After the Breach of Vale, Ray noticed a couple of things. First, several professors of Hogwarts stayed at Beacon, just as they did the last time. Second, more and more students of the other schools came to Beacon, having been selected to complete in the Vytal festival Tournament. Third, security had increased tenfold it seemed. Instead of a small number of Atlesian Knights-200, Ironwood had felt in necessary to fly in two other airships, containing each close to 350 knights. SO Ironwood had now about 700 knights at his command. While he knew that they were talented, even Ray had to gulp slightly at the large size of Ironwood's army. Why did Ironwood thought that it was a wise idea to bring in so many androids to Vale. Instead of security, that could have been held by a handful of experienced huntsmen and huntresses, he used his androids to 'make everybody feel safe'.
Ray wasn't safe. He knew that. According to what the police department had said to him, the DNA on the mask had been of a very dangerous individual. Cinder Fall was cunning, devious and most of all, very powerful.
Now, Ray was waiting for Professor McGonagall to leave Team GOTH's dorm. She was there with Harry to be briefed on Amity Colosseum, and to give her a stack of papers, containing every point docked from Gryffindor since he became one. Having collected a stack of papers himself, Ray had written several lines of insults towards the black wearing Potions Professor. Having copied it several times on other pieces of paper, Ray had created a nice stack of insults for Snape.
Seeing the door opening, Ray waved his wand from under his invisibility cloak and switches the complaints from Professor McGonagall hand to his own, while he sent the papers with insults towards McGonagall. The switch was seamless, and both McGonagall and Harry, who his under his own invisibility cloak didn't notice a thing.
'Now that that's done, I need to persuade McGonagall to come with me, to remove the charms on her that Snape must have planted.' Ray thought as he moved away from the corridor where McGonagall placed the now insulting pieces of paper in front of a door and knocked twice, before she left.
Ray jumped on top of the airbus that was transporting Team GOTH and Professor McGonagall to Amity Colosseum, hoping to find a moment when he could lure Professor McGonagall away from the practice of team GOTH while they went through the Biomes testing phase. Ray sat down on the airbus and cast a invisibility charm on himself, before he took out his scroll. According to what Angel had sent him, one Atlesian knight had been infected with Cinder's 'Queen' virus, but Ironwood refused to recall each and every unit. It would seem weak to him.
All to soon, Ray arrived at the Colosseum, where he found Professor McGonagall sitting in one of the benches, watching how Team GOTH fought against the old Atlesian Knights-100 Series model. Ray could see where Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Dora needed to improve, but after a year being taught tactics, strategy and almost constant sparring, Ray had gained a lot of experience.
As the last Knight was destroyed by Team GOTH, Ray moved towards Professor McGonagall, who was watching the matches with a keen eye. She almost looked like she wanted to jump in. Smiling slightly, Ray pulled from his vest a laser-pointer, hoping that Professor McGonagall animagus cat-form would be dominant enough to follow the laser. He would then lead her to one of the many entrances of the Colosseum, where he would start to cast his strongest finite charm.
As he placed the laser on McGonagall's palm, she started to look at it, and almost closed her hand around it, before the laser-pointer moved away from her. McGonagall looked at the laser several times and decided that she would follow it, never knowing that Ray had cast a weak compulsion charm on her, leading her to a staircase not far from them.
Finding the right time to remove the heavy compulsion charm of Snape was not as hard as persuading McGonagall from not interfering at Hogwarts, after she had been freed of the charms. She promised not to say anything about the events, and even swore a witches oath to Ray, after he had shown up. Nodding to his favorite teacher of Hogwarts, Ray made his way back to Beacon, having reapplied the invisibility charm on himself and on his trusted broom. Knowing that Sirius had sent the broom in his third year, Harry/Ray was extremely thankful for it's use right now.
Just as he was a hundred meters away from Amity, his scroll went off. Holding position in the air, Ray placed the scroll to his ear.
"Ray. It's Ozpin. We need you here right away. Something is going on with Teams RWBY and JNPR. They are at the medical wing. The rest of your team is underway. Come quickly."
Hearing the headmaster of Beacon calling him, and hearing screams in the background of the call, Ray turned his broom around, flew at high speed to Amity, landed there and shrunk his broom, before he took a deep breath and vanished with a muted 'Crack.'
Arriving near the medical wing of Beacon Academy, Ray heard several students crying out loud.
"IT HURTS." Cried Yang, making Ray run towards the doors that separated Beacon from the Medical wing. Bursting through the doors, Ray almost collided with Professor Ozpin, who was looking at several students who were on a bed, each crying out loud. It was Blake Belladonna, who held her stomach in her hands, Yang Xiao Long, who was turning and twisting, her left hand holding her right at the elbow, Weiss Schnee who sat on a bed, clearly exhausted. Only Ruby Rose was standing, but she was near Yang, trying to give her older sister comfort. It wasn't only team RWBY who was in several beds. Team JNPR was there to. Pyrrha Nikos was on a bed, screaming her lungs out as if she was fed a continuous Cruciatus curse. Jaune Arc, team-leader of Team JNPR was there, holding her hand, powerless to stop Pyrrha's pain. Next on the two other beds were Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Both students seemed to be out knocked-out cold.
Looking at the headmaster, Ray approached Blake's bed.
"Blake. What's going on?" Ray asked as Blake looked at him.
"It hurts. It hurts so much." Groaned Blake.
"What hurts, Blake?" Ray asked as he looked at Blake's body. "What hurts?"
"My abdomen." Blake moaned, as she pointed to her abdomen with her head. Silently asking permission to look at her abdomen, Ray carefully removed Blake's hands. There was nothing, except a small shallow cut, that became slightly more defined as Ray looked at it. Taking some cleaning alcohol from the head nurse, Ray cleaned his hands, and the injury. Blake screamed at the disinfection alcohol touched the wound, pushing Ray's hands away. Looking at Blake, Ray held up his hands, showing that he wasn't going to do anything that might hurt her.
Standing up, Ray walked over to Yang's bed, where the young blond girl was holding her right arm protectively. Ruby stood next to her, trying to give her sister some comfort. As Ray looked at the two sisters, he could see that Yang was holding her arm very protectively, making sure that nobody could touch it.
"Yang. Please. Let me look" Said Ray pleadingly, taking a second alcohol drenched piece of cloth in his hands to disinfect them. Glaring at Ray, as if he was the cause of her pain, Yang finally relented and fell on the bed completely, her right arm still held closely to her body. Finally, after five minutes of gentle pressuring of Ruby, Yang removed her left hand, showing that there was a thin line going over her elbow, with the line continuing from left to right. Ray looked at the line, growing more defined than before, just as it was at Blake. Looking over at Weiss who was simply resting, Ray nodded to Yang, who covered her arm again with her left hand.
Standing up and walking towards Pyrrha, Ray was interrupted when Jaune stood in front of him.
"You know something, don't you" Jaune said as he looked Ray in the eyes. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Ray looked the young blond in the eyes.
"I may have a theory, but I can't fully explain what's going on. Not without looking at Pyrrha." Ray stated. He tried to move towards Pyrrha, but was held back by Jaune.
"I don't know what you think you're going to do, but I need to know one thing. Will it compromise my team?" Jaune asked, as he placed his other hand of his sword. Ray noticed the movement.
"Jaune. I can promise you that I will do everything in my power, not to compromise your team. But until you let me look at Pyrrha, Nora and Ren, I can't explain what is going on. Professor Ozpin told you himself that I might have an idea what happened, but I need to investigate it further."
Ray looked at Jaune, and Jaune looked at Ray.
Jaune nodded and removed his hand from Ray's chest, before he took a place near Pyrrha's head. He gently took her right hand in his hands and held them there.
"You like her, don't you?" Ray asked as Pyrrha was now in a moment of peace and calm, instead of in constant pain. Jaune looked up from Pyrrha's face to Ray's.
"I-I" Jaune started. "Of course I like Pyrrha. She's my closest friend." Said Jaune as he looked at Ray.
"Jaune. Don't lie to me. I know how you feel. If you must lie, then lie to yourself." Said Ray as he placed an arm on Jaune's shoulder.
"How? How can I love this perfect angel, while I have nothing to give in return?"Asked Jaune as he looked at Ray with tears in his eyes. "How can I make her happy, when she's this great and powerful warrior? What have I to offer in return? Nothing. That's what." Said Jaune as he looked at Pyrrha's face.
"Jaune. Sometimes the thing to give back is nothing more than mere friendship. The acceptance that Pyrrha Nikos is just as human as all of us." Said Ray as he looked at the blond haired knight. "And that, is the greatest gift one can give."
"Ray speaks truth." Said Ozpin as he walked towards Pyrrha's bed, followed by Nova and Vixen. Angel had decided to remain at the CCT, trying to coordinate the search for the last infected Knight.
"Professor?" Jaune asked, not having really spoken with the headmaster since he had come to Beacon.
"Mr. Arc. I'll be honest with you." said Ozpin as he took a seat next to Jaune and Pyrrha, so he would not be overheard by Weiss, Ruby, Blake or Yang.
"I would like you to be honest to me. I think that someone like me, who allowed you entrance at Beacon without legal and genuine papers, that said person is permitted that he is given a honest answer." Jaune watched with open eyes. His secret was out. The headmaster knew about his fake application form.
"I'll pack my bags then, sir." Jaune said softly as he was about to stand, but was pushed down, rather hard, by Ray who had stood next to him.
"I don't care about your application form, Mr. Arc." Said Ozpin as he looked at the blond knight.
"I care more about the students. Did you not hear me what I said at the begin of the year? 'It is up to you, to take the first step.' Do you know why I choose you over Miss Nikos as Team Leader?"
Jaune shook his head. He had honestly no idea why the headmaster had chosen him over Pyrrha, Ren or Nora.
"It is because of what you have here." Ozpin said as he touched Jaune's chest, right where his heart was. "Your heart is pure. It is full of true courage. Courage to show the world that you are just as brave as your ancestors."
"Professor?" Jaune asked as he looked in Ozpin's eyes. Ozpin smiled and nodded.
"I don't intend to remove you from Beacon, Mr. Arc. I am, however, going to have to make a note in your file. You will attend, after the tournament is over, a seminar where you will learn to utilize your truest power. This will be about a week after the Tournament ends, and school closes for a month or two. It will teach you how to function properly at Beacon and any other combat school."
"His strength is in his loyalty to his friends and his rather quick understanding of the battlefield. Jaune here has a analytical mind that can create several tactics for his team." Said Ray as he looked at the now slowly moaning Pyrrha Nikos.
"Nova. I need you to grab the crystal sphere in my trunk and place it in the middle of our room. Vixen, collect Angel from the CCT and bring her to our room. Professor, I'm going to need both you and Professor Goodwitch to come with me. I think that I know what's going on." Said Ray as he made a movement with his right hand and his wand appeared in it. Ignoring the looks of both Professor Ozpin and Jaune Arc at his behavior, Ray made his way to the beds of both Blake and Yang. Pointing his wand at them, Ray cast a few pain suppression charms on both Yang's elbow and Blake's abdomen. Both girls opened their eyes as they stopped moaning, relieved that their pain was gone.
"Yang, Blake. We need to talk." Said Ray as he looked at the two.
"About what?" Yang asked as she was feeling no more pain from her elbow.
"How about the dreams that you three been having since the start of second semester?" Ray asked as he looked at Weiss. The girl was slowly waking up, her hands rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"How did you know?" Blake asked as she gently moved from the bed she had been laying on.
"Let's just say that I know a few tricks." Ray responded, as he looked at Nora and Ren. Waving his wand, Ray woke them up and ignoring Nora, who was bouncing around like nothing was going on, cast a pain suppression charm on Pyrrha, who just had started to moan loudly. The spartan dressed girl stopped moaning and after a gentle shake of Jaune, Pyrrha looked in Jaune's eyes.
"Jaune." Pyrrha said softly as she held his hand on her face. It seemed like she was trying to keep in constant contact with Jaune, who now spotted a nice red on his cheeks.
"Everybody. To the dorm of team RAVN. Now" Said Ray as he looked around. Yang, Blake, Ruby, Nora, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren were slowly nodding, and started to move. Weiss however, stayed where she was on her bed and looked at Ray in defiance.
"I'm not moving, until you explain to us how you did that with that wooden stick." Weiss said. Ray was about to angrily respond, but was overrules by Ozpin, who slowly made his way to the Schnee heiress.
"Miss. Schnee. I hope you don't mean to say that you don't want to know what is going on, why your teammates are suffering from this strange phenomenon." Ozpin said, as he leaned down of his walking stick.
"No sir." Weiss said as she looked down from Ozpin's face.
"Good." Ozpin said as he stood straight up. "Then you will follow orders of both Ray Star and Ruby Rose. Now follow them to the dorm of team RAVN and do as they say." Said Ozpin as he nodded with his head towards the rest of the students who followed Ray out of the medical wing and to RAVN's dorm. Nodding, Weiss slowly moved from the bed she had been sleeping on and followed Ruby, who had been waiting for Weiss to come along. Weiss joined her partner and followed the rest of the group, while Ozpin took the rear end.
The trek to Team RAVN's dorm was short and silent. Yang and Blake held close to each other, each still feeling the slight pain from their somewhat injured body-parts. Jaune was now holding Pyrrha close to him, guiding her to the dorm, while the red haired girl cried silently. Ren was his normal self, while he guided a somewhat sober Nora to their destination. Ray couldn't find out why Nora had jumped around the first moment, before being this sad-faced, sober girl, who almost was at the point of crying.
Ruby and Weiss held on to each other, lending strength to their partner. The one who closed the line was Ozpin. Ozpin was wondering what kind of magical trick Harry/Ray was going to pull from his magic hat today. 'Agreed. Magic may be weaker than Aura, but it is much more versatile.' Ozpin thought as he walked towards the dorms. Looking over the students in front of him, Ozpin started to analyze each and everyone of them.
Ruby Rose. A leader, strong and deadly if she wanted to be. A beacon of hope for those who would otherwise fail to see the light. Yet, impulsive, even reckless at times.
Weiss Schnee. A tactician, collected, calm. A calm in a coming storm, if she could keep her insecurities and high hopes in check.
Blake Belladonna. A Faunus, former member of the White Fang. Skilled in several area's of combat, but mostly skilled in infiltration and elimination. Her partner would need to break down her self build wall to allow Blake to feel again.
And Yang Xiao Long. A fighter, protector, and sometimes a source of laughter. Yet, despite all of those positive qualities, Yang lacked patience, focus and most importantly, control of her temper.
Would Team RAVN be able to help mold this team to that of the legends of old?
Then there was Team JNPR. Ozpin looked at them as well.
Determination, tactical awareness and care for his team were the defining qualities of Jaune Arc. But the most was his courage. His courage brought him so far in the year of Beacon, far more than those who tried to do so before him. Ozpin had known about the fake transcripts, but he allowed Jaune to enter, because he saw something in the blond knight. But in order for Jaune to shine bright like the knights from old, he needed help. Help that he wasn't sure that Jaune would survive.
Then there was Pyrrha Nikos. The young girl from Mistral, who won tournament after tournament, and fought with everything she had, seemingly unable to be touched by her opponents. This created the nickname of 'the invincible girl' that had placed Pyrrha on a pedestal, separating her from her year-mates, creating a barrier between anyone who she met and herself. It was only Jaune who had started to break down the barrier, but in order for Jaune to succeed, Pyrrha would need to see the young boy as more than her leader. Maybe she already did see him like that, but it needed something more. Not a spark, but a bright light.
Then there was Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Both students had applied at the same time. Two souls who had seem the destruction of the Grimm firsthand. Those two had been fighting since they were but seven years old, when their parents died, protecting them from a hunting pack of Beowolves, lead by an alpha who had been given the nickname Razorback.
Ren had repressed his emotions, forcing an almost emotionless lifestyle. It did him good in his fighting style, as Ren was one of the most lethal first years ever, to enter Beacon. But his lifestyle did also shortened his lifespan. His emotions, or lack of them, forced his body to deal with stress in a different way, slowly tearing down his body. At the current pace, Ren might have ten years left, before his body would give up.
That would also be the end of Nora Valkyrie, the overly happy student and grenadier of Team JNPR. Nora choose to deal with her memories and emotions in a different way, becoming overly active, chatty and outgoing. It was all a cover for Nora, who had seem such terrible things in her life that she had been mentally changed by it. Only Ren with his calming personality could calm down Nora, who would then be able to concentrate on her environment, social interactions and her work. If Ren would pass, Nora would burn out, her energy overpowering her and spontaneous combustion would be the end of her.
What could Team RAVN do for team JNPR, what for many seemed to be a mission impossible?
'Death will take, those who fight alone'
came from team RAVN's dorm, as the students and the two most important professors of Beacon walked in said Team's dorm.
'But United we can break, a fate once set in stone' Looking around, Ozpin saw a scroll playing music, something that seemed to soothe the students in the room. He spotted both Nova Heart and Vixen Jones standing in the room with Angel Star on the other side, looking at a glass sphere that seemed to be filled with some swirling mist. Said sphere was placed in the middle of the room.
'Just hold the line until the end, cause we will give them hell' The song played, before Nova pointed with her own scroll and the song died, bringing all of the students, excluding Ray Star, Nova Heart, Angel Star and Vixen Jones out of their trance.
"Right. Before we begin, I want to tell you something that's quite important." Said Ray as he looked at the eight students. They all looking at the blond haired student, who carried himself with an air of authority. "What you are about to see, is one of the many possible future's, should you reject our help."
Everybody looked at Ray. "What do you mean?" Blake asked as she rubbed her abdomen. The wound didn't hurt as much as before, now it was a slightly uncomfortable feeling instead of a flaming pain.
"The line on Yang's arm, Pyrrha who's screaming her lungs out, Ren, Nora and Weiss passed out. And you Blake, holding your abdomen with a small blade like line on it. You are experiencing something that can be called phantom pain, but the cause hasn't happened yet. What you are experiencing, your most possible future, is almost set in stone. It is the way of Fate. It is she who is hurting you, who is forcing you to relive those dreams. Each and every night, Teams RWBY and JNPR are plagued by dreams that foretell the end of the world as you know it. I have heard it, I have heard Ruby crying in her sleep, trying to wake up her older sister, but said sister can't be woken up from such terrible dreams."
Teams RWBY and JNPR looked at Ray. "Don't deny it. Weiss, you dream of your father bringing you back to Atlas, leaving team RWBY behind." Weiss gasped and actually looked pale.
"Blake. You dream of fighting your old mentor in the cafeteria and receiving a wound in your abdomen. You also dream of leaving RWBY, just as your partner needs you the most." Blake looked at Yang, and the brawler could actually see both truth and fear in equal measures in the Faunus eyes.
"Yang. Your dream is that of loosing your arm, and thereby loosing all hope to become a huntress."
Yang nodded, tears flowing over her face.
"Pyrrha. You dream of facing impossible choices, failing to succeed said choices and eventually dying." Pyrrha nodded, her tears falling down on Jaune's shoulder who became wetter as Pyrrha cried her heart out.
"Jaune, Nora, Ren. You all dream of setting out, leaving the life you knew behind you and finding the combat school Haven, where you hope to find answer to questions you don't know. You also find Ruby with you."
The three nodded, while Jaune held Pyrrha close to him. Ren and Nora weren't much better, as they held on to each other, like a last lifeline.
"Ruby. You see in your dreams Mercury walking around, after Yang broke his legs. You see your good friend Penny die, Grimm attacking the Colosseum, Torchwick on a Atlesian airship and finally Pyrrha dying on top of Beacon's tower."
Ruby nodded, her face filled with tears. "I know." Ruby said softly as Blake, Weiss and Yang turned to their leader and gave her each a comforting hug.
"All of you are touched by these dreams. You all have had a glimpse of the future, of what could happen." Ray said as he sat in front of the glass sphere, facing the group. "I have one more request for you. Please, sit with me in a circle around the sphere, each holding hands with your neighbor."
"Ray, you cannot be serious. You haven't learned this technique yet. Dust, we haven't had Divination at Hogwarts. You could hurt them in unimaginable ways."Shouted Angel as she looked at Ray.
"I know. And I am not endangering their lives. This is the only way. The only way for us all to become stronger, more aware, more skilled." Said Ray as he looked at Angel. "Besides, Lavender and Parvati showed me how to use it once, while they were reading my palm for practice."
Before Angel could counter Ray, Professor Ozpin sat down next to the young leader. "I believe in Ray Star's ability to guide us through this. Anyone who believes so to, should sit in a circle around the sphere."
Team JNPR sat down on Ray's other side, with Jaune holding hands with Ray and Pyrrha, who held Nora, who held Ren. Professor Goodwitch sat down as well, placing her hand gently in Ren's outstretched hand. Team RWBY sat down next, although Weiss was a bit reluctant, before she was dragged to sit next to Ruby and Blake.
It was a nice circle, with Ray, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Goodwitch, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Ozpin.
"Now,close your eyes, grasp your hands and let your minds flow, think back to your dreams." Said Ray as Angel, Vixen and Nova started to move around. Angel stood behind Ray, lending him some of her magic, while Vixen stood slightly behind Pyrrha and Nora and Nova stood slightly behind Blake and Weiss.
"Now," Said Ray as his eyes started to turn green. "Fill yourself with one question. Why did this happen?"
A hundred little flashes appeared in the sphere, as Team RWBY and JNPR thought about their dreams and why it happened. Each flash of light that formed in the sphere, was a memory of the dreams, directed by Vixen and Nova to the sphere with their wands. Nodding to Ray, Vixen and Nova lowered their wands, before Ray woke the two teams up.
"This sphere tells us what you were thinking about, and thanks to some incredible force that I don't understand, it sorted the images. Now we can watch the images as if we are watching a movie."Said Ray as he stood and placed the sphere close to a clear piece of wall, before he grabbed some popcorn. "Who's ready to watch?"
A/N. The lines of the song played were from the song 'Reignite' by Malukah.
While I didn't get permission to use her song, I hope that she would allow it's use.