Fate of Kings

Yang Xiao Long

-----

3 months after the Fall of Beacon

"With no end in sight, try as they might, the local Huntsmen and Huntresses can't seem to get a hold of the situation at Beacon."

Yang clicked the remote.

"Though the fail-safes have supported wireless communication within the kingdom, the loss of the CCT continues to prevent contact with the outside world. Talks with Atlas officials regarding repairs so far have—"

Yang sighed and clicked the remote again.

"Vale council voted this week to continue to ban any air traffic that does not have direct correlation with evacuation. The council has made it clear that they feel—"

Yang grunted and tossed the remote, wishing for nothing more than for the cushions of the couch to swallow her whole already.

Who could believe it?

It's been three whole months since Yang made it back to her home on Patch, yet it still felt like she was a student having the time of her life, attending class with all her friends as if it were yesterday.

How weird was that?

Yang glanced at her empty right sleeve, knotted at the elbow. Groaning, she sank deeper into the cushions and kicked her feet up on the coffee table.

A crinkle of paper made her lift her foot.

Ruby's note—still glued to the spot where she left it a month ago.

Dad nearly had another breakdown when he read that note, and the only time he's ever been that torn up was when Mom. . .

Closing her eyes and letting out a long breath, Yang replayed the scene of Ruby leaving with the three remaining members of Team JNPR outside the window.

Yang fought off the tightness in her chest over the thought of Pyrrha.

It was winter when Ruby left, and even if the snow's gone now, it's still chilly out there. That meant warm clothes, warm food. What about money? Has she been staying out of trouble? Ugh. How could Yang be so stupid and let her go off like that?

There were already so many problems gnawing away at her. The last thing she needed to worry about was her own sister's wellbeing on another continent.

Yang should've done something. . . Then again, what can she do?

The front door creaked open.

"I'm home!"

Yang couldn't help but smile and hang the back of her head off the couch to find her upside-down Dad, Taiyang, carrying a stack of boxes while shopping bags dangled from his arms.

"Hey, Dad," she said. "Need help?"

"Forget about it. I got this." Dad wandered into the kitchen. "And guess what came into today!"

"What?"

"I can't wait for you to try this!" he said and returned with the biggest box.

Placing the box on the table, he removed the cover and revealed a prosthetic metal arm.

Yang's stomach squeezed.

Dad grinned. "Well?"

"Um." Her mind went blank. "It's for me?"

"For you and you only." He beamed like he was the guy who made it. "Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favours, but you earned this all on your own, kiddo."

Yang furrowed her brow. "Huh?"

All she's done was mope around. What in the world did she do to earn it?

"Before I could even talk to him," he folded his arms, "General Ironwood already had his top scientists working on this for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself."

Fought admirably, huh.

She flicked the empty sleeve.

Sure didn't feel like it.

"Well?" Dad urged her to try the prosthetic. "Go on."

The hopes of returning to a regular life worked up a small smile, recalling the hundreds of things she tried and failed to do with one arm, and she imagined how well the prosthetic would fit her.

Maybe it'd look as good on Yang as it did on Roderick.

She hit a wall of doubt.

"Uh, I'm not feeling too great right now." All she could do was shrug an apology. "Maybe later?"

A needle of disappointment popped Dad's balloon of excitement.

"Well, alright." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be upstairs. Let me know if you need anything."

After he left, she sighed and filled a glass of water in the kitchen.

A brand new arm.

The cold sip did wonders to soothe her, yet it could only do so much before that wave of uncertainty washed over her again.

Dad only meant well, and she should be happy about it. It's just that. . . She wasn't exactly sure how to feel about it. Actually, she was kinda feeling a lot right now, and it was suffocating.

Yang choked her glass.

The raging fire roasting inside Yang screamed at her to hurry up and find Ruby and Roderick already, the two people she loved so, so much, but for obvious reason, it was impossible right now.

Getting another arm wouldn't help much.

"While no one knows for sure," said the new reporter from the broadcast still playing in the living room, "officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member Adam Taurus was present for the attack. Any attempt to bring him into custody has been met with brutal force."

Yang's entire body went stiff, and it suddenly became hard to breathe.

Turning her head slightly to get a glimpse of the images on the monitor from the doorway, a masked, red-haired swordsman stared back at her.

There was a flash of red, and the ring of a blade drawn out its scabbard ripped the air out of her.

Yang gasped and dropped the glass.

Calm down. Just calm down. Chill out like last time. Don't freak out again. There's nothing there. He's not here.

The rising panic simmered back down, and she growled, fist balled tight.

"I'm fine," Yang gripped her empty sleeve. "I really am fine."

Glass crunched under her shoes.

She snapped out of her thoughts and groaned at another mess she made for no reason.

Where's the broom?

-----

Stiofan Ua Binn

-----

4 months after the Fall of Beacon

Finishing his final set of exercises for the evening, Stiofan collapsed on the yard, drenched in a pool of his own sweat.

He exhaled a misty breath at the cloudless blue sky.

A month ago, his lungs sputtered like a car refusing to start, and the spark of exerting anything more than the basic requirements to simply move ignited his gasoline soaked muscles.

Now, he found decent shape, yet his performance was still lacking and showed slow signs of ever returning to his former strength.

There was also another glaring issue he had to contend with for the rest of his life.

He adjusted the bandages over his right eye and waved a hand in front of him, sighing at how it disappeared the moment it passed over the right side of his face.

Perhaps a hot shower would help ease his mind.

"Thinking about something, Stio?"

Sitting up, Stiofan turned his head slightly, silently reprimanded himself for the error, and turned all the way to find Viola, standing at the threshold of the cabin with Red Fury and Yellow Fury in hand.

"Nothing of note." He shrugged. "Just admiring the sky. It's rather lovely tonight."

"Really now?" She stabbed the spears into the ground and joined him in the yard. "Tell me all about it."

"What's there to tell?" Stiofan leaned on the picket fence. "See for it yourself."

Viola giggled under her breath. "Seeing how you're not just a walking skeleton anymore, I take it that my training is doing you some good."

"Far better than I could've ever hoped." He gave a smile of gratitude. "If you hadn't allowed me to stay here in your home, then I might as well still be trapped in that infirmary with nothing other than my mind and me."

"It's the least I could do." She came over and clapped his shoulder. "Little Stio grew up in the barracks. I practically raised you along with every other First Guard working for SDC Security."

The days of old coaxed him a grin. Oh, how his younger self used to run around the Schnee compound without a care in the world.

"So, since you're able to walk on your own two feet again," she pretended to thrust a spear, "why don't we move onto sparring? Just like how I taught you."

The sweet nostalgia of his taste buds instantly turned sour.

"Apologies." Stiofan refrained from visibly showing his disinterest. "Another time, perhaps."

A mist of disappointment left her lips. "Then get cleaned up. We're going to Mantle."

"Mantle?" That struck him by surprise. "What for?"

"There's this nice diner I know." Viola ushered him to the house. "Now, hurry it up. I'm starving."

After cleaning himself and changing into a teal sweater, Stiofan joined Viola in her personal dropship parked by the edge of the cliff in the backyard.

The trip only lasted a handful of minutes.

Approaching the twin cities by air was always a sight to behold, and it's been too long since he last bore witness to such a view.

The floating city of Atlas gleamed brighter than a freshly polished diamond in the sky. Right beneath it in its shadow was the walled off, crescent shaped city beside the gargantuan crater from where Atlas ascended.

Mantle.

Usually there would be much more activity in the skies, aircrafts of every shape and size leaving and entering the cities, but it's been drastically reduced to only military grade gunships.

"What's with that formation?" Stiofan pointed out the window. "Why are they surrounding the kingdom?"

"Don't remind me." Viola groaned. "Ever since Beacon fell, Ironwood had that whole Dust embargo thing going nonstop all around the kingdom, and from the looks of it, it's never gonna end."

"A Dust embargo?" He rubbed his chin. "I suppose the SDC isn't too happy about that."

Irritation hissed off her tongue. "You don't know the half of it."

Touching down on the landing pads in Mantle, Stiofan coughed and covered his nose the moment he opened the hatch.

Ah, yes.

Pollution.

Since the crater was home to countless mining operations, it's been heavily industrialized, producing enough nauseating fumes and thick pillars of black smoke to darken and fog the entire city.

Viola smirked and motioned him to follow.

The tarmacadam streets bustled with pedestrians and vehicles going about their routine day.

Rows of closely packed buildings were lined with a myriad of holographic billboards and posters pinned to their walls, mostly advertising the upcoming Atlas Fest and council elections.

There were also many prohibition signs of entry next to the entrances of many public establishments.

No Faunus Allowed.

Stiofan resisted the urge to tear them all down.

An orange hue from the heating grids painted every piece of the city to combat the unforgiving ice and snow. Still, even at its warmest, jackets were always required in Mantle unlike the everlasting cool summers of Atlas.

Stiofan's casual attire offered minimal protection on its own for now, but if it were to become any colder, the whips of the winter winds would rip him apart.

They eventually reached a humble burger bar diner and were seated rather quickly, which was no surprise considering the slow drip of customers paying a visit.

It was understandable why once he caught sight of the menu and the overcharged prices.

Viola's dry laugh flipped through the menu.

"Mantle already doesn't have the space or soil for farms, and even if they tried, it'd be too cold to keep the crops alive. Food comes straight from Atlas, where they do have farms. Trade imported from the other kingdoms also goes through there." Her gaze grew heavy as she watched pedestrians pass by the window. "That means Mantle has no choice but to accept whatever ridiculous taxes Atlas wants to put on their already expensive exports, forcing local grocery stores and restaurants to hike up their prices."

Viola puffed her cheeks and blew away a stream of pity.

"And now with the embargo Ironwood put into effect," her head tilted towards the sky, "Mantle's economy is taking another hard hit."

Stiofan choked down the sad reality, and the idea of eating anything would further upset his belly full of guilt.

"But let's forget about the price right now." Viola slapped her menu on the table and grinned. "There's another stop I need to make after this."

Once they finished indulging in their meal, Viola took him deeper into the city and approached a stall advertising a candidate running for the election.

In large, bold letters that could be read from across the street, it said: Mantle's Hometown Hero, Robyn Hill.

Hill. . .

Stiofan cleared his mind and focused.

A short, unruly white haired woman with sheep ears tended to the stall, kindly hollering at passersbys for donations and graciously thanking anyone who deposited lien into the box.

The sheep Faunus immediately noticed them, and her joy only grew brighter.

"Captain MacCool." She waved. "It's good to see you again. How's it going?"

Viola smiled and brandished her wallet. "Same old, Fiona."

"That's great to hear." She turned towards Stiofan. "And I see you brought a friend today. I'm Fiona, and who might you be?"

"Stiofan Ua Binn." He nodded. "A pleasure to meet you."

She covered a little laugh behind her hand.

"Here you go." Viola tucked one thousand lien into the box. "This should be good enough."

Stiofan lifted an eyebrow.

Fiona hopped onto her toes and clasped her hands. "Thank you very much!"

After leaving the stall and continuing their stroll, Stiofan directed his inquisitive gaze towards Viola, who seemed none too surprised and most likely expected his curiosity to come knocking.

"That was quite generous of you," he said. "I assume you wish for Robyn Hill to win a seat on the council this year?"

"You got it half right, Stio." She shrugged and wagged a finger. "Those donations aren't to support Robyn Hill's campaign. That money goes straight to the slums."

Stiofan was hit by a javelin of shock.

"Out of all the candidates, Robyn Hill's the only one trying to actively help improve the lives of the people here in Mantle. That alone won my vote." She patted the pocket holding her wallet. "Besides, I make more money than I'm able to spend. Might as well put it to good use and give to those who need it more than I do."

To save himself the embarrassment, Stiofan tried not to show the swell of how proud he was to be raised by such a wonderful person like Viola.

"Come now," she nudged him, "let's go to where I really wanted to take you."

Viola brought Stiofan to a single story building with a glowing neon cross sign above the entrance.

"A clinic?" Stiofan curled an eyebrow. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm already under the care of General Ironwood's top doctors. This isn't necessary."

"You're mistaken, Stio." Viola went around to the side door and gave it a knock. "Now we're at the top."

A moment later, they were greeted by a large, metal chair that had literal walking legs like a spider.

Sitting on it was a dark skinned man with a full white beard and hair that curled out from underneath his flat cap, and a pink bow tie sat on the collar of his yellow dress shirt and red waistcoat.

"Greetings, Pietro." Viola spoke slowly and enunciated her words. "Remember me?"

Pietro leaned forward, squinting as he adjusted his glasses.

"Does this help?" Her signature purple spear rose from her shadow. "There's no way you could forget about Fianna, now would you?"

In an instant, his weathered wrinkles were washed away by a jubilant glow befitting an innocent child.

"Well, I'll be." Pietro held his rounded belly and chuckled heartily. "If it isn't the Captain of the First Guard herself. Come on in. Must be freezing out there. But luckily for you, I just finished brewing some coffee."

They entered the large office, one in dire need of renovations.

The patchy walls and floorboards were cracked and flaking, there were stains and gaps between the panels on the ceiling, some even appeared loose enough to fall at any minute, and when was the last time anyone cleaned the room in general?

Sheets and crumpled balls of paper were scattered all around, the furniture was coated by a thick layer of grey powder, a large desk was half buried in books and piles of documents, and the cleanest part of the room was hidden behind a half pulled curtain, revealing an examination table and some glass cabinets full of medical equipment.

"My, my, Viola MacCool." Pietro went behind his desk and swept aside a messy paper stack to expose the steamy pot of coffee. "You're even younger than the last time I saw you. Even more beautiful than my old eyes can believe."

Viola snorted. "I was here last week."

"That's right you were." He tapped his chin and searched the ceiling as if his memories dangled on a hook. "Ah, yes. We spoke about your apprentice."

"And he's right here." She pulled him front and center. "Stio, this is Pietro. Pietro, this is Stiofan."

"Greetings, Pietro." Stiofan offered his hand. "A pleasure."

"The pleasure is mine, Stiofan." Pietro returned the shake. "So, tell me. How is Red Fury and Yellow Fury treating you? Those boys aren't giving you a hard time now, are they?"

Stiofan turned to Viola in question.

"Ever wonder who makes the cool new things for Atlas?" Viola knocked on Pietro's chair. "Well, now you do."

"I don't understand " Stiofan tried to make sense of it. "Aren't you a doctor, Pietro?"

"Only part time." He had a good laugh as he filled a mug with coffee. "This clinic is just something I enjoy doing on the side whenever James Ironwood doesn't have me chained to the R&D department."

The SDC has a close and mutually beneficial relationship with the military, meaning all the equipment SDC Security receives are top of the line—going double for the First Guard.

"Pietro," Stiofan said. "Since you're familiar with both mine and Viola's weapons, I take it that you had a hand in their creations."

"Of course, I did." Pietro reminisced in a way like he remembered something amusing. "Going over all those weapon requests sent by the First Guard on my desk was a real chore, I tell you. But, oh boy, does it feel good to build. Been a hobby of mine ever since. Also helps take the stress out of whatever project Ironwood wants to throw at me next."

Stiofan was struck by disbelief.

Pietro nonchalantly admitted to single handedly constructing every single weapon wielded by the First Guard as a hobby.

Only a genius or a madman could perform such a feat.

"Pietro volunteers at this clinic so that he can provide high quality prosthetics to the people of Mantle at an affordable rate." Viola grinned as if she could sense his realization. "That's the reason why I brought you here, Stio. Because he's the only person I trust who can give you your sight back."

Stiofan's heart thumped.

"So then with that said," Viola flicked Pietro's hat, "think you can do it, old man?"

"Oh, I most certainly can." Pietro drank his coffee and made no effort to disguise his blatant stare at Stiofan's bandaged eye. "What you need, my boy, is a pair of cybernetic optical implants." He paused and awkwardly coughed. "Sorry. A single cybernetic optical implant."

Stiofan drew an involuntary breath.

"For the meantime, wear this." Pietro searched his desk and handed Stiofan a small box. "I had it made for you. Just something to wear until I finish the implant."

Opening the box, Stiofan had to chuckle over the contents.

An eyepatch. How considerate.

"You can finally get rid of the bandages now." Viola pretended to throw something in the trash. "Bet it would feel better, too. Would definitely look better, that's for sure."

Taking off the bandages on his face, Stiofan slipped on the eyepatch, adjusting it to a comfortable fit.

Viola and Pietro shared an impressed look and gave their thumbs of approval.

No amount of words or actions could express how grateful Stiofan was to receive such a generous and undeserving gift.

Finally.

Once the time came to have that prosthetic implanted, Stiofan could return to a normal life and become himself once again.

The hands on the clock couldn't move fast enough.

-----

Leon Alexander Gates

-----

1 month after the Fall of Beacon

Sitting out next to the small fire, Alexander was cold.

Team RTLS was gone.

What more could he have done?

Cooper was cremated and buried under an airship, Roderick vanished without a trace. . . The blood of Stiofan on Alexander's hands.

Other than finding Roderick, Alexander wanted nothing more than to get his ass to Atlas to be with Stiofan. He'd be there right now if it weren't for the embargo. All he could really do was hope his teammate got everything he needed and that he was doing just fine over there on his own.

Alexander wanted to hit himself for not stopping the tragedy that caused Beacon to fall, or at the very least, he should've rescued his friends and kept the team together.

All the more reason to hurry his ass and get this done.

Alexander and Team RRYL set up camp on a cliff on the outskirts of Mistral, overlooking the mountainous city the same way Beacon did to Vale from across the lake.

Over by the precipice of the cliff, Reynold watched the city, Laurence stayed in his car chugging can after can, Yonah read a book on the opposite end of the same log Alexander glued his ass to, and Roxy slept in the shade of a large, leafy tree while Teddy chewed her sandals.

If getting eaten alive wouldn't wake her up, then nothing will.

Eventually, Teddy gave up and ran over to Yonah. She hastily shifted her legs to the other side of the log and tossed the fur cloak over herself like a shield blanket, very much enjoying how Teddy pawed her cloak while keeping her hands to herself.

In a strange way, the way Yonah always made sure to wear her cloak reminded Alexander of Ruby.

Laurence hopped out of his car and clapped his hands at Teddy, urging him to come over, and the bear leaped into his arms, where they rolled on the floor like overly energetic children play fighting to no end.

Yonah made eye contact with Alexander, smiled, and waved.

Alexander just nodded and turned away.

"Everyone." Reynold retreated from the precipice and checked his scroll. "We got something."

A pulse of anticipation jolted Alexander wide awake, and he was the first one over to join Reynold at the tree Roxy slept under.

"Thanks to Yonah planting a bug on the Lieutenant, I've been able to track her movements and listen in on her conversations." He showed them the map with coordinates and the moving blue dot on his scroll. "And from what I've gathered, she just reached the White Fang headquarters."

Laurence bellowed out a laugh as he nestled Teddy on his shoulder. "Looks like your plan worked."

"Almost." He adjusted his tie. "It's not until the Lieutenant makes contact with the High Leader we can enact our plan."

Reynold faced Alexander.

"But before we do this, I have to ask whether or not you're all in." Reynold folded his arms and watched him over the rim of his glasses. "There's no turning back. This will be your last chance to bow out."

After traveling with them for a month, there's no way he'd bow out when they're so close to finally getting something.

If waging a war with the White Fang meant learning the truth about Beacon and bringing them closer to finding out what happened to Roderick, then so be it.

This was his best and only chance, so there was no way he would ever let it slide.

"And there's no moving forward if I do." Alexander hardened his resolve. "I'm in."

Team RRYL smirked and offered their nods of approval.

"Good. Now listen up." Reynold turned on the speaker of his scroll. "It's game time."