Chapter 35: Courtesy Call

Sitting at the cabins table, Weiss's gaze was locked onto her coffee, all but refusing to look up at her sister who sat across from her with a stern look on her face.

She wasn't sure how Winter was capable of immediately acting professional immediately after… After being caught in such a compromising position. Sure, they hadn't actually been doing anything of such an… scandalous nature, but it certainly seemed that way.

It also didn't help that the blonde bimbo was lying on the table with a blissful look on her face, getting a shoulder rub from Coal while everyone was gathered around. It was incredibly distracting. Weiss ventured a guess that Pyrrha would agree with her, especially with how she was shooting glances to the duo.

"This is an active site, only those that are working on this project or are under the guidance of a Huntsman are allowed to stay here," Winter announced, shooting a glance to Pyrrha and Yang. "You should return to Atlas."

Weiss winced. "I… I'm sorry for arriving unannounced, but I can't return to Atlas Just yet. Father has entrusted me with overseeing the construction of this mine." She decided to leave out the part where she spent the better part of an hour convincing him to allow her to stay here.

A scowl briefly crossed Winter's face at the mention of Jacques before she quickly schooled it into a calm mask of passive distaste.

"I see."

"You won't have to worry about me, I won't get in the way," Weiss continued, meeting Winter's gaze for the first time since she sat down. "In fact, I think my presence will be nothing but helpful. I'll be able to direct the contractors more efficiently and since I'm training to be a Huntress, I'll be able to help guard the camp."

"No!" Winter snapped. Coughing to cover her outburst, she swiftly regained her composure. "There's no need for that. There are more than enough Huntsmen and Huntresses guarding the camp. Your time would be better spent focusing on your duties here instead of as a Huntress."

"Oh, I see," Weiss said, shrinking in on herself. "Is… Is everything alright, Winter?"

"Everything is fine," Winter nodded stiffly.

Sitting silently, Weiss glanced down at her lap. "I… I should really get going then," She announced, her chair slid backwards as she stood up. "I'm sorry if I caused any…"

"Don't take it so hard, Ice Princess," Yang chimed in lazily. "Your sisters just worried about you because of what happened last ni…"

Yang leaned deeper onto the table, letting out a relaxed moan as her back clicked into place.

"Did you mean to say last night?" Weiss asked. "What happened last night?"

I sighed as I looked down to the blonde who was quickly beginning to doze off out of sheer relaxation. The workers knew that a Grimm had attacked last night, but hadn't asked questions as they weren't Huntsmen or soldiers. Weiss on the other hand would want to know what happened.

"There're haven't been that many Grimm here, but the few that we have encountered have been fairly strong," I said. "Last night, we encountered a… rare kind of Grimm that ended up wounding someone."

"What kind," Weiss asked eagerly, sitting back down.

"Something new that was capable of fighting off your sister and Yang's uncle here at the same time," I explained, much to Weiss's interest. "It can get fairly dangerous out here, that's why, if you see a Grimm, it would be better for you to call for backup instead of trying to kill it on your own."

"I see," Weiss hummed, a small smile creeping on her face as she glanced at her sister. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind if I encounter a Grimm out here, I won't get in the way."

Nodding, I readjusted the ice pack on Yang's arm, before moving back, content to let her sleep while I rest my hands.

"Um… Coal," Pyrrha spoke up, shifting nervously in her seat. "Would you mind doing that to me as well?" She asked, pulling her ponytail over her shoulder with a hopeful look on her face.

"Alright," I smiled, stepping around the table.

If nothing else, this was teaching me how the human body worked.

"That reminds me," Weiss muttered as she pulled her Scroll from her dress pocket. "I finished one of those songs you sent me. I tried sending it to you, but the signal must be fairly terrible out here, because it didn't go through. The Bullhead I arrived in should be able to boost the signal to a point, but I'll have to enquire with the workers to see if anything else can be done."

"You did?" I asked, stopping behind Pyrrha.

"Yes, it was one of the most successful songs I've ever done," She said proudly, holding the scroll in front of me. "It really helped that you were listed as the main composer for it."

Looking at her Scroll, my eyes widened as I saw the millions upon millions of views the song had gotten. Remnant didn't have that high of a population, with that many views, a good chunk of the world's population had likely seen it.

"And this is just the start," Weiss continued. "I've already completed a few others, they just need to be edited before they're ready to be released, which won't be long from now."

"Oh," I hummed. "That's great. You've really done an awesome job here, Weiss."

Besides everything else, I was still really impressed that she's already managed to complete a song. I'd literally just given her the lyrics and pretty much hummed the tune.

…Breathe…

A little time had passed and the cabin was once more filled beyond its maximum capacity with the arrival of Qrow, Ruby and Maria. Weiss on the other hand had headed out in order to see if anything could be done about the bad quality of the signal.

"May as well get this over with before the smaller Schnee returns," Qrow mumbled into his flask.

Placing my Scroll on the table, a blank holographic projection shone just above the table as it hummed softly. Pietro had spared no expense when he built it.

"Coal, It's been a while since we last talked. How are those masks … Qrow?"Ironwood paused as he caught sight of the others in the room. "Why are you there? What's going on?"

"Good to see you too, Jimmy," Qrow muttered. "Unfortunately, we're still waiting on…"

"How peculiar."

"That's the one," Qrow chuckled. "Oz, good to see you again."

"And you as well, Qrow,"Ozpin hummed. "But judging by how everyone is gathered around, this isn't a courtesy call, is it?"

Leaning back in his chair, Qrow smirked. "Are you sure about that? Maybe we just…"

"As much as I would like to say it is, it's not," I interrupted. "Last night, we were attacked by a new kind of Grimm and Salem made an appearance in front of everyone here."

"She was there?! In person?!"Ironwood all but yelled.

"Not exactly," I replied. "She projected her body through a Grimm, but she wasn't able to interact with anything… Kind of like what we're doing now."

"Perhaps you should start from the beginning," Ozpin suggested, his tone relaxed while his posture was stiff.

…Breathe…

Sitting in his office, Ozpin listened to Coal's recount of the evening with great interest and a hint of disgust.

Of all the things for Salem to dabble in, he never would have thought for her to stoop to necromancy of all things. It had once been reviled by all but the most depraved. One of the few good things that came from humanity losing magic was the loss of necromancy as well.

Except… It apparently wasn't as lost as he once thought.

The only question now was… Just how far would she delve?

She had already proven that she had no issues with defiling the corpse of one of her followers in an attempt to make a stronger, smarter Grimm.

It honestly felt that every time he found a new reason to hope… To feel like he gained some sort of edge, Salem came around with something new that would more or less even the scales.

He could only hope that her new Grimm's failure would discourage her from continuing down her current path or countless others would suffer for it. If she continued, however, there was a small reprieve. Necromancy took a large amount of preparation, she wouldn't be able to raise an entire army overnight.

Creating her necromantic Grimm had likely taken a massive amount of effort on her part as well. It would be years before she was able to raise a large enough amount that could be considered a threat, and if that time ever came, they would be ready.

Overall, Ozpin found it interesting that Salem chose to appear before Coal's group. The fact that she'd gone to such great lengths to attack them, only to turn around and offer Coal a deal once more made him think that she wanted something and he didn't think it was the identity of the Spring Maiden.

She wanted something else… Something that she hid within her initial request. It couldn't all be to sway Coal to her side. Her whole offer seemed off.

Sighing, Ozpin leaned heavily on his hand. He was going to be stuck thinking about this all week.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" Ozpin requested.

…Breathe…

"I asked why this is kept from everyone," Yang replied. "Why is Salem's existence kept a secret? Doesn't it make more sense to tell everyone about her, so we can all know what we're fighting against?"

"Unfortunately, it isn't that easy," Ironwood sighed. "If we did tell the world about Salem, there would be a massive fallout. Negative emotions would attract hordes of Grimm and some cities would potentially be overrun. I do think your idea has merit, but I don't believe it's a viable option currently."

"But couldn't we protect them then?" Yang asked, glancing towards me. "I mean, Mistral seems to be doing alright after Coal killed that Ancient Grimm. Wouldn't it be a similar situation?"

"With more than a fair amount of damage and death," Ozpin chimed in. "The Ancient Grimm was also slain. If we were to announce Salem's existence to the world, we would be letting everyone know that there's an active threat out there that hasn't been dealt with."

There was an angle that none of them had been considering. Sure, telling the world about Salem might help unite everyone against her, but there was also a chance that people would flock to her for protection against the Grimm or simply because they see her as some kind of goddess like Tyrian had.

Dealing with Grimm was bad enough. Dealing with a cult that snuck into cities and settlements in order to help destroy them was far more problematic.

"A person is smart, people are dumb," I hummed softly. "All it takes is one person to fall into a panic to drive others to fear which plays directly into Salem's hand. She can't control all the Grimm, or she would have done so already, by causing a worldwide panic, we're attracting Grimm and doing her job for her."

"That's a fairly well reasoned way of looking at things," Ozpin nodded. "The largest weapon Salem has is fear. She thrives on it and uses it to divide us. Without it, all she has is her servants and a limited number of Grimm she can control."

I hid my amusement. He was forgetting a few things there, namely the fact that she had magic and that she was completely immortal. Neither of which were a deal breaker. She could still be beaten, it would just take a bit more preparation.

"Are there any more questions?" Ozpin asked, his hologram glanced around the room.

"I do have one," Pyrrha admitted. "It's concerning something that Salem mentioned about you… About how Coal might be your next host… How you would end up consuming his soul."

"Well fuck," Qrow muttered under his breath.

The room immediately quieted down at the accusation.

"I can see this is something that bothers you," Ozpin hummed. "Throughout my long life, choosing my hosts has never been within my power, it happens at random with the only condition being that they are a like minded person. Rest assured, I've never met one of my hosts before I reincarnated into them."

"And you've met Coal," Pyrrha noted.

"I have," Ozpin nodded. "I've met many in the past that I thought might be my next host who were far more similar to me than Coal, but none of them ever were. Also, it's less of me consuming a soul and more how I merge with my host's soul, changing me just as much as I change them."

Pyrrha visibly relaxed at Ozpin's reassurance.

"Now if that's everything, I would like to ask a question of my own," Ozpin said. "That story you told, the one about Pandora. I admit, I've never heard of it before, but it shares some resemblance to Salem's apparent origin."

That wasn't exactly a question, but I could see what Ozpin was getting at.

"Someone told it to me when I was young… I can't exactly remember who though," I answered honestly. "It was a good few years ago after all. I actually know quite a few different stories."

"I would be interested in hearing them at some point," Ozpin hummed.

"I am planning on visiting Beacon in the future, so maybe then," I suggested. "I might even tell you one of my favorites one day… It's about a lone Samurai who fought against impossible odds, never yielding… Always pushing forward. As a kid, I always wanted to be like him," I chuckled softly, looking down at the katana strapped to my side. "I guess I got my wish, along with everything that comes with it."

Trapped in an alien, yet familiar world… It was funny how things worked out. The only difference… I wasn't looking for a way back. I had too many connections here that I didn't want to lose, besides… I'm pretty sure that I'm dead on that side.

Feeling someone place a hand on my arm, I looked up to see Maria offering a comforting smile.

"I'm fine. Just… Reminiscing," I said, patting Maria's hand.

"I believe that should be enough for now," Ozpin announced. "Do you have anything to add, James?"

"Yes," Ironwood coughed. "Seeing as Salem is aware of your current location and has taken an interest, I will be sending some reinforcements to help secure the new dust mine."

"I really don't think that's necessary. There's barely any Grimm here as is," Qrow argued. "If you send your troops and you're only going to attract unwanted attention."

"I think we're a little beyond that, Qrow," Ironwood replied. "With Salem…"

"Not Salem, you idiot," Qrow interrupted. "Unless you've forgotten, there's still other threats besides Salem, for instance… The White Fang. This place isn't that well known, but if you send your troops in, people are gonna start asking what's going on up here and come find out."

"…He has a point," Ozpin acknowledged.

"Unfortunately," Ironwood lamented. "I will only send a single platoon then. That should give a modicum of extra protection to the camp while also being few enough to go unnoticed."

"It's not exactly what I was suggesting, but it'll do," Qrow hummed.

"Specialist Schnee," Ironwood said, causing Winter to sit a bit straighter. "I realize that what you learned last night can seem like quite a lot. I hope you understand that everything we've done and the secrets that we've kept is to ensure the safety of the four Kingdoms."

"I understand, sir," Winter replied. "Some things are better kept secret," She said, her eyes twitching my way.

"Then I believe I've said everything I must," Ironwood finished. "I'll be heading out. Coal, be sure to tell me how well those masks I gave you have been working. Doctor Pietro has mentioned that he has a few ideas on how to improve them."

Crap, I'd actually forgotten about those.

"I stored them on the Bullhead we arrived in which was totaled by Salem's Grimm… I'll have to check if they've been damaged," I replied.

"…I see," Ironwood hummed. "Then I'll send an extra set along with the soldiers, just in case the ones you have are damaged. I'll talk to you on the matter later. For now, I've got other duties to attend to,"He finished, ending the call with Ozpin ending his only a moment later.

A click sounded through the room as the hologram faded. Sliding my Scroll closed, I slipped it back into my pocket.

"Well that was a thing," Yang muttered. "I'm not gonna lie, learning about some big conspiracy and then meeting two headmasters, one of which being the General for the entirety of Atlas… It feels a little crazy, almost like a dream."

"Eh, you get used to it," Qrow waved her off. "You hear one world shattering secret, you've heard them all."

"That's a joke right?" Yang asked. "Salem's the big one… There aren't any more, right?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Qrow said, taking a long gulp from his flask. "Sure thing."

…Breathe…

Standing in the forest, I glanced to the side, spotting Pyrrha taking slow, controlled practice swings with her sword while she attempted to use her Flame Breathing. Winter was sitting nearby, fully focused on Total Concentration Breathing and from the looks of it, she was making some decent progress.

There were still a few hours left in the day, more than enough for me to try something on my own. Ever since I'd awakened the Demon Slayer mark, I'd grown complacent. Having mastered Sun Breathing, I stopped training my techniques as they couldn't improve further.

Pyrrha being wounded, however, reminded me that there is always something to improve on. My Semblance didn't have any actual combat capability, that was true. On the other hand, it was great for learning and quantifying what I'd learned.

Shrugging my jacket off, I placed my fingertips against a tree trunk, marking where I would strike before pulling back. Since I'd mastered how to use my sword, I instead chose to focus on how to fight without it.

Focusing the blood in my body to circulate through my arm, my muscles hardened and my fingers stiffened.

Thrusting forward, my fingertips impacted the three, piercing through it until I was finally forced to stop. Pulling my hand free, I glanced at my fingers, checking to see if they had been damaged.

Not finding any damage, I let out a frustrated sigh. Pulling my hand back, I tried again and once more stabbed my fingertips into the tree trunk, burying them just a little deeper this time.

Pulling back, I tried again.

And again.

And again.

Until finally.

…
Ping!
Through constant practice, a new technique has been created.

Finger Pistol (Active) Lvl 1/10
Through hardening your fingers, you're able to deliver a devastating jab with the power to pierce through solid objects like a bullet. The few fingers that are used, the greater the piercing power is. Warning, using this technique without Aura could result in a broken finger.
…

Finger Pistol? Why did that sound so familiar? Oh well, I was sure it would eventually come to me. There was no reason for me to dwell on what I didn't know. I'd done what I intended and created a technique that would help me fight if I was ever disarmed.

It mentioned that the few fingers I used, the greater the effect would be. Since I was here, I may as well try it out.

Pulling my arm back, I thrust it forward, burying my full index finger into the tree. Pulling my hand free, I glanced at my finger and the newly made hole. This would do nicely. Now all I had to do was practice it until it felt completely natural.

"Coal," Pyrrha hummed

"Yes," I asked.

Turning around, I noticed Pyrrha's sword was stabbed into the ground with her shield resting against it. Winter appeared to still be practicing… No… She overdid it and fell asleep.

"Do… Do you think I could ask you something that might be a little… Personal?"

"You can ask, I won't mind," I reassured her, already guessing where this was going.

"Earlier, when you were talking to Ozpin about stories, you seemed distracted and a little sad," She replied. "What happened there?"

I took a slow, relaxed breath. "You never know what you have until you lose it," I murmured softly. "I guess I was just thinking of the time before I met Maria and how different my life has become."

"Met her?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's… a long story. Maria and I aren't actually related. She found me a few miles away from her cabin, bleeding out in the snow, unlocked my Aura, dragged me to her home and treated my wounds," I explained.

Pulling my shirt forward, I pointed to the faded white lines.

"My head was a bit scrambled at the time, so I couldn't really remember who I was. After I'd healed up, Maria took me to the nearest settlement in order to see if she could find my family. As it turned out, I did, but he was dead… Killed by bandits who raided the…"

Launching herself forward, Pyrrha pulled me into a tight hug.

"You don't have to say anymore," She said, her voice sounding shaky. "I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories."

Wrapping my arms around Pyrrha, I hummed softly.

The memories of Black Rock had been painful, but not for the reason she thought. It had been the moment where I remembered who I was and with that came the realization that I could never go back home again.

"It's okay," I murmured, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"That's what I'm supposed to say," Pyrrha sniffled. "I should be the one comforting you."

Suppressing a laugh, I patted her on the back. She was upset and upset at herself for being upset. I could only shake my head in amusement and hold her until she calmed down.

Something Qrow had mentioned earlier popped into my head. How stationing too many soldiers here might draw the attention of the White Fang.

I had already met two thirds of team RWBY… Hell, they were all here. If the White Fang decided to attack, there was a non zero chance that I might run into Blake as well.

Nah, that couldn't be. She should have left Adam on that train by now.

…Breathe…

"Damnit," Blake cursed, throwing her Scroll into her pillow. Of the things humans… No, the Schnee's… Of all the things the Schnee's could pull, this was by far the most infuriating.

Taking a moment to calm herself down, Blake left her room, making a quick stop in her kitchen to grab a soothing cup of tea, before sitting down by a window overlooking Vale.

Glancing at her bedroom, she forcefully turned away from it, instead, she focused on the street below, content to just watch the people living their daily lives. Vale was a peaceful city, especially if one was a human.

No, she couldn't think like that, it was a slippery slope. She'd quit the White Fang in order to get away from all that hate. She couldn't allow herself to hate on principle anymore.

Draining the remainder of her tea, she washed her cup and went back to her room, collapsing on her bed.

Grabbing her Scroll, Blake clicked it open, glaring at the image within. "Damnit, Weiss Schnee. How could you make such a good song? It was almost like it was written for me… What's this?" She asked, scrolling down. "Composed by… Coal Calavera… The guy who killed that Ancient Grimm? Then…"

Blake's mood brightened. It wasn't the Schnee who wrote it. She was free to enjoy it. Pressing the play button, Blake rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I am not a stranger to the dark. Hide away, they say…"

A bit of a calmer chapter after everything that's happened. Ironwood and Ozpin do their best to answer everyone's questions, Coal learns a new technique which will open up more possibilities in the future and Blake makes an appearance, hate listening to Weiss's new song which should be fairly familiar, only to gaslight herself into being okay with listening to it.

Also, since pretty much everyone in RWBY is based off a fairytale character, I thought it was about time Coal realized the similarities he shared with Samurai Jack... Outside of Yoriichi, that is.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 40 on the P word website.

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

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

The next chapter will be posted on the 30th of December.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.
Have a great week and enjoy whatever holiday you may or may not celebrate.