A Fateful Mission

Vale. Atlesian embassy. James Ironwood's office. A tasteful mix of Atlesian and Vale decor. Large. A wall of bookshelves filled with well read books line one wall. On the opposite wall, a fireplace near the corner close to the entrance with comfortable leather seating around, and a small, but well stocked bar. At the far end near the windows, a large wooden desk with dents showing the results of James' frustration from time to time sits across from the bookshelves.

James entered the room letting his shoulders sag. It had been a long day of meeting after meeting. While he was good at dealing with meetings, as a leader should be, he was a soldier first and foremost. He should be among his men, leading them. In some ways, the battles in the meeting rooms were worse than being on the battlefield. At least there he knew whom and what he was fighting. The waning sunlight from the windows marked the time of day. He had been up well before the sunrise and was planning on being up well into the night. His stomach growled. He had been so busy with running the school and council meetings that he had forgotten to eat. He walked to the intercom built into the wall near the fireplace that had a fire going, and placed an order for a sandwich. The chef protested, but James didn't want an elaborate meal that would weigh him down. With that he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. He walked towards the windows past his desk. The pile of paperwork on his desk could wait, at least for him to get some food. He stood there with drink in his left hand looking out on the gardens of the complex. The seasons were changing. The leaves from the trees and the setting sun had set the grounds on fire with beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges. He lifted his glass filled with the dark amber-colored, alcoholic liquid to his nose taking in its notes. Just as he was about to take a long pull of his drink there was a knock at his door. "Enter," he said, realizing that it may have come off too harsh. It had been a long day.

In walked Winter carrying a large tray of cold-cuts, slices of various breads and cheeses, and condiments to go with. He looked up. "Winter. Sorry for my tone. You can put the tray down. Since when did you become waitstaff?"

After she had closed the door, and sat the tray down on the table in front of the fireplace, Winter responded with, "Since some jackass of a general slash head of state slash school headmaster decided to put me as his chief of his staff. Or did you add another title sometime today and haven't told me yet?"

Normally reserved in front of others, Winter enjoyed the times like these with General Ironwood where she could let her down a little. He turned, laughed slightly, and lifted the drink in a small salute. "Yeah. Sorry about that. You wanted to climb the ladder without using your name. And here you are. No more meetings for today right? Go ahead, pour yourself a drink, and make a sandwich for yourself. If I haven't eaten today, I'm fairly sure you haven't. And no, I haven't gained a new position anywhere. At least that I am aware of."

"Yes sir. Done with meetings for the day. Thank you, sir," she said as she walked to the bar, making her own drink before returning to the leather chairs, and making a sandwich for herself and the General.

James started walking towards the chairs. "Don't call me sir when we're alone like this remember, and you don't have to make me a sandwich. I am still capable of making my own food."

"Force of habit sir…I mean James." It was a hard habit for her to break. She had renounced her inheritance as a Schnee, and forced the General to treat her as a normal recruit when she signed up for the Atlesian military. She wanted to earn her own ranks without using her name; only her skill. James was impressed with her determination and agreed, treating her no different than anyone else. She had earned her spot on his staff on her own merit. She was proud of it.

James sat down, placed his drink down on an end table, and reached for the sandwich Winter had made. As he was about to take a bite the intercom buzzed at his desk. He put the sandwich down and started to rise to answer it. Winter with years of experience with this sort of distraction, beat him to it, answering the call somewhat harshly. "General Ironwood's office. Winter speaking. What is it?"

James gave a disapproving look towards Winter. She had a worse habit than him of being harsh with people at the end of a long day. She caught his look, and bowed her head realizing her mistake. She had learned from James including some of his bad habits. She reminded herself to work on that.

"Ma'am. There's a Professor Ozpin from Beacon Academy that would like to see General Ironwood," came the slightly panicky reply.

James nodded the approval to send him up. Questions started flying through his mind: What could Oz be doing in Atlas? And at this hour? Is something wrong?

Winter responded. "Please make sure that Professor Ozpin is comfortable. I'm on my way. Sir -"

James interrupted, "Negative Winter." He spoke up louder so that the person on the other line could hear, "Sergeant Adams. Please escort Professor Ozpin to my office."

"Yes sir!" came the enthusiastic reply.

Winter looked at him quizzically. James held up his hand to forestall her line of questioning. "If Ozpin is here, there's a good reason. He and I go way back. It's time for you to start working on the next part of your training. Statecraft. I'm sorry to ask, but please clean up and get ready to receive our guest."

Winter nodded, starting to clean up the tray of food. James looked longingly at it. It wasn't the first time that he had missed food due to matters of state. His stomach grumbled in protest. He hoped that meeting Oz wouldn't take too long.

There was a knock at the door. Winter answered after checking with James for the ok. James stood as he normally did when greeting dignitaries, hands behind his back and his famous disarming smile ready to welcome his longtime friend.

The door opened. There stood Ozpin. His trademark black and green clothing, white hair, and cane. James knew that Oz could wield that cane as deftly as he could his own gun and that it would be foolish to think that Oz used that merely as a support. He made a mental note to have a talk with security about this later.

James extended his hand, shaking Oz's with practiced ease and clapped his friend on the shoulder. He said, "Oz! What a wonderful surprise! I wasn't expecting you. Hope everything is well." He motioned to Oz to have a seat. "Please have a seat. May I get you anything? Drink? Food?"

Ozpin placed his cane in the stand reserved for umbrellas noticing that Winter and the sergeant were swapping an apparent full food tray after salutes. "Oh no. It would appear that I have interrupted your meal. Please don't starve on account of me. This isn't a formal visit. I just wanted to come and talk."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well ok. Is there anything you want to eat or drink?"

"The tray of food that you were about to send out looked delicious. And I would very much like some coffee if possible."

"Of course. Winter. Please place the tray back down." James walked to the wall behind his desk, and turned on a small coffee pot. As much as he liked the kitchen's coffee, there was something about making it himself that made it better.

Winter placed the tray down. She knew that even if James wanted her to learn statecraft, this wasn't the time. A meeting between heads of state was one thing. A meeting between friends was an entirely different matter. She saluted quickly, and then started to see herself out when James stopped her.

"Winter. Please stay. If that's alright with you Oz," he asked as he turned to his friend.

Ozpin walked to the windows and smiled. "Oh, that's fine. I am just here to see an old friend and the beautiful fall colors. As I see, I am not disappointed."

James nodded to Winter who closed the door quietly, and then stood in the corner by the bookshelves. The coffee finished brewing. He poured Oz a mug. James then added a couple of cubes of sugar and some half and half, knowing that's how Oz took his coffee. He walked over to Oz, handing him the mug. Oz smelled deeply the rich aroma of the coffee. Closing his eyes, he let fond memories wash over him.

"Thank you." He took a sip, and smiled. It was exactly how he liked his coffee. James had remembered. He turned around and motioned James back to the leather seats by the fireplace.

Once reaching the seats, Oz looked at Winter, and motioned her to sit down. "If Miss Schnee is to stay, at least allow her to be comfortable."

"Of course. Winter. Please join us."

Winter quickly sat down, but still sat upright at the edge of her seat. Her years of training refused to let her relax like James and Ozpin were. Oz frowned slightly. With a combination of concern and disapproval he said, "Miss Schnee. I am here to catch up with a friend. Not to talk about matters of state. He has asked for you to stay as a courtesy. I have agreed. I ask that you please relax. In fact, I'm glad you are staying. I have heard such great things about you from your sister. And in before your body gives away what you want ask, but can't verbally, your sister is doing quite well. You can be proud of her."

Winter slid further into the back of the chair relaxing ever so slightly. She internally beamed that Weiss was doing well. Oz gave a small smile knowing that she was probably as relaxed as she would allow herself to be.

He turned back to James asking, "So James. How is your balancing act going?"

"Balancing act?" James asked as he reached for his sandwich from earlier.

"Yes, the balancing act of being a General, Headmaster, and head of state for Atlas."

"Ah. Well I'm managing. Some days are better than others of course. Countless meetings. How about yourself? How is Beacon Academy doing? Are you ready for this upcoming tournament?" James took a bite bigger than normal for him, happy knowing that Oz would talk long enough for him to eat a few bites.

Ozpin started making his own sandwich while he talked, "Beacon is doing well. The students are enjoying themselves, and learning and prepping as much as possible for exams and the upcoming tournament. I believe they will give your students a good run for their money. In fact, I believe that the tournament champion this year will be from Beacon. Glynda believes it as well. I trust her judgement."

James swallowed as quickly as possible to talk. "Oh really? Glynda says so? How is she doing by the way," he asked with a pang of guilt and longing highly evident in his voice. He recovered quickly, and continued, "Your students besting mine? I wonder if you care to make a friendly wager on that. Say a bottle of Scotch this time?"

Ozpin lifted his mug of coffee in response, sadness flashing across his face at hearing the strain in James' voice. "Glynda is doing well. She would never admit it, but she misses you very much from time to time. As for my students. Yes, I believe that one of my students will be champion."

As he leaned in to toast James, James got up and walked to the bar. "I'm sorry, but I can't let a wager such as this be toasted to with just coffee," he said as he poured a drink from a bottle different than the one his own drink had come from.

He returned placing the glass in front of Ozpin. He sat back down, picked up his glass, and held it in preparation for the toast. Ozpin held the glass to his nose and inhaled, smelling the familiar notes of his favorite whiskey. "Ah. From our last bet."

"Of course. Just to remind you that I won last time," James said as he smiled and winked touching his glass with his friend.

"To friendly competition," Ozpin said smiling while he returned the gesture.

They both downed their respective glasses in one large swallow. After which James reached for Ozpin's glass. He again stood up, walking to the bar.

Ozpin said right before taking a bite of his sandwich, "I'm surprised you still had some left after that night. You and I must have drunk several bottles between us. We got so hammered!"

James laughed while he refilled the glasses. "Of course, we got hammered. It was what…the first time in like 3 gentleman's wagers that I had actually won? I was going to celebrate and lord it over you a bit."

Ozpin laughed at that, and turned to Winter. "Well it was only because he gamed the system so that he would finally win. As I recall, this particular wager involved bobbing for grenades blindfolded knowing that I didn't do well underwater."

Winter snorted into her drink, some of it getting into her nose. She quickly put it down, and rubbed her nose vigorously to get rid of the burning and tingling sensation. "Bobbing for grenades? Blindfolded? Why," she asked incredulously.

James put his arms out while carrying the drinks back. "I had to do something. He had won three good bottles of whiskey from me. He was SO smug about it too. I just had to get at least one win."

He sat the drinks down, sat down himself, and then took another, although smaller, bite of his sandwich. He held up his hand to his mouth while he talked. "God, that must have been what 10 years ago. Man, how times had changed." His expression changed slightly remembering the times before that fateful mission. His left hand went unconsciously to right arm and he looked down at his gloved, metal hand.

Winter and Oz both noted the change in demeanor. Winter was the first to respond saying, "Is everything alright sir, I mean James?"

James looked up, his expression going back to his jovial self. "Yes, everything is fine Winter. Just remembering of days long past, but sometimes they're not always happy. I'll be fine."

Ozpin knew that James was lying. He knew that James was thinking back to that fateful mission in which he nearly lost his life. It hurt him know that he had sent him on that mission. Oz reached across the table and placed a reassuring hand on his flesh knee. "Again, James I'm so sorry that I sent you on that mission. I was so worried after I heard what happened. But I am so very happy that you survived and that you are able to live. Look how much you've accomplished afterwards," he said, trying to cheer his friend up.

James looked up and weakly smiled, but tears were forming in his eyes. He immediately wiped them away. He took a large swig of his drink. The long day combined with others this week had worn on him more than he thought. He normally could control this. He waved his hand trying to dismiss the issue. "And again. I forgive you. I agreed to do the mission. You couldn't know what was out there or what would happen. I too am happy that I survived and that we continue to be friends."

Ozpin knew that James was still harboring resentment and that he needed to get everything out in the open if he were to finish the healing process. Really get everything out. The after-action reports by everyone involved seemed not to contain what truly happened out there.

Winter noticed that the air had changed between the two. She didn't know what to do so she defaulted to what she had learned. Trying to end the meeting she stood up and said, "Excuse me Professor Ozpin, but General Ironwood is tired, and needs his rest. While he appreciates your visit, he asks that you leave. May I escort you out?"

Winter started to move and try to get Ozpin moving as well. James looked up to Winter sternly saying, "Winter, sit down." He turned to Oz saying, "Please excuse her Oz. She's just doing what a good chief of staff would do." He inhaled, and then let out a long sigh before continuing, "I guess now would be a good time as any to go over what really happened out there."

He turned back to Winter who was still standing trying to figure out was to do next. He downed his drink and handed the glass to her, his voice softening, "Winter, please pour me another, and bring the bottle with you when you return."

Winter nodded, walking off to do what she was asked. Ozpin looked across to his friend noticing that he looked more tired than previously. He started to get up. "No. Miss Schnee is right. It is late, and you are tired. I should not have stopped by unannounced. Thank you for your hospitality."

"No Oz. Please sit down. Like I said, it's as good as time as any to truly tell you what happened out there. But first if you don't mind, let us all eat so that I may have the energy to tell the story and you two can have the energy to hear it. Are you still fine with the sandwich?"

"Very well. If you insist. Should it get too intense or that you ask to me to leave, I will leave, and we won't speak of this again. We will do this at your pace. I will not push. I know this will be hard, but we will get through this together James," he said as he leaned down placing a hand on James' shoulder.

Ozpin smiled, continuing, "Though I would like something else to snack on after the sandwich. Something tells me this may last awhile."

James returned the smile. He stood so that he may look Oz in the eye. "Of course. And thank you." He walked to the intercom, and ordered up snacks. Winter returned with bottle and drink. She walked to the door, preparing to leave. "Winter," James said in a sincere voice, "Please stay. It's high time that you learned how I got this way. The report is only a small portion. Please sit. May I get you anything?"

"No sir, I, uh, mean James. I'm fine."

"Alright. Then if you don't mind, I'm finally going to finish my sandwich."

For the next several minutes the trio ate in silence. His hunger finally getting the better of him, James practically wolfed down the rest of his sandwich, and made another, which too disappeared in several large bites. Ozpin and Winter ate a little slower. Winter hoped that if she ate slowly it would give James time to change his mind, and not talk about the past that seemed to pain him so. Ozpin ate slowly because he wanted to savor every bite of the delicious meats and cheeses that were native to Atlas. There came a knock on the door which Winter answered. She returned with an even larger tray filled with bowls and plates of snack crackers, cheeses, chocolates, cookies, nuts, and pretzels. James leaned back in his seat, one arm on the back, the other on the armrest drink in hand. "That was good. I hope you two enjoyed your sandwiches as well. I see that the chefs have outdone themselves once again. Winter, please remind me to give them my compliments."

Winter nodded, replying, "Yes James."

Ozpin chimed in as well saying, "That sandwich was delicious. I may have to take some of your meats and cheeses back home with me. And just look at this spread of snacks! I will definitely have to take part in some of them in a little while. Miss Schnee, please add my compliments as well."

"Yes, Professor Ozpin."

"Oh, don't call me Professor Ozpin. I get called that enough by my students. If James here trusts you to use his name, you may use mine as well. Call me Ozpin."

"Yes Mr. Ozpin."

Ozpin chuckled knowing that was probably as informal as Winter was going to be with him. "Fair enough."

Again, the trio sat in silence. Time seeming to stand still. The only noise coming from the crackling fire. James sat with his finger rubbing the edge of the glass, Ozpin quietly sipping his cooling coffee, and Winter quietly working on her own drink. She and Ozpin finished their drinks roughly at the same time. Winter wanted to move, but didn't want to break the silence that was holding back the inevitable flood of the past. She didn't want it to happen as she didn't want to see James in pain. He had done so much for her, even saving her a couple of times, that she had regarded him as almost a father figure.

James finally broke the silence, again downing his drink, and placing it on the end table a little noisier than normal. It was his third large drink in a fairly short order. He was definitely starting to feel the effects. He smiled saying, "Sorry. I guess I should switch to something unleaded as it were. Winter. Oz. It would seem that you are done with your drink as well. Allow me to get you something."

"Tea please."

"Ah yes. Tea would be nice as well," Winter said after Ozpin.

"Tea it is then."

James picked up the tray of leftovers, placing it on his desk. He would hand that off later. He walked to the coffee pot, and pulled out a tea pot and electric kettle. He heated the water while opening another cupboard, pulling out a tray, teacups, and box of loose tea. He worked quickly and diligently, even while the alcohol was working its way through his body. 'Luckily, we all like the same kind of tea,' he thought to himself. Once everything was ready, he returned, pouring three cups of tea, saving his for last. He sat down, waiting for Winter and Oz to sweeten their teas first before adding honey to his own.

Oz sipped his tea, and smiled. James still remembered. Winter too smiled at her boss remembering the tea she liked. Her eyes went wide briefly realizing that she, James, and Ozpin liked the same kind of tea.

After James had taken a couple large swallows of tea, he placed the cup down then stood up "Alright you two," He took off his jacket, the glove covering his bionic hand, and then rolled up his sleeve showing as much of his arm as possible before continuing, "The real reason why I asked you to stay. Let's get this over with." He sat back down.

"Are you sure James?" Ozpin asked sincerely.

"You know me. Once my mind is made up, it's hard to stop. Doubly so when I'm drunk. I have a good buzz going on now. No sense in trying to stop me now.

"Some history first for you Winter. As you know, I actually went to Beacon Academy over our own at Atlas because at the time Beacon was the best."

"And still is," Ozpin chimed in smiling.

"Debatable. As I was saying, I was a rising star much like yourself. I aced all my classes. My professors were all very impressed with my grades and fighting abilities. I caught the eye of Oz here. He pulled me aside to join his cadre of advanced students. Oz would give us missions alongside more seasoned Huntsmen and women. That's where I met Glynda." He smiled fondly at the memory.

"Oh, you should have seen the two of us. We complimented each other perfectly. Though with us being of somewhat the same mindset, we would argue from time to time. But we still fell in love. Because of our prowess together, Oz would give us more and more challenging missions. Which of course we would perform efficiently and thoroughly. In due time we both graduated. We chose to remain on Oz's special missions team. Those teams were the basis of our own Specialist Program that I instituted when I became General and Headmaster. Oz was a hard taskmaster. I started to resent him slightly because there was little time for Glynda and I to have any downtime alone. We wound up taking more time to complete the missions just so that we could spend time together away from Oz's eye."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I assure you I would have given you two as much time off as possible. It's just that you two were so good and so eager, that I kept giving you missions," Oz said somewhat sadly.

James' eyes narrowed. His voice filling slightly with venom as he said, "I'm not calling bullshit on that, but I highly doubt that you didn't know about me and Glynda. You and I both know that you knew how we ticked, what buttons to push, and that we would do anything to make you happy. You knew how to use us for your own gains. I see that now, but I was young, dumb, and easily manipulated. I learned my lesson." James' eyes flashed anger one more time at Oz before softening and looking down at his bionic arm and hand.

He turned his head towards Winter. With his voice softening once more he said, "Winter. If you haven't already learned this lesson, I want you to know that some lessons will cost more than others. Unfortunately, the more valuable the lesson learned the more it can cost. But looking back the cost usually pales in comparison to the experience gained. Just don't die trying to learn a lesson. Please."

"Yes James," Winter replied head bowed. She wondered how these two could be friends coming off the almost poisonous way he had just talked to Ozpin.

"Anyways," James started back. The poison in voice subsiding continued, "This part of my life lasted a couple of years. Like I said, Oz here was a hard taskmaster, but he was still friendly. He would always sneak care packages into our provisions for missions boosting our morale. Giving us the right bit of encouragement to continue. Sometimes the missions would last months. It was a wondrous time. Learning my capabilities. Spending time with the woman I loved. Oh, the stories I could tell you. Would turn you red. I might tell you one day when I'm even more drunk. But back to the main story."

Winter blushed slightly. She had heard stories before, among the men about their exploits. It was different hearing this come from James. She recovered and leaned forward slightly. She definitely was intrigued with his story.

"Now we come to the fateful mission. Now I'm going to give you as much of the full version as possible. Not the redacted one that I know you've read Winter. I ask that you do not disclose what you are about to hear as it is still sensitive. I still can't tell you everything just yet. Oz knows more than you about the real reason we went out, but that is up to him to tell you. I will respect his wishes on that. Winter nodded and said, "I understand."

"Ok. So, the mission was to help reclaim some of the lands lost in northern Mistral during the Grim attacks during the Great War. It was also to investigate rumors of some one or something controlling the Grim," he said looking at Ozpin to check to make sure he wasn't divulging too much. Oz returned a knowing look that he was getting close to saying too much. James nodded.

"We of course didn't believe the rumors. But it was our job to check nonetheless. Also, to gain back territory lost to the Grimm is always a worthwhile mission. Unfortunately, that winter was one of the harshest in recent memory. Almost every day at the start of the mission was near whiteout conditions. But we couldn't stop. Grim didn't, so neither could we. It was hard going. It had taken us twice as long as planned to reach the operations area. We knew that it was going to be a while before any resupply would be coming due to the weather. So Glynda and I made camp. We planned to spend a couple of nights dug in to let the storm blow by. That storm lasted nearly a week. We started delving into our reserve supplies. Glynda started talking about quitting the mission and trying again at a later time. Me, I was living up to my surname, becoming hard headed. I saw this as a battle of wills between myself and nature. And damned if I wasn't going to win this battle.

"That started the rift between the two of us. A rift, I'm sad to say, that hasn't fully closed. Oz, I hope Glynda knows that I am sorry for all the harsh things I said to her, and my stubborn-headedness at wanting to continue the mission."

"I know she has forgiven you for that James."

"Thanks Oz. Maybe one day I'll actually have enough courage to asking for her forgiveness to her face."

James leaned forward grabbing a piece of fudge. He wanted something sweet to take the edge off what was to come in his story. He took a pull of his drink. The alcohol and sweetness combining into a wonderful taste.

"So, there we were. Stuck between a rock and my hard head. We, or rather I, decided to move on with the mission. The cold was something I was used to. Like you are with growing up in Atlas. Glynda not so much. That too didn't help our relationship. Anyways, the weather finally turned, and we started the mission. Search and destroy of Grimm, and looking for clues. Of course, we didn't find any clues. The storm had erased just about any trail that we had found. The trails we did find just led us to Grimm which we summarily dispatched. Normal stuff. Little did we know what was about to happen."

James took another piece of fudge and another swig of his drink finishing it off. He placed it next to the bottle. He leaned back relishing the taste, steeling himself for the next part of his story. Ozpin saw the change in James. 'He must be coming to the moment,' he thought as he reached for a piece of fudge. Winter too took this as an opportunity to take a couple of cookies from the tray.

Ozpin said, "James. Again, you are welcome to stop anytime if this becomes too hard for you. I don't want to see you in pain."

James shot upright, rage and grief in his voice and on his face. He pointed accusingly with his bionic hand. "Pain?! What do you know about pain?! If YOU didn't want to see me in pain, YOU should have just let me die out there! I did that mission FOR YOU! Do you know how much pain I had to endure for THIS?!" He flourished his bionic arm. "And THIS?!" He tapped his right leg. A dull ring sounded. "You got me to the doctors practically dead. They saved my life. It took weeks to stabilize me. I was told I flatlined a couple of times. Then they prepped me for the operation. I had to be conscious for it. No pain killers while they mated these new appendages to my body." He flared his arm out. "It wasn't like it is now. I had to be conscious so that my brain could redraw its map of my body. It was excruciating! It was like every pain receptor going off at once. Then stopping. Then firing of again. And this wasn't a quick process either, rebuilding me. SIXTEEN HOURS I was in surgery for this. I was tied down. I screamed in agony. I ran hoarse after the three-hour mark. Silent screams and sobs came out of me afterwards. I passed out at least three times from the pain only to be awoken by it once more. I was an agony-filled, blubbering mess when it was all said and done. I wanted to die. I was the first one to survive that amount of rebuilding. But the pain wasn't over. It took WEEKS for me to get used to the bionics. I had to learn how to walk again. How to touch, and hold objects again. Normal stuff. Then there was the random de-syncing which caused all my right-side pain receptors to fire off again when it re-synced. Imagine half your body falling asleep, then the pins and needles sensation as blood flows back. It's sorta like that, but a thousand times worse. That's the closest I can think of."

Tears were now streaming down his face, but he continued, quieter now that the rage burned itself away leaving only grief, "My parents had died years earlier. You, Oz, were never there. Glynda stayed for some of it, but I pushed her away. I couldn't stand her looking at me with, what I thought at the time, but know better now, pity in her eyes. I couldn't stand being a freak of nature. I thought that she would never love a freak like me. So, I pushed her away. She left to my utter shame and sadness. I would go through the pain of that operation a thousand times over just so that I wouldn't have to see Glynda's sad eyes when she finally left. I was alone. And sure, the doctors and physical therapists were around, but I was more of an experiment to them. A THING to help so they could show off their most ambitious trial to date. But in time, I tamed my bionic half. The pain subsiding as each generation of bionics became better. Or maybe the rest of my body got used to it. Whatever the reason, here I am." He again flared his arms out, collapsing against the back of the couch exhausted.

The normally detached Winter was crying. She knew that the process was in its early stages when James had the operation, but didn't know all the details. To hear his story, and to see him like he was now, was heartbreaking for her. She did the only thing she could think of to try to help him. She launched herself at James, hugging him tightly. Between sobs into his shirt she said, "I'm sorry James. I didn't know. I'm so sorry. It's ok. It's going to be ok. Just please stop crying."

Ozpin started to cry. He too knew that the operation wasn't without risk. He was happy it was a success, but he didn't know what it had done to his friend. He started to stand up to go to James, but stopped himself. He didn't know if this was the right time seeing all the anger thrown his way. He sat there as quietly as possible fighting back his tears.

James was caught off guard by Winter's sudden weight on his body. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her trying to protect and comfort her. He stopped crying. Holding her caringly while her sobs faded he said, "Hey now. It's ok. I'm fine now see. It's just that this has been built up for so long. I needed this release. It's ok. I promise." He rubbed her back reassuringly.

Winter sniffled several times before finally pushing off of James. "I'm sorry. It's just that hearing your story of the surgery and your anger toward Ozpin. I had never seen you like this before. It breaks my heart knowing you went through all that. Not having anyone to talk to."

Ozpin finally spoke up saying, "I'm sorry too James. Truly sorry. I should have been there for you during your recovery. I wanted to be there. Truly I did, but other matters drew my attention. I asked for regular updates on your progress. You have to believe me that I did. But I just got the sanitized versions. I didn't know. Please believe me, I didn't know."

James stared at the ceiling. He took several slow breaths to finish calming himself down, then one final deep breath in through his nose, held it for several seconds, and then slowly blew it out his mouth, letting it carry the rest of his resentment with Oz away. He tilted his head back forward speaking over Winter's shoulder and noticed that Oz was fighting back tears of his own. He said, "Apology accepted Oz. It was just so hard knowing that the people I cared for had either left or weren't there. Now that I know that it wasn't fully your fault I'll be ok. Please forgive me that it still may take a while to fully be over it. Looking back now. I am grateful that you saved me. This life of mine has been filled with more joy afterwards. Seeing the students graduate and becoming huntsmen and women on their own. Winter here being the best so far. We've accomplished a lot together, afterwards haven't we?"

"Yes, we have James."

James shifted his focus back to Winter before saying, "Winter. Would you be kind enough to go grab some tissues. I believe we all need some. Thank you."

Winter did as she asked grabbing a tissue box from a nearby cupboard. She took some for herself dabbing her eyes, and then blowing her nose. She didn't care if blowing her nose in public wasn't ladylike. With what she had been through she thought she had earned it. She handed the box to James who grabbed a handful of tissues before passing it to Ozpin. Ozpin took tissues as well then handed them back to Winter who put them down on the end table before taking her seat once more.

James recovered after a few more moments of deep breaths. He laughed lightly before saying, "Man, I didn't realize I had been holding that in for so long. I'm sorry that you two had to witness that. But I'm happy that you were here for support. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. I do ask that you keep this among ourselves. I do have an image to uphold."

"Of course, James. As do I. Miss Schnee I hope you can keep a secret."

"Of course, Mr. Ozpin. You can trust me."

"I'll vouch for her Oz. She knows how to keep a secret."

"Fair enough. I think it's been quite a night. A lot has been said. We should call it a night so that we may recover," Ozpin said as he started to stand.

"We're not done yet," James putting his hand out to get Ozpin to stay before continuing, "I jumped the plot with my outburst. I haven't told you how you came to find me missing half my body. Please stay. I think most of my emotions were spent with the outburst. I'll be ok to tell the rest."

Ozpin cocked an eyebrow gauging the tone in his friend's voice before asking, "Are you sure James? A lot has happened. I don't want you to over exert yourself."

Winter piped up as well, "I agree. You've said enough for tonight. We don't need to hear the events."

James firmed his voice up slightly before speaking, "No. I'm going to finish this. Air it all out. I'm so close that I'm not going to bottle it up again. It's getting said."

Ozpin nodded solemnly, placing his hand on James' shoulder saying, "We're here for you James. Go at your own pace."

Winter placed her hand on top of James'. She gave a little squeeze saying, "Mr. Ozpin is right. We're here for you. Don't force yourself."

James returned the squeeze looking at Winter with grateful eyes, and then up to Oz before saying, "Thank you. I do truly appreciate what you are doing for me tonight. As I think about it, the actual events pale in comparison to the surgery. I will be fine. Please sit."

Ozpin returned to his seat, but Winter still left her hand on James' wanting him to know that he wasn't alone. James reached to the snack tray. This time chose a cookie. He ate it with deliberate bites as his thoughts formed. Ozpin grabbed a cookie as well. He ate it in between sips of his tea, sitting upright on the edge of his seat.

Once James had eaten his cookie, and then washed it down with the rest of his tea, he said, "Alright. So, we had finally decided that the area was secure enough that we could call the mission completed. We were also at the very end of our supplies. Just enough to get back to Mistral. Thank goodness. Those three months seemed like they would never end. That's when the first coordinated attack happened. A coordinated attack! Something that we had never witnessed before. Ursai, Nevermores, AND Beowolves working together! We knew that they would hunt in packs from time to time, but would stay with their own kind. This was different. It scared us, and it in turn strengthened them."

James raised his arms breaking free from Winter's hand. He started gesturing as he said, "At that point it became a rolling battle. We were desperately fighting our way back to Mistral. We hardly had any time to rest. Just enough for me to reload and catch our breath, grab a swig of water, and then we were back at it. We killed as many as we could. We toppled trees. Collapsed pathways. Anything to try to slow down their onslaught to give us a chance to rest or escape. But they kept coming. Their numbers were seemingly endless. It was two days of a near constant firefight when we finally saw the borders of Mistral. We were almost there. I was finally able to send out a distress message in the hopes that someone would hear. We were beyond exhaustion. Both of us were running on sheer willpower and adrenaline. Glynda was fading faster than I, however. She was using her semblance nearly constantly. Oh, you should have seen her. She was a goddess of destruction. Laying waste to all Grimm that was in her path. She was beautiful. And still is mind you." He smiled fondly remembering how Glynda looked, even if it was a life or death battle.

He continued, "I was busy dealing with the flanks, but failed to see the attack from above. A Nevermore swooped in. I shot it at the last second, but my shot caused it to crash into a tree. Which broke off a large branch that hit Glynda, knocking her against the tree she was using as a support. She grabbed her side. Blood shown on her clothing as I rushed to her. Her breaths were short and labored. Broken or cracked ribs. Possibly a punctured lung."

Winter instinctively wrapped her arms around her own body. She had broken a few ribs in the past and knew the debilitating pain they caused. Ozpin too unconsciously moved a hand up and down his side.

"I knew she was out of the fight. She passed out. I didn't have time to treat her. The Grimm sensing the end started to come in for the kill. I emptied my gun in to as many as I could to buy a few precious seconds to pick her up and run. I had just enough time to reload with my remaining rounds, and then hoist her up on my shoulder when a giant Ursa appeared. The rest of the Grimm encircled us. This Ursa wanted the killing blows. My shots either missed or were ineffectual. I was so tired."

James imitated pulling a trigger saying, "Then click. Click. Click. My gun empty. The Ursa sensed I was out. It stalked towards us. I could make out Mistral's gates behind the Ursa. We were so close. I hoped that help was on the way. The Ursa closed in. Standing up to its full height it roared. I stood to my full height. I locked eyes with it. I returned its stare with defiance and rage in my eyes."

"Glynda must have come to because she used the last bit of her semblance to push us away at the last second as the Ursa swiped down with its massive claws," he said as he made a swiping motion with his right arm. "It hit me on my side. As you can see," he said as he motioned with the same hand like a model showing off something for sale.

He leaned back, his left arm on the back of the couch and his right arm on the armrest. He continued, "You know, I didn't feel the pain at first. Just a sudden warmth in my body as the blood flowed out of me. I dropped Glynda, and toppled on top of her. My last thought before I closed my eyes was, 'I hope that they leave you alone Glynda. Please survive for the both of us.' I started to pass out due to exhaustion and blood loss. There was a large boom. Then the sounds of rounds hitting home on targets. I forced open my eyes to see a figure rush up to the two of us. Before finally passing out, I heard Oz's voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but I was relieved that Glynda would live on."

Ozpin interjected, "I was telling you to hold on. That you two were safe. You did well."

Still leaning back, James raised, and then dropped his arms on the couch saying, "Thanks for the clarification Oz. And so, that's my story. When I finally recovered enough I submitted my report. Everyone just blew off the combined attack. Calling it a freak occurrence, or that it was a delusion due to a combination of stress, dehydration, and lack of sleep. In hindsight it was just a freak occurrence. But I'll never underestimate a group of Grimm like that again," He concluded, making sure to hide that real bit of truth from Winter. Ozpin nodded his approval.

Winter was tearing up again. It was hard for her to hear that her General had gone through something like that. She reached for the tissue box again. James leaned forward, put his bionic hand on her knee, and smiled saying in a reassuring voice, "Hey now. It's ok. The story is done. I survived. Albeit changed in many ways. Some good. Better even. Some not so much. But I'm here. It's fine now. Will you give me a smile please?"

Winter dabbed her eyes smiling weakly. James' story took a lot out of her. She couldn't imagine how much it had taken out of James to talk about this. Even more so that it seemed that he had kept this bottled up for so long. She finally said, "I'm alright. Thanks." She regained her composure, and returned to her normal stature.

Ozpin reached for the bottle. He poured liquor into their three glasses. He then passed James and Winter their respective glasses. He picked up his own, saluting while saying, "This calls for a toast. To finally crossing the bridge from the past to the present. With the bridge to the future to look forward to. And to cross those bridges with good colleagues who turn into friends for life. Again, James I am sorry for the pain I caused you. I promise that I will never do that again. Cheers."

James and Winter returned the gesture. This time Winter also downed her glass in one large swallow. Ozpin stood to leave saying, "I wish we could have talked about more pleasant things, but this was more productive. I hope that, moving forward, we continue to be good friends. Know that I will always be your friend, James." Ozpin extended his hand.

James and Winter both stood. James walked around the table and hugged Oz tightly saying, "Thank you Oz. You will always be welcome in Atlas. Thank you, my friend."

Winter dabbed her eyes once more. Damnit this was a trying night. After a long few seconds Ozpin and James separated. James said, "Well let's get you on your way, shall we? If it's too late for you to travel we have very nice accommodations here for you."

"Oh no. I wouldn't dream of staying here. That is to say, I'm not putting down the comfort of your accommodations. I'm sure they are quite comfortable. It's just that I find myself sleeping better in my own bed. I'll be fine walking back to Beacon Academy. It is only a few blocks you know."

"Alright then let me walk you out. Winter I hate to ask this of you, but would you be kind enough to clean this up while I walk our guest out. Oh, and please cancel all meetings for tomorrow. I think you and I each need to take a personal day after the events of this evening." James walked to the intercom, called up the chefs once more, and asked them to prepare some of Atlesian's finest meats, cheeses, and confectionaries for Oz to take home.

James and Oz left the room starting to tell stories like good friends should when together. Winter smiled then went about the business of cleaning up. She picked up the trays, glasses and cups, replaced the bottle, electric kettle and coffee pot. She finally sat down exhausted from the day and the harrowing events that James had described in his story. She fought to stay awake so that she could see General Ironwood off for the night before going to her own quarters, but it was a losing battle. She fell asleep, curling up on the couch.

James and Ozpin walked the rest of the way to the exit laughing and telling stories. The package for Ozpin met them there. They hugged once more before Ozpin walked out of the embassy. James returned to his office. He saw that Winter was sleeping soundly. He didn't want to disturb her. He went to another cupboard, pulled out a lightweight blanket, and walked back before placing it on her. He placed another log on the fire. He sat on the opposite couch, took his boots off, and then put his feet up. He watched the fire for a few moments. He thought, 'This has been a good day' as he drifted off to one of his most restful night's sleep he had ever had.