Somewhere off in a dark, dark realm, a group of individuals were ready and waiting for their mistress to arrive; Arthur Watts was a mustachioed, tuxedoed man with his eyes on his Scroll to tinker with some new invention ideas, Hazel Reinart was a bulking behemoth of a man who looked like he was trying to focus on whatever his master was planning, Tyrian Callows looked by far the most excited with a smile so wide and maniacal that it made sure the others kept their distance.
But the last person on the table was by far the quietest; Cinder Fall somehow managed to survive the encounter on top of the Tower, she had managed to obtain the Maiden's powers though not without repercussions when both Jae and Ruby found her. She looked like she had been blasted apart by a bomb; Her hair had all but been burned away as she was still trying to grow it back from a length that barely passed her ears, a black mask covered the entire upper left side of her face and covered her badly damaged eye along with her remaining eye being the only way she could see. Her throat had three savage claw marks that went from side to side, which if she hadn't told the others how it happened would've been dismissed as a wild animal attack, Her dress was longer and covered up the remnants of her injuries but it completely covered up one arm so that could only mean that it was either too damaged to move or not there at all. With a snap of her gloved fingers, she summoned Emerald and Mercury back to her side to act as her aides.
"Yes, yes…Do be a dear and ensure that you keep your rabble from running off, Cinder." Watts would snidely remark as he was the only one of the crew who seemed to revel in Cinder's misery/failures. With a barely restrained glare from Mercury and his master's own lack of response put a smile on the scientist's face. "Ah, you hear that? Silence…Such a thing that I missed while you weren't around and now that you can't talk as much, I can enjoy it while you're here too." He taunted her with a condescending chuckle.
Hazel grunted in dismissal as he refused to kick Cinder while she was down. "You should consider her position, Watts…She's now got the Maiden's power and managed to put down Ozpin…The least you can do is be thankful that she committed to her duties and made our tasks easier to manage." The giant man rumbled in a low tone.
Tyrian leaned forward from his squatting position on his chair as he decided to chime in. "We are closer to our goal now, but if I were you Cinder…I'd find the ones who did this and then…hmhm~ Well, they did completely break your body after all, it's only fair that you do the same~" The man giggled before breaking into full on crazy laughing.
Unfortunately, Cinder had no ways to actively fight back on her own; Ruby's Silver Eye powers and whatever it was that Jae did had put her in a vulnerable position. With no way to talk on her own, she summoned Emerald nearby her and croakily whispered what she wanted to say to them.
Though before she could do so or Watts could continue to berate her position, the large doors opened up creakily as a figure practically hovered through; A deathly white skinned woman that stood just slightly taller than Cinder wearing a black flowing dress with the clacking of unseen heels and the jingling of the ornaments in her white hair. This was Salem; The Unseen enemy and their Master as she took her seat at the head of the table, her black and red eyes burned through each of them and specifically through Watts as she welcomed them to sit. "Watts…Must you find such malicious words necessary? Cinder has performed quite adequately."
Even the haughty Watts couldn't bring himself to protest or continue his mean spirited words towards Cinder with their master present as he sat and cleared his throat. "I apologise, Ma'am…But I don't quite tolerate failure…."
Salem raised an eyebrow, the red markings on her face gently curving as her face moved to directly gaze at him. "Then I see no reason for you to be so needlessly cruel to Cinder. She managed to topple Beacon Tower, steal the Maiden's power and kill Ozpin without even so much as an effort." She explained as she recognised this as a victory for them rather than what Watts saw. "Though that leaves me with one question…If that is the case, what failure do you see?"
Watts then looked to Cinder's eye before gazing back at Salem. "The girl with the Silver eyes to be exact…"
Hazel slowly opened an eye to gaze at Watts as the man focused himself. "We've dealt with their kind before…Though how was it that a Novice was able to best her?"
Watts felt himself bolstered as Hazel neutrally backed up his claims. "My thoughts exactly! Even without her power, it should have been effortless to do what she did."
"It is PRECISELY because of the Maiden's power." Salem pushed back with an authoritative glare before turning to her Maiden. "Make no mistake Cinder…You hold the key to our victory but with your incredible power granted by the Maiden's soul, it has also come with a steep price…which is why you will remain with me while I continue to help heal and continue your treatment." She said with a sympathetic voice though it didn't help Cinder from feeling sad at being sidelined. "Doctor Watts…While Cinder is recovering, I want you to take her place and continue to liaise with our informant in Mistral…The plan must continue as scheduled."
Watts bowed his head respectfully as he stood to his feet. "Very well, I will make my way."
Salem nodded before looking to the larger man. "Hazel, I want you to meet with the leader of the White Fang and convince them that siding with us will benefit them. Adam Taurus has arranged for this and he continues to prove useful, so ensure that Sienna Khan will feel the same."
Hazel nodded along. "As you wish…Though with respect, Ma'am…I would be careful around Adam Taurus…With what Cinder said about him before, I think it's better to keep an eye on him."
"I'll keep it duly noted…And Tyrian? As my tracker, I want you to start hunting for the Spring Maiden." Salem explained as she looked to the manic looking man. "Cinder has the Fall Maiden's power so it only makes sense that Spring should come next considering the Relic it is linked to."
Tyrian chuckled mirthfully as he relished in the task; "Gladly~ I will drag her to you by the hair if I have to."
Before Salem could order their dismissal, she heard the quiet but urgent wheezing from Cinder as Emerald was now leaning in to listen to her. "You have something to say, child?"
Emerald could feel ice in her veins as she stared up at Salem, she knew not to mince her words around her Master's Master. "She wanted to ask…What about the girl…And what about Ja-I mean…The Demon…" She asked Salem, her voice slowly tapering off out of guilt when she nearly said Jae's name and quickly changed it before anyone could see her depression.
"Tch, what about them? It sounds like that should be Cinder's problem, not our's…" Watts drawled as he dismissed her; "Besides, it's completely preposterous that a Demon was part of the reason that she was like this, something that powerful and of that nature shouldn't and doesn't exist anymore, I think Cinder got a little too delirious an-"
"HE. EXISTS!" Cinder slammed her fist on the table and stood out of her seat as she finally managed to croak out two words with enough fury to make fire burst from her mouth, however even those words was enough to make her feel like her throat was being ripped all over again as she staggered back down in her seat and started coughing.
"Cinder!" Emerald yelped out of worry as she tried to help steady her and saw Mercury somewhat helping her too with getting back into her seat. Emerald was one of the few to see Cinder's aftermath of her encounter with both Jae and Ruby, needless to say; it was a sight that she would rather not remember.
"That's enough, the both of you!" Salem raised her hand and quickly silenced the two; When she had heard from Cinder that a Demon could be lingering at Beacon, it had peaked her interest but the fact that this supposed Demon was more powerful than any other Demon in recent time was enough for her to considering reaching out. "I think it might be worth exploring this particular avenue…If a Demon is powerful enough to hurt Cinder like this then perhaps it's time I tried to recruit one again…With some help, I might be able to tame a potential second coming of Sparda." She thought to herself and decided to start planning something alongside her original scheme. "Tyrian?"
"Yes, My Lady?" Tyrian asked with bated breath, ever since he heard that Cinder was hurt and almost killed by both Demon and Silver Eyes. It seemed to kindle an obsession in him; While Cinder recovered, he asked and asked about the Demon that caused the damage, he was practically salivating for the chance to meet something that shared an innate desire for violence and had the power to do it.
"Spring can wait for now…I want you to find the girl and the Demon that did this to Cinder…" Salem explained with a calmer expression but noted that Tyrian's eager clapping and squealing was something to take with a grain of salt. "And I want you to bring them both to me…Alive." She said and pointedly emphasised on the last part of her sentence. "And if you feel so inclined…Ensure that you can try to convince this Demon that his skills and his potential would be better suited for OUR cause rather than Ozpin's."
On hearing that this was a live capture mission and a potential recruitment, Tyrian pouted like a little boy who got told to go home. "Very well, I will do as you command of me."
"Beacon has fallen… And Haven will be next…"
——Meanwhile in a remote part of Anima——
"We truly can't thank you enough." An elderly man thanked Ruby, Nora and Ren who had returned to them after killing a Geist that threatened them and their nearby village. "That Geist had been plaguing us since it's awakening…If it had gone on for any longer, we would have had to relocate."
"It's no problem at all, sir! Though I have to ask, if you're so worried about the Grimm attacks on the village, why not travel with us? We're on our way to Haven so you could make it a safer living there." Ruby suggested as she appreciated the thanks given to them.
"Anima has it's own way of doing things; Yes, being in the capital IS safer and we would have a more stable way of life but there is a way of life that we appreciate which can't come from city life…" The mayor explained with a soft smile. "I do appreciate your concerns nonetheless…I just only wish that I can offer you more for what you and your friends are doing for us."
Ren nodded before reassuring him, "The arrangements that we have agreed will be more than sufficient…All we really have to do is wait until Jae returns and we can get properly ready for our next trek."
"Are you sure that your friend will be safe on his own? The task that he said that he would complete is one that has plagued not just our village but some of the surrounding ones too…" The Mayor asked with some concern; "I honestly had qualms about sending someone alone to try where other hunters and even a few Huntsmen have tried and failed."
"If anyone should be worried, it oughtta be the Grimm…Jae's one of our toughest and he's been able to kick butt more times than I can count." Nora remarked with a grin that oozed reassurance.
Ruby nodded in agreement, though she couldn't help but feel concerned for Jae; Since the Fall of Beacon, Jae looked and acted like nothing was different but even now, she couldn't help but worry in case he was pushing himself too hard. "Jae…Please be safe…"
—Inside a cave on the outskirts of the Village borders—
Jae was wandering through a catacomb of underground tunnels minus his usual jacket, leaving the teen in nothing but a black shirt, dark brown pants and boots, his footsteps echoed throughout the widening cavern and finally bringing him out to an open hollow. From what the Mayor and the task that he had been allocated to was; This particular Grimm was by far one of the biggest threats that was known about in Anima or more specifically part of the village that had asked them for help.
The task was that a particular Grimm not only ensured that their cattle and various traders that came to the village disappeared but lately children and even grown adults had started going missing. It was a Grimm that he only heard about in books but if his gut was right, then it could only be one thing that could do this but the real challenge was handling things with just his revolvers Carmen and Electra plus his shotgun Revenant.
"It has been such a long time since I have had a visitor enter my domain…" A quiet yet cold and alluring voice echoed in the caverns as Jae saw the very apex of the hollows; A giant sprawling nest of webs, sacs and cautiously squirming eggs that vanished into the dark. "And an even longer time that someone of this fine a vintage had deigned to visit…How does it fare…My handsome new find~?"
From out of the shadows stepped a pale skinned woman clad in a black and purple kimono that was ripped and torn in places like she had ran through the forest frantically, her lips were shimmering black like her hair and she seemed to either be blind or using a Semblance as she kept her eyes closed throughout the whole thing.
"You certainly know how to home decorate…" Jae snarked as he kept his distance from the woman, his composure not breaking for an instant. "I know that you're keeping people down here and I can tell you're a lot smarter than average so take your babies and leave the villages alone…There's bigger and more spacey areas than some dark cave."
"You would judge me for trying to keep my family safe and fed here? Oh, you are such a cruel man…" The Woman would say with an almost pained expression as she took another step towards him.
"I know your games…Which is what brought me here so I'm gonna give you an easy choice…Either let these people go and make your nest somewhere else like the mountains or something…Or…"
"So demanding and forceful….I like that in a man~" The Woman purred as she opened her kimono a little to expose more of her alabaster skin. "I can see that you hold a lot behind those eyes of your's….So why not just stay here with me? I can promise you that I can be a much more Hospitable host than anyone else, no more sadness…No more pain…No more grief to be felt from the world above or the fear of losing anot-"
Jae then felt enough was enough as he pulled Carmen out of his holster and fired a shot into The Woman's head, causing her to scream out in an echoing and almost ethereal wail as she vanished into the dark.
However this wasn't going to be easy as a menacing hiss followed by a screech through chittering fangs broke the illusion and he finally saw the monster face to face; A Gigantic spider that was entirely black on it's underside with red markings all along it's white armoured chitins and seven burning red eyes plus one eye that was now seared shut gazed at him with a hungry expression, each leg was tipped with a bone white covering that looked like a greatsword was attached to all eight limbs.
"A Broodmother…No wonder that your words was able to lull people into giving up for you...Good thing that my gut was right otherwise I'd be up there with them." Jae mentioned as he remained unphased by the grotesque display.
"How? How were you able to see through me? Or were you so cruel that a demon like you would shoot a defenceless woman before asking questions…" The voice gurgled out at him; It no longer held the sweet or lulling voice that it's Glimmer held and was just as vile sounding as it looked.
"Don't flatter yourself, I just know how the Anansi…Or rather how you work…You trap creatures in your webs by pretending to be a kind face and then you along with your babies feed off of their prolonged suffering as they stay trapped with you…Besides, you overplayed your part of trying to comfort me." Jae snarked as he then pulled his shotgun Revenant out of his holster and cocked it.
"Clever…But just being clever won't save you from being strung up…I shall hang you by your neck and let my brood feed on that delicious grie-" The Broodmother screeched as she reared up on her legs; This particularly old Grimm's body was the size of a bus and each leg being as long as a lamppost may have been intimidating for any other person or warrior but a Huntsman wasn't going to back down and neither was Jae as he used a Gravity Dust blast from Revenant to knock it onto it's back and proceeded to hammer it into the rock with consecutive shots to keep it pinned.
"Sorry but I'm not in the mood for grandstanding or taking it easy after that threat…So just talk quietly." Jae stated bluntly as he aimed the muzzle at it's head. "But I also have a question for you since you can understand me."
"If you think I am the worst that the forests and the land has to offer, you're wrong…If you know what's good for you, you'll beware the Nuck-" It cryptically warned Jae but then stopped as Jae swung the butt of his gun at it's head to shut it up.
"I said I had a question, not for you to play games with me…" Jae mentioned grimly as he saw the Grimm hesitate and snap it's mandibles. "Now tell me what I want to know…"
The Broodmother's only response after that was to ferally shriek at him and leaned it's head up to try biting out his throat before he could ask, only to get it's entire head blasted into smoke by a Fire Dust shot.
Jae climbed off with an expression that could only be described as utter frustration while a glimmering light slipped out of the dissipating Broodmother and into his hand as he left the nest while blasting away the remnants of the smaller Anansi that screeched for retribution of their matriarch. "Still nothing…I'm going to find her…No matter how many Grimm I have to shoot down."
The trek back was quiet and only the sounds of nature could linger now that the den was wiped out. Ever since the Fall of Beacon, Jae had dedicated himself to making himself stronger and accustom himself to this new level of power that he was "given". It wasn't easy considering the way things were but he swore to himself that he would make sure that no one would ever have to feel the way he felt that day…Least of all him.
——Back at the Village, in the Blacksmith's——
"So it was a Broodmother that did all of that?" Ruby asked as she waited alongside the others for the last upgrade to be completed; When she saw the poster for missing people and to hunt down the Grimm responsible, she hadn't expected for such a haunting thing to be lurking in the undergrowth.
"Anansi were bad enough when they hide in trees and grab you with webs…Broodmothers go that extra mile thanks to their enhanced sense regarding emotions." Ren pointed out while Nora bugged Jae about what he could have potentially got from said arachnid Matriarch.
"There you go, son! Granted it's gonna be a little more heavy thanks to the armoured plating but it'll help you when you're up against fangs and claws." The Blacksmith mentioned jovially as he placed an armoured jacket down on the counter.
Jae had come to the conclusion that even though he was able to handle anything that the Grimm threw at him so far, he couldn't be as carefree about weakspots especially after Cinder got the jump on him; So he commissioned the Blacksmith to try making a more fortified top for him; This one had silver shoulder plates, a chest guard stitched onto a new leather jacket and separate gauntlets that went from wrist to elbow along with being accented with brass/gold along the edges of the plates and the tips of the fingers.
"Wow, that's actually pretty cool looking." Ruby mentioned and gave Jae a thumbs up.
"It's minimalist but I think it suits you great." Ren added as he saw the Blacksmith coming out with something else.
"Oh right, you can't have a Hunstman without his weapon." He mentioned as he placed Titan Fang on the counter though it looked different; The curved wing that acted as a hand guard now had highlights of bronze in it to match the saber's edge and the handle had changed out the worn leather for a red colour. "I'm not sure where you found it but that metal that you gave me to use was top notch…Bronze really works well to accent the silver, I have to ask though…Where did you find it?"
Jae smiled at his request being fulfilled though it softened into a sadder one when he looked over to the back of the hand guard on his right gauntlet; It was an emblem of a shield with a sword and a spear laid over it to make a homage while the wrist end of the gauntlet's pattern matched a familiar circlet from someone. "It was a gift…from someone dear to me…" Jae said quietly as he gripped his hand tightly.
Having not known what exactly Jae had requested while they waited for him; The fact that they saw their leader keeping Pyrrha's memory so close to him made them feel a mix of relief that he was trying to help keep her memory alive but also faint sadness as it reminded them of what they lost. Ren gently placed his hand on Jae's back to help reassure him; "It's a nice sentiment."
As the four left and headed out of the Village with food, water and fresh ammo gathered as thanks for helping them, they were set to go onward to the next stop, though Ruby felt conflicted; On the one hand she still had friends alongside her for this trip and Jae being the one who had gone through what she had was some small comfort but she couldn't help but feel sad that her own team still remained more divided than anything. "Weiss is back in Atlas with her family…Blake's…I don't even know where she is and Yang is…I know losing her arm was horrifying but she's practically shut me out along with Jae…I only want her to be okay…"
——In Atlas——
"I have decided to raise a charity ball as a fundraiser for the victims affected by the Fall of Beacon." Jacques Schnee explained from his cold office as Weiss stood in front of him; She had accidentally overheard what Ironwood and her Father had discussed regarding the embargo of Dust crippling his business and the frightening (to him) rumours that his daughter had been going to the same school as "That horrid beast of a Demon Child"
"That's wonderful news, father…" Weiss responded with a stiff upper lip; She could tune out her father's usual bluster but hearing him talk about Jae like that made her want to yell at him or sock him one, however her training as an Heiress taught her to stifle it for a little while.
"Indeed…And along with showing the public that the Schnees remain as strong as ever, I thought it would be a good chance to start electing a fiancé for you alongside it." Jacques mentioned casually as he looked at her intently.
The last part of that sentence made her nearly break her composure. "E-Excuse me?" She would ask with the most calm tone that she could muster with such a revelation.
"Well, since Winter is gallivanting off with the Military and Whitley is still too young, it only makes sense that I start thinking about your future." The Schnee patriarch would detail, "You are my daughter, the survivor of the Fall of Beacon that defended another Kingdom…I can imagine that such prestige will bring you a suitable and worthy husband candidate that fits the Schnee Family Name."
Weiss was feeling that urge to slap him getting stronger and stronger. "Father…What if I…Already have someone in mind…Someone who I feel is the right one for me." She mentioned to him, not wanting to tell him that she already had her mind set on Jae regardless.
"Then you may choose from the list of candidates that I will show to you….No one more and no one less…You are a Schnee, you need to be with someone of your own kind, not with just any person who can weasel you with words." Jacques sneered condescendingly, not quite realising the hypocrisy of his statement and that he was simultaneously ignoring her rebuttals. "And considering some of the rumours that I heard from General Ironwood, it would be wise for you to distance yourself from those lowbrow friends of your's…Especially since one of them is that awful brute who was seen broadcast all over the world, it would benefit you to find someone who can help you during this…Difficult time. Now go practice...You'll need to be on top form for the event."
Weiss was then dismissed and left to mull over his words without even so much as being given an option to say no or argue. "Jae…Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I only wish I can be there with you…" She thought to herself sadly as despite how they initially treated each other, she did dearly miss him.
—Meanwhile, Back in Patch——
Yang had been gifted the robotic arm from Atlas by Ironwood as a way to help her recover and to reward her for her admirable actions at Beacon but even after everything that happened, she still felt anxious to try it on…She had been stuck inside and on the island for the longest that she had been in a while and that lead her to feel worse, worse enough that she isolated herself from Ruby and breaking off her relationship with Jae because of her culminated feelings of abandonment by Blake on top of feeling too much of a burden for him after what happened to her.
But that all quickly became the last thing on her mind as she woke up one morning and let out an ear piercing scream.
Tai Yang instantly went into Papa Bear mode and sprinted upstairs to Yang's room, worried that she was suffering another night terror. "Yang?! Yang, what's wrong? It's okay, your dad's….Here?" His voice raised in concern quickly toned down when he saw his daughter sat up in bed and hyperventilating as she held on to her arm.
Yang was freaking out very hard as her bedroom wall had a large handprint embedded in it and cracked the plaster, but the more alarming fact was that her right arm which had formerly been reduced to a stump was now replaced with something that looked entirely different. The forearm was almost completely covered in black scale-like skin, save for the glowing golden yellow streaks that run through the cracks. The scales run up the back of the hand and outside of the fingers while the inside of the hand was similarly coloured yellow. "Dad…Dad, you can see it too, right?! I'm not going nuts, am I?!"
Tai was completely in shock as he saw that his eldest daughter practically regrew her arm overnight like it was a lizard tail. "Yeah…Yeah I see it…Does it…hurt?"
"N-No…It just…feels different…" Yang mumbled as she looked over the new "arm" as she carefully flexed and curled the clawed tips of her fingers as she tried to calm herself down.
"Well…I guess now you don't have to worry about buying single gloves anymore" Tai said with his usual attempt to dissolve the tension with a joke as he wandered in and shut the door. "Do you know how it happened…Or when it happened?" He asked her gently; Seeing his daughter suddenly grow a new arm was shocking enough but the fact that it looked so….out of the ordinary was making extra difficult to dismiss.
"I…I don't know, this is probably the first time that I've…seen it happen…" Yang admitted as she eyed it all over, "Could it have come from being around Jae? But how…and wh-Oh….Ooooooh I think I know how…." She mentally recalled things and the only time that she could imagine that something so demonic would appear on her arm could have something to do with her being in bed with Jae.
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in…Trust me, it's a lot for ME…But if you want me to help then you need to tell me." Tai said and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Whatever it is….We can handle it together, I'm with you through anything, remember?" He stated with a soft voice to try encouraging her.
"Okay…Dad…You remember that guy that I was seeing…Back at Beacon?" Yang began uneasily; "That boy who came here before Ruby left…That was him…Jae, he is…Well…was my boyfriend and as weird as it sounds…You may want to sit down." She stated before going into more details about what she knew about Jae and him being a Demon.