They Will Be His By Nights End

“I’m quite satisfied with all your answers. You have all done a good job, even in this early stage of the plan.” Gray bullshitted his closing statements. “Before we conclude this meeting, Adam, I believe I don’t have a way to contact you. Shall we rectify that now?”

“Yes, Sir.” He pulled out a scroll and prepared to share his contact info. Gray reciprocated, and he now had another criminal as a contact on his scroll.

“Great. Now, if no one has anything else to say...” He looked around the group and found them shaking their heads. “No? Alright. I believe you all have places to be. Cinder, you stay behind.”

With that, everyone, except for Cinder’s group, stood up and prepared to leave. Adam and the White Fang left first after giving Gray a type of salute. Roman Torchwick doffed his hat and left with Neo and the Xiong goons after they cleared the remaining chairs.

Now, Gray was left with Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. They sat there alone in the now very empty warehouse. The door had been left closed now. The last sounds of cars driving off faded away. Gray looked over the three individuals, his eyes still hidden by the shifting shadows under his hood. Up close, Cinder really did look like a gorgeous woman. From her dark hair, all luscious and healthy, to her dress with its rich quality and short hem. Her legs were long and slim and made Gray imagine licking them all the way up from her feet. Next to her was Emerald, the girl with dark skin and green hair. Her white, form-fitting and slightly revealing outfit exposed some of her caramel skin tone. She too was pretty attractive.

Then there was the guy, Mercury. A typical good-looking guy, if a little generic in his black and dark muted blue clothes. He still had the look of some cocky guy with a very punch-able face. Gray didn’t stare at him for nearly as long as he did with the two women. In fact, Gray gave him barely a couple glances.

“Master...” Cinder started talking into the silence. Gray mentally kicked himself for letting things go on with an awkward silence, but he caught himself from staring at the women too much and paid attention again. “You never mentioned being in contact with the White Fang... or even with Roman.”

The implication was clear. She wasn’t happy with not being in the know. She didn’t show this with anger, but her careful wording was a thin veil for her confusion and consternation. Of course, she didn’t dare glare or scowl at Gray. She was just a woman that preferred to feel in control of the situation.

So, Gray had to change that. He didn’t want to be constantly questioned by someone who wanted to bring a Kingdom down and get people hurt. Gray activated his Semblance and spoke.

“You three don’t mind if I know more than you. You don’t mind if I’m in control. In fact, you like when I’m in charge and won’t question me.” He told them. He also added, “You, Cinder, are also obedient to my sexual whims. As far as you are concerned, I have full freedom to use your body however I want, whenever I want. The same goes for you, Emerald. You are also obedient to my sexual whims and allow me to use you the same way as Cinder.”

The women nodded to him.

He found it difficult not take this turn with them, especially after seeing them in person. They were just too hot. And since they were criminals, likely having killed before, then he didn’t see why he shouldn’t punish them by binding them to him like this.

He looked at Mercury and wondered what to do with him. Gray had no interest in men, but he could be useful in another way. The same as Roman Torchwick’s usefulness. But what should Gray do with him? Regardless, Gray had all their loyalties. That was all that mattered.

But Gray began to wonder what would happen if he told them to deviate from their current mission. What if he told them to stop their plans? They would likely do what he said, but would they feel off about it? Would there be confusion and doubt if he told them to stop killing or conspiring with an enemy of mankind?

He needed not just their loyalty, he concluded. He needed to change their devotion from their cause to his cause. He thought about his wording, then spoke again.

“You have only been following Salem’s cause because I ordered you to. You are my agents and are devoted to me. If I told you to turn on Salem, you would.” Yes, devotion was what he needed from them. Not because Gray was getting full of himself, at least not yet, but because they were all an unknown factor to him. Devotion would keep them in line when simple obedience by itself could allow them some leeway to question.

Gray released his Semblance and prepared to answer Cinder’s unspoken question.

“While you three have been doing the work I set out for you, I have been working on my own things. But I must thank you for gathering all these pawns into one place, Cinder. They will prove useful.” At this praise, Cinder nodded her head, pleased if a little confused, but pleased nonetheless. “Now, since the others have left, is there anything that needs to be said without their ears present to hear?”

“Yes Master,” Cinder said, beginning her real briefing to Gray that gave him some more clarity over this morbid situation.

Cinder went on to explain an attack her group took part in a couple months ago. Apparently, Salem had ordered her to track down one of the Maidens from fairy tale. That fact alone had Gray’s mind reeling. He had already heard that detail from Ozpin himself, but it was no less world-bending for him. Cinder then spoke of a partial success for this attack. They had found her and were in the process of stealing her powers– wait... what? That didn’t sound good. Salem had given them a type of Grimm creature that could connect two people and sap away at their Aura...

That...

Gray had never heard of anything like that. As far as he knew Grimm were just manifestations of darkness and had a deep-seated hatred of mankind. For there to be a Grimm creature that could function as a conduit between two people... Could Salem create things like that?

The Autumn Maiden was defeated and Cinder was stealing her powers, but was interrupted by a Huntsman halfway through the procedure. This left Cinder with partial Maiden powers and would likely gain the rest once the other woman passed away. Cinder’s team had been waiting for the past two months for this inevitability but nothing seemed to have changed. Which could only mean that the Maiden was still alive.

For the last two months, Cinder had been trying to figure out how the opposition had been keeping her alive, to no avail. According to Salem, keeping someone alive after they were afflicted with the Grim Beetle’s connection and having a huge chunk of their Aura sapped away usually led to ****. In fact, there hadn’t been a case where anyone survived.

So, chances were that Ozpin was keeping her stable somewhere by unknown methods.

Immediately, Gray turned on his Semblance to ask if the process was reversible, to which Cinder answered that she didn’t know. It seemed that only Salem really knew that answer. That wasn’t ideal for Gray. He had no clue if he could simply ask the Grimm Queen that question face to face just yet, but he certainly didn’t want bad people getting their hands on the Maidens powers like this.

Gray switched his Semblance off and the briefing continued.

Cinder’s team had thought of various ways to sneak in to the academy. One method was to use Mountain Glenn as a staging ground for an attack via the railway connecting the two cities. They would have lured Grimm along the pathway and breached the city, causing panic and strife. This would give them an opening to infiltrate the school grounds and search for the Maiden or the vault holding a relic from ages past.

Ozpin mentioned relics to Gray before. Some gift from the Brother Gods with great power. Or the power to call them back to this world to judge humanity. Gray didn’t want anyone touching those.

Another method that Cinder’s team were considering was the one mentioned in the previous meeting. They would pose as students from Haven. They would use the Vytal Festival and the tournament to sow some chaos that way. Those plans weren’t as finalized as the Mountain Glenn one, though.

It was also mentioned that Cinder was prepared to use some of her other contacts to assist her mission. She spoke of some hacking and programs that could help sift through information.

It was all rather grim.

Pardon the pun.

Their plans were quite destructive and had a distinct lack of concern for civilian life. Gray couldn’t stand by that. He needed to think of a way to undermine these plans before they ever came to fruition. He had the power, he just needed to know what to say and when. He needed to know more.

Gray certainly didn’t like the Mountain Glenn plan, and that one seemed closer in the pipeline from the sounds of things. There may come a time when Gray would need to visit the site, but he still wasn’t sure.

The other plan on the other hand... the one where they would pose as students. That one gave Gray some thoughts. If they were in the school, that meant he could keep an eye on them better. Plus, these two women in a uniform might be a sexy opportunity. Ah, but then there was also Mercury there. Not ideal.

Wait... there are four members on a team. Who would be the fourth?

“Regarding the plan involving posing as students.” Gray began. “Who would take part in that? You three and another?”

Cinder glanced at her team before responding.

“We were thinking of including Neo. Roman Torchwick’s subordinate.” She told him.

“Ah. That makes sense.” Gray said. Neo was short enough to come across as a very young woman, or even a young girl. A good choice. Gray did want to see if he could throw her around a bedroom. He just didn’t like having a guy on the team in Mercury. Gray wanted to find a replacement, but had no idea where to begin.

Which was fine. That plan was ages away. He had time to find a suitable replacement. Maybe the White Fang had someone, or even that crime family. Gray had time; he told himself.

There wasn’t much else besides what little Cinder could tell him of Salem herself. She described the woman as looking human, without being human. Skin so white, whiter than bone or paper. Eyes red like chambers filled with the glow of magma. Veins that ruined an otherwise alien beauty.

Emerald and Mercury had yet to meet this “woman”, but if they had, then Emerald could have used her Semblance to show Gray what she looked like. It really was too bad, though, since her description gave him a weird fear-boner. He wasn’t sure what to make of that himself.

One of the last things they did before concluding the meeting was to show Gray the symbol on Cinder’s back from the fight with the Autumn Maiden. The Beetle Grimm left evidence of its power written in the form of a heart shape inside a “V” and bisected down the middle.

Gray got up and felt the skin to find that there was no odd difference to that of skin with a tattoo.

“Interesting.” Gray murmured.

Cinder looked over her shoulder at the contact but made no comment.

Gray came back to the moment.

“What is next in the works for the foreseeable future?” He asked, sitting down again.

“We are mostly laying low while doing odd jobs to kill time,” Cinder said once she sat down again. “That and gaining information through the criminal networks around the city. I also need to grow accustomed to the power I gained from the Maiden.”

Made sense to Gray. The Railway plan might be weeks away yet. In fact, he should probably ask about that.

“And the next phase for Mountain Glenn?”

“It will take some time to transport dust and people over there quietly. Criminal’s like Torchwick and Junior’s henchmen are handling the first stages of the move, using airships and posing as simple cargo vessels to transport dust and White Fang troops. They need to do this piece by piece to avoid scrutiny.” Cinder explained. “Then once enough people are positioned there, they’ll begin repurposing one of the trains left behind in the underground caverns beneath the city. Holes will be made along the underground railroad so that the creatures of Grimm can slip into the tunnel. Once the train is in motion, the people onboard will deliberately feel negative emotions to draw them in and lure them to the Vale end of the tunnel. The train will burst through the bulwark gates using explosive dust and Grimm will pour into the city.”

That... was quite the elaborate plan.

“I assume that is when you would infiltrate. Under the cover of a Grimm attack, with all available authorities focused in the city.”

“Yes.” Cinder nodded.

“And if failing to find the Maiden or the vault, you would plant the hacking program at the CCT Tower?”

“Yes.” She nodded again.

“When do you surmise that this plan would be ready to be carried out?” Gray asked. It would help if he knew what time limits he was working with.

“...perhaps before the winter festival.” Cinder said, sounding somewhat unsure.

Before the winter festival, huh? That was around the time, or just before then, that students from the other academies would arrive at Beacon. They would stay until the Vytal festival the next year, which takes place during the summer break. Having the attack take place as more people arrive would be even more diabolical than not.

But now Gray had a timeline to work with.

“That works for me. Good work.” Gray told them. Cinder almost visibly relaxed once she got approval from him. “Continue as you were and keep me updated daily, or immediately in the case of unforeseen developments.”

“Yes, Master.” Cinder acquiesced. She gave a short bow from her seat.

Gray got up from his own and watched as the other three stood. As he was thinking of how to leave things, he thought about doing something sexual with the women but thought against it. He wasn’t quite in the mood. In fact, he was quite exhausted, but there was something he felt he needed to do before the night was done.

“I will leave first. Wait one minute after I have left before making your own exit.”

Cinder nodded and Gray walked to the door. He opened it and stepped through, shocked to see that night had fallen. He closed the door behind him and activated his Semblance before letting the shadows adorning his form fade away, to be replaced with more natural shadows from the darkened sky.

He checked his scroll and saw the time was quarter past seven. At this time of year night came somewhat early so he really shouldn’t be surprised. It was just that the warehouse was already so gloomy when he went in two hours ago.

Gray began walking up the driveway, briefly glancing at the car left behind and wondering if he should hitch a ride with Cinder’s faction. He shook his head and kept walking. He needed a little time to think and a walk would help with that.

Tonight, he had just met with some of the most dangerous people in Vale. His nerves were a little frayed after that meeting and the cool night air would help him unwind.

Adam Taurus. A terrorist with strength that would scare anyone and give even Huntsmen pause.

Roman Torchwick and his partner, Neo. Criminal thieves of Vale’s underbelly. Roman’s exploits were spoken of extensively on the news.

Cinder. Her last name Gray hadn’t bothered to ask about. Her faction was affiliated with some kind of Queen of the Grimm, bent on destruction.

Plus, the henchmen of a crime family, the Xiong.

What had Gray’s life become?

He got to the road and stood to the side of the sidewalk and looked up at the night sky. At one edge there was a slight pink glow from the dying sun and a smattering of clouds. The rest of the sky was dark with only some twinkling stars. Gray stood there and sighed, feeling a weight on his shoulders that shouldn’t be there.

Would he get used to this?

Should he?

Did he have much of a choice?

Well, technically he did. He could have ignored all of this and gone on with his life. Let someone else deal with all this nonsense. He could have passed all this information to Ozpin with no backlash on himself. He could still do that too.

...but what if that fails?

What if standing back and letting others deal with all this ends up not working? What if Vale is attacked and people die? What if Ozpin is unable to counter Cinder and Salem? What if–

A car came up the driveway behind him and exited the warehouse lot. Gray turned his head and saw Mercury in the driver's seat with Cinder in the front passenger seat. Emerald was sitting in the back. None of them looked his way and the car turned to the left and drove away.

Gray watched them go.

What if he did nothing?

It really didn’t feel like much of a choice. Knowing what he knows, he would feel horrible if he didn’t do anything when he could have. That’s why he turned to walk and began planning. He needed to be ready. And there was still no telling if Salem had a counter for his Semblance, so he needed to be smart. He needed to be sneaky. He inserted himself into the command structure of three– no, four factions. Now, he needed to make sure that word of Gray didn’t get back to this Grimm Queen.

“The people I talked to in that warehouse today will not speak of me or the name Cypher unless given permission or if they are talking to someone already in the know. Otherwise, they will be secretive about me and their loyalty to me.”

That should be effective in stopping any mention of Gray or his new persona from getting out.

There was one other thing he wanted to get done tonight. No, make that two things.

Gray brought out his scroll as he walked and composed a message for Adam Taurus.

Cypher: I have a small job for you. I want you to think of a White Fang agent, either in Vale or abroad, who might be convincing enough to pose as a first-year student visiting Beacon. Female only. Don’t worry about the particulars or the pros or cons. Have that info ready for me by the Sunday briefing.

Gray sent that message and waited. He really wanted Cinder’s team to be another all-female one just like RWBY and JNPR. This was a more whimsical thing he wanted done and had nothing to do with saving the city from destruction. Whimsical yes, but can you blame him?

His scroll beeped. He looked at the incoming message.

Adam: Understood. I’ll have that ready by Sunday.

Good, good. Gray smiled at how easy it was to capture such a dangerous individual and order him about. It was also too surreal, but he tried brushing that feeling aside.

The last thing he needed to do tonight was to get a handle on this Xiong family. Gray had met the others, but not this Junior person. So, Gray thought it would be prudent to meet with him and get the measure of him before the day was truly done. To that end...

“Hei Xiong will send a car to pick me up from the Old Town Square in ten minutes.”

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