AN: Well well well, it has been an enormous amount of time since I updated this. First and foremost, I didn't die! Hurrah! That was a very real possibility for a while unfortunately and all the while university was also not a walk in the park. To put the cherry on top I had the housemate from hell situation which just killed anything available for inspiration. This chapter has gone through a lot of revisions not only because of the amount of time in between each new section but also because writing a natural-sounding conversation is insanely hard and the constant punctuation needed just killed my momentum as I wrote. These are unfortunately excuses and to be very honest I don't know when the next chapter will come because I'm going through a really difficult chapter right now. It is almost Limbo! I do hope you enjoy this chapter and it doesn't feel like a mash-up because of the reasons stated above.


Chapter 6

The silence surrounding the front courtyard of Beacon was in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the previous couple of hours. It was a testament to the rarity of such an occasion and a shame that the attendees of the meeting did not share the same sentiments as the people. The various personalities congregated at the top of Beacon tower in Ozpin's office. Peculiar in its layout and, indeed, its décor the large gears adorned the front window. On one side of the room was a large bookcase, not unlike the one in the hospital. However, instead of medical texts and journals, they were filled with an eclectic selection of books.

It was in the middle of the room that the most interesting piece of furniture stood. A wide, circular stone table about five meters in diameter and four inches thick. The surface and finish of this table were riddled with imperfections. It was worn and looked as if it had fallen off the cliffs of the Emerald Forest multiple times. The strangest part of the table was the deep inscription in the middle its lettering was in a perfect serif font and there was not so much as a chip within the wordings. It read:

'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

-Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The deep sound of the gears punctuated the silence within the room and the ten people sitting at the table were preoccupied with their worlds. One, Gildarts Clive, was unashamedly leaning backwards on the stone chair and was snoring away with his mouth open. His neck was fully extended hanging from the back of the chair. He was sure to have a crick later. Ozpin also had his eyes shut, however, his upright posture along with his hands clasped over his knee contrasted with the obvious conclusion. His signature cane stood upright next to his chair; it was free-standing. The strange sight didn't seem to have any effect on the other people around the room. They accepted it or were more accustomed to it either way they all didn't look like they wanted to be here.

"Would either of the top rankers care to elaborate on the reason for this sudden summit?" The abrupt question refocused all the inhabitants within the room to the source of the voice. It was a firm male voice. A youthful face was the front of the comment his stark white hair was an irregularity on his otherwise adolescent appearance. He sat a head shorter than most of the people in the room. Toshiro Hitsugaya waited patiently for his answer.

"Some things have been brought to my attention that I wished to discuss with my peers. I need to cut down on a few things in my day-to-day and I'm sure you all are familiar with that caveat of life. This was lovingly conveyed to me by my doctor," he jovially pointed toward the stoic woman. For her part, Tsunade had a single eyebrow raised, "She has advised me that I need a new pair of glasses. It has been an extremely long time since I have had a change within my prescription. I will not startle you with the time, but it seems to have helped me look closely at a few things," he said vaguely.

The snoring of Gildarts had continued even as Ozpin continued, but no one said anything to wake him. They could all feel the rising tension within the man's words. It was subtle, but obvious to them, nonetheless. "I have reviewed the last 10 years within my mind an exact amount of 3,628,800 times, each time changing one thing around or maybe a few other iterations of the same scenario. Each time, I end up back to a similar version of events of the last few days to an uncertainty of 3 days," every single person that was awake was listening with rapt attention and fascination at Ozpin's words.

The slight intake of air that emanated from Gildarts' mouth brought Ozpin's attention to him. His eyes glowed a deep emerald colour and the trail of drool running down the man's bearded chin raced back into his mouth, and he started choking on his spit. The man started coughing heavily and hitting his chest. "Ah! How courteous of you to join us, Gildarts. You may want to be awake for this half of the meeting," said Ozpin cheerfully.

"Wha─ That wasn't very nice Oz," he was still clearing his throat. Ozpin just chuckled.

Everyone around the table had stopped their fidgeting and was paying full attention to the top ranker. "Do any of you have anything to say?" He said looking at the man straight across from him. He was a bear of a man with huge shoulders and biceps that threatened to burst his neatly pressed dress shirt. His chest kept the black waistcoat taut on his torso and contrasted starkly with his white skin and his signature red tie marking him as the guild master of Rouge-Palace, Hei Xiong. Even while sitting down, he was still a considerable amount taller than most of the people around the table at almost seven feet tall when standing. The man was sitting in silence with his hands clasped in front of his face, "Will you please be specific?" He said in a deep and firm tone.

"He cannot."

A voice interjected, cutting like a marlin through the water. However, it was smooth like silk. The source of it was a woman with night-black hair and smooth pearly white skin. Her eyes a fiery amber matched the golden embroidery of her red dress. She exuded sensuality and the smirk across her face was both elegant and sharp. "It seems mildly unfair to me, that you are insinuating failure on our part. More importantly, the Table is not responsible for the provinces within Vale. That is the authority of the Guilds. If there are no hard allegations that you can bring to the table, then there is no discussion," she said. On her left, sat a smirking ginger-haired man in a bowler hat. Roman Torchwick also had a perpetual smirk on his face, however, he had a disarming charm about him.

On the other hand, the man on the other side of the woman did not have the same expression. He held a more neutral stance. This belied his flamboyant attire, a white top hat with an intertwining mauve and lavender band around it led to a white waistcoat with red buttons and a pink cravat with white dots. Finishing with white dress pants and a white cloak alongside purple gloves on his hands.

"Ms Fall is correct. You will need to have more than a few cryptic sentences before I or anyone is going to have an inquiry regarding the city of Vale." Toshiro was once again soft, but firm.

His words made the room pause and regard the five people involved. No one made any moves to continue the conversation until Ozpin himself spoke again. "I didn't mean for my frustration to show as a personal attack on anyone. However, I am unable to deny the facts when they are presented to me. The last few days have called into question the ability of the Guilds that reside in Vale and by extension the Rouge-Palace Guild Master. Now, three major incidents have taken place due to your oversight and subsequent misinformation not to mention the illicit activities that were taking place under your nose. If you are not able to manage the duties of being on the table, please step down."

His words cut through like a knife and many around the table wore surprised expressions. "Whether the esteemed Guild masters like it or not they have a double duty to this country and by extension its people. If it is personal pride of being in the top ten ranks, then swallow it. If it stems from power, then squash it. There is no place for that attitude within the Table. That was not the duty bestowed upon you. If you ever forget, look at the words on the table and remind yourself. Otherwise, I may remind you," Ozpin paused.

The only people at ease were Qrow and Gildarts. The look on Hei's face had gotten even stonier and the smirk on Cinder's face had become sharper. The only ones unchanged were Roman and Mephisto. To Ozpin's right sat another female that had a similar complexion to Tsunade but was slender. Glynda Goodwitch had a tight look on her face that came from concern for her colleague. She glowed a deep shade of purple and from the elevator, exactly ten glasses and two jugs of water floated into the room. "You will have to forgive the headmaster, as you know Beacon isn't just the ancestral hall of the Ten it is also a school. Dealing with wayward youths is more than difficult, but when those youths have uncontrolled semblances it's an even more daunting task. The last week has been difficult, to say the least, and the headmaster is not as agile as he once was." She smiled coyly at Ozpin's look of indignation.

The water floated out of the jugs and split itself cleanly between the ten glasses. "However, nothing he said wasn't based in fact. These issues must be sorted out on your end. Otherwise, we may have to step in to rectify it. Make no mistake, Guild Master Xiong, the docks, and the death of those boys in your club are a bad picture. The situation must improve." Her voice was final, and the discussion reached an end there. "Unfortunately, our work is not over. It has been brought to my attention that the country of Mistral will be sending a diplomatic envoy here. It is to discuss a détente regarding Vale's stance during the annexation of Menagerie," said Ozpin. His voice had switched to a tone that held a false sense of urgency. It was clear that the crux of the meeting had been addressed.

"Is that what they call it? Hah, a grade-A bunch of assholes. At least 400,000 people were injured and a further 13,500 lost their lives. That was just here, in Vale. 50,000 people lost their lives worldwide Ozpin. For what? Just because he─" Qrow was interrupted by the stares of everyone in the room. "What?" He paused. Deciding that it wasn't worth it, he stopped talking but crossed his hands and then took a swig of his hip flask. Cinder was giving him a distasteful look, but Qrow wasn't having any of it. "Don't look at me like that honey, I saw the absolute wet look on your face when you were offered one of these wretched seats." Tsunade and Gildarts both had to cough into their glass of water to hide their laughter. The fiery look that crossed her face for a split second could have melted steel. However, she schooled herself and just said, "How very… mature."

"Bwahahah, you can fool everyone, but not me." He was enjoying himself, but alas all good things must come to an end. "Qrow, refrain from inciting Ms Fall. Your outburst was not needed. There will be no mention of the annexation of Menagerie and whatever your individual opinions are on that matter must be kept to yourself." Ozpin's tone was final. "Who is part of the envoy?" asked Mephisto, for the first time contributing to the conversation. Ozpin paused and didn't answer for a few seconds he took a sip from his mug of coffee and stared at the ceiling as he tipped his head back. His eyes glowed green and his pupils dilated heavily. "Ozpin?" He asked after an uncomfortable amount of time. The green faded and his pupils returned to their normal width. He put down his mug and looked at them all before continuing, "The envoy will consist of two Division Commanders and a Squadron Captain." The reaction around the room was a mixture that ranged from indifference to exasperation.

Toshiro spoke first, "For a détente, they seem to have chosen exclusively from the military. I wasn't expecting King Enryu himself, but anyone from the families would have sufficed," his soft voice echoed the thoughts of the majority within the room. The others didn't have much else to add to the conversation and therefore stayed out of the conversation. Ozpin stayed quiet but nodded his head instead. "The Division Commanders are major political figures as well as military leaders. Therefore, it isn't as much a sign of aggression as you think it is. The main issue, however, is the location of their stay. I will leave it up to the Guild Masters to agree between themselves as to where and under which Guild they will be housed. There should be no error and no oversight from our side regarding their stay. The Mistralians are a proud and regimented people, see that our lax nature doesn't interfere with them."


The artificial glow of the streetlights contrasted with the quiet but lit bar. The last of the patrons had left and the street was much emptier than it had been before. Still, the crocheted rhythm of cars brought life to the street. Even to the stupidly named, 'Crow Bar' with the crooked 'w,' people still walked in. Thinking they might be able to get a few quick drinks in before the club.

A tall man moved around the bar quietly, cleaning empty pint glasses and pitchers. As he was wiping away the sticky residue of spilt drinks, he heard the quiet scrape of the door on the floor and immediately without thinking said, "I apologize, but we are unfortunately closed for the evening." However, when he turned around to give an apologetic smile he paused, and the jovial demeanour disappeared from his face. Standing in front of him, was a man in a stark white mask. With no defining features other than the caked splotches of what looked like blood. His black coat was ripped in places and so was one of his trouser legs. The most unnerving detail was the fact that he was holding two remarkably familiar weapons. He did not need to see the cursive writing to know exactly which guns this man was carrying.

"Good evening, Gottfried. Please, sit down and let's have a chat."

The man walked straight past him and sat down at the bar. Gottfried, however, took a second to process whether he was awake or not. He quickly finished the last few tables and walked behind the bar, not paying the seated man any attention. He started to mix a drink and finally, he turned around and pushed the wide tumbler towards the man. At the same time, he pulled another tumbler, put in a spherical piece of ice, and filled it with tonic water. He picked up his glass and held it up in front of him. Eventually, the man removed his gloves and put them to the side, picked up his glass and clinked it with the other.

"Cheers."

His monotone voice signalled the start of their conversation. With his other hand, he grabbed the front of his mask and it briefly glowed before it came away smoothly. Nothing was different about the man. Not his eyes, the deep black hair nor the smooth and healthy texture of his skin. Taking a sip, his eyes widened as he recognised the revealing taste of the old-fashioned. Closing his eyes, he put down his glass and spoke with warmth, "You remember… it's good."

"Of course, I do. I still know all the drinks you four liked with the way things were back then, however, I can't believe you all let me serve you, haha. By the look of you, it wasn't your conscience that made you drop in." He stood with a questioning gaze on his face and his arms crossed across his chest.

Alucard was slowly rotating the tumbler and the errant condensation on the bottom of the glass had created a circular patch of moisture on the bar and he was widening the patch periodically simultaneously mixing the drink with the ice. "You were there so you know why I have been underground. I found something to keep me out, but like most things in my life if I have something nice then it must be taken from me." Alucard looked up and saw Gottfried looking at him with a curious look. He gave a mirthless chuckle and looked away shaking his head.

"You're still the same, huh, everyone has that feeling you're not immune Alucard. At least you have security most people don't have that at all. Just having to subsist on hope. How much more pathetic do you think that is?" There was no annoyance in his tone. It was more exasperation than anything else.

Alucard didn't take kindly to the words leaving Gottfried's mouth. "People that I thought would do anything rather than succumb to that feeling turned their backs on their principles very fucking quickly. Don't sit here and preach to me after what happened don't you dare stand opposite me and feed me some self-help bullshit you found on the CCNet to help you through your midlife crisis," said Alucard. The bitterness dripped from his words and Gottfried sighed as he took another sip from his glass. The bartender had a hard look on his face. He couldn't deny anything his companion had said and he conveyed as much, "I know it sounds like an excuse, but it's the truth. You won't listen to me but I'm telling you to let it go. It is the only reason I'm here on the other side to you."

Looking up, Alucard stared at Gottfried in the eyes, "Okay, I see now that this city has changed everything, even you." His eyes glowed black making his scarlet eyes pop and look menacing in the smoky lighting of the bar. He finished his glass of whiskey and continued, "I know that you manage that little dog's information network. Tell me why you had two bullheads worth of dust guarded by the tenth Conllave and an executive of the Rouge-Palace guild." The lights in the bar seemed to be eaten by the growing shadows around them. He made to stand up and in the process, his coat fluttered and for a moment multiple red eyes swam up to the surface of the fabric, rippling like they were suspended in ink.

A bead of sweat ran down Gottfried's face and his breathing had become heavier. "You know better than anyone that I cannot break contracts. To circumvent the contract, you will have to ask broader questions. You know how it works." His speech held within it an urgency, but he managed to keep his cool. "Why were they selling drugs inside the club and in such an obvious place? I don't believe in coincidence especially not when it concerns Junior and the others."

"Addiction is a profitable business whether it is drugs, alcohol or women and we know that money is the biggest addiction of all. You need to be incredibly careful of how you move because after tonight you will be a Rogue. That makes you a target to every side. I'm telling you one last time as a courtesy, the more you look for your revenge the harder it will be."

He sighed and looked at his feet and continued in a more subdued tone, "I did what I had to survive. You all left us high and dry," he said quietly.

Alucard put his gloves on and picked up his mask. "You do not get the right to speak to me like that. Either you help me or don't, if you want to stick around being a little errand boy for him, be my guest. It's been fifteen years, but this was a consequence that came knocking on my doorstep. In all honesty, I couldn't really be bothered about all the stuff going on in this city. If I did, I would have done things years ago. Those boys were non-entities, but they meant something to me."

Alucard turned around and started walking away. Gottfried frowned and he quickly replied, "What do you mean? Wait… they were related to you! Listen to me, you don't know how deep this runs, I can't tell you much more, but this whole thing, everything was planned by them. If you want to do anything you have to enter the rankings that's how the system works!" Alucard didn't say anything as he walked towards the door. He opened the door and stepped out, but right before it closed, he said one last thing.

"The system is fucked."


The orange hue of the setting sun perfectly mirrored the red armour worn by the knights of the First division. Each soldier was fitted with a red and gold armour and the helm they wore completely covered their heads, each with a translucent visor that was an off-white colour. All five of the squadrons had been summoned to the courtyard of Stronghold to see their commander on her voyage to the continent of Sanus. Each squadron stood still and unmoving with the utmost discipline and the neatest of lines. They were in a pyramid formation and at the head stood a singular red-haired female her helm in one hand and her long red and gold spear in the other. Her features were soft but her build less so, standing at 5'10" she was tall for a woman. Her ruby red hair was pulled into a ponytail and a gold circlet adorned her forehead.

The woman turned around and walked into the large dual-winged bullhead that was painted in the colours of the division. As she walked into the ship, the walkway rescinded into the hull of the vehicle and slowly lifted into the air. Inside two other people sat whose colour scheme was orange and white, but she wore a similar power armour to the red-haired woman. A more subdued male sat opposite her in the same colours but his whole demeanour coupled with his black hair and singular pink highlight gave him a muted aura. Sitting opposite the other female, the red-haired woman finally relaxed and slouched into her seat. The subdued man turned to her and spoke calmly, "Without being presumptuous, Your Grace, may I ask as to the reason we are departing for Vale four months in advance?"

"No, you may not." He bowed his head and remained silent until the other more flamboyant female smiled and started to chuckle. Her shoulders slowly started shaking and in return, the red-haired woman slowly started to smile. "Wow Pyr that was uncalled for," she said jokingly. "It's okay Renny! I'll buy a crate of pancake mix and then you can make some for me?" The last part was phrased as a question and she looked sheepish enough to convey her shyness, but the ever stoic Lie Ren was oblivious. He sighed quietly, "If that is your wish then I will make sure to complete it when we land." Both women silently groaned and let the conversation die.

"It is weird that we are going so much earlier than scheduled, does His Majesty know what you are doing?" The bubbly girl had adopted a more even cadence that conveyed her slight worry over the situation. This served to wipe any and all feelings from the woman's face. "Yes, of course, Nora. At least from the information, I received from his Head. Moreover, it was my directive and my letter to the table that allowed for this diplomatic meeting to happen. Father would never have done this himself it's… beneath him and what's beneath him is beneath Mistral. I going to change our image; however, I must also admit that we as a people are not suited to the diplomatic venture we are undertaking."

Her audience didn't so much disagree as they let their annoyance at the truth show across their faces. "As such, I have decided we will be shedding our identities when we reach Vale and we will live normally. Learn whatever we can about the country that is opposite to us in every way," this time their displeasure was more vocal and even the ever stoic Ren had an objection to the order. "This is not a request. I am doing this to bring change to our country, but until then this is an order and it will be obeyed." She firmly ended the conversation and received immediate affirmatives from both of them.

The sun that had set hours ago was now beginning to light up the sky again, such was the marvel of the rotation of the Earth. It was an extraordinary thing for someone who had never flown to see and her mind was racing to see how many more exciting things were in store for her in Vale. She had seen that certain things were heating up in Vale and had also come to realise that it had a distinct lack of a police force. Fascinating! She couldn't fathom how there weren't rampant protests and uprisings every other week not to mention an increase in crime. Her work would be cut out for her when she landed, but now it was time to get some rest.


Another day another player. Who knows what's going to be happening in Vale for the next few months. My excitement for you all is palpable. I worked very hard on the alternate course of history in this AU, but the problem now is I have to write in a manner that isn't just me telling you a timeline lol!

TheRedTower