Chapter 104: Building

Chapter 104: Building

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Building

"Ozpin." She breathed, mask cracking at the edges as her eyes widened. Surpriseno, shockmixed with a spike of terror so sudden it felt like a cold blade. I guess I didn't need to explain why Ozpin being a Rider would be horrifically bad and the emotions seemed genuine. "Are youhow? When?"

"Years ago," I said. "I spoke to Ozpin about Babel, not to long before our mission. He said that in his youth, he went on a mission that killed several dozen Hunters and made it out as the only survivor."

"Yes," Grandmother nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "The mission near Jericho Falls; I've heard of it. Supposedly, the area proved to have an enormous population of very old Grimm. Was that not the case?"

"No, that that part was true," I shook my head before pausing. "Or, at least, it was true in the story he told me. However, they aren't the important part; after they killed his team and were about to kill Ozpin, something interfered and shoved him into a barrier like Naraka, which presumably had existed alongside the area. Except, instead of being full of Grimm, the area Ozpin found contained an empty but otherwise intact Babel city."

My grandmother's jaw dropped again.

"Aan entire city? That's" She trailed off, eyes turning to the side, seeming at a loss for words.

"It gets better," I told her. "Inside, he found something like a computer that he was unable to access due to a password protecting it. He and I began to develop a plan to get inside again and let me access the computer; I should be able to get inside the barrier with one of my new skills and I might be able to figure out the password as well. I still don't know what we'll find if we manage that, but given how Conquest reacted when I mentioned it, I'd say we really want to find out."

"Yes," She looked down at her hands with a frown. She nodded to herself as she considered it, but I could feel her distraction. "Yes, if we could somehow understand the information on it, the value of such a thing would be unbelievable. But how does this play into Ozpin having been taken?"

"Ozpin was stuck inside for a while, but he eventually escaped," I continued. "When he did, however, he was back where he startedcompletely surrounded by the Grimm that murdered over seventy other Hunters. Butthey let him go."

"What do you mean they let him go?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"They just" I shrugged. "They just let him walk away. Ozpin simply left and they didn't follow."

My grandmother looked at me for long minute.

"Okay," She bobbed her head once. "That is rather suspicious. Anything else?"

I nodded.

"Originally, I believed that the Grimm were simply unable to get past the barrier," I explained. "But Conquest claimed that he'd helped murder the people inside and he showed that he was able to at least get past my Naraka. If we assume that his words were trueand if nothing else, the barrier was emptythen we must also accept that the Grimm could have gotten inside. And if they consider the area to be important, which the number of guards would seem to imply, why wouldn't they have anyone inside of it? And given that it was one of the Riders who first displayed the ability, it could very well be another lying in wait. Furthermore, Ozpin didn't enter the barrier on his own, though he eventually learned how to escape; something pushed him in."

"You suspect the creator of the Grimm?" She asked.

"Him or one of the Riders," I nodded. "The way Ozpin learned to escape might support that, toobut whatever the case, what happened there meant something. For the Grimm to have acted that way around him, he must be either an asset to them, which is what they seem to consider me, or an ally. The Grimm didn't attack my father or the other infected Hunters, for instance. The truth is, we don't know enough about what they're doing or how they work to say anything for certain, butwell, it's rather suspicious, you know?"

"Yes," She agreed, pursing her lips. "Could you see anything? I assume you looked him over. You saw Conquest, right?"

"I saw both Conquest and the Red Rider," I said. "The first was the easiest, if you can say that; he's a bacterial Grimm and he stands out. The Red Rider, thoughthe only difference I noticed in its host was the presence of an odd and seemingly inert chemical in her bloodstream; otherwise, she seemed like a normal human."

"How did you figure out she was a Rider, then?" My grandmother asked.

"Her title was 'The Red Rider,'" I explained and she tilted her head towards me in concession.

"Fair enough," She allowed. "And you can't see Ozpin's title yet? What level are you now?"

"Level Sixty-Nine," I answered. "And before you say anything, yes, that's a sex thing."

"Well, I'm not going to say anything now," She frowned. "Thendo levels go over a hundred then? Or is it something else?"

"I don't know for sure," I admitted again. "However, I believe I'm starting to suspect it goes over a hundred, because I can't see your level, either. When I see her next, I'll check Raven out as well and see what other Hunters I can see now. I should be able to see levels up to one hundred and nineteen so finding someone that strong would confirm it. If that's the case, then increasing my own level enough should let me see Ozpin's title, which might tell us what we need to know."

She nodded.

"If it is Ozpin, though" She whispered before pausing and seemingly having to force herself to continue. "If it is, then he would have had ample chance to infectcountless people. Every Hunter that's ever gone through Beacon at the very least; far, far more, realistically. And if he's spread his reach that far"

"The good news is that I don't think he has," I said. "At least, not literally. Although Ozpin has a horrific amount of friends in high places, I believe his infection is on a personal scale. My leading hypothesis is that his infection is one of the soul and that it's not that it shows no symptoms but that the only symptoms I can see have been there since long before I was born. When I entered my father's soul, however, I found no obvious evidence of any infection but Conquest'sbut then, Conquest's infection was rather extreme and might have hidden it. I intend to create a larger sample size to check."

She looked me over and I could practically hear the pieces click into place.

"Starting with your mother?" She asked, though it only barely sounded like a question.

"Yes," I confirmed. "She's worked with Ozpin for decades and is a powerful Huntress in her own rightand who, well, had a litter of other Hunters to potentially spread the infection to. Since she's currently disabled, she makes an ideal first test."

"She does," The Roma Matriarch acknowledged. "So why haven't you checked yet?"

I took a slow breath and closed my eyes for a moment.

"Last time I threw down in someone's soul, I lost," I told her as I opened them again. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm training my healing skill and a few other things before round two, just in case. There's too much on the line to act recklessly, regardless of the circumstances."

"There is at that," She smiled at me, traces of approval brushing my mind. "Then I suppose we should discuss what to do next, then? Even if you're correct and no one else is taken, that changes things only slightlyit may actually make things worse. As you said, Ozpin has a far reach in ways that have nothing to do with sapient infections; every Hunter in Vale would likely die to protect him. If we were to fight him directly, we'd most likely need to burn Vale to the ground to have even a chance at victory. Most likely Atlas, as well, though it's possible that Vacuo could be convinced to stay neutral for a time. Even then, however"

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, resting an elbow on her knee.

"It occurs to me that this isn't a new issue," I said slowly. "This group, whoever they are, have likely been active in Mistral for quite some time."

She made a face at that, but nodded.

"And?"

"And I just remembered something fromwell, it feels like a long time ago now," I cracked my neck, frowning. "When I returned from the White Whale mission, I found that Ozpin had been watching the whole time on my father's request. The implications of that are a bit more concerning in hindsight, but that aside, I remember him reacting very calmly to, you know, the whole international terrorism thing. He even mentioned something about whispers in Mistral and jokinglyor, at least, I assumed he was jokingproposed sending me to investigate."

"You think it might be related to this?" She asked. "Orperhaps to the Grimm?"

"I don't know what to think," I admitted slowly. "But I can't help but think that between his concerns and your ownperhaps it deserves a more personal touch."

"Ah," She said, eyes widening for a moment and then narrowing in consideration. "You mean coming to Mistral?"

"I'd say it'd be a pretty good excuse to," I answered.

Because that's what it would bean excuse. It would serve as a good justification for leaving Vale, at least for a while, and thus get away from the seat of Ozpin's power and from the watchful eyes of his cameras. I could cover myself with illusions, within Naraka, and even change who I was physically, but with Ozpin as a potential threat, I couldn't be certain if any of that was enough to hide from him. Even more so, I doubted any of it would matter; we'd meet periodically to discuss what to do and prepare and I felt certain that he would monitor my growth closely, whether because he was a teacher or because he was a Rider. I could lie, but with the situations I might get into, the battles I might faceI couldn't be sure what I'd need to do or reveal. As allies, in appearance or in truth, trust would be expected and secrets thus harder to keep.

More than that, if he was a Rider and he was using his knowledge and power to guide me somewhere, then following his orders might be pretty dangerous. By staying here in the city he controlled, letting him send me on missions and advise me in what to do, I could be doing exactly what the Grimm wanted me tohell, they'd seemed disgustingly satisfied with everything I'd done so far, so maybe that was exactly what was happening. If I went to Mistral, though, beyond where Ozpin could easily watch me, I'd have the opportunity to gain power, to plan and prepare. I could improve my skills and develop new ones, study everything I had access to, work in secrecy to develop countermeasures, and then return. It meant the advantage of surprise, the freedom to make my own choices away from prying eyes and subtle hands, and might, might, be what I needed. If I could learn more about the Riders while I was away, prepare myself to face them, I might become strong enough to risk facing the Red Rider or to dive into Ozpin's soul to see the truth or

Or maybe not, I reminded myself. I still wasn't sure of anything. I'd considered it before, if the entire point of the RidersGrimm that could, in theory, be anyonewas to drive us apart. We'd fear each other, question each other, doubt each other, and in our division, we'd be conquered. Ozpin had access to knowledge and power even I could scarcely imagine, control over all the Hunters of a nation and allies in many more, and decades of experience. I'd thought to myself countless times that Ozpin's help was invaluable. If I was wrong, could I afford to discard such a thing or push it away?

And if I was right, did I dare to? If Ozpin was a Rider, that would mean twoor at least twoRiders were active in Vale doing who knows what. Could I take that risk, leave them unattended and unwatched? What if Ruby awoke or Ozpin did something major? Even with so many unknowns surrounding both, could I risk not being close by?

I had no idea. Each choice was filled with uncertainty, because I was uncertainlost, even.

Buteven so, I had options. I knew enough to take a few chances and make some guesses. Looking back, remembering all of my conversations with Ozpin, the things that stood out the most were when the usually unflappableeven in the face of utterly horrific disasterman was surprised. I remembered every time I'd seen him that way, but oneone stood out in particular.

When I'd told him about Raven.

She was the key, I thought to myself. If I had Raven on my side, even a choice as complicated as this one could be made simple. She could create portals from one Kingdom to the next like it was nothing, spy on people from massive distances, and so much more. With her help, I could get back to Vale in potentially moments, should it be necessary, and monitor the situation from the other side of the world. Just like that, most of the risks involved would disappear. And if so

Slowly, the pieces began to fall into place.

"Yes," I said after a moment of silence. "It could work. And I think it might give us an opportunity, just in case our fears prove true. AndGod, it's hard to say this, but in this particular case, maybe we're lucky."

"How so?" She asked, frowning at the words.

"I was thinking about the situation in Mistraland that might help, I think, but even putting that aside, it seems things are already in order," I told her. "More than one person has taken me aside recently, to talk to me about what might happen next. Supposedly, a lot of Hunters who go through what my Mom has arerequested to move back in with their families, for a time. So that they can be watched over and looked after."

My grandmother said nothing for a long moment, looking down at her hands.

"Yes," She whispered at last and I knew she was catching on. Even so, I had to take a deep breath before continuing, choosing my words carefully.

"I love my sisters and my mother, but I'm not blind." I said. "I'm fully aware that the former have a lot of issues with the latter. I care too much about them to force them to take care of Mom and I care too much about Mom to rely on them to take care of herand something tells me that any therapist that looks over our family is going to catch on to the problems of forcing them together anyway. And thatwell, that leaves you."

She closed her eyes for a long moment, sighing.

"She hates me as much as your sisters hate her," She said at last. "For different reasons, perhaps, but"

"But she was the one to call you here, wasn't she?" I told her and she frowned but nodded. "I think she did so for a reason. She probably knew how the system would handle herand after everything that's happened, she wouldn't ask any of my sisters to take her in. So, she went to you. Will you do it?"

"Yes," She answered, sighing again and rolling her eyes. "Of course. She hates me, but the feeling has never been mutual."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Grandmother."

She grunted again, shrugging a shoulder.

"How long would it give me?" I asked. "To train and prepare, I mean."

"It depends on a number of things and how we handle the situation, I suppose," My grandmother considered. "The obvious answer is 'until she was deemed recovered,' but what that means is rather nebulous. For something as extreme as the loss of most of her limbs and the deaths of her husband and a teammatethree or four months wouldn't be unreasonable. Quite possibly as much as half a year, for safeties sake. We could also arrange things in other ways."

I nodded again, more slowly this time.

"Okay," I said to myself. "Okay. I'll make it work. I have to make arrangements and speak to Raven before we hammer out any specifics, butI'll make do. Now thenthere's some other stuff I need to tell you, but it can wait. Most of it's easier to show, anyway. However, there is something we should decide upon as soon as possible."

"Oh, what now?" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What should we tell my sisters?" I asked.