Author's Note: This chapter was delayed due to technical issues with the website. I took the opportunity to pay more attention to my poor neglected boyfriend, as I'd been spending most of my free time writing lately.
To the anonymous commenter who asked about "the song" in the last chapter, there wasn't a song as such, but for the poem that Jaune wrote about Yang, I composed that myself.
And to those well-meaning readers who wish for me to make this story a harem, allow me to bring out Jaune and Weiss to answer that question themselves.
Mahina: So, are the two of you looking to establish an open relationship?
Jaune: What. No seriously, what?! Are you guys trying to kill me? I might be a titan of Aura, but that doesn't mean I can't throw my back out! She may not look it, but this little snowflake is insatiable!
Weiss: Jaune, honey, remember discretion…
Jaune: Ah. Right. Point is, no way. Weiss is all the woman I need, thank you. Besides, can't a guy treat a woman with decency without it being a romantic overture? I am called upon to be courteous and kind to ladies, you know.
Weiss: And I'll shiv a bitch who tries to touch my Jaune. Don't think I won't. Got my bitch-stabbing shiv right here and everything.
Jaune: Also, Weiss is a little possessive.
Weiss: I'm only possessive because all your romantic love is for me. There's no room for other women except for as godmothers, honorary aunts, and unpaid babysitters for the future babies that you're going to give me.
Jaune: Besides, if I was going to hook up with anyone other than Weiss, it would be Ren. I mean, look at that jawline! I'm a little surprised that no one else has commented on the blatant homoeroticism of our interactions in this story. Plus he has very slender, dextrous fingers, and is surprisingly gentle with them. Nora's gonna be a lucky girl when she finally works up the nerve to claim him.
Weiss: What.
Jaune: Gotta go!
Mahina: Right. Well, there you have it folks. No harem, I'm afraid. Thanks for answering the readers, you two. Enjoy the next chapter!
[/]
The eight students - nine with the unexpected addition of Sun Wukong - shifted uncomfortably as they stood in the Headmaster's office, while a large screen showed video footage of the first responders struggling to put out the fires at the docks that previous night. Ozpin steepled his fingers as the video came to a close.
"Well," he said mildly. "That is quite the extracurricular activity you have going on. I do hope that you have some explanation?"
Jaune stepped forward, as Ozpin expected, standing at attention. "Sir, I accept full responsibility for -"
"You're a student, not a soldier," Ozpin reminded him.
Jaune started as he realized that he'd fallen into that habit on instinct, and forced himself to stand normally. "It's my fault," he started over. "Every single person who died there was one that I killed. Furthermore, I was the one who crashed the enemy's Bullheads together, which in turn ignited all of the Dust."
"Was that intentional, Mister Arc?"
"The killing or the explosion?"
"Let's go with both."
Jaune nodded. "The killing was intentional, yes. I was outnumbered by a significant margin, and acted to save the lives of Blake and Sun. It was necessary, but regrettable, and as soon as I established control over the situation, I accepted the surrender of the survivors. As for the Bullheads, I sent one crashing, but didn't truly expect the full extent of the damage that followed. A happy little accident, as it were."
"And why would you call it that, given the damage caused?"
Jaune held his ground. "Because the quantity of Dust stolen in that one action alone - never mind the other Dust thefts in or around Vale - are far more than what would be necessary to simply outfit a cell of insurgents for conventional action. No, they're either planning to use it to fuel some device, or to create significant detonations. In either event, denying them that Dust was the next best option to retrieving it for our own usage."
Ozpin just sighed. "Well, thank you for not slaughtering all of the Fang in cold blood, Mister Arc. I suppose that marks an improvement over our first interaction."
"As you say, sir."
"So, how is it that you came to the docks in the first place?"
Jaune sighed. As much as he wanted to cover for his friends, he wasn't about to lie, especially not to his new mentor. "Blake asked me to accompany her to the docks that evening along with Sun Wukong."
He raised an eyebrow. "Both boys at once, Miss Belladonna? I'm impressed with your ambition, if not your restraint."
Blake blushed furiously. "It's not like that, sir!" she blurted. "It was...I found out from Sun Wukong that there was a potential robbery that was going to occur at the docks, one that could have involved the White Fang. I specifically asked Jaune to accompany me there."
"Because of his history as a hunter of the White Fang?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "I...didn't believe that the White Fang was involved, and I wanted to…"
"To rub Jaune's face in it," Weiss finished for her, perhaps still a little bitter at how Blake had referred to her boyfriend.
"...yeah," Blake muttered, sheepishly.
Ozpin sipped his mug. "I see. How did that work out for you?"
"Not great."
"No doubt,' Ozpin remarked, his tone drier than the desert sands of Vacuo. "And how was it that the three of you came to engage a White Fang expeditionary force on your own? Did you not think to call for backup, or for the police, at the very least?"
Sun coughed awkwardly, while Blake suddenly found her toes to be utterly fascinating.
"That was my fault as well, sir," Jaune said.
"What?!" Blake looked at the aspiring knight with abject shock.
"It was. When we determined that the thieves at the dock were White Fang, I succumbed to an immature and petty desire to gloat about it towards Blake. That provoked her into making an ill-considered leap directly into the middle of their ranks, to hold their human leader hostage and attempt to address the Faunus directly. Such behavior was unworthy of me, and I apologize," Jaune finished with a nod towards Blake.
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jaune, for the love of Dust, don't apologize to her!"
Blake's kitty ears drooped a bit.
"Why not?" Jaune asked. "I was still in the wrong there."
Blake sighed. "It was still my choice to jump into the middle of them. I never thought...I guess I never thought that they would really turn on me as well."
Ozpin sipped his mug. "And did you and Jaune make the determination to leave for the docks on your own? I seem to recall placing Mister Ren in charge of Team JNPR for the time being."
"And I recall my protesting that that was a bad idea," Ren muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir. Jaune asked me to allow him to go, and in the interests of reconciling our teams together, I allowed it."
Ozpin frowned. In a way, it was actually encouraging to hear of Jaune making an immature mistake and acting like a teenager, instead of as a human weapon. The boy had also made good points pertaining to denying the White Fang access to such quantities of Dust, which did have distressing implications. On the other hand, he had been in emotional flux - and likely still was, going from suicidal depression to giddy euphoria to whatever odd placid state he was in now - and should not have been in action unsupervised by faculty. "Mister Ren, I understand the wish to begin building bridges, but you, of all people, should have known that Mister Arc was compromised."
"I did, sir, and I allowed those sympathies to override my better judgement."
"I see. And Miss Rose?"
Ruby sighed. "I didn't want to, but...I didn't see any other way for us to all be friends again."
"Very well." Ozpin sat back in his chair. "Mister Arc, Miss Belladonna, neither of you will be punished for the damages incurred during last night's escapade. Rather, your leaders will. Miss Rose, Mister Ren, you will both report to Glynda Goodwitch for two hours' detention each afternoon for a week. Oh, and Miss Belladonna, do try to refrain from making such...tactical blunders in the future. You've already witnessed what consequences come of them."
"Sir, Ren shouldn't be punished for my sloppiness," Jaune protested.
Ren put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "It's all right. Remember Forever Fall? As leader, your actions are my responsibility as well," he echoed. "You exercised sound judgement when I could not. When the tables were turned, my own judgement was not as sound. The punishment is well-earned, and little burden besides. It is also," Ren spoke up a bit louder, "why I would wish to see Jaune reinstated as leader of Team JNPR at the earliest possible time."
Ozpin sipped his mug. " Denied. We'll review it at the beginning of the next semester, in three weeks. If there are no further incidents, I will make the determination then. Now, for our unexpected guest. Mister Wukong, I was given to understand that Headmaster Lionheart instated you as leader of your own team, Team SSSN?"
"Only the hottest thing in Haven," Sun boasted proudly.
"Ah. That is the crux of the problem, you see," Ozpin replied.
"Huh?"
"Why is 'the hottest thing in Haven' not at Haven? The rest of your team isn't scheduled to arrive until Wednesday, so what are you doing here now?"
"Oh. Well, I left 'em behind to take a boat. No biggie."
"I see." Ozpin looked supremely unimpressed. "Well then, you too shall be serving detention alongside your peers, but unlike them, you will be serving detention every afternoon until the rest of your team - all of the rest of your team - come to get you out. I'm sure a loner like yourself will have no problem with that arrangement."
"Aw man, what? That's...guys?" Sun looked around to see the other students already leaving Ozpin's office.
Sun's tail drooped in despair. "Awwww, nerts."
[/]
Being an educator meant seeing plenty of strange things, and being an educator teaching effectively superpowered adolescents how to fight meant seeing even stranger things. With that being said, that afternoon brought the sight of an additional six students reporting for detention alongside the two who were actually scheduled, which was baffling. That they argued with her that they should serve detention with her as well was unprecedented.
In the end, they'd convinced her by suggesting that she spend the two hours accompanied by Mister Arc's adorable puppy, who was, in fact, the goodest of good boys. That, Glynda felt, was just playing dirty.
She'd also been introduced to the irrepressible Sun Wukong. If Miss Valkyrie had set a school record by getting detention before being enrolled at the school, Mister Wukong had beaten it by somehow getting detention while being not supposed to be at the school at all. If that had not been enough to raise her ire, the boy's casual greeting to her of "Yo, what's up, Miss G?" had certainly done the trick, as had his oblivious response of "why?" when she had asked him to button up his shirt.
As a result, the boy was currently doing handstand pushups in a corner, while Glynda telekinetically balanced a few desks on his feet to weigh him down. As she stroked the fur of Arc's puppy, Glynda watched the rest of the students in the center of the room, where, for all intents and purposes, Jaune Arc had turned her detention into an impromptu war council. He had posted a map of Remnant on the board and was pacing back and forth with a pointer in hand.
"What we know is that the White Fang is involved in some large-scale operation pertaining to the Kingdom of Vale, but unlike previous known White Fang missions, this one is under the express leadership of a human, identified as one Roman Torchwick. The robbery at the docks, combined with Torchwick's previous antics, disrupted by Ruby here, form a connection. They are gathering what appears to be a monumental quantity of Dust, sufficient to disrupt the actual Dust industry in Vale. This has two effects: firstly, it no doubt fuels either some unknown device of extreme power, or failing that, would be fuel for either a single, massive explosion or a great many lesser ones, though still of considerable size. As a secondary effect, a surfeit of Dust could leave Huntsmen undersupplied and less capable of fending off either the Grimm or the Fang themselves."
It hurt, seeing so much of James, the old James, in Jaune. He had been a bold leader as well, so handsome and charismatic, gathering his peers together to share his strategic acumen with them. He had always taken great care to bring together people with all different viewpoints to ensure that he had the most complete picture of the entire situation before acting.
Is it any wonder that she had loved him?
"So what does this mean?" asked Pyrrha.
"I'm unsure, but I think it may be an attack on the Kingdom of Vale itself, one that has been in the makings for a very long time." He circled a small point to the southeast of the Kingdom. "Seventeen years ago, the White Fang murdered my family, clearing the way for the Grimm to overrun Sauvignon Blanc, wiping that settlement from the map."
Blake shook her head. "It couldn't have been the Fang."
"Oh, here we go again," griped Nora.
"No, it's…" Blake shook her head again. "What I'm saying is that the timeframe is all wrong. Seventeen years ago, the more violent factions of the White Fang were nowhere near as numerous or powerful as they are today. This would have been around the time that Sienna Khan was first making a name for herself as a rookie operative. They wouldn't have had the numbers or the expertise to take out a powerful Huntsman family, or even the motivation to do so."
Jaune frowned. "The White Fang have long made for convenient scapegoats. At the risk of giving offense, they have terrible public relations."
"No offense taken," Blake responded, her tone dry. "But why blame it on the Fang?"
"Would give the humans of Vale something to stew over," Ren chimed in. "Faunus terrorists take out a famous clan of human guardian knights, leading to the Grimm overrunning the place."
"Meaning that someone wants to further hostility between Humans and Faunus," Jaune continued. "Likely, whatever unknown faction controls the Fang as proxies is responsible for the extinction...the near extinction of the Arcs."
Glynda had to keep from sighing as she watched the boy at work. So much like James. Like a beautiful, blonde son of James Ironwood. She shook her head. That road had been closed long ago, and now, even the slightest hints of its trackway, eroded but still in her heart, were lost under the enormity of his crimes. Gone and gone and gone. Still, seeing Jaune strategize conjured those long-dead dreams of days passed, when they were young and in love, and the world seemed so much brighter, before she understood how perilous that world stood, poised between monsters without and demons within.
A reminder of a time before the very thought of James Ironwood broke her heart.
"Three years after the fall of Sauvignon, Mountain Glenn also succumbs to the Grimm," Jaune continued, circling the icon of the lost city, which was further north from Sauvignon Blanc.
"How could someone direct the Grimm where to attack?" Weiss asked, a question that sent a shock through Glynda.
She knew, in that moment, that Ozpin was preparing these specific students to take up arms in The War. Glynda was watching the next generation of his Inner Circle form right before her very eyes. All she could do was pray that Jaune would not succumb to the same pressures that had rendered James so unrecognizable from his former self.
"I'm unsure," Jaune admitted. "But the pattern holds. The Kingdom of Vale, as it stands now, effectively consists of the city itself, the island of Patch, and a few coastal settlements scattered to the north. A direct attack on the city, if done with sufficient force, would cause the entire Kingdom to collapse."
"Why would anyone want that?" asked Pyrrha.
Jaune shrugged. "Anarchy? Destruction? There are opportunities to be found in the wake of chaos. The real question is, why Vale specifically?" He frowned as he looked at the map. "There's something that I'm missing here...Atlas to the north, increasingly-isolated under the weight of its own extremism. Feeble Vacuo, persisting in its own irrelevance to the world at large. Mistral, mighty but silent. Menagerie, the outcast Kingdom that isn't recognized by the others, lurking quietly to the far south. And Vale, reduced to a city hidden in the valley, surrounded by its cringing hinterlands…"
"All in favor of banning Jaune from playing Remnant: The Game with us?" Ruby asked abruptly, to a unanimous chorus of "Ayes."
Jaune ignored his mutinous so-called friends, turning back to the map to glare at it as though it were some mortal enemy. "Why Vale," he muttered. "Why Vale…"
"Even if there were some kind of anti-kingdom conspiracy, the relations between each of the kingdoms...and Menagerie," Weiss added, "aren't so far gone that they wouldn't unite against a common enemy. As soon as that enemy revealed itself, the Kingdoms would band together and take it out."
"That's it!" Jaune, glowing softly with his Semblance, turned on his heel and strode over to Weiss, hefting her out of her chair by grabbing her under her arms, causing the girl to gasp. Jaune lifted her up above him and spun her around in the air. "Weiss, you gorgeous genius!"
"Jaune!" she laughed at his spontaneous display of exuberance. "Put me down, you goof!"
"James!" A much younger Glynda Goodwitch giggled as James Ironwood pulled her into his embrace.
"I can't help it," the young, dashing soldier said with a wink. "You've always been my greatest inspiration."
As Glynda watched and remembered a similar event that happened long ago, she hoped, for both the boy's sake and the girl's, that history merely echoed, instead of repeating exactly.
Jaune complied, sheepishly, with Weiss's demand to set her down. "Uh, sorry about that. But you are a gorgeous genius."
"Of course I am," she said, crossing her arms, her nose pointed haughtily towards the ceiling. After a beat, she popped open a single eye to regard him curiously. "But just so that, erm, everyone else knows what you're talking about, why don't you explain?"
"Oh, right," Jaune said. "So, like you said, the four Kingdoms would come together quickly, right? Only, what if they couldn't?"
"What do you mean?" Ren asked.
Jaune returned to stand before the map, pointing directly at Vale. "The Cross Continental Transmit System relies on a series of transmission towers in order to function. While lesser relays can be disrupted or destroyed while only affecting the local coverage, there are four major towers - one in each of the capital cities - that enable the entire network to function. Weaken the Kingdom of Vale. Isolate the city. Take out the entire CCTNet. Cut the throat of the Kingdom Alliance, in a single, savage cut. It'd slow communications to a crawl, people would panic...break the status quo and open Remnant to conquest. Or destruction."
Well. Glynda certainly intended to discuss Arc's ideas with Ozpin. It was the sort of thing that they really should have seen coming. Even if he wasn't correct, it was a sufficiently-dangerous strategy that he'd conceived that they would need to consider its ramifications. It was the sort of thing that James would have clued them into, if he'd been communicating with them regularly.
Gods. She missed James so much…
But James was gone, just as much as if he'd died. In a way, it was worse than if he'd died. At least, had he died, his memory wouldn't have been...attainted by the monster wearing his face, dragging his name through the mud.
James was gone. But here, before her, discussing the implications of Jaune's ideas, was the future. Eight heroes with which to build a new Remnant.
A loud crash and a muffled swear indicated that she'd absent-mindedly lost control of her Semblance, sending Mister Wukong dropping to the floor under several desks, each made of heavy mahogany.
Well, eight heroes, and one idiot who didn't know when he was in over his head, to build a new Remnant.
"Arf!"
And one puppy.
All told, that was the single most productive detention Glynda Goodwitch had ever seen.
[/]
Vale looked just like how Qrow left it. Quaint town, broad avenues, lovely architecture...and a giant smoking crater at the docks.
"Obviously an attack," Winter noted from the copilot's seat. "Want to see what your boss has to say?"
"Yeah," Qrow muttered. "Let's see what happened." He dialed in the passcodes that would give the Corvid's Claw access to a private hangar at Beacon Academy. It was a small, secluded landing bay, perfect for Qrow to come and leave without falling under watchful eyes. As the aircraft settled onto the landing pad, Qrow left the cockpit, followed by Winter. The passengers were undoing their flight harnesses.
"Thank you for a lovely journey, Mister Branwen," the Nikos woman said. Qrow just gave a grunt in response and hit the hatch release on the side of the hull. The side door popped open and slid back, allowing the passengers to exit the vehicle. Qrow hopped out first, then turned around to help the old woman down from the short jump to the ground. Then the Nikos woman shot him a look as if expecting him to offer her a hand as well, which was a bit presumptuous, but whatever. The teenage girl was a problem, though, as he damn near blew out his back just helping her down.
"What the hell are they feeding you kids these days?" Qrow gasped out as the redhaired girl giggled at his expense.
"Why, Mister Branwen, didn't anyone ever teach you that it's rude to comment on a lady's weight?" Nikos chided him with a lilting, sing-song tone of voice.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Point is - you gotta be shitting me," he blurted as Winter, still in the aircraft, gave him an expectant look, her arms crossed.
"Well?" she asked. "I'm waiting."
"The hell you are!" Qrow sputtered. "You don't need a damn bit a' help there! You only got in the damn thing by making a forty foot leap from a standing position!"
"It's the principle of the thing."
"You're nuts."
Winter huffed. "Rude."
Finally, Qrow relented - with considerable muttering - and offered a hand to the former Specialist. She took it daintily, as if she were some fairytale princess and not a career soldier who could have easily leapt across the whole damn hangar if she'd had a mind to. She had a look of imperious triumph on her face as she then strode past him as though she owned the place.
"The hell was that all about?" Qrow asked, to which all he got was a pitying look from Fria, a cheerful blankness from the girl, and more sly smiles from the Nikos woman.
He then decided that, whatever bizarre feminine games these women were playing, he wasn't going to play along. He waved for the three others to follow as he caught up to Winter. "Do you even know where you're going?" he asked her.
"I don't have to. Given the significance of our arrival, Ozpin himself should be making his appearance any moment now."
True to her prediction, a door slid open at the far end of the hangar, and the boss himself strode in, flanked by good old Glynda. "Ah, Qrow. Good to see you. I understand that we have some guests."
Winter stepped forward. "Headmaster Ozpin. There are a great many events in Atlas of which you must be made aware."
"Ah. Specialist Schnee. I had wondered if… or when...you would find your own line that you could not cross. I am pleased to see that you finally have."
She flushed, even as, behind her, Nikos raised an eyebrow at the name 'Schnee.' "I suppose there are things that...well…"
"It's quite all right. Now, which one of you is the Winter Maiden?"
Winter's eyes narrowed. "First, I'll have your word that all of these women will be granted asylum, Maiden or otherwise."
"But not for yourself?"
She hesitated. "I am a soldier. No matter what else may come, I will always be a soldier. That means that I will stand and face the consequences for my actions...or my inactions."
Ozpin regarded her for a long moment. "Very well. I give my word that I will provide aid and protection for all three of these women."
Winter nodded, and stepped aside to allow Fria to step forward. "Hello. I'm Fria. Your glasses look ridiculous."
"Ah," Ozpin said, as he glanced between the elderly Maiden and the youthful soldier. "I believe I have the gist of what our wayward acquaintance had intended." He then glanced at the other two women. "And what have the two of you done to require such asylum?"
"Salutations!" Penny stepped forward. "My name is Penny Polendina! I am the world's first Aura capable artificial humanoid!"
Qrow swore. No wonder he'd pulled his back, the little brat.
"Artificial humanoid?" Glynda echoed. She recalled the conversation that Ozpin and Jaune Arc had had back in Atlas, which referenced an artificial teenage girl. She supposed that this, then was that selfsame project, come to Beacon of her own accord.
"Indeed!" Penny chirped. "My father created me with revolutionary Aura technology! Unfortunately, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances. I was shut down pending a system re-write, but General Ironwood has violated my father's intellectual property rights by attempting to commandeer me for the Atlas military! Now I'm on the run with Special...Miss Schnee! I'm a fugitive from the law!" she finished, as bright as a spring morning.
Ozpin blinked. "Well...that is...quite a bit to take in, Miss Polendina. Please accept my condolences for your...father. I'm sure that there will be plenty for you to do at this school. And madame Nikos, what an unexpected pleasure to see you again," he said, indicating Medusa.
"Oh, I just intervened to keep a soldier from taking this girl as property," Medusa said. "It's been quite a lovely little vacation already. Tell me, how is my little Pyrrha doing?"
"Your daughter is quite the model student," Glynda spoke up. "Though they've just left detention."
"Oh? It must have taken some convincing to get her to loosen up a bit. Always so proper, my baby girl."
"Yes," Ozpin mused. "Though it seems as though she was only tangentially involved in the incident that left a smoking crater at the Vale docks."
"That was your kids?" Qrow butted in.
"Well, it seems as though my new protege still doesn't play nicely with the White Fang. Let us see to Madame Fria's accommodations, and we can discuss matters in greater detail."
With that, Ozpin led the strange group into the tower proper, and from there, the elevator that led to his office. Fria scoffed as she took in the clockwork motif that adorned the space.
"The mark of a man with entirely too much time on his hands," she muttered.
"Madame, you have no idea," Ozpin remarked with a sly smile. The little in-jokes made eternal life just a bit more bearable.
With a gesture, Glyda gathered a number of chairs and set them across from the Headmaster's desk. "May I offer any of you a drink?" Ozpin asked. "Not you, Qrow," he cut off his right hand man before he could even get started. Once everyone had refreshments in hand - or not, as the case may be - the Headmaster steepled his fingers. "Well," he began. "I suppose we should begin with the most potentially contentious of subjects, and work our way down from there. Madame Fria, what sort of arrangement would you prefer?"
"Well, not having my soul sucked out like a milkshake would be a good start," she replied, her tone dry. "Beyond that, somewhere warm and comfy to stay until I kick it in my own good time would also be nice. No need to help in that regard; I'll be dead soon enough. Don't know why people can't just let an old woman croak in godsdamned peace."
Ozpin cleared his throat. "Well, those are certainly...reasonable requests, which I would be happy to grant. Now, what are we to do with you, Miss Polendina?"
The android girl blinked her emerald green eyes, her head canted like a puppy. "After my father's disappearance, a surge took many of my protocols and systems offline, resulting in a loss of seventy percent of my combat effectiveness. If you have skilled technicians on hand, I could become combat ready once more, and aid in your defense of this institution!"
Ozpin sipped his mug. "As it just so happens, I have a particularly gifted student who I believe would do you well to meet. I suppose we can just enroll you as a transfer student for the time being, to ensure that you can't be removed by the school by Atlas authorities...at least, without them disclosing your true nature to the Vale Council."
With that, he looked to Medusa.
"Hello again!" she waved happily.
Ozpin sighed. "I don't suppose you considered the potential implications of the mother of a Mistral national celebrity getting embroiled in the midst of an Atlesian political scandal?"
"Of course not," she answered brightly. "I don't see how any of that should stop me from doing the right thing."
"Right." Ozpin sighed. "I don't suppose you have a talent for…" he scrolled through a list of potential faculty positions at the Academy. "...Horticulture?"
"Oh, I suppose I can make do," she answered.
"...Sure. At any rate, congratulations, you are now Beacon Academy's professor of horticulture, a position that has been vacant for the last...Glynda, is this correct? Ten years?"
"You mentioned you'd take care of it," Glynda noted. "That was a decade ago."
"Ah." Ozpin took another sip. "Well, problem solved. The position is filled, do try to refrain from burning down the courtyard." He then locked gazes with the former Specialist. "That leaves the question as to what we are to do with you. Were you aware of the extent of the...activities in which your former employer had the former Cadet, Jaune Arc, participate?"
Winter took out the folded letter from her sister and slid it across the desk to Ozpin. "I had reservations about the...extensive degree to which Jaune was trained as a soldier from virtual infancy. However, this letter from my sister was the first indication that the boy had been set to...more unethical ends. Shortly after receiving it, I was made privy to certain...activities, which hardened my resolve to defect."
"I see." Ozpin took a sip, as he was wont to do. "Glynda, would you see our new personnel to their rooms? I need to speak to Miss Schnee on her own."
"Of course. Please, follow me." Glynda indicated that the three women follow her, while Qrow remained leaning against a wall.
"Now, Miss Schnee," Ozpin began. "What has our wayward general done?"
[/]
Where do I begin with Ruby Rose?
Ruby is...pure. She is pure in her intent, pure in her childlike wonder at the world around her, and pure in her belief in the innate potential of people to be good.
I...I need that belief.
When I first disclosed the nature of my previous life, Yang had suggested that Ruby would be well-served to keep her distance from one such as I. Though she later apologized, it still hurt. Despite that, I cannot bring myself to blame Yang for that, or even disagree with her. It surely sounds naive to the point of danger for Ruby to have continued to insist - demand, even! - that we maintain our friendship, in the face of what I have done.
It sounds naive, to believe that a murderer could become something more. Perhaps it is. But it's a belief from which Ruby has never once strayed.
She has faith.
Strictly speaking, it makes no sense. It defies logic. Ruby has no rational reason to believe in my goodness, but she does.
In the dark moments, when I wonder if I can truly find atonement, if I can find peace with both myself and others, when I doubt if I deserve the breath in my lungs, I find myself unable to truly lose faith.
I'm unable to lose faith in myself because Ruby Rose believes in me. Her faith in me is pure and unwavering, steadfast as the autumn winds.
I love her for it.
No, not like that, Yang, put the gun down. The love I hold for Ruby isn't the same sort of romantic love that I feel for Weiss. I cherish Ruby for that purity of faith, though her skill as a baker is a nice bonus. Inscribed on Ascalon is a charge, an exhortation. "If ye be worthy, wield me in defense of the innocent." It isn't a creed, or a motto. It's a plea.
Ruby Rose is the embodiment of everything that that spear was forged to protect in this cruel, bitter world.
"From the Journals of Sir Jaune d'Arc, Champion of Vale," Arc Family Archives, Château d'Arc
[/]
In the Team RWBY dorm room, Weiss watched in satisfaction as her team leader was studying hard. Ruby was really pushing herself, feeling as though she wasn't up to the task of leading a team, especially not a team of older, more experienced girls. The events of the previous evening hadn't done much for her confidence in that regard, but at least Blake had returned to them, and sheepishly admitted that she hadn't been the best team player.
She wasn't entirely certain that she was over how the cat Faunus had repeatedly put down her Jaune, but Weiss figured that the blood and horror of the events at the docks had driven home the point about her poor judgement deeper than any amount of scolding could hope to accomplish. At this point, all four members of Team RWBY were simply relieved that they were on speaking terms again. This would be especially important if Jaune's ideas concerning some kind of looming war across Remnant had any merit to them.
Weiss hummed to herself as the coffeemaker dinged, and rolled her eyes as she added the dire quantities of sugar that Ruby required to function. She supposed that the younger girl was much like a hummingbird in that regard, with her hyperactive speed fueled by an overactive metabolism that needed just vast quantities of glucose to burn. "Here, Ruby," she said, handing the cup to her. "Why don't you take a break for a few moments? You'll retain information better, and I worry that you may be straining your eyes."
Ruby blinked those huge silver eyes of hers. "Huh. I guess if you're telling me to take it easy, I must be hitting the books pretty hard, huh?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
From across the room, Yang snorted. "It means that you probably dream in calculus, Snowflake."
"How do you know about that?"
The blonde bomber just shook her head. "Tragic."
"Yes, well, that's nowhere near as tragic as your history scores," Weiss retorted. "Have you finished that makeup essay for Doctor Oobleck yet?"
"Whoop-de-doo," Yang swirled a finger over her head in a dismissive notion. "Once upon a time, some prick somewhere screwed up big time, and we're still trying to clean up the mess. The end. Rinse, repeat, and just switch the names out every once in a while."
"Yang Xiao Long!" Weiss planted her hands on her hips, while on the bunk above the blonde girl, Blake giggled quietly at her partner's characterization of history. "Your sister - your younger sister, I might add - is studying diligently to do her part for this team! Why can't you follow her example?"
"Because it's boring?"
Weiss just sighed. She hadn't wanted to be the Team Nag, but it really wasn't fair to expect Ruby to be able to take her older sister to task. As such, Weiss had taken it upon herself to...encourage her fellow teammates to keep up their academic performances, so as to take some of the strain off of the younger leader. That meant keeping track of their assignments and scores, tutoring her less privileged teammates in subjects that they hadn't received the sort of extensive private education that she'd received, and outright bitching them into something resembling success.
She just considered it training for wrangling toddlers, or worse, company board members, in the future.
As she was about to lay into Xiao Long for blowing off an essay that Doctor Oobleck had graciously allowed her to write to bolster her flagging history grade, the girls' Scrolls all chimed with an alert.
"I didn't do anything!" Blake protested, as the other three girls immediately looked to her for explanation.
Ruby opened up the message on her Scroll. "Well, it looks like something else has come up that needs us at Ozpin's office. I guess we'll figure out what then."
Weiss just shrugged. Perhaps they needed Blake to make a public statement about the fight that went down that previous night? Whatever it was, she hoped that it wouldn't be too disruptive, now that it looked like Team RWBY was finally getting on track to success. They ran into Team JNPR as they were waiting at the elevator.
"You too, huh?" Ruby asked.
Nora nodded. "It can't be too bad. None of us have blown anything up in almost a day!"
"That's...that's not a benchmark to be proud of, Nora," Weiss replied.
"Are you kidding? Ren put up a sign in our room, it reads '0 Days Without Team JNPR Property Damages.' He says that if we make it an entire month, we get a pizza party!"
Weiss just looked at Ren, who could only shrug helplessly. Worse, Ruby looked as though she was giving the notion of adopting the practice for her own team serious consideration. "Ruby, we can't just bribe our friends into behaving."
"Why not? Do you think it might work?"
The elevator dinged as it arrived, and the teens dutifully shuffled aboard. Weiss continued her argument. "No, Ruby, we should refrain from inflicting property damage because it's the right and proper thing to do, not because of some hope that we might acquire...pizza from it."
"To be fair, we haven't blown up crap," Yang pointed out. "Between the arena and the docks, it's all been Sir Blasts-a-lot over there."
"In my defense, I only destroy things when it seems like a really good idea," Jaune said mildly.
Weiss could only facepalm.
Then the elevator reached the Headmaster's office, and the doors slid open with a cheery ding. The two teams filed out and strode over towards the desk - only for a series of reactions to occur at once. Weiss, upon seeing her older sister, broke into a run, only to catch herself after a moment and resume her more typical walk.
Ruby, being Ruby, dashed forward with a cry of "Uncle Qroooooow!" She latched onto the lanky man's arm, which he raised to regard her with a degree of bemusement. "Hi," she squeaked. "Oh, it's so good to see you! Didya miss me? Didya miss me?"
He grinned at her. "Nope," he deadpanned.
Meanwhile, Medusa Nikos leaned over to Winter. "And good with children," she teased in her sing-song tone.
"Shush," Winter muttered to the insufferable Nikos woman. She fought to keep a straight face as Qrow mussed up the hair of the small girl attached to his arm, who looked exactly like him, but for the eyes. "Uncle" her left foot.
"Well, this is certainly...unexpected," Pyrrha began, her tone wary. "Hello, mother. Are you well?"
"Of course I am, sweetie!" Medusa's smile was bright. "I just may or may not have got involved in some...misadventures! On the bright side, I now have a new job as Beacon's gardener."
Pyrrha just sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I knew it wasn't safe to just leave you alone like that."
"Oh, hush, I'm fine. And look, I've made wonderful new friends as well!"
"About that," Weiss broke in. "As wonderful as it is to see you, sister, what...what are you doing here?"
"If I may," the Headmaster spoke up, to regain some control of the situation. "There are some events pertaining to the situation in Atlas of which you all must be made aware. Bear in mind that this is highly sensitive, and is not to be discussed outside of this office, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jaune said, standing at attention again.
Ozpin sighed. "I repeat, Mister Arc, you are a student, not a soldier."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Winter eyed her sister's paramour with an appraising glance. Whatever else might have been said about the boy, being released into Ozpin's service had apparently done him a world of good. He stood tall, but looser, with an ease to his shoulders that hadn't been there before. He wore gleaming plate armor of white steel and Mistrali bronze, and carried his weapons easily at his hips. Jaune had even grown out his hair, with golden locks falling loosely to frame his face. He looked like he stepped off the cover of a romance novel, one of the ones where some woman would be heaving her bosom at him via a strategically-ripped bodice.
Given that he was romantically attached to her little sister, Arc had better not have been ripping any bodices, if he knew what was good for him. Not that Weiss had much of a bosom to heave, but it was the principle of the thing.
"It is good to see you as well, Jaune Arc," Winter said politely. "I trust my sister has kept you well in hand?"
She had never thought to see Jaune Arc, of all people, blush, but that he did. "Of course, ma'am," he said, with an exaggerated calm. Beside him, Weiss, in contrast, looked even paler than normal. Huh. It was a little strange, but still, she supposed that, with Arc spending time around other teenagers for once, someone must have properly clued him in to the birds and the bees. Well, more thoroughly than she had been willing to do, at any rate. It was of little consequence. Winter had every faith that her little sister knew how to exercise the proper restraint and deportment of a civilized lady, and wouldn't let Arc talk her into any foolishness.
"Salutations, Cadet Arc! I am pleased to see that you were not decommissioned as well!" A strange, orange-haired girl in a green dress waved cheerfully at Jaune.
"Hello, Penny," Jaune said. "I'm glad to see you, but I'm no longer a cadet."
"Oh, okay." The girl canted her head strangely, like a dog. "Then how am I to address you?" She gasped as an idea occurred to her. "May I address you as Friend Jaune?" The robot girl was almost pitiable in her excitement of such a thing.
"Of course," answered Jaune.
Weiss cleared her throat, clearly unhappy. "How do you know this...girl, Jaune?" After all, she must have known him back in Atlas, and Weiss didn't know that any other girls knew him back in Atlas. Of course, it was okay for Jaune to know other girls...barely...but Weiss still felt as though she ought to have heard of her, at the very least.
"Oh, Penny? We did a few missions together when she was in her preliminary testing phase. Haven't seen her for years, though." At a nod from Ozpin, Jaune continued. "Penny is actually a revolutionary prototype android, one with the unique ability to generate Aura."
"What?!" Ren, of all people, was the most outspoken of the group upon hearing that revelation, though Ruby beat him in sheer enthusiasm. The little reaper dashed up to the girl, her silver eyes sparkling.
"You're a robot!"
"Indeed!"
"That's amazing! What systems do you run? What kind of materials are you made of? What kind of weapons are you packing?!"
Penny beamed at the other girl. "I operate off of Doctor Polendina's proprietary operating system. My body is made of a duranium-steel alloy, with synthetic flesh covering, and I like swords and explosions!"
"Swords and explosions...no wonder she and Jaune were friends," Yang muttered.
Ruby, for her part, was thrilled. "That's so cool! You're so cool! Can I look into your chassis sometime?"
"Ruby!" Yang chastised her younger sister. "You can't just...ask someone to...to root around in their chassis!"
Silver eyes blinked. "Why not?"
"It's lewd!"
"...why?"
As Yang struggled to think of an answer, and Ren frowned as he contemplated the implications of Penny's existence, Yang and Ruby's uncle opted to move the conversation along. After all, a man could only drink so many disturbing images out of his mind at once. "Now, if we're all done with the warm and fuzzies, let's get to the meat of the situation," Qrow said.
"Of course. Now, Miss Nikos - the elder, if you please - I am afraid that I must ask you to please return to your new office while we discuss these matters," Ozpin said.
"Oh, very well," Medusa said, seemingly unphased at being dismissed. "Have fun with your little friends, sweetie!" she called out sweetly to her daughter.
"Mo~om!" whined Pyrrha, her face as red as her hair as her mother waved goodbye with a laugh. Once she was gone, the champion took a deep breath to regain her composure. "Thank you for looking out for her," she said, addressing the strangers that her mother had apparently befriended. "She's far too trusting and it gets her into trouble."
Winter shrugged. "Your mother seemed more amused at the situation than anything else."
"Yes, that's her, all right," Pyrrha sighed.
"Ahem." Ozpin cleared his throat to get the conversation back on track. "If we could get to business. Mister Arc, Miss Goodwitch tells me that you and your friends drew quite the interesting conclusions from your detention this afternoon - the detention that only two of your number were assigned, I might add. If you would care to go over them again?"
"Right." Jaune's face set into what Weiss termed his "professional mode," where he was all business. "The presence of Roman Torchwick in control of a White Fang expeditionary force confirms that they are behind the Dust robberies across Vale. Given the difficulties of getting a Faunus ethnic insurgency to take orders from a human, it's likely that they are both being coerced by an unknown player with the leverage or brute force to command compliance. This would bode poorly enough in its own right, but with information volunteered by Blake Belladonna, it seems as though we can rule out the White Fang as the perpetrators of the Sacking of Château d'Arc."
"Château d'Arc?" Winter asked.
"Oh, it turns out that Jaune is a noble in the Kingdom of Vale. Also, possibly a prince," Weiss said, entirely too smugly. "I can't wait to rub it in Father's face."
"At any rate," Jaune continued, "The fall of the Arc family led directly to the loss of Sauvignon Blanc. Mountain Glenn fell not long afterwards. I believe that this unknown faction has been weakening the Kingdom of Vale for nearly two decades now, setting the stage for an attack on the city itself. I believe that the reason for this would be to strike at the Cross Continental Transmit System, taking down the Vale relay tower. This would disrupt global communications, throwing all of the Kingdoms into chaos and hampering any sort of coordinated response. The reason to choose Vale specifically is because it is an easier target than Atlas, but more relevant than Vacuo, while still smaller than Mistral. As the most 'average' of the Kingdoms, taking it out could deal a devastating shock to the international system. Depending on the size and composition of this faction, it could also take a commanding position between Anima, Vacuo and Mistral, striking out as needed to continue to disrupt the Kingdom alliance."
Jaune paused to consider. "What vexes me, though, is that both Sauvignon and Mountain Glenn fell due to Grimm, but Château d'Arc very definitely fell to sapients. It's possible that Mountain Glenn suffered sabotage to weaken it before the Grimm. I also worry about the possibility that this faction could have uncovered some way to either weaponize the Creatures of Grimm directly, or, failing that, reliably lure them to strike where directed. This concludes this afternoon's findings, sir."
Qrow let out a whistle. "Well, I guess he's Jimmy's replacement, huh?" Glynda struggled not to wince, which caused Qrow to drop his usual smirk. "I, uh...sorry," he muttered.
"Wait, are you telling me that Jaune's ramblings were right?" Yang seemed generally flabbergasted.
"Well, I wouldn't say that he knows the entire story, but he's proving to be quite the adept at putting the clues together," Ozpin said. "To each of you students, I will offer to you a choice. If you wish, you can excuse yourself and return to your dorm room, and none who remain will discuss such events with you in any way. You will continue to carry one as a student, the same as any other, and with neither scorn or judgement from any."
"And...if we say?" Ruby asked.
"Well," Ozpin replied. "You'll be taking your first steps into a much larger world. A much more dangerous world."
The students all looked at one another. Weiss decided that she was staying, as, whatever else was going on, it clearly involved her sister and her Jaune. Ren looked at Nora, who looked at Pyrrha, and the three all gave a shrug. Jaune was clearly onto something, and that meant that they'd get involved one way or another. Ruby had wanted nothing more than to go on super-awesome secret missions with her uncle, and Yang knew that. She also knew that Ruby would need her older sister to watch her back.
Blake crossed her arms. She still wasn't sure about Ozpin, or her teammates, or Team JNPR, but more than that, she was no longer sure of herself. Whatever was going on here, it was clearly capital-I Important, and Menagerie needed to have some method of finding out what was happening.
In the end, no one moved.
"Very well," Ozpin said. "Miss Schnee - Winter, if you please - would you care to explain what you've discovered about the Vanguard program?"
Winter hesitated, glancing at her little sister. Was she really ready to hear this? Ultimately, she decided that, since Jaune had apparently been telling the girl of the atrocities that he, himself, had committed, Weiss had probably heard some horrible things anyway. She took a deep breath to steady herself.
"From what I understand, you have all been informed that Jaune Arc was raised under the...dubious auspices of the Atlas Armed Forces' Vanguard program," she began, looking to see the confirming nods from the young trainees. Arc was brought up to be not only an exceptional combatant, but also a soldier of unflinching, unconditional loyalty. While he was very definitely the former, the latter was not to be, after I introduced the unforeseen variable of my little sister into the process."
She shifted uncomfortably. "After Arc's...departure from The General's service, the reason for attempting such inhuman levels of unquestioning obedience to his commands soon became clear. The same technology that Doctor Polendina used to create Penny here was adapted to...transfer Aura from one person to another, including that person's Semblance."
"That isn't possible," Ren interjected. "It would kill the donor."
Winter's face was grim. "You are correct as to the procedure's lethality, but it is very much possible. I have seen it happen with my own eyes. It was...horrible." She shuddered. "And at the end, when the donor was reduced to a lifeless husk, the recipient had an increased Aura and access to the donor's Semblance."
The teens shared nervous looks among one another. "And you believe that General Ironwood was grooming Jaune to be the recipient of this procedure?" A shaken Ren finally asked.
She nodded. "The man who I saw die in that machine, he was not the first according to General Ironwood."
"If not me," Jaune asked, "then who was chosen as the Vanguard?"
Winter looked him in the eye. "The General himself. He was willing to murder his own loyal soldiers to achieve these results."
Jaune frowned and crossed his arms. "But why? As bad as the Fang are, they aren't the sort of existential threat that would even begin to necessitate such a sacrifice. As...ruthless as he is, The General isn't given to taking wasteful actions, and while piling on the Aura and Semblances of multiple soldiers would make for a single combatant of unusual power and capabilities, it would lack the flexibility of having all of those soldiers cooperating in tandem."
"That's all true Ca...Jaune," Winter acknowledged. "However, The General feels as though he is needed to combat individual entities of overwhelming power, and has taken steps to ensure that he is as powerful as possible."
"And this is where you must all keep to secrecy when it comes to discussing these matters with your fellows," Ozpin said. "The reason that The General felt compelled to take such drastic action is because such an entity does, in fact, exist...and commands the Creatures of Grimm."
Silence, and then...
"Not gonna lie, that sounds kinda nuts," Nora blurted out.
Ozpin chuckled. "It does sound rather difficult to believe, does it not? But while I wish it were not so, the truth is that an ancient and incredibly powerful being known as Salem commands the Grimm, and is leading a hidden faction dedicated towards the destruction of the human race. We here" - Ozpin gestured to indicate himself, Qrow, and Goodwitch - "are members of a council dedicated towards safeguarding the people of Remnant. We take steps to ensure that civilization can continue to stand on a world fundamentally antithetical to our continued existence. We die in the dark so that others may live in the light. And we seek to find those of unusual talents and potential to carry on after us."
He nodded at the collection of trainees before him. "Each of you has the potential to greatly shape the future of Remnant. It is still earlier than I would have preferred to offer this choice to you all, but General Ironwood's actions may set events into motion before you have completed your education here at Beacon Academy. If you so choose, we will grant you access to enhanced training, beyond what even normal Huntsmen students would endure. Your teams would be sent out on special missions, under the supervision of either Qrow or Winter. It is a great and terrible responsibility that I am asking you to bear, and I am not presenting this choice to you lightly. Understand that there is great danger on this path, moreso than even an ordinary Huntsman or Huntress would reasonably expect to face. There is no shame in declining this choice, only in abandoning that responsibility once that choice has been made."
Jaune was the first to speak. "One way or another, I have been training for this war my entire life. This entity, this...Salem, they wanted my family out of the way for a reason. Well, they failed. There's still one Arc left to carry on the fight."
"Yeah, well, you're not facing the fight alone," Nora said, with Ren nodding along, his arms crossed over his chest.
Pyrrha smiled. "Team JNPR till the end, right?"
"This is how we make a real impact," Weiss said. "The real fight."
Ruby looked to Jaune, then to Ozpin, and finally at her uncle. "This...this is the sort of thing that my mother did, I suppose."
Ozpin nodded. "I cannot promise safety."
"The life of a Huntress is dangerous," she intoned. "I've known that ever since my mother never came home. But the choice that we make...safe has nothing to do with it. We fight, and maybe we die, but doing that means that everyone else can be safer. This choice is just more of the same, right?"
"Well, if you're in for this ride, then I'm coming with you," Yang declared.
Qrow snickered. "As if there was ever any doubt of that. You've been punching anything that so much as looked at your little sis for your entire life."
That just left Blake. She looked around at the humans assembled before her. "Do my parents know of this?"
"They do not," Ozpin said.
"Are there any Faunus involved in this?"
"Only Leonardo Lionheart, the Headmaster of Haven Academy, and one of my lieutenants."
Blake nodded slowly. "Menagerie needs to be represented. Someone needs to look out for the Faunus as a whole, and I guess...well, I guess that that's me."
"Good. For now, continue to carry on as students. Each of you will be receiving specialty training missions in the future, which will necessitate being summoned to my office. It cannot be stated enough that you will not discuss any of this with any other students. Oh, and Mister Arc, I have a particular assignment for you, one which you will begin immediately."
That caught Jaune's attention. What could it possibly be? A reconnaissance mission? A training exercise? He didn't think that Ozpin was the sort to go for assassination, but he never knew, right?
[/]
Winter tried not to laugh at her sister's boyfriend as he pouted in the seat across from her. She had gone with her sister - and Qrow, Penny, friggin' Medusa Nikos, and all the rest of the students - to a cafe in the city, ostensibly to have all the relatives catch up with one another. Jaune, for his part, looked hilariously forlorn at the assignment that Ozpin had given to him. Weiss patted him on the shoulder as he sulked.
"I'm not crazy," he muttered.
"No one is saying that you are," consoled Weiss.
"I mean, maybe you're a little cracked," Nora shrugged. "But that doesn't mean we don't love you."
"No one but Nora is saying that you're crazy," Weiss corrected, causing Jaune to plop his head onto the cafe table in despair.
"Jaune," Winter spoke up. "There is no shame in needing the services of a therapist. Think of it as needing an infirmary stay, but for your mind instead of your body."
"The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can resume the leadership position," Ren pointed out. "I, for one, would be most relieved at that."
"Why did you come up with the pizza party idea?" Ruby asked him, curious.
Ren just shrugged. "Nora is very food motivated."
Pyrrha stirred her coffee. "So mother, how is it that you met Miss Schnee?"
Winter coughed awkwardly. "Well, that's -"
"A fine story!" Medusa said brightly. "I first met Miss Schnee and young Penny when they were stealing the linens off of my laundry line."
"What?!" Weiss was incredulous, while Qrow started snickering.
"Shut up, Qrow," Winter said by force of habit. "At any rate, 'steal' is such a...strong term. I was merely… commandeering some sheets and cloth to aid in our endeavor."
Weiss smirked at her sister. "But you didn't have any rank anymore..." she began.
"Meaning that you did indeed steal Miss Nikos' linens," finished Jaune.
Winter fumed, while Medusa resumed her story. "At any rate, they seemed like lovely people, so I simply gave them the linens and invited them in for brunch."
"Do you...do you normally invite thieves into your house and feed them?" Blake asked, incredulous.
The elder Nikos blinked, her eyes wide and guileless. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Mother!" Pyrrha griped. "We've been over this. For all you knew, they could have been dangerous!"
"Oh, I'm definitely dangerous," added Penny. "Even with combat protocols disengaged, it would have been a trivial matter to bring down the support structure of her house with sustained heavy hard light Dust projection fire. But why would I do that? Miss Nikos made no threatening moves, and even cooked eggs for me!"
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Can you even eat eggs?"
"Nope!" Penny's smile was bright. "But it was a nice gesture."
Pyrrha sighed. "Mother, you could have been hurt!"
"But see, I wasn't. At any rate, our lovely brunch was interrupted by a very rude man from Atlas, who insisted on referring to Penny as property. I didn't care for such talk and sent him away."
Winter rolled her eyes. "A rude man, she says. That was an Atlas Specialist, with a squad of backup soldiers to boot."
"Right," Medusa agreed. "So, I sent them packing."
While the rest of the youths looked puzzled, Pyrrha merely asked her mother, "So, you used The Look on him?"
Medusa nodded. "Most of them went running off right away, but I really had to crank it up for the leader. He made a real mess on the porch before he ran off, too."
"You beat an Atlas Specialist all on your own?" Ruby's silver eyes were sparkling. "Are you a Huntress too?"
"Oh my, no," Medusa laughed, as though the notion was preposterous. "I've never been in a fight in my life. I merely used one of the gifts that the gods gave me."
Pyrrha fidgeted. "Mother, could we not?"
"Gifts of the gods?" Yang asked. "Could you...elaborate?"
"Oh, of course," the elder Nikos replied, sending Pyrrha into despair. "The first gift is, of course, my lovely daughter. Mommy's little myrmidon," she said fondly, reaching across the table to pinch Pyrrha's cheek.
"Mo~om!" Pyrrha slowly melted into a puddle of embarrassment. "Do you have to do that in front of my friends?"
"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Medusa apologized. "I meant to say 'Mommy's ferocious little warrior.'"
"Nuuuuuuu," Pyrrha slowly attempted to slide under the table, to escape the wide grins of her friends. Surprisingly, it was Yang, of all people, who reached down and hefted her up to sit upright.
"Don't take it for granted," the blonde girl said, her tone unusually somber. "A lot of us would give anything to be mothered like that."
Pyrrha was abashed as she saw near all the rest of her friends nodding in agreement.
"Oh my," Medusa said. "Are you all orphans?"
"Well, I'm not," Blake said, "And Ruby and Yang still have their dad."
"Our parents are alive as well," Weiss added, indicating herself and her sister, "but...they don't account for much. The rest of us are orphans."
Medusa's huge blue eyes glittered and she began to open her mouth, but before she could say anything, Pyrrha cut her off.
"No, Mom. You can't adopt all of my friends."
"Why not?"
Pyrrha sighed. She knew from experience that telling her mother that a course of action was something that only a crazy person would do would have literally no impact on her decision-making. "Because they're all adults now."
"And?"
Before Pyrrha could retort, Ruby got a dangerous look in her eye. "So...is there a Mister Nikos?"
Pyrrha felt a pit of ice form in her stomach. While they meant well, she didn't want to just announce to all of her friends that she was a child of rape. Thus far, she had only confided in Jaune about it. It wasn't that she thought that her friends would judge her for it, it was just...something that she didn't want to deal with.
"I'm afraid not," Medusa answered, sidestepping the implications to Pyrrha's relief. "Why do you ask?"
Yang caught on to what her sister was thinking. "Well...if you're looking at the dating scene for old people in Vale, we know a guy. Tall, blonde, great sense of humor, good with kids."
"Are you for real playing wingman for your dad?" Qrow asked.
"Well, he must get lonely up in Patch, with only the doggo for company," Ruby murmured.
Pyrrha struggled to phrase her next words in the least abrasive way possible. "Well, as wonderful as I'm sure your father is, my mother has never been one to go on dates -"
"Oh, I might just give it a try one of these days," Medusa contradicted her daughter.
"What?!"
"What?" The elder Nikos looked unabashed. "You're all grown up now. I never wanted to bring a man around, but now that you can take care of yourself, I just may decide to put myself out there."
Pyrrha blinked, her world having just shifted under her feet with no warning. She had thought that her mother had never expressed an interest in dating or marriage due to her past, but this entire time, it had been to make sure that her daughter had as safe and stable of an upbringing as she could, ignoring her own loneliness for her sake. Every once in a while, something would occur that would show Pyrrha an all-new way in which her mother loved her with all her heart, and it hit the champion like a brick to the chest.
"Oh, Mom. I'm sorry. I never thought…"
"It's fine, dear," Medusa waved off her daughter's concerns. "At any rate, I've been sidetracked. I used the second gift from the gods to induce terror into those soldiers, sending them fleeing. That's when Winter here called up Mister Branwen."
"So, you...you knew this man earlier?" Weiss asked her sister, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Winter flustered. "It...it isn't what you're thinking," she blurted.
"Of course, she called him right up on her Scroll. Had a special code and everything."
"Oh, really?" Weiss then turned her suspicious glare upon the lanky man. "What are your intentions regarding my sister?"
"Weiss- " Winter tried to corral her sister, but to no avail.
"I'll have you know that I won't stand for anyone mistreating my big sister, so if you intend to court her, you had best carry yourself by the highest standards of conduct...and hygiene," she added with a sniff.
Qrow scratched his head. "Why do I feel as though I'm being given the fifth degree by a particularly vicious poodle? Also, who the hell said anything about anyone 'courting' anyone?"
"Exactly," Winter added. "I assure you, had I felt the need for any sort of...companionship, I could do much better than this….scruffy-looking vagabond."
He looked at her. "Who's scruffy-lookin'?"
"You, you dolt!"
"Frigid cow!"
"Disreputable reprobate!"
Nora nudged Jaune. "Remember when Weiss was bein' all evil, and you said that her sister taught you guys better than that? Does Weiss have another sister or something?"
Weiss coughed, interrupting the argument that was brewing at the table. "Perhaps this is a discussion best concluded elsewhere? As to say, not in public?"
The elder Schnee sister looked abashed. "Right, of course. I...apologize, sister."
Weiss gave a little 'hmmph' of satisfaction, causing Qrow to roll his eyes.
"At any rate, Mister Branwen flew us here on his airship, and that was that," Medusa concluded.
Yang started. "Wait, you have an airship?" She stared incredulously at her uncle. "When? How? And why have we never been aboard it?"
Qrow scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, ya know, wasn't the sort of thing to take your nieces on. Didn't think it was that big a deal." He shifted uncomfortably as both of his nieces gave him identical looks of skepticism.
"What model is it?" Yang asked. "Is it customized? Is there room for my motorcycle on it?"
"Woah, woah," he said, holding his hands out. "No one's messing with my ship, all right?"
Violet eyes narrowed at Qrow. "I'll have a custom docking ramp installed by the end of the next semester, mark my words."
Red eyes narrowed at the young Xiao Long girl. "Not happening, Firecracker."
The staredown between uncle and niece was interrupted by Medusa clapping her hands together happily. "Oh, he has just the cutest nicknames, don't you think?" she said, addressing Winter.
"Wait, who else has he nicknamed?" Yang asked.
A rare blush rose to Winter's cheeks. "That's -"
"Why, he called Miss Winter here 'Snow Angel.' Isn't that just the sweetest?"
Winter hid her face behind her hands as Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and even Jaune all regarded her with sudden interest. "It's...it's not what you're thinking," she said miserably. "Also, shut up."
Yang started to snicker. "Wow, Uncle Qrow, that's pretty cheesy. Almost as cheesy as Sir Clanks-a-lot here."
Weiss turned to regard her teammate. "What do you mean?"
Yang's grin turned malicious. "Well, remember that poetry notebook I caught him writing in? Turns out that one of his passages is real similar to how Uncle Qrow here is trying to woo your sister."
"I'm not wooing anybody over here!" Qrow protested.
"And I am most assuredly not being wooed!" added Winter.
"Yeah, like that," Yang ignored them both magnificently. "Except Jaune here, he thought to get all fancy with it."
"Yang…" Jaune warned.
"Oh, argent angel of the fresh-fell snow," Yang quoted, posing dramatically as if she were a stage thespian.
Weiss struggled to keep a straight face. "Jaune, that's...very sweet of you."
"And also terrible," Ruby added cheerfully.
Jaune's face fell. "You do, of course, realize that this means war?" he asked Yang.
"Bring it, Rusty."
"Oh, Pyrrha, your little friends are all simply darling!" Medusa enthused.
Pyrrha sighed. "Yes, they're...well, they're something, all right."
They continued chatting deep into the night, until an annoyed waitress pointed out to them that it was closing time.
"It was lovely meeting you all!" Medusa called as they returned to Beacon. "Don't be strangers now!"
"Your mom's nice," Nora commented to Pyrrha.
"Yeah...I just worry about her. The world can be cruel to people like her."
"That just makes it more special that she's as nice as she is, right?"
"I guess you're right."
[/]
It had been a long, long time since Ozpin had visited the city of Mistral. In some ways, it hadn't changed a bit since that time he had sat down with Leo Lionheart and gifted him a tea set for their conversation, but in other ways, it felt very different. Or perhaps the city itself hadn't changed, only how he himself perceived it.
He sat alone at a park bench, watching the people go by, living their lives as best as they could. It was good, from time to time, to take a moment and truly appreciate the fruits that their efforts had borne. In a way, it was all futile...but to those people, and the generations that had been able to be born, live their lives, and pass on their civilization to their heirs, it hadn't been futile at all. A small rubber ball slowly rolled by, coming to a stop against his shoe.
Ozpin leaned down to retrieve the ball, holding it out to a small girl who had gone chasing after it. "Thank you, mister!" she called out with a gap-toothed smile, before running back to her parents. The Headmaster of Beacon Academy chuckled as the awkward child tripped over her own feet, splatting onto the grass before popping back up and continuing to run as though nothing had happened at all. The fact that such a child was able to be born and raised in relative safety was, in itself, a soaring triumph.
He resisted the urge to sigh as the man he'd come to this city to see sat down next to him.
"James."
"Ozpin."
Ozpin paused as he struggled to find the words. "James...what has happened to you?"
"I slipped the leash, Ozpin. You know a great deal, it's true. But even you aren't all-knowing. Your entire strategy hinges on you, yourself, maintaining the alliance. You are a single point of failure, and that point...it is failing. I did what I had to."
"Is that what you told those soldiers you murdered?"
The General's answer was as stark and harsh as the man himself. "Yes."
Ozpin forced himself to look his old friend in the face. Gods, he barely looked himself. His hair and beard were unkempt and shaggy. Deep bags bruised under his eyes, and his face was drawn and gaunt with strain.
"All power has a cost," said Ozpin. "Winter Schnee told me what it is that you've done to yourself. It's unnatural, James. You must know that."
"Power is meant to be wielded. All that I have done, all that I intend to do, it is all done to the purpose of securing victory."
Ozpin shook his head. "It won't work, James. People have tried to attack her directly before, to no avail."
"There has never been such technology as this before either. When I do confront her, my power will be overwhelming."
"Well, that's the question, is it not? Whether or not you will be able to contain all those souls within you for long enough to unleash it all upon her, or if you will continue to degrade from the strain."
"I'll hold." James clenched his robotic fist. "I'll hold because I must. A thousand, thousand souls, brought to bear by a single, unbreakable will, will overwhelm the enemy."
"Did you really think that Jaune Arc would have been that will?"
James sighed. "For a time, I allowed myself to hope. I had thought that, if I brought up a powerful soldier as the technology continued to develop, he would be able to bear this burden in my stead. Ultimately, he failed. I suppose a part of me always knew that he would."
"Then why send him with me?"
James smiled, a gruesome, humorless expression. "That final test was his choice. His choice as to what role he would play in the war to come. He lacked the mettle to assume the role of the Vanguard, but that does not mean that he has no role to play at all."
Ozpin frowned. "You had him torture and murder. You traumatized him so hideously that he crippled his own spirit in protest at his circumstances. Even a career soldier like Winter was so horrified by what you've done that she deserted entirely. Why? Why, James? Make me understand."
The General sighed. "First of all, know that your man's interference in the Winter Schnee situation is the last time that I will tolerate your interference in Atlas affairs."
"Then keep those Atlas affairs in Atlas," Ozpin shot back.
He ignored Ozpin. "As to what I have done...despair is the weapon of the enemy, Ozpin. You know that, understand it better than any man alive. I can turn it to my ends as well. Atlas needed to be on a permanent wartime footing, a war more...personal than the struggle against the Grimm. Few in Atlas proper, or even Mantle, actually see the Grimm with their own eyes. But car bombs? Assassinations, public attacks? Oh yes, the people saw that. Being...tough on the White Fang merely inflamed them further, escalating the cycle until now, I am the single most indispensable man in the Kingdom. The plan cannot be compromised by the indolent whining of coddled, corrupt politicians, and each act that the White Fang carried out only made me stronger." He chuckled darkly. "I wonder if they ever realized it. Still, even beyond the political, there are...tactical reasons behind such acts. The wild Grimm, the uncontrolled creatures, they are drawn to places of great suffering, and so it is that they attempt to approach the black sites scattered around Mantle. They funnel in by predictable vectors, and in scattered numbers, and are taken out long before they can prove a threat to the city itself."
Ozpin shook his head once more. "All of that...for political maneuvering and mere tactical gains?"
"Of course, it also had the side benefit of tempering my troops, conditioning them to accept whatever acts were necessary for victory."
"Jaune has been traumatized by your barbarism," retorted Ozpin. "His Aura was crippled, and he was unable to access his Semblance while under your sway. Your actions weakened him, not tempered him. He hates you for what he did under your orders."
"Good. That will merely give him the resolve to do what needs to be done," Ironwood replied, seemingly unphased by Ozpin's contempt. "Incidentally, what is his Semblance?"
Ozpin snorted. "You must have truly gone mad if you think that I'm going to tell you that."
"It is of little concern, merely a curiosity. Still, it is...good, to hear that he thrives with you."
"If not your soldier of stolen souls, then what purpose did you envision for the young man to fulfill in your war?"
"I'm not a fool, Ozpin. I know that all that I have done will have...consequences. I can only hope to stave them off long enough to finish the true enemy. After that...well, there will be a reckoning. He will rally them all, I know he will. And what better way to begin building the new world than on the ashes of the villain he so loathes? I showed him the depths of human cruelty. I cast him out the moment it became apparent that his free will made him of no use to me. I stripped him of every possession that he ever had and sent him into the world alone." Ironwood took a deep breath. "In the end, Jaune will be the one to do it, I think. He will be the one to offer me the only mercy I ever taught him."
Ozpin stared at him for a long moment. "I think you're lying," he said finally. "To me, but mostly to yourself. I think you've convinced yourself that this was all some long-term chess move, when in reality, there are only a very few who are willing to follow you into such depths of cruelty. Jaune rejected you. Winter rejected you. Even Penny rejected you, and in time, I believe that the people of Atlas will reject you as well."
"What you believe is immaterial, Ozpin." James stood. "We don't have to be enemies. Not yet, at least. Wait until after she falls. Then...then we will see which of us was correct."
"It won't work, James."
"It will. Only I have the strength of will to see it through." James turned to walk away, but then stopped himself. "You aren't all-knowing, Ozpin. One last gift to you. I have spies of my own, and you should look closely at how things are here in Mistral. Goodbye, Ozpin."
"Goodbye, James."
James Ironwood steeled himself as he walked away. It wasn't the first time he'd crossed a line, and it wouldn't be the last.
[/]
Then
It had all gone so unbelievably wrong. A part of Colonel James Ironwood, Atlesian Armed Forces, was in shock at just how badly it had gone.
He flexed his new hand. Made of unfeeling steel, it gleamed dully in the fading light of the afternoon, before he pulled a white glove over it. To look at him, one would never imagine that he was more than a third machine now. It was a miracle of modern medicine that he was alive at all, let alone with such capabilities as he had. But...how could he face Glynda like this? How could he ask her to love a twisted amalgamation of man and metal?
He would never be able to give her the children that she had dreamed of.
In the end, she would be better off without him.
He would have preferred to stay in Atlas, to finish his recovery - reconstruction was the more apt term, really - but for one last duty in Vale. As one of the last survivors of the expedition, James Ironwood owed it to the Arc widow to bring her husband's body back home.
James sighed as he looked at the brushed steel coffin that contained the body of Gil Arc. He hadn't been so lucky as James, and had succumbed to his wounds. James remembered how they had been when they set out on their ill-fated expedition, eager and willing to make a deep, possibly decisive blow against the Grimm.
They couldn't have known what they would find, there in the dark places of the world.
Metal groaned in protest as James clenched his fist. No. There had been a way for them to know. Ozpin had known all along. He could have told them about Salem, told them of her overwhelming power, told them about his own damn connection to her. No, all he had done was give them some vague warning about the expedition being doomed to failure, no context, no explications, nothing. The man and has secrets had got everyone killed, save for James, and that was only a fluke.
Salem had slaughtered them, broken them on her will, leaving only a crippled, dying James Ironwood and a delirious, mortally-wounded Guillaume Arc to hear her tale. James had no idea if she had intentionally allowed him to drag himself and Gil out of there, with one leg torn off and an arm degloved up to the shoulder, or if she had been too lost in memories to stop them.
Maybe she simply hadn't cared enough to stop them.
An alarm chimed, the mech piloting the airship alerting him that they were nearing the destination. James entered the cockpit, frowning as he saw flames rising from the clearing.
Of course. Everything goes to hell eventually.
The airship landed, and James stepped cautiously onto the ground. His mind recoiled at the faint whirring that emitted from his new leg and arm, but he forced the revulsion to the back of his mind. The first priority was hunting down whatever had attacked Gil's family in his absence, and then searching for survivors.
When he had last seen Château d'Arc, it was a small but impressive fortress. Now, it was a burning, crumbling ruin, riddled with bullet holes and blackened with soot. Carefully stepping inside, he found where Gil's widow, Diana, had made her last stand. Her body lay in the center of the antechamber, behind an improvised barricade of furniture, a good-sized stack of corpses piled up before her. James rolled one of the bodies over with his foot. No uniform, human, had apparently been armed with some sort of greataxe. James frowned. Probably one of Salem's cultists.
He heard a sound from a hallway. The colonel drew his new hand cannon and made to investigate. There were more bodies in the hallway, but as he approached the source of the sound, he saw a pair of young human children, girls, slumped against one of the walls.
Click
At the rear of the hallway, another girl slumped against a wall, pointing a pistol at him and firing, unable to recognize that the weapon had no ammunition left in it. James holstered his weapon and raised his arms up, slowly approaching. "It's okay," he said, in a voice that he hoped was soothing. "It's okay. I'm a friend of your father's."
The child turned out to be Gil's oldest daughter, who appeared to recognize him. "Mister Ironwood?"
"That's right," he said. "Would you put the gun down now?"
"I have to protect him," she murmured. "He's the last one left. My little brother."
The girl was holding an infant to her in her other hand, and slowly, she lowered the empty pistol to the ground.
"Good girl," Ironwood soothed. "Look, I'm going to get you out of here. What's your name?"
"Saphron," she answered. "This is Jaune. He's the last one left." The girl's eyes welled up with tears. "I tried," she whispered. "I tried so hard to keep my sisters safe, but I failed…"
Ironwood frowned as the girl broke down sobbing. She looked to be somewhere between ten and twelve years old. Had at least one wound to her abdomen and another to her chest. Moving her would prove to be a challenge, but it was nothing a quick stimpatch couldn't keep together…
He stopped cold.
It had been made abundantly clear to him that Ozpin had no plan to actually defeat Salem, none whatsoever. If no one filled the void, then eventually, someday, Ozpin would falter in his eternal stalling action. Vale would fall. Atlas would burn. Someone needed to develop a plan, any plan with a feasible chance of working, to stop Salem and bring the Forever War to an end. And Doctor Polendina's research into Aura had particularly compelling implications…
If James was going to succeed in defeating Salem, he was going to need to take steps. Drastic steps. For one, he would need to rise in rank, and begin to assert control over Atlas proper. As it stood now, the northern kingdom had no chance of resisting a concerted attack from Salem. And if he was going to take the fight to Salem once again - successfully, this time - he would need to create the ultimate soldier to wage that fight.
It was horrible. Monstrous, even. But if he was going to create the ultimate soldier from the ground up, he was going to have to sever that soldier's ties to the outside world, to everything except for his orders. He could not risk this...Vanguard becoming suborned by outside influences. The boy would have to know war, and nothing but.
There would be no room in his life for a sister.
James drew his pistol once more.
"Saphron," he said, his voice forced from a tightening throat. "You've done so well to keep your brother safe. So well. Your father will be proud of you."
"I'm sorry," the girl whispered to the infant in her arms. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry," James soothed, as he placed his sole remaining flesh and blood hand over the girl's eyes. "You won't feel a thing."
"Huh?"
A final shot rang out across Château d'Arc.
[/]
Chapter Endnotes: I'm sorry.
A lot of talking this chapter, setting the stage and getting everyone on the same page. Action is coming soon, I promise. I just felt that that was a good place to end this chapter.
Is Jaune a 'Gary Stu?' Well, in terms of sheer fighting prowess, he is a super soldier. He's a super soldier by Remnant standards, where their number of badasses per capita is off the scale. But that has a cost to it. His emotions are kind of all over the place, going from suicidal to euphoric to eerily calm, and Ozpin recognizes that. It's also based off of some of my own experiences in how I was when I didn't have my mood-stabilizing medication. Actually, Ozpin's speech about life and death, using the stars as examples, comes from my own "let's not commit suicide" pep talk.
In my defense, I never claimed to be emotionally-stable.
I confess that I don't actually know what detention is like, since I was a huge teacher's pet.
One anonymous commenter left a review that I'd like to respond to. Firstly, they noted that Medusa doesn't seem like the lady from Volume 6. That's because she isn't. I made her tall, with long red hair in braids, outgoing and a tad overbearing. She's an OC. Next up, the commenter suggested that I was on some sort of "ACAB kick." The hell is an ACAB? Is that some kind of berry? Gotta go lookin' up acronyms, doin' homework…
* grumbles*
Let's see...ACAB… "All Cops Are Bastards." Did I even mention cops at all in this story? There were a couple chasing after Sun, and some showed up at the docks after, you know, a huge explosion, but that's about it. I remind you that Clover and General Ironwood are military figures, not domestic law enforcement. That there is little difference in Atlas is an indication that things are not going well there. My "political rant," as such, consisted of "ethnic cleansing is bad and so is military dictatorship." If you think that that is talking about police, then I think that that says more about what you think police are than what I think.
Right. Anyways, in the next episode, Weiss lets a secret slip to her sister, the teams train, and Jaune accompanies Qrow on a mission. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Love,
Mahina
