Jorge shot upright in his bed. It was really more of a cot but that didn't matter. It was the small improvised bed placed in the headmaster's office. The roof was still under repair but it was good enough to live in for now.
He walked over to his desk and opened his computer. He was still in the process of waking up and the clock on his screen told him it was only three in the morning. Jorge opted to rub his eyes for a few seconds before he took a deep breath.
Jorge reached for the large Mason jar of water that Jorge left on his desk. He downed several long gulps. After draining the jar he put it back and made a mental note to fill it back up before he went to bed tonight.
The first email that Jorge saw was titled. "In regards to cafeteria funding." Jorge didn't need to read it to know what it was about. It was from the Vale council and in exchange for the funding that they provided for Beacon they had been making demands about what was to be purchased and who was to be hired.
They had once tried to dictate what the school should teach only for Jorge to explain to them in no uncertain words that there was no way in Hell that he would ever allow that. They had also used that as a way to leverage what they wanted to get other concessions. It was only with the careful guidance of Professor Port that Jorge didn't just tell the council to fuck off and storm out.
Negotiating with the council would suck but until his plan was finished there wasn't much he could do besides try and keep them negotiating. Thankfully Jorge was a master of bullshiting and had kept the council spinning their wheels trying to find a way for them to all agree on something.
In truth, this only confirmed what Jorge already knew. In all his lifetimes whenever he had seen a government try and work their way into education things ended badly. That was why Jorge had called up the aid to the former Count Maxamillian Lee. He accepted the job Jorge offered him almost instantly and set about buying up large amounts of several massive weapons companies. In effect, Jorge was getting a majority share in three of the four largest weapon companies on Remnant. The only one he wouldn't touch was the SDC since Jaques Schnee was in for a nasty day when his estranged daughter Winter who now held two seats on the atlas council brought anti-trust charges against him.
As such Jorge knew that the large company was not long for this world. When his screen flashed a new email Jorge was glad to see the report from his aid. The task was complete and now Jorge could turn to his own soon to be impressive finances to pay for the school.
All he needed now was for the SDC to be crushed under the iron boot of the Atlas Anti-trust laws. That would make the stocks he now held jump up in value tremendously. Jorge needed to entrust the managing of the stocks to his aid but that was not an unreasonable request. The aid had always been honest with Jorge and he had seen first hand what Jorge did to people who earned his eire.
The elevator opened as the workers that had been repairing the office came in. they had their tools belts on and got right to work.
As an act of goodwill Jorge had a coffee maker installed in the office for the men. Now that they were here it was time to use it. Jorge looked at the machine sitting on the folding table at the other end of the room.
Jorge used the force to lift a pen from his desk and after a bit of practice moving it around he used the force to launch the pen across the room and hit the power button. Jorge had learned that his "semblance" was, in fact, a power called the force that he was skilled at using but only in massive bursts.
Once Jorge remembered what the force was he began to train himself to use it in a less powerful way. It was the firm belief of Professor Port that because of his battle focus Jorge had forgotten the metaphorical muscle memory involved in the delicate applications of the Force.
The machine started brewing so Jorge got back to his work. He needed to find a new headmistress and while his first thought would have been to offer Winter Schnee the post he knew that she couldn't accept with her new role in Atlas.
Jorge thought back to the reason both for Winter's new posting as well as for the need for second in command. Glynda had been killed during the siege of Vale. Her death had broken General Ironwood. Jorge knew the pain that the man was going through all too well. There wasn't too much of his past that he remembered but he could never forget Suzail.
He could never forget the pain of losing her. It was a pain that was brought back to him in full when… Jorge shook his head. He needed to avoid thinking about her as much as possible. It would only make the nightmares worse and now the students needed him at his best.
With Glynda dead and General Ironwood broken, Winter had been given the general's old post. As such, she was unable to take on any more responsibilities. In truth, Jorge felt bad for the elder Schnee sister. She had cried at Glynda's funeral and Jorge had a pretty good idea why.
James Ironwood had practically raised Winter from the age of eight. And if she were a boy then he would have made her into an exemplary soldier. But she wasn't a boy so as she progressed into her teenage years she began to experience puberty. Needless to say, the general had absolutely no idea how to handle it.
So he called the only woman he trusted to help his "cadet,". He called Glynda. The good witch had been a major influence in Winter and filled the mother shaped whole that Willow Schnee had left in the girl's heart.
When Glynda died Ironwood lost the love of his life but Glynda lost her true mother. Yet she hadn't cracked like James had. There was only one explanation, Qrow Branwen had become a nearly constant addition by her side was no doubt doing his best to help her through this trying time.
Jorge had also offered the job to Qrow but he knew that it was pointless. Qrow wasn't leaving Winter's side any time soon. That left only one other person who could fill the post and that was none other than Kaanaick's own brother Neverun. Jorge trusted him and knew that he was a competent warrior who could hold the job long enough for Jorge to find a better long term replacement.
Jorge sent him a message outlining the request and he was waiting for the response when he got a text from Professor Port telling him that he was needed in the combat classroom. Jorge wasn't certain what the older man meant but he was willing to humor the eccentric professor on account of said professor's past achievements.
After he boarded the elevator Jorge looked back to his phone. There was no update from Neverun so he when the elevator stopped he got off and walked the short distance to the Combat Classroom.
The room was dark and that instantly set Jorge on edge. He had no idea what he was walking into now and his weapon hand was getting closer to his pistol. When he heard a quiet snicker that hand froze.
This was no emergency it was a surprise. Jorge had been expecting something to this effect for a few days now. There had been no formal celebration for what he had done during the so-called "war for vale." so when he found out that the students were sneaking party supplies into Beacon he did some pretty easy math to find out what they had planned.
Jorge wanted to turn around and leave but he knew that he needed to get this over with. He took a calming breath and walked through the door. The lights were all turned on and the students jumped out from their hiding spots to shout and yell in joy.
Jorge knew that they all meant well but he didn't want to deal with this, the War was a memory that he wanted to forget. He could do so but if he did then it would be irresponsible Jorge had to live with everything he knew. That would be his punishment for failing her.
So he put on a smile and acted like he was glad that everyone was celebrating. When his scroll rang he was relieved to check it. The message was from Dr. Oobleck. It asked him to come to Glynda's old quarters immediately
When he arrived the door was open and the Dr. was standing inside looking at a board of photos and pins connected with Yarn. they all focused around a man who looked sickly pale with dark blue veins in his face.
It was Prisoner 1/0 he had gotten loose shortly before Christmas and hadn't been seen in months. That unsettled Jorge since the reports about Prisoner 1/0 said he was extremely deadly.
"He killed with ease and without a thought," Oobleck said. " of the eight teams that ended up being assigned to that battle only four made it out. And they never faced him directly."
Jorge knew there was more than Oobleck was saying but didn't want to press the matter for now. Instead, he asked. " what was Glynda's involvement in all of this?"
The Dr's eyes never left the board as he said. " she was on the first team to encounter him. He nearly killed her but Johnathan Arc stepped in. that monster killed him but John lasted long enough for my team to arrive."
Oobleck stopped for a second and looked like he was staring through the wall. All at once Jorge knew what Oobleck had been holding back on. He was there, he fought against Prisoner 1/0.
" in the span of only four seconds, I lost six of the best friends I've ever had. It was all I could do to drag Glynda away while he was slaughtering the next team that got to him."
It was clear that Oobleck was doubting if his actions were born from his logic telling him that fighting Prisoner 1/0 was futile or if it was his own cowardice that drove him to run when his friends fought.
Oobleck continued his telling of the events. " after he had killed a fourth team an evacuation was being ordered. But it wasn't needed. An old man in a drown robe with birds in his hair and a wooden staff came out of nowhere and used what I can only describe as magic to somehow render that thing comatose."
Oobleck was done talking about that day and Jorge could tell. "I'll deal with him, you have my word," he said. This thing was loose and that needed to change.
Oobleck looked ready to speak most likely to warn against going after Prisoner 1/0 but before he could he remembered that it was Jorge who killed the creature that defeated Ozpin. In truth, the Dr. had no idea of the level of power that Jorge possessed.
Jorge grabbed the file on the prisoner and started to read while the Dr. left Jorge found the name of the place where the battle took place. It was on the same patch of forested land that Glynda died on.
Jorge took out his scroll and dialed up one of the pilots. " I need a flight to the eastern edge of the Emerald forest."
"Understood sir," came the response.
Without a word to anyone Jorge headed for the docks. By the time he was there, team RWBY was waiting for him.
"Where are you going?" Ruby asked with her hands on her hips. " your party is still underway so why are you calling a pilot to take you to the forest?"
Jorge didn't want to tell them that he was going after Prisoner 1/0 but he needed to give them an answer. " I am going to spot Glynda died at, I intend to search the area."
He hoped that they wouldn't ask him why he wanted to do that since he didn't want them to follow him on his mission to kill Prisoner 1/0.
His hopes were dashed when Ruby said. " well we're coming with you. Five sets of eyes are better than 1."
She did her best to put finality into her tone but she held the nervousness that someone who knew they were trying to dictate to their headmaster.
"No, you won't. This is going to be too dangerous for the three of you," Jorge said stepping around them.
"I think you mean four of us," Weiss corrected.
"I don't count her," he answered pointing to Yang who was staring off into space. "She hasn't been up to service standards since Kaa died, until Dr. Oobleck clears her she isn't going anywhere"
Jorge turned around and kept heading for the Bullhead.
"And what about Pyrrha?" Ruby said. She knew that it was going to hurt but it needed to be said. Jorge had been through the same thing as Yang. And if he was planning on running off on some dangerous mission then they were going with him.
Jorge didn't say a word but for a moment he stopped like he had been punched. He was trying to determine the right way to handle the situation but he wasn't sure what to do. A piece of him wanted to lash out in anger but he knew that was just the pain talking.
He thought it through and chose instead to respond by turning around and saying. " I have been through this before and I was fine then. I can take care of myself. Yang probably doesn't even know what day it is. I am going alone, that is final."
Thankfully nobody seemed eager to argue with him. Instead wanting to tend to their responsibilities. Leaving him to tend to his.
"Sir, we're ready to go." his pilot called to him.
"Get us in the air," Jorge yelled over the roar of the now active engines. The Bullhead was just taking off as he made it to the boarding ramp. Soon he was buckled into his seat and looked around at the inside of the empty vessel.
It seemed like only yesterday that him, his team, and Kaanaick were riding in a Bullhead like this to reinforce team RWBY at Fort Vindobona. Jorge thought about Kaanaick. He had heard about his death from Blake
…
Kaanaick knew that they were in trouble. For some reason, a large number of Grimm had attacked the fort from the direction of Vale. The GC's told them that Vale had been saved but that meant that these Grimm were retreating and lashing out whenever they could.
They had broken through the main gate three days ago. Fortunately, he and Yang had been able to hold the gate long enough for the GC's to get in position to force them out.
They had plenty of supplies but little in the way of manpower. They had lost Simo and Mawhinney. If nothing happened then they were in for a bad day. The GC's were amazing but only mortal. And as such their numbers were cut back day after day. Now the fort was on its last leg. Thankfully the Grimm seemed to be thinning out which meant that the end was near.
Kaa looked around the mess tent and saw Yang sitting with her team. He brought his own tray over and sat down next to her. He was happy to see that she was still wearing his armor. It felt right somehow seeing her in his armor.
When she saw him coming Yang nudged her sister who was sitting next to her. The pint-sized reaper then looked around and when she saw Kaa she grinned before moving to the other side of the table. This left only one seat open. The one right next to Yang.
Kaa and Yang had been growing closer for some time now. It was almost an unspoken rule that nobody talked about it. Everyone wanted to see how far they would go. To the outside observer, it probably looked like they were dating.
Kaa took his seat and was about to eat the slice of buttered bread that he got with his rations when the alarms rang out, an air raid was coming.
They ran out to see what was going on. Once they were all outside it was clear that all Hell was about to break loose. There was a massive squadron of Nevermores overhead. Almost as many as the time that Jorge used his semblance to save the day.
But Jorge wasn't here today. Kaa saw several of the fort's wounded trying to drag themselves to safety. They had been in tents in order to cut down on the risk of them getting contaminated. This also meant that they were vulnerable to this kind of attack.
Thinking fast Kaa ran out from his cover and began using his R&A Sharps to pick off every Nevermore he could. He only had five rounds left so he used the first four to kill the birds that would have fired on the group on injured men. He was reloading to kill the one that was about to fire on him when one of the men shouted.
" There are still men in the tents,"
The soldier didn't know it but he had just sealed Kaa's fate. Ignoring the Nevermore about to kill him he finished loading his last shot and fired kill a fifth Nevermore. He looked over to Yang who was staring at him. He could tell what she was thinking. He held out his hand to tell her to stop. There was no point in her dying too.
With a look to say goodbye to his friends, Kaanaick Nylf closed his eyes and accepted his death with dignity. No sooner had he done this then he was butchered by a barrage of feathers.
…
Jorge remembered the first time he found Yang after it happened she was passed out at Junior's. It was the only place willing to sell to a minor in exchange for her not starting a fight.
She was asleep on a stool with an empty whiskey bottle in one hand and her old orange t-shirt now full of holes and soaked in blood in the other.
Jorge was still a mess from losing Pyrrha but his instincts told him he needed to help her so he half carried half guided her to the bullhead docks and told the pilot to get her to Professor Port.
The portly instructor had taken Glynda's place as Beacon's therapist. He had been busy as of late but when he got a whiff of Yang's breath he would make sure to talk with her.
Jorge's mind started to wander to Pyrrha but thankfully before they could the man flying his bullhead spoke over the intercom. "Headmaster, we have arrived at the drop point. Once I get us into a solid hover at thirty feet I'll lower the door."
Jorge felt the bullhead slow down and descend. As the door opened he looked out over the now destroyed part of the forest and jumped out.