First things first, a quick shout out to theslysage for inspiring these new events about to unfold. He/she asked me some questions that got my mind working so thanks a bunch.
"Don't know about everyone else but doesn't it feel like jaunes spending more and more time with the headmaster these days"? Yang blew into her straw and shot off the wrapper directly into her cousins eye, causing the small girl to yelp.
Ruby rubbed her eye and sent her best glare at the blonde which amounted to the equivalent of a puppies pout. "Are you jealous he's not around to suck your face" blake shot off without looking up from her latest book. Yang smirked in response "maybe a little, guess I'll have to try a little harder so he'll make time for me" she answered as she lightly licked her lips.
Blake looked up from her book and sent a fierce glare at the blonde only for yang to meet her gaze with a confident one of her own. Everyone at the table leaned away from the two women leaving their youngest member to try and stop any violence from starting up. Blake closed her book and stood up "your not worth the effort xiao long".
"Well if you had put in any effort in the first place, jaune wouldn't be drifting my way" yang answered back before the cat faunus could leave. Blake's back stiffened slightly before she let out a sigh and continued on her way out of the cafeteria. "Ow" yang yelped when ruby rammed her elbow into the blondes rib.
Ruby shook her head and turned back to everyone else at the table "ignoring the relationship drama going on, look what I found". Her scroll slid over the table as she showed it off to weiss, pyrrha, and yang. Each of the girls took their time reading over the headline "Roman and the white fang, joint business venture"?
Reading some of the article below gave details of one of the operation in which roman and the white fang moved to steal dust brought in by the S.D.C. via bullhead. Weiss shook with anger as she viciously slammed ruby's scroll onto the table "this is absurd"! The scroll laid cracked against the table where ruby looked at it like she had just witnessed a chip in her precious crescent rose.
Weiss noticed what she'd done and coughed into her fist awkwardly "Sorry, I'll pay for the repairs later". Ruby let out a small sniffle but otherwise let her misery go ignored.
"What's got your panties in a bunch"?
Weiss's eyes narrowed on the blonde at the table "my panties aren't in any such shape"! Yang waved the comment away "It's just a saying princess, it roughly translates to what's your problem"? The heiresses teeth gritted in anger "my problem is the white fang is targeting my families shipments of dust which if you haven't noticed by now is making the prices of cheap dust skyrocket".
It wasn't just weiss feeling the impact of the rising prices, every huntsmen / huntress and civilian who couldn't afford them would suffer in time. "I say it is our duty to get to the bottom of this and stop these scoundrels from getting away with their misdeeds if the police can't" weiss proclaimed. Ruby hopped to her feet, previous grief forgotten "we're hunting down bad guy? Please tell me we're hunting down bad guys"!
Weiss rolled her eyes at the small girl "yes ruby we're hunting down bad guys". A red blur slammed into the heiresses side nearly knocking her off her feet if it wasn't for the small hand that held her shoulders tightly. "Oh oh we need a new team name" ruby cheered happily.
"Why would we need a new team name" pyrrha asked, only to get a eye roll from yang. "Because it's a all new team of four made up of the best and brightest of two teams, duh". The red head didn't know how to feel about that but couldn't help but smile at the thought of an all girl squad taking on the criminal element. What's more that she would be among such a group which made them all technically friends in a sense.
"Any idea's for a team name"?
Weiss nodded to pyrrha when she finally managed to dislodge the small girl at her side. "The team shall be known as team WRNL or wrangle if you prefer. As for the leadership positions, obviously I am the only real candidate for such a role" weiss said happily.
Yang stared at the heiress with a deadpanned expression "yeah, my votes for p-money". The red head stared at everyone like a deer in the headlights while weiss looked utterly betrayed by her own teammate. Ruby saw her chance and also threw her vote in for pyrrha before anyone could convince her otherwise.
When weiss glared ruby's way the small girl looked away and whistled like it wasn't her that voted for the invincible girl. Pyrrha waved her hands in front of her frantically "no no I don't want to be team leader besides we already have a new team name". Yang slammed her hands on the table drawing their attention to her "if that's the only problem then I have the solution".
The blonde stood up, cleared her throat and threw her arms apart "prowler" she exclaimed. "It's way better then wrangle and has an air of mystique that is sorely needed". Ruby's eye's shined with wonder and even pyrrha had to admit it was a better team name even if she still didn't want to be the teams leader.
"Wrangle is a good name too".
Yang patted the heiresses arm gently "sure it is weiss-cream. Anyway, votes are in and by popular demanded pyrrha is our new commander in chief".
"Don't I get a say" weiss asked only to get a "nope" from both ruby and yang at the same time. The heiress was left to fume while the other two looked to their new leader for their first step in stopping the bad guys. Pyrrha reluctantly caved into their idea with a sigh "Alright, first we need information about our targets, it wouldn't do to go out without even knowing where they are".
The other three agreed before yang punched the palm of her hand "if it's info I think I might know just how to get some or better yet who to get it from". Pyrrha, weiss and ruby exchanged looks with one another before looking back to the blonde. Yang smiled back at them "girls we're going to vale".
/
Beacon / Ozpins office
Saphron sat in a wooden chair in front of ozpins desk with wide eye's and a shocked expression plastered over her face, and for good reason. Her throat felt extremely dry while her hands were clammy with sweat. The world as she knew it had flipped on it's head and started breakdancing before she knew what was happening.
She knew the second she got there that things were going to be weird but she never thought it'd be this crazy. Just thinking about salem, this hidden war, the relics and the maidens...well to say she felt overwhelmed would have been an understatement. Saphron's eyes looked over all the people currently present in the office in the hopes someone was going to tell her this was some elaborate joke, only for her hope to dwindle when she noticed the serious expressions they wore.
"Why are you telling me this"? Saphron hated how scared her voice sounded but no amount of training was going to make the bomb they dropped any easier. Ozpin exchanged glances with raven before deciding to answer "we're telling you this for your own safety".
"That doesn't make any sense" saphron argued but raven silenced her as she spoke up. "It would if you'd stay quiet and let us finish" she snapped. Raven knew how terrifying this all could be but she also knew it was better to be scared and prepared for the worst then to be caught off guard.
Ozpin took a sip from his steaming mug before continuing "as I said earlier this is for your own protection. The reason I say this has to do with what happened to your family and why they aren't around now". If he didn't have her attention before, he surely did now with how fast her head snapped in his direction.
"Your father and your family - excluding your brother - were slain by salem and the Grimm she commands. This was confirmed by qrow since he was the one who was present and saw her with his own eyes as she left your home".
Saphron's breathing stopped for a brief moment as the shock she felt knocked the wind out of her. All this time she had believed it was a random attack by the Grimm only to now find out that it was actually perpetrated by a being who knew what they were doing. An anger she could barely contain reared it ugly head within her before jaunes voice cut through her haze of anger.
"I suppose this is where you give her the invitation to join your little crusade against salem right"?
Saphron turned to her little brother and noticed there wasn't any shock or surprise in his tone. That meant only one thing, he knew about this before hand and hadn't bothered to tell her. In that moment she couldn't help but feel angry and betrayed when she shot to her feet.
"You knew"?! Her voice seethed with malice but jaune hadn't looked worried in the slightest even when she drew close to him. Jaune looked her in the eye for a moment before pushing off the wall he was leaning against. "Yeah I knew" he confirmed.
She wanted nothing more then to beat the crap out of him for that but a quick look to her brothers side showed a woman who looked more then willing to jump between her and jaune if she tried. Saphron had never met the brunette before but noticed how close she was to her little brother and knew there was something there that she'd have to look into later. "I would appreciate it if no violence occurred in my office, least of all while I am present" ozpin stressed.
The two Arc's moved away from each other and allowed tensions to die down a bit. Saphron walked up to ozpins desk a placed both of her hands flat on the desk as she eyed the elder man "tell me everything you know about this salem creature". Glynda shifted uncomfortably next to her boss as ravens glare intensified.
Ozpin ignored his former student and met the eldest arc's gaze "I can only tell you a little bit I'm afraid, for my knowledge of our adversary is somewhat behind the times. If you want a more in-depth look into what you seek then why not ask Mr arc".
The elder man's words threw her for a loop for a moment before pieces to a puzzle that went unfinished started to click in her mind. How had jaune survived a Grimm invasion led by a creature who aimed for the destruction of the arc lineage? With the new information about salem in mind, jaunes excuse for why he was even alive didn't make sense anymore. Not unless it was intentional.
Saphron slowly turned to her baby brother once more but was almost afraid to ask the important question that came to mind. Jaune heard Ozpins response and knew to read between the lines of a manipulator like him. If she asked and he confirmed her suspicion, saphron would willingly side with ozpin because she wouldn't be able to trust him.
If raven and the rest sided with him it'd only to serve to drive her deeper into ozpins clutches and the old man knew that. "He's right I do know more about my mother then anyone else here" jaune replied. His response drew the reaction he expected it would, which left even ozpin wide eyed and shocked into silence.
Nobody really knew of his relationship with salem and most only thought him a subordinate at most. well except for vernal of course.
"Your mother? How can you call that thing your mother when she stole everything from us"?! The venom in saphrons words would have made jaune flinch if he hadn't expected them in the first place. Jaunes right hand cupped his jaw as he took a thinking pose.
"I suppose it's because she fed me, bathe me, taught me to read and write, slept with me when I had nightmares when I was a kid and gave me medicine when I got sick". A warm smile spread across his face as he continued painting a picture of the woman who raised him "Heck, she even tried cooking with me for a bit...and wasn't that an experience". At the mention of cooking with salem the woman next to jaune seemed to have a PTSD flashback.
Saphron's hands balled into fists as she resisted the urge to throttle her fellow blonde. "she killed our family, made us orphans, does that mean nothing to you"?!
Jaune was silent for a moment before he looked her in the eyes "it did bother me" he admitted. Saphron finally felt like her brother was coming around to her way of thinking but his next words killed that idea easily. "It did bother me at first but after really thinking about what happened I don't blame her for what she did".
Those words were enough to break whatever patience saphron had left in her. She moved far too fast for even vernal to intercept when she grabbed jaune by the collar of his shirt and forced him back to the wall behind him. "What is wrong with you" she all but screamed the question at him as she fought back angry tears.
Jaune raised his hand to stop vernal from interfering before looking back to his sister "there is nothing wrong with me, it may be cold but I made a decision based on the information available to me". Saphron snarled at him but refrained from attacking "she still killed our siblings and our parents".
"Your right but it was what our father agreed upon".
Saphron's eyes widened and her grasp on his shirt loosened "wh-what? What do you mean it's what he agreed on? Your not making any sense". Jaune let out a sigh and reluctantly revealed the truth he had kept hidden "there was a deal between salem, nicolas and one other that you aren't unaware of. The terms of the deal were the complete protection of their families from salems forces so long as they no longer interfered in the war between ozpin and her".
A frustrated expression took over jaunes features "as I'm sure you can already guess things didn't go the way they wanted". Laughter filled the room as saphron shook her head "of course things wouldn't go right. Who in their right mind would think the queen of the Grimm and enemy of mankind would bother to keep her word"?
Jaunes eyes hardened just as his hand took hold of his sister's wrists "sorry to burst your bubble but salem didn't break the agreement they made".
"If it wasn't her then who-" realization dawn on a moment later "no, dad loved us, he'd never do anything that would put us in danger". Jaune gently removed his sisters hands from his shirt while keeping a steady gaze on his fellow blonde "I can't say I know what he was thinking but all I can say is that he sacrifice us for a friend". Saphron shook her head in disbelief "for a friend"? It didn't even take a second for her to realize he knew who this friend was.
"Who was it"? She had to know what made this person so special that their father would willingly give up his family for them. Jaunes eyes slide over to summers form and he could tell that she was already aware of that fact from the guilt ridden look on her face. Saphron followed jaunes gaze to the cloaked woman and saw the same reaction.
At this point her emotions were fried for better or worse but even then that didn't stop the tears from falling as she laught brokenly. Summer always acted like a second mother to her, always fussing over every little thing she did growing up and she always thought it was because that was just how she was. Now it didn't feel like that anymore, now it just felt like everything she did was to make up for the fact that she costed a small girl her entire family.
There was more and she knew that but after everything she heard and pretty much confirmed, saphron needed to get away. Her body felt extremely heavy and she felt so sick all of a sudden that it came as no surprise when she felt the need to vomit. She pushed past her brother and took the elevator back to ground level before running away from everything.
The room was dead quiet until a small beeping sound was heard coming from jaunes scroll. The blonde looked down at the message and skimmed through it quickly before turning to everyone who was still in the room. Summer was being comforted by qrow while taiyang and raven stood close by with large frowns on their faces. Ozpin hadn't even moved to take a sip from his mug while glynda stood like a statue near her boss.
Jaune held up his scroll for all to see "I've got work to get to so I think we should call it here for now. Make sure saph doesn't go into vale until she been told of the danger waiting in the city".
"Mr arc, are you sure now is the best time for you to be out in the city yourself" ozpin asked. Jaune gave the headmaster a small smile "I'll be fine, and in any case I'll be heading straight to the club with no detours". He pushed the button to call up the elevator before looking to the members of team STRQ "saph is going to need time to process all that she's learned today. I'm hoping you all will give her some space until she's ready to talk again".
Jaune didn't wait for a response as he entered the elevator with vernal and pressed the button leading to the ground floor. "You think your sisters going to be ok" his brunette companion asked on the ride down. Jaune shrugged his shoulders in response "between what she knows now and what she'll learn later, I'm hoping for the best but that just might be me being optimistic".
"I'll say, you did drop some heavy shit on her all of a sudden".
The ping from the elevator let them know they reached their destination before the doors opened. "Ozpin was trying to win saphron over by sowing doubt and miss trust between us. If I didn't do anything there was a chance she would eventually become our enemy on his orders" jaune explained calmly.
Vernals face twisted in disgust "what a bastard" she spat. Jaune chuckled at her response "You don't need to tell me that. Anyways I'm heading to vale so don't do anything that's gonna get you arrested, killed or recapture by cinder, ok".
Vernal rolled her eyes at him "sure thing dad and I'll make sure I'm in bed at nine while I'm at it" she shot back sarcastically. Jaune quickly wrapped an arm around her neck and dragged her close to place a kiss on her temple "atta girl". The brunette spluttered as she shoved him away.
His laughter only incited more embarrassment from her and resulted in vernal chasing him through the halls of Beacon until the blonde caught a bullhead to vale.
Poor saph, came to vale to enjoy the festival and spend time with friends and family only to have the rug pulled out from under her. On the bright side we got a new team forged by our side characters, so yeah.