AN: I want to address some comments I got that Ironwood wouldn't behave this way back in Volume 2. I would like to explain that I had planned out this particular plot point since before I had even seen Volume 7, as I've always seen him as someone who would do something that drastic. It's why his behavior in Volume 7 and 8 didn't surprise me in the slightest. After all, Ironwood is the same guy who prattled on about not being trusted enough and hated secrets being kept from him, but he kept Penny a secret, and went behind Ozpin's back to essentially get him fired over a disagreement. So, yeah, Ironwood has never been a particularly trustworthy character in my opinion.
I would also like to thank Lord Maximus for providing me with ideas for a scene in this chapter. Thanks!
Anyway, onwards!
Chapter 48
"Ozpin, you can't be serious about this!" Ironwood said, as he and Ozpin led Team RWBY and Aqua into an elevator at Beacon Tower.
"I am serious, James," Ozpin said. "After what you did today, they need some explanation as to why you made the mistake you did if we want them to continue to trust us."
"By telling them about-?!"
"Yes, that's how trust works, James," Ozpin interrupted him. "Something you clearly don't understand."
"Are you two done?" Aqua asked with her arms folded. "The last thing you said to us asking what our favorite fairy tale was."
"Ah yes," Ozpin said, addressing the five women in the elevator with them. "Are any of you familiar with the Story of the Four Seasons?"
"Yeah," Ruby said. "An old man lived out in the woods by himself, and four sisters convince him to leave and go back out into the world. In return, he gifts them magical abilities to help people all over the world like they helped him."
"I read it to Ruby all the time when we were kids," Yang said.
"I think most kids heard that story at least once," Blake said.
"What does a children's story have to do with anything?" Weiss asked.
"What if I told you it was true?" Ozpin asked.
"I'd believe it," Aqua said.
"Yeah, totally," Ruby said.
"I mean, we've seen weirder," Yang said, Weiss and Blake nodding agreement.
"That's…not the reaction people usually have when I tell them that," Ozpin said, looking slightly deflated. Ironwood looked surprised.
"So, what?" Aqua said. "Ironwood thought Ruby was a Maiden?"
"It's 'general'," Ironwood said.
"I'll call you that when you've earned my respect," she snapped back. "Putting my fifteen-year-old daughter in a straitjacket is not how you earn my respect."
"James, Aqua, please," Ozpin said. "Now, while James did have Ruby's identity mistaken, he didn't think she was a Maiden. The situation is slightly more complicated than that, I fear."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"For the first time, Amber, the current Fall Maiden, was attacked, and part of her power was stolen."
"Stolen?" Aqua asked. "How is it possible to steal that kind of power from someone?"
"We're not sure," Ironwood said. "Normally, the only way that a Maiden's power can be transferred is when the previous Maiden dies. Their power transfers to the last person in their thoughts, provided that it is a female below a certain age."
"Wait a second," Yang said. "Don't tell me you thought Ruby was the one who attacked her."
"Given the information that I thought was true," Ironwood said, leveling a quick glare at Ozpin, "Yes, I did. I can see now that I was…mistaken." He bowed slightly. "You have my apologies. Despite doing what I thought was right, I harmed you all. Especially you, Miss Rose."
"Oh, uh, i-it's okay," Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "It was an honest mistake."
"I just don't get why you wouldn't go to Ozpin before acting," Aqua said. "All of this could have been avoided if you had just spoken to him first."
"To be honest, I didn't think it was necessary," the general said. "I knew Ruby was not a regular Maiden, since we do our best to keep them out of the public eye. The youngest student in Beacon's history also being a Maiden would fly in the face of that very practice, especially since he didn't inform the rest of us. Given the fact that I didn't know about the Keyblade, it was the only conclusion I could reach."
"Who's 'we'?" Blake asked.
"The other members of our…organization," Ozpin answered. "We are a group dedicated to protecting the identities of the Maidens and guaranteeing their safety."
"Yeah, great job there," Yang muttered sarcastically, before Ruby elbowed her in the stomach.
"The group consists of the two of us, along with the other two Headmasters of the other Academies. In addition, Glynda and Qrow are among our ranks."
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
"He never told me any of this," Aqua said, a little hurt.
"I made him swear to secrecy," Ozpin said. "I'm sure it hurt him that he had to keep things from you, but this is information that I only want very specific people knowing about." The elevator stopped, opening up to a spacious underground chamber. "We're here."
"Where is 'here' exactly?" Yang asked, taking in the large size of the room and giant pillars lining the wall.
"This is an underground chamber older than Beacon Academy itself," Ozpin explained. "And it's down here where we'll find the Fall Maiden."
The group eventually reached the end of the chamber, and saw a large medical device with a young woman inside. She had a tan complexion and brown hair, and was lying unconscious inside of a metal pod with a glass window. She was wearing only a set of white undergarments, and a nasty web of scars covered her face. On the other side of a series of consoles was another, empty, pod.
"This is Amber," Ozpin said. "The current Fall Maiden."
"She's on life-support?" Aqua asked.
"Yes," Ironwood said. "We're keeping her alive using state-of-the-art Atlas technology."
"Why are there two pods?" Weiss asked.
"That is for the new Maiden," Ozpin explained.
"What does that mean?" Aqua asked.
"Like we said before, some of Amber's powers were stolen from her when she was attacked," Ironwood said. "Her injuries are fatal, and when she eventually dies, we don't know what will happen to the power that she still possesses. Will it move on to another young girl, like always? Or will it seek out its missing half? We don't know, and we don't want to take any chances."
"So, this machine will be transferring the powers into the next Maiden?" Ruby asked.
"Not exactly," Ironwood said.
"We can't transfer to powers directly, but we can transfer what they're attached to: her Aura," Ozpin said.
"How?" Aqua asked. "Aura comes from the soul, how can you-?" It suddenly dawned on her. "This device is supposed to transfer someone's soul into another body."
"…It is," Ironwood said.
"I can't even begin to describe how wrong that is," Aqua said. "Messing with someone's soul like that?"
"I would rather we not do it this way, either, but this is necessary," Ironwood said.
"What would happen to the person who gets the powers?" Ruby asked. "What happens if someone has a second soul shoved into their bodies?"
"We don't know," Ironwood said. "But it's our only option."
"Why is this so important?" Aqua asked. "Is protecting the Maidens really worth crossing this kind of line?"
"It is. If someone like Amber's assailant is allowed to acquire the full powers of a Maiden, it would only end in disaster. It's why I took such drastic actions when I thought it was Ruby."
"Who's the new Maiden?" Weiss asked. "I assume you have someone in mind?"
"We do have a list, yes."
"Of students?" Blake asked.
"Wait a minute…" Aqua said, glaring at Ozpin. "Is this why you wanted me and Ruby here so badly? Are we candidates?" Ozpin said nothing. "Who else is on the list? Yang? Blake? All the girls in my class?" Ozpin nodded. "Unbelievable. When were you planning to tell us? Qrow said you were secretive, but this?!"
"You have to understand, Aqua, some secrets are kept for a reason," Ozpin said. "You have plenty yourself."
"Yes, secrets that you told someone without my permission!" she yelled.
"It was necessary to make him understand his mistake," Ozpin said. "I'm truly sorry, but James forced my hand. When he saw Ruby's magic, telling him about the Keyblade became an inevitability. Surely you understand that."
Ironwood put a hand on Aqua's shoulder. She turned to look at him.
"This is ultimately my fault for acting the way I did. Ozpin was just doing what he thought was best. As we all do." Aqua exhaled sharply.
"Fine, but Ruby and Yang are off the table."
"Understood," Ozpin said.
"Aqua, I have one more question about the Keyblade," Ironwood said.
"Go ahead."
"What else can it do?"
"Well, we can fall from pretty much any height and be fine, we can launch ourselves through the air on command, we can survive an otherwise fatal attack, it can open any lock—"
"Any lock?" the general asked, his brows furrowing.
"Yes. If it's locked, the Keyblade can unlock it."
"What if it were to fall into the wrong hands? What would happen then?"
"It won't."
"How can you be so sure?" he asked. She sighed, and summoned the Master Keeper to her hand. She flipped it around, and presented the handle to him.
"Go ahead," she said. "Take it." He took it from her with an air of uncertainty, and held it in his hand.
"…Incredible," he said. Then it vanished from his hand and reappeared in Aqua's. "How did you do that?"
"I didn't," she answered. "The Keyblade did. "It chooses who gets to wield it. It's impossible to steal a Keyblade."
"Can it be given to someone else?"
"Yes, but I'm not going to. Ruby is my one and only apprentice. I will never pass the Keyblade along to anyone else."
"Very well then," Ironwood said. "Thank you for that, Aqua. And once again, I am sorry to all of you for what I put you through."
"It was an honest mistake," Aqua said. "Just don't let me catch you treating my kids like that again. I don't care what your reason was, putting Ruby in a straitjacket was not and never will be acceptable."
"What do you want us to do about the Maiden?" Ruby asked.
"You will be doing nothing," Aqua said. "You've already been fighting terrorists and thieves all year. I don't want you going after a power-hungry magic murderer, too."
"But, Mom—" Yang said.
"I agree with Aqua," Ozpin said. "I didn't tell you all to ask for your help. This was just so you could understand where James was coming from. You are all still students, and not ready for something of this magnitude. All I ask is that you keep this a secret."
Aqua sighed deeply as she paced around her room, Team RWBY having come back with her.
"Mom?" Ruby asked. "What's wrong?" Aqua stopped her pacing to look out the window.
"Do you remember the rule I told you about? About preserving the World Order?"
"Yeah," Yang said.
"When I was growing up in the Land of Departure, my Master reminded us all the time about the World Order, right up to our Mark of Mastery Exam," Aqua said. "He always stressed the importance of never letting on to the Keyblade's true nature to anyone from the worlds we visited. It was one of the rules put in place after the Keyblade War, to help prevent all of existence from coming to an end again. When I first traveled to other worlds I made sure to never let myself slip. Even when I was stranded here I did my best to keep it a secret."
"It's not your fault, Mom," Ruby protested. "I was the one that made Ironwood suspicious."
"Ruby, I'm not blaming you for anything," Aqua said to her youngest daughter with a smile. "I couldn't be prouder of you for the decision you made. You had to save as many people as possible, and if you had to use magic to do it, then I'm glad you saved everyone. Honestly, though, I think my Master would scold me for all the times I've slipped up since coming here."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"When I first arrived on Remnant, I was at the lowest point in my life. My master was dead, Ven was trapped in a deep sleep with his heart missing, and Terra had been possessed. I no longer even had the means to leave the world on my own. I was truly trapped. I had no idea what was I going to do, until I saw Ruby summon her Keyblade for the first time." She looked fondly at Ruby. "You needed a teacher, and suddenly I had a purpose again. You helped me start to pick up the pieces of my life."
Ruby smiled sadly at her mother, happy that she could be there for her like that, but sad about what had happened to Aqua's original family.
"I didn't plan on telling anyone about the Keyblade's true nature, but Ozpin guessed it the first time we met before I had a chance to understand this world. He and Qrow agreed not to tell anyone or ask me to get involved in whatever it was they were doing. When Qrow finally convinced Tai to let me train Ruby, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to tell her. If I wasn't stranded here and the Land of Departure still existed, the rules would have required me to take Ruby there for her training so no one finds out."
"Wait, you would have taken her away?" Yang asked with a shocked expression. "You never told us this."
"I was taken from my parents," Aqua said. "As were Terra and Ven. But, I knew that it wasn't going to be the same with you two. Besides, even if I still could, I wasn't mean enough to try and separate you two."
The girls looked relieved.
"Over the next few years, it was just like my training was when I was a kid. The only real trouble we ran into was when Raven somehow learned about the Keyblade and tried to kidnap Ruby for hers." Yang scowled at the mention of the woman that gave birth to her.
"After that, we went ten years and only slipped up a handful of times. Then Ozpin suddenly wanted Ruby to attend here. I didn't want her to have live away from home before her training was finished, but Ozpin went so far as to make me a teacher here. I didn't think about it too hard at the time, but now we know why he wanted us. Anyway, I relented, and we both came to Beacon.
"So you could keep teaching Ruby, right?" Blake asked.
"No, it was because Ruby wanted to be here," Aqua said. She smiled when she saw her youngest daughter's shocked look. "Come on, you think I didn't know that being here with Yang was what you wanted? Wouldn't be much of a mother if I didn't figure it out."
"You agreed to come here because of me?" Ruby asked.
"I know things were hard at Signal but I know you still liked the idea of coming here and were scared of being separated from Yang. Anyway, the point of this whole speech is that our cover has been in danger of being blown more times since we got here than it has in the last ten years. And the first time, it wasn't even because someone saw us use magic. It was just because of my Semblance."
"I said I was sorry about that, right?" Weiss asked, still looking ashamed.
"Don't worry about it," Aqua said. "It just goes to show how observant you are." Aqua smiled at how embarrassed Weiss looked. "At least I know we can trust you with the truth, even if was thrown in your face when we got swept up in that portal. And I had my own moment yesterday. I had to show Team JNPR my magic because it was either reveal it or let Pyrrha die. And then Ironwood suddenly accused us of attacking Amber because he saw Ruby use one spell. Today has made me realize that the second we set foot in this school, our secret being found out was an inevitability. And then there's the business with that Maiden and what they're planning to do. We're not supposed to get involved in the internal conflicts of other worlds, but…"
Aqua let out a frustrated groan.
"Ozpin blindsided me with that teaching position, and I'm starting to suspect this was all deliberate on his part."
"You think they're going to ask one of us to be the next Maiden?" Yang asked.
"I think they know at this point that I won't allow it," Aqua said, slumping onto the couch. "I'm just worried that now that we know, they'll start to get more aggressive in their attempts to get us to help. This is exactly what my Master warned me about, and I don't know how to fix this mess we're in."
"Mom," Ruby said, sitting next to her mother and giving her a hug. "It's okay. We'll find a way out of this."
Yang sat down on Aqua's other side and gave her a hug, too. Aqua smiled as she hugged her daughters.
"I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't met you two."
AN: So, I actually was kind of pulling a bait-and-switch a little bit. Yes, Ironwood was wrong, but it was an honest, understandable mistake for him to make. This incident was more of a way to force Aqua and Team RWBY into being told about the Maidens early. In addition, Aqua comes out of this more distrustful towards Ozpin than she is towards Ironwood. Sure, James screwed up, but now she's starting to feel like Ozpin is using them.
So, we've got a little bit more to go before Volume 3 starts, so I hope you guys look forward to it.
As always, thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next time!