Cassiel POV
Not long after Jacques's power play, voting officially started. It was basically narrowed down to Robin and Jacques. The day voting started was also the day Ironwood gave everyone a day off, meaning I had to uphold my end of the bargain with Neo. The day I was planning to make Dark Dust, he gives us a day off, and essentially sells me to the world's most dangerous mute. At least she didn't abuse this to the point of being malicious.
Once we were given the day off, Neo had us start the day with breakfast in bed, breakfast I had to make. Afterward, she had us go shopping (I know she stole a little, but I couldn't be bothered) with me carrying everything. Once it came time for lunch, she wanted an actual conversation. I was right when I thought she was going to play around with Oscar, he could definitely use the practice against more than a muscle head like Ironwood. Aside from that, he would bring her in for questioning from time to time to see what he could learn about Mercury, Emerald, and who they might have been working with. Ironwood didn't pass up the opportunity to find out what Roman might have learned about his "partners" before he died.
As for me? I told her about what I was doing after the mission in the mine, she wanted to know what I planned to do with the Maiden and the Relics. What else is there to say? I'm sticking with my plan to take the Relics with me when this is over, until I found out the keyblade could open the vaults, the Maidens were really just a means to an end. Salem doesn't care about the powers, but what they have to offer. She showed signs of being disturbed by Jacques power play, but her thoughts are the same as mine, if Robin doesn't win, either he cheated or Atlas is beyond saving.
So after lunch, we visited what looked like one of the not so friendly areas in Mantle. What she did is what surprised me more than Ironwood going along with my plans. She took us to an orphanage of all places, the kids seemed acquainted with her as did the caretakers. I never did say what she had us go shopping for, did I? Clothes, food/ drinks, toys, books, and Dust. She was donating it all to them, even used her text to speech app on her scroll to read to better communicate and read to them. It's a good thing I was wearing my mask, otherwise she would've seen a very confused and somewhat scared Cassiel. Could you blame me after seeing someone who could probably beat at least three or people in the group at once?
After leaving a few hours later, she explained that to me. She was never in an orphanage, but Roman still adopted her off the streets. Despite acting like he didn't care about children, he was providing a quite a bit to a specific orphanage. He didn't adopt them because he didn't want more monsters like him, but he knew Neo wouldn't have survived for much longer, and sending her there wouldn't have been much better anyway. He would sometimes disguise himself and do for them what Neo was doing, that rubbed off on her from the looks of it.
She had me carry her on my back like how he used to when she was younger, she's definitely trying to relive her past, not sure if that's healthy, but not like I was any better. She was noticeably saddened once we got back, it was time for dinner so I went ahead and made some before she even asked. Whether she wanted soup or not, I don't know, but it was fast and you can't go wrong with it. As I was about to sit down, she grabbed my wrist, pulled me down , and cried into my shoulder. Not exactly sure what I was supposed to do, this would be a little uncomfortable even if it was Blake, I just wrapped and arm around her and brushed my hand down her hair until she calmed down. By the time that happened, the soup was already cold.
Near the end of the night, we were watching the poll between Jacques and Robin come to an end. Before that though, she wanted me to remove my mask, so I complied. She took out her scroll and started typing.
"I know you're with the cat-girl, but please, let me have this?" She asked.
"Have what specifically?" She kissed my cheek before hugging me. I need someone to tell me what to think...
Watching the poll, we both knew something was up at the end. Robin was winning 53%-47%, but right when the poll was about to close, it was interrupted for a minute and Jacques won.
"There's no way in Hell those were last minute voters." I thought out loud.
(The next day, Ironwood's office)
It's official, Salem has people in Atlas now. Ruby identified the person who killed some people at Robin's "victory party" as Tyrian, and someone released fake evidence framing Penny for those murders, most likely the guy who hacked Atlas security at Beacon. To say Ironwood is stressed out is an understatement. Doesn't help that Robin is now robbing shipments for Amity.
"This is the worst case scenario!" Ironwood slammed his fist on his desk. "More people are dead, Penny's been framed, and somehow, Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council!"
"That's the second shipment that's been hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robin needed to go from hometown hero to full on vigilante." Clover said.
"I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that." Winter commented.
"*sigh*. It seems Robin has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robin redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity project is completely stalled." Ironwood definitely isn't happy about this.
"But we're so close! There has to be some way to finish the tower." Ruby said.
"Unfortunately, the only other way is declaring Martial Law. If he does that though, he'll just be trading all his current problems for the Grimm and playing right into Salem's hands. It definitely won't help if the one who hacked Atlas security during The Fall is also here while Tyrian is painting the city red with a more natural resource." I told her.
"Right, one of the reasons all of you were called here in the first place." Clover referred to Ruby, Ren, and Nora as he used his scroll to make a projection of Tyrian's file. "You're sure this is the man you saw?"
"Tyrian Callows was accused of murders all across Anima, a homicidal maniac who escaped justice when his prison transport was attacked by Grimm. After that, he was never seen again." Winter summarized.
"Well, he works for Salem, and he's here." Ruby answered.
"If we ever had any doubts Atlas was Salem's next target, I think those are officially out the window." Qrow commented.
"But now we have a suspect, we can tell the people-" Ruby tried to say.
"That won't end well. Telling the people there's a serial killer no one's seen in years is loose in the city and we don't know where he is will only cause panic, and with Grimm attacks every other day on top of the inevitable increase thanks to the election results, that's a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, he'd be damn near impossible to track down. Insane or not, he's remained undetected for years, so he knows how to hide almost as well as I do." I opened a Corridor and closed it. "He'll be even harder to track if he's being covered by his partner and both are constantly on the move. Now add in the fact he's only killing who, or at least, when he's told to. He's obedient to Salem, probably to the point of fanatacism."
"I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem-"
"Bad idea, Nora." I interrupted. "If we tell everyone about Amity, that will provoke Salem's forces who are here to attack or sabotage it. If I were them, I'd literally drop Amity on the most populated or defended area. If we tell them about Salem, we'll be overrun by Grimm before we're finished. As much as I want to test the limits on my ability to tame Grimm, the new Dust, and my eye, I'm not interested in a battle of that size when I'm being forced to protect so many people."
"Exactly. We need to start by bringing Robin Hill into custody. We can offer her a deal if she gets Mantle to cooperate." Ironwood ordered.
"We'll figure it out." Clover said.
"What if I can get her on our side, or at least not rob us?" I offered.
"What do you have planned?" Clover asked.
"Tell her the bare minimum, just enough to convince her to think twice about stealing from us. Tell her the supplies are for the tower, that you're actually trying to help, even say you're looking to replace Jacques with her, but you're being framed by the same people who attacked Beacon." I explained.
"You would put this entire operation on the line because what? Faith in a plan with no guarant-" Ironwood tried to refuse the proposal.
"It's more likely to succeed than doing what Mantle would consider kidnapping, especially when this 'deal' is only valid 'if' she can get Mantle to cooperate." I interrupted.
"Her Semblance is a lie detector that works only with who she's in physical contact with, that part about Jacques likely won't make it past that because we haven't even started." Clover informed me.
"We'll want to do that sooner rather than later. Besides, I can't be the only one to suspect foul play. Do you honestly mean to tell me that it's a coincidence that the poll was interrupted, extending the time to vote while the party was also experiencing a power outage and massacre at the same time, and in the span of a minute, Jacques went from 47% of the votes to more than 50%? I'm calling bullshit on that. He's more than likely being manipulated, and him being on the council is infinitely more advantageous to Salem than Robin would be."
"..."
"..."
"Oh... Shit." Qrow worded that quite nicely.
"Easy way to find out,-" I reopened a Corridor as I looked at Winter. " you or Weiss infiltrate the Schnee family residence. It may be a long shot, but I'd recommend one of you speak to your mother first. So long as he hasn't broken her to the point of the abusive marriage version of Stockholm syndrome, whatever that's called, I would expect her to want to be rid of him as soon as possible. Even a domestic/ child abuse charge would be welcome. The sooner we can do it, the better. Now get that truck ready, I'm dealing with Robin alone." I left before anyone could say anything.
"Double kill."
"Triple kill."
"Hat Trick."
"Overkill."
"Hail Mary."
"Extermination."
"From the Grave."
"Worth it." I needed something to do while waiting for Robin to rob the truck, so I downloaded some shooter called 'Sacred Rings', and I'm already being accused of hacking. Not my fault these people can't shoot straight.
"Game over."
The truck stopped.
"Perfect timing." I put away my scroll and waited for the door to open. After about ten seconds, Robin opened it.
"SCRAMBLE!!!" She shouted to her team as she tried to run away. "Split up and regroup at the hideout!" Key word 'tried'. I followed her into an alley way through the SR and got ahead of her before exiting and trapping her with Barrier.
"May I speak now?" She shot me with a crossbow, I deflected each shot. "I'm only here to speak, damnit!"
"Ironwood sent a kid after me? Does he really think I'll go down so easily?" She asked.
"I've beaten stronger, and more vicious people than you. If I wanted to capture you, I would've done so already. Now we either need to make this quick, or move to a more secure location if we're to have no interruptions." I opened the SR again. "Clover told me about your Semblance, and I need you to trust me."
"How can I trust someone who hides behind a mask?" I showed her why I wear it.
"It's a waste of aura otherwise. Now, do you want to know as much of the truth as I feel I can tell you, or do you want to remain in the dark and screw over the entire world?" I held out my hand and she hesitated to take it for a moment.
"What is Ironwood building out in the tundra?"
"A new communications tower on top of Amity to restore global communications and supposedly keep them even if another CCT tower is destroyed. Unfortunately, you're stealing it's supplies and as a result, the suppliers are refusing to cooperate until the city is adequately repaired." Our hands glowed green and she backed off.
"You're telling the truth... Why is he keeping this a secret?"
"Because he's a little paranoid after Beacon is what I want to say. In truth, he doesn't know who to trust. The same people who attacked Beacon and tried to attack Haven not long ago are here and we've only been able to identify one of the two we know are here. He's framing Ironwood for these murders and his associate who I believe to be the one who hacked Atlas security at Beacon is the one who framed Penny and is likely the reason why you lost the election."
"What do you mean? Do you mean to say it was rigged?"
"I already explained it to Ironwood, but more than likely. The poll was supposed to end at a specific time, but was interrupted. At the same time, your party also lost power and was massacred, framing Penny and Ironwood as that these 'last second voters' voted for Jacques and brought him up from 47% to more than 50% of the votes. A greedy, corrupt, detestable man like him on the council would be much more advantageous than a Huntress who's just trying to do right by everyone. Hopefully Winter or Weiss will take my advice and try to find some dirt on that asshole."
"That's all still a little far fetched." She held out her hand and I took it. "How much of what you just said is true?"
"All of it." Our hands glowed green again. "He is trying to help, but the only way he knows how is as a General. He's doing everything he can to prevent Atlas from becoming another Haven or Beacon without declaring Martial Law or spreading panic before he's ready to deal with it. Now go, my original mission was to capture you, but that can only end so well. I wouldn't put it past him to have sent the Ace Ops without telling me first."
"Why even work with him if you don't trust him?"
"Because the last time I had any amount of trust in him, an entire country was crippled. If you mean personal reasons, Yang was framed for attacking her downed opponent, Pyrrha was essentially framed for murder, Beacon was destroyed, I almost died, my girlfriend was almost killed, Yang lost her arm, Pyrrha was murdered by one of the people responsible for The Fall, and Ruby was forced to watch two of her friends die on top of having to see what her sister and her friend in such poor conditions. He has my cooperation because he's working towards the end goal I had in mind, but I still don't trust him any further than I can stab him. If he crosses me, I will kill as many people as I have to so long as he is one of them." I let go of her hand and turned towards the Corridor. "He needs time, but it's running shorter for various reasons. He'll explain everything when the time is right." I left before she could say anything else.
Arriving back at the academy, I decided I wanted to see Blake. Though when I got back, she was just getting undressed and about to switch to the pajamas Atlas provided. I wonder how she and the rest of the team would react if I told them I've seen everything, and not for the reasons they would expect? Tombstone for another day I suppose. I waited a minute after she got dressed again before greeting her.
"I'm back." I said as I stepped out of the SR. "I miss anything?"
"Not really, no. How did it go?" She asked.
"Honestly? I don't know. We'll find out soon enough though. But enough about work,-" I started scratching her behind the ears, causing her to purr as I wrapped my other arm around her. "how's my favorite teammate?"
"Better now." She's too adorable like this. "How was your day off?" She asked since we didn't have a chance to talk yesterday.
"Neo has me very confused and it scares me to think about it for reasons you would never expect. Changing subjects, when this is over, do you think we could go out somewhere again before I leave?"
"As long as you promise to come back." She smiled softly.
"You don't even need to ask." I pulled her into the bed. They still haven't brought in a fifth bed, thankfully, she doesn't mind sharing.
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for them, her especially.