Pyrrhic Victory

James Ironwood, Headmaster and General of Atlas, sat at a desk in an unused classroom in Beacon, his eyes seeing but not truly looking at the increasing pile of paperwork.

The seven days since the battle had ended had been seven days of chaos, punctuated only by brief periods of rest broken up by more reports and ill news.

To most observers, the defense of Vale had been an unqualified, though costly, victory. A true triumph that displayed how critical the Vale-Atlas alliance was, how the coordination between huntsman and soldiers had turned the tide of the battle, how these past few horrible months had shown that the Grimm were not an unconquerable threat. How, despite so many setbacks, so much negativity, that brave men and women had still held the line.

They would be only partially correct... to him, to others who knew the face of the true enemy, this was a time where the battle had been won, but the war may have been lost.

Perhaps half of Beacon remained somewhat intact, which, in truth, still left the old complex with twice as many buildings as it truly needed to operate. But that was merely the buildings, the stone and mortar. The lives that had been lost would not be so easily let go.

By the grace of the gods most of the student body had survived the battle. Kitsune-chan's battle plan of keeping them back, defending the CCT and central tower, leaving Vale's veteran teams to hold the cliff facing. Of course seeing so many of those veterans fall before the Grimm, dying right before their eyes, had left those same students traumatized and withdrawn.

All the more so when they'd fully grasped that Ozpin was gone, that three full student teams lay dead, and more than half of the rest were somewhere between wounded and crippled.

And that several others were, even now, unaccounted for.

His eyes rose as the door opened, Glynda stepping inside, the new Headmistress of Beacon speaking before he could even greet her. "Miss Rose has awoken."

The General felt something in his chest ease. "And?"

Glynda's eyes lowered, "She learned of Weiss Schnee's passing and all but collapsed sobbing. Winter Schnee and Miss Xiao-Long had to hold her until she fell asleep once more."

"...she was too young for this." James shook his head once. "Dammit Ozpin... you should never have moved her ahead."

"If he hadn't we may have lost the school." Glynda stated quietly.

He felt himself grimace at the reminder. The girl had helped bring down the Dragon, helping lure it away from the main battle for a few critical minutes, but her true contribution had come after it had died. According to Qrow, the girl had seen Grimm swarming the team protecting the medical wing, and had instinctively tapped into her silver eyes to protect her helpless sister.

The effort had flattened her even as it had obliterated a good third of the Grimm still alive. Once the various students and huntsman had gotten over their shock they'd fallen on the remaining enemies, further bolstered by the fact that many of the remaining fliers had gone chasing off after Arc's little posse. With only ground-based Grimm to focus on, they'd been able to clear the school after perhaps an hour, then begin providing support for the city defenses below.

They had formed the anvil to his hammer when his fleet had arrived, obliterating the swathes of Grimm trying to crowd their way through the cracks in the city walls. From there they'd had to move in, clearing the building sized Grimm that had arisen from the ocean to wreck most of the city's harbor district.

Only when the last of the creatures had fallen had he been able to get in touch with Beacon, with Glynda and Kitsune, to ascertain the magnitude of the disaster.

"She should remain on Patch with her father." He said after a few moments. "Please inform Winter she is to remain there as an honor guard for team RWBY. She needs the rest and time away as much as anyone."

Not that Winter would ever admit as much. His subordinate would want to throw herself into her work to bury her grief, but if she did such a thing it would all catch up to her sooner rather than later. Better for Winter to come to terms with her grief along with her sister's closest companions before she returned to work, and eventually to Atlas.

Especially as the girls in question were hardly in any shape to defend themselves. Belladonna and Xiao-Long had survived their injuries, but it had been somewhat touch and go for the both of them. Better to have Winter there to assist Taiyang in protecting them if Salem decided to try and eliminate potential threats before they could grow into their strength and become even greater threats to her plans.

"And once they have recovered?" Glynda asked. "Do you intend to steal them away to Atlas until Ozpin makes contact? We both know that he'll want Miss Rose to be near him now that her eyes are fully awoken, for whatever his plan might end up being given recent events."

James sighed, "I honestly don't know, Glynda. That feels like the safer move, if there is such a thing as safety with Raven Branwen entering the game once more. But at least in Atlas we might have a chance to keep the girls secure even with her interference."

Her lips pressed into a thin line before she spoke. "She could still simply retrieve her, unless you want to take some rather extreme precautions."

"Possibly, and you know I would rather not." He admitted, "But even so, Branwen isn't stupid, and she has to know know that we will place a tracker on her daughter. If she took her from Atlas our battleships would be above her camp within hours. That will keep her at bay."

Glynda grimaced, reaching up to rub at her forehead before tiredly adjusting her glasses. "...I'll approve the transfer, but I want all three of them to agree to it beforehand. They deserve to make an informed decision on their own."

He nodded and mentally added a trip out to Patch to his packed schedule. "I'll handle it personally. If nothing else it may force Oz to be more open with us regarding his machinations. If he'd just listened to me..."

"If he'd listened to you," She interrupted him firmly but gently, "Jaune and Neopolitan would have simply fled earlier, and Cinder would have gone to ground in advance of the Festival. Things would have changed, yes, but that does not mean for the better. It could have easily been much worse. Imagine if Cinder had abducted Jaune's sisters and forced him to aid her."

The General grimaced once more and settled back in his chair, unable to argue the point despite badly wishing that he could... and in truth, had it been anyone with Glynda, he probably still would have tried. "Speaking of Arc, do we have any news?"

Glynda hesitated, then strode to her left before settling down into a chair of her own. "...no. Team BONE confirmed that Sable and Coral Arc were dropped off in Ansel's small clinic three days ago. Middle of the night, no one saw them come in, the nurses came running when they heard shouting from an empty room. The former is recovering from numerous minor injuries but both are otherwise healthy. They were able to verify what your specialists discovered in the forest, but had no knowledge of their brother's future plans... or his location."

"We know his location," He waved a dismissive hand, "Branwen's camp, wherever in Mistral that might be right now. He's not mad enough to try and stay in Vale, and Nikos will need training assuming that the message we received is true regarding her status. Did you instruct your team to keep the family under surveillance?"

"Given how few teams we have and how many Grimm remain in the kingdom, no." She twitched a shoulder, "Nicholas would have noticed them quickly enough, and his lawyer is already about to savage you for Sapphire Arc's arrest."

"That will be handled." Atlas' governmental lawyers had already been in contact, and so far as he knew, both sides were in agreement on an out-of-court settlement that would see Atlas paying for the college educations of the entire family. That and a silent agreement not to arrest or investigate the two sisters who had been with their brother at the end. "We should still take basic precautions in case he attempts to make contact in the future. His sister was supposed to apprentice under his partner after all."

Glynda shook her head once, "Jaune is many things but he is not a man who would willingly put his family in danger. From what team BONE told me, Sable Arc's return to her family wasn't voluntary on her part."

He grunted, "Sign of a guilty conscience? Were they able to determine if the assassin remained in his employ?"

"If we can trust their word, then Charcoal and the other two mercenary huntsmen brought in returned to Vacuo once they were healed enough to do so." One of her shoulders rose and fell in a slight shrug, "They also verified that Miss Valkyrie re-united with her team thanks to Neapolitan's semblance, so that is at least one missing person we can remove from the list."

His mechanical fingers drummed a single rhythm on the desk, "Assessment?"

"...I don't see how we could avoid putting Leo on alert. With another Maiden backing her, and a pair of criminals specializing in infiltration, Raven may make a play for Haven."

Not long before, he might have agreed at once, but... "Something is happening in Mistral. Cinder Fall was a long-term substitute there, and her apprentices were inserted into the student body far too easily. Either Leo has turned, or one of his teachers has. Right now he doesn't know that Branwen has the Spring mantle, it may be best to let that continue."

Glynda sighed, "I can't bring myself to disagree, but he does need to be kept close in either case. Perhaps if we framed it as a warning against Jaune and Neapolitan alone?"

"That may work," He agreed, "We can discuss it with the others tomorrow when we update them as to the full situation. In the meantime, we need to begin quietly looking for that camp. As much as we can given the international situation."

She knew what he meant without any more details, "Qrow can find them, but they'll know he's coming, and he's not likely to leave until Miss Rose and Miss Xiao-Long finish their recoveries."

"It will likely take Arc a few weeks to recover as well. And even if Branwen knows we're watching them, I'd rather not let them think they've gotten away with all of this."

It would be later rather than sooner... but he would see Arc and his partner pay for their crimes. No matter what it took.

Jaune Arc, former professor and wanted fugitive, sat on the rough cot in his tent, staring at his sword without really seeing it.

It had been a long week, not made any shorter despite at least one attempt to drink himself into a stupor that had only been partially stopped by Neo and Pyrrha.

On the surface, it seemed like everything had worked out in the end. He and Neo were alive, they now knew more than they ever had about the fight they'd stumbled into, and they'd managed to acquire allies who were loyal to something beyond lien. They were reasonably safe, secure, and weren't likely to be arrested anytime soon. His family was safe and uninvolved, and General Ironwood would know that they hadn't had anything to do with his actions, so apart from Sable wanting to punch him he didn't have anything to fear in regards to their safety.

Of course... none of that changed the fact that Weiss was gone.

And it was all his fault.

A rustle of cloth drew his eyes up, Neo carefully closing the flap behind her as she stepped inside. Her fingers flickered and arms moved, telling him that team RAVN was asking after him again. The little brats were worried.

"...it's dinner time already?" He asked quietly.

Neo's lips pursed as she nodded.

"...I'm not that hungry. Go ahead and eat with-"

The slap cut him off before he could finish, snapping his head around as his cheek burned. He didn't turn back until fingers grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

She was sick and tired of him blaming himself for the girl's death. Schnee wasn't the first person they'd lost, and she probably wouldn't be the last. It had been a week, and she'd been patient, but it was time to stop moping and time to start acting.

"I'm not-" Neo slapped him again, though this time he tensed his neck and glared at her. "-moping!"

He was barely eating, not training, had hardly spoken to the brats they'd dragged out with them, and had been sitting in a self-pitying ball for the last week! That was moping!

"Dammit Neo, it's my fault she died! I think I'm allowed to consider my path!" Neo snapped her hand at his chin in reply, his own rising on reflex to bat her third strike aside. "And stop trying to get me angry enough to fight you!"

His partner went still for a long moment, then slowly lowered her arm as her eyes blinked to a dull brown. The girl was dead, because Cinder had killed her. Maybe they'd screwed up, maybe they hadn't, but that didn't matter.

"How does it not matter!?"

Neo stabbed a finger outside the tent, because Pyrrha and her team were out there right now, surrounded by Mistralian bandits. They'd come with them because for some gods-knew-why reason, the four of them believed in Jaune and Neo. If he didn't stop acting suicidal they would lose a lot more than one student.

Jaune couldn't help but flinch at the last couple of words. "I'm not suicidal."

A narrow eyebrow rose, oh? He wasn't? Was that why RAVN was keeping a constant watch outside their tent and stealing any alcohol before he could finish it?

He opened his mouth, closed it, then lifted a hand to rub tiredly at his face and hair. Both were sweaty and oily, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a proper bath. Ugh.

"I can't just flip a switch." He murmured finally, "I don't care that Cinder was the one who did the deed, Weiss wouldn't have died if I'd listened to you."

Maybe, maybe not, but she wasn't asking him to act like a happy idiot. She was asking him to get the fuck out of the tent and actually interact with their new disciples.

"Don't call them that. That's what Cinder called her little maniacs."

Neo rolled her eyes. Their students then.

"...all right." He sighed, "I'll... right. I suppose I am a bit hungry."

She nodded once, turning back and opening the tent flap once more, though she pointedly didn't go through it and instead turned back to watch him. Grumbling a bit to himself at the lack of trust, he slowly hauled himself to his feet and slid Crocea Mors back into its sheathe. Despite what Neo had said he didn't consider himself suicidal, and wandering around a bandit camp unarmed would probably have counted towards that.

Stepping past his lover, he winced at the bright sunlight outside and lifted a hand... which made sure that he didn't see the deluge of water that slammed into him.

Yelping in shock at the cold, he jumped back and blindly drew his sword, stopping only when he heard Nora snickering at him.

"...really?" He demanded, irritably returning his weapon and glowering through his sopping hair at the four teens around him.

"Miss Neo said you needed a bath." Pyrrha provided apologetically, holding a rough towel out for him. "Nora and Illia decided to help."

He turned his glower to the two girls in question, and the bucket they'd held between them, "That better have been water from the river."

Nora placed a hand on her heart, "I would never be that crass!"

Her acting talent was not helped by Ren rolling his eyes behind her, though it was Ilia who spoke up, "It was, don't worry. We also made sure there's a plate of food waiting."

Jaune wiped at his face and nodded in thanks, "Think it will still be there?"

"The last time someone stole our food Nora broke three legs." The faunus noted. "I think they got the message after that."

Even with everything he couldn't help but snort quietly, "I guess you all learned how to deal with bandits without me."

"Only on how to get them to leave us alone." Ren said, "I think it would be easier if you could give us better direction."

...gods, they must really think I'm far gone if they're being this blatant.

Sighing, he nodded slowly and forced his spine to straighten. "...yeah, I think so too. But before we eat, I want to apologize to you all."

Pyrrha started to speak at once, stopping when Neo snapped a hand up, telling them to hold off until he finished.

"This is... not what we planned, not where I thought we'd be." Jaune continued quietly, not really about to let the whole camp hear. "I made mistakes. Bad calls. Bad plans. Decisions that led to people getting hurt... getting killed. Because I was stubborn. I thought I knew best, knew the way to get everything we wanted instead of trying to protect what we had. I... I can't promise I won't make mistakes again. All I can say is that I won't ever make those mistakes again. I'll die before I make those mistakes again."

He sucked in a slow breath, "If any of you want to leave, to go anywhere else, just let us know and we'll get you there. But Neo and I are still in, we can't afford to get out. This... Salem, she knows about us, and Hazel is still out there. So long as they are, I don't think we'll be able to hide. So we're going to have to keep working at it until we find a way to stop them... or until we find a new option."

Pyrrha closed her eyes, then opened them... and when she did a dull red glow seemed to emanate from the corners. "I'm staying with you, Professor. I... I'm in now, just like you, and even if I wasn't... you helped me so much. Even if you say I don't have to, I.. I won't leave you."

Ilia smiled a little and stepped over, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Where she goes, I go."

"Not even a question!" Nora grinned, "Right Ren?"

Her own partner smiled slightly, "Well, there is one question. Where are we going next, Professor?"

His stomach rumbled audibly, drawing grins and chuckles. "For now? Dinner. After that... we'll have a talk with Raven Branwen, and see just what she knows about Haven."

End ~ Student of Vacuo

Post Script Author's Note

So... yeah, here we are at the end. About a full year later than it should have been, you all have my apologies for that, but at least we made it. Despite a divorce, house problems, work problems, depression problems, writer's block, and general clumsiness problems... we made it. This is by far and away my most read, reviewed, and favorited story, which kind of blows me away at times, but I'm grateful all the same for everyone whose read it.

Shout out to Couer Al'aran for the original and giving me his permission to write this spin-off, and for everyone who has left a review. Special shout out to those maniacs who reviewed almost every chapter, I always get a bit of kick at watching people react as they go through the whole thing.

Just as a final reiteration, despite the setup, I personally don't intend to write a sequel to this. It was fun, but I have personal writing projects I'm treating as my priority moving forwards. If anyone else wants to take on the next story arc I'd be happy to serve as a beta and someone to bounce ideas off of, feel free to reach out to me at the Professor Arc forums if you want to talk about things.

Semper Victoria,

Kat 2 V

Post-Post Script Notes

As I promised, just a quick bit of information on how the story started to change near the end of Semester II. In hindsight I think I fell into the same trap I did back when I first started writing, I paid too much attention to constructive criticism and not enough attention on how I wanted the story to flow. That isn't to say that listening to criticism is bad, far from it, but I allowed it to dictate my writing in a way I probably shouldn't have.

The end result is the different feel and pace of S3 compared to S1 and S2, with what you all got as S3 basically being my original plan for the second half of S3 with far less of the build-up that I intended. The third semester was supposed to be a bit slower in pacing, matching the first two, showcasing a more gradual slide into the frenetic chaos, and everything was supposed to stay at roughly the same chapter length as the prior sections. Real life had a bit of a hand in that, but it was also just to spread everything out a bit after I decided to start cutting content.

Things that were removed, to my current regret;

Dealing with Pyrrha's family; this was partially teased in the Jaune's family arrival section, and was supposed to come at around the same time. I didn't like how it was going and postponed it to S3, planning on that acting as something egged on by Cinder to distract Jaune and RAVN, then cut it entirely when I decided to rush S3.

Attached to the above; Ilia & Pyrrha's relationship shifting to confirmed couple. They were always going to cut back a little after the Dance/Breach, but part of the dealing with Pyrrha's parents sub-plot was supposed to also include an Illia/Pyrrha date that got cut along with the parental route.

Ilia & Neo going on a crime spree to get the money to pay Charcoal, Vest, and Levi. Teased slightly in the interludes, cut for pacing.

Two drinking/bar reminiscing scenes between the Vacuo crew and Jaune & Neo, adding more flash-backs of their time in Vacuo and fleshing out the supporting cast a bit.

Jaune & Neo fighting over his plan to try and subvert Cinder was supposed to be more detailed and longer than it ended up being, with Cinder playing along far more in order to make it a bit more realistic of an option in Jaune's mind. Lowered mostly for pacing.