Miracles of Ancient Wonder [RWBY/Exalted]

[Aklyon]

It was under different assumptions but you practically gave away Emerald Cinder, I don't think that counts as taken

 

[WanderingAirhead]

I kind of pity Emerald here. She really got a short end of the stick. And the very beggining of the chapter. It's all kinds of sad.

I mean Emerald was never one of the really bad guys, having actual conscience and all, but really you are not supposed to feel so sorry for the bad guys. At least Cinder is irredeemable, and we can still love to hate her freely (or just plain hate her, to each their own).

I can't wait until shit really hits the fan, this tension is killing me

 

[Graveless]

Hey all. There's a chapter on its way, but I'm currently traveling and don't know when I'll have reliable internet again.

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder Book Two: Remnant

~

Chapter 4.1

~~~
​

Nora groaned, dropping her head onto her sorcery book. She'd gone over the sacrifice section so many times the words on one page were starting to bleed into the next. None of it made any sense.

According to the book, the point of it was to free you of your limitations. Then it went on and on about what some people gave up. Each and every one of them was defined by how much they wanted the power and were willing to do anything to get it, including giving up the reason why they were looking in the first place. Not all of them were like that, there were plenty of missing hands and people who gave up drugs, but two in particular kept coming back to her.

The first was a famous model, someone who wanted to learn a spell so they could keep their looks forever. He worked for years, desperate to find a meaningful sacrifice, only succeeding when he gave himself a giant scar on his face. There was a ritual that called for blood that could've come from anywhere, but he knew what it needed to be. After he had the power, he didn't heal it, even though he could've.

There was also a woman who had worked herself to the bone all of her life, taking on whatever job she had to in order to keep her family ahead. She wanted another edge, a skill that would guarantee her a job. She started learning sorcery, but after years of effort, never managed to learn it. Then, one day, she walked away from her life and family to wander in the desert for a year. By the time she came back, they had moved on… and so had she.

The thought of that made Nora's blood run cold. She needed to learn sorcery so she could keep her team safe from the Anathema; she couldn't give up on caring about them. That would defeat the point of learning!

But… It was also supposed to be about removing your shackles and…

She glanced at Ren's bed. It was pristine, so well made that it was like a comercial. He was at his super-secret late-night martial arts again.

Jaune and Pyrrha's beds were also empty.

"Urgh." Nora sighed and leaned back, chair going up on two legs as she put her feet on the desk. Her scroll said it was getting close to ten… which meant…

The doorknob started rattling.

Would it be Jaune, Ren, or Pyrrha?

She leaned all of the way over, watching it upside-down as it opened.

Pyrrha stepped in, waving. She wasn't in her combat gear this time. "Hello."

"Heya, Pyrrha. No practice tonight?"

"No, I was meditating by myself," she said with a sigh. "It was… not very productive."

"Why not?"

"I reached a wall that I couldn't go past." Pyrrha paused, "No, a limit would be a better description."

Nora raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose the best analogy would be slowly increasing the weight I was lifting until I could no longer move the bar." Pyrrha clenched her fists and looked down. "I need to push my limits further, but don't have the energy to do so without her assistance."

Nora gulped. "What exactly are you and Weiss doing together?"

"She's been helping me meditate..." Pyrrha paused for a suspiciously long time. "By feeding energy into my Aura so that I have enough to push past that wall."

Nora flipped back around. "So, like, with sorcery? She can do that?"

"I believe so… Yes."

Nora glanced at the sorcery book. If she learned it then she could make people's souls stronger?!

"Nora, what are you thinking?"

"Nothing!" Nora yelped. "Definitely not thinking about using unlimited magical power to turn all of us into Super-Hunters with giant muscles and wings and eyes that can shoot lightning!"

Pyrrha chuckled. "I don't think it would be that easy. She has to focus on the spell the entire time and I don't think anything that… different… would work well."

Nora huffed. "Ruin all of my fun, why don'cha?"

"Well, I suppose being able to fly would be nice."

An image of a bloody angel surrounded by green fire flashed in Nora's mind. "...Yeah."

Pyrrha looked away for a while. "Have you figured out what you will do?"

"For what?"

"The… sacrifice?

"Not really" Nora frowned, looking away. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I know what I should do, but… no. I'm not gonna give that up… I can't."

"Is that not supposed to be the point of the sacrifice? If I'm not mistaken, it's supposed to be something important to you.."

"You're not wrong. I need to give up something that's holding me back, but… I don't want to stop caring about all of you, my team, my friends. That's why I'm learning it in the first place."

Pyrrha sat down on her bed, clasping her hands on her lap. "Is that what you really think you'd need to do?"

"What else is there?" Nora grabbed the book and tossed it to Pyrrha. A couple of pages turned when it landed on the bed. "Just look at the examples. All of them are terrible, or… well, they'd be terrible for the person before they learned."

"And you believe that the only choice is one which would make you not yourself anymore?"

"Yeah." Nora brought her knees to her chest. "I need to do this if I want to have a chance against the Anathema. I need to do this to keep everyone safe. What's the point of that if I stop caring about them? What's the point of doing this if I'm no longer me?"

"That's a good question." Pyrrha said softly, "I've had to ask myself the same thing."

"Why? You're not learning sorcery too, are you?"

"No." Pyrrha shook her head. "But, part of what I'm working on might change me. There is… a technique that we found that can empower someone, but… I may not be myself after it's complete."

Nora stood up. "And you're okay with that?!"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes. It's necessary for me to be… relevant. I may lose parts of myself in the ritual, but that will be worth it for the ability to make a real difference."

Nora stared at Pyrrha, her pulse pounding. That's what she should have been saying. "Is this the Ruby thing Jaune was talking about?"

Pyrrha looked away. "Yes. I know how you feel about her, but-"

"Pyrrha." Nora cut her off. "I've been there."

She frowned.

"I know what it's like." Nora shuddered. "How it feels when she looks at you and says to do something. The way that her voice echoes in your ears every day and night, always in the back of your head even years later. The way that a smile, a single word of approval fills your heart with joy. Like the mom you never had who's always there watching over you and pushing you to greater and greater heights no matter what you think about it."

She could see the first day of training when she did the most pushups.

"Nora!" Pyrrha grabbed her shoulder, shaking the memory away.

"Sorry." Nora panted. "Sorry, but yeah, I get it. I know that it feels right and that you just can't help it."

"This is not the same as what happened to you."

Nora bit her lip. She needed to remember that those weren't Pyrrha's words, they were the Anathema's. Pyrrha needed to find her own path through them. "Okay, but if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Thank you for the offer, but can we focus on your issue? I think I've figured out a potential solution."

"Whatcha got?"

"Well, it is supposed to be about changing and freeing yourself from your limitations, isn't it?"

"Yeah?"

Pyrrha paused for a moment before meeting her eyes. "Wouldn't you say that, even though it was terrible, you gained a great deal of skill and discipline when… it happened?"

Nora sucked a breath in through her teeth. "I guess."

"Wouldn't that dedication be useful when learning sorcery? You can take the good parts without the bad."

Nora shivered as she took a breath. No, that was…

After a second breath, she held her eyes shut. She knew that this was Ruby talking, not Pyrrha. It wasn't something that she should do… but it also sounded possible. She wouldn't need to give up on her team… but…

"You don't need to worry!" Pyrrha raised her hands, eyes wide. "There may also be other options."

"No, no… It's… it's fine. I'm fine..." Nora calmed her mind, pushed it back down. "You… might be right."

Pyrrha nodded slowly.

"It's an idea. Not a… terrible idea…" Nora forced a smile. "So, thanks."

Pyrrha smiled, then folded her hands in her lap. "I hope you find your path soon."

Nora turned back to her desk and pulled open her scroll. She had ten new messages with more coming in every second. Each one was a link to live news about… "Pyrrha… They're doing something."

"What?" She gasped. "Already?"

"Already?!"

~~~​

"You ready for this?" Ruby asked as she adjusted the crown of brass on Yang's head. The green flames surrounding her made the metal shimmer, drawing even more attention to the textureless-blackness that her hair became when she went full-demon.

"Not really." Yang sighed, fiddling with her scroll as she went over the speech again. "You're sure that it's the best choice?"

Ruby looked to the future for their potential options. Their path would be unhappy in the short term, but good in the long. "Yeah."

She also looked for risks, for any potential danger, again. There was nothing.

Yang stepped back, slowly turning. Her armor wasn't Ruby's best work, but it was good enough. The base was a dark brown long coat that haphazardly turned to black by the time it reached her waist, the line was rough thanks to the gravity Dust that infused the leather being burned in by Yang.

It was cut in the same style as the Colorless Empress', with a very un-Yang covered chest and high collar. The off-center buttons made it a lot closer . The Dust-infused steel plates matched the burned color as they rose up her body, runes shining in the unsteady light that Yang was casting. The same runes made the dragon pauldron seem like its mouth had an inner glow that spilled down the plates on her left arm. One arm being protected was so impractical compared to both, but it was Yang's armor so it was her choice to make.

"How do I look?" Yang briefly closed her eyes, then crossed her arms and scowled. The scarf, taken from her normal outfit sort of ruined the image, but it was also important for today.

"I'm really not the person you should be asking about that." Ruby shrugged as she fiddled with her cloak, looking at the others gathered around them instead. Her own armor a bit heavier than expected. All she was supposed to do was replace her corset with a full breastplate and the top layer of her skirt with steel bands, but that also meant rebalancing everything else and wearing a shirt thick enough to not risk tearing whenever she moved.

So, she kept replacing more and more, along with adding in wires that would eventually be attached to motors, until she covered her chest and arms in metal and had to run a second section of wires down, so her legs were also plated to keep the wires safe… not that they did anything… yet. It wouldn't be as good as the suit Doctor Oobleck had been working on, but it was a good baseline and ran off of her Aura instead of an external Dust furnace.

"You look great. Very menacing." Blake stepped out of the side room, buckling her new and improved sword to the outside the heavy white coat. The thick sheath kept the awful, terrible metal from being audible even if Blake, for some reason, felt like using it 'felt right'.

"Rawr," Yang growled with an eye roll.

Ruby shuddered at how it felt to forge and focused on how everything else looked.

They'd painted her symbol within a circle on the back of the coat in the same color blue that the old White Fang flag used. She'd picked out a regular leather top and pants that Ruby infused with Earth Dust, for some level of extra protection, because of how heavy the vetoed steel pieces were.

It was heavy because their enemies would be attacking with Aura breaching weapons and techniques, but Blake was refusing to be practical.

"Any other opinions?" Yang surveyed the room.

"You are radiant, Lady Yang. I'm certain that they will see the greatness of your vision soon." Carmen, now Yang's High Priestess, bowed low.

"Yeeeeeah." Yang drew the word into a chuckle. "I don't think greatness is going to be what they're thinking about."

Carmen raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going for more of a… don't fuck with us speech."

"That isn't likely to endear you to the kingdoms."

"It isn't meant to. I just need to make them scared enough to stay away while we work."

Carmen bowed her head again. "The appropriate use of fear is one of Lady Luna's teachings. Though making enemies that you don't need isn't advised."

Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Of course."

An older man, the city's mayor, opened the door and stepped through after a moment of hesitation. He gulped as Yang turned to him. "E-Everyone had been assembled."

Yang rolled her shoulder, as she stood up straighter. With a flap of her wings and a sudden exhalation, she stepped forward. "Okay… let's do this."

"...Yeah." Ruby listened to the sounds of the world as she stepped up. She dragged her heels as she walked toward the door.

Blake nodded, her Aura a net of songs that surrounded her. Everything that she needed for her role was ready.

Yang flung the doors open, stepping out into the morning light. Ruby followed behind, to the right, while Blake was at her left. They were in front of the city hall, a podium waiting for them.

They'd spent a month working on this. A month Ruby spent more time sleeping on her workbench than in her bed. Yang had stopped sleeping entirely so that she could study more of the tower each day, all in preparation for this moment.

Yang stepped up to the podium, taking in the crowd gathered before her. The square was packed full of the people of the city they'd saved… the city that they were about to claim.

"I don't think we need any introduction. Each and every one of you already know who we are… know what we are." She flared her flames brighter, making the crowd take a step back. She chuckled into the mic. "You don't know how right that fear is.

"For all of my life, I dreamed of being a Huntress. Of traveling across the world and saving people from both the Grimm and the Anathema. I didn't know how strong they were, just that they needed to be stopped before they destroyed everything that I knew and loved." Yang spoke with a calm, even tone.

Ruby's eyes flickered to the tallest building where a glint of green light reflected back at them. 'Sniper. Top floor of the blue building.'

'You were right.' Yang replied, not missing a beat of her speech. "When I became one, accepted this terrible power, I didn't know what to think of myself. Weren't Anathema supposed to be evil spirits taking over people's bodies? That couldn't be further from the truth."

"Liar!" A man in a loose robe shouted from the crowd. "No Huntress would ever-"

Yang spoke over him. "All of you have been lied to your entire lives by people who thought that not knowing would make it easier. Ask any elite Hunter who goes after the Anathema. They all know the truth. They've been murdering children for centuries to stop any from getting too strong. And, you want to know another terrible truth?"

The man quieted down. Two others pulled him back.

"They were right. For the past few months the entire world has seen just how right they were." Yang gestured to the side. "My sister, The Girl in Red, brought the kingdom of Vale to its knees all by herself. If she wanted to, she could destroy Atlas, the kingdom with the biggest and strongest military, but she doesn't want to do that. Even with all of the lies and hatred thrown at her, Ruby is still a good person."

Ruby looked away. Even if Yang thought that was true, it wasn't. She wasn't a good person anymore. The crowd's shaking, quick breaths… terror… was proof enough of that.

Yang held up a hand, igniting it with sickly flames. She flexed her fingers, making the fire dance with each movement. "Simply put, your protectors have failed you. They allowed the three of us to grow so strong that we can't be stopped.

"Just the other day, I took on an Atlas battalion, led by Winter Schnee, for fun." Yang grinned, but Blake's slight flinch made the lie obvious to Ruby. "And it was fun, for a little while. Then she fell, just like the rest."

The color drained from several faces. Those who looked like they were ex-military whispered to each other, exchanging wide-eyed glances.

"To those of you lying in wait for the chance to attack… Go ahead. Try me! Maybe, just maybe, you'll be worth a couple minutes of effort."

She stepped to the side and spread her arms wide. "I'll even give you a chance. I won't use my Aura."

Ruby grit her teeth and checked for danger again. Nothing.

The sniper's reflection in the window shifted. A bright red missile streaked toward them, shaking every window it passed.

Yet, Yang didn't move.

Ruby's left hand shot forward, stopping at her waist; every muscle tensed as she fought her instinct to blast it out of the sky.

Yang vanished from sight as a fireball bloomed from right above her heart.

Silence fell over the crowd as even the dissenters held their breath.

As the flames died down a soft chuckle echoed in the square. Yang, scarf reduced to ash, leather armor smoldering, stood firm, exactly where she had been before the impact, proof that her Aura had been down.

'Ow.' Yang mentally groaned, not letting any pain show.

'Was that worse than my test shot?' Ruby had left an enormous bruise, but Yang was fine the next day.

Yep... I'm pretty sure it broke a rib… or two.' Yang shook her head at the building as she stepped back to the podium, pulling the flames away with the wave of a hand. "You see, I give you the best chance you'll ever have of killing me and you can't eve-."

Another shot roared from the building.

Ruby snapped a finger up, drawing a line of violence between it and the round, raining fire and metal down upon the crowd.

She traced the path of another shot, her phantom bullet bouncing off of each fragment and turning them into a shower of harmless sparks.

The crowd surged away, people screaming like they were the targets.

Black and purple shadows erupted from the window as Blake's Aura sang from that far away.

Ruby hadn't even noticed her leave.

Blake reappeared on the stage, a circle of blood on her forehead, the same sign that appeared on some of the golden Anathema. She had a man and woman in tow.

She tossed both to the ground in front of Yang.

"As I was saying!" Yang shouted, flaring her Aura until the city was covered in green light. "You had one shot and it didn't do anything."

She picked up the mic and walked up to the pair. "Where are you two from?"

"Nowhere." The woman snapped.

"Really? Because a gun that powerful doesn't come from nowhere." Yang crossed her arms. "Who sent you?"

Ruby felt a flicker of weight surrounding them and smashed through it, forcing them to speak.

"The Menagerie." The man responded. As far as Ruby could tell, he wasn't a faunus.

"That's a lie." Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Prove it."

Yang looked at Blake, then back to them. "Was it Vale? Atlas? Mistral? Vaccuo?"

"Vaccuo." Blake confirmed.

"Huh…" Yang shrugged. "I would've expected Vale or Atlas."

Yang turned back to the crowd. "I'm sure you all want to know what we're here for. Well, we sent each of the kingdoms a warning about what would happen… and what would happen if they came after us."

With a pulse of her Aura, he flew to her open hand, fingers coiling around his throat. Yang shuddered, briefly closing her eyes.

"You see, my sister is a good person." Her hand erupted with flames.

The crowd's shrieks of terror drowned out his cries.

The woman lunged for Yang, only to meet Ruby's elbow. When the weight of a choice surrounded her appeared, Ruby forced the woman to stay down.

"I'm not." Yang held him, flames continuing to burn while people turned their eyes away from the stage.

"It's the best choice. You know it's the best choice." Ruby whispered to herself, allowing her grimace to show. She pushed the sights and sounds away. They only needed to do this once, then they'd be safe.

The body hit the ground, gasping for breath.

"But, I'm a merciful Queen... and Ruby wouldn't like it if I killed someone for a simple mistake." Yang almost stuttered the words. "It's not your fault that your leaders failed to heed my warning."

His hands carefully touched his throat, running over the ugly scar.

"If you ever attack me or mine again, that scar will explode," Yang said as she walked over to the woman.

"No, no!" She tried to run. Yang let her get to the edge of the stage before pulling her back.

As she flew through the air, she wailed. When the flames surrounded her, the man started to move.

A green light pulsed from his scar. He trembled, sweat dripping from his face.

Yang threw her next to him.

"I'll repeat the message that we sent to Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vaccuo." Yang walked back to the podium, allowing the Hunters to creep off of the stage. "This city is ours. If anyone attacks it or us, then we will seek out everyone responsible; every politician... every headmaster; and brand them as well.

"The Atlas army chased us for months… and failed. Your greatest sorcerers have attempted to break our curses… and failed. If you ignore this warning, then you will fall."

Yang looked at Ruby, then stepped back.

Ruby crept up to the microphone. "I am releasing the curses that I placed on Mistral and Vale. Your Hunters will be free to fight again. But, if you ever start up the investigations, and I will find out if you do, then I won't just hit the Hunters. If you have anyone you want to test as Anathema, you can send them to us. We can tell you what they are."

A woman from the front slowly raised her hand.

Ruby looked down at her. "Yes?"

She flinched back, stuttering as she spoke. "I-If they are Anathema, what will you do?"

Ruby looked at her teammates. 'If they're bad…'

'Yeah.' Both nodded.

"There are bad people in the world who need to be stopped… need to die. If that person is bad, then I'll stop them myself."

The woman's eyes flickered to Yang. "O-Okay."

"But, that's not all that we're going to do."

She backed up slowly.

"We've designed a defense system that will keep you safe from the Grimm." Ruby pointed to a section of the walls that was under construction. "While we're here, we're going to rebuild your walls and make it so that you never have to live in fear again."

Hundreds of eyes stared at her.

Ruby smiled and stepped back. The smile didn't help. "That's all for now."

Yang nodded and turned on her heel. Ruby and Blake followed her back inside.

Carmen bowed to them as they entered. After a moment of hesitation, the mayor did as well.

"Uhh, y-your majesty?" He stammered. "What commands do you have for me?"

"Urgh." Yang groaned, tossing the crown to the side. "First off, it's just Yang unless we're in public. Second, I like this place, keep doing whatever you were doing except when we need things."

He slowly nodded.

"Right now, I need a bucket, a barrel of whiskey, and a map of the city."

"O-of course?"

Blake stepped up next to her and raised an eyebrow.

"The bucket's for my breakfast because of"- she waved her hand behind her. -"that, the whiskey's for me, and the map's so we can get everything fixed as soon as possible."

"Yang," Ruby stepped up. "I'll take care of the map. You go drink with Blake."

She turned around eyes watering slightly. "Thanks, sis."

Ruby slid over to the old man. "So… how do you think people'll feel about giant spikes of iron?"

He whimpered, glancing to the door.

It was going to be a long day.

 

[DBDrake]

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


THAT'S SOME FUCKING PROGRESS!


Excited to see shit start taking off, wondering if/how it all goes wrong.

 

[kinigget]

Oh Nora...

The answer is right in front of you, if you would only allow yourself to see it

On the other side of things, dear gods but that was an incredible speech, and an even better example

Things are starting to happen

 

[FallenPears]

Ah the good old "You've already lost" speech. Classic.

Damn I'm hype for the reactions.

 

[FullNothingness]

The whole 'outside fate' thing is going to make this end in fire and tears isn't it?

 

[Reinholdt]

The worst/best part is that I am assuming the Curses are still in effect.
Ah well, at least it's only 1 Sidereal doing the planning.

 

[linkhyrule5]

Way late, but...

"Nope." Ruby shook her head. "I'd be terrible at it. I don't have the right words and am going to need to spend all of my time building things in order to actually help people. Besides, all of the people worshiping Yang are still there and she's inspiring."

Click to shrink...

... Hail.

Hail, oh Vizier of Heaven.

 

[WanderingAirhead]

Yay, I love it when the world shaking goes down. Can't wait to see the aftermath.

 

[Impstar]

The worst/best part is that I am assuming the Curses are still in effect.
Ah well, at least it's only 1 Sidereal doing the planning.

Click to shrink...

She removed the curses it was literally in an earlier chapter.

Oh, did you mean the Great Curse?

 

[Reinholdt]

Yes. THAT Curse.

 

[Graveless]

Miracles of Ancient Wonder Book Two: Remnant

~

Chapter 4.2

~~~
​

The elevator dinged as it opened. Weiss raised an eyebrow as Qrow and Taiyang entered Ozpin's office.

"You got something to say?" Qrow scowled.

She smirked. "I just glad that you chose to join us for such an important meeting."

He glared at her, stomping off to the opposite side of the room.

Taiyang sighed, following Qrow. "Do we really need to be here right now?"

Professor Ozpin said from his desk, most of his body obscured by floating images. "We have a report to make to the Vale council about how they should respond."

"Yeah, I get that, but do you really need us"- Qrow pointed from himself to Taiyang -"for that."

"I value your opinion as a Huntsman and as the person most familiar with the… sources of our current issue."

"God dammit." Taiyang swore under his breath.

The image of a grey haired, heavily bearded man with the name Leonardo lit up. He had an enormous bookcase behind him, befitting the headmaster of Haven Academy. "Considering the... er... nature of the threats. It would be best to know how seriously there are about following through."

"I already told you that they wouldn't have said anything they weren't committed to." Weiss interrupted.

A second image, Headmistress Locasta of Shade, also flashed. The old woman wore 'traditional' sorceress robes that were covered in pockets. "We all need to make a choice about how we respond."

"It would take a strong argument to change my mind," General Ironwood said from the side.

"I'm aware." Professor Ozpin sighed, turning to her. "Miss Schnee, if you would be so kind as to explain to everyone."

Weiss stepped closer. "Is everyone aware of the full situation?"

"They both have more knowledge than you do."

"And of my own situation?"

"Yes."

"Then this will be a lot easier." Weiss smiled for a moment, but let all of her frustration seep into her tone. "They only called me once over the past few weeks. I told them it was a terrible idea and, when they decided they were going to do it anyway, helped them phrase this in a way that will lead to the fewest problems."

It was only partially a lie. Her teammates had 'been too busy' or 'were in a dead zone' for weeks.

"You thought this would have the fewest problems?" Qrow punched the window hard enough to make the panes shake.

"Compared to establishing themselves as the worst type of Anathema, which would have needed to be taken out as soon as possible, yes." When she saw the confusion on his face, she continued. "Their original idea was an empty threat for Ruby to curse international shipping, like she did to the Anathema Hunters, if they were attacked."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"I have confirmation of this from a Specialist who confronted them as well." Ironwood stepped up.

Qrow pulled out a flask and took a swig.

Locasta frowned. "I'm wondering… why are they going to such lengths now? What changed?"

"They've been on the run for months. One week of tracking duty and I know I'd want a shower and a nice bed." Qrow mumbled, mid gulp.

"That doesn't explain why they didn't simply re-enter society in disguise," Leonardo said slowly.

"Ruby, Blake, and Yang each wanted to be a Huntress." Weiss stepped closer to the desk. "They want to help people and they want to do it as themselves, not with false identities."

"To not only seek triumph, but also glory." Professor Ozpin shook his head. "If they were more subtle, then we would not be in this situation in the first place."

"Precisely." Weiss nodded to him. "They found something that might help a lot of people and had no method of accomplishing it without revealing themselves. Thanks to all of the pursuit, they also decided that they would need to have the strongest position they possibly could."

"Leaving us with this." Ironwood laid his scroll down and a map of the area around the city they'd claimed appeared. "Leo, Locasta, can you two see the map?"

"Yes," both said after a few seconds.

"What are you proposing, James?" Ozpin folded his hands over his cane, thumb running over the handle.

"After speaking with Winter, we have a better idea of what would be needed to harm them." He pulled up several weapons profiles. "When they fought, Yang was able to take fire from an automated energy defense system that almost immediately forced her into revealing her mark. The Hunters who ineffectually attacked her were using fifteen-millimeter rounds."

Weiss nodded.

"With that in mind, the thirty-millimeter anti-air cannons that I've had the fourth army reinforced with should be more than sufficient."

"Sufficient for what?" Professor Goodwitch stepped up as well.

"A long-term blockade combined with cutting the region off from the CCT network." With the press of a button, a number of marks appeared on the roads of the map. "If we can get approval from the Vale and Mistral councils to deploy the third and fourth army, we'll be able to shut down all land and air traffic. Hunters from the other kingdoms patrolling the forests would ensure that they can't send any runners out."

Taiyang stepped up and took a look at the map. He tried to speak, but the breath was caught in his throat. "Y-You're going to starve them..."

"Precisely." General Ironwood nodded. "We can't take them on directly without risking horrific collateral damage. If we announce our intention and give every civilian living there a few days that they can leave by, we'll deny the Anathema a power base. I doubt that any of the three would be willing to keep people there against their will. And, when people start starving, they'll break."

"That means torturing thousands of people for-"

"For our own survival." Ironwood cut him off, then looked to Ozpin.

Professor Ozpin closed his eyes and took a slow breath. "James is correct. We've been placed in a situation where there is no good choice.

"If I thought that Miss Rose was capable of such spite"- He glanced at Weiss -"then I would assume this was an intentional statement. She always objected to the idea that she would have to make such decisions."

"Kids her age shouldn't have to." Qrow grumbled under his breath.

"Be that as it may," Ozpin continued over him. "As far as I can see, James' plan has the greatest chance of success so long as we keep drastic measures off of the table."

"This isn't drastic?" Taiyang shouted.

"No. It involves neither attempting to use Anathema made weapons against them nor calling on a Maiden to destroy the city. Not that the later is truly an option at the moment."

"We're seriously considering this…" Taiyang slumped over. "They need to d-die that much?"

"Yes." Weiss cross her arms as she met his eyes.

"You agree with this?"

"There are no other options available. Allow Anathema to take control of a city and hold the world for ransom? Do you believe, for a second, that people would accept acquiescing to demons?" She paused for a moment, waiting for him to open his mouth. "And before you say 'we could just tell them the truth', think about how many people have died to keep the Anathema from taking power. Revealing that people's loved ones have been killed for far less than what Ruby or Yang have done? That is not an option."

"I wasn't going to say that." Taiyang looked away. "I thought you cared about them."

Weiss resisted the urge to smile. "I do."

"But you just said they needed to be killed!"

"If the kingdoms are going to survive, then they cannot. This plan would force the eventual fight into a situation where the greatest strength of the military, massed fire, would be able to be brought to bear."

"Uhh…"

General Ironwood stepped up. "After the perimeter is established and the window to leave closed, anyone else going in or out would be indiscriminately bombarded."

"Fucking hell." Qrow swore under his breath. "You goddamn…"

"Go ahead, say it." Weiss kept her expression neutral.

"You goddamn heartless bastards." He turned around, throwing an arm wide. "You're just going to kill whatever innocents it takes to-."

"It's the only way that you'll have any chance against either Ruby or Yang. You can't go after Blake anymore... unless she lets you."

"And we're just supposed to sit here while you tell us that?" His hand went to his sword. "You say you care, but you still suggest this. What's your angle?"

Weiss arched an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing. Logically, the two of you would most want them to survive and yet, you accuse me. Yes, I care about them, but I also care about the preservation of society."

"Qrow," Professor Goodwitch spoke for the first time. "I've been watching her. She's had numerous opportunities to contract them and, while I'm certain that she's taken quite a few, yesterday did not feel like an action that Miss Schnee would have any involvement in if she could help it."

"I still say there's something else going on here." Qrow gestured with his flask. "Something we're overlooking. They're too smart to just let Atlas surround them like that."

Assuming none of them had, somehow, heard Blake's complaints about Yang's diet of pinecones and poisoned berries, he was correct.

"Would they go on the offensive to stop the deployment?" Locasta asked. "They might see it as an attack."

"While it would go against their displayed character, I've taken that possibility into account." General Ironwood highlighted several cities on his projection. "We'll begin by reinforcing nearby cities, to prevent any panic from calling the Grimm. When Salem launches her own assault, we'll be able to begin deploying immediately."

"You're sure she'll do that so soon?" Leonardo's voice quivered.

"It would fit how she's acted previously." Professor Ozpin sat back down, laying his cane on his lap. "She'll have tried to recruit them by now and, assuming they refused, send her men after them."

"That much I can confirm," Weiss said. "A man by the name of Tyrian, who worshiped her, attacked Blake and Yang for rejecting his goddess' offer."

"The result?"

"They killed him and discovered a very interesting species of Grimm in the process."

The room waited for her to continue.

"According to Yang, Tyrian attacked them with invisible hornets that she could only harm with her Anathema abilities. Ruby confirmed that she'd seen those before… floating around Beacon without anyone the wiser." She met Professor Goodwitch's eyes. "The issues with demon summoning come from these attacking the demon, rather than a flaw with the spell."

All eyes moved from her to Professor Ozpin.

"D-did you know about this?" Taiyang stammered. "Invisible Grimm surrounding us?"

"I did and there is a reason why I haven't informed anyone about them." Professor Ozpin closed his eyes. "There is nothing that we can do to fight them, not in any real capacity. Very specific spells can ward a small area, forcing them to become material or shooing them away. I've maintained such a spell on my own office and specific parts of the vault, in case she can observe via the Grimm."

"There's no way to fight them and they're always around us?" Leonardo whispered so softly that his mic barely picked it up. "At any time, she could..."

"She could have wiped us out at any time… if that was what she wanted." Professor Ozpin continued. "But, human extinction would not further her own designs: fear, despair, corruption… worship. Those are what she seeks."

"Why didn't you tell us?" General Ironwood slammed a hand on the desk hard enough that the holo display flickered. "We've been vulnerable this entire time!"

"And vulnerable we will remain. It is better to not know of the sword hanging above our heads than to let it consume your thoughts and restrict your actions." He looked at each of them. "How many conversations are you replaying now, wondering what she may have learned or how she could use such knowledge? How many plans that have helped were hatched in such meetings? Do you worry that a Beowolf will overhear your plan of attack and change its strategy in response? These are no different."

"Ozpin…" Locasta sighed. "If what you say is true, then all that we have been working toward is pointless. She has an unstoppable weapon at her disposal."

"No, a weapon requires a hand to wield it." He shook his head. "Miss Schnee, what did they say happened after he died?"

"That the Grimm stopped attacking."

"Which is precisely what occurred when she tried to kill me with them." He rolled the cane in his hands. "So long as humanity continues to serve a purpose for her, she can't use these Grimm indiscriminately, not without going against her own objectives."

"How do you think she'll attack?" General Ironwood was fixated on his map.

Professor Ozpin took a moment to respond. "I suspect that one of her agents will try to enter the city soon. Once the tension reaches its highest point, a Behemoth will lead the attack, along with the agent calling on the invisible ones as soon as battle is joined."

"If that happens, then we'll be able to sweep in during the fighting." General Ironwood modified the placement of several of the fast assault units. "Specialists with air support would be there in minutes."

Weiss kept a close eye on the map. It would be Blake's night for a detailed dream. Neither Ruby nor Yang were good at identifying threats like that.

"On the topic of the Enemy," Weiss drew their attention back to her. "This will give her ample opportunity to come after us as well. We need to make a decision about who to ask to become the Fall Maiden before she acts."

Professor Ozpin drummed his fingers on the head of his cane. "While you may be correct, I have to question your timing. Between the other major decision facing us and your revelation of the Grimm, there's already a lot to think about before we consider the candidates."

Locasta's voice was ice. "Candidates that you've done your best to poison."

Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. "I would hardly call training poison."

Professor Goodwitch pulled out her scroll. "Pyrrha Nikos, who you spend every third day working sorcery on for several hours. Nora Valkyrie, who you are tutoring in sorcery and is about to make her sacrifice. Coco Adel and Penny Polendina, who both know a great deal about the Anathema and have joined your training group. Lastly, Emerald Sustrai who you appear to be dating as of last night."

"I haven't hidden anything that I've been doing. Due to this, each of them is much more prepared for the risk of an experimental spell to attach what is effectively half of a soul to their own. However, if you're that worried, I'll stay silent until a decision has been reached." Weiss shrugged and walked past the desk. She leaned on the wall to Ozpin's side, clearly in view of anyone who would look at him.

"Thank you." Professor Ozpin glanced at her, then turned back to the others. "Leo, what were the results from your search?"

"Missus Arc said that she could not risk being out of commission again." Leonardo sighed. "There are a couple of other students who might be potentials, but there are problems with choosing either."

"There is one girl for me, but her Aura isn't quite strong enough," Locasta said.

Taiyang sunk down. "Dammit, it's gotta be one of the kids then."

"The only other person who I can think of has similar problems, Winter Schnee." General Ironwood glanced at Weiss.

Weiss frowned slightly. While Winter would help her personally, there would be issues with the rest of her team.

Qrow stopped drinking just long enough to say, "I've got nothing."

"Very well." Professor Ozpin pulled up images of each. "I feel that we will need to assume each of them is equally influenced by Miss Schnee. Otherwise, we'll spend too much time trying to quantify that."

The others nodded.

"With that in mind, I will speak last." Professor Ozpin turned to Professor Goodwitch.

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes while she thought. "Coco Adel. I would normally say that Nora Valkyrie would be the best choice, but her impending sacrifice adds too many unknowns to the equation."

"Couldn't she just cut off a finger or something?" Qrow grumbled.

"Technically yes, that would be a valid sacrifice as far as the lessons of sorcery are concerned." Professor Goodwitch eyed Weiss. Everyone else followed suit.

Weiss shrugged in response.

"However," Professor Goodwitch continued. "she has the impression that it needs to be a significant change to who she is and, as far as I can tell, the sacrifice is more about the person in question than any hard rules."

The eyes turned back to Weiss, with much more ferocity.

"While some believe that a great sacrifice will pave the foundation for a great sorcerer," Locasta could have frozen water with her tone. "Any modern school would regard that as the height of folly."

"Great." Qrow blew his bangs out of his eyes. "Well, I'm still gonna say Valkyrie. Even if she's gonna change, her head's in the right place about the Anathema."

"Pass." Taiyang shook his head. "This is just..."

"Very well." Leo began with a slight hesitation. "I believe that Miss Sustrai can both handle the power and understands subtlety well enough to keep herself from being caught."

"Subtlety isn't everything. We need someone able to use the power to do what has to be done." Locasta shook her head. "Nora Valkyrie. It could be said that this risk and the pain associated with the procedure would be a great sacrifice."

Weiss kept her expression neutral.

"Penny Polendina has the strength of Aura and character. However, thanks to her 'friendship' with Ruby, I can't recommend her any more." General Ironwood said slowly. "I agree with Glynda. Coco Adel is our best choice."

Professor Ozpin took some time to finally respond. "I stand by my initial assessment. Miss Nikos had the discipline, skill, and temperament. Though, this does put us at an impasse. Does anyone have any new arguments or evidence for their prefered candidate?"

Weiss paid attention to the ensuing debate, remaining silent.

When someone brought up her prefered choice, she shifted her expression very slightly and drew a slight amount of attention with a pulse of Essence. If one of the worse choices was getting attention, she revealed a sliver of fear. It was too weak to make anyone stumble, just enough to send a shiver down the spine of Sun, Neptune, or Penny while they trained. The men and women who ruled the world wouldn't have such an obvious reaction.

Ruby or Blake would've been able to catch on immediately, but a normal person shouldn't be able to notice. The only potential issue was Professor Ozpin, who always seemed to see more than he ought to. But, even he didn't have eyes in the back of his head.

Merits were considered, potential moral failings discussed, but the didn't truly matter. The division between them that she had needed to create was present.

The first to fall was Emerald. Between her vision and the awful 'relationship' with Cinder, Weiss made sure of that. It wasn't even hard considering Coco was just as good at keeping secrets and already had two people supporting her.

"I suppose that Ozpin has the best idea then." Leonardo sounded almost pained when he gave up for exactly what Weiss had hoped for.

Either of the other three could work, but her dreams had told her who would be the best choice. They'd also been preparing for it.

Weiss' made her touch a bit heavier as Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin began their own discussion. She took a slightly different approach, obviously approving of Professor Ozpin's choice in a way that could not be missed.

That was enough. Professor Goodwitch switched to Nora, stepping over to Qrow's side.

General Ironwood met Weiss' eyes, held the gaze for a moment, then looked to Professor Ozpin.

The sides were even. The room heated up.

What had been a calm debate grew fiery without Weiss needing to say a word. General Ironwood and Qrow needed little prodding to begin hurling insults.

"You gonna bend over for her too, Jimmy?"

"I'm not the one who's lack of judgement lost us several Maidens."

"You lying, son of a-"

"Everyone!" Professor Ozpin silenced the argument by lifting his cane and slamming it back to the ground. "There is a simpler method of us coming to a consensus than continuing this."

"What? Asking her?" Qrow spat, pointing over his shoulder at Weiss. "She's the reason we're having this fight."

"No." Professor Ozpin looked over to one side. "Taiyang, you did not wish to choose earlier, but now have the tiebreaking vote. Unless you want us to give it to Miss Schnee."

He looked at Professor Ozpin, then to her.

Weiss arched an eyebrow and looked him in the eyes. He'd seen her before. He already knew who she wanted, but that wouldn't matter. It was all about giving him a reason. All that she needed to say was communicated with that, one gesture and a burst of power. 'Who is most likely to help your girls?'

Taiyang looked away almost immediately.

"Come on buddy," Qrow took a step toward him. "You see what she's doing. You know what's right. We'll find a-"

"Give me a minute." Taiyang mumbled. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples while his mouth moved, without saying anything. Everyone else stayed silent, until he finally spoke. "Pyrrha Nikos."

Qrow stared at him, groaning. "Tai!"

Professor Ozpin stood up. "Does anyone have any other objections which would disqualify her?"

He waited for a moment.

"Very well. I'll inform her about this myself." He turned to General Ironwood, then Weiss. "If you would prepare the machine to scan her, we should take what little time we have to ensure nothing goes wrong."

 

[doge]

Typo here:

"They killed him and discovered a very [interesting[/i] species of Grimm in the process."

Click to shrink...

Social-fu is scary, the plot thickens and I can see no way that their plan to contain & starve out RBY ends well.
edit: ends well for Ironwood & Co.

 

[Kaizuki]

[X] Commend Graveless

 

[Impstar]

RBY already has plans for that, they're positive that they can produce food self-sufficiently.

 

[FullNothingness]

Yeah... This brilliant plan is pretty leaky. It leaves Blake and Ruby pretty free to start taking out the encircling soldiers in detail with pauses to regain their aura's. It expects their troops to end up stuck between a horde of grimm and the anathema. And since they can't properly encircle the whole area RBY can simply go "We out" and leave and they are pretty much certain to get away.

And then there are the fun problems... Ruby can see the future, she will have seen this coming. Yang can have everyone fine without food by enabling to eat gravel or something. And then there was her plan to get an ability that would let her get to Menagerie without crossing the ocean, which implies interesting things for any planned encirclement.

Merits were considered, potential moral failings discussed, but they didn't truly matter.

Click to shrink...

 

[Impstar]

Clearly they are unaware of Ruby's ability to see the future, or else they'd know that almost all plans would fail. Because Ruby can't just see the future, she can find the future that's the best. The only way to defeat her ability is for there to be no future in which she triumphs. Considering that she has 2 other anathema with her, both of which exceed her own considerable abilities in raw fighting prowess, that's even harder.

 

[demonitter]

Clearly they are unaware of Ruby's ability to see the future, or else they'd know that almost all plans would fail. Because Ruby can't just see the future, she can find the future that's the best. The only way to defeat her ability is for there to be no future in which she triumphs. Considering that she has 2 other anathema with her, both of which exceed her own considerable abilities in raw fighting prowess, that's even harder.

Click to shrink...

A funny little problem with people who can see the future and can choose the best ones is that the people who can't are without effective free will, even if the futures come about from their different "free" choices. It's also hard to accept someone who does things you disagree with to be correct because of some "golden future" that they can achieve. Many fics that play with such abilities also tend fail because the future sight should account for these mysterious malcontents that can "change the future" or "make their own choices".

 

[Impstar]

A funny little problem with people who can see the future and can choose the best ones is that the people who can't are without effective free will, even if the futures come about from their different "free" choices. It's also hard to accept someone who does things you disagree with to be correct because of some "golden future" that they can achieve. Many fics that play with such abilities also tend fail because the future sight should account for these mysterious malcontents that can "change the future" or "make their own choices".

Click to shrink...

Except that this fic has already shown that her ability isn't perfect. It's not that she doesn't get accurate information, but she can't see hard details. She can check what the "best" outcome is, but can't see what's best about it, or that something will be "bad" but not precisely what's bad. She has to go off of a nebulous "more/less good/bad" ratio, which works a lot of the time, but can also lead to things like revealing her team as Anathema. If Ruby wants something done, but there's no "ideal" way to do it, she's going to pick the least damaging route, but as seen this can still cause problems. After all, she can't see the consequences of an action and thus can't really compare them to what she would gain from doing it in the first place. Graveless has done a great job with showing that her power doesn't remove everyone else's agency.

 

[KnownParadox]

The only potential issue was Professor Ozpin, who always seemed to see more than he ought to. But, even he didn't have eyes in the back of his head.

Click to shrink...

Hah!

He probably noticed immediately.

 

[BossFight]

Just caught up after letting this languish for a while. Just want to say that this is an amazing fic, and really dates the old exalted itch

 

[WanderingAirhead]

At this point I'm growing curious who is Ozpin in this fic. Does he follow cannon revelations, as the reincarnating wizard responsible for maidens, or maybe he is exalted himself, though I doubt that last one. I somehow don't think he is just another headmaster.

 

[FullNothingness]

At this point I'm growing curious who is Ozpin in this fic. Does he follow cannon revelations, as the reincarnating wizard responsible for maidens, or maybe he is exalted himself, though I doubt that last one. I somehow don't think he is just another headmaster.

Click to shrink...

Qrow stepped into the workshop as quietly as he could. Oz had been waiting for him, but the old man didn't notice him enter. He was staring at a bunch of paintings. Or, more accurately, a particular painting of an old man.

...

"Spare me the lecture." Qrow stepped up next to him and looked at the painting. There was something about the old man's eyes. They were clear, but held what seemed like a bottomless well of knowledge, even though it was only a painting. "Who is this one?"

"My father."

"Uhh…" Qrow looked over at the far end. That one was a man whose clothing looked a little dated, but not all that unusual. "Do you mean?"

"Yes, that one." Oz kept his eyes locked on it. "I can't help but wonder, what is it that he thought would happen? Did he foresee what Salem would do, what she would turn the Grimm into? Did he know that the gods would leave us behind?"

Click to shrink...

Well his father is someone important apparently... I'm guessing that is one of the better clues we have. Godblooded?