AN: Here I am once again with what could be my favorite story to write! Seriously, I love writing this one, it's not even funny! Sorry it took so long, between life, new ideas and updating my other stories, I had a lot on my plate. Fair warning: This one like last chapter will contain heavy dialogue. ONWARDS!
Chapter 7: Welcome to the Family
The Council Hall was grand, spacious and luxurious, befitting the four people in charge of the Kingdom of Vale. It was supposedly the most secure building in the entire Kingdom, yet walking through the front doors was their greatest enemy… and he had been invited. As Naruto made his way through the front doors of the establishment and through the many winding hallways, he took note of the level of security, the placement of the cameras, whatever he thought he'd need to remember in case he ever returned. His attention then shifted to his three escorts: The man in the black overcoat and two VCPD officers, the former walking just ahead of him and the two latter officers flanking behind him to his right and left.
His Dustsabers had been confiscated by the man in black and he could hear them clinking around in the man's coat pocket. It was a precaution and Naruto understood why they'd disarm him, given their known and unknown history, but for what was about to happen, he needed his weapons.
He was then led into what he surmised to be a waiting area, curiously enough. He had assumed that the Council would have wanted to see him post-haste, but it seemed that it was not the case.
"You'll be waiting here for a brief period of time." The man in black said as he handed Naruto's Dustsabers off to one of the officers. "I'll return when the Council is ready for you. Until then, you're welcome to whatever's in this room."
"Have a timetable for me?" Naruto asked in genuine curiosity.
"Shouldn't be more than an hour or two. Other cases are being held here, after all. Yours is just one in a long line."
"You'd think that mine would take priority." He scoffed as he sat upon the couch.
"Honestly…" The man sighed. "I agree with you. Specter is too big a threat to just ignore, yet the Council is taking their sweet time dealing with him."
"How do you think I feel?" Naruto retorted. "He was sent to kill me. On this very Council's orders, mind you, but they had reason. Specter, however…" He faked a shiver. "He enjoys the violence. He was more than happy to take the contract."
"How a person like Specter was allowed to live is beyond me…" The man sighed once again while shaking his head. "Hopefully you'll help rid us of this problem, Mr. Uzumaki."
"I'll do my best." Naruto nodded.
With nothing left to be said, the man returned Naruto's nod and promptly walked out, followed by the officer who now had the Dustsabers, and shut the door behind them.
"Well then…" He let out a weary sigh. "What's on TV?"
(Beacon Academy: Same time)
"Raven, we don't have time to argue!" Yelled the one and only Qrow Branwen at his sister, who was standing in the far corner of Ozpin's office with her arms folded under her breasts. "Oz needs us there, and we'll be there!"
"If Specter shows up, I will kill him!" Raven replied heatedly as her red eyes bore into the same shade of red that was her brother's. "The Council's useless; they won't pull the trigger on an assassination, so I'll do it for them!"
"We'll act as the Council needs us, Miss Branwen!" Ozpin snapped as he stood and took his cane into his hands, headed for the elevator. "And you will follow my orders to the letter! Am I clear?"
"… Crystal, Professor." Raven bit out.
"This isn't like you, Rae." Qrow shook his head. "You weren't like this during our Academy days. What the hell happened to you?"
"I woke up." Was Raven's short reply as she slipped on her mask. "When will you, brother?"
And with that, she held out her right hand in front of her and a reddish black portal opened up, which she stepped through and disappeared into its confines.
"Dammit, Rae…" Qrow muttered as he followed Ozpin into the elevator.
It was a silent ride down to the ground floor, whereupon the doors opening, Ozpin and Qrow were greeted to the sight of Teams NBSE, RWBY and JNPR, all looking anxious, save for Weiss who was less than thrilled about being dragged along.
"Ah, shit…" Qrow muttered under his breath as he facepalmed.
"Please, clear the way." Ozpin said as calmly as he could. "We have somewhere to be."
"And so do we!" Frost declared. "We were there when Naru got snatched up by the cops! We want in on whatever's going on!"
"Naruto's our friend!" Yang backed up the Faunus. "We have a right to be beside him!"
"He deserves to have people in his corner." Ren nodded. "He's been nothing but nice and supporting to us all, the least we could do is be there for him."
"Not possible." The normally stoic Ozpin was now starting to lose his temper. "Go back to your dorms or I will have you taken there by force."
"Try us, old man." Frost matched the Headmaster's temper with his own, fangs bared, claws out and icy blue eyes now glowing dangerously. "You'll get a war you're not prepared for!"
"Please, Frost." Pyrrha put a calming hand on his shoulder as she directed a fierce gaze to Ozpin. "Professor, please reconsider. We would like to just be there for Naruto. We don't have to be involved with whatever's going on, we just wish to be there for our friend."
"Uncle Qrow, please!" Ruby tried to prod her Uncle. "Naruto needs us there!"
"Oz…" Qrow finally spoke up. "You know if you say no, they're going to fight back and follow us anyway. What harm could letting them tag along cause?"
"Plenty." Ozpin responded, eyeing Frost and Blake harshly. "I can't take the chance."
"Then prepare to fight your way out of here, because they won't let us pass without a 'yes'."
"Then it's time they learned their place." Ozpin prepared his cane, but a hand on his arm stopped him.
"You touch one hair on my niece's heads, and I swear to the Dust…" Qrow glowered with glowing red eyes. "You won't be walking out of here at all."
"Qrow, do you realize what you're saying? What's at stake tonight?!" The calm persona finally slipped. "Specter is the most dangerous threat Remnant has ever seen! The Council will finally be dealing with him tonight! We can't let them come; it's too dangerous for them!"
"Put some faith in them, Oz!" Qrow matched the head being thrown at him. "They've been training for this! They can handle themselves!"
"And if they can't, what then?!"
"Then you can put all the blame squarely on me! I'll take responsibility!"
With his gaze shifting from Qrow to the eleven teens in front of him, each one of them (save for Weiss once again) with a determined face, he let out a long sigh while lowering his cane.
"Very well." Ozpin resigned. "But if anything should happen to them, you're responsible."
"Thank you, Oz." Qrow nodded. "Now, we're behind schedule. I suggest we hurry it up."
"Follow us." Ozpin told the kids as he began walking at a brisk pace towards the landing pads.
As the now large group of people made their way to the waiting airship, something on the horizon caught Qrow's eye.
"Oz." He bit out through grit teeth. "Look."
"… Dammit." Ozpin cursed at what he was seeing.
(With Naruto: Same time)
"The hell is that thrumming?" Naruto asked aloud as he tore his attention away from the TV.
"Beats me." The officer in the room shrugged.
"Should we go check?" Naruto asked, faking ignorance, even though he knew exactly what was happening.
"You say here." The officer ordered. "I'll go."
"Hey, at least take me to the bathroom as well! I gotta piss!"
"Dammit, fine!" The officer groaned.
As the officer opened the door and motioned for his compatriot standing guard outside to follow, Naruto had to stop himself from smirking. Things were falling into place nicely. He had an inkling of what was going on, but now he knew for sure. He silently followed his escorts to a neighboring hallway which held a bathroom.
"Watch him." The officer from before warned his partner as he walked off to investigate what was happening outside.
"Go on." The second officer opened the door for Naruto, then promptly followed him in.
'I have to get out of here… the time is nearly right…' Naruto thought to himself as he stepped into one of the stalls to relieve himself. 'How fortunate that the officer who has my weapons is also here with me…'
After zipping up, he turned to the locked stall door and slowly slid the lock from its place. He took in a breath and slowly counted to three in his head. Upon reaching three, he shoulder-charged the now unlocked door, sending it careening open the officer's back and sending the man flying forward into the sinks and the Dustsabers clinking to the ground as they fell out of his pocket.
Shooting a Chakra thread out of his right index finger and onto the hilt of one of his Dustsabers, in one smooth motion, Naruto yanked the weapon to his hand, hit the igniter and stabbed the man through his heart just as he was reaching for his weapon. After deactivating the crimson blade of his Dustsaber, Naruto calmly picked up its twin and hooked them back on his belt while also rolling up his duster's right sleeve so he could access his sealing matrix. Eyeing the particular seal he wished to use, Naruto channeled some Chakra to his left index finger and pushed down upon the ink, where after a small plume of smoke, an empty scroll appeared in his left hand.
He then turned to the corpse of the officer and promptly sealed it inside the scroll to essentially get rid of the evidence. After resealing the scroll into his tattoo, Naruto quickly created a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone), which stood at attention upon being created.
"Transform yourself into the officer we just killed." He ordered his clone as he handed his Dustsabers to it. "Don't want to draw attention to ourselves."
"Got it, Boss!" The clone snapped off a salute before transforming itself into an exact likeness of the officer and taking the offered weapons.
Naruto then created another clone and eyed this one critically. "For all intents and purposes, you are now me." He told the clone. "You'll be taking my place in this farce. Clear?"
"Clear, Boss!" This clone also snapped off a salute.
"Good, now get going you two." With not another spoken word, the two clones went off to carry out their orders, leaving their Boss alone. "Now…" His right eye morphed into the Sharingan. "To get the real party started…" He then disappeared into a Kamui portal.
(With Ozpin and company: Half an hour later)
"I'm gonna kill him…" Growled Qrow as the airship landed. "Bringing an entire fleet with him?! What the hell?!"
"Calm yourself, Qrow." Ozpin tried to hide his own frustration after his outburst earlier. "I don't agree with this either, but it's not our place to question him.
"Shit's about to hit the fan…" Frost said as he stared out the window of the airship at the Atlesian fleet.
"So what if the tin man's here?" Mercury shrugged. "If anything, this is good for us. Jimmy's more liable to fuck up with his men within earshot."
"Worst comes to worst, the revolution starts here." Emerald agreed. "And we're ready for it. The rest of Remnant isn't."
"Alright, everyone!" Qrow began shouting. "Get behind Oz and I! We're ready to go!"
"I just hope Naruto knows what he's doing…" Frost admitted as he and Em joined Blake at the front of the pack, directly behind Ozpin and Qrow.
"Why am I even here?" Weiss protested. "I don't care what happens to the blonde ruffian! If anything, he probably deserves what's about to happen!"
"Objection noted, Princess." Yang groaned. "Now please, for everyone's sake, shut up."
Weiss would have protested further, but the doors of the airship slid open, revealing none other than James Ironwood flanked by her sister Winter and…
"Father…" she meekly greeted him.
"Ozpin." James nodded to his colleague. "Why is there a group of trainees behind you?"
"They insisted upon coming with us, James." Ozpin answered. "They're personal friends of Mr. Uzumaki and wished to be here to support him."
"Fair enough." James nodded once again in agreement, then noticed Weiss. "Miss Schnee, step forward."
"Y-Yes, General." Weiss did as ordered and snapped into an Atlesian salute.
"Your sister and father are here. Come greet them."
"We're taking up too much time here, James." Jon dismissed the notion. "We're here for Specter, nothing more."
"Jon, please." James protested. "At least acknowledge your daughter."
"Weiss understands what's going on here, James." Jon brushed a hand over his mustache as he eyed the General. "Do you?"
"… Yes, sir." James decided to drop the subject. "The others are waiting for us, Ozpin."
"After you." Ozpin gestured for James to take the lead.
"Your dad's a dick." Mercury whispered to Weiss as they began walking once again.
"Father's… very busy." Weiss weakly defended.
"He doesn't seem like the most agreeable person." Pyrrha agreed with Merc's rather vulgar summation of Jon Schnee.
"Weiss…" Winter called out to her as she fell behind James to catch up with her sister. "I'm sorry about Father."
"It's… alright, Winter." Weiss shook her head and faked a smile. "He's busy, I understand."
"No, he's not." Winter shook her head. "He's obsessed, now more than ever. He's running our family and company into the ground because of his drive for revenge. He wants Specter dead, even if that means sacrificing everything in the process… including me and you."
"Because Specter killed our Uncle!"
"Specter ordered the hit on our Uncle, but wasn't the one who pulled the trigger." Winter shook her head.
"And that absolves him of blame?!"
"Of course not!" She snapped. "Revenge can be a driving force up to a point. When it becomes an obsession, you suddenly have nothing left inside of you but hate and rage. You destroy yourself and everything around you when revenge becomes an obsession."
"Father knows what he's doing, I'm sure!" Weiss once again denied, shaking her head.
"… We'll speak more of this later." Winter said, then abruptly broke off and rejoined James and Jon at the front of the pack.
The rest of the walk was spent in tense silence, as no one there knew what to expect. Eventually, the group was led into a large circular room that had four raised platforms. Upon these four platforms were the four Councilors from all Four Kingdoms. The Vale Council sat in the middle left platform, the Atlesian Council to the far left platform to the right of the Vale Council, the Mistral Council sat upon the middle right platform to the Vale Council's left and the Vacuo Council sat upon the last platform on the far right to the Mistral Council's left.
Without uttering a word, Ozpin and Qrow walked up to the Vale Council's platform and stood directly beneath them, with James taking his place at the head of the Atlesian Council's table and Jon and Winter standing directly beneath his platform.
Beneath the Mistral Council's platform stood a woman who stood at 6'3", had long flowing red hair tied up into a ponytail and striking green eyes wearing a golden circlet atop her crown, a gold-tinted steel chestplate that covered most of her ample breasts and left her shoulders bare, matching steel gauntlets and greaves with a scaled armor skirt and brown leather fingerless gloves underneath her gauntlets. Across her back was slung a black and gold kite shield and on either of her hips sat two sheathed gold and red swords.
"M-Mother?!" Pyrrha called out to the woman.
"Pyrrha?" The woman looked over to the group of students in surprise. This was the famed Huntress Athena Nikos, mother of Pyrrha Nikos and newly inducted Headmaster of Haven Academy. "Pyrrha, what are you doing here?!"
"To support my friend, mother!" Pyrrha answered. "What are you doing here?!"
"I was going to let you know eventually…" She lightly blushed. "I'm sorry!"
"And now we know where she gets it…" Frost muttered to Mercury and Yang, who snickered.
"Let me know what, mother?" Pyrrha asked, still confused.
"I'm the new Headmaster of Haven!"
"Athena!" Scolded one of the Mistral Councilors. "Enough!"
"I'm sorry, Councilor." Athena once again apologized.
Finally, underneath the Vacuo Council's platform stood a man who stood at 6'6", had wild dark brown hair, a matching goatee and a pair of small buffalo horns, identifying him as a Faunus. He was dressed what seemed like a set of white and gold monk robes torn open at the chest to show off his muscular build with black gloves covering his hands, black boots and armor segments over the shoulders of the robes. Strapped to his back was a strange staff that had a crescent-shaped object on one end and what looked like an ax head on the other. This was Sha Wujing, Headmaster of Shade Academy.
"All of the Councils are here, along with all four Headmasters…" Muttered Ren. "We're attending the Conclave…"
"You all!" Sha called out to them, his voice loud and thunderous. "Clear the way!"
Not wanting to cross the Headmaster of Shade, the group wisely moved off to the side as the doors they were previously standing in front of swung open to reveal the person they were in attendance to support. Flanked by two officers and the man in black was Naruto, who looked none worse for wear… or who they thought was Naruto. The Naruto clone and the officer clone cracked barely visible smirks upon not being called out as fakes as they entered the room and stood in the very center.
"You three may go now." One of the Vale Councilors said.
"Yes, Councilor." The man in black nodded and motioned for his two officers to follow him out.
"Naruto Uzumaki…" Another Vale Councilor glowered.
"Councilors." Naruto shot them a smirk. "Long time no see, eh? Last time we were together like this, I was attacked by Specter on my way out of the building… and yet here we are again, with you begging for my help once again…"
"Remember who you are speaking to, boy!" One of the Councilors from Mistral glowered. "Show your betters respect!"
"There's no respect to be given to those who don't deserve it!" Naruto shot back.
"We've called you here, Naruto, to talk about Specter." James mediated. "We all know that you've fought on multiple different occasions, including your most recent encounter where this Conclave ordered your execution... a mistake on our parts, admittedly."
"They… what?" Jaune whispered to the group. "They tried to have Naruto killed?"
"Naruto's fought Specter before?" Yang questioned in surprise.
"Blake…" Frost softly called her name after seeing her shake with rage. "Calm down."
"I can't believe it…" She continued shaking. "I run away from one corrupt life and into another… same shit, different day."
"What about this is corrupt?" Weiss asked. "Naruto must have crossed the Council in some form, so they wanted to tie up loose ends."
"Naruto was a mercenary before he joined the Fangs." Frost impatiently explained to the Ice Queen. "He mainly contracted himself out to this very Conclave. He fucks up just one mission and they say 'Fuck it, let's kill the little bastard!'… if that's not bent and corrupt, I don't know what is."
"Then he might have found out a few things he shouldn't have known!"
"And what government's first option is an assassination attempt?" Frost fired back. "A broken one."
"And now you're sounding like one of those revolutionaries that are following Specter!" Weiss pointed an accusing finger at the Faunus.
"Miss Schnee!" Athena called out. "Quiet!"
"We need your help once again, Naruto." One of the Vacuo Councilors spoke. "Specter is very dangerous and we're reaching out to you because of your past with him."
"You know him." James reasoned. "You know how he fights, what his motives are. You could prove to be an invaluable asset to the coming conflict."
"It's true that I know him…" Naruto hummed. "And it's true that I could lend my knowledge to you all… but I want something in return."
"Anything." James once again spoke up.
"I want my record wiped clean, as well as Frost's and Blake's. Clean slates for all three of us and a promise to leave us alone afterwards."
'Specter said that Naruto's in league with him…' Pyrrha began to zone out what was happening. 'If so, why is he making nice with the Conclave? Is he a genuine double agent, or is he...' As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she realized all too late what was going on.
"You know as well as I do, Naruto, that their promises mean nothing…" An all too familiar synthesized voice filled the air.
In strolled Specter, flanked by Cinder and Adam on his right and left respectively as they made their way to the center of the room and took a place beside Naruto.
"… So why are you even bothering?" Specter finished his sentence with a sideways look to the blonde.
"The fuck are you doing here?" Naruto growled.
"One of the officers I killed on my way in had your weapons." Specter held out the twin Dustsabers. "Use them on me if you feel you must."
"You came here for a reason…" Naruto took his weapons from Specter and hooked them upon his belt. "So go ahead, make another speech."
"You know me so well." The teasing tone in Specter's voice found its way through the synthesizer as he turned to the Conclave and Headmasters. "It is indeed a surprise to see the full Conclave here, including the Headmasters. Ozpin, my conversation with you must have shaken you up terribly so for you to take it straight to the top."
"Don't play coy." Ozpin scoffed. "You knew I'd go to the Council with what happened."
"And indeed you played off my gambit perfectly." Specter nodded. "Now another Conclave has been called and the Headmasters are all in attendance."
The early morning rays of sunshine began to break through the windows of the room as the implications of the statement began to take full effect. Sha withdrew his Monk's Spade, Athena her shield and her twin swords which she attached together and transformed into a spear, Ozpin readied his cane, Qrow brought out his scythe and James reached into his suit pocket for his pistol, Winter her saber and Jon the estoc he had sheathed at his waist… but no attack came.
"Still so very jumpy…" Specter chuckled. "I shan't attack any of you. This is a negotiation, and I will not be so vulgar as to violate the decorum of this event."
"Then why bring him with you?!" Blurted Blake as she pointed to Adam. "He's a psychopath! A murderer! Just like YOU!"
"Such little you know, my darling." Adam smirked viciously as he put a hand on Wilt. "Shall I have to reeducate you?"
"Adam." Naruto growled. "Back up. NOW."
"Calm yourself, Mr. Taurus." Specter also stepped in. "As I said, we shall not initiate hostilities. We are negotiating, nothing more."
"… Of course." Adam said through his grit teeth as he let Wilt go.
"And you, Miss Belladonna…" Specter turned to the girl in question. "You are not a part of these negotiations. You are a guest, and as such, your voice is not needed. Kindly refrain from any further outbursts, if you please."
"Miss Belladonna, you may leave the room." Ozpin glared angrily at her. "Mr. Schwarz, Miss Sustrai, escort your teammate out."
"Nonsense, Professor." Specter turned his attention back to the bespectacled Headmaster. "We need witnesses for these negotiations, do we not?"
"Then please, continue." James removed his hand from his pocket. "If conflict can be avoided, then we're all ears."
"You already know my terms, Councilors." Specter stepped closer to the platforms. "The Academies need to be independent from the current system. The corruption needs to be curbed, the proxy wars, the spoils system, the elitism, the favoritism… all of it. It has to end."
"You…" Athena cleared her throat so she could speak. "You truly mean the Academies no harm, then?"
"None whatsoever, Miss Nikos." Specter shook his head negative. "As I told Ozpin, I wish for nothing other than the Academies to govern themselves separate from the Kingdoms. And for wanting better for my world, these fools brand me a traitor, along with Naruto here."
"What?" Sha questioned. "Is this true?"
"Very much so." Specter once again nodded. "Naruto knew about all of this even before I did, so if you wish to split hairs, he is the real father of this revolution… I am just the only one who was willing to listen to him."
"James, is this true?!" Athena turned and looked up to Atlas's platform.
"… Unfortunately, yes." James slowly nodded as he made a temple with his hands under his chin. "Naruto found out some of our closely guarded secrets and he confronted us about it in good faith. The rest of this Conclave voted to have him killed, while I and a select few others voted against the motion. Specter was our chosen assassin and instead of carrying out his orders, he and Naruto talked, the secrets were revealed and Specter was turned against us."
"James, that's enough!" One of the Vale Councilors panicked.
"Keep talking, James." Specter urged the General. "It needs to be said."
"We were wrong." James admitted. "We shouldn't have done what we did to Naruto, it was unjust and unfair… that being said, what you're doing, Specter, is also unjust. The Kingdoms have been around for hundreds of years, we've had time to iron out the creases, so to speak. What we're doing or not doing is for the good of all Remnant."
"That's exactly what you told me just before you tried to have me killed!" Naruto yelled. "It's bullshit, and you all know it!"
"You're desperately clinging to a broken system that has been slowly dying for a long time now while turning your back on the new system that I'm offering freely." Specter also stepped in. "Revision sometimes needs to take place in order to come out with a better written novel. Such is the same with a dying government that's drawing its last breath."
"And so you assassinate my brother?!" Jon yelled, his grip on his estoc tightening. "You and your circus of animals dare to claim righteousness when innocent blood is on your hands?!"
"And you dare defend a murderer in front of me, Mr. Schnee?!" Specter raised his voice to the President of the SDC. "Your brother was as corrupt as they came! He had his hands in gambling, prostitution, drug deals, the black market trade of your own Company's Dust! He even dabbled in the infamous slave labor your Company was accused of! That accusation came directly from me and I proved it by exposing your brother for what he was: a monster. And he was a monster that I was happy to have had put down!"
"BASTARD!" Jon roared as he charged headlong at the man.
"Father!" Winter rushed after him.
"Jon! NO!" James tried to warn off the man.
"One more step…" Adam whispered to his most hated enemy as he held Wilt to his throat after flashing in front of him. "And you're breathing through a new hole."
"Schnee!" James called out to Winter. "Get your father out of here! He's no longer welcome in these chambers!"
"How dare you!" Jon was beside himself with rage. "The both of you! You dare turn your back on me, James?!" He continued to rant even as Winter dragged him out. "And you, Winter! You turn against your own blood?! You're a fucking disgrace! Both you and Weiss!" His voice trailed off as he was dragged off out of the chambers and disappeared into the halls.
"Well… that was rather eventful." Cinder finally spoke.
"It was unfortunate, Miss Fall." Specter shook his head as Adam rejoined the group. "Such is what happens when revenge blinds you to everything else."
"F-Father…" Weiss choked back a sob, only to turn and hug Mercury when he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Huge dick." Mercury revised his statement from before as he shared a look with Yang.
"Personality wise, yeah." Yang agreed with a nod. "Otherwise? Hell no."
"It seems negotiations have hit a bit of a hiccup." Specter linked his hands behind his back, his cloak fluttering lightly as he did so. "Shall I assume that they've fallen apart?"
"No!" James denied a bit too quickly. "We can still negotiate, now that we've gotten rid of the malcontent among us."
"I'm not sure if negotiations can resume." Specter shook his head. "You already deny the possibility of revising the government and letting the Academies go, which is tantamount to a refusal altogether. What am I to think when all of my attempts at compromise have been so thoroughly thwarted, let alone when I'm attacked during these negotiations?"
"There can still be peace!" James urged.
"There can be no peace, not with such a malignant system that has no right or business living past its time." Specter then turned to leave, followed closely by Cinder and Adam. "You may or may not hear from me again. It could be today, it could be a month from now… but know that I shall not reveal myself to you all again until I am ready. I bid you all adieu."
As the trio walked out, Pyrrha took it upon herself to chase them down, but as soon as she rounded the corner, they had all but disappeared without a trace.
"They're… gone." She spoke, wide eyed.
"Dammit…" James slammed a fist down onto the table, lightly cracking it. "We were so close… if only Jon hadn't have interfered…"
"Don't fool yourself, James." One of the Mistral Council spoke up. "There never was any negotiating with Specter and there never will be."
"More importantly… Naruto!" One of the Vale Council spoke.
"Yes, Councilors?" Naruto turned his attention back to the Conclave.
"We agree to your terms. Clean slates for you and your two friends and we'll forget all about what Specter said about you. We won't trouble you anymore come the resolution of the coming war."
"Even though I know this is out of desperation…" Naruto sighed. "I'll accept it as well. You have my blades come the war."
"Ozpin!" Another Vale Councilor called out to the Headmaster.
"Yes, sir?" Ozpin glanced up at the group of four men.
"We all know he's not a regular student. Give him an appropriate station, and know that he's under the Conclave's protection now. He and his two friends… make him a Captain."
"Captain?" Naruto asked.
"We'll explain it later, kid." Qrow managed a sigh as he shifted his weapon back into its storage mode.
"For now, my students and I shall return to Beacon, with your permission." Ozpin glanced up at the platform again, then turned to leave when he got a nod.
"Almighty God, that was stressful…" Naruto let out a sigh of relief as Blake ran up to him and tackled him into a hug.
"For a second there, I thought he was going to kill the lot of us…" She muttered into his ear as she hugged him, then went in for a kiss.
"Hold up!" Naruto held up his hands and chuckled nervously. "Gotta go take a leak…"
"Dammit, Naru…" Frost let out a genuine laugh.
As he left a very perturbed Blake behind, the clone ran off and slipped into another bathroom, smirking when a Kamui portal opened up, revealing the real Naruto, now dressed in his regular clothes.
"Good acting." He praised his clone.
"Thanks, Boss!" The clone beamed before being dispelled.
After waiting a few minutes in contemplative silence, Naruto decided enough time had passed and exited the bathroom, immediately noticing that Blake was waiting for him.
"Stalker, much?" He asked with a smirk.
"You denied me a kiss after everything that's happened this morning." Blake deadpanned as she grabbed her boyfriend by the collar of his shirt. "Don't think I'm going to let it happen a second time."
"Would never dream of it." He said as he quickly closed the distance between them in a searing kiss that ended a little too soon for Blake's liking. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us and Ozpin deserves an explanation about this whole 'Captain' business."
After a short walk to the exit, Naruto and Blake found everyone waiting for them, and all eyes were on the blonde of the pair.
"Explanation time?" Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously
(That night: Vale docks: Warehouse: Midnight)
"The hell is that red armband on your right arm, kid?" Roman questioned as he stared at said object.
"Turns out, if a student does well enough and proves themselves capable, they're named Captain of their year." Naruto shrugged. "Which means I guess I'm in charge of my entire first year class."
"Like an officer, basically." Emerald also shrugged as she reclined back in one of the chairs surrounding the table.
"Old man wouldn't have done it without the Conclave ordering him to, I bet." Mercury chimed in as he was working on his prosthetics.
"If anyone deserves it, it's Naru." Frost added. "I mean, granted, he's freaking Specter, but they don't know that!"
"And how are you three here without the cat getting suspicious?" Another thought crossed Roman's mind as he gestured to Naruto, Frost and Emerald.
"My clones are very versatile, Roman." Naruto smirked.
"Very." Cinder added with a sensual smirk as she shifted in her chair.
"Agreed." Neo nodded her head as she snuggled into Naruto's lap.
"We had the entire Conclave shaking in their boots." Adam declared victoriously as he walked in and removed his mask, revealing blood red eyed that matched his hair. "Today was a victory in my book."
"My words shook the other two Headmasters." Naruto nodded. "I suspect that Athena will soon join us, just like her daughter."
"Just like…?" Roman asked.
"Pyrrha's on her way here now." Naruto casually mentioned. "She came to me just after Ozpin made me First Year Captain and confronted me about everything and I confirmed it all, even told her to come here."
"Which means Em, Merc and I should make ourselves scarce." Frost made to get up, but Naruto gestured for him to stop.
"No." He held up his right hand. "The more of her friends she sees involved with us the better. Paints a prettier picture for her."
"Though you might want to hurry up and change…" Emerald warned her boss and friend.
After waving her concern off, Naruto rolled up his sleeve once again and formed the Half-Ram handseal with his left hand, instantly replacing his regular clothes with his Specter getup.
"I'm magic." The way that statement sounded in Specter's synthesized voice only served to send Frost cracking up with laughter, followed by Mercury and Roman
Soon, their laughter subsided when Naruto stood up, replacing Neo into his chair, and took on his standard 'Specter' posed, with his arms linked behind his back as the door to the front room opened, followed by two of the front room guards showing their guest in.
"Miss Nikos." Specter greeted her with a polite nod of the head. "Welcome to my humble abode."
"Frost?" Pyrrha's eyes glanced over the people in the room. "Emerald? Mercury?"
"Surprised to see them?" Specter asked.
"We've been a part of the revolution for a long time, Pyrrha." Frost spoke up. "That's how Naruto and I met Merc and Em."
"It's a good cause, Pyrrha." Emerald took her turn. "You saw today how backwards the Conclave was, you saw how that Schnee bastard was ready to kill Specter here. That's the kind of hatred that the system has bred."
"My own old man was an assassin for the Conclave." Mercury admitted. "When he tried to get me into the family business, I fought him. Ended up with these…" He motioned to his legs. "And orphaned myself in the process."
"All true, Miss Nikos…" Cinder's silky smooth voice sent a shiver up Pyrrha's spine as she approached. "Specter and I found them both in need of help when the Kingdoms would give them none. Emerald, until we picked her up, was a common thief living off scraps and whatever precious items she could sell to her local fence. We gave them a life where the Kingdoms would have let them die." Her amber eyes glowed with mischief as she stopped in front of the girl and ran her right hand through her ponytail. "We can save you as well…"
"S-Save me?" Pyrrha managed to say. "From what?"
"We've already had this discussion, Miss Nikos." Specter stepped in this time. "You've come here because deep down, you know we're right, no? You've come here because you know we're Remnant's last true hope at a bright future."
"And you could be one of our stars." Cinder pushed once again as she stopped playing with the girl's ponytail and brushed a delicate hand over her cheek as she withdrew it. "You could make a bigger difference here than any one of us, including Specter himself."
"I…" Pyrrha gulped at the woman's actions, trying desperately to get rid of her blush. "I want to join the revolution… if you'll have me. I want to see this world into a new golden age."
"And you will at that, Pyrrha." Specter nodded as he unlinked his hands from behind his back and placed them upon the girl's shoulders. "Welcome to the family."
'This is it, Pyrrha…' She mused to herself. 'Point of no return…'
A strange sensation then filled her chest. It felt like someone… poking? Looking down, her face turned as red as her hair when she saw Neo frowning while poking her boobs.
"Can I… help you?" Pyrrha asked after a hesitation.
Neo then frowned deeper and grabbed her own breasts. After squeezing a couple of times, she blinked her eyes and they changed from pink and brown to totally pink… just as she grabbed Pyrrha's boobs outright and gave them a couple of experimental squeezes.
"W-WHAT?!" Was all the redhead could get out under the short girl's menstruations, not that Neo cared.
"Bigger." Neo's frown deepened once again. "Yours bigger…"
"Welcome to the family indeed…" Mercury shrugged just as Frost and Roman broke out into laughter once again.
It seemed like Pyrrha had just experienced Neo's welcome ceremony and passed… or failed? They couldn't be sure.
It was still funny as hell.
AN: Neo's seal of approval goes to Pyrrha! Or does it? I'm not quite sure myself. So, how did you guys like this one? Again, I'm sorry this one was mostly dialogue, but, like last chapter, it had to be done. Special attention goes to one of the OC's in this chapter, Sha Wujing, who is a reference to his namesake in Journey to the West. I figured since Sun Wukong is referenced through the Sun we all know, why not one of the other characters?
Now, onto the more pressing issue: Pyrrha. You guys have convinced me. She's going to be added in, so now the question becomes this: One more girl, or stop at four? If there were to be a fifth girl, note that she will be the final girl in the harem, so if there were to be a fifth and final girl, who should it be? My gut's telling me Emerald right now, but if you guys give me good and solid reasons for another girl, I'll consider it. Opinions are much appreciated!
This is ZeroDivisionRaijin, signing off!