Enjoy.
xXx
( Mother of Invention - Hanger Bay )
Fifteen days has finally passed by since Ruby's involuntary stay with the Freelancers and she's now happy to say that she is back to being 100% healthy.
Unfortunately, the last few days on the Mother of Invention has been spent in a state of awkwardness. Ever since she witnessed the Freelancers slaughter the surrendering bandits on the orders of Jaune, she has been having trouble looking at any of them in the eyes, even the nicer Freelancers like North and York. She remembers seeing those two among those in the firing squad, gunning down the bandits without so much as a flinch. Not once did they question their orders or show any remorse to what they've done.
In her career as a Huntress, Ruby will freely admit that she has shed the blood of bandits and White Fang terrorists as well, but unlike Jaune, she has always given them the option to surrender either before or during the battle. Sometimes they accept the offer and other times, they don't. If they refuse to surrender, Ruby understands that she has no other choice but to use Crescent Rose so to make sure they can't harm any more innocent people. Sadly, the only way to do that is to cut them down.
However, the remaining bandits of the Branwen tribe had surrendered to the Freelancers and didn't pose a threat to anyone anymore. They could have easily been detained and sent to the nearest Kingdom for permanent could have spent their lives atoning for their sins in a prison cell.
Instead, Jaune ordered them to be gunned down without mercy, an action in which Ruby strongly disagrees with.
Trying her best to ignore her feelings on the matter, Ruby Rose waits in the hanger bay of the airship, awaiting for the Bullhead to prepare itself for the trip which will take her back to Beacon Academy. They're still in the outskirts of Mistral so the trip will take two days of constant travel, as long as they don't encounter any airborne Grimm.
Just before she left the medical bay this morning, she had been given back Crescent Rose, much to her joy. After spending two weeks without her baby, Ruby has just been dying to give her weapon a maintenance check once she gets back to Beacon. It likely got damaged from the explosion that launched her off Mount Glenn. Falling off the mountain probably didn't do it any wonders either.
The only downside of having her weapon back on her person is that she's now considered a dangerous liability within the Freelancer airship. This means that Ruby has to try and ignore the squad of Freelancers who have been assigned to watch over her. She hasn't spoken a word to any of the four Freelancers, but Ruby can almost feel their stares into the back of her head. As much as Ruby wants to look over Crescent Rose, she's sure that if she so much as glanced at her weapon, they'd unload their own weapons into her back.
The thought of that has Ruby suddenly remember the execution of the Branwen bandits and it has her feel a little queasy over the memory.
"Ready to get going, Ms. Rose?"
Ruby looks to her right to see the Commander himself in all his cybernetic glory, walking towards her with someone else following close behind him.
The figure following Adam is much shorter than the Commander and looks to be around the same height as Ruby herself. Although, it's hard to tell what his true height might be, seeing as his legs are missing and have been replaced with cybernetic limbs. Since he's wearing shorts, Ruby can see his cybernetic limbs in their entirety and notes their dated design. Oddly enough, his cybernetics aren't the strangest thing about the man. Since he's wearing a militaristic green vest which only covers his upper chest, Ruby can see the two black circles imbedded in the man's stomach and guesses that they have something to do with his cybernetics. Sitting right in the centre between the two circles on the man's stomach is a tattoo of the Freelancer symbol. He isn't the first person Ruby has seen with the Freelancer tattoo on their body as she has noticed a few others with it on their arms, legs or even neck. Ruby looks at the man's face, only for her to see no actual features, due to him wearing a hat, goggles and a strange face mask.
"Ms. Rose, I'd like to introduce you to Octane. Octane, this is Ruby Rose" introduced Adam, stepping to the side while introducing the Freelancer and Huntress to each other.
( Octane - Apex Legends )
Swallowing the saliva that has piled up in the back of her throat because of her nerves, Ruby takes a step forward and offers her right hand for a handshake. "Hello, it's ni-" Ruby takes a step back when Octane suddenly runs up to Ruby's face, nearly having the Huntress hit her head off his own.
"You're Ruby Rose, aren't ya? The word going around town is that you're pretty fast! Not to brag, but I'm pretty fast myself. Wanna race?!" Octane speaks in such speed and energy that Ruby is reminded of Nora when she's on a sugar rush.
"W-What?" muttered Ruby, having a hard time keeping track with the Freelancer's sentences. Being friends with Nora doesn't mean she has picked up the skill to read fast lips, unlike Ren who has mastered the art.
"I said do.. you wanna... race..."
Ruby takes another step back as Octane suddenly slouches forward, having lost all the energy in his body, but still managing to keep himself standing. Ruby is suddenly reminded of a time when one of her toys from her childhood runs out of Dust and slowly powers itself down.
"Whats wrong with him?" Ruby asked Adam, having no idea what just happened. She's very weirded out by this odd man and has no idea what to do. "He didn't just die, did he?" She starts to panic when she notices the man's lack of breathing.
Adam sighs and shakes his head over Octane's actions. "Apologies for that. Octane is a bit... eccentric. Even for Freelancer standards. He's an adrenaline junkie so he likes to keep himself moving, but it looks like he ran out of juice. Just give him a minute" advised Adam, watching as Octane's right hand slowly reaches to the pouch that's attach to his right hip.
Ruby can only stare as Octane pulls out a syringe with a strange green liquid and before Ruby can question what it is, Octane stabs the needle into his thigh, injecting himself with the green liquid. All of a sudden, Octane jumps into the air and runs straight into the Bullhead, but not before running around Ruby twice. "Let's go! We're burning daylight folks!" cheered Octane, jumping around in the back of the Bullhead in uncontrollable excitement.
"Dear Brothers, it's a male version of Nora" thought, inwardly crying at the thought of the two meeting. She doesn't think Remnant can survive such a meeting.
With his shades on, nobody can see Adam close his eyes in annoyance. Out of all the Freelancers in the airship, he had to get stuck with Octane of all people. Sadly, everyone else is either too busy on their own assignments or are still recovering after the large celebration which took place after they eliminated the Branwen tribe. Many are still nursing headaches from what Adam remembers, seeing as the celebration lasted several days.
Nobody trusts Octane enough to be left alone with him and for good reason. His love for life or death stunts, as well as his tendency to blow something up hasn't made him very popular amongst the other Freelancers, especially after he crashed that Bullhead a year ago after he took it for a test drive.
Now, he's going to be stuck in a Bullhead with the adrenaline junkie for the next day or two.
Adam walks up beside Ruby and nods. "We best get going or he'll never shut up." With nothing more to speak about, Adam walks into the Bullhead with Ruby following after him a few seconds later.
The Freelancer squad behind Ruby waits for the Huntress to enter the Bullhead before going in themselves. They've been assigned to watch over the Huntress until she returns to the custody of Beacon Academy, as per their strict orders from the General himself.
( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )
Ozpin has to stop himself from throwing his Scroll against the wall after it rings for what feels like the one hundredth time today.
Two weeks has passed by since Ruby's disappearance and the frequent calls for information by her teammates has only increased every passing day. If the rest of Team RWBY aren't searching for the whereabouts of their team leader, then they're calling Ozpin for information which he simply doesn't have.
With no sign of Ruby's body or evidence to where it might be, Ozpin fears that Salem might have something to do with Ruby's disappearance. After all, she has become a very useful piece on the board for Ozpin and he wouldn't put it past Salem to eliminate Ruby so to lessen his own strength.
After waiting for his Scroll to stop buzzing, Ozpin opens his eyes, allowing a sigh to escape his lips, enjoying the brief silence he gets, knowing that it won't last long.
Not even a minute passes by before he's proven correct when the holographic screen from his desk terminal appears in front of him. Only those within his inner circle knows the number to his private terminal which is used to discuss private matters on the secure line. What has Ozpin surprised is the fact that the number calling him is an unknown number, meaning that it isn't anyone from his inner circle, unless they're using a new Scroll.
Accepting the call, Ozpin waits as the call connects before the screen shows a young, but serious man who has shades covering his eyes. Ozpin frowns, failing to recognize the stoic man. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"I am Commander Adam Jensen of the Freelancer military" spoke the young man, looking as stone faced as James does when he's serious. "And I've got a package for you"
Ozpin prides himself in having the largest network of informants across Remnant. Qrow is definitely one of his best spies, due to his ability to change his appearance into a bird, but the experienced Huntsman can't be everywhere at once. After all, information is power to the right people. So when his informants start telling him about a powerful military force which appeared out of nowhere and started to take over territory in the Grimmlands, Ozpin can't help but find his interest peaked.
However, even with his large network of informants and Qrow, Ozpin couldn't learn any noteworthy pieces of information about the private military, other than their name. Needing to know more information about the Freelancers, the Beacon Headmaster had Qrow attempt to bribe a soldier of the Freelancers for more information about the military, such as their numbers, their type of weaponry or even how they get their resources.
After all, there isn't a lot of people who can turn down good money.
At least, that's what Ozpin always thought. However, the moment Qrow offered the bribe towards a lone Freelancer, the Huntsman was quickly blacklisted from the whole town and was forced to leave under the threat of declaring himself an enemy to the Freelancers. Obviously, Qrow wasn't undeterred and attempted to find information about them from another frontier town, only to find himself immediately blacklisted there as well. It didn't take Qrow and Ozpin long to figure out that the Freelancers informed the other frontier towns that are under their protection about Qrow's snooping and made sure that they all know of the Huntsman's face. This made it impossible for Qrow to find out any information about the Freelancers, at least in his Human form.
With so little information to go on and having no idea on who has earned their allegience, Ozpin could only watch from afar as the Freelancers expanded their territory over the span of ten years, taking more villages and towns under their banner in each passing month.
Now, he's actually speaking to a member of the Freelancers and a high-ranking member at that. "May I acquire about what the package is?" asked Ozpin, narrowing his eyes at the screen in suspicion.
Just as Adam opens his mouth to answer, a pair of familiar silver eyes pops into the screen, having Ozpin widen his own eyes in recognition. "Don't worry, sir. It's just me!" exclaimed Ruby before she shrieks and runs out of shot, being closely followed by a green blur.
"Ms. Rose!" gasped Ozpin, standing up from his seat as he stares at the holographic screen in shock.
Adam sighs, trying his best to ignore the cries of annoyance from the Huntress and the annoying prattling of the Freelancer that is Octane. "I apologize I couldn't wrap up your package, but it's currently running around the Bullhead like it's a playground."
"I'll stop running when he stops chasing me!" declared Ruby, pointing an accusing finger at Octane who continues chasing after the Huntress.
"Run! Run! Run!" yelled Octane, laughing in excitement.
"We're requesting permission to land at Beacon because I honestly can't stand this for much longer" stated Adam before glaring at Octane. "Octane, sit down and shut up!" he yelled before the call suddenly disconnects.
Ozpin hasn't been lost for words in quite a few years, but here he is, finding himself in quite an odd state of awkward silence. Not only does the missing Ruby Rose turn out to he alive, but she is also in the company of the Freelancers.
"I should probably call her team..."
( Beacon - Bullhead Docks )
It didn't take long for the rest of Team RWBY to arrive at the Bullhead Docks after Ozpin informs them of Ruby's impending arrival, as well as who's in her company.
"So Ruby's been with these Freelancers for the past two weeks?" asked Blake, having trouble believing that story. It seems to be to good to be true, as well as convenient timing on their part.
Weiss nods, looking sterner than she normally is. "Indeed. From the Headmaster's explanation, a scouting team found Ruby injured by the bottom of Mount Glenn and brought her back to their airship for immediate medical treatment."
Yang keeps quiet, mostly focusing on the oncoming Bullhead that has more guns on it than any normal Bullhead should actually have, especially when it's landing down on Beacon Academy. "If they so much as touched a hair on Ruby's head, I'm gonna-"
"You will not lift a finger against them, Xiao-Long" told Weiss, narrowing her eyes at Yang who actually looks surprised by Weiss's forceful protest. "When that Bullhead lands, you will be polite and not touch a single hair on any of their heads. Do I make myself clear?"
Yang blinks, finding herself surprised by how forceful Weiss is being with her. She's used to Weiss giving out to her, but not this harshly. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"
Weiss doesn't an eyelash towards Yang's rude comment, making sure to keep the Freelancer Bullhead within her line of sight. "The Freelancers are a powerful private military force that you don't want to make enemies of. They could make your life very difficult, just as much they do with the SDC."
Both Yang and Blake widen their eyes after hearing Weiss's proclamation. "There's actually someone else willing to stand up against the SDC?" thought Blake, having never heard of the Freelancers before. If they are causing problems to the SDC, why hasn't she heard of them before?
"So if they're so big and powerful, why haven't I heard of them before?" asked Yang, placing her fists on her hips while quirking her brow at the same time.
Once she sees the Bullhead is close to landing, Weiss turns and narrows her eyes at her temperamental friend. "That's likely because the Freelancers mostly stay in the Grimmlands and you know how difficult it is to get news from there nowadays" she said, reminding her teammates about the increase of Grimm, White Fang and bandit attacks which has lead to a division between the Kingdoms, frontier towns and villages in the Grimmlands.
"If you don't mind me asking, how do they cause problems for the SDC?" asked Blake, hoping not to insult Weiss with her question.
Weiss nods in understanding as to why Blake asks. The fighting between the White Fang and SDC is still a sore subject between them. "The SDC needs Dust. What Dust mines that are within Atlas or just outside the Kingdom have either run dry or are nearing that state. They've attempted to find Dust deposits outside the Kingdom, near the frontier towns. But by the time they got there..."
"The Freelancers were there first" finished Blake, seeing where Weiss is going with this.
Weiss nods. "Yes. My father attempted to breach a deal with the Freelancers, but they refused."
"I take it daddy dearest didn't like that" grinned Yang, having met the father of Weiss a few times. She instantly gained a disliking of the older man, especially after seeing how he treats Weiss as more of a pawn than a child.
Weiss winces and shakes her head. "Father did not. After negotiations failed, he attempted to take the Dust mines from the Freelancers by force."
"What? Can he do that?" asked Yang in shock. She always knew Jacque was an asshole, but she didn't he'd do something like that!
Blake glares at the ground, but slowly nods her head. "Technically speaking, he can. If the attack took place outside of the Kingdom, then they didn't break any laws. The SDC likes to use their loopholes" answered Blake, knowing that the Schnee Dust Company uses loopholes in their employee contracts so they could give their Faunus employees less rights and less pay.
"What happened after that?" asked Yang, hoping for more info on the attack.
Before Weiss can answer, they notice the Freelancer Bullhead landing on one of the docks. Momentarily, the Huntresses forget their conversation and immediately runs over to the Bullhead, just as its bay door is opening.
"Ruby!" exclaimed Yang, running over and holding her arms open, expecting a red and black blur to collide into her for a sisterly hug.
"Run! Run! Run!"
A blur does collide into Yang, but it's not the one that she was expecting. Instead of the familiar small, red and black blur of her sister, a bigger blur of green and brown collides into Yang, surprising the Huntress by the sudden weight which causes her to fall on her back.
"Yang!"
Yang blinks, seeing her little sister run to her side. Seeing that it's not Ruby who's lying on her chest, Yang looks down to see a lanky guy wearing goggles, a weird hat and a face mask lying on her chest with his face right in between her breasts.
"Soft~"
His comment is enough to light the fuse which is Yang Xiao-Long's temper. With her lavender eyes turning red and her hair lighting up in flames, Yang grabs the lanky man by the throat, making sure to squeeze extra tight so he has to gasp for air. Once she pushes herself back up to her feet while keeping a hold on his throat, Yang reels back her free arm and throws a powerful uppercut at the man's chin, launching him straight up into the air.
Yang fully expects to hear the man cry out in pain, unless he hasn't already fallen unconscious from the strength of her punch. She definitely didn't expect to hear him suddenly cry out in excitement after being punched hundreds of feet into the air.
"WOOHOO!" cheered Octane as he flies high in the air, enjoying the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins while also ignoring the throbbing of his jaw.
"I'll let you have that one" sighed Weiss, seeing that it was the Freelancer who made the first inappropriate move. She would have done the same thing, no matter if they're the Freelancers or not.
Standing by the Bullhead's ramp, Adam rubs the bridge of his brow, having expected Octane to do something stupid the moment they arrived in Beacon. He just didn't expect Octane to do it within ten seconds of touching the ground. "That's a new record if I'm not mistaken."
"I missed you all so much!" cried Ruby, having brought her teammates into one large group hug. A hug in which they all welcome, delighted to see one another after two weeks of not knowing if they were alive or not after the battle on Mountain Glenn.
Adam watches alongside the other four Freelancers, lighting himself a cigarette before sucking in a lungful of smoke. He purposely ignores Octane who crashes to the floor several feet away. While the adrenaline junkie isn't wearing his Mjolnir armour, Octane's Aura should be enough to protect him from any permanent damage. That doesn't mean he can't feel the pain of falling hundreds of feet from the air and being punched by one of the more physically stronger Huntresses.
"I have so much to tell you" sniffed Ruby, breaking out of the hug, smiling now that she sees her team alive and well. She'll admit that she was worried for the safety of her teammates, since she didn't see them escape Mountain Glenn before she was blown off of it.
"Damn right you do" told Weiss, ignoring the wetness of her eyes as she glares at her partner. "You had us all worried."
"Now, now. I'm sure Ms. Rose can explain her story some other time."
Everyone turns to see Ozpin walking towards them with Glynda close behind them. Ozpin stops a few feet away and offers a respectful nod towards Adam. "Commander Jensen. I can't thank you enough for bringing back Ms. Rose to us. Would you kindly come with me to my office so we can discuss how you came across Ms. Rose in more detail."
Adam takes another deep pull of his cigarette before blowing all the smoke out of his lungs. Dropping the cigarette, he crushes it with his boot. "Fine, let's get this over with" he agreed before looking at the four other Freelancers behind him. "Watch the ship" he ordered them before following after the Headmaster. "And make sure Octane doesn't go anywhere!"
Just as Weiss is about to follow after Blake and Ruby who are retreating back to their room, Yang stops her by grabbing her arm. "You mind explaining to me why you have your hand on me?"
Yang chuckles and rubs the back of her head. "Sorry about that, I just wanted to ask you a question."
"Which is?" asked Weiss, folding her arms in front of her chest.
"I just wanted to know... what happened when the SDC attacked the Freelancers?" asked Yang, finding herself too curious for her own good. The SDC aren't exactly small fries as they have quite an impressive private military of their own, as well as a military agreement with the Atlas military which allows them the use of Atlesian Knights.
Weiss looks at the back of Adam and ignores the shiver that crawls down her spine.
"The SDC personnel and Atlesian Knights they sent to attack the Dust mine were all wiped out without mercy."
( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )
"So this is where it all started" thought Adam, looking at the moving gears that hang overhead Ozpin's office. "How does he get any work done with all that noise?"
"Would you like something to drink while you're here, Commander?" asked Ozpin after sitting down on his chair. Glynda quickly moves to Ozpin's side, looking as strict as Adam heard her to be.
Adam steps in front of Ozpin's desk, refusing both two chairs which are laid out beside him. "No thanks, Headmaster. I'd rather get this done and over with."
Ozpin offers an understanding smile. "Yes, being Commander of the Freelancers likely has a lot of responsibilities to go along with the title."
"Indeed it does."
"Now then, could you please start off on how Ms. Rose got into your care?" asked Ozpin, waiting for the Commander to explain.
Adam nods and begins to explain to the Headmaster about how Ruby Rose came under the care of the Freelancers.
xXx
Raven Branwen knew something was wrong the moment she felt her connection with Vernal get cut. Having been miles away from the campsite to scout out a potential village to attack, she didn't have any other choice but to fly back to camp in her bird form, since her Semblance only allows her to transport herself to the location of someone who she has a connection with. Her connection with Vernal had been severed and so, she had no other way to get back to camp but to fly.
After days of flying back to camp nonstop, Raven eventually made it back in one piece.
Only to find the entire campsite in ruins and the corpses of her family rotting or being chewed on by a pack of Beowolves.
Standing there, staring at the massacre that was once the proud Branwen tribe, Raven's grip on her blade tightens as storm clouds begin to gather overhead. Her eyes light up with power and as she roars up at the sky with nothing but pure rage, the sky answers back with several bolts of lightning piercing down at the nearby Grimm like the wrath of a God.
Once the Grimm are nothing more than ashes to the wind, Raven slowly steps forward and looks around the ruins of the campsite. She first thought that it was Salem who slaughtered her tribe, due to the Grimm, but upon closer inspection of the corpses, she sees bullet wounds on their bodies.
Narrowing her eyes at the sight, Raven Branwen glares up at nothing as her eyes remain alit with the power of the Spring Maiden.
"Whoever did this to my family, I will kill every last one of them."
xXx
"And that's how it is" told Adam, finishing the story.
Ozpin slowly nods, allowing all the information to sink in. "I'd like to thank you and the rest of the Freelancers for saving Ms. Rose's life. If not for you, I fear that Ms. Rose wouldn't have returned to Beacon. Alive anyway."
Adam waves off the gratitude. "No need to thank us, Headmaster. We were only doing what any other good person would do."
"You were, weren't you" murmured Ozpin, coming up with a plan that may just get the permission from the Council to host the Vytal Festival, as well as benefit Ozpin in his war with Salem. "Before you leave, Commander, I was hoping to offer you a proposition."
Both Adam and Glynda look at Ozpin, wondering what he would want with the Commander and the Freelancers. "Oh? And what proposition are you offering, Headmaster?" asked Adam, curiously. Obviously, he can't agree to anything without the General's consent, but if the proposition is interesting enough, then he'll be sure to inform Jaune.
"The Kingdom of Vale is suppose to host the Vytal Festival this year, but unfortunately, the Council has deemed it necessary to cancel the important event because we lack the required security to protect the city" explained Ozpin with a glint in his eye.
It doesn't take long for Adam and Glynda to figure out what the Headmaster is asking and while Glynda appears to have reservations about the proposal, Adam looks to be interested.
"I see. Would this proposition of yours happen to involve hiring the Freelancers to take over the role of security?" asked Adam, knowing the answer already.
Ozpin nods in agreement. "Indeed it does. We are in bad need for manpower, due to the increasing attacks of bandit tribes, White Fang and Grimm which has spread Vale's forces thin. The Freelancers could provide security, at least until the tournament begins, in which Atlas will then take over the security of the city."
Adam hums while scratching a finger across his chin. "I'll admit, that's an interesting proposal, Headmaster. Obviously, I can't give you a straight answer until I inform the General."
Ozpin nods in understanding. "Of course. Would you like Glynda to escort you back to your ship?"
Adam shakes his head. "No need. I'm sure I can make my way back in one piece" he said before heading towards the elevator. He just hopes the others stopped Octane from going anywhere while he was gone. Last thing he needs is to go searching for the adrenaline junkie.
Once the elevator doors close, Glynda turns to Ozpin. "Hiring the Freelancers for security? Are you sure about that, sir?"
"We need to ensure the Council that we can provide the necessary security when hosting the Vytal Festival. True, it's strange, but hiring a private military seems to be the best option to do so at the moment" answered Ozpin, tapping his fingers across his cane.
Glynda narrows her eyes at Ozpin, suspiciously. "That's not the only reason, is it?"
The edge of Ozpin's mouth twitches upwards. "No it's not. I'll admit that I'm curious about the Freelancers. Much about them are unknown, even to me."
Glynda can understand Ozpin's curiosity, since there is very little in which Ozpin doesn't know about. She nods before gaining a thoughtful expression. "True, so how about we speak to someone who has been with the Freelancers for the past two weeks?"
Ozpin smiles and nods. Picking up his Scroll, Ozpin makes a call to a certain Huntress's Scroll who picks it up almost immediately. "Ms. Rose, could you come to my office for a moment?"
"Yes sir" nodded Ruby, having a good idea on what Ozpin wants to talk to her about.
Ozpin and Glynda don't have to wait long for Ruby to arrive and neither of them are any bit surprised when they see the entirety of Team RWBY when the elevator doors open.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Ruby, stepping ahead of her team to face the Headmaster.
Ozpin nods with a small smile. "Yes, Ms. Rose. Before Commander Adam left, I offered him and the rest of the Freelancers a proposition to take the role of security for the Vytal Festival. Before I get a response from them, I would like you to tell me what you know of them, seeing as you've been under their care for the past two weeks" he asked.
Behind Ruby, the rest of her team stare into her back, wanting to know about what she went through as well. Ruby looks back at her team and then at Glynda before sighing and nodding.
"If I could describe the Freelancers in one word, it would be... loyal" told Ruby, thinking back to her time with the Freelancers. After spending two weeks in their company, she believes that she has a good impression of what they're like. "Some of them may not act it, but they would all rather die than betray one another, no matter if they're Human or Faunus."
Ozpin hums, knowing about how loyal they are already, seeing as it's that loyalty to one another that has made Qrow blacklisted after a few attempts of bribery. What he doesn't know about is their numbers of mix race, since all the sightings of the Freelancers has them in their suits of armour with no noticeable animal features that stick out. He actually finds that odd, since most private militaries tend to stick with only one of the two races, mostly due to racial disputes.
Blake's bow twitches, hearing that the Freelancers are a mix of Humans and Faunus who are loyal to each other. The thought brings a smile to the Faunus's face. "We really can live as equals."
"What of their numbers?" interrupted Glynda. "If they're going to protect Vale, I want to know if they have the numbers to do so."
Ruby looks over at Glynda. "They definitely have the numbers. I can't say I've seen them all, but their numbers reach into the hundreds and possibly the thousands" she answered, surprising many in the room by how large the private military really is. Other private militaries would have several hundred soldiers, but nowhere near to that which could reach into the thousands.
Before Ozpin can ask anymore questions, Ruby speaks up. "I have also met with the General."
Ozpin doesn't miss the nervous expression on Ruby's face. "You have, Ms. Rose? And is there anything you want to tell us about them?" he asked, hoping she has a good description of them. Maybe he can have Qrow look for information about them once he knows their name or what they look like.
Ruby rubs her hands together and looks around the room, nervously. "We've... all actually met him."
Ruby's response has everyone look at one another in confusion. They've met the Freelancer General?
Even Ozpin doesn't know what to make of Ruby's statement, since he's sure that he would remember meeting the General of the Freelancers. "Would you mind refreshing our memories, Ms. Rose? I can't seem to recall such a meeting."
Ruby nods her head in understanding. "The Freelancer General... is Jaune."
"..."
"..."
"... Who?"
The awkward silence ends with Yang asking the question boggling both Weiss's and her own head. Blake takes a moment to recall who Jaune is before she stares at Ruby in disbelief.
"Yang~" groaned Ruby in embarrassment over her sister's forgetfulness. "Jaune Arc! He was a student with us at Beacon for the first month of first year."
It takes a few seconds for Yang's eyes to slightly widen in recognition. "Oh~, you mean Vomit boy." That's until her eyes widen when she realizes what Ruby has just said. "Wait a darn second, you mean Vomit Boy is the General of a private military?"
"Yep" said Ruby, giggling over the disbelieving expressions on her friends and sister's face.
"Impossible!" exclaimed Weiss in denial. She may not have seen him for the past ten years, but Jaune Arc had left a large impression on Weiss and not a very good one. Not only was he an annoying flirt to her, but he had also cheated his way into Beacon, taking away the spot from someone who could've earned it, unlike him. "There is no possible way that dunce could have rose to such a high rnaking position in any military. I don't believe it!"
"Are you calling me a liar?" accused Ruby, narrowing her eyes at her partner.
Weiss folds her arms and scoffs. "I'm saying that you thought you saw the dunce when in actual fact, the General just looks like him, much to his unfortunate luck."
As Ruby and Weiss begin to argue with one another, Ozpin and Glynda continue to ponder over Ruby's declaration of their former student, Jaune Arc being General of the Freelancers.
"I must agree with Ms. Schnee. Jaune Arc didn't possess the skills or necessary intelligence needed to be a Hunter, let alone a General of a military" stated Glynda, not believing Ruby for even a second. She does recall Jaune Arc, but only because he cheated his way into Beacon Academy. She also remembers how abysmal he was in his exams, especially in her Combat Class. Due to his lack in training, he never once won a match. He didn't even manage to take out one third of any of his opponents Aura.
Weiss nods her head with a victorious smirks on her face, much to Ruby's annoyance. "See. Even Ms. Goodwitch agrees with me."
Ozpin on the other hand isn't so willing to deny Ruby's statement like Weiss and Glynda. "The time in which Jaune Arc was expelled and the Freelancers appearing does match up, give or take a few months" thought Ozpin, folding his fingers together as he thinks about the possibilities of Jaune actually being the Freelancer General. "While he didn't possess the training like the other students, he did have potential to become powerful. His strategic mind could have also played a big part in becoming a General as well."
The more he thinks about it, the bigger the possibility that Jaune Arc might actually be the General of the Freelancers. Ruby wouldn't lie to them, especially about something like this.
"Ms. Rose."
Ruby stops he bickering with Weiss to turn back to Ozpin who looks at her with a serious expression on his face.
"I want you to tell me everything and don't hold anything back."
( Mother of Invention - General's Office )
Jaune is looking over several mission reports on his desk before he hears someone knock on the other side of his door. "Come in" he called, continuing to look over the papers as someone walks into his office. He has no fear of possible assassins, since the Mother of Invention is literally impossible to sneak into with their state of the art security system. The hundreds of highly trained and heavily armed soldiers make for a good safety measure as well.
"So you're still wasting away behind a desk?"
Jaune looks up from his desk to see a Freelancer in a pitch black suit of Mjolnir armour. From the bulk of the suit, many would think that it's a man underneath it, but they would be proven wrong since the Freelancer has already taken off their helmet, revealing the face of a young woman with long black hair that's tied in a ponytail. Smirking, Jaune drops the mission report in his hand and leans back against his chair. "Someone has the keep everything afloat and I don't see you volunteering."
The Freelancer laughs. "And waste away behind a desk like you? No chance" she answered, dropping her helmet on one of the nearby chairs.
Jaune stands up from his chair and offers a handshake which the Freelancer accepts. "Welcome back, Texas."
"It's good to be back, General."
( Texas - Red Vs Blue )
"Seeing as you're alive and well, I take it your mission in Vacuo was a success." Jaune asked, sitting back down. He has no worries of Texas failing her mission since she is his very best Freelancer. In fact, she has a perfect mission record with absolutely no failures whatsoever. Not even Locus has such a perfect record, but that would be mostly because of Felix messing up on one of their missions.
Texas nods with a smirk on her face. "White Fang outpost has been destroyed. Obviously, there were no survivors."
"Good. Did you find any new info about their upcoming operations?"
"I interrogated the outpost leader for information. He didn't know much, but he did admit that the High Leader has tasked all White Fang Cells to move operations closer to Vale" answered Texas, frowning as she recalls the information the bloody and blubbering White Fang terrorist gave her before she blew his brains out.
Jaune frowns as well as he thinks about the White Fang. His contacts hasn't failed in noticing the White Fang's increasing violence, especially after they've attempted to attack a few towns and villages under his protection. However, he doubts that it's a coincidence that each settlement they've attacked has a Dust mine. His contacts have also reported an increasing number of Dust thefts in Vale. "The White Fang are getting bolder. With their search for Dust, I fear that they're readying themselves for a war."
"There's more, sir" continued Texas. "At the outpost, I found out that the White Fang have been gathering Grimm in cages. The outpost leader mentioned that it was for an operation near Vale. I tried to get more details out of him, but that's all he knew." After breaking his nose and dislodging several teeth, Texas could only agree that the terrorist knew nothing else. "It's obvious that only the White Fang higher-ups know about the upcoming operation."
Breathing through his nose, Jaune closes his eyes to think. After a moment of silence, he opens his eyes and folds his fingers across his chest. "White Fang closing in on Vale. Dust robberies increasing in Vale. Collecting Grimm for a secret operation near Vale. Everywhere we turn, Vale appears to be in the epicentre of all of it."
"What should we do?" asked Texas, ready and able to continue the fight with the White Fang.
Before Jaune can reply, the doors to his office open once more, revealing Adam. "Ah, Adam. I take it Ms. Rose made it back to Beacon in one piece?"
Adam smirks in amusement. "She did. I can't say the same thing about Octane who's currently suffering from a concussion."
Jaune blinks in surprise. He knows of Octane going with Adam to Beacon, but how could the adrenaline junkie get a concussion from a simple drop off mission? Scratch that, the fool blew up his own legs in a race by using a grenade of all things to give him a speed boost. "Do I need to know?"
"No, you do not" answered Adam before turning towards Texas. "Welcome back, Texas. Seeing as there's still no scratches on that armour of yours, I take that the mission was another flawless success?"
"Was there any doubts?" asked Texas with a cocky smirk.
"No, but a man can dream" replied Adam before turning back to the General. "Not to interrupt, but the Headmaster of Beacon Academy has offered a proposal for the Freelancers as a whole."
Jaune quirks a brow as Texas narrows her eyes towards Adam. "A proposal? From Ozpin?"
Adam nods and offers the file he has been holding in his hand. "All the necessary information is in that file" he answered.
Jaune takes the offered file and for the next few minutes, he spends his time reading it with Texas and Adam standing in silence. After rereading the file for a third time, Jaune looks back up at his Commander, trying to hide his surprise. "Is this for real?"
Adam nods, understanding his General's surprised response. What the Headmaster of Beacon is offering is nothing but bizarre. "Yes sir. Everything in the file is one hundred percent accurate."
"Is someone going to clue me in on the secrets or what?" asked Texas, impatiently.
Jaune looks down at the file on his desk. "Ozpin wants to hire the Freelancers to act as security for Vale. Apparently, the Council wants to cancel the upcoming Vytal Festival in fear of attacks from White Fang and the Grimm" he explained, puzzling over what the proposal could mean for him and the Freelancers.
"Is he serious? Hiring the Freelancers for security?" asked Texas in disbelief.
"While an odd turn of events, it could prove useful in getting income" stated Adam. "Such a large operation would require a large payment from the Vale Council. That money could be invested wisely for the Freelancers improvement, such as Project Titan."
Jaune can't disagree with his Commander. Project Titan is still in the developing stage because of resources being focused elsewhere, but a large payment of Lien could be what's needed to get it off the ground.
"Sir, what's your decision?" asked Adam, waiting for a response from the General.
"Tell them no. Ozpin and his crew can deal with the problem themselves" told Texas, showing no sympathy for them. "And so what if the Vytal Festival is cancelled? It'll save them the time and resources to supply the whole thing."
"We'll do it."
Adam nods in understanding while Texas looks at Jaune in surprise. "Sir?"
Jaune stands up from his desk and turns to look out his window. "The White Fang are focusing their sights on Vale. The Vyta Festival would be the perfect chance for the White Fang to plan an assault, especially with visitors coming to Vale from all over Remnant" he stated. The White Fang have never been afraid of igniting violence, but they've never attempted something as big as attacking an entire Kingdom. "It would certainly explain why the White Fang are capturing Grimm all of a sudden and I don't think Vale's recent string of Dust store robberies are coincidental either."
Where Adam appears to agree with Jaune, Texas doesn't seem as eager. "Then wouldn't it be better if we didn't take the job? If they can't get the manpower to supply security, then the Vytal Festival will end up cancelled. The White Fang won't have any reason to attack Vale."
Jaune turns away from the window to look at his two best Freelancers. "The White Fang never need a reason to do what they do, Texas. They won't care if the Vytal Festival goes on or not. As long as they get to kill as many Humans as they can, it doesn't matter" he explained, hoping to shine some light for Texas.
As much as Texas doesn't like the idea of acting as security for Vale, she can't deny her General's words of wisdom. The White Fang are bloodthirsty enough to attack Vale, one way or another. The only reason they'll wait for the Vytal Festival to begin will be because of the large amount of visitors coming from the other Kingdoms.
Jaune turns to his Commander and nods. "Inform Ozpin that we'll accept the job. Under our conditions."
"And what are these conditions, sir?"
( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )
It took nearly a whole hour for Ruby to finish her recollection of her time spent with the Freelancers in their airship, Mother of Invention.
Once she finished, Ozpin dismisses Team RWBY so he can go over the new pieces of information. Glynda has left as well, having to correct some exam papers from her new batch of First Years. Now alone in his office, Ozpin leans against his desk and links his fingers together.
Ruby has unknowingly provided Ozpin with information he has been searching after for the past ten years. Now, he has an estimate in the amount of soldiers the Freelancers have, their type of weaponry, their advanced technology, their training, as well as their skill set.
From what he has learnt, the Freelancers possess technology that surpasses that of Atlas tech, much to his disbelief. Their most impressive piece of technology seems to be their Mjolnir suits which provides the user with enhanced strength, enhanced speed, enhanced durability and even the ability to fly. And it turns out that every single Freelancer seems to have a suit of their own. What has Ozpin interested is the fact that Jaune Arc is the one who's supposedly responsible for creating the technologically advanced suits of armour.
After going over old reports in the Beacon Archive, Ozpin finds Jaune's old exam papers from his first month in Beacon. As expected, most of his exam results are either marked as failures or having been just barely enough to pass. That is until Ozpin looks over Jaune's scores for Strategy & Tactics and Mechanical Maintenance which shows that he actually earned high scores. Ozpin is honestly surprised since Jaune has never shown such intelligence in technology, although it does make sense that he has such a strategic mind. He's Nicholas Arc's son after all.
However, Ozpin is also a little bit weary of the Freelancers. The reason for his weariness is because Ruby has also explained to him that the Freelancers annihilated the Branwen tribe in most of its entirety, leaving Raven as the last remaining member, since Qrow refuses to acknowledge himself as one of them. Such a revelation had not only shocked everyone in the room, but also angered Yang by quite a lot. Not that Ozpin can't understand, seeing as the destruction of her tribe will likely send Raven into deeper hiding. He'll need to send Qrow to make sure that the information is accurate. Ruby has also made it apparent of the brutality shown by the Freelancers after killing all those who surrendered.
"I wonder, do the Arcs know of their son?" wondered Ozpin. Before he can contemplate on informing the Arc family of their missing son's survival, an incoming call appears on his desk terminal. Seeing that it's Commander Adam calling, he immediately answers it, showing the holographic image of Adam's stern face. "Commander."
"Headmaster" greeted Adam. "The Freelancers have come to a decision, regarding your proposal."
"And?" asked Ozpin, waiting with bated breath.
"The Freelancers will agree to act as security for the duration of the Vytal Festival-"
"That is excellent news. I'll have to inform the Council immediately" interrupted Ozpin, smiling over the thought of his plan working out. With the Freelancers in Vale, he'll have no better chance to study the soldiers. If he deems it wise, he'll invite their General into a meeting and inform him of Salem and her cohorts. If Jaune truly is their General, it shouldn't take much convincing to get an alliance with the Freelancers, especially with the approval of Team RWBY and the remains of Team (J)NPR. While Jaune may hold some resentment towards them for having him expelled from Beacon Academy, he has always been someone to help out those who need it.
Once he sees the bigger picture, Ozpin is positive that Jaune will help them with their war with Salem.
"-but!" interrupted Adam, disliking having been interrupted in the first place. "We have conditions."
Ozpin looks at the holographic screen and frowns. "What conditions?"
"First off, the price for hiring the Freelancers won't be cheap. Our price is twenty million Lien" told Adam, making sure his tone suggests that there is no negotiating with the price.
Ozpin winces when he hears the price. "Twenty million? That's a little steep, don't you think?"
Adam doesn't look pleased with Ozpin's response. "Headmaster, you are asking to hire a private military to safeguard an entire city. As I'm sure you're aware of, if Ms. Rose hasn't already explained it to you, but the Freelancers safeguards many frontier towns within the Grimmlands. Asking us to protect Vale for the duration of the Vytal Festival will waste resources and manpower which could be used for better reasons" explained Adam, surprising Ozpin by the blatant lack of respect for the Kingdom of Vale. "And I'm not sure if you know this, but the General likes to provide his soldiers with a stable income. There's also the fact that by accepting your proposal, we won't be able to take any other missions during the duration of protecting the Kingdom. Want me to go on?"
Ozpin shakes his head. "No need. I believe I've got the gist. As for your payment, I'll have to discuss it with the Council, but I'm sure it'll be handled."
"Good" nodded Adam. "Secondly, cooperation. Once we accept the job, I expect the full cooperation of both the Vale Police Department and all Hunters that are within the city. We Freelancers take our jobs very seriously so when we arrive in Vale, I want it to be made clear that we will the ones running the defence of the city, both inside and out. Got it?"
Ozpin thinks for a moment, knowing that request might cause problems. Not for the Council or the VPD as they'll understand that it's just the Freelancers doing their job. It's the Hunter side that might cause problems. Over the years, Hunters have grown to believe that they're above the law, especially the recent graduates of Beacon Academy. Many of them forget that while they do get certain privileges, they are still required to follow the law of the Kingdom. This includes not causing damage to public property, although many of them forget this. Sadly, Team RWBY is one of said teams that tends to go overboard when fighting inside the Kingdom walls.
"Agreed. Anything else?"
"As a matter of fact, there is."