Grist

by Auxityne

In the age of Dust, Remnant's fallen harvesters have done all they can to feed their machine with the unwilling and the unaware, all to achieve their twisted vision of peace. When another child of the war before starts asking questions - and making uncomfortable friends - how far will they go to ensure the planet's secrets remain buried?

28. Empty Castle

"This is not a good idea!"

Glynda tracked Thumbelina Peach around the tower lobby as she paced anxiously, exclaiming opinions more to herself than to the Assistant Headmaster. Never had she seen the professor so animated. "It isn't mine."

She glanced over as two more teachers arrived: a stately, clean-shaven old man with silver hair and glasses, dressed in a light gray three-piece suit, followed by a diminutive woman in a simple green dress with hair the color of coffee and eyes that were almost painfully green.

"Are we late?" asked the latter.

"No, Ann." Glynda saw Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck coming up the steps as well. "I believe this is everyone?"

"Hold on, hold on." Qrow's voice; he arrived from a different door, groggy and shuffling. "What's the fuss? Why were classes canceled today?"

"I'd rather let Ozpin himself explain," she replied.

The elevator doors opened, revealing Ozpin and the relatively tiny, perpetually-nervous Garnet – Beacon's CCT manager. They walked out to meet the crowd of teachers. "My apologies for the rush," he began, "but we have a serious problem."

"You're not kidding!" Peach exclaimed.

"One of our students is missing." Ozpin sighed as their horrified looks fell upon him. "Some of them accompanied last night's patrol. These were unauthorized excursions. One of them did not return."

Oobleck and Port shared an uncertain look before the former asked, "Who?"

"Emerald Sustrai," Peach replied. "One of the transfers from Shade." She looked up at the old Headmaster. "Do we think this was an accident, or… gods help us… related to the previous attempt?"

"I don't know."

"What do we know?" asked the suited old man.

Ozpin adjusted his tiny glasses. "Frankly, Harold… not much."

"Ahem!" Garnet swallowed as they looked her way. "W-while the investigation is underway, Professor Ozpin has asked me to shut down shortwave tower access."

"You're cutting Beacon off from the outside world?" Qrow asked, arms folded.

"From a network standpoint. I'm not turning away airships. Not yet." Ozpin tapped his cane on the floor, lost in thought for a moment. "I have Olivine Duprix afield checking into leads about the attempted abduction. It will take some time for her to come back."

Ann waved for attention. "Forget her. Isn't this why we had the Army come out here? To prevent this crap?"

"We don't even know if anything malicious occurred, Professor Greene, please." Glynda's expression caught his eye next; he answered the question before she could even ask it. "And that reaction is exactly why I've cut off network access. I'm preventing the spread of unnecessary panic."

"By concentrating it here so the Grimm can kill us instead?"

Peach's words sat like smoke in the air for several uncomfortable seconds. "If things get too bad," Port finally said, "won't the Queen withdraw the Army garrison?"

"You still have me." Opher peeked out from behind one of the secondary support pillars, hat in hand and grinning subtly. He wasn't alone – a startled Lieutenant Vespa also popped out into view.

And despite her inexperience, she puffed out her chest as much as possible and tried to stand up to the much-taller Ozpin. "You need authorization from me before you can start fiddling with local-area networking," she stated – well, squeaked, nervously. "We're piggybacking on your bands."

He paid her little attention. "Why are you in here?" he asked Opher. "This is a staff-only meeting. How did you get in?"

"These doors don't have locks. Besides, when all of our Scrolls stop working, you should expect people looking for tech support."

"You've already done it?!" Vespa huffed, hands on her hips.

Garnet answered meekly for him. "Well, um, yes. It's just temporary!"

"Excuse me!" Oobleck adjusted his tie – meaningless as the effort was – before pointing at their mystery guest. "Who is this gentleman?"

"I'm a friend of the Academy," Opher said, "and the reason your daytime patrols aren't seeing Grimm anymore." On went his hat.

"So… a Huntsman, I assume?"

Another smirk curled his thin lips. "Sure, why not. Go ahead. Don't mind me."

"Are you locking everything down to prevent General Rauterkus and General Zhen from hearing about it?" Glynda asked. "It certainly seems that way. I'm beginning to wonder how much control you actually have over the situation."

Ozpin toed the line between allowing that ruse to bloom and tamping down questions from the teaching staff; to shore up the former, he donned a terrifically angry glare, while his words achieved the latter. "If I were trying to hide it, I wouldn't be flying to Vale for an audience with the Queen in an hour." That startled the tall blonde into blank-faced silence. "This a holding pattern, Glynda. I want advice from the top before I proceed. Until then… silence. No need for spreading misinformation or outright falsehoods across the CCT airwaves."

"Then at least tell the students what's happening," Port begged. "Information – any information – breeds certainty. And calm."

He pointed his cane at Glynda. "She will. I want you to address the entire student body at some time today. The earlier, the better."

Her jaw dropped slightly. "What do I tell them?"

"You're an intelligent woman, Glynda. You'll know what to say."

"I still believe this whole thing is going to cause completely unnecessary panic," Peach insisted, fluffy hair bouncing with the motions. "Isolation is… it's not good."

"It is, however, our best option." Ozpin waved his cane again, this time at the rest of the teachers. "For now, it's up to all of you to keep them calm."

After they left – reluctantly, and mumbling among themselves – Garnet squeaked a reason to get the hell out of the situation herself. "Well, um, with the equipment down, it's a good time to go do some maintenance work! Excuse me!" Off she went into the elevator.

"And what are we supposed to do?" Vespa demanded after she left. "We need your short-range antenna for patrol communications! Nobody even thought to bring radios – we didn't need them!"

"I'm sure Ozpin will ask for the appropriate equipment," Glynda said quietly – her attention was on a few curious students wandering up the steps, including Yang. "I believe they've noticed."

"I'll handle it," Qrow said, already on his way.

"I'll… go with you."

This left Ozpin in the tower lobby with Opher and Vespa. Neither man seemed interested in making eye contact. "Barging into my business again?" he asked the air.

"As long as Indigo and Schwarze are here, it's my business." His easy smirk took on a rather cruel twist. "Besides, I'm the campus security system." He mumbled a quick "No offense," to the Lieutenant.

"No, you're… you're probably right," she admitted quietly.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

"No, you wouldn't be in this mess if Beacon wasn't as easy to penetrate as a wet paper bag, old man. All that trickery I don't understand bullshit you said earlier makes me think you're incapable of running this fucking place. Maybe it's time to retire."

"Okay, okay!" Vespa said, getting between them to calm things down – no easy feat, as both men were much taller than she. "Not right now."

"Hmm." A chime told Ozpin the elevator car had returned, so he departed the conversation. "You are merely a temporary solution to the problem you caused. Once it ends, you're gone. I'll make sure of that."

"Uh huh." Arms folded, Opher tracked his departure until Ozpin vanished behind the elevator doors. He fired a glance over his shoulder at Glynda and Qrow through the windows as they tried to explain what was happening to the ever-growing crowd. "Emerald Sustrai… huh. Can't say I've heard the name before."

"Do you think he has a point?" Vespa doffed her glasses to clean them with a little cloth stored in one of her blue uniform coat's many pockets. "I don't know if this was an accident or not… but if not? To have two incidents so close together like this-"

"If someone took her, it wasn't the same people that tried to take me."

She blinked up at him. "How can you be sure?"

His dead green eyes filled with disdain. "Because those people should know better by now." Those shadows fled as he smiled. "I'm calling in your offer for a favor, by the way."

"Wh-wh—now? I don't think this is a good time."

"Not that, you fool. I made someone a promise and I need your help to keep it, that's all."

"Oh." A red-faced Vespa adjusted her beret for a moment. "What kind of help?"

Opher gazed at the arrival of Weiss Schnee, who seemed to be the most animated of the bunch about her Scroll not working. "I was gonna ask this before Ozpin pulled the plug on tower access, but… I need to get in touch with Atlas and you're my best shot to do it either way."

---

Pain chased her consciousness through the foggy dark; she knew something hurt, but not what, nor why. Coherent focus proved impossible. Exhaustion choked every thought.

Hey, she moved.

Who said that? One red eye snapped open, but saw nothing until a few seconds passed. The view said she was flat on her back. It appeared to be a dimly-lit airship hold; tubular in shape, stainless steel, benches along each side to sit on, a few round windows – they were above her. She was on the floor.

"Waking up?" the voice asked. "Emerald. Emerald?"

Emerald's other eye popped open. She found herself looking up at another dark-skinned young woman with intense pink eyes. Most of her head was shaven except the top, where fluffy brown locks sat in a neatly-combed pile, fronted by a shock of blonde hair which resembled a rabbit's ears. Her eyebrows were also blonde. Most of her frame was hidden beneath a long, white double-breasted overcoat with black trim. Peeks of baggy white pants stuffed into shining black boots could be seen as she tried to get comfortable on the hard bench.

"How do you know my name?" she finally gasped. "Where… where am…" Sitting up became priority one, but her arms wouldn't move. They were shackled to the metal floor, secured by hard points meant for cargo – at least her broken wrist had a cast around it, betrayed by the fact her hoodie sleeves were rolled up to make way for the restraints. Her ankles were similarly cuffed. She still had on the same clothes as before she was knocked out. As the seconds passed, she became alert enough to hear engine noise. They were flying. Agony vibrated in her bones. "Where am I?!"

"Don't struggle or I'll hit you again."

Emerald only struggled more in response, of course. The other woman leaned down – not to strike her, but to spray an acrid-smelling chemical into her face. A minute or two later, she lost all her energy and fell still, breaths deep and labored. "Wh… who… who… where…?"

Her companion whistled up toward the cockpit. "Yo, get up. She's live."

Emerald craned her neck down to see another woman stand up at the front of the hold. This one was tall, with slightly lighter skin than either of them and messy chocolate hair tied back into a short ponytail. While she wore the same type of boots and overcoat, its sleeves drew taut around her biceps, betraying how powerful her build was. Her brown eyes were much friendlier than the other woman's.

"Hey! She is!" The giant dropped to her knees by Emerald and gently placed a hand on her forehead. "Aw, you're cold, hold on…" Up she went again; a little rummaging in the overhead storage produced a dull gray blanket which she draped over their captive. "There we go. Sorry about this. I'd let you sit up, but… well. Your Semblance is a problem and you're not thinking clearly."

"Thinking-" Emerald gasped. "You—you kidnapped me!" No, that wasn't right; her red eyes narrowed. "Polendina…"

"Who?" asked the pink-eyed woman.

"Ah, who cares." She made a show of tucking Emerald in as much as she could. "Just relax. I think we're almost there."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Or not." Pink-eyes looked back and out a small, circular window. A glimpse of something in the distance made her smirk, but Emerald had no idea why. "In sight. Good. She slept most of the trip."

Her big friend moved over to have a peek. "Oh, yep."

"Where the hell are you taking me?!" Her anger earned her another spritz of the mystery chemical. "Stop—ahhhh—stop… that..."

When the tall woman looked back, Emerald was gone – visibly, at least, although the blanket betrayed that she was still in the same spot; she lacked the strength to fully execute the illusion. "She vanished."

"I still see her."

Then Emerald's Aura broke with the effort, casting a flicker of pale green light through the hold. Unable to fuel her Semblance, she faded back into view. "Nnnnnh..."

"Do I have to keep her broken on the way in?" Pink-eyes mused over her anguished groaning. "What a chore."

"You complain too much, Harriet."

The pilot's voice broke through the intercom above. "Buckle up, friends, I've got descent clearance."

Before they obliged, however, Harriet dropped to her knees by the exhausted Emerald and snapped a blindfold over her eyes. "Gods damn you," she snapped weakly. "When I… when I get out of this-"

"Sure, kid. Sure."

Emerald's world became a guessing game made of inner-ear sensations and hard-to-identify sounds. Fading engine noise and a distinct imbalance confirmed their altitude was indeed dropping; the gentle descent slope seemed to stretch on for ages until a banked turn – to the right, she thought – became a steeper loss of height. Gentle mechanical groaning, combined with an increase in thrust but no detectable acceleration, told her they must be landing. Seconds later, the airship's gear indeed made contact, shaking the whole craft.

Shackles were released. One of them removed the blanket, then stood her up roughly and turned her around as the grinding of the cargo ramp drowned out all other noise. Cold air blasted her exposed skin. A salty odor reached her brain that she couldn't identify – the ocean, a scent completely alien to her desert-honed senses. Hands on both shoulders guided her down the ramp; barely able to walk, she put up no fight and allowed herself to be herded. Her sneakers crunched on the ground with each step, a noise heavier and wetter than the leaves in the forest.

"Ma'am," the big one said. "Package delivered."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." This voice, also female, seemed to belong to a woman older than either of her airship guards. "We'll use the service elevator."

More walking, more crunching, until the sound faded in favor of rubber soles on concrete or stone, she couldn't tell which. This too fell away, replaced by the clank of metal grates, until she was forced to stop and turned around again. Whatever chemical Harriet had sprayed in her face was beginning to wear off. "Where are my gods damned guns," she complained bitterly.

No one replied. The elevator lurched to a stop, causing Emerald to wobble briefly. They were on the move again. She made mental notes of their path – two left turns, a right turn, a long walk down a hallway with a squeaky floor, another right turn, and then a final, extremely short jaunt across a much softer surface before she was stopped from walking again. Retreating footsteps caused her face to twist with confusion. She had a moment to process scents again – cinnamon dominated the air, backed by undertones of some kind of wood polish. The blindfold came off.

Emerald found herself standing in a space closer to a hotel room than the prison cell she expected. A large, circular rug was under her sneakers, blues and gold colors in an angular pattern that spread out from its center like flower petals – the flooring itself was some kind of dark, varnished wood. The walls were blue, too. The room was big enough to have three distinct areas: a desk and chair against the wall to her right, a little sitting area with two, high-backed gold chairs around a stout little oaken table to her left, plus some shelves on the nearby wall, and finally a large bed whose bedclothes matched the rug's color theme behind her. Since there were no windows, all the light came from a sleek, silvery cluster of fixtures centered in the white ceiling. The exit door was ahead; she knew it led outside because someone was leaving through it, a short woman with green hair in the same kind of overcoat as the other two, who stood at parade rest on either side. She glanced over at another door in the wall to her left.

"What is this?" Emerald finally asked.

"Your new home!" replied the big one, all smiles. "That's the bathroom over there. Don't worry about food – unless you're hungry right now, then-"

"No!" she snapped, cutting her off. "What is this?! Who are you people? Where the fuck am I?!"

"Those are answers you're probably not getting," Harriet stated evenly. "I suggest you let Elm be nice to you."

"I swear, when I get out of here – and I will get out of here-"

Harriet cracked a smile. "Even if you get out, you'll be dead in a few hours." Her pink eyes locked with Emerald's red ones for a long, quiet while.

Elm crossed her arms. "You don't need to be mean."

"I'm being honest," she replied, with a shrug for emphasis.

Emerald sneaked a glance at the brace on her wrist; it didn't hurt for reasons she couldn't guess. Perhaps they'd numbed it. She could try to split her Semblance between them, but that would be a mighty effort with full Aura, much less now when she felt so battered. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, just to talk." Elm sat down in one of the chairs – a snug fit – and crossed her legs, beaming. Harriet continued to guard the door. Emerald, of course, refused to budge despite looking ready to keel over. "You should probably have a seat too. You look… well, rough."

"You had me shackled to an airship floor!"

"Not for long," Harriet said. "That was the last part of your little trip."

Thinking about her wrist – and the bear-hug dispensed by Penny – had Emerald hurting again. She eventually gave up and shuffled to the empty seat, hissing with pain when she fell too roughly into it. "I think my ribs are cracked…"

"You sure had a lot of bruises." Elm leaned forward, braced by forearms on knees. "There's gonna be an interrogation."

She hugged herself lightly. "I'm… I'm not telling you anything."

"So you've got something to tell." Harriet tapped her chin in thought. "We won't be the ones asking the questions anyway."

Emerald jerked when Elm plopped a mighty hand on her shoulder. "It's not important right now. Are you sure you're not hungry?" When their captive looked, she pointed to the shelves. "Snacks!"

All she could feel at the moment was baffled – and a growing pain from her injured arm. "My wrist hurts," slipped out under her breath. "Did you take me from the woods?"

"We don't even know where you came from," Harriet replied curtly. "You're just here until whoever it is that wants you can see you."

"Harriet, please. You don't have to be so blunt."

"Man, I wanna go home. I hate it up here." Knocking on the door stifled her temper; she opened it and peeked around. After a bit of gawking, she stepped back and allowed the caller to enter while standing at attention. Caroline Cordovin, in the same heavy, white overcoat as they, moved slowly into the room. Despite the lack of rank insignia on her shoulders, Elm stood up and copied Harriet's stiff pose anyway, just in case.

"Lieutenants," she greeted evenly.

"Are you—I mean are you like—ahhhh…" Elm stammered.

"The Colonel will be sufficient for now. Please wait outside." Caroline took the empty seat across from Emerald as they vacated the room and shut the door behind them.

The thief bore a tiny grin. "Alone? That's either really brave or really dumb of you, old lady."

"Hmmm." She matched that smirk. "I already know what your Semblance is. And about that," she said, pointing at the wrist brace. "You aren't hurting, are you?" The way Emerald hugged the afflicted limb was all the answer Caroline needed. "The painkiller must be wearing off."

"Why do you care?"

"You're my guest."

"Guest? You kidnapped me!" Emerald snapped, wheezing with pain thanks to a too-sharp breath for air. "Damn it… Penny is dead the next time I see her."

"You're in no position to be making threats." Continued snarling from Emerald put another smile on Caroline's lips. "Do you really think I'm interested in being your enemy, Miss Sustrai? I went through all the trouble of getting you medical treatment. Of procuring you this very nice room. Let's work together."

"I'm sorry, after I've been blindfolded and shackled to things, cooperation isn't the first thing that springs to mind."

"I apologize." She spent a moment to soak up Emerald's confused look. "My line of work requires unpleasant things in the name of security."

"And what line of work is that?"

One more smile. "Maybe it's not so different from yours. I hear you were spying." Emerald suddenly averted her eyes and hugged herself lightly. "There are some troubling things going on at Beacon, aren't there? Whole teams sent to their deaths against impossible odds, a complete lack of adequate training, now attempted kidnappings? Goodness."

For those, Emerald had no reply.

"Was it this bad at Shade?" No answer, again, so Caroline studied her guest as the seconds passed. "You never went to Shade, did you?"

"I… I have nothing to say to you, old lady."

"Is Emerald Sustrai even your real name?"

Her swarthy face twisted with silent agony.

"Hmm. Another thing about my line of work: I don't ask many questions whose answers I don't already know." She unbuttoned her overcoat just enough to produce a folder, which she set on the table. "Go on. Look at it."

A suspicious Emerald only did so after a few moments. Within it was her own face from a different time; cheerful ruby eyes and a genuine smile which lit up the whole picture. Washed away was the physical pain, the fear, the confusion. Right now, she only wanted to vomit, hunching forward with a hand over her eyes.

Caroline's voice became exceedingly gentle, almost motherly. "Beryl?"

"I'm not," she hissed through her fingers. "Not… not now…"

"Emerald. What happened to you?" She blinked when the girl became invisible to her old eyes – only briefly, as it drained her scant Aura reserves again and produced another pale green flicker. When next Caroline saw her, she was doubled over and weeping quietly.

"They didn't trust me," she finally mumbled.

"Who didn't?"

"I'm sure you already know," she replied, Caroline's words fresh in her head.

"All I know is that you were exiled. Not for what. Not by whom, either." She retrieved the folder and tucked it away in her overcoat. "Your Semblance class is extremely rare. I suppose the people around you weren't equipped to deal with it, were they?"

"The people around me? Like my own-" She choked on a sob and shut down, hugging her knees as much as the chair and her injuries would allow.

That was enough information for Caroline to make a guess about what she wanted to say. "Your parents gave you up? Directly into exile?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Hmm. I'll get to the point, then. Why were you out there? Whose eyes are you?"

Emerald peered out over her knees. "None of your business."

"Very well." Caroline rose from her chair and moved toward the door without another word.

An act which left Emerald baffled again. "Wait. That's it? No threats? Nothing?" she asked, uncurling and standing up as well. "I thought there was going to be an interrogation."

"I'm not sure what you experienced out there, young lady, but in these parts we have standards. Like I said, I'm not your enemy. If I was, you wouldn't be drawing breath." She brushed some of her silver locks aside. "All I want to know is who you're working for and why."

"I'll never tell you that!"

"Then you'll never see the light of day again." Caroline donned a final smile. "Not all prisons are bare concrete and cold metal… but they are prisons all the same." She closed the door behind her and entered the hall. A weak thud rang out as Emerald ran into it and tried to wrench it open.

"She's feisty," Harriet commented.

"Work on her for a few days." Caroline, hands clasped behind her back, began to walk away down the hall. "Especially you, Lieutenant Ederne. Kill her with kindness."

---

Her Majesty's reception room was remarkably austere compared to the exterior of the giant palace within which it sat; recent renovations had replaced much of the gold filigree and chandeliers with sleek aluminum wall paneling, white tile floors, and what were effectively giant ceiling-mounted sconces which provided intense, daylight-colored illumination to the area. The room was far longer than it was wide – although it still clocked in at a few meters across – and featured about twelve more red leather couches than were actually ever needed. It always made Ozpin smile. Hung above him, and all along the corridor, were hand-painted portraits of the Valesian Royal Family, ending with the previous monarch on the wall directly across – a regal, mustachioed old man with scarlet hair and thin-rimmed round glasses.

The doorman, dressed in a white tuxedo, placed a hand to his right ear. "Professor," he said gently, "two minute warning."

"Thank you." Ozpin stood up and made a few final adjustments to his green suit coat as the huge, obsidian double doors were opened for the person whose audience had just ended.

Out stepped a woman whose blue Valesian Army uniform was far more impressive than the person wearing it; she stood slightly taller than Yang, with dull brown hair pulled snugly back into a complicated braid that fell all the way to her hips. The wildest thing about her was her eyes – the left, yellow, and the right, orange. Her skin was tanned slightly with freckles dotted all over her surprisingly young face. If the four crossed pairs of axes on her gold beret weren't enough to denote her importance, the textile factory's worth of ribbons on her right shoulder and breast made it clear. The silver name tag on the left side of her chest read 'du Pont'.

"Come to waste the Queen's time again?" she sneered up at him.

He shed her ire with a polite smirk. "Lovely to see you as always, Valencia."

"Oh, shut up. What the hell is going on up at Beacon? Someone from the ALO was going to fly out there to interview Opher Riese, but they can't get through to campus. Is your crap equipment still broken?" Before her could open his mouth to reply, she added, "And why in the green hell is he staying there? Do you realize what he's done?"

"I have been briefed on the refinery accident, yes."

Valencia scoffed at this. "You're using him to even the playing field, aren't you? 'Oh, look at this guy I pulled right out of my ass, he's so good at fighting, it's definitely worth sending us more Lien now'," she said mockingly, fingers wiggling for emphasis. "Siofra is nobody's fool. By this time next week, if he checks out, your boy will be an officer in my army. I don't care what Zhen Xuefeng says. I want whatever he's got."

Once more, he allowed her emotion to pass right by with a smile. "It's not a competition, General du Pont."

"You know who says that? People who never win. We win. And if we don't keep moving forward, Vale loses." One finger tipped her beret back into place. "You never answered my question about your CCT… problem, whatever."

"I had the system partially deactivated. Only temporarily, of course. Intercontinental transmission and Vale's internal network are unaffected."

Gone was the bravado. "Why?" she asked, face drawn with confusion.

"I'm sure you'll read a report about it sometime or another."

Valencia fired a virulent glare at him before producing her Scroll and walking away. Ozpin caught the first words of her conversation. "Get me the Liaison Office. If Lucian isn't there, then Zhen will do-"

"Intense as always," the doorman commented.

"Yes… I sometimes wonder if she earned her axes through merit or sheer inexorability." The door was opened for him to enter.

It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the difference in lighting – unlike her waiting area, the Queen's throne room lacked any sort of fixtures whatsoever, leaving the whole room in near-darkness. The only source of illumination was an uncovered skylight in the center, carved through the entire vertical height of the palace – including the golden dome – casting down either the sun at noon, or artificial sources at night or in the morning, in a shaft directly onto the ornate steel throne. A pristine white carpet led from the doors toward the center of the room. Dim reflections from the rest of the floor revealed its polished granite nature.

The woman waiting for him looked strikingly like her father; they shared the slightly-yellow skin and brilliant red hair – hers was asymmetrical, long and flowing on the right, trimmed closely to her skull on the left – though she lacked the freckles and her eyes were blue, not green. She also wore spectacles. No crown sat on her head. No jewels decorated her neck, or wrists, or ears. Her forest green ankle dress seemed like the kind of clothing anyone in the city could buy with ease, for the same reason her reception area lacked pomp or circumstance. And despite her youthful complexion, her face looked every bit as worn and tired as Ozpin's.

He took one of the six seats arranged in a semi-circle before the throne of Vale without bowing; in fact, he regarded Her Majesty much as he did Glynda, albeit with a friendlier smile. "One day, you'll rate ceiling lights," he joked.

"Oh, no, I have appearances to keep up," she replied dryly, her tone similar to Coco and roughly as sarcastic. "Which means I get to sit here and roast under this skylight every time someone wants an audience in the summer."

"Next time I'll bring you an umbrella."

"Always the gentleman," she replied through a grin, chin in one hand. "This must be something serious if you couldn't wait for Amity to see me. What's going on?"

"It is, I'm afraid." Ozpin set his cane aside with a frown. "I'm warning you before I bring the request to Salem. I'd like to execute Empty Castle on Beacon Academy."

A stunned Siofra leaned forward in her throne. "Just Beacon?"

"Yes. My intention is to leave Vale completely untouched."

This caused her to relax slightly – although that release invited a light frown. "Can I get an explanation? Dad always said-"

"He was right, but drastic circumstances require swift measures. You know this man?" he asked, tossing her his open Scroll.

Siofra gazed briefly at a picture of Opher before tossing the device back. "The Interior Minister told me that the Army thinks he stopped the Capulet Refinery from exploding."

"He did. Olivine Duprix and Amber Grace let me know right after it happened."

"Then… if that's right, he saved the industrial district. No, probably the whole Kingdom. Who knows how many Grimm that disaster would have attracted."

"Probably." Ozpin steepled his fingers with a scowl. "He was busy last night. Spreading who knows what kind of information to a large number of Beacon students. I've locked the campus out of the CCT network to stop it from getting too far."

"Then you're going to—everyone at the Academy? E-even him? He's kind of a hero."

"Empty Castle is the only way to stop an arms race that would engulf Remnant in another war. I cannot risk a Kingdom – this one or another one – finding out what he knows. Dust nearly destroyed the balance. I won't let his gifts do the same."

Siofra slumped in the throne, arms on her knees, thinking. "How does he know, though? That seems like the bigger problem."

"Lady Duprix is leading an investigation in northern Sanus as we speak. We will find his teachers, but time is of the essence now. I have to act."

"Seven hundred students… and don't you have a Schnee and a Nikos there? Blake Belladonna, too. Not to mention the garrison. Isn't this kind of a bad idea?"

Ozpin donned a smile to try and reassure her. "I'd ask you to withdraw them, but I need two particular soldiers to stay where they are so he stays where he is. If I have you recall everyone but those two, it'll look suspicious. I'll try to keep them in the tower or in the coffin and minimize their casualties."

She blinked at this. "What kind of attack are you planning?"

"Considering his actions already – not just the refinery incident – I may have to flatten the entire campus to stop him. Not that I'm hoping he falls. Actually… if he's as strong as he seems, you'll be seeing his face a lot more."

Siofra's head tilted slightly until the point registered. "You're going to jump into him."

"I'd like to. Something about his bloodline helped him retain the true art at levels I've not seen in many years. It would be nice if I could succeed like our Maidens – a family of shells just waiting for my soul." He looked up at the skylight for a moment. "A royal lineage, I suppose."

"Like you're not a King already." She hopped out of the throne to stretch her aching legs. "Are you planning to spare anyone besides the soldiers?"

"No. James Ironwood has washed his hands of Weiss Schnee – and I will get no complaints from her father. Not with what she now knows. The Nikos family will have to produce another trophy child; I'm sure they'll manage. And perhaps the grief caused by Blake Belladonna's death will convince her father to open up Menagerie's gravity Dust reserves. After all, airships are the best way to kill Grimm."

"Are you never not being strategic?" Siofra replied as she did a bit of slow pacing.

"Atlas is getting too far ahead. Equality needs to be restored – especially where Mistral is concerned. They could use an Air Force."

"Really? I didn't think the difference was that big."

He loosed a quiet chuckle. "If only you had my eyes. Left too long, that gap will widen beyond anyone's control. I won't risk a planet dominated by the north. Especially not if, as we suspect, Opher Riese came from there."

She came to a stop and crossed her arms with a smile. "Well. If you end up being a Headmaster without an Academy, I'll have to find some kind of civil position for you here. Or exile you as a scapegoat."

"The latter might be more palatable. Once the Grimm retreat, the Army can move in and take credit for reclaiming the campus." Smirking, Ozpin pushed his glasses back up his nose. "I cannot guarantee the CCT equipment will survive unscathed. Any ideas?"

"We'll say you complained to me about the tower again and I finally authorized an upgrade. How much time do I have?"

He mused on this for a quiet moment. "Not much. Days, perhaps."

"Huh. The parts might not get here in time, but at least my government will know they're coming if things go wrong. Hey, we'll even put a memorial plaque with your current students' names on the base of the new Beacon Tower. 'They died protecting the voice of our Kingdom' or something equally saccharin," she concluded, gazing off thoughtfully.

"That's my girl. Your father would be proud."

"Eh. I'm still a little worried. I heard it took Vacuo years to recover from this the last time you did it."

"No need to be nervous. Vacuo was stupid enough to put Shade within their city walls. Your family had far better heads on their shoulders when it came to Academy planning." He offered the antsy sovereign a few pats on the shoulder. "I'll leave the task of exiling local student families to you."

"Yes. I'll hand that off to the Police Commissioner once you're done."

"Good." The light from above flickered briefly, causing both of them to look up. They saw nothing. "I suppose I should be getting back. Valencia is up to something."

"Hold on." From the shadows stepped Raven, masked and armed to the teeth, as usual – her approach startled the Queen into retreating toward the huge throne. "I need to talk to you."

Ozpin regarded her with a slightly annoyed frown. "You followed me?" he asked.

"Who is this?" Siofra gasped. "How did you-"

"Steady yourself," he advised gently before waving at Raven. "No need for the mask."

Silently, she doffed it and stuck it to a magnetic clip on her red armor. Siofra took one unsure step toward her, staring at her face. "Hmm."

"Do I curtsy?" Raven wondered sarcastically.

"If you could stow your snark for a few minutes… Your Majesty, this is our new Spring Maiden."

The Queen eyed her for a moment. "You look… familiar."

"Everyone looks familiar to somebody." She turned her ruby orbs to Ozpin. "Yeah, I followed you. I've got a report to give."

"Feel free," he replied, motioning toward the Queen. "Siofra is our mutual friend."

"Fine. No way in hell Emerald got lost. And she can handle herself against Grimm – I mean, there are no Grimm. He's killing all of them. Someone grabbed her. I have no idea who. I couldn't even find her guns. They took everything."

"Damn." Ozpin picked up his cane again to twirl it thoughtfully. "There are some small villages east of campus in the foothills, but I don't think they have the capability – or the spine – to pull off something like this."

"I'll check them anyway. Any other ideas?"

"When did this happen?"

Raven glanced at Siofra. "Last night. I don't know exactly when. She was in the Emerald Forest doing some… business for us when she disappeared."

"Hmm. I could ask the Air Force if there was any unusual activity."

"Someone on campus would have noticed an airship that wasn't at altitude – and if not, the students and soldiers on patrol would have reported it." Ozpin's brow furrowed. "If Emerald isn't nearby, then we're dealing with a party, or parties, with resources."

"He's blinded us," Raven said. "Turned all our focus inward when we'd normally be scouting for things like this." She crossed her arms lightly. "Wait… what if it was his friends? In retaliation for what happened to him?"

"Unless she slipped up, there's no way he could have made the connection. You certainly didn't tell him. Neither would Lady Grace."

"No. And Emmy wouldn't have made a mistake." A frown arrived. "Cinder needs guardians when she takes the mantle from Lapis. Mercury and Emerald would be the best fit."

"I know. We'll do all we can." He gave her a few pats on the shoulder.

"Is a new Summer Maiden on the way?"

"Yes. Lady Stavros is running out of time." He issued a nod to Queen and Maiden both before making for the double doors – which he could barely see, thanks to the poor lighting. "As am I. Like I said, du Pont is up to something. I'd best return to Beacon."

"Yeah, go. I'll catch up later." The two women watched him leave in silence before Siofra began staring at her. "What?"

"You must be pretty new. I've met all of your sisters. What's your story? How'd you ascend?"

Raven closed her eyes. "Story? Nah, no story. Just a mistake."

"I find it hard to believe there are mistakes not even a Maiden can fix." Siofra tossed the longer locks of her red hair as she returned to the throne.

"It's not 'can I', more like…"

Should you? The question is the answer, you idiot.

"More like what?"

Raven's chest drew tight while the Spring Maiden's opinion rattled in her aching head. She glanced back at the Queen. "Never mind."

"Hmm. You know, I can't put my finger on it. You're-" It suddenly hit her. Red eyes, black hair, the faintest accented tincture in her voice; the wheels in Siofra's head began turning. "Are you from Patch?"

"Does it matter?"

The idea wouldn't let go. Siofra came back to get a closer look at her pale face. "Raven Branwen? The Duchess of Whitwich?" She even shined a Scroll light at her for confirmation. "Oh my gods! It is you! I thought you were dead-"

"Some days I feel like it… and keep it down, dumbass." Thoughts of protocol stiffened her frame for an instant – leftovers from days when she'd never dare call a monarch such a thing. "Erm… sorry." Raven donned her mask again. "My not-deadness isn't exactly common knowledge."

"How on Remnant did you end up becoming-"

"I already told you. A mistake." She retreated into the shadows. Seconds later, Raven flew out of the throne room the same way she entered it.

"What in the world…" Siofra mumbled on her way back to the throne yet again. Chin in hand, she contemplated Ozpin's conversation and this new revelation both. "Perhaps it's none of my business. I'm sure they know what they're doing."

---

Despite the wintry cold, Beacon's exterior pathways were filled with nervous students in coats and jackets and scarves, many of whom waved their Scrolls around in search of network access they had no hope of getting. The air was saturated with uneasy murmurs – mostly questions without answers. One noise was conspicuously absent from the tense atmosphere, however.

The Grimm.

And people were beginning to notice. "It's really quiet, isn't it?" Nora asked over her shoulder – she was in her team's dorm room, along with Pyrrha and Jaune, leaned out the window as she watched the crowds below. "I haven't heard a single howl all morning."

Pyrrha recalled the awful noise after their release ceremony with a frown, which she lost upon realizing how right Nora was. "Opher did say he was going back out."

"But there's no way he could…" Jaune went silent briefly. "Right?"

"Hasn't he already?"

They both looked at Pyrrha for a long, silent while, contemplating what it meant for one man to be able to stifle the amount of monsters this level of terror had to be attracting. Nora shut the window – tank-top weather it wasn't – and plopped down on the bed beside Jaune, stifling a yawn on the way. A hand dove into her cleavage for an instant and came out with the magnetite shard she'd been given. "We've had these things for, what, three days now?"

"Have you been wearing yours the whole time?"

She nodded at Jaune. "Pretty much."

"Then has this happened to you too?" He showed her the Aura measurement app on his Scroll, which flashed a message: re-calibration needed.

"Wait, huh?" Nora produced her own Scroll and checked; sure enough, her Aura had apparently changed enough to warrant the same message. "We only needed to do this once a year, I thought – Ren and I did it just before we got to Vale. I don't get it…"

"I guess your Scrolls are more sensitive than I am. Goodness. I hadn't really noticed anything." A startled Pyrrha reached into the nightstand drawer and grabbed her own shard, which she inserted into her t-shirt pocket. "What if he's right? What if he's right about everything?"

"Remote priming? Magic? The gods? Ruby's eyes? I dunno, man," Jaune replied. "But this seems to be doing something for sure."

"Maybe I was too hard on him." Yang, leaned in their doorway, arms folded and smiling weakly. She giggled at the way Pyrrha jumped with fright. "Sorry. I just wanted to let Nora know that Ren was almost finished with Ruby." She entered the room before adding something else: "I've… been wondering."

"Ah, good." Pyrrha nodded with a smile. "You've changed your tune?"

"A little. I heard what you said just now about your Aura apps. Weiss said the same thing when we got back to our room a few hours ago." She patted her ample chest. "I'm wearing mine too now. You know, just to be sure."

"Heh, it's nice to be right," Jaune said through a grin.

"Pffff." Yang took a look out the window herself. "I can't explain what I've seen, but I can't deny he knows a lot of shit. Enough that I started thinking, like, if he wanted to hide something, he'd just kill us." Her lips bent in a frown as she remembered last night – with some focus on the absolute embarrassment of their little sparring match. "Then again… I can't ignore what General Zhen said either. Who do I believe?"

"Miss Stahl doesn't seem to trust Zhen very much," a thoughtful Pyrrha noted.

"Yeah. That seems personal. Ain't my business." Yang looked up at the window as the faint sounds of some kind of commotion seeped through its panes. "What now?"

All four of them leaned out the window and found not monsters, but an approaching airship – a military craft, painted air superiority gray with the low-visibility double-axe roundel of the Valesian Air Force barely visible on one wingtip as it banked to orient itself for landing. Ruby's head poked out from the window next door.

"Um?" she said, barely audible over the surprise of the crowd below. "Is this good or bad?"

"Close the window!" Weiss snapped from out of sight.

"Things are happening, dang it!" She didn't put up much of a struggle as Blake and Ren came to retrieve her. "Awwwwww…"

"Should we even bother? It's frickin' freezing out there," Nora asked.

"Hell no, I'm staying where it's warm." Yang squinted as someone in uniform emerged from the airship. "Gold hat… huh. Another General?"

Pyrrha watched them walk away from the airship pads until losing sight of them behind the courtyard archways and statue. When they appeared again, their presence parted the curious mob who'd come to investigate. A moment later, the soldier was close enough for her to identify. "Ah… speaking of General Zhen…"

"What?" Yang looked out the window again. "Oh." Her eyes lit up; suddenly, she turned on her heel and left the room.

"Yang?" Nora called after her. She peeked out into the hallway just in time to see the blonde leave, cloaked in her obnoxious yellow hoodie. "Um…" she muttered as Pyrrha arrived.

"Ah, let her go. I'm sure it'll be fine." Pyrrha smiled at the next confused person to poke their head out of Ruby's room – Ilia, hair down and bleary-eyed.

"What the heck?" she asked. Ruby appeared next. "Where's she going?"

Her silver eyes narrowed a little, but she never lost her smile. "Probably just to get some air. It is kinda stuffy in here."

Yang was out of their dorm building in less than a minute, bouncing along the walkway to catch up to Xuefeng as she continued to divide the antsy sea of students. "Yo!" she called. "Ma'am? Excuse me?"

Xuefeng glanced back mid-stride; she knew the face, but lost the name and turned away. "What do you want?" was her gruff reply.

"Just to chat." Yang fell in beside her despite the quick pace. "I just—like, I think there's some stuff you need to know."

"What I need to know right now is why Beacon Tower is partially offline."

"I mean, after that. Forget the priming thing for now, okay, you've gotta hear the things Opher's been teaching-" Her voice failed when she received another piercing stare. "I, uh… it's not dangerous, I swear! Just weak spots and—and movement patterns, and-"

"Be quiet," she warned on the way up the tower steps. Unfortunately, someone equally unwanted awaited, standing guard at the door: Schwarze. The two women regarded each other with the wordless venom of all of Remnant's snakes combined.

Yang lost all her energy and began to back away, hands raised timidly – she looked rather like her little sister during periods of uncertainty. "Maybe, uh, maybe this isn't a great time."

"It's never a good time to be near her," Schwarze commented bitterly.

Xuefeng's nostrils flared with hate, but the moment she opened her mouth to speak, someone else stepped out of the tower lobby through the glass doors beside Schwarze – someone who regarded her first curiously, then derisively.

Opher. "Ah, this must be one of the friends you mentioned!" he quipped through a smirk, standing at Schwarze's side with his arms crossed. "Get lost."

"Excuse me?" Xuefeng spat at him.

"You clearly heard what I said." He thumbed over at Schwarze and her board-stiff body language. "If she doesn't like you, I don't like you." He tacked on a sarcastic wave for emphasis. "Bye."

"Your permission is unnecessary. Move!" Xuefeng demanded.

"Cutie, this is Zhen Xuefeng."

"You will address me by my rank!"

She smirked as well, bolstered by Opher's presence. "Very well, Brigade General."

"I hope you're not so confident just because your friend is here," Xuefeng stated coldly.

"Brigade General Zhen… I've heard of you." He beckoned to the withdrawn, fidgety Yang, who pranced over to receive his whispered words. "I'll have to wait until tonight to try the message. Ask Weiss and Blake about what I should say."

"Oh, uh, sure. Yeah. I'll do it now." She sprinted away from the confrontation, trailing long clouds of exhaled breath on the way.

His dull green eyes went back to the General as she scaled the steps – clearly she meant to intimidate him out of her path. While it worked on Schwarze after a moment, he remained as anchored as the tower behind him. "So you're the reason Ruby and friends are… skeptical, huh?" he asked when she reached the top step.

She barged past him and entered the tower, only to realize a moment later that he was in leisurely pursuit with his hands in his pockets. "You are beginning to test my patience," she warned.

Glynda arrived from around the tower core. "Who's that? Is someone else-" She stopped upon seeing Xuefeng and her gold beret. "Oh dear. General Zhen, I had no idea you were coming."

"I wonder why that is," was her sarcastic reply. "What in the hell is going on up here, Goodwitch? Army General du Pont was all the way on my back an hour ago about whatever you-"

"Professor Ozpin deactivated short-range tower access. We would have alerted the Army to switch to other bands, but, ah, the decision was already made before-"

"Why?!"

"'Cause one of the students went missing." Opher shrugged at Xuefeng's bewildered expression. "We don't know either, but blah blah something something 'we can't spread panic' or whatever. Like I didn't just come back after finding and killing the one Death Stalker I missed on my sweep half an hour before that. There is literally no danger here."

"Oh, shut up. How do I know whatever is happening isn't all your fault to begin with?"

"Is this bitch just a slightly-cuter Ozpin?" Opher asked Glynda, motioning at Xuefeng with one hand. "They sound exactly the same."

"I don't believe that's appropriate, Mister Riese…"

"I've been called a lot of things in my life. Appropriate isn't one of them." His face screwed up for an instant. "I think."

"I cannot wait to see you get expelled…"

He smirked at the seething Xuefeng. "Don't hold your breath, sunshine."

"Ahem! At any rate… we've only restricted tower access while the investigation is ongoing. Lieutenant Vespa and her troops are combing the forest as we speak."

"Except for one," she noted, pointing a finger toward Schwarze outside.

"Make that two." They all turned to regard Indigo, sans rifle, as she shuffled toward the gathering. While Schwarze and Xuefeng were happy to exchange their hatred, in this case it was all one-sided from the General herself. No salutes. No greetings of any kind. An expressionless Indigo regarded that virulence for but a moment before discarding her presence entirely and looking toward Glynda. "Is someone gonna make an announcement about the assembly?"

Professor Peach's voice suddenly erupted from the internal address system's speakers in the ceiling. "All students and faculty, please gather in the auditorium. All students and faculty to the auditorium." Echoes of the proclamation from outside lingered briefly.

"It's time, I guess." Opher said. He nodded at Glynda. "Shall we?"

She blinked at him. "I—Professor Ozpin isn't back from Vale yet, shouldn't we-"

"Oh, fuck him. Besides, when he gets back he can talk to her!" He waved at Xuefeng with a smile. "Given their attitudes I'm sure they'll be great friends. Besides, it's probably not a good idea to keep that many nervous kids in one building for too long."

Glynda adjusted her glasses thoughtfully. "You do have a point. About the latter, I mean." She looked toward Indigo. "Are you coming too?"

"Yeah, with Schwarze. I think a little military presence on the stage will help calm them down while the Lieutenant has the rest of the company at work." A little grin bent her lips. "Beside, maybe our ribbons might distract 'em."

Xuefeng, teeth grinding with stellar anger as they kept on ignoring her – and even walked off – finally blew up. "None of you are in charge right now! I am! And you won't do a damn thing until Ozpin comes back and we collectively give you instructions!"

They stopped walking – Glynda looked especially uncertain and glanced at Indigo and Opher with a frown. "I don't know if that will help, General," she finally said. "In fact, I have concerns about Ozpin's leadership I think you should hear."

"I'll judge it for myself. And since the Division General is out of the loop right now, I'm taking charge. I have no idea why any of you think you're in command of anything."

A dead-eyed Opher waved the two ladies toward the door, smiling their hesitance away, before turning back to put the General in her place. Only when they finally wandered outside did he speak again. "Maybe the better question is why nobody thinks you are."

While she was angry – even growling – Xuefeng didn't move an inch.

"I know you know what I did that night at the refinery. I also know what you told those kids. I can excuse ignorance. But I won't excuse a coordinated lie. Based on what I've been hearing, it ain't ignorance." He approached, one step at a time, driving her back toward the tower's central support. "If I find out the military – yours, the other Kingdoms', I don't care – are trying to corner the concept of safety by withholding remote priming from your Hunters… I will bury you all so deeply you'll be looking up at Remnant's core."

She snarled up at him. "You are a truly stupid man to be threatening a Valesian Army General. Don't forget about your friends."

It only invited a smile – crooked and dark, decorated with eyes as lustrous as asphalt. "There is one big difference between you and I, General. We both kill Grimm. I'm sure we've both killed people too. Only one of us smashes catastrophes, as you are well aware. Now, with that in mind, if I'm truly stupid… how stupid are you to threaten them to my face?"

No reply. Opher turned away and left her to stew, a disdainful glower intensifying with every step he took toward the door. Before leaving, however, he deposited one more statement. "Consider this our interview. If your military truly wants to learn about her legacy, I'm glad to teach it. It's not a plaything, though – it's this planet's birthright. And if I have to give it back, one human and Faunus at a time, that's exactly what I'll do."

Outside he went. He found the three women lingering near a four-way junction in the walkway as students filed past nearby to reach the auditorium. His displeasure couldn't melt in time; Indigo saw it first, writ across his pale face.

"You look real happy about something," she noted.

"Zhen's an absolute peach to talk to. No wonder you two like her so much." He nodded to Glynda. "I hope you've got something in mind for this."

"This isn't my first dance, Mister Riese. I'll handle it." She tossed her blonde locks with a hollow smile. "Let's go."

They fell in with the flow. The rest of Beacon's teachers were already inside when they arrived, lined up on the stage and overseeing the entry process – at least most of them. Qrow was too busy talking to his nieces on the floor in front. The student body's collective mumbling echoed unease up into the steel rafters, a chorus which lost steam once they realized Glynda was among them. She walked up on stage with Indigo and Schwarze directly behind, doffing their berets almost in unison. Opher brought up the rear. As she took control of the microphone, the teachers lined up at the back of the stage with Indigo, Schwarze, and Opher between them and the Assistant Headmaster. He gazed into the crowd. It wasn't just students – the CCT staff was there too, all clumped together against the wall in their sedate gray uniforms.

Glynda held her poise as the whole gathering turned to face her. Students were still filtering in through the doors – and struggling to find room – when she said, "I hope this is everyone but I'm not sure we can do a head count. If we're missing anyone, please fill them in afterward." A collective mumble of affirmation followed. "Thank you. Professor Ozpin is still on his way back from Vale, so in his stead we'll be addressing the concerns I'm sure you all have." She inhaled one breath to collect herself. "The CCT tower is not, in fact, broken. We have temporarily cut campus access to it."

Vocal outbursts of confusion and surprise were remarkably limited, capped off by one of the female upperclassmen asking "Why?"

"I will explain. Last night, one of our students went missing." Another outburst, this one slightly more forceful. "To avoid putting your families at home and abroad in danger by making them worry, we have ceased local communications until the search is completed. Lieutenant Cinzia Vespa and most of her soldiers are already out beyond the wall, as we speak."

"What about us, aren't we in danger?" Argent asked from somewhere in the crowd. "If something malicious—I mean, we're going to be freaking out anyway-"

"Normally, I would say yes. However…" Glynda loosely folded her arms and looked back at Opher, who only realized she was staring when he lifted his head and the brim of his hat moved. "Perhaps you should explain."

At first, he didn't move. Indigo smirked at him to break the ice. "At least take off your hat."

"Nobody cares about my hat, Indigo." Glynda yielded to him as he stepped up to the microphone, where he bathed awkwardly in their anxious silence. "I guess this is the first time most of you have seen me. My name is Opher." He paused for chuckles that never really arrived. "I used to be a courier. Before that, I was a soldier in the north – which is the relevant part. I've been helping provide security for the past few days."

"The past few days?" asked another of the upperclassmen, this one a purple-haired male. "Did we miss something?"

Opher glanced at Glynda, who shrugged in reply. "Yeah. Someone tried to kidnap me from campus." His raised left hand quelled a tidal wave of surprised voices. "Easy. They failed, obviously. I made them regret the attempt. Still… what happened is why the Army is here in the first place." He thumbed over at his two soldier friends. "I'm now staying at Beacon 24/8 to make sure they don't break anything."

"Okay," said another girl deep in the crowd – and a short one, too, he couldn't see her from here. "Why does that matter? You're just some guy."

"Completely fair question." His eyes dropped toward the front of the pack. "Hey, Ruby. Pyrrha. Get up here. All of you."

"Um… okay?" Ruby said. Most of them hopped the stage edge – Nora used her strength to lift Ren up, then he offered her a hand. They gathered loosely on one side.

"Do the words 'sector four' mean anything to any of you?"

Many of the uniformed students wore drawn-tight faces all of a sudden, but it was Coco who spoke for their misery after she pushed to the front of the crowd. "The forest ruins." She cast a look at her boots. "The Geists." Someone in the back suddenly burst into tears.

"No, let him cry," Opher told the people trying to console him. "Don't hold it in." He doffed his hat in respect. "How many lives have those ruins cost?"

"I can name seven of 'em." Coco bounced up and sat on the edge of the stage, melancholy hidden behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses. "Yatsuhashi Daichi, Fox Alistair, Veronica Clark, Dew Gayl, Octavia Ember, Gwen Darcy… and… Nebula Violette." She hugged her knees.

"Seems like a high price for one slice of forest." Opher squinted as more of the older students began to break down. "That debt has been settled now, hasn't it?"

"And we don't know why!" snapped a blue-haired girl with a thick Atlesian accent. "They don't know!" she waved at Ruby and Pyrrha. "Nobody knows-"

"It was me. With a little help from Ruby, but it was me." Opher put his hat back on as their silence filled the hall. "Ask them. They were there. They saw it."

"It's true," Pyrrha admitted. "Our names would be on that list if it wasn't for him."

Coco stumbled to her feet and stormed over. "Then why didn't any of you say anything?!"

"I asked them not to." One brief look back at Indigo and Schwarze before he continued. "I couldn't decide whether or not the world was ready for what I know – then I wondered if the outcome could be worse than what they've got already. I didn't want people seeking my power for their own ends – but the people I were afraid of weren't worth that fear after all. Then… I tried to keep my new friends separated from the fight I thought I could leave behind. I can't leave it behind. That fight is Remnant." He detached the microphone from its stand and began to pace. "I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness. I've met kids whose last name alone cost them their safety. I met a hundred unharmed people in a refinery coffin ready to die because they thought it was the best option. The only option."

"Wait, what?" Indigo mumbled.

"And I met some refugees on the Carnforth Plain whose only crime was seeking safety behind Vale's walls. I watched a girl's head get blown off. She only wanted help." His gaze became distant. "I delivered a baby to the roof of a hospital in the Government District that night. I couldn't… I couldn't let it die too."

"When did this happen?!" Schwarze whispered harshly.

He shook his head at her and pressed on. "The point is, I realized that nothing's changed, but I just might have the power to change it. I can give some of that power to you." He pointed at the crowd. "Indigo, Schwarze, the Army garrison… they're all here to keep you safe. I guarantee they'll succeed. If you don't believe I can make that claim, come watch me fight. Some of your new classmates know what I'm talkin' about. I don't give a damn what Ozpin says. I want you to patrol with us. I want you to learn."

"Mister Riese, we're not here to incite a—a scene, we're-"

He pointed at Glynda so forcefully that she physically backed away one step. He addressed her more than the crowd. "I'm not inciting a scene, I'm restoring common sense. That old bastard has sat in Beacon Tower for how many years and watched these kids die? Then I start showing them how to defend themselves and he doesn't want them to know it? The Army doesn't? No. I'm done with this. Carmine would have died to protect them, to teach them, and if I don't, I'm a disgrace to her memory." He wiped his eyes with a sleeve. "Maybe I already am."

"Dude…"

Opher managed an awful, broken smile for his former boss. "The point is… don't worry. I don't mind staying up all day and night so you guys can sleep. Have a release ceremony every hour if you want. I'm good. It won't matter. My one request to you is…" He glanced away, recalling his conversation from much earlier that morning. "Yang and Weiss are on the same team and Yang didn't even know Weiss had a sister. That is not going to work. You're more isolated at this moment than you've ever been. It's time to open up to each other." He walked back to the stand and replaced the microphone. "We're our own little Kingdom right now. That Kingdom is only gonna stand if we hold it up together."

Glynda took his spot as he stepped away – the crowd made little noise, positive or negative, and seemed content to grumble among themselves. Before she could add anything, however, their Scrolls began to emit sounds – the same sound, but not simultaneously. It came in a wave whose peak lasted a few seconds before fading out. Teachers, students, CCT staff, all produced their devices to check what had happened and found their Scrolls were charged. Confusion dominated the air. "What in the world?" she mumbled. "I was on half battery when we got here."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Opher advised. "It's just something that happens around me."

"I… see. Well, in lieu of classes for the time being, I'll ask Professor Peach and the other faculty to make themselves available just to talk. The chapel will now be open 24 hours a day, as will the meditation hall. Whatever we hear from Lieutenant Vespa will be relayed to all of you as soon as possible. I'm sure Professor Ozpin has already asked the Queen to let your families know why communications have suddenly-"

"I have indeed." Ozpin appeared from the rear of the stage, thanks to a door that was basically the only way in with so many people crowding the floor entrances of the building. Xuefeng was also with him. Both hands rested on his cane. "You're all dismissed. Hurry back to your rooms before the snow starts," he advised with a genial smile.

They obeyed – teachers first, leaving the stage to help organize the students' exit. Ruby lingered for a moment with her team before they too joined the crush, Pyrrha in tow. Opher, meanwhile, stuck around to observe the silent staring contest between his friends and Xuefeng.

"I'm gonna go check on the Lieutenant," Indigo finally stated. "No point standing here."

Schwarze retrieved her beret and put it on. "I'll go with you. See you, cutie!"

"Uh huh. I'll probably be out there again soon anyway." While dozens of antsy students continued to file out below them, their departure left Opher on a different planet with the Headmaster and the still-glaring Brigade General. "What?" he finally said.

"Quite a speech at the end," Ozpin commented. "'Little Kingdom', and all that. I must, however, object to your assumption that I hide up in the tower and watch my students die."

"Of course you would."

"I've got a bigger question," Xuefeng cut in. "If Beacon is a Kingdom… does that make you its King?"

"I'd never be so presumptuous," he replied, adjusting his hat with a smile. "Then again, I don't see a crown on your fucking heads either."