"Now tell me, James-" Jacques spoke with barbs on his tongue, like he was hoping that by pointing things out he would somehow expedite a process. "Why hasn't that thing been destroyed yet?"

This was a conversation that James felt like he'd gone through a thousand times before, but on different occasions and often under different circumstances. The only thing that had changed this time was the venue. Normally, a meeting between Jacques Schnee and himself would be done in either Jacques' private study at the Schnee Manor, or at James' office at Atlas Academy, where James normally spent most of his time.

Today, it was in James' temporary office that he'd taken when he'd arrived at Beacon Academy for his diplomatic stay in Vale. He didn't particularly care for such meetings, but this was what was considered necessary to protect the people of Remnant, and so he stayed in Vale.

The fact that Jacques had decided to pursue him that far of a distance was ultimately out of James' hands.

And so, despite Jacques' obvious frustrations, James stayed calm. He schooled his expression into an unwavering one and inentionally didn't drink from the glass full of amber liquid in front of him. The fact that Jacques had come to him with a bottle of fine cognac was no coincidence. Jacques had come looking to make an outrageously unbalanced deal, and he'd thought that liquor and his children were the bargaining pieces that he needed to achieve it.

James wouldn't let himself fall for those tricks, though.

"Jacques, you must understand." James answered calmly. "Elimination of a grimm of that size is a risky process that can't be taken on too hastily unless we want to risk significant losses."

"And what about you, James?" Jacques asked, leaning in slightly and narrowing his eyes in a challenge. "Surely a warrior of your calibre-"

"I-" James cut Jacques off, leaning back in his seat. "Am unfortunately far past my prime." He got up and walked across the office so that he could glance out the window and see the monster wandering outside the city. "And a beast of that size isn't able to be taken on alone, regardless of skill and experience. Not without-" James stopped himself, realizing that he was about to let out far too secret information. "It doesn't matter. We're working on assembling a team to take it on in concert with Headmaster Ozpin."

"Yes," Jacques rolled his eyes, watching James too closely. "But of course. You're creating an elite team-"

"Yes." James tried to cut Jacques off, though he knew that it wasn't going to be enough to fulfil what they needed to do. "It's ideal that we examine the best possible balance to ensure that we can... minimize losses." James hated talking like this. He'd trained himself into this sort of disconnected manner of speech long ago. The subtext was there. Too easily noticed.

Losses meant deaths. He and Jacques both knew that. And they both knew that on some level, deaths were unavoidable when it came to this sort of work.

"I'm sure that you could handle this easily enough if you weren't bogged down with Ozpin's..." Jacques stood up now, following James so that the two of them stared out at the world outside. Both of them were watching that Grimm now, instead of just James. Something about that made James angry. He knew for a fact that Jacques didn't see it the same way.

"Bureaucracy." Jacques finally finished.

"In situations like this, diplomacy is the best method." James explained as calmly as he could manage. "Nobody wants to sacrifice more than we have to." His eyes narrowed and his gaze slipped over towards Jacques. "I'm sure you are well aware of the shortages that we've been facing."

"And yet you refuse my contract." Jacques replied, watching James out of the corner of his eye. "It's truly baffling, General."

"Dust alone doesn't fix this." James mumbled. "We need manpower and other supplies in addition to Dust. And Remnant hasn't been as forthcoming with such things as we would like."

"And your military?"

"Unsuited to a threat of this nature." James didn't waver from where he was standing or his point of view. He knew better than to listen to Jacques, especially when he was sure that Jacques was doing his best to turn him away from what he needed to do. "Trust me, Jacques, I don't make these decisions lightly."

Jacques took a step away from James, walking back over to the desk to pick up the glass that he'd poured of cognac from himself before drinking from it. "I just don't understand why a man as powerful as you is waiting on others." Jacques set the glass back down on the desk, leaning back against it and watching James the entire time and being careful to examine everything he did. "Ozpin seems to be dragging his feet."

"Ozpin-" James spoke up, cutting Jacques off before he could continue once again. It was a surprisingly common thing that he had to do, and that was something that James never liked doing. But it was always necessary. "-is in control over much more in this situation than I am. Their forces are the ones that would be put at risk here, not mine."

Jacques hummed. "Either way," He said, keeping himself calm. "I've come here to make a deal with you James, and I expect that you'll make up your mind."

"Jacques-"

"You can't do anything without my help, James. Do remember that."

With that Jacques was leaving, and James couldn't help but feel like his role was in question. He was going to have to make a decision soon, and James knew that. He could trust that Jacques was going to create a deadline for him out of nothing. The man had business sense that couldn't be denied, and Jacques knew how to use it.

After that, it was going to be up to James to make sure that nothing went wrong. He was going to have to do anything that he could to help the world.

If that meant signing a contract with Jacques that was going to end up being unfavorable, he was going to have to make a decision.

They didn't pay him to make small decisions.

Ruby pouted and hopped back and forth in the arena that she and Yang had decided to commandeer for the evening. Yang didn't comment on it too much, since they were both feeling kind of antsy after a long day of classes. Now, they were just taking their chance in the arena before heading home because they'd be able to practice against simulation enemies. Yang liked this sort of training, it was better than fist fights in the yard with their dad.

Despite being a simulation, it always felt more real. The false monsters made it that way.

"C'mon, give me another one!" Ruby called, watching Yang as she began fiddling with one of the controls on a dashboard behind Professor Goodwitch's podium. "Something bigger this time!"

"Yeah, give me a minute!" Yang called back as she began to scroll through option after option of simulated grimm. She paused for a second, finding something that made her pause. It was a grimm, of course, but it was familiar in a way.

She knew why. She knew Ruby would too.

Yang made her selection by pressing her open palm to the control panel below her, and soon enough a grimm began to knit itself into existence out of hard light. It wasn't like a real monster, of course- the only way that it was able to do damage was because of the Dust woven into the mechanisms to create the beast. When it hit, then there would be a small dust explosion to match the strength on impact.

And even then, it could only exist in a specialized arena like this one.

The grimm that formed was quite a bit bigger than Ruby was, and definitely also taller than Yang was, and Yang wasn't exactly short. It had a hunched back, with back legs that were definitely that of a cow, and a wide barrel chest leading up into an upper body that almost resembled that of a man. A large, bull-like head topped the image off.

All in all, it stood about two feet over Ruby's head when it straightened up completely.

This was almost like the monster that was lingering outside of the city.

Almost.

"Whoa." Ruby sounded absolutely amazed when she looked up at the grimm that Yang had chosen for her. It was merely a construct formed from Dust and light, but it was close enough in form to the real deal with it was manageable. "I like it!"

"Think you can take it?" Yang called back, leaning forward over the console so that she could get a better view of Ruby.

"Yeah, I think so." Ruby called, taking a few steps back and falling into her fighting stance with Crescent Rose held in front of her. She was ready to go, and Yang was tired of waiting. She slammed an open palm down onto the button that would release the grimm from its position. If she had to jump in, Yang wouldn't have been afraid to.

She just wanted to see what Ruby could do first.

The grimm began to move though. It started by picking its head up and looking around in simulated curiosity. That didn't last long though, since the second that it got its eyes on Ruby it was preparing to charge. Yang knew fully well that Ruby wasn't going to move until the monster did, just like both of them had been taught early on by their father and uncle.

Ruby stands there though, seeming confident and seeming like she was mostly ready for whatever ended up coming at her. The grimm lowered itself slightly and began to rush in Ruby's direction, head down and horns pointed out as it raced at Ruby. Yang waited, watching as the false grimm attacked her little sister.

But if there was anything that Ruby had on her side, it was the fact that she was fast. Not just a little bit fast either, she had the ability to move at blinding speeds if she needed to. Her little sister almost seemed to disintegrate with her movement from the time to time.

Ruby seemed to shift into a torrent of flower petals, as she moved around the arena to try and get a good read on the monster that she was fighting. It didn't run into a wall or anything, which was something that Yang suspected her little sister was trying to make happen. Her little sister's eyes narrowed, and she launched herself at the grimm with the sound of a gunshot that was being used to propel her across the arena even faster.

The grimm charged Ruby again, head still down and this time, it was too fast, as she was about to use Crescent Rose in the hopes that she could use the recoil to help her switch direction. The grimm's horns collided with Ruby's abdomen. The dust in its frame sparked into a flash of red, and it was enough to blast the small girl back across the arena and into the wall.

Yang almost felt her heart stop, when she realized that her little sister's aura was flickering somewhat violently. That was something that she was going to worry about, for sure. She didn't think that she was going to need to go in there and fight with Ruby herself, but Yang kept it in mind that she was going to need to stay alert for her little sister's sake anyways.

Over the sound of the grimm's low breathing (simulated, Yang had to remind herself. This wasn't the real thing,) Yang was able to hear the sound of Ruby letting out a quiet sound of pain. Hearing that only served to make Yang angry, and she knew exactly why.

"Ruby!"

"Got it!" Ruby called back, moving again and holding her scythe up in front of her so that she'd be able to fight once the grimm got close again. It charged at her, this time reaching out with those almost-human arms to grab Ruby.

Ruby was against the wall though, she was going to end up being unable to avoid the grimm. She slipped away from the grimm just barely, swinging Crescent Rose in the hopes that it would make contact. It did land, though. The blade sliced at the simulation, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to do real damage. If anything, it seemed more like it was just clanging off of the grimm's hardlight armor.

It left Yang to wonder whether or not she would be able to take this thing. A grimm like this was the kind that would require someone fighting it to either take it out at a distance, or try and take it on really close up.

Yang knew that she would have been getting as close to that thing as she possibly could if she was in the arena.

But that wasn't what she was here for. Ruby had asked for her to choose an enemy for her, and she'd seemed to have meant it.

Ruby activated her semblance again, using it as a way that she was going to be able to move out of the grimm's way and try to get behind it. Maybe for someone like Ruby, that was the best possible strategy. She wasn't the best at close up fighting, and Yang wasn't sure that Ruby was going to have enough space to really use her weapon to its fullest potential.

Yang knew Ruby though, probably better than anyone else in the world. She had speed on her side.

Another hit from the grimm connected though, and Ruby's aura flashed again. Yang's eyes flashed up to the scoreboard to see that Ruby was still doing well enough- 67%, but to have dropped that much aura in only two hits was scary.

"Helping little sister out?" A husky voice asked over Yang's shoulder. Yang looked back to see that it was her Uncle Qrow, looking calm as ever and carrying his flask in his hand. She didn't know what he wanted, but she could wait this out.

"Hey uncle Qrow." Yang said, doing her best to keep her eye on Ruby as her little sister tried to launch herself up to higher ground so that she could fire on the grimm instead of getting locked down. "Just doing some practice."

"So you chose a Minos?" Qrow asked, leaning against the bar in front of the two of them. "What made you choose that?"

Yang shrugged. "Ruby asked me to choose a grimm for her. It reminded me of-"

"Got it." Qrow answered. "You've been watching, right?"

"Yeah." Yang replied blinking. She heard her uncle laugh quietly, and that was all that she really needed to tell her that Qrow was doubting her about what she was capable of. "I am!"

"I know," Qrow replied with a quiet laugh. "I trust you." He paused, watching it. "You've been thinking about how to fight it?"

"I think I'd do pretty well." Yang replied, thinking hard on what she was capable of. She looked up at the aura meter that was displaying for Ruby. "I mean, I'd be able to outclass it pretty quickly."

Qrow hummed, relaxing slightly. "Can't rely on that, firecracker." He said quietly. "Just like how your sister can't rely on a scythe in a fight like this."

"You use a scythe." Yang retorted. "Isn't-"

"I'd use a sword for this." Qrow answered with a shrug. "Don't have the space for a scythe."

Down in the arena, another hit landed against Ruby, but this time she was able to use the curve of Crescent Rose and her semblance to launch herself around the grimm so that she could move behind it. It wasn't easy, but between the two things, it seemed to put some pretty significant damage against the simulation. "You think she can win this?"

"Yeah," Qrow replied, watching the fight just as intently as Yang was. "I know you could too. You're both good. She's just not in the best matchup."

Yang nodded. She knew that Qrow was right. She knew that once this fight was over, she was going to have time to go into the ring for one fight before she and Ruby would have to go home for the night. "Right." Yang said quietly.

Ruby cried out again, this time activating her semblance again and spinning, firing shot after shot from Crescent Rose the entire time and creating a spray of bullets as quickly as she could possibly manage as the grimm got closer and closer.

It came into Ruby's range, and that was when Ruby figured it out. She pulled a lever on Crescent Rose a little bit harder than she should have, and then the blade on the weapon extended and changed angle.

With that, Ruby was able to slice through the grimm, catching it by the neck. She pulled the lever again, and the angle of her blade switched back to its normal curve. One last gunshot provided the extra recoil that Ruby had needed to cut through the grimm's neck and finally behead it.

The grimm dissipated instantly, and Ruby was breathing impossibly hard. Yang leaned forward, worried, and Qrow reached out to just pat her on the shoulder. "She's fine, firecracker." He said quietly. "You knew she could do it."

"Yeah." Yang answered quietly before realizing that she should try and catch her little sister's attention. "Ruby!"

Ruby looked up at her and saw Qrow there. That seemed to get her excited, just a little bit. Ruby almost seemed to bounce towards the stairs that would let her out of the arena and up towards where Yang and Qrow were.

"Hey!" Ruby called, dropping down onto a bench and resting Crescent Rose beside her as she tried to make herself comfortable. She sighed and looked up at Yang. "What was that thing?"

"That-" Qrow spoke up with a quiet laugh. "Was what we call a Minos. Not much of a problem anymore, but they're tough."

Ruby looked at Yang and sighed. "I'm going to make you fight one of those sometime."

"Yeah," Yang laughed, seating herself next to her little sister. "Kind of expected that." She paused, quiet. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied, looking back up at the screen to see that her aura had dropped pretty far. Never a good thing, but since they were at Beacon safe and sound, it was less of a worry. "How'd I do?"

"Good." Yang answered, looking up at Qrow who nodded along to show his own personal approval. Ruby smiled sweetly and dropped her head back against the wall.

"I never want to fight something like that again." Ruby said quietly, still breathing hard and seeming tired. "That was…"

"Really strong?" Qrow laughed as he took a seat, reaching out to Crescent Rose to make sure that the weapon was folded back in on itself before leaning forward with his hands in front of him and making himself comfortable. "Yeah, I remember my first one of those."

"You do?" Ruby picked her head up, watching their uncle now. "How-"

"Well." Qrow said with a shrug. "It was a mission with your mom and dad. We ran into one, it gave us trouble. Knocked me out in one go. Pretty sure it got your dad pretty bad too." He paused, and it was enough to leave Yang wondering whether or not Qrow was omitting part of the truth or not about things. It definitely wouldn't have been a first for him. "You did good, kid."

Ruby smiled widely and picked her head up to look over at Yang. "Do you want to-"

Yang paused, thinking hard on the question because she knew that it was probably for the best that she did. There was some part of her that didn't really even want to fight that night. Especially after seeing Ruby get so roughed up. Worry got in the way sometimes.

"I dunno," She said finally with a shrug. "Seems easy." Yang knew that it probably wasn't going to be enough to convince Ruby and Yang, but the least that she could do was at least try to put on a somewhat convincing performance.

"Yang." Ruby responded, seeming slightly annoyed but not nearly as much as she was trying to play things up. "C'mon, let's get your butt kicked."

Yang rolled her eyes and got up, stretching slightly before looking over at Qrow, who seemed to be watching her with at least some interest. "Yeah, fine." She said finally with a shrug. "Hey, uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah, Firecracker?"

"Choose one for me?"

"No fair." Ruby pouted.

Qrow raised an eyebrow, but soon enough he was nodding along and standing up, walking over to the console and beginning to fiddle with it. "What do you want to do, kiddo?" He asked, looking back at Yang over his shoulder as she began to make her way down to the arena. "Quick workout or some work?"

Yang thought hard on it. She did want to be able to go home with Ruby so that they didn't end up missing dinner with their dad that night. She shrugged and smiled up at her uncle finally. "Something quick."

Qrow leaned in and grinned down at her, watching as she hopped into the arena. "Alright." Qrow finally said with a slight smile. "Just say when."

Yang nodded and dropped into her fighting stance, activating Ember Celica so that they expanded over the size of the bracelets that they normally were in. SHe watched, waiting for Qrow to choose something, then he finally chose something for her to go up against.

A trio of ursae.

Simple enough.

When Yang threw the first punch, she smiled.

"So," Ozpin leaned back in their seat, crossing one leg over the other and watching Blake so closely that it was enough to make her skin crawl. "Qrow Branwen has recommended you for this academy, but he's given me no warning about your presence here whatsoever." They watched her so closely, until Blake finally spoke up.

"Yes." She said, keeping her voice hard and holding her head up high. "I'm... new to Vale."

"I see." Ozpin watched Blake with narrowed hazel eyes. "And your name?"

"Blake." She answered, calmly. "Blake Belladonna." Once she gave her last name, Blake watched Ozpin's expressions closely, looking for any sign that it was a name that they recognized. They didn't react to it, which was something that Blake was glad for. The fewer people that knew her name, the better.

"Very well." Ozpin replied, their expression somewhat tight despite everything about how they were sitting and acting seeming to be nothing more than plain relaxation. It was very much a conversation that Blake didn't want to have to take part in, but she knew fully well that it was necessary. Required even. Mostly, Blake couldn't shake the feeling of being on edge. "And what makes you think that you belong at this school?"

Blake paused, trying to think of an answer that she could give without accidentally tipping anyone off to where she had come from. She had a feeling that she was going to need a canned answer that she could give anytime that people asked her where she came from anyways. Nobody wanted to be friends with a member of a separatist group.

Not to mention, she was running. Anyone that knew that truth was a liability.

So Blake had to give an answer. "I grew up outside the kingdoms." She explained herself, keeping her expression steely and balling one of her hands into a fist in her lap. "If you couldn't fight, you couldn't survive."

"I suppose that is true." Ozpin answered, calmly. "You have a weapon?"

"I do."

"And semblance?"

"Activated." Blake responded without a second of hesitation, because the less chances that were presented for her to be questioned the better. "I can hold my own in a battle."

"Blake," Ozpin spoke calmly. "You claim to have learned to fight because you were from outside the kingdoms, but that's an excuse at best." They paused, peering at her over the mug of coffee that they held in front of them. "The need to fight grimm has dropped for the average person."

Blake swallowed, knowing that she'd been caught in a lie. She could get out of this, though, she reminded herself. "Bandits were a problem." The words slipped out before Blake could even think about them. It was a half truth at best, but Blake was sure that it was going to be enough. "Everyone learned to fight in case we saw a raid occur."

"Very well." Ozpin set their mug of coffee down on the desk in front of them before reaching into their desk to find something. Blake sat there calmly, waiting and letting her eyes flick around the area in case she could find something of interest there. There were massive gears which seemed to be decorative that turned above them and behind Ozpin's desk. The windows were so tall that they made up most of the wall. Outside, Blake saw a gigantic monster that she'd been aware of during her travels but mostly disinterested in.

If it didn't bother her, she had no reason to worry about it.

The sound of a drawer closing jolted Blake back to attention. She sat up tall and let her hands rest in her lap in front of her as Ozpin set down a sheet of paper and a pen in front of her. "You'll have to do some things for me before I can grant you entry into my academy, miss Belladonna."

"I understand." Blake replied as she reached out and slid the paper a bit closer to her. When she glanced down at it, she saw that it was a simple registration sheet with an attached entrance exam. There had to be more to it, Blake thought to herself. There was no way that a few sheets of paper was all that she needed to do before getting into the academy. They hadn't even checked whether she could actually fight or not.

"Take your time, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said calmly as they leaned back into their seat. She looked up at them, obviously distrusting, and only earned a nod in response. With that, Blake let out a quiet sigh and began to fill out the paperwork that she'd been given.

In a way, she felt like she needed to go ahead and create a new identity for herself entirely.

For instance, this Blake Belladonna was not a faunus. She had nothing to do with the White Fang, and her family was long since dead. This Blake Belladonna hailed from a village in Vacuo, not the capital of Menagerie. This Blake Belladonna had learned to fight because it was necessary for her to protect a village instead of needing to learn to fight for a cause.

In some ways, this Blake Belladonna was a better person, despite the fact that there wasn't a single thing about her that was real beyond her name and race.

As soon as her first set of forms was complete, Blake slid it back across the table to Ozpin, who picked them up and began to leaf through the information idly. "Do take your time to fill out that exam." Ozpin said calmly. "I will have to take the time to arrange a combat exam with someone from the academy, but your academic scores must be taken into account first."

Blake nodded, closed her eyes for just a second, and began to fill out the questions on the exam. Most of them were on inane topics. Some reached into history, which Blake had read enough about to get her through. Questions on Dust were manageable enough. The ones that really worried Blake were the ones that seemed to be an attempt at a personality assessment.

In all likelihood, this was an attempt to make sure that the students at Beacon Academy were considered mentally sound. If there was any place where the new Blake Belladonna's excuses were going to fall apart, it was here. This was where she needed to construct herself as strongly as possible and hope that the person that she played at being was going to be enough.

And so Blake began answering questions with half-truths, hoping that it was going to be enough. Of course, she had a feeling that some of her lies were probably easily seen through enough. Not necessarily by the average person, but Ozpin probably could.

One didn't become a headmaster at an academy for Hunters so easily, after all.

She glanced up at them for a little while to watch as they silently scrolled through something on their scroll like they'd be able to find something of interest there. They were just doing their best to entertain themself, Blake realized. It was one less thing to worry about.

Blake's eyes dropped back down to the exam as she finished it off before finally closing the pamphlet and sliding it across the desk to Ozpin.

Ozpin looked up at her and down at the packet before pulling it in close to them. "Miss Belladonna-"

"Yes?" Blake asked, shifting uneasily in her seat.

"If you wish, you may explore the academy grounds. I will need a bit of time to grade your exam and make some arrangements." Ozpin leaned back in their seat, making themself more comfortable there as they relaxed into their seat. "I assure you that you won't find much of interest this late in the day, but it's worth exploring."

Blake was about to get up when something came to mind that screamed at her that said that she needed to pause before leaving. She needed to ask a question. "Thank you," She said, deciding to be as diplomatic about things as possible. "If I am accepted-" Blake began her question, "Will I have a place to stay?"

Ozpin paused, and nodded slowly. "Of course, Miss Belladonna. The academy offers room and board to anyone who needs them. Of course, normally it would require tuition be paid but-"

Blake swallowed. "But?"

"But seeing as you've come with few resources, I'm sure we'll be able to arrange something."

It was a relief. Blake stood up and nodded. "Thank you, Headmaster." She said calmly, reaching back to check that she still had her weapon on her and ready.

"We'll be in touch." Ozpin said calmly, gesturing to the door so that Blake could leave them alone. With that, Blake left the office, and went back down to the academy, feeling impossibly nervous but also somewhat relieved.

This had the possibility of being the beginning of a new life for her.

She just needed someone to believe her lies and half-truths.