Ep. 19 - Actual Plan (Subject to Changes), Dance
I am faced with a dilemma: I know what I want to change in this universe, but I actually didn't make a plan. I have also noticed that my thoughts often become incoherent and… sadistic, frankly. Why would I want to mess with Cinder and her group so much? I still don't have an explanation or a solution to that.
I decided to plan out exactly how I will move. I will start with tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I will ask Ozpin to gather Ironwood and Glynda for a talk. I don't need them to fight, but it's better to include them in the planning so that we don't interfere with each other. Maybe we could also create some misinformation to confuse Cinder and co. Since I am sure that Salem is either watching the situation or getting reports, this will cause her to move as we want. Hopefully. I want her with her ass on the throne and hand on the ball. That didn't sound right. I want Salem to stay in her castle, not running around making it hard for me to locate her when the time is right. It shouldn't be too difficult.
Next on the agenda, the mission and the Grimm invasion. On one hand, after informing Ozzy and his gang, defending against the Grimm shouldn't be too hard with their mechanical army. On the other hand, I don't know how Cinder will act. She could just try to kill every student in Beacon during the chaos for all I know. As for the mission, I want to complete it as soon as possible. Dealing with a subjugation mission should be the best pick. I want to be here when shit hits the fan to do some damage control.
Next again, the tournament. Assuming Cinder doesn't want to barbecue people, I should have some breathing space for about a couple of months. I will use that time to monitor the situation and change my plans if needed. As for the tournament itself, I need to ask Ozpin how it will work for my team, as we are five in team RWBY. 'The name is becoming confusing. I also need to unlock my aura, somehow understand it, and, if possible, link it to my Akashic Engine. I don't exactly need it, but it would allow me to participate in the official fights. Either that, or get a modified aura meter. If I get the schematics, I should be able to figure out how to make a Light meter to replace the aura meter.'
On a happier note, Weiss will soon celebrate her 18th birthday. And I will meet my sister-in-law in a few months. I can't wait!
Finally is actually dealing with Salem. That will be done the second I get rid of Cinder and her gang.
If everything goes as I hope, the whole invasion thing should happen later next week or the one after that. I will hopefully be able to participate in the tournament and take Yang's place in the singles. There, I will beat Mercury, injuring his leg while still in battle. I think the whole problem in canon was that Yang attacked him after the end of the fight. When he, Emerald, and Cinder get to the ambulance, there will be an unfortunate malfunction in the engine and some 'fireworks'. After that, I will zip straight to Salem, confine her in the holding cell on my ship, bring her to the moon, and start the sealing ritual. All in all, I will have eliminated basically all serious threats by the end of the festival. After that, getting Weiss' parents permission to get married in the future (that's the most important thing I've thought about) then normal school life until we get tired. 'I have an inkling that I will have to take care of Ruby and Yang as well. To be honest, I don't have the same feeling as I have with Weiss. I do enjoy their company, though more as a friend. That will be a problem for the future me to think about.'
The next morning, I had breakfast with teams RWBY and JNPR, along with Sun. I accompanied them to class, before saying: "I have something to talk about with Ozpin. I will come later, so save me a seat."
"Sure! Go on then, the earlier the go, the earlier you'll finish." Weiss said, urging me to go.
"See you later guys!".
I started running towards Ozzy's office. I took the elevator and arrived in the room.
"Hello Ozpin! Could you call for Glynda and Ironwood? I need to speak with you all." I said directly. Ozpin understood last time that I am no ordinary kid. 'Maybe I could have been a little more subtle and courteous. But I don't really care too much. The guy doesn't seem to mind either.'
I sat in front of him, exchanging a few pleasantries. We were both waiting for the other two members of the Avengers. I mean, whatever they call their sect.
We were joined by Glynda after a few minutes. 'Obviously she would be here before Ironwood, she's a teacher here.'
She looked curiously towards me, but she didn't ask anything. Ironwood arrived soon after.
"Ozpin, what is this student doing here?!" he asked quite angrily. 'Ozpin must have called them in the name of their sect or something.'
"Calm down, James. I am here to talk about the future. Possibly, I will need some tech from Atlas. Nothing of strategic importance though." I said, sipping some coffee Ozpin offered me while waiting. 'Holy shit! It's good! Now I get why he's always drinking this stuff.'
"Now, before you start exploding and throw me out, you might want to hear me out. I previously talked with Ozpin about a plan to take out Salem. Well, seal her indefinitely, to be precise. We have talked about the possibility of this plan succeeding, and we have agreed it's our best bet. Want to hear the rest?" seeing that he nodded, I continued while ignoring Glynda's glare: "Basically, we have established, more like we hope, that Salem's immortality stems from her soul. I have devised a ritual to seal her soul indefinitely in a special kind of crystal. I have already set up everything on the moon, I just need to apprehend the crazy hag, no offence, and we're done. After that, you can put her in a safe, leave the crystal on the moon, throw it in the ocean's depths… Whatever you want really. I have set up several security measures there, to prevent her from escaping my ritual. Theoretically, it should work."
"Now, I have told you this not for your opinion, but to inform you. I asked Ozzy to call you here to talk about the future, more specifically the infiltrators in Beacon. I played with one of them yesterday during the sparring session. You know who I'm talking about, don't you, Glynda?" I asked. She seemed to think for a second, before realizing who I was talking about.
"You mean Mercury Black, from Haven?" asked Ozpin. 'So he knows, huh? Not that surprising'
"Exactly. As for the other infiltrators, I guess you are intelligent enough to find out on your own." I sipped on some coffee for suspense. "Now, Mercury is only a footman. The mind is Cinder Fall. She works for Salem and is the one who has taken a part of the Maiden's power."
Ozpin remained impassible. He must have already guessed I knew from last time. Glynda and Ironwood on the other hand, they were stunned.
"Don't even ask how I know. The important thing is that I plan on dealing with her.
I'm digressing, sorry. Back to Cinder Fall. She is the one who ordered Torchwick to ransack every speck of Dust in the Kingdom of Vale. They planned on using an old underground evacuation route from Mountain Glenn to open a breach directly in the heart of Vale, causing a Grimm invasion due to the negativity generated. Since I gave the Dust's location to the police, they shouldn't be able to carry out that plan. However, in the off chance it does happen, it should occur between the end of next week and the one after that.
Me and my team, along with team JNPR could easily deal with it, but we might be out on a mission. I need you, Ironwood, to prepare to defend the city. Try being discreet, if possible. If I remember, the underground ended somewhere in the center of the city.
Next is actually dealing with the threats. I will wait until the tournament. You will also wait. And I don't want you screwing up, so you better act as if you didn't hear the names of the infiltrators. If what I gathered is correct, they will plant a virus in the CCT. Probably during the ball this weekend. At that point, most scrolls will be under surveillance. I want you to delete all information on Penny. Store it in an offline location or physically, I don't care. It has to disappear. Don't communicate with scrolls more than necessary from now on. I want them to think everything is under their control, while we will be able to feed them the info we want." I finished explaining.
"Assuming what you said is right, how should we trust you? How can I know that you are not one of them?" Ironwood asked. 'He has a point. Though he's also quite stupid.'
"I will answer the second part of your question first. You're still alive. If I were seriously one of them, I would have killed you all already, taken Cinder to the vault and allowed her to finish stealing the Maiden's power." I said, which earned me a wary glare from him. "As for trust, that is not my problem. I need you to follow some simple orders. You should be capable of that, no? I will deal with the majority of the stuff."
Ozpin chuckled at my 'subtle' insult, while Glynda smiled. 'Treating a General like a common soldier. That must be quite insulting for him. I do respect the man for actually taking action, though I can't help but think that he could have done so many things better.'
"Now then. I said most of what I came here to say. Now I will tell you what I need.
First of all, Glynda must have noticed that my Aura meter is constantly blank. That is because I do not have my aura unlocked." This shocked them, including Ozzy. "I use another type of energy which boosts my physical abilities, allows me to do basically magic, and shields me. A better aura, so to speak. What I need you to do is either unlock my aura or give me the blueprints and research regarding the aura meters so that I can modify it and make it work for my kind of energy.
Second, I want to know how many of my team can participate in the tournament at the end of the year. I want all five of us to be able to participate. Bend the rules if needed, make an exception, I don't care.
Third and last thing, I want a private meeting with Jacques Schnee. In person. Time to talk with my dear father-in-law."
The room fell silent for a few minutes. I did just bombard them with information and demands. A few minutes is the minimum amount of time needed to process the situation.
"I would ask you what kind of energy you use, but I guess you won't answer. If it works as you say, it's quite miraculous.
We can actually both unlock your aura and give you the technical information you want. Come back here after your classes, I will have some of my men unlock your aura. You asking us and not your teammates must mean you know they can't.
As for the second 'request'. Technically, the teams should be composed of 4 students or less. We can't just change the rules of a traditional event, but there might be some detail in the rules that will allow all five of you to participate.
Lastly… What do you mean by father-in-law? The meeting is easy to organize, so it will be done." Ironwood said.
"Weiss Schnee is my girlfriend you know? And I need to put Jacques Schnee in his place. A private meeting is the best way for us to 'discuss'. I promise I won't hurt him too badly. Sunday would be best." I said, with a glint in my eyes. "Oh, I will add another request. Whatever mission we end up choosing on Monday, we will get accompanied by Doctor Oobleck."
"We can arrange that. Now, if that is all, I think you should return to class. We can't have you skip Professor Port's class entirely. I will send him a message regarding our meeting. Nothing about what we discussed, obviously." said Ozpin.
After a few more pleasantries and unimportant questions, I started heading back to class. Weiss saved me a spot, so I don't have to worry about that. Well, if there was no place I would remove someone from their place. After class, Weiss pulled me aside.
"This is the second time that you have to talk with the Headmaster without notice. Tell me this. Is something happening?" she asked. Her hands trembled slightly.
I sighed a little before responding. "Yes, something is happening. There might be something for me to do during the tournament.
Other than that, I got a meeting with your father on Sunday. I don't know when though. Would you like to come with me? I will talk to him about us."
She looked shocked and started trembling a little more.
"Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen if I can do something."
"I'm not worried about that. I know nothing will happen if you actually put in some effort. I'm worried about my father. He isn't exactly happy about my career choice. Who knows what he'll say…"
I knew that meeting Jacques would be more unnerving than any fight. Not only from canon, but from actually seeing her face every time her Scroll rings.
"Hey. Tell me a couple of things. Do you want to be a Huntress? Do you trust me?" I asked her. She looked at me before nodding.
"Yes, I want to be a Huntress. And, I trust you more than anyone else in the world. Well maybe my sister is actually first place, but you're close to a tie."
"Only second place? I'm hurt, you know? But seriously. It's fine. Trust me when I say that no matter what happens, I will make sure you are happy and free to do what you want. Be it being a Huntress or lazing around all day. I'll talk with your father and make him understand that he can't control your life from now on. I can at the very least do that, as your boyfriend."
After I said that, Weiss smiled and calmed down.I took her hand and started going towards the next class, but I stopped after taking a step, since I remembered something important.
"Oh yeah, now that I think about it, I didn't ask you something."
I trasmated us to the roof. Not the most romantic location, but this will do.
"Weiss, will you come with me to the ball this Saturday? I don't really know how to dance though, so be warned."
Saying she was happy would be an understatement. She started tearing up a little. Not only will I be with her while talking to her father, but I also invited her to the ball. These things are important to her.
"Thank you. Isn't it obvious that I will go with you to the ball? I'm your girlfriend!" Weiss said.
"You should also look forward to your birthday. I might have a surprise prepared just for you." I whispered in her ear.
That day, after the classes ended, team RWBY returned to our room, while I went again to Ozpin's office. There, I found Ozzy with his usual coffee, Ironwood with some of his men, and Glynda. First of all, I was given the data on aura meters. I will have MoonRay extrapolate the data and send it to my brain. Next, Ironwood's men started trying to unlock my aura.
I theorized that my soul became stronger due to transmigrating into this body. If we divide the 'soul power' into parts and remove the consciousness from the soul, I think about half to 70% 'soul power' remains. Grimm for example are soulless, but still have a primitive consciousness and intelligence. Therefore, I think that it is only a small part of the soul.
Anyway, if what I think is correct, 50-70% of 'soul power' from Tula-28 got added to my own 'soul power'. A Guardian's soul should also be much 'stronger' than usual, making my soul much better. Aura is the power of the soul, so I should have a lot of it.
It took four men to actually unlock my aura. I suddenly felt stronger. If before I was a Guardian, now I am a Guardian on Traveler-made steroids, with an indestructible body.
To my surprise, my soul is considered a part of my body, which is kind of obvious now that I think about it, so thanks to my wish back with Xad'el, I had full control and knowledge of my aura. I immediately linked it to the Akashic Engine, which was surprisingly easy: I just had to infuse a sufficient amount of my Aura into it. It then started producing pure aura, just like the Light. I think that I can do the same with other types of energies like 'mana' if I find it.
With my aura unlocked and completely under control, I unlocked my semblance as well. It was something very useful. Long story short, if I look at something technological, I get all the information about it. The good part is that books and manuals can still be considered as something technological. If I entered a library now, I would probably become the most knowledgeable person in the world.
It is quite useful when used together with my other abilities. Such a cheat I am.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Weiss and Yang still took control of the preparation for the ball. I offered to help, but Weiss refused. I took the opportunity to get myself a suit and actually learn how to dance. It took me a few hours, but after having MoonRay upload some tutorials to my brain it was all smooth sailing.
I was informed of two things on Friday. First, Ironwood had taken down all information of Penny and some other project of strategic importance. Most of their previous conversations were already deleted, but they all made triple sure that nothing was left. Second, Jacques Schnee could meet me on Sunday for lunch. I made sure to have MoonRay upload all kinds of etiquette knowledge. I probably wouldn't have any use for it though.
Saturday evening arrived. I was pretty excited to dance with Weiss. Since we are literally living in the same room, I was the first to see her. It was the same dress shown in canon. Seeing it for real though was totally different.
"I kinda feel inadequate now. You're breathtaking, Weiss." I said, while holding my hand for her to take.
"Oh, thank you! You're not too shabby yourself!" she joked with a smile on her face.
We exited the room to find Jaune escorting Pyrrha, while Ren escorted Nora. I saw Sun coming to escort Blake. Yang and Ruby were a little jealous that everybody except them had an escort. 'I guess I will dance with them as well. Should I make a secondary body? No, not enough time.'
"Well then, shall we go?" I asked the group.
"Let's go."
"It will be fun."
"It will be a blast!"
The last was Nora.
Anyway, we started going to the ballroom. I think we must have looked pretty comical. All the guys, including me, were keeping their eyes fixed on their respective dates. We were going a little earlier than the appointed time to do one last check and because Yang had to welcome the students. After about 20 minutes, the other students started arriving. Some soft music was playing in the background. There were no bombs or other things like that, so I guess Cinder went with her original plan of putting a virus in the system. I couldn't be bothered with that. Today as well, my full attention is on Weiss.
I saw two couples coming in. Those two girls were almost identical then I had a flash of genius: I never used light constructs until now, but I can theoretically create other things, not only barriers and rifts. I started coating my body in Light. I started shining and this attracted a bit of attention. I then took a step and left behind a white copy of myself. I tried dedicating a secondary thought process to controlling the, literally, white knight. It unsurprisingly worked.
"Yang and Ruby?" asked Weiss. I smiled and nodded. She didn't mind, so I repeated the process to create another copy.
The copies then went near Yang and Ruby. They looked at me but I just smiled. I can at least do this to make them enjoy the night a bit more.
The dance started with the 'couple' songs first. Weiss and I went with the others and literally occupied the center of the ballroom.
We were having fun, the dance was perfect to break the routine that was built here at Beacon. At a certain point, I think I got lost in her eyes.
Then the group dances began. That was total madness. Way too fun. Cinder could even start a Grimm invasion for all I cared… 'I called it didn't I?'
At the moment, nothing particular was happening. I did create yet another thought process just so it could monitor my surroundings while I had fun dancing with Weiss and my friends.
The evening seemed to be going perfectly. Everybody was dancing, drinking, talking… Yang and Ruby also had an escort, quite a shiny one to boot. I didn't see Mercury and Emerald dancing in the crowd, which started sounding some alarms, but nothing concrete.
That was until Murphy's Law hit some minutes before midnight.