"I really can't tell what you want with me until you tell me lady," Edward said casually as he leaned back in his chair. "Honestly, this is pretty much a kidnapping, just in case you didn't already know yourself."

The blonde woman gave him a glare that would have caused most people to shiver in fear, but Edward was no stranger to terrifying women. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. I distinctly remember telling you this, but perhaps you were too occupied with resisting my attempts to get you onto the bullhead to listen."

"Bullhead?" Edward asked. He cursed inwardly when he saw that the woman, Glynda, had an equally confused expression. "Oh of course, you mean that flying monster that we travelled in right? Bullhead, huh? How did you even tame something so big anyways?"

When his only reply was a raised eyebrow. "What is your name?"

"Edward."

"Is that your family name?"

"No, Elric is my family name." Edward didn't fail to notice that either he was consistently saying strange things, or Glynda's personal hobby was to raise her eyebrows. He sighed, accepting the fact that he probably had no chance of pretending that he was from this world.

"Look, I'll be honest with you," Edward said, sighing and raising a hand in defeat. "I'm not from around here. I won't get into any details, but I'm here because I was sent to learn how things work around here."

Glynda nodded, surprising Edward with her understanding. "The first thing you might want to learn is that the bullhead is not an animal. It is a machine that was built by people and made specifically for flying."

"No way…" Edward said, leaning forward in his chair for the first time that night. "You mean humans are finally able to fly?"

Glynda simply stared at him. Perhaps her eyebrow muscles were too tired to display her surprise again. "With these machines, yes. People are capable of air travel."

"Ho boy," Edward said, slumping back in his chair. "I'm assuming you guys made those flying bird things too, huh?"

"Yes," Glynda said before abruptly pulling out a glowing panel of light. Edward peering over, his mouth hung open when he saw the panel contained miniature icons of light that Glynda seemed to bent to her will with only her fingers. Ignoring his shock, she tapped her fingers against the panel again and turned it off.

As she made her way towards the door, Edward called out to her. "How did you do that?"

"Please be patient, Mr. Elric. There is someone here who will answer your questions, as long as you answer some of his," she said, not turning around. Four knocks came from the other side and with a wave of her… riding crop, the door opened slowly.

"Why does everyone want to ask me questions before they answer mine? I guess here or there it's all the same," he grumbled, as he watched the doors opened at an uncomfortably slow pace. "Well, at least the purple glowy thing you did and that light panel are new. Can't say I've ever seen magic before."

"…Wha-"

"Edward Elric," a grey-haired man said as he walked into the room, setting down a plate of cookies. "You have golden eyes."

"Um…"

"So! Where did you learn to do this?"

"You've got to be a bit more specific than that, old man," Edward said, picking at his ear.

The man blinked a few times. "I meant, the way you seemed to shape the ground to your will of course. I've never seen anything like it and I'm very curious as to what the nature of your powers are."

"Oh wouldn't you like to know," Edward leered, finally understanding that he still had leverage in this discussion. "Well, you see old man, where I come from, there's this rule called 'Equivalent Exchange.' If you want something from me, it's only right that I get something in return."

"Very well, what is it that you want?"

"I want knowledge. Tell me everything there is to know about this world."

The man caught onto the eyebrows-raising trend. "Everything?"

"I guess that's a pretty tall order huh?" Edward said, leaning back in his chair and put his hands on the back of his head in an attempt to look as natural as possible. "I guess I'll start with the specifics. Got any problem with that, old man?"

"Yes, in fact I do," he said, surprising Edward. He wondered if he had pushed his luck too far. He clapped his hands together behind his head discretely, and prepared to transmute the nearest object.

"My name is not 'old man.' I would like you to refer to me as Professor Ozpin."

Ozpin remained unflinching even as Edward lost his balance and tumbled backwards, kicking up a small cloud of smoke. He instead elected to take a small sip of his coffee.

"Really?! That's all you wanted?!" Edward yelled as Ozpin just watched him with an amused expression. He almost moved to transmute something to destroy the mug in Ozpin's hands, but noticed that Glynda had taken notice and tensed up to fight. It seemed that the painfully slow moving door had finally closed again and she was no longer trapped between it and the wall.

"Yes, please," Ozpin confirmed.

Edward sighed and pulled up his chair. "Really, you're the worst interrogator I've ever seen in my life."

"You speak like someone whose met a lot of them," Ozpin noted, pushing the plate of cookies towards Edward.

"I guess you could say that. Could we actually make it a bit less like you're about to interrogate me now that we've established you're not any good at it?" Edward waved his hand around in the air. "This police light really isn't helping you convince me you're some friendly professor."

Ozpin nodded after a moment of thought and clapped his together twice. After a few seconds, a much warmer light filled the room.

"Great, more magic," Edward mumbled, failing to notice that Ozpin hid a spit-take to the best of his abilities. "Okay, now that we're comfortable, let's go in order. What was that thing that attacked me in the forest?"

Regaining his composure, Ozpin sat up straight. "That was an Ursa Minor, a subspecies of Grimm."

"I see, and what are these 'Grimm?'" Upon seeing his surprised face, Edward waved his hands. "You know what, that's not what I'm looking for. Let's just get on to the next item."

Holding his hand up, Ozpin spoke up. "Wait you mentioned that your lands had a law of equivalent exchange? Would it not be right to answer one of my questions before we move on?"

Edward clicked his tongue angrily. "Fine, Ozpin. What's your question?"

"Actually, now that you've mentioned it. I will change my question to a request."

"That's not exactly my idea of equivalent exchange," Edward said, frowning.

"Oh I'm sure it won't be a big deal," Ozpin said, leaning in on his chair. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a hard task for someone of your abilities."

Edward leant in on the table and rested his chin in his palm and gave a small grin, hoping that he looked as confident as he thought he did. "Let's hear it them."

"You called me Ozpin. I would like you to call me Professor Ozpin."

Edward felt his forehead hit the table as his chin slipped out from his palm. After a moment of silence, he sprung back to life. "Does everyone around here act like this?!" he yelled at Glynda, pointing at Ozpin who was now taking another sip of his coffee. Her only response was to sigh and solemnly shake her head.

"Now now, Mr Elric. I need to know whether you agree with these terms or not."

"You! Are you taking this seriously or not?!" he said, whipping his head around to the source of his stress. "Here I am, having risked my life to get here, bleeding out on your furniture, having to take in all weird crap that you people find to be normal and you're treating this as a joke?! I don't even know if you're a real teacher!"

"Would you like me to prove it to you?"

Edward paused for a moment. "What do you mean?" he asked, putting his anger aside for a second.

"I would like for you to enroll in my school as a first-year student," he said, ignoring the uncharacteristic sputtering of his vice principal. "I believe this will provide the both of us with ample opportunity to get what we want from each other. I promise that my facilities are one of the best when is comes to learning 'everything' there is to know about the world. Of course, this also means that you will be attending my school and as such, you will be referring to me as Professor Ozpin."

He sipped at his coffee once again. His mug was empty but he still did it for the aesthetic, though he doubted that either of the two blondes were lucid enough to fully care. He chuckled at the sight of them.

"Well either way, it wouldn't do for a student of mine to be so injured under my supervision. I suggest you head to the infirmary as soon as possible and get yourself healed." Pushing his chair back, he got up and left his vice principal, his new student, and the untouched plate of cookies.


"Ozpin. Never in my life have I been able to claim that I know what goes on in your head, but this time I know you've gone too far."

Ozpin frowned, disappointed that his colleague was so untrusting of his decisions. "James, I assure you that this is the best way to help all parties involved."

"Ozpin," the voice said sternly. He couldn't see him, but he knew that the General was probably pacing around the room, a nervous habit that he seemed to have whenever they discussed important matters. "Please explain to me how exposing a magic user to the public eye would be a good idea."

The creaking of the door alerted Ozpin to a new guest in his office, but the accompanying clacking of heels told him that it was a friend. "I would also like to know your thought process, sir. It is quite obvious that that boy's techniques are not normal, and considering that we are trying to hide people like him from our enemies, I can't see how having him as one of our students would prevent his discovery."

"Ah, Glynda. How is our newest student doing? Did you help him find the infirmary? Is he comfortable?" Ozpin asked, ignoring her concerns in a very practiced manner.

After failing to glare him down, Glynda sighed. "I made sure he was admitted to our infirmary, under the supervision of our head nurse. He was much more compliant than expected, but I assume that he was still under shock for the most part."

"Ah, good," he said, turning back towards the monitor that only displayed the name James Ironwood. "As you can see James, I have already invited the boy into my school as a student and I am sure he will accept my invitation."

He heard a frustrated sigh coming from the other end. "That's exactly my problem, Ozpin. Why is such a valuable person being put in so much danger?"

"Unlike the beliefs of many of the parents that unwillingly let their children study in combat schools, my school is one of the safest places in the kingdom."

"I don't mean it like that and you know it," Ironwood retorted. "Our enemies are dangerous, Ozpin. The Fall maiden lived a very secluded life and seldom used her powers at all, much less in public. If this boy really is using magic, it won't take long for the Queen to find him."

"I agree," Ozpin said, causing the other end of the line to go silent. Even Glynda gave a small start and turned to Ozpin, though neither of them spoke up. "As you said, our enemies are dangerous and powerful. Just as we have people out in the field, actively searching for the maidens, they have people as well. I have full confidence that Qrow is one of the strongest Huntsmen in the world, and in the field of tracking and espionage, I would even say he is the absolute best. But even then, our enemies found Amber, and they found her first. What's stopping them from finding our new friend, even if we put him into hiding?"

Ozpin waited a few moments for a reply from either of his listeners, but when he received no rebuttal, he continued.

"My point is, we are losing this war. We may have temporarily saved Amber, but they have half of her power. We don't even have a vague idea of how magic works, but they understand it well enough to take it by force. We need a trump card."

Ozpin heard a sigh coming from the other end, a sound he was all too familiar with. "I really can't win against you, can I?" Ironwood mused. "Can you at least explain to me why you're keeping him as a student then, rather than having hide himself as a staff member of civilian? I can understand that you want to keep him close, but Huntsman and Huntresses are under the constant scrutiny of the public view as protectors of the world and their students are generally under the same rule."

Ozpin relaxed and leant back in his chair. Though he knew that the person on the other end of the call would not be able to see his slight smile, but he trusted that James knew him well enough to assume it. "Mr. Elric wished to learn and before I am a protector of the world, I am a teacher."

A slight pause came from the other end. "I suppose it would be easier to control him if you can offer him what he wants."

"I am not controlling him, James. I am simply allowing him to do what he wishes."

"If you insist… very well then," Ironwood said, accepting Ozpin's word with confidence for the first time that night. "I will accept that you have this matter under control but please, be extra careful in guarding him. The last thing we need is a repeat of what happened to Amber. It was only a miracle that Qrow was able to arrive at the scene when he did."

At this note, Glynda decided to speak up. "Speaking of Qrow, James. The last time we got into contact with Qrow, he told us that he was headed towards Altas's direction. Were you able to contact him at all since then?"

"No, not at all," Ironwood said with a poorly masked grumble of annoyance. "He's impossible to get a hold of when he doesn't want to be found. I suppose we should be grateful for that, but I can't help but feel even more annoyed with him."

"Well, if you ever do get in contact with him, make sure you mention this new development," Ozpin said. "I'm sure he'll be able to make his own judgement on whether he should come back or stay in the field from there."

"I'll make sure to do that," Ironwood said. After a slight pause he spoke up again, this time with a little bit of concern in his voice. "Oh and Oz? Be careful. Introducing a new piece into the game is sure to mix things up."

"Of course," Ozpin replied. The words, James Ironwood, disappeared from the screen and the monitor turned off. Now that one of the problems was mostly dealt with, he resolved himself and turned around to face the other problem. "So Glynda, have you collected any information on Mr. Elric? As we are both well aware, he is definitely not from Vale, and may not be from any of the kingdoms."

Glynda nodded in confirmation. "We need to make a new identity for him. It is quite possible that he was living his whole life in the Grimmlands. While that might be an impossibility for most people, he may have been living there through the use of magic. That certainly would explain his wonder for basic technology and his strange name."

"I think the easiest identity we could forge for him would be to say he's from the outskirts of Vacuo, just bordering the Grimmlands." Ozpin said. "Being born in a lawless area would certainly explain his lack of official papers. As long as we inform him of this decision, it shouldn't be too hard of a lie to keep."

Glynda nodded again. "That is probably the best option for us at the moment," she said, pushing up her glasses. "But there's one more issue we have with Mr. Elric's understanding of the world. I suspect that he doesn't know he's using magic."

Ozpin nodded, took a sip from his mug, and let out a vague, "hmm." But otherwise, he didn't move to interrupt Glynda.

"He is convinced that my use of my semblance and my scroll were both displays of magic, and is unaware of the strange nature of his own powers. If he did, in fact, live his life in the Grimmlands, he may have not known anything besides magic, and to him it is normal."

"Hmm… no matter," Ozpin said. "He may receive yet another culture shock, but he has to know about the special nature of his powers eventually. In fact, we will have to educate him quickly on how to disguise his magic as a semblance if he ever wants to use it in combat."

"There's still the problem of enrolling him into our school," Glynda continued. "As you know, we accept students in groups of four and an extra student at this time would just cause an uneven number."

"Oh don't worry about that Glynda," Ozpin said, resulting in a questioning look from Glynda. "I think that in this case we can bend the rules just a little bit. It's a bit impromptu, but I think he could fit in easily with the two special cases we have already."

"Do you mean Ms. Nikos and Ms. Rose?" Glynda asked.

Ozpin smiled and without confirming her suspicions, he turned around in his chair. "This will be a very interesting year," he said as he took a sip from his mug.


Pretty short chapter this time around, though this means that most of the set-up for the setting and the exposition is done and we can get into the meat of this thing. Which will hopefully be fun.

To answer a question about pairings in the reviews, Edward will not be paired with anyone since he already has a honey back home. The rest of the RWBY characters are up in the air, though I doubt this will ever be romance/pairing-focused.

Speaking of reviews, thanks for the kind words people. I'm glad that you all think this is interesting. Special shoutout to mocasiotorres27 for enjoying my humor. I didn't think my terrible sense of humor would translate well to writing and I'm very glad to hear that at least one person enjoyed it.

Speaking of terrible humor, here's a little extra that may or not be canon to my story.


"Glynda, how does our budget report look like?"

"We're barely staying out of debt, sir."

Ozpin frowned. "That can't be right. The government has funded us handsomely to keep Vale and Remnant protected. Are you sure, that's right?"

"Yes sir," Glynda replied, flipping through the pages in her arms. "I've checked through it very thoroughly and am confident that I haven't made any mistakes in calculation. However, I actually wanted to ask you about some strange purchases here that may be the reason for this financial problem."

Ozpin looked back at her curiously. "Yes, ask away. Let's get to the bottom of this."

"Ahem," Glynda opened a specific page with a bright red tab sticking out. "I have a list here that lists out all the purchases the school has made under the category of 'Necessities.' I recognize that some of these items were purchased and filed under codenames in order to provide for Amber's care and protection, but I do not recognize the codenames for some of these purchases."

Ozpin nodded. "Continue. I might recognize them."

"The first codename I do not recognize is 'clappers.'"

"Ah," Ozpin said as he spontaneously started to sweat. "That is the codename for… the parts necessary to build the automatic defense system that we have planned for the Amber Chamber."

"Sir, we already agreed that we should minimize the amount of electronic devices in Amber's vicinity. The risk of anyone remotely accessing them is one that we cannot take."

"Oh you misunderstand, this Amber Chamber is entirely free of electronics. Have you ever seen 'Indigo Jones?'"

"Sir I simply cannot believe that you would install such a thing in Amber's room… probably."

"It's the name of the guard dog I bought for the Amber Chamber?"

"I doubt a dog could stop someone who has the partial power of a maiden, incomplete it may be. Not to mention it's barking could give away the location of Amber's hideaway."

"…"

"… you bought actual clappers."

"Now listen Glynda, on average, three million kilocalories are used to get up and turn lights on or off every year. With clappers, we can reduce that energy expenditure by ninety percent! Think of what our students could do with all that energy!"

Her only response was to clutch her head and walk away, leaving Ozpin alone in the halls.

"Glynda?" Ozpin begged, reaching out towards her, but not daring to follow her and ask for forgiveness. "Please reply…"

When the sounds of heels against hard floor started to fade away, Ozpin crumpled to his knees. Petrified by the fear of what passive aggressiveness laid in store for him the next week.

"At least call it the Amber Chamber."