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"So each of the school's Headmasters are a part of this. You never met the other three Maiden's and don't know who they are." Jaune summarized.
"If Ozpin has them he never told me and likely won't tell you."
"So a Maiden just needs to touch the vault door and it opens. Does it need to be a full Maiden?"
"Yes to the former and I don't know for the ladder." She shrugged. "Ozpin never explained anything other than a specific Maiden is the key to a specific door."
The two had been talking in the bathroom for a long time. Jaune didn't feel tired by he knew from experience how that would change when he got into bed. Amber had confirmed everything the Headmaster told him. Brother gods and Salem,
"What... did Ozpin ever do anything to you while here?" Jaune asked cautiously.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's just... you really don't like Ozpin... Did he ever do something to hurt or offend you?"
"...I can see how I may come across as hating the man but I don't. I do resent how he kept me from a ball just outside the tower but my anger has always been more directed more towards my circumstances." She explained sincerely. "I don't have anything against Ozpin but I was so certain he'd bottle you up as he did me."
"He allowed you to travel the world, did he ever try and bring you back?"
Jaune felt this was a topic that needed discussing. Ozpin may have locked Amber away but also allowed her to roam freely when she left. There had to be a reason for leaving her be in the wild.
"Yeah, not too sure why. Maybe he thought forcing me back to Beacon would only create more problems than solve."
"Could be he respected your choice and understood the situation you were in?" He suggested carefully.
"Maybe... Just because Ozpin let me run around the globe without resistance doesn't mean he'll be the same with you." Amber warned. "He may see it as a mistake with how he's down half the Fall Maiden."
"He still let me go into the city."
"Yes, perhaps because barring you is a good way to drive a wedge between the two of you. Especially when he just found out about our predicament." She added. "He said something about discussing me later, best to get some rest for that."
"Good idea," Jaune stared once more into his reflection, locking with his blue eyes once more. "This is going to be the hardest school year anyone has had to deal with. I want to be ready to face it."
"If you're dead set on learning how to use my staff then we can go through some basics." Amber sighed. "Don't expect much."
The meeting with Ozpin came sooner than Jaune expected. As in the next day, he got pulled from his last class for the day to the Headmaster's office. Once there he found Qrow leaning against a pillar and Ms Goodwitch. He kinda figured Goodwitch was in on this from how closely he worked with Ozpin when Emerald and Mercury were at the school. The woman turned and the stern eyes everyone at Beacon knew her for were characteristically soft. She wasted no time crossing the room and meeting Jaune halfway as he walking through the elevator.
"Amber?" She asked calmly.
"She's inside my head but can only respond through me repeating her words." Jaune explained.
"Right, I supposed it was foolish of me to assumed it'd be like... never mind." Goodwitch turned and Jaune followed her to the desk he sat down while she took of position on the right side of the desk.
The holographic monitor held an image of General Ironwood, not a still one either.
"Now that we're all here and you know everyone already let's get down to business." Ozpin said.
"What are we here to talk about?" Jaune didn't really understand why they had to hold a whole meeting for this.
"The scar on your hand mainly, a day or so you had a Beacon medic come to your dorm room sometime around midnight. What happened?"
This was going to be related to Amber, from the stiffness and pain usually associated with her powers. Then his eyes changing color it had to be about her and maybe something they did. Jaune wasted no time recounting the events and while Ozpin remained passive Ironwood seemed to lean further in as he went on.
"That's when Amber felt told me she felt something... her body."
"It is located on one of the Battleships," Ozpin said without hesitation. "No aura or much brain activity had been detected so we ran a few tests. One of which was an aura booster, a scar covering her face glowed much like how you described your hand."
"What do you guys think it means?"
"Confirmation that Amber is inside of you and a piece within her body." It was Ironwood that spoke from the monitor. "The main theory is that her body is trying 'call' the rest of the soul back."
"What do you mean by call?"
"You may have use of the Maiden powers but only through Amber, she was forced inside of you with a violent reaction. The only way her power can leave is the point of entry, it may be damaging your arm because her soul is trying to leave." He explained. "Why else is it just your left hand and not your right?"
"Amber," He said aloud as there was no need to hide this among them. "Did you ever feel-"
"An odd pulling sensation, as if someone is grabbing me and trying to drag me through a drainage pipe?" She said with a stark realization. "It happened the night before."
Jaune repeated her words, Ironwood leaned back into his chair and Glynda looked almost hopeful.
"If her soul is trying to leave, her body maybe what's calling it." She said.
"Perhaps, or it could be the part that Cinder Fall took trying to reunite with the other half." Ironwood added.
"The aura booster incident implies otherwise in my eyes. If her body wants her soul back... could it be possible to encourage this?"
"Aura transfer is a barely understood science," Ozpin spoke up this time. "It's crude at best and barely tested."
"You know how to move a person's aura?" Jaune asked far more interested here than anything else in his life.
"We have a machine but if you're placed into it the device may suck both souls out and place it into Amber." He warned. "As I said it's an inexact science and we have no humane way of testing it."
"What about my left hand?" Jaune waved it into the air. "If that's the 'entrance then can it be the exit?" Goodwich and Ironwood seemed to be the only ones intrigued by the thought.
"James would have to run a few tests to see if this is viable. Although these are just theories we've made and if her entrance caused harm her exit might be as or more violent." Ozpin warned.
"If this proves dangerous you will stop trying." Amber hissed. "I've already accepted I'm stuck here. Do not put your life on the line for a long shot."
Jaune nodded for both of them and she seemed to get the message.
"What about Cinder? Has there been anything on Ruby?"
"Not a peep," Qrow muttered angrily. "Although I'll have a better time finding info if we can conclude this sometime today. Not that you guys needed me here."
"That aside the situation within the city requires a delicate touch, I'm sure you've heard of the kidnappings by now." Jaune nodded, it was related as they no doubt figured it out before he did. An announcement was also made the morning explaining that the school didn't want students going out because of how dangerous the city was becoming. It didn't specify the kidnappings and there were more than a few things one can blame on the sudden lockdown.
"The White Fang is still operating in the city and the citizens are not enjoying the lack of success."
"We beat them at Mountain Glenn."
"Yet the White Fang was not destroyed," Ozpin added. "The organization's resilience in the face of so many hardships is the true issue. Stopping robberies and preventing them from using that train were victories, but they keep bouncing back."
Jaune got what the Headmaster was saying, although their plans were stopped here they were trying again. The city was becoming a fortress and the police and Hunters the occupying army, still, they were running around grabbing kids.
"A lot of Grimm are going to be attracted, especially because of the tourists." Qrow added.
"There has already been a spike in Grimm activity," Qrow said. "It's not unmanageable but will create more negativity if people notice. The Vytal Festival may be able to distract people."
"Is it going to affect team missions?"
"Of course, assignment difficulties are being heavily revised for all students." Goodwitch sighed, it must have been a tedious task. "However, with your team constantly rushing around Vale on unsanctioned battles with the White Fang. It has been determined..." She eyed Ozpin with a sightly disapproving gaze. "That team JPBY won't need to go on their first-year mission."
Amber chuckled. "Yeah, I supposed what you four did sort of qualifies as a Hunter mission, especially everything you and Blake have done."
"About dangerous missions... I'm going to assume Qrow told you guys about our talk with Torchwick?" Jaune asked cautiously, the last thing he wanted was to be prevented from helping Yang get her sister back.
"Yes," Goodwitch answered sternly. "And this is far more reckless than what you and Miss Belladonna did at the docks. You and especially your teammates cannot seriously be considering walking into a trap meant to kill-"
"Qrow will have to accompany you," Ozpin said quickly and surprised everyone, including Yang's Uncle. "When your informant comes through we will prepare accordingly."
"Ozpin!" The woman hissed only to go ignored by the man in question in favor of sipping his coffee.
"Rest assured you are not alone in dealing with Cinder." He smiled warmly, one that felt oddly genuine. "You may go now, do try to prepare your team for the coming battle."
Jaune looked around to the confused looks of everyone around Ozpin. Amber sounded like she wanted to say something but the words got caught somewhere and remained silent.
"We will Headmaster."
Ozpin sighed as the boy exited down the elevator, he was much other than Amber was. Not to mention has familial connections they needed to keep a close eye on.
"We shouldn't allow him to move too freely, or walk into an ambush," James said. "He needs to be watched Ozpin."
"Jimmy we don't even understand how this happened, so I doubt Cinder would be able to figure it out on her own," Qrow said. "The kid is being hunted for different reasons."
"Regardless of that, if he dies the power could go to her and then we'll have a full Maiden to deal with."
"I am aware of the risks James, but I suspect if we try to bar them it will only create resentment to us. Then they will go to Vale regardless of our wishes to save Miss Rose." He explained calmly.
"We are more than suited to deal with this ourselves Ozpin."
"Perhaps we are... James, I have made so many mistakes in my life and I never want to make a habit of repeating them." He turned to the Atlas generals with a sad tint in his eyes. "Amber was but a child and we all know what sealing her away meant. Jaune has companionship, a family in Mistral loving outside the city, the threats being posed to them is all we need to keep him with us."
"A guided cage is still a cage Ozpin." He warned.
"I know old friend. I know..."
Roman surveyed the decrepit hotel with vexation. The place was being forged into a fortress, cross-cutting lines of fire covered the parking lot and pool the place was built around. Anybody who came in from the front would immediately be surrounded on three sides. The White Fang has also done a bit of remodeling to make the place look like somewhere you'd want to live, part of the trick of course. That seemed to be the plan, have the kid walk right in thinking little red was just being held inside. The bots were being hidden not inside one place but scattered around. Some were supposed to be pulled in via semi-truck and block off the entrance while hitting the kids unassuming rear.
This whole place was a kill box that he and Neo worried about to no end. Those kids were not walking out of to mess without a scratch, that's for sure. Just like Cinder wanted...
"The ammunition is subpar and isn't in enough quantity to have much effect." Roman turned to see Adam and the devil herself walking out of a room. "The rifles the Knights have are hand cannons by comparison-"
"Those rifles are being used by preprogrammed war machines and will continue to be used by them." Cinder both interrupted and shot down his demand. "The wind dust in the bullets will work just as well, and your men are firing from fortified hotel rooms. Not to mention Arc will not know which room his friend or other hostages would be in, so there is no need to worry about them blasting rooms."
While Adam wasn't as intense about killing Arc as Cinder. He agreed that he is a persistent problem to deal with, although kitty cat perhaps had something to do with this. The bull seemed to ogle her with peak interest one that Roman decided not to dig into.
Adam grumbled. "I need better ammunition, Ozpin's hunters will get involved no matter what you think. Atlas too."
"We'll have to deal with that problem when it arises, your men were the ones to drag Ruby Rose here ahead of time..." She let the imprecation of incompetence sot for a while before she continued. "If you want better ammunition, go and find some."
"From where the abundance of dust shops?" He snarked and she stiffened having been reminded why they had so little dust in the first place before dashing it and moving on.
"Now all we need to find a non-suspicious way to have Arc come to this location. While having Atlas and Ozpin divide themselves to the other hostage sights." She said with a tinge of hope in her voice, like if she said it aloud then the answer would materialize before her.
"Some of my informants told me they saw Arc's posse going into Junior's place," Roman said figuring it was the right time to speak up. "You could try leaking information to him then he'd give it to Arc..."
If there was a better way to make this suggestion Roman would be doing it. Cinder pondered it for a moment and he needed to hold back a sigh of relief when she nodded.
"That could work."
With that done he leaped into phase two of his plan. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. There's a dust shipment coming in, a last-minute thing for the Amity Colosseum, we're hurting for dust and I'm going to need some men and firepower to pull a heist on it."
Cinder's eyes gleamed for a moment, she was hurting for some more dust and a possible way to plunge Vale into further chaos. "Gather what you need, I expect results in this Roman."
"Don't you worry, I'm getting everything sorted." He tried to give a sly grin but instead found his lips quivering and turned to avoid her seeing it.
A few of those Knights would help on a raid to an Atlas cargo ship and it was probably safer than being here. Now all he needed to do was make a call...
"Did what I could and then some kid. Try not to screw this up."