Notice: No Updates 19th October - 25th October

Due to irl work problems and some personal issues (but mostly the irl work) there won't be any updates this week, dates aforementioned. I will be back on the 26th and things will be back to normal.

Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 35

It ought to have been nostalgic, working with Blake again, but the reality was that he couldn't stop glaring holes in the back of her head and wishing he could make them real. Calm down, he told himself. We've got the best shot we'll ever get at the bastard responsible for all of this. Don't throw it away for Blake of all people.

His eyes were torn away, down to his handgun as he meticulously checked his dust ammunition and slid another explosive round into the external chamber. Vengeance for his whole family had to come first. After, after Fields lay dead, he could consider taking vengeance for his mother.

"Matthew Fields is a public entity," Weiss Schnee rasped. "That means that even if what he does is secretive, he can't be. His flight landed yesterday evening and Chivalric Arms have taken over a moderately sized rental lot on the outskirts of the city, only just inside the walls. They've basically turned the whole thing into a subsidiary of Chivalric Arms."

"Into a fortress, you mean," Yang said. "They have to know they're in danger."

"I'd assume so. Leaving aside us and Beacon, they know… they know Null would be gunning for them." It sounded like she'd hesitated on his name, wondering if she could safely call him Jaune or if she should. He nodded, happier with this compromise than the slightest suggestion they were friends. "Even a public company has security and CA can argue their security needs to be better equipped. We should expect a small army."

"You should also expect them to kill you if they catch you." Jaune said, watching them freeze and flinch. He rolled his eyes and continued. "This is Chivalric Arms. The moment you attack them, you're considered terrorists. Blake knows that's the case." He snapped her name out. "They won't politely stop you and escort you out. They'll kill you. Unless they think your Semblance useful enough to replicate, in which case you'll only wish you were dead."

"We get it!" Yang growled. "This is serious."

"It is serious, and that's why I'm wasting time right now making sure you know it. Are you prepared to kill to get your sister back? Because that's what's going to be needed." He kept one eye on Yang, but it was Blake he watched. "Can you kill people to save your sister?"

The girl's teeth ground together as she snarled out a quick, "Yes."

He believed her. It wasn't that he thought she was like him, but her anger felt overpowering. Mind numbing. If he'd gone from a scared boy to killing to save his family, what was to say she couldn't? He nodded quickly to her, but soon turned his gaze on Blake. "Good. The question is, will Blake let you do what needs to be done. After all, she spent the better part of all our time together trying to tell me I was wrong."

Weiss and Yang turned to stare at Blake, fixing her to the chair. The ex-terrorist glared back at him for all the effect it had. "This is different," she said. "Fields is the one behind all this. If he needs to be killed to save Ruby, I won't say no."

Hypocrite. What a fucking hypocrite. He wanted to flip the table, grab her by the throat and demand to know what made her team leader more valuable than his entire family. Why it was okay to kill to save Ruby Rose, but the worst thing imaginable for anyone with the Arc name.

He took a deep breath and let it go, closing his eyes. "Good," he snapped. "Then we're agreed. I don't want any stupid arguments halfway through about right or wrong. I will kill you, Blake, if you try and stop me getting to him."

"She won't stop you," Yang answered for her partner. "I won't let her."

How amazing to think that any of them would become like him the moment someone they cared about was in danger. Amazing, but not surprising. They hadn't been so different once. He'd even hoped to attend Beacon. He wondered if, in another life, they might even have been friends. Probably not. He'd never been good around women, even before he'd permanently scarred and traumatised them.

"There's also a chance he won't be there," he told them. "The base might be a ruse. Still, it's our only chance of locating him and your missing member so we don't have a choice." Jaune rose, standing and moving away from the table. "We'll meet at the intersection tonight at eleven. Bring whatever you need but don't tell anyone. No one can be trusted."

"I think we figured that one out already," Yang muttered.

Good for her. The lesson had taken him much longer to learn.

/-/

The dull ache that ran throughout her entire body was accompanied by a thick and musty sensation in her mouth. Ruby smacked her dry lips even before opening her eyes, and she wished she hadn't when the bright and invasive light shone down into them. What were Yang and the others doing? Instinctively, she tried to move her arm up to cover her eyes, forgetting for a moment her own paralysis.

Two things were wrong she noted, one with excitement and the other horror.

First of all, the muscles in her arms moved. They tensed, strained and her fingers curled into a fist, arm moving upward as she commanded it to. That rush of excitement and hope was quashed by the fact something metallic clinked around her wrist, keeping her from moving too much.

"Subject-S appears to have awoken," a voice she didn't recognise commented.

"Behind expectation," another said sharply. "Her system should have been flushed of the drugs administered one hour ago. We were assured she received no damage during transit."

"I'll have the courier investigated, doctor."

"Later. I need you here for now. Hold her arm down."

Two cold hands clamped down onto her left arm, one over her elbow and the other gripping her shoulder. Ruby whined and tried to blink past the bright spots in her eyes to see what was going on. Something even colder than the hands was laid against her bicep before she felt a sudden and painful prick and the slow incision of a needle.

"Owww!" she whimpered. "It hurts."

"Sensory systems appear to be undamaged."

"I have ears, assistant."

The needle stopped pushing in, but Ruby felt the draw of blood being flushed back and shivered. She wasn't bad with needles, but blood tests always felt so much worse than the occasional vaccine or booster jab. More afraid of what might go wrong than the pain, she kept her arm still. The doctor could have just asked her to.

"Done." The needle yanked out with far more force than was normal, making her yelp. "Take this and process it yourself. Personally. I refuse to believe the results of the last test. Those eyes aren't normal and there must be something in her blood to reflect that."

"I'll see to it now, doctor."

It sounded like they were done, and Ruby was just beginning to make out murky shapes. "E-Excuse me," she called. "C-Can you turn the lights down a little? I can't see…"

Equipment clinked and tinkled on a table or desk nearby. She heard footsteps moving around, and one leaving the room entirely, a heavy door closing behind them. There was still someone in the room, though. The doctor who had taken her blood.

"Excuse me!" she tried again. "I… I can feel my arms and legs. Can you tell my family?"

A bag zipped open. The doctor hummed, scribbled something loudly onto a piece of paper or a notebook and stuffed it away. The zipper sounded again. Footsteps took him away from her.

"Hello? Doctor-?" she called. "Excuse me!"

The doctor continued to ignore her. He hadn't even spoken to her once, let alone made a move to untie her hands. Ruby tried her feet as well, and while she could pull them up, there was something around her ankles keeping her trapped to the bed. Her panic started to rise, heart thudding away in her chest.

The door opened again, and footsteps came in. The doctor sighed angrily. "What is it now-? Mr Fields!" he exclaimed, alarmed. "I-I apologise for my rudeness. Please forgive me, I thought you were my assistant returning again-"

"All forgiven, doctor, don't worry." The new voice was friendly. Very friendly. It was a voice used to laughing and smiling, and she could imagine wrinkles around his lips. Little dimples. "I'm not so arrogant as to demand everyone bow and scrape. How are you finding your new laboratory? Is it up to standard?"

"Nothing compared to Atlas, sir, but it shall do."

"I hope so. We had to put it together in a pinch."

"I appreciate it, sir. Really. If I may ask… you don't normally come down to see a Subject personally." A Subject? Like a medical subject? "I hope I've not done anything to warrant the visit, sir."

"No. No. Perish the thought. In truth, I'm merely bored." The man laughed. "There's always something to do back home, things to look over or sign off on, but I only arrived yesterday, and my workload has yet to catch up with me. I thought I'd spend my time checking up on our latest investment. That's all."

Ruby licked her lips and called out again, "Excuse me!"

"Oh?" the new voice said. "She's awake?"

"For the past three and a half minutes," the doctor remarked. Well that was rude. If he'd known she was up, why didn't he say anything? Ruby pulled on her arms and scrunched her eyes shut against the light.

"Please," she tried. "Can you turn the lights down? They hurt."

"Of course. Of course." More footsteps to her left before the punishingly white light finally started to darken, turning down to a ruddy orange glow. It hadn't just been her eyes having difficulty, she realised as the spots began to disappear. The entire roof was a spotlight of circular globes, each of which had been shining with the whitest of medical light, punching down into her eyes and blinding her. "How is that?" the voice asked. "Better?"

"Y-Yes. T-Thank you…"

"Ah. So polite. How refreshing." A shadowy figure came up to the left side of her. The details were slowly beginning to filter in, and she could make out black hair with a little grey like Uncle Qrow's but slicked back into a more professional style. The face was pale but smiling as she'd expected. His bright blue eyes looked down on her. "Silver," he said softly. "I've never before seen the like. How very interesting."

A man in a white lab coat hovered by a door nearby. He coughed into his hand and asked, "Would you like me to sedate her, sir? I was going to have her moved back to holding."

"That's fine, doctor. I shall handle it. You go see to your work."

"As you say, sir. Good evening." The door opened and closed, and she was soon alone with the strange new man. Even if he was smiling, she didn't recognise him and the fact he looked so excitedly down at her left her stomach flipping and flopping.

"W-Who are you…?" she stammered.

"How rude of me to not introduce myself. I am Matthew Fields, CEO of Chivalric Arms. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rose. I've heard a lot about you."

"You… have…?"

"Oh yes. I make it a habit to explore the past of each of our subjects. Ruby Rose, born of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long in Vale's Westfront Hospital. Sister to Yang Xiao-Long, student of Signal and later Beacon, unlocking a speed or reactions-based Semblance. Accepted into Beacon two years early and placed as leader of Team RWBY. That's quite the storied history for one so young."

He knew a lot. More than she felt comfortable him knowing. "Where am I?"

"That's really not important," he said. "Would you like a drink of water? I'm sure the good doctor forgot to give you one. I'll ask you forgive them, Ruby. They're awfully focused on their research and sometimes forget the niceties they should show. Here. Drink."

The glass was held to her lips and Ruby could do nothing but swallow. It was crystal clear and cold, and she realised how badly she needed it the moment it touched her tongue. Leaning her head up, she greedily drank until it was all gone, then gasped happily.

She froze when a finger dabbed over her lips softly. Mr Fields cleaned her mouth with his hand, smiling much like her father might have when she was a child. It felt wrong. It all felt wrong.

"Tell me, Ruby, you wanted to become a huntress, didn't you? Why is that?"

"I… I wanted to help people. To save them."

His blue eyes lit up with excitement. "From the Grimm?" When she nodded, he continued. "Wonderful. I admire that, Ruby, I really do. It's a story that resonates inside me. You see, I, too, wanted to save my people from the Grimm. That's why I joined the military in Atlas. I gave a decade and a half of my life to it, fighting Grimm wherever I could. Criminals, too. I'm sure you know that the enemies of mankind do not always come in Grimm form. I saw terrible things in those times, Ruby, as I'm sure you have as well. The Grimm really are merciless, and the greatest threat to our survival as a species."

Nervously, she nodded. Nothing he'd said was wrong but the way he kept looking at her was weird. He was staring. It wasn't like when someone was just looking in your direction or making eye contact. He was staring at her eyes.

"I fought the good fight," he went on. "Until such a time as I could realistically fight no longer. I was growing old, my squad mates had retired or died around me, and do you know what bothered me. Do you know what kept me up at night? It was the fact that for all my effort, for all we'd done, we were no closer to dealing with the Grimm threat. Oh, we had protected people," he said. "I don't begrudge that. We did good work to save people. It was all short term, though. We hadn't struck against the Grimm or properly granted our people a way to deal with them forever. That's the problem," Fields said. "That's the problem with Huntsman Academies, the armies and humanity itself. We are fighting a losing battle."

"No…"

"Yes! Yes, it's true even if you don't want to admit it. Don't get me wrong, I believe in and even fund the academies. They are necessary and it's hardly your fault that nothing is done. Nor was it ours when I served in the military. Simply put, humanity lacks – or lacked – the tools with which to offensively combat the Grimm. That is when I knew what I must do, Ruby. I had to provide humanity those tools, and thus, I created Chivalric Arms."

"T-The weapons manufacturer?"

"More than just weapons, my dear," he chuckled, stroking her forehead. "We were just that at first, weapons and armour, but it wasn't enough. I expanded us into robotics – why let people die when machines can do it for us? That aided us for a while, aided Atlas and the other Kingdoms, but even that wasn't enough. What was next? What could be next? For the longest time, the question kept me awake at night. We needed better weapons. Humanity needed better weapons! Civilians, military and huntsmen alike. And then," he said, pacing beside her bed and snapping his fingers. "Then it struck me. Do you know what your greatest weapon is, Ruby?"

The question was a common one in Signal. "My mind?"

Matthew Fields laughed. "Yes, yes, of course, your heart and mind. I walked into that one, didn't I? Sadly, I cannot manufacture intelligence for people. I meant your greatest intrinsic weapon." He gripped the edge of her bed and leaned over her. "A huntsman's greatest weapon, their ace in the hole…"

"Our Semblances…?"

"Yes. Yes, that's it. It sounds crazy but imagine it for a moment. Imagine for a brief second, Ruby, if we could share and combine Semblances. If we could select them at a young age, choose what to have. Imagine a world where every person could open a catalogue and pick their preferred Semblance. There would be checks and balances, of course," he said, waving his hand. "The most dangerous ones would be kept away from the public, but even then, imagine how much safer the average citizen would be if they could run as fast as you for instance, or turn invisible or push the Grimm back with gusts of wind. Imagine it. They could protect themselves until the Huntsmen arrive. We could have military teams each with synergistic Semblances allowing them to move and fight in perfect concert. Wouldn't that be incredible? Wouldn't that improve humanity's chances so much?"

It would. Even if she was afraid of the man above her, she couldn't deny it would change everything. If it could happen. It couldn't, though. Semblances were tied into aura, into the soul, and everyone unlocked one that was personal to them.

"You can't pick," she said quietly. "It's not a choice."

"Not now, no, but it could be. This… genetic lottery," he sneered at the term, "holds us back as a species. You have Huntsmen with poor Semblances and it's just as likely that some nowhere farmer might have the greatest Semblance on Remnant, but he'll never know because he doesn't unlock it. It's ridiculous. That's been our first step. Tools with which to detect Semblances, to understand them in advance. That requires us to identify what in the human body causes a Semblance to manifest."

"The soul…"

"Romantic, but naïve," he said. "Unscientific, too. Animals have souls yet no Semblances, and do we now suggest that people who never unlock their Semblances lack a soul? No, it's a quaint mix of religion and superstition that attaches the term `soul` to a Semblance. The building blocks of mankind exist within the physical body. So, too, does the Semblance. I should know," he said proudly. "We've found it!"

He laughed, pushing off her bed and walking around to her other side. "We have found the genetic link that binds a Semblance to the host." he boasted. "We are close, so close, to a world which does away with this random element. To a world where anyone, regardless of genetic fortune or luck of the draw, can rise up and defend humanity. A world where good people can be granted useful Semblances, and where those who would abuse theirs or break the law can be stripped of their own. A world where humanity and humanity alone can determine its fate."

"You're insane!"

"Insane? No, no, no. Insanity is doing something again and again and expecting a different result. Insanity is believing in something that cannot be done. This is not insanity, but reality. We are so close, Ruby. Close enough that I already have a backlog of wealthy clients posting requests for tailor-made Semblances. Oh, how ridiculous some of them are." He paused to laugh. "Youth, healing, anti-ageing, but there are some who want them for more military operations; enhanced toughness, regeneration, even speed like your own will be highly prized. Now, it's just a factor of hunting down the natural instances of these Semblances so we can make a proper record of them, a gene bank from which we can grow and cultivate our own. Ten years from now, we might see hundreds of people running around with your Semblance. Won't that be a sight to behold?"

If there had been any doubts this not being a bad place to be, they were gone by now. Ruby yanked with all her strength – and while she was amazed to have that strength in the first place, it didn't detract from the terror.

"You can't keep me here!" she wailed. "My team will save me! Dad! Uncle Qrow! Ozpin-"

"Ozpin has already rejected a trade for your safety."

It was a leaden blow to the gut. "N-No. You're lying!"

"Why would I? I already have you here. No need for it. I'm afraid that, like me, Ozpin has to make decisions he feels are in the interest of the many, not the individual. While I'm sure he does hold some affection for you, that affection does not eclipse the usefulness of another. Still, that shouldn't be a concern for you. You're still going to be a hero."

Not in a way she wanted. Ruby screamed and pulled at the restraints. "Let me go! Let me go! Why are you doing this!?"

"Why am I telling you?" he asked, misunderstanding the question. "Because, Ruby, I look at you and I see myself. A child on the cusp of adulthood, longing to make the world a better place. You don't understand now, that is fair, I didn't at first either. But the truth is that no matter how much we might wish it, one man can only do so much. We can't save everyone like this. You cannot feed a man by giving him a fish. You must teach him to fish for himself. We must empower the people and give them the tools they need to fight back." He petted her arm. "That is what Chivalric Arms stands for. In time, I hope you will come to understand that."

Ruby screamed. She screamed and she screamed, hoping anyone would come help her, and she continued to scream as Matthew Fields opened a silver briefcase on the desk beside her, removed a needle attached to a syringe full of blue liquid, tapping the needle with his fingernail. And she screamed as it was painfully inserted into her arm, directly into her bloodstream.

"There can be no progress without pain," he told her warmly. "No gain without sacrifice. You should know that as a huntress. Don't worry. All I do is for the betterment of mankind. You'll soon see."

/-/

Jaune hadn't seen much point in telling Roman or Cinder what he was planning. It didn't interfere with Cinder's plans, but she still might try and stop him if only because he was more valuable to her alive than dead. Roman had never cared for this work anyway and might go to Cinder to warn her. Neo, though. Well. She was in the same boat as him and had been through much the same things. He drew her aside and whispered their plan into her ear, and she hadn't left his side since.

As the hour ticked late, they excused themselves and slipped out, him in a hoodie and Neo taking on a disguise with her Semblance. It wasn't dark out despite the hour, mostly due to the car lights, neon signs and illumination from apartments, homes and streetlights. It was raining again. It had been a lot lately, and the noise might help drown some things out.

Team RWBY were already waiting by the intersection they'd agreed upon earlier. Neo snarled on seeing them, dropping her illusion and reaching for her weapon. Jaune laid a hand atop hers to stop her. "Later. We're on the same side for now."

"Will she be safe around us?" Blake asked waspishly. "She tried to murder us before."

"You did murder our mother."

Blake flinched, as did Yang and Weiss. Neo stilled under his hand, perhaps surprised that he'd referred to her as though she was a sister. In a way, she was. She'd ben as good as adopted by his mother, and he liked to think Neo had granted her some peace by being near her, something to hold onto.

He pushed past Blake, slamming his shoulder into her aggressively and knocking her back. It was childish, but if he didn't get some of his own back, he'd only keep wanting to stab her. The building ahead wasn't yet marked as belonging to Chivalric Arms. They'd only been here for a single night after all. It was a modern office building with a front entrance, a kiosk by the closed gate, tall windows and empty signage just waiting for logos and slogans. It didn't fit their image, though the people who owned and were renting it out probably couldn't have predicted their tenants would be a military organisation dabbling in human experimentation.

Would they have cared if they did? Possibly on a moral level, but they'd still rent out to them. They might tut, shake their heads and think how horrible it is, but money was money, and as long as it wasn't their friends and family being experimented on, it didn't cost them anything.

He wanted to run straight in and rip the place to pieces. This time, however, he couldn't. There'd always been the advantage before of knowing they couldn't quickly move one of his siblings out, but here, they were after one man. Or he and Neo were. Team RWBY might have disagreed, but saving their leader wasn't on the list of his goals. If it worked, it would be a happy coincidence, and maybe it'd be enough proof to place Chivalric Arms in danger. He doubted it, but it was worth leaving the girl he'd tried to kill alive just to see.

If it doesn't then I'll always have a second shot at Blake and her team, he thought dispassionately. He would be attacking Beacon with Cinder, after all. Their alliance was a temporary thing at best.

For the chance to kill the CEO of Chivalric Arms, he'd put up with Blake.

"It looks quiet," Yang said. "Are we sure this is the place?"

"It's eleven at night, Yang. Of course it's going to look empty on the outside. This may or may not be where they're keeping Ruby, but Ja- Null has already hit every other secret facility they have. I imagine they're out of options at this point. At any rate, we'll find some clue as to where they're keeping Ruby insi- w-wait!" she called. "Where do you think you're going?"

Jaune looked back over his shoulder as he stalked forward with Neo. "Inside. Unless you want to spend all night waiting out here for them to see us."

"S-Shouldn't we come up with a plan first?" Yang asked, jogging to catch up. "We can't just bust the front door down."

"What would you suggest? Walk up and claim you captured me? They'd take us all in. We know nothing about the interior layout or how many people they have inside. We can't plan anything." Adam had always been clear on that. Plan for what you could, but in situations where you couldn't, strike hard and fast. "We're four Huntresses and my Semblance. We'll be fine."

"Three huntresses-in-training," Weiss said, looking to Neo and not knowing how to categorise her. "And they'll have people just as strong inside, I imagine. I'm all for saving Ruby, but how can we match up to them?"

"It'll be fine." It was Blake who spoke, staring ahead without once looking to him. "With Jaune's Semblance, it doesn't really matter who we face. They'll all fall to a single bullet. Our job is just to keep the better trained people off his back."

He snorted. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Yes." Blake sighed. "Just like them…"

He'd have loved to rub it in. Drag her down to his level and force her to admit that she was no better than he in the end. Any time wasted was time for their target to escape, however. "We'll go with the same plans we used in the White Fang. For the rest of you, that means we go in and cut off the escape routes first, then sweep the building after. Look for a hangar or any Bullheads. Or, failing that, render any vehicles you fund unusable."

"We're going in loud, then," Weiss said miserably. "Atlas will hear and be forced to send troops to stop us, won't they? I might have to face Winter…"

"Depends. They may have things they don't want Atlas to see, and they might prefer the chance to take me alive while they can." He eyed them dangerously. "That's something to keep in mind. They want me alive. You can all die as far as they're concerned. Don't pull any punches."

And if they even thought of betraying and trading him for their team leader, well, he could make sure they caught a stray bullet in the gunfights that were sure to ensue. He nodded to Neo, who returned it. They'd already shared their own contingency plan of what to do in the case of a betrayal. For now, though, the promise of Fields was too good to give up on.

They approached the gates, large metal but not overly impressive things more set up to dissuade pedestrians and car parkers than determined intruders. Yang checked the padlock, but Blake scaled to the top and Weiss used several glyphs to get over, then kept them active for the rest of them. Jaune vaulted the top last, landing with a thud on the inside. His hoodie would keep his identity secret but Team RWBY really hadn't put the same effort in. They hadn't even hidden their faces or hair. He caught sight of a few cameras already blinking over the car park. They'd probably already be seen, and a silent alarm would have been tripped.

"Last chance to back out," he told them.

"We're committed," Yang said angrily. "I'm saving Ruby no matter what."

"We'll see. Be prepared to strike to kill inside," he warned. "And remember one thing. Fields. Is. Mine. If any of you try to touch him, our deal is off, and I'll carry through on the threat I made at the docks. Got it?"

The three girls glared at him. "We understand," Weiss rasped. "As long as we get Ruby, he's all yours."

/-/

"Sir. There have been shots fired by the front entrance."

Matthew Fields looked up and away from Subject-S, face smeared with sweat and a little saliva from where the girl had screamed and spat at him. He picked a white handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed himself clean before addressing his suited bodyguard. "Oh my. Already? Has anyone been able to confirm the intruder?"

"I had all the teams wear remote aura sensors, sir. They're fluctuating wildly. Moments of full aura and moments where there is none at all. It's Null, sir. He's entered the building."

"Marvellous. He has come home to us at last." Smiling, the man stood, taking away the empty syringes and laying a passed out Ruby Rose back down on her cushion. "Have the retrieval teams sent to capture him."

"Sir, he's come with others. I doubt the retrieval teams will be enough on their own."

"Of course they won't be, but they'll hinder him long enough for us to prepare."

"Shall I ready a vehicle to leave? We can force Ironwood to intervene-"

"Oh no. Goodness no. We have Subject 000 right where we want him, and those fossils in Atlas are too eager to see their involvement tidied up with his death. I won't have us lose the most promising Semblance we have ever seen just because some powerful individuals want their skeletons to remain in the closet. Order the researchers into the lower levels. Seal the bunkers tight and instruct the fire teams to funnel the Subject toward us."

Matthew removed his surgical gloves and straightened his tie, inspecting himself in the mirror before noticing a small smear of blood down his face. Subject-S had bit her lip in her cries and spat it into his face. Humming to himself, he wiped it away and smiled at his own reflection.

"What about Subject-S?" the bodyguard asked. "Should I have her escorted to the cells?"

"There's no need. Project-P, are you there?"

A quiet voice rose from behind the door, as a small and stiff-backed girl walked inside. Her shoulder-length orange hair and freckled face met his, eyes staring blankly. "Yes, Uncle Fields?"

Uncle. How adorable. Pietro certainly was a sentimental one. Then again, the biggest geniuses often were eccentric in their own way. "I did, Penny. I want you to watch over Subject-S and prevent anyone taking her without my permission. You are authorised to kill anyone who tries. Do this and I shall be awfully proud of you. Your father will be proud, too."

Penny looked down at the girl on the bed. Her eyes softened. "Who is she?"

"No one you need concern yourself with." Matthew walked by, placing a hand on the fake-girl's shoulder as he went. "Simply stick to your orders and all will be well."

"Yes, Uncle Fields."

"Such an obedient girl. You do your father proud. Come!" he called to his bodyguard. "Our missing son has returned, and it is we who shall welcome him home and back into the fold." Fields chuckled. "Back where he belongs."

If you're already in the business of manufacturing weapons, why not manufacture Semblances? They're weapons in their own right after all. And if you could do that, well, you could help a lot of people on Remnant. Survival odds versus the Grimm would be so much greater if you could give people Semblances with so simple a means as a vaccine as a youth. Just a little injection to ensure you grow up fast enough to outrun the Grimm, strong enough to lift boulders and resilient enough to shrug off bullets.

Next Chapter: 26th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur