The door to team RWBY's dorm swung open, Yang, Weiss, and Blake looking up from their respective pastimes to see their team leader. "Guys… I made a mistake. A really big mistake. I'm gonna get expelled." Ruby looked at her team, her face ashen.
"Ruby… what did you do? It can't be that bad. They let a former terrorist come here. They even let Jaune in! Jaune! He means well, but that boy was hopeless for months." Weiss got up from her bed, looking more annoyed than anything else.
"Yeah, come on Sis. I'm sure that we can explain to Professor Ozpin. How bad can it be? It's not like you killed someone, right?" Yang smiled, sure that her sister was just overreacting to whatever she had done.
"..." Ruby's face somehow turned even more white, and she slumped to the ground, curling into a ball and starting to give small, near silent sobs that wracked her entire body. She began to mutter quietly, " I didn't mean to." Over and over she muttered the refrain, her team standing in shocked silence.
"Okay Ruby, joke's over. Not funny. Seriously. Stop it." Yang began to look nervous as her sister simply stayed curled in a ball, crying and chanting.
Weiss and Blake continued to stare, dumbfounded by what Ruby had said.
"Ruby, Yang is right. This joke is in extremely poor taste. I demand that you stop it at once!" Weiss stamped her foot, annoyance turning quickly to anger on her face.
"I…I think she actually killed someone. She's in shock. Ruby, what happened?" Blake crouched down next to her catatonic squad leader, gently shaking her arm.
After a few moments, Ruby's uncurled herself, looking at her team with tears still rolling down her face. "I-I was just fixing up Ember Celica," Ruby began.
(Flashback Start)
Yang keeps complaining that the trigger mechanism is sticking in Ember Celica. This new hair trigger should fix the problem, but I have to be careful not to make it to sensitive. Of course, maybe if she wasn't so rough on these gauntlets, maybe things like the trigger mechanism wouldn't get beat up so fast. Ruby carefully finished reassembling the gauntlet before placing it on her arm to test the balance.
"Ruby? Are you in here? Hello?" Atin's voice echoed through the mostly empty workshop.
"I'm over here Mr. Winchester!" I hope he isn't gonna tell me how dumb we were. Again. For the 23rd time. Ruby began making her way to the firing range to test the new trigger, fishing a few shells from her pocket to load Ember Celica.
"I just wanted to talk to you about the docks without Goodwitch looking over my shoulder. While I think what you guys did was dumb, I also think sticking your necks out for Blake like that was what a great friend would do, even if you should have ya know, called the police or told a teacher when one of your teammates was missing for days." Atin followed Ruby towards the firing range, bemoaning the fact that hunters didn't use ear protection, since Aura existed.
Ruby stepped up to the range, settling Ember Celica as firmly as she could on her wrist, taking aim at the much abused Atlesian knight torso that was one of the targets. She gently applied pressure to the trigger, letting out a satisfied grunt at the sparks that flew off the target dummy as the slug hit home. She pumped her arm in victory, but as she did so, the ill-fitting gauntlet slipped off her hand, falling towards the floor. Atin saw the weapon as it began tumbling and reached to try and grab, hoping to prevent an accident. At the same time, Ruby realized her mistake and also began reaching for the gauntlet, upset with herself for being so careless. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Winchester also reaching for the gauntlet. She dived to the floor, snatching the gauntlet up moments before it would have hit the ground. She tucked into a roll, in order to avoid slamming face first into the hard concrete floor. As she came out of the roll, she was facing Mr. Winchester. The momentum of the roll caused her to bump into him, causing Ember Celica to go off. Ruby watched in slow motion, horrified as the slug flew towards Mr. Winchester, the slug tearing right through his Aura, or perhaps it wasn't even up to begin with. His upper throat and head disappeared in a red spray, the far wall turning crimson.
(Flashback End)
Ruby had recovered somewhat, having gone from curled up on the floor to slumped against the wall and capable of talking. She remained white as sheet, and she looked like a coiled spring, visibly tense. Almost as soon as she finished talking she went back to being silent, and nothing her team did could get anything more out of her.
"Soooo… what do we now guys?" Yang looked at the other two members of her team, still trying to process what her little sister had said.
"I mean, we have to go try and explain this to Ozpin. It's not like we can hide the… disappearance of one the teaching assistants. If we explain that it was an accident, maybe she won't face charges." Weiss was in damage control mode, something that had been drilled into her as the heir to the Schnee dust company. "Besides, Ruby can hardly be blamed for this. Why would Mr. Winchester not have his Aura active at the firing range of all places?"
There was a knock at the door, causing everyone but Ruby to jump a bit. "Girls? Anyone in?" came Max's voice from the other side of the door. The team all looked at each other, Yang gesturing at the door wildly, while Weiss shook her head vigorously. "I have a key, you know. Knocking's a formality I'm extending out of basic courtesy." Max's call from the other side resulted in Blake facepalming.
Blake inhaled, then exhaled deeply, going to the door and plastering a fake smile over her face. Opening the door, she greeted Max, "Afternoon, sir. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Well, I'm looking for Ruby, actually." Max looked over Blake's shoulder, noting Yang and Weiss had rushed to the wall. "And I see she's behind you two. Okay. As cute as it is you're all sticking up for each other, I'm gonna need her to explain the mess she made."
Max's nonchalance threw the team for a loop. This wasn't what they had expected when he mentioned looking for Ruby. "Did she not clean up after herself in the kitchen, sir? We can take care of that!" Yang piped up, relieved that Max wasn't here about his colleague's death.
"What? Oh, no, I mean at the firing range. There's blood everywhere. On the ceiling, on the wall, on the floor. It's an impressive spray, really."
The entire team froze, amazed at how calm Max seemed. "Are you alright Sir? You seem to be awfully calm about this. Shouldn't you be more concerned that… someone is dead." Blake asked, wondering if he was denial.
"Hm? It's just Atin," Max replied. "If it had been someone other than him or myself, sure, there'd be cause for concern."
"Oh wonderful, now we have to explain to the headmaster that we killed one teaching assistant and caused the other to suffer a mental break. We are all going to get expelled. I can't be expelled! My Father will never let me hear the end of this! I won't be able to go to another Hunter academy!" Weiss was now beginning to panic, realizing there was no amount of damage control that could salvage the situation.
Max crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised. "No, I'm not suffering a mental breakdown. Weiss, perhaps you should lay down for a bit, before your adrenaline really gets going."
"Max… Shouldn't you be more upset? Atin is dead. Weren't you two dating?" Yang asked, confused at the lack of emotion from Max.
"I...what? Wait, are those rumors still going around?!" Max looked at Yang, clearly surprised by her last question. "Damn it, I thought we quashed those last month." He sighed, clearly more upset at the rumors of his sexuality than Atin's death.
"But even if you weren't, you two lived together! Surely you're at least a little upset about this. I would like to reiterate, your friend is dead." Weiss was equally confused as she was angry, unable to understand how anyone could be so callous.
"Well, sure, for now."
"Are...are you delusional?!" Weiss yelled, the last straw finally breaking.
A quiet voice broke the silence "Please stop yelling Weiss." Ruby, who everyone had seemingly forgotten, finally spoke up. "Just…leave him alone. He needs to deal with this. Just like I do."
"Ummm… I think maybe you guys should close your door. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones here, but I doubt you want anyone else to overhear what we did." A very nervous looking Pyrrha was standing outside in the hallway, looking into team RWBY's dorm.
"Did… Did we hear right? Ruby, you killed Mr. Winchester? Why?" Jaune asked, his face a mixture of concern and horror.
As Ruby's face scrunched up, apparently more tears in the tank, Max looked at Jaune disapprovingly. "Really, Jaune? That's what you lead with? Not even a simple 'was it an accident' or 'how are you handling it?' Come on, kid, have some tact, for fuck's sake," Max chided.
Ren remained silent, as unflappable as ever. Nora, for once, had nothing to say. She was unusually reserved, even her normally irrepressible spirit not immune to the situation. Team JNPR stepped into the room, Nora closing the door behind her.
"How did it happen Ruby? Was it an accident?" Ren finally spoke up, determined to find out more.
"Of course it was accident! You think she's some kind of murder?" Yang practically screamed at Ren, glad for an excuse to let some of her anger out.
"Yang, calm down. Shouting will actually get us nowhere here. Might make you feel better, but ultimately, it isn't constructive," Max interposed himself between Yang and Ren. "Alright, everyone take a breath. If you have something to say or ask, think before you do so."
The door began to swing open, prompting an annoyed shout from Weiss. "Who is it now? How many people are going to come in here?"
The door swung open all the way "You know Weiss, Max is right. You guys shouting will get you nowhere. Not very constructive at all." Atin strode into the room, perfectly intact, to the shock of eight of the room's current inhabitants.
A blur of petal's shot across the room, slamming into Atin. "Ohmygoshyouaren'tdeadI'msosorrypleasedon'tbemadatme!" Ruby wrapped herself around Atin's lower chest, causing him to stumble backwards a step.
"Get off! Yang, a little help here? I can't really move. Someone? Anyone? For the love of all things holy, would someone get this kid off me?" Atin was struggling to maintain his balance, the addition of a one hundred plus pounds of excited teenager throwing him.
"Are you sure you killed him? He seems fine," Ren spoke up, staring at the sight before him of a teaching assistant trying to throw a student off of him.
"But… But how? Ruby saw you die!" Yang exclaimed, her face a mask of confusion.
"What is going on here? I demand an explanation!" Weiss defaulted to anger, now that it was clear there was not, in fact, anyone dead.
"I would also like to get some answers," Pyrrha chimed in.
"I'm so confused:" Jaune said, shaking his head back and forth.
"Would someone please get Ruby off of my chest. This isn't funny people." Atin had managed to find an equilibrium of sorts, but he still visibly shaky. "Also, Max why did you immediately explain the reasons that me being dead was not something they needed to be concerned about."
"I figured the nonchalance would tip them off. Shows what I know, I guess," Max replied, shrugging.
"Max, even I know better than that. Ruby thought she killed me! Well I mean technically, she did kill me, but in all fairness to her, it was an accident. Clean too, I didn't feel a thing. It was just like falling asleep. Anyway, that's besides the point. The point is that if someone doesn't get Ruby off of me right now, you all get detention." Atin futilely tried to pry the excited girl off of him, unable to get any leverage.
Yang finally recovered enough from her shock to comply, and began trying to pry her sister off of Atin.
"Thank you. Finally someone listens to me. Now, all of you sit. How much did Max explain this to you guys?" Atin slumped against the wall, all the available seating being taken up by the members of teams RWBY and JNPR.
"I didn't get to explain shit."
"Well no wonder they were freaking the fuck out! Why the hell did you not lead with the explanation Max?" Atin stared at Max, incredulous.
"Admittedly, that was an oversight on my part. I regret nothing, however. I think."
"Okay guys. Listen closely. Death is not a permanent issue for us. Explanation over, carry on kids." Atin braced himself for the inevitable barrage of questions.
Max stared at Atin, his expression deadpan. "You no longer get to complain about my lack of explanation."
"That explains nothing! What kind of explanation is that?" Weiss appeared furious, screaming at the two teaching assistants.
"Okay, look, I understand that explains nothing. However, you're just gonna have to deal with it. It's all I can tell you. The rest is classified. The only reason I can even tell you this much is because of what happened." Atin adopted a serious look, hoping they would stop asking questions.
Max looked at Atin in consternation this time. "Really? You can't just admit we actually don't know why we come back after we die?" Turning his attention to the students, Max said, "The only actual classified thing here is that we don't actually want anyone knowing about that little condition of ours."
"Yeah, do us a favor and don't tell people about this. We want to try and keep it quiet. Up 'til now, we were largely successful at that. Currently only you guys, Ozpin, and Goodwitch know. We want to keep it that way. Also, next time you think you're discussing a murder, maybe keep your voices down, lock your doors, etc. It's bad enough JNPR heard you guys. At least the transfer students haven't moved in yet." Atin shook his head at the situation.
The students looked at the teaching assistants, clearly not believing a word coming from their mouths. "We're expected to just accept this?" Blake asked, finally speaking for the first time since Max had come into the room.
"I could jump out the window to prove a point," Max replied, already stepping towards the currently closed window.
"Don't be stupid, Max, everyone on campus could see that. Yang, kill me. Just punch me, right in the face. I won't block it." Atin closed his eyes, visibly tensing up.
A few moments passed, everyone in the room silent, the students not believing what they were hearing.
"I'm still waiting, Yang. While death is not an issue for me, I would appreciate it if you would hurry up and punch me. Oh, and do try and mind the splash, keep it away from the windows. Don't worry about cleanup, it will go away when I come back." Yang hesitantly began to draw her arm back, unsure of if she should follow through.
"Yang, don't get pulled into their… their delusion! This is insane! You can't actually believe this?" Weiss was furious at the nonsense coming from the teaching assistants.
Max looked at the students, before realization finally hit his dulled common sense. "Atin...it occurs to me that our little ability may have dulled our common sense on these matters. Why don't we go see Ozpin with the students in tow?" Max suggested a rather obvious solution to the problem at hand.
"Fair enough. RIght, come on, let's go. Forward march, etc, etc." Atin flung the door open gesturing the crowd of confused students towards the hall.
Max stepped out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "Keep in mind, we can still give detention for insubordination, kiddos. Get moving."
The elevator to Ozpin's office opened a third time, depositing a still protesting Weiss, accompanied by Atin and Max.
"Ahhh, Mr. Winchester, Mr. Force. Now that you're here, would you mind explaining to me why you've brought not one, but two teams of very confused students to my office?" Ozpin remained calmly seated at his desk, sipping his coffee.
Max walked over to stand behind Team RWBY. "Well, sir, young Rose here," Max explained, his hand mussing Ruby's hair, "had a bit of a misfire in the firing range, involving Mr. Winchester. As such, the rather unique circumstances concerning the hell that is Atin and my own life have come to light. The students, of course, are having a hard time accepting it as truth."
"That's part of the reason we're here anyway. He left out the part where the geniuses were talking about my death in their room with their door wide open which is why JNPR found out, and why he had to drag them along. Also, what's the punishment for killing a teacher? Cause I'm gonna be honest Ozpin, getting my head blown off sucked. A lot." Atin kept himself in front of the elevator, making it clear no one was going anywhere.
Ozpin digested the information before taking a sip from his mug. "As it so happens, Mr. Winchester, we do not have such a policy in place. It appears we have yet to need one, as well," Ozpin replied, calmly setting his mug back down on the desk.
"Then can we at least ban hair trigger modifications? That's the reason I died. It's super unsafe. Oh, and if you could convince them that we are not, in fact, insane, well that would be great, too. I don't feel like using the elevator again." Atin remained standing, doing his best to conceal his annoyance.
Ozpin appeared to consider this for a moment, then replied, with a nod, "We can certainly look into banning the use of hair trigger modifications on school grounds, if nothing else."
"And the part about convincing the kids that we aren't insane? And impressing upon the need to keep this quiet?" Atin chimed in.
"Well, children, perhaps you could explain the issue here to me?" Ozpin asked, his attention on the students now.
"Besides the fact that Mr. Winchester is a crime against nature? Nothing really," Weiss spoke up first, her voice dripping sarcasm and venom in equal measures.
"Or how about the fact that Ruby is traumatized?" Yang was clearly furious, her eyes glowing dangerously red.
"Why did you hire teachers for a Hunter academy that don't have their aura unlocked?" Pyrrha asked.
"I assure you, Miss Schnee, Mr. Winchester is not a crime against nature. We can arrange for some counseling for Miss Rose, someone other than Mr. Force and Mr. Winchester if needed. Miss Nikos, we strive to ensure our faculty have their aura unlocked. Some have slipped through the cracks occasionally, but it's very rare and I can personally assure that this is not a case of such with Mr. Force and Mr. Winchester," Ozpin calmly replied, answering the questions without skipping a beat.
"They have their aura unlocked? But… Ember Celica... " Ruby trailed off, her face turning an alarming shade of green as she remembered what she had done.
"Yes, I've gotten the gist, Miss Rose. Now, you of course all know that aura does require some active mental gymnastics as you train with it. Unfortunately for our teaching assistants, their aura is...rather miniscule. Can't even stop a paper cut, unfortunately. There most certainly isn't enough to stop a bullet, so training it has apparently been a rather useless prospect for them. However, I believe that may simply be the tradeoff for their semblances."
"Honestly, I would much rather have an aura that's actually useful. Dying is… inconvenient. And dreadfully boring, for me at least. What about you Max?" Atin had taken up residence on his favorite patch of wall, one that was far away from the absurd amount clockwork Ozpin had in his office.
"God, yes, I'd rather have aura than this shitty ability," Max agreed, nodding. "Lost its shine after the first six or so deaths."
"So, Ozpin has confirmed that we are not, in fact crazy, making it up, or eldritch horrors. Now, while we could give you a demonstration, we aren't. For multiple reasons. Now, do you understand why you have to keep quiet about this?" Atin asked the assembled teams.
There was a moment of silence, before the teams slowly started raising their hands, their expressions clearly showing they had questions.
"Right, nothing else, good to know!" Max said, walking back over to the elevator, ignoring the students. "I have papers to help grade, so if you'll just excuse me."
"I have transcripts to write, papers to grade, moral foundations to erode, very busy. Toodles! Oh, parting bit of advice. Next time you commit manslaughter, try not shouting about it with an open door while in the same general area of the crime scene." Atin joined Max on the elevator, leaving the students trapped in Ozpin's office until their trip down was finished.
As the elevator door closed, the students looked at Ozpin, who simply stared back. "Well, with term break coming up, that means term finals are as well. Do your best to study, children," Ozpin said, turning his attention to a stack of papers on his desk.