Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I've been doing an extensive bit of rewriting to the path this story is taking. I haven't removed anything, just switching around the order of events per say. I have also come to the decision that rushing myself with unnecessary deadlines to keep chapters churning out week after week isn't the best approach for me right now, so I am just going to be writing in my spare time and publish chapters when I finish them. Hopefully that will make the story better for it. Thanks for reading, I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Speech"
Thoughts
Chapter Seventeen: One Thing
Ruby entered the basement with a small tray in her hand, the tray held a glass of juice, a bottle of water and a plate with eggs, bacon and toast steaming as she made her way down the steps. The sound of a punching bag being used reverberated throughout the room. Looking up she found Yang furiously beating the punching bag with an angry expression on her face. Tilting her head with mild concern she called out to her sister "Yang! Breakfast is ready!"
Yang turned to Ruby abruptly, surprised by her presence "Sorry, Ruby. I didn't hear you come in"
"Probably because you're kicking the stuffing out of that punching bag" Ruby giggled "Are you okay? You seem on edge"
"Of course I'm one edge, aren't you?" Yang asked as she sat down next to her sister gulping down the water quickly.
"Because we haven't found the Winter Maiden yet?"
"Yeah, and we don't even know if someone is hunting Slade or not" she sighed "Salem probably isn't too happy about him joining our side over hers right now and she supposedly has a list of Huntsmen here in the city!"
"You're just worried about Slade again aren't you?" Ruby asked with a knowing smile "I see through your cover, Yang" she said in a melodic tone, hugging her sister.
"Whatever" Yang shrugged her off "How's he doing by the way? I haven't seen him since last night, any improvement?"
"Blake says he's doing a lot better, he was able to get downstairs all on his own this morning without help"
"He did that yesterday" Yang pointed out confused.
"Yeah but yesterday Blake could hear his pained groans as he made each step. Slade's fine doing it on his own today, no pain whatsoever"
"Well... That is good to hear" Yang sighed in relief.
"Yeah, next thing you know, Slade's gonna be down here sparring with you or out in the field with the others!" Ruby grinned excitedly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ruby" Yang laughed "Slade's still got a ways to go before he's ready to be out in the field"
"Did Slade ever tell you what exactly made him that injured?" Ruby asked "I saw him go flying because of Cordovin but never knew how he broke all those ribs. It wasn't in his fight with Adam was it?"
Yang shook her head "Adam didn't even have the chance to do all that much to him. Slade must've gotten hurt during his fall. Though absorbing Adam's Semblance probably didn't do much good for him, and using his own Semblance to stop the Leviathan was just way too much on his body"
"That would make sense..."
"Something wrong?" Yang asked noticing her sister's hesitance.
"It just seems like he got more wounds than normal for someone who crashed through the treetops the way he did, wouldn't he have just passed through the trees with his Semblance? Besides that I don't actually know the full extent of what Adam's Semblance could've done to his body when he absorbed it, we don't even know what his own Semblance did to him that could've made it worse"
"Maybe we'll just have to ask him or Uncle Qrow about it" Yang offered "I'm sure one of them would know"
"Slade?" Blake's voice called as she entered the room "Hey, Yang, Ruby" she greeted "Have you seen Slade around?"
"He's not with you!?" Yang asked in alarm standing abruptly.
"I just saw him a moment ago, I put something away in the fridge and he was suddenly gone" Blake answered as Yang sprinted by her, rushing upstairs.
"Check outside!" Ruby called as she stood from her place on the floor next to Yang's previous position.
Blake and Ruby both followed Yang outside to find Slade sitting calmly in a chair right on the porch "Good morning" he waved lightly.
"You just scared the crap out of us!" Yang yelled annoyed "You can't just run off like that!"
"I walked outside and sat down, relax" Slade waved her off "It's not like I'm a toddler that needs supervision every waking moment. I can manage to take care of myself just fine without you looming over my shoulder like I'm gonna break something"
"Yang" Blake called her attention "I know you were just worried, but Slade's right. We're here to help him if he needs it and to make sure he doesn't overdo it"
"Yeah, Sis. Don't blow a gasket over nothing" Ruby agreed.
"I... I... You're right" she sighed "I'm sorry, Slade. I'm just concerned you're gonna hurt yourself if you're not careful"
"I understand, Yang" he chuckled "But I'm fine, just give me another two days and I'll be in tiptop shape"
"That's good to hear" a voice said from beside them "I would hate for you to hurt yourself, Slade. You should take all the time you need" the group turned to find Tyrian staring back at them with a devilish grin, he had a brown leather jacket on over his normal attire and his new metal scorpion tale was wrapped around his waist, looking more like an odd belt than an actual tail to the untrained eye.
"You!" Ruby removed Crescent Rose from her back and fired at his head, his metallic stinger came out from the front of his coat blocking the round as his smile grew.
"Oh, Wow! Very nice, full marks" Tyrian clapped slowly as his tail returned to the inside of his coat.
"Go away!" Yang growled as Ember Celica covered her arm, aiming it toward Tyrian.
"What're you doing here?" Blake asked dropping into a defensive stance between Slade and Tyrian.
"Tyrian Callows, it's been awhile" Slade's eyes narrowed, his hand hovering over Defiance, Tyrian's devilish grin unsettling him.
"This is the guy we ran into with Uncle Qrow, he poisoned him before we reached Mistral" Ruby warned "Be careful with him, he's no joke"
"Don't start a fight if he doesn't first" Slade added "He's got a nasty habit of causing collateral damage"
"Aw, that altruism makes me feel all warm inside" he chuckled, his grin widening as he stared at Slade "Guess pure intentions don't come with an insurance policy" he laughed hysterically referring to Slade's condition, Slade growled.
"Just say what you mean or get out of our hair before I kick your scrawny ass all over the front yard" Yang warned.
"Oh, but I did though" Tyrian laughed "No good will ever come from putting other people first, Slade" he gestured toward him "That's the only reason you're even in this mess isn't it?"
"I don't regret putting my life on the line to keep my friends safe, not that you'd understand something like that" Slade replied.
"You've got good friends though" Tyrian chuckled "Not everyone is so lucky as to have friends and family repeatedly dying in their place all the time" Slade's eyes widened in shock, his fist closed around the chair arm as his anger boiled over.
"What would you know!? Blake asked angrily.
"Yeah, you weren't even there!" Ruby agreed. Yang was struggling to reel in her anger, her eyes flashing red.
"I don't admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him. You'll just end up being dragged under in the end" Tyrian laughed "That's what happened with Elise isn't it?" he asked cackling wildly at Slade's expression of pure rage.
"We-" Ruby began but was interrupted.
"Spare me the usual party line" Tyrian sighed "Yes, people are more powerful when they fight together, but you'll notice... it didn't do you any good at Beacon now did it?" he smirked.
"You son of a-" Yang started.
"Ah-ah-ah" Tyrian wagged his finger at her "Let's keep this civil" he turned toward Slade "I was just here to make sure our dear friend wasn't hurt too badly, we would hate to see you unable to join us when the time comes"
"Salem's truly demented if she thinks I am ever going to join her" Slade growled.
Tyrian's grin disappeared at the insult, his eyes flashing purple "DON'T YOU-" he stopped himself, reeling in his anger "Find the Winter Maiden, Slade. The time will come when you deliver the relics in this city to her"
"Why would I ever take any advice you have to offer?" Slade asked crossing his arms.
"As if you have any other choice but to follow this sweet little trail of breadcrumbs" he laughed as he turned away from the group he began walking away as his eyes returned to normal "In the end you'll finally realize what destiny has in store for you. In fact, your reward might be just around the corner" he turned his head back toward Slade chuckling lightly with a grin as he held out a small file with the symbol Slade saw from before "You're so close!" he began cackling wildly as he continued to walk away.
"That file!" Slade gasped in shock.
"That's the one from your vision right?" Blake asked noticing the matching symbol.
"Stop!" Ruby shouted launching herself forward with Crescent Rose as Tyrian's laughter grew louder. Tyrian was enveloped in a black oval before it quickly vanished leaving nothing behind in it's place just as Ruby struck his position "Darn it!"
"So they did already have it" Yang sighed "They're always one step ahead of us!" she punched the wall in anger.
"Don't let him get to you, Yang. If they really were ahead of the game, they wouldn't come out here just to taunt us. They want us to think they hold all the cards" Slade assured her.
"Yeah, he's just trying to get under your skin because he thinks he can. But we're gonna show him how wrong he is" Blake agreed.
"Yeah, we'll show him that our sacrifices and the sacrifices our friends have made for us, haven't been for nothing" Ruby nodded in agreement.
"We're already proof enough of that" Slade chuckled.
"We're a team! When we're all together, there isn't anything we can't accomplish!" Ruby pumped her fist into the air encouragingly.
Yang turned to her friends "Yeah" she smiled "You're right" the group moved inside, all of them wondering what could be in store for them next "Is anyone else concerned about how he just disappeared like that?" Yang asked "Did he teleport or was it something else?"
"Tyrian definitely wasn't there anymore" Slade sighed sitting down onto the couch exhausted "That's not his Semblance if that's what you're asking, it's got to be something Salem did to him. She's able to distribute her power just like Ozpin. The only difference is the power returns to Salem when her followers die. Ozpin's power didn't know where to go since he reincarnates so many times"
"So that's why the Maiden's have been around for so long" Blake concluded.
"How do you know all of this?" Ruby asked Slade curiously.
Slade looked momentarily surprised, but masked it quickly "Let's just say I spent more time with Cinder Fall than I would've liked. You tend to pick up a thing or two"
"That makes sense" Yang rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"We need to call someone" Blake plopped down next to Slade "If someone like that can just teleport in and out of places, no one is safe"
"Call Qrow" Slade ordered "We need to warn the others. I'm going to call Ironwood" he explained removing his scroll and making a call.
"We're on it" Ruby nodded with a determined look as she did the same. It wasn't long before Ironwood answered.
"Slade, I wasn't expecting to hear from you. How's your recovery going?" Ironwood asked trying to be considerate.
"Let's cut the bullshit General, you don't actually care. I have important news"
"What is it?"
"Tyrian Callows is here in Atlas"
Slade was met with silence "You have my attention"
"No way!" Emerald shouted in disbelief "It's too soon! You can't seriously want me to get rid of her!" she argued.
"It's an order" Hazel's brow furrowed "Why do you hesitate? Tyrian himself has ruthlessly destroyed anyone who betrayed us and our organization. Are you not committed to our cause?" he asked accusingly.
"But it's not like that, Cinder didn't betray us! She can't come back as easily as we could!" Emerald desperately tried to change their minds.
"If she doesn't, you know what you must do. Or you will face the consequences as well" he warned just as Tyrian's tail embedded into the chair beside Emerald's head.
"I wouldn't question-" he stopped as Salem raised her hand indicating them to back off. Tyrian's tail moved back into place as he stood up straight. Emerald never once flinched. Salem silently held out her hand toward Emerald as a black orb formed onto her hand, streams of black lightning erupted from it but never got very far from her hand before twisting around back into the dark orb.
"You're gonna turn her into one of them?" Mercury asked in shock "But-"
"Fine... I'll do it, if that's what you really want" Emerald sighed.
"I don't want you to kill Cinder" Salem assured her lowering her hand as the orb disappeared "But I want you to remember who is in charge here" she glared narrowing her eyes "If you ever talk to me like that again you will not get the chance to regret it. Am I understood?"
"Y-yes of course" she bowed her head lightly "My apologies"
"I want you to track down Cinder and watch her carefully, do not allow her to become aware of your presence by any means necessary. I want to see what she does with her newfound freedom... will she attempt to regain my favor? Or will she simply try and pursue her own selfish desires?"
"I will begin immediately" Emerald stood from her place.
"Go" Salem waved her hand dismissively "Just remember, I will be watching. Always" Emerald nodded before disappearing in the same manner as Tyrian had appeared previously "Report" she ordered looking to Tyrian.
"I passed on the message as you desired" Tyrian answered tossing the file onto the tabletop.
"Good" Salem grinned "Not only do we have the power to inflict pain, we also have to power to plant seeds of doubt into the hearts of the people. That's how we keep power from humanity's leaders"
"Of course" Tyrian laughed lightly.
"I need Slade to doubt himself, to hesitate, I need his rage. Once we show him the truth of his past, removing the veil he's been spoon-fed his entire life by those closest to him. Slade is going to pave the way for the future we desire... a future where all of our goals are achieved and humanity finally knows lasting peace"
"Slade will soon begin to doubt himself. It will cause him to hesitate and that hesitation will infuriate him. That rage is precisely what I require from him, once he is properly enraged we will show him the truth of his past and not the one he has been spoon-fed his entire life. Slade will pave the way for the future I desire, a future where all of our goals are achieved and humanity can finally know peace"
"There's something I meant to ask" Tyrian spoke sitting down in his usual spot at the table.
"About Adam Taurus?" she asked "He's dead"
"What?!" Mercury and Hazel asked in shock "How could you know that? How did he-" Mercury continued.
"Adam attacked his old flame in Argus just before our attack began and the blonde one came to help. Slade arrived late into the fight but helped shift it into their favor just before they collectively delivered the finishing blow" Salem explained.
"So he's really gone then" Tyrian smirked "That wasn't my question though... what do you plan to do about Cinder? From what Watts has gathered she doesn't seem to be returning to us, she's gone off on her own to Atlas with Torchwick's old associate"
"Cinder deserves nothing more than our pity" Salem answered "Whether or not she decides to return to us or pursue her own aims. She can still be of use to us, and I plan to take full advantage of her usefulness before our plans for Atlas begin in earnest"
"And when that usefulness has ended?" Mercury asked, he received a menacing smile from Salem "Right..."
Cinder sat down beside Neo currently piloting the Mistral airship disguised as an Atlas airship.
"How close are we?" Cinder asked, Neo turned to look at her with an annoyed expression "Right..." she chuckled lightly. Neo shook her head in annoyance.
The was a long silence between the two of them as they continued to soar through the clouds toward Atlas "So... Neo" Cinder turned to look at her, Neo's annoyed expression returned as she looked at Cinder with an expression that said "What could you possibly need now?"
"I know you're not much for conversation, but I need you to answer something for me" Neo's head cocked slightly in question.
"You and I both know Ruby Rose is the one responsible for killing Roman... but are you aware that Slade Stroud is traveling with them?" she asked earning a shocked expression from Neo.
"That's right. Slade's apparently been helping them, and he was supposed to be Roman's friend right? Why would someone travel around with someone who killed a friend of yours?" she asked turning away from Neo, hiding a wicked grin.
"I suppose it's always possible he just doesn't know about what she's done to Roman, but what if he is fully aware? Would you be able to kill your old friend just to get to Roman's killer?" she asked.
Neo looked down sadly as she thought back to working with Slade over the past year before he left, all the close calls, the times he had her back, Roman's back... and the times she had his. Neo looked back up in front of her with a look of determination in her eyes.
"Good. That's all I needed to know" Cinder grinned.
"Unidentified aircraft, this is Atlas Air Control. Please state your name and clearance code, you don't have a scheduled flight into Atlas at this time" came through their radio as two Atlas aircrafts hovered behind them ready to attack if needed.
"Looks like we have company" Cinder chuckled "Let's take care of them shall we?" she stood from her place and walked to the back as the side doors both opened.
"Unidentified aircraft this is your final warning, respond or we will use lethal force-" Cinder extended her hands outward toward the aircrafts launching a powerful energy beam imbued with fire from each hand destroying them easily. The doors closed as she dropped to her knees panting heavily, catching her breath. Once Cinder had recovered she reentered the cockpit, retaking her seat beside Neo "It won't take long for Ironwood to hear of their disappearance. We need to get as close to the city as we can before they discover us" Neo nodded in understanding.
Cinder chuckled darkly "We're going to have some fun once we reach Atlas. Imagine the look of shock on Slade's face when he sees you again"
Neo frowned, she wanted nothing to do with fighting him. Ruby was her real target, she was the one who killed Roman, she was the one who would pay for taking her life away. Neo was determined to accomplish her goal, no matter who stood in her way.
Qrow led the group through the city with Winter begrudgingly followed along "What exactly is the plan here, Branwen?" she asked curiously.
"We need to get an airship so we can get out of the city and start searching for the Winter Maiden. If we don't find her soon, we're not gonna be able to secure the relic before one of Salem's lackeys comes and tries to take it from us"
"What makes you think she's not still in the city?"
"Ironwood acted like he didn't know where she was" Jaune pointed out.
"It makes sense that she'd be outside the city if he wasn't aware of her location. Atlas has far too much security for any one person to stay hidden for very long, especially if Ironwood was looking for her" Ren added thoughtfully.
"I suppose you're right. Have we cleared this mission with General Ironwood?" Winter asked.
"Unlike you, I don't have to clear my daily activities with a higher up, Winter. So no, I have not cleared this with Jimmy"
"We're never going to be able to leave if we don't" Winter sighed coming to a stop.
"What do you mean?" Maria asked surprised.
"Atlas is under lockdown, everything is going to be heavily scrutinized right now with what's been going on. There's no way we're going to be able to just grab an airship and head out without clearance" Weiss explained.
"General Ironwood is one big sour puss huh?" Nora asked her arms drooping in disappointment.
"You're not gonna be able to talk your way past air control like Slade did then?" Qrow asked with a knowing smirk.
"No, because I ordered them no to let anyone through without consulting the General first... sorry" Winter reluctantly apologized.
"Great, then we'll just steal one again" Oscar offered.
"Steal one!?" Winter asked incredulously "You may have been able to outsmart Cordovin's security measures, but there's no way you'll get past all of Atlas's-"
"Slade's done it" Weiss pointed out "He told us as much when we talked about stealing the one in Argus"
"During regular procedures, perhaps. But not while the entire city is effectively under lockdown! Curfews are enforced harshly, no one is allowed in or out of the city without proper identification, and most people get checked several times. There's no way you can get anywhere in this city right now without someone like me to wave you through. Even going out to eat right now is a task most people seem to avoid altogether-"
"Ironwood really is putting all these measures into place now of all times?" Qrow asked.
"We were preparing for war. It seems we were right to do so"
"Yeah, but with the wrong people. You were preparing to fight the other kingdoms, not a Grimm invasion. How're you going to protect yourselves against that? Your forces were hacked last time, what makes you think it's going to be any different this time?"
"Professor Watts has been working on a fix for that, if that were ever to happen again, they would do a full system restart once a passcode is spoken to the mech. Every soldier knows that passcode by heart now"
"You thought of everything then" Qrow said sarcastically before he waved her off dismissively, turning to continue.
"Look, Qrow. I know you don't think much of the General, but he's doing his best right now. The same cannot be said for the other leaders of Remnant"
"Maybe" he stopped "Or maybe he's become so paranoid that he can't see who his friends are" he looked back at her over his shoulder.
"Vale was infiltrated and dismantled from the inside, he's making sure that doesn't happen here"
"Agree to disagree-" Qrow stopped as his scroll began ringing, removing it from his pocket he answered "Ruby? Is everything alright?"
"Tyrian Callows is in Atlas and he can teleport" she said in one breath.
"Woah, woah, slow down, kiddo. What do you mean?"
"He came to visit us at the safehouse, he showed off a file with the symbol Slade saw... then he teleported away before anyone could do anything"
"He knew where the safehouse was?" Qrow asked shocked.
"Uncle Qrow... Slade seems pretty shaken up by what Tyrian said, he's playing it off but... we're worried about him"
"Alright, kiddo. Don't worry, I'll go talk to Ironwood and see what we can do about this. Stay safe"
"You too" he hung up, placing the scroll back into his pocket "Change of plans. We're going to see Ironwood"
Slade sat silently watching the clock on the wall as the hands ticked their way around and around continuously. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he did.
"What're we going to do?" Ruby asked breaking Slade from his trance.
"About what?" he asked curiously.
"Tyrian! He had the file you saw and he can just zap his way around anywhere he wants without having to ask permission first. How're we supposed to fight against that?"
"Teleporting cannot be that simple, Ruby" Slade chuckled "Like anything else it has to be controlled by the one using it. They'd probably have to have seen or been to the place they're teleporting to be able to accomplish it. Otherwise they'd already have all the relics by now wouldn't they?"
"That makes sense" Blake agreed "It'd have to work like any other Semblance right? Either emotionally triggered or mentally triggered"
"Yeah..." Ruby looked thoughtfully "Maybe..."
"If that's the case then we probably don't need to worry about them being able to ambush us so long as we don't stay in one place for too long. We're going to have to get another safehouse" Yang explained.
"Yeah, this one has been compromised. Ironwood will have us in another one by tonight. He's lessening the amount of people that know about our transfer and the transfer of the Huntsmen so as not to risk our locations to our enemies"
"What do we do in the meantime?" Ruby asked bored.
"Nothing" Slade answered "Tyrian wants us to mess up, that's why he visited us today. He wanted us to make a mistake so he could take full advantage of it. We need to keep our heads straight right now"
"Yeah, but how can we do that when we have nothing to do?" Blake asked.
"Easy. Your blade was damaged in your fight with Adam right?" Slade asked pointing to Gambol Shroud.
"Yeah, but what does that-"
"Do you know the original design of it? Would you be able to recount it if a professional provided you the materials?"
"Yeah but-"
"Excellent!" Slade tossed her some Lien "There's a store not too far from here that could provide you with what you need. Just let them know Stroud sent you and they'll give you the family and friends discount. If they have a problem, tell them to call me" he smirked.
"I can't possibly accept this, Slade. It's far too kind of you"
"Nonsense" he waved off "We're all friends now, right? My friends get only the best of treatment. Why don't you and Yang go together" he offered.
"It would give us something to get out of the house" Yang agreed "We don't exactly want to be here if Tyrian comes back"
"But what're you going to do?"
"There's bound to be someplace around here we can grab some food" Slade shrugged "I'm sure I can keep myself occupied"
"You're not even fully healed yet, Slade. I'm not going to go off and leave you alone to fix her weapon. It can wait" Yang explained.
"He won't be alone" Ruby assured "I'll be with him every step of the way. It'll be a good way to make sure we're not here and I can help him to ensure he doesn't push himself too hard"
"I don't know..." Yang pondered hesitantly.
"If Tyrian comes back to fight us, you're going to need every advantage you can get. Blake's going to be instantly at a disadvantage with a broken weapon. Would you rather we fight him together at full power or take our chances as we are now? I'm not exactly in any condition to be fighting anyone right now, so it'd be down to the three of you to take him on" Slade explained.
"I'm sure we can manage" Yang argued.
"Against someone that hunts Huntsmen for a living? I don't think so" Slade chuckled "From what I hear, Qrow even had trouble with the guy and he's one of the best around, not to mention my run in with him went less than ideal"
"Fine" Blake relented "We'll go get Gambol Shroud fixed and then meet you wherever you're hanging around when we're done. Just make sure you call us if something happens and don't stray too far from us. The last thing Ruby needs right now, is to go fight someone on her own to protect you in your condition"
"Don't worry, guys" Ruby shot up from her seat "Slade and I will be fine. It's not like we need our hands held all the time. I'm a proper Huntress now after all"
"An unlicensed one" Slade chuckled "I've seen Ruby fight. She's come a long way from the girl I clashed with back in the forests of Anima not so long ago" he smiled proudly "Besides, I'm not exactly defenseless"
"Alright! Alright!" Yang waved off dismissively "We get it, you two will be fine. Just don't make us regret leaving you two alone"
"We'll be fine! Nothing's gonna happen!" Ruby assured with a confident smile.
Ironwood sat at his desk putting together several booklets together into a file and standing to leave, as he approached the door he stopped. Dropping the file he removed his pistol from it's holster and began systematically searching the room. Noticing there was nothing he sighed deeply "I really am losing it" but the ringing in his ears didn't stop until he left his office with the file in hand. Opening the door into the hallway, he was met with the sight of Qrow and his group approaching him.
"Qrow. I expected you sooner" he smiled.
"Tyrian is in the city-"
"I'm aware, Slade updated me on the situation. I'm securing a new safehouse as we speak and moving the Huntsmen in the city around daily to keep them ahead of their hunter. I've prepared some things for you" he handed Qrow the file in his hand.
"What's this?"
"Papers" he answered "They'll provide you with the clearance to get anywhere in the city without too much hassle from my men. They'll still check your papers just as often as anyone else. But those papers should speed you along so you won't have any trouble"
Qrow passed out the booklets to each of the kids behind him "Thanks, but we have a bigger problem right now"
"The relic, I know. We need to secure it but for that we need the Maiden"
"Do you know where she is?" Nora asked curiously.
"I do" he smiled "She's safe, no to worry. But she's also unware she's the Maiden"
"Huh? You didn't tell her?!" Jaune asked shocked.
"I believed it was more dangerous for her to know. If it becomes necessary she will be informed so she can be properly prepared to defend herself. But if she doesn't know she's the Maiden, our enemies cannot discover it either without her finding out herself"
"You don't think that's a little selfish?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah! I'd want to know if I was gonna have some weird scorpion Faunus come chasing me around all day!" Nora yelled incredulously.
"I hate to admit it, sir. But I'm with them on this one, she'd be safer if she were made aware of the danger she's in" Winter agreed.
"Noted... unfortunately it's not that simple. I cannot just spring this information on her at anytime. I'd be putting her in more danger"
"What makes you say that?" Qrow asked.
"Someone knew about the safehouse I sent you to, and that someone was able to tell Mr. Callows your location without raising any red flags in our system, which means he either has a very high clearance which is impossible during the current security measures or they spoke to him directly. Either way, someone was listening in on us"
"You believe you've been bugged?"
"Yes, but I don't know if it's just my office, my scroll, both, the whole school. It's impossible to say for certain"
"Have you been able to rule anyone out?" Winter asked.
"Everyone currently in this room, with your nieces added to that number along with Ms. Belladonna and Slade"
"How've you cleared Slade?" Winter asked curious.
"Winter" Weiss groaned.
"I know you have reservations about him, Schnee. But rest assured, Slade is not and has never been our enemy"
"You're certain?"
"I am" Ironwood smiled "I know things don't really make sense right now, but I can assure you, we will secure the relic from Haven without involving the Maiden. It will be placed into the highest security vault we have here in Atlas. No one but me has access to the vault. Salem will not be getting that relic"
"I suppose that'll have to do" Qrow sighed "regardless, we need to figure out a plan to stop Tyrian and the Grimm invasion coming to Atlas. No fancy vault is going to mean anything if we don't have control of the city"
"I know, I am having my best analyst look over the possibilities for our best chances at success even given our superior military might. Arthur has a fix for hacked mechs due to Vale's catastrophe and I have plenty of people looking into possible safehouses or hideouts Callows could be using to stay below the radar. His ability to teleport will certainly slow the process... security will have to be kept on high alert at all times"
"Just make sure your men don't stop us too much while we're operating in the city. It's going to make it very difficult if we're getting checked on every corner"
"I'll do my best" Ironwood agreed.