Episode 2: Chapter 1: Next Mission

Chapter 1 of Episode 2 of War of Seasons

2 Weeks After the Battle of Atlas

Beacon Academy

 

 

            Ozpin took a sip of his morning coffee, having just woken up a few minutes ago.  Despite his protests, everybody finally convinced him to get some sleep and rest up.  Following the battle at Atlas and the attack on the Great Labyrinth, the Order had gone quiet.  No attacks, no real movement, not even a hint of activity on their end.  Ironwood thought it was a trap, a tactic by the enemy to lull them into a false sense of security to leave themselves wide open for a counter attack.  However, after about a week, Pyrrha finally convinced him and Ozpin to both take a break.  During this time, the other major players in the world council decided that with the Order having been crippled and in hiding, they should attempt to retake the Kingdom of Mistral.  The Order had no military presence in the city, and the only reason they didn’t take it back sooner was due to the fact that there was enough Grimm that it was deemed not worth it to send in the number of troops needed to retake the city with the Order still being the main threat.  However, now that the Order was temporarily not the primary concern, Mistral was put up as the first order of business to take care of.  Ozpin pulled up his communications system and pulled up his contacts.

 

 

 

The Kingdom of Mistral

 

 

            Pyrrha watched on as several hordes of Grimm were forced back by Yang’s powerful punches.  Most of the city was overrun with Grimm, but without anybody controlling or commanding them, it was an easy task to remove them like they were exterminating pests.
            “Man, remember when these things used to be the biggest thing we had to worry about?” Yang said with a chuckle as she reloaded her weapons.
            “That was such a long time ago” Pyrrha said with a sigh.  “We were still kids the last time the Grimm were more than just another animal we had to fight.”
            “A lot’s changed since then” Miles said as he walked towards them moving debris out of the street with his Semblance.  “Nobody could have predicted this.”
            “Honestly,” Brooklyn said as she walked over with some water bottles for everyone, “If you told me that the main thing we were going to have to worry about in our adult lives were some crazy old guys we fought during our freshman year I would have said you were crazy.”
            “In fairness,” Christy said walking over with Ty and Evan, each of them carrying supplies, “just about any future that could have happened to us would seem outlandish and different from what we expected when we were kids.”
            “No kidding” Natalie said as she joined everybody else.  “I was the shyest girl you could have ever met back in school, and now I’m the most recognizable woman on the face of Remnant.  All because I just happened to kill the right dude at the exact right time.”  Everybody laughed at Natalie’s comment.  They continued to talk, going over all the different pieces of their past, leading them to where they are now.
            “We shouldn’t have fallen out of touch the way we did” Jacob said with a sigh.  “I know most of us stayed in contact because Ozpin trusts us with stuff related to the world council, but we should have found more times to just get together.  A class reunion or something like that, you know?”
            “I get that” Evan said as he took a sip of water.  “I just wish we could all be together.  I just wish that…..” everybody fell silent.  Nobody knew what to say.
            “I should have gone with him” Miles said lowering his head.  “If I had just joined him on his crusade than maybe….”
            “Don’t beat yourself up over this” Pyrrha said placing her hand on Miles’ shoulder.  “If anything, I should have done more as the Headmistress of Haven to try and figure out what the Order was actually doing….”
            “But if I hadn’t failed him during that last mission,” Natalie said placing her hand on her own heart, “then he wouldn’t have been captured and then….” Just before everybody started talking about how they could have changed something, a shot rang out through the air as Yang fired one of her gauntlets to get everybody to quiet down.
            “I miss Nathan probably more than just about any of you could ever imagine.  Except maybe Natalie.  But that doesn’t matter.  Yes, we all have things we think we could have done.  But at the same time, we can’t ignore everything that lead him to that point.  His heart was in the right place, but he went about it the wrong way.  And in the end, he ended up on the short end of the stick for the last time.  We can’t ignore what he did, but we can move forward, and try to do what he could not do.  Destroy this thorn that’s been in our sides for far to long once and for all.  And we’ll do it the right way.  Together.  Without hurting or betraying anyone.”  Yang then extended her arm, inviting her friends to place their hands on hers.  Everybody smiled, and joined in the circle.
            “For Nathan.  The Nathan we remember, our brother and friend.” Miles said with a smile.
            “For Nathan” everyone said in unison.  They then all smiled and returned to the city, making sure that it was ready for civilians to re-enter without fear of attack.  Pyrrha was walking up towards the school when her Scroll started ringing.  She pulled it up and saw it was Ozpin calling, so she answered.
            “How is everything Mrs. Nikos?” Ozpin asked with a smile on his face.
            “We seem to be doing all right” Pyrrha said with a smile.  The Grimm are nothing more than a nuisance now, we even managed to have a full conversation dripping with negative emotions without a single Grimm bothering us.”  Ozpin laughed at this, as he took another sip of his coffee.
            “Let me know as soon as you are finished there.  I may have some key information that will help us stay one step ahead of the Order.”
            “Will do.  See you soon.”  Pyrrha hung up and returned to helping clean up the city.

 

 

 

The Lead Airship of the Order of the Four Seasons

 

 

 

Lord Imperia was pacing back and forth in the command center, while Lord Tenebris was standing by the window, not even acknowledging the fact that Lord Sangui was standing right behind him, trying to get his attention.
            “Lord Tenebris,” Sangui said with an annoyed voice, “I am sick and tired of you just simply standing around doing nothing!  If we are ever to regain control of this war, we need to take the necessary steps to ensure we are prepared for the next encounter!”
            “If Ozpin and his flunkies haven’t moved against us these past few weeks,” Lord Tenebris said not moving a single inch from his spot, “then we are off their radar for the moment.  It’s clear that the data they captured from our previous ship did not give them a way to track us.  We can move and prepare in peace.  I’m surprised honestly, I figured you of all people would be grateful we have this brief respite to rebuild and prepare for the next move.”
            “We wouldn’t even be in this situation if you had just done your job back at the base!  You let a team of amateurs and students break into the most sacred place for the Order and let them destroy it without a second thought!”
            “Even if I did manage to defeat the professor and the pretender, they still had pieces throughout the base that resulted in its ultimate destruction.”
            “If you knew they were there, why didn’t you do anything about it?!”
            “Soldiers were dispatched to deal with them.  But correct me if I’m wrong Lord Sangui, those soldiers were trained by you correct?  Shouldn’t the onus fall on you for their ineptitude?”
            “Stop stepping around the issue!” As Lord Sangui shouted this, he pulled his arm back, and fired a punch.  However, Lord Tenebris anticipated this and dodged rather easily, causing Lord Sangui’s fist to hit and crack the glass.
            “I am not stepping around anything but your unprovoked attacks against me Lord Sangui.  I am simply relaying what happened during that encounter.  They had the element of surprise, they overwhelmed me, and they took a small victory.  I did everything that I could within that moment.  You just can’t accept the fact that they played us.”  This angered Lord Sangui even further.  So much so, that a clone of him formed, this one a pure deep red color.  It stomped over and grabbed Lord Tenebris by the collar.
            “This isn’t about losing a single battle you simpleton!  This is about the fact that you lost our advantage in this war because you couldn’t take that step and finally destroy that stupid daughter of yours!”  In that instant, Lord Tenebris was engulfed in a black aura burn, causing the clone to disintegrate within a second.  He then started taking a few steps forward towards Lord Sangui.
            “If anything, my drive to kill the pretender is greater than any other motivation that you or anybody else in the Order possess!”
            “If that’s the case, then why is she still alive?”  Lord Tenebris reached back to grab his sword, but just as he grabbed the hilt, Lord Imperia slammed her staff on the ground, firing a wave of air that got both of them to stop and take a step backwards.
            “We each may have our own motivations for joining the Order, but we all are reaching for the same endgame.  We seek the ultimate victory to bring back what we have lost.  But if we fight amongst ourselves, then we lose not just the ones we have lost, but our own lives as well.”  Both Lord Sangui and Lord Tenebris kneeled before Lord Imperia as she said this.
            “My apologies Lord Imperia” Tenebris said as he took off his mask.  “I meant no disrespect.”
            “Fret not Lord Tenebris.  These are trying times for all of us, and we have a long way to go before we achieve our final goal.  Take some time for yourself, and re-center your energy towards your mission.  Ensure that you are focused on what is truly the best for you regardless of what the liars and pretenders told you before you found me.”
            “Of course my lord.”  With that, Nathan stood up, grabbed his mask and retired to his chambers.  Lord Sangui rose as well.
            “How did you do it Lord Imperia?” Lord Sangui said crossing his arms.
            “What specifically are you referring to in this context?”
            “You took one of the biggest thorns in our side from the last several years and turned him into one of our greatest assets.  Your Semblance only creates mental suggestions, not full-fledged mind control.  And for all intents and purposes, he was set on destroying us and everything we hoped to accomplish.  How did you convince him to change sides?”
            “All in good time Lord Sangui.  The only thing that you need to know is that he is now on our side, and that is a wild card we can play to our advantage when the time is right. For now, we must make sure that when Ozpin and the rest of them make a move, we can regain our advantage.  Whenever they act, they usually act together.  And we need to use that to our benefit.”
            “How do you propose we do that my lord?”
            “We start, by letting Ozpin lead us directly to the Relic of Death before we pursue the Relic of Life.”

 

 

 

 

The Kingdom of Mistral

 

 

 

 

Sora landed amongst a large pile of rubble as the rest of his team was helping clean up one of the market streets.
            “I remember when dad would take us down here to get groceries for dinner when we were growing up” Sora said with a smile.  “Honestly, even with all this damage, it looks better than it has for a long time.”  His teammates chuckled, and continued to move debris out of the way.  Hera noticed a boulder off to the side and decided to get it herself without bothering the rest of her teammates.  She made her way over, and grabbed the boulder, preparing to pick it up and take it to where the removal team was taking it to be re-purposed.  But in that moment, she felt a chill along her spine, and the wind picked up blowing away from the city.  Hera looked out to where the wind was blowing and saw a small red light in the distance.  It didn’t blink, it didn’t flicker, nor did it seem to move whatsoever.  She took one step forward, but then in that moment, Aurora placed her hand on Hera’s shoulder, snapping her out of her trance.
            “Hey, you good?” Aurora said as Hera almost stumbled when Aurora put her hand on her shoulder.
            “Yeah, I’m good” Hera said as she got her bearings back.
            “Good.  Gray and I are heading towards the next street.  Sora’s gone on to scout ahead.  You with us?”
            “Yeah, just give me a second to re-orient myself.”
            “All good.  Just holler if you need us for anything” Aurora said as she made her way to the next street.  Hera looked back out where the red light was glowing earlier, only to see that it was now gone.  Not sure what to make of it, she turned away and made her way to the rest of her teammates.  But before she turned the corner, she looked back one last time, her mind racing.  For whatever reason, that red light seemed like it was calling to her back there.
            “I really need to talk to somebody about all of this” she said as she quickly ran to rejoin her teammates.

Author's Note

Please read/review/enjoy!

Reviews

[Shep]

So Nathan lives after all and has switched sides. How twisted is that? now you got me chasing my tail after red lights... Awesome. Please be kind and return the love.