpin."
Both Lux and Prometheus-23 turned and looked over the message that the headmaster sent them.
"Tell me this is a joke!?" Lux said reading the files, disgusted at the very idea.
"A Praxic Warlock is looking for Summer Rose for the murder of Cayde-6!?" She turned as she sent a Void grenade nearby, the purple energy bathing her angry face. "That is entirely bullshit! There is no way she could be responsible and anyone who thinks otherwise is completely dumb or completely stupid or a combination of both!"
"And the evidence against her. This Praxic warlock is using Summer's history as evidence. Her weapon being lost is purely by coincidence. She's many things, but a criminal mastermind isn't one of them. And the Drifter has been operating for some time already. Practically everybody knows of his past as a former Shadow of Yor. It's the worst kept secret!" Prometheus-23 said also a bit mad.
"Want to take our anger on this Hive Knight?"
"Love to."
00000
Praxic Warlock Shayura stepped past the police tape that the Vale Police Department had set up around the body. "Mam, I'm afraid you can't come through…" The officer stopped in his tracks when he saw not only was she a Guardian, but a member of the Praxic Order. "You here for the body?" He asked gesturing to the body covered in a sheet.
"Let me see it." She said coming to the body. The medical examiner that covered the body did as she was bid. Shayura looked down at the body. She breathed through her nose.
Another dead Guardian.
This one was a female Awoken Hunter, a hole right between her eyes. The remains of her ghost littering near her head where her purple mohawk was disheaveled. Markers where the remains of the ghost, the body outline and the point of impact which killed said Ghost all for her to see. She bid her Ghost to scan the green spike that was identical to the one that Killed cayde's Ghost; Sundance.
Her Ghost did a quick scan on every spectrum. Same Hive energy, same material made from, different Hive script on the side. While the one that killed Cayde had his name written on the side, this one was different.
Nadiya.
She walked away from the crime scene, but not before she told both the medical team and the police to bag the body, remains of the ghost and all evidence and send them to the local Praxic Order stationed in Vale. She labeled it as a priority and walked away from the crime scene. It wasn't long till her ghost got a ping from the data base. She smiled at the results. She just got another piece of evidence to charge Summer Rose for the murder of Cayde-6.
For the material of the spike was the same material made from her supposedly lost weapon, Thorn.
She fingered the talisman around her neck, a gift from an informant of hers not too long ago. Her fingers brushed against the crescent obsidian crystal as she pondered her next move.
She's responsible for the murder. This is it! Summer Rose can't get away with this! She doesn't deserve to be a Guardian. She's on the path to becoming a Dark Guardian. You need to bring her down! She needs to be put down! Maybe her husband knows? We need to ask him!
She decided to go to Patch to question the former husband of Summer Rose, one Taiyang Xiao Long. Surely, he knew where she was?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a call coming in. She checked and saw it was her informant. The one who gave her the tip in regards to Summer Rose.
She clicked and answered.
"It's you Mikel."
"Indeed it is, Praxic Shayura. It is with great sorrow I must inform you that my contacts have been used up. Wherever Summer Rose is, none know where she is."
"It's alright Mikel, it was a long shot. You would think with all the rules she broke, many would be jumping at the chance to give us information. Again, thanks for the tip."
"Just doing my civic duties to your order, Praxic Shayura."
"I got another lead to follow. If you find anything, let me know."
"You'll be the first." The call then ended.
As she continued on, deciding to take the trip via a ferry, the voices that spoke in her voice continued to list all of the reasons why Summer Rose needed to be brought down.
Voices coming from the reliquary around her neck. The reliquary containing the finger of Nezarec, feeding her fear with its power while shielding itself from her ghost.
A gift from her favorite informant.