Sixteen Years Later

March 1st

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

9:32 PM

Her eyes looking down in shame while Glynda paced in front of her with her scroll in hand, it was all that Ruby Rose could hope that Tai and Elizabeth wouldn't be too angry with her for going after Torchwick. She hadn't realized that he was the same dangerous criminal that Elizabeth and the kingdom of Atlas had been after for years - since before she had been born, even. That didn't even include the stress that tugged on the Xiao-Long-Morell-Rose family on a regular basis with Violet Morell-Xiao Long, who was thirteen, and Elizabeth's political career. Tai, for his part, had effectively shielded her and her sisters from the media spotlight and so for that reason the girls weren't famous but their step mother, or in Violet's case mother, was and that was an incredible cause for stress and occasional discord amongst them that seemed to only increase when Elizabeth and Qrow attempted to be cordial with each other.

"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady." Glynda said as she continued to pace. "You put yourself and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby insisted, but this was ahead of her logic and she quickly realized that she wasn't helping her case.

Looking at Ruby sharply, Glynda adjusted her grip on her crop. "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home...with a pat on the back," Noticing the smile on Ruby's face, Glynda narrowed her gaze. "And a slap on the wrist." Slapping her crop down on the table in front of the fifteen year old, Glynda realized that she was still annoyed with Ozpin while Ruby let out a slight shriek of surprise. "But…there is someone here who would like to meet you."

Shifting out of the way of the door, Glynda crossed her arms as a surprised Ruby watched Ozpin come in through the faintly defined doorway in the dark room, with a mug and a plate of cookies. Sitting down in front of her with the light of the hanging lamp illuminating his face, Ozpin studied her for a moment before setting the cookies and the mug in front of her. Her scroll still in hand with the video of Ruby playing behind Ozpin, Glynda sighed and bit her lip in irritation. She already knew that if James or Emmeline or Emmett were there that they wouldn't let Ozpin do what she knew that he was about to. Though she didn't deny that Ruby was skilled and especially for her age, she also knew that the girl was still a child and one with a more than healthy impetuous streak at that. The things that Elizabeth had said about Ruby's mischief, which she was okay with for the most part, supported that and it concerned her that Ozpin was overstepping but, at the same time, she also had found that, with the amount of secrets the man had from everybody but his wife, there was a reason behind all of his choices even if she and the rest of the group disagreed with him.

"Ruby Rose…" Ozpin said, leaning in slightly to look at her face. "You...have silver eyes."

Confusion was the most prominent expression across Ruby's countenance. "Un, um…"

"So! Where did you learn to do this?" Ozpin said, gesturing with his head at Glynda's scroll that showed Ruby's fighting.

The girl stuttered. "S...Signal Academy."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow before thinking of Qrow. "They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

Ruby nodded. "Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see…" Ozpin said, pushing the cookies towards her. Though she was hesitant at first, she, after not seeing any objections, shoved them into her mouth. "It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before," Ozpin continued. "A dusty old crow…"

Mumbling through her cookies, Ruby spoke. "Oh! That's my uncle." Swallowing before wiping her mouth in embarrassment as the two adults observed her, Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. That's my uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm a like - hooowaah! Witchaaa!" Ruby began to pose in the karate styles that Yang had taught her while miming fighting noises in her excitement.

"So I've noticed," Ozpin said, observing her face still before Glynda realized exactly why he wanted her to start at Beacon. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Ruby stared. "Well...I want to be a huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?" Ozpin asked though he knew the answer.

"Yeah!" Ruby exclaimed, speaking with more rapidity as her enthusiasm grew. "I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon! You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a huntress, and I'm trying to become a huntress because I want to help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!'" The girl giggled before continuing. "I mean the police are alright, but huntsman and huntresses are so much more romantic, and exciting, and cool, and really, gosh, you know!" Ruby squealed at the last part while staring at Glynda and Ozpin with a wide, maddening smile while they studied her until Ozpin spoke.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked with a faint smile.

Ruby nodded tentatively. "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

Smiling, Ozpin responded. "Hello."

Ruby returned the smile in kind. "Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?" Ozpin inquired of her in spite of being in full awareness of what her response would be.

"More than anything," Ruby half gushed.

Exchanging a glance with Glynda who crossed her arms and sighed irritably in disapproval, Ozpin turned back to Ruby. "Well okay."

Ruby smiled, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted in excitement as Ozpin called Tai and Elizabeth in. Tai appeared just as excited as Ruby while Elizabeth and Glynda shared a look of knowing and slight disapproval. Although she knew that Elizabeth and Tai didn't understand the entirety of what Ozpin was doing, it angered Glynda to know that Ozpin wanted to use Ruby's abilities, the ones connected to her silver eyes, to help in the fight against Salem in the way he had with Summer Rose, whom they all recalled as being one of the first to die at the hand of Cinder Fall. That wasn't even including the fact that the group had only just learned that Qrow was Ruby's biological father which was a fact that the girl evidently was unaware of. It had nothing to do with her not being able to handle it but had everything to do with Qrow's, in Glynda's mind, incredibly selfish views for when it came to his semblance.

"Ruby," Elizabeth said, chiding her slightly as her husband and his adoptive daughter broke their embrace. "You should have known better than to go after a dangerous criminal."

"They were robbing me! They started it!" Ruby insisted as she had with Glynda. Tai ruffled her short hair affectionately in response.

"Eliza, they started it," Tai told her, echoing the fifteen year old. "Don't be hard on her, she did the right thing."

Observing the girl as she bounced, Elizabeth shook her head and rolled her eyes and thought about Violet the precedence it set for her thirteen-year-old half-sister, who was still at home with Qrow and Yang. "Oh alright."

"Yeah!" Ruby screamed in excitement, half tackling Elizabeth. "I'm so glad you're not angry with me!"

Tai laughed as he pried her off of Elizabeth and took his wife's hand. "I'm pretty sure that it's damn near impossible for us to get angry with you."

"No kidding..." Elizabeth muttered under her breath, sending Ozpin a cursory glance.

March 5th

Second Year Combat

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

3:52 PM

"Miss Ironwood?" Glynda said, looking at her youngest daughter who looked up in surprise. "Why don't you show us the technique you've been working on with your sniper?"

Sighing as she nodded and stood up while the rest of Team IGDG, better known as team engineer, watched her, Ivy swung herself down to the centre of the floor in the room. She ignored the buzzing of her scroll in her jeans. Although she wanted to see who was calling, because she knew it wasn't Grace or Genevieve or Devin since they were her teammates and were observing her, she knew better than to glance at it when she knew that her mother was strained by everything in her life at the moment. First year initiation was today and that concerned all of them. Glynda because she had overseen the beginnings of it earlier in the day and Ivy because Yang, Weiss, Sam, Matt, Annetta, Lysithea, and, apparently, Ruby all were finally going to be officially at Beacon with them. Ivy was particularly excited about introducing Sam and Weiss to Yang and Ruby, something she hadn't been able to do while they were all studying in Atlas or, in Ruby and Yang's case, Vale but her sister had expressed doubt.

Her sister wasn't there. She was at home, in Atlas, studying political science and preparing to go into law school, while their brother was finishing high school before starting college himself. Of her siblings, she was the only hunter. Ivy knew her sister would come down for the Vytal Festival, considering that it was conveniently during her summer holidays, but she couldn't help but wish she were there to talk to. Jake, too, but that was in part because she had begun to miss her brother's constant pranking and often ridiculous sense of humor.

Using her scroll to pull up the targets, Glynda took in a sharp breath as her daughter smirked, twirled her gun and knives in hand, then beginning to shoot at the stationary targets that slowly began to move. At first only focusing on shooting, Ivy remained in place before a grimm was released and she used her semblance to manipulate her body into having wings to propel her out of its path: something at which she succeeded. She flew above the grimm's charging path near the targets and began shooting the grimm around the centre of its back. She then landed on a nearby platform with force that didn't even make her flinch before she took advantage of its confusion and shot it squarely between the eyes. Her aura not particularly depleted, Ivy focused it into protecting herself as she jumped down and restore her back before looking to her mother nervously who nodded faintly before logging the information into her scroll under her file.

"Your technique has certainly improved and your fighting style is significantly more defined, Miss Ironwood," Glynda told her, still feeling a little odd at addressing her daughter in a way other than Ivy or Ives even after already having gone through a year of this.

"I've been trying, Professor Goodwitch," Ivy cockily replied.

Glynda looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "I do, however, need to speak with you after class."

"Ha," Genevieve teased, crossing her arms while turning to some of the others in the room. "Looks like Team IGDG might be in trouble again…"

"That's enough, Miss Sieben," Glynda told her with a pointed look.

"True," Genevieve agreed. "But it's also -"

Punching her in the side, Devin hushed her. "Don't be ridiculous Geni, unless you're planning on going into a life of crime."

Genevieve stuck her tongue out at him rather childishly, causing both Grace and Ivy to laugh.

"Thank you, Mister Katt," Glynda said dryly as the class let out. "And all of you, tune up your weapons before you start taking shadowing missions in the next few weeks."

Once the rest of them had left the room, Glynda sighed and motioned her daughter into her office before closing and locking the door with her crop behind them. She glanced quickly at the final information from the first year initiation that had finished during the hour. Ivy altered her hair color between a curly, lavender purple and a violently pink color that was shimmery in wait. Setting her crop down on her desk before adjusting her glasses and pacing, Glynda paused as she heard someone walk past before she crossed her arms and looked at her daughter.

"Another year…" She murmured while Ivy tapped her foot impatiently. Sighing and twisting a finger around her curled side bang, Glynda looked to her. "Your sister is perfectly fine, by the way, and the doctor renewed her antidepressant and antianxiety prescriptions. It also sounds like the semester is wrapping up well for her so she'll be coming down during her summer holidays for the Vytal Festival. She said she's planning to fly back a week out from her university classes resuming in September."

Ivy bit her lip. "Good," She said, the memory of her sister's two attempted suicides from the year before unpleasantly flooding back.

Glynda and Ivy stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"You know," Ivy finally said at an attempt at levity. "I thought it was a simple joke that the first years are launched off the cliffs," She laughed. "I hadn't realized that it was an actual thing."

Glynda smirked, a bit amused. "It wasn't my idea. If you want to blame someone then blame Ozpin."

"Like for the almost dead body under Beacon that Sam told us about," Ivy remarked under her breath, causing Glynda to raise an eyebrow though she didn't say anything, deciding to look into the matter later. "I still can't believe Emmett and Emmeline told her about that."

"What was that?" Glynda asked, unsure of what she had said. "Ivory -"

"I still can't believe that I was...brutally launched off the cliffs!" Ivy improvised. "And that Emmett and Emmeline gave Sam a heads up about it -"

"How in the living hell would Emmett know about -" Glynda started.

"Because...because I told him!" Ivy exclaimed, clasping her hands together while her mother raised an eyebrow. "And he decided to warn Sam so they could...work on her landing strategy."

Giving Ivy a suspicious look, Glynda shook her head. "Oh alright then Ivy."

March 9th

First Year Combat

Beacon Academy

Vale

2:59 PM

Sam sighed as she sat down next to the Cardin Winchester in the only open space in the room. The rest of her team, Team SAML, was already there and her sister was shifting nervously and sharpening his sword while Matthew, her cousin, and Annetta, her other cousin, were teasing each other with their semblances. She was a little annoyed to be late and while she admitted that it was partially her fault, it was more so her father's. Emmett had held up his eldest daughter with a call that had gone on for over an hour that her little brother had been on for a little too. She was relieved, only marginally, that the look that she had given Glynda had been enough to get her off with the shake of her head, a sigh, and probably the muttering of something about Emmett. The lecture started off normally. Dust application which was something that as an Atlesian, and particularly as a Schnee, she found remedial. Still, it took an odd turn when Ivy walked into the room with a slightly oversized file that she handed to her mother just as Glynda had begun to pull up the randomizer for a fight. Next to Samara, Cardin stood up and looked right at Glynda who sighed in irritation while glancing at her scroll.

"Professor Goodwitch, if we're going to be practicing fighting, can I fight her?" Cardin asked, pointing at Ivy who was flicking one of her knives in her hands. "I mean, I think I'm going -"

"Sit down Mister Winchester," Glynda told him sharply with a glance to Ivy. "Miss Ironwood is a second year and -"

"How old are you Ironwood?" Cardin asked, his gaze shifting to Ivy, who glared. "Well?"

"I'm twenty on September the twenty-sixth," She responded, crossing her arms "And I don't think that you can beat me in a fight. You'll probably end up bleeding on the floor and with your balls hanging from my truck as a souvenir."

"Scared, Ironwood? I guess being the General's daughter doesn't help you. Same thing can be said about the little ghost girl right here," Cardin punched Sam in the arm and she bristled at his words and touch. "You know, Samara might only be eight years old but she's killed hundreds of people, I bet."

Ivy scowled at Cardin for a brief moment. "Fine," She said with a hardened look to her mother. "I'll fight you."

To his shock, Glynda nodded and logged the fight information into the system as her daughter adjusted her handle on her sniper while Cardin pulled out his mace and smirked at her while she pursed her lips and restrained herself from taunting him or calling him out for what he had said to her despite the overwhelming urge to. Apart from being unsure of his skill level, which she admitted could exceed her own by some cruel kink of fate, she also knew who he was even if he didn't know who she was beyond being James Ironwood's daughter. He, after all, was the grandson of the famed Admiral Winchester. Curling her fingers menacingly around her knives, Ivy kept her gun hidden in one of her leg pockets while she used her semblance to give herself a long stinger. She stepped back as he stepped towards her and prepared herself for whatever could be to come.

"You know something?" Cardin began, flipping his mace in hand. "You're kind of like a little girl with an some sharpened utensils. I bet I'll be able to make you bleed or, at the very least, cry."

Ivy smirked and started laughing like a maniac, setting off a small vial of fire dust from in her pocket before flipping over him and climbing up into the rafters as quickly as she could, using the tail of her stinger to fling herself upwards.

"Where the hell did she go?" Cardin hollered, coughing as the smoke cleared. "Where -"

A well-aimed knife caught him in the ass and he screamed in pain though he wasn't hurt because of his aura, even if that took a significant loss. Seeing the residue from the dust-infused knife around him as well as the faint bit he shook off, Cardin cursed when he realized that it was gravity dust that the bitch had tried to stab him with. Angrily looking around for her, he screamed against his will when the back end of her stinger made sharp contact with his head and she reappeared from the haze with a smirk on her face while she threw a low punch and a kick to the head. He collapsed to the ground and swung his mace at her leg. Had her aura not been strong as hell, a severe gash on her leg would have been left behind rather than the bruise she later found. Jumping over him and kicking him in the face again, Ivy charged towards the other end of the arena and finally shot at him with fire dust. This quite literally blew up in his face and was the final blow required to deplete his aura. Glynda called the match and place the final results in the system, and Cardin got off the floor and glared at Ivy who swaggered towards him with her arms crossed and a smirk gracing her face.

"Mister Winchester," Glynda began sharply. "If I were you, next time I'd choose a more suitable opponent, preferably one at your level of skill."

Sure that he was out of Goodwitch's earshot, Cardin shook his head and moved closer to Ivy, grabbing her by the collar of her tight jumpsuit. She flinched in response despite herself as she restored her natural appearance. "You know what Ironwood?" He hissed. "I'm going to find something that I can hold over your head. A secret, maybe?"

"Well good luck with that," Ivy responded in a low whisper. "Because you'll have a hell of a time finding stuff on me that ain't already out there. Oh! And I suppose that your little plan fell through. Congratulations!"

He let her go, resisting the urge to slam her to the floor.

"One more thing," Ivy added, making sure everyone could hear her. "I'm a professional, sweetheart, so pay attention, maybe you'll learn something!"

She sauntered out laughing, and didn't even notice the disapproving look her mother sent her for that last remark.

March 17th

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

5:21 PM

"I've got more than a few questions for the the five of you," Glynda told her almost nineteen year daughter and Team SAML as she pulled them into her office and slammed the door behind them with her semblance. "Starting with this."

Sam shifted nervously as she watched the video from her initiation where she was trying to call her sister, cousins, and then Ivy, leaving a message that mentioned the maidens. "Okay," She started nervously. "So I can explain -"

"Can you?" Glynda asked her, crossing her arms with her crop in hand. "Because I have no idea how you learned about that, let alone why you told -"

"I told Ivy – and, for full disclosure, Cate - because Lily and I needed to talk to someone other than each other and our parents about -" Sam started.

"Wait, Emmett and Emmeline told you?" Glynda demanded. "Why?"

"Why else?" Matthew shrugged. "Emmett's always been forthcoming, and he probably wore Emmeline down. He told my parents, too, and me, Natalie, Percy, Jazz, and Luna."

Glynda sighed. "Damn him," She muttered. "Emmett really does gossip like an old woman, doesn't he?"

Annetta giggled. "Hey, at least my parents were honest with us from the start! I didn't even have to tell anyone! I just waited for them to reveal they knew too!"

A heavy silence fell over them for a long moment, and no one dared to speak.

"Listen to me," Glynda finally said, softening her tone as she looked at all of them. "I'll keep this a secret between us… and Emmett, Emmeline, Karissa, Spencer, and James but you all need to not attract any attention to yourselves, at least in regard to this matter. With the way things are, I really don't want any of you to get hurt because you thought that it would be a good idea to go after Cinder or Torchwick -"

"Cinder tried to kill my mother!" Sam shouted through tears. "I have every reason to go after her, and I have every reason to -"

"I know, Sam, I know," Glynda said, feeling almost resigned. "And I know that Emmett has been attempting to track her since then, no matter what Emmeline says, but, and this is what you really need to understand, all of you are still training. Ivy's only a second year while you're all first years and, as gifted as all of you are, you're still not going to be able to take on Cinder Fall."

Sam chewed at the inside of her cheek, adjusted her glasses, and glanced to Lysithea.

"Can we at least ask some questions?" Lysithea asked quietly.

Sighing heavily and leaning against her desk, Glynda nodded. "I suppose being aware at the level you are permits you that right."

Ivy glanced to her mother warily. "Were you and daddy ever going to tell us?"

Glynda sighed. "Yes," She admitted. "When your sister comes down to see the Vytal Festival, actually, although I suppose that's no longer necessary considering that you all know."

Ivy nodded and her expression changed suddenly. "Is there really an almost dead body in the vault that's being sustained with Atlas technology?" She asked excitedly. "Was that -"

"Was that what you were really muttering the other day?" Glynda asked her, arms crossed. "The one you passed off as being irritated with getting launched off the cliffs during first year initiation?"

Ivy shrugged and ran her fingers through her natural blonde hair and shook it up. "Okay, so maybe that's true but I swear it wasn't a joke about being annoyed with the whole 'let's launch the undergraduates off the cliffs.' thing."

"I know that," Glynda told her, remembering how annoyed she had been after initiation. "And to answer your question, yes. The girl's name is Amber and she's the...current fall maiden although some of her power was stolen. She was severely injured and because of that she is being sustained by Atlas technology."

"By who?" Annetta asked, her curiosity piqued. "And why -"

"Cinder," Sam said knowingly, to which Glynda looked at her in surprise. "Daddy told me that it was possible she was trying to gain the powers of a maiden and someone so young would be an easy target for her. Gives me even more reason to kill her."

"All the more reason to burn it all to the ground, you mean," Matt quipped with a self-satisfied smirk. "Which is fitting."

"Why is that fitting?" Lysithea asked, crossing her arms.

Ivy laughed. "It's fitting because, and I'll be perfectly honest, Cinder is a pyromaniac."

"That's true," Sam admitted, shaking out her hair. "Unfortunately, and…of course that bitch is my aunt by blood."

"In every other sense she's not," Ivy pointed out, giving Sam and Lysithea a sympathetic look. "Ashlynn Schnee was your aunt and Cinder isn't Ashlynn Schnee."

Sam sighed and played with the strap of her sniper. "I know that but it's a difficult...a difficult thing for my family to deal with."

"No kidding," Matt muttered. "I think she's pulled out aunt Emmeline's slight vindictive streak too."

Lysithea kicked her cousin's shin hard and he let out a yelp of surprise before regaining his composure while the rest of them stared at him incredulously.

"No shit, dumbass," Sam remarked dryly.

Ivy, clearly distracted once more, started shifting her hair from curly to its naturally straight flow of platinum blonde.

"Hey…" She added slyly. "Mommy, who's Salem?"

"Salem controls slash creates the creatures of grimm, and, no, I don't have anything on her whereabouts. None of us do." Glynda glanced at her scroll for a moment before sighing. "Is there anything else pressing that you all want to know?"

"Who else is in the group?" Lysithea asked, bouncing a little. "I mean -"

"The...group…" Glynda sighed. "It's Ozpin, Cristal, your parents, James, myself, Rosalinde Varna, and a few others."

"So, basically, it's the heads of the academies, a few political leaders, and some of the most talented huntsman and huntresses in the world?" Ivy said, her eyes widening in excitement. "That's fucking amazing!"

"I agree," Matt said, socking her in the arm. "But you know something that's strange?"

"What's that?" Ivy asked, slightly nervous.

"A few people still think you're attractive and I think they wants you to ask him out…" Sam put in with a killer smirk.

"I...I…" Ivy spluttered, both confused and disgusted. "What the fuck, Sam?"

"Exactly," Annetta said, giggling and leaning against the wall. "What the fuck exactly."

March 30th

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

8:21 AM

"Hey, Sam," Annetta said, poking at her cousin as she slowly opened her eyes and rolled over with a groan. "I think you want to get up."

"We don't have classes today," She whined and threw her pillow across the room as she reached for her glasses and looked up in surprise when she heard the scream of surprise from across the room.

"Damn it Sam! I know Emmy and I taught you to fight hard, but the fuck?" Emmett had caught the pillow in his free hand while Eddie Ciel-Schnee was clutching tightly to the other.

Happiness and surprise flowing through her, Sam was soon running to embrace her father and brother, both of whom pulled her in tightly.

"Oh!" Emmett exclaimed suddenly. "And I almost forgot to mention: how's my first kiddo?"

"Great!" Sam said, half screaming in excitement. "Oh my God, I can't believe the two of you are really here!"

"Samsie!" Edward squealed, wrapping his arms around his sister's legs while she bent down to be closer to the almost seven-year-old's height. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Eddie," Sam said, playfully swatting at her brother's arm. "How's Atlas doing for you? How's mommy?"

"Good!" He told her with a grin. "Snow fell!"

"Well, it's Atlas," Sam replied with a smile. "Snow's bound to fall eventually, now isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Edward screamed as he took in the dorm. "But mommy's had a lot of work…"

"You know how the Council is," Emmett reminded his youngest. "Your mother is doing her best."

Lysithea sighed. "Aren't we all?"

Emmett raised an eyebrow upon seeing a rather large dictionary on her bed.

"Nice book," He teased. "Is the secret title 'big words that prove my maturity' or is it something else?"

"That was cruel and uncalled for!" Lysithea screeched, much to the amusement of Sam, Matt, Annetta, and her little brother. "There is nothing wrong with seeking to improve oneself –"

"Yeah, yeah," Annetta said, waving her hand dismissively. "You're just paranoid that people will underestimate you because you're tiny."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "That's giving her a lot of credit."

Lysithea scowled. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to kick ass."

"Okay, okay," Emmett shrugged and turned to his son. "Eddie, if I leave you here with Matt and Annetta, will you be good so I can talk to your sisters?"

He nodded. "Yep."

Matt smirked at his uncle and dragged his cousin over towards the TV. "We're going to play video games," He told him with a grin. "And it's going to be awesome!"

Emmett shook his head and laughed. "Okay then. Nothing violent."

"Okay!" Matt shouted as Emmett left the room with Sam and Lysithea.

"What is it we need to talk about?" Sam asked, confused.

"Nothing happened, did it?" Lysithea nervously added.

"What?" Emmett said, walking with them out towards Beacon's courtyard. "No, nothing happened…per se but…" Seeing Glynda tighten her grip on her crop as she noticed him, Emmett sighed. "I've done something, haven't I?"

"Emmett Arthur Schnee!" Glynda snapped, crossing her arms before dragging him and his daughters off out of earshot. "Okay, Emmett," She said, lowering her voice. "What the hell were you and Emmeline thinking, telling them about the maidens?"

Emmett exchanged a look with Sam and Lily before he shrugged. "Why do you think we told them? We didn't want to have any secrets from our kids. Eddie will know too, just when he gets old enough to fully understand."

"Of course," Glynda said, rolling her eyes. "Because that's perfectly rational."

"Oh, says the woman who married James Ironwood," Emmett said with a smirk before she slapped him, something he had expected. "You know I'm only joking, right?"

"You don't have to be such a jackass," Glynda told him, causing Sam and Lysithea to giggle. "But, then again, you've been a jackass since we were at Atlas Academy -"

"That was twenty some years ago!" Emmett exclaimed in mock indignation. "How dare you bring that up again?"

Glynda laughed. "That's your only question? You really are quite amusing sometimes, aren't you?"

"I think so," Emmett said while glancing to Sam and Lily who were still laughing. "But can you get angry with me later? I don't even care if it's in front of Ozpin, but I need to talk with my daughters."

"Okay," Glynda said, turning quickly on her heel. "Just don't blow anything to pieces."

"Blow anything to pieces?" Lysithea asked nervously, to which Emmett grinned like a maniac.

"I almost forgot about that. When I was in my last year at Atlas Academy, I blew up part of the courtyard and General Tanner got so angry about it," Emmett laughed, and then treaded his fingers through his long white waves. "Wait…what was I even talking about?"

Sam sent him a funny look and pushed up her glasses. "How are we supposed to know?"

"She's got a point," Lysithea giggled. "Come on, daddy, let's show you the best ice cream shop in town and you can try and remember that you wanted to give us some fancy jewelry…"

April 3rd

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

Rooftop

9:34 PM

Ivy Ironwood-Goodwitch froze as she heard the voices of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos on the rooftop where she had been headed to relax. While she had never feared heights, she suddenly felt sick and clung tighter to the fire escape. She had an affinity for the breeze that floated across her and whipped her ever-changing hair around, but something felt wrong tonight. Shifting to listen out of habit, she kept herself as quiet as possible as she had taught herself so that not to attract attention from anyone and particularly them as she leaned into her position on the fire escape. Of all the things she had learned since she had started at Beacon thus far, she fully believed that subterfuge was the most important of all of them. Without it, she'd never get to know everyone's secrets and, without those, she had little with which to defend herself if needed.

"...Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed. I can always be a farmer or something."

"...N...n...no! That's not why I brought you up here! Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so… I want to help you!"

"...Wh...what?"

"...We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!"

"...You think I need help?"

"...No...no! No, that's not what I meant."

"...But you just said it."

"...Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

As Jaune's voice lowered, Ivy shifted again to hear better. "...You're wrong. I...I… don't belong here."

"...That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!"

"...No, I don't! I wasn't really accepted into Beacon…"

That explains a lot, given what I heard about his abilities from Sam and Allen. Ivy snorted, although she found herself slightly amused by the fact that he managed to get in regardless. Still that's a fairly serious allegation…should I -

"...Wh...what do you mean?"

Ivy felt herself getting a little annoyed as the pitch of Jaune's voice raised as he continued despite having a sister with a voice so high pitched that if she breathed helium it would rise to a pitch humans are incapable of hearing.

"...I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"

"...What? But...why?"

"...Because this is what I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough…"

"...Then let me help you!"

"...I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"...Jaune, I -"

"...I'm tired of being the loveable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own...then what good am I? Just...leave me alone. Okay?"

"...If that's what you think is best."

About to jump up onto the roof as Pyrrha left, Ivy stopped when she heard a mocking laugh and the footsteps of someone else joining Jaune on the roof. Her blood ran cold when she peeked up and realized who it had come from.

"...Oh...Jaune…" The voice said, sounding falsely kind.

"...Cardin!"

"...I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I've got to say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!"

"...Please, Cardin, please don't tell anyone!"

"...Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!"

"...A...a friend?"

Oh bullshit. Ivy thought, rolling her eyes at Cardin's comment that she had a feeling was more than simply insincere. Shut your fucking mouth, Cardin, you probably don't even know what that term really means.

"...Of course! We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time. That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you would take care of that for me buddy? That's what I thought. Oh, and if you could pull revenge on Ironwood - who, believe me, I know her secret - for beating me in combat a few weeks ago, that would be just the ticket. I have something on her...but I'm not sure if I want to use it yet. Don't worry, Jaune: your secret's safe with me."

Hearing Cardin drop back down and shut his window, Ivy felt her blood boiling when she effortlessly climbed up onto the roof.

"Jaune," She said harshly.

"Oh, what is it Ironwood?" Jaune snapped, annoyed with having another person to deal with. "Don't -"

"I heard everything," Ivy told him, crossing her arms. "You're such an idiot, telling anyone the truth. Do you know how serious that shit is?"

"So you're going to turn me in?" Jaune demanded, not looking at her. "Because you have pretty much everything, and I'm sure that bringing someone like me down will thrill you."

Ivy scoffed. "I'm not going to tell Goodwitch, if that's what you're implying, even though I am burning to, given how irritating you are."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you going to do?"

Ivy smirked. "I'm going to kick your ass into shape, that's what I'm going to do."

Jaune looked at her warily but nodded, feeling that he didn't really have another choice.