The next morning at Beacon, Atlesian airships were seen landing at the launchpads outside. From the office tower, Ozpin and Goodwitch watched as they landed.
"Ironwood certainly has a habit of bringing his work with him wherever he goes." Goodwitch said.
"Well, I'm sure that being both a headmaster and a general makes him a busy man," Ozpin said, "Still, it is a bit of an eyesore."
"I just hope Hayden managed to talk him into doing something more reasonable."
"As do I."
Just then, the monitor on Ozpin's desk beeped, signaling that someone was at the door.
"Come in," Ozpin said, and the doors opened as General Ironwood walked in, followed by Samuel Hayden.
"Ozpin," Ironwood said happily.
"Hello, General. Hello, Doctor." Ozpin said.
"Please, drop the formalities." Ironwood said, "It's been too long. And Glynda, it's certainly been too long since we last met."
"Oh, James," Glynda said impatiently, "I'll be outside." And then she walked out of the building,
"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," Ironwood said.
"It would certainly seem that way," Hayden said.
"So," Ozpin said, "What in the world has brought you two all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."
"I love Vale this time of year," Ironwood said, "Besides, with you hosting, I thought this would be a perfect time for us to…catch up."
"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends, though the small fleet outside has me somewhat concerned."
"If it makes you feel any better," Hayden said, "He was originally planning on bringing in heavy ground tanks as well as a larger fleet. I managed to talk him out of most of that."
"Indeed, you have." Ozpin said.
"Well, concern is what brought them here." Ironwood said.
"I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."
"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin sighed: "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give the wrong impression."
"My thoughts exactly," Hayden said, "We can't risk having anyone get suspicious of what's going on behind the scenes."
"But if what Qrow said is true…" Ironwood began to say.
"If what Qrow said is true," Ozpin interrupted, "then we will handle it tactfully. This is the Vytal Festival; a time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you try not to scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers across the continent."
"I'm just being cautious." Ironwood said.
"As am I, which is why we'll continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."
"Believe me, I am."
"And I am keeping an eye on the Novus Sureya." Hayden said, "I feel we may truly need him soon."
"And where is he now?" Ozpin asked.
"Still with Penny," Hayden replied, "The two have become nearly inseparable, though I feel it is now more out of friendship instead of a professional relationship."
"Well, I suppose even the son of the great Doom Slayer himself would have need of a friend, especially considering where he came from."
"I suppose so. But what about those two children YOU found to be most interesting?"
"Ms. Rose is doing fine. She shows promise enough, but it's clear she doesn't yet know of her power."
"And the other one?"
I don't know. There's something about Julius that I can only describe as…interesting. It's clear there's something he knows that he refuses to share with anyone else. It could be anything, really."
Ironwood furrowed his eyebrows: "You think he may be working for her?"
"No," Ozpin said, "He most clearly isn't; I've seen the way he fights the Grimm. However, it is very much possible that he does in fact know of her existence in some way, and refuses to tell others about it; something I can honestly understand and respect."
"Are you suggesting we keep a closer eye on him?" Hayden said.
"No, I will handle it for now," Ozpin said, "I don't want to give him the wrong idea if we all started spying on him. I'm sure he one of us. He's just…mysterious, that's all."
"Very well," Ironwood said, turning to leave, "But ask yourself this: can your children really win a war?"
As Ironwood left, Ozpin said: "I hope they never have to."
"As do I," Hayden said, "But we don't always get what we hope for, do we?"
"That's what worries me," Ozpin said as Hayden left.
…
Later that day, Julius was in the library going through books he thought he might need for a future test in Port's class. Team RWBY was busy playing a board game, which Ruby had "banned" him from playing since he destroyed everyone else the first time he had played, so he now took this opportunity to study up a bit; if there was one good thing he learned from Weiss, it was that one can never study too much.
"Psst," someone said. Julius ignored it at first, then a small wad of paper hit him in the side of the head. Looking to see where it came from, he saw a young girl with black pigtails waving him over from a nearby table. Julius teleported over.
"Can I help you?" he asked. The girl motioned for him to sit next to her, which he promptly did.
"Okay, now what?" he asked.
The girl looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then turned back to Julius, her eyes briefly turning from green to brown and pink as she put a finger to her lips. Julius' eyes widened, he recognized those eyes, and who they belonged to; he yanked he girl in closer.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he whispered. The girl rolled her eyes and made motions with her hands; a form of sign language Julius had taught her.
I was sent here to tell you something important, Neo signed.
"From Roman?" Julius whispered.
Neo nodded and then signed, Cinder's on the move and the White Fang's heading for a different base.
"Where?"
Not sure about the Fang, but Cinder will be nearby. Be careful, she has friends.
Julius nodded in understanding: "What kind of friends?"
Neo pointed to an area on the other side of the room, and Julius turned to see Emerald and Mercury sitting at a table there, unaware the two were watching them.
Neo tapped Julius's shoulder to get his attention, then signed: Both are very dangerous. Please be careful.
"Relax. Neo," Julius said, "I can handle the; how hard could it be?"
Neo shrugged.
"Thank you for bringing me this info," Julius said, "Now you should probably get back to Torchwick before anyone notices."
Neo nodded, than hugged Julius briefly before getting up to leave.
"Okay," Julius said, hugging her back, "Yeah, I missed you too."
Neo was one of the only real friends Julius had made during his Brawnwen tribe days. The two met when Raven and Roman agreed to go and a temporary partnership to take down and steal from a big Schnee company outpost. Neo quickly befriended Julius, who taught her some complex sign language to compensate for her muteness. To Julius, she almost became like a sister to him, though he never felt any romantic affection for her. Whether Neo did nor not was hard to say, but she definitely admired Julius as a leader and a friend, especially when he saved both her and Roman from being killed by a squad of Atlesian knight robots. That was what had caused Roman to take an interest in Julius and consider his underground partnership to begin with, but that story is for another time.
As Neo walked away, Julius gathered the books he had found and brought them back to his room, thinking about what she had told him. He flipped through the books he had gotten, trying to get his mind off of it, when he heard Blake shout from the other room.
"And we may never BE ready," she said, "Our enemies aren't just gonna sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and no one knows what it is, but it's coming, whether we're ready or not."
Julius teleported next to the connecting door and listened in.
Ruby sighed, then said, rather quickly: "Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to singlehandedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale, say aye."
"Yes!" Yang said, "I love it when you're feisty."
"Well, I suppose it could be fun," Weiss said.
"None of you said…" Ruby began to say.
"Aye." Julius said, teleporting to the other side of the door. The girls whipped around to see him.
"Ah! Julius! Where did you come from?!" Ruby said.
"My room." He replied, "I overheard you guys talking about taking down a corrupt organization, probably the White Fang, and I want in."
"How much did you hear?" Weiss asked.
"Everything past 'and we may never be ready'."
"Oh, I see."
"Soooo, am I in or not?"
The team thought for a moment, then Yang said: "Well, I don't think there's any point in trying to get rid of you."
"Besides," Blake said, "The more help we get, the better."
Julius pumped his fist: "Yes!"
"Just don't try and blow up anything," Weiss said.
"No promises!" Julius replied, making Weiss sigh in worry.
"Alright," Blake said, beginning to smile, "We're all in this together."
"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby said.
"Yeah!" Yang and Julius said in unison.
Then, Ruby gasped in shock: "I left my board game in the library!"
"We're doomed," Weiss said.
Ruby ran out of the room, Julius following close behind.
"We'll be right back-OOF." Ruby said, running into someone. Sitting up, she said, "Oh, uh, sorry. Uh, are you okay?"
Emerald held out her hand to help her up, saying: "I'm fine. Just watch where you're going."
"Oh, right, sorry," Ruby said, taking Emerald's hand and standing up.
"Sorry about that," Julius said, catching up to Ruby, "My sister can be a little oblivious of her surroundings when she's in a hurry."
"No worries," Emerald said.
"I'm Ruby, and this is Julius," Ruby said, "Are you new?"
"Visiting from Haven, actually." Cinder said, walking up from behind Emerald and Mercury.
Julius narrowed his eyes at Cinder; he not only had the feeling that her intention were not what she made them out to be, but that he had also seen her somewhere before.
"Ohh, you must be here for the festival," Ruby said, completely oblivious, "Oh, but exchange students have their own dormitory."
"I guess we just got turned around," Mercury said.
"Oh, hehe, don't worry, happens all the time. Your building is juuust east of here."
"Thanks," Cinder said, walking past Ruby, Emerald and Mercury following, "Maybe we'll see you around."
"Oh, uh, maybe," Ruby said, "Oh, and welcome to Beacon!"
Julius continued looking at the three as the passed; he recognized Emerald and Mercury as Cinder's cohorts from what Neo had told him earlier, but the third one was…interesting to say the least. He suspected she may be Cinder herself, but he wanted to be sure before he jumped to any conclusions. Whoever she was, he needed to keep an eye on all three of them, AND get word to Roman about the third one.
"Julius! You coming," Ruby said, having already gone ahead of him. Julius snapped out of his thoughts and turned to follow Ruby.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, noticing the look on his face.
"Nothing." Julius said, "Just a bit tired, that's all."
Ruby nodded in understanding, and then they went off to the library.
Meanwhile, Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder continued down the hallway.
"Did you see the way that boy looked at you Cinder?" Emerald said.
"Yes," Cinder replied, "I feel he already suspects us."
"How could he possibly suspect already? We just got here." Mercury said.
"I don't know," Cinder replied, "But what I do know is that he may be a potential threat to this operation. Add him to the list."