From inky black cesspools, newborn Grimm arose, slowly crawling out, surveying their surroundings in search of food. Black liquid splattered onto the red ground as they howled to the moon, trudging on the otherworldly red dirt.
Above, in a dimly lit room with glass windows, Emerald Sustrai looked on in horror, as Cinder Fall snapped her fingers from her chair of bones, the sound echoing throughout the high ceiling throne room. Emerald quickly moved to her side, not wanting to anger her.
"Yes, yes, please keep your little pet in check," Arthur Watts said, glancing dismissively at Emerald.
Cinder narrowed her remaining amber eye, her left socket hollow and covered by a mask as well as her hair.
"You hear that?" the green-eyed man remarked, smirking, "Perfect silence. I have half a mind to thank the man who bested you so easily."
Tyrian Callows turned to Cinder, a wide smile adorning his face.
"If I were you, I'd hunt him down, find him, and, well... he took your eye, and your arm, didn't he?" Tyrian's maniacal laughs reverberated throughout the room, as he crouched atop his seat, smiling widely.
Cinder slammed her fist onto the table, seething, "What makes you think you can beat him!? You lost to him too, Callows."
"The fact remains that you are a colossal failure," Watts inspected his fingernails in boredom, "Still only Upper Rank Four. Even with the maiden powers, you were far too scared to challenge Rainart for the Rank Three position. At this rate, the Lower Rank One will take your spot."
"And what does that say for you, who doesn't even hold an Apostle rank within the Covenant!?" she challenged back.
Watts rolled his eyes, "I do not engage in such barbaric acts. I am merely Salem's esteemed advisory, the 'brains' of the matter, if you will. Strength has its value, but you have neither the intelligence, nor the strength to take what is needed."
Cinder's hands clenched the arms of her bone chair, "Why you-"
The doors to the room slammed open with a bang, and she silenced herself mid-sentence.
The room grew quiet as they quickly stood up from their seats.
A woman elegantly glided on the floor towards the head of the table, drifting eerily across the room.
Her skin was a deathly pallor, with jet black sclerae in her eyes and glowing red irises. Dark purple veins lined her face and arms as she wore a long black robe that dragged across the ground. Her jewelry clinked quietly as she took her seat at the head of the table.
"Watts. Do you find such malignance necessary?" Salem indicated for them to be seated. Watts remained standing, seemingly sweating.
"I apologize Ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure."
"Nor am I," her eyes glowed red. An oppressive darkness began covering the room, "Cinder. I sent you to obtain the final quarter of the Maiden's power. You did not. I sent you to kill Ozpin, you did not."
"But Ma'am I- I managed the Fall of Beacon! And I weakened Ozpin greatly before Hazel killed him! It's just that, that boy-"
"Silence," Salem held up a veiny hand, her voice reverberating throughout the room, "I only hear excuses. You weakened Ozpin, but you were not the one to kill him. Hazel did. You did not recover the last part of the maiden's power..."
"And you were nearly killed by a new player. Apollyon removed your arm and your eye, and would have removed your life from Remnant, had Tyrian not saved you. Much of my inner circle are fugitives now, because of your failure at Beacon. You should be grateful."
Tyrian smiled with glee at his goddess praising him, as Cinder grit her teeth, angered.
"I am."
Salem's eyes narrowed, her sclera pulsing.
She snapped her fingers, the ominous noise echoing throughout the large room.
Cinder began to convulse and scream in pain. She clutched her chest, shaking in her seat as she howled in agony. She was drowning, suffocating, body being pierced at a thousand points, all while being burnt to ashes inside. She couldn't breathe, her lungs were pounding against her chest, restrained.
Emerald's eyes took on a worried glint, and she took a step towards Cinder that drew everyone's attention in the room.
"Stop," Salem tilted her head, narrowing her bloodred irises at the green-haired girl, "Unless you would like to experience the same pain. Cinder has failed me, and she will experience the consequences. My Upper Apostle Four should not be so pathetic."
Emerald stopped abruptly, taking several small, frightened steps away from the still writhing Cinder.
Salem watched Cinder with cold, dispassionate, red eyes, leaning her cheek on the back of her right hand.
She continued convulsing, writhing in excruciating agony, the room filled with her blood-curdling screams.
The rest of them looked away, with only Tyrian rubbing his hands together in delight at the torture being carried out by his Goddess.
The Queen waited for several more seconds, before snapping her fingers, a loud, commanding sound that rang throughout the hall.
Cinder stopped convulsing, instead taking in great gulps of air, her chest rising and falling heavily.
"I thought you were the girl who wanted power," she remarked coldly, her clinical voice resonating throughout the large room.
Cinder Fall did not answer.
"Was I wrong?"
"No, Mistress," she bowed her head.
"Without you, I am nothing."
"Good. I hope for your sake that you seek remember that."
Salem flicked a hand dismissively, "Now, Cinder, Tyrian. Tell me about this... Perseus. And be honest, please. Otherwise, I may find myself... most displeased."
Silence reigned for several moments as Cinder took the time to compose himself.
"He-" Cinder shuddered, her shoulders shaking from both the lingering pain and the thought that- him. She didn't want to admit it, but her blood had run cold when he had revealed his true power. The fact of the matter was that he chilled her to the bone, a walking demon that couldn't be stopped, not by her.
"He was terrifying. He was a blur of speed and strength with his sword. He summoned the storm as if he were a maiden himself. I tried taking control from him, but he swatted my will aside as if I were some annoying gnat. He was merciless. He's something... otherworldly. Like a... like a god."
The last part was said in a hushed whisper, and Salem stiffened, her back going ramrod in her bone throne.
Nevertheless, she asked for Tyrian's opinion.
"Tyrian, your thoughts."
A wide grin coated the faunus' face, as he smiled with pure glee, "My Goddess, I have never seen such destruction before! He is destruction incarnate, a force against the ever ebbing tide! He is the stormbringer! He fought like a man possessed, like he was nigh indestructible! Oh how I wish he would turn to our side!"
"That's enough, Tyrian. It will be impossible to undertake such an endeavor."
"My Goddess, if you allowed me to pursue him-"
Salem raised a pale hand, "You will do no such thing. Tell me more about him, his specifics."
They all leaned forward in their seats, curious about the man who had single-handedly stopped the Fall of Vale, though, not the Fall of Beacon.
Tyrian nodded eagerly, yellow eyes filled with glee, "As you command, my Goddess. He wielded a special golden sword that seemed to appear out of thin air. He wielded another sword that he could form out of aura, most likely with his semblance. His other sword made no sounds in the air, only small vibrations. He carried a pistol-knife as well."
She nodded, her pale, veiny hand gesturing for him to go on.
"When I broke through his aura, he didn't care. He regenerated muscle tissue and bone tissue with water! Water gave him agility, strength, regeneration, durability; all of his physical traits were amplified. His aura was unnaturally large; even for an experienced huntsmen it would be considered large. His swordsmanship was excellent, indomitable. He wielded control over the storm and water-"
"Enough, Tyrian," she elegantly raised her deathly pale hand, sensing that the faunus was about to go off on another tangent.
"Lilith, an image please."
The purple-eyed, black-haired woman leaned forward in her seat, placing her scroll onto it and making sure it faced Salem.
The Queen picked it up. A coy smile danced on her lips, contrasting strangely with her pale skin and red eyes.
"So this is the hero of Vale. Apollyon, hm? Quite the features... He would make a nice toy..." she mused to herself.
She turned serious as she looked up from the scroll, a harder expression settling itself on her face as she slid it back to Lilith.
"Still, we will play this carefully, with caution. If he is as strong as you say he is, he is not to be trifled with. We will be careful with his team as well. As the Upper Apostle One, Lilith, do you believe you can defeat him?"
She shook her head, "No."
The Queen didn't appear to be frustrated; instead, she seemed almost... amused, her lips curling upwards slightly.
"Very well. I always prefer that my Apostles understand where their strength lies."
"Then, what about the girl with the silver eyes?" Hazel finally spoke, his deep voice reverberating throughout the room.
"Tyrian. You will continue his hunt for the girl with the silver eyes, but only engage if he isn't there."
"Gladly," Tyrian rubbed his hands together excitedly, as a purple-eyed woman with magenta hair interjected.
"If I might interject," Lilith looked at Salem, who nodded, "The Covenant's Watchers in Atlas have reported that a Vale charity banquet is to be held by the Schnee Dust Company in precisely one month. Perseus Jackson has been invited, and he is likely to attend."
"Thank you for the information, my Upper Apostle One. Perseus Jackson is not our number one priority; simply put, he is too dangerous to be considered one. I do not want to risk my agents," she gestured to all of them with a sweeping arm, "on him. If there is an opportunity to strike at him, and the Schnee heiress, tell the Covenant's elite to do so, but take heed."
Salem leaned forward, her red gaze boring into Lilith, the other woman shivering slightly.
"There will be no victory in strength."
"Yes my Goddess," she bowed her head, purple locks dipping slightly.
"Have you any news on the Spring Maiden?"
"The Malachites have proven most useful so far, thanks to the cunning of my fellow Apostle Tyrian," Tyrian looked positively excited at the nod his goddess gave him, "We have narrowed the location of the Spring Maiden to the southern parts of Anima, though the Maiden is due for another move soon. We suspect the Maiden to reside in a bandit tribe."
Salem nodded, pleased, "Very well. Continue to expand the Covenant's horizons and continue your search for the Spring Maiden. If you find her, engage with caution. Even if it is a bandit tribe, we cannot afford to take any risks. If she is weak, take the Maiden power. If she is strong, and there's no harm in admitting such, come back to inform me of such, and I will send someone with you."
"The Covenant will continue searching in Vacuo for the Summer Maiden. The Relic of Destruction is key. But the Relic of Knowledge will be needed to use it."
Lilith Pers nodded, as Salem turned her red and black eyes onto Cinder.
"Speak, Cinder."
"I... what will we do about the remainder of the Fall Maiden's power?"
"In your immediate report, you said that the pod containing the former Fall Maiden was empty when you confronted Ozpin," Salem narrowed her eyes, "Did you lie to me?"
"I... no, Ma'am."
"Then it is clear who we are after. Perseus Jackson has demonstrated incredible strength, and yet... he knew who you were, didn't he? He is a member of Ozpin's little circle, that I have no doubt of. Ozpin would have him shield the Fall Maiden from any sort of threat. And so clearly, the remainder of the Fall Maiden's power would reside within his team... or that other team you mentioned in your initial report. How many girls reside within those two teams, Cinder?"
"Six, Ma'am."
"Then I'm sure the Covenant, with its rather... widespread web of connections, will have no problem narrowing down the locations of six little girls that accompany Apollyon," Salem looked to Lilith for confirmation, before continuing as the purple-eyed woman nodded, "The Lower Apostles should have no difficulty defeating them. But, I'm quite unsure how much use finding the Fall Maiden would be, given that you seem to be inept at doing anything with it."
Cinder looked panicked, "But Ma'am, I-"
"Silence, Cinder. There are no excuses. Frankly, another quarter of the Maiden's power would do little to bolster your own, since you clearly cannot best Apollyon. We will put the search for the Fall Maiden on hold for now."
Cinder made to interrupt again, but Salem stopped her.
"Unless... you would like to face Apollyon again?"
The Queen watched with amusement as the look on Cinder's face went from indignant to terrified in less than a half of a second.
"Then the Spring Maiden is more important as of this moment."
She turned to Tyrian, "Have you any luck in locating the Fifth Relic? Ozpin has not even come close to finding it, but neither have I. For thousands of years, neither of us have seen it since... since that..." she paused, a momentary silence that echoed throughout the room, "Day. It is... different, from the other relics. It may be the key to bringing down Apollyon."
"Unfortunately, I have not, Goddess," Tyrian looked like he was about to cry, for disappointing his Goddess, "The Covenant has looked in all of the four kingdoms, and yet, it has not shown itself. It could be deep in the jungle of Sanus, or on the outer edges of Anima, or in the deserts of Menagerie..." Tyrian frowned unhappily at the thought of disappointing his Goddess.
The Queen thinned her lips, "Although this is irritating, we will still focus on the Spring Maiden, for now."
Salem turned to the giant of a man that sat at the table.
"Hazel. Are you certain that you have killed Ozpin?"
"Yes," the man nodded seriously, "I choked the life out of him with my very own hands."
"Good. You've done well Hazel," she looked pleased, as the giant bowed his head again, "His current form was dying either way, but this way, we'll force his reincarnation to be a little boy that won't put up any resistance."
"If I might ask, Mistress, why is it that you have not taken to destroying humanity yourself?" Watts interjected, coughing awkwardly when she did not answer immediately, "Clearly you are powerful enough to do so alone..."
She turned her shivering gaze onto the disgraced Atlesian scientist, "Nothing unites humanity more than a common enemy. It is why I play from the shadows, why Ozma and I have been waging a war of secrecy for hundreds of years."
She elegantly rose from her seat, turning to look at the shattered moon that shone even in the lands of darkness as she strode to the window, small, measured steps clacking on the floor.
"It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breath fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute... When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. Which is why I will focus all of my power to snuff it out."
The room turned dark at her words, beowolves howling to the shattered moon just outside the throne room. Shadows seemed to lengthen in the room, an eerie feeling settling over all of them as the Queen continued.
"Divide them, place doubt into their minds... and any semblance of power they once had will wash away."
"So they may send their guardian, their hero, their god Apollyon. And when they do, they will send him to the same, pitiful demise," Salem smiled, turning around once more.
"Arthur. I must say, I do enjoy your inquisitiveness at times. Your task is to reconvene with our other informants in Mistral, and a certain one in particular. We wouldn't want him getting any... ideas, after Apollyon's demonstration."
The Atlesian scientist nodded, understanding, "Very good."
"Hazel," the giant looked up at the sound of her voice, "I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged a meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same. Use force if needed. The White Fang is a valuable tool to our cause. We cannot afford to let it go."
"As you wish," the giant grunted.
"Oh, Lilith, two more things. Continue the search for the Summer Maiden, and tell Merlot to increase dosages for them; I am not concerned if a few die in the process... I want them ready," her red eyes glowed with some unknown emotion, her shadows lengthening, beckoning.
"As you wish, my Goddess," Lilith demurred in response.
Salem turned to one of her seers, "Double our forces at Beacon. The Relic of Choice must be found."
The seer gave a discreet, imperceptible nod as Salem turned back towards the group in a calm, regal manner.
"Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen," she smiled, pallor veiny hands clasping together.
"I granted Ozma ten years to prepare. Ten years for him to gather his maidens, so that he could try and fail. Ten years for me to gather my forces. My Grimm number in the tens of millions here on Morag, and on the Outer Edges. Gaul is ready. All hibernating, readying themselves."
A chill set into the room at her words, darkness creeping at the edges of the floor, yearning.
"The ten years are up. He seems to have stumbled upon a weapon for himself. And yet, he will still fall. Now, I will destroy him once and for all for what he did to me all those years ago. The world will be remade in my image."
"And the people of Remnant will find out that even a god can bleed."
-----
"This isn't how things were supposed to go!"
Adam Taurus glared at the High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan. The tiger faunus glared right back at him, unrelenting in her gaze as she narrowed her amber eyes,
"When I made you one of my Prelates, I encouraged necessary violence," the tiger faunus stressed, the two of them alone in the massive throne room, "Not mindless killing!"
"It was not mindless!" he protested, narrowing his one good eye, although she couldn't see it through the mask, "Humanity needs to fear the faunus! That is what I have done!"
"You killed innocent faunus and endangered their lives with the Fall of Beacon!" she accused, lips peeled back in a snarl, "You invited Grimm into the huntsmen school, and sicced your own White Fang members to fight against huntsmen and huntresses!"
"A necessary sacrifice," Adam argued back heatedly, "The humans must learn to respect us out of fear! If we're never so bold as to act, how will we achieve progress!?"
Sienna's dark hand gripped the arm of her throne forcefully, "Taurus, There are other ways to achieve progress than slaughtering the people of Vale!"
The bull faunus grit his teeth. She couldn't and wouldn't understand. Violence spoke volumes, and talk spoke of the whispering of bystanders, and nothing being made of it. False promises. Violence earned them respect out of fear, and talk earned them nothing.
She continued, "This is a far too violent of a message! You've only made the situation against faunus worse! We're getting reports that even in Mistral, perhaps the most pro-faunus kingdom on Remnant, faunus are beginning to face discrimination again. The people are scared, Adam, scared because the White Fang has endangered their way of life with what you have done in Vale."
"It will blow over soon, like everything else," Adam waved a hand dismissively, "To create large, sweeping changes, we must take action."
"And action we will take, but not like this!" Sienna waved a hand, "Attacking huntsmen academies? You're only painting the White Fang in an even worse light! We look like bloodthirsty fanatics who only seek violence against both humans and faunus!"
And finally, that did it for him.
Adam took a step back, realizing how little his actions had contributed to the wellbeing of the faunus.
Sienna sighed, her tiger ears flattening, "Adam. You are my Prelate. I am still High Leader of the White Fang, and as High Leader, I will ask you this once: Have you made another deal with those humans you spoke of last time?"
He grit his teeth.
His silence was enough of an answer.
"Tell me what they are planning," she commanded, narrowing her eyes when he didn't respond immediately.
"Cinder Fall and her associates have proven useful for the attack on Beacon," he answered slowly, as the look on her face darkened with each and every word, "They plan to attack Haven as well, alongside the White Fang."
"She only seeks to use you!" Sienna growled, "Can't you see that!??"
"I'm well aware!" Adam shot back heatedly, growling just as hard, "Cinder Fall will be next to die by my own blade!"
Sienna Khan suddenly sat back in her seat glumly, looking like a ship that just had all of the wind blown out of its sails.
"You don't even know, do you?"
Adam realized his hand was on his blade, and he forced his hand to unclench from Wilt, him having not even noticed that he'd put a hand on his weapon in the first place.
He took a step backwards in shock, "Know what?"
"Perseus Jackson," Sienna lazily tossed a photo at him, and Adam caught it, turning it around to take a look at him.
It was him, alright.
The boy- or man, who'd inadvertently saved him from certain death by Raven the Fall of Beacon.
He was dangerous, Adam knew that. Few people gave Adam Taurus pause, and even fewer actually made him cautious, erring on the side of terrifying him. Perseus... Perseus was one of them.
Khan nodded, continuing, "According to eyewitness testimony from our members who were there, Cinder Fall went toe to toe with Perseus Jackson."
Silence reigned in the room.
He had nothing to say. Fall was apparently a lot more powerful than he'd thought.
That was all that could be deduced from this.
Sienna continued, however, "I wouldn't say 'toe to toe', however. She came out missing an eye and an arm, as well as numerous other wounds on her body."
So she wasn't as strong as that man.
It wasn't comforting information though, since that didn't say much.
"You will not proceed with the attack on Haven," Sienna narrowed her amber eyes at him.
"I... well... Cinder Fall's faction is sending someone to us."
"For fuck's sake Adam!" the tiger faunus pinched the bridge of her nose in pure annoyance, "They're international fugitives! Now we'll have to kill him. Which one is it? Do you know anything about him? Physical description, his fighting abilities, strength?"
Adam grimaced internally. Sienna was not in the best of moods right now. And perhaps planning an assault on Haven hadn't been his best idea.
"His name is Hazel Rainart," Adam grunted, "He is a giant, towering over even me, and he stands out easily in a crowd. Brown hair and beard, hazel eyes. I couldn't spot a weapon on him the last time we met, but I observed dust crystals on his person. Not a man to be trifled with."
"And it appears we will have to trifle with him after all," Adam winced at Sienna's accusing tone, "A melee fighter," she mused thoughtfully, "Utilizes raw dust crystals... we will have to continue discussing this at a later date."
"Fortunately for us, he is a national fugitive, and the kingdoms don't exactly have the best transportation to Menagerie. We may have up to a month of time, or even more, depending on how well the authorities do their job at watching out for the national fugitives. I will have everyone on guard for him; he should be an easy man to spot. You have made a grave mistake, Adam, and the White Fang will have to rectify it for you."
"I understand, High Leader Khan," he dipped his head, placing his right hand on his chest, "The White Fang will not proceed with the attack on Haven."
"Adam."
He looked up, noticing Sienna's eyes soften ever so slightly, "Remember Adam, our goal is universal equality for the faunus, and to use violence where necessary."
"Of course Sienna," he demurred respectfully. Sienna's views might have often conflicted with his own, but she had been the one to bring him into the White Fang in the first place, and kickstart his ascent in leadership. They argued a lot, but the bonds of their relationship were strong. He trusted her to the utmost extent, and if she commanded that he stop with what he was doing, he would do so, even if he didn't like it.
"You are dismissed."
AN: So, a lot of you guys wanted Salem's reaction, so here it is! You can pick out a lot of small intricacies and details in here, mainly that there are a lot more plans on Salem's side. There are networks being set up, and more competent people working under her.
Also, I always thought Salem should have some kind of church/organization/syndicate that worships her in canon. In here, we have the Covenant, and have Lilith and Tyrian at the helm.
By the way, the Upper and Lower Ranks were influenced from elements in Demon Slayer.
As for Adam: we see his true views, and his difference from canon Adam, mainly how he isn't just a faunus supremacist that slowly turns into an abusive ex-boyfriend. He never dates Blake in this, and instead, he is a noble faunus warrior, willing to do whatever it takes to change the world. He is prideful, but not so prideful to be unwilling to bend the knee to Sienna Khan.
Oh, and some unfortunate news. This was all pre-written, which means that since I haven't been able to write so far, I'm just posting that pre-written content. So, since I'm running out, updates will now be bi-weekly, or every two weeks. I like to keep a certain buffer of chapters so that if I fall behind schedule, I won't be unable to post for you guys. So, next update will be in two weeks.
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'til next time!
-thann3