'What am I even doing?' She has been standing for the last five minutes, hesitant to approach the door. She was just going there to listen to the interrogation; nothing to be nervous about. At least that was what she had been telling herself. 'Just open the door, get in, the general won't take you responsible for your little outburst, Winter... probably.'
"Hey, Schnee! Whatcha doing out there standing?" Another familiar voice calls her, for some reason, it seems like today the fate has decided to do a little reunion for her. She hoped her father wasn't part of it. "Come out for an air?"
Robyn Hill was one of the few candidates taking the program that was from the same year as her. She had tanned skin, light blond hair tied in a ponytail, violet eyes, and there was that olive green scarf she always wears even over the official uniform.
"I thought you were supposed to be at Mantle." Specialist candidates were all assigned to different sections of Atlas across the kingdom. She was one of the few lucky ones assigned to the capital, while most of the other candidates had been assigned to citadels in the countryside. Robyn was one of such people; even though Mantle was just located below the city of Atlas, it had its own city.
"Yeah, suddenly I was summoned up here by the general himself. Do you think I did something wrong? But even if that was the case, I don't get why I should bring spaghetti." She lifted the bag she was holding, and you could see the restaurant logo on it. Winter, too, was a little confused by what she just said.
"Maybe... the general is hungry?" Both Robyn and Winter shrugged their shoulders. They really can't imagine that stern general Ironwood calling back one of the candidates just to bring him some food in the way. Perhaps it has some important use, though they weren't sure of that use yet. "Whatever the case was, I am sure the general didn't call you for just that."
"I am not complaining, I got myself something to eat using it as an excuse." She then comes in front of the door, holding the handle ready to open, but just before she does so, she turns Winter. Winter looked down; she was still not sure if she should enter or not. "What happened? I thought you were about to enter."
"I-..." Suddenly, Robyn's hand snatches hers, the bag with the food dangling from her wrist, she quickly pulls Winter closer, and opens the door. "Yeah, I am not facing the general alone when there is someone I could drag in with me." Winter glared at Robyn is a playful look before looking at the figure standing in the middle of the observation room. Beside him stood Elm, and they both were looking at them.
"Good to see you, student Hill, and you too, student Schnee." General Ironwood said before taking the bag with food from Robyn's hand. He opens the bag, checking it, before looking at her. "Is it as I asked?"
"Uh, yes, sir." Robyn saluted, and Ironwood simply nodded to that before heading out through the door. Once the door closed behind him, Robyn looked at Elm, who was massaging her temple. "So, what the hell is exactly happening?"
"Interrogation," Elm said with a defeated look. She pulled one of the chairs closer before collapsing on it. "Turns out Jenkins might have known something so crucial that the general himself needed to talk about it with him personally. The spaghetti is one of his conditions, he said he was hungry so wanna eat something good."
Winter opened her mouth, ready to ask, but Elm silences her by raising her hand. "Don't bother asking me, I too don't understand what's happening. General looked... shaken, actually. Never seen him like that before."
"Jenkins? You mean that criminal big shot you guys caught that other day, right?" Robyn has been spending the last month or so in Mantle, dealing with its troubles didn't have much of a chance to catch up with this whole Jenkins ordeal. "Is the info he has something to do with the council? Maybe classified info? If the general is spooked, then it can't be anything smaller than that."
"Or it's something even bigger than that," Winter said, as if she were considering something. She looked at Elm and asked in an unsure tone. "Did you ask about my father? Was he related to this so-called something big?" If it involves her father, then it means it involves Schnee Dust Company. And if it involves the biggest monopoly of the dust industry, then indeed it might be big enough of a mess that it might spook General Ironwood. But that still doesn't make sense, according to Elm, General Ironwood understood what Jenkins was talking about.
"You mean Jasque Schnee? What about that guy would shake the general?" Robyn looked between Elm and Winter. "You guys really should start speaking more clearly. I am really confused here."
"Immortality," Elm said, in a tired tone. "That was the keyword that made the general so spooked. Jenkins was talking about having proof of something that would shake the Remnant itself to its core. And when I asked about what that was, he simply said 'Immortality'."
"Okay, that sounds like total BS. I mean, who would believe that the general Ironwood would be shaken by something so nonsensical? C'mon, Elm, stop playing with us." Elm looked at Robyn in the eyes, looking at her look, she realized she wasn't lying. "Holy crap, but really? Immortality? Is that even possible?"
"I mean, we can wear our souls outside our bodies as armor. That's what essentially aura is, right? Our souls are protecting us from physical harm. It doesn't sound scientific at all, yet it's real, so maybe immortality is possible too?" Winter tried to find a reason for the absurdity of the situation. "The world is weird. There is a glowing stone that contains elemental energy. Perhaps there is one that could extend. One is life, who knows?"
"Wanna hear my advice? Just forget it, you two." Elm rolls in the chair, spinning it around, each of her legs on each side of the chair, she leans on the backrest, and says sternly. "Don't dig too deep into it. Whatever Jenkins knew, whatever startled the general, it is none of our problem. There should be a reason for the general to decide it's a matter that should be discussed privately."
She glanced back at the empty interrogation room before Robyn. "Robyn, get a rest while you can; we will be heading to the Mantle once the general is done talking to Jenkins."
"Huh?" Robyn points at herself. "You mean you and me? With Jenkins?"
"He said he has proof, and it's in Mantle. Something about only he can retrieve it from there, yada, yada, anyway, the general brought what he said and decided to send me with him, accompanied by a task force. You are part of it, also, you really didn't though the general called you here to just make you deliver food, right?" Robyn chuckled nervously. Elm's eye twitched. This girl really believed that. Then she looked at Winter. "You too, Winter, you are part of the task force."
"Really? General Ironwood let me take part in it?" She wasn't expecting General Ironwood to do that after how she acted. Especially when he was still giving her that icy look just before leaving the room.
"Not at the start, but I managed to convince him. Take it as an apology for not managing to ask about your father from Jenkins."
***
Simon leaned back, patting his belly. He looked at the empty food container. Donuts were just a dessert; this was a real meal, one he hadn't tasted for a long time."That hits the spot." He looked at General Ironwood and smiled. "You sure you didn't want some? I'm happy to share."
"I already ate something," Ironwood said, his tone ever so serious. Simon could almost swear the good old general's facial muscles are frozen like that.
"I am curious, actually, general, I am curious why you are taking what I am saying so seriously. I was even prepared to build some goodwill with you guys since I wasn't expecting you to trust me." Little by little, his past memories are coming back, the time before he was stuck in purgatory. With them, little by little, the memories of the animated show called RWBY. He remembers the main characters were four girls, he remembers the premise involved around an academy and monsters they called grimm, all of which matches with his general understanding of the world. Still, immortals, huh? Perhaps there is more to this world than fancy soul-related powers they call semblance.
Ironwood remained unfazed. Ironwood knew what sat in front of him was by no means an ordinary person; if he caught her eyes as he suspected, then he must have a unique quality that managed to pique her interest. "It's because, as you said, I trust in your background."
"Or you know things others don't know. That's how it is with you people in power, no? Always keeping secrets from us, simple folks." Simon smiled. He picked up the plastic fork from the table, then aimed at Ironwood. Who simply frowned upon his action. "Isn't it unfair? Right now, even if what I am holding wasn't a fork but a gun, I won't be able to kill you, even if I shot you in the head. Yet, funnily enough, you guys rarely live long."
"It's because we fight for humanity. We bleed, sacrifice for the civilians so they may live in peace." He is eyes are narrowed. "We fought for the people, our survival, every drop of blood we shed, every life we lost has extended our survival as a species. We are here, sitting in the office, talking to each other because people like me who decided to cut their lives short."
"Really?" Simon lets out a chuckle. Seeing that Ironwood was finally showing some reaction, he was a little relieved. It was easier to deal with an emotional man than a cold, calculating one. "Pity the guardsmen then. A weak sack of flesh, abandoned by its soul, destined to die meaninglessly just so the others could shine. They spend their pitiful life fighting for recognition that never comes. Stuck with their flimsy flesh, no great power to help them fight against the creatures of darkness, forever destined to see the backs of huntsmen dancing in the light. Nothing but their mundane weapons to help them survive the night, may the flashes of their gunfire help them leave their mark on this cold world."
"For you, who has ascended the mundane, dancing between the blurred lines of impossible and possible, when the depth of your soul glows for your protection. A thousand gun fires can't leave a mark cleaner than yours. What does the guardsmen have to see forward but left behind by the glories of huntsmen? Perhaps if they are lucky, the claws of the beast may end their lives swiftly."
Ironwood fell silent. Simon expected him to have an outburst or even simply walk away, yet the man didn't. He looked calm, his speech, instead of provoking him, seemed even calm him down. After a few seconds of absolute silence, Ironwood spoke. "You would think so, won't you?" He took his glove off, revealing his one mechanical arm. "But let me remind you this, within that weak sack of flesh, nothing you would ever understand exists. Perhaps their blazes of glory are short; perhaps the huntsman protected by the light of their soul might seem unreachable to them. But inside them beats the same heart, a human heart. Heart that carries the courage of all of mankind."
His prosthetic arm slams on the table. Simon could feel it shake under that slam's strength. "Within that sack of meat lives the hope, the will, the fury of every man, woman, and child that ever took breath as a human being. Within that powerless flesh, only strong in numbers, beats the heart that has been beating for millennia to be told. They beat strongly in defiance of those so-called monsters. We fought, we withstood, even before the souls of light shone upon the huntsmen, that heart has been beating strongly against the endless horde of darkness."
"For years uncounted for they have been held back, pushed back, and made a mockery of by those sacks of flesh. Fighting against the monsters that have the audacity to question them for refusing to perish lying down." The sound of his mechanical hand clenching could be heard through the office. "Their flashes of glory, their legacy, illuminate the way for those who are waiting for them at the back. The reason cities remain intact is thanks to no super soldier, no chosen savior of gods, and definitely no traitor to darkness like you. It's a legacy left by a man, a soldier, a brother, a shopkeeper, a son. A man who held the forces of darkness at bay, in line for ten thousand years as a weak sack of flesh."
"So... how dare a traitor like you, a cowardly fool, stumble into the darkness, dare question their worth?" This time, Ironwood pointed at Simon, challenging him. Simon, who lost his smile, raised his hand in defeat. But Ironwood could feel it; behind this frowning face, he saw his eyes were laughing. "I already prepared the team for you. You will move tomorrow night. Officer Ederne, too, would be there, so don't try anything funny."
"How would I dare to do that when lovely Miss Ederne is with me?" Ironwood didn't believe him; he walked towards his desk and pressed the button that connected him to his secretary. "Call in the guards, send Jenkins back to his cell."
Soon, the soldiers in white armor walked in. Simon didn't resist; he followed them willingly. Once he leaves the office, Ironwood turns on his computer after putting in a series of passwords a text appears on the screen.
[Calling...]
Soon, the text disappeared, and a screen appeared. After seconds of buzzing, it finally transmits a visual revealing a man with a green scarf, gray hair, and black glasses. He took a sip from his cup and asked with a calm voice.
"Hello, James, what favor do I owe to have the pleasure of having you call me in the middle of the night?"
Ironwood replied with a serious face. "Ozpin, we need to talk. I think I might have found a clue about the queen."