"Excellent. I've taken the liberty of writing your speech. I suggest you read it, and stick to the script"
Right as she was about to reach the door, it closed. As she turned around, she saw that the General had just taken his right hand off a button on the headmaster's desk and straightened himself. "what is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
"Mrs. Schnee, as much as I was willing to entertain your little temper tantrum, I refuse to let you disrespect someone of my status without at least speaking my mind" Ironwood answered with a calm yet unnerving tone.
Weiss had mixed feelings of anger and nervousness "what? There is nothing to speak about. Didn't you hear anything I said? You're completely-."
"ENOUGH" the General slammed one hand on the desk beside him. The action seemed to have sent a sudden wave of fear and shivers throughout her body, making her somewhat regret her rant "Indeed, I've heard every word you said, just as you'll hear mine until I say otherwise" The Heiress was struggling to keep her composure as she was now seeing a genuine fury the General had never displayed before. "am I making myself clear?" He said, clearly irritated.
"w-why shou..." Weiss tried to speak before a voice roared.
"AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?" Ironwood was glaring into her eyes which made her tremble.
"y-yes" she stuttered. The situation was not lost on the others present in the room.
"James please calm down" Glynda said.
"Don't worry Glynda. I will not do anything drastic" he reassured. Glynda then relaxed a bit.
"Now" Ironwood began "Let's go over everything, shall we?" He said looking at Weiss.
"First and foremost, I'm responsible for managing my own academy, an entire kingdom, and thousands of missions of all kinds while managing wars against Grimm, the white fang, and terrorists" the General said as he looked down at the Heiress. "do you really think that I have enough time to check a random camera footage myself?" Weiss looked down at the floor. "and while I'm not naïve or moronic to think people don't cheat, you sure are, as you are not aware that semblances cannot be discovered without the person's compliance and they could be easily disguised under the guise of not activating them yet."
"Second, providing security for the festival is a shared effort, most of which rests on Vale, might I add, because an attack on the festival is an attack on Vale's grounds" Weiss was now struggling to keep eye contact. "Meaning that the virus that infected my scroll is Vale and Beacon's responsibility, not mine or Atlas' military" he paused as he looked at Qrow and Glynda "Surely, the best Academy in Remnant could detect a virus in their system" Glynda seemed to shift her gaze, while Qrow just shrugged.
"Speaking of which, as Generals and headmasters we're no strangers to breaking cardinal rules of all kinds, concerning digital security or not. Just ask Mrs. Goodwitch here" Weiss shifted her eyes to Glynda.
"Is this true?" She asked.
"Yes, sometimes we have to break the rules if we think it'll be for the best" Glynda simply responded, "After all, this is how Mrs. Rose entered Beacon Academy."
"Ahem" Ironwood coughed to regain their attention "we have records of all those times we broke said rules, just like those" he signaled to the files "you should know that someone in my position has complete control over all documents concerning these matters."
"And these records won't be used against James anyway" Glynda said.
"WHAT?!" Weiss screamed, "WHY?!"
"He's the most trusted ally to Vale in Atlas amongst very few. They can't afford to lose him" Qrow revealed, "Especially after the recent attack on Beacon, and the rising activity of the White Fang in Vale these past few months."
Weiss was flabbergasted "moving on" James said.
"Furthermore, my men weren't guarding the tower. Those were Vale soldiers. Arranging the matches is not my responsibility. And I'm occupied with my own kingdom to check if all students are outsiders, especially if they're not from Atlas Academy" he continued "And may I remind you that while I have all the sympathy and concern for Mrs. Xiao Long, She is in a line of work where one's life could be lost. Losing an arm while tragic is very probable and normal" he added "I have my scientists and experts build an advanced prosthetic arm for Mrs. Xiao Long" Weiss seemed surprised "all costs will be covered by me personally. In fact, those automated soldiers were meant to reduce human losses so something like that wouldn't happen. A noble cause wouldn't you say, Mrs. Schnee?"
"Well yes, but..." she tried to counter but couldn't. she sighed as she lowered her arms in defeat.
"And I don't see why Penny being sliced was my fault for keeping her a secret. It would've happened either way. Especially considering that Mrs. Polendina was constantly on dangerous missions" He added "As for my engineering skills, I'd say they're quite adequate. Which is why the aura we provided Mrs. Polendina as well as the thick outer layer that covered her could've canceled any magnetic fields around her" he revealed "And by the way, Mrs. Polendina is being fixed at the moment in the most advanced lab in Atlas at the hands of Dr. Pietro Polendina and the most experienced scientists the kingdom has to offer. The process could take months, but it's a guaranteed success" Weiss was about to smile if not for the General's next words cutting her off.
"And finally" he said as he approached Weiss "Do you really think that this is the first class action lawsuit that has been raised against me?" Weiss' eyes widened.
"what do you mean?" She inquired.
"Mrs. Schnee, there's a reason I was provided billions worth of Liens of mechanical replacements for my body instead of being discharged" Weiss stiffened at the realization. "it's because I am the most efficient General the kingdom has ever witnessed" the General said proudly "the army disregarded multiple lawsuits that were raised against me, all in favor of keeping me in my position as the most effective General. So, yes, I'm certain that the army will protect my reputation over their forces' as they did time and time again, especially because their reputation has already been tainted by accusations of Faunus discrimination as is the entire kingdom of Atlas, and they're still operating normally. So it's safe to say that their reputation is not a concern for them."
"I-I...bu-but" Weiss was now shaking as her thought process was being ripped apart piece by piece.
"As for your father, the only reason that man is not rotting in a prison cell is that he's the number one benefactor of the army. And let's be honest, the army doesn't think a young adult who knows nothing about the job because she left for beacon instead of preparing herself for the job with her father, is ready to take over" Ironwood said.
"He's despicable, why would I stay with him?" Weiss shot back.
"Yet, you're willing to use him to threaten me when it suits you" he said "upholding your principles really well there Mrs. Schnee" Weiss lowered her head in shame.
"Anyway" he continued "I have enough dirt on Mr. Jacques Schnee to have him locked up for life, and he knows this all too well" Weiss' legs were trembling from the revelation "he wouldn't dare do anything against me or the army" he finished just as Weiss fell to her knees whimpering "you can throw those files in the bin because I will not agree to the settlement in them. I will not pay for Mrs. Xiao Long's medical expenses except for her prosthetic arm. I will not pay for Mrs. belladonna's medical expenses either. And I'm especially not gonna pay for any compensations" he said the last sentence with fury while Weiss was crying on the floor.
Qrow and Glynda were now feeling pity for the young heiress, seeing her like that "James, I believe that..." Qrow was about to finish before he received a death glare from the General.
Ironwood shifted his eyes back to the kneeling Weiss approaching her "now" Weiss raised her head revealing her teary eyes "this is the deal, Mrs. Schnee, you will attend that press conference you prepared as the speaker, and I will be with you on the stage" everyone now seemed confused "and you will apologize to everyone that'll be present including the news stations, and to me for wasting all our time."
"W-W-WHAT?!" Weiss shouted "w-why would I-I..."
"If you refuse" Ironwood kneeled down to her level "I will be more than capable of charging you with the crimes of breaking into a private military meeting, slander and blackmail, and wasting a General and government officials' time" he said with venom before he rose "and I can push the news stations to do the same as well. Trust me, Schnee. They can be very intimidated by the General of the most powerful kingdom" Weiss was practically paralyzed from the shock, but she snapped out of it as soon as Ironwood continued speaking "And I'm sure with all those charges, the court wouldn't have a problem believing that the Heiress Weiss Schnee was an accomplice with her dear father in his many crimes and shady dealings. All it takes is some fabricated evidence and false witnesses. And I can provide both as I have connections throughout the entire body of the legal system, the high society, and the criminal underworld" he added "not even your father can get you out of this predicament."
Weiss was intimidated by the General's sudden shift of demeanor "W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" She screamed as she was getting back up "you just can't do that!" she exclaimed.
"Oh I can" he said nonchalantly "and I did it before to countless other nobodies who tried to oppose me" she was left speechless after she heard that.
Weiss was now panicking as she turned to Glynda and Qrow for help. Both of them broke out of their shock "General, you're taking this too far!" Glynda exclaimed.
"YEAH, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" Qrow screamed breaking out of his alcoholic trance.
"EXCUSE YOU?" The general shouted back, causing everyone in the room except him to freeze "I'm simply defending myself against blackmail and slander attempts" he growled. Glynda and Qrow were about to retort, but the General gave them a piercing glare that silenced them. Weiss was completely helpless now.
Ironwood then simply walked right past Weiss entering the elevator, but right before his index reached the elevator button to close the door, he paused and then faced her "what will it be Weiss? Apologize or face prison?" He said, locking eyes with the whimpering teary-eyed Heiress.
Weiss stumbled through her words "a-a-alright" she weakly uttered "I'll apologize" she said hanging her head low.
"good" Ironwood simply said. He closed the door before Qrow and Glynda could chase after him.
hours later when Ironwood was on the roof of the academy, a voice called out from behind him "James" he turned around to see it was Glynda with Qrow following behind.
he sighed "listen" he said clearly tired "I owe you an apology for raising my voice on you two" the two smiled, now knowing that their General calmed down "so, Qrow, Glynda, I'm so sorry."
"We know" Glynda spoke with a heartfelt smile "But, don't you think you were way too harsh on Mrs. Schnee?"
"Yeah" Qrow added "even for you, that was completely out of character" he said with worry on his face.
Ironwood was silent for a moment before speaking "throughout all my career as a general until recently, I protected Atlas and Vale without fail. Time and time again I lost friends, colleagues, and people I care about, all the while getting angry letters from their families and friends blaming me for their deaths. There were multiple repeated assassination attempts targeted towards me. I can't count how many times I was in agonizing pain for months on end both physically and mentally trying to heal my physical wounds and my mental traumas. How many times have I had to deal with the stress of containing multiple riots from Faunus and the White Fang. how many times have I had to repair multiple war losses inside and outside of Atlas, witnessing all the suffering knowing I had a hand in it" he paused for a moment "and now" he was on the verge of tears "losing the best and most loyal friend I had" Glynda and Qrow now wore sad expressions, knowing who he meant "Ozpin was more than a friend. He was also someone who I looked up to. But now, he's gone."
"James, listen, I know..." Glynda tried to comfort him before being cut off.
"And then, for some spoiled brat of a Huntress in training who doesn't know the first thing about war to step in, insult me, belittle me, blackmail, and threaten me at the first slip of my career" he said clenching his fists, near shouting in anger "Well, let's just say I had enough, and I will not tolerate any more disrespect."
"James" Qrow said sympathetically "I know you suffered more than any of us here, doing what you have to do, but Weiss is just a student. She doesn't know any better."
"If she is a student, then she should've acted like one" Ironwood shot back "and she shouldn't have involved herself in matters she knows nothing about."
"Well, I have nothing else to say then" Qrow sighed defeated and tired.
"Now, if you'll excuse me" the General said heading to the stairs "I have a press conference to go to, and a well-deserved apology to receive."
"General, wait..." Ironwood turned around as Glynda attempted to speak but Qrow put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and she saw him shaking his head, getting the message.
Seeing that, Ironwood turned back around and continued his way.
"I'll be meeting you tomorrow Mr. Branwen, Mrs. Goodwitch" he said.
"See you tomorrow, General" Glynda said solemnly as Ironwood departed.