Chapter Twelve


Commandants


Qrow's reports were, as usual, both the zenith and nadir of his month.

On one positive, they provided critical information on the machinations of the Council along with their prospective future voting patterns and their constituents, sometimes allowing him to place into power one of his undercover Hunters into positions of authority.

Another positive were the reports on his sister organization in Atlas, overseen by his longtime friend, James Ironwood. Qrow's intimate relationship with a future General gave his information credibility above any of his other sources. No doubt the eldest Schnee was exploiting Qrow for similar information, but such was the game.

His reports about internal unrest and potential hotspots for Grimm nests were invaluable pieces which were directly sent into the system for the nearest District assigned Hunters to deal with.

On the other hand, his reports on the White Fang were worrying to say the least. Since their disappearance from the public sphere a year ago, only bits and scraps of useful information managed to get ensnared on Qrow's web. Other information, of course, made its way available from time to time, but most of them had to be cast aside for fear of misinformation.

Misinformation was always worse than no information, and Qrow had to thread carefully to verify certain reports, most of which he did so personally. Though he had underlings, none were as professional or as skilled as him. If Qrow wasn't as good as he was, then maybe he could reprimand him for a good chunk of his budget being spent on alcohol, but the man continued delivering stellar work.

The most interesting report regarding the White Fang was an oddity, as it was both worrying, and a relief. To know the estranged princess of Menagerie was safety scurried away on Patch allowed them to keep an eye on her, especially with the report she had submitted to him through Qrow. It certainly answered the underlying question as to who had decimated a Fang outpost in one of the southern districts.

It was a bigger relief to know of her intentions to apply to Beacon for the fall semester. Keeping her close gave him an invaluable insight into Menagerie, and potentially the White Fang. Her apparently apathetic attitude towards the Fang would've to be watched though.

Her relationship with the youngest Schnee was a surprise. To even suspect to two knew each other were gambling odds he'd never take, but to suspect they could remain in each other's presence without sniping about the other's past was a shock. They were both now on Patch under the care of Signal's Taiyang.

Weiss Schnee was another oddity.

Her application to Beacon wasn't as surprising as her sudden appearance on Patch. He had planned from the very beginning to place her with a Faunus teammate to slowly alter her perceptions of them, but it seemed her prejudices didn't stretch nearly as far as he had feared.

The letter he had received from Ghira Belladonna had sealed the two's placement together on a team, and filled out the other two spots nicely. Yang Xiao-Long had graduated Signal with top marks, but the girl sitting at a table in an interrogation room borrowed from the local police, currently getting berated by Glynda, hadn't. His several times great-granddaughter must've made quite the impression for Ghira to recommend her as a team leader.

Her face was cool and impassive as Glynda stalked around her, not smiling as Glynda praised her for a job well done, nor flinching as her riding crop smacked harshly against the metal table.

He stalked out of the shadows as Glynda segwayed his entrance, holding a mug of cocoa in one hand, and a plate of cookies in the other. The addiction to chocolate ran in the bloodline.

"Ruby Rose…" He bent down and looked her square in the eyes, unable to see past the silver shades. "So, where did you learn to do this?" He gestured to the scroll Glynda was holding as footage of her battle with Roman and his goons played.

"Your spymaster, renowned for his usage of a sword-scythe named Harbinger, is coincidentally my uncle." His Deputy stiffened slightly as Ruby casually mentioned Qrow's profession. She shouldn't have known such critical information.

"I see." So she was still in the dark about his true relationship to her. "And what is an adorable girl, such as yourself, doing wielding one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

"Crescent Rose is one of a kind, based solely on my uncle's weapon. You won't find another like it." His lips twitched at his own error, and he placed the cookies down as a peace offering. Most of them disappeared quicker than he could blink, leaving only three on the plate. "I crafted it during my time at Signal Academy."

"And what would you be doing at a school designed to train warriors?" He took a sip of his drink and sat across from her. Ruby displayed the first emotion he had seen, raising at eyebrow.

"I want to be a Hunter." Her usage of the male form of the title didn't go unnoticed.

"You want to slay monsters?" Most who went into the corps were in it for glory or the thrill of fighting Grimm, the evil of the world. That attitude quickly weeded out the reserves from the elites.

"No. I want to protect the people of Vale from said monsters. Slaying Grimm is an added bonus." Her answer brought him up short. It was the first he'd ever gotten from any applicant, astoundingly so since she was younger than his usual. "We both know there are many more dangers in this world than petty crime, Headmaster, and I will do my part in preventing it."

She spoke far more mature than any girl should have at her age.

"I'm prepared to offer you a spot at Beacon this coming semester, pending your answers to a few of my questions." Ruby waited patiently for him to continue, not deeming a response necessary. "You recently undersigned a report delivered by Blake Belladonna concerning the incident in District 97A, telling me you wish to be a team leader. A few days earlier, I had received a letter from King Belladonna recommending the formation of a team with his daughter, one Weiss Schnee, your sister, and you as leader. Why should you, of all people, lead a team of Hunters?"

"I'll tell you if Professor Goodwitch leaves the room." Ruby had a creepy smile on her face, and he only had to exchange a partial glance with his Deputy for her to leave. "I'm going to assume, for whatever reason, you have no idea who I am and no idea what I've accomplish. Correct?"

"You're a third year student at Signal Academy, born to Taiyang Xiao-Long and Summer Rose on the winter of 66. Trained by your uncle Qrow since the death of your mother, you created Crescent Rose to honour her, and him for taking you under his wing. You have very good scores in combat, yet your theoretical scores are lacking. That's all your uncle has told me."

Ruby looked briefly over to the corner of the room they were in, staring blankly for several seconds before returning to stare back at him.

"Your decision to allow me into your school was made the moment you saw the footage of my fight with Roman Torchwick. Your decision to put the four of us on a team was made the moment Ghira's letter arrived, and only reinforced by Qrow's report on us, no doubt having witnessed several of our training sessions. My team would be a powerhouse, having the daughter of Summer, the daughter of Taiyang, the heiress to the Schnees, and the princess of Menagerie."

"Yet you haven't answered why you should be in charge of them." She gave good points. Lumping the four of them would make them a worthy team, even in just the political sphere, and if Qrow's reports were anything to go by, they'd be a nightmare against any Grimm nest they came across.

"I'll give you the chance to see my leadership skills during the entrance exam, and if you decide I shouldn't lead the team, I will allow one of them to do so." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. It was a great characteristic to be humble, not wanting the leadership role, and exactly what made certain teams great.

"With what Qrow tells me, you four will have nothing to worry about." He leaned back in his chair, staring idly at the three cookies still on the plate, wondering why she hadn't eaten them yet.

"Before I leave, I must ask. Will Blake face punishment for her actions concerning the incident in District 97A?" Concern for her teammates was already a point in her favour.

"As far as I'm concerned, the only people who know the details of the incident are you, Blake, me, and Qrow. Once she passes the entrance exam, you, and your team will take a psychological evaluation to determine whether you can continue training, given Blake and Weiss' past, and your own ability to command."

"I will see you come fall semester then." Ruby nodded as if it wasn't news to her, and stood from her chair. "One of the cookies is for you, and the other is for Professor Goodwitch. I can smell the chocolate coming from your cup, and no woman can resist chocolate."

"And who's the last cookie for?" Ruby didn't answer, grabbing the cookie and moving to the corner she had looked at previously, holding it out in front of her.

"Thanks for the ice cream." The corner shimmered and the illusion fell away, revealing the S-ranked criminal, Neo On. She flashed an incomprehensible hand sign only Neo could see.

Ruby disappeared from the room before he could question her, leaving behind a trail of nearly black rose petals. Glynda popped briefly back into the room, but he waved her away, stating she could go back to Beacon without him, Neo bringing up her invisibility again.

She took Ruby's spot at the table once she left, casually leaning back in her seat, slowly munching on the cookie. It wasn't her usual fare, but it was a snack either way.

"You know her?" Neo nodded to his question. He would know her as the terrifying High Commander, her only equal, if he only had had the caution to send his own soul into the void between the multiverses, preventing Team RWBY from having to build their reputation from scratch. "How?"

Neo refused to answer this one, stubbornly holding his gaze while tracing the handle of her weapon, so he had to continue with a different line of questioning.

"What do you think of her?" Neo's eyes glimmered with what he could only guess to be pride, admiration, and longing. Why she would feel anything close to these emotions for the young redhead was worrying.

There is more to her than you will ever know, Evander. His eyes narrowed at Neo's usage of his previous name. Evander was the name he had gone by when he had ruled as Vale's Warrior King, and it meant 'good man' in a language long dead. She's the last of the Silvereyes, the last of your legacy, your bloodline, stretching back to the time of unmitigated warfare.

"Most of which, I recall, were your fault." Neo's smile held no guilt for her actions. The Silvereyes had been the guardians of peace during the turmoil after the Atomic Wars, strong and unrelenting, blessed with a fraction of his own powers.

Until Neo and Salem had decimated their ranks and reduced their numbers to a mere few ten, plunging the world into another series of wars. Humankind had struggled to survive, even underground, but they were resilient if nothing else, rebuilding society after the wars had died down.

But the Silvereyes had never recovered, their numbers slowly dwindling across the centuries until the last of them, Summer Rose, had given birth, and then perished.

She'll make a good successor for you. His eyes narrowed further, but a wry smile made its way onto his face. She already knows about me afterall.

"And how much does she know about you? She's shown a remarkable aptitude for accepting death and pain, noted by her witnessing the Belladonna's report of her murder of eight Fang members, along with the way she handled Torchwick and his thugs, leaving most of them with broken limbs. How much have you taught her?"

"Nothing." Neo's raspy and dry voice told him everything he had accused her of was false. It caused her much pain to form any sort of sound, much less any syllables or words. She knows of my past, all the way to where and when I was born. Ozpin started to say something, but she cut him off with a hand motion. I knew from the moment I met her, she would be your successor.

"Why her? She's the last of my children. Why force her into my position?" He already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it from her.

Because we both know who'll be coming after her once she's out in the open as one of your Hunters. Neo leaned forward in her seat, placing her head into her steepled fingers. Her life will be challenging because you couldn't keep it in your pants. It's your duty now to help her.

He drained the last of his cocoa.

"I'll help her as I'm both her grandfather and her Commander, but why are you helping her? You did, after all, kill her mother."

I have my reasons, but you should ask her about the tattoo on her left shoulder the next time you see her. Neo stood from her seat, twirling open her parasol and resting it on her shoulder. And she doesn't judge me for my actions in her mother's death.

She was gone before he could stop her, shattering into thousands of shards, leaving him alone in the room with his thoughts. He stared dejectedly at his empty mug, wishing there was more for him to consume.

Only one thought got him moving.

Ruby Rose… who are you?


Neo reappeared in a swirl of pinks and whites in a familiar pocket dimension of purple and red, having spent the last few hours indulging in Fortescue's great ice cream.

The gradient sky shifted about as flying Grimm streaked through it, Drakes and Griffons coexisting peacefully. The cracked black ground was littered with thousands of nests of all the other types of Grimm, their red eyes piercing through the smog to look at her.

They knew better than to provoke her.

The grand throne room was empty, and to her knowledge, had never been used and only served as a point of pride for Ozpin's sister.

Salem herself was in the greenhouse, sitting by the side of a fountain spewing purple water. Deep violet vines, with bright red and pink flowers interspersed on them, wrapped around columns, adding colour to the otherwise bleak landscape. A baby Griffon played at her feet, begging for attention from its mother.

"You're not one to usually drop by without an invitation. Has my palace finally grown on you?" Salem picked up the Grimm and began nurturing it negativity, black coils leaving her hand and landing along its still immature form. The little thing began to purr quietly, enveloped in a shell of smoke.

Today I learned there still exists a Silvereye on Remnant, the daughter of one Summer Rose. Neo transmitted her thoughts loudly, knowing Salem was waiting for them. Your brother has offered her a place at his Academy.

"One Silvereye does not a threat make. She has no use for me." Neo knew why she had no use for her, not after the experiments on her mother had failed so catastrophically. "Letting her live is a mercy."

She knows of my part in her mother's death, yet she considered me her friend. Salem laughed at the implication of Neo having someone to call a friend. They both knew she was far too broken to understand the concept of friendship. She's on Patch, and I want you to observe her.

Her careful wording made the vengeful Queen contemplate her words. She wasn't asking much from her, not asking for any Grimm to go and kill the child, nor asking for her to go out and personally meet her.

A Seer Grimm floating into the greenhouse, its core glowing soft red. Salem caressed the bone like fragments and reached deep within, her hand disappearing amongst the strong glow. Her conscious left her form and soared across the planes and into the mortal realm, flying towards the small island of Patch.

There were several burgeoning nests on Patch for her to take advantage of, and as homage to the pink maniac dancing beside her body, she took control of an Alpha Beowolf, ordering its nest mates to stay behind while she commanded it to venture forward, following the mental nudges Neo sent her.

The dark was no impediment for her children as the Alpha maneuvered the forested terrain, eventually coming to a clearing behind a wooden rustic house. A figure, black against the midnight sky, detached from the chimney and appeared in front of the Alpha, a large weapon strapped to her back..

"You know better than to wander near here." The girl showed no fear when faced with an Alpha three times her height and many times her size. No anticipation at the prospect of a fight, no anger at discovering a Grimm near her home, no disgust for the creature in front of her, no surprise at its presence. There was absolutely nothing radiating from the girl, not even at her basest level. "Yet you are alone, standing near a house containing five Hunters, with not one of your packmates to assist you."

Yet she doesn't draw her weapon. Neo's mental caress reached her and she took notice. The weapon seemed absurdly large compared to the girl who looked to be only slightly larger than Neo. Of course, maybe it was just the Grimm she was inhabiting.

Ruby stared up at the Alpha's red eyes through her silver shades, mocking her by hiding her brother's gift. The silver could only partially emulate the blinding and cleansing power they held. It wasn't until she took them off that she understood why she was wearing them in the first place.

She's empty. Where she expected to see her brother's silver eyes staring right back at her, she only saw twin voids of nothing. No light dared gleam from within, but neither did darkness encroach. She had given up her blood right to preserve a peace she didn't know needed to be kept, embodying the very Relic her brother kept locked beneath his school.

"It's an honour to meet the Queen of Grimm." Ruby bowed slightly, daring to close her eyes in front of an Alpha. Neo remained silent in her head, not commenting on how the girl knew who she was. "Your brother's bloodline is over as I will never have children. Of this I swear."

The Alpha couldn't convey the emotions rolling through the goddess. Shock someone knew her history with the man who called himself Ozpin, surprise she knew of her desires, and pride one of her brother's creation could be so selfless, to sacrifice his greatest gift before she had had a chance to use it.

Look into her soul. Salem did as Neo bid her, the Alpha lowering its head to be snout-to-nose. Ruby didn't flinch when the Grimm stared at her with its unfeeling eyes. Salem stretched her presence into the girl, searching out for the primal force which classified sentient life.

She found not one, not two, but not entirely three separate souls residing within her The first soul she easily recognized as one of her own children, one she had personally created, her signature still imprinted on it. Neither of the two remaining souls were large enough to count as one, but they were so intertwined it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other started.

Before she could examine the oddity further, she found herself ejected back into the Alpha, and further yet, found herself back at her palace in her own dimension as Ruby cut down the Grimm before its own instincts could take over and defend itself.

Ruby Rose… who are you?


AN: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I've gone over the first three chapters of Chrysalis and fixed any grammar and spelling mistakes. As always, tell me what you think about the chapter by dropping a review. I always enjoy reading how I can improve my writing.