Glad to see the AI bots trying to convince writers into commissioning AI art are still around. So glad we're getting this great invention that isn't generally making life worse in so many ways.
Cover Art: Aristeo Storm
Chapter 63
Beacon's infirmary was always busy on some level, be it from sickness, training accidents or the occasional STI scare. The doctor forced Qrow to lay in bed and have his aura monitored all night, along with having a brace over his nose to keep it straight. It hadn't needed to be broken again thankfully, and the doctor was more worried about the lingering effects of the Apathy anyway. Apparently, there had been cases of long-term side effects of Apathy that could kill even after the Grimm were gone.
Qrow had never known. It felt like a gap in his knowledge, but he'd just never really had to face them before. The doctor had explained that Apathy influenced chemical reactions in people's brains to evoke emotional responses (or the lack thereof) and even if they were no longer alive to do that, the brain might have lingering traces of said chemicals and hormones. That, and new neural pathways might have been formed, the same way as how smoking cigarettes or ingesting sugar could change the way you think and create addiction.
"You'll need to keep an eye on your own thoughts and feelings," the doctor said. "Any unusual feelings of morose or defeatism could be signs of their influence. Come to me immediately if you feel anything like that."
"Anything?"
"Anything out of the ordinary," he corrected. "Feeling down after a sad movie or a hard day is understandable. If you feel those swings during a fight or without discernible reason, that's when we need to worry. It can be treated, though."
"Drugs? Medication? Or are we talking therapy?"
"Medication for the most part, don't worry. The effects of Apathy are rarely permanent. The brain recovers and returns to equilibrium on its own, so we just need to treat any symptoms as it does. This is an outside force," he explained. "This isn't depression or PTSD or any other issue that might be born from your own mind. What Apathy do is closer to drugging someone."
Qrow nodded and promised to keep an eye on himself. Few huntsmen liked admitting weakness, especially in their own heads, but this wouldn't be his weakness. Like the man said, it was an attack from the Grimm. It made it easier to accept. Qrow could dimly remember the feelings he'd had under their influence but he could also see they weren't accurate.
He'd failed in the future to protect his team and keep it together, that much was true, but he'd been doing a good job since he got back. Even with Team STRQ no longer being a thing, they were all close and stronger than they had been the first time around. Raven was in a much better headspace as well, less focused on might makes right.
Things were going well. He'd even made progress on stopping the fall of Mountain Glenn. Qrow would be the first to admit he hadn't done things perfectly, but he'd done pretty damn good – enough to be proud of.
Giving up on all that was ridiculous…
Hence the outside influence of the Apathy.
"You seem to be fine," said the doctor. "I'm not detecting any aura fluctuations or mood swings. How do you feel?"
"A little annoyed at myself but more confused. I can remember feeling hopeless but I don't understand why I did. The reasoning behind how I felt doesn't make sense."
"Good. That's good. Apathy are indiscriminate and it's often the mind of the victim that makes things worse. Those with trauma are faster to fall and often have worse reactions. Younger people tend to do well against them."
"First time I've ever heard someone say younger people have better emotional maturity."
The doctor smiled. "Let's not go that far. It could be you do well because you're so used to mood swings and immaturity that it evokes less of a reaction."
"Harsh, doc."
"Hmhm. The truth often hurts. Well, I'll let you go if you're feeling up for it. Stay off training for your nose's sake more than your mind's. Call on me if you have any unusual bouts of apathy, fear or depression. No questions will be asked and it won't go on your record as anything other than medication for a Grimm injury."
Qrow nodded, even as he hated what that implied. In the future, people didn't care so much about mental ills, but this was twenty years in the past. This was still an era where you might be passed over for a job because you'd taken antidepressants in the past. Where people might be seen as mentally weak and less trustworthy because they'd shown they had faltered once before. Where a doctor might feel he needed to promise confidentiality just to convince a person to take the medication in the first place.
Things will change, Qrow thought. No reason to get bothered when people grow out of this in a couple of years anyway.
"I'll let you know if anything bad comes up," he promised. "Or my team or my sister will. Not like they won't be keeping an eye on me."
"You have good friends, then."
"Yeah." Qrow laughed. "I guess I do."
/-/
Both his team and his sister's were wating in the common room for him when he got out and predictably ambushed him. Qrow gave them the cliff notes, not bothering to keep any of it secret since they'd only find out.
"We have to keep an eye on you and make sure you're not moody?" said Nessa. "But moody is your default personality."
"Love you too," he shot back. Everyone laughed. "But yeah, it's mostly in case I get all mopey and weird. Just point it out to me and I'll go to the doctor. I should be fine, though. He said there weren't any weird aura spikes."
"Grimm that effect the brain and can do so after death is perhaps the most terrifying thing I've ever heard of," said Peter. Others nodded. "How is this the first we're hearing of them? How are they not a greater threat?"
"They die easily." It was Willow who answered. Her private education had filled in gaps others had. "When Apathy find a village, it's a roll of the dice on what happens. If the Apathy go undetected, the village dies without ever mustering the energy to raise an alarm. But that's rare. They're still Grimm, so rather than stay hidden and influence, they have the same urges to attack people head on."
"Except that they're weak," Raven grunted. "So damn weak that even villagers kill them."
"Yes." Willow nodded. "That's probably why we have more information on the aftereffects of Apathy exposure than we do on how they work in the first place. As for instances where they do manage to stay hidden or they do manage to overwhelm a huntsman, there's likely no evidence left of it. The huntsman just dies, or the village ceases to exist."
"There wouldn't be any wounds on the bodies either," Taiyang said. "It'd look like the village starved to death. Hell, maybe that's the cause of death. Or maybe the Apathy make them so apathetic that they don't defend themselves against other Grimm, at which point the cause of death would look like an attack by Beowolves to anyone who investigated after."
Terrifying. It was almost impossible to know how many fallen villages Apathy might have been involved in, simply because finding out they'd been there was so hard. It really was a wonder Salem hadn't involved them more, if only to have Cinder sneak some close to Beacon or into the crowds at the Vytal Festival.
But perhaps that would have been too obvious. Ozpin knew about Apathy, and he likely knew how to notice their influence.
"Enough of this misery talk," Qrow said. "Has there been any news on Atlas?"
"Nothing." Raven spat. "And we've kept an eye on it all morning."
"We expected something on the news, even if it was just talk of something going on at the docks," Gretchen said. "But there hasn't been a thing. Not even a mention."
No one was pleased by it, least of all Qrow. He couldn't believe nothing was happening, though. Ozpin knew, as did these spies, and both parties had reason to come down on Atlas. Just because it was happening behind the scenes didn't mean it wasn't happening. That was something Yang and Ruby's team could have done with realising.
"Maybe it's too early," Summer said, ever the voice of reason. "It only happened last night. Give them time."
"Twenty lien says Atlas brushes over it," Nessa said.
"Atlas wouldn't do that," Willow argued. "Atlas is one of the fairest and most honourable kingdoms there is."
"Coming from the Atlesian…"
"We will take responsibility! You'll see."
A click of metal on wood echoed down the hallway moments before the door was shoved open by one of Maria Calavera's metal crutches. The woman hobbled in, still not used to moving on one leg. Her face was pinched, scowling, and her eyes settled on Qrow immediately.
"Branwen, you're with me. We're heading out."
"Heading out…? Heading out where? What's going on?" He was injured – as was she – and he was still a student in term time. It didn't make sense for them to head anywhere, not even to a training ring.
"You and I are visiting a village that's gone dark not far from Vale. You're coming along as my apprentice."
"Miss Calavera," Summer tried. "Qrow is still hurt. As are you! Isn't this a little too much?"
"Use your head, girl. Why would I be here dragging your boyfriend out of Beacon one day after the shit you all pulled?
Summer blushed horribly at being called his girlfriend, and Qrow shot Maria a dirty look for it. What she'd said clicked in his mind, however. Maybe it was because he was older, more cynical, and knew how politics worked.
"Atlas wants me…"
Everyone tensed.
"They want to interview you," Maria said. "Today. Legally speaking, they have a right to do so, especially since this is going to turn into a shitshow diplomatically."
"That's bullshit!" Raven hissed. "They want to pin this on us!"
"And that's not something we're keen on allowing to happen," Maria said. "Hence why I have approval from Ozpin and the headmaster to take Branwen out the city for a day or two." Everyone slowly calmed down, and Raven looked especially pleased the teachers were taking their side for once. "The rest of you will be questioned as well, but none of you were there when the Apathy revealed themselves. You can all say you heard Qrow in danger and rushed to his defence. You all acted in defence of a teammate. Atlas can't say shit about that."
"What can they say about Qrow?" asked Willow. "He didn't do anything."
"Impossible to say. But Qrow is the one who clued you all into going to the docks. He's the one that the Grimm attacked, and the one that was injured by them. He's the one the public are going to feel sympathetic towards, and so he's the one Atlas is going to want to find some way of dealing with."
"Dealing…?"
"Not assassination." Maria rolled her eyes at their overactive imaginations. "They might try and bribe him. Buy his silence. But they might also try and poke holes in his story and dig for anything they can use to discredit him. And it's easy to discredit an orphan with no parents and no reputable background…"
A few choice members flinched. Not everyone knew he'd been a bandit in the past, but several did. Gretchen looked especially worried. Technically speaking, he had never broken any laws or engaged in banditry, but Atlas wouldn't care. They wouldn't even say he had; they'd just dig and point out he came from bandit stock and then let the general public fill in the spaces.
"Won't leaving Beacon be even more suspicious?" Taiyang asked.
"No. Officially, I'm taking Branwen out to clear his head and help him deal with the Apathy. He's been influenced. Who can say how his self-esteem has been impacted. And, since he's my apprentice, it's my choice on how to help him. Clear air, countryside and physical activity." Maria shrugged. "There are worse ways to treat something like this."
"And me having to leave to clear my head makes me sound even more sympathetic," Qrow said. "Making Atlas look like bullies for trying to corner me."
Maria smirked. "Aye. There's that, too. But this is mostly to buy us time to drill you with the correct answers to give, and to make sure Atlas feels some pressure before they can throw you under the bus. They won't dare accuse you without something to work with, so removing you from here until this fiasco goes public means they'll have to try another angle. They'll be suspicious," she admitted, shrugging. "But there's not much they can do about it – and they have less of a leg to stand on than I do, so to hell with them. They brought Grimm into the city; let them deal with the fallout."
"How long do I have?"
"An hour at most. Ozpin is delaying their arrival stating you're unwell. Sooner we're gone, the better."
Then it was best he leave before Atlas could find a reason to scapegoat him.
/-/
With his teammates helping him pack a quick bag, Qrow and Maria were in a Bullhead leaving Beacon twenty minutes before the contingent from Atlas arrived to question him. Gretchen had been given instructions to act like she hadn't been in Mountain Glenn to overhear the Atlas officers like Qrow had, and the others were to stick to their claims of finding Qrow in danger and defending him.
Any questions on why they were at the docks in the first place were to be fielded by saying they'd been doing their duty to hunt down Grimm. Nothing more and nothing less. Atlas wasn't going to get the easy way out they were hoping for.
Not that it'd matter too much for them. Atlas was too important to collapse because of this; they'd pay reparations and accept egg on their face but move on and soon forget it. Qrow didn't care.
The important part was they stopped experimenting on Grimm in Mountain Glenn.
"You don't look too worried about Atlas," Maria said.
"Should I be? It sounds like Ozpin is covering for me."
"Trust the old man that much, do you?"
Qrow shrugged. It would have been suspicious to say he did. Ozpin had helped them all out, but Qrow didn't want to appear too invested. "He got us into Signal and then Beacon. I doubt he'll let us crash out now. Besides, he seems like a good man."
"Hmm. He's worried Atlas will find what you and your sister did in the past."
"I figured."
Qrow leaned against the window, looking out over the landscape below. They had passed over the Emerald Forest and several farms along the way. Small compounds where villages and communities farmed under watchful eyes of Vale-backed militia. The city didn't produce its own food, but protected others who did it for them.
It was a symbiotic relationship that most people in Vale didn't think of, holding themselves up as the advanced city folk who looked after themselves. No one really asked where the food on their shelves came from.
"I never went on any raids but it's not like Atlas will care. Good luck to them finding anything out, though. There's no real evidence of what Raven and I did before the orphanage. And I doubt they'll win many people over taking a pick at a pair of orphans."
It wouldn't stop them trying, except they'd turn away from framing Qrow as a bad person and focus more on him being a well-meaning but misguided orphan. One that might have mistakenly made matters worse than if he'd alerted Atlas to what was obviously a terrible shipping accident.
The latter half of that argument was weak, and Qrow supposed they'd come up with some better excuse for how Grimm had gotten in there. Atlas absolutely wasn't going to accept or admit that they'd knowingly done it. Their main goal would be convincing people that Qrow's claims of overhearing Atlas officers discussing it was either flawed, incorrect, or even attention-seeking behaviour from himself.
Politics really was the worst.
"What of this village we're headed to," he asked. "We're both half a huntsman at the moment."
"I'm half," she quipped. "You're a quarter. And it's abandoned. I said it went dark to spare your friends the misery."
"Ah." Qrow grimaced. "It's overrun, then."
"Baxterville. Small mining community. Copper for computing and electronics. It called a distress beacon seventy-two hours ago and aid was dispatched in time to evacuate some twenty-seven survivors. The team that did that lured the Grimm away and dispatched them but obviously focused on getting the survivors to safety. We're to head in and figure out what went wrong in the first place."
Clean up, then. Qrow nodded. It was good that the team had gotten people out, and they had to prioritise the living. Still, Vale would want to know why and how it happened, hence their mission. With no one left there, the chances of Grimm remaining was very low. The attacking Grimm would have chased the survivors.
"Copper is a strategic resource, isn't it? It would have been protected."
"Hmm." Maria sounded impressed. "You're right. How did you know?"
"Bandit upbringing." It was a half-truth. The tribe had known. "Our group didn't want to pick fights it couldn't walk away from, and they were cowards at heart. Dust mines would have made for the best targets but there's no way we would have survived raiding them. We had a list of targets, and mines – especially dust, rare metals and copper – were always at the bottom. Not only are they well protected, but the loot is too heavy to shift."
Maria accepted that with a nod. "Fair enough. You're right that it had some guards there, a good militia trained in Vale. Not just locals but private security. Nothing so crazy as to have anyone suspicious, but enough that there must have been some shocking mistakes."
"This isn't an insurance job, is it?"
"Ha. No. Much as Vale would love to pin this on the security forces, we're here to make sure whatever took this place down can't happen to any others. Could be Grimm, could be mistakes, could even be Apathy."
"No." Qrow shook his head. "They called for help and ran away with the huntsmen. I felt what Apathy was like. They would have had to carry me away. I felt so defeated and lost that I would have laid down and let them kill me. This wasn't Apathy if the villagers wanted to survive."
"Hmm. Probably not."
"You suspect something, don't you?"
"Yes." Maria didn't hide it. "You saw the woman that tried to kill me – Tock. There's always a chance she or others working with her are behind this."
Salem's loyal forces. The ones that came before Cinder and whomever she had in the future. Obviously, he wasn't supposed to know about Salem, but Maria and Ozpin weren't afraid to make it sound like they were just criminals. They could even namedrop her if they wanted, as long as they followed it up by saying she was a terrorist or wanted criminal.
"Do you and Ozpin know what Tock was after yet?" he asked, more because he was expected to. He was a curious teenager after all. "Other than to kill you, I mean."
"Not yet. We have suspicions, thoughts, ideas… but it's not wise to settle on those without proof. Too easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Only thing we're sure of is that she wasn't working alone."
The speakers in the hangar crackled to life. "ETA two hundred seconds," the pilot said. "We'll be circling in search of Grimm before landing. My instructions are to stay grounded until you're done, but I'll take off and hover if threatened by Grimm."
Maria banged her fist on the cockpit door to let him know they'd heard it.
"Landing, eh?" Qrow teased.
Huntsmen always dropped. It was safer.
"Shut up." Maria swiped a hand at his head good-naturedly. "I may not be able to land on this broken leg but I can still kick your ass with it."
Baxterville wasn't quite a ruin yet. The buildings were still in one piece, as were the walls, but there were clear signs of damage. A few buildings were beginning to slump where walls had been knocked down, the thatch rooftops caving inward, and the wall had two breaches in it – one by the gate, and the other further down that same side of the wall.
Regrettably, it was still early enough that bodies remained. Qrow pinched his nose and dragged his scarf up to cover his mouth. Dead bodies might not have been new to him, but they never ceased to be awful. The worst part was how sometimes it was the stench that hurt the most, because that just felt wrong. He ought to be thinking it tragic, not stinky. Ultimately, it was a coping mechanism. If he stopped to look at everybody and consider their life, he'd not get anything done for all the grief.
The Bullhead settled down inside the village, in the central plaza where markets and the like had once been held. It was empty now; most people had fled to their homes for safety and shelter and thus died inside or defending them. No Grimm challenged the aircraft, which was a good sign the place was abandoned. Grimm rarely waited in ambush, except when under the direct control of Salem.
There were ambush Grimm in Vacuo, he'd heard. Spiders that dug beneath the sand and burst up to catch unwary travellers. Further proof, if any was needed, the Vacuo was an awful place. He was no arachnophobe, but giant Grimm spiders could piss off.
"Quiet," Maria said, using her crutches to help her off the Bullhead. "Abandoned. Should be safe but stay close just in case. And don't trust the buildings. They're liable to collapse."
"I can tell."
"Well, this is mostly to avoid Atlas snooping around you but we might as well make a lesson of it. Thoughts?"
"Two breaches on the same stretch of wall," Qrow recited. "The gate held but larger Grimm broke through. Wood is scattered inside, so this was Grimm coming in. Not a dug too deep scenario from the mine. I wonder if the civilians ran there for safety."
"Be desperate if they did," she said. "The mine would be a dead end, and sealing yourself in is trading a quick death for a slow one."
"Hm. They were able to call for help so this was a protracted attack," he continued.
If it had been sudden, they wouldn't have gotten a call for help out. If this had been sabotage by Tock or another of Salem's people, then they also wouldn't have gotten it out because anyone trying would have been killed.
"I can't see any signs this was organised by anyone, but it might be too early to tell. Looks like Grimm burst through and started killing. But those walls look thick. Would have been some big Grimm."
"That's my concern as well," Maria said. "This had private security, and those walls might be wood but they were reinforced with metal. Lots of guns here, too. The Grimm would have had to gather in serious numbers…"
Qrow frowned. "Which should have meant someone would notice them earlier and raise the alarm. Dispatch huntsmen to cull the packs."
"Exactly. So, assuming our people here weren't idiots or suicidal, that means they didn't notice the Grimm gathering – which means they were either unusually secretive about it, or this was a large herd coming from further afield."
That would be bad. Migratory packs of Grimm didn't tend to stay still. They would keep moving, keep migrating, sacking village after village and losing Grimm along the way until their numbers were thinned and their migration blunted. No one knew why Grimm acted like that, moving with such purpose.
Or few knew. Qrow was almost certain they were attacks by Salem – herds of Grimm given the express purpose of moving in a straight line toward Vale, either to test Ozpin's defences or apply pressure on humanity as a whole.
Had there been migrations while we were at Beacon?
Qrow didn't know. In fairness, he knew he wouldn't have known at the time either. No one would have bothered to tell some students about stuff happening away from the city, and he'd been too focused on making new friends and life in Beacon to pay attention. This could have happened and he'd just never known.
Could it be related to Mountain Glenn? A few Grimm inside the city could start the chaos, but they'd need more to truly overwhelm and destroy it. A well-timed migration from Salem at the exact moment Atlas' research lab implodes would do it.
Yet more problems.
"Look around," Maria ordered. "Shout if you find anything."
Next Chapter: 25th January
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