Arclave: Part 3

I left Junior's after a few hours. In thanks for having Yang leave without an incident, he put me up in one of the former 'private show rooms' that now served as makeshift hotel rooms.

It didn't take long for the ruins of Vale to slowly shift into chunks of the once great wall that protected the kingdom from Grimm. Parts of the wall were still standing, but it wasn't heard for me to find a gap large enough to get through.

After crossing the once daunting threshold, I continued on my way towards the Black Claw's location. Though most of Vale was reduced to rubble, the surrounding area was less damaged, and remains of the massive forests were still present. I entered the mass of trees, marveling at the contrast between it and what was once a city.

I was only an hour from the wall when I started to hear people yelling. I decided to follow the sound, soon finding myself out of the forest and a hundred yards from a massive tower surrounded by a thick wall. The tower and the surrounding encampment was battered, but still standing strong. I spotted a group of people massed around the entrance, banging on the fortified door and yelling at the few guards I could make out.

It seemed I wasn't the only thing attracted to the sound, as an ursa emerged from far side of the clearing. It roared before charging at the group.

They scrambled in fear. The banging and yelling intensified as others picked up pipes and rocks from some of the nearby debris. I looked to the guards, who were visibly laughing before turning my attention back to the ursa and raising my rifle.

The dust radiation had turned the already formidable opponents into even stronger foes. My shots did little to slow it down, but it strayed from attacking the group and turned it's attention to me. I kept firing until it was only about ten yards away. I jumped into the air as it swung it's heavy arm, pulling my rifle apart as it transitioned into a sword and shield handle. The handle hummed as it turned my aura into a physical shield. I landed with a heavy kick to the ursa's back, aided by the weight of my armor, before kicking off. I hit the ground in a roll and stopped on my knee before standing and pivoting. The ursa had turned to face me and it brought it's massive paw down. I caught it with the shield before pushing up and aiming a quick slash to the join that severed the arm. The ursa hardly let out a howl as it swiped me aside with it's other arm. I rolled on the ground before being stopped by a tree. I quickly got up as the ursa hobbled after me. It swung with it's good arm and I pivoted to block it with my shield. Without stopping, I used my momentum to thrust my sword up under the jaw.

I pulled my sword out as the body began to fade away. I recombined my weapon and put it on my back as I walked towards the group assembled outside of the tower. I pulled up an old Vale map and cross-referenced it with the current map in my helmet. I quickly found that "Outpost 5" was one of the structures built during humanity's push that led to the construction of Mount Glenn. It was unmanned since that failed experiment, and thus not targeted when the dust bombs fell. No wonder it was still standing.

As I approached the crowd, I noticed that they were all faunus. I reached them and looked around, "Hey, what's going on here?"

A few stopped yelling at the tower, and one spoke up, "We're trying to get into the safety of the wall, but that bastard Torchwick won't let us in!"

"Why not? And who's Torchwick?"

"Because we're faunus! That racist bastard's been holed up at the top and won't even let us camp outside. We just want to be inside the wall, where it's safe."

"Let me see what I can do." I pushed through the group of about twenty and pounded on the entrance. "Hello? I'd like to speak with Mr. Torchwick."

A slit opened up, and a pair of eyes stared through the hole at me. "Oh yea? And who are ya?"

"Arclave Private Ren Arc. If you don't let me in, I'll let myself in."

The eyes widened and the hole was closed. I reached for my weapon before the door opened. "Get in. But don't you let any of those animals in with ya!"

I made my way inside the former Vale base and was escorted to the top of the tower. The guards pushed open a large pair of doors. Inside was a well decorated room with a pair of couches and chairs. A pink and brown haired woman lay on one of the couches. She didn't look more than a decade older than me, but I could tell that she was at least my parent's age. She smiled at me, but I could tell she wasn't Torchwick.

A daper man sat in the chair facing the doors, cane laying in his lap. His long orange hair had streaks of gray, and his eyes pierced my helmet. He rose from the chair, taking his cane and showing that it was more than just a fashion accessory at this point. "Well, well, well. The boy scouts are finally knocking on my door. And to what do I owe the 'pleasure' of an Arclave soldier in my tower? Hmm?"

I stepped inside of the room, "I'm here on behalf of all the people banging on your door. These people deserve a safe place too."

Torchwick raised his hand. "People? Hahaha, boy, those mongrels aren't people. I've dealt with enough faunus for one life time. They can go swim in the radiated rivers for all I care. I've paid my debt to society. This tower is mine, and I'll be damned if I let you tell me who to let in."

The girl on the couch let out a silent yawn, clearly bored with our conversation.

"Look, I know I don't have any right to tell or make you do anything, but what you're doing is immoral. You're sentencing them to death just because they're faunus? What gives you that right? They could just as easily live inside the wall without having to bug you in inside your tower."

Torchwicks eyes narrowed before he laughed, "As if the Arclave aren't the most heinous offenders. You hide in your underground bunkers playing Knights of the Atlesian Table and hording the majority of Vale's surviving tech while the rest of us get by on scraps. Talk about calling the ursa black, my young beowolf."

I blinked under my helmet, "What are you talking about? The Arclave does it's best to help people in need.. Sure, our numbers are down, but we still have every availble soldier out right now.. That's why they had to rush my graduation and send me out here.."

The man sat back down, grinning. "Do you honestly believe that? You're more foolish than I thought, kid. But hey, I'll play along. Now why don't you be on your merry way, hmm? And tell them faunus that they can camp inside the wall. But if one so much as thinks about coming inside, I'll kill them all myself."

I hadn't expected him to change his mind like that, but I nod and turn to leave, still wondering just what he meant by all of that. "Will do.."

I had taken only a couple steps before he called out again, "By the way.. What's your name, kid?"

I turned and looked at the man hunched over his cane, eyes drilling into my skull. "I'm Ren Arc."

He sat up, grinning. "Well, don't let the door hit you on the way out."