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Chapter 20
Alex had been called to Ozpin's office. Upon entering, he found Arthur and Fyres already standing in front of the headmaster's desk.
"Mornin', Major." Fyres said as Alex closed the door behind him.
"Good Morning, Fyres. Arthur. Ozpin." The Guardian nodded. Alex turned to the headmaster, who took a quick sip from his mug.
"Mr. Greene, good morning. I was wondering whether you could help me with something."
"Of course."
"Excellent. I just need to know how many EDC personnel will be staying at the academy."
"Oh. That's it?"
"I only require a number for the paperwork." Ozpin chuckled. "Did you expect it to be something more dire?"
"Considering recent events?"
"A fair point. Anyway, can the three of you give me a quick head count of your forces? As well as what I should list as your roles on the paperwork." Fyres raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, yer hirin' us?" Ozpin nodded.
"For the sake of appearances, yes." Arthur's head bobbed understandingly.
"It does make sense."
"Well, I did a quick count earlier." Alex said. "There are exactly twelve STRD operators that came with Fyres. I guess you could list them as security like D and me." Ozpin nodded. Fyres was the next to speak up.
"I've got thirty of my lads an' lasses from the twelfth armored. We ain't security types though. Maybe list us as maintenance or engineering."
"That will work." Ozpin quickly scribbled the information down on a notepad. "Now we reach the issue of Mr. Raphael and his teammates." Arthur cocked his head.
"Issue, sir?"
"Mr. Greene once told me that Guardians were exceptionally young. How old are you, Mr. Raphael?" Arthur thought for a moment, then sighed.
"I turned eighteen a month before ending up here. My team, Nathan and Miko, are twenty and seventeen respectively." Ozpin looked to Alex questioningly.
"How old would they have been when they started fighting, Mr. Greene?"
"The first Guardians showed up right after STRD got off the ground. So, Arthur would have been...fourteen?" The Guardian in question nodded slowly. Ozpin took another swig of coffee.
"Mr. Raphael, I would like to offer your team temporary positions as students at Beacon. It will raise the least suspicion."
"I suppose. If there is no other option."
"There is an added benefit. None of the students have seen your teams' faces. This makes the three of you perfect for keeping an eye out."
"You suspect there is someone hiding amongst the students?"
"Yes. I am almost sure of it."
"If it is where we are needed, list my team as students." Alex raised signaled he had a question.
"Sir, aren't teams normally four members?"
"Indeed. I plan to remedy that. If you or Mr. Fyres would be willing to supply them with a young operative of your own." Alex thought for a moment.
"Anika Orion, one of our snipers, used to run infiltration and sabotage ops. She'd be a good fit for something like this, plus only team RWBY really knows who she is. She's also within the correct age range, at twenty-one."
"We'll have to list her as being late to start attending the academy." Ozpin said, nodding. "Mr Raphael, you team and Miss Orion will have to leave most of your gear behind, namely your armors. Weapons should be fine. Though, based on your skill in combat, I would ask the four of you to restrain yourselves against other students."
"That won't be a problem...Headmaster Ozpin." Arthur bowed.
"We will be landing in Vale in a few minutes, Miss Schnee." An attendant told Winter. She nodded gracefully. Winter eyed her sleeping traveling companion. Charles had spent most of their trip recalling tales of his world for her. She'd, of course, been somewhat skeptical at first, but the way he told his stories told her he wasn't lying.
Charles had talked at length about his children, both his regrets in not spending enough time with them, and how proud he was. He had explained his abilities as well. They were somewhat similar to a semblance, but they were quite different as well.
Winter was jolted out of her thoughts as the dustplane touched down. Charles stirred at the thud.
"Hmm? Are we there?"
"Yes. We just made it to Vale." The two them grabbed their bags. Winter had forced Charles to buy some extra clothes during one of their stops, so he now had a small duffel bag. He had refused to give up his worn trench coat. Winter had eventually conceded on that.
"What happened here?" Charles asked as they stepped off the aircraft. Vale was a mess. Scorch marks, bullet holes, craters, and so on. "Did something happen?" Charles grabbed the shoulder of a passing employee at the airport.
"Huh? Oh, a bunch of Grimm broke into the city through an underground tunnel a couple of days ago. The police and army handled it, though, so now it's just a matter of fixing things up." The man Charles had grabbed explained. The Aura released and thanked him for the information. He returned to Winter's side. "So, where to? Want to go meet your sister?"
"Yes," Winter nodded, "I think I should go see her first. We'll have to hop on another transport to get to Beacon." She led the older man behind her towards the proper landing pad.
Dimitri and Firo sat out on a bench in Beacon's plaza. Firo was attempting to acclimate herself to walking around without her helmet, since the headpiece had been lost during the breach. She felt considerably calmer with Dimitri nearby, but the pressure of being exposed to the world still weighed on her.
She had gotten no shortage of odd looks from some of the students since she had started wandering about with her ears out. Some of the looks had been disdainful, others full of pity when they saw her missing ear. It hadn't been all bad, though. Dimitri had helped her strike up a conversation with a student, Velvet, the day before. Like Firo, Velvet was a rabbit Faunus, so they had shared a pleasant hour chatting.
Firo noticed an incoming transport. She tapped Dimitri's shoulder and pointed to it. The transport landed with a metallic thud as the two of them walked over. It likely wasn't a threat, but after the breach, Ozpin had asked the two of them to screen any of the new arrivals. Two people stepped off the craft, one was a young woman with snow-white hair and regal bearing, while her companion was a man in a ragged trench coat- Dimitri suddenly pulled his handgun and centered it on the man.
"Lord Vortex." An Order member stepped into their leader's chamber and knelt. "I bring news."
"Speak." The Bloodline did not turn around from whatever holographic display he was looking at.
"The EDC has grown in number. Their total strength is unknown, but they number less than one hundred for sure." The soldier flinched as Vortex turned around.
"This is no problem, but it would do to test their defenses. What is your name?"
"Knight Solaris, my Lord."
"Solaris...you served under Ignis, didn't you?"
"Yes, my Lord, but when Lord Ignis betrayed the Order, I and a handful of others remained loyal to the cause."
"Your honesty is refreshing, if nothing else. However, I would like for you to prove your 'loyalty' to me. Take a few of your men and some of our Shades, and probe the defenses the EDC has arranged."
"Right away, my Lord." Solaris rose from his knee, quietly exiting the room. He walked down the dark tunnels underneath Mountain Glenn until he reached the area they had cleared to create Shades. Wolf-like Shades, Fenrirs, stood at the ready, tails gently waving as Solaris passed. They had yet to create more powerful ones, so the weakest Shades would have to do. Three of his subordinates were already waiting for him. "Come. We have work to do."
Charles raised his hands as Dimitri centered the gun on him. The rabbit-eared girl behind the Russian looked confused, and Winter had stepped between them.
"You have ten seconds to explain." Dimitri growled out.
"Explain what, Sergeant?"
"How you're alive?" Charles patted himself.
"I seem pretty alive to me."
"I was there! Both the Boss and I saw you die! You held off Vortex and Chaos so we could escape!" Dimitri said. The confrontation was at risk of drawing attention.
"I-" Charles paused. He had fought two other Bloodlines on his own to allow Alex and his squad to retreat. He remembered handing Alex the heirloom to give to his son...what had happened after that? "I can't recall..." He looked at Dimitri. "I know how to prove it. Winter, step back please."
The young woman moved out of the way and Charles flared his ability, the flaming violet wings unfurling. Winter flinched and the rabbit-eared woman took a noticeable step back. "I trust this will suffice?" Dimitri paused for moment, then holstered his gun.
"I doubt anyone could replicate that. Good to see you alive, Charles."
A/N: A new arc begins! The poll for your favorite character is still up, please go vote if you haven't already. Thank you for your time.
To the awesome people who left reviews: Wow! Five for one chapter!
Dimas15: Yes, I will eventually touch upon their histories more.
Rebmul: Thank you! You're awesome for reading and reviewing every chapter!
Skaana: Dammit, you're right. WE NEED TWELVE SHIPPING FRIEGHTERS OF C4 ON THE DOUBLE!
NotPaulyD (Guest): Thanks for the words of advice and praise! I am working on improving pacing, since I do acknowledge that's probably my largest problem. For descriptions, I'm often not sure how to depict a lot of people or objects in great detail. Might have to dust off my half-assed drawing skills. Overall, glad to hear from someone else who likes and is enjoying the story so far!
Wahs96: Thanks! I'm overjoyed that you like the story so far!
Also, for those of you who haven't read it yet, go check out Wahs96's story, "Solipsism". It has a somewhat similar concept to Legends Scatter, minus my problem with pacing and it's really good! Go and give it a read if you have the time.