My shitty apartment window has a gap that lets allllll the cold air in. the fuck is up with that
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
After all the chaos down in the city, no one even noticed that a Manta wasn't heading down to aid in the evacuation or even to cover the skies as more and more Teryx and Nevermores began to move in. No, this particular Manta was heading to Amity for a much less noble cause. In the pilot seat of the obsidian colored ship was one disgraced Atlesian doctor and he was dead set on ensuring that Ironwood's little secret project was torn down. As a man of science, however, Watts had to admit that there was a certain stroke of genius to the idea. The biggest weakness of the towers, at least in his opinion, was how easy it was to access them. They were key points of connection for all the Huntsmen communities, but anyone could just walk right in, no background check or anything of the sort. Honestly, it was that lack of security that let Beacon's tower fall in the first place, but by using Amity as a replacement, not only could Atlas' general save time and resources on building a new tower entirely but he could also solve that little accessibility problem.
Leave it to James to make another monument that the whole world can look up to and never touch, Watts thought to himself with a bit of contempt.
After landing the ship, Watts made his way uncontested through the hallways of the former colosseum, all of which are still littered with ladders and various construction supplies. Cables dangled from the ceiling above, almost giving the impression of manufactured vines. There was even a workplace danger sign that read "CAUTION: VOLATILE DUST ON-SITE." The former doctor of Atlas was carrying that rather expensive looking bag with him as he went, no doubt filled with all manner of technical tools. He exited the corridors, finding himself entering what was once the main arena. He looked around and nodded in approval as he continued on, entering the area from where student teams would walk in like a general sports stadium.
He gave one last cursory look-over of his surroundings, taking note of all the little curiosities he passed on the way in.
"Hmm… This will certainly do the trick. Although I wouldn't exactly call it finished..." Watts frowned.
Suddenly, metal doors slammed shut on all entrances into the arena.
"Ominous," Watts muttered.
"Arthur Watts…" Ironwood's voice boomed through the arena.
The arena lights and the light inside the commentator's booth turned on. Watts looked over his shoulder at the booth, where Ironwood was holding a microphone.
"Welcome," Ironwood said, his voice echoing through the empty arena.
Watts walked across the arena floor, towards the booth, staring up at his old boss.
"It wasn't finished... it was bait," the once-thought-dead doctor realized, before he threw aside the leather bag he'd brought with him. So much for the tools.
Ironwood tossed aside the microphone and jumped out of the booth, landing on the arena floor in a kneel. He stood up, and the two approached each other, circling one another with their eyes fixed on each other.
"You know, James, I always did appreciate Amity," Watts said casually, like he was in an everyday conversation, "A technological marvel, truly, even before you went and added your, uh, modifications. All the different Dust types working in harmony, the biome system and, of course," the doctor held up his right hand and wiggled his ringed fingers mockingly, "Everything that goes into controlling them."
A cyan light then emanated from the golden rings he wore, followed by a high-pitched activation whir, before he simply slammed his hand down on the middle of the arena floor. In response, the colosseum let out a low ping back, sealing the connection. Four of the biome selection screens from the Vytal Festival appeared around the arena, already spinning. The four panels in the larger arena that didn't have a screen appeared above them and began to descend.
Watts righted himself, smirking as he adjusted his glove, only for a gunshot to interrupt his oh so casual demeanor. Instead of striking him though, a hardlight barrier formed from his rings and blocked the bullet, the casing clattering to the ground.
"To think I actually mourned your sorry ass," Ironwood said, smoke rising out of Due Process' barrel.
"I doubt that," Watts scoffed.
The biome randomizer screens finally stopped spinning through the options. All four landed on a purple icon depicting levitating platforms. The remaining four panels receded, and Watts looked around. Ironwood fired another shot just as Watts began running. Ironwood continued firing at Watts, who leapt off the panel, into the biome below. Gravity biomes started rising up in the four sections that had the biome randomizer screens. Ironwood looked around, watching the simulated environments rise up. Finally, he saw Watts standing on a levitating platform on the fourth and final biome that he looked at.
"At the risk of sounding cliche, James… I won't be going down without a fight," Watts said, drawing his own revolver and spinning the chamber. Unlike most revolvers, the disgraced doctor's held twenty shots and sported two barrels, wrapped inside decorative bronze vine-like coils.
In the center of the arena, Ironwood gazed up at Watts, who stood on a platform in a gravity biome. Lava geysers shot up from the fire biome to his left and right. Watts pointed his revolver at Ironwood, who drew his black pistol and aimed it behind himself. Pulling back his gun's hammer, Watts took aim and muttered a single word to himself.
"Nineteen."
Ironwood shot a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun and propelled himself toward the gravity biome. Watts fired off a single round at Ironwood, but the general dodged the shot with another Gravity Dust bullet, pushing himself out of the way. He shot off yet another bullet to get back on course. When he got close to Watts, Ironwood aimed a bullet to his left, sending him flying towards a floating wall that Ironwood kicked off of to launch himself above Watts, a fist already reared back and ready to make impact with his opponent's smug face.
Watts was caught off guard and quickly jumped away, avoiding Ironwood's punch. Ironwood threw his black revolver in the air and caught it, flipping it around. Watts aimed at Ironwood again, but Atlas' general swung his revolver at Watts' face. The disgraced doctor leaned back, dodging the swing, but that left an opening for his opponent to strike at Watts.
Ironwood punched him in the gut, making Watts double over, before he followed up with a kick that sent the good doctor flying across a gap to another platform. Watts landed more gracefully than one would expect, slid backwards, and avoided a follow-up bullet fired by Ironwood. While the first didn't land, the general fired off two more shots which Watts blocked with a Hard-Light shield before aiming his gun at Ironwood again and pulling the trigger.
"Eighteen," the disgraced doctor counted.
Watts fired an Electricity Dust round, but Atlas' general dodged it by diving and rolling away. He quickly sprung back up and aimed his white revolver at Watts, but Salem's technical genius activated his rings and changed the gravity on both the platform Ironwood was standing on and the one nearest to his left. The platform to the left swapped from purple to white as the one beneath did the reverse. Ironwood found himself suddenly floating for a brief second before the pull of the purple platform pulled him towards it and slammed him into it. Watts smirked and ran away while Ironwood recovered. Narrowing his eyes, the general gave chase, running along the floating walls to close the distance. Watts forcibly changed the gravity to make his opponent fall. It was perfectly timed so that, when Ironwood fell, he'd get hit by a boiling geyser.
Ironwood, however, was ready to counter the move. He shot a Gravity Dust bullet from his black gun to propel him back to the gravity biome Watts fled to and the two ran parallel to one another, trying to shoot each other. Bullet after bullet flew through the air but not a single one found their mark, either blocked by a hardlight shield or just because the other target was too fast. As Ironwood leaped across the gap towards his opponent, exploiting a cease in the barrage, Watts activated one of his rings and the general was pulled by gravity to a platform below. While falling, Ironwood managed to pull off a lucky shot with his black gun, hitting Watts in the side and knocking him into a wall, making his lime green Aura flicker for a moment.
Ironwood landed on his feet and fired off another gravity bullet, launching him back up to a stable platform. He landed right in front of his target and began punching at Watts. The disgraced Atlesian tried fighting back, throwing a punch of his own, but there was a reason that he preferred to stay in the background, content to pull the strings or just pull a trigger if needed. Ironwood grabbed Watts' upper arm before the swing even connected, punched him in the ribs, and then grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up off the ground. Watts took aim and fired off both an Electricity Dust and a Fire Dust bullet, forcing Ironwood to let go and dodge.
The general then grabbed Watts' firing arm and shoved it aside so he couldn't fire back. Ironwood then leveled his white revolver at Watts, but the doctor grabbed the underside of his opponent's gun and jumped over him, causing him to miss while Watts still had the barrel in his hand. Watts fired back with an Electricity Dust bullet, which Ironwood blocked with his right arm, letting Watts jump away.
"Ten," the doctor muttered.
Ironwood looked at his prosthetic arm for a moment, quickly assessing the damage, and spun around to fire more shots at Watts with the alabaster half of Due Process. Watts quickly fled, letting the bullets strike against the floor, before Ironwood continued his pursuit. Watts stuck to his tried and true strategy, using a ring to change gravity once again, and ran up the wall in front of him. As he chased Watts up the wall, Ironwood fired at him with his white gun, but the disgraced doctor retaliated with a double shot of Fire Ice Dust bullets. The combination of those two bullets found their mark and knocked the black gun from Ironwood's hand. Watts shot one more Fire Dust blast and then ran up onto the top of the wall, hearing the explosion of the shot go off.
And yet he knew that wouldn't be enough to end the general.
"Seven." Watts frowned.
He shut off the gravity for the wall and fled, but Ironwood managed to grab onto the edge with his left hand and pulled himself up just in time. Once he reached the top, he saw Watts fleeing to another gravity biome on Hard-Light platforms. Instead of following, Ironwood looked off to the left and quickly devised a plan.
Immediately after Watts arrived in the other gravity biome, a lava geyser erupted from the sunken fire biome below. Watts looked back at it, and when the lava fell, he looked around in surprise, having lost sight of Ironwood. As Watts peeked over the edge at the fire biome, Ironwood leaped up onto a platform behind him and began running.
"Hmmph." Watts huffed, completely oblivious to the general's presence.
A gunshot sounded and an electric bullet struck Watts' shoulder and caused his Aura to flicker. Watts cried out in pain, then turned and angrily fired an Ice Dust bullet, which froze Ironwood's right foot to the floor. Watts moved up to the underside of a platform above them. Ironwood shot the ice trapping his leg, shattering it before running toward Watts, firing at him. Watts blocked each bullet with his Hard-Light shield and fired back with a normal bullet at first, followed by a series of Electricity Dust bullets. At one point, Ironwood's bullet and Watts' bullet bounced off each other.
Ironwood and Watts leaped at each other and grabbed onto each other's wrists mid-air, rotating in the air due to the conflicting gravitational fields. Ironwood let go of Watts' gun and punched him in the jaw, with Watts countering by headbutting him. Watts changed the gravity mid-flight and the two fell onto the underside of a platform, landing on their sides. They quickly got back to their feet and Watts, first to act, activated one of his rings and attempted to leap away, only for Ironwood to grab his ankle and slam him onto the floor. Watts' Aura flickered and then broke.
Watts stood up and aimed his revolver, only to see Ironwood already charging toward him. Ironwood tackled him and the two went flying from the gravity biome, turning and flailing as they entered the true, unaltered gravitational pull. They both slammed into the floor of the arena's center platform and the impact broke Ironwood's Aura. As he slid across the floor, Watts righted himself into a kneeling position and used his rings on the platform, letting it rise up. Ironwood stood up and checked his gun's ammo, panting.
"You never appreciated my genius, James," Watts hissed.
Ironwood clicked the revolving chamber back into place and flipped his gun around to hold it by the muzzle, ready to use it as a blunt weapon.
"You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant!" Watts, also holding his revolver by the muzzle, continued. He then charged forward, spun into a swing and attempted to slam the side of his left fist into Ironwood's face, but the general backed away from the hit. Watts quickly moved into another strike and slammed the butt of his revolver into Ironwood's nose, causing him to recoil and stumble back. The traitorous doctor then attempted to punch with his left hand, but Ironwood blocked and redirected it with his right arm. Watts swung his revolver again to the left at Ironwood's face again and barely missed. He had to keep the assault up, even if close quarters wasn't his forte.
Watts had been turned away when Ironwood attempted to strike him with his revolver. However, Watts quickly turned and put up his left arm to stop Ironwood's incoming right hook. The force of Ironwood's attack caused Watts to bend at his knees, and he then slammed his revolver into Ironwood's chest, which caused him to stumble back.
"I gave you everything you could have wanted!" Ironwood yelled.
"And yet you chose that fat oaf over me!" Watts countered.
The platform had finally stopped rising, docking itself in an octagonal ring just under the Amity Communications Tower's machinery. Ironwood charged toward Watts, who held his gun out, but Ironwood pushed it aside with his left hand and then slammed the butt of his revolver against Watts' mouth. Watts stumbled back, covering his mouth with his hand in pain, and then attempted to guard himself with his right arm and his gun, but Ironwood struck with a powerful hit. Watts stumbled and backed away, while Ironwood pressed forward and struck him across the jaw with his revolver, taking the offensive stance for himself now. He attempted to defend with his arm, but once again, Ironwood punched him again, the strength breaking through the doctor's weak defenses. As they neared a metal beam, Watts hit Ironwood across the face with his revolver and moved forward to try and take back the offensive as Ironwood recoiled from the blow. However, Ironwood recovered and punched Watts in the gut hard enough to send him flying back against the metal beam.
Ironwood attempted to hit him with his revolver again, but Watts grabbed his opponent's arm and attempted to aim his own revolver at Ironwood's head. Ironwood grabbed onto Watts' wrist and the two stood frozen in place
"I suppose in this instance, my brains and your brawn are evenly matched," Watts chuckled.
Ironwood stared Watts in the eyes, with the barrel of Watts' revolver pressed to his temple, and yet he seemed to be unphased.
"You're smart, but you're not the only one who can count," Ironwood retorted.
The two of them huffed and Watts lowered his gun, realizing that he was, in fact, out of ammo. Ironwood slowly lowered Watts' arm to point the weapon away from his head and started to regain his composure.
"Oh, I know," Watts said, the cocky tone in his voice bringing on a whole new spike of adrenaline and worry.
Watts dropped his revolver, and Ironwood's gaze followed it, wondering what his opponent's plan was. Watts then grabbed Ironwood's left wrist and swung him around to trade places with him. He then shoved Ironwood's arm through a gap in the metal beam and shoved himself away, collapsing to the floor. Four of Watts' rings were placed within the gap in the beam, held in place by a Hard-Light barrier that had trapped Ironwood's left arm. He attempted to pull his arm through, only for the barrier to tear and burn his skin, causing him to scream in pain.
"That was a little too close for my liking, James," Watts admitted, standing up and flexing his fingers before making a fist, "Rebuilding those rings is going to be such a pain."
Ironwood glared at Watts as he turned and began walking away, ready to take full control of the tower.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," the doctor taunted.
Ironwood gripped his upper arm and began slowly pulling it through the barrier again, groaning and wincing in pain.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I mean, unless you're hoping to add more metal to that body of yours," Watts warned.
Ironwood stopped for a moment, panting and sweating. Could he actually do this before the pain was too great? No. Could wasn't the word for this; he had to endure this. With his famous iron resolve, he closed his eyes and resumed pulling his arm through. The pain was practically burning all the nerves in his arm.
Unaware of Ironwood's insane move, Watts used his remaining rings to highlight portions of the tower's machinery on a holographic display. His eyes darted over the schematics and code, searching for something in the code.
"All right now, where did they put those…?" Watts muttered.
Suddenly, Ironwood cried out, followed by several small yet familiar clinks that terrified the disgraced Atlesian doctor. Watts' eyes widened before he spun around to see Ironwood, slowly recovering. The general gave a few deep breaths, trying to compose himself, while smoke rose from his left arm. The sleeve had been completely burned away, along with most of the skin under it.
"What?!" Watts exclaimed.
The general stood, charged forward, and used his right arm to grab Watts by the collar of his shirt. He slammed Watts onto the floor and continued running, scraping the right side of Watts' face against the floor before lifting him up to dangle him over the edge of the platform. Lava bubbled and rose from the fire biome far below Watts, who stared down in horror.
"I...will sacrifice anything...to stop her." Ironwood frowned, his tone cold and unforgiving.
"Ohhh, I expect you to, James. But what good is that, when not even your own soldiers believe in you." Watts grinned.
"Really? Mind games, when I'm holding you over a cliff?"
"Not at all. Just a little bit of cold, hard truth. Show him," Watts said into his coat collar. Unseen by Ironwood, there was a small communicator sewn into it, acting as a sort of backup.
Now, while Watts didn't have control of the colosseum's CCT systems, he did have access to the internal screens and broadcasts. And now, so did she.
In her own safehouse, perfectly outside of Ironwood's notice, the Black Knight made a few quick keystrokes and sent the recordings. In a rare moment, Rex's new nemesis smirked, unobstructed by her helmet.
"Nanites...so useful." She hummed. "Especially when they can sneak into an ultra secure security base, and place a few cameras in some...interesting places."
The Black Knight began to type. "You won't believe the things you hear behind closed doors."
The screens flashed to life around Ironwood but, at first, he ignored them.
Then the recordings started playing.
"I wanted to talk to you guys about something. For a long, long while. Since we're being more blunt about things, I don't one hundred percent trust Ironwood."
That was Blake's voice.
"Before you react, just know that I had my reasons. Given the last few track records of the headmasters, and…some weird secrecy within the Atlesian military, I started getting this weird feeling in the back of my mind. And it very quickly began to grow."
"This was during the 'Nemesis' situation. While Ben and Weiss searched for evidence against him and most everyone else was attending the exhibition, myself, Blake, Min, had broken into a secure system and discovered a variety of different folders. Among them were quite a few questionable things, but the most heinous details were organized under a folder named 'Fafnir'."
That was Rook's voice.
Ironwood's blood ran cold as the words continued to play in the background.
"Why didn't you trust them, James?" Watts smirked. "Why did you have to do something so...so you?"
"No. No this...this is still you, isn't it? You fabricated their voices! You had to!" Ironwood yelled in complete denial.
"When would I have the TIME to?! I've never even spoken to these brats in person! I bet you that, before tonight, they didn't even know who I was," Watts countered. And he was right. All the questions Ben had asked, the genuine surprise, were all signs that this was no fabrication.
"We found…contingency plans for us. Total deconstructions on how to deal with us if we ever turned."
"The contingency plans weren't the worst part of it, though. We found the details and trials for Project Fafnir," Min's recorded voice asked.
"Which is?" Kylie asked.
"An Aura Transfer Device."
Hearing those words made Ironwood's eyes glaze over.
"That...that's ridiculous. Aura's a part of us, a part of our very souls! You can't just make a machine to move it from one conduit to another like it's any other form of energy! What you found was...was probably just some crackpot theory made by a now disgraced madman!"
"...disgraced, huh?" Ironwood frowned.
"It must sting even worse, knowing who's saying that. She sounds familiar, doesn't she?" Watts chuckled.
Ironwood said nothing.
"...He knows, doesn't he?"
Watts' lips curled into a smile.
"Yes. Yes, he does. Rex Salazar knows the truth."
Ironwood closed his eyes.
"Okay."
That smile on Watts' face vanished as quickly as it appeared. Okay? That...that was it? Just okay? He should be terrified that Rex-wait. Oh, of course. It figures that the general's Semblance would activate now. Take the fun out of everything.
"Arthur Watts," Ironwood said calmly, "You're under arrest." With that, the general pulled Watts back from the edge of the arena and then slammed the disgraced scientist into the floor, knocking him out. The general sighed as he raised a hand up to his earpiece and called it in.
"This is General Ironwood. Get me a Manta...and get me back to Atlas Academy," the general ordered.
Ironwood slowly walked back to his desk. His eyes were dark and forward facing. His movements seemed to be slowed, from...fatigue? No. No, it couldn't be. He was too awake.
By now, his scarred arm had been put in a sling, forcing it to cross over his chest. In his free hand was Watts' bag, but no sign of the good doctor himself. The general set the bag down on his desk and moved to the windows behind it, looking down over the cities under his protection. He saw Mantas fly down to Mantle to receive more refugees, while students from the prestigious Atlesian academy were helping those already evacuated. Even from up here, he could pick out a few specific people. The bright stand-outs that were Team FNKI were clearly visible helping out, while Holiday, Six, and Winter were coordinating the efforts. All this focus on the people below…
He turned back to his desk proper, stopping for just a moment. He was going to call the Outcasts and the Ace-Ops back to the academy but then he noticed something, just sitting there on the desk. He hadn't noticed it until now, too lost in his own thoughts. His eyes focused on the trinket for a few moments. It was a chess piece, made out of black glass, a queen to be specific. From Ironwood's point of view, that glass trinket faded, replaced by a 2-D version of it taking up the entirety of a gunship's control console. Then the sounds of Atlesian Knights activating and training their weapons on him mid-flight filled his mind, before he shook it off.
He moved back to enact the rest of his plan, but there was a slight alteration that needed to be made first.
Winter was directing students down in the front courtyard of Atlas Academy, having them move around the medical supplies and having them tend to certain citizens.
"Neon, how're people looking?" the elder Schnee sister asked.
"Everyone who needs 'em has gotten some medical supplies. I'm not the best field medic, but the students I left 'em with are qualified enough," Neon said, dusting off her hands.
"Good. Then we can-" Winter began.
"Commander!" Kobalt yelled, running up to her, "Do we have any Manticore Anti-Venom? One of the refugees' is in the early stages-"
"Professor Pecina should have some. Grimm Studies, his class should be over at Landing Pad Six."
"Right. Neon, let's go!"
Winter's scroll buzzed. It was from Ironwood. Winter raised an eyebrow, before she picked it up. "Sir."
"Winter."
"Is...everything alright? You sound off." Winter noted.
"I'm fine. Please. Get to the Maiden...I think it may be time."
"So...so soon?" Winter asked, "But the evacuation-"
"Will be fine without you. Six, Holiday, and the other faculty can handle it. And...bring Penny with you," Ironwood interrupted.
"Penny? Why?"
"Winter. While I was away...was anyone caught trying to enter the school grounds?" Ironwood asked back. The Schnee sister turned to look at the school, eyes wide in realization.
"I...I don't think so-"
"Are. You. Sure?" the general asked slowly but sternly. With that, it all clicked. Winter made a mad dash towards the school, ending the call with her father and dialing up Penny's number.
Ironwood sat there, not even blinking. He just called Harriet and instructed her and the Ace-Ops to report back to his office and bring the Outcasts. He had a new plan, one that wouldn't waste his time and resources.
Back down in Mantle, the Outcasts, the remaining Ace-Ops, and Penny all made their way back to the city in the sky.
This isn't normal procedure, is it? Eunice asked as she and Penny flew back with their own thrusters.
No...no it is not, Penny said, worriedly. Their thrusters were quite a bit faster than any Manta's, so they were the first to return. Penny quickly made her way over to the medical facility's entrance and met with Winter. The elder Schnee sibling had seemingly just arrived there was well, so her timing couldn't have been better.
"Is something wrong with Fria?" Penny asked Winter.
"I'm not sure," Winter answered as she began walking faster than usual. Alarming, to say the least.
"Then why would the general call us both back? The evacuation is still on-going!" Penny pointed out.
"I know..."
I don't like this. Eunice said. Winter's stress levels seem higher than usual. They've spiked to double her usual amount.
I...didn't need a scan for that, Eunice, Penny said. She'd known Winter long enough that she could just kind of tell, really.
If your friend is this stressed...I can probably tell you now how stressed the general is gonna be. Eunice sighed.
She had no idea how right she was.
The Ace-Ops and Outcasts made their way back to Ironwood's office, all of them confused by the sudden recall. Elm and Marrow silently shared an uncertain glance between them as they walked through the empty halls of the academy. Honestly, everything was kinda creepier when it was just them in here. All the other students and faculty were simply helping with the displaced citizens.
The doors to Ironwood's office hissed open, showing the general just sitting in his chair, leaning forward with his hands in front of his face.
"General," Harriet greeted, giving a salute.
Ironwood's cold glare didn't sit well with Ben. Ironwood's still human arm was bandaged up and in a sling, and he looked a bit...exhausted. Watts must've given him a run for his money. There were still ships flying around outside, dealing with more of the Grimm and evacuation.
But that was a big priority right now. Why call them away during a time of crisis?
"We have made a critical error." Ironwood explained, "The Black Queen was the symbol Salem showed us before we lost everything. Her way of telling us she was inside. That it was too late. We stopped Watts. We stopped Callows, but someone else was here. They put this," the general held up the queen chess piece, "in my office to tell me that...Mantle was a distraction."
He then shattered the chess piece into pieces. Ruby's pupils shrank. Was...that made of glass?
"I can assure you, Dad, Mantle is on our sid-" Weiss began.
"Don't. Speak." Ironwood said, a cold chill in his voice. Weiss looked a bit shocked, as everyone else shared a confused glance.
"I brought the ACE OPS here for an update. The plan has changed," Ironwood continued, "As for the rest of you...you're going to have to be placed under arrest."
Silence.
"...w-what did they do?" Marrow asked, "They were helping us-"
"They were looking into things they shouldn't have pried into, shared something they didn't have the right to," Ironwood cut the wolf Faunus off, "Watts showed me everything. But I pieced together the last part myself…"
Yang, Blake, Ben, and Ruby felt their blood run cold as those words were no doubt directed at them. Even if the general didn't know just who said it, the fact that Robyn knew was proof enough. Watts' little recordings were probably the last straws.
"Then if we can drop formalities..." Rex suddenly lunged at Ironwood, grabbing his collar and pulling the man towards him. Rex's eyes were furious and filled to the brim with hate. "What did you DO to my parents!?"
Ironwood didn't even flinch from the display.
Harriet and Vine stepped forward, ready to pry Rex away from the general, but the man held up his hand and stopped them. He righted his suit and looked Rex dead in the eye, his eyes looking void of emotion.
"At first...they backed out," the general began, "they didn't agree with what I had planned, so they simply backed out. But then I realized I couldn't let them share what they knew. Or recreate it for someone else."
"So, what?! You just casually silenced them?! They meant that little to you?!" Rex yelled.
"The details weren't shared with me. I didn't want to know," Ironwood said. "All I know is that it was done."
"So…that's it. You're really admitting it…"
Ironwood's eyes moved over to Weiss. The poor girl; in that instant, the image of the man who constantly encouraged her, helped her and guided her on this long, roundabout journey to becoming a huntress, that image was forever destroyed. The contingency files broke her, but this just made her question how much the man she looked up to was just a mask for this monster.
"Part of me hoped this wasn't true, general," Weiss said, voice shaky, not even addressing the man as "father" or "dad" anymore, "But...I can see..." Weiss couldn't even finish her sentence; she trailed off, before she started to quietly sob. Ceres and Kylie both put their hands on her shoulder, as Weiss just cried.
"It had to be done," Ironwood said, "Imagine what kind of carnage could have been wrought if someone managed to weaponize it. If Salem had managed to weaponize it."
"So then why even make it in the first place?!" Blake shouted.
"The idea originally...was to help one person specifically. I saw it could be used for more than that. I gave them everything for their research. Funding, resources...but to them, it wasn't a breakthrough that could save countless lives. No, to them, it was only ever meant for one person: Rex."
"My parents gave up everything to help me live, damn it." Rex said, tightening his grip.
"And while we're on the topic of government secrets..." Ruby frowned. "Tell me. What would you need an Aura Transfer Device for, anyway?"
"At first, it was meant purely for medical purposes. Boost the Aura for those terminally ill or gravely wounded. Think of it like being a blood donor. But then I got ambitious. A previous member of the Ace-Ops volunteered for the procedure and while it was a success, she died during a mission. I think that was what broke the Salazar's faith in it. But there was someone else who saw potential in the device. Someone with ambitions almost as grand as my own…and you've already met the result of their efforts."
"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked, her mind racing, until she believed she reached an answer, "Do…you mean-?"
"Since we're throwing shit out there," Kevin interjected, unable to contain his own anger, "There were tapes, experiments of other people- did you just SERIOUSLY throw them away? Did they even know what they were getting into?!"
"They were either volunteers or death row inmates," Ironwood said, "They knew exactly what was going to happen."
"And at no moment, did you stop and think to yourself, this is fucked up!? This is actually insane?!" Ceres yelled. "Their blood is on your hands!"
"I am VERY well aware of that. Those who volunteered for the process, you don't think I REGRET what happened to them?! You don't think for a second I wish there was a way to AVOID human testing?! But in the end, they CHOSE to sacrifice because they saw what this could mean for the world!"
"Your definition of sacrifice means nothing!" Yang yelled. "They didn't even know you! You sacrifice for them, you don't sacrifice others!"
Harriet frowned, "What, would you be friends with them? Talk them into it? Does that fit your childish worldview better?"
"Talk them into it? I wouldn't even let something like this happen! He's trying to play god with something that is PROOF of a SOUL! And you're defending him! You sound like this something that you just need to accept and move on like the toy soldier you are!" Rex shouted back at her, turning away from Ironwood.
"I am not an emotionless robot! I follow my orders, even if I don't like them. It's my responsibility as a soldier and an Ace-Op," Harriet defiantly countered, "All that concern, all those ideas about being less 'strict,' I fucking knew I shouldn't have listened to any of it."
"Harriet, I don't think that has anything to do with-" Elm started.
"Oh, shut up. You nearly destroyed the base and an entire park because of what Kylie put in your head!"
"I was letting her have a little bit of a life outside the military!" Kylie frowned. "I'm sorry we're not in constant work mode like you, you...you...workaholic!"
"I am not a workaholic! I do what I'm told, and that's that." Harriet said. "You're lucky Clover isn't here to hear you."
"What, you gonna hide behind him too when someone calls you out?" Ceres frowned.
"Rex, the general wants what's best for all of us." Elm said. "There's no excusing his choices, but you need to realize, as general-"
"You have to live in constant fear of what may or may not come." Blake said. "You have to gaslight others into believing what must be done is right. That's what he did with you."
"That couldn't be farther from the truth," Vine said in his usual emotionless tone.
"Of course you'd say that," Min said, rolling her eyes, "you're probably the one who's closest to that whole 'toy soldier' thing Rex said."
"Laying down my life for my country is nothing to be ashamed of." Vine's tone was tranquil, but yet still filled with spite.
"Is it your choice to die, though? I don't give a damn if there were volunteers, or death row- they deserved a more humane death than THAT." Ben countered.
Ironwood sighed, "I was truly hoping it wouldn't come to this."
Before anyone could ask him what he meant, he sucker-punched Rex right in the gut hard, making him drop the general. He even brought out Due Process so when Ben tried to activate the Omnitrix, Ironwood simply used the gun to strike Ben in the side of the head.
"Like I said. You're under arrest." Ironwood frowned. "You had to take a good thing and ruin-"
Ironwood was cut off by the sounds of Watts' bag squirming and shuffling. The bag then burst open, revealing a floating, jellyfish-like Grimm with a bulbous, almost crystal-ball like head that swirled with red smoke and a golden light. Ruby's and Ben's eyes went wide upon seeing it, recognizing it from Paradox's little "time trip." This is how Salem communicated with her agents.
A Seer.
Ironwood's eyes glazed over again. He didn't even look back at the Seer, instead just shooting it in the head. The Grimm was probably meant for more, but the general wasn't in the mood for theatrics. Its presence alone made the message crystal clear.
"She's coming." Ironwood grumbled. The fear got more palpable with that grim announcement.
"S-shit. Please tell us we're just gonna put aside our differences and-"
"THIS changes nothing." Ironwood boomed.
Ruby knelt down to help Ben up. "So, what now? You just took some of the most involved agents off the field. The others have no idea what they're fighting!"
"They will soon enough. But if everything goes well...they won't even have to fight for long," the general said.
Harriet's Fast Knuckles unfolded and slid over her arms and hands with one smooth motion, the red energy lines powered up and ready. Elm brought out Timber, the shaft of the hammer extending out as the hammer head adjusted to the right position. Vine simply took up a combat stance, like he didn't even plan on using Thorn for this fight. Even Marrow brought out Fetch in its rifle form, though while the others seemed dead set on arresting them all, he still had his doubts.
"Realizing you're not gonna take us in quietly, huh?" Ceres said, as her palms lit up with brilliant blue flames. "This isn't gonna go the way you want."
Weiss wiped away the tears in her eyes, as she gripped her weapon handle tightly.
"Why?" She asked Ironwood, her voice small.
"Because no one else has the strength it takes to make these choices," Ironwood said. The anger in his voice had actually died down a bit, replaced with his own sadness. But he wasn't letting those emotions cloud his judgment.
"You're really gonna do it, huh? You're that stupid?" Kylie frowned.
Ironwood's answer was the sound of Due Process' hammer clicking as he pulled it back. He was done talking.
The sound of the hammer clicking meant war.