Author's Note: Asking me to update a story doesn't update it any faster.
Enjoy.
xXx
Pyrrha Nikos looks out the window of the Bullhead she's riding and sighs, feeling the stress of her complicated life build up on her shoulders.
Sometimes, she wishes for the good old days where she was only known as the Invincible Girl. Sadly, those days have long since passed. Ever since she graduated from Beacon Academy and became a full-time Huntress, her popularity skyrocketed among the public, making them even more unbearable to be around than ever before. If the rumors are to be believed, there are some people who see her as some sort of reborn Goddess, much to her chagrin.
The last thing she wants in her life is a cult revolving around herself.
Her stress levels have only increased over the years as she constantly undertakes Hunter missions, as well as the secret missions that Ozpin assigns her, giving herself very little time to spend on herself. Sadly, that's what she gets for accepting Ozpin's proposal and becoming the Fall Maiden. Or at least, half of the Fall Maiden.
Pyrrha winces, feeling phantom pains from the time Ozpin transferred the Fall Maiden's power from the previous host, Amber, into herself. It turns out that forcefully transferring the Aura of someone else into your own body doesn't make for a pleasant experience. Every second of the transferring process felt like a million sharp needles were being stabbed into her very soul, as well as her body. Thankfully, the process ended as a success and with minimal drawbacks. While she hasn't suffered from a change of personality like Ozpin feared, she has instead gotten the brief memories of the previous Fall Maiden.
Having the memories of someone else isn't pleasant for Pyrrha, especially when the last of Amber's memory is that of her battle with her assailants before one of them forcefully takes half of her Maiden's power, leaving her in a coma. After Ozpin transferred the Maiden's power from Amber to Pyrrha, the former Maiden never woke up again.
Ever since she became the host for the Fall Maiden's power, Ozpin has had her train underneath Beacon, so to master her new abilities. Once she mastered the powers of the Fall Maiden and graduated from Beacon Academy, the Headmaster has had her take missions that benefitted them while also doing damage to Salem, no matter how small that amount of damage actually is.
The only solace in her stressful life as a Huntress, Maiden and operative of Ozpin is that her friends are helping her with the war against Salem.
Turning away from the window, Pyrrha smiles as she looks over at her two teammates who are sitting across from her. Nora has fallen asleep and is leaning her head against Ren's shoulder while the Hunter reads the book in his hand, ignoring the drool dripping onto his shoulder, courtesy of Nora.
Pyrrha shakes her head with a smile and turns back to the window, seeing the city of Vale in the distance.
Seeing the city has Pyrrha sigh, hoping to get a break from doing anymore missions. The Beacon Headmaster has her ragged by taking mission after mission for the fight against Salem. Pyrrha understands that as a Maiden, she can do more damage against Salem and her allies than anyone else, but even she needs a break from all the stress.
"I just hope nothing too important happened while we were gone" thought Pyrrha, gazing out at the city of Vale.
( Beacon Academy - Ozpin's Office )
"And you agreed to all their terms?" asked Glynda in shock while glaring at Ozpin from across his desk.
Ozpin frowns as he looks at the cup of half finished coffee in his hand. He has been stalling from explaining to Glynda about the conditions he accepted from the Freelancers, but she remains adamant to know everything. "It was the only way for them to accept the contract" replied Ozpin, although he isn't exactly delighted about the conditions he accepted either. After accepting all of the Freelancer terms, the Commander informed Ozpin that they will be bringing their airship to Vale in four days. Those four days has already passed and Ozpin has yet to see the Freelancer airship arrive in Vale.
"The first two conditions aren't what's bothering me" spoke Glynda, glaring at her employer. While the payment is quite large, she can understand where the Freelancers are coming from. Cooperation with everyone in the Kingdom is also a must have. "It's the last term in which you agreed that all Freelancers are to be given complete superiority throughout the duration of the contract. This means they hold higher ranking over the VPD and Hunters. Simply put, they will only answer to the Council."
Ozpin nods, knowing what he agreed to. "I understand, but it was the only way for them to agree."
From her facial expression, Ozpin can tell that Glynda isn't exactly happy to hear his explanation. "Are you honestly expecting the Huntsmen and Huntresses within the city to follow the orders of a group of mercenaries?" she asked in disbelief. Hunters are prideful people and she doubts that any of them will be happy to hear that they must answer to mercenaries of all people.
"Private military" remarked Ozpin, but sips from his coffee cup when he sees Glynda's glare get angrier. "And I'll be calling for a meeting for all Hunters within the city limits so to explain the situation to them. Of course, the General will be with me during the explanation."
Before Glynda can complain anymore about Ozpin's deal with the Freelancers, the elevator door to the office opens, showing the remnants of Team (J)NPR. Immediately, the three Hunters notice the tension within the office. "Did we come at a bad time?" asked Pyrrha, looking between the Vice Headmistress and Headmaster.
Ozpin offers the Huntress a smile, not only happy to see his biggest asset alive and safe, but also because he has been hoping for someone or something to distract Glynda. "Of course not, Ms. Nikos. We were only discussing about the recent changes to the city."
"Recent changes?" asked Ren, raising a brow in curiosity.
"It will be explained to you all later" said Ozpin. "But first, how did your mission go in the north?"
Pyrrha steps ahead of her teammates, having been named Team Leader ever since the expulsion of her partner all those years ago. "Mission was a complete success. We found the Grimm hive settled inside a hollowed out mountain and made sure it couldn't be used by them ever again."
"I blew it up!" cheered Nora, giggling in excitement as she remembers firing grenade after grenade into the Grimm hive. As the mountain was hollowed out by the Grimm, it didn't take long for Nora's explosives to destroy the support structures and bring down the mountain on the hive, killing all the Grimm inside it at the time.
"Good. That will hopefully decrease the amount of Grimm activity coming from the north, or at least slow them down" nodded Ozpin, taking any victory he can in his war with Salem. Having Pyrrha accept the role as Fall Maiden was a boon for Ozpin's side, but even she hasn't been enough to sway the side of war. "As much as I'd like to send you off for another mission, I would prefer to keep you all within the city limits, at least until the Vytal Festival comes to a close."
Nora's grin widens as she starts hopping up and down in place. "The Vytal Festival is happening!?"
Ozpin nods, having explained the situation with the Freelancers to the Council. While his relationship with the Council isn't good, especially in the recent times, they reluctantly agreed to give the private military a chance. Not even they can deny the advantages to having the Vytal Festival take place, especially when the increase of tourists will also mean an increase of income for the Kingdom. "Indeed it is."
"Hear that, Ren! That means pancake stalls and sloth toys to win" exclaimed Nora in excitement.
Ren sighs, having honestly hoped that the Vytal Festival wouldn't take place. Nora has always been excitable, but events like the Vytla Festival always brings out the worst in her. She becomes more sugar high and excited than ever before and there are moments where he can't even control her anymore.
Pyrrha frowns, finding it surprising that the Council would allow the Vytal Festival to take place, especially with how the Hunters and Vale militia have been spread so thin to fight against the growing numbers of Grimm. Before she can ask for more information, she notices a shadowed image in the distance from the office window. "What is that in the distance?" she asked, walking towards the window behind Ozpin. Everyone turns to the window, seeing what has caught the champion's attention.
"My word" gasped Glynda, finding herself in shock from what she is seeing.
The Beacon Headmaster spins his seat around so he can look out his window and his eyes widens at the sight. "It appears the Freelancers have finally arrived."
Everyone in the office can only watch as the biggest airship they have seen in their lives flies ever so closer to the city of Vale.
( Beacon - Courtyard )
Everyone from the civilians in Vale to the Hunters-in-training in Beacon are currently staring up into the sky to look at the large airship that's hovering high in the air. Protecting the airship are over a dozen heavily armed Bullheads which are flying around the airship in all angles.
Standing in front of the Beacon Academy statue that is in the courtyard, Team RWBY stare up at the large airship with their mouths agape and their eyes widened.
"That is one big airship" whistled Yang, pretending that her jaw isn't on the floor.
Weiss widens her eyes at the sight of the massive airship. "It's twice the size of an Atlesian airship, if not bigger!" she exclaimed in shock. How the Freelancers get the resources and manpower to make such a massive airship without any of the Kingdoms knowledge is beyond surprising and incredible. "Does Winter know about this?"
"I've never seen an airship designed like that" spoke Blake, having never seen an airship with such a blocky design before as they usually have smooth curves to make them look nicer to the public eye. She has also never seen one to be so big or to have so many cannons attached to it. "That kind of firepower could wipe out scores of Grimm in seconds."
Ruby is also in awe of the airship, but she also notices that the front of the airship seems to be designed differently than the rest of it. It's almost like it has a... "I-Is t-that a c-cannon?" she thought, hoping that she's wrong for once in her life. Being an expert in weaponry, she can tell that the front of the airship is designed with what looks to be a cannon of sorts and from the size of it, Ruby can estimate that the power of it could wipe out the city if it was ever used on it.
Knowing that there's an airship with such a deadly weapon doesn't ease to nervous bubbling in Ruby's stomach.
"Mother of Invention" muttered Blake, reading the words that are painted on the side of the airship. "That's the airship you stayed on, wasn't it, Ruby?"
"It is" nodded Ruby, watching the large airship hover in the air. "And if that's here, than that means Jaune's here as well." she thought, remembering Dr. Grey mention how Jaune is the one who runs the airship himself.
Ruby shakes herself out of her thoughts when she sees three Bullheads fly out of the hanger bay of the Mother of Invention. Knowing that they'll land on Beacon, she runs off towards the direction of the Bullhead docks, much to the surprise of her teammates.
"Ruby, where are you going!" yelled Weiss, running after her teammate with Blake and Yang running right after them.
( Beacon - Bullhead Docks )
Having used her Semblance, Ruby arrives by the docks, just in time to see the three Bullheads land beside one another. She watches the Bullheads doors open and sees Jaune step out of the middle one with four Freelancers following behind him. From the other two Bullheads steps out eight fully armoured and armed Freelancers, each. Of course, the sight of the unknown soldiers has the Beacon employees, students and Hunters a tad nervous.
"Nothing has changed" thought Jaune, smiling as he takes in surroundings while he steps out of the Bullhead. Following behind him is North, South, Washington and Locus with each one holding onto their respective weapons.
Obviously, Jaune doesn't miss out on the attention his Freelancers and himself are getting from the nearby locals. Neither does he miss how the Beacon students and professional Hunters are glancing at them while keeping their hands on their respective weapons.
"As long as they keep to themselves and don't start anything, there won't be any trouble" he thought, ignoring them while awaiting for the arrival of the Headmaster. He'll need to look over the contract that employs the services of his Freelancers for the protection of Vale. If there aren't any mistakes or problems with the contract, he'll sign it and then call for a brief meeting for all Hunters in the Kingdom so he can inform them of his Freelancers taking over control of security for the city until the time in which the Atlas military arrives and take over the role for them.
As Ruby watches the Freelancers from a distance, the rest of her team manages to catch up. "Finally! What did I tell you about running off on your own?" exclaimed Weiss, wanting an explanation from her partner for why she ran off. Yet, Ruby ignores her like as if she's not even here! "Hey! I'm talking to you."
"Um, Weiss" spoke Blake, tapping the Schnee on her shoulder. Once Weiss turns to the Faunus, Blake points in the direction of Ruby's sight. Weiss follow's Blake's finger and once she sees what has everyone's attention, her skin gets noticeably paler than usual. "'Looks like the Freelancers are already here" muttered the Faunus, recognizing the Freelancer symbol that's displayed on the armoured shoulders of the men and women. She can see why they can cause the SDC so much trouble, if their advanced weaponry and armour is anything to go by. "I've never seen technology like that before" she thought.
Yang whistles, looking impressed with the sight. "They've got some nifty armour" said Yang, having already seen four armoured Freelancers before, but not so many in different varieties. While looking over the Freelancers, she doesn't miss the one individual who isn't adorning a set of advanced power armour. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the blonde scarred man who's leading the pack of soldiers.
Ruby doesn't so much as blink when she answers. "That's the Freelancer General. In other words, Jaune."
Blake's brows quickly begin to rise, Weiss's jaw soon drops to the floor and Yang blinks, looking to be struggling with something in her head.
After a moment of awkward silence, Weiss cries out in disbelief. "You can't be serious. There is no possible way on Remnant that he's the doofus!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger towards the blonde man. Jaune Arc is weak, lanky and inexperienced. A complete opposite to the strong, muscular and hardened man she sees before her.
Yang shakes her head, denying Ruby's claim as well. "Sorry sis, but I just can't see it." She looks back at the General and narrows her eyes which turn red for a second. "But if he is the one who attacked Raven's tribe, then I'll have to have a word with him" she thought, angry over the thought of having her estranged mother go into deeper hiding. All the clues and searches for her mother's whereabouts are now pointless, since they mainly focused on the movement of the Branwen tribe. With the tribe decimated, she'll have an even tougher time to find her mother and she can only blame the Freelancers for the cause.
Having sharper eyes than both Weiss and Yang, Blake notices something hanging off of the man's hip. "Guys, do you see what's hanging off his hip?"
Ruby, Weiss and Yang look at the General and see what Blake is talking about. They see a long white object hanging off the side of the man's hip and it doesn't take long for them to recognize it as a blade. "It's a sword, so what?" asked Yang, seeing nothing of interest from the weapon.
Blake rolls her eyes over her partner's blindness. "Great observation, Yang" she groaned, ignoring Yang who sticks out her tongue. "But did you notice that the blade looks very similar to the one Jaune had when in Beacon?"
Weiss focuses her eyes on the man's blade, but when he slightly turns to the left, she sees the two golden crescent arc symbol on the sword's sheath. "That can't be" she muttered in disbelief, recognizing the symbol that was on the doofus's equipment, especially on his sword's sheath which could shift into a shield.
Yang turns her head towards the Faunus so fast that Blake sees her blonde locks hit Weiss in the side of her head. "Wait, seriously? The badass looking General is actually vomit boy?"
Ruby ignores her sister's surprise and her partner's cries of disbelief once she sees Ozpin and Glynda walk towards the Freelancer party.
xXx
Jaune sees Ozpin and Glynda walk up towards him and noticing a few of his Freelancers tense up, he nods towards their direction to stop them from doing anything. The Freelancers nod back and step away to give the Beacon Headmaster and Vice Headmistress space.
Ozpin and Glynda stop a few feet away from the Freelancers, providing enough room to speak while also giving themselves enough room to move if a fight might break out. Ozpin highly doubts it, but with how everything has been going downhill for him lately, he doesn't want to take any chances. "I'll admit, I didn't expect to see you again, Mr. Arc. Especially in these... special circumstances" spoke Ozpin, showing a smile. While he appears to be calm, he's actually surprised over his former student's shocking change of appearance. "He has grown in more ways than one."
Jaune offers the Headmaster a small smirk. "Special is one way to put it. As much as I'd like to get into pleasantries, I would rather prefer to get down to business."
"Just like the Commander" thought Ozpin, noting that Jaune likes to skip pleasantries as well. The same can be said for James so he guesses that it's just something that military men do. "Of course. If you follow me to my office, I can show you the contract that the Council has written up" he said before turning and walking back to his office.
Glynda turns around as well, but stops to look at Jaune who stares back. A few seconds pass by as the former student and Vice Headmistress study one another before Glynda follows after Ozpin without saying a word to each other.
Ignoring the stare off he just had with Glynda, Jaune looks at his Freelancers from over his shoulders. "Washington and Locus, with me" he ordered before following after Ozpin with the two Freelancers behind him. The rest of the Freelancers soon spread out around the Bullheads, watching everyone and making sure that nobody tries something against them.
xXx
After being asked by Ozpin to wait in his office until he comes back, Pyrrha spends her time making small talk with her two teammates. After several minutes of chatting with Ren and Nora, she turns to the elevator door which opens, signalling the return of the Headmaster. While she's none too surprised to see Glynda as she is Ozpin's second-in-command, she's definitely surprised when she sees a tall blonde haired man follow after them with two unknown soldiers behind him. Studying the unknown individual, Pyrrha frowns in thought. "He seems familiar."
Jaune takes in the scenery, seeing no changes done to the Headmaster's office in the ten years that he has last been in the room. Jaune smiles in thought. "I wonder what would have happened to me if I wasn't expelled." He has always wondered what would have happened if Cardin didn't reveal his fake transcripts, but he has accepted that fact a long time ago. Besides, he knows that he wouldn't be able to save or protect as many lives as he does now as the Freelancer General than he would have as a professional Huntsman.
As Ozpin takes his seat and Glynda takes her spot by his side, Pyrrha and her teammates look between the Headmaster and the unknown men with curiosity etched on their faces.
Finally, it's Ren who decides to ask the question. "Headmaster, who are these men and what are they doing here?"
Ozpin doesn't look at Ren, preferring to keep his eyes on Jaune and see his reaction to reuniting with his former teammates. He has expected the former Beacon student to react in some manner of surprise or even joy in reuniting with his teammates after so long. Instead, he sees the Freelancer General glance at the three Hunters in the office with indifference. "I may have overestimated his bond with his former teammates. He was only with them for a month after all" he thought with a small frown on his face. "Still, that doesn't mean he can't reconnect with them overtime."
Seeing as Ozpin is too distracted to answer Ren's question, Glynda decides to do it herself. "This man here is the General of the private military force, the Freelancers. The reason he is here is because the Council has agreed to allow the Freelancer to take over the role of security for the Kingdom during the majority of the Vytal Festival." The three Hunters look surprised by her answer, but she decides to drop the bomb on them now so to get it over with. "You may also remember him as your former teammate during your first month at attending Beacon, Jaune Arc."
Unlike Weiss and Yang, it only takes a second for all three members of Team (J)NPR to remember who Jaune Arc is and they look back at the Freelancer General in surprise and some disbelief.
"This is Jaune?" muttered Pyrrha to herself, remembering her former team leader and partner. She recognizes his blonde hair and blue eyes, but that's all she can recognize. She definitely doesn't remember him having so many scars or even muscles. The cybernetic arm is a bit of a surprise as well, but by looking into her eyes, she sees the most obvious change. Where there was once a naive innocence that could rival Ruby's back in the day, she now sees the eyes of a hardened warrior who has witnessed the horrors of the world, personally.
While Ren studies the Freelancer General and compares him to his former team leader, Nora grins and immediately charges at the General.
A quick hand signal from Jaune stops Locus and Washington from apprehending the incoming Huntress. While Jaune may not remember everything during his month in Beacon, he simply can't forget his former teammates, especially when one of them is the likes of Nora Valkyrie. He remembers her as a physically strong and daring young woman, having no qualms with making risky moves in a fight that could cost her grievous injuries if done wrong. She's also very energetic and loves pancakes as much as Ruby loves cookies.
Jaune grunts as Nora wraps her strong arms around Jaune's torso, trapping his own arms to his sides. She lifts the full grown man off his feet like as if he weighs nothing and starts jumping up and down in joy. "She's also quite a hugger" thought Jaune, chuckling over Nora's contagious excitement.
"Fearless leader!" cheered Nora, hugging Jaune like there's no tomorrow. "It's great to have you back!"
"Nice to meet you again, Nora. I see you haven't changed" chuckled Jaune. "And as much as I enjoy your one-of-a-kind hugs, could you please put me down?" Nodding with a smile, Nora places Jaune back on his feet and steps back to take her place on Ren's right.
As Jaune fixes his coat, Washington and Locus glance at each other, wondering who the people are and their connection with their General. It's obvious that the ginger haired woman has a friendly relationship with the General, if the hug is anything to go by, but the male Hunter has only been studying Jaune since they arrived and Nikos has been staring at their General with nothing but surprise etched on her face. They would especially like to know how the General knows the world famous Huntress, Pyrrha Nikos.
Once he fixes his coat, Jaune turns to Ren and smiles. "I see you've let your hair grow since the last time I saw you. It looks good" he complimented his former teammate, noting Ren's longer hair.
Ren smiles over the compliment and nods. "Thank you, Jaune. However, I believe your change is the most surprising."
Jaune nods, understanding his former teammate. He has changed a lot from the naive boy that he was ten years ago. "I guess I can understand that." The General turns from Ren to look at his former teammate and partner, Pyrrha Nikos.
Over the years, Jaune sees that Pyrrha has grown to be quite a beautiful young woman. Jaune won't deny that his former partner was already a beauty ten years ago, but she has become more elegant and mature as time passed by. And from word around Remnant, she has also become the best Huntress in her generation. He has also heard word of a cult that's based off her, but he's sure that's just some stupid rumor. "It has been a long time, Pyrrha" he said, offering his hand for a handshake.
Pyrrha shakes herself out of her stupor and smiles back at her former partner. "Indeed it has, Jaune. I'm happy to see you alive and healthy" she replied, accepting his handshake. It's only when she feels her hand shake his robotic one does she realize her poor choice of words. "Sorry!"
Jaune chuckles as Pyrrha apologizes. "You've got nothing to apologize over. I may have lost my arm, but I've learned from that mistake and became a better man because of it."
Pyrrha sighs and nods her head in acceptance before Jaune turns back to Ozpin. His amused smile fades as a stern visage appears on his face. "Now then, we should get back to business."
Ozpin nods, inwardly delighted to see Jaune isn't as indifferent to his teammates than he thought. "Of course. I have the contract right here" said the Headmaster, pulling a contract out of a drawer from his desk. He plants the contract on the table and pushes it towards Jaune.
Jaune steps forward and takes the contract before he begins to read it, ignoring the two chairs beside him.
"Do the Freelancers not like chairs?" wondered Glynda, remembering that Commander Jensen didn't accept a seat either. Looking over the man who was once her student, Glynda widens her eyes when she notices his right eye pupil focus on the contract. "His eye is bionic!" she thought in surprise. She can't help but wonder what has happened to the boy who she helped expel from Beacon Academy all those years ago.
With the help of his robotic eye, Jaune scans the contract in its entirety and sees no flaws, secret terms or changes in the contract. Simply put, it contracts the Freelancers to use their manpower and resources to safeguard Vale and its citizens in their entirety. His terms have also been added, providing the Freelancers with full cooperation and superiority over the civilians, Vale Police Deperatment and any Hunters who may be in the city at the time. If there's a lack of cooperation from anyone, they have the full authority of the Vale Council to take custody of the offending party. The contract will only expire if the Freelancers prove to be more of a hindrance to the Kingdom or until the time in which General Ironwood arrives with his own army to take over the role of security for Vale.
Rereading the contract two more times, Jaune nods in satisfaction. "Everything appears to be in order."
Ozpin offers the General a pen to sign his name on the contract. Jaune accepts the pen and signs his initials onto the contract, therefore promising the services of the Freelancers to the role of protecting the city and its citizens. Giving the contract back to the Headmaster, Jaune turns back around and steps towards his Freelancers who are waiting by the elevator door. "The Freelancers that arrived with me will be stationed here for the entirety of the Vytal Festival."
Glynda frowns at the back of Jaune. "The festivities for the Vytal Festival won't begin for another two weeks. Besides, there is no need to have the Freelancers in the boundaries of Beacon. We can protect ourselves just fine" she protested.
Jaune turns back around and shakes his head, showing neither annoyance or grief towards the Vice Headmistress of Beacon. "I'm sure that you can protect yourselves just fine, Ms. Goodwitch, but it's not Beacon I'm worried about."
Glynda raises a brow in curiosity. "Than what's the security detail for?"
"The CCT" Jaune answered, seeing the understanding slowly appear in Glynda's eyes. "Since the CCT is the main source of communication for everyone in Vale, it is only reasonable that I place a security detail around it."
"Understandable" replied Ren, understanding Jaune's reasoning. If the CCT were to fall for any reason, Vale would have no way to spread word of an attack to the other Kingdoms. It would only make sense for any attackers to take down the city's main source of communication first, so to cause mass confusion and destruction.
Seeing as no more needs to be spoken, Ozpin clicks a button on his desk terminal, sending out a message to all Scrolls that are owned by a Huntsman or Huntress in Vale. "I've just spread word to all Hunters within Beacon and Vale. They should all be arriving within the hour so if you want to prepare for what you want to say to them, you should do so now" he informed Jaune who shakes his head.
"There's no need for any preparation. I'll simply inform the Hunters that the Freelancers will be the ones in control of Vale during the duration of our stay here and how we'll be expecting their complete cooperation. Nothing more and nothing less."
Pyrrha, Ren and Nora look surprised to hear that from Jaune. "Excuse me for asking, but I thought the Freelancers were simply acting as security for the Vytal Festival?" asked Pyrrha, wanting to shed some light on the subject.
Ozpin answers for the Fall Maiden. "While that is true, the Council has also provided the Freelancers with superiority over everyone else in Vale. This means that until James arrives with his Atlesian army, the Freelancers will be practically running the show in Vale."
"So the Hunters must follow the commands of the Freelancers?" asked Ren, already thinking of ten Hunters who won't like the sound of that. Yang and Weiss so happens to be on that list. Personally, he has no problems following orders from the Freelancers, especially if Jaune is the one leading them. Still, he'd like to get the full story on how Jaune became the General of an entire military at such a young age.
Preferably from the man himself.
"Within reason" said Ozpin, looking at Jaune as he says this.
Jaune doesn't respond, but he does offer the Beacon Headmaster an understanding nod. Other than himself, Adam and a few select individuals, no other Freelancer will have any say or power to command anyone from Vale, wither they be civilian, police or Hunters.
"If that is all, I'll take my leave for now and inform the Freelancers by the docks of the news. They'll station themselves by the CCT within the hour" informed Jaune before heading back towards the elevator. Locus and Washington wait for him to enter before following in after him.
It's only when the elevator door closes does Pyrrha turn to Ozpin. "Many Hunters won't like this, sir."
Ozpin sighs and rubs his forehead. "I know. I just hope they don't do anything too stupid."
xXx
Within the hour, all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the city of Vale arrive at Beacon. None of them are willing to refuse the call from Ozpin, seeing as all of them were once students of his during their attendance in Beacon Academy.
"Do any of you guys know what's going on?" asked Ruby, stepping into Beacon's amphitheatre alongside her teammates. She looks around the amphitheatre and sees many familiar faces of Huntsmen and Huntresses that she sometimes works with on missions.
Yang shrugs her shoulders. "No clue. I was tuning up Bumblebee when I got the message."
Blake looks around the room and frowns. "Looks like every Hunter in the city is here" she said, noticing a few missing Hunters, but she guesses that they're on missions at the moment.
"I'm guessing this has to do with our new guests" stated Weiss, having seen a few Freelancers hanging around the entrance of the CCT. She doesn't know what they're doing at Beacon Academy and she isn't willing to ask them why. Usually, nothing can frighten the cold and fearless heart of Weiss Schnee, but when she's dealing with the Freelancer military, she would prefer to fight Pyrrha Nikos one-on-one than to antagonize the military which has been causing trouble for her family's company. If the rumors she hears are true, they're also not afraid to deal with the White Fang either.
Before Ruby can respond to her partner, she sees Pyrrha and her team walking over. "Pyrrha!" she called, waving a hand at the redhead.
Pyrrha smiles at the energetic leader of Team RWBY and waves back. "Hello, Ruby."
"P-Money, you got any idea on what Oz called us here for?" Yang asked Pyrrha, knowing that the redhead is closer to Ozpin than any of them, due to her being one half of the Fall Maiden. She's sure that Ozpin has probably told Pyrrha stuff that few in their secret group actually knows about.
Before Pyrrha can answer Yang, they see Ozpin step onto the stage with his cane on hand and stops in front of the microphone. The moment the Headmaster appears, everyone quiets down and waits for Ozpin to speak. This shows the respect each Hunter has for the Beacon Headmaster.
"Former students of mine, I thank you all for coming to my behest. I know that many of you have returned from missions and are tired so I want to keep this brief." Ozpin looks around and sees that he has everyone's attention. Turning to his right, he nods to Jaune who's standing outside of everyone's sight, giving the General the signal to walk up to the stage. "As many of you have likely heard, the Council has recently deemed it necessary to host the Vytal Festival this year, no matter of the current dangers that lurk outside our walls."
The announcement that the Vytal Festival is taking place has the Hunters cheer in excitement for the upcoming event. They have already heard the news that the festival was happening and that the festivities would begin in two weeks time. Although, some Hunters are curious over who the scarred man beside Ozpin is.
Ozpin waits for silence before continuing. "At the moment, Vale lacks the means to uphold law and order within the city during such an important event which will attract the attention of those whose ideologies are good and bad. That is why the Council has agreed to solve this problem by upholding a partnership with the private military force, the Freelancers. The Freelancers will provide the necessary manpower and resources to combat those who hope to do damage to Vale, both outside and inside its walls. Freelancer General, Jaune Arc will now step forward to speak a few words." The Beacon Headmaster steps to the side so to allow Jaune access to the microphone.
However, the moment Jaune steps to the microphone, the Hunters begin to make a lot of noise, either questioning Ozpin with the decision to hiring the Freelancers or to simply annoy and be rude to the Freelancer General who looks no older than them.
"Well, this is going nowhere" deadpanned Weiss, folding her arms across her chest. She's positive that if the idiotic Hunters around her knew who they were insulting and knew what kind of power he possesses, they wouldn't be so quick to act like animals.
Pyrrha frowns as she looks at her fellow Hunters in the room, feeling nothing but disappointment. "This is just rude."
"Not surprising" stated Ren. "Hunters are prideful folks. They don't exactly like having to request the help of someone else, especially those from a private military."
Ruby ignores the growing noise from the surrounding Huntsmen and Huntresses as she keeps her vision on Jaune who doesn't appear annoyed or even amused by the Hunters. All of a sudden, a chill creeps up her spine and from the way she sees her friends tense up beside her, she isn't the only one who feels it.
All at once, the loud Hunters grow silent as a pressure of sorts drops on their shoulders. It's neither an overbearing pressure or a bloodthirsty one, but it's not a comfortable one either as it's making many of the experienced Hunters squirm in place.
It doesn't take long for the Hunters to find where the source of the pressure is coming from and each one looks up at the stage, staring up into the cold eyes of Jaune Arc. Each Hunter soon realize that they can't tear their eyes away from his own, feeling as if there are a pair of invisible hands which are holding their heads in place. For every second they stare into his eyes, the longer they feel like he's stripping all their secrets from their souls.
After a moment of breathless silence, Jaune speaks. "Now that I have your attention..."
Every Hunter in the room regains full control over their bodies again and shakes themselves out of their stupor. However, none try to underestimate the General again and they all remain quiet to listen to Jaune's words, although nobody has the nerve to look at him in the eyes again.
"I'll make this quick and to the point. Through the signed agreement between the Freelancers and the Vale Council, we will station ourselves within Vale to keep the peace during the time in which the Vytal Festival takes place. During this time, the Freelancers will take over the security of Vale in every sense of the word. The Council has also agreed to grant the Freelancers superiority over all law enforcements and Hunters within the city. Therefore, no Hunter or police officer can move on any criminal activity unless given the order by a commanding Freelancer or if deemed completely necessary."
A few Hunters in the amphitheatre look to make an argument, but another cold glare from Jaune stops them in their tracks. After making a few seconds of eye contact with them, Jaune continues.
"You may continue to accept missions outside of the city, but once you're inside those walls, you're under the jurisdiction of the Freelancers. Anyone who attempts to cause trouble or make any movements that weren't authorized by a commanding Freelancer, you'll be placed under arrest and remain in containment until further notice.
Jaune looks around the amphitheatre and makes eye contact with everyone, only lingering on Team RWBY and (J)NPR for an extra second longer. "That is all." Sure that his message has been sent, Jaune walks off the stage from the side, ignoring the many eyes on him, including the curious eyes of Ozpin.
Shaking out of her stupor, Ruby let's out the breath she didn't know she was holding in. "That was intense" she muttered, but everyone hears her.
"You're telling me. I thought I was going to freeze under that glare of his" stated Ren, feeling like the room temperature has gone colder than it was before he entered it.
"Fearless leader has changed a lot" pouted Nora, having frozen up like everyone else when he looked her in her eyes.
Pyrrha gulps, having been especially effected by Jaune's piercing eyes. She had only looked into his eyes for a few seconds, but it felt like he was seeing straight into her soul, reading every dirty secret she holds.
Noticing a certain missing person from their group, Blake feels her ears twitch. "Guys, where did Yang go?"
xXx
Jaune is walking through one of the many empty hallways of Beacon Academy when he suddenly stops and turns around. "You can come out. I know you're there."
Five seconds of silence passes by before Yang Xiao-Long steps out of the corner of the hallway, glaring at Jaune with her eyes turning red for a moment.
Jaune raises a brow, wondering what has the Huntress so angry at him for. Finding out that a private military holds more power over them in their own city probably has her mad, but not enough to make it look like she wants to punch his face in. Although, from what he remembers all those years ago, it doesn't take much to anger Yang enough to make her like that. "She never did have a good hold on her temper."
Yang glares at the man who has completely ruined her long search for her wayward mother and clenches her hands into fists.
"Fight me."
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