Next year is Blake and Weiss being around Abyss with their own agendas, Yang getting in touch with Abyss and Ruby once more (And where is Raven? That might be messy), and forever fall finally getting explored. Year three and four of signal are getting cut since I've been in pre-canon SO long. People have pointed it out that it's getting to be like a slice -of-life practically and I agree. I'm aiming for maybe seven or eight chapters before beacon starts at most.
[||||=LEVEL 33= ||||]
Bella Opaque
Titles: Professional operator; Silent legend
Level – 264
HP – 4872
AP – 17,760
STR - 126 (+435%)= 548.1
VIT - 112 (+435%)= 487.2
DEX - 281 (+435%)= 1222.35
INT - 419 (+0%)= 419
WIS - 444 (+0%)= 444
LUK - 38 (+0%)= 38
Semblance: Anonymous - You will naturally remain unnoticed unless actively searched for or in direct line of sight with aura. Peripheral vision in use against you is far less effective even passively. With the use of aura it is more potent. Does not defend against sensing your aura due to using your semblance or direct sensory input such as touch or taste although sight is directed away from you and your actions are less noticeable, noise you produce is muffled, and smell is negated entirely.
Affinities: [LOCKED]
Perks: None
Bio: Bella Opaque was raised under a pair of poor trapeze artists in a travelling circus before they opened a gym in Vale in her early teens and trained in the natural gymnastics of her parent's profession. She decided against following their profession and instead pursued a career as a huntress.
Bella did not do well in school in direct combat or academics (due to her poor education) and was bullied for a time until she decided to take matters into her own hands and sabotage the reputation and grades of her aggressors with her natural penchant for stealth and speed.
She realized her talent and joined the subterfuge and intelligence class of shade despite the official class registration being closed off by pranking them without being detected, leaving a hint, and being recruited after dropping said hint as a callsign of authenticity.
Bella spent her educational period as a huntress at Beacon academy and, despite barely making it in due to her barely passing combat scores, got high marks in everything but combat ability. She took the path less travelled and seperated from her team, whom she had never gotten along with due to her dedication to the art of subterfuge and the far more common and traditional ideal of bravery, service, and honor.
She was immediately recruited as a commando at twenty two for the black huntsmen operations of Vale in a counterterrorism unit and proved herself to be valedictorian of her training camp due to her proficiency in not one but two silent weapons, her stealth based semblance, her already notable skill at aura control, and her general talent and agility.
Bella served for four years as a commando, four more in a deep cover operation in Atlas under direct orders from Ozpin with the intention of passing a trail of hints to one captain (Later colonel) James Ironwood, the contents of said messages still unknown to Bella, and finally seven years returning to counterterrorism as a field operator focusing on operations in Mantle and training recruits before entering a pseudo retirement.
Despite not being much more skilled than the average huntress in direct combat Bella is extremely adept at a variety of subterfuge based skills such as hostage scenarios, general stealth, persuasion, hacking, lockpicking, silent takedowns, pocket picking, bomb making and defusing, psychology, and far far more.
She is not nearly as known publicly as the 'heroes' such as Summer Rose or Glynda Goodwitch due to her less than heroic choice in career yet she is the best spy of in several generations though she is somewhat closely matched by Qrow Branwen (not that Qrow realizes, her operations heavily classified on a need-to-know basis) in everything but combat, where he far surpasses her.
It wasn't hard to admit that Bella was a fantastic spy. I had known that for a long time. I suppose I can see why Ozpin never hired her. Bella isn't and never really was a hero nor ever interested in playing it. She's not the 'save the world' sort of person and she's not the kind of person Ozpin really needs either. He can have Qrow, a person who is completely loyal to him, manage his information gathering, arguably the most important part of an engagement. He also seems to work on as small a scale as possible when it comes to his confidantes in magic and Salem and such.
Screw that. That's what I say.
I needed a Summer. Someone who I can utterly trust to my last breath and inspire others to move beyond who they are with their ideals. I got Ruby. She isn't the person who completely aligns with me but she'll have my back to the grave whether it's mine or her own. She's family.
I needed an Ironwood. They don't have to be completely loyal but when I call to arms they need to understand to do their damndest to get me guns in a full blown army. That's Roman. He can defend himself but he's so much more valuable at the head of my version of an army.
I needed a Glynda. Someone to make things actually run while I'm away so that I can keep my eyes on the big and small pictures. That's Raven. She keeps things straight and tidy. If need be she can also kick ass completely and utterly. I suppose I got the better deal.
I need a Qrow. Someone who knows people. Someone who can know things. Someone that will reach out and learn absolutely everything that might be important. Sure Roman does that a bit but he only knows criminals. Nothing on Salem or the real players in this shadow war that I'm so dragged into. I'm sure Ozpin has all sorts of loyalists to him whispering things in his ears just like Roman.
I need a person that will help to guide me. Light the way so to speak. There's going to be a lot of things hidden from me. I can name a few off the top of my head. The relics. Ozpin and Salem's past. The managuard. I have no doubts that there are a few smaller organizations like the managuard. There still might be some.
This is why I need Bella. I can't fly blind. I can't play the game without a full set. It's not done. But I have one. I've been planning for quite a while.
Raven is my queen. The most competent. The most deadly. She is everywhere and anywhere covering the angles from across the whole board if need be.
Ruby is my first bishop. She'll shoot from across the board if need be and I know she'll help me with all she can give. She isn't a queen yet. She isn't strong. But she at least knows this and might get to be great sooner than I thought.
Cesium is my second bishop. Perhaps not now but he will be. He's preparing to be a man who will manage to rally others to fall giants together. He's not a beast like I or Raven. He will bring others to a banner that doesn't exist yet. He just has to want to be that person.
Bella will be my first knight. I know she will be there when the time comes reaching around in ways that hopefully catches others off guard.
For my second knight I have an open hand. Perhaps Pyrrha. Maybe Weiss or Blake or even someone like Winter. I never claimed to have a ready army at my call. I'm still growing and I hope I never stop.
Jaune will be my first rook. If all goes well he'll be a tank that defends everyone with his life. I don't want to manipulate him. I ruined his life in a moment of rashness and I don't regret if. I can't if I try. He's there and he's staying.
Roman will be my second rook. He's an unstoppable force that will send the full might of not an army but an empire founded on the willing sacrifices of the citizens in exchange for the offerings of goods while his darker half robs them blind. He's a new Jacques. A rising goliath of industry. I just need to keep lifting him up to greater heights.
I have some few pawns. Kerrigan, the loyal friend and a fighter when it matters. Ocean, the next Bella with all the skills of an assassin and the loyalty that manipulators like myself treasure.
I would say that Pyrrha still lies here as a pawn for now. She's strong but weak to the influences of others. If she can manage to beat that flaw in herself I'll gladly become closer to her. I might have Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie here as well. Maybe Yang if a time comes to show her the truth. Even someone like that chameleon girl or Adam Taurus though I doubt it. Even entities might be here. Nature's bounty, for example. The underworld machination Roman has conquered.
But still none of these people are a king. A king isn't the strongest piece. In fact more often than not he doesn't act. He brings these pieces together. He uses them like a well ordered machine. He's the leader. The object of the game. He's the piece that we simply can't quite place a value on.
I can't say I'm anything less than a king in this game. It's something I set myself as. I could have lowered myself into a nice tidy role at Ozpin's side or defected to Salem at any point. I could even have huddled myself away and lived like some normal child with Summer. I had people that wanted such a thing. Summer would have been thrilled to adopt me though I never felt the same. I could have allied myself with a kingdom and gone all out with a company like nature's bounty and hid behind a prosperous nation.
But I didn't.
None of those options are okay with me. None of those let me do what I want. I'm not some limited piece in need of protecting but I can't stand alone. So I'll play with people like they're chess pieces. It's a bad practice but still… I don't have to sink too far down. I can trust the people I have on my side. I can work hard to never have to sacrifice them 'for the greater good'. I can even improve remnant for the better along the way though I've done that plenty already. I just hope this can all work out to be better than it was before. Mutually assured destruction isn't an option.
[|||| == ||||]
"The winter maiden is somewhere in patch. Unfortunately I was unable to locate where exactly on the island. Somebody hid their mana through some method."
"Only took you two months…"
"I had to find Dianthus' dying magical signature from halfway across remnant and track it as it warped to fit a new host before the perpetrator disappeared from the area. The teleportation was entirely done with aura laced with some unknown magical signature. The new maiden wasn't even detected in patch until yesterday when a spell was casted outside. I had to latch onto those very faint traces from that small spell and use it to find a location. The signature was made untraceable, I'm sure. It isn't particularly difficult. On the other hand, the locating ritual I performed would be called impossible by some."
"Could the new maiden have hid their signature themselves?"
"There are methods of doing so, yes, but to instantaneously hide all their mana from detection by the ritual means that they either conducted a ritual, used an artifact of some sort, have a magic user keeping their mana suppressed, or are using any number of tricks."
"Tricks?"
"Projecting their magical signature into another dimension, changing their magical signature to reflect as someone else's, warping it through a spell akin to the soul hearth spell Abyss used years ago, keeping their reserves of mana constantly low or even empty to weaken the signature enough to lose it, conducting a rapid change in affinities to confuse the ritual I performed and cause it to fail as it did, or a hundred other ways around one of the most likely solutions."
"I see… Salem?"
"I don't believe so. She is not so… spontaneous. She likes to plot and plan before a large strike of several blows at once. This still may be her work but I don't believe so."
"Well we have a resident wizard on Patch right now."
"He was the first culprit, yes. However none of my books mentioned the maidens. Add on to that the winter maiden was in Atlas, which to my knowledge he has never been to. Do you know where he was the day Dianthus died?"
"He was at signal. I asked a few of his teachers and he was in their classes… but then he took a few sick days… but normally he just pulls weight to get out of classes. Everyone thought he was actually sick this time."
"Perhaps there is a link to it or he is an accomplice. Do you know where he is?"
"He's on some sort of road trip."
"Oh dear. He may be visiting the reserves."
"The magic places?"
"The sites of high magical attunement, yes. He visited Methanthelios' old stomping grounds and released that old demon through some foolishness. He managed to kill it through his precursor silver eyes and some trickery with runes, a railgun, and some specially made bullets. Rather clever tactics but still risky."
"Right… well should I track him down?"
"Do you believe you can?"
"He leaves from patch today in four hours in an airship. I can't fly that far and the ships are too slow. Maybe with a personal bullhead. Otherwise no."
"I'll make a portal for us to both see him. It has been some time since I last met with him."
"Wait… you could always do that?"
"Obviously. I simply cannot teleport to a person, however, without a sample of their mana. Only a landscape not thick in an a mana I am unattuned to."
"You wizards just… fine. I'll interrogate the kid. Keep the portal open so I can come back and meet with you again."
"Of course."
"Anything else?"
"Glynda found Dianthus' body. She was cleaved in half. The wound is too messy to properly figure out what weapon was used but we know the blade was curved and that she was killed execution style. With such a brutal killing the murderer had some reason to make it so messy. I trust you to use this information to your advantage."
"So it wasn't Abyss unless he's being a sneaky cunning little brat… so it could definitely be Abyss."
"His rebellious and cunning streak doesn't put him in a good light. However, I don't believe he was directly involved in the death of Dianthus. Perhaps he orchestrated it but I do not believe it. He has no motive to do so besides the allure of power, which he has."
"I don't want to think he did it… but unless he has a favor to pull with my sister and she's become some sort of prodigal sorceress, which is a horrible thought that should never see the light of day, he's the only one in remnant who can make portals across the world… well apparently you can I suppose."
"Yes. Let us hope Abyss has some answers for us. Otherwise you will have to find your sister. She is, as you said, the only other person capable of teleporting across remnant."
[|||| == ||||]
I had plans to meet up with Bella at one o'clock. Before that, though, I had to go shopping for supplies. I purchased some climbing gear, weapons maintenance supplies, and whatever I felt would be nice to have for the airship. Mainly dishes for eating on and a guidebook to airship mechanics, which was a skillbook I ate. Then I practiced on dummy parts. I got a small motor and repeatedly broke parts and fixed them. I got to level eight after two hours of practice. Then some undesirables came along.
"Mister Mavros." I stifled a groan at the voice of the only other wizard in remnant. I do NOT need this right now. I spun around on my swivel chair from the motor to see Qrow and Ozpin standing right behind me. How I hadn't noticed them I have no idea but maybe I should put runic protections around this hangar. Sure I just got it a few days ago but my ship is here and I have a tiny airship workshop as well.
"Hey kid." Qrow said breezily. "Do you know about the maidens?"
I blinked. Had that never come up? I really don't want anything to do with whatever mess is going on. "No."
"Bullshit." He called me out without a second of pause. Well there I go looking suspicious. "What do you know about Dianthus Null? She was the last winter maiden."
I feigned looking a little ticked off that they called me out rather than . This is rather sudden but I'm not giving them more reason to keep an eye on me… or Ruby. Or know about Raven. Man I have a lot of secrets don't I?
"I know Summer and I went after one when you sent her on that last mission and I linked them to that fairy tale but I don't know anything about any Dianthus Null…" This could be a good time to learn what they know actually. "You said she WAS the winter maiden… so she's what, dead?"
Qrow looked flatly at me. "I expected better. Aren't you the spymaster or something?" I rolled my eyes.
"Fine. I know Dianthus Null died in a town called Winterhold. I know just about everything about the maidens except for a few sketchy spots. Beyond that figure it out yourself. Now you want what? Who killed her? I don't know and I don't care. That's all your problem."
Ozpin gave me a measuring look. I didn't like it. "Somebody teleported from Winterhold to patch using aura laced with mana." I didn't hide my surprise. How had they figured that out?!
"Teleporting… and mana laced with aura?… Wait… you think I'm an accomplice or something?" The two were silent. "Sorry to disappoint but I have enough on my plate. School is easy but it is time consuming. Check signal's cameras."
"You know the remote avatar spell." Ozpin pointed out.
"And you have aura that you can lace with mana don't you?" I retorted. "That doesn't mean you're going around killing maidens. The same goes for being a headmaster. Poor Glynda. So many papers." Summer had told me that one. Qrow chuckled a little but Ozpin remained stoic.
"Do you have any evidence that you weren't the teleporter?" Ozpin asked.
"You don't have any evidence that I was or wasn't. Are you done throwing around accusations when there's really no evidence? I know that you could make a marker teleporter easily with enchantments or runes. Maybe there's an old chapter of the managuard or a resurgence of a similar organization. There could be a maiden converting her friends or a movement from whoever Ashaya Fall was affiliated to, which you've done a marvellous job covering up by the way. Care to share?" Ozpin was silent. I could tell he was thinking.
For a half a minute or so he just stood there staring at me. It was pretty unnerving actually. Ozpin makes a scary sight since I know how powerful he is.
"You know something." He concluded. Of course he figured it out…
"Fine." I relented. "I know a little. Just a little bit." Ozpin looked at me intently. I was silent for a moment as I thought up a convincing lie to tell him. Obviously I'm not telling him about Ruby or Raven. The best thing to do would be to set him on a wild goose-chase against Salem. He'll find nothing and assume it's her being crafty as usual instead of me giving him incorrect information. That is if I can pull it off. I'd prefer tell him something that appeases him but ultimately doesn't help him. It's a bit easier for me to pull off.
"… There is a man named Hazel Rainheart." Ozpin didn't emote but I got a feeling I set off an alarm in his head. "He was targeted by my information network as a suspicious individual. He was in Winterhold for a small amount of time before leaving on the same day Dianthus died. I have my own commitments and problems so I didn't pursue him. Now leave."
"Rainheart…" Ozpin said with the smallest hint of sadness in his tone. He waited a moment, not leaving like I told him to, before casually walking out. "Do enjoy your trip Mister Mavros. Please refrain from awakening any more ancient evils." I scowled before turning back to my motor. That was stressful… and surprising. Then my ear twitched.
Without any sound at all my hand whipped out and threw a throwing knife from my inventory at the intruder. I heard my knife hitting the thin metal wall of the hangar hard enough to punch through. Oops.
"Nice to see you on time, Bella." I said without looking up. A soft sigh was heard before she stood up. She really doesn't need to stand up. I couldn't hear her because of her semblance and skill at stealth but my storm affinity sensed the air displacement she made. It was close though. Very close. She's gotten much better.
"Was that Ozpin that just left here?" Bella asked with a frown.
"He wanted to know about a very important murder case. The culprit teleported so he came to me for advice." I explained.
"A murder? Who?"
"I'll tell you all about it on the flight. Go check out the controls would you? I'd prefer to set out soon."
Bella took one last look at me before walking to the airship and looking at the base of a strut. She reached out and flipped open the control panel easily, taking a look at everything. Fuel, systems, electrical breakers, and so on.
A whistle came from her. "This is a nice ship. Kind of underarm Ed for the trip though. These things aren't meant for airways that aren't controlled you know?"
"I know. Don't worry about it. It has more weapons than you think."
"Hm." Bella hit a switch and the ship ladder fell down to the ground. She climbed it swiftly and I put away everything with my parallels using motion magic to clean the hangar.
Bella was going over the controls. There were a bunch of buttons with labels I couldn't really understand. I think it's all pilot lingo for things that became official from such widespread use.
"Can you fly it?" I asked.
"Oh definitely. It's not terribly complex. You should see some experimental bullheads. They're so much worse. The only problem with this is that a couple of normally manual processes were made automatic. The stabilizers are automatic so doing evasive maneuvers is out of the question, which is pretty stupid if you ask me. There's also temperature control, which we can only alter a few degrees for 'safety reasons'. It's a huge power sink if we go into a cold climate."
"Leave them for now. I can get on altering the temperature problem and probably find something for those stabilizers." I have my airship mechanics skill at eight, which should probably suffice. "It might be best if you're there to help out so I don't harm the ship but I know what I'm doing."
"You know safety protocols?" Bella eyed me like she already knew the answer.
"Don't be stupid, wear protection, and always think before you act."
A soft snort escaped her. "Precision, protection, and proper behavior. You're pretty close for making that up on the spot. I'll show you some moves when we touch down for the night."
"Sounds good." It was amusing that my luck stat came through for me there, being close to the mark. "When will you be ready to take off?"
"Now. Is there some packing of your own you need to do or do you have everything settled?"
I had moved all the tools and bags onto the ship already through my parallels doing some work while we talked so… "Yes. I'm ready."
"Fine. Let me get my bags and we'll get out of here."
"I already moved them into the second bedroom for you." I said. She looked at me pointedly before walking off to explore the ship for her bags.
I shook my head. This would take a little while. Ready to go my ass.
[|||| == ||||]
"Hi dad. So, um… You know how you told me to not ruin Ruby's happiness?"
"Oh no sunflower you didn't."
"She's staying the summer!… Ruby get in here."
"Uh, hi dad. Nice to see you after so long."
"… Hi Ruby."
[|||| == ||||]
We eventually got out around one forty five. It could be worse. Bella wore some casual attire I had never actually seen her in. Normally she looked a lot like Blake from the show except with some more grey and black colors than black and white. She never wore a coat either.
She had on black sweatpants, socks, and a T shirt… That's it. No shoes or anything. Just a shirt and sweatpants. I guess I can't blame her. Well be on board for a while. Might as well get comfortable now.
Flying out was pretty simple. We waited for a route heading south and Vale flight command did some hand holding until we got out if the city limits, where we rose in elevation until Bella was satisfied and she put it on autopilot.
The RADAR and LIDAR have a higher detection range than I do, stretching about two hundred miles or so away. I could reach what, twenty? Thirty maybe? I'll leave the system to do it's thing.
"Sooooo… Are we doing the whole 'curtain thing now?'"
"Magic is real." I say bluntly. Bella rolls her eyes.
"I thought we were starting this off seriously?" In response I pulled on my light affinity and made a sword made of hard light. Bella stared at it for a moment blankly.
"Roll up your sleeve." She said. I did so and she narrowed her eyes, finding that there wasn't any tech on me. Remnant has shielding systems and hard light but nothing like what I'm doing. It's all semblances and shielding.
I decided to prove it a bit more and pulled on the metal affinity I got from the mimic. A ball of iron formed in my hand and I tossed it up and down a few times. Bella just stared at it.
I played around with some other stuff while Bella just watched me like some sort of alien being. I tossed lightning around between my hands, ate that metal ball with my consumption affinity, and generally messed around. Eventually, though, I got bored.
Deciding to end this with a shock factor I made another blade of hard light. I vibrated it as fast as I could with the light and motion affinities working in tandem.
I pulled back my aura and Bella stood straight in alarm as I was about to stab the sword into my gut… Well I was going to heal it anyways.
"No!" Bella leapt st the sword. I could have done it anyways but I shrugged and dispelled the sword.
"I can heal myself you know?"
"Sure. Got it. Magic is… A thing. Definitely a thing." She seemed to believe me but her mind was racing. "This explains a lot…"
"Ozpin and I are wizards." I clarified. "There are magical hotspots all over. They're what the Managuard, an old Valean military organization, was investigating. There's a whole conspiracy and a lot of denial of what people see versus what they know. The grimm have a queen, you know?"
Bella was nearly catatonic at this point. I sighed and stood up before walking over to my room. "I'll be back in a minute." I called.
A minute later I came back with some weapons, magical artifacts I had made for Bella so she doesn't get K.O'd in the sites, and a few items for demonstration like a lightsaber I had made. It's really not hard with some lightning and projected mana.
"So…" Bella started. "Magic and conspiracies is… It's there. So that's all great but what do I have to do with this?"
"There it is. The big question." I made eye contact t with her. "You have nothing to do with it whatsoever." Bella frowned in some confusion. "You're not getting dragged into this. Yet. But you have my trust, which is scarce enough as is, so you'll probably be approached by Ozpin to be a double agent for me or killed off quietly sooner or later."
Bella still didn't talk and I took it as an invitation to keep talking. "Ozpin has a good few notable characters on his side. Glynda Goodwitch, James Ironwood, and Qrow Branwen being his inner circle." Bella grimaced but didn't seem overly surprised.
"Then there's Salem. The queen of the grimm. She's the first grimm and as cunning as all hell. Her inner circle consists of more shadowy figures but with as much if not more power than Ozpin. She has Tyrian something, a deadly assassin of some sort, Hazel Rainheart, a former huntsman I think, Watts, a scientist, and Cinder Fall, the daughter of Ashaya Fall, the woman who killed Summer Rose."
"Oh dust shit… I really fell into the deep end here." Bella looked down at the table with that thinking look of hers.
"It gets worse." I assure her. "Both sides are locked in a shadow war and have been at it for centuries. Maybe more like millenia. It escalated when Ozpin conducted a mighty ritual of some sort that made the maiden's of the four seasons."
"You...you're fucking joking." Bella asked in disbelief. "That children's story?! That's causing a global shadow war?!"
"The fairy tale is just that. A fairy tale. I'm sure the reality is more gruesome. Other fairy tales are real as well. The silver eyed warriors for one. I believe there's one about mighty warriors with semblances towards aura that's around too."
"Never heard of it. And silver eyes? Like yours?"
"Almost." I allowed. "Your eyes could be pink, silver, rainbow, or polka-dots, but it would mean less than dirt. What matters is the magical component in them. Don't worry over it."
Bella nodded. "So what does Ozpin want?"
"He wants Salem dead." I said bluntly. "He reincarnated after death and is cursed to do so forever until Salem defeats him or he somehow undoes a curse of godly proportions. After Salem's first victory over mankind he was the last survivor. She left him alive to record her future conquests since his semblance is photographic memory."
Normally I wouldn't tell this to anyone but I know that Bella might disagree with my methods. That would mean running to Ozpin and telling him most everything. That includes his supposed purpose. I don't want Bella to be smited by Althea but if she runs to Ozpin… Well I really would feel horrible. It's a vote of trust and a measure of security pending possible betrayal.
"Most recently Salem has been more inactive than usual to my knowledge. Likely gathering strength and followers such as Cinder and possibly her sister Ember Fall, whom I don't have any knowledge about. Ozpin can't act against her and is more focused on maintaining Beacon, raising stronger hunters, and keeping the kingdoms stable. Well… To my knowledge."
"I see. And you're doing… What? You have your uncle's company and… What else?"
I had already planned this all so I was prepared to answer. "I have a powerful huntress turned maiden that I have been personally training in magic, Ruby is a budding silver eyed warrior, and best of all is the company."
"Nature's bounty is backed by Roman Torchwick, who works for Mystic Mavros, who is just me in an illusion, and manages both the entire criminal underworld of Vale and the legitimate company, which grows crops augmented by magic."
Bella stared at me. Then she shook a little bit. Then harder. With a suddenness that surprised me a little bit she broke into laughter at the whole ordeal. I just watched her amusedly as she let it all out.
It wasn't happy laughter. More like the bitter, stressed laughter of a person with too much happening at once.
After what felt like a long time Bella got in control of herself. "Ahem… Sorry."
"Sure." I didn't mind really.
"So you still haven't answered my question. What is it you want? And not just from me. You have this secret order that seemingly controls Vale so… What do you want? Why would you need me?"
"Well as for needing you I don't. However I do want your help. I have Roman as an information network but I know you have tricks and experience in information gathering he doesn't. Besides that I know you're also extremely proficient at wet work and maintaining a double agent cover."
Bella frowned. "And why do you think that?"
"Your classified cover work at Atlas. The messages to Ironwood. They were to recruit him to Ozpin's cause most likely."
Bella didn't even react at my knowledge of her deep cover job. It wasn't really important anyways. Not in the grand scheme of things.
"As for what I want… Well it started as a desire from freedom. I was born a wizard. Born to be pulled into Ozpin's and Salem's game. I didn't really have a choice. I tried once. I just left into the Vacuan desert and managed about a year before it was either leave or go insane. Summer Rose found me and took me in."
"Thats all the past. What I want is still freedom but there are two more things I want. The first is answers. I have a lot of mysteries I don't know and there are too many holes in what I know. I want them filled. Living in ignorance isn't my style."
"Finally is freedom. Not the freedom to run around but the freedom to do as I please. Hiding from Ozpin and the Queen isn't freedom. I'd be a rat in a maze getting cornered. Fighting directly is just as bad. If I fought as hard as I could - going all out - I could match Ozpin. Maybe Salem if Lady luck smiled on me in the middle of a blue moon."
"But killing Ozpin just let's him reincarnate. Killing Salem is impossible. For me at least. But I know people who can kill her. Several, actually."
"I help them and Ozpin hopefully dies off and Salem's deader than dead. I have Vale at my beck and call with Roman managing it and I can get some peace with my family. Does that answer your question?"
"Almost." Bella said seriously. "You want Salem dead… So That Ozpin can die. So why not buddy up with Ozpin?"
I rolled my eyes. "Difference in morality and operations. I won't lie. I've killed a lot of people. Maybe a hundred." An understanding look came from Bella. "I didn't enjoy it and I have never killed an innocent person but I have condemned one and people have done bad deeds on my behalf."
"Ozpin is different. He raises his army through the kingdoms. The huntress es and huntsmen he raises up through his academies are his army. He never tells his true objectives until he has to. Parinoia after being alive so long I think."
"I tell secrets somewhat more freely and lie more outside the law, as seen with my criminal empire. He's the law and I'm the criminal. Freedom versus security. Knowledge versus safety. That noble huntsman Valor and my more vicious tactics."
Bella was silent. "Okay. I think I understand somewhat."
"If you don't want to join me I understand. I can teleport you straight out of here and you can run to Ozpin or live in continued ignorance. I won't blame you either way."
"I don't know." She said. "Look you've been seemingly honest so far but… I want to check my sources. Maybe talk to Ozpin and definately Qrow."
"I can still teleport you to Qrow. Do you want some time?"
"Yes."
[|||| == ||||]
"Oz… who's this?"
"She's the reason why I called you all here. This is Crimson Arc-"
"Hi."
"-Glynda and I can vouch for her as a member. She's already aware of the supernatural and competent. Roughly the level of you, Ironwood, if I had to guess."
"You already told her about magic?!"
"No. She knew already. The entire Arc family knows as a matter of fact."
"So Oz… why do we need a new member?"
"To handle Abyss if need be and run what responsibilities Summer would have had."
"Finally! She has my vote!"
"We don't even know if she's trustworthy!"
"I'll admit that Oz's judgement has been shaky but Glynda isn't much of an optimist. In fact, why are you voting her in anyways?"
"I taught her. She was my favorite student and helped me to get a hold of teaching."
"Thank you. I'm sure you would have gotten it eventually."
"I still don't know why she should have MY vote. If I recall we all need to agree and at least one maiden."
"Amber met her on a call yesterday. Before you rescheduled. Glynda and I stood witness to her casting her vote in. That's four of five for allowing her in."
"… Fine. She'll be monitoring Mavros? How?"
"Not monitoring him exactly. He has run out of control more times than he should. Vacuo and our most recent maiden incident being the largest incidents. However, he also is growing at a nearly exponential rate although he seems to have levelled out somewhat recently. Miss Arc's job will be to identify his weaknesses and keep watch on him to be sure he doesn't do something drastic. As a secondary precaution she will also train to combat other rogue elements should they appear."
"Oz I get what you're saying but he's matched me plenty of times and nearly beaten me a few others. I'm not going to say I'm the best but I'm one of them at least. Is she up to the task?"
"I am more than capable of combating Mavros. Not beating him but I'm certain I can match him for a long time if he performs at the level as he displayed during your spars with him or during the tournament. I'm not stealthy or cunning but I can fight with the best of them and track a snake across a desert in a sandstorm. I can keep track of him and I can get stronger given some time and training."
"As she said Miss Arc is a fighter and one of the best. I've already provided her with a ring that will teleport me to her in case of emergencies."
"What?! Why don't I get one of those?!"
"Because you're not supposed to be a fighter and when you turn to a crow's form you faintly emit mana. It would activate the runic matrix whenever you changed."
"But I-"
"Shut it Branwen. Back to business what about these rogue elements you mentioned?"
"Raven Branwen has disappeared from my view."
"Oh shit what's sis doing now?"
"Something unpleasant I would presume. Abyss, Raven, agents of the queen, traitors to mankind, and whoever she has to fight as they appear. She'll be specialized to fight enemies we know of as well."
"Specialized how?"
"That's none of your business. I do think, though, that if I was prepared enough I could beat your sister one on one. Think of me sort of like a bounty hunter in a way."
"I see. And Sum's jobs?"
"I'll be hunting grimm if they get too out of control. Possibly with you if I have to. Maybe this Winter girl Ozpin mentioned."
"Don't loan my specialist out, Ozpin."
"I do what I must. Now for the more mundane matters…"
[|||| =NEXT LEVEL= ||||]
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