Lifeblood

I still don't own RWBY. If I did it probably wouldn't be so great.

Chapter 7: Resolutions

Bianca Arc was hard at work. She sat in front of a computer, inputting commands at a blistering pace. Lines of code flew across the screen, too fast for most people to follow, but Bianca's intellect and experience allowed her to operate at such high speeds.

"Bianca!" A loud call broke her from her trance. She perked up and spotted the caller.

"Winter!" She exclaimed happily. She rushed forward and enveloped the other white-haired girl in a hug before she could protest. "Long time no see!"

"Yes, yes." Winter grunted, slowly prying Bianca off of her. "Clearly, you haven't changed. Still as clingy as ever."

"Oh, don't be like that. It's that kind of attitude that make people call you Ice Queen. How's little Weiss?"

"She is doing well. She doesn't show it, but I can tell that she is nervous for Beacon."

"Jauney's pretty much the same. Oh, wouldn't it be fantastic if they were on the same team! Or better yet, partners!"

"Please be serious, Bianca. I'm here on official business. About that attack on Base 47. I assume you have seen the report."

Bianca's cheerful mood instantly plummeted. "Yes... I read it. Were there really...?"

"Everything in that report was accurate. No survivors." Winter's tone was tight with anger. "The White Fang killed killed every soldier they encountered. And anyone that they didn't was killed in the blast. Including Commander Steel."

Bianca gasped. "Your old commanding officer?"

Winter nodded. "He was like a second father to me. Mentoring me, supporting me when Father cut me off. He was a hero, about to retire. He had a wife, children, and grandchildren! He did not deserve to die by the hands of those... those animals!" She finished with a yell, before taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. Bianca simply waited, knowing her friend enough to know that she needed to regain her composure to operate properly.

"So, what have you found?" She asked.

"Not much. The base sent out a message just minutes before we lost all contact. The message basically reported an incursion and requested reinforcements. The report also said that the lines might have been compromised."

"Compromised in what way?"

"It said that the White Fang were trying to knock out the comms by going after the server room. I thought that maybe they were trying to hack in and steal some classified intel, so I analysed the transmission."

"And?" Winter prompted.

"And I was right." She plopped down into her seat and resumed typing. "You see, the military's network on the CCTS has many firewalls to block any civilian trying to access it. They're very strong, very secure, but it does have flaw in that it doesn't affect transmissions already inside."

"You mean transmissions within the military." Winter understood.

"Correct. Sure there are other, smaller firewalls you need special security clearance for, but by and large the internal security isn't as good as the primary external firewall. I found evidence that they piggybacked the transmission as a way to discreetly access the network."

"What did they steal?" She asked worriedly, leaning over Bianca's shoulder, attempting to make sense of the seemingly random characters blitzing through the screen.

"That's the thing." Bianca unexpectedly threw her hands up in frustration, nearly hitting Winter in the process. "They didn't take anything!"

Winter was surprised. "What?!" Winter shouted stunned, her mind whirling. She had no doubt as to Bianca's findings. She was brilliant, a master of the CCTS, after all. But the findings themselves made no sense. Why bother attacking a secure facility and going through the trouble of hacking in if they did nothing? Even terrorists have more sense than that.

Objectively speaking, that base had no other value to the White Fang aside from information. It was used as an info hub and an outpost for the military. The base used the CCTS to command soldiers in real time, ensuring a fast and accurate response in the event of a Grimm attack. It contained locations soldiers stationed all around the kingdom, such info would be invaluable to terrorists.

It was isolated. Not hidden, but civilians don't even care enough to know about it, so it wasn't for the sake of propaganda. It had no connection to a Schnee Dust mine, and as far as she knew, there weren't even any Faunus employees in the base. So what else is there...

Bianca groaned and dropped her head on her desk with a painful-sounding thump. "I told you that I found traces of a foreign signal using the transmission to gain access. So, logically I tried to track said signal, and I got nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Zero. Once the hacker got in, it sorta just... disappears."

"Nothing disappears from the CCTS. Once it's out there, it stays there."

"Exactly what I thought. and we're both right. Nothing disappears, but it can be hidden. So that got me thinking, what if they never wanted to take anything. What if their objective all this time was to leave something behind?"

"Leave what?"

"Malware. I found traces of malware scattered around the system. I've taken care of the fragments I found, but there could be more, and they would be undetectable unless you were performing a comprehensive scan. I don't even know what kind of malware it is, what it does or if it spreads. The most I could tell you is if a device is infected with the malware. Even I can't scan every device and signal in Atlas."

"Why not?"

The question threw Bianca for a loop. "What?"

"Why can't you? Scan everything I mean." Winter clarified. "This is clearly a pressing issue."

Bianca stared at her for a long moment before scoffing. "Well, for one thing, Winter, it would take forever. We're talking hundreds of thousands of devices here! I'm brilliant, but I'm not a miracle worker.

"Secondly, thoroughly scanning every device and transmission signal in the kingdom will require authority so far over my head, it would make my ears bleed! The military may value my talents, but they never like it if anyone sticks their nose into official business, much less a foreigner."

Winter reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a several papers.

"What is this?" Bianca took the paper.

"A get-out-of-jail-free card."

Bianca's eyes quickly roved over the paper, before she jerked her head up sharply. "This is a sanction, allowing me full administrative access to any and all Atlesian technology, and the authority to monitor or modify messages, features and programs of the entire Cross Continental Transmit System, foreign and domestic, indefinitely."

"You were due for a promotion, anyway. Be thankful, I was the one who recommended you." Winter smirked.

"You had this before I told you about the virus problem. What's the real reason for this?"

Winter said nothing for a while. "General Ironwood believes that our secrets are somehow being leaked."

"What secrets?"

"He wouldn't say. He wants you to oversee the net, while others oversee the people he works with. He may not say it, but I don't think he wishes to think of anyone as a traitor. He'd rather believe that our network was compromised somehow. So even if you've finished eliminating the virus you're still to continue monitoring the system."

Bianca leafed through the papers. "Judging by the... extensive non-disclosure agreement, that this isn't exactly on the books?"

"Oh, God, no!" Winter rolled her eyes. "No, as of now only you, me and General Ironwood are aware of this."

"You do remember that I'm a citizen of Vale, right?"

"I didn't forget. I also remembered that you are still an active member of the Atlesian military, even if it is in the loosest sense possible. I know that even if you're not loyal to us, you want to bring these terrorists down, just as much as I do.

"Well, you better get to work. I have some leads to follow up on as well." Winter began to make her way out of Bianca's office.

Bianca called out to her before she left. "You know, if I get caught, you, me and the good general will be put in cuffs and brought to a court martial with treason charges over our heads before we can plead innocent."

Winter didn't bother to turn around. "Well, then don't get caught."

"Jaune... Ruby... Are you guys alright down here?" Yang called out cautiously into the dark hallway.

It had been a week since Jaune's mission. Her uncle Qrow had told her of how Jaune was accidentally assigned to a high-ranked mission. Something about an administration error. Luckily, blondie managed to pull through, albeit with a few more bumps and bruises than expected.

However, the two of them had managed to feel a kind of... depression emanating from Jaune, which Yang thought was absurd. He had just completed a highly-ranked mission, after all! That pretty much made him a shoo-in for graduation, and even Beacon!

But instead, he hardly smiled, he skipped classes, he didn't even laugh at her puns anymore! He just sat around moping and staring at Crocea Mors as if it held the secrets of the universe. He didn't even fight with it, always passing off any spars with her or Ruby. Even his family had no idea what his problem was.

And so his mood continued to spiral downwards, and Ruby, bless her bleeding heart, had decided to intervene.

"Alright, Jaune! You're coming with me!" Ruby said excitedly, hooking her arms around Jaune and dragging him away.

"Uhh... Ruby, where are you taking me?" Jaune asked, not even bothering to resist being dragged along. Experience has told him that it would be for naught.

"The forge, of course!"

"I already have a weapon..." he weakly argued

"But you don't have a sheathe anymore, right? And since you're useless at forging, I have decided to help you out!" Ruby declared imperiously. "Graduation's next month after all, so you need the right equipment! Not just that silly wooden sheathe you got at the discount store!

"But don't think I'll let you slack off, now! You'll have to chip in with the designs. It is your sheathe. So I was thinking, we could make it double as a shield like your last one, but we could incorporate something to take advantage of your new Semblance..."

As Ruby continued to blabber about Jaune's potential new armament, Jaune turned to Yang, who was looking far too amused for his tastes. "Mind giving me a hand here?"

"Aw, you can take of yourself." she replied smugly. "Just watch her whenever she gets near anything explosive." She figured a week with Ruby and her constant pep would be therapeutic, as well as giving him cooler-looking gear.

That was a week ago, and Jaune and Ruby had been hard at work. Designs were drawn, scrapped and redrawn. Experiments were conducted, and models designed. It took a lot work to forge a weapon capable of withstanding the rough life of a Huntsman. Not to mention quite pricey. And dangerous.

That was the main reason why she was being vigilant. The Signal Academy Forge had a long history of 'accidents' due to weapon mishaps, including but not limited to fire, explosions, and in one particularly embarrassing incident, an island-wide power outage. Add all that to Ruby's penchant for making things go boom and Jaune's seemingly natural klutziness, and you have a reason for everyone in Signal to be nervous.

So, yes. Caution was certainly necessary.

She walked past the various machines and design tables, looking for any sign of Jaune and Ruby. Her eyes widened in alarm upon seeing red drops on several surfaces. Running her fingers through the stains, she confirmed her fears. Blood.

"Jaune! Ruby! Where are you two!" She screamed.

Loud voices could be heard in the next room, the Testing Area. Yang sprinted inside to see Ruby and Jaune standing in the middle of broken training drones.

Before she could even get to them, Ruby closed the distance between them in an instant, pulling her into an embrace that would have knocked anyone else over.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted. "We were just about to call you because we have something really cool to show you- we finished Jaune's shield and were just testing it-you should really see it cos' it looks amazing but not as much as Crescent Rose since nothing is better..." Yang could only hold on to her sister as she spoke at an unintelligible pace. Well, more so than usual.

"Hey, Yang," Jaune called over to her.

Yang caught a whiff of Ruby's breath as she rambled, and glared at him. "Jaune, did you give my sister coffee?!"

"Hey, don't look at me! She saw me drinking some and she thought it would be a good way to keep herself awake! Just be glad I didn't let her put sugar in it."

Yang shuddered at the thought of a caffeine and sugar-crazed Ruby. Setting her hyperactive sister down, she finally managed to get her to stop talking, but she was still shaking.

"You guys alright? I saw blood in the workshop!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Jaune reassured her. "That's mine, we were experimenting with my Semblance and it got... messy."

"I'll say. Anyways, what have you guys been up to? We're getting kinda worried topside."

"We were just doing some testing for Jaune's new shield!"

"Shield?" Yang inquired. She looked at Jaune's left hip. "Is that...?"

Jaune's grinned, and Ruby joined him. "This, Miss Xiao Long is my new sheathe for Crocea Mors." He held up the sheathe and sword for Yang to examine. It seemed simple in design, red with black lines running around it. A crimson hemisphere adorned with the Arc family insignia was mounted at the middle, which seemed odd. A leather strap was stuck to the back, and one side seemed thicker than the other.

"I thought it was a shield?"

Jaune smirked in response, and drew Crocea Mors. He strapped on the sheathe so it ran parallel to his arm, and clenched his fist. The sides of the sheathe spiraled around the hemisphere, forming a flat, circular shield.

It was large, obviously the same diameter as the sheathe's length. It was mainly dark red with black designs snaking towards the center, and the hemisphere was prominent at its center. It was thick and bulky, which made sense, Yang supposed, since it was for defense. Yang looked closer and saw something peculiar at the end of the black lines. "Are those holes?" Several of them in a circle formation dotted on the face of the shield.

"Yep!" Ruby chirped. "But we'll get to that later. Come on, Jaune, show her!" Ruby was visibly shaking in anticipation. Yang involuntarily stepped back. For all she knew, they really did put an explosive in it.

Jaune closed his eyes to concentrate. His shield clicked once more, before a red liquid oozed out of the holes in the shield. Yang watched transfixed as the fresh blood flowed into Jaune's hand and created a longsword, slightly skinnier and longer than Crocea Mors. Jaune opened his eyes, and exhaled loudly in slight tiredness.

"I've been practicing all week, too. I finally managed to get it to solidify." He smirked upon seeing Yang's amazement. "Impressed, Yang?"

Yang snapped her eyes at him. She was glad that he had regained his former cheer. "Well, blondie, it's good to see that your emo-ness has worn off. But seriously, though. How did you do that?"

It was Ruby who answered her, her eyes shining with pride. "We built in several small containers of Jaune's blood into the shield segments. They all have little valves so it won't get out unless Jaune wants them to, and there's a different terminal to refill them."

"Doesn't blood dry up pretty quickly?"

"We were worried about that too." Jaune nodded. "But you know those blood stains, out there, looking pretty fresh? They were from nearly a week ago. And they're still wet."

Seeing Yang's incredulous look, he decided to continue his explanation. "I was messing about with my Semblance and spilled some on the tables. I guess we really didn't bother to clean it up, but when we noticed it was still wet the next day, it clicked."

"So even if you get disarmed, you always have a weapon, huh?" Yang mused. "How long can you hold it in that form?"

"Hours. Mainly the Aura I use is used to harden the blood to form swords and stuff, but once I've made them they stay until I let go." With that, the sword collapsed back into a liquid and flowed into the shield.

Yang looked up from the sword to be greeted with the expectant looks from Ruby and Jaune. She sighed. "Okay, fine I'm impressed. Now can we please get out of here? Our parents are worried about you two, and you look like you haven't seen the sun for days!"

Two growls sounded out, and Jaune and Ruby blushed. Jaune rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess we have been down here for a while. We'll get our stuff and get some breakfast."

"It's past noon."

"Then we'll have lunch!"

Ruby and Jaune began to clean up the workshop, with Yang helping out slightly. Thankfully, Jaune's Semblance made cleaning the bloodstains quick and easy, so all they really had to do was put away the equipment and archive the blueprints.

"So, I forgot to ask," Yang said as they walked out of the forge. "but have you named it yet? Better be something awesome."

Jaune smiled and raised his sheathed sword. "Well, Ruby and I were arguing about that for a while, but we managed to come to an agreement.

"It's name is Rosea Custos."

(One month later)

Jaune was staring into Crocea Mors' half drawn blade. He admired its keen edge, never having lost its sharpness despite its age. The steel gleamed in the light, giving off a slight glow.

He had been, he was ashamed to admit, a little afraid of using Crocea Mors in battle again. Even if it was just for a spar. He didn't know if he would wield that insane power again. Luckily, it seemed that Crocea was inert right now, giving no reaction or additional strength at all. He wasn't sure if that made him relieved or disappointed.

Despite the lack of the light show, he was still slightly leery, but his father's words managed to get him over it.

Crocea Mors was his sword now. He was still very sceptical of the Nameless Knights, but he couldn't deny the power of the sword. Whatever circumstances he was in, he chose to accept that power. It was his responsibility to control it, especially if his father's fears come to pass.

Not to mention, if Yang caught him moping again, she'd kick his ass.

Before he could ride further on this train of thought, Ruby broke him out of his reverie. "Jaune, Jaune, looklooklook! 75% off on these newly-released Dust rounds! I've been meaning to get a set, but I've never been able to afford them!"

"That's fantastic, Ruby." Jaune didn't really share Ruby's enthusiasm for firearms, but her happiness was always infectious. "You've been talking about them for a while now."

"Well..." Ruby started twiddling with her fingers. "You see, I already spent a lot in the maintenance shop earlier, and even with the sale, they're really pricey, so I was wondering-"

"Don't worry, I'll front you the difference."

"Really?" Ruby's eyes seemed to sparkle.

I swear she does that on purpose. he thought. "Yeah, don't worry about it, you can owe me. Just get your purchases ready and let's go. It's getting late." No sooner had he said that had Ruby sped off to collect her cartridges.

Jaune chuckled to himself. It had been a productive day. He had accompanied Ruby to Vale in order to get a maintenance kit for his sword and shield. Beacon was only a few weeks away, and he didn't want to fail anything because of faulty equipment.

The sound of shattering glass drew his attention away from the magazine he had picked up. Oh, this is not gonna end well. Jaune walked to the front of the store, to see an orange-haired man wearing a white suit, a bowler hat, and bizarrely, eye-shadow. In his hand was a cane, and he was smoking a cigar.

Outside he could make out Ruby taking down several thuggish men with cheap black suits and red swords. Once she was done with the last one. Bowler Hat stepped up.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," he said, while stamping out his cigar, before pointing his cane at Ruby. "and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we- WHOA!"

Jaune had decided to intervene when it became clear that Bowler Hat was going to fire on Ruby. He ran up behind him, and swung his sword, still sheathed towards the side of his head to knock him out, but was blocked by the slender cane.

Bowler Hat pushed away his sword, before slamming his cane to the ground to trigger an explosion, sending Jaune back into the store. Ruby rushed at him, swinging Crescent Rose at tremendous speeds, but Bowler Hat was able to duck underneath the swing and hit Ruby's jaw with the top of his cane. With Ruby dazed, he struck her on the head and sent her sprawling.

"Well, this is all very exciting, but like I said, time to go!". He made to run, but Jaune clashed with him again, only this time with his sword drawn.

Jaune swung at him, but Bowler Hat handled the cane expertly, deflecting and evading his strikes with ease. He hooked the top of the cane around his blade and pulled him forward, and slammed the bottom into Jaune's shield to knock him back with another explosion.

Bowler Hat used the chance to run away, and before Jaune or Ruby could pursue, he threw a small red crystal into the store, and aimed his cane at them. Oh crap! Jaune knew exactly what would happen if he managed to hit that crystal. And if that happened in a store loaded with Dust...

Jaune panicked and extended his shield and positioned it in the way of the incoming explosive. However, the projectile was stopped in midair by a large purple runic circle, in front of a blond woman, brandishing a riding crop. Jaune recognized her instantly.

"Professor Goodwitch?" he whispered.

"Well, looks like someone else has joined the party!" Despite being outnumbered and probably outmatched, Bowler Hat's voice remained annoyingly cheerful. He started to walk backwards down the street, just as a car screeched to a stop behind him. "But before you ruin my night some more, madam, I suggest you take a closer look at that crystal."

Jaune whipped his head towards the store, and saw the Dust crystal glowing onimously. Shit, it was already activated! Acting on impulse, he raised Rosea Custos and summoned all of the blood it contained to surround the crystal in a dome, using as much Aura to harden it as much as possible.

The crystal detonated and the dome barely held. Jaune could feel the energy and the fire pushing outwards, desperate to escape. "Ruby, get the shopkeep and anyone else in the street out of here!" he yelled.

"Right!" Ruby quickly grabbed the elderly shopkeep and sped away in a burst of rose petals.

"Mr. Arc!" Professor Goodwitch shouted to him. He couldn't afford to look away right now. He could barely spare the concentration to pay attention to her voice.

"Mr. Arc, at my count, you must release that dome, do you understand me?"

"I can't!" he grunted through gritted teeth. "If there's even a crack, the entire block will be taken out!"

"I shall take care of the explosion, , but you must let go!" Seeing Jaune hesitate, she tried again. "Mr. Arc, I am a highly qualified Huntress, I know exactly what to do so please trust me!"

Jaune risked a look in her eyes before nodding once. Goodwitch positioned herself next to him, pointing her riding crop towards the dome. "Alright, on three..."

"One." Several purple circles surrounded the crimson dome.

"Two." Jaune clenched his fists, the dome began to shake, hairline fractures spreading across the sides.

"THREE!"Jaune released his Aura to drop the blood barrier and raised his arms over his face to protect himself from the blast, but to his confusion nothing came. He opened his eyes to see a spectacular sight.

The spinning circles orbited around the site of the explosion site. Right at the center was a fiery explosion, erupting again and again into itself, crashing like waves against an invisible barrier. A miniature sun floating in mid air.

Impossibly, the tiny sun began to move, slowly at first, before accelerating out of the broken shop window and speeding out towards the sky.

"Brace yourselves." Goodwitch murmured, before the circles vanished, and the explosion was let loose. It was well up high now, higher than any of the nearby buildings, but Jaune could still feel the heat and blast waves incoming. The firework died away and he turned to look back at Professor Goodwitch. Amazingly, after that stunning display, she didn't even look winded.

Is this the power of a true Huntress? He thought in wonder.

"Whoa..." Jaune nearly jumped in shock upon hearing Ruby right next to him.

"Ruby! When did you get here?"

"Just now. I tried following Bowler Hat but I lost him in traffic. Anyways did you see that?! She must be a Huntress! She was so cool and awesome, do you think I can get an autograph?!"

Professor Goodwitch turned to the pair of them, her eyes containing barely constrained fury. Jaune gulped. "I don't think we'll be getting autographs today, Ruby."

"I take full responsibility for our actions."

"Bowler Hat started it!"

"Nobody got hurt, no-one innocent at least."

"They were bad guys anyway!"

"We can pay for the damages."

"Are you sure I can't have an autograph?"

"ENOUGH!" The command immediately silenced the two teens, making Jaune flinch, and Ruby whimper and cower into her cloak.

"I hope you understand the severity of your actions and the consequences of your atrocious judgements. Due to your reckless attack on the criminal, Roman Torchwick-"

"Who?" Ruby interrupted.

Jaune leaned over to her and whispered. "I think she means Bowler Hat."

"Ohhh..." Ruby paused her epiphany when she noticed Goodwitch's borderline murderous glare. "Sorry!" she squeaked meekly.

"Due to you irresponsible actions, you risked the lives of every citizen in that street, including your own. This is not an attitude I expect from those training to be Huntsmen! I should have you two join those men you put in those jail cells."

With every word Ruby and Jaune slumped further and further down into their seats. They couldn't really say anything because every word was unfortunately true. True, Jaune only joined in due to Ruby, but in the end, both of them took part in the near destruction of 'From Dust til' Dawn'.

Professor Goodwitch eyed the dejected teenagers, and sighed. I'm not being paid enough for this. "Despite your recklessness, there is someone who wishes to talk to you." She stepped aside to allow another familiar face to enter, holding a coffee mug and a plate of cookies.

"Professor Ozpin?"

"We meet again, Mr. Arc." Jaune could swear he could hear a note of amusement in the headmaster's voice. "And you must be Ruby Rose."

"You..." He leaned in close, "have silver eyes."

Ruby didn't really know how to respond to that. "Thank you...?"

"So, Ms. Rose, care to tell me how you learned to wield such a dangerous weapon with such incredible skill?" He set the plate of cookies in front of Ruby, which pretty much guaranteed Ruby's co-operation.

"Uhhh... I'm a second year at Signal Academy, and a professor kinda, took me under his wing." Ruby managed to answer the question before beginning to scarf down the cookies with astonishing and somewhat sickening speed.

"I know only one man who wields a scythe with such proficiency. A dusty old crow."

"That's Professor Qrow Branwen." Jaune cut in, seeing that Ruby's face was currently stuffed. "He's Ruby's uncle." He added, though he was pretty sure Professor Ozpin was already aware of that.

"So I see." Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug. Jaune could swear it was the same mug he had from four years ago. "If you don't mind me asking, Ms. Rose, why are you in Signal Academy?"

"I want to be a Huntress." was Ruby's instant response.

"You want to slay Grimm?"

Ruby glanced at Jaune, who shrugged and gestured for her to continue. "No, I... I want to protect people."

"Then why not join the police force? They do excellent work to keep the peace in Vale." Jaune could barely hold back a snort at that comment. Some police force, relying on two teenagers to stop a robbery.

"I think the Grimm are the bigger threat." Ruby answered honestly, before waving her hands frantically. "Don't get me wrong, I think the police is great, I have friends in Patch hoping to enlist. But, I still want to be a Huntress instead."

"And you, Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked, startling Jaune.

"Huh?"

"You've applied to enrol in my school, have you not? What are your motivations?"

Jaune stared Ozpin straight in the eye. What he is he up to? "I don't see how my personal motives, or Ruby's for that matter, is relevant to the situation, Professor."

Ozpin chuckled, even as Goodwitch gave him the evil eye. "Perhaps it's not. But you both will be students at my Academy for the next four years. My colleagues wil placing you in dangerous situations on a daily basis. I would prefer to know why my students would willingly apply to such a life."

"...I want to be strong enough to protect those I care about."

"So you are of the same mindset as Ms. Rose."

"No."

"No? You both wish to protect the people."

"Ruby wants to protect the people. I'm sorry to say this," He took Ruby's hand and shot her a remorseful look. "but I don't share her views. I'm just one guy, I know I can't protect everyone, but damned if I'll let anything take away those I care about."

"A noble view, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said quietly after a moment of silence. "I believe you shall make a great addition to our school."

"Waitwaitwait!" Ruby piped up. "You said both of us, I'm only a second year."

"Ah, yes, back to the reason I really wanted to speak to you. Correct me if I'm mistaken, Ms. Rose, but you intend to enrol in Beacon once you've done two more years with Signal, yes?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"How would you like to skip those two years?"

Ruby visibly froze. "Huh?"

"Would you like to join Mr. Arc at Beacon this year?"

"But-but the Signal policy doesn't allow anyone under the age of 16 to graduate!"

Ozpin chuckled. "I think you'll find Ms. Rose, that being the headmaster of one of the Huntsmen Academies has distinct advantages." Jaune noted Goodwitch rolling her eyes, which gave him a pretty good idea of what she thought of Ozpin's proposal.

Ruby was lost for words, or more accurately, she had far too many words and couldn't seem to get them out properly. "I... I can go to Beacon? Right now?"

"If you so choose." Ozpin nodded. "I warn you, you will most likely have some catching up to do. You will have to prove yourself to others two years your senior. It will be difficult. However, you will be a Huntress in training."

Ruby sat there stunned, her mind whirling. She looked to Jaune, who was beaming at her with pride. He gave her a reassuring nod and that gave her the final push she needed.

"I accept."

Ozpin smiled and stood up, prompting Ruby and Jaune to stand as well. "Splendid. Professor Goodwitch here shall finalize the paperwork with your parents, Ms. Rose. Unfortunately, I have another appointment to attend." He extended their hand to both of them.

"I look forward to seeing you both at my academy."

The eastern beaches of Vytal. A beautiful site, one of the most popular tourist sites in Remnant. Lying in a protected bay, the beaches spanned for miles, with white silky snow. At this late hour, though, it was deserted, but no less captivating.

Ozpin sat on a bench overlooking the ocean, his coffee mug uncharacteristically absent. His cane resting next to him.

"Is this seat taken?" He looked up to see who had spoken. It was a woman, wearing a large cloak with the hood up to hide her features.

"No, not at all." he replied after a small silence.

"Thank you." She sighed as she settled down. She leaned back, seemingly enjoying the ocean breeze. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Ozpin took a moment to look out on the beach before answering. The moon was nearly full tonight, its light making the sand shimmer, and the ocean sparkle like liquid sapphires. "Yes, very much so."

"It's been quite a while since I've found time to appreciate something like this. I've never really been particularly motivated to do so."

"So what changed, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ozpin could make out a smile underneath that hood. "I guess I've learned how quickly such beauty can be ruined." The woman turned to him, and lowered her hood, revealing a deathly pale face and red-and-black eyes.

"It's been far too long, Ozpin."

"Indeed." He replied, meeting her cold gaze. "I see that you have obtained a new form."

Salem chuckled. "Well, after what your people did to my last body, I had a lot of trouble making a new one. Thankfully, I had a lot of raw material to work with. I must admit, they did well encrypting that Map. Four years, and I still cannot crack it. How is Amber, by the way?"

"Why are we here, Salem?" He asked her, ignoring the obvious taunt.

"Is it so wrong to want to see you again, Ozpin? I'm hurt."

"I understand your power, I know what you can do, and what you intend to do. But you must let them live in peace, Salem."

"Peace?" Salem spat out the word like poison. "Is that what you call this? Nations on the very brink of extinction, and yet still looking for ways to one-up each other. Citizens at war with one another, simply because each side believes itself to be superior. Children being taught to wield weapons and abilities capable of large-scale devastation, and many dying in the process. This is not peace."

"You cannot change their nature." He said softly.

"But I can change the world they live in." She countered.

"Why not just kill them? We both know that is what you truly desire. So why bother attempting to subjugate them?"

"Because I need them. Just like how you need them. You have your retainers and I have mine, but we need more. For beings like us, mankind is our lifeblood. As loathe as I am to admit it, we must rely on them to survive. You've known that for far longer than I have. But the difference between us, Ozpin, is that I can give the people something you have neglected to provide."

"Which is?"

"Structure and oversight. You have coddled them for far too long, and as a result they are destroying everything, including themselves. It is time for you to stop playing schoolteacher and for me to give them a real leader."

"A real leader? You would kill thousands, if not millions to achieve your selfish goals. That is not a leader, but a tyrant."

"And how is that different to any of the rulers of this age?"

"You wanted to meet me here. Why?"

"The island of Vytal, known as the site where mankind achieved their so-called peace after a long and bloody war. I thought that it's only right that this should be a site where that illusion is torn down." She stood up, her cloak billowing behind her.

"Our little cold war has gone on long enough, and so I thought to give you the courtesy of seeing you in person. Consider this my declaration." She turned her red eyes to him, fury burning within them. "I shall destroy you. The real question is, how many of your children will you allow to die with you?"

Ozpin stood to meet her gaze. "My children share my beliefs. This world is theirs."

Salem sneered. "So be it."

Ozpin's expression grew sad. "What happened to us, Salem? You used to be so kind and merciful." He spoke with nostalgia.

"Perhaps you're right. Maybe I have become nothing more than a monster. Perhaps you have as well. But I will be beautiful again. And you are wrong about one thing,

"This... will be a kindness."

So, up next is initiation!

For those of you who are curious, Rosea Custos, means 'Red Guardian'. I thought I'd stick with the Latin theme. It's a Roman style parma, if you want to see what it looks like.

I also changed Ruby's first encounter with Torchwick. It's something that always bothered me. If Cinder is the head honcho, why was she piloting a getaway vehicle for a relatively small time heist? Surely she has better things to do. And this is also the woman who chewed out her henchmen for not keeping a low profile, but goes up against a renowned Huntress? Again, annoying.

Oh, and don't bother correcting me on the computer stuff. I don't do techno-babble. Just apply suspension of disbelief, please.

Whether you love it or hate it, feel free to exercise your right to say it. So click on those buttons below!