When Jaune relaxed in his seat on Winter's airship, he was surprised to see that the ship was surprisingly spacious and luxurious. Is this what it is like for private vehicles? With the added machine-based servants attending to his whims, it had to be. He had just come from the restroom and took one more look at his armor; with the helmet on, he truly appeared like those knights from the stories. If he were to guess, he would say that he looked like the Rusted Knight minus the rust. It had taken a while before he could relax, there was no telling when he and Winter might need to jump off once they got to Vale so he opted to stay in his armor. His helmet was out though and placed next to him. It would have been a rather spacious ride with only him, his teacher and the machines. Almost.

"Hey, Harriet!" declared a vibrating Marrow. "Check out these vibrating chairs!" He then made noises that sounded like it was being digitally manipulated with the vibrations of said chairs. Harriet joined him after she sighed. Vibrating chairs were comfortable for anyone.

The Ace-Ops had accompanied Winter and Jaune as they were flying over the lands and oceans. The full reason was beyond Jaune but he was told that Atlas was taking over the security for the Vytal Festival and they were needed to aid out on the security. How much they needed was even more beyond him. With the amount of ships and soldiers that were being deployed, it was much closer to an entire fleet invading a country than it simply security.

"Headmaster Ozpin has willfully given his position as head of security," Winter had explained. "He has yet to explain his reasons but the General has assured us that we would be briefed on the matter once we arrive."

"Really a big deal, isn't it?" Clover commented. "Last I hear, Ozpin didn't want to give up that position and was even against the General bringing in the Paladins, thinking that made it look like an army was invading. Now, we really do look like an invading army."

What changed? That was the question that plagued everyone's mind. Jaune himself was thinking that as well. He looked at his sword. Once again, there was glowing that came on and off. They were still no closer to figuring out what that meant and at this point, they have exhausted all possible outcomes. They could only rely on happenstance to give them their answer at this point.

The airship continued to hum its monotonous sounds as the flight was as smooth as it could get. Jaune didn't even need to swallow any of those pills for this one. It was either that or he is slowly getting used to travelling by air. It probably helped that he didn't eat much before this trip, only enough so that he wouldn't go hungry.

The view outside was as breathtaking as it was before. He felt as though he could reach out and touch those clouds that flew beside them. The blue oceans below appeared serene. With how everything appeared, it was easy to forget that Grimm still swim in those waters. In numbers immeasurable and unknown to man, man's eternal enemies always proved to be as mysterious as they are numerous. Jaune wondered if there were still undiscovered Grimm that lurked beneath the ocean's depths.

Taking his mind away from such dreadful thoughts, his hand continued to feel the sword handle. He had used it for many months now and had gotten used to it. If anyone asked, Jaune felt more comfortable with Saint War Order that Crocea Mors would have felt awkward in his hands. The glow was absent when he glanced at the gemstone.

Jaune rested his head against the chair. Luckily for him and everyone else, each individual chair had one of those neck pillows for the comfort. With nothing else to do, Jaune sought to get some rest as nothing else was happening. He couldn't sleep due to the conversation that Marrow was having with the other Ace-Ops. It was shaping to be a long trip as they were getting close to Vale.

As Vale's soils became clearer, Jaune could see that outside the window the sheer number of airships that have been brought into the kingdom. What has gotten into the headmaster of Beacon? If he recalled from the conversations he has had with Winter outside of training, headmaster Ozpin doesn't view soldiers in a favorable light. It was said that soldiers were reminders of the Great War and he wished to avoid that. Any remembrance of that might instill some anxiety or hatred depending on which side of the war the people were on. With Atlas—or rather Mantle—and Vale being historical enemies at some point, it stands to reason that there may be deep-rooted hatred that people from either kingdom have for one another. The sight of these airships must be triggering some innate biases among the populace in Vale.

Soon enough, the continent's ground which Vale resides on have begun to take more space in the window. The expanse greenery had started to be dotted by the different colors and shapes that made the different settlements that scattered all around the kingdom. Soon after that, the structures have begun to congregate as the major cities confined within the walls have become a much more common sight than the hills and mountains. Other airships have already begun their procedures for descent making the others still in the air wait for their turn.

Some ships have simply begun to make circles around the place as they awaited their time of descent. Most were able to stay stationary as they were given the signal for their descent. Winter's airship took nearly an hour before they were given the signal to make their descent.

From the window, a wave of nostalgia washed over the blonde knight as Jaune's eyes widened at the familiar sight of Beacon Academy. It has been a long time since he had last seen it. By now, it should be the second semester in the school year. A whole semester had gone by ever since he had to leave the school. An excited nervousness filled his heart as the thought of reuniting with his friends filled his thoughts. Would they still be able to get along as they did before? Or had the time apart made it so that it was as though they were a newly formed team again with all that awkwardness that came? What about his other classmates? How would they react upon seeing one of the worst among them return to Beacon? The reality was coming closer as Winter's airship got closer to the ground.

Then, airship stopped its descent and stayed afloat. Winter and the Ace-Ops have stood from their seats and made their way to the door. Jaune followed behind them, putting on his helmet. He wasn't sure why they stopped but when the door had opened, he received his answer. There were many others already there on the ground with other airships only opting to find a different landing area elsewhere. Huntsmen and huntresses jumped off the ships, flaring their auras as they landed to soften the blow.

Winter and the Ace-Ops leapt first and immediately split apart for his own landing. Jaune didn't follow because he was slower in analyzing the ground below, having a helmet on limited his vision somewhat and he had to move his head about to get a better glance of the ground below. He landed in a pose like a knight kneeling in front of his lord as his aura flared to protect him from the impact. He could see the other students still in Beacon.

"What's going on?" asked Jaune. "There's a lot of people around here."

"Seems like headmaster Ozpin called off all missions and had everyone stationed here," answered Clover. "Speaking of the headmaster, where's our welcoming party?"

"That would be me," said the familiar voice of Professor Ann Greene. "The headmaster is currently gathering a select few to his office. General Ironwood, Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen are already there. They are waiting for your arrival."

The Ace-Ops saluted and followed Greene as she led them down the familiar halls of Beacon Academy. Hidden underneath his helmet and wearing armor unlike the one he had before, Jaune was unrecognizable by the populace of Beacon Academy. People he once recognized as classmates and upper-classmen looked at him like he was a stranger. He also stood out among the group. Everyone else wore uniforms of Atlas soldiers while he wore full body armor. They marched in perfect unison while he walked more casually. The only thing that united them all here was the color white for Jaune's armor was of that color.

The elevator was enough for them all to fit in but there was little space left for anything else. Jaune had to hold his sword's sheath as having it hanging by the hip would take up space and bump into the others' sides. Winter did the same while the other Ace-Ops had their weapons hung at their back, saving as much space as they could.

Jaune still remembered the last time he went up this elevator. It was back when his transcripts were initially exposed and that he would have been removed from Beacon Academy. It felt so long ago now that it feels new to him again. Feelings of jamais vu overcame him as his surroundings appeared to be unfamiliar when he knows that he had been here before.

The elevator's doors opened and they were met with the waiting looks of Glynda Goodwitch, Qrow Branwen and General James Ironwood. Headmaster Ozpin, however, looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep. The scent of coffee filled the air yet no one else had any cup on their hand. The headmaster's hairs were standing all over the place as dark colors could be seen beneath his eyes.

"I am glad you are all here," he said, somewhat lightening his mood. "I am sure you have many questions and that will be answered now. James?"

General Ironwood took the lead and with a push of a button, projected an image for them all to see. It was a sketch of some kind of Grimm that Jaune has never heard about. A blob-like thing attempting to take a more solid form as the round circles appeared to be eyes with tentacles forming at what Jaune would guess would be the mouth. Lacking any other appendages, it was an incomplete thing that made it difficult to tell what it could be. It had the similar black, red and white coloring of Grimm but it was certainly not something that Jaune nor anyone else in the room had seen before, judging from their confused expressions.

"We have received intel," said Ironwood. "Of a new kind of Grimm. One thought to have been only a mythical creature. We have reason to believe that this Grimm is an ancient one that might reawaken soon."

"Permission to speak, sir," asked Clover. When Ironwood gave him the go signal, he continued. "What is the name of this Grimm and where has this been sighted?"

"Professor Ann Greene has seen traces of it leave the Emerald Forest," answered Ironwood. "As for the name, it has none. Ozpin simply opted to name it R'lyeh for the time being." It was an odd name for sure, like it was not something that was of this world. "From what Ozpin was able to gather, R'lyeh was said to have been worshipped as a deity by ancient civilization that eventually died out…"

General James Ironwood continued to list down various myths and fairytales about R'lyeh. All these things that Jaune has never heard before. Judging from the faces of the other Ace-Ops, the feelings were mutual. Where had Ozpin gotten these stories from? The headmaster never struck as someone who is that into fairytales and folklore. It felt more like those fantasy stories that one would read rather than folklore of actual ancient civilization.

"…Every single one of us here shall search of R'lyeh and exterminate it," said Ironwood. "This Grimm is a threat to all humanity if it ever fully reawakens. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all said in unison, saluting as well.

"Good, dismissed," replied Ironwood.

Suddenly, Ozpin cried out, "and Mr. Arc. Welcome back to Beacon."

/-/

When Mr. Arc, Ms. Schnee and the Ace-Ops have left, Ironwood then turned to Ozpin and asked, "are you certain of this, Ozpin? This is unlike you."

"I know James," replied Ozpin. "But this is something that takes priority."

"With everything you've told us thus far, Oz," said Qrow. "We've gotta know what all those fairytales you made up was about."

Ozpin sighed. He then addressed them individually and said, "because when she had learned of the original book, she had also learned things that I regret ever knowing. It was knowledge that shook down everything I have ever known given what I had seen." He took a deep breath before he continued. "The Queen did more than just create a copy of that spellbook. She did so with the goal of creating another god. A false god, one made in the image of a great old one. That name I had given was because I do not ever wish to utter its true name here, if I had understood it at all."

"With everything you've seen, Ozpin," General Ironwood said. "How can you even say that this Grimm is even a god?" He refuses to call it anything else. "Do the Brothers exist because they are permitted too? Is that you're saying?" It was cliché and James felt that he wasn't that far from the mark. He regretted that almost immediately.

In response, Ozpin only laughed a creepy laugh. The room suddenly grew heavy with the headmaster's laughter. It could only be described as one for the only certainty that they had was that Ozpin was fighting to keep what sanity he had left in that moment. Never before had they seen someone like him be in such a state. "It is not because they are permitted to exist," he finally said. "It is because the Brothers are too insignificant to be noticed."

Everyone in the room stared at Ozpin hard. They had never seen the man in this light before. The fear and terror that engulfed him as the coffee—his 7th refill—began to spill and stain the table and papers that rest on his table. Everyone there knew the true nature of the headmaster. With the things he must have seen, surely, nothing must have surprised him by now. Yet here he was, almost breaking at the mere thought that whatever this R'lyeh thing was. Ozpin told them it was a different name; he could not utter the true name without slipping into some kind of madness.

"We must find Mr. Winchester quickly," he said. "Before he realizes that he doesn't need his own aura to feed that book."

AN: Might be a little late on that one, Ozpin