Chapter-13
Ozpin
Tukson was setting up his shop in the morning, but unlike most days, his mind was not focused on his shop.
"Damn it, Blake…" He muttered. When he'd told Blake to stop running, he'd expected her to give information to the VPD about the white fang, not go and try to stop them herself. In the process, she almost got herself killed in the explosion that blew up a section of Nepotain.
But again, he really should have realized that Blake would have done it whether he'd voiced his concerns or not. She had her father's gentle nature and her mother's stubbornness. Kali and Sienna were practically a dynamic duo back when the white fang had just started under a young Ghira, always going straight into danger whether to rescue any captured faunus or look for supplies. In the end, Ghira's compassion and Kali's strong will had built the White Fang.
He heard the doorbell ring.
"Hold on, I'm just…"
"Long time no see, Tukson." A familiar voice spoke as Tukson's heart almost stopped.
Shit… He thought. The last person he wanted to see was standing in his shop.
"…What is it, Adam?" Tukson spoke turning around to see Adam Taurus. He looked just how Tukson remembered him. His black coat, red hair that seemed to glow, two horns sticking out and of course, his terrifying weapon that could end Tukson in a moment.
"It's been a while." Adam spoke idly. "And no, I'm not here for you to provide services to the white fang. I respect your loyalty to Ghira Belladonna, as inefficient as his methods were."
Tukson was mildly surprised but kept his cool. "Good. I wasn't going to do it anyways, after what you've been doing."
Adam waved him off. "I don't care what you think of my methods. All I'm here for is one question – Is Blake at Beacon?"
"…So that's what this is about. Are you really going to stalk her after she left…"
Tukson stopped as a red blur slashed towards him and he noticed some of the hairs from his beard fall to the ground. Adam had a scowl on his face as his sword Wilt was drawn.
"…Don't think I'm pathetic enough to chase after Blake just because she abandoned me. She wasn't just my companion, but also a major operative in the white fang's ranks. She knows a lot about us. And if she's in Beacon under the eyes of Ozpin, then our cause is in danger. All she has to do is open her mouth, and Ozpin will stop at nothing to completely annihilate the White Fang in Vale. He's already bringing in an army of huntsmen to destroy us. So if you refuse to cooperate, you'll make yourself the white fang's enemy and My promise to Ghira won't save from what I'll do to you." Adam spoke dragging Wilt to cut a minor gash on Tukson's cheek.
Tukson thought of his options. He shouldn't be worried. After all, Beacon is practically a fortress guarded by powerful huntsmen who constituted either the staff or those who regularly went to Ozpin for missions. But the fact that Adam wanted to confirm whether Blake was in Beacon was worrying. He must be having some sort of plan if he thinks he could take on Beacon.
"Be quick. I will leave in a few minutes, and after that, you will die."
Tukson opened his eyes. "Yes, the people we're collaborating with have two brats who compete to lick their superior's boot all the time. We know about Blake, so who knows what they will do to a former White Fang member who aided a traitor?"
Tukson closed his eyes.
Don't give in, Don't give in… He thought desperately.
"Do you really want to risk your life and leave your poor family in Vacuo without someone to support them? Especially when both of us know Blake will be in danger regardless of whether you talk or not?"
That was the final nail.
"…Yes. She is in Beacon." Tukson spoke relenting.
Adam sheathed Wilt. "Thank you for answering, Tukson. Now, I'll talk to those two brats and ensure they don't go about causing me troubles."
Tukson glared at him weakly before Adam walked out. He put a hand to his head and let out a tired sigh.
"Stay safe, Blake..." He muttered. He just had to trust Ozpin and Blake's friends would be able to protect her from whatever Adam's got planned.
Ozpin stood on the podium in Beacon's auditorium, where he welcomed the initiates of Beacon's 80th batch weeks earlier and now stood looking at its graduates who were now professional huntsmen. Days after his announcement, about 30% of the members of Vale's huntsmen association had arrived from the countryside.
He could see a familiar man in armor standing in the crowd alongside what seemed like another one with a magical signature. He had blue hair in a rattail wearing a blue bodysuit with a blood-red spear and eyes of the same color. Ozpin noted with curiosity the slitted pupils in the blue-haired man's eyes. Many reptilian faunuses also had slitted pupils, but Ozpin could feel the divine aura from him. Saber had the same aura, but its divinity was less concentrated than the blue-haired man's.
Ozpin shook himself from his musings. He would learn more about the spearman later. Right now, he had other priorities.
He cleared his throat. "I shall skip past the pleasantries. We have a very urgent situation."
Whispering began in the crowd of huntsmen. If Ozpin was not talking without making some fancy statement or the other, it was serious.
"A few days back, there was a mass shootout in Nepotain Harbor between the VPD and the White Fang, which led to a massive explosion that devastated many of Nepotain's docks" Ozpin spoke as videos of the shootout as well as of the docks burning taken by his atlesian drones popped up. "What happened was that some anonymous person alerted the VPD to an attempted heist by the white fang to raid the latest SDC shipment ordered by the government. Their reasons have not been confirmed, but some of the detectives theorize the White Fang wished to put many of Vale's businesses that rely on the dust industry to bankruptcy, primarily because of their discriminatory views towards faunuskind."
"And the city's now in panic?" one of the huntsmen from the crowd asked.
"Of course it is, the damn faunuses are causing trouble as usual."
"No one's here to listen to your racist bullshit, Crystal."
"Which are correct, if you're looking at the stats!"
The huntsmen started bickering as Ozpin's grip on his cane tightened. He was honestly hoping that another brawl would not erupt, especially after what happened the last time the association convened. Usually he would let them settle their difference and intervene when a fight was coming up, but this time he did not have the patience to wait.
"SILENCE!" He bellowed as the auditorium fell silent. His cold eyes swept across the auditorium, daring anyone to cause a commotion. When he saw no one was doing such a thing, Ozpin adjusted his glasses and continued.
"Back to the topic, People are afraid that after what happened in Nepotain, something similar could happen in the residential areas. Many have taken to the streets demanding the council puts the white fang under the Night list and involve the association, but there are also many who have started causing riots in areas where Faunus live and demanding the council cut off Vale's faunus citizen from the Safe Haven program and expel them from Vale's city limits. While I agree with involving huntsmen, I am concerned about the riots."
"So that means the Fang's finally gone off the deep end?"
"Actually, this looks like a similar situation to the Night of the Fangs. Sienna Khan immediately declared on Mistral's news network that she was not involved with what happened at Nepotain. In fact, she lost communication with the White Fang's Vale Branch days before the shootout. While I still have my doubts, Sienna Khan is hardly one for deception. So, we will have to assume that the White Fang in Vale has gone rogue like their Atlesian counterparts did under Ghira Belladonna."
Of course, Ozpin actually had no doubt Sienna Khan was telling the truth, especially with the confirmation he received that Salem's acolytes were in Vale.
"Henceforth, you are all tasked with stabilizing the situation. You will be collaborating with the VPD on two objectives – Search and destroy any White Fang safehouses in Vale and stop the riots. I have assigned the teams to each objective. We have a month to sort out this mess before the other kingdoms start taking notice of this and force us to call off the Vytal Festival, which as you know will have a negative impact on our relations with the other kingdoms. Now, any questions?"
"Do they really need us? I mean, the VPD outnumbers the white fang 3 to 1. From what I've heard, Nepotain happened because some grunt shot a dust container with a rocket. Otherwise the VPD was winning."
Ozpin was silent, contemplating what he was going to say. "…We may have suspicions that the White Fang has some involvement with the strange monsters and people that have been attacking Vale's villages."
The auditorium erupted in surprise and even fear.
"Quiet." Ozpin ordered sternly as the crowd went silent again. "Some of you have encountered these powerful individuals and are aware of the danger they represent. The VPD is not at all equipped to handle them, henceforth our intervention. Any more questions?"
"…"
"Very well. Your assignments have been sent to your scrolls. You have till midnight to reach your posts. Good luck."
As the huntsmen started leaving, Ozpin sent a message to Qrow and Saber.
Don't leave. I have extra assignments for the both of you. Bring the spearman as well.
"I don't think I've seen you this serious since my first year, Oz." Qrow spoke as he, Ozpin, Saber and the spearman walked towards Beacon's cafeteria.
"Salem's acolytes have already set up a very deep network without me getting wind of it. We both knew what that had led to in Atlas."
Qrow grimaced, remembering Team STRQ's first Vytal tournament in Atlas that was interrupted by a rebellion by Mantle to overthrow the Atlesian council.
"Yep, I remember."
"Then you can understand my concern. Atlas may be the most militarized of all the kingdoms, but Vale has 60% of all of Remnant's huntsmen working under it. If something like the Second Mantle Revolt happened in Vale, it would have a catastrophic impact on humanity's chances against the grimm. Not to mention if they got the Crown."
Saber nodded. "That would be very bad." He admitted. "But what is this Crown?"
Ozpin froze. In all honesty, with all the cooperation Saber had showed, Ozpin had momentarily forgotten he wasn't an actual member of his circle and Ozpin could not tell him about the relics until he can find out more about Saber.
"The crown is an object deeply linked with Vale's history. It represents Vale's beliefs that everyone is free to choose their path in life. It was believed to have mystical powers, but most do not believe it to be true."
Saber nodded. "I see." He spoke. "Also, I forgot to introduce you to…"
"Lancer." The spearman spoke up in a lazy tone. "Can you show me where your cafeteria is? I'm still feeling hungry even after that feast in the village I was in."
"We are in fact going towards it." Ozpin replied coolly. This wasn't the first time he had to work with someone rough around the edges, especially with Qrow walking beside them.
"Great! That's it from me. Continue."
"Anyways, the assignment I have for the both…"
"Three." Lancer spoke up.
"…Three of you, Qrow, the usual."
Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Capture and interrogate?"
Ozpin nodded. "Find a lieutenant and figure out who the White Fang are working with." He spoke, making sure not to say 'Salem' in front of Saber and Lancer.
"Tail your niece's team when they go out." Ozpin spoke as Saber turned to him. "Why? Surely they wouldn't leave to get involved in such a dangerous mission."
"Qrow here was on the team that Ruby's mother led while I was her mentor. Both of us have seen the stunts Summer has pulled during her school years. And considering how alike Ruby is to her mother, I can assure you Team RWBY will get involved in this mess, no matter how much time it takes."
"But you can stop them?"
"Which will do nothing. Ms. Rose had almost caught Roman Torchwick, so she is confident about handling the threats, Ms. Schnee would believe her involvement is necessary seeing as it is her family's assets that are being harmed, Ms. Belladonna had already made moves to stop the White Fang and Ms. Xiao-Long will accompany her sister to ensure her safety. In short, none of Team RWBY can be dissuaded from involving themselves."
"I can't do it, Oz." Qrow spoke as Ozpin turned to him, knowing very well why.
"Qrow…"
"No, Oz. I'm not going near Ruby when she's going to head into danger."
"Why not?" Lancer asked. "Do you have a bad luck charm or something?"
Qrow hissed. "I don't want to talk about it."
Ozpin put a hand on his shoulder. "Qrow…If there's anyone who I believe would keep Team RWBY safe when they go out, it would be you."
"You could keep them in."
"You heard me, Qrow. I cannot. I know you want your nieces' safe, but remember one of their teammates is a deserter of the white fang. Your niece is already under the White Fang's sights for simply being associated with their target. It's best that they get hands on experience of what they are going to fight than keep them ignorant and have it backfire when they inevitably face the enemy."
Qrow was silent. "…I'm gonna go get a drink." He spoke walking off.
"Will he accept?" Saber asked as they looked at Qrow's retreating form.
"He will. His way of acceptance of any troublesome mission is 'I'm going to drink. Speaking of which, I have to tell you your assignment." Ozpin spoke before a picture popped up in his scroll. "These are some pictures taken of corpses of three policemen. I want you to look at them closely."
Saber and Lancer looked at the picture. "That's not the work of a regular blade." Lancer spoke. "I've seen people get dismembered by weapons, and none of them have had cuts as clean as this one."
Ozpin nodded. "That is the point. Those policemen were clothed in armor that offers resistance against aura-enhanced blade to some extent. While that could be classified as a semblance, Ms. Belladonna's account paints a different story."
Saber and Lancer exchanged a look. "Do you think…?"
"Ozpin, did Blake come to know who it was?"
"Yes. According to ms. Belladonna, the person was invisible, who snuck up on the unsuspecting policemen and cut them down with a sword that tore through their armor like it was made of paper. They called himself 'Rider'."
"…Shit." Lancer spoke.
"Yes, 'shit' indeed. With what little description we have, Rider is a powerful opponent with a wide range of abilities as well as the cunning to use them properly to get the maximum benefit out of any situation. I'm tasking you both in bringing in this Rider for interrogation. Is that fine?"
"Yes. He would have valuable information regarding our enemy." Saber spoke. "Do you have some knowledge as to where he can be?"
"As of now, no. But once we find the White Fang hideouts, then we can pinpoint Rider's whereabouts." Ozpin spoke. "Next, do you wish to stay in Beacon, Lancer?"
"If I want to, then do I have to be a teacher?" Lancer asked.
"You can. Or you can be a part of the force of huntsmen that guard Beacon and handle security threats."
"Then I'll be a teacher. I want to see what stuff these kids are made out of. How about a combat instructor."
Ozpin hummed. "That is not possible, I'm afraid. We have two combat teachers. One is my assistant Glynda Goodwitch and the second is Saber."
Lancer shot an annoyed glare at Saber. "Could you not have taken something else?"
Saber kept quiet and continued to walk.
"Hey! Don't ignore me, you Nordic bastard!"
"Now, now, what are your other strengths."
Lancer grunted. "Well…I've got a lot of knowledge on how to survive in the wilds."
"Then you can take wilderness survival. Usually, our dust studies professor Acacia Peach handles that alongside our subject, but I believe it would be nice for both the students and Professor Peach that you take up the subject."
"Fine then, those kids would need some roughing up anyways."
"Alright, now…" Ozpin was interrupted by doors bursting open as students ran out screaming.
"Huh? What's going on?" Lancer asked as Ozpin felt a sense of familiarity. Now where had he seen this before…
Come on, Thunder Thighs! Let's throw the girls a feast! They're getting a bit thin from eating so little.
Stop calling me thunder thighs, damn it!
I'M GOING TO SLAM A MELON UP YOUR SACK, XIAO-LONG!
Subjects of the Cookie kingdom, defend your Queen Summer Rose!
Ah, yes. Team STRQ's infamous food battle, that ended up with Qrow getting launched through a window by Summer in an adrenaline rush, Taiyang ending up in the infirmary after Raven kicked a watermelon onto his genitals, Raven slipping on a banana peel that had fallen out of Qrow's hands when he was launched out, and Summer also going to the infirmary with a broken nose after she slammed her face onto a wall.
It seems that Team RWBY was walking in STRQ's footsteps in causing an absolute mess with a food fight as well.
"Ozpin?" Saber spoke worriedly as he saw Yang Xiao-Long burst through the roof and fly into the sky. "Is there a brawl going on?"
Ozpin smiled. "Not exactly." He spoke walking to the door and dodging a pie that almost hit him in the face. He saw Ruby standing in front of Jaune Arc, Ruby having her arm outstretched as if she had thrown something while Weiss lay unconscious in the background, Blake munched on a fish, while Nora, Pyrrha and Ren lay completely covered in juices. There was a massive crater on the wall.
Ruby's eyes widened in horror as she realized who her pie almost hit.
"P-Professor Ozpin!" She exclaimed in fear as the others also tensed up, realizing they'd been caught.
Ruby started babbling out an apology that Ozpin tuned out, because he was honestly impressed. Team RWBY had somehow managed to make a bigger mess than Team STRQ made in their food fight.
A loud rumble sounded as Ozpin and Saber looked at Lancer who had a deadpan look on his face.
"You know, sometimes I wish I had better luck." He grumbled as Ozpin chuckled. From all his work, it was nice to get some laughter once in a while. He dialed Glynda's number on his scroll."
"Glynda?"
"Yes, headmaster?"
"Could you come to the cafeteria. There's been a food fight and I need you to set the chairs back in place."
"…Was it Team RWBY? They are the only ones who can cause so much damage with a food fight that I have to be called."
"Yes."
"Very well. I'm coming." Glynda spoke before cutting off the call.
Ozpin looked at the fearful looks on the faces of the 8 first years. "Well, you are still children so I shall let this pass. But after Glynda sets the tables and chairs back, you all are cleaning up the food."
Yang fell through the roof, destroying another table. Everyone was silent before the students burst out laughing.
"But look! Professor Saber's back!" Ruby spoke before the 8 went to ask Saber and Lancer hundreds of questions.
"Children are a joy to see." Ozpin spoke before his smile fell. They were still children, with Ruby's status as a silver-eyed warrior, Ozpin knew they won't remain children for long.
He looked at the strand of Saber's hair he'd taken for gleaning information about Saber. The longer he waited, the more it would get dangerous. Team RWBY needed to be quickly trained to handle the threats that they were going to face. For that to happen, Ozpin would need to learn about who Sigurd is so that he can understand who these new allies of Salem are. It will take him time, but it would be massive progress if he completed this side project.
His allies would admonish him for sending children to fight against Salem, but Ozpin knew that time was not their ally. As a mentor, he had a responsibility to ensure future members of his circle got acclimatized to the threats they would face. And he would make sure Team RWBY were prepared, even if it meant he had to send them into enemy lines.
A/N: Here's Chapter-13. Mainly to set up what's going to happen in Volume-2 and a little look into my depiction of Ozpin. As I said before, Ozpin is a competent but ruthless leader in my story. If he gets confirmation that Salem's acolytes are in the capital cities, he'll come down full force upon them and not rest till they are utterly destroyed. Ozpin already plans to induct Team RWBY into the fold because of Ruby's silver eyes and like other potential recruits, sends them into dangerous missions to test their capabilities as well as give them a taste of what they are going to have to face when they join Ozpin. Of course, Ozpin's not stupid to let them go alone and has Qrow on standby incase things go wrong. Also, no RWBY and JNPR food fight because it doesn't really have much of a purpose in canon. The only thing I could think of was having it serve as a teambuilding exercise which would anyways clash with what I've planned out for the beginning of Volume-2.
Also, sorry for not uploading yesterday. I usually write the Friday chapters in the night, so yesterday I was too tired to write. I'll try to post a chapter on Monday to compensate.
Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!
Response to Reviews:
Maglad: I know about that piece of information. It happens when the evil spirits possessing the Wendigo passes onto the Wendigo's and turns them into a Wendigo. But because the nature of servants makes it so hard to determine whether those evil spirits can possess them, I'm going on the assumption that it does not work. I did cringe a bit reading Chapter-11 again because it was a bit too dramatic. I'll try to write such scenes with a little less drama. About the arc girls, Sigurd was meant to be portrayed as a powerful hero who can protect the people of Remnant from the buffed Phantasmal beasts that even experienced huntsmen can't take on. Killing the arc girls and thus giving Sigurd a guilty conscience would ruin that. Plus, Sigurd's pretty tough emotionally. While the death of an arc girl would give him guilt, it wouldn't be enough to be expanded upon in the story. I have something else planned which will definitely mess him up. Cu will be written as you've mentioned because it's honestly a perfect description of Cu's personality. While I am also weirded out by why Nasu decided that almost all Celtic warriors will wear body tights, Cu's always has been depicted wearing the signature chain-mail armor of the Celts, so his protoype version is a bit closer to his actual appearance in that regard. But then again, Cu Chulainn was also a seven-fingered, seven-toed, seven-pupilled rainbow monstrosity if you went by how the Ulster cycle describes him.
longbowchris50: He's not in this story. It's a teaser to a PJO/RWBY I'm going to start working on soon.
firagadam: Thank you. But I'm confused about the 'hiding their names' comment. Did I really explain it that well? I honestly did that because I had written myself into a corner by having Sigurd not reveal his name and was looking for a reason that did not sound like a dumb excuse.
MrHuh: He's an antagonist. And good people can also be antagonists.
Dafuq: Well, it's your opinion. But I must point out that I've explained the reasons for these three issues in my A/N's, so do read them.
Wut I just read: Ignoring you calling my story stupid, Remnant: The Stupid Plains is actually something I could see in a meme shitting on canon because it accurately describes the stupidity of the heroes in canon, with Ozpin doing absolutely nothing while Cinder frolicks about making everybody's life a living nightmare, Cinder wanting to take on the enemy without getting any information on them and teaming up with a Bandit leader who you can tell is going to stab her in the back when all is done, Ruby choosing to lie to Ironwood after they lectured Ozpin on why that's a bad thing, Team RWBY transporting thousands of civilians unused to harsh conditions to Vacuo of all places. While I still like RWBY despite it's glaring flaws, I can't ignore some of the stupid things it does.