(I apologize for the first posting of this chapter. I copied and pasted it from my DocX format and into a story chapter format. However, it creates weird lines of code when I do that and at the time, I forgot it does that. At least I got a bit of a laugh from that.)

Saber entered the Headmaster's office, along with Lancer and his master, as well as RWBY. She tried her best to break the spell that compelled her to stand down. Being this close to her enemy was worrisome, especially since he can stab her in the back at any moment. However, he showed no intention of attacking her, which made her wonder what kind of games he was playing.

She turned and noticed Ozpin staring at her and this time, his expression was stern.

"I did not expect to see you again so soon," Ozpin said as he looked down at his watch. "How long has it been since we concluded our meeting? An hour?"

"I am sorry, Headmaster Ozpin," Weiss said as she bowed her head.

"It not your fault, Weiss," Ozpin said with a smile but then turned his gaze towards Saber.

Saber kept quiet and so did Ozpin, who finally turned his attention to Lancer.

"I assume he is another one of these Servants?" Ozpin asked as he assessed the muscle-bound man.

"He knows of the War?" Lancer asked. "Is he a Master?"

"I am not," Ozpin replied and showed both sides of his hands. "From what Saber has described, I would need Command Seals to be a Master."

"You have revealed details of the War?" Lancer asked Saber. "The War must be kept secret."

"It is a rather difficult situation to explain," Saber replied.

"Indeed," Ozpin said as he clasped his hands together and thought. "However, my hands are tied right now. Your fight has now raised the attention of the Head of Security for the Festival. As such, he has asked that we wait for him to arrive."

"I apologize for the trouble we have caused you," Saber said. "However, I did say that this would be a war. We only treated it as such."

"I told you to wait until we have more information," Weiss exclaimed. "We can't just go in blind! You almost killed my friend!"

"I did not go in blind," Saber replied. "I detected another Servant, and I went in to deal with the threat."

"Weiss, you know what is going on?" Pyrrha asked, which caused Weiss to recoil slightly as she then looked at Saber then back at her.

"It's difficult to explain," Weiss said.

"An explanation she is owed," Ozpin chimed in.

"You summoned me with no knowledge of the War?" Lancer asked.

"Like my Master said," Saber replied. "It's difficult to explain."

Ozpin instead kept silent then turned his attention to the newcomer.

"May I have your name, please?" Ozpin asked, to which Lancer turned his gaze towards Pyrrha, who looked at her expectedly.

At first, Pyrrha was confused as to what he wanted but then she looked at her hand and nodded at him.

"My name is Lancer," the muscle-bound man replied.

"Another non-name," Ozpin said with a sigh. "How about your real name?"

"Most Servants choose to hide their real names," Lancer replied. "As it provides insight as to who they are, their strengths and even weaknesses."

"Saber explained that the name also describes the type of servant that is summoned," Ozpin said. "Am I to assume that it is also a tactic?"

"Correct," Saber and Lancer replied.

"However," Lancer said, his gaze fell. "I am having a difficult time trying to remember my name."

Saber shot a gaze at Lancer.

"I only remember bits and pieces but that is about it," Lancer continued.

"The same with Saber, it seems," Ozpin said but then a light above his door pinged as the elevator arrived, and the door slid open.

Ironwood stepped in, this time without his entourage of Knights. All eyes were on him as he stepped forward and stopped in front of Ozpin's desk, his back towards Ozpin, as he then took charge.

"So, do you mind telling me what happened, and why students were outside after curfew?" Ironwood asked, the gentleness that Weiss thought she saw on the roof was now replaced with an air of authority.

The room went silent.

"Just a disagreement between Weiss' guardian and Pyrrha's uncle," Ozpin replied and smiled at Weiss and Pyrrha.

"Forgive me, Headmaster," Ironwood said, without turning back to face Ozpin, and the smile faded. "But I am addressing the students."

"It's true," Weiss said, however, the lie left a bitter taste in her mouth. Ironwood was one of the only officials from Atlas she respected.

Ironwood kept quiet and instead stared at Weiss, which made her slightly uncomfortable; as if he knew that she was lying.

"Ms. Nikos," Ironwood said as he then turned his attention to Pyrrha. "Do you know this man?"

Weiss saw that Pyrrha turned her attention towards her and mouth the word: please. However, she knew that Pyrrha was honest and would not lie.

Pyrrha closed her hand into a fist tightly.

"Yes," Pyrrha replied, reluctantly. "He is an uncle of mine who was visiting to watch the tournament."

Ironwood then looked over at the olive-skinned man and examined him from head to toe.

"I can see the resemblance," Ironwood mumbled. "Now, why the altercation?"

"Bit of a rivalry, you can say," Lancer said as he smirked at a surprised Saber.

"Well, your rivalry has caused some serious damage and panic among the other students," Ironwood said but then he remembered the brawl between his subordinate and Qrow. "But I can't say I haven't had to clean up that kind of mess before…"

Weiss and her team stood silently as they anxiously waited for what would happen next.

"I suggest you keep your guardian and family in check," Ironwood said with a sigh. "We will discuss this another time, but for now, go back to your dorms."

With that, everyone turned for the elevator and the doors shut behind them and with that, Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief; then, Ironwood turned to face Ozpin.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Ironwood asked.

"I already have Ms. Goodwitch on the job to fix the damage," Ozpin replied with a smile.

"Ozpin, you know what I mean," Ironwood said with ice in his voice. "You have no control over your own academy and now I have to pick up the slack."

Ozpin didn't answer.

"I say this as a friend," Ironwood replied. "We need you as Headmaster of the Academy. You are invaluable to our cause but I can only keep the Council away for so long."

"You don't have to worry about me, James," Ozpin replied.

"But I do," Ironwood said and Ozpin could see him trying to keep his eyes open, his eyelids heavy. He removed the glove from his remaining human hand and rubbed his eyes. "So much to do..."

"You need to get some rest, James," Ozpin said. "We don't want the stress to get to you."

"It is not the stress," Ironwood said but paused for a moment before he chuckled to himself. "Just strange dreams and this itching feeling inside my head. Like something bad is coming our way."

Ozpin narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"Have a good night, Oz," Ironwood said finally as he then left. At that moment, Qrow once again appeared from behind one of the pillars in Ozpin's office.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Ozpin quipped.

"Are you sure?" Qrow asked. "Now we have a second one. The fight between the two was pretty intense."

"Were you watching it?" Ozpin asked.

"I was," Qrow replied. "They kept popping in and out of the dorms but when I could see them, I almost couldn't keep up. I could also feel the force of their attacks from the air."

"I want to see this for myself," Ozpin said as he stood up. "We need to assess how powerful these Servants can get."

"Sure thing, but I have to ask," Qrow continued. "Why didn't you tell James about any of this?"

"How can I explain to him an idea that I have yet to fully comprehend?" Ozpin said. "Everything is moving too fast and we must be careful. At first, I was skeptical at what Saber described earlier…"

"Ironic, considering your background," Qrow quipped and it forced a smile out of Ozpin but it faded as quickly as it appeared.

"However, I am starting to believe her but that is the worst part," Ozpin said as he turned to Qrow. "We must keep this as quiet as possible. If it's true that there is a magical device that can grant any wish, then just imagine what this could mean for Salem and our enemies."

"Exactly, but if we are going to get involved in this and involving Salem then we have to tell them the truth," Qrow said, somberly.

"That is something I am dreading," Ozpin said. "I would be throwing them into a dark world. More so than what they are accustomed to. I would need to find the right time to tell them."

0-FATE-0

Ruby peeked out into the corridor from her dorm room as she kept watch. She didn't want anyone to come and check on them while she had JNPR come over from across the hall.

"So, let me get this straight," Jaune tried to reiterate, as he tried to comprehend what he was being told. "You were former heroes in another life…"

"Correct." A tired Lancer and Saber answered, for the fifth time.

"Summoned to fight in a secret war, where there can only be one winner," Ren continued.

"Correct." The two answered again.

"And the prize is a wish-granting cup?" Nora said, her head tilted to the side.

"To call it a cup is an insult to the Grail," Saber said, not amused.

"Huh," the three mused.

"Normally, I would be attacking Lancer and your friend," Saber said.

"Well, I hope you won't," Jaune said. "Or else I would have to fight you to protect her."

"Honestly, Jaune, seeing her Saber fight makes me think that Pyrrha would be protecting you more," Nora said. "No offense."

"I admire your courage, Jaune," Saber replied. "But I warn that nothing will stand between me and the Grail."

"Except for whatever it was that Weiss did to make you stop," Pyrrha said as she looked at her Command Seals.

"Yes," Saber said, begrudgingly.

"And what keeps you from attacking Saber?" Ren asked Lancer. "I assume you also want the Grail."

"No honor in attacking an opponent who can't fight back," Lancer said assuredly, as he sat with his legs crossed on the floor; his arms folded in front of him.

"Honestly?" Ren continued. "I think it's for the best."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, which drew everyone's attention, even Ruby's.

"If its true that the Grail can fulfill any wish, imagine what we can do with that wish," Ren said and Nora gasped.

"Oh yeah!" She exclaimed and everyone immediately shushed.

"Yeah," Jaune said, as his eyes widened in realization. "We can wish for the Gri-"

"For pancakes!"

The room went silent.

"No pancakes?" Nora asked, disappointed.

"No, Nora," Ren answered. "We don't need a wish for unlimited pancakes. You already have me for that."

"Oh yeah," Nora said as she sat beaming next to him.

"No," Jaune continued. "We can wish for the Grimm to disappear for good."

Everyone froze for a moment.

"Huh," Blake said. "To be honest, the Grimm has become such a normal part of life that I hadn't thought about that."

"Or at least we never thought it was that easy," Yang said and once more the room went quiet as they thought about this realization.

"This is big, you guys," Blake said.

"I don't understand," Lancer said. "What is: the Grimm?"

"They are monsters, Lancer," Pyrrha replied. "They have been plaguing the world as far back as the start of recorded history."

"Interesting," Lancer said as he shut his eyes tightly. "In what I can remember, I don't see any monsters. Just a battle with ordinary people."

"It is hard to believe but it is true, Lancer," Saber said. "I fought against a couple of them myself. These students are training to fight them."

"How many of them are there?" Lancer said.

"They are infinite in numbers," Ren said. "No matter how many you kill, it never ends."

Lancer then laughed.

"Sounds like my kind of enemy," Lancer said with a grin and everyone smiled a little.

"There are many things that I would like to wish for," Weiss said and everyone turned to look. "However, wishing for the Grimm to be gone for good would be at the top."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"A noble wish, Weiss," Saber said with a smile. "Most would choose a wish to benefit themselves. A wish that would benefit everyone is rare."

"Exactly," Jaune said as he stood up, which grabbed everyone's attention. "I get there is one winner but as long as either Weiss and Pyrrha win, it doesn't matter. As they both would wish for the end of the Grimm."

"What are you suggesting?" Saber asked, to which Lancer leaned in closer, curious to the answer as well.

"I am saying: how about we team up?" Jaune said. "Why not? We are friends. It won't be just Pyrrha and Weiss fighting alone, it will be all of us!"

"But is that allowed?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's not against the rules," Saber said. "It's just rare. Not many people seem to have a common goal."

"Then it's settled," Weiss replied, for the first time, she was hopeful.

"That is a good idea, Jaune," Ruby said excitedly, almost forgetting that she should be watching the door at which point it swung open and she fell to the floor.

Everyone watched with bated breath to see who it was, only to breath a sigh of relief as Ozpin stepped into the dorm.

"Hello children," Ozpin said with a soft smile.

"Hello, Headmaster," the two teams replied.

"I assume you have been filled in on the situation," Ozpin said, his smile faded slightly.

"I have," Pyrrha said and looked over to Weiss and nodded.

"You seem to be taking this information pretty well," Ozpin said.

"At first, I was worried, but then I realized I have friends to help me along the way," Pyrrha said, as she beamed at him.

"I assume there is more," Ozpin said, as he pulled up a chair from RWBY's desk and sat down.

"We have decided to work together towards the Grail," Weiss said, to Ozpin's surprise.

"You have accepted this role, Weiss?" Ozpin asked.

"Honestly? I am scared," Weiss said. "But I realize that the benefits of the Grail outweigh the risks."

"Hmmm," Ozpin thought. "Care to explain?"

0-FATE-0

"What is going on out there?" Sky said as he looked out his window.

"Almost like a war zone," Russel replied.

"Will you shut up?" Cardin exclaimed as he peeked from under his pillow. "I am trying to sleep!"

"First the loss at the tournament, and now I can't sleep! Everyone is too loud! I can't even think!"