Answering a guest review to up up and away: I suppose it might seem a little bit odd, but really, actions speak louder than words, and Wayle has more or less really only acted like a nice person, Weiss is a bit less trusting I suppose and Glynda doesn't trust him at all. General Ironwood is suspicious of him as well. I suppose team JNPR simply doesn't know him well enough, but since RWBY mostly trusts him they are kind of fine with him(if a little bit scared). At least that's my excuse.
Also, to everyone else; I find your lack of reviews disturbing.
Disclaimer: I do not own either RWBY or Star Wars
They were heading back, speeding above the landscape in a Bullhead. Wayle had refrained from telling the professor about the White Fang's plans as, frankly, he had no proof. Instead, he would prepare for it secretly, acting against them when the time came. Unless team RWBY actually managed to disrupt it during their mission to the south-east.
That did help ease his mind, and he calmly considered his next few moves.
Vale came into sight and Wayle immediately reacted to the smoke rising from it, as well as the large amount of Atlesian airships moving about above it. Something had clearly happened, that much he could see even from a distance, but what?
As they passed over the city something of an answer came to him. There was large amounts of damage in the southern parts, as if a battle had taken place there. Scattered around was broken Droids that were even then being removed as salvage and repair work was being done.
He could also see what seemed to be a patched up hole in the plaza, around which the damage was at its most extensive.
'That is where the battle took place.' Wayle mused.
But what disturbed him the most was that slight residual presence. A disturbing feeling that Wayle had learned earlier today was left behind when a large amount of Grimm where killed, a lingering miasma of darkness so to speak.
Wayle's eyes widened in realisation. The White Fang's plan had been carried out, but it was still too soon, unless… Unless Ouka memories was wrong or they had been discovered, forcing them to carry the plan out too early. Hopefully team RWBY would have the answers to that question.
Wayle only hoped they were still okay.
-Break—
As they were landing at the Beacon landing pads Wayle saw team RWBY, sitting by the edge, mostly unharmed but looking slightly exhausted, seemingly looking out at the city in the distance. A wave of relief passed over him at the sight, and he smiled slightly when Ruby and Yang waved at him as they saw him.
He immediately headed over to them once they had landed, walking with a brisk stride.
"Wayle!" Came the exited but tired voice of Ruby.
"Hello Ruby. I am glad to see you are relatively unharmed, when I saw the damage in Vale I became worried."
"Well, yeah, a lot happened…" Ruby responded.
"We managed to find the White Fang's base, but they fled using a train and then used high-powered explosives to lead Grimm into the city. We were forced to fight them off, although reinforcements came from both our fellow students and from the Atlesian military." Blake explained further.
"So it worked out in the end and to top it off we caught Roman Torchwick!" Yang added on cheerfully, seeming to be the least tired of the bunch.
It was around then that Wayle realised that Weiss hadn't said anything yet, as a matter of fact, she had not even acknowledged his presence yet.
That she didn't care much for him anymore was something he had noticed long ago, yet she should at least have done something to acknowledge his presence, yet she wasn't even looking at him. She was instead looking at Ruby with a distant look in her eyes.
"Weiss?" He spoke out to her.
"Ah!" She became slightly startled and jumped just a tiny bit. "Yes? What is it Wayle?" Then she questioned him coldly.
"Ah, no, it is just that you had not said anything this whole time and as such I wondered about your condition." Wayle gave a half-true response, although he had mostly done it to mess with the poor girl. He really needed to stop doing that, he had already hurt her once.
"Well, I'm fine so there's no need for you to worry!" She shouted and turned her head away fuming. Although her tiredness quickly caught up to her and she sagged together slightly.
"Well, I'm exhausted. Feels like I could sleep for a week." Yang said and stretched out.
"Yeah, we should head back to our room for some rest." Ruby agreed.
"You girls do that, I need to report to Ozpin about my mission." Wayle gave an apologetic wave and headed towards Ozpin's office as the others headed towards their room.
-Break—
Ozpin seemed a bit off, Wayle noted as he entered his office. A slight hint of worry tinged his features, although when asked he brushed it off with false bravado. It disturbed Wayle as he was used to seeing the man as someone who hid his emotions and thoughts well. Something must have happened.
"So you exterminated all the Grimm in two days' time? Most impressive Wayle, most impressive." Ozpin reaffirmed what he had already been told by Professor Goodwitch.
"Yes, although Professor Goodwitch's aid most certainly sped things up." Wayle humbly replied, highlighting the Professor's part. Of course he had no doubt that her retelling of the events would be extensive, detailing as much as possible.
That was fine with him, a reputation, even in a smaller circle, had its uses, although it could also hamper the ability to move discreetly.
Ozpin's raised eyebrow told him that indeed, he already knew that Wayle's contribution had not been insignificant.
"Very good, compensation has been arranged with The Council of Vale in recognition of your hard work." Ozpin calmly informed him.
"Thank you headmaster. Although I would like to say that compensation is unnecessary, my situation is, as you can imagine, a bit tough, and as such is most welcome." Wayle gave a slight bow and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Wayle, do be a bit careful with the collateral damage." Ozpin called to him.
Wayle turned to look at him as he walked and gave a slight smile. "Do not worry, I will refrain from excessive collateral unless necessary." Then he left the office.
-Break—
A short while after the young Sith had left General Ironwood entered.
"General, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here at such hectic times?" Ozpin questioned the newcomer with a raised eyebrow.
"I came as soon as I heard that Glynda had returned. I want to hear some of the details." James curtly cut to the chase.
"I suppose that is fine, we were just about to discuss the details ourselves after all." Ozpin replied calmly.
He then turned to Glynda who stood there with her usual stern look.
"Very well, only moments after you landed you said you were attacked by Grimm?" Ozpin queried Glynda.
Glynda pushed up her glasses and started explaining. "Yes, despite making sure to avoid the largest concentration they still attacked us quickly. I surmise that they might have been drawn to Wayle, as they seemed far more concerned with him than with me."
"Because of The Dark Side?" Ozpin queried.
His answer however, came not from Glynda, but from James.
"That might very well be the case, I managed to get some information out of Amara about it, and she said that the Dark Side primarily drew upon negative emotions like hate, fear and suffering, and Grimm are known to be drawn to such emotions as well, leading me to believe that Grimm are greatly attracted to those who use it." He said suddenly.
"I see. And then?" Ozpin turned back to Glynda.
"At first Wayle fought somewhat normally using mostly his sword and enhanced physical abilities to deal with the Grimm. During that time we kept relatively even. But after maybe three hours or so he must have tired, as he suddenly unleashed a great wave of force that blew away all Grimm in front of him along with several trees and rocks." She adjusted her stance.
James raised an eyebrow at the last part.
"After that, Wayle suddenly decided that we should rest, claiming that there were no more Grimm in the vicinity. I did agree, and we sought out a safe location to get some rest, as it was getting late. We managed to get a few hours rest before we resumed the mission, Wayle charging ahead and managing to get to the nearest Grimm before I could even realise they were there." She paused again.
"It would seem that they do have superior sensing abilities as they claimed. I did doubt it but… that might be quite the asset." James mused out loud.
"Yes, they would be quite the trackers, would they not?" Ozpin agreed. "Assuming that they can differentiate between different people that is. I seem to have a premonition of having overheard something to that effect." He seemed thoughtful for a few moments.
"Regardless it's an impressive asset." James countered.
Glynda cleared her throat to get their attention again. "If you are quite finished?" She looked at them meaningfully.
"Sorry, go ahead." James looked a bit embarrassed.
"Well then, after this it essentially turned into a great mess as we were beset by arguably even more Grimm than the reports indicated, and even though Wayle had stepped it up with even greater speed and strength, as well as Lightning and Telekinesis, there were still plenty left over for me." She seemed a bit discomforted about this. "Despite their focus on Wayle, the amount that assailed me were not insignificant, and most Hunters would most likely have been laid low, but my ability combined with Wayle seemingly keeping an eye on me it went well." She had a conflicted look.
"And during this battle you killed all the Grimm?" James questioned, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"It would seem so, reports indicate that the amount of Grimm in the area dropped to zero temporarily, although it seems there are new ones migrating there from the neighbouring areas, although it seems to mostly be lesser, younger Grimm only." Ozpin elaborated with some information of his own.
"I see." James seemed slightly worried. "And? Did you manage to confirm anything else about his abilities?" He turned to Glynda questioningly.
"Yes, I have confirmed that he can crush Deathstalkers with his Telekinesis, and that he can cause Giant Nevermores to crash with it as well. It would also seem that his claim to being able to reduce this academy to rubble is not entirely empty boasts, as he was able to, in a single great burst of force and electricity that he called Maelstrom, reduce more than an acre of forest into a massive crater. Headmaster, the boy is a walking disaster." Glynda ended on a pleading note.
"A disaster that can choose when to strike, and at what. As long as he feels no animosity towards us, there is little risk. Did you not say so yourself General? That it would not be a good idea to alienate people like them? Besides, even if Amara is untrustworthy, Wayle seems to be, and since it seems that he is the greater of the two, he can act as a measure against her, no?" Ozpin calmly argued.
James could only embarrassedly look away.
"I understand that, but…" Glynda's stern look melted away into one of fearful worry as she looked down at the floor.
"I do understand your concern, but this is arguably the best place to keep an eye on him." Ozpin tried to appease and calm her.
She sighed deeply, took a deep breath, straightened up again and forced her face to return to its previous state.
"There is one more thing I would like to mention, after having finished off the last Grimm, he dashed off, indicating that he had noticed something, but when he came back after a while, he claimed that it was nothing and that it must have been his imagination." She recounted the moments after Wayle had unleashed Maelstrom.
"That conflicts with most other information we have, does it not?" James' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Might he be making his move?"
"General, I am curious as to what you mean by that?" Ozpin questioned James.
"I have had this suspicion for some time now, but I am quite certain that Wayle is a player of the political game, and, according to Amara, whom I must admit to not trusting entirely, he is actually an skilled manipulator who has actually orchestrated the defection of an entire planet once, although the difference in scale needs to be observed, it would still in our case be like if one of the kingdoms changed their allegiance to another." James said gravely.
"I suppose see what you mean, but I doubt that he means harm, no matter what it is he plans." Ozpin argued.
"The question in this case would be what his definition of meaning no harm is. We can't forget that he used to be part of an order known for their tyranny, by his own words." James retorted.
"Caution is already being taken, but it might be worthwhile to figure that out, I will give you that much." Ozpin tried to compromise slightly.
"Very well, I might try to convince Amara to reveal more, but she is not reliable and as such it might be preferable if someone who knows more of him and who can be relied upon to tell the truth could be asked as well." James accepted with some conditions.
"I agree, I will ask team RWBY about it." Ozpin complied.
"Thank you, Oz. I hope you are right, but you must understand, I'm only doing what is best for our people." James apologetically said as he left.
"So am I, James." Ozpin's whispered reply almost seemed like it was more to convince himself than anyone else. "So am I…"
Author's notes: Well, that took a bit longer than I wanted, but this is kind of what happens when I don't get reviews, I just don't feel motivated to write and let myself get distracted by all manners of things. Tell me what you think and if you want me to write longer chapters, I feel kind of comfortable with my current way of doing things, but I can at least try. Oh yeah, if you simply don't have time to review then that is fine is suppose, it's just that enough time passes that at least some should have come in, yet all I get is one? Sorry if I'm complaining but I hope you understand why. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed and that you have a nice day.
