Team COAL returned to Shade Academy and reported to Theodore in his office.
"Another job well done," he said with a smile on his face. "But before you ask, no. I'm still not ready to lend Shade Academy's support. I am very close to getting to the bottom of the big conspiracy against Beaumont and this school. If you can help me neutralize this threat, I promise I will lend my support."
As disappointed that Colby was that Theodore still wasn't helping him, he understood that the threat to Shade had to be dealt with first.
"What do you need us to do?" he asked.
"Right now, nothing," the headmaster said. "Not until I think I've found the answer. But there is something coming up that you might enjoy."
"And what might that be?" Lily asked.
"The annual Shade dance!" Theodore replied. "All students and teachers are welcome to attend it with up to one guest, who is usually that person's date. The dance is this Sunday night, and I think you'll have a blast. There will be music, dancing, food, and all sorts of fun. Now go enjoy yourselves. You've earned it."
"Yes sir!" Autumn replied happily.
"That's the spirit!" Theodore replied with a grin. The students all turned and left the office, excited about the dance.
"Did you hear that?!" Autumn asked excitedly. "We're having a dance this Sunday! It'll be just like the one at Beacon!"
Colby remembered the dance at Beacon. It was a huge event, with students from every school attending because of the Vytal Tournament. He had gone with Lily, and remembered how gorgeous she looked in that beautiful white dress of hers. They had just gone as friends, or that's what they had said. He hoped it would be different this time. But he didn't have the courage to say it yet, so he thought he'd talk about different memories.
"Do you all remember Team JNPR's dance?" he asked with a big grin. "They really stole the show, you know. Especially with Jaune wearing that dress!" he struggled to hold in laughter.
"Yeah, that was pretty funny," said Lily. I actually have that recorded on my scroll here!" She pulled out her scroll and brought up the video of JNPR's dance. They saw it all happen again, even funnier than they remembered. They witnessed the dancing once more, heard the music, and of course they all laughed at how ridiculous Jaune looked in that dress. It made them sad, however, to know that at least one member of the team in the video was now dead. They had never been very religious, but they knew that if there was a heaven, Pyrrha was surely looking upon them with pride from up there.
"On a more serious note, Ruby may have seen the traitor that night," Lily said. "The one responsible for the destruction of Beacon. She said she caught a glimpse of a woman in the CCT control center just before all those weird black queen chess pieces appeared all over the computers, one who looked a bit like Cinder from Haven. Although she didn't see the intruder up close."
Colby remembered Ruby's description now that Lily mentioned it, and thought about what Lily said for a moment. "Well, it might have been Cinder," he said. "I always felt like there was something...strange about her...And the woman who gave that little speech after Penny died did sound a bit like her. But the fact that Ruby saw a woman who looked like her and that the woman who gave the speech sounded like her isn't enough evidence to say that she was responsible for what happened. And even if she was responsible, she most likely died during the Fall. Right, Lily?"
"Yes, most likely," Lily said sadly. "A lot of people died. Probably including her."
"In any case, we need to stay focused on the task at hand. We can catch the traitors later," said Ouranos.
"Indeed," Colby replied. "But for now, we have a rare break from our troubles. Let's all enjoy ourselves on Sunday!"
"You said it!" said Autumn.
The teammates all went to bed for the night, tired after their mission. They spent the next day getting ready for the dance and shopping for dance-appropriate clothing. During the whole process, Colby thought about Irving's words. He would try to find the right time to tell Lily how he felt. Lily, meanwhile, remembered Ray's encouragement. "I can do this," she thought to herself. "I've fought against Grimm, White Fang, gangsters, and human supremacists. I can handle confessing my feelings to a boy I like…"
Sunday night…
Finally, the night of the Shade Dance arrived. The school had a special room set aside for the occasion, which had a dance floor as well as some tables set up with food and drinks on them and open windows with a great view of the city. Team COAL walked in, all dressed up for the occasion. The two boys, Colby and Ouranos, were wearing dark suits. Autumn was wearing a red dress, and Lily was wearing a white one. Colby thought she looked just as beautiful as she did on the night of the Beacon dance.
Before the dance began, Theodore went in and addressed all the students, teachers, and guests. "Good evening, everyone," he said. "I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge that we've had a difficult past few months, what with the Fall of Beacon and the instability it's caused. But like true Vacuans, you have all persevered. Despite everything, you never let these events shake you or your dedication to protecting Remnant. Just know that you all deserve a great dance. More than any other Shade Academy class."
Everyone applauded. "Funny he didn't acknowledge our team," Colby said in an irritated voice.
"He doesn't want to raise too much support for our mission until it's time," Lily said. "Once the threat to Shade is dealt with, I'm sure he'll be rallying the whole school to our cause."
The dance began. Music played, and students went to the dance floor to show everyone their best moves. The members of Team COAL all stood by the tables for now and began eating. Theodore walked up to them.
"I know I didn't acknowledge this in the speech, but your perseverance has been extraordinary," he said. "Few adult huntsmen and huntresses, let alone students, have demonstrated the valor that you have shown thus far. What has driven you to risk life and limb time and time again? Most people would have given up long ago."
"We keep fighting to honor the sacrifices of everyone who's come before us," Colby explained. "Many people died trying to protect Vale, and we're fighting to make sure that their sacrifices haven't been in vain."
"That's noble," Theodore said.
"It's not just that," Autumn added. "There's our friends, those who were kidnapped by the White Fang. A true huntress would never leave her friends behind."
"Indeed," said Theodore.
"And beyond that, there's the fact that we're quite literally saving the next generation of Vale's huntsmen and huntresses," said Ouranos. "These students represent the future of Vale. Without them, Vale has no future."
"Oh, I understand that perfectly," Theodore replied with a smile. "Why do you think I'm the headmaster of Vacuo's huntsman school?"
Lily laughed. "I'm glad you understand, professor Theodore," she said.
"I really do. Now go enjoy yourselves." The professor walked away, leaving the team alone at the table. Looking out at the dance floor, they saw that the other students were finishing up their dance.
"Alright, everyone!" Colby shouted. "Now it's our turn!" They all headed toward the dance floor.
"I know the perfect song for this!" Autumn shouted excitedly as she plugged her scroll into the room's speaker system, allowing her to play any song on her scroll throughout the entire dance room. She pressed play, and then ran up to join her teammates as the song started.
Everyone recognized the song as soon as it began. It was the same one that played during Team JNPR's dance back at Beacon. They all began dancing in a manner similar to the way JNPR did, as the song continued to play.
'Cause baby, it's time to make up your mind!I think that tonight is when the stars align!
Many of the students saw them dancing and heard the music and a few of them recognized it from the Beacon dance several months ago.
"They're doing JNPR's dance!" a girl shouted.
"And that song! It's the same one that played at Beacon!" a boy added. Before long, the whole crowd surrounded the team and began cheering them on. A few took out their scrolls and began recording the dance just as COAL had recorded JNPR's at Beacon.
"Great song, Autumn!" Lily shouted happily. "Who sang this, do you know?"
"Casey Lee Williams!" Autumn replied enthusiastically. "She's my favorite musician!"
The team continued to dance, and everyone kept cheering them on. Colby felt the happiest he'd felt in months. Not only were he and his teammates the life of the party at the Shade Dance, but they had done the impossible. They'd come all the way across the desert, and they would go on and complete their task. In the meantime, he and his teammates were reliving their days at Beacon. In that moment, it was as if the Fall had never happened. He was just enjoying the evening with his teammates and his crush.
After a while, the song ended. Everyone cheered and applauded as Team COAL walked toward the tables for more food. Some other students began dancing again. Colby, meanwhile, remembered Irving's words and prepared to say something that he'd meant to for a while. He approached Lily, terrified of what was about to happen but nonetheless determined.
"Um...Lily?" he asked nervously.
"Yes, Colby?" She could tell he was nervous, and she was actually just as nervous as he was.
"We've been together for a while, and I just wanted to tell you that I…"
Before Colby could say anything else, a female teacher burst through the door to the room. "The White Fang are here!" she shouted. "They've invaded the east and west wings of the school!"
"How the hell did the White Fang get in here?!" Professor Theodore asked.
"I don't know, sir!" But they're here, and they're armed. We have to deal with them!"
"Leave them to us, professor!" Colby shouted. He was irritated that the White Fang had interrupted his confession and ruined his night, but he knew that his school needed him.
"We'll help too!" Irving Dunstan called out.
"Very well," said Theodore. "Team COAL, you handle the intruders in the east wing. Team IRON, you take the west. I'll evacuate all the other students."
"Yes sir!" Colby replied.
"We won't let you down, sir!" said Irving.
Thankfully, Team COAL's dorm was in the hallway on the way to the area where the White Fang had been spotted, meaning that they could go by and pick up their weapons before engaging the enemy. They ran through the hallway before encountering a group of about ten White Fang soldiers holding assault rifles, swords, and other weapons. The Fang opened fire as soon as they saw the students, but the huntsmen and huntresses were more than prepared for them. They pulled out their weapons and deflected the bullets back at their opponents before jumping in and attacking them up close.
Colby pulled out his axes and struck down a White Fang grunt with each one. Another grunt, meanwhile, tried to swing a sword at Lily, who ducked under it. The sword instead hit another grunt. Lily then kicked the one with the sword to the ground and knocked him out with a punch. A couple of thugs fired at Autumn, who then played her guitar and blasted the bullets back at them, taking them out. Ouranos knocked one over with the shaft of his battleaxe, knocking him out, then knocked another one down with a hit to the chest.
There were two left after this, both of whom tried to run for it. Lily shot both of them in the leg, and Colby and Ouranos finished them off with punches to their heads.
As soon as these grunts were dealt with, two lieutenants rushed in. Both of these lieutenants were holding chainsaws, and the students split up to deal with them. One raised his chainsaw and swung it horizontally at Colby and Ouranos, both of whom jumped over the blade. Colby then tried to strike at the faunus from above, but the lieutenant stepped back to avoid being hit. He then kicked Colby to the ground and attempted to finish him off, but Ouranos jumped in the way and blocked the attack with his axe. While his blade was locked with the blond boy's Colby got up, put his weapons in gun mode, and shot the lieutenant in the chest twice. Once with each gun. The faunus fell to the ground, and Ouranos knocked him out.
While all this was happening, Lily and Autumn engaged the other lieutenant, who was a female faunus of some species. Autumn blasted the sonic waves of her guitar at the lieutenant, who was blown a few feet back but did not stumble and fall. Lily tried to follow up with a few arrows, but the lieutenant knocked them out of the air with her chainsaw. The lieutenant then rushed in and tried to swing her blade at Lily, who ducked under it and shoved her knife into the lieutenant's abdomen. The lieutenant fell to the ground, and Lily delivered the knockout punch. She then wrapped a bandage around the lieutenant's wound so that the faunus wouldn't die.
"Alright, is there anyone else here?!" Colby asked. Just then, a group of those gold-masked mercenaries from the Beaumont case swung through the windows and pointed their guns at the huntsmen and huntresses. This time, they appeared to be wearing some sort of armor in addition to the masks. More of them came around each corner of the hallway, surrounding the students. There were about a dozen of them in total.
"It's the gold masks!" Colby cried out. "When did they ally themselves with the White Fang?!"
"Who cares?!" Ouranos shouted. "Let's just take them out!"
"Attack!" the leader of the mercenaries shouted. His voice was distorted by his mask, which had a feature built in to make its wearer's voice unrecognizable. The gold masks did as he said, attacking the students with their melee weapons to avoid shooting each other. They attacked with swords, spears, axes, and other weapons.
One of the mercenaries swung a sword at Colby, who blocked it with his left axe before attacking with the right. The man jumped out of the way quickly with the reflexes of a huntsman. Colby put his weapons in gun mode and opened fire, but found that the bullets didn't wound him right away.
"These guys have auras!" Colby shouted before another merc joined in, swinging an axe at him. He jumped out of the way and kept fighting them off as well as he could.
Ouranos swung his axe and took one of them down, but more joined in. One of them opened fire with his rifle. Ouranos deflected the bullets, but they served as cover fire while two more thugs rushed in. This put the boy on the defensive. He kept deflecting their attacks and countering with his own whenever there were openings and managed to whittle away at their auras, but his opponents would not be easily defeated.
"And they're tougher than the ones we saw before!" Ouranos shouted. "They're on par with huntsmen!"
Autumn let out a blast of soundwaves with her guitar, but the men she aimed them at jumped over to the left and right, dodging them. They engaged her up close, putting her in a situation similar to that of Ouranos. She fought them off as well as she could, but she grew tired after a while.
Lily initially tried shooting the mercs with her arrows, but they all either shot the arrows out of the air. She drew her knife and tried to attack them up close, but their weapons were longer and their reflexes were just as good as hers. She got a few hits in here and there, but her enemies were fast, fierce, and strong.
In the end, Team COAL was defeated. They fought as hard as they could and managed to take down about half of their enemies, but their auras were broken down and they were knocked to the floor. Their opponents took the opportunity to throw a few extra punches at them just for fun until their leader spoke.
"The huntsmen must be terminated," he said. "Line them up against the wall." They did as he said, picking up the members of COAL and throwing them against the wall with the students facing the mercs. The gold masks raised their rifles.
"Prepare to fire on my command!" their leader said. "Ready...Aim…"
"NO!" shouted a familiar voice. Looking to the right, the members of Team COAL saw Tsukiko Tachibana flying down the hallway with yellow flames surrounding her eyes. The teammates couldn't believe what they saw. Tsukiko raised her staff, and a huge gust of wind blew the mercenaries to the ground. They tried to fire at Tsukiko, but she raised a wall of ice between herself and the mercs that their gunfire could not penetrate. She then melted it with a blast of fire from her staff, blinding the mercs in the resulting steam. They fired blindly, but Tsukiko quickly knocked them out with some strikes from her staff.
"Tsukiko…" Colby said in shock as the steam cleared. "You saved us! But what are you doing here? You were supposed to evacuate with the other students."
"I couldn't just sit back and let you guys die!"
"How did you do all that?!" Lily asked. "The flying, the elemental magic, the flames around your eyes?!"
Tsukiko sighed at this. "I suppose I owe you an explanation," she said. "You see, I'm what's called a Maiden…"
Colby's eyes widened. "A Maiden?!" he asked in shock. "You mean like in the fairy tales?!"
"Indeed," the blonde girl replied. "The Summer Maiden, to be exact. That's what's so special about me. This staff here amplifies my powers, though I can still use them without it."
"But the Maidens can't be real!" Lily shouted. "The probability is zero!"
"That's where you're wrong, Lily. Theodore told me about your semblance. He said it could be wrong if there was some key piece of information that you didn't know."
"But how is any of this possible?"
"There's no time to explain," Tsukiko replied. "Team IRON still needs my help. You all should head to the Grimm Studies classroom at the northern end of the school and clear out any remaining hostiles along the way. IRON and I will meet you up there to discuss our next move. I'll tell you more about my powers after the battle, I promise!" she said as she flew off.
"Well, we need to get moving!" Lily shouted as she ran off toward the Grimm Studies classroom. Her teammates all followed her. On their way, they encountered more White Fang members and gold-masked mercenaries. The White Fang members went down easily. The mercs presented a much greater threat, but there were fewer of them in number. After fighting their way through the halls, they reached the Grimm studies classroom.
The door to the classroom was guarded by two gold masks, and Lily fired an explosive arrow at them to deal with them. They jumped out of the way, but Colby and Ouranos approached them up close and swung their weapons at the mercs. The two men put their weapons in melee mode just in time to block the attacks, but the boys had the advantage. Colby kicked his opponent to the ground and finished him off with a series of punches. He then put his weapons in gun mode and fired at the other guard, who then fell over. Ouranos knocked him out.
There was one more man in the classroom, who fired at the students with his rifle. Colby deflected the attacks with his axes before attacking with his semblance. The man dodged him with his huntsman-like reflexes, but Lily rushed in and kicked the gun out of his hands. She then kicked him onto the ground and placed her foot on his chest.
"What are you people doing here? What are you planning? Talk!" she shouted threateningly.
"O-okay, you don't need to be so nasty!"
"What are you planning?!" Lily repeated.
"You're already too late. While you fought us and the Fang here in the halls, our agents placed a bomb on the top level of this building, where the headmaster's office and the CCT transmitter are located. We were just a diversion. There's no way you'll stop the bomb in time!"
A/N: Shade is a pyramid-like structure with Theodore's office and the CCT transmitter on the top level, in case my descriptions of the academy haven't made that clear enough.
"That's where you're wrong!" Lily shouted. "But why are you here? Why help the White Fang blow up a huntsman academy?"
"I don't know," the man replied. "Nor do I care. I'm a mercenary. I'm in this for the money."
"Well, you're about to learn that crime doesn't pay!" Lily shouted as she delivered the knockout punch. Just then, Team IRON and Tsukiko arrived.
"We've forced a confession from one of their agents!" Colby said. "They're going to blow up the upper level of the school!"
"I know!" replied Irving. "We got a similar confession from one of their agents in the west wing!"
"Ray, you make weapons, right?" Lily asked the scientist. "Do you know how to defuse a bomb?"
"Absolutely," the boy replied. "But you'll need to cover me while I disarm it."
"We'll cover you. Let's go!" Colby replied.
They all ran into the stairwell to find that the place was suspiciously empty. When they went up and entered the top floor, they found it equally surprising that there were no gold masks or White Fang members present.
"It's quiet up here…" Autumn said. "Too quiet…"
"You'd expect these guys to put up more of a fight," Naseem replied.
"They probably just don't want to draw attention to the fact that there's a bomb up here," said Lily. "You should stay alert. They could be swarming this place any minute."
The students all entered Theodore's office, where they found what looked like a large bomb laying on the headmaster's desk. Its timer was counting down, and there were about five minutes left.
"Looks like we got here just in time!" Ray shouted. "Alright, I should be able to disarm this. You just guard the outside and make sure no one comes in here."
He got to work on defusing the bomb while the others went out to guard the outside of the office. Just then, the elevator came to the floor and a group of gold masks stepped off. A few more stepped out of the stairwell, and they all had their guns pointed at the students. There were about ten of them in total. One of the mercs, who appeared to be a woman, was wearing a black mask and black armor rather than gold like the others.
"How did they know we were here?!" Autumn asked.
"We hacked the school's security cameras," the woman explained in a voice that was distorted by her mask but still discernible as female. "I'm impressed that you've all made it this far and figured out our plan, but I'm afraid this is where you die."
"We won't let you near Ray!" shouted Tsukiko. She used her Maiden powers to let out a huge gust of wind that blew all the mercs to the floor, scattering them. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the students all charged in. Tsukiko rushed up to one of them and tried to beat him with her staff, but he got up and turned his gun into a spear-like weapon. He stabbed it at her, but she jumped over to the right and swung her staff down at his legs. He fell over, and Tsukiko was able to hit him with her staff until he went unconscious.
Another merc attempted to hit the Maiden from behind with a sword while she did this, but Lily shot him in the foot with an arrow. It didn't pierce his aura, but the pain staggered him long enough for Ouranos to rush in and hit him with a strike from his axe. Ouranos put his semblance into it, bringing down the man's aura and knocking him to the ground. He then kicked the merc in the head, knocking him out. While he did this, Tsukiko ran and engaged the woman in the black armor.
Meanwhile, Colby and Oakley had their weapons in gun form and were standing back to back. They shot at every gold mask they saw, and were quite effective at cutting through their opponents' auras. The mercs were fast and accurate, but Colby and Oakley were faster and more accurate. They aimed for center mass, and tried to avoid shooting vital organs when possible.
A merc with a sniper rifle aimed his gun at Ray and took a shot, but Autumn jumped in front of it and blew it back with a sonic blast from her guitar. The bullet flew back at him, striking him before he could react. Another gold mask closed in on Autumn, who blocked his attack before kicking him to the ground and knocking him out. Two more mercs shot her with their rifles, not injuring her because of her aura but still knocking her to the ground. Irving and Naseem moved to intercept them and blocked their attacks before they could deliver the coup de grace. They struck back, and after a brief clash in which the two boys and the mercs swung at each other and deflected each other's attacks, they knocked their opponents to the ground, unconscious.
While all of this was going on, Tsukiko was fighting the woman in the black armor. The woman wielded a glaive that was about the same length as Tsukiko's magical staff. She and Tsukiko swung at each other and blocked each other's attacks for a while, and the woman managed to hold out even against Tsukiko's Maiden powers. She always managed to dodge the Summer Maiden's icicles, lightning bolts, and fireballs or, in the case of the icicles, knock them out of the air using her glaive.
The woman managed to hit Tsukiko in the head with the shaft of her glaive, stunning the blonde girl for a few seconds. But before she could strike Tsukiko again, Colby opened fire with his revolvers. This forced the woman to deflect his bullets, which distracted her long enough for Ouranos to charge in with a strength semblance powered swing of his battleaxe. She jumped out of the way and then countered with a swing of her glaive, which Ouranos then blocked. The two locked blades and pushed against the other as hard as they could.
Seeing her chance, Tsukiko launched a fireball at the mysterious woman. This knocked her to the ground and depleted what was left of her aura. She fell to the ground, and Tsukiko placed her foot on the woman's chest. All the other terrorists had fallen at this point, and then everyone heard the best news of the night.
"I've defused the bomb," said Ray. "The school should be safe now."
"You think you've won this?" the woman asked. "Shade's time will come. Nothing lasts forever. Not even the huntsman academies."
"Yeah yeah," Tsukiko said. "Who even are you anyway?" She reached down and removed the woman's mask, revealing a human woman with dark hair and brown eyes.
"Kaala Hilgari?!" Tsukiko asked in shock.
"You know her?" Lily asked.
"Not personally, but she's a pretty well-known huntress here in Vacuo." She turned down to look at Kaala. "How could you betray your kingdom like this?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" the woman asked. "The students of Shade are getting better and better each year."
"Why thank you," said Irving.
"It means their names will displace mine. In a few decades, I'll be completely forgotten. No one will remember who I was. I wasn't prepared to let that happen."
"So you decided to blow up a huntsman school?!" an irate Autumn asked.
"Yes," Kaala said flatly. "It would have ensured that the new generation of huntsmen and huntresses never rose to fame and I would be remembered forever."
"And you became willing to blow up a huntsman academy, kill who knows how many innocent people, and leave Vacuo defenseless against the Grimm just for that?"
"Yes I did."
"Well, you got what you wanted." Tsukiko scolded. "Even though you failed to destroy Shade, you made yourself known as a traitor. You'll be remembered forever, but not in the way you wanted."
"Fine by me. I'd rather be remembered as a traitor than not remembered at all."
The students called Theodore to let them know that the attackers were stopped, and the police came and arrested Kaala and her unconscious goons. Once all was said and done, the two teams and Tsukiko were back in Theodore's office.
"You have my deepest thanks," the headmaster said. "Tonight, you have not only saved Shade Academy, but indeed all of Vacuo."
"We couldn't have done it without Tsukiko, sir," said Colby.
"Right," said Theodore. "I understand she revealed her secret to you?"
"I have, headmaster," Tsukiko said. "And I promised them I'd tell them more about it after the battle."
"Well, there's no harm in it now that they know the Maidens are real. Go ahead."
"Before I tell you how I got my powers, I need to explain what the Maidens are. There are four Maidens, each representing one of the four seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Maidens have the ability to use elemental magic without dust. When a Maiden dies, her powers are passed on to the last woman she thinks of. If she isn't thinking of any particular woman when she dies, the powers will be passed to a random woman. It could be any female human or faunus in all of Remnant."
"How did you get the Summer Maiden powers?" Lily asked. "Who did you inherit them from?"
"My mother," Tsukiko answered sadly. "She was the matriarch of the Tachibana Clan, a tribe in the northwestern region of this kingdom. It's more hospitable than the desert you walked across."
"What happened to her?" Autumn asked.
"Last summer, there was a severe drought all over Vacuo. There wasn't enough water to go around, and the Tachibana went to war with another tribe over the little water that was left. We were grossly outnumbered, but we won thanks to the power of the Summer Maiden. Sadly, my mother was mortally wounded during the battle. We took her back to our village, where she died."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Colby.
"I inherited the Summer Maiden powers when she died," Tsukiko continued. "In my grief I lost control of my powers, set the cabin on fire and burned it to the ground. And then Theodore found out about this. He travelled to my village, told me who I was, and offered to let me into Shade a year early to learn how to use my powers. I'm actually sixteen."
"Our friend Ruby was let into Beacon two years early," Ouranos said. "I'm not quite sure why. Ozpin never told us why, and neither did Ruby."
"Wow. Ozpin must have really seen potential in her. Anyway, I've gained a lot more control of my powers since then. But I can still lose control during highly emotional situations. After I graduate, I will become the new matriarch of the Tachibana Clan. Until then, my father is running the tribe."
"You all now know one of the biggest secrets in all of Remnant," said Theodore. "Keep it to yourselves now, or you'll be sorry."
"We will sir," replied Colby. "But how many people know about the Maidens? Or that Tsukiko was a Maiden?"
"All the headmasters know, as do the Maidens themselves and a select few who Ozpin trusts with that knowledge. Tsukiko's teammates also know that she's the Summer Maiden, but they don't know who the other Maidens are and neither does Tsukiko."
"My teammates didn't know at first," said Tsukiko. "But during the Fall of Beacon, we found ourselves cornered by Grimm. I could have either used my powers to save myself and them but also exposed myself as a Maiden, or let us all get devoured. I chose the former."
"And I decided to trust them with the knowledge," Theodore added.
"I'm glad they're okay. What's going to happen now?" Autumn asked.
"The police are going to interrogate those mercs who attacked the school. Once we find out who's responsible, we'll arrest them. I have a feeling that the attack was orchestrated by the same person who tried to frame Beaumont. I'll let you know when we learn anything."
"Understood, sir."
"You are all dismissed."
They all left to go back to their dorms. On their way, Lily decided to ask Colby something.
"Hey Colby," she asked nervously. "What was that thing you wanted to say back at the dance?"
"Colby was very startled by her question. His nerves were shot after what had just happened, and his body was exhausted. He couldn't tell her his feelings.
"I just wanted to say that you've been a great friend and teammate," Colby replied. "You've been there for me through all sorts of dangers, including my own arrogance and stupidity. Without you, I might have ended up like that Kaala lady." He meant the part about her being a good and faithful friend, even though he didn't mention his feelings for her.
"You're welcome, Colby. You're a good friend too." She calculated a high probability that there was something he wasn't telling her, but she was too physically and mentally exhausted to pursue the matter. The two of them went back to their dorm with the others.
Three days later…
Professor Theodore called Teams COAL and IRON back to his office along with Tsukiko. "Kaala told us who's responsible for all this," he said.
"Who was it?" asked Oakley.
"It was Councilman Winfield," the headmaster said. "He was responsible for everything. He hired the mercs who killed Beaumont and tried to blow up the school. I'm sending you to the city hall to arrest him. I'll also upload Kaala's confession to your scrolls in case so you can confront him with the evidence."
"With pleasure, sir," Colby said with a grin. He was looking forward to making the man pay for the trouble he'd caused.
At the city hall…
The students walked into the city hall and into Councilman Winfield's office. They were determined to bring him to justice for his crimes.
"Are you Councilman Winfield?" Colby asked as he entered the office to find a man with short, dark hair, brown eyes, and a mustache.
"Yes?" the man said. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"We're here to arrest you for the murder of Gallus Flavius and the attempted bombing of Shade Academy," Colby explained.
"What?!" the man asked. "That's ridiculous. Do you have any proof?"
"We have all the proof we need right here," Irving replied smugly as he pulled out his scroll and brought up a video of Kaala being interrogated by Detective Granite.
"Councilman Winfield hired me to do it," she said. "He promised me a fat stack of lien to blow up Shade."
"Do you know why?" asked the detective.
"No I don't, I swear. But I do know that he was also behind the murder of Gallus Flavius. He hired us to poison the man and frame Beaumont for the whole thing. That's all I know!" Irving paused the video.
"There you have it," said Lily. "Now, are you going to come with us quietly?"
The Councilman said nothing and drew a pistol, aiming it at Lily. Before he could fire it, Colby slammed him onto his desk and caused him to drop the gun.
"You idiot. Did you really think you could take on nine huntsmen and huntresses with that little pea shooter?" Colby asked condescendingly.
"Let me go!" the man said.
"Why did you do it?" Colby asked. "Why did you murder an innocent huntsman and try to frame another for it? Why did you try to blow up Vacuo's huntsman school?"
"Simple. I'm sick of Theodore running everything," the Councilman replied angrily. "We're the Council, and WE are supposed to be the ones running this kingdom! I thought that by framing Beaumont for the murder of Gallus Flavius, I'd be able to paint Theodore's supporters as murderers. When that didn't work, I worked out a deal with the White Fang. They'd launch an attack on Shade with the support of my mercenaries, which would make Theodore look weak for failing to protect his school. After all, how can a man be expected to protect an entire city if he can't even protect a school? The White Fang would take the credit for the attack, and the people of Vacuo would turn to the council to protect them."
"You put so many innocent lives at stake…just for power?"
"Yes, yes I did. But do you really think Professor Theodore is any better? Shade Academy practically runs this city. Theodore has more control over this kingdom that Ironwood has over Atlas."
"Well, at least Theodore doesn't put innocent lives at risk in crazy schemes like yours!"
"It may have been crazy, but it would have succeeded if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
Colby rolled his eyes. "Let's get him out of here," he said.
"Wait," said Lily. "Let's make sure he doesn't have any other weapons on him."
"Good idea." Colby patted Councilman Winfield down and searched his pockets. He didn't find any weapons, but he did find a strange letter. He read it out loud.
Dear Councilman Winfield,
I am glad you decided to assist our Queen in her plan to eliminate Shade Academy. Your orders now are to speak with our agent within the White Fang, Deegan Garrick, to make arrangements for the attack. If you succeed in destroying our common enemy, you will be greatly rewarded.
Colby noticed that the letter was signed with a cursive "W." "W…how cryptic," he said.
Back at Shade Academy…
Team COAL dropped the traitorous Councilman off at the police station on their way back to Shade, then told Theodore about what they had found.
"Do you know what the 'W' means?" Lily asked. "Or who this 'Queen' is?"
"Yes, I do…" Theodore replied gravely.
"Could you tell us?"
Theodore shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. You're just not ready for that kind of knowledge. It concerns a great evil that has been plaguing Remnant for many years."
"But if the evil is that great, then it may have been responsible for the Fall of Beacon!" Colby objected. "We could find out who was really responsible."
"No, Mr. Castanho. The knowledge would only drive you to despair, or at the very least distract you from the task at hand. Your job is to rescue the next generation of Vale's huntsmen and huntresses and help them recover from the tragedy that befell them. But rest assured, the headmasters of the academies and a select few are working to combat this evil. By helping to restore Beacon, you're also helping in your own way even though you can't help directly."
Colby was angered by Theodore's refusal to tell him and his teammates more about this "great evil," but he saw that the headmaster was not going to budge. In any event, he saw that his priority should be to help restore Beacon to its former glory. And if this evil was in league with Deegan Garrick, then maybe he could learn about it from the traitor.
"I understand, sir," Colby said.
"I know it's hard, but you'll have to trust me on this," Theodore said. "Maybe someday, you'll be ready. But I think you'll be pleased to learn that with the threat to Shade neutralized, I am finally able to lend you my support."
Colby was delighted to hear those words. "You mean it?!" he asked in shock.
"Yes, I honestly do. You've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can handle this. I'll talk to the other professors about our battle strategy. When we're ready, I'll announce the plan to all the students."
"Thank you, Professor!" was all Colby could say in response.
"No, thank you. Now go get some rest. You've earned it."
The students all returned to their dorms. Team COAL was happy that Theodore had finally agreed to help them complete their task, but they dreaded the battle ahead of them. In particular, Lily dreaded having to face her childhood friend Polaris in battle. He had gone down the wrong path, but Lily believed there was still good in him. She resolved to bring it out in any way she could. Colby also seemed troubled about something.
"What's wrong, Colby?" Autumn asked.
"I just wish Theodore would tell us more about what this evil is. It could help us find those responsible for the Fall of Beacon."
"I know, Colby. But he's right. We've got a task ahead of us. And by helping restore Beacon, we are helping out in a way."
"I know," said Colby. "I just hope we'll be able to learn someday, somehow. Theodore said there was a select few who knew, and maybe we'll prove we deserve to be part of that few."
"Perhaps we will," said Lily. "But no matter what, I'm behind you. Gray Lightning."
"Me too," Autumn added.
"Me three," Ouranos said.
"Thanks, guys," said Colby. "Now let's get some rest. We've got a huge task ahead of us." With that, Team COAL went to sleep. They thought about the battle that was about to take place, and how they would help restore Beacon once that task was finished.