July 13th

Beacon Academy

City of Vale

Vale

Downtown

3:18 PM

"You'll never beat me, old man!" Ruby screamed in spite of how nervous she was as she and Qrow played video games.

Smirking as he looked at her, Qrow laughed. "You're nothing but talk, kid!"

Yang clasped her hands together and started to shout support for her cousin while watching the screen as the pixelated ninjas continued to battle. "You can do it, Ruby!"

"Soaring Ninja Wins!" The game's announcer declared as Qrow's ninja decapitated Ruby's. "Total Annihilation!"

Grinning at his victory though feeling slightly marred when he noticed his daughter lower her head in shame, Qrow's own nerves resurfaced when he heard Yang whispering to Ruby. "Ouch."

Still attempting to be normal, Qrow smirked at his daughter who half-heartedly returned it. "And by the way, don't ever call me old."

"My turn!" Yang screamed, pushing Ruby out of her spot and grabbing the spinning control out of the air.

"New Challenger Approaches!" The game declared and Qrow began thinking to himself before speaking.

"Now...where was I?"

Hesitantly popping up behind them, Ruby began a little nervously though excitement grew as she went on. "You were...telling us about your last mission!"

"Right...right…" Qrow said with a smirk, his plan to ruin Yang's chances of winning beginning to formulate in his mind. "I'd come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right."

Despite still feeling terribly nervous, Ruby's awe overtook her. "What were you doing there."

"I needed information," Qrow told her, his voice still deadly serious. "Tired from battling grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn. The place was crawling with lowlifes and thugs, even a few huntsmen that I could assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs...and that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yang asked excitedly, none of them noticing Elizabeth coming into the room as the woman glanced at information on her scroll.

"I was defeated! By the mere sight…" Grinning maniacally, Qrow declared what he had seen wildly, remembering the night with the maid well despite the fact that she had gotten him beyond simply drunk. "Of the innkeeper's skirt length!"

Angrily looking up and slapping Qrow on the back of the head, Elizabeth glared at him while he turned around and her step-daughter threw a pillow at him that he, regretfully, caught to both Yang and Elizabeth's ire. "Qrow Branwen! The hell are you thinking, telling -"

"Soaring Ninja Wins!" The game declared once again, causing Elizabeth to roll her eyes. "Total Annihilation!'

"You are the worst!" Yang screamed, crossing her arms.

"I have to agree with her," Elizabeth said, still glaring at the huntsman. "And, besides this, what were you thinking, provoking a fight with Winter Schnee the other day? Do you have any idea, any idea… just even the faintest…" Groaning irritably as she crossed her arms, Elizabeth tried to calm herself. "You can't just go around destroying Atlas military property and, considering that there are significantly more Special Operatives and soldiers here in Vale than there are AK-200s, I really hope that you won't attempt to decapitate them as well."

"Oh, calm down Eliza," Qrow said, while he laughed at both her and Yang's anger though he looked to his niece. "Best two out of three?"

Yang didn't respond though Ruby sat down on Weiss's bed. "So, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?"

Elizabeth scoffed. "Ruby, if there's one thing I want you to remember about Qrow it's that he, no matter what he does, never gets in trouble with Ozpin."

"How would you know that?" Qrow asked her, standing up and pulling her in by the waist though he stopped when she slapped him. "What, Eliza, you don't like me flirting with you?"

Forcing herself not to stomp her foot like Rose would, Elizabeth opted to slap him again. "For fuck's sake, I've never liked you, I'm married, and I -"

"Qrow, get your arm off from around my wife," Tai said as he came into the room though he didn't need to when Elizabeth kneed Qrow in the groin and he fell down glaring at her and howling in pain while Elizabeth gave him a self satisfied smirk. "Eliza, was that -"

"Yes, it was necessary!" Elizabeth snapped, turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I needed to teach him a -"

Swiftly kissing her, Tai smiled and held her close. "I guess, maybe, you're right."

"I beg to differ," Qrow said, getting off the floor and looking at Ruby before answering her question about the previous day. "Nah, Rubes, me and Oz go way back. We're cool."

Yang scoffed and smirked slightly, still angry about her loss and his sexual quip. "Cool for an old guy."

"Hey…" Qrow said, anger taking him over temporarily. "Not funny."

"Yes, it is," Elizabeth told him and he shifted to glare at him. "What?"

Qrow clicked his tongue and reached for the video game controller. "Elizabeth, I'm in my late thirties and you're almost fifty. So, if anyone here can call the other old, it's any of us to you. Not that you look at all you age, of course."

"So...what are you doing here anyways?" Ruby asked him, a little shaky. "I thought da - Tai - said that you would be on a mission for like...ever."

"Well," Qrow said as he continued to play. "A professional huntsman like myself is expected to get results, as soon as possible."

"Yeah...I get that," Ruby said, laughing in spite of herself. "We're pretty much pros too."

Elizabeth started to laugh though she stopped when she met Tai's gaze and Qrow responded. "Oh, really?"

"Uh, yeah!" Yang declared. "Read the news sometime. We totally saved Vale while you were gone!"

More restrained, Elizabeth looked at Tai with a raised eyebrow, her eyes not hiding that she was thinking, You've got to be kidding me. "Yang," She started slowly. "I think you're forgetting that the majority of the grimm were stopped by the Atlas Military and -"

Qrow rolled his eyes and cut her off to continue. "Funny, Yang, because I heard Vale suffered a grimm attack after you almost managed to stop a train." Leaning over as he rubbed his victory in his niece's face while the console kept declaring his victory, Qrow went on. "But they don't give out medals for 'almost'."

Ruby responded indignantly. "They do, and it's called silver!"

"Well, we helped take down Roman Torchwick!" Yang countered. "He's locked up in Ironwood's ship and crime's been down ever since! That's basically a bounty mission!"

"Sure," Qrow agreed. "You may be acting like huntresses but you're not thinking like one. You really think four girls and their friends could end all crime in a kingdom? Because even with Ironwood's daughter and Schnee and Ciel's kids, or even Oz's you all -"

Yang glared. "Hey, we're -"

"Teenagers," Qrow said with a shrug. "Impulsive ones at that, too."

Tapping her fingers together as she changed the subject for Yang's sake, Ruby sighed. "I mean, I did think we could do that until you said that…"

"Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed - it's stopped, completely," Qrow told them, deadly serious though Elizabeth tensed in fear of him saying too much. "No White Fang activity around the city. You cut off the head of the King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots -"

"Qrow…" Elizabeth began dangerously and he sighed before finishing.

"That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his," Qrow went on. "Ciel too. Having soldiers and Special Operatives in Vale alongside some AK-200s, please, that's not going to do -"

"Qrow Branwen, that is just a precaution!" Elizabeth snapped. "And a necessary one too, one that I have expressed full support for though not without warning to the Valerian Council because if they attempt to throw Atlas under the -"

"Shut up, Elizabeth," Qrow said and she looked at him in shock. "Ah, see you're used to people listening to you now, aren't you? Well, let me remind you of where you've been...for starters, you sold your soul to Cinder Fall so that you could live when any of us would have died instead of doing so -"

"Qrow!" Tai exclaimed in horror. "That's not fair -"

"Yes, it is," Qrow said, glaring at Elizabeth who was shaking. "Now, in the end you did turn her in but only after you were at risk for being indicted and were appearing before the Atlesian Department Of Justice. Now, I'm not saying you're a terrible person because you've done so much since then to fix your mistakes but that doesn't mean they still aren't there. You had Blake Adel and Ronnie Ciel on your side, and now you're the chair of the Atlesian security council, Adel's still the head of the DOJ, and Ciel's the fucking president. This is something you don't understand, Elizabeth. The past doesn't just die, it stays as a reminder and while I can tell you're trying, you're still the -"

"The fuck, Qrow!" Elizabeth exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. "You...you haven't even the slightest idea what that woman did to me! She...she tortured...beat...and...and…" Pushing up one of the sleeves of her blazer, Elizabeth revealed a deep scar on her arm that went all the way from the bottom of her inner wrist to about half way up her arm. "She intentionally harmed me to keep me silent...and these aren't the only scars...there's the one...the one on my back and...the one that...that...that…"

"Eliza," Tai said while she shook and he brought her closer. "Baby, shh...shh...I've got you. She's not going to harm you again."

"Tai, during the…" Elizabeth continued to cry into him while Qrow felt guilt rising in his chest for making her cry. "Emmett, Cristal, Emmeline, and I almost had her but…"

"I know," Tai said, rubbing her back. "But she'll be caught, just like she was before and just like Roman was."

Trying to ease the tension in the room, Yang sighed after exchanging a look with Ruby, both girls having heard and seen these fights more than once in the last few years. "You...know the General? I mean, more than just a few brief interactions when we were in Atlas?"

In spite of the guilt, Qrow laughed. "Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team that graduated Beacon!" Reaching behind him as Tai continued to comfort Elizabeth, Qrow pulled out an old photograph of Team STRQ and Yang's eyes widened when he saw her mother and remembered her offer, still a little conflicted as Qrow continued with a sigh as he lingered on Summer Rose. "Hah, Team STRQ...that's where I met your parents. We were pretty well known back in the day."

Ruby stared at the image of her mother before looking at Qrow and speaking quietly. "What was mom like?"

Sighing and handing the picture to Yang, Qrow moved over to his daughter and wrapped an arm around her. "Ruby, Sums loved you so much. The day she found out she was pregnant with you… well, she was exhilarated. Pinned me to the floor and kissed me before telling me, actually. I loved her so much, and I was so happy when you were born but I was scared of hurting either of you because of my semblance of misfortune. She wasn't though, she always encouraged to me to be around you as much as possible and, I'll be perfectly honest, despite the fear, those were some of the best moments of my life, seeing my daughter giggling and happy. Summer and I...I was afraid of marrying her because I didn't want to risk hurting her so we deliberated for months. I was too late...the...the…" Finally crying as Ruby looked at him and felt tears fighting at her eyes as well, Qrow sighed and continued regardless. "I was going to propose to her the day that...the day that that bitch killed her."

Ruby hesitated. "Who killed her?"

Forcing himself to look at her, Qrow fought with the anger that arose every time he thought of the woman. "Listen to me, Ruby, there's always been a very good reason why I've always told you and Yang to never trust a Schnee. Now, the two of you haven't ever listened to me but here's why you should. Your mother...my beautiful, loving Summer Rose...was killed by Emmett and Cristal's sister…" Bitterness rose heavily as he went on. "Ashlynn Schnee, though you know her as Cinder Fall."

"That's enough," Elizabeth said, looking at Qrow and then the photograph. "And if you think you were well known, apart from Tai, you were known for having a shitty fashion sense."

"Hey!" Qrow exclaimed glaring at her while Tai laughed and kissed her forehead. "It wasn't just Tai who looked good! And I have a number of inappropriate stories to back that up!" Noticing Yang's continued stare at Raven and the slight confliction warring in her face, Qrow took the picture back from her and put it away. "But I'll save those for when they're older."

Recoiling in disgust, Ruby shook her head. "Oh, gross!"

"So…" Qrow said as he got up and began to walk out. "Elizabeth, let me guess, you have something you need me to answer for?"

"Damn right," Elizabeth told him, crossing her arms as she leaned into to Tai. "Let me count the ways…"

Sighing as he looked at his daughter, niece, and even Zwei asleep on Blake's bed, Qrow finished his thought. "Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go...and don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place. You two, you're going to go far, but only if you keep learning. If you never stop moving forward."

July 23rd

Beacon Academy Vault

Beacon Academy

City of Vale

Vale

Downtown

9:38 PM

There was a palpable tension in the elevator, and not only because Rosalinde Varna was perhaps too close to Ozpin for comfort, which was, in part, why he was holding his wife so closely. Emmett was shaky with Emmeline's hand tightly in his. They were just as, if not more, nervous as Glynda and James were. Glynda herself was scared, if she were being perfectly honest, but she wouldn't admit it. While James had been attempting to be strong, he too was struggling. Shifting as the doors opened, Ozpin kept one hand on his cane and an arm wrapped snugly around his wife. Emmett was forcing his hands to be steady as much as he could in Emmeline's while even Qrow was looking at Glynda in concern. She simply adjusted her glasses and continued to walk down the dimly lit hallway with James next to her. The ominous glow of Amber and her life support systems grew closer still though it wasn't until they were right by it and Ozpin was readying the system to transfer that anyone spoke.

"Glynda…" James said, pulling her close while she sighed. "Glyns, really, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I do want to," Glynda told him, burying her face in his chest. "I'm scared, James, but I have to do this."

"No, you don't!" James exclaimed, looking at her in fear of what could possibly happen to her should something go wrong. "Glynda, I love you and if I lost you -"

"I know," Glynda said, her tears weighing down her eyelashes, fogging her glasses as she shifted and leaned heavily against the wall "I know what could happen to me and I am going to take that risk anyways."

James didn't respond for a moment as he rested his head in his hands, terrified still. "Whatever choice you make...I'll support you through it. You deserve that and I can't and shouldn't tell you what to do."

She shifted to look at him and temporarily removing her glasses to wipe them off on the billowing sleeves of her blouse. Sighing heavily as she carefully put them back on, Glynda practically threw herself on top of him and kissed him passionately before curling into him.

"James..." She said softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Glynda…" James murmured, unclasping her hair and letting it flow freely as he lightly trailed his fingers through her wavy, platinum blonde locks. "I really do."

Gently pushing herself out of his arms, Glynda shook as she glanced at Amber and reminded herself what she was doing. Looking away, she focused on the wide corridor and its intersection that led to where the relic was held but she tried not to dwell on that and what that was going to mean for her soon enough. Lightly shaking her hair while her pale skin almost reflected the grim light coming from the torches but also the life support system, a faint jolt of guilt rose in her for Amber's sake. About to climb into the pod, she felt herself stopped by Cristal, who pulled her into a tight embrace before looking at James and then to her before sighing in regret and anxiety.

"I'm going to be okay," Glynda told the prosecutor when she released her and let Ozpin place a gentle hand to her shoulder. "And we all agreed this is what we needed to do."

Rose snorted. "Unless, of course, you die."

"Rose!" Qrow growled. "You're making this worse.

Her vibrant green eyes meeting James's blue, Glynda forced herself not to cry and handed him her crop. James held her close for a lingering moment before letting her go and finally climb into the pod, which closed behind her. Emmett sighed and looked at James nervously while Ozpin began to enter the codes to transfer Amber's aura into Glynda.

"I don't like this," Emmeline said, her hand tightening around Emmett's.

"I don't either," James replied though he shook his head as he looked at Glynda in serious concern, terrified of losing her. "But it's not for me to decide…I hate it, but, if this is…"

"We don't have a choice," Emmeline finished shortly. "And what are the odds that…that someone else would be both capable or…"

"Oz," Cristal said almost inaudibly. "Is there really no…"

"If there were another way, we would have found it by now," Ozpin shook his head and stared at her for a moment. "I don't feel any better about this than any of us do."

"No kidding," Qrow swore under his breath and took back a long swig from his flask.

Sighing heavily as he entered the last part of the code that would allow him to initiate the transfer of Amber's aura into Glynda when ready, Ozpin turned to her. "You don't have to do this, you know that, right?"

Glynda nodded. "I know."

"Are…" Ozpin glanced at Cristal who was as calm as she could force herself to be as she stood by his side. "Glynda, are you ready?"

Not trusting herself to speak, Glynda nodded though her stomach was sinking and she could feel the fear and nerves of all of them; not only her own which were rising by the second. James was staring at her with nothing but worry and love, Emmett couldn't even bring himself to watch, Emmeline seemed hardened, Qrow was too afraid to even drink from his flask, Varna was almost smug despite everything, and Ozpin was uncertain, his face showing signs of confliction as he leaned more heavily against his cane with his wife by him, feeling number by the second. Sighing heavily, knowing that she didn't want to speak but not feeling right without her verbally agreeing, Ozpin shook his fingers through his already tousled silver hair and looked at her with sympathy, speaking slowly and nervously while his fingers hovered over the activation buttons.

"I..." Ozpin sighed. "Glynda, I need you to say it."

Sighing as she fought back tears, Glynda forced herself to speak, however quietly.

"Yes," She said. "I'm ready."

"Thank you, Glynda…" Ozpin said, turning back to the keypad and hesitating. "Gods be good, this had better work."

Closing his eyes for a brief moment while he took in a deep breath, Ozpin pressed the last few buttons on the screen to initiate the activation sequence. Turning around as Amber's pod raised up, Emmett felt himself beginning to shake in spite of his attempts to be calm. Having read through his wife's reports on the technology, he knew just as well as James how it worked and, while the technical description was 'aura transfer through the means of advanced particle technology', he knew also that Qrow was right in his description of the technology as capturing aura and cramming it into something, or, for this purpose, someone else. Looking between James and his wife, he sighed heavily and shook his head. Like his sister, who seemed almost numb as she fidgeted with her glasses, he was scared.

"For so many reasons, this is so wrong…." Emmett told them and James didn't respond as he looked at Glynda. Emmeline only gently rested a hand against his back. "I know this is a desperate measure..." He said slowly. "But…"

"I agree that it's wrong," Emmeline agreed as the pod finished raising. "I've been pushing back against these experiments for years...but it doesn't look like we have a choice but to do this."

James glanced briefly to them. "I just wish it didn't have to be my wife, but, believe me, I'll be damned before I'll be unsupportive of her."

Emmett nodded. "I know, but -"

James sighed. "Emmett -"

"No, James, if she survives what will this do to her?" Emmett asked him and he sighed as he looked back at his wife. "James -"

"I don't know," Emmeline said, looking to James in concern. "Chances are, nothing except giving her Amber's powers but it could have unforeseen consequences. This has never been done before, except in the case of PENNY...and observing that caused Crystal Watson-Winchester to drown herself a few weeks ago."

"I just..." James shook his head. "I hope nothing happens to her because if she got hurt because of this I would never be able to forgive myself for it...and I wonder if she would be able to herself."

As Amber's pod finished raising and locked into place, Emmett tapped Qrow's shoulder and motioned towards the flask that was now in his hand. Passing it to him roughly, Qrow gave him a dark look while Emmett took down over half of the disgusting liquid at once before handing it back to Qrow with a serious grimace. The man wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder briefly before slapping his back while Cristal was suddenly still, only flinching when her sister-in-law pulled her away so she wouldn't have to watch. Ozpin looked to his wife in concern but said nothing, feeling more guilty than he ever had before. Rose was the only one amongst them who still seemed remotely calm or alright with what was happening, and she smirked when she realized that Cristal had started to ice over the floor without even realizing that she had activated her powers as the Winter Maiden.

The girl – Amber - began to glow a pale orange while her eyelids fluttered and the glow began to travel through the pipes that were connected to both pods and traveled up into the ceiling before traveling down into the pod where Glynda was trying to not let her trepidation show. Her eyes, in spite of herself and her best efforts, were wide in fear as the glow finally began to surround her. The sensation was almost burning though she couldn't tell if it was hot or cold and she began to scream in pain though she didn't want to. Several minutes passed like this, her screams and shifting being the only sounds that filled the vault while James watched her in horror and fear, tears steadily falling down his face. Unable to watch, Ozpin tightened his hold around his cane and stared down at his feet.

"I'm…" Ozpin began, his voice almost inaudible. "I'm so sorry."

"Glynda!" James exclaimed as the glow slowly began to fade and she twitched, her eyes fluttering between closed and shut and his hand gripping her crop tightly. "Glyns…"

The second the final bit of orange glow faded and her dark purple aura encased her, no trace of orange visible, there was some ease. Ozpin looked up in surprise, having expected Amber's aura not to have been apparently destroyed by Glynda's but nonetheless was relieved that the woman was alive. Once he looked at the screen and saw that it read that aura transfer was complete, Ozpin sighed and entered the codes to release the pod so that she could get out. Shaking, Glynda began to climb out of the pod while James ran to her side and she began to walk out though she stumbled and one of the heels of her high knee boots slipped beneath her. About to fall, she found herself instead looking up at James who had caught her and was looking at her in concern before he gently kissed her and she grabbed his dark hair and pulled him as close to her as possible until she finally broke the kiss and steadied herself against him, his arms holding her by the waist and preventing her from falling before he let one of them go and handed her crop which she quickly took into her right hand and sighed in relief at how natural it still felt. She didn't feel any different, apart from the tingling feeling in both of her hands and a headache but she had been concerned that something was going to happen.

"How do you feel?" James asked her gently as she pushed her wedding ring back down on her finger so that it wouldn't fall off. "Any pain?"

"Apart from a headache? No...but…" Glynda sighed. "But my hands are...it almost feels like they're numb but…"

It was then Cristal realized that her own powers had activated and were icing over the floor.

"That might last longer than you think," She warned her. "But, honestly, I'm just glad that you're okay?"

"Do you want to try and use your semblance?" Emmeline asked her and she closed her eyes but nodded and focused her crop.

Emmeline sent her husband a pointed look and he reached into his bag with a sigh. Pulling a raw Dust crystal out, Emmett tossed it across the vault and Glynda captured the shards with her semblance and manipulating them to come towards her before using her aura, channeled through her crop, to blast them to fine pieces before they could hurt her. Noticing that her aura was still the same as it always had been, she sighed in relief at both that and her semblance having gone unaffected. Reattaching her crop to her boot, Glynda quickly turned to look to them, her pale blonde waves shifting with her, something she had forgotten about. Brushing her hair away from her face while Cristal closed her eyes and focused for a brief moment, she watched as the woman closed her palm and opened it rapidly though when she opened it there was a small, cool flame in her hand, glowing brightly against the dim green light.

"I know this is going to be difficult," Cristal finally said, still being steadied by her sister-in-law and her husband. "But try and do that. Just imagine summoning the flame in the palm of your hand and you should be able to. While not the same, your powers are fairly close to mine because we're…now both maidens."

Nodding, Glynda shook as she attempted to summon, glaring at her hand as she struggled though she stared in surprise when she finally managed it after six previous attempts.

"Like that?" She said.

Emmett's eyes went wide before he shook his head. "Are you going to throw that at me?"

She scowled. "Do you want me to throw this at you and singe your perfect white hair?"

James started laughing as he pulled her in. "I love you, really, for so many reasons but sometimes you manage to be hilarious."

Emmett, on the hand, looked at her in exaggerated fear. "It's a good thing you didn't have these powers twenty some odd years ago when we were in our last year at Atlas, okay so a little before then in our first year, because I think you really would have killed us in our sleep."

"Of course I wouldn't have!" Glynda snapped, dissipating the flame and glaring at him. "Honestly, you're ridiculous -"

"Am I?" Emmett asked, leaning against the wall. "Am I really?"

Emmeline shook her head but took his hand and squeezed it nonetheless.

"Yes," She said. "Sometimes, you really are."

"And you're a whore," Rose irritably put in, scowling at Ozpin when he pulled his wife closer to him. "Now," The Vacuoian Prime Minister said as she stalked off. "You all and the Schnees can figure this out. I have actual work to do."

Cristal almost fainted when the elevator doors all but slammed shut behind Varna and her vision suddenly went dark. The last thing Cristal Sleet-Schnee consciously felt was her husband moving to catch her and, hours later, she came to in their bed, feeling worse than before.