Chapter 31: Information

After lunch, which can only be described as divine, we talked with the RWBY team, Taiyang, and Qrow.

"So, you have nowhere to go?"

Ruby asked after hearing Shinoa say that we hadn't decided where to go yet.

"Stay with us, and we have a guest room!"

Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

"My team is already here, and... and my new friends. W-We can consider ourselves friends, right?"

Ruby looked hopefully at Rias.

"We can."

Rias replied, happy with the conversation.

"Hey, hold your horses, kiddo."

Qrow chimed in.

"It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

Yang asked while sitting strangely on a chair.

She sat on the chair in such a way that the backrest was pressing against her chest, and she was looking at us.

"Tony helped me a lot, you could say he saved me."

Yang's face was quite serious.

"We won't stay long, we'll leave tomorrow morning."

I decided to clarify.

"Well..."

Ruby frowned and furrowed her brows.

"Blake, Weiss, will you stay?"

Ruby looked hopefully at them.

"I wanted to go back home... I...I had a difficult separation from my parents."

Blake muttered.

"My father wants to take me back to Atlas."

Weiss said while casting a quick glance at me.

"The situation here is unclear... How are we supposed to continue studying? I wanted to become a huntress."

"By the way, yes,"

Yang frowned while following Ruby's lead.

"What's next?"

"There are other academies."

Taiyang shrugged and looked at me.

"But I won't allow you to stay alone with my precious..."

Then, a towel flew into the man's face.

"Old man, stop it."

Yang said this while restraining her smile.

"I still need to meet with General Ironwood."

I stood up from the table.

"Thank you. Your dishes are always wonderful."

I looked at Erina.

"Yes! It's the best thing I've ever eaten! Wait..."

Ruby froze for a second.

"D-Does this mean we won't try your dishes anymore?"

Ruby said quietly, and her gaze began to express universal bitterness.

"We won't let her go."

Yang declared while approaching Erin and putting her arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not an object to you."

Erina snorted and turned away clearly trying to hide the blush on her face.

"No, you're better."

Blake said quietly, standing up on Erin's other side.

The way she looked at Erina made her feel like she was a treasure that she should never lose.

"I'm also in favor of not letting her go."

Blake decided to participate in this "game."

"Well, I'm, of course, the heiress of the company, and I've tried many more different exquisite dishes than these amateurs, but I still have to agree that after trying your dish... it will be difficult to try others, someone needs to take responsibility for this."

Weiss said while raising her nose arrogantly.

"Weiss spoke although she usually tries to hide her true feelings behind dozens of words."

Yang waved her hand while ignoring Weiss's disgruntled look.

"She's ours."

Shinoa said quietly while approaching Blake and looking her straight in the eyes causing Blake to squirm and turn away.

"Now she's ours! Team 'RWBY' forward, we need to preserve this divine food!"

Ruby exclaimed, but...

"Ah, kids, settle your disputes outside the house."

Qrow said wearily and headed for the exit.

"Send them outside, and we'll have a battle for Erin!"

Yang said it with a cheerful smile on her face.

"We'll tear you apart."

Shinoa confidently said this while pulling out something resembling a large key from somewhere that turned into a huge scythe.

"Wow... another scythe... Ruby, her scythe looks more solid."

Yang looked at the younger one.

"No! How could you say that, Yang!"

Ruby protested and hugged her Crescent Rose.

"I... I'll prove that my scythe is better here."

Ruby stomped her foot.

"Rias, are you coming?"

Rhinoa looked at the Rias.

"Huh?"

Rias turned herself away from the scroll with slightly flushed cheeks, and for some reason, Blake looked at her with a very understanding gaze.

"We're having a battle for Erin and her food."

Shinoa nodded her head with the scythe toward Rias.

"Don't you think it's going too far?"

Hermione asked uncertainly with a sparkle in her eyes, and she liked what was happening.

After all, she was quite the adventurer at heart.

"You can fight for Erin's food."

Rias said while drawing attention to herself.

"...how do you wash your hair?"

Yang asked and looked at those beautiful crimson locks.

"Hm, with the herbal shampoo produced by my family,"

Rias licked her lips, answered, and stood up from the couch.

"Weiss, I'll help you with the summoning a bit later. Have fun."

I waved to all of them and headed to the bullhead. I wasn't worried about my group because they could chat in the Group Chat.

I had something to discuss with James. I quickly arrived at the Atlas fleet, and Winter was waiting for me when my ship landed.

"Glad to see you."

I greeted her cold behavior with a smile.

"The general is ready to see you."

Winter turned a hundred and eighty degrees and led me to the office.

"You and your sister are quite similar in some aspects."

I decided to talk on the way.

"She's a pretty good fighter for her age, but as far as I understand, your relationship with your father deserves a separate story about the worst father of the decade."

"Our family matters don't concern you."

Winter said it coldly not even turning her face to me.

Still, I could tell the girl wasn't getting mad but was just reacting as usual.

"I want happiness in this world, so of course, I'm interested in the most influential people. Whether you like it or not, your father is one of them. He determines the fates of thousands of people and faunus with his actions, and he acts like a jerk."

I honestly said that caused Winter to stumble slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and still stopped and turned to face me with furrowed brows.

"Anthony Luthor, what do you expect to achieve by telling me all this?"

Winter asked and looked me straight in the eyes.

She stood in a way that made me think she was ready for something I didn't quite understand, but definitely not to punch me in the face.

"Just to get to know you better,"

I shrugged, and, to be honest, I've been exaggerating lately.

"You and your sister are alike but very different. If Weiss tries to hide behind a mask of pride and a bit of arrogance, then you're behind a mask of cold detachment. But I'm more than sure that inside, you're both very tender girls who were unlucky with a jerk of a father."

"..."

A long and intense gaze was all I got.

Winter's breathing changed slightly, and her pupils dilated, showing that my words did reach her and that she was not as much of an "Ice Queen" as she seemed.

She turned around, didn't say anything, and walked back to the office. I hoped I wasn't too frank.

I noticed that Winter skipped over to James' desk, stood still, and slowly turned her attention to me as I walked into the general's office.

"Um, is there something going on between you two?"

James tried to ask.

"A heart-to-heart conversation... not very successful, apparently."

I awkwardly replied while scratching my head.

"How's the interrogation with Cinder?"

"That's actually classified information... but oh well."

James decided not to hide anything from me which would have been foolish after everything that had happened.

"She's silent. Let's just say that is very disturbing. No, we did manage to find out something; she's working for her."

James emphasized the last part.

"And she's sure she won't stay there for long."

"Salem, yeah... I could tell you a bit more about her, but without confirmation of my words, it's just nothing."

I said it thoughtfully.

"Maybe we should get the Relic of Knowledge?"

I said.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's located beneath Haven Academy."

"Ozpin didn't tell me about that."

James nodded and accepted my words.

"I can listen to what you know about her, but this won't make it any worse."

"Well, I don't know absolutely her whole story. But I can start with the funniest thing is that she is immortal."

I said that and waited for a reaction.

"I-Immortal?"

Winter blurted out.

"Yeah. She will suddenly regenerate in a matter of seconds even if you blow her up. That's one of the reasons why Ozpin hasn't been able to defeat her over all these years. But, let me tell you what I do know..."

"I don't know about you, but after pondering her story, I understand that the gods are real bastards."

I confessed my view of the situation.

'Maybe not entirely and not all of them, but these two individuals certainly are. However, they're gods precisely to not think in human terms of good and evil.'

"If all this is true, then she's an even bigger threat than I thought."

James "stepped back" from the story.

"As far as I know, it's true. That's why I want to warn you not to do anything foolish. You don't have the power to defeat her, but only to anger her."

"Are you suggesting we just sit back and do nothing?"

James stood up and walked to the window.

"I suggest we think through our actions so that this millennia-old deceived, cursed, and betrayed woman doesn't decide to unleash her hatred on you. Furthermore, the Grimm will not disappear even if she dies. They are creatures of the God of Darkness. In addition, think about how she has had every opportunity to destroy humanity again but hasn't done so yet."

"...are you sure you're not the same as Ozpin? Your powers go beyond those of ordinary hunters as does your knowledge."

James asked and turned to face me.

"Well, if you mean the millennia-old coffee addict, then no. But... everyone has their secrets, some have more, and some have less. Actually, there are some ways in which we're similar. For example, I don't want to reveal too much about myself right now because I'm not sure where it will lead in the end."

I honestly said this while glancing at Winter who was staring at me too intently.

"I see."

James responded

"But still, I want to help."

I remarked.

"And maybe if I come back in a couple of days, I'll try to do something... Would you be greatly upset if Jacques Schnee were to retire?"

James's eyes widened slightly, and Winter was clearly stunned.

"Uh, I don't mean murder or anything like that. Do you know how I could even take control of the ships so quickly? With the help of AI Cortana."

I said that and pulled out a holographic projector.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Cortana."

Cortana's avatar appeared.

"Master Luthor, I found everything you asked for. It was more difficult than I thought."

"AI?"

James took a step forward while examining Cortana's avatar.

"So, wait, what about Jacques?"

"I was looking for dirt on him, and, as it turns out whoever seeks shall always find."

I shrugged and smiled slightly.

"Cortana found a lot of interesting recordings and files showing him bribing to advance certain money, using his influence to pressure the board of directors, and much, much more."

"Who are you?"

James whispered.

"Friendly neighbor... uh, someone who genuinely wants to help you,"

I said this while looking Winter in the eyes.

"Winter, that's why I wanted to get to know you and Weiss better. I don't want to hurt you if you see your father's downfall."

"I...,"

Winter simply didn't know what to say which was quite revealing and reflected of emotions in her mind.

"I know about your mother and that your relationship with Jacques can hardly be called family, but he still remains your father. Nevertheless, I won't do anything if you and Weiss are against it."

I said that and approached her.

"If all this were to come to light, I'm more than sure he would start struggling and could cause problems, so we need to act quickly so that he doesn't even have time to recover. So, for now, I won't send anything about Jacques to anyone, just... think about it. I could help you or Weiss take control of the company. I have some experience in that."

"Alright, enough mind-blowing information for today."

James said.

"Where did you stop?"

"We were on Patch Island with Team RWBY."

I replied.

"Alright, I understand that I've said a lot, and Cortana has already sent a program to your computer to protect your networks. By the way, the phone used to hack into the airship yesterday was made by someone who knows your internal network very well."

I said that and turned to Winter.

"Don't you want to go with me to your sister? I think you have things to talk about, and I can help with the Summoning. Don't forget—magic."

I smiled slightly.

Meanwhile, there was some training between RWBY and my team, and... The first group lost badly.

No, it wouldn't have been hard for them to beat Erin or Hermione, but Shinoa and Rias turned out to be serious obstacles. 

Hermione mostly focused on her magic and practiced as there was no ban here.

When I arrived on the bullhead with Winter, Weiss reacted to it quite amusingly but graciously accepted my help.

I saw again how they summoned with their aura and managed to understand the process.

Winter summoned without any problems due to her experience.

Winter minimized using her aura, but Weiss wasted too much energy which resulted in her being able to summon only the hand of some knight with a sword.

My assimilation with Albedo had just recently been completed, so now I had two assimilated characters:

Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark (A) (100%)

Albedo (B) (100%)

...

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