Invasion

The White Whale flew smoothly through the night air, all but completely restored. I'd reconnected wires that had been cut—the metal parts, at least, though there was little I could do for the insulation; Vulturnus dealt with it regardless. Not much to say for the broken glass, either, though I'd cleaned up the shards and Levant used her power to shield the ship. After over a week of preparation, we were strong enough for it.

Nothing stopped me at the border, but then, I hadn't expected them to. I'm sure I was spotted pretty much instantly, though; I'd considered trying to make cover of some kind, like a massive sheet of mist, but given the effort it would take to create, maintain, and move such a thing such a vast distance, it just hadn't been worthwhile. And really, were they going to be less suspicious of a giant cloud of mist covering vast distances while staying together in a climate that didn't really fit it? Probably not. I'd considered my options and had eventually just settled on flying as fast as I could. With any luck, I'd get in and out before anyone figured out where I was going and got to me.

And because, whatever my status screen claimed, I didn't have any luck, I came dressed for a fight. Lenore covered my face even as my body was cloaked in Dreary Midnight, of course, but I'd also cleaned and redesigned my gauntlets with my higher Craft and Crocea's increased power. My Elementals were ready beside me, now so used to the ship's processes that they didn't even need to be on the spot. Together we watched the world roll by below us and after the time we'd spent together, it was a familiar, comfortable silence.

But as the White Whale rose over my target at last, I spoke.

"Levant, Vulturnus, Xihai," I said and the three raised their hands. What happened next was something even I couldn't see, an invisible play of molecules in the air to begin a process that Vulturnus assisted—or, perhaps more accurately, which assisted him. A moment later, lightning fell from the clear sky. Two more followed in quick succession, each directed towards a different place, a different weak point.

Even as the White Whale began to lower, the few remaining lights in the town flickered out and died. Here, on a clear night away from the city and light pollution, a million stars cloaked the skies in a display of natural beauty around the crown jewel of the moon. A cloudy night would have been more convenient, but I couldn't deny it was breathtaking to look at.

I doubted the human inhabitants of the town agreed, whichever ones were still awake. Even with the light of flickering stars and a waning moon, the night got dark this far from civilization in a way that was hard to describe unless you could see it. People mocked others for being afraid of the dark, something easy to do in cities like Vale and Atlas where it never got dark, not truly. There were always lights on in buildings, lamp posts, towers and beacons. However childish people claimed it was to fear the darkness, we did everything in our power to distance ourselves from it, to escape it.

After all, it wasn't that long ago when we couldn't. When we didn't have Dust and hadn't pushed the darkness back. And in a world without that, when the Grimm were so at home in the night…darkness was something to be feared, something synonymous with danger and death.

It still was, really—once all the lights went out.

I looked at Vulturnus who flickered and flashed beside me, looking in every direction, watching everything and everyone. He didn't look at me or even twitch at my attention, but I felt his shifting presence at the edge of my thoughts and there was an image drawn in it, made of sparks and circuits of light.

There are still many sparks, Vulturnus spoke into my head, a hum to the not-words. Shall I snuff them out as well?

"Kill any other lights you find and cut any communications that are still working," I said. "I'll meet you there."

There was a flash of glowing teeth in lightning's changing face and then he lost form entirely, dematerializing and rushed out of the ship. The few lights that had been on, mainly the ones near him, flickered out.

Suryasta and Levant handed the landing and the ship immediately died as they pulled away their power. Crocea Mors withdrew into my gauntlets as the others dematerialized as well, returning to a completely spiritual form.

It was…a questionable move, tactically speaking, but also one I'd thought about extensively. Unless I absolutely had to, I didn't want to reveal I could summon Elementals, because there was more at stake than just the battle. Part of that was, yes, because if people saw them while I was disguised, I'd never be able to summon them in my normal life…but that was honestly a relatively minor reason, simply because I wasn't sure I'd be able to summon them normally anyways, because of the attention it would draw as a power out of a literal fairy tale. I was still unsure how I was going to make all my powers fly in my normal life, especially since after this I wouldn't want people to ask too many questions about me. I could get away with a lot as a scion of the Arc family, but if I went crazy, people would eventually start going 'Wait, what?'

Since he was subtle while materialized, I could pass off most of what Crocea Mors did as a result of pure skill. Levant, Suryasta, Vulturnus, and Xihai represented wind, fire, lightning, and water, the four basic types of Dust, so I could pass off most of that as a talent with Dust while they were dematerialized. But if things out of a famous fairy tale followed me to school…well, People would ask questions I couldn't or wouldn't answer. I was fine with my friends knowing about my Semblance and I'd tell my family once I got home, but random people? My enemies? No thanks. If my mother didn't murder me when I got home, she might be able to think of a good explanation for what I did or cover for me or something, but for now…

So it wasn't really a desire to keep them from being seen, per se. A better reason was the element of surprise, to keep an ace in the hole. Inaccurate information, much like poor communication, tends to be bad for one's health, which is great when it's happening to your enemies. That was a pretty good reason and was why most people didn't advertise the precise nature of their Semblances.

But the truth was that I just didn't want my friends known as terrorists. The fact that I wouldn't be able to use them as easily came in distantly second to that, a minor issue in comparison. I knew it probably wouldn't bother any of them in the slightest what people thought of them, but…

I shook my head, reaching up to tap a finger against Lenore. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it had something to do with how I got while wearing it, but…hm. It didn't matter, I thought as I left the ship, striding out into the night air. My arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by the Faunus of the town and I saw people moving hurriedly as I stepped into the open air and floated down from the White Whale. I got a lot of strange, fearful looks as I glided to the earth, as did the monstrosity behind me, but no one ran as I landed. I guess they thought the promise of a new life was worth the risk.

I cast my gaze over the crowd, scanning titles more than faces, and stopped on one in particular.

"Faraj," I murmured, using Levant's power to make my voice carry. I tilted my head at the White Fang member I'd seen a few days ago and gestured him forward with a finger. He was already dressed in a hood and mask, but he hesitated for a moment before approaching, probably off put by how easily I'd identified him despite his state of dress and having no memory of me. "I see word reached you."

"Yes, sir," He confirmed, uncertainty in his voice. "Just in time. We were about to, uh, pull out. Because of the video, I mean, we…well, we'd thought…"

"That I was dead," I answered with forced boredom.

"Um. Yes, sir," He replied. "You were…"

He dropped his voice, as if afraid to be overheard—whether by those around him or the beast in question.

"The Ziz," He whispered. "Was it really…?"

"Yes," I replied, tone unchanging.

"Then, uh…" He looked at me and then at the ship—the broken windows, the lightless depths, the superficial scars I hadn't wasted metal on repairing. "How…"

I huffed out a shallow breath and smiled very slightly, which made him fall silent.

"Ziz will not be an issue for the time being," I assured, gesturing dismissively to put a halt to his questions. It's all about image, about avoiding questions, about making people think you had the power and were in charge. "Now, if we may proceed…?"

Faraj stared at me for a moment, eyes hidden but probably widened, before bobbing his head.

"Yes, sir," He replied. "We were contacted this morning and told everyone to get ready. Most of them didn't have much to pack, so…well, here they are."

I scanned the crowd quietly for a minute and went down the mental list I'd made previously. My Intelligence was high enough to memorize something after seeing it once and I was pretty sure I'd seen most of the town. The list dwindled quickly as I looked over the crowd, but a few names remained. I waited for a moment as a few other people gathered near the ship, late arrivals, and struck them off the list.

"Where are Nyarai, Eavan, Edan, and Samual?" I asked. I saw surprise and confusion flicker across Faraj's face, along with even more hesitation, but he swallowed once and replied.

"I think Eavan asked her brother for help cleaning up," Faraj. "The other two may have come along to help; I was busy getting everyone in order."

I clicked my tongue once and felt Levant reaching outwards into the dancing air. What she sent back to we was a strange image, things seen through the air their displaced and breathed. I lifted my head and spoke.

"You four, stop wasting my time and get back to the ship. I'll handle the town," I said, voice reverberating strangely as it stretched out to distant ears. I felt them stop, saw them speak through how it moved through the air, and, finally, obey. I nodded to myself and looked back Faraj who swallowed again.

"All of you," I said and though I didn't lift my voice, I made it carry far. "You are free. I am here to take you away from this place, to the Kingdom of Vale where you can start new lives. Better lives. Come with me and I will give you a chance."

As speeches go, I don't think it was very impressive and it probably would have been better if it hadn't come from a dark figure standing in front of an even darker looking ship, but while I didn't get any applause, no one ran away. I called that a success.

"Lead them to their seats," I said to Faraj. "There are signs on the walls."

Then Levant lifted him suddenly into the air, raising him up to the ship's entrance as he gave a sudden yelp. Sadly, I didn't have any hydraulic stairs, so I had to make do.

"Form a line," I said to the crowd. "We'll leave as soon as everyone's aboard. Emil, keep things in order."

The other White Fang member—who must have been new because his title had been different a few days ago—started at being addressed but nodded quickly. He wasn't wearing the outfit or anything else indicating what he was. I saw him look at me, open his mouth, and then close it. He wanted to know, but didn't want to ask.

I watched for a moment to make sure everything was in order and then walked passed them into the town, leaving an invisible Levant behind. I already knew where the humans inside it were—hiding in their houses, mainly—but I ignored them, uninterested in 'cleaning up.' I was here to save the slaves, not punish the master, whatever their crimes. Maybe they did deserve to be punished for what they'd done, but I'd done my fair share of horrible things these last few weeks and I didn't really want to add murder to the list. I was pretty sure Blake wouldn't have wanted that, either, even if I had probably ruined her plan already.

So instead, I found my way to the top of a large building, wondering when things would go wrong. I watched the skies with my four eyes, on the lookout for approaching danger, my Elementals stretching out their own senses to assist me. Vulturnus returned and joined me in watching the skies, Xihai sitting down beside me while Suryasta stood with closed eyes. Even with the occasional startled scream coming from the ship's direction, it was almost peaceful.

Then Vulturnus turned his face to the North and ruined it.

I see more lights.

I followed his gaze and then rose with a sigh.

"Yeah," I said. "Me, too. A little faster than expected, but…oh, whatever."

I wondered, in Levant's general direction, how the loading was going and sighed again at the image she returned. I'd need to buy some time, it seemed.

Seven lights, Vulturnus said as the ships in the sky continued their approach. With more inside.

More machines? Well, we were in Atlas. If anything, hopefully we'd face nothing but machines.

I glanced down at Xihai inquisitively and she blinked her shiny black eyes at me before shaking her head.

Empty.

"Hm…is it actually my lucky day, then?" I wondered. "That can't be right…what else do you see, Vulturnus?"

The Elemental watched the ships, surprisingly focused. He didn't shift or move, but watched it with interest.

Something bright inside, He said before pausing a moment as if searching for the words to explain. In the end, his expression flashed into a frown for a moment which I took as a failure. And something bright inside.

"I don't understand," I admitted.

He paused for a moment before giving up on words and showing me, letting the world unravel into circuits and charges, actions and reactions. I saw what he saw and understood.

There was something bright inside and it was bright inside.

"Still not my lucky day, I guess. Shocking," I murmured. "Just…shocking."

I snapped my fingers and a flash of lightning blew away the night.

XxXXxX