Chapter 2 Synopsis:
Gryphon had a brief encounter encounter with the military of Remnant quickly followed by several Beacon students. After defending himself from CRDL, he finds himself surrounded with Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood behind him and CBSS, JNPR, and RWBY in front.
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Gryphon: Keep those guns pointed at me, and I guarantee this won't go the way you think it will.
Gryphon kept his eyes locked on the revolver in Ironwood's hand. Ozpin stepped forward, hoping to gain the guardian's attention.
Ozpin: Please. If we all lower our weapons, I'm sure this can be settled peacefully.
Ironwood, Gryphon, and the students didn't move an inch, causing the headmaster to sigh. Glynda looked at the frozen CRDL and back to Gryphon with a glare.
Glynda: What have you done to these students?!
Gryphon: It was in self defense, if you must know. Riven, countermeasures?
Separate from Gryphon, Riven attempts to reactivate the Pyramid's engines as a distraction. She flies around in the underside of the ship, reactivating it's systems.
Riven: Almost, stall for just a tiny bit longer.
Gryphon: You all seem human, so I'm willing to forgive this whole situation if you all leave and never come back. Although, there's the alternate path that I'm sure you've figured out by now.
Ironwood: I wouldn't try anything if I were you, we've seen what you can do. It'd be in your best interest to surrender.
Riven: It's ready!
Gryphon let off a chuckle.
Gryphon: I was never one for negotiations.
Suddenly an oppressive atmosphere falls over the humans of Remnant as the Pyramid comes to life again. They all fall to their knees as Gryphon transmats into the Constellation Tracer with all of his items set up on the ground while the Pyramid opens a hole on the underside that acts as a docking bay. Constellation Tracer lifts the Bergusia Forge into the Pyramid's docking bay.
The mountain shakes and crumbles as the colossal ship dislodges itself from it. Glynda uses her semblance to shield everyone present from the falling debris as the morning sky becomes visible. The weight lifts off of the residents of Vale as the Pyramid abandoned the mountain.
They watched as the storm moved with the colossal craft, moving towards the distance surprisingly quickly.
Imperia: Holy shit...
Skylar: That's just...insane.
Nix stared after the ship. Something in her body urged her to follow but she restrained herself before noticing something was off.
Nix: She...she didn't.
Nix walked over to Ozpin, ignoring the glare she was getting from Glynda.
Ozpin: Ms. Carmen? What's wrong?
Nix: Shae. She snuck into the ship while no one was looking.
Ozpin looked back at the ship and adjusted his glasses with another sigh.
Ozpin: Then consider this your first official mission of the new year, we'll go back to the school and arrange transportation for you to give chase.
Ironwood stepped up while holstering his weapon.
Ironwood: No need, I have something they can use.
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Gryphon sat on the stairs up to Rhulk's sanctum looking through different sets armor to wear. Riven appears at his side in a shimmer of white particles.
Riven: O Guardian Mine?
Gryphon: Yea?
Riven: I'm sure that interaction could have ended more peaceably. Why didn't you try talking it out with them?
Gryphon's hand slowed to a stop before he placed it on his knee and gazed out into the seemingly endless structure of the pyramid. His voice came out in a strangely solemn tone.
Gryphon: When your main body was on the verge of dying, did you see the hunger of greed in the eyes of the Guardians that did the deed?
Riven:......I did.
Gryphon: The man with glasses, and the other with the black hair. I could see the hunger of greed in them. I could see desperation in the face of something. The technology and powers I presented showed them an opportunity they obviously couldn't afford to miss. I don't know what they're so afraid of...
Gryphon chose to switch his armor and weapons.
Gryphon: But their priorities are wrong.
Gryphon stood up and turned to go inside the Sanctum until he noticed the motion detector in his helmet mark something on his lower right.
Gryphon: There don't happen to be any spare Scorn left on the ship, Riven?
Riven: None. It's a human life sign.
Gryphon outstretched his hand, summoning Altered Reality into it, before quickly spinning around while notching an arrow and aiming it at the floor behind him.
He releases the arrow and it splits into multiple arrows the moment it meets the floor. Gryphon squinted as one of the arrows seemingly struck the open air, so he released another arrow at the ground and jumped into the air. When the arrow split, Shae released her semblance to focus on dodging the arrows but when she had dodged them all, she noticed Gryphon had disappeared.
She felt the Galeblades press against her neck and slowly raised her hands into the air in surrender.
Gryphon: Brave. You'd make a decent guardian.
Shae: What are you going to do to me?
Gryphon: Well, for starters-
Gryphon knocked her out with a chop to the neck.
|>—>—>—>1 hour later<—<—<—<|
Shae awoke with a groan. Perhaps this plan was Ill thought out, she thought.
She attempted to move, only to find that her hands were bound with steel wire. She was tied up against a large glaive that was stabbed into the ground and when she tried to get a good look at it she caught sight of the dead body of Rhulk unmoved from the same spot it's been in. The creature was incomprehensible to her.
Gryphon: I see you've met this boat's last captain. He and I had a disagreement on Light vs Dark and he lost.
Her head looked around for the source of the voice but she couldn't find it. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the training from her mother...from her home.
Yet, her recollection was replaced with flames and screams, making her snap out of it with a gasp.
Gryphon: Here's how were going to do this.
Her body tensed as she heard the slow click of a revolver chamber behind her.
Gryphon: I want you to answer my questions about this world and in exchange I'll let you wander the ship. Nod if you agree to these terms.
She nodded quietly.
Gryphon: First. Can you name all of the major factions on this planet?
Shae: Beacon Academy, run by Headmaster Ozpin. Atlas's military, commanded by General ironwood. Those were the two men at Mountain Glenn. Then there's a crime syndicate with no name run by Roman Torchwick. Lastly and...worst of all is the White Fang....they're a group of radical Faunus terrorists that think scaring humans into seeing them as equal is the right idea.
The man behind her went silent, making her somewhat nervous.
Gryphon: How about this, quid pro quo. You answer my questions, I'll answer yours.
Shae: What are you?
Gryphon: Human. You can rephrase if you want.
Shae: I meant, how are you capable of doing all this? Of killing...that.
She nodded her head at Rhulk.
Gryphon: Sorry, I can't answer that specific question. I'll tell you this, though. People who can do what I can are called "Guardians".
"Guardians". Shae couldn't help but wonder how it was possible to become that powerful. She wanted to know how many of them there were. If they were all this...intimidating.
Gryphon: My turn. This Academy. They train fighters like you, right? For what reason?
Shae: Students who graduate from Beacon become Hunters and Huntresses. They go out and hunt Grimm, the monsters that terrorize the entire world. We don't know where they come from or why, but they're drawn to negative emotions.
Gryphon: Mhm. Doesn't sound like that'll be much of an issue.
She couldn't help but turn her head to him in shock. Even the most skilled huntresses can get picked off by a large number enemies. Even then, there were massive Grimm that could flatten him instantly. What was the reason behind his fearlessness? He was willing to fight all of them in Mountain Glenn without hesitation and froze all of CRDL with his strange power.
Shae: Is...is it possible for me to become a Guardian?
Gryphon: Unfortunately. Anyone, literally anyone, can become a Guardian. Not that their intentions with The Light will matter because you have to die before you can become a Guardian and you won't remember anything once you do.
Shae was incredulous, perhaps he was lying? Yet, she could always tell when someone was lying regardless of how good at it they were and she couldn't feel a lie from him.
Gryphon: Alright, as promised.
She felt the wires around her wrists snap and shot to her feet before turning around to face him, who had equipped different armor once more. He placed a sword back on his back before taking hold of the glaive in the ground.
Gryphon: Feel free to wander, just don't walk into any super dark places or follow any voices. There's only two humans on this ship.
Shae: You're...really just going to let me go?
Gryphon: The ship itself won't let you outside without my say, which is why you should wander. So you don't get bored.
Shae: If it's all the same to you, I'll stay here.
She took a seat on the ground and wonders what to do next when her scroll rings.
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The other members of CBSS are following the Darkness ship in the Altesian dropship left behind by Winter's group. All of them have worried expressions, but not for the same reasons.
Imperia: What if the alien is experimenting on her?!
Skylar: It wasn't an alien! He was obviously human.
Nix: A human with powers we've never seen before might as well be an alien.
Imperia: Human or not, he took Shae!
Nix: She snuck into his ship not knowing he was about to leave. She was probably planning to take something of value.
Imperia: Fuck it, I'm gonna call her!
The huntress in training pulls out her scroll and calls her teammate's scroll. The dial tone rings through the ship as everyone goes quiet for a moment.
Shae: Guys!
There was a collective sigh of relief as their teammate's voice came through the speaker.
Nix: Shae, are you alright?
Imperia: Are you being experimented on?!
Skylar: Sometimes I worry for your brain, Imperia...
Shae: I'm fine! He only tied me up and asked me questions about Remnant. Then he just let me go, I'm even sitting next to him right now.
Nix wasn't sure what to think. Could she be lying because he's threatening her? Still, if this person is human, then why is he running from us?
Nix: Tell him that we don't mean him any harm. We just want you returned safely.
There was a moment of silence before she came back to the scroll.
Shae: He has a proposition.
Nix: We're listening.
Shae: He wants to come back to Vale with us, on the condition that Everyone keeps out of his business.
Nix: I...we're going to have to relay that to Ozpin before we can agree.
Shae:....That's fine, he'll wait.
Nix fiddles with the radio, sending a call to Ozpin that is quickly answered.
Ozpin: <Greetings, Cloudburst. Any developments to report?>
Nix: Yes. Something very big but we need your go ahead. The visitor wants to explore Vale in exchange for letting Shae go, with the condition that he is left alone by Beacon Staff and Atlas Personnel.
There was an uncomfortably long silence.
If Ozpin refuses, they won't be able to get Shae back. Nix was comfortable with disobeying orders when it came to her team. Yes or no, she'll agree to the terms.
Ozpin: <Apologies for the delay, General Ironwood is remaining stubborn. Beacon can agree to these terms, but Atlas is refusing. If he's willing to accept that, you can bring him.>
Chances are slim, but that's the best they can do. Let's hope this person is as amicable as he sounds.
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