Chapter 117: Consolidation

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

Consolidation

Raven held her sword up to the dim light of the room, letting it gleam off the edge as she looked it over. Though I'd long since Observed her weapon and scoped it out as thoroughly as I could—which was very, very thoroughly in my case—this was the first time I'd seen it in its active state, so I took the chance to do so again. The blade was long, far longer than its sheath in fact, due to how it had expanded upon being drawn, but what was more interesting than that was the material the blade itself was made of.

It was Dust. It and the dozens upon dozens of other blades kept in the revolving sheath were made of a Dust alloy in all the colors of the rainbow and then some. Even amongst Hunters, it was one of the most impressive weapons I'd even seen, and must have been one of the most expensive as well. And though this particular blade was pristine, the weapon as a whole must have seen quite a bit of use throughout Raven's career as a Huntress.

Some might have wondered what things such a blade had seen, but I could do more than that and shamelessly did so. While Raven pondered the blade, I took the opportunity to take a deeper look, reaching out to 'touch' it at range and activate my Psychometry, bring up an immediate rush of images.

Very, very boring images, primarily. The vast majority of it was just darkness, presumably owing either to the fact that the blade was normally sheathed, that it used disposable blades, or both. I suppose that neither would really surprise me; someone like Raven probably didn't have much need to use her sword in the average week, beyond some training to keep her skills sharp—and for a weapon that used as expensive 'ammunition' as hers did, she probably had a practice sword of some kind that she used instead. Actual uses of the blade in the memories were few and far between with nothing especially calling out to me, but then if she did actually draw her blade, it was probably over before anyone knew what was going on.

It was a little disappointing, though not particularly unexpected. Psychometry allowed me to pick things up from objects, but that wasn't the same thing as learning everything that had happened around them. Raven's sword didn't have eyes or ears, after all; the things I picked up from it were merely the marks the Auras of others had left upon it that I then analyzed visually. Objects were most strongly marked when they were in use—and for a weapon, that was mainly when it was being used to attack or defend—or else exposed to scenes of high emotion or the use of Aura. With it usually at rest at Raven's side, all I really saw was its owner and the immediate surroundings illuminated by the light of her soul. At various points in time, I saw vague figures in the distance, the signs of people who'd come close—but not too close—to Raven. At various points, the images clarified, probably because Raven was using her Aura to watch something through a portal or created one to travel, but…

Oh well, I thought. I hadn't really expected much, but it was worth a shot and it was hard to truly be disappointed with it when I got a new skill out of the deal.

A skill has been created through a special action! By drawing on the experience of a grand master, the skill 'Iaido' was created!

But only one skill, I noted. Probably for the same reason as the vague imagery; Raven hadn't needed use the sword enough in the last few days for me to really derive much sense of her personal fighting style. I'd picked up my father's but then, he'd fought for his life even before Conquest took ahold of him and started up that colossal mess and there'd been Aura flying around all over the place.

For Raven, though…I guess I'd have to try again later, after she'd fought something.

"Certainly, I felt my blade connect," She mused, turning from it to me. "It even passed through you with some resistance and yet didn't leave a mark. I didn't even see a wound…you can heal yourself that quickly?"

"I have to be able to," I replied, focusing at once. "After all, what if someone destroys my head? That's not a situation that allows much time to respond so I have to make sure I can recover quickly."

"You can heal even from wounds like that?" She asked, sounding impressed.

"Yes, though it's a touch more difficult," I admitted, as it was a critical hit location and attacks to it caused more damage. "I endeavor to take care of it, but I've learned to be prepared."

"So it would seem," She mused, lifting a finger to touch the side of her sword, as if checking to see if I'd left some kind of stain on the blade. "That must be useful from time to time."

"Very much so," I smiled. "Should you ever have reason to suspect that someone is impersonating me, feel free to use this as a test method, provided you give me some warning. Needless to say, nothing has managed to kill me since I perfected this ability, but there are always certain difficulties in testing what you're capable of surviving. It shouldn't be an issue, but I would appreciate the courtesy."

"Noted," She said dryly. "And this allowed you to defeat Conquest?"

"This time, yes," I replied. "Though by his nature, Conquest's power is dependent at least somewhat on his host and varies a great deal. Though I defeated the Hunters present fairly easily, there are a number of opponents who would have been more difficult to deal with, for a variety of reasons. We are fortunate that none of the taken possessed powers that allowed them to move between locations quickly. Should a portal maker with power such as yours have been taken, the results would have been rather catastrophic."

"I can imagine," She murmured before shaking her head. "And what of the other Riders?"

I'd already considered what I wished to say here and so shook my head slowly.

"To be completely honest, my information dwindles rapidly from this point on," I admitted. "Conquest was the one I knew the most about and it took a great deal of quick thinking to overcome him the way I did. My ability to leave behind my body and enter another's were things I created out of necessity, as were various other things. In truth, I've only met one other Rider, as far as I am aware."

"As far as you are aware?" She asked, tone vaguely concerned. "What do you mean?"

I sighed slowly and turned my face deliberately away from her.

"Matters are complicated by the nature of our enemy," I told her. "The Riders are called such because they 'ride' host bodies, in various forms. Although those touched by Conquest quickly mutate into monstrous forms, this isn't necessarily the case with all other Riders, and evidence would support that it's not. I've honed my senses enough that I'm all but certain I'd notice them, but there remains a slight risk. Worse, in some cases, I may not recognize the symptoms due to a lack of familiarity with the subject. Though I can easily spot the presence of bacterial Grimm, I nearly missed the Red Rider when I first saw them, for rather than an invasive organism, they took the form of a chemical substance in the blood that was all but indistinguishable from its surroundings except when viewed in the upper portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum."

One of Raven's eyebrows lifted slightly at that.

"Because of this, I can't be entirely certain of what I'm looking for until I'm sure someone is a Rider," I continued regardless. "And until I do so, all I can do it notice discrepancies and make theories until I think it's safe enough to act. I have several suspicions, but…"

I shook my head.

"Suspicions," She repeated, frown returning briefly. "So there are those you suspect of being Riders? Within the Kingdoms?"

I didn't have to fake my hesitation before replying to that.

"Yes," I admitted carefully. "In fact, I know where the Red Rider is for certain and there are many signs pointing to the location of another. However, while I feel you should know, I also think that you deserve to choose for yourself whether or not to listen to me. You see, paranoia can be a plague as dangerous as any Rider and I may already have been infected by it. Spreading it deliberately may not be wise and should I be wrong, it might color your views against the wrong target. Do you wish to know regardless?"

"Yes," She said in a tone of voice that implied I was asking a stupid question. "Who would choose ignorance over knowledge?"

I chuckled at that, if a bit bleakly.

"I can't say I don't feel much the same way," I replied. "And under the circumstances, I believe that you, if anyone, should know and I would have had to ask you about it at some point, whatever choice you made."

Taking a slow breath, I met Raven's eyes through her mask.

"The Red Rider currently lingers in an inert state within the bloodstream of your daughter's half-sister, Ruby Rose," I said. "And I suspect it has something to do with the death of her mother."

I felt her react to that sharply, the implications of the words striking her deeply enough to keep the emotions from even touching her face. For a long moment, she simply stared at me, silent and still.

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"Attacking her outright may awaken the Rider within her," I continued, making sure I didn't say the words too quickly. "And as its capabilities are unknown, I felt that would be unwise. But I also felt you deserved to know, given her proximity to your daughter and former teammates. I have not gotten the chance to examine either Taiyang or Qrow, but Yang did not seem to have been touched by the chemical within her sister, which is part of why I believe it to dormant. But I cannot say why it's in such a state, nor to what end, nor even when it is likely to wake. Should that happen…"

I shook my head slightly.

"I am, of course, working on a way to cure her, just as I am continuing to do so for Conquest—but I cannot be certain of how successful my methods will be. Should their maker get involved again, I can't make any guarantees, but even beyond that there's just no way of knowing how the Rider may react to an attempt to remove it. Worse, though I've had plenty of chances to examine the progression of Conquest's disease, I cannot say the same for this one and I honestly do not know how it will affect her or even if it already has. Her medical records indicate a history of severe nightmares that might be related to her mother's death, but I had no way of confirming that without getting very close to her."

Raven nodded, remaining silent though I could feel her emotions changing rapidly. I could tell without asking that she knew what could happen and what might be necessary, but even I wasn't sure how she felt about the thought—mostly because I doubted she knew, given what I was feeling from her. But it never touched her face and she never said a word.

"Should it become necessary, I can deal with the matter alone," I offered. "It may be safer that way, as I am the one most likely to be immune to whatever the Red Rider might bring to bear. And though I don't particularly enjoy the idea, I can kill Ruby Rose if I truly must."

It wasn't a bluff. Before, I might have wondered if I could do it, though I knew the power of the Gamer's Mind—but after cutting off my own father's head and slaying three friends of the family, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I could do it to some girl I barely knew, if I absolutely had to. If I couldn't cure her and if her infection put the lives of others at risk the way Conquest had, I could kill her. To save thousands of others, I could.

And I was pretty sure Raven could, too.

"You can prove she's infected?" She asked, speaking at last.

"I can prove that she has a unique and foreign substance in her blood, given an access to some of it," I mused. "Proving that it's the infection itself would likely require awakening the Red Rider, but I could do that to, provided we could extract her to an isolated location where others would not be at risk—and given time to properly prepare for whatever might come from the awakening, of course."

"But you're convinced she's infected?" She pressed on, to which I nodded.

"I am," I said. "I've seen it within her, after all, and I trust my eyes a great deal."

She nodded again, an acknowledgement more than an agreement.

"If you can prove it and should there be no other way, then I will do what is necessary," She stated at last, her tone low. "If I can approach her safely, I will handle the matter myself. I owe Summer and Taiyang that much, at least."

"Very well," I replied. "For your sake as much as theirs, I hope that does not happen and will do all I can to prevent it. For now, however, I believe we should keep our distance. With your daughter so close to her, though…"

"Thank you," She said quietly. "For informing me. I will be sure to keep a closer eye on them all in the future."

'Closer,' I noted. Well, I'd figured she'd probably checked in on the people she'd left behind every now and then—I mean, who wouldn't? With portals as hard to detect as Raven's, there was little harm in it, beyond whatever she must have felt watching her teammates mourn and then move on, her daughter grow up without her.

So probably a fair bit of harm, but it was the type of pain that probably wouldn't make someone stop.

"Do you know what happened to Summer Rose, Raven?" I asked her after a moment of silence. "Whatever is now happening to her daughter, I feel like she must be involved. Too many trails lead back to her for her to be anything else."

"I looked into it, when I heard the news," The Huntress replied. "I didn't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary—she went on a mission, she never came back, no body was ever found. She was originally listed as MIA, but as the Grimm tend to devour corpses, her status was changed to KIA a few months later when nothing more was found."

"Like they did with you," I noted.

"Yes," She agreed. "Which is why I tried to search for her anyway, though I had little luck in that regard. It doesn't necessarily mean anything as the world is a very large place, but after several months of cursory searching, I stopped. If no one had heard from her in that time, she was either dead or didn't want to be found. Either way, it stopped being a priority."

"But you kept an eye out," I guessed and made it sound like a statement. "And you peeked on the other people searching for her, to coordinate your own efforts."

Beneath her mask, she nearly smiled.

"Of course I did," She admitted. "There was a part of me that wondered if she might follow my footsteps, so I keep an eye out for the appearance of any powerful, mysterious women—something that lead me to several allies and enemies, in fact. But when I first began searching for her, I started by gathering what information I could about her mission. Qrow and Taiyang were heavily involved in the search, so it was simple enough to learn about what happened. Even so, I didn't find anything useful; the Mission took her into Southern Vytal, to some set of ruins. When I checked, the ruins themselves were leveled but I didn't find any sign of Summer."

"Ruins," I mused. "My type of ruins?"

"I'm not sure," She replied. "All I ever saw of it were smoldering ashes and broken rocks. It looked like there had been some sort of structure at the center, but it had been almost entirely crushed, along with much of the surrounding forest. When he examined the site, Qrow thought it might have been a Humbaba or some other massive Grimm and I agreed. But from what you've said…I suppose a Rider could have been responsible as well."

"But how would it have gotten from some destroyed ruins to her daughter in Vale?" I wonder aloud before tilting my head. "What type of mission was it?"

"Scouting, it would seem. Another team had discovered the ruins several weeks prior but had avoided it because there were signs of Grimm. Summer had been sent to investigate and record everything she could of the interior and exterior, for the sake of determining if it was worth the risk of sending a team for a more thorough search."

"So she would have wanted to preserve the ruins, too," I considered. "At least until she finished examining it. She would have tried to avoid drawing Grimm to the place, as well. But obviously something went wrong anyway. Logically speaking, the most likely explanations are that she either found something inside or something followed her without knowing."

"I came to the same conclusion," Raven agreed before spreading a hand. "Most things that can destroy ruins aren't very subtle though, so I favored the former. The wreckage didn't tell me much as to what it might have been, however."

"Perhaps I should take a look," I said, mulling the idea over. "Though any trails are likely very, very cold by now, I could likely get a feel for what the ruin's had once looked like. If the creature had been lurking unnoticed within them, that might give us a rough indication of its size—and perhaps of the ruin's purpose. Would you?"

Raven swept her sword in an almost lazy arc and tore open a hole in space.

"After you," She said, lifting a hand toward it like she was holding open a door, at once checking if I trusted her and possibly threatening me with the knowledge that she could send me to all sorts of unpleasant places. I merely smiled at her, though—and also sent my senses through it to verify the shit out of it, making sure I knew exactly what was on the other side. I checked the air content, the ground, the ambient temperature, and then the sky, piecing through the veil of refracted light to see the stars as they truly were and gauge the location of the place on the other side. Somewhere in Southern Vytal, as she's said, and I didn't sense any signs of betrayal from her either. It was safe, as far as I could tell, and I could tell a whole damn lot.

Even as I was doing that, I tried Psychometry on her blade again and got nothing new, which I'd pretty much expected. Even if she'd swung a sword to make them, it had been Raven's power that had made the portal, not anything she'd done with the blade. I'd already checked to see what types of skills my Psychometry could let me pick up from objects and it didn't include things they were merely 'witnesses' to or Semblances, but…

Oh, well. It had been worth a shot.

"Why thank you, Raven," I replied as if I hadn't done anything and rose from my seat on the counter—and with the fearlessness of someone certain of their own safety, I stepped into the swirling void.

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