Beacon
*VRRRN VRRRN*
*VRRRN VRRRN*
*VRRRN VRRRN*
Jaune cracked open an eye, glancing over at the tiny stream of light that was emitting from his Scroll face down on the night stand. He took a moment to contemplate if it was the alarm he'd set for them but quickly dismissed this. Ren and Pyrrha had set similar alarms knowing that today was their first mission and, despite that fact, it would still be next to impossible to drag Nora out of bed and into the showers before they had to leave. His scroll went silent for a moment before vibrating once more, the act sounding more desperate this time, if that was even possible. With a groan he attempted to reach out but found his arm stuck in place. A quick glance showed it was wedged between his bed and Jade, his sister no doubt having crawled in to sleep alongside him at some point during the night. With his right arm successfully pinned, he extracted his left, grabbing his scroll and squinting against the light before an image of Ruby's smiling face came into focus. Curious, and a little worried, he quickly pressed the accept call button before static came through.
"Ruby?"
"Jau- lp! –ale! –ain!"
Her garbled words were cut off as a "no signal" icon flashed on the screen. It was enough, however. Wrenching his arm free of Jade's grasp, he moved quickly as he snapped the light on, ignoring the blinding pain as his eyes were forced to adjust as he scrambled to strap on his armor. Groans of protest emanated from his teammates but he ignored those as well, ripping the sheets off their beds in an attempt to force them awake.
"Too early~," Nora groaned, curling up in an attempt to retain what little warmth she had left.
"Jaune what's going on?" Pyrrha asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Ruby just called. I think her team's in trouble," he said, giving his belt a firm tug to make sure his sword was secured before flicking through his contacts to find Doctor Oobleck.
"She called you?" Ren asked, a little more awake and quickly catching on to his leader's panic.
"She tried to. The signal was too weak to make everything out completely but it was enough. Something's happening in Mountain Glenn and I have a feeling it won't stay contained there."
"Alright, I'll get the packs ready. Nora, get up, we have to go," he said, quickly shacking his partner awake.
"Fiiine, but they owe me big for this," she complained.
"If my suspicions are correct, you'll soon have several Grimm to take your anger out on," Jaune replied.
"Goodie," she preened.
"Mr. Arc, while I admire your efforts to be punctual there is such a thing as being too early," Oobleck's voice came through, somehow sounding as if he was wide awake despite having been asleep only moments before.
"I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't urgent. Ruby from team RWBY tried to call me. It sounded urgent and I lost her signal before she could finish. It was garbled but I think she's in trouble."
There was a momentary pause as Oobleck digested the info before saying, "I'll call Peter and confirm with him. How's your team?"
"We're about 75% ready," he said, glancing over at Nora who'd only just dragged herself from her bed and was currently struggling to get her top on over her head. "We'll be ready soon and will meet you at the landing pads."
"Very good. This could simply be a false alarm but best to be prepared," Oobleck said before ending the call.
"I'm ready," Pyrrha announced.
"As am I," Ren chimed in.
"Little help," Nora's muffled voice came in from her shirt.
"Pyrrha, help Nora. Ren, could you contact team CFVY and let them know what's happening?"
"Of course," he said before taking out his scroll.
"Jade, time to get up," he said, gently nudging his sister awake.
"Mmm~, sleepy~," she groaned.
"I know but we have to go," he said, righting her only to watch her flop back down on her side and fall asleep. He would have tried to wake her again but was interrupted by his scroll buzzing.
"Mr. Arc, I've attempted to contact Peter with little success. His scroll appears to be out of range as well. Normally, were there an emergency, he would have sent out a signal but, considering the high concentration of the Grimm in Mountain Glenn, I wouldn't be surprised if he was preoccupied. I've already informed the headmaster of the situation and he has given me permission to escort your team on a recon mission to Mountain Glenn with a possibility of it becoming a search and rescue. I'll be at the landing pads awaiting your team's arrival."
"Understood," he said, ending the call and looking his team over. "Everyone ready."
"Ready."
"Ready."
"Let's go break some legs!"
"Alright, let's move," he said, scooping his still slumbering sister into his arms and making for the door.
/-/
Several moments earlier…
Ruby struggled against the ropes binding her to the chair, working her wrists in such a way that she hoped they would loosen enough to let her slip out and make a break for it. It did little to help, though, instead seeming to tighten them and causing them to chaff against her wrists. This always seemed to work so well in the movies but then again the theatrics of the movies were always meant to make things more suspenseful which was why the actors always seemed to get themselves freed before something worse managed to happen. She was apparently too late or too under skilled as she could hear voices from outside the tent flap. The guards sounded angry while the man talking to them spoke in a calmer manner. It must have ended in his favor as the flap was pushed aside to allow him entry.
The man who entered looked like he'd just stepped out of a low budget Sci-Fi flick. He had wild, untamed sky blue hair with a red cybernetic left eye that contrasted it completely. His right arm sleeve was completely rolled up to reveal the cybernetic one he had replacing what she could only assume was his lost or amputated appendage. A red glow emanated from the large orb on his hand and a similar glow could be seen from its joints. He might have had more cybernetics on other parts of his body but none of that concerned her. What did concern her was the large Beowulf that had walked in alongside him. It reminded her of the one she'd seen up in the city ruins and just as unsettling was the fact that it made no attempts to attack either of them, instead sitting calmly on its haunches at the man's side.
The man paid the Grimm little mind, instead looking her up and down with an intrigued look. It was unsettling, not because she thought he was ogling her the way boys starred at her sister when they thought she wasn't paying attention but rather he was looking her over in a way that felt like he was sizing her up, looking her over the way someone might look over a specimen. Somehow that feeling was much worse than anything Yang might have experienced. As he drew closer she tried and failed to move away. She was firmly tied to the chair which made it difficult, if not impossible, to evade his scrutinizing gaze.
"You have silver eyes, my dear," he said, leaning down to gain a better look at her.
"I know?" she said, unsure of how to respond.
Before she could react, his cybernetic arm had grabbed hold of her chin, holding her in place as she struggled to break free. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, fearful that he might break her jaw but winced when instead his cybernetic eye pulsed out a red beam which flowed over her eyes for a moment before dissipating a moment later. He released his grip, pulling out his scroll and checking something on it.
"Quite the interesting genome you have Miss Rose," he said, flipping through some images on the scroll. "Did you know that less than 1% of Remnant's estimated population are born with silver eyes?"
"I didn't," she said, intrigued, in spite of herself, to learn this new information. "My mother had silver eyes."
"Yes, it stands to reason that it would be a dominate trait passed down from parent to child. It's something I'd like to study in greater detail."
"Umm," she said, not sure how she felt about that.
"There's no need to worry. I won't harm you. Any and all experimentation I will perform would be done while you're under sedation. You'd be completely cared for and receive far better treatment than what you might find at the hands of the Fang."
"T-thanks but no thanks. I'm sure my sister is out looking for me and I can't go anywhere without telling her or my team."
"Oh no need to worry about that. We'll be long gone before they even take notice of your absence."
"Umm, I need an adult?"
He chuckled, his one good eye closing and making his prosthetic all the more unsettling.
"My dear, I am an adult."
Ruby's blood ran cold at that statement and she silently began contemplating how she was supposed to worm her way out of this one. Obviously she wasn't going to go along with him but she had very few options at her disposal. She was currently weaponless which meant she was useless and completely incapable of defending herself. All those times her sister lectured her about learning self-defense and how to fight unarmed were coming back to bite her in the butt. She'd always been certain she'd have her baby on hand to help her out of any situation but not this time. This time she was screwed and she had no one to blame but herself.
Her attention was drawn to the Beowulf which up until now had been calm but had turned its head and started growling. The man looked down at the creature, curious, until gunfire began filling the air outside. The familiar sounds of shotgun blasts reached her ears and she almost cried out in relief as she recognized the sounds of her sister's weapons taking out White Fang grunts. Now emboldened by this turn of events, she smirked up at her captor. He looked completely unperturbed despite everything falling to pieces around. Instead, he looked to her, smiling kindly at her in a manner that sent a shiver down her spin.
"I suppose this is where we must sadly depart. Until our next meeting, Miss Rose. I look forward to seeing you again and your silver eyes."
/-/
"Where's my sister you assholes!" Yang shouted, smashing her fist into the mask of a grunt who had taped his glasses on over the eye slits.
The crunching of glass was a satisfying sound as was the result of the man tumbling backwards before laying limply on the ground unconscious. He didn't move after that or speak for that matter which defeated the purpose of demanding to know where they were keeping Ruby.
"Yang, it might help if you didn't knock out every White Fang member we came across," Weiss pointed out.
"I can't help it. They have my sister and not knowing what they've done with her or what they might be doing. It pisses me off."
"I understand but we need to keep a cool head otherwise we won't be able to help her."
While the two of them argued, Zwei took the opportunity to take point of the situation. With his nose to the ground he was able to quickly lock onto Ruby's scent. Bounding across the battlefield, he nimbly dodged several attacks and vaulted off the face of one of the grunts, making a beeline for the tent containing Ruby. Slipping under the tent flap, he wagged his tail happily as he saw his girl sitting in a chair, captured but safe.
"Zwei?" she said, uncertain of what she was seeing.
"Arf!" he barked, wasting little time in running behind her to chew off her bindings.
"Good boy Zwei," she cheered, breaking free of the ropes before kneeling down to rub his head. He welcomed the affection, licking her face before toddling after her.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled when her sister emerged from the tent.
Throwing caution to the wind, she quickly raced forward and embraced her sister, crushing her and nearly suffocating her against her bosom.
"I was so worried."
"Yang… can't… breathe," Ruby's muffled voice came out.
"You're lucky that's all you'll be made to suffer," Yang said, releasing her sister and quickly switching gears to lecture her. "What were you thinking going off on your own and without your weapon," she said, handing off Crescent Rose to her.
"I didn't have much of a choice. Zwei needed to pee and then we saw a White Fang member and he was walking around with a Grimm."
"You mean he was hiding from the Grimm?" Blake asked.
"No, that's the thing, they weren't attacking one another. They were walking. Together! Like I would with Zwei."
"Ruby, you sure you didn't hit your head or anything?" Yang asked, immediately concerned.
"I know what I saw," Ruby snapped. "That old man had one with him too."
"What old man?"
"He was just here. Blue hair, robot arm and eye. Really weird too."
"We didn't see anyone with that description," Weiss said.
"But he does sound familiar," Port said, rubbing his chin as he contemplated who it might be. "Regardless, we must make haste. We'll need to get out of here and make our way someplace where we have a scroll signal so we can better warn Beacon."
As if on cue the nearby train let out a shrill whistle. The engines roared to life and it began moving, slowly at first, but picking up speed by the minute. What members of the White Fang that were still conscious abandoned what they were doing and leapt onto the moving vehicle, abandoning their comrades where they lay in favor of saving themselves. Before the girls could ask what was happening an explosion from further down drew their attention. Dust billowed out from the tunnels along with the roars of Grimm which had been disturbed and were now making their way into the tunnels themselves.
"Professor, where are they going?"
"Nowhere. Those tunnels were sealed long ago when Mountain Glenn fell."
"Tell that to them," Blake said, pointing at the moving train.
"Everyone, get on board. Quickly now," Port ordered, moving swiftly despite his large girth towards the transport.
Having little time to spare for those they'd left behind, Ruby used her semblance to quickly bring herself, Weiss, and Zwei on board the train. They watched as the tunnels disappeared behind them, a wave of Grimm following in their wake. She looked away before they made it to the White Fang. She knew what was about to happen but it was easier to ignore when she wasn't looking.
"We need to warn Beacon. If this train is heading for Vale they need to know what's coming," Blake said.
"Does anyone have a scroll signal?" Port asked.
"No."
"Nope."
"Nothing."
"I have a signal," Ruby announced. "One bar but it's something."
"Good. Call anyone you can just make sure they get the message out."
Ruby did just that, opening her contacts list and picking a number she knew would answer her without fail.
/-/
Beacon – Present
Team JNPR was ready and waiting at the landing pads, some a little more impatient than the others. Jaune was pacing a hole into the ground while Nora was bouncing on the heels of her feet. Their teammates said nothing, both of them anxious to leave as well, just better at hiding it. They weren't made to wait for every long. Dr. Oobleck soon showed, dressed, caffeinated, and carrying a travel pack in preparation for their departure.
"Is everyone prepped and ready for departure?" he asked.
"We're all ready to go, sir. Just eager to leave," Jaune reported.
"Excellent. I've already filed our flight plan so we- "
An explosion ripped through the air, cutting him off mid-sentence. The explosion itself wasn't very loud. With how far away it was it barely registered but the large plume of smoke emanating from the source was enough to draw their attention. No one said anything. It was obvious now, whatever Ruby had called to warn them about, that was now ground zero. It took Jaune only a couple seconds to rework his priorities as he turned on his heel.
"Sir!"
"Pilot, change in flight plans," Oobleck quickly said before Jaune could get a word in. "Take us to the source of that explosion. Team JNPR, load up."
They didn't need to be told twice, all four of them quickly slipping into the aircraft and strapping themselves in. Oobleck followed soon after, using his free hand to strap himself in while he held his scroll up to speak with the person on the other end. A quick glance showed it was Professor Ozpin, either being updated on the situation or giving his consent for them to depart. Either way it made things easier for them. A few questions they'd have to answer though, given what had just happened, it was doubtful anyone would questions their actions.
All thoughts of his motion sickness were drowned out by the vibrations of the aircraft and the thought of what they might find waiting for them. Grimm seemed a given. They were Huntsmen after all and it seemed only natural that something like this would include Grimm being let into the city. There was also the possibility that this could be another White Fang attack. They'd been more active recently and, given the large amount of Dust they'd stolen over the past couple of months it only made sense that they'd have used it to set off a bomb in a densely populated area. His thoughts soon turned to the battle ahead, however, as the craft began to slow, no doubt preparing for their departure. Sure enough the side doors slid open and Jaune rose from his seat, releasing the straps holding him in place before drawing his sword. When the green light flashed he was the first one out, deploying his shield and ready for what was to come. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
A massive hole had been opened up into the downtown plaza with the fountain having been smashed to pieces and spewing water out, creating a small lake. Rubble was strewn everywhere along with the remains of what looked to be a train or a large tram, he couldn't be sure. What he was sure of was the massive hole from which he could already see Grimm beginning to crawl out of and, if the noises he heard from inside were any indication, a lot more were on their way through. To add to the chaos were the White Fang members. Some were beginning to assault the civilians who had been caught in the explosion with others either unconscious from the rough ride or already having fallen victim to the Grimm. The terrible consequence of working with the Grimm was the fact that they didn't discriminate between friend or foe. As far as they were concerned everyone was fair game.
"Nora, Ren, protect the civilians. Backup should be on its way. Until then, do your best to keep them out of harm's way and stop anyone or anything that tries to harm them."
"On it," Nora said, hefting her grenade launcher and sending a few volleys into a group of Beowulves.
"Pyrrha, you're with me. Team RWBY is here somewhere. We'll need to clear them a path and thin out the Grimm as much as possible."
"I'm ready when you are," she replied.
"Doctor," he said turning to Oobleck.
In response the man thrust out his thermos, the container extending to the length of Pyrrha's spear and igniting into a large flame near its mouth. "Yes Mr. Arc?"
"You do you sir," he said.
"Indubitably!" he cried out before sending a massive fireball careening towards an Ursa Major. The Grimm took the brunt of the attack but a second fire ball followed, incinerating it on impact as the man leapt into the fray.
With no further explanation needed, Jaune turned to Pyrrha, nodding to her as she acknowledged him before jumping into the battle.
/-/
Ruby groaned. Her head was pounding and her whole body ached. Her ears were ringing, making it difficult to figure out where she was. The ground, thankfully, had stopped moving which must have meant the train had stopped moving too. That would mean they were in Vale.
Vale. The Grimm.
Her eyes shot open as her mind came racing back to her, everything that was headed their way and the vast number of lives that would be in danger. She shot to her feet and immediately regretted it. Her head was swimming, no doubt from the unceremonious impact they'd made. Weiss had attempted to soften the blow by encasing them all in a massive block of ice. It had worked somewhat, ensuring Ruby's aura level was still within the green. However, that hadn't done anything to mitigate the effects of riding a speeding vehicle only to have it come to an abrupt stop.
As her vision began to clear and the ringing in her ears died down, the actual sounds of combat began to filter through. At first she assumed it was the Grimm and White Fang enacting their plan. Taking hold of Crescent Rose, Ruby prepared to jump into the fray and hesitated. For a moment she was confused as she saw exactly what she'd expected but mixed in were several teams from Beacon as well as transfers on top of mechanical soldiers from Atlas being supported by airships overhead. It was all very confusing, causing her to wonder if she was still asleep and dreaming, until she saw Jaune. It all clicked in her head. The scroll call she'd sent out earlier, the one that had been choppy and unable to fully connect. Somehow Jaune had figured out what the warning had been and had brought help.
She felt elated, knowing she'd been able to at least warn people of the coming danger despite the odds. Looking around she noticed her teammates had already joined in, taking down Grimm and White Fang while also aiding civilians still caught in the chaos to escape to safety. It was a massive undertaking but somehow they were pushing through. Gripping her weapon tightly she sped off towards a lone Ursa that was charging towards Jaune. In a flurry of rose petals she slashed at the Grimm's legs, hamstringing the beast causing it to topple face first into the ground before slicing through its neck to finish it off. Her dissipating petals mixed in with the Grimm smoke, add a cool effect to her as she ran up to her friend.
"Ruby!" he said, surprised and relieved at the same time.
"We're alright. I'm glad you got my scroll call," she said, switching to her sniper rifle to begin picking off the nevermore while Jaune handle the ground forces.
"I could barely make out what you were saying but, from how panicked you sounded I figured it must have been serious."
"It's actually worse than you realize," she admitted.
"Ruby, we have a massive hole in the middle of Vale from which Grimm and terrorists are currently pouring out of, all of whom want us dead. I'm not sure the situation could get any worse."
Before Ruby could argue, the screeching sound of metal being torn apart reached their ears. Both teenagers looked to see an Ursa Major tearing apart some of the Atlas drones which had been deployed. Until the usual Grimm, Ruby could see this was one of the strange ones given the large green spikes growing from its back and the addition of a White Fang handler whom she could faintly see had glowing green eyes beneath his mask. He looked to be directing the Ursa, giving it instructions when one of the airships drew closer and began opening fire. The White Fang member ducked down and the Ursa quickly rushed to his position to act as a makeshift cover.
The act must have caught the pilot by surprise as he stopped firing for a moment, no doubt checking to see why the Grimm wasn't attacking him. This lapse in judgment was enough as the operative came out from cover, saying something she couldn't make out, and pointing up at the airship. The Ursa complied, shifting position until it had its back towards the craft before standing on all fours. It seemed to flex at which point several of the spikes shot from its back, flying out in multiple directions. Several of them slammed into the aircraft, puncturing through the cockpit and even embedding themselves into the turbines. Smoke began to pour from the engines as the craft swirled in the air before crashing into a nearby building. It caught fire before it exploded, showering everyone below in a hail of twisted metal and glass.
"Ruby, what the hell was that?" Jaune asked, having used his shield to protect them from the shower of debris.
"That's what I was trying to tell you. The White Fang somehow have figured out how to control the Grimm. I'm not sure how but I think I met the guy who might be involved."
"Who? What's his name?"
"I don't know. I didn't get his name, only his appearance. He was really creepy too."
"Hmm," Jaune grumbled, not pleased with the new development.
"Jaune!"
Pyrrha came running up, shield and spear held at the ready as she took a defensive positon next to him.
"What is that thing?" she asked, motioning to the Grimm with her spear.
"A Grimm or at least I think it is," he replied.
"But it's being controlled," she pointed out.
"I know," he replied.
"And it just took down that airship," she added.
"I know."
"And it's not attacking- "
"Pyrrha!" he snapped, causing the girl to flinch at the rise in volume. "We all saw. No need to point out the obvious."
"Sorry," she mumbled her reply.
"We need to take it out before it hurts anyone else," Ruby replied.
"Yea, I figured. Any suggestions?" Jaune asked.
"If that White Fang guy is the one controlling it then we need to distract him or knock him out," Ruby said, switching out the clips on her gun. "I can use high impact shots to disorient him. You and Pyrrha can move in and kill the Grimm. Be careful though. I think it's tougher than a regular Ursa."
"Yea, we figured as much," Jaune replied, glancing back down at the creature. "You sure those rounds will do the trick? Won't his aura soften the blow?"
"Aura can only protect against so much. Even if he has it unlocked, if he hasn't been trained to focus through the pain it'll be enough to distract him."
"Alright, but be careful. There's no telling what could happen in the next few moments."
"No worries, I'll stay on the move, make myself a harder target to track."
With the plan set they split to take on their targets. Jaune and Pyrrha closed in on the Ursa, each one taking a side to flank it while keeping their shields up and ready for a counter attack. The Grimm and its handler noticed their approach immediately but before either could react a sharp crack rang out and the grunt's head snapped to the side. He staggered backwards, clutching his head from where Jaune assumed the shot had hit. Surprisingly the Grimm itself also seemed to look disoriented. Its odd behavior aside, neither gave it much thought as Pyrrha slashed at its face to grab its attention. It was more than enough as the Ursa roared angrily and reared back to take a swipe at her. With the Grimm distracted Jaune quickly circled in from behind, slashing at its legs to sever what would have been the tendons. As predicted it was unable to support its weight and it quickly toppled to the ground.
Seeing her opening, Pyrrha lunged forward to bury her spear into its head. She didn't get a chance, however, as a barrage of gun fire took her by surprise. Another White Fang grunt had decided they were prime targets and thought to make a name for himself by taking down two students from Beacon. Had he been smarter he might have realized the overall disparity in their skill set, especially when it came to Pyrrha. The former champion wasted little time, tanking the shots and launching her shield at her new opponent. The shield hurled the gun from his arms before continuing onwards and slamming into his stomach. Winded, Pyrrha followed up with a knee to his chin, effectively knocking him out as he was sent sprawling across the ground.
In the meantime Jaune had held off the angry Ursa by himself. Despite the earlier gash it had received, a strange green ooze had poured out from the wound. In a matter of seconds it had sealed shut, essentially healing the Grimm and bringing it back into fighting form. The whole scene had caught Jaune off guard. He'd never heard of Grimm being able to selfheal before. He figured it must have something to do with the strange figure Ruby had mentioned earlier. Whatever he'd done it had only made things worse. The White Fang not only had an army of Grimm at their disposal but the means heal them should they get injured. It was obvious they needed to kill it and quick or they'd have a real problem on the hands.
Thinking back to what happened earlier, he realized something that might aid them. He looked to the handler who was still distracted by Ruby's constant firing. Somehow, after he'd taken a hit to the head the Grimm had reacted in kind. It was time to test a theory and he'd need Ruby's help to accomplish it.
"Ruby, go for the Grimm! Keep it distracted!" he cried out.
There was a lull in her shots, probably because she was reloading, before they began again, this time aimed at the Ursa. With the beast distracted, Jaune lunged at the White Fang grunt. His yelling had the unfortunate effect of drawing the man's attention but Jaune had expected as much. Shielding himself from the barrage of gunfire that came his way, he waited until the man stopped to reload before countering. A quick slash at the gun left it on the ground in pieces before he followed up with a smack to the face with his shield. He toppled backwards into the ground, completely disoriented. Looking back he saw a similar reaction from the Grimm and smiled. His theory had proven true.
"Pyrrha, take its head," he instructed.
The champion didn't need any more instruction. Through the use of her semblance, Pyrrha pulled back her arm and launched her shield towards the Grimm. It flew like a buzz saw and acted like one too as it cleaved the Ursa's head from its shoulders. Like the wound Jaune had inflicted before the same strange green ooze began pouring out from its neck. It'd couldn't help it now, however, as its head rolled away and the body collapsed to the ground. Before long it began to dissipate though in its wake was left a pool of green goo that no one was too keen to touch.
"Well, now that's taken care of let's- "
"AAAAHHHHHHH!"
The teens flinched at the sudden scream. It wasn't hard to see where it was coming from as the White Fang grunt was on the ground, curled into the fetial position, and clutching his head like he was experiencing intense pain. Considering this had only occurred just after they'd killed the Grimm, it was difficult to not see a connection. However, it was still rather disconcerting. Unable to stand hearing it, Jaune walked over and quickly knocked him out cold. The man fell limp, no longer screaming, but showing visible signs of discomfort. Even in an unconscious state it seemed he couldn't escape the effects of whatever had been done to him.
"Jaune, what just happened?" Pyrrha asked, looking to him for answers.
"I don't know Pyrrha and, honestly, I'm not sure I want to know."
/-/
Ozpin sank back into his chair, greedily sipping his coffee in the desperate hope the caffeine rush would help to alleviate the migraine that was beginning to form. The council was upset and reasonably so given that a massive hole had unexpectantly opened up in the middle of Vale and began disgorging Grimm and White Fang terrorists into the city. Thankfully they'd had enough warning to prepare and have Huntsmen on standby, not to mention the aid they'd received from James once his own fleet came in to join them. Through all their efforts they'd ensured no one had been killed during the attack. A few bad injuries, mostly from people panicking and acting like morons as they struggled to get away in time, but nothing too serious. However, despite all this the council had seen fit to strip him of his responsibilities as being part of the security detail for the Vytal festival, transferring the rights over to General Ironwood whom they believed was better equipped to handle the job. Despite his protests their decision had been final.
He'd wanted to argue with them further on the matter but he knew a futile battle when he saw one. He had more pressing matters that demanded his attention and arguing semantics with the council wasn't going to help. Glynda had sent him the report he'd asked for regarding the debrief she'd had with team RWBY. Given the nature of their mission, as well as the fact that they'd arrived on the same train the White Fang had used to breach Vale, it made sense that they'd have some information that might be able to shed some light on the events which had led up to this incident and perhaps warn them of future ones as well. Having looked it over he was bemused to find Torchwick was once again mentioned being seen not only working alongside the White Fang but actively leading their actions. The Gentleman Thief had never done anything more than rob, steal, and cheat, nothing of which had garnered much attention. Further, the White Fang were a purely Faunus run and operated organization. The fact that both of these entities were actively acting against their usual nature was rather disconcerting. The only silver lining to all of this had come with Roman's capture. He'd been found shortly after the battle's conclusion and had given himself up without a fight, no doubt seeing how useless it would have been to do so.
Currently he was waiting for James to arrive. Despite the small bit of animosity he felt towards his friend for actively undermining his authority to have certain responsibilities shifted over to himself, he didn't let them cloud his judgment nor distract him from the task at hand. After they'd been brought back to Beacon and looked over by the school's physician, Glynda had taken the time to interview each of the members from team RWBY regarding the events that had led up to their abrupt return to Vale. Given the nature of their mission he had hoped but never expected them to encounter the White Fang nor to engage them on such a grand stage. Then again, considering Miss Belladonna's propensity for running off at the mere mention of the White Fang, in hindsight it might not have been that surprising. Thankfully from what he'd seen of the report it had been little more than right time, wrong place. Ruby Rose had stumbled upon their operation, quite literally in fact, and had taken the opportunity for what is by getting a glimpse before attempting to return to her teammates. What had really caught his attention was her description of the man she'd met while captured. He wanted to believe she was mistaken but, given what they'd encountered at the breach earlier today, he was beginning to have doubts as to the reliability of the reports they'd received after Mountain Glenn's initial fall.
His attention was soon drawn to the elevator which had begun ascending its way to his office and had only just now arrived. When it opened, three people filed out and into his office. The first was someone he expected, General James Ironwood. The man gave him a curt nod, maintained a neutral expression despite having used some underhanded tactics to wrest control of security away from him. The second was Glynda who moved over to stand by Ozpin's desk less as a sign of support and more so to gain some distance from James with how annoyed she was with him at the moment. The third was Qrow Brawen. A former student of his and a resourceful ally, the man took a stance opposite James. He'd never had a high opinion of the man, possibly due to his background having grown up in a bandit tribe, but his recent actions had done little to improve their relations.
"Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you're all eager to get an update on what we've found."
"Had you allowed me to interview Miss Rose like I'd asked much of this wouldn't be needed," Ironwood interrupted.
"Fancy way of saying you want to throw her in an interrogation room and grill her for information. I've seen how you Atlas types conduct your interviews Jimmy and I for one am not letting you within three feet of my niece."
"That aside, Qrow does have a point James," Ozpin quickly interjected before the two could descend into a heated argument. "Ruby Rose is still a student of Beacon and therefore under my jurisdiction. Any further interviews must be approved by me first. I trust you already received the debrief which Glynda conducted with her and her team earlier today?"
"I have, yes," he admitted, letting the matter go for the time being. "I still found some things she mentioned in her interview to be highly irregular. This man in particular she mentioned, it has to be some sort of hallucination brought about from her fall and stress."
"Her description was quite on point, James. I highly doubt it was due to either," Ozpin replied.
"Then she was drugged as part of the White Fang's attempts to keep her more manageable."
"Tsune found no drugs in her system. Even if they had worked their way out of her system by the time they reached us, her teammate's testimonies all confirm that Miss Rose showed no signs that would have led them to believe she was under the influence of a drug or narcotic," Glynda countered.
"As much as I'd like to agree with you on this point, James, we have to take into consideration that what she said is true. Dr. Merlot is not only alive but working with Salem," Ozpin said.
"And if that is the case then why? What does she have to offer him that would tempt him enough to agree to working for her?"
"Oh, I don't know Jimmy, maybe the ability to control Grimm all across the face of Remnant?" Qrow replied. "The man was obsessed with the creatures. It was one of the reasons that led to Mountain Glenn's fall in the first place. Who better for him to thrown his lot in with than the queen herself?"
"It might also go long way to explain those new Grimm variants we encountered at the breach," Ozpin pointed out. "Judging by the accounts given by Miss Rose, Miss Nickos, and Mr. Arc they somehow shared a connection with the White Fang grunts they were paired with. This connection enabled them to command the Grimm though it does come with some draw backs. Were you able to get anything out of the Survivors?"
"Unfortunately no," Ironwood admitted. "Currently we have them under heavy sedatives. It's more so for their own safety as any time they're awake they begin screaming and crying out in pain. One even attempted to take their own life using the I.V. stand he had attached to his arm. We were able to wrest control of it away from him once the guards realized he wasn't using it as a makeshift weapon. We're not sure of what Merlot did to them but it's obvious the procedure was unpleasant."
"I can't agree more. Unfortunately I doubt this is the last we've seen of them. Assuming this was just a trail run, a field test such as this will no doubt only help to further his research. I just hope that we're able to locate and apprehend him before anymore unfortunate souls are subjected to the same torture."
Have to admit, aside from Jaune, Merlot has quickly become one of my favorite characters in RWBY and he's not even an official character. I kind of wish I knew his backstory. Being someone who's obsessed with Grimm to the point that he wants to improve them in order to make them more lethal rather than kill them makes we want to know what led him down that path. It would have been interesting to learn how he became who he is rather than have to speculate.
As I stated before I'll be shifting gears and working on fishing up Archangel's Beacon arc. I've put that off for far too long to the point that people are starting to think it's dead. I need to actually post something just to ensure no one thinks I've stopped. I also have some plans for it in the works so look out for that announcement.