Walter and Glynda had been waiting outside the elevator for about 3 minutes. Walter, tired of the silence, decided to start a conversation.

"So…" Walter said. "How are the students doing in combat?"

"They're doing well, though they still have a long way to go. Pyrrha, Ruby, and Mike seem the most promising."

"How so?"

"Well… Pyrrha is a prodigy, that much was known. Ruby uses the recoil from her gun to maneuver around the battlefield, if she uses that momentum to launch herself into enemies, she can be very formidable, even without her semblance."

"What about Mike?"

"Mike is… strange. His method of combat is almost cold and efficient, like a hardened huntsman. However, his skill with combat is mostly based around hand to hand takedowns, meaning he is skilled in fighting people, but not grimm."

"Didn't he originally go to a police academy? They do teach hand to hand self defense there."

"Hm… I guess you're right. A person who is taught how to fight humans would excel in the apprehension of other humans."

As Glynda said that, the elevator opened. Ironwood walks out and spots both Walter and Glynda. He walks over to them. Glynda, not wanting to deal with Ironwood, leaves, leaving Walter alone with him.

"I don't believe we met. I'm James Ironwood, General of the Atlesian Military and Headmaster of Atlas academy."

"Walter White, Chemistry Teacher."

"Not a huntsman?"

"I can fight, but I am more proficient in science and math."

"Hm…" Ironwood said. "Well, I have to get going, see you around." Ironwood walked off, and Walter was left there alone. He looked to the elevator, and headed in. He pressed the button to head to Ozpin's office. The elevator closed, and started to go up. Eventually, the door opened revealing the headmaster staring out the window. Walter walked towards him.

"Why is there a giant airship outside the school?" Walter said.

"The Headmaster of Atlas Academy decided to drop in for the Vytal festival."

"But why the airship? Doesn't he know that could cause concern?"

"He does, at least he does now. Is that all you had to say?"

"I- yes, but-"

"Then I suggest you get ready for your class. We have students coming from the other academies to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"A- ok." Walter said. As he turned to leave, he noticed the pair of broken glasses on the desk. He decided not to bother his boss about it at the moment. Walter left the office and headed to his lecture hall. He sits down at his desk, waiting for his first class to begin.

6 AM, PANL's (Formerly known as JNPR) Dorm Room

Mike woke up to a knock on the door. Mike got out of bed and opened it. A man with a box showed was at the front door.

"Delivery for… Michael Azul." the man said.

"That'll be me." Mike said.

"Here you go," The man said before giving him the box. He then left, most likely to drop off other packages. Mike opened the box. It contained a letter and several small metallic pieces. Mike assumed that these were the bugs. He then Looked at the letter.

Combat Room

Walter's Lecture Hall

Ozpin's Office

CMNE's Dorm

SSSN's Dorm

RWBY's Dorm

PANL's Dorm

Mess Hall

Library

-GF

"Hm." Mike said. He put the contents back in the box and got ready. At 6:15, he left the room, but not before placing a bug under his bed and dismantling the cardboard box and throwing it away. He walked over to the mess hall and grabbed breakfast. He decided to place the bug under the table that he and the group normally sit at. So he sat down there, ate his breakfast, and placed the bug before getting up and leaving. He then made his way to the library. He saw the person at the circulation desk and walked over.

"Excuse me," Mike said as he placed a bug under the ledge of the customer side of the circulation desk, "Do you know where the books on the Great War are?"

"Non-fiction, 320-613.85" Said the clerk.

"Thank you." Mike said before walking over to those shelves. As he looked over the books, he decided on a biography of one of the generals that was on one of the lower shelves. As he grabbed the book, he put a bug on the kickplate of the bookshelf. He then goes to the table where him and his team usually hangs out, sits down, and begins to read. After about 20 minutes, he puts the bug under the table, and continues to read. After a while, Mike checks his scroll for the time. The clock on his scroll reads 8:45. "15 minutes until class" Mike thought to himself. He got up, put the book back, and left the library. Today, his first class was grimm studies with Professor Port followed by history with Dr. Oobleck, and ended with Walter's chemistry class. He made his way to the classroom, running into His teammates and team RWBY.

"Good morning." Pyrrha said.

"Mornin'" Mike said.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ruby said

"I decided to wake up earlier and head to the library. Read up on some history, since I missed the first part of the school year."

"Well, I'm certain that Dr. Oobleck would be willing to help you out with that, considering how much he likes history." Weiss said.

"I'll be sure to ask him." Mike said. There was a pregnable silence among the group, all of the standing around waiting for someone to say something.

"We should… probably get to class." Said Blake as she started heading towards Port's class. The rest followed, not wanting to be late to his class, otherwise they will have to have detention with him.

Walter's final class had finished. Today he did a lecture on moles and their uses. All the students were leaving, either to do homework or slack off. Or, at least most of them did. Walter looked over towards the benches and saw Mike, watching him with his cold gaze.

"So…" Walter said "How did your little hunt for Gus go?"

"Why do you care? You said you don't need him."

"Why? I care… because he is a menace. And a danger. He is willing to kill, steal, and lie to get what he wants."

"Right… and I suppose you don't." Mike said without a hint of emotion in his voice.

Walter looked to the side, then to the right corner of his eye, then began packing up his stuff. "This conversation is going nowhere. We clearly aren't going to get something productive out of this. Now, I have work to grade, and I'm certain you have things to do. So I suggest you leave."

Both men stood in silence, staring at each other with eyes that mock the soulless look of the grimm. Mike turned around to leave, while Walter began to put his students' work into a folder. Mike walked through the hallway, going past various students. Eventually, he decided it would be a good idea to meet up with the rest of his team. Prior to him staying, they said they would be in the library. As he got closer, he could hear team RWBY shouting.

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against Natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Said Yang as she leaves her chair to get closer to Weiss and puts their face within breathing distance. "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war." Yang pulls away and returns to her seat.

"And that means…what exactly?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's eyes widened with realization. "You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" She said with a minor amount of whining in her voice .

Weiss stood up and began to cackle. "Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!"

A smirk begins to make its way onto Yang's face. "Trap card…"

"Huh?"

Yang held the card in her hand, flaunting it. Then she put it down and began to shuffle the pieces on the board, Weiss' soldiers being knocked off the board, piece by piece. "Your armies have been destroyed."

Weiss slumps in her chair, and begins to whine. "I hate this game of emotions we play!"

Ruby hops into Weiss' lap, trying to comfort her "Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!"

"Shut up! Don't touch me!"

Yang puts her arms up behind her head, looking towards Blake "Alright Blake, you're up!"

"Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?"

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant!"

"Right…"

Eventually, he made it to the doors. Ren was studying with Nora, who was asleep, Pyrrha was reading, and team RWBY was playing a board game. He walked in and they turned to look.

"Hey Mike, how did it go?" Ruby.

"It went well." Mike said.

"What did you ask him about?"

"Work." Mike then paused for a second. "You do realize this is a Library, right?"

"Yes."

"And in a library, you're supposed to be quiet?"

"Yes. Your point?"

"I could hear you guys from down the hallway. You might want to lower your voice a bit."

As he said this, footsteps were heard entering the library, and a voice called out.

"Sup losers!" Mike turned around, and none other than Sun was there, along with a blue haired kid, most likely his partner.

"Hey Sun!" Said Ruby.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake…" Sun turned towards Weiss. "Ice Queen."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce you guys to my good friend and classmate." Said Sun as he pointed to the blue haired teen behind him. He walked forward.

"Isn't a library meant for reading & studying."

"Yeah." Mike said emotionlessly while Ren said "Thank you!" from the table, which briefly woke Nora up from her sleep.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun Said.

The bluenette turns to Sun and shakes a finger at him. "Ap ahp up! 'Intellectual', okay? Thank you." He turns to wave at the group "I'm Neptune."

"Mike."

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss said.

"Haven." He said before he approached Weiss. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."

"Um, I'm Weiss."

"Pleasure to meet you."

Sun walks over Blake, now standing over her shoulder. "I never took you as the board game playing type."

"Right… Well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later." Blake said as she shoved Sun aside and left the room.

Once she was out of the library, she ran into Ozpin.

"Ah, Ms. Belladonna," said Ozpin. "just the person I was looking for."

"What do you need, headmaster."

"I wish to speak to you about the failed heist on the warehouse."

"Ah, I see."

"If you could follow me, please." Ozpin begins to walk away, and Blakes follows.

3 Weeks Ago, Warehouse

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going on a joint business venture together!" He said with a grin on his face.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.

Roman looks up "Oh, I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation…"

Then the warehouse exploded, ruble going everywhere, fire passing the now destroyed roof.

Present Day

"I meant to talk to you after the warehouse exploded, but I was preoccupied with paperwork." Ozpin said.

"Hmph."

Blake sat in Ozpin's office as she quietly acknowledged his statement. Ozpin was holding his signature mug and was walking around.

"I'm sure that after a day of school and board games, you probably just want to go to your dorm and take a nap. But, I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk.

Blake nods her head. "Of course."

"Wonderful. As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."

"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive."

"Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, Human…" Ozpin takes a sip of his coffee. "Faunus…"

Blake glares at him.

"Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?" Ozpin continues.

"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not."

Ozpin: "True…" Ozpin pauses to take a sip from his coffee. "But we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide."

"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am."

"And what are you?"

"I don't understand what you're asking."

Ozpin pauses for a second. "*sigh* forget I asked." "Anyways, how did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?"

"I didn't. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

"Well, you wouldn't have been the first. But what happened that night was not an isolated incident. There have been several reports of missing dust crates throughout the past 2 months, but none of which blew up. Now, I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it." Ozpin took a pause to collect his thoughts. "Blake, I need to know if there is anything that happened there that might help solve the reason why the warehouse blew up. So, do you have anything?"

Blake looks down, thinking about if she should give him her theory. She had no actual evidence to back it up, but from her time in the White Fang, she knew that they weren't clumsy.

"I… have a theory."

"Well… Go on."

"I think there was a third party in that fight, and I don't mean Torchwick, but rather a 3rd person or group who blew up the warehouse. If there was a fire, then there must have been a separate item in the warehouse that was very flammable, as the fire dust would have been counteracted by the ice dust. Furthermore, while the White fang isn't comprised of the best and brightest, they aren't stupid and clumsy. So the only thing that I could possibly think of is that someone other than Roman and the White Fang was there. As for what they were stealing… I don't know, you'd have to find the inventory list for that warehouse."

Ozpin looked at her for a moment, then responded. "Interesting, and you're certain it wasn't the White Fang?"

"As certain as I can be. Obviously, they could have had a mishap, but it is unlikely."

"Very well. I will look into it, see if I can come up with something. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin gestures to the elevator door. Blake gets out of her seat and walks towards the door. She presses the button to call the elevator. "As always, If you ever need to talk to me, please, don't hesitate to ask." After a few seconds, the elevator doors open. Blake entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down. As it closed, she looked at Ozpin with relief and determination.

Mike was walking down a hallway. He was trying to think of a way to get a bug into Ozpin's office. "Whenever he is not in his office, the elevator is locked. The only way to unlock it is with his scroll. So how do I-" His thoughts are interrupted as he bumps into someone, causing both people to fall down.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. You alright?" Mike says as he is getting up, seeing a dark skinned girl with green hair.

"I'm fine." The girl said. "Just watch where you're going." Mike offers a hand, which she takes.

"I'm Mike."

"Emerald."

"Ya new here?" Mike said.

"Yeah. We're visiting from Haven."

"I assume you're here for the festival then?"

"Yup."

"What team are you a part of?"

"CMNE."

"Alright, well, I'll see you around then."

"See you around." She said before both people departed. Once Emerald was around the corner, she opened her hand, revealing a small metal device. She smiled, and walked off.

Jaune was currently making his way to a coffee shop to hang out with Velvet. Since their interaction when he was leaving the store, they began to hang out. Jaune looked at the message she sent to confirm the address and name. The place was called Cuphead Café. After a few minutes of walking, he made it to the café. The sign hanging from the café showed a man in a black suit, with a cup replacing his head, pouring coffee into the cup. Outside, he saw Velvet. He made his way over to her table, and took a seat. Velvet looked across the table, and smiled.

"Hello." Velvet said. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too."

"How have you been?"

"I've been well, I ran into my old team yesterday, and talked to the new guy as well."

"You talked with Mike?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"No reason, it's just he doesn't seem to talk much."

"Huh, I guess I just have that friendly charm." Jaune said with a prideful smirk.

Velvet quietly snickered at his comment. "Yeah, I guess you do." After she said this, a waitress came by their table.

"Welcome to the Cuphead Café, may I take your order?"

"An espresso please." Velvet said.

"Just a regular coffee, please."

"Alright, I'll be right out with that then." The waitress then left, leaving the 2 by themselves.

"So… How's work going?"

"It's been good. Mr. Fring is nice, but strict."

"Yeah, Uncle Gus is like that."

"So… how did he become your uncle exactly?"

"Well, a few years before I was born, Gus was in Atlas, staying there to watch the Vytal festival. Either way, when he was there, there was an incident where some scientist was jealous and he went on a rampage. In this incident, my dad was in its path of destruction. Uncle Gus was in the area along with Professor Ozpin and the now General Ironwood, back when he was still a lieutenant. While Ozpin and Ironwood dealt with the man, Gus saved my dad. Later, after I was born, I was introduced to my 'Uncle' Gus. However, when I was 5, he was presumed dead. Eventually, I stumbled upon his restaurant and found out he was alive. He was still the good samaritan man I knew him to be, but something seemed a bit off. After talking with him for a while, he asked me to not speak of our interaction. He never told me why, but my best guess is that he didn't want the attention."

"Why not?"

"From what I understand, he apparently made a lot of enemies over the years, mostly Mistralian crime gangs. If they found out he was alive, then they would try to hunt him down and kill him. So for about a year now, I've kept his life a secret."

"Wow. Just… wow. I can imagine that it was pretty hard not to keep it, wanting to tell your dad."

"A bit, but he is one of the few people who treats me like I am intelligent and not like a stray animal."

"Hm. Well, it's good that he does. After all, you are very intelligent."

Jaune's remark caused Velvet to blush a little. "Th- thanks." After a few more minutes of small talk, the waitress returned with their coffee.

"Alright, here we have one espresso and the regular coffee." The waitress placed the cups on the table. The regular coffee was in a dark gray ceramic mug, with a diamond pattern just below the top of the mug. The coffee was black, as Jaune forgot to order cream. The espresso was in a small, white, ceramic cup. The top of the liquid was a light brown, with hints of dark brown in it. Jaune picked up his mug.

"Well," Jaune said. "Here's to secrets."

"Yeah… Here's to secrets." Velvet said before she started to drink her espresso. Jaune started to drink his coffee shortly after her.