"Salem can't be killed... you all heard her too, right?" Yang said, unsure if this was worth fighting against.
"No, the question was "How can I defeat Salem?" He got his answer, HE cant defeat Salem, but someone else can, and she even said that earlier. I said as I looked up at Jinn, who nodded her head.
"Yes, you would be correct in that assumption. That person is you." Jinn said as she bowed once more.
"As I said before, I will not ask how as it may change the outcome of that battle." I said as I looked at the rest of Team RWBY, who were all angrily glare at Ozpin, whose head is still down. He looks up, with tears streaming down his face, Qrow looking away as he didn't even know about the past.
"There was so much you hadn't told us! How could you think that was okay?!" Yang yelled at him, with Blake taking the relic out of my hands.
"Blake?" I asked, with her walking off with it.
"I have to confirm something, but I dont want anyone to hear it as it is kind of... personal." Blake said, with me getting a feeling kn what she wanted to ask.
"If you wish to know that answer, thats fine with me." I said, stopping Yang as she went to stop her.
"No secrets!" Yang told me as she grabbed my arm and tried to move me.
"Sorry, but what she wants to know isnt really a secret, but a matter of the heart." I said as Yang looked at me in confusion, where Weiss grabbed Yangs arm.
"It's embarrassing to say... but Blake has had a crush on Dakota for a while. She just wishes to know if they end up together or if something stops it from happening." Weiss said, with Ozpin stepping forward.
"You're going to let her waist a question on that?!" Ozpin yelled, with me looking at him.
"I can ask as many questions as I want, if she wishes it to be a secret then it will stay a secret!" I said as I turned to him. "My family created the relics, so dont you dare think you have any right to tell us what we can or cant ask!" I said, where he looked away in shame.
Looking over at Blake, she nodded her head as Jinn vanished, then walked back over to us. "Well?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head.
"If I say, it wont come true." Blake said with a smile, before hugging Yang, which caught us off guard as it was out on nowhere.
"Right, roger that." I said, giving her a smile as I looked back at Ozpin, who just hangs his head back down in shame.
"Professor?" Ruby asked, where Ozpin looked up at her. "What is... was your plan to defeat Salem?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I... don't have one." Ozpin said, where suddenly, Qrow punches Ozpin in the face, sending him into a nearby tree trunk.
"No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good." Qrow said, looking away from Ozpin as he could not look him in the eyes.
"But, you are!" Ozpin said, tears building up in his eyes.
"Meeting you... was the worst luck of my life." Qrow said, where Ozpin stares back in disbelief upon hearing Qrow say that, before looking down dejected.
"Maybe you're right." Ozpin said as his eyes glow as control is transferred back to Oscar. He holds his cheek in pain from the effects of Qrow's punch.
"What happened?" Ruby asked as it was out of character for the so called immortal.
"He's... gone." Oscar said while rubbing his jaw.
"That bastard! Tell him we're not done yet!" Yang yelled, with me placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"No, this is different. He's gone. It-- It's like he's locked himself deep inside my head. Our head?" Oscar said as he grunts, holding his head in pain. "I hate this! I want it to stop!" He said, where I walked forward and placed a hand on his head. I used my force healing, transferring the pain over to me. I could take it, and Blake may of looked disappointed but she nodded her head in understanding.
"He just left us?" Weiss asked as she looked at the others.
"What are we gonna do now?" Blake asked as she looked me in the eyes.
"For now, we need to get a move on." I said as I walked ocer to Maria and picked her up, placing her on my back. I used my cloak as a way to keep her steady. "It'll be dark before we know it, and every one of you is spewing negativity!" I said as I looked over at the others. "For now, I'll take Ozpins place as a guide. He may have lied to us, but he was our so called leader." I said as I looked at Qrow. "You okay with me taking the lead of this team; you are the more experienced person in this team." I asked, with him nodding, but still avoiced eye contact. "There's a trail over there, trails usually lead somewhere." I said as I started walking.
"I understand that you're upset." Maria said as she looked back at the others. "Honestly, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that this is humanity's second time around. But, if we don't move, we die. And I'll be damned if I've lived this long just to die out here in the cold!" She said, making me smile as she had spunk to her.
"They're right. Come on!" Ruby said as she got the others to follow me. Everyone grabs their belongings and whatever Dust they could carry with them. Yang wanted to walk with her bike, but after having a hard time I used the force to lift it to bring along with us.
Blake walked next to me, her hands behind her back, and smile still on her face. "You liked your answer that much?" I asked, with Blake nodding her head.
"At first, it was confusing, but once she broke it down for me, I was able to understand what she was talking about." She said, where I nodded at her answer. I wasn't going to ask, because that was gor her and her alone.
Rika's POV
Returning to the bar, I felt something watching us. Putting my mask on, we walked over to Lil' Miss as her group of guards. "Do you have our girl?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"She isn't yours, but yes, she was found." Lil' Miss said as her guard poured her a drink. "Of course, finding her was easy, getting her here was easier." She said as she took a sip of her drink. "Lil' Miss always delivers. Although, I can't promise you'll be pleased." She said, where I narrowed my eyes, then looked over to Cinder who glares at her.
"So, she is watching us." I said to myself as I looked around, but could not see her. Her semblance was at play, so tracking her was harder than it needed to be. I couldn't sense others well, not like my brother could. I could tell if someone was close, but not who or where. He was loved by the force, I controlled it.
"Word is that a certain group was seen boarding the Argus Limited a few weeks back." Lil' Miss said as I looked back at her as she was gaining Cinders attention. "While that isn't exactly far from here, Argus is rarely a destination for folks. Chances are they'll be going straight to-"
"Atlas." Cinder said as she looked at me.
"That is our destination, AFTER we retrieve the girl." I said as I looked back ar Lil' Miss. "As for you, you would do well not to get involved." I warned, flexing my hand.
"You know, you two turned out to be quite the interesting customer... Cinder, Revan... or do you prefer Rika?" She asked, with Cinder looking at me, then behind us. "It's not often someone of your caliber becomes a client who brings me double the business." She said as she taps her cigarette holder into an ashtray.
Hearing a creak, I looked back and saw Cinder looking up, where I did the same. "Neo." I said as a certain multi-colored girl of pink, brown and white stares down at us from her position, placing her umbrella over her shoulders.
"Maybe put away the good glasses." Lil' Miss said, where I raised my hand and made a fist, shattering every glass in the building, triggering Neo to jumps down and land a strike on Cinder, only for her form to suddenly shatter. Neo then reappears from another direction and knocks Cinder back.
"What are you doing?!" Cinder yelled as me as I crossed my arms.
"You use your so called "Maiden" Powers, and I break your arm." I said as I looked at Neo, who looked back, raising an eyebrow at me. "Prove to me that you're strong without them." I said as I looked back at Cinder. "Prove to me that she deserves to join us." I said, where Neo proceeds forward and continues to land blows that push Cinder back to Lil' Miss' table. Lil' Miss stops the ashtray from falling off the shaking table and raises her hand, as if to tell her two bodyguards not to intervene.
Cinder pushes off of Lil' Miss' table and begins to fight back, using hand-to-hand to counter Neo's strikes. She then kicks Neo up and the two fight on the bar counter. Neo knocks some bowls into Cinder before the latter throws the umbrella wielder off the counter. Neo lands gracefully back on the ground. The two continue trading blows until Cinder is launched towards the ceiling, she pushes off of it and Neo barely dodges the flaming fist that shatters the table below her. Cinder jumps up to the balcony railing and looks down on Neo.
"That's enough, ladies!" Lil' Miss said as the bodyguards draw their weapons at the two combatants. "I love dinner and a show, but it's time to take it outside." She ordered, where Neo took her advice.
Cinder is then pushed through the window, with Neo following her. "So, that just leaves me." Insaid as I looked back at them. Before they could react, all of their arms snapped, getting screams from them as I relaxed my hand that I had flexed earlier. "I do hate being stabbed in the back." I said, with Lil' Miss being lifted in the air by her neck, unable to reach for it due to her arms. "But I donlove watching others DIE!?" I yelled as her neck snapped. Tossing her into the ground, I turned around and brought my knees to my chest, letting the force build up around me. Letting it go, the entire building was disintegrated as the force repulse pushed against everything around me, killing all who were inside.
Stepping outside, I saw one of Neo's attacks hits Cinder in the face, but before she could activate her Maiden powers, both girls were frozen in place as Inused the force of them. Neo looked at me with a raised eyebrow, while Cinder looked shocked.
"That's enough!" I said as I walked awaybfrom the missing building. "We all want something." I said as I looked at Cinder. "You want the maiden's powers, ALL of them." I said as I looked to Neo. "You want revenge for Ruby fetting Roman killed, and Yang for killing my brother." I said, with Cinder about to speak up but I closed her mouth with the force. "I want to end Salem once and for all, and to do that, we NEED to work together!" I said as I let them go. "So, quit wasting your time fighting eachother and let's get going." I said as I started walking away, dragging both of them with me by their shirts.
Later
Dakota's POV
The track on the trail was long, and so far, we had come across nothing. To make matters worse, the snow started to pick up even more, making our journey longer. "Doesn't look like this is gonna let up." Qrow stated as I could hear something up ahead, it was faint, but it was there. I brought my hand up to my ear to listen, but the snow storm made it harder.
"Just wanna get this stupid Relic to Atlas." Blake muttered to herself as she hugged herself for warmth.
"Let's hope we don't have to walk all the way there." Weiss added sarcastically.
"I thought trails led somewhere." Yang called out to me out of annoyance.
"Do you have nothing better to do than to harass us?" Maria called back, with me looking at everyone.
"Everyone, quiet!" I called out, with everyone shutting up. Then we all heard it.
"Do you hear that?" Ruby asked as she started walking forward, with me doing the same. A metallic squeaking could be heard. Holding my arms out, I used the force to push the storm aside just a bit, giving us a view of a large farm, one of the front gates swings back and forth with the wind. A large sign above the entrance reads "BRUNSWICK FARMS".
"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Oscar asked as the storm picked up again, making it worse on us.
"Thats why, now lets take shelter there!" I said as we picked up the pace.
Reaching the front gate, Blake was the first to push the gate open, testing its durability. "Well, at least one good thing happened today." Blake said as she looked at us as we all walked through.
"It looks abandoned." Weiss said, with me nodding as I set Yangs bike down, then cocered it with some of the broken planks that were laying about.
"We will get it before we leave." I told Yang as we made our way towards the door.
"Come on, I think we could all use some rest." Qrow said as we reached the front porch.
"I don't get it." Ruby said as we waited for everyone else to join us on the porch, but the odd thing was, I could not feel anyone around us. Grimm, yes, but they weren't close to us at the moment. "The empty towns I've passed through were all damaged or unfinished. But this place looks... fine." She finished, with me agreeing with her.
"Maybe everyone left in a hurry. Before things took a turn?" Weiss asked as she looked at me as she knew that I could feel others through the force.
"It's possible." I said as Qrow tries to open the door, only to notice it was locked.
"Hmm. Stay on guard." Qrow said, where we pulled out our weapons. Qrow then kicks the door open, where everyone proceeds forward with our weapons at the ready. Seeing nothing taking place, we look around the place.
"Close the door already! It's cold enough in here as it is." Maria said from my back, where I closed the door. Afterwards, Blake and Oscar push a nearby drawer to block the door.
"I saw a chimney from the outside. Maybe we could get a fire going?" Blake suggested, with Weiss shivering.
"Please. I'll look for some blankets." Weiss said as she walked away.
"If they dont have firewood, I'll go out and cut some." I said as I walked into the living room, finding a good pile of wood close to the fireplace. "Yang, go with Weiss!" I told the girl as Blake came over to help me put the logs in the fire place.
"Looks like a study. Or, a library?" Oscar said, with us looking back at him, then to the shelves. Looking back, I saw Ruby walk in and up to a geoup of of photos the wall of the family that owns Brunswick Farms. Blake got up and walked over to her as I placed the last log needed and ignited it with my lightsaber.
What do you think? Blake asked as she now stood next to Ruby.
"Something doesn't feel right." Ruby answered, and I agreed with her.
"Let's look for some-"
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream was heard. Getting up from my position, I rushed upstairs without a second thought. "Weiss!" Ruby called out from behind me, where we then run into the room Yang and Weiss were in. Weiss was on the floor, looking on in horror while Yang stood in shock. On the bed, we could see thatbit was still being occupied by a pair of decomposing corpses.
Later
Weiss sat infront of the fire, watching it, still shaken from what she saw earlier. Blake wraps a blanket around Weiss before sitting on the couch Yang is on. We then hear the door open and close, and Qrow walks in brushing snow off himself. "It's the same in every house." He informed, shocking us.
"What?" Yang asked, her eyes wide in horror.
"Bodies. Every bed in every home. It's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up." He said as he shook his head.
"Then we're not staying here, right?" Weiss asked as she looked at me.
"We don't have a choice." I said as Qrow walked over to the fireplace tk warm up. "The storm is only getting worse. We'd freeze to death before we made it anywhere." I said as I thought about what to do.
"Well, might as well get comfortable." Maria said as she walks over to a bookshelf.
"Yeah, fat chance." Yang said as I looked at her.
"Okay, then, let's do something. If this place wasn't abanodoned it might still have supplies we could use." Ruby suggested as she looked at each of us.
"Hey, yeah. Maybe even a car." Oscar said, liking the idea.
"I'll do another sweep of the grounds. No one else goes anywhere alone." Qrow said as he walked back to the doors and stepped outside again.
"Yang and I can search the other buildings for vehicles." Blake suggested as she stood up.
"Fine, whatever gets me out of this house." Yang said as she stood up, annoyed with our current situation. Yang and Blake leave, with Ruby moving the drawer to block the door again. Afterwards, Ruby looks over to me as I stood at the doorway.
"We will look for food." I said as I looked at Weiss and the others. "You three stay here, rest up, but dont go to sleep. I fet the feeling that is a death sentence." I said as Ruby and I leave the room.
Later
Ruby used her scroll's flashlight to look around. We find alcholic bottles on the shelves. We look around the room some more, only to find the shelves are full of alcoholic bottles and a bar is seen as well.
"On second thought, maybe we should keep this room closed." Ruby said as she looked off to the side.
"Qrow?" I asked as I walked forward. "Come on, we'll never get to Atlas on an empty stomach!" I said as I walked to the other side of the room and stopped at the door.
Entering the room with Ruby, I frowned at what I saw. More alcoholic bottles arranged on a shelf on the right side of the room. "More alcohol... At least we'll never have problems starting a fire." Ruby said, annoyed.
"Food." I said as I saw the left side had plenty. Suddenly, Ruby ran over to them, with me focusing in on the metal cellar door in the ground. Its handles are chained together, making me frown at this. "A wine cellar? No." I said as I walked over to it and held my hand over it, where I felt a large wave of negative emotions. Backing away, I looked at Ruby. "Stay away from the doors!" I warned, with her looking confused as her arms were full of food.
"What? What is it?" She asked as she looked at the doors.
"Grimm!" I said as we backed away, with me using the force to pull the food towards us. "Lets go!" I said as we ran back upstairs. "We know they are there, we don't interfere or interact with them!" I said as we reached the top. "Call Qrow and ask him to check the other houses for celler doors. If I'm right, they they made a tunnel between houses!" I said, shocking her as she pulled her scroll out to warn Qrow.