Episode 2: Chapter 10: Mind of the Beast

Chapter 10 of Episode 2 of Order of Seasons

Jacob couldn’t see anything at first. As he tried to get up, he realized that he couldn’t as some form of straps bound his arms.

            “He’s awake. Bring him in.” A loud voice commanded. Jacob struggled against his restraints even more, but then was struck by what he assumed was a hand.

            “Really?” The stranger said still. “This is the one that the doctor thought could take my place? He’s nothing but a child.”

“Give him a chance.” A new voice cut in, which sounded familiar to Jacob, and he recognized it as Lord Aeris. “It means he’s straight as an arrow, and has yet to reach the full potential of his power!”

            “He’d better, or else this was a huge mistake for our secrecy.”

            “He is worth that and more Master Odi.” A new voice chimed in to the conversation that Jacob recognized immediately.

            “Father.”

            “Why is my son blindfolded and bound to this chair?”

            “It was under my orders doctor.” Lord Aeris said. “He did try to kill me and I think he might try again unless you talk some sense into him and convince him not to.”

            “He’s still my son and potentially could be standing amongst you and the other lords as a member of the High Council.”

            “He isn’t loyal to the cause yet. Just look at him!” Suddenly, Jacob felt like something was being ripped off his face as his eyes had to adjust for the sudden brightness. “He didn’t even know we existed until today! How terrified do you think he is right now?”

            “I will replace that fear with obedience. Now leave me be, so that I may talk to my son.”

            “I’ll let it slide for now doctor, but next time, remember who you are addressing. Come along Master Odi.” With that said, Lord Aeris and Leo left the room leaving Jacob strapped to the chair and his father sitting down in front of him.

            “What is the meaning of this father? I don’t respond to your demands and you send some goons after me to bring me to your presence?”

            “You misunderstand. If not for me, you would be dead with the rest of your teammates back in that gorge.”

            “Dead?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Jacob yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to fight his restraints.

            “I didn’t do anything. Your friends were unfortunate casualties, but they were in the way of the prize that Lord Mortem, master of the Order of the Four Seasons, seeks.”

            “Lord Mortem? You of all people answer to somebody?”

            “It’s difficult to explain everything from only certain points, so I’ll start at the beginning. Of course you know the story of the Four Maidens I am sure?”

            “Yeah, who hasn’t heard that old nursery rhyme?”

            “And of course given the events of last year in Vale, the whole world now knows that the Maidens are indeed real, and so is the power they command.”

            “So what, this Lord Mortem guy wants to round them all up and make them his slaves or something?”

            “No. Slaves can revolt. Instead, he will take the aura of the Maidens and give it to his most loyal soldiers.”

            “Take their aura? He has access to the Atlas technology, doesn’t he?” Suddenly, Jacob’s father punched him in the gut.

            “So many pointless questions. Silence yourself and let me explain everything fool. To continue on your tangent though, he doesn’t exactly need the Atlas technology in order to take the power for himself.”

            “How do you mean?”

            “There’s a reason why he is the supreme lord of the Order of the Four Seasons. Not only does he possess amazing strength, but also he has the Semblance to extract aura from other beings.” Jacob eyes widened as his father said this.

 

 

 

 

Lord Hibernis was walking down one of the corridors looking to try and find a quiet place to get a quick rest after what had happened earlier. As he walked past the security room, he saw a few lights were going off. He walked in quickly to see several people frantically going around pushing buttons.

            “What’s going on?” He asked.

            “We aren’t sure yet Lord Hibernis” one of the security guards said. “We’ve had a few breaches of security around the upper entrance.”

            “It’s probably just an animal.”

            “Usually when an animal enters the security field, we are able to tell it’s an animal because they don’t usually stay in one place. Whatever this is, it’s not moving and is almost directly by the front door.”

            “Send a team up. I’m not going to risk a bunch of lucky Huntsmen blowing our entire operation.”

            “Sir? Multiple projectiles are heading straight for the front gate!”

            “Projectiles? What kind?” All of a sudden, the ceiling shook, and a few strands of dirt fell down through the cracks. “Get as many troops as possible to the front gate. Whoever these idiots are, they aren’t going to be here long.”

 

 

 

 

Vergil, Brooklyn and Ty all rushed through the smoke created by the explosion. Ty was on point, so when all of the enemies guns started firing, Ty was able to take it head on, and Brooklyn was able to block whatever got past him with her shield. They then started taking down several waves of basic soldiers in their path as they started heading towards what looked like stairwells leading deeper into the base.

            “Remember the plan!” Vergil yelled as he took the lead. “This isn’t a game, so KILL your enemy!” Suddenly, as they got closer to the door, a wall of earth shot up out of the ground and blocked the path. Looking over to the side, they saw Lord Hibernis having created the wall after striking the ground with his fist. Then, he pressed a button on his whip, causing it to straighten out and cause a few spikes to pop out.

            “So what, you wield a whip that can transform into a mace?” Vergil asked.

            “To fight swords like yours, I need something to counter their attacks. Now then, I suggest you surrender now.”

            “But we just got here!” Vergil said mocking his opponent.

            “Then you will die.” Hibernis immediately rushed towards Vergil and began fighting him. Ty and Brooklyn started rushing towards him to help fight, but then Lord Aeris dropped from the ceiling and knocked them both back with a large gust of wind. The two of them slowly got up and were almost immediately surrounded by enemy soldiers.

            “Come on Brooklyn! For Christy!”

            “For Christy!” As they both yelled this, they started fighting off all the grunt soldiers surrounding them, and managed to get back to Lord Aeris before she got to Vergil.

            “So, the little one with the axes didn’t make it, did she? Such an annoyance that you all didn’t die with her. I mean seriously, we leave anybody alive and they dedicate their entire existence to trying to find and destroy us. It’s just a hassle really.”

            “You don’t have the right to talk about her like that!” Ty yelled as he swung his sword right at Aeris who dodged it easily.

 

 

 

 

Vergil and Hibernis were pretty evenly matched, given now that Hibernis could stand and face Vegril with an equal weapon. Deciding to try and take it one step further, he jumped back super quickly and stomped his foot on the ground, causing several rocks to start floating around him in a circle around his waist. Rushing back towards Vergil, he immediately started launching the rocks towards Vergil at crazy speeds. This caught him off guard and sent him a few paces back, giving Hibernis the chance to rush forward and start landing a few blows. Suddenly, Vergil managed to find some good footing, and blocked an incoming attack from Hibernis, and then launched him across the room with a punch.

            “Ugh, how do you keep doing that?” Hibernis said as he tried to collect himself as Vergil started walking over.

            “Seriously? I’m one of the most recognizable Huntsmen in the world and you didn’t know my Semblance was increased power output through my hands?”

            “I guess that one did slip my mind a little bit.”

            “Forget it. Killing you will be a good step in finding the team leader you kidnapped, and a good old fashioned piece of revenge for killing their teammate.”

            “Back off big guy, unless you want to see what the inside of your kid’s skull looks like.” Vergil turned and saw that Lord Aeris had knocked out Brooklyn and had Ty in a headlock with her chakrams right next to his head, and he looked like he had been badly injured. Dropping his weapon, Vergil fell to his knees and placed his hands on his head as guards immediately put some restraints on him. They then chained up Brooklyn and Ty, and lead them to the stairwell blocked by the giant wall that Lord Hibernis created.

            “My lord, if you would be so kind?” one of the soldiers asked.

            “Of course. Just give me a second.” Lord Hibernis was still struggling to get up from the attack he had received from Vergil.  With a flick of his wrist, the wall dissipated into dust.  “Take the demon slayer to the dungeons with his companions, and give him cuffs that completely immobilize his hands. I will not risk him pulling down the cell door like tissue paper.” Everybody nodded as they began taking them down the stairs as Lord Hibernis removed the wall. “You there! Fang grunt!” Lord Hibernis yelled at a small blond soldier walking towards the stairwell.

            “Uh, yes sir?”

            “Take this down to the armory” he said handing her his whip. “I want the boys down there to try and give this thing a better upgrade for the mace version of the weapon.”

            “Yes sir!” With that, the White Fang soldier walked down the stairwell saw the prisoners being taken even further down into the depths, then walked out one of the doors that was labeled “communications”.

 

 

 

 

            “Aura absorption? How exactly does it work? Does he absorb a persons aura and add it to his strength?” Jacob asked bewildered.

            “Not exactly. He can absorb a person’s aura and add their power to his yes, but he can only control one at a time. He can’t just go up to random people willy-nilly and absorb their aura and become stronger. Rather, he has a choice on what to do with the aura. Either let it become apart of himself and become stronger or weaker depending on the aura, or let it go free and let the person pass into the next life.”

            “People die from him absorbing aura? How is that possible? People have had their aura depleted to zero before and they haven’t died.”

            “The depletion of aura comes from physical exhaustion and violent action. However, aura itself is tied to the soul, so tearing it from another being is pretty much the same as tearing the soul of a person out of their body. Now he does have the option to return a person’s aura to their body, but I have never witnessed that level of mercy from him in my time here in the order.”

            “So that’s why you had them drag me here. To give the strongest aura of the Strohl’s to your precious leader.”

            “Not exactly.  Lord Mortem has been creating a grand plan for some time now. As I said, he has been collecting the aura of the Maidens, but I haven’t mentioned the purpose yet. He plans on giving the power of the Maidens to each of the members of his High Council. He himself already wields the power of the dark dragon, he has promised the seasons to some of those you have already met, and he has promised the power of the dark sister to Adam Taurus.”

            “You work for the White Fang? But you aren’t a Faunus.”

            “Fool. The White Fang bends a knee to the Order of the Four Seasons, not the other way around. And Adam is the highest emissary between the two organizations. He may not be the leader of the White Fang, but his stance in the Order gives him much more power than he ever would have received by staying purely White Fang. And now, Lord Mortem’s plan is almost complete. In three years time, the Vytal festival will return to Atlas, the capital of the largest military force in the world. There, Lord Mortem will instigate a coup. Our armies are ready for battle even now. And then, he will bring them to their knees, and gain control of the last two pieces of the puzzle he needs for his new world order to rise.”

            “What last two pieces? Doesn’t he already have the Four Maidens under his thumb?”

            “There are two other pieces to the soul of the wizard.”

            “The soul of the wizard?”

            “The tales change from age to age, but the one part that always stays the same is that the old wizard granted the last of his magical power to four maidens. But before that happened, he gave birth to two children. Immortals who each carried a piece of their father’s soul within them. And when we launch our attack on Atlas, we shall gain the last two pieces.”

            “How do you even know where they are?”

            “The children of the sun were difficult to find, but look for them in their natural habitats, and then it becomes child’s play.”

            “That doesn’t answer my question…”

            “The child of daylight was simple enough. He is your headmaster at your precious Beacon Academy.”

            “Ozpin? He’s immortal? But he’s only been in the school’s system for seven years.”

            “He constantly changes names and certain staff members to keep a low profile, but the Order has been around long enough to notice. As for the child of night, that one we shall find in response to the attack we shall unleash. Cinder nearly got it right when she created absolute chaos in Vale. She managed to awaken the dragon, and almost had the beast under her control long enough to summon its dark master, and the sister to Ozpin. But she failed to realize that it takes negative emotions from almost all corners of the world to summon the great darkness into the realm of light.”

            “So how do I play into all of this?”

            “Lord Mortem plans to rule on high with the members of his High Council, and he opened the floor recently to suggestions for the final member of his Council to wield the power Ozpin possesses. I nominated you since you are the strongest Strohl for eight generations after you die. Lord Mortem is indeed wise, but is also somebody who desires power absolute.”

            “So what, you kill my friends offer me ultimate power and expect me to fight for a man I don’t even know or knew existed until today?”

            “No, I want you to be the instrument of his downfall.”

            “What?”

            “You are the strongest of the Strohls. Imagine what that power could mean if you were granted the strength of an immortal. You will take a seat at Lord Mortem’s Council, you will accept the power he offers, and when the time is right, you will take what is rightfully ours.”

            “That’s your big plan? Use me as a weapon to get you more power?”

            “No. Weapons cannot think. They cannot act. You are my apprentice. One who will one day be stronger than I am, and bring glory to the name Strohl. I have good standing here in the Order, and with you rising up to near the top, it would be that much easier to take the throne and have ultimate power.”

            “You’ve been raving like a madman for the past ten minutes. I’ll never join you.”

            “Fool. You’ve felt it yourself, haven’t you? Ever since you defeated the Nikos child, you’ve grown even stronger than you ever thought possible. You’ve attained heights that nobody else could reach. I’m offering you a chance to go as high as the world, maybe even the entire universe. Embrace your destiny my son.” Dr. Strohl then undid the straps on Jacob’s wrists, and held out his hand. “We would be honored, if you would join us.” Jacob sat there for a minute, got up and shook his hand.

            “Who do I talk to about getting signed up?”

            “I’ll take you through the proper channels. But first, you need some rest. Tomorrow, you will be facing the man who would wish to take the power that rightfully belongs to you.”

            “I’ve got to fight somebody to move up in the ranks?”

            “Nothing is ever easy child. You’ve known this all your life.”

            “Yes sir.”

 

 

 

 

As she slowly opened the door, she saw only one guard sitting there on duty, seemingly asleep. Not taking any chances, she hit him on the head with the hilt of her axe, and started pushing different buttons and dials on the console as per the instructions on a piece of paper she held in her hand. Finally, the light went green and she put on a headset.

            “You’ve reached my private line. This had better be good Vergil.”

            “Unfortunately, he’s been captured. I have been asked to pass this message along in his stead.”

            “Very well then. This is General Ironwood of Atlas. State your name and purpose for the record.”

            “This is Christy Curtiss of Team JCTB, and I am trying to save the lives of my teammates, my supervisor, and the Winter Maiden.”

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Shep]

Ah, the true plan of the father of Jacob is good but will be his downfall. An excellent chapter with lots of moving pieces the kind I like. Moving on to the next chapter. Please be kind and return the love.