Chapter 6 – The Vytal Consensus
Raven
Yang's lilac eyes meet her red ones, and they are almost carbon copies of one another, except for the weathered skin on Raven's face, the scar on her neck, the three Corvid Birds tattooed on her neck too – and of course – the black hair and blood red eyes. The two of them stare at each other, and Ruby's eyes are wide as she looks at the mother of her sister, her sword resting on her lap. Yang stammers as she stares at her mother, the woman she had not met until she was rescued by Neo that night.
"M-Mom?" Yang nervously greets as she stares at her mother who sits atop Weiss' bed, setting the whetstone down on the cover beside her leg. Her hands press against it and she glances to Blake's bed where they can sit so then they can talk. "What are you doing here?" Yang questions.
"About what happened, that's why." Raven tells her.
"You're her…" Ruby softly says with disbelief, and finally Raven looks at Summer's Daughter. Despite the old flame she once had with Taiyang, she does not seem to have any kind of resentment to the daughter.
"I am…take it daddy rarely spoke of me?" She presumes.
"Never…it was Qrow who did." Yang answers as she stares cautiously at her mother, sitting down on the bed beside her sister, twiddling her metal and human fingers together, keeping her eyes locked on the warrior before her. The Bandit-Style Clothing that clads her muscular yet slender frame, necklace wrapped around her neck and hanging just above her breasts.
"Oh brother…I thought we agreed…anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. The Ripper has made himself apparent in your lives now, and he wants you…I don't know why, but he does." Raven states as she shrugs her shoulders, and Ruby raises her brow.
"Um…huh?" Ruby questions, so Raven just responds by glancing at the feathers that she took from their beds and set them down on Weiss' study.
"Those were on your beds, Ruby." She says as she looks at Ruby, then a smile graces her face as she looks at Ruby and tilts her head. "My…you really are a spitting image of your mother."
"Don't change the subject, why are you here? I get Jack the Ripper wants to kill us, most likely me – right?" Yang presumes.
"I know not why he wants you – but I have a feeling it has something to do with these feathers." Raven states as she stands up from Weiss' bed and she walks over to the feathers, the one she threw is hardly even straight. She was always quite the perfectionist, every pencil had to be straight and her sword was always clean and sharp. Seems even that was bothering her, as she straightens out the feather beside its partner.
"Yeah we gathered that – I now speak directly to the Black Feathers – that's what he said, right?" Yang presumes, and Raven turns to her, and she walks around their room, sliding her fingers across the bunkbeds, chuckling as she looks at them.
"I can't imagine these were easy to set up…using books to keep them balanced? Smart…" Raven chuckles as she looks at the books that supported their beds together.
"Please stop changing the subject, mom. Just tell us what the hell is going on!" She begs.
"I will – but I need to know you will help me. Qrow knows what needs to be done, and I have a feeling Eryka will help too." Raven explains, causing them both to start raising questions about Neptune's sister.
"Eryka?" Ruby questions.
"Jack the Ripper…Qrow…and I…we share a long history, one I cannot divulge here, especially not with the Black Gallows present. I need to know you're gonna be on my side, because this will divide things." Raven explains as she approaches her sword and she looks at the red blade, before turning back to the two young women sat on Blake's bed. "But you need to know the truth."
"What truth? You're not making any sense!" Yang argues as she gets up.
"Will you please just come with me? I will explain everything when we get there." Raven begs, taking her sword and swinging it downwards, opening up a flickering red and black portal beside her, one that makes her long black hair blow from the incoming wind. They both stare into the mysterious darkness of her portal, and they are both left quite shaken from it. Yang stares at her mother and narrows her eyes.
"I don't know you…you were never there…you left us." Yang snarls, and Raven stares right back.
"I…had my reasons." Raven states.
"Yeah? Well I don't care! I have my own life now, people I care about, and this is my home. We will figure out how to take down Jack the Ripper our way. We don't need you." Yang snarls, and Ruby looks at her sister with concern. Raven scoffs and shakes her head as she sheathes the long red blade of her Odachi.
"Daughter…"
"Don't call me that, you don't have the right." Yang growls.
"Sweetheart, I have the scars. Trust me, I have the right." Raven scoffs as she looks right at Yang, and that makes Ruby cringe. But Yang does not back down, she stares right back into her mother's red eyes.
"You may have carried me…you and my dad may have been together once…but you left him. Left all of us. Why don't you stay that way?" She grills, quite harshly, and Raven stares right back and she sighs, looking down at the floor. She turns to the portal and goes to leave, but then she stops and looks at Ruby.
"I won't try and convince you, but if you want to change your mind, I am actually visiting your father tonight. Funnily enough, I check on all of you, every single day. Every year I talk to him…so if you wanna come with me, make sure you do it tonight." Raven says, then her eyes meet Ruby again. "But if you want to know the truth about your mother, Ruby…" Raven begins, and Ruby's eyes widen when she hears her say that. Raven sighs, looking at Yang, before turning back to Ruby again. "…then you have to get it for yourself. Doesn't mean you can't get some help along the way though."
Raven goes to leave, but before she does, she has yet one more statement. "By the way? Your Dorm? Is filthy." She says, as the portal closes behind her, leaving them alone. Ruby looks around and she giggles, Yang raises a brow at her.
"Weiss would have a fit if she heard her say that." Ruby giggles, and that also makes Yang chuckle as well.
"Yeah…c'mon…I suddenly wanna go get something to eat." She says, and Ruby bounces back up.
"I'm with you."
Jaune
The Arc Boy walks through the Academy, it has gotten more cleaned up but he can still see the scars of Jackdaw's attack. And the new Construction Crews are continuing to fill the holes and clean up the rest. Most of the holes are bullet holes from the criminals who attacked, and as he walks he can see Qrow watching Killian walk towards Ozpin's office and he looks pissed. What Jaune does not realise is that this is directly after Killian and Qrow interrogated the Contractor, and Killian killed him. Qrow eventually follows him up there, whereas Jaune just walks towards one of his sources of motivation.
He approaches the statue of Legendary Huntsman – Thaddeus Rex – with his sword held up in the air and the Beowulf beneath him, and the woman also beside him, fighting as hard as she can. Jaune looks at it and he looks at the plaque beneath his statue.
King Thaddeus Rex
Hero and Saviour
Shining Example for every Huntsman and Huntress
Jaune sits down in front of the statue, looking up at him with such awe, admired by how much of an amazing human being Thaddeus was. The things he accomplished in such a terrible time, a time where war killed everything it seemed to touch, and that was not even mentioning the Grimm.
He lowers his head down and then he mutters. "What would you have done?"
He stares at Thaddeus as if he was expecting the statue to look down and answer him, like some sort of Genie. But of course it does not, the statue remains as cold as ever, stood in the same pose as always. "I mean…should I have done things differently? If I was here…would we have been able to stop him?" Jaune asks as he stares at him, until another voice surprises him.
"I wouldn't dwell on such things, Mr Arc." Ozpin recommends, causing Jaune to jolt and turn round sharply, seeing Ozpin approach with his cane in his hand. He looks at the statue as well, before he sits down next to him and exhales, resting his cane atop his lap like Raven did when she just spoke with Yang and Ruby. Jaune looks at the Professor, noticing that he has calmed down quite a lot since he last saw him, and he is acting more like the Teacher he knew studying at this great place. "Only tends to harm you, more than it helps."
"I guess…I just…keep thinking that maybe we should have been here." Jaune says with a heavy sigh as he taps his fingers against his knees.
"You were celebrating your Graduation, I would have been a bit disappointed if you decided to stay at school for that." Ozpin chuckles, patting his back as he sits beside him. Jaune looks back up at the statue of Thaddeus Rex.
"Professor…" He begins, and Ozpin turns his head to him.
"Yes, Mr Arc?" He replies.
"I've read a few history books, ones about Thaddeus – but…I never really knew about where some of his titles came from. There aren't may texts about it." Jaune says, and Ozpin chuckles, nodding his head in appreciation of his curiosity.
"Well luckily for you, I have read my fair share too." Ozpin chuckles, making Jaune chuckle too. "Some of his titles came from different Kingdoms, the Settlers of Vacuo, the Spartans of Mistral, the Defenders of Vale…and the Pioneers of Atlas." Ozpin lists, and those names all work very well with what the four armies were called at first, before they became the Kingdoms themselves.
"It's still weird to imagine Atlesians being Pioneers, y'know? You'd think they've always been as advanced as they are now." Jaune says.
"Indeed, but every empire has a beginning. And an end…" He says as he looks at the statue and the plaque beneath his feet where the Beowulf was falling.
Ozpin glances at Jaune, seeing that he still has those worries in his mind, worries Ozpin has always been able to see in him. He pats his knee and he stands back up, looking down at him. "You drink coffee?" He asks him, looking up at the setting sun. "It's about to get dark out, don't want to be sat here in the cold, do we?" He says to Jaune.
"Um…yeah…sure…" Jaune awkwardly says as he gets up, and Ozpin walks with him towards the empty cafeteria, opening the doors and they both walk into the cleaned up crime scene. They have collected all the evidence they need and it has been fixed up, so they approach the doors to the kitchen, but Ozpin turns to him.
"Take a seat, I'll bring the stuff out." Ozpin assures. Jaune does exactly that, he sits down in the huge Dining Hall alone as Ozpin goes into the kitchen to boil the Coffee and bring the milk and sugar out on a tray. As Jaune waits, he looks around, then he catches the wall…and even though repairs have been made…the marks can still be seen. Very faint blood stains that cannot be washed away, and for a split second he could actually see the body of Yatsuhashi being zipped up in a body bag. He looks away, feeling such shame in his heart for not being here, not being here to help them.
We were too busy getting drinks…celebrating everything…whilst people were dying.
The door opens and he turns, seeing Ozpin approach with the steel tray of coffee ingredients and he sits down on the other side of the table, the two mugs with coffee already in. "You take sugar?" He asks him.
"No thank you." Jaune says to him, so Ozpin just puts a sash's worth of sugar into his coffee, mixing it together with the teaspoon and Jaune does the same, taking a sip of the hot liquid. They both set them down and he leans back.
"So…why do you keep feeling like you need to be like Thaddeus, Jaune?" He asks him curiously, and Jaune looks at Ozpin. "Believe me, Jaune, it's not that hard for me to figure out. You go and stare at that statue every single day, ever since you came to this Academy."
Jaune still remains a little quiet, as if it is something to be embarrassed about, but as always Ozpin has a way of making anyone feel like his equal. But at the end of the day, they are now. "If you're afraid of people judging you for being a leader with confidence issues then you needn't worry. That feeling will never go away, I cannot count the amount of Huntsmen and Huntresses of long careers who come back to my Academy seeking guidance. Hell…you saw me after…Glynda." Ozpin explains to him, and Jaune looks at him, he would be the very last individual you would imagine losing their cool, but he is still a living human breathing the same air as he is – meaning he can lose faith just as easily.
So Jaune finally gives him the answer. "I just…I always felt like I could never do anything right. My parents always shielded me from the world, I bet if they could make me a suit of armour made of pillows they would've. They said – don't worry if you have to come home, if they don't accept you…They had that little faith in me…Pyrrha was the first person to actually believe in me, but when I saw Thaddeus Rex there and I learned about him – I just wanted to make Pyrrha proud. To show her…that she wasn't wasting her time." Jaune explains to Ozpin, and he nods his head.
"You do know how madly in love she is with you, right?" Ozpin asks him with a chuckle, making Jaune blush and chuckle too.
"Yeah…I know…but…"
"You want to prove it, instead of hear you are great. You want to show it." Ozpin finishes his sentence for him, and he nods his head. Ozpin chuckles as he leans back. "Well, as I said, I have learned a great deal from history books. And Thaddeus Rex was a man I was very curious of, because of how he managed to band together all these farmers and low lives…and create a Kingdom. A Kingdom that would fight for what was right, obviously others disagreed with him on that front, but…even still." Ozpin chuckles, and Jaune chuckles at that too.
"There's always an asshole." Jaune says.
"Indeed." He agrees. "However, in the past there were once four different dialects. Valerian, Atlesian, Mistraalian and Vacui. All of them saw him differently, and the Great War became more complicated as the years went on. But from my translations, the name – Rex – had many different interpretations." Ozpin explains to him, and Jaune raises a brow in curiosity.
"Really?" He asks.
"Oh yeah." Ozpin answers. "You see, the warriors in all four of these Kingdoms had immense respect for the man in vaguely similar ways, being an enemy or not. The translations always were – Saviour or Hero, Warrior or King, God or Messiah…and Adversary." Ozpin chuckles, and it surprises Jaune at something.
"Just Adversary? No secondary translation?" He asks.
"No, it was always I found quite strange, but then I realised that it must have been from the words of his foes. At the end of the day, your allies could see you as the greatest Hero, Warrior or King…but your enemies will always see the Devil inside you." Ozpin explains, and Jaune looks down at the floor. He thinks on that, because it is a great point.
"Every man's hero is another man's villain." Jaune states.
"Exactly. At the end of the day Jaune, we do not really get a choice in how the world views us." He says, and Jaune starts to notice that Ozpin is linking this into the Black Gallows and their deal. "In the past few years we have been seen as the enemy…but maybe…that could change."
"You're talking about Killian, aren't you?" Jaune asks him.
"I don't trust the man as far as I can throw him, but what he has presented up there…it is not as bad as I was expecting. He really has dropped the whole idea of forming a single military skill – I guess he realised that creating an army of machines would be easier." Ozpin chuckles, making Jaune chuckle as well. "But Machines can be hacked, and if your enemy learns that their enemy was taught under one doctrine…they can be easily defeated."
"I guess." He says with a sigh.
"What Killian did was unforgivable, but his new deal could help us be seen as the people who protect the innocent once more." Ozpin says to him. "You asked me what Thaddeus would do? I think he would have done anything to make sure that the greater good were safe…even if it meant siding with the Devil." Ozpin says, and Jaune looks at him and he sighs. The two of them continue to drink their coffees.
But Jaune knows.
He needs to see this deal.
Qrow
He stands inside of Ozpin's Office, with many others around him, Winter and Eryka for starters are beside him, the two of them sending some very furious looks in the direction of Killian. Who is also not alone, a couple of Obsidian Glaive Class Stockholm Troopers, and the four Councillors.
Of names they do not disclose – the Valerian Councilwoman, the Vacuo Councillor, the Mistraalian Councillor and the Atlesian Councillor.
Also in the room are Weiss and Blake, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren as they wait for the last three members of their friendship group. The Vacuo Councillor huffs a groan as he stands there, until a flicker reveals that they are just a holographic projection. Makes sense though, since Ozpin did have a conversation with them only a day ago now. "Are we gonna get this thing started, or what?" The Councillor questions, but Killian sharply glances at him.
"We will wait until the others are here. I am not going to start without them." He reminds, and the Councillor rolls his eyes as he stands before them all. He does not give the Graduates much of a great impression as he stands there, tapping his foot. Ren and Blake turn when they feel the elevator coming up the tower, Blake heard it first but Ren could feel the vibrations thanks to his aura and his awareness of their surroundings. The elevator opens up and it reveals Ruby, Yang, Jaune and Ozpin inside.
"Ugh, finally. We have a full boat, let's get on with this." The Vacuo Councillor says with a sigh, making the Valerian Councilwoman roll her eyes as she stands there with her arms crossed over her chest.
Killian turns and stares straight at him, and that glare even through a hologram makes the Councillor back down. Killian turns to them all, and before him on Ozpin's desk is the thick book of which they are here to discuss. "Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long, Mr Arc…thank you for making it." Killian respectfully greets with his arms behind his back as he looks at them as they walk into the room.
"Not sure what the point of it all is." Yang huffs.
"The point is to maintain National Security, young lady." The Atlesian Councillor has the nerve to insult her in such a way, and Yang clenches her hand into a fist.
"Please, enough with the confrontations. I believe we have had enough violence and threat for one day, don't you?" Killian asks everyone in the room, holding out his hands. None of them have forgotten what happened four years ago, but they also know that he is right. They have had enough chaos for one day, and they might as well stop drawing out the inevitable conversation about the Vytal Consensus.
Ozpin stands in the corner with his back leaned against the glass, his arms crossed as he looks at them. "I asked you all to be here, because something needs to be done about the Academies." Killian explains as he walks around the tables.
"Because you hate us?" Nora scoffs.
"Hardly. I admit my methods are rash, especially what I tried to do before." Killian admits as he holds his hands up. "And I was wrong."
That was something that they did not expect to hear Nathaniel Killian say – the fact that he was wrong. "And not only that, the idea of having every Huntsman trained under the same regime…like the Spartans…was admittedly ridiculous. Because you would be as effective as the Atlesian Knights, which were hacked. The same could happen if a force is able to counteract the same attacks an entire military do. What I saw you all do, when you fixed the mistake I made – it impressed me. I might not have seemed it at the time, but I was. You showed me that all these people from different walks of life, trained in different ways, could unite and defeat an enemy I thought was unstoppable." Killian praises them, and that is another thing they did not expect to hear from him, especially after how he left four years ago…until…
"But my praises aside – facts are facts – and I will say it plain. The Academies need to be put in check." Killian states.
"Oh yeah? Where'd you get that idea?" Yang challenges, and Qrow rolls his eyes with a sigh, because of what she just did and said.
"Thank you, Miss Xiao Long, for proving my point." Killian states as he turns on the holographic projector on Ozpin's table.
"I wasn't –"
"Yang, sit your ass back down." Qrow tells her rather sternly, she looks at him and she sighs, sitting back down on the chair and she crosses her arms. The Atlesian Councillor scoffs as he looks at the Blonde Haired Brawler.
"And Ironwood gave her that arm…instead of selling it to Industrial Facilities to build on a wider scale." He scoffs as he stares at her, the resentment from the Councillor stabs deeply into Yang. She had been given those looks before, but she never realised how many people really hate her for that.
He…sent the prototype to me?
"That is one of the many reasons behind why we feel this is necessary, the Academies have been run with the highest budgets and almost no supervision by the Government. And at the end of the day, the Students who come out of these Academies are living proof of why that cannot be accepted anymore. Miss Xiao Long, you are the smallest problem in this, but there have been many cases over the years." Killian explains, and then he opens up many documents of Rogue Huntsmen over the years.
Name: [Redacted]
Other Alias: Jack the Ripper
Age when Rogue: 17
Criminal Offences: Murdered up to sixty innocent people in outlandishly fiendish ways, leaving hardly anything behind after he lost his mind from a lack of mental stability tests.
Ruby and Yang stare at his face, the same face that they saw on that message he left behind, and they may not know it yet – but that is Jackdaw Branwen. Then more names start to appear.
Name: Raven Branwen
Other Alias: Blinded Raven
Age when Rogue: 22
Criminal Offences: Abandoned her post at Beacon and returned to her Bandit Tribe (which was known by Professor Ozpin but redacted from every file he had on her name) and started butchering innocents in droves, stealing everything left behind with her great skill and power
Yang's eyes widen when she sees her mother's face, she was literally a darker haired version of herself…and she became a monster. She even had freckles at one point as well. But the pictures do not stop there.
Name: Jonathan Arterius
Other Alias: None
Age when Rogue: 20
Criminal Offences: Murder, thieving and rape across Remnant, using his powers taught at Haven Academy for his own purposes
Death: 35 years old, shot to death by Black Gallows after refusing to be taken into custody
Ozpin keeps watching the names go by, every single one bringing back memories, and every single one have done immensely horrific crimes. Some of them go back decades, but the point has been made very clear.
Killian stops showing the faces of these killers and criminals who started in these Academies. "We have been able to trace the source of their violent deeds from the Academies, due to the nature of training missions. Throwing children into hazardous situations on their first day can trigger something in a damaged mind, as it did with many of the people here. And constantly being around people…well let's say that caused problems as well." Killian explains as he walks around the room.
"We need to improve the security and the Recruitment Process for the Academies, it is too easy for dangerous people to learn how to use their powers for bad things." The Valerian Councilwoman explains as she looks at the names that come by.
"Exactly, look at Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. A thirty year old killer, a skilled thief and the son of an infamous Assassin managed to jump onto the Recruitment Process and nobody even noticed. They didn't even have to use false identities." The Atlesian Councillor explains to them, and Ruby lowers her head before giving a short glance at Pyrrha, who flinches at seeing her Mug Shot appear on the screen.
"I get that and all, but I turned out alright." Qrow states.
"Yes, however that is another issue we have to improve with the Selection Process." Killian states, and Qrow stops, and Killian looks at Eryka too. "Where Eryka was refused down to her weak aura, you were accepted despite the fact of your Bad Luck Charm." Killian states, and they all look at Qrow at hearing about that. Qrow looks at Eryka and she actually looks quite jealous of that fact.
"I…"
"And that Semblance is uncontrollable – and yes I did manipulate him – but the same issue lies with Jaymes Ickford." He states, and Pyrrha glares at him with a clenched fist. "I may have hidden most of those files, but he still managed to get into Haven Academy. He was only refused to return because Leonardo Lionheart felt he was a threat, and most likely hoped he died during the Battle of Beacon. And yes…I checked his report, it said as much." Killian explains, and that sheds a dark light across Haven's Headmaster too.
Ozpin clenches his fist with anger at the coward's disregard for the safety of his own student. "A Paranoid Schizophrenic may be able to get help, and we can offer that – but what happens when someone uses him? Like I did?" Killian asks them, and they all realise that despite how messed up and evil what he did was – anyone could have done it.
They all sit there, and they cannot even say a word at all this, because sadly – the hardest truth is usually the right one. The Academies must be improved if they are fix things. "And…the students and their missions have gone unchecked for too long." He states.
"What?" Ren questions.
"The Government would feel more comfortable if we had detailed reports on everything that your teams find, especially on Recon Missions." The Atlesian Councillor states, giving Ruby a hard glare. Ruby knows exactly what he is getting at.
"You're talking about Torchwick aren't you?" She presumes.
"Indeed I am, Miss Rose. Ozpin may have bent his own rules because he has a favoured opinion of your team, but you were still expected to lead a Recon Mission. Not a full scale assault on his men, you were outnumbered and outgunned. And then caused an attack on Vale." He lists, but Ruby is having none of it.
"I was captured!" Ruby argues.
"Yeah, what were you expecting us to do? Let her get killed by Torchwick?" Weiss questions, standing beside her partner.
"Then maybe your leader shouldn't have brought a pet dog into a Recon Mission." Killian reminds, staring her down, and Ruby stares right back with stern silver eyes.
"Oobleck said –"
"Did he say bring that cute pet corgi on this mission, Ruby?" Killian asks her, and she stammers. "No. He didn't."
"That doesn't change the fact we were saving our friend. As soon as we did, Torchwick took off and went to start the attack anyway." Blake says as she stands up as well.
"After she was captured, if that dog was not there – per Oobleck's debrief – you would not have fallen into Mountain Glenn's Secret City." He states.
"And never have learned about it?" Yang adds with a scoff, Killian sighs, shaking his head.
"Maybe if you did some more recon, you might have learned that one of the towers collapsed a few decades before you arrived there. And when my men investigated it…" Killian explains, showing the footage of them finding the tracks of the White Fang entering the tunnel. "…it was easily accessible."
The team sit down, realising that they simply did not look hard enough. "Which brings us to you." Killian states, staring at Ozpin. "You put First Year students on a mission that was set for Third Years, or Professional Hunters." Killian states, and Ozpin inhales through his nose as he stares Killian down. "You have been putting these kids in situations that would have gotten them killed for years. And I may risk my men's lives on countless occasions…but not in their training days." Killian states as he points at them, because they are now at the age and skill that they could have handled that mission perfectly.
"I did what I had to do." Ozpin states.
"And caused multiple people to die and many more to get injured in the attack that followed." Killian states, and Ozpin sighs, looking down at the ground. "And more than that…"
He shows them all the footage from terrified civilians of the Battle of Beacon, but also the side effects that they never even thought about. The attack on Mistral that wiped out countless villages overnight, the massive attack on Vacuo's walls the same night, and Atlas under siege from Airborne Grimm. "Countless lives were lost that day, because you were too blind…too blind to see the Devil who snuck its way into your school."
Ozpin stares right back. "Oh I see him alright." Ozpin assures.
Killian breaks the stare-contest between him and the Headmaster, and he finally gets to the good news, the reason he has brought them all here. "All of these things – lead to the creation of this." Killian tells them, and he pushes the thick book across the table towards them. They all get up from their chairs to look at the red cover that says the name that he speaks. "The Vytal Consensus."
Pyrrha opens it up and she looks through the document inside.
"This is a new agreement for the Academies, because we know how invaluable your services are to the world. So, instead of simply changing everything like initially planned, we are gonna…bend things. We are tightening security with Black Gallows forces in control of recruitment, making sure that incidents like Cinder Fall do not happen again. And lessons will be sure to help students learn to use their powers for the good of others, not for fame, or money or power. But simply in the defence of innocence." The Atlesian Councillor explains as his holographic avatar walks around the table as they read it.
"Increased Security will also mean that the Academy is always protected as well." The Vacuo Councillor states.
"Most importantly, all Contracts from now on will be issued directly by an Office that Regulates the important ones from the standard Chicken-Hunt." The Valerian Councilwoman explains – a Chicken-Hunt is exactly as it sounds, in their experiences most contracts that come through are either jokes to get pictures with badass warriors or simply tiny problems that could be solved by someone else. "This way we can make sure that only the most important and Huntsmen-Worthy Contracts find you, and the smaller ones are handled by Standard Military, which will now have increased funding."
"We won't be able to choose our own contracts anymore?" Ruby questions.
"Correct, we will assign teams – or individual Hunters, depending on your choices – contracts that are closest to your locale. This way contracts can be solved faster, since there are plenty of Hunters to go around in every single Academy across the world." Killian explains, and Winter looks over the document as well as Pyrrha slides it over to her.
"You will also have an upgraded pay from here-on-out. Unlike before where you made money with the Contracts, you would be paid every week for your employment. You will no longer have to worry about Contractors swindling you out of money like we have seen in the past, and you will have a steady income." The Valerian Councilwoman explains to them.
"And believe it or not – you will have more freedom too. You will now be able to purchase property whenever you wish, the old rule was that Hunters would remain at the Academy until they reach twenty five years of age. Now? You can purchase property, start families, whenever you wish." Killian explains to them, which raises a question in Yang's mind…if Raven was twenty two when she left…does that mean she was born in Beacon, not in their home?
Pyrrha and Jaune look at each other, since this has been something they have talked about in the past. "So…we could buy a home somewhere…and when we are assigned a contract, that's when we go out?" Blake asks.
"Precisely." Killian nods his head.
Jaune looks at it all, and he realises that Ozpin really wasn't lying, because the Vytal Consensus…actually makes a lot of sense and seems to be more beneficial than problematic now. The only troubling part is the lack of control over their choice of Contracts, but even then, they always seem to be the ones closest to wherever they are at the time. Ruby however does not seem to like it.
Neither do Yang, Nora, Ren, and Eryka.
Or Qrow for that matter.
Whereas the others seem a bit more accepting. "I understand this may take some time for you to make a choice. That is why I am leaving this copy of the Consensus in the Graduate Common Room, everyone will have the chance to sign. Talk it over…you have until the end of the month." Killian says to them, and he walks away from them – the Councillors disappear as well.
Before Killian enters the elevator he sighs and turns. "I am sorry…" Killian says, and they all look at him. "For what I did – I do not expect you to forgive me – but I am." Killian honestly tells them, as he turns and walks away, leaving them to make this choice. Qrow sighs as he reaches into his internal pocket to swig some alcohol from his flask – only to find it empty.
"Ah crap…" He groans.
"C'mon…let's go to the bar in the Entertainment Building. Gotta have something good in there." Eryka sighs.
"I'm gonna join you." Winter says as she follows Qrow and Eryka out.
Leaving R.W.B.Y and J.N.P.R with the Vytal Consensus to talk about.
Ruby
The Graduate Common Room, a large soft room with multiple bright colours everywhere, beanbags and soft chairs scattered with a large television on the wall for gaming. Alongside a pool table and a bar, however Qrow, Eryka and Winter went to the one for the adults to use.
It was peaceful until Yang's anger fills the air.
"I can't believe you guys! Like, seriously? You're actually mulling this over?" Yang spits, hands on her hips. Jaune, sitting at the coffee table, huffs as he sets the thick stack of paper down.
"Yang…" He pinches the bridge of his nose. "… We're not ruling out being against it, I just think – like him or not – he made some good points. And there are some things in these documents that – not gonna lie – sound like they'll help our futures."
"I agree with Jaune." Pyrrha says, sitting in the seat beside him. "We should seriously consider these documents."
"Oh of course you agree with him." Yang rolls her eyes, Pyrrha frowns at her.
"What's that supposed to mean? Just because I am dating Jaune, doesn't mean that if I don't agree with him I'm not going to stand up for what I believe. I expected better of you, Yang."
"Let's not… " Jaune lowers his voice. "… Let's not fall out, okay? Yes, we all feel differently about this. But Yang, seriously. This could be good for us. All of us."
"Yeah, or it could be bad." Ruby adds from the beanbag in the corner. "We could end up with so much red tape, that we can't help people because of it."
"Yeah!" Nora chimes in from the kitchenette in the corner, stirring the spoon in her tea. "What if a town get's attacked by the Grimm, and we need to get there pronto! What if it takes so long for those pen pushers to give us the go ahead that those people die! I-It'll be Kuroyuri all over again. I-I can't… I" Nora hyperventilates, Ren calms her with a soothing touch of his hand, draining the colour from her body as he uses his Semblance on her so her stress fades.
"Yes, but… " Blake pushes herself off the wall, uncrossing her arms. "The contracts are issued to the nearest huntsmen or teams. Meaning at least someone will get there, possibly quicker with some actual order to things. Not just a bunch of hot heads steaming in ready to kill monsters. But… I dunno." Blake hugs her arms with a huff.
"No, you make a sound observation, Blake. Yang on the other hand needs to calm herself down and look past her nose at this." Weiss frowns at the blonde brawler. Yang scoffs, sitting heavily in a wheeled desk chair, sliding back across the room.
"How long you gonna play both sides, Ice queen?" Yang snaps. Weiss growls at the mention of that resented nickname she has.
"Don't call me that. I am merely stating that you haven't properly read this yet, you haven't calmed down long enough to read it. We on the other hand, have." Weiss gestures to her side of the room; namely Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake and herself. "So I think…" Weiss presses her fingertips on the papers and slides them across the table into Yang's lap. "…You should shut up, and read."
Yang looks down at her lap, blinks, then picks up the papers and slaps them on the table.
"I've read enough to get the gist, Weiss." Yang scoffs. "This here? This signs away any freedom we have in making any sort of call. Right, wrong, I don't care. Huntsmen were supposed to protect when nobody else can, cos their hands are tied by good ol' politics."
"… Yang." Jaune huffs, leaning back in his chair and spinning it slightly, rubbing his face with a groan. "You're not seeing this clearly. I get it, I do. We'd have to be debriefed every mission, and yeah the idea of that sucks… majorly. But… if it helps in the long run? Gives us the official go ahead to do stuff without any sort of backlash later on if things go sour… well I think that's worth signing."
"And also…" Weiss adds. "Have you seen the protests outside? The Puritan Followers are getting more organised by the day."
"It's like the White Fang all over again." Blake whimpers from the corner, afraid of what may happen.
"And if signing this brings peace to all those people who feel we need to be regulated?" Weiss picks up the ballpoint pen on the table, clicking it once. "Then I'll sign it in a heartbeat. Because being a Huntress means sometimes giving up the things you love, to protect the weak and innocent."
She lowers the pen to the dotted line, but in a flurry of petals, the pen is gone, and in Ruby's hand.
"Not if you don't have a pen." Ruby waves it in the air.
"Ruby! This is serious!" Weiss snaps, holding her hand out. "Give me the pen!"
"NO! We're not done talking!"
"I am! I've made up my mind!" Weiss stalks towards her, but Ruby runs around the table. "Give me the pen!"
"NO!"
"RUBY!"
Jaune huffs, shaking his head and looking to Ren. "Ren? Thoughts on this buddy?"
Ren sighs tapping his spoon on the edge of his cup, before walking over to the table, sitting besides Yang. He taps his fingers against Yang's boots on the table, making her move her legs from in front of him.
"My thoughts? I'm with Nora, Ruby and Yang."
The room freezes, Ruby holding the pen as high as she can while Weiss reaches for it.
"You are?" Ruby raises a brow, allowing Weiss the chance to snatch the pen. Ren sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I am. I've seen it before. When Huntsmen tied down by politics fail, not because they weren't strong. But because they had so much red tape to manoeuvre, that they couldn't do their jobs properly. Every little thing, they have to consider. Do I risk killing that Ursa, but damage the heritage building behind it? Having to answer to a room full of councillors and politicians, being made a guilty party in protecting the innocent, all because it didn't please their agenda and rules. No. I can't be what I signed up to be with all that red." Ren finishes, sipping his tea. Jaune and Pyrrha blink at him, nodding.
"I… yeah, I get what you're saying. But Ren, buddy… Times have changed, ARE changing. We don't get with those times? We'll get lost in the past, and something else that fits to their quota will fill the spot. At least this way we can still help people."
"But not as many, right?" Nora scoffs, sipping her tea. Jaune blinks at her, then sighs.
"Yeah… Yeah I guess so. I dunno."
An awkward silence befalls them.
Then Yang stands up and she slowly pulls the Black Feather from her back pocket, holding it by the end and they look at it with confusion. She sighs as she stares at the Corvid Feather in her grasp. "I'm starting to think she was right."
Ruby's silver eyes widen with disbelief at hearing Yang say that, after how she spoke to her mother earlier. The others on the other hand look at her with confusion. "Huh?" Jaune grunts as he looks at the blonde. She looks at them and Ruby pulls her feather from her pocket too with what seems to be shame.
"When we went back to our room? We found these feathers…and my mom was there." Yang reveals, and their eyes widen and Weiss jolts up from her seat with total disbelief.
"Your mother? Who saved you from Neo?" Pyrrha asks for confirmation and she nods her head.
"Uh-huh…she found us…and she wants to go after Jack the Ripper. At first I didn't agree with her…but who else can do it? I mean look, he wants us to follow him." Yang states, and Jaune gets up and shakes his head.
"No, don't you see how stupid that is? That's what he wants! He'll lead you into a trap!" Jaune argues as he walks towards her.
"But we can do it!" Ruby argues.
"Gods! How can you even think like that, Ruby? You keep this secret from us and now you wanna chase after a crazy Mass Murderer?" Weiss questions in a raised voice, but that just makes Ruby want to argue even louder.
"You want us to just let him go? After what he did to Glynda? To Yatsu? To Peony? To Ironwood?" Ruby lists with a raised voice, and Yang argues with Jaune at the same time.
"I am not about to let Killian and a bunch of stuck up Politicians allow that bastard to escape!" Yang yells.
"Killian is Black Ops! Let him do the dirty work!" Jaune argues. Until Ren and Nora set two Black Feathers down on the table as well, and they now all stare at them with disbelief as well.
"We…saw them on our pillows." Nora admits shyly as she looks at the ground.
"Oh gods…no…you are not going after him. He will be waiting for you, leave this to the professionals." Jaune begs.
"We are professionals now, Jaune." Ruby reminds.
"We are FAMILY!" Weiss snaps, yelling so loud that her voice cracks, tears in her blue eyes as she stares at Ruby and Yang, then at Ren and Nora. "You…don't walk away from your family. That's what you said to me once." Weiss stammers, and Ruby closes her silver eyes with grief, looking away from Weiss.
"But…we can't…we can't let him get away." Nora softly says.
"So what? You wanna go against Killian and the Black Gallows? You won't stand a chance against him, and who's to say that won't add more fuel to the fire? It's the last thing we need right now." Jaune huffs as he walks away from them.
"He's right, this isn't like before. This isn't Roman Torchwick, this isn't the White Fang or Adam – this is the Unified Remnant Government we're talking about here. You will all become criminals if you do this. Please…just…think." Blake begs them as she walks over and Ren looks at them and he sighs, picking the feather back up and putting it in his pocket.
"The Ripper must be stopped – but…I also see your point." Ren states, and Ruby looks at him with tearful eyes.
"Gods…I need some air." Yang says as she walks towards the doors. They split apart from the tense argument, Ruby follows her with Ren and Nora behind them. All of them carrying their feathers in their pockets. As they walk outside, they look around, to see Qrow leant against the wall.
"That didn't go well." He chuckles.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby gasps.
"You four…you got the Black Feathers, huh?" Qrow asks the four of them, and they look at each other, and then at Qrow. Until they see Eryka beside him, also with one in her hand.
"You too?" Yang questions.
"Yup…found it in my bag. Winter and I…have a disagreement on what to do next. We don't agree on the Consensus." Eryka states and Ruby sighs.
"I also know, Yang – you spoke with my sister, didn't you?" He asks her, and Yang raises a brow.
"How…did you know?" Yang asks him with confusion.
"I know my sister…she has always kept her eye on you, made sure you were safe. She isn't stupid, the Ripper marked you, all of you." Qrow says to them all, and they know that this means they can leave the Academy without setting off the bombs. "But…that means we will have to go rogue if we do."
"Rogue…" Ruby whimpers, she never wanted to end up like those monsters…
…but sometimes you need to fight fire with fire.
Ruby looks at Yang and she knows her sister would follow her anywhere, and Eryka is already onboard. So she turns her silver eyes to Nora and Ren who look at each other…and then at them. "He can't get away with this, and he will just trick the Gallows." Ren states.
"We will be playing by his rules. Best way to do that, is go to the person who knows him just as well as he does." Eryka says as she looks at Qrow.
Yang blows out a shaky breath. "My mom…she said she would be at my dad's tonight." Yang states.
"Then that's where we go. But we will have to do it at night." Qrow tells them.
"I don't like this…they will hate us for this." Ruby says to them. "…but…we owe this to Glynda. To everyone that the Ripper killed." Ruby growls, nodding her head to her Uncle.
It is decided.
Ruby, Yang, Nora. Ren, Eryka and Qrow – are gonna have to go rogue.
Hours Later…
Midnight has arrived…
Team R.W.B.Y approach their respective beds with their weapons leant against the desk in the corner. Ruby and Yang both climb up the bunkbeds to their top bunks, and they lay down on them, sighing as they lay there. There is a thick sense of tension in the team after their debate over the Consensus. Ruby fits her arm behind the back of her head, but her and Yang are both thinking about what they are gonna have to do tonight…going rogue…against their own team…it will not be something that will sit right.
Ruby turns when she sees Weiss peek her head up and she looks at Ruby. "Ruby?" She softly says as she looks at her.
"Hmm?" She replies.
"It's gonna be okay…we'll talk in the morning, okay?" She asks her, and Ruby nods her head with a small smile.
"Okey-doke…" Ruby softly says and Weiss smiles.
"Goodnight." Weiss says as she gets back onto her bed to go to sleep, and Blake smiles, tucking herself in.
"Goodnight." Blake also says, and Ruby sighs.
"Goodnight." She says, looking up at the ceiling.
They wait until the two of them are asleep, and they look at each other. They both slowly and carefully slide off their beds and quietly land on their bare feet, not making a sound. They pick up their boots and Ruby grabs her bag in the corner, with Crescent Rose too. Yang does the exact same thing and they stay close, hearts pounding as they approach the door.
Ruby carefully opens the door…but she stops, looking back at Weiss and Blake as Ren and Nora do the same.
"I'm sorry…"
Author Note - Teams have been forced apart, the question is who is in the right?
I loved this chapter, Raven at the start, the Thaddeus Rex stuff with Jaune and Oz, the Vytal Consensus and of course the debate about it.
I hope you enjoyed! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter - Rogue
- Matt
