Chapter 6 Synopsis:
Shortly after Chapter 5, Gryphon takes a moment to think in the middle of a park. A fraction of a second of tranquility that is immediately interrupted by a visit from Ozpin with Nix Carmen in tow. Ozpin offers for Gryphon to join beacon as an assistant teacher/spectator so he can learn about Remnant. When Gryphon prepares to refuse, Riven interrupted him and suggested a plan.
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Apparently some kind of dance was supposed to happen today, Gryphon was taking no part in that. He needed to under the way this world worked and classes weren't helping. You know what would help? The communications tower not far from the place the dance is being held at.
Gryphon walked out into the night air. He cast a brief glance around before spotting Nix just sitting outside the venue dressed in a black and silver tuxedo. He let out a whistle to get her attention.
Gryphon: Looking razor sharp! So sharp that you should be in there dancing, not staring at the sky.
She let off a wry chuckle as she stood up.
Nix: Eh. I'm not much of a dancer. Though, something called me out here...
Gryphon: One of those gut feelings?
Nix: Yeah...
Gryphon nodded. She's smart enough not to ignore her gut. She'd make a good Guardian if it came to that.
Gryphon: I was just about to go check out the communications tower. I figured it might be able to fill in some blanks in need answered.
Nix: The CCT? That's not a bad idea, I'll come with you.
She followed behind him as he began down the road. They conversed idly until Gryphon spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A silhouette jumping from one roof to the other, heading to the tower.
Gryphon: See that?
Nix: Saw it when you did. We should hurry.
The two ran hard, hoping to reach the CCT before the silhouette did.
When they did, they found two atlas guards unconscious outside the tower's entrance.
Nix: Guess my gut was right.
Gryphon materialized a weapon into his grasp, a stasis bow constructed using Fallen technology, Black Ice.
"Silence is Death", a good friend once told me.
Gryphon noticed Nix simply pulling her suit's cuffs back. He gave her a smirk.
Gryphon: That confident, huh?
Nix: The only reason Pyrrha won the tournament in Mistral, is because I left before the finals. Ozpin invited me to Beacon then.
They walked in to the elevator and pressed the top floor button. Gryphon closed his hand and a Stasis arrow formed in his grasp. Nix adjusted her collar and shadows began to rise from beneath it like smoke.
The elevator door opened to nothing but a room full of cubicles and blank screens. Gryphon notched his arrow as Nix made a shushing motion with her finger and pointed to one specific cubicle, it's shadow more specifically.
Nix: You, at the third cubicle in the back. I can feel your shadow moving. Give up without a fight and your chances of escaping jail go from none to slim.
From behind the called out cubicle, a girl in all black slowly rises into sight. The moment Nix sees her, her body goes rigid. She immediately puts her hand in front of Gryphon as more shadow pours from her collar, nearly obscuring her entire face as deep indigo aura surrounds her body.
Nix: She's mine.
A katana made of shadows was constructed in the hand that was blocking Gryphon. The masked girl's expression quickly changed from one of confidence to one of fear. She produced a small case of dust from her belt and threw it on the ground, causing the dust to create a cloud around her. The cloud gathers and creates spikes that fire forward like bullets.
Nix put her katana in the sheathe position and waited. When they got close, her sword came out like lightning as she evicerated everything nearby, cubicles and spikes alike. Then she sprinted forward towards the enemy, leaving a trail like black ink on a Japanese painting from the Meiji period. The girl summoned a pair of blades and clashed with Nix's blade.
Nix: I knew you'd come straight to me if I stayed near Ozpin. I'll cripple you just like you crippled her!
Nix's blade passed through hers, landing her a clean blow that she follows up with a blast of shadow to the stomach. It was then that Gryphon noticed Nix's lack of Shadow. The girl went flying through through the cubicles before Nix plunges her hand into the shadows around her, ripping them upward like a whip and slamming the girl into the ceiling. Black lightning arced around Nix's body as she watched the girl fall from the dent in the ceiling. She shot forward and caught her by the neck, slamming her against the wall. The shadows had completely encompassed Nix's face, leaving only white dots where her eyes are. Those white orbs bore into the girl's soul.
Nix: This has been a long time coming. I would leave you alive to send a message to "Her", but having you dead is more effective.
In a rapid movement, Nix drew her hand back and the shadows formed a claw around it. She drove her clawed hand into the girl's side, eliciting a shout of pain as the shadows began to spread through the wound.
???: What's going on here?!
Nix and Gryphon looked back to see that General Ironwood had come from the elevator with his weapon drawn and two guards accompanying him. Seizing the opportunity, the girl took a canister of dust from hip and used her Semblance on it, causing it to explode.
Nix felt a sudden barrage of pain and blacked out.
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The void around her was stifling, uncomfortable. She usually preferred darkness, but this wasn't just darkness.
She shielded her eyes from a sudden bright light that shined ahead of her. The source of that light was a blonde girl, the girl was reaching out to her and shouting but Nix couldn't hear her as if a soundproof barrier was between them.
Nix reached out to take the girl's hand, but a spike of rock shot out of the ground and made them pull their hands back. More spikes extended out of the ground around the girl until a jagged black castle completely obscured her from view.
Nix felt something breathing down her neck and turned to be faced with a deep purple dragon with a skull for a head. The dragon spoke without noise, but she understood it clearly.
"You are Judge, Jury, and Executioner. All you need do is ask for the power."
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Gryphon was currently standing in the elevator as it ascended to Ozpin's office. He twirled a small black triangle in his hand absentmindedly.
Riven: Gryphon?
His hand froze and the triangle was placed back in his inventory.
Gryphon: Hm?
Riven: I can't help but wonder, was it smart to let "that" into their systems? It got rid of the virus, but...
Gryphon: There's a long game I'm playing, and SIVA's going to be instrumental in making sure things play out perfectly.
The elevator door opened to the yelling of Ironwood.
Ironwood: They were here... (raising his voice) Ozpin, they were here!
Ironwood angrily slams his fist against Ozpin's desk.
Glynda: We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James.
Ironwood: Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!
Gryphon stepped out and announced his presence with a snap of his fingers.
Gryphon: Glad to see the weight of the situation has dawned on someone.
Ozpin: Mr. Light, glad you could make it.
Ironwood: It's you. While I'm still wary of your intentions...what you did deserves commendation. So, thank you.
Gryphon: That's nice and all, but you were hacked last night.
The three looked shocked at the nonchalant reveal of such pivotal information.
Ironwood: We already checked the CCT's systems and found no trace of a hack or virus. What makes you so certain?
Gryphon: Because there are still traces of it in your scroll, General.
Ironwood was holding his scroll in his hand at the moment and he looked down at it in disbelief before Gryphon took it from his grasp.
Glynda: What are you-
A glowing red cable snaked out from Gryphon's sleeve and plugged itself into the device. The screen went black and the SIVA symbol flashed onto the screen.
In Gryphon's vision, the source of the virus was being displayed as a scroll belonging to Cinder Fall. SIVA poured through all of the databases possible and found no digitized record of her existence. SIVA infiltrated Cinder's scroll and corrupted all of the information inside it as well as leaving a part of itself inside it.
The cable disconnected and the scroll returned to normal. He handed the scroll back to Ironwood as his vision returned to normal.
Gryphon: Done. Your enemies are Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, and Emerald Sustrai. "Transfers" from Mistral. There is no record of their existence prior to their transfer papers.
Glynda: What?! That would mean-!
Ozpin:...That Leo is working for Her.
Ozpin's voice was solemn but resigned, as if he saw it coming from a mile away but was still disappointed that it happened.
Gryphon: Now that I've potentially saved your lives, I'm due for some information. Like, Who is "Her" and why does she want you dead so badly?
Ozpin looked between Glynda and James before sighing, admitting that Gryphon deserved to know what was going on as he had just outed a major traitor for them.
Ozpin:.....It's only right that I tell you what's happening. "Her" name is Salem.
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Nix's eyes opened slowly, flinching at the brightness of the white room she was in. She turned to the sound of beeping that she heard and saw the heart monitor she was connected to.
Nix: Was it that bad? I don't even feel any lingering pain...
She sat herself up and looked out the window of the hospital room. She wondered exactly how long she had been out for. She heard someone shift on her left and turned to see Imperia asleep on a chair.
A small smile emerged on her face as she looked at her teammate. She then caught the gleam of her own scroll's screen from the corner of her eye. She looked at it, remembering her dream and the fear in the girl's eyes as she was surrounded by the castle.
She grabbed the device and scrolled through her contacts until she found Gryphon's name. She pressed it and waited for him to answer, absentmindedly wondering if he had a scroll or not, because the ringing stopped and his voice came through.
Gryphon: You're awake?!
Nix: I have something I need you to do and I don't have time to explain, so I'm going to tell you now before it's too late.
The was a minute of silence before he spoke again.
Gryphon: Go. I'm listening.
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