Miles awoke with a start. He gathered his bearings and realized that he was lying on one of the couches in Ozpin’s library. The sun was pouring in from one of the nearby windows, and it was clear that it was getting to be late in the afternoon. He got up slowly and yawned while looking to see if anybody else was there. There was no one else there, so he just sat back down on the couch, and rubbed his forehead, wincing a bit as he rubbed a fresh bruise on his forehead.
“What the flip happened to me?”
“Look who’s finally awake” a new voice echoed through the room. Miles looked around and saw Blake walking out from the shadows of the library with a pot of tea and some cups on a tray. She placed the tray on a nearby table and started pouring a pair of drinks. “You’ve been out almost all day. I’m honestly surprised that you woke up at all.”
“What did I miss? Last thing I remember Ozpin was taking his time reading his old diary or something.”
“That did happen” Blake said as she handed Miles his cup. “After you passed out, Ty took you out so you could sleep. Not long after that, Ozpin found what we have been looking for. The key to saving Jacob.”
“Really?!” Miles said almost jumping out of his seat with excitement. “What is it? How soon can we get it to him?”
“Settle down. We found what we need to look for, but we still need to find it. According to Ozpin’s journal, we are looking for the Relic of Life somewhere in one of Remnant’s mountains. Everybody at the top is coordinating with all our available technology in order to find where it might be hiding.”
“Good to hear” Miles said taking a sip of his tea. “And how’s Jacob doing?”
“Still stable like Ozpin told us. He isn’t doing much outside of resting, but he and Ozpin are working with General Ironwood to talk about strategies for once we do find the Relic and how we can fight the Order.”
“Well, there’s not many other people that we know that are as strategic as him. At least he’s able to keep himself busy. What about Christy, Jaune and Bovia?”
“They’re resting last I heard. Even though they were constantly having Aura poured into them, that still took a huge toll out of them physically and emotionally.”
“No kidding. Plus the fact that they had to deal with that just after we got out of the Dark Realm. Not a good time.”
“You said it. It’s good that we have this chance to rest. I know we had a few weeks between this most recent mission and the battle in Atlas, but after yesterday, it feels like it’s been months since we had a chance to breathe.”
“Agreed. And given the fact that now the Order has arguably the most dangerous Relic in their possession, I doubt that we will have a chance to rest like this again until this war is over.”
“I just hope it does end. Especially now with the conflict dragging out for as long as it has, it almost feels like the Order has an endless supply of soldiers ready and waiting to fight at the drop of a hat. No matter how badly we beat them back, it feels like there’s still more of them waiting for us at the next battle.”
“Remnant is a pretty big place Miles. And I can tell you from experience, especially during my White Fang days, some people will do anything for money, others will do anything for what they believe is right.”
“But that’s what bugs me the most. What does the Order want exactly? World domination? Not exactly a super great motivation if your side wins but you aren’t the one at the top of the food chain.”
“Adam was fluent in making people hang off every word he said when I worked with him. Even if his endgame was to rule the world with him as the king of it all, he still convinced people that they would be better off serving under his rule where they would have power over those under his thumb than they would simply continuing on as they were currently with their current overlords. All it takes is one moment or one bad day for a manipulator to convince somebody that they will become more through serving them rather than if they simply continue to serve whatever else it is that they already do. Heck, more often than not, it’s a string of bad days that make even the most good people more inclined to turn to the dark side. I had a best friend, Ilia Amitola, who was one of th emost good hearted people I could have ever grown up with. You would have been hard to find someone other than a Belladonna on the entirety of Menagerie who cared more about her fellow Faunus than Ilia. But, there were a lot of moments where she got hit hard with problems. Be it having to deal with racist humans, or having been attacked by bandits during supply runs when all we were trying to do was get food back home. It took a toll on her emotionally. But the thing that broke her the most was losing her parents. They died in a Dust mining accident. And the Schnee Dust Company did nothing more than offer her their pity at the time. She was all alone. I tried to be there for her, but she didn’t want to listen to what I had to say. That was when Adam struck. He promised her no more suffering and pain. He promised her a world where she could be happy sooner rather than later. He promised her a world where she would be accepted and loved and not ridiculed and hated. Ilia was not somebody who held hate within her heart, but after having so much happen to her, having so many people spit in her face and turn against her, she ended up succumbing to Adam’s temptations. I tried to convince her Adam was wrong, but she was too far gone back then. After I left the White Fang, she and I fought several times, especially after the Cinder Fall incident and the White Fang grew even more aggressive.”
“Did she ever serve the Order?”
“No, not as far as she told me. I actually managed to get her to leave the White Fang during one of our fights. Adam had gotten bold and decided to attack my house back home, and it just so happened I was visiting for spring break. Things got crazy, there was a big fire, and we ended up fighting on the roof since the fire actually burned a hole in the ceiling. Things got bad, and when the fire crew arrived, Adam panicked and started attacking them for no reason. This combined with so many other issues that had started to catch her eye, she finally broke down and realized what she had done. She just sat there on her knees on the roof of my burning house, ready to just give up. I think she was really surprised when I offered my hand in friendship instead of attacking her again.”
“What happened to her?”
“After we made up, we tried to fight Adam together. But he realized he was fighting a losing battle and retreated into the shadows. Ilia turned herself in to the local police right after, and served her time by doing community work. After serving her sentence, she actually took a job with the combat school on Menagerie and started teaching students how to fight. It’s been good for her. She found a way to give back and make up for her past mistakes.”
“I’d imagine that Adam wasn’t super happy about losing somebody that could have been a potential asset for the Order.”
“Adam had new lieutenants just about every other week. That’s probably how the Order got so much Faunus support on their side. Adam recruited them under the guise of serving the White Fang, he tested them and sees what they are capable of, and then when he was sure of their loyalty, he brought them into the fold.”
“You mean like that guy who was working with Adam when we first met? What was his name again?”
“I think it was Leo Odi or something like that?”
“What was his deal? Did you ever work with him before leaving the White Fang?”
“No, he must have joined either just before or after I left. Honestly, he seemed a bit off. Like he was there for the thrill of it rather than for any real motivation.”
“Did he actually do much when we fought him?”
“I can’t remember.” They both sat there in confused silence, then a knock on the door snapped them out of it as Aurora walked in.
“Is he awake yet?” she asked as she approached them.
“At long last it seems like” Miles said as he got up to give his daughter a hug. Aurora chuckled a little bit.
“All those years of you chastising me for sleeping in super late, and here you are sleeping until almost the end of the day!” Blake chuckled at this as well, while Miles rolled his eyes.
“Well if I didn’t,” Miles said with a smirk on his face, “then your semblance would have probably turned out to be the power of super sleep!”
“That sounds pretty nice right about now” Blake said with a yawn. “I’ve been bouncing back and forth between helping around campus and checking in on you to make sure that you were still doing okay.”
“Did you bring in a pot of tea every single time you did so?”
“Maybe?” They all laughed a bit and sat down and just took a breath.
“Has anybody heard from Daniel lately?” Miles said with a slightly worried look. “We kind of took off and didn’t give him much word.”
“I’ve been talking with him” Aurora said pulling out her Scroll. “He’s been doing good, still working hard at that art school on Menagerie. He said that his work might actually give him a ride to a really big art school in a town just a few hours from Mistral. He keeps making sure you two are still all right, and that he misses us.”
“That’s good to hear” Blake said with a smile. She then leaned in on Miles’ shoulder. “We should give him a call tonight, just check in on him.”
“I like the sound of that” he said putting his arm around her shoulder. The three of them continued to just sit there, enjoying the quiet they had together. After some time however, Miles got up and headed for the door, sending out messages on his Scroll.
“What’s going on Miles?” Blake asked as she stood and gave Aurora a hand getting up.
“There’s something I want to talk with everyone about. Mostly people from our class. Can you message Yang and Ruby? Also, do you have Ember’s number? I want her here for this as well.”
Christy sat in her office, staring out the window, disregarding the papers that her students had turned in to her for her class earlier that day. She hadn’t had a chance to relax like this in a long time. And even now, she still felt like she couldn’t relax. She put the papers aside and pulled out a large blanket and some crocheting needles. She then grabbed a large ball of wool and started to knit the blanket even further. Just as she started, there was a knock on her door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Ty. Can I come in?”
“Door’s unlocked, go right ahead.” Ty opened the door and stepped into the office.
“Ozpin’s looking for you. He needs your help with some bookkeeping stuff related to Beacon.” Christy let out a huge groan and leaned back in her chair at this news.
“We’ve been so swamped with this war and the fact that Ozpin insists that we still continue having classes for students I’m going to be having to deal with paperwork for the next three years just to catch up!”
“Why else do you think I just stuck with the simple Huntsman life?”
“Don’t you still have to file paperwork to keep you Huntsman license as well as fill out your tax forms?”
“Well the license is once every four years, and the taxes are once a year. From what you’ve described to me about your job even before this all started, it sounds like it’s just nothing but a giant wall of paperwork.”
“You’re not wrong there” Christy said putting her blanket off to the side. “The only reason I’m still in decent fighting shape is because of the rare times that the combat teachers will ask me to take part in classes or my stealth lessons involve fighting and other physical activity. Outside of that, I’ve built time into my days to just go out and get some exercise from time to time.”
“It looks like you’ve got some other projects on your plate apart from papers and exercise” Ty said pointing at the blanket that Christy had set aside. Christy felt a little embarrassed and slid the blanket a bit further away. “I don’t care,” Ty said with a smile on his face, “I just find it interesting. You didn’t really seem like the type.”
“Really?”
“I fight monsters for a living, and you teach kids how to fight those monsters. Our lives aren’t exactly big outlets for arts and crafts.”
“Fair enough. I started doing it a few years after I started teaching here. It started with simple designs and patterns, just basic learning projects. Over the past few years, I’ve done some bigger projects. It’s been a good way for me to relax. I’ve wanted to do some nice presents for Non-Descript Winter Holiday, like maybe some blankets for everybody and their families. But everything fell apart when Nathan….” Both of them fell silent as soon as Nathan was brought up. Christy picked up the blanket and looked at all the stitches and loops within it. “Why do you think he left us?”
“What do you mean?”
“He was the one with the biggest heart out of all of us. He seemed like the one who would always have our backs whenever we needed him. Then suddenly one day, as if like magic, he abandoned all of us. His friends, his family. All in the name of one specific piece of his past. What do you think compelled him to do what he did?”
“If we knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be asking that question. All we can do now is try to avenge him and make the Order pay for taking him from us.”
“I suppose you’re right. But there are a few other things that I have questions about. Things that I’ve seen that don’t add up with what we seem to know.”
“Like what?” Before Christy could answer Ty’s question, both their Scroll’s buzzed. Christy pulled hers out and checked her messages.
“It’s Miles. He wants us to all meet in the courtyard.”
“What do you think he wants?”
“He didn’t specify. I guess we’ll find out in a few minutes.”
Jacob continued to look over the folders that Ozpin and Ironwood had sent him to look over. He poured through each one like he was back in his academy years studying for exams. As he continued his work, there was a buzz from his door. He grabbed the speaker and pressed the talk button.
“Yes?”
“Hey Jacob!” Natalie’s chipper voice came through the speaker. “I brought a few friends with me! Mind if we come in?”
“Not at all” Jacob said as he pressed the button to let his friends in. “Door’s open.” With that, Natalie, Brooklyn, and Evan all walked in. There were hugs and smiles, and some food as well.
“It isn’t much,” Evan said handing Jacob a wrapped sandwich, “just some of the food they had in the medical wing’s cafeteria.”
“Honestly,” Jacob said as he happily unwrapped the sandwich, “just about any food in particular sounds absolutely amazing right now.” He munched on the sandwich while Brooklyn grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water. As she brought it back, Jacob was already through half of his sandwich.
“How does it feel?” she asked pointing at his chest. Jacob sighed, pulled back his scrubs, and showed the wound. It was horrifying to see. Around his chest where the blade penetrated his chest, his skin had turned as black as the Grimm. It had consumed the skin and had veiny lines stretching out from the center as if it was trying to spread across his entire body.
“Does it hurt?” Natalie asked reaching her hand out to almost touch it.
“It did the moment it happened” Jacob said as he covered his wound back up. “And honestly, it still hurt a ton when Ozpin and the others tried to keep it from completely consuming me. Once Ozpin found a way to slow it down to almost a stop, it stopped hurting as much as it did. It still feels strange. Like that entire part of my body is just dead weight. Even when the doctors touch it with needles and things like that, I can’t feel a single thing. Not even the pressure of them placing the needles in me.”
“Not sure how good needles are going to do you now” Brooklyn said as she sat down in a nearby chair. “If what Ozpin said about that Relic is true, then for all intents and purposes that part of your body is literally dead. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“True” Jacob said as he placed his hand over his heart. “I’m extremely lucky that it didn’t reach any of my important organs before Ozpin noticed what had happened to me.”
“Did Ozpin have any kind of estimate about how long you might have before his remedy doesn’t work for you anymore?” Evan asked as he sat down next to Jacob’s bed.
“Not even he knows” Jacob said as he pulled up the files he was working on. “But we do have a solution, so all I have to do is hope that we find the Relic of Life before that remedy does wear off.”
“Are you working on finding the Relic right now?” Natalie asked walking over to see what Jacob was working on.
“No, I’m working on strategies to fight against the Order. Between Haven and our recent battle in the Dark Realm, that’s two losses too many that we’ve had to suffer. I’m trying to come up with a plan that could lead us to defeating the Order once and for all. If I can study their battle tactics, then perhaps I can find a weakness we can exploit. And beyond that, there may be a way for us to track them back to where they’re hiding and destroy them once and for all!”
“How would we do that?” Evan asked as he looked at some of the files. “We managed to find the Order in Vacuo because they were using an old temple that Ozpin built way back when. But now, they’re practically always mobile. And tracking devices are almost impossible to place on airships since anyone with a brain in this situation would know to have the computer do a quick shock across the ship in order to fry any tracking devices placed on it.”
“Which is precisely why I plan on using a new tracking machine that Weiss and her tech team developed in Atlas” Jacob said as he pulled out a tiny little metal ball that was no bigger than a marble. “This here is the newest spy droid, the Atlas 100619 Espionage Spider Droid, or Sneaky Spider as the techs call it.” With a push of the little red button on the droid, the machine sprung to life, sprouting eight tiny legs and walking up from Jacob’s hand to his shoulder.
“That’s so cool!” Natalie said wide-eyed.
“It really is” Jacob said with a smile as he picked up the droid and offered it to Natalie so she could look at it, which she happily accepted.
“Yeah it’s cool and all,” Evan said watching Natalie play with the droid, “but how will it even reach the Order’s main ships? We’d have to place that thing on a person or hope that the Order’s airships actually touch down in order for that thing to get on board? And how would it survive the electrical charge that Atlas-built airships have built in that is meant to fry spy droids like this one?”
“A good question. They actually came up with some clever ideas for that. Natalie, if you wouldn’t mind holding the droid in the palm of your hand?” Natalie obliged with Jacob’s request, and held her palm flat for the droid to stand on. Then, with a push of a button from Jacob’s Scroll, the droid leapt off Natalie’s hand, and before it hit the ground, the arms suddenly changed their shape and started spinning, causing the droid to fly right to Evan and land right in front of him.
“The droid is built with enough power to fly and keep up with most airships in the Atlas fleet. It also has enough grip strength to make sure they won’t fall off even if airships go at max speed. And in terms of the charge that airships use in order to make sure they aren’t being tracked, this little guy is actually built with a state-of-the-art operating system. The entire processing system of the machine is built with a rubber interior and core. Sort of like a skin, covering all of the important electrical components, ensuring that any electric charge it receives from any outside source does not affect the droid nor its mission.”
“Pretty impressive” Brooklyn said with a smile. “Even more surprising is that we haven’t come up with this kind of technology before now.”
“Progress comes in many different shapes and forms” Jacob said as he recalled the droid to shut it down. “We haven’t had a need for something like this until today. Besides, if we create something like this first, then the enemy will soon get their hands on similar technology, resulting in both sides reaching a struggle back and forth to stay ahead. But since we have created this technology first, if we use it right, then we could potentially end the war much faster than previously anticipated.”
“How good is it against hacks from other users?” Natalie asked. “Like what happened during the Cinder Fall incident and when we had to fight them in the Battle of Vytal?”
“It runs on the same form of technology that the Atlas military runs, so the only way to access it is with the proper Atlas credentials, or if you use the medals we received from Ozpin for the Battle of Vytal. However, since it is a newer technology, it isn’t linked with the rest of the Atlas network just yet.”
“I completely forgot that those medals that Ozpin gave us allowed us so much access” Brooklyn said as she pulled hers out of her wallet. “They’ve been so useless just about everywhere else, they don’t do us much good outside of Atlas or Vale.”
“That is pretty dumb,” Evan said as he pulled out his medal as well. “I’ve only used this thing once, and it was to get into General Ironwood’s office because he had some information for me years back and he had left it in his office and was off doing something in Vacuo. That was a time and a half I’d rather forget.” Everybody chuckled a little bit, then their Scrolls buzzed.
“What is it?” Jacob asked leaning forward.
“Miles wants to meet with us in the courtyard” Natalie said as she got up to leave. “He didn’t say why.”
“That does seem like a Miles thing to do” Jacob said with a chuckle. “Thanks for coming by and visiting.”
“Of course” Brooklyn said with a smile. “Happy to.” With that, the three of them took their leave, and Jacob returned to the task that lay before him.
Miles and Blake were standing in the courtyard as the sun started to set, and a cool breeze had started to roll in. Miles checked the time again, starting to tap his foot.
“Patience Miles” Blake said with a sigh. “Not everybody moves as fast as our daughter.”
“I know. It’s just a bit annoying when people don’t arrive at the given time for certain events.”
“Not all of us are as much of a stickler for time as you are” Christy said as she and Ty joined them in the courtyard. “Plus, you didn’t say it was urgent or anything like that, so we took our time.”
“And some of us were busy visiting those who can’t even leave their own room” Brooklyn said as she, Evan and Natalie joined them.
“How is Jacob doing?” Blake asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
“He’s hanging in there” Natalie said with a sigh. “The sooner we find this Relic, the better.”
“How’s that going by the way?” Ty asked folding his arms.
“They’re getting closer” Yang’s voice cut in as she and Ember joined the group. “Ruby won’t be joining us, she’s busy with finding the mountain where the Relic is.”
“Fair enough” Miles said stepping forward. “Now then, for the reason that I asked you all to be here this evening.”
“Did something happen that we don’t know about or anything like that?” Evan asked.
“No, this is more speculation than anything else” Miles said as he put his hand to his chin. “There have been several instances that have caught my attention during our encounters with the Order, especially with the one that they call Lord Tenebris.”’
“What about him?” Ember asked. “He’s just another jerk who serves the Order who we all happen to have some kind of vendetta against.”
“That’s exactly it. For one reason or another, this Tenebris guy seems to have it out for all of us in particular. He killed Nathan, and yet we are the ones who wronged him in his eyes. There seems to be something about the way he speaks about us. He has short nicknames for each of us that is directly related to something about each of us.”
“How do you mean?” Natalie asked starting to grow concerned.
“Well, he refers to Ember as the “pretender”, he refers to all of us who grew up in Aequo as “betrayers”, and a few others that I can’t remember off the top of my head.”
“We already know that he has ties to Aequo” Ty said with confusion. “This isn’t new, so what are you getting at?”
“But it isn’t just Aequo. All of his titles for us are in direct reference to different parts of our past. Some of them things that we have only ever told each other. Ember, he seemed to know a lot about that necklace that he stole from you back in Vacuo.” At this moment, Yang started slowly walking towards Miles, her anger rising and her burn growing.
“What are you implying Miles?”
“Like I said earlier, this is all just speculation right now. But between this guy’s Semblance and the fact that he knows specifically all of us this well, it’s hard to ignore that this might be something in the realm of possibility.”
“You can’t be serious” Ember said, her voice starting to shake. “You’re lying!”
“I want him back more than anybody else here Miles” Yang said trying to fight back tears. “But if you honestly think my DECEASED husband is capable of the things that Tenebris has done, than maybe he was right about you not really being his friend.”
“So you’re just going to completely ignore everything he did leading up to his supposed death then?” Miles said as he felt Yang’s aura burn growing stronger and stronger.
“Just because he lost sight of who he was in order to accomplish his own goals doesn’t mean that he would go as far as what Tenebris has done! It also doesn’t make any sense! The Order destroyed Aequo! Why would he want to join the group that destroyed his home?!”
“Yang brings up a point” Ty said as he walked over and moved Yang away from Miles trying to deescalate the situation. “Even in the past few years, no matter how bad Nathan got, he was still driven by his desire to avenge your old home. He had a clear goal in mind. Why do you think he would suddenly pull a one-eighty and join them? It makes no sense!”
“But do you really think it’s outside the realm of possibility?” Christy said stepping forward. “I heard first-hand how Tenebris was talking to Ember back in Vacuo. How he spoke of her past. Her family. I remember what he said about so many of us during the battles. We can’t rule it out as a possibility.”
“So that’s it?” Evan yelled back. “Nathan went from our friend and brother to member of the Order at the drop of a hat?!”
“This isn’t an absolute we’re talking about!” Blake yelled back. “We are just asking what if? How do we move forward from here? If Tenebris really is Nathan, what do we do about it?”
“We aren’t going to do anything in that regard!” Brooklyn also yelled. “Because this is ridiculous! Nathan fought beside us against the Order! And yes, he did end up going down a path we didn’t agree with him on, but that path was still in the name of destroying the Order! Why would Nathan commit himself to destroying the Order if he’s just going to up and join them at the end of it all?!”
“Enough!” Natalie yelled, getting everybody to quiet down. They all turned and looked right at Natalie. She almost turned invisible in that moment, but remained fully there for everyone to see. “I’ll admit, my brother went down a dark path before this all started. I’m not fully sure myself why he started to go down the road that he did. But I know this. During that last mission that I went with him on in Vacuo, there was a lot happening. My memories of that day are still fragmented, but I do have one strong memory. The two of us surrounded by Order soldiers, and we were fighting them together. In his final moments, Nathan still stood against the Order. And I believe that is what happened. There has to be another angle on this Tenebris guy. Maybe the Order got a hold of Nathan’s memories before he died and shared them with Tenebris and made him somebody who knew all about us to try and get into our heads. We aren’t going to beat them by fighting amongst ourselves about something like this. We are going to beat them by ensuring that we finish what Nathan started, and destroy the Order once and for all.” Everybody remained silent after Natalie said this, and just stood there, still reeling from the conversation they had just had. Miles sat down on the ground, trying to fight back tears.
“I’m sorry everyone. This was not the time to bring this up. And even then, this is just some random theory going through my head. Besides, Jacob is more important right now than anything else. And here I am dragging all of you out here just to listen to my ravings about something that I know can’t be possible. What was I thinking?” Yang got down on one knee and hugged Miles.
“Yeah, I miss him too.” The two of them hugged it out and let the tears flow. Everybody came together for a short cry session, then slowly got up and went their separate ways.
“You coming back up Miles?” Blake asked as she started to head back to the room they were staying in.
“I think I’m going to stay out here for a little while longer. I’ll come inside in a few minutes.” Blake nodded and left him alone. Miles continued to sit in the courtyard by himself, watching as the sun began to fade from sunset to nightfall, leaving him alone in the dark.
“Even if it somehow were true,” he said to himself, “why would he do this?”
“You’re sure this plan will work Lord Tenebris?” Lord Imperia said as she looked over a hologram projection.
“It’s clear that they don’t know where to search for the Relic of Life” Lord Tenebris said as he pulled up maps of several mountains. “But if we can trick them into thinking we’ve found it, then we can keep them distracted while we achieve our true goal.”
“We would be risking a vast majority of the fleet for this operation Lord Tenebris. I do not wish to have a repeat of what happened in Atlas.”
“Neither of us wish to deal with failure again my lord, but this will ensure our total victory against the betrayers and pretenders."
“Very good Lord Tenebris” Lord Imperia said turning to leave the room. “You may proceed.” With that said, Lord Imperia exited the room, while Lord Tenebris smiled and started to make the preparations.
“Soon, they will see the truth. Soon, they will realize that they were wrong to betray me. That moment when I give them everything they ever truly needed, and I take it away to punish them for their insolence and lack of understanding. I hope I can see the looks on their faces when they realize that I was right all along.” Lord Tenebris chuckled to himself while he continued his final preparations, all while a sick smile grew across his face while he laughed.
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