Breathe Chapter 69: Dark Discoveries

Beacon’s CCTS was pretty impressive. Acting as the main hub to the entire Kingdom of Vale, it was capable of handling massive amounts of data at a time, connecting with the other Kingdoms near instantaneously.

With the right sort of clearance, there was very little a person wouldn’t be able to access... A regular Huntsman licence would get you unrestricted access to the web while a Specialists licence would go a little further, allowing Winter to access information that was deemed classified by the Atlesian military.

Sitting at the top were councillors and headmasters who were granted complete control of the CCTS... Within limit of course. There would be hell to pay if a councilor turned off the heating in Mantle or tampered with the alert system in Vale.

“There’s a few reports from a few farming communities of Grimm behaving strangely,” Winter reported. Hitting a few keys on the terminal, a video popped up, showing a herd of Goliaths passing a small settlement. “Their migratory pattern seems to have changed slightly.”

That was something, but I doubted it was what the Shadow was pointing at... A general direction wasn’t much to go on, but it was all that we had.

“Is there anything else?” I asked.

“That’s as far as it goes, unfortunately,” Winter replied. “There may be a few other settlements out there, but none that have a CCT hub of their own.... Although, I might be able to see if there’ve been any Airships in that area.” Hitting a few keys, the terminal’s screen froze for a few moments, before kicking her back to the main screen. “That’s odd.”

Going back in, she tried to access the Airship logs, only to be kicked out once more. Narrowing her eyes, Winter tried a different approach. Accessing them individually, she was able to open a few, before the terminal froze.

If it had been anything else, I might have just written it off as a glitch, but it was just too convenient... Suspicious even. I could only think of one person that was able to do something like this, leaving the question of what exactly was Arthur Watts hiding.

“This is beyond me,” Winter said, admitting defeat. “It’s like a field of landmines... I can’t tell which file will crash the terminal. Even if it didn’t, we’d still have days worth of raw data to go through. We’ll need to send it to a tech specialist to make any headway... I’m sorry.”

“You did far better than I would have,” I hummed. “I probably would have taken a few hours to get half as far as you did... Although... Could I ask you to try one last thing?”

“Of course,” Winter nodded.

“Could you map the locations of the Airship logs you were able to access?” I asked.

While I couldn’t get a direct location to what it was Watts was hiding, I could get an idea of where it wasn’t and use that to narrow down my search.

Nodding, Winter brought up a map of Sanus, before copying a few of the flight paths over it, revealing a few commercial trips between Vale and Vacuo.

Typing something into the terminal, she copied the remaining flight paths. Keeping the map open, a few moments passed, before it suddenly began to fill out with black lines, revealing various different flight paths that all circled around the same spot south west of Mount Glenn.

“How did you do that?”

“I had the military take care of it,” Winter replied. “I might not be an active member, but I am still a Specialist and that comes with a few perks.”

I let out a short laugh at that. Instead of painstakingly combing through it, she just brute forced it by having others go through the data and send back what worked.

It was the equivalent of Watts creating an elaborate puzzle that only the smartest could solve, only for Winter to throw it on the floor and stomp on it until she had her answer.

“You’re a genius,” I said, kissing her cheek.

“I was simply in the right position to help,” Winter hummed, smiling softly. Turning her gaze towards the map, she quirked a brow. Drawing a line from Beacon, she cut straight through it, giving us a location. “I take it that this is what you learnt from your meeting with Roman?”

“No. Roman had a lot to say, but he didn’t know anything about this,” I answered.  “This is something else.”

Feeling that there was something oddly familiar about the map, I grabbed my Scroll and rapidly swiped through it, before finding the map Jacques had given me when I’d met him back in Atlas... The one that showed where exactly a person was able to mine and, more importantly, the general location of Ancient Grimm.

“Shit!” I cursed, finding the map on my Scroll identical to the one on the terminal. “We need to go... Ozpin needs to know about this.”

Transferring the map to her Scroll, Winter stood while closing the terminal. “What is it?”

“Something that should be left alone,” I answered. “One of the Ancients.”

...Breathe...

Waiting for the elevator to ding, Winter and I stepped into Ozpin’s office, only to find it occupied not only by the Headmaster himself, but also Glynda and Qrow who looked a little annoyed at our arrival.

“You know, if you could have come with me earlier... At least then you wouldn’t be arriving so late,” Qrow muttered, before shrugging. “Eh, better late than never, I guess. I’ve already told him everything about Salem’s newest recruit.”

Apparently not everything based on what Winter and I learnt. “That’s not what we’re here for,” I said. Stepping past the duo, I placed my Scroll on Ozpin’s desk. “We’ve got a serious problem.”

Humming idly, held a steaming cup of cocoa in his hand. Glancing down at my Scroll, his grip tightened, cracking his mug. “Where did you get this?”

“It’s the Airship flight paths over the last week,” Winter explained. “With the Vytal Festival only a short time away, there have been no less than seven thousand flights from Vacuo to Vale... Over a quarter of the logs seem to have been tampered with, causing them to be corrupted.”

“I see,” Ozpin muttered seriously. “Then it can be assumed that the quarter that was corrupted all flew over this location.”

“That is my and Coal’s understanding, yes,” Winter nodded.

Grunting, Qrow stepped forward. “What’s the big deal about this place? I’m guessing this is somehow related to Salem, but if that’s the case, isn’t it good we know about it now? Hell, we can even send Jimmy there when we make our move on Cinder. I’m sure he’ll have fun razing that area.”

“Unfortunately doing so would wake what sleeps beneath the ground,” Ozpin replied. “It would seem that Salem’s made another play for the Ancient Grimm. But, how was she...” Pausing, he swiped his hand across his desk, pulling up a large list of documents that he’d been working on.

“Is everything alright, Ozpin?” Glynda asked cautiously.

“It just occurred to me that the bulk of the work I’ve been doing for the Vytal Festival has come from a single member of Vale’s council... Rafaj Reiziv,” Ozpin commented. “It could be a coincidence, but it seems like he’s been trying to keep me busy... Distracted even.”

Sighing, Qrow grabbed his flask and took a large gulp. “And just when things were going well... How unfortunate.”

“Must you use every opportunity to drink?” Glynda snapped.

“I wouldn’t, but the opportunity keeps coming around.” Qrow shrugged. “Besides, it helps take the edge off... Something that you look like you need. How about it?” He jiggled the bottle in front of her.

Glynda snapped her riding crop, sending Qrow’s flask out the window and into the fountain in front of Beacon.

“A simple no would have sufficed,” Qrow deadpanned. “Now I’m going to have to go and get that before some lucky kid finds it... Heh, maybe I should leave it. Anyone desperate enough to drink cheap booze from a fountain obviously needs it more than me.”

Ozpin coughed lightly. “Indeed. In the meantime, however, I’ll be contacting James in order to make preparations for the worst case scenario. Glynda, if I could please ask you to make the necessary announcements and handle Beacon.”

“Of course,” Glynda nodded.

“Then I’ll leave it in your hands,” Ozpin hummed, watching as Glynda left to handle the Academy in his stead. “If Salem is well and truly behind this, we must assume that she’ll make an attempt on the Maidens.”

“Yeah, about that,” Qrow interrupted. “Couldn’t they come in really handy here? I mean, the kid alone was able to take on an Ancient Grimm by himself. Throw in a pair of Maidens on top of that and they should be able to handle it pretty easily.”

Qrow wasn’t exactly wrong. It’d been a close thing, the last time I fought an Ancient Grimm, but I’d only grown stronger since then and was far more experienced.

“A fair idea... Although, one that’s been done before,” Ozpin commented. “Unfortunately, it’s not so cut and dry. The Maidens are extremely powerful, but they do have their limits and while they could definitely help, I fear that they could be a detriment to. The last time a Maiden came to blows with an Ancient Grimm, it ended in her death. They are, for lack of a better term, attracted to the Maiden’s magic and will go out of their way to consume it, ignoring all else, even grievous wounds.”

“A distraction could still be pretty useful,” Qrow muttered.

“It could indeed,” Ozpin nodded. “But there are a number of factors to consider... The potential death of a Maiden or what would happen if a Maiden chose to flee... Possibly leading the Grimm to a populated area.”

That was a good point. I didn’t really know Amber well enough to tell if she would do something like that, Raven on the other hand... If it was a choice between her life and the lives of others, she’d choose herself in a heartbeat.

“Make no mistake, I do think your idea has merit,” Ozpin continued. “But I don’t think it’s one we should be starting off with. Hopefully none of this will be necessary and we’ll be able to stop it in time, but if not, it could be a useful last resort…”

...Breathe...

“There I was... Facing down a hundred Grimm of varying kinds. My team was exhausted and resting in a nearby town, my Aura was low and I was completely out of ammo,” Professor Port lectured, absentmindedly twirling his moustache. “It was completely hopeless... For them.”

Feigning interest for a few more moments, Yang silently tapped her foot, waiting for Port to turn around, before placing a book in just the right way that he wouldn’t notice when she decided to take a nap.

It wasn’t like she was the only one that was doing it either. Ruby was already playing a game on her Scroll, hiding it under the desk, Blake was reading a book on fairy tales, appearing as if she was studying... Hell, even Weiss wasn’t paying attention and she was the most studious of the team.

The only ones that actually seemed interested in Port’s tales were those that were here for the Vytal Tournament. Oscar in particular was fascinated by Port’s stories.

Blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face, Yang shot a glance to the front of the class where Beacon’s youngest exchange student sat and took notes.

She wasn’t sure what to make of him, having only learnt of his existence less than an hour ago. He was young... Even younger than Ruby whose attendance at Beacon was a bit of a special case.

Although, the same could probably be said about Oscar seeing as he’d apparently been taught by Coal... Something that she was extremely curious about. When did he learn Coal’s breathing techniques, how did they meet and, most importantly, why….

Unfortunately, she was going to have to wait until the end of the day before she could get her answers... Part of which would be spent stuck in Port’s class. It wasn’t all bad. Once he was done with his story, he’d bring out a Grimm and pick a student to fight it.

Yang hoped it was a Deathstalker.

 “Psst, hey Yang,” Nora whispered from… Somewhere? “Are you busy?”

“Not really,” Yang muttered, looking up where she normally sat, all she found was a book that blocked her from view and an exasperated looking Ren. “Where... Exactly are you, Nora?”

“Down here,” Nora answered.

Watching as a plank from the bottom of the desk slid to the side, Yang came face to face with Nora who’d apparently taken to lounging under the tables... And was that a pillow?! Why didn’t she think of that?

“Nora, what–“

“Pretty cool, right?” Nora grinned. “I set this up after the first semester ended... Speaking of, what happened to you guys? Did you go home for the week? We couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Uh... Not exactly,” Yang hummed. “We... Sort of went on a training trip and ended up fighting some really obscure Grimm.”

Taking a moment to process that, Nora practically vibrated with energy. “That sounds amazing. I need details. Where was it? What kind of Grimm did you fight? What happened? I need details here,” Nora said, growing progressively louder.

Shooting a cautious glance towards Professor Port, Yang turned her gaze back towards Nora who had procured a small bucket of popcorn and was staring at her expectantly.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Yang admitted, brushing a hand through her hair. “And Port’s eventually going to start calling... Once he’s done.” Although, at the rate he was currently going, that would be a while. “Can we maybe talk about it some other time... How about the weekend?”

“Weekend?!” Nora spluttered, choking on her popcorn.

“Alright, how about tomorrow,” Yang relented. “You can tell us about what you guys were up to as well.”

It couldn’t be today because they still had to meet with Coal later... With Oscar as well.

Swallowing heavily, Nora took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright... That seems fair. You did miss out on a few things while you were gone... Heck, you might even be able to help us figure out what’s going on with Cardin.”

Cardin? The class asshole?

Panning her vision over towards the spot where the fourth member of ACRN sat, Yang wondered what exactly it was she was supposed to be looking for... Only to suddenly see it when Sun Wukong of all people tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Professor Port, before miming something.

“What the hell?” Yang muttered softly.

“Yeah, we’re not too sure either,” Nora admitted. “I originally thought that Sun was just too nice to realize that Cardin’s, well... You know... But Cardin hasn’t done anything to chase him off.”

“Right,” Yang nodded, not really sure what to make of that.

Before she was able to say anything further, the bell began to ring, cutting Professor Port off halfway through his tale.

“Students, please report to the Amphitheatre for a special announcement,” Glynda’s voice sounded through the room. “Professors, please meet me outside the Amphitheatre... Thank you.”

Silence descended on the room, only to be broken by Port coughing into his fist. “Well, you all heard her. I suppose we’ll be cutting it short today. Please head down to the Amphitheatre in an orderly fashion as per our Deputy Headmistress’s request. Now if you’ll excuse me...”

A nervous energy hung in the air as the class slowly began to file out into the hallway. Falling in step with her team, Yang made sure to stay near the back of the foursome, making sure that no one got separated and left behind.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Ruby muttered softly.

“Maybe it’s about the Vytal Tournament,” Blake suggested.

Swiping through her Scroll, Weiss shook her head. “I doubt they’d pull us out of class just to tell us about the tournament... No, something else is going on here.”

“But what?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know,” Weiss admitted. “But we’ll soon find out.”

Entering the Amphitheatre, the space was absolutely packed. Upper years, lower years and exchange students filled the seats, leaving very little space for them to sit down, but they somehow managed.

Standing at the head of the room, waiting for everyone to settle down was Glynda... Ozpin was nowhere to be seen.

“I’ll keep this brief,” Glynda announced. “Within the last hour, some news was discovered that could cause issues with the Vytal Tournament.”

The sound of muttering began to pick up, only to immediately die down when Glynda cracked her riding crop threateningly.

“As I was saying,” She continued. “There is an issue... One that could force us to delay the Vytal Tournament. That being said, we are working to prevent that from happening by addressing the root of the matter. If, however, the situation devolves further, we will be ready to handle the fallout.”

Yang felt a sense of unease at that. So far, they’d learnt nothing about what was happening. Professor Goodwitch was just... Talking around the issue instead of telling them what it was. She was hiding something. Yang had a few guesses as to what it was... None of them were good.

“Class, until further notice, is suspended,” Glynda added. “Missions will still be available, but they’ll be limited to Vale and locations nearby. I would like to ask you all to be mindful of the Grimm you could face. With the Vytal Festival around the corner, there is guaranteed to be an increase in the number of Grimm you will be encountering.”

Taking a moment to herself, Glynda pushed her glasses up, before continuing. “One last thing. While security has been increased for the Vytal Festival, there is still a limit to what they’re capable of dealing with. Please exercise a reasonable amount of caution... That is all. You may go about your day.”

“Well that was a whole bunch of nothing,” Yang muttered under her breath, being among the first to exit the Amphitheatre. “You think she’d give a hint about what’s going on, but no... Not even that.”

“The fact that she didn’t say anything should be fairly telling of what’s actually going on,” Blake murmured, keeping pace. “Salem.”

“I know, it’s just...” Yang trailed off. “She could have just pulled us to the side and said what was really going on. All we know is that Salem might be involved.”

“Isn’t that enough though?” Weiss asked. “They’re already doing something about it... Even going as far as to suspend classes until this whole thing is dealt with.”

Weiss had a point, but Yang still would have liked to know what this was all about.

“Why don’t we just ask Coal?” Ruby suggested, drawing the immediate attention of her teammates. “I mean, he generally knows what’s going on and he’ll probably tell us if we ask.”

“We... Probably could,” Weiss admitted.

Blinking, a grin suddenly split Yang’s face. “And that’s why you’re the leader, Rubes. Let’s go ask him then.” She marched off, before suddenly losing steam. “Does anyone know where he is?”

“Um...” Ruby hummed, looking around awkwardly.

Eh, it didn’t really matter. He was in Beacon and that’s all that mattered. They’d find him sooner or later.

...Breathe...

With my impromptu meeting with Ozpin having come to an end, I slowly made my way back to my room, taking the long way around to avoid the sudden influx of students that filled the halls. It seemed we’d left just as they were let out.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to kill another Ancient Grimm?”

Slowing my pace, I turned to look at Winter who was staring back with an intense look in her eyes. “I think so... Yes. What brought that on?”

“I was just making sure,” Winter said, walking ahead.

“Alright” I hummed, following after her. “Just know that I’ll always be there if you want to talk.”

We walked in relative silence for a while. It was only when we began to near our room that Winter began to speak again.

“When I first met you, I thought you were a promising student and invited you to attend Atlas Academy... And then you did something thought impossible and killed that Ancient Grimm, becoming an indomitable legend,” Winter explained. “We met again in Atlas and I came to see you as a teacher and a friend.”

Stopping in front of the door to our quarters, Winter took a slow, practiced breath. “And now we’re faced with the same threat that made you a legend and all I can think about is how the man I love could die.”

Sighing, I palmed my face. I should have realized she was worried. If the roles were reversed, I’d be worried.

Silently stepping forward, I pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay,” I hummed, rubbing her back comfortingly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“There’s no guarantee to that,” Winter muttered, gripping my shirt tightly.

“There never is,” I shook my head. “But there isn’t a guarantee that it won’t be either. We’re the masters of our own destiny and we get to choose where that destiny will lead.”

Feeling her grip loosen, I pulled back and gently palmed her face. Brushing a strand of hair back, we met in a short kiss just as the door to our quarters opened.

Smiling, Winter turned towards the doorway, expecting Pyrrha or Maria, only to see her very red faced sister. “Weiss? What’re you doing here?”

“Awawawawawawa.” Jittering, Weiss glanced between the two of us. Shakily raising her finger, she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak. “A...Awawawawa.”

Sighing, Winter stepped past her sister. Following behind her, I closed the door and steered Weiss into our lounge while she looked up at me, still failing to form a basic sentence.

“Oh, hey, you’re back,” Yang noticed, sitting on the couch in the small lounge with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Blake sat a little to the side with a book in her hand while Ruby was talking with Maria at the table where we usually ate our breakfast.

“And you’re here too,” I said, seating Weiss opposite Yang. “Not that I mind. Why, by the way?”

“You told us to come around earlier.” Yang shrugged. “So here we are.”

“Don’t believe her,” Maria called out. “They’re here because they want to know what’s going on.”

Rubbing the back of her head, Yang chuckled awkwardly. “Well... If you wouldn’t mind. I just... Hate being in the dark with this, you know... Especially when there’s obviously something going on.”

Yeah, I got where she was coming from. Looking around, the final member of the quarters made themselves known when a pair of metal trays floated out of the kitchen, followed by Pyrrha.

“I had a feeling you’d be back soon.” Pyrrha smiled while handing me a cup. “So I made extra just in case.”

“Thanks,” I hummed while kissing her cheek.... Restarting Weiss muttering. Looking around the almost cramped room, I found it homey. Hopefully what I said next wouldn’t kill that feeling. “There’s been a recent development. Winter and I found something...”

...Breathe...

Sitting in a well established coffee shop just outside of Vale, Watts idly swirled his drink while staring down at his Scroll. It seemed that Ozpin had caught onto what one of his councillors were up to... A pity.

Arthur would have preferred to interfere as little as possible, but it seemed that was no longer possible.

Swiping his hand over his Scroll, the image changed to that of the camp he’d been keeping an eye on. Dozens of legally acquired military vehicles and weaponry sitting at the ready with a small army of Huntsmen and soldiers that were waiting to be commanded.

With a few masterful strokes, everything was set.

“Would you like anything else, sir?” A waiter asked, stopping by his table.

“The bill if you would... I do believe that I’m done here,” Watts smirked.

“Of course,” The waiter nodded. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Nodding as the waiter left, he tapped his Scroll one final time, setting everything into motion. With that done, he should probably check in with Hazel to ensure that everything was going smoothly on his end... Not that there was much chance for it to go wrong. A wet sponge could do Hazel’s job... It’d probably do a better job too.

Finding his gaze drawn to an image of Coal, Watts smirked. “Do try to survive this, dear boy. I would hate to have the stage set, only for the star to be absent.”

Perhaps he should leak information about the Ancient Grimm to Vale’s news department... See if he can’t get this broadcasted across Remnant.

Nodding to himself, he gathered a few files from his Scroll, being sure to add footage of the Ancient Grimm waking from its slumber, before leaking it to every news agency on Sanus.

“Your bill, sir.”