"It is so good to see all of you," Ironwood muttered, gazing from the group from Beacon Academy.
"Our reception didn't really convey that," was the response he received from Yang; Ironwood sighed; the arrest had been heavy-handed and uncalled for.
"I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team," he uttered as Qrow Brawen rolled his eyes at the General. Winter saw this and scowled to herself but kept her mouth shut.
"When a rogue ship entered our airship, it raised some... red flags," Ironwood explained, taking a seat behind his desk, "We assumed the ship was stolen."
"Stolen!?" Ruby Rose said, laughing nervously, before she quietly admitted, "Okay yeah, it was stolen."
Ironwood was silent, but Winter could no longer contain herself.
"Stolen!?" she exclaimed, "You stole an Atlas airship!? What were you thinking!? She thundered, taking some steps directly towards her younger sister, "You've might have been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsible...!"
She was cut off as Weiss went in to hug her.
"I'm sorry I worried you," Weiss muttered, "But we did what we had to do."
"Why didn't you just contact me!?" Winter probed, "You're my sister Weiss, say the word, and you have been directly transferred here without having to steal an airship!"
Weiss broke apart from her sister and groaned.
"I couldn't leave my friends behind," she muttered, smiling at her team.
Winter sighed.
"You were still irresponsible," she grumbled, "We would have picked up your friends as well if you'd vouched for them". The elder Schnee lectured.
"But Winter...!" Weiss protested.
"But nothing!" she snapped back, "Stealing the airship was a mistake. One I don't want to see repeated, but I can expect it from children. But you Qrow!?" she growled. Shifting her attention to the huntsman lounging in the back of the group. "I cannot believe you allowed this to happen!"
"You try stopping these kids when they have their minds set on something," he replied casually.
Winter felt her rage intensify.
"My sister could have been killed!" she roared, "I would have tried to stop them! and as a professional huntsman, surely you would know better!"
"Sis, come on...Qrow didn't even want to steal the airship at first," Weiss muttered.
"Then why didn't you stick to your conviction!?" Winter bellowed at Qrow.
"Calm down, Ice Queen," Qrow muttered, "It all turned out well in the end; besides, we have other things to discuss," he said, flicking his red gaze towards the General.
"If you think I'm just going to drop this...!" Winter exclaimed.
"Schnee," Ironwood said gently, "We'll discuss this later, right now; I want to hear what they have to say," he muttered as he gestured at Qrow to speak.
"We have some important information to tell you," Qrow muttered.
"Is it about the relics!" Penny piped up merrily.
"Or about the Winter Maiden?" Winter inquired.
All their faces fell, Qrow looked positively aghast, which certainly helped Winter feel a little better.
"You... you told them!?" Qrow spluttered in disbelief.
Ironwood smiled and pulled out the relic of knowledge from under his desk.
"Did you really think you were the only one to work on a new plan after Beacon?" he asked Qrow, whose brows furrowed in anger. "With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust, so yes, I told them, the ace ops too."
Penny smirked while Winter puffed up her chest in importance. Ironwood's complete trust in her was something she valued more than anything else.
Never the less the listening crowd looked less than impressed with this development, so Ironwood continued to speak.
"I'm glad you're here, with this," Ironwood stated, gesturing at the relic he carried. "Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, but she just keeps on returning stronger and stronger, unless we destroy her."
The crowd was silent until Ruby found her tiny voice.
"W-what about the Atlas relic?" she asked.
"You mean the staff of creation?" Ironwood said.
"Safe inside the vault!" Penny confirmed.
"and the winter maiden?" Qrow drawled.
"She is secure," Winter replied curtly "... and in stable condition for the time being..."
"Stable condition, what does that mean!?" Yang exclaimed, "What do you mean for the time being!? What's...!?"
Now it was Qrow's turn to defuse the situation, as he held up a hand to stop his niece's curious inquires.
"Let's just say she's no spring chicken," he grunted.
Once again, the room lapsed into silence; Winter wanted to reprimand Yang, who stood there with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at her for seemingly no reason. Winter had openly told them all about the state of the Winter Maiden, so why was this blonde novice getting so aggressive for?
Who was her younger sister truly getting mixed up with?
Feeling the tension building the room, Ironwood chose to speak up.
"I know how this must look," he began. "Recalling my military, the embargo, I know I probably don't seem like the most trustworthy right now." He lamented before continuing", and I know you'll be wary. We were aware of what happened at Haven with Leo, but I would never betray you to Salem. I promise you that."
Another silence filled the room.
"Yeah, that's comforting," Qrow droned sarcastically, "Having you on our side last time was a real help, James."
Winter felt herself tense, rage building in her system faster than she could control it.
"That was a mistake! But it wasn't done on purpose!" she screamed (surprising everyone), "We didn't know those troops would be hacked, you should...!"
"Schnee!" Ironwood growled, raising his voice this time. The two of them shared a look, no words were spoken, but the message was clear.
Winter fell silent once again.
"General, why would you continue the embargo!?" Blake asked.
"The people of Mantle are hurting!" Nora added.
"I needed to ensure that Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas," Ironwood explained clearly, "and I wanted my military here, protecting my people."
"But it's not protecting them!" Yang snapped, "It's making everyone hate you."
"Yes, because the military isn't designed to protect people, Miss Xiao Long, it's just there to make people hate you." Winter thought in her head, "What on earth did you teach in your academy, Ozpin? Because this girl clearly hasn't been educated up to any acceptable standard."
However, rather than give Winter's sassy reply, Ironwood simply sighed and murmured, "It's a price I'm willing to pay."
Once again, this was met with silence; deciding to plough onwards, the General asked the group to trust him, as the large windows were covered. The room fell dark, and a hologram showcasing Aminty Colosseum illuminated the room. The plan Ironwood had been working on was shared with the new group.
Their current system was outdated; after one tower had fallen at Beacon, global communication had been lost. To ensure that mistake wasn't repeated, Ironwood described his plan to launch Aminty into space to act as a new sort of global satellite, out of the reach of the Grimm.
"That is great", Ruby muttered, gazing wide-eyed at the hologram.
"James, you don't need the whole military for this," Qrow muttered.
"I will for the next part," James said, "When I tell everyone about Salem."
Stunned silence rang across the room before Qrow found his voice once again, understanding dawning on his face.
"So that's why you withdrew your troops, to handle the panic that would break out in Atlas," he said.
"Yes," Ironwood confirmed, "Panic is inevitable; it attracts grim. But we will be ready for this! Once the tower is up, we'll tell the whole of remnant.
"They'll be grim everywhere!" Weiss exclaimed, "It'll all fall apart!"
"Atlas will be willing and ready to assist the other Kingdoms," Winter informed her.
"We'll be combat-ready!" Penny added.
The group gazed at each other, scepticism lining their faces due to the radical nature of Ironwood's plan. Was it the right thing to do? Or was the general making a massive mistake?
"Oz spent his life... all his lives hiding this," Qrow muttered.
"Yes, but after Beacon, things have changed," Ironwood replied, "Trying to hide the truth from the world will kill us all. and without Ozpin's guidance, all I can do is use my best judgement." Ironwood concluded as the hologram disappeared from view. The brilliant nighttime sky of Atlas lit up the room once again.
"How do we know the Grimm can't reach this new satellite?" Qrow asked, "and how do we know Salem can't reach it? You can't be one hundred per cent sure this will work, James."
"From what our scientists have discovered, Grimm wouldn't survive in space," Ironwood said, "We've had researchers cover this subject. We found Grimm in a vaccum usually freeze, or would get pelted and torn apart by space debris or radiation from the sun. Even if they survive, there's no air up there that they can use to propel themselves in a certain direction. Not to mention the arena will have defences installed, and it will be orbiting the planet, making it harder for Salem to catch."
"This all seems impressive, but it could fail James, and that'll be a massive waste of resources." Qrow reminded him.
"Unless you have a better plan and without Oz here to guide us, I believe this is the best course of action we can take," Ironwood uttered.
The General began pacing towards the window to view the Kingdom below him. When he stopped, feeling that something was off... he turned around to see the majority of the group looking at the younger boy.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Actually..." the boy muttered, "Oz... isn't completely gone."
"Oscar here... is the next Ozpin," Qrow explained.
The stress seemed to evaporate from Ironwood's face, his eyes expanded in childlike wonder, his smile was the most genuine one he'd had in months. He muttered, "Oz..." and without waiting a second galloped towards Oscar, like an excited pup.
"I'msogladyou'rehereIdidn'tthink...!" he began to muse without taking a breath, before Oscar cut him off.
"Um... not quite..." the nervous boy mumbled, "He's kinda... gone... at the moment."
"That's not normal," Ironwood said, his face dropping, "How did he...!?"
"We don't know," Ruby suddenly interjected.
All attention was drawn towards the silver-eyed girl as she shifted on the spot.
"We were err... in a train crash...and ever since... well... err... Oz wasn't there anymore."
Winter observed the girl closely as Ironwood groaned, "That's the worst news yet," he complained as his subordinate kept her stern eye on the group. Oscar went wide-eyed, Qrow looked surprised, and Ruby herself looked shifty and uncomfortable from where she was stood.
"Did you learn anything about the relics before...?" Ironwood asked of the girl.
"He told us the lamp could answer three questions... but..." Ruby muttered, looking away from him, "They were... used up already."
Winter didn't like this one bit. Yang and Blake were now exchanging doubtful looks. She didn't want to accuse them of hiding something, but she was observant enough to recognise all the signs.
Ironwood seemed dejected at this information but took it at face value.
What mattered to him is that Oscar was with them now, and they'd eventually bring Ozpin back. The General also handed the lamp back to Ruby; if what she said was true, then they'd learn nothing more from it. Still, it would be safest with the people who'd guarded it for this long, and they would keep it from Salem; that was their primary objective.
Before long, Ruby had offered to help them, and in Winter's own words, "If you're going to be assisting the military. We're going to provide you with the best weapons our scientists can devise."
When they departed Ironwood's office a short while later, there was a feeling of optimism in the air. All was well; everyone was going to be working together now.
Everyone was hopeful for the future.
Almost everyone.
"You can go and get some rest Schnee," Ironwood said many hours later as she stood over his desk.
"I'm not tired, and I'm here to guard you," she replied.
"I can protect myself," he said with an amused chortle, "It's late Schnee, I know it's been an exciting day, but you need rest. I know you'll want to catch up with your sister tomorrow."
"Yeah," Winter said with a smile, thinking of Weiss.
"It's just... so good to see them all again!" Ironwood said, the smile crossing his face was uncontrollable. "I was so glad to see Qrow, I actually hugged him!" he beamed there, "I couldn't see myself doing that before, and Penny looked like she was having the time of her life with her friends back! The ace-ops also apologised to Ruby's group with them working together, our forces will be next to unstoppable! Also with you Schnee, ready to fulfil your role as the Winter Maiden, we finally have a chance of beating Salem! and we have Oz back!"
Winter couldn't look at him; it hurt too much.
Seeing that Winter didn't share his excitement, Ironwood quickly caught on.
"Alright, what is it?"
"Sir?"
"You want to talk to me about something; that's why you're still here, so just tell me."
"Sir, there's nothing to report," Winter muttered.
Ironwood sighed.
"Winter," he said, the use of her first name caught her attention and made the younger soldier gaze back at her commander, who towered above her.
"I told everyone we need to work together," he emphasised, "and we need to be honest with each other. How can I tell them that if my most trusted ally can't even be honest with me."
Winter couldn't look at him now; her gaze found the ground.
"There's nothing, sir," she mumbled.
"I know when you're lying to me," Ironwood said.
"Then why can't you tell with them!" Winter suddenly snapped, cranking her head up and glaring at Ironwood directly. She knew it would trouble him, and she hated seeing the look of devastating surprise on his face, but she was going to tell him exactly what she felt.
"They're lying to you, sir, I know it!" Winter exclaimed, "About the relic and about Oz, I just... the way they were acting wasn't right.
Ironwood rubbed his forehead and let out a long exhale.
"That's what's bothering you?"
"Yes, sir," she muttered.
"Winter," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I appreciate you for telling me, but I think you've misjudged this one. They're all good kids; they wouldn't lie to me."
Winter was unable to formulate words; the look on Ironwood's face was too hopeful; the truth would crush him, whatever it was.
"Sir, I just want them to be honest; the way they spoke to you was..!"
"Fair," Ironwood replied, "They're within their rights to be doubtful of us; But your behaviour earlier certainly didn't help matters." His eyes narrowed as Winter felt herself shrink slightly in his more accusing glare.
Winter gulped.
"I haven't forgotten your altercation at Beacon with Qrow, and you yelled at him today; you need to keep your emotions in check. I can't have you acting this way, not with the duty you've been given." Ironwood scolded.
"I understand sir, It won't happen again."
"That's all I can ask," Ironwood muttered, relaxing slightly " Please try to trust them; besides, this is your own sister's group. She wouldn't lie to you, would she?"
"No... I mean... I don't think so," Winter replied.
That was the worst part of it; Winter didn't want to believe that her own flesh and blood, her little sister was in on this lie. But Winter's gut feeling told her precisely that.
"I'm going to retire for the night," Winter said. Shaking his hands off her shoulders, she moved towards the door, but before she could get all the way, a gentle "Schnee" stopped her.
"Sir?"
"I know it's been difficult for you, growing up under... him." Ironwood muttered, as Winter thought briefly about her father, before Ironwood continued, "...but I think growing up in that environment has made you... a little wary of people."
"Where are you going with this?"
"I'm just asking you to trust them and not cause trouble." he said, "Promise me you can do that."
Winter lamented what to say; she didn't want to hurt him; But Ironwood said it himself, someone had to make the tough choices, and even if she was hated for it, it was a price she was willing to pay.
"I'm sorry, sir, but unlike them. I can't lie to you."
She left his office before she could hear his reply, Winter detested the thought of stressing him out even more, and she hated voicing her concerns. Maybe it really was nothing. Perhaps her upbringing had made her a little too untrustworthy, but if they were being lied to.
Then Winter's new mission was to find out why.
A/N: Hope you liked this opening chapter! This was mostly a copy of Volume 7 chapter 2, with some additions. But more will be changed later. This fic will rewrite Volume 7 to where characters are that little bit smarter, more revelant questions are brought up and Salem will be a much bigger threat than what she turned out to be on the show.
Also it will be Winter- Ironwood centric as they are my favourite characters and I think Ironwood was done dirty by the poor writing in V8.
I'm open to all sorts of suggestions and things you'd like to see adressed in this, PM me, or leave your questions, praise or criticism in the reviews! I'll be sure to reply to everyone as I love discussion!
Now some of the questions I'll answer this fic include...
1) Did Yang tell her teammates about Raven being the Spring Maiden?
2) Did Ironwood plan to tell the world about the maidens and the relics as well as Salem?
3) Why didn't Ironwood, Maria or anyone else for that matter decide that Ruby's sliver eyes were an valuable assest and she needed further training with them? Qrow knows about it, there's a giant grimm at the top of Beacon that Ruby froze. Surely Ironwood would know about this? Ruby has this ability, why is it only used sparingly in the show when it could save them so much hassle?
If you have anymore questions or want to tell me the answers to the one I just wrote, then feel free to do so. Looking forward to hear your thoughts!