Chapter 83: Differences in Leadership
Ozpin kept his hands interlocked, the feeling of goosebumps still over his arms as he patted them to calm his nerves.
A sigh escapes his mouth as the elevator opened but to his surprise, it wasn't Glynda as he expected.
"Qrow? While I respect your early attendance, I don't believe my report for this week is supposed to be relayed to me today."
Qrow was a man of many worries, but it looks like deep within he finally had one trepidation that was too much. "Oz, it's problematic - this can't wait."
He approached the table as his cape trailed behind in his wake. His brows harshened its arch as Ozpin gazed back to the less-drunken agent.
"Is it still the case?" Ozpin asked.
"Villages will likely turn to Hanns. It's simple for him, they already saw the results of the military, and all that's left is a spark. No signs of mismanagement by them. Impressive by anyone's standards."
He stopped from his talk to drag the chair back and sat on it with his stature slouched and his flask to his side being lifted from his belt.
"All of them follow orders to the letter. I even tried bribing them to leave but they wouldn't take it. They keep saying their Kaiser wouldn't want it and they would rather kill themselves fighting than leave for something so small as Lien."
Ozpin shuffled from his place and stood up, he goes for his stash of coffee beans and starts brewing another cup. "Their morals aren't stained as I thought. Corruption is always rife within the ranks, Atlas was the same which is why I don't believe in their army. Did you do anything else?"
"I gave them a literal truckload the next day and they wouldn't budge. Whatever Hanns' operation he's planning - he's got the backing of an incredibly loyal army, not corrupt in any way since I tried in virtually every village being protected by the Wehrmacht."
Ozpin finished his cup of coffee before heading to his chair and sitting down with a frown present. "So we are trapped. The Grimm are being hunted down and the villages see that it's truly only a matter of time until they switch their allegiances to the Volksreich. If we take action, everyone will react negatively."
He kept his head firmly locked to the surface of the table, contemplating as he brings his coffee up for a sip. "What about your stay in Atlas? Don't be surprised if I know my agent does some reconnaissance on their own."
At first, Qrow was shocked but then remembered Ozpin was Ozpin. "I've done some digging on my own in Atlas and it's pretty dark. Hundreds of men are convicted as traitors while shouts of thousands grant praise to Weiss."
Qrow finally couldn't take the nature of the conversation. He took his flask' cover off and chugged a good gulp, the feeling of his throat burning distracted his emotions for a while.
"My niece's friend that's barely starting school - a first year and now the leader of the Volksreich. She may not be the true leader but it's scary seeing a young woman like her being the orchestrator of executions and arrests. This is some fucked up alternate reality if I ever saw one."
He took another long swig as his memories of a battle reentered his mind. "I saw them, Hanns I mean. Heard the soldiers were going to the north and followed. Everyone there when they arrived opened fire. Not at civilians but some of them got hit in the crossfire. Everyone from the rebellious soldiers was dead and executed right then, ensuring the council wasn't going to rise against his rule."
He coughs sharply before clutching his fist. "Hanns is terrifying, you can't even see the emotion in him when he's a tank - so you'll never know if he's happy, guilty, or sad about these kills. He's just... staring."
"More terrifying than her?" Ozpin mentions.
"Before that, I have a question Oz. Do you regret not joining Ironwood to catch Hanns? Seeing as how Ironwood is now under Hanns' lock and key. Something worse will inevitably happen to him."
"I've had many regrets in my life. Many times had I been reeling from these problems but this is one I'm not sure of. What I can do for now is wait and see. It may not be for long but I believe something will be inevitable."
"Great, even your answers are not straightforward just like how you tell the truth to your allies. Heh, I don't even know how to face you anymore, you know that."
Ozpin widens his eyes as Qrow stood up in clear anger.
"Oz, tell me. Are you really hiding things from us? Your own friends and colleagues?"
"Where is this coming from? You know I do things for the world's benefit."
"I was there when Hanns, in his new body, was talking with Glynda. When he landed here in Vale, I followed them at a distance just in case but I couldn't get up here. I overheard his talk with Glynda, word for word."
Qrow takes another drink before slamming it on the table, spilling a few splashes of his favorite drink. "I couldn't take it, I need to know. Listening to him made sense, then I finally connected the dots. When I followed Hanns all around Atlas - I heard my niece, Ruby, in one of their missions she talked about Salem being immortal. Not as in living long, Hanns was an object that didn't age but he said he wasn't immortal yet, meaning he was long living but still can be harmed."
Qrow's voice almost broke but he gave in and spoke, "So there's only one conclusion, Oz. Salem can never be killed can she?"
"You don't actually believe him do you?"
"You are being defensive right now. I never had a reason to doubt you until I heard it from my niece, she doesn't lie, I don't think she can even bring herself to lie. We have no progress in defeating the Grimm because you've been fighting an immortal being for so damn long. Then I started to ask myself, all these plans and espionage, was I even doing anything to save the world as you told me? Unlike us, Hanns has already gone and started removing entire regions of Grimm! This shadow war, all this time is worthless!"
"I recall you being so vocal about Atlas' military occupying Vale. Why is it you're taking his side now? Are you sympathizing with the Volkians?"
"No, I don't like many of what Hanns is doing but I hate to admit it but their methods work - unlike someone I know. Killing someone is always a dislike of mine, seeing so many civilians get arrested or their soldiers killed makes me want to step in."
"So why didn't you?"
"Because I know they're right in doing so which I hate myself for admitting. I'm not an idiot and I know they're a threat to Hanns' stability. He only kills combatants and those directly connected to the Council."
"So you're saying that you believe this is the way Salem is going to be defeated? Conquest and subjugation?"
"Semantics, Oz. It doesn't matter what you all call it, conquest, subjugation, or unification. I know one thing, it's progress. Have you tried leaving to see Forever Fall? It's been clear for almost a month now because of his soldiers working tirelessly to eliminate their hated enemy. It's a true vendetta, they won't stop until every Grimm is dead."
Qrow forms a frown as he notices the lack of booze, he checks it and sees it empty. He reaches over to the other side of the table and yoinking Ozpin's cup of coffee.
"They have names for the division they are assigned to. I have the one in Vale while I tried bribing them. The Devil's Legion, do you know why they name themselves that?"
Ozpin didn't take long to assume the reason. "Because Hanns is the incarnation of the devil?"
"No, it's because they'll ask the devil to go to hell so that they can fight the bastards again. The bastards being the Grimm."
"Well, they certainly have an affinity in their logic."
Silence settled as Qrow sipped the stolen cup of coffee, he then felt his tongue get rinsed in a shock of bitterness. "Oz, I don't even know what we're supposed to do." he shoves the coffee back into Ozpin's hands after drinking a single cup.
"Fight, like always." Ozpin doesn't even drink from the cup anymore.
"Fight? Like all you've done for centuries? You've been making us do these things for nothing. You don't even have a plan. If you did, Remnant would've been saved long ago. I'd rather believe in Hanns than you at this point."
Ozpin's heart aches, feelings resurfacing of his long memories of being reincarnated over and over. "I do not tell the truth because I have done so many times before - it all ended in betrayal. All of those I gave my trust to was turned to her side and I had to take care of it myself. You know how many times I lived but how many times do you think I died because of it? I couldn't tell you, or else I might have been backstabbed all over again."
"That's it? You don't tell us that the fight we have been doing for so long was in vain because all this time there was no way to kill her? What can we do? You didn't trust us enough to tell us that even when we were together for so long!"
Ozpin breathes deeply before speaking, "Hanns had put me with an offer, more like a threat in his words. He said to stop resisting and let the world unite because he thinks it's the answer."
Qrow didn't even reply immediately, stuck in his own doubts he couldn't bring himself to give an answer. Only the feelings of betrayal reverberated. He didn't mind that Salem was immortal but what hurt him the most was that he did things that didn't matter to the cause since he now knew that Ozpin and Salem fought for centuries or longer without any change to the status of humanity and the Grimm.
"If I say no to his offer what will you do?" Ozpin asked.
Qrow didn't know anymore, years of being part of Ozpin's inner circle made him believe a shadow war against her was the only way. Then, the concept that humanity will unite through Hanns' means made him consider it, unlike Ozpin.
"...I'll join with Hanns even if you accept or not. It's choosing between two wrongs, I'll choose the one that has every rhyme and reason to defeat Salem rather than the other side prioritizing hiding the truth to lead us on to an impossible task. I'll take my chances."
"Is this because your nieces are with him?"
"I know my nieces. They're headstrong in their ideals, enough to be foolish at times but that's what makes them genuine. If they picked Hanns over you, then maybe they're onto something. Sorry."
One after another, his inner circle started to break apart. Would it be the last time someone left, or will the cracks continue to widen? Ozpin saw Qrow stagger his way to the elevator before leaving.
Doubts had seeded within and were growing little by little. It was Hanns' goal to undermine any resistance, in the end - Hanns was going to shatter the balance of power among the nations.
~
Minutes earlier...
In a room that hadn't changed for almost weeks, four young women stood inside with smiles on their faces. It was a serene look for them, it wasn't long but they missed seeing their school.
As they all sat on their respective beds for rest, each one had their curiosities in mind. Especially one within Ruby.
"Do you all think what Hanns is saying is true? That soon, Grimm - calamities he calls it, is going to start wreaking havoc all over Remnant?"
Yang got down from her bed and sat right next to Ruby, wrapping her arm around her sister. "He doesn't lie to us like that. What got you so interested?"
Ruby, embarrassed by it, removes Yang's arm before grasping the sides of her red cloak tightly. "I don't get it a lot, Yang. I've been thinking about this ever since Hanns started to go against Atlas. Do you all really trust him that much?"
"You don't?" Yang quickly asked back.
"No, it's not that. I fought with you all because I wanted to defeat Salem, even if she was immortal. I trust Hanns enough to be confident that he has something going."
A lightbulb turned on in Yang's head, realizing what the problem was. "Ah, but you're still worried. I'll admit, we don't know much about Hanns other than he is a tank that can talk and weirdly mentions something that is beyond what we know. Even then, all he does is kill Grimm, kill Grimm, and uh... kill Grimm. Oh but he does kill people indirectly, except Cinder, he keeps saying she killed herself but to be honest I think he drove her insane."
"I know he does all that Yang but is this really the only way? I've seen the reports of the northern marches. It's brutal, there were no pictures but the details - I couldn't look at Hanns without thinking about it."
"Reports?" Yang asked and looked at the others. "There are reports?" she asked them as both Blake and Weiss facepalmed.
Weiss explained. "It's available for all of us. He had made the military kill every soldier going against us in the northern marches."
Yang looked at her little sister with a questioning look in reaction. "What's wrong with that?"
The girls never thought to contrast what Hanns was doing, to them it all felt normal especially after they considered everyone who Hanns killed. It wasn't a long list but the only ones he did kill, everyone accepted to be necessary.
"Huh?" Ruby was so shocked at the acceptance of people being killed without much of a second to think.
"Well, Hanns already showed us through all of these that there are people that deserve to die," Weiss added.
Ruby stood up from the conversation in disbelief that her team didn't seem to mind all the killings. "Weiss? Really?"
"You need to know where I come from Ruby. I've seen what these people from the Council can do and will do just for their greed. I've seen auctions for little boys, I wondered to myself if that's what they do with the power they have. I hated that I could only act right then. After I overcame Neo killing someone in front of me, I strangely felt okay with it. I wanted it all to change and Hanns gave me the opportunity. Death is the only way these corrupt men can atone. Then I killed my father, of my own volition. He deserved it, Ruby. This isn't just me. Ask Blake what she feels about all this."
Blake, in turn, responded as well. "I didn't kill for my cause but realizing how many people Hanns is saving from his death squads makes me rethink. I was satisfied after Hanns gave the workers here their rights and gave Faunus a better standing. All of these wouldn't be possible if not for the response of Hanns to keep the council away. Imagine if they would return, would Faunus be able to keep their newly acquired rights?"
"Yang?" Ruby asked, "You too?"
"Look. I haven't been telling you well enough but it's the same for me. Remember what Torchwick said? It's the real world, you're my little sister but everyone grows up. I already knew we had to do things like this but I trust Hanns. He said Salem is immortal but his confidence in saying he had a plan got me."
"Do all of you feel this way?"
Blake shrugged. "Yeah, we sort of expected Hanns to already go far with this and it's working. He stopped Cinder, helped Faunus gain recognition, reformed Atlas, stopped corruption, and saved thousands because he kills Grimm around Vale, Menagerie, and Atlas. The list goes on, he might be on to something."
"But it doesn't mean we need to kill. Right?" She squeaked out. Her morals were being tested as each of them spoke. The ideals that what her childhood understanding of a hero was being challenged like never before.
Blake continued. "Sometimes, actions have reasoning behind them. Hanns still tries to do everything, how many times has he forgiven someone even though they were enemies?"
Ruby recalled everyone they fought and considered that Hanns wasn't doing this like a kill on sight. Ruby started to think that Hanns would murder for a reason. She was changing, maybe with some influence but everyone had a point.
"What if someone we know dies?"
"Hanns will rarely do such a thing, it's not hard to hear him out. We have done so for the past months - it all worked out. Ruby, I think everyone here knows that if we have a chance to save people we will sacrifice ourselves. Like one for many, right?"
"Yeah, I would do that."
"What if it's one life for many? Isn't that the same?"
Yang brought up a point. "Well, it isn't exactly the same. Y'know instead of sacrificing oneself you involuntarily sacrifice someone else's - ouch!" A stray book launched itself from Weiss' hands to shut Yang's mouth.
Blake ignored the comment before resuming. "Point is that anyone would do that. To save more lives if it costs some."
"But I would save everyone!" Ruby answered.
"That's not possible Ruby. Not everyone can be saved, even if we try so hard. Right now, hundreds or thousands are dying but can we help them eventually. Those not under our protection still suffer in the other kingdoms. Hanns needs our support to make a Grimm-free world a reality."
"I- I know." Ruby finally let her shoulder stop being so stiff. "So that's why the Wehrmacht is spreading itself to the other nations, so Hanns can save many at once."
"Exactly, it's why Hanns is doing this. I think it's called Utilitarianism, a few sacrifices are all for a good cause. What matters is results and empirical information, Hanns has brought plenty. We know him to be not the perfect person but a good one nonetheless."
Yang noticed how Blake was the main person defending Hanns' actions. "Wow, sticking up for him? Maybe his appearance does affect you that much. I wouldn't lie, I'd tap that."
"Gross, Yang!" Ruby screamed and hurled a pillow at her sister's face.
Yang swiftly dodges but reacts without flinching. "I still have my Lien in your jar so deal with it."
Blake laughs as she keeps going. "Tease me all you want Yang it doesn't matter. Ruby, think about it hard. He may be the villain some will see but he is will be a villain we need, a necessary evil will justify a good cause."
"I think I understand... Torchwick said stuff from experience. He still changed despite it, maybe others deserve that kind of joy too. But I need to grow up and unite the world as he says."
"Hey, enough about all this heavy stuff," Yang announces. "Does everyone want to head out for some burgers? I miss those things, Atlesian ones are bad up until Hanns introduced some stuff I liked." she turns to Weiss. "No offense."
"I do agree with some of that but you just don't know how to enjoy high-class dining."
"Psh... high class? In my language, we call that being a pain in the posterior."
"Post-a-what-now?" Ruby comments.
Blake answered. "It's another word for a rear end."
"So that's why Weiss is trying to stab her." She pauses and recollects the information she had received before shaking her head and pumping her fist upwards like before. "Alright! Team RWBY let's enjoy some R&R!"
As soon as her hand raised into the air, like in the old days. A stream of magical glow suddenly emanated from Weiss.
It caught everyone's attention when Weiss had her eyes suddenly change when an aura-like faint glimmer came from the edges of her eyes.
"This seems awfully familiar." Yang jokes.
~
Present time...
Hanns felt the coolness of the Valean breeze as he walked with a calm demeanor toward a recognizable store. Cars darted by as pedestrians had to double back as they went past Hanns, saying things like "In awe at the size of this lad. Absolute unit," referring to Hanns of course.
'Man, if only people actually said that to me back in high school. The only thing I can boast about is my K/D ratio in every Warthunder game I played. Still, the last time I posted that on Reddit, people called me a plane spammer... I mean it's true but they didn't have to point it out.'
Hanns stops as the glossy finish of a clear door reflected the sun back into his eyes. He squints as he pushes the door inwards and sees an employee over the counter doing something on his scroll. 'Don't know that one' he remarks.
Hanns approaches and speaks to catch the man's attention. "Excuse me?"
The employee behind the counter almost got a heart attack when he looked up from his scroll. "Woah! Jeez, you didn't have to be so sneaky when you came in. The bell is broken and I nearly got sent to the ER. We're closed today, I guess I forgot to turn the sign over."
"There is no hope under the black sun," Hanns whispers.
The employee stops his act and wore a serious expression. "Come, he's been waiting. We think there's a sneak following our movements, so we have to move away from here."
Hanns nodded and followed the employee to what looked like the backroom but with a massive shelf filled with unassuming tools. The employee takes a key disguised as a screwdriver before opening a trapdoor hidden under piles of boxes.
"Take a left and follow the markings. We've had too many attacks by anti-unification people so we had to be careful. I hope you'll understand, Kaiser."
The employee nudges his head toward it as Hanns obliged and entered. It was dark and musty, as expected by a tunnel that Hanns had to crack his neck downwards with his Semblance.
He reaches a ladder that led up to an unnamed building, Hanns stepped forth and reached the exit before readjusting his look and recovering from his Semblance's condition. "Adam. Is it that bad that you had to make all these?"
"Blake told me someone would come, didn't expect you personally. As for your question, we need to. Everything is going smoothly but the Vale Council here is putting in place some laws targeting us. A bill was defeated that tried to ban the word Volksreich but we stopped that after creating some discontent after the announcement. Plus, some people are openly against us as a threat to independence. It's different in the villages though."
"It's fine even if people don't like us - what's important is that they say our name. First off, good job on the info didn't expect someone personally says we need to meet. Wouldn't the CCT be better?"
"It needed off-grid. Recently I suspect someone would be watching over transmission going from here to Atlas. The Council here are trying to keep us down but we've been here too long for them to even strip apart our influence."
"Found anything on the whereabouts of the thing as I asked?"
"...No."
"This is hard without needing to use it but I guess it's still possible. No matter, keep stoking the flame. I'll take my leave for now."
As Hanns turned to leave back from where he came, Adam talks in an odd tone, a tone filled with honest appreciation.
"Thanks by the way... you helped the faunus out a lot, this is my repayment but I do value what you have done."
"Didn't expect that from you of all people. The violent and misogynistic Adam turned docile."
He chuckles in response as he glides his fingertips over the black band of cloth covering his eyes. "Being in an ice cream shop helps. Also, my mind seems at ease ever since you took over. I took it as a sign. Oh and before you leave. Take care of Blake."
"Sure."
~
Hanns was now returning, classes were apparently too much of an inconvenience for team RWBY so they favored wanting to stay and roam around but they didn't leave just yet since they sent a message to Hanns.
A knock sounded as Hanns waited patiently for the door to open.
"Hanns, we were just about to leave."
"What? But you said minutes ago you already were headed to MickeyD's? See?" Hanns put forward his scroll. "Then you sent a message just a while ago to come here. I was confused so I came here anyways."
"Oh," Weiss uttered. "Plans change and all that. The others will be ahead because a certain blonde bimbo keeps pestering us to eat."
"You're not going?" Hanns had curiosity peak from the way the talk was going. 'This all seems pretty weird.'
"Not yet. I... have something to talk to you about. Girls? You can go ahead." Weiss and Hanns were seemingly left alone as the three left walked outside of Hanns' vision.
Weiss tugged on Hanns' arm after the rest seemingly left to eat. "Come inside, we need to talk about something only we need to know about." She had a serious expression which made Hanns try to figure out what she was meaning to talk about.
'Damn... I didn't think this would actually happen for once. I hope Weiss doesn't take it too badly when I respond.'
The door was shut close as Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. She tried to look intimidating but Hanns was 7 feet because of his body so it didn't occur to Hanns that she was trying to look scary.
"Weiss, look... I know what you're trying to do but I think you chose the wrong person."
It caught her off-guard. "What?"
"I know you probably mustered up the courage to confess to me but trust me, I'm not the best person you'd like to be with. I mean, all I would probably do is play on a computer if there was such a game created in this world called War-"
"...What?! No! I meant how you killed Fria!"
"Ohhhh... Well, inviting me over for some one-on-one talk while letting the others go ahead was kind of misleading. Plus, you were kind of aggressive in trying to have a conversation so I assumed."
"How can you even imagine that?! You already know it had to do something with the maidens!"
*CLICK!*
A camera flash made her blink rapidly before seeing Hanns with his scroll out from the side of his hip. He took a photo without her noticing. "I know... I'm just kidding which is why this is directly going to the 'send to Neo' folder of you guys."
"Please take this seriously."
Hanns sighed. "Sorry, It's just I don't do well with these kinds of things so I just want to let it weigh less on me when I joke around. It's been like that since I don't actually have any real friends, you want to know why I had her killed?"
"So you admit you killed her?"
"Of course, why would I lie at this point? I know well what horrors I have to face after this. Leaving it up to chance and risk is not a reasonable plan by my standards. The assassination on you shows it's possible that someone can sneak by. It only takes one lead for Salem to try and take away what Fria has. It's not impossible, therefore I took the choice I had."
"That's it?" Weiss questions. It was very straightforward which she noted. "Did you feel anything at all when you did it?"
"You're all probably mad at me for it. I know it isn't a proper way to do all this but you have to understand that even I don't know what it feels like to be pushed over the edge."
"Was it hard for you to decide? Did you feel any remorse or guilt at all when you had her killed?"
"Sometimes... I don't even know if I can answer that properly. I may sound confident at times but it's been hard. Still, I do what I must. I have a goal that needs effort and I will do anything for it to be achieved. Even if I have to kill a dozen, a hundred, or a thousand at this point. I fear death as much as anyone."
"Come in," Weiss announces.
The door opens once more for the rest of team RWBY to make their entrance. "So Maiden's power huh? Wonder what yours will be once you get it, Ruby?" Yang jested.
Noticing the looks on each of their faces, Hanns knew they were taking all this in without much protest. "You guys aren't mad? Even though I killed someone innocent this time?"
Blake was the one to answer. "We already had a talk on this many times over while you were gone. Particularly with Ruby since she's been the one most vocal about her issues but she changed."
"I think I can get what you do Hanns." Ruby timidly responds. "A few broken eggs for the mother of all omelets. I think I understand now. I've been questioning all this from the beginning from taking over Atlas but I feel as if you're right. If this Grimm you talk about can be really too much, as well as the other three all over Remnant - we need any advantage we can get. The least we can do is bury her properly as honorable, I've heard your reasoning and it makes sense. I wouldn't want the world to fall because I couldn't take a death..."
"Ruby... Is this really you?" Perhaps like a prophecy coming true, it was inevitable that conflict of interest and morals would arise.
"Yeah, it's me. I gotta grow up as my team said, there are always things I want to change but I feel like I understand what must be done for Salem and the Grimm to be gone. It's only a matter of time before we fight Salem so I'll follow you better from now on."
'Did you do this?' Hanns asked the moderator. It was an obvious way to ask and Hanns accused the Moderator of the change."
[No, surprisingly it only needed the passive effects not even an active one from me.]
'Hmm...'
"Well! Now that that's over it, let's go get those hamburgers! Waiting here for Hanns made me hungry for a triple stacker. Let's hope the ice cream machine isn't broken again or I'll really have to demolish the place."
The team left as soon as Yang dragged everyone else to the exit. Hanns couldn't decide what to think after everything that happened, were the girls forming these decisions on their own, or were they genuine? He accepted that it could be both and decided to let the matter go.
[Friend, I have another update coming up. Just a few fixes and reworks, it's been boring watching you do so much stuff about the country so I have something to make it easier. I'll reward you this one after you kill the Solitas Rex, so don't die.]
'Oh? Another one? What's this one now? I feel like Warthunder is getting less and less prevalent.'
[Hey, don't blame me for trying to make a monotonous glorified number-go-up game into something I would want to watch.]
Hanns was offended by the statement. 'It's fun! Doing the same thing over and over by killing tanks and eventually getting stronger tanks and planes and repeating it all over again is what I enjoy!'
If Hanns had the ability to see the Moderator right now, he would've seen him rolling his eyes.
[Sure, Friend... You're a masochist. Is this what Gaijin does to a man?]
'Have your own thoughts to yourself. So? Can you at least give me a heads-up on what this one will contain?'
[The Hearts of Iron update.]
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