The contest started simply enough, the group of twenty security bots split off into two groups to attack both contestants. They were the standard humanoid shape and size Hector has come to expect from the standard Atlesian Knight model. But instead of the regular rifles or blades they brought out some sort of baton. The baton extended revealing that they were all armed with telescoping staffs. The staffs began to hum and glow purple before they started sparking with electricity and the knights their assault.

Almost immediately Hector could tell why Weiss had beaten Ciaran. As she flowed seamlessly dodging the knights' strikes and attacking with her rapier he saw years of hard work and practice giving her graceful flow to her movements. This, by itself, wouldn't have helped her much against a Judge. What did give her an edge was the same thing that turned one of the knights pursuing her into a molten slag pile: dust.

History said that dust had been around since the dawn of the aura users. Their growing numbers were said to have activated the crystals and in turn their use helped push back the forces of Grimm. Said growth of aura users led to the formation of Judges to keep them in check. This meant that they had to deal with dust as well, something that the Order had never been completely able to do. Dust was a strange element. It was like the Remnant's aura made physical and enhanced. It was still affected by a Judges anti-aura abilities, but its properties made it way more difficult to deal with. It was like trying to deal with oil instead of water, it was much slicker and more difficult to manipulate. A good Judge could handle it, but Ciaran…

The Judge in question snarled in pain as a buzzing staff struck his blade sending jolts of electricity through it. He responded by slicing the knight clean in half. His claymore was swinging in wide arcs forcing the knights to dodge back to avoid being dismembered. Hector had to admit, they were pretty advanced machines. As Ciaran continued on the offensive Hector nearly groaned as he saw his oath brother swing his blade in the most impractical way possible. He traded speed and skill for flashy sweeps and flourishes. He even threw his weapon in the air, letting it spin, before grabbing it by the hilt on the way down and using the momentum to cleave another knight in two.

Weiss on the other hand was going through her dust supply at an impressive, and completely impractical, rate. Sending waves of fire and columns of ice to manipulate and tear apart her opponents.

Hector heard Winter groan beside him. "I told her how bad an idea it was, going through dust that quickly."

Hector nodded as Ciaran used the broadside of his sword as a shield and Weiss skewered another knight through the chest. "Yes, it does seem quite costly."

"If she were a regular huntress she'd go broke her first mission."

"She requires discipline." Ciaran let off a bloodthirsty scream as he swept a knight's feet from under it and brought his sword down on its chest. "She is not the only one."

Winter regarded him quizzically. "This match is more…even, than I thought it would be."

"Is that a question?"

Winter hummed as she saw her sister flip and use her glyphs to juggle some of the knights. "Weiss can use her glyphs and dust, meaning Judge Ciaran isn't affecting her abilities."

"No," he was far too proud for that. Cheating or manipulating his opponent would only taint victory for him. But his tolerance for it always seemed to waiver whenever he ended up on the losing side.

"He still has the advantage though, I don't know how well a Judge can see through their helmet but I do know how well Weiss can see through that patch over her eye."

"What patch?"

"What patch-" Winter looked at him incredulously before turning to her sister and seeing what he did. As Weiss slashed and dodged her hair flowed around her face, revealing two fiery determined eyes that absorbed every detail of the arena. A scar as left where she had been struck by Ciaran, but she didn't seem to be hiding it. Winter gaped at the change in her sister. "How could I not have noticed? How-when-"

"Your sister has come to win, Ms. Schnee. She cannot let anything stop he from doing so. A patch, a scar, what are they to victory?"

Winter hummed approvingly, he saw the flicker if a smile flash across her face. "So she's fighting at her full strength right now. While he is-" She was cut off as Ciaran beheaded four knights at once with a might crash of metal. He laughed victoriously before stumbling back as the knights raised their staffs and kept delivering blows.

"Ah, their cores are in their chests then?"

Winter nodded. "They're more secure that way. Why isn't this easier for him though?"

"Why would it be?"

"His abilities should make it…oh." There it was. "The knights don't have aura, just dust. That's why he's having more trouble with them than he would a human opponent, correct?"

"Faunas too, Judges can handle anything alive really, but yes. A lack of aura changes the landscape of this fight."

Winter gave him a look caught somewhere in between accusatory and smug. "You planned this. It's why you didn't suggest another spar."

"This was just the best way to do this with no one getting hurt." Although judging from the way the stun staffs struck the two contestants he seemed to have failed at that. Even through the extra protection of aura and armor the electricity had to have stung. The knights were getting way more hits in than he had anticipated. They were cold, mindless, and merciless. "I can see why you would want to replace the Judges with these machines.

Winter raised her chin and afforded herself a smug little grin. "Yes, they are quite up to the task. This new two hundred line of knight is as advanced as they come, with enough advancements we can make them cheaper to produce. They will be able patrol five times the area a Judge can."

"I was not speaking of their capabilities. I was speaking of what they meant to you."

She gave him a quizzical look causing her to miss the way Weiss skewered two knights and used lightning dust to short them out. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You couldn't stop a Judge's actions, and you couldn't help your sister. But these machines, they can be controlled and they can be stopped by you at any time. Things would be back in your control. The people you care about would be safe."

Winter suddenly looked furious. "If you think-"

"But it cannot be that way. Atlas has come a long way towards leaving behind the mistakes of Mantle."

Winters eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Mantle believed that emotionless justice was the path, that to suppress their souls completely would save them all and create a better world. They entrusted their lives to machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts, and the world burned for it. Atlas is a new start, for everyone." It was a chance for all of them to leave behind the old hatreds, to make something better. "Justice is blind, not heartless. The moment we forget that is the moment we lose sight of the true meaning behind law and order."

"And what might that be?"

"To help people."

Winter was quiet as they kept watching the contest. Weiss was doing well. She was dishing out the hits as often as she was receiving them. Ciaran was pushing through the electric pain and fully going on the offensive forcing the machines to retreat back. The number of knights had dwindled down to nearly a handful, this would be over soon.

"So what would you suggest?" Winter asked.

"Work with us," Hector said turning to a very surprised Winter. "Help change the Judges into something you can trust, instead of working to get rid of us completely. Reform, not revolution, is the answer."

"You think that will really work, that we can actually trust each other?"

"Yes, I do."

She seemed to be speechless and Hector returned his attention to the contest just as the number of knights had dwindled down to two, one for each warrior. Weiss was out of dust and looking exhausted, holding back her knight with tired looked strikes. Ciaran wasn't looking much better. He could barely move his claymore anymore. At this point he was raising it just enough to block the strikes, but the electricity still caused him to grunt in pain.

The knight fighting Weiss saw the easier target and kicked her away. It crouched down and snuck up on Ciaran. Hector was slowly rising from his seat. If Ciaran took a full hit to his back it could seriously injure him. A Judges armor was incredibly built, the steel plated sections were resistant to physical force, while the chainmail underneath was resistant to dust. The armor was resistant, but not immune.

Just as the knight was about to strike it was suddenly impaled from behind. "Never turn your back, on your opponent." Weiss said as she held the knight in place. Ciaran noticed the movement and with a roar put all his strength into one more swing. The claymore arced in a full overhead swing that sliced upwards through the knight he was fighting, over his head, and ending with the other knight being cut in two as well.

As the knights fell both Weiss and Ciaran fell to their knees, exhausted. Hector and Winter rose from their seats and rushed over to check on them.

"Weiss, are you alright?"

"Brother, are you well?"

Winter helped Weiss up and Hector stayed back as Ciaran shakily stood. Suddenly clapping echoed over the courtyard and they all turned to see Jacques walking into the courtyard.

"Excellent job you two. A hard fought battle, but I see that the Judge has edged out victory by one."

They all exchanged quizzical looks. Winter spoke first. 'Father, Weiss clearly destroyed one of those knights."

"Did she? Because from what I saw she hit the machine while the Judge finished it."

The Schnee sisters began to argue with their father as Hector turned to Ciaran. "Is this the victory you want?"

Ciaran just huffed and crossed his arms. "Maybe she missed the robots core, maybe I actually did get them both."

"Ciaran, do the right thing." Hector sternly. "You know what the truth is."

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Ciaran…"

"No."

"Ciaran, please."

He started fidgeting before letting out an explosive sigh that interrupted the Schnee's argument. "Fine, that last knight was all her."

Jacques looked furious at the declaration, Winter looked surprised, and Weiss just looked smug. "See, I told you!"

She seemed shrink under her father gaze. It seemed like he was about to say something before remembering the two Judges a few feet away. He took a deep breath before addressing them calmly, through gritted teeth. "It seems like we have a tie. Which means neither of us wins the wager. How unfo-"

"Actually," Hector interrupted, "That is not correct." He tried not to enjoy Jacques' barely constrained rage too much.

"What do you mean?" He nearly snarled out. The others looked at Hector curiously.

"I wagered they would of equal ability on the field of combat. Mr. Sieben, what was the score?"

"The final score is twenty to twenty, sir."

"That would mark that they are equal, yes?"

"It would seem that way, yes, sir."

"Thus, I win the bet."

The Schnee sisters looked at him with varying degrees of surprise while Hector was worried Jacques would actually pop a vessel. He thought that he could actually hear his teeth grind against each other as he spoke. "I suppose that is…fair. And what, may I ask, would you like for your little victory."

Right, this next part seemed like it would be a bit difficult. Jacques was clearly riled up, and would probably be looking to be obstinate. But a deal was a deal. "I would like for your daughter to be able to go to an academy and become a huntress."

The others just stared at him for a few moments. He saw a rainbow of emotions across three faces. Though Jacques red rage stood out the most, he looked like he was about to explode. "What?"

"Your daughter is clearly very talented," Hector said gesturing to the arena and the destroyed knights around them. "She could use those skills to make the world a better place." Judging from the way Jacques eyes narrowed and hands clenched Hector felt like he might have overplayed his hand a bit. They were clearly heading for a diplomatic incident…again. He'd need to change his approach, quickly. "In fact, I am so sure of her capabilities that I would like to make another wager."

The others froze. Jacques was equal parts suspicious, curious, and furious. "Really, I wouldn't peg a Judge down as the frequent gambling type. What would this wager entail?"

"Your daughter is very skilled. I bet that she can enter an academy on merit alone."

Weiss' jaw dropped as Winter's narrowed in suspicion. Jacques just smile. "Well, yet again you've decided to gamble on the skills of my daughter. So much faith, so what are the terms then?"

"They are same, a year of my service if you win and if I win you allow Weiss to become a huntress, simple enough."

"Seems like I'm betting more than you are, this is my daughter being placed in danger we are talking about after all."

"Fine, two years." Hector said it casually but the way the others tensed up seemed to make what he said sound like he had just offered Jacques his head on a silver platter. Which, he supposed, he had. "But you have to fully accept your daughter's decision, with support, financial, emotional and all."

Jacques eyes practically oozed with greed. "I accept. If she gets into an academy, you win." He held out a hand and Hector shook it. Just before Jacques started to chuckle.

"Oh my, I apologize Judge, but I just remembered that I can't grant that request, even if I wanted too. The application times for all academies would have closed a few days ago. "A deadly glimmer suddenly came to his eye. "It seems like you've lost already. Ah well, now we should discuss the terms of your work for the next two years."

"No need," Hector said taking a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Jacques who took it with a confused scowl and unfolded it.

"What is this?"

"An acceptance letter from Beacon Academy in Vale, the headmaster made an exception to the application time limit. If she can make it in time for the initiation she can attend the school. Her transcripts were apparently quite impressive."

Jacques shook as he crumpled the paper in his hand. "And how, may I ask, did you get the information needed to complete the application."

Klein. The Butler had been very enthusiastic in helping Hector once he had learned of what he was going to do. "A Judge has his ways, saying anything else was not part of the agreement."

"How did you even get into contact with the headmaster of Beacon?"

"We've met." Ozpin was actually pleased to get the call from Hector the previous night. And he was more than happy to hear Hector's plan to help Ms. Schnee. He'd looked over the transcripts and within five minutes sent back the admission papers. As much as he appreciated it, Hector was starting to wonder about how exactly Ozpin ran his school. He seemed way too lax in letting anyone he wanted attend. It was a matter for later though. "So it appears that the wager is still on."

Jacques seemed to look around for support only to find barely concealed amusement from everyone present. His glare cooled to an icy point. "Fine, but you only win if she actually makes it to the school and passes the initiation. If she doesn't, well I expect I will be seeing you two back here very soon." With a huff of anger he turned and left the courtyard. When he was gone Hector turned to Weiss.

"I suppose that means you're free to go." Weiss looked like she was about to explode with happiness. She was practically vibrating in place.

"I-I need to go get ready." She walked off before stopping and turning and giving Hector a curtsy. "Thank you so much, I can't-I don't know what to say." She walked a few feet more before turning again. "I should say thank you for everything I-"

Hector decided to save her from turning again. "Go get ready Ms. Schnee. I assume you have a lot to pack. And you are on a time limit." Weiss nodded before running back into the manor. Klein walked up beside Hector. He addressed the butler. "Is she already packed?"

"Yes, sir, I had the staff finish doing so already."

"Good man, you should probably help her calm down and get ready."

"A fine idea, sir, I will get right on that." He walked after Ms. Schnee. Winter gave Hector an unreadable look before following them inside, leaving the two Judges alone.

Ciaran began to move towards the manor before Hector placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not you, brother."

"Something you need?" Ciaran said as he brushed Hector's hand off.

"Wait." Hector looked around and the staff got the hint as they shuffled off to go do their various other duties. "Ciaran, the headmaster wasn't the only person I called last night."

"What does that mean?"

"The Supreme Court, they are not pleased with what you've done here."

"You narced on me, how could you narc on me?" Ciaran was furious, he began to pace. "We're supposed to be oath brothers!"

"Ciaran, they wanted to expel you from the order." Hector said it calmly, but he felt completely uneasy. Calling the Order had been…intense. "They were voting on it before I asked them to give me a chance to see if you were still worthy."

Ciaran seemed to realize the trouble he was in as he shifted uncomfortably. "What chance?"

"If you didn't show that you could reign in your pride then I would be forced to take your resignation." He placed a hand on Ciaran's shoulder. "But you did just what I told them you would do. You swallowed your pride and did the right thing. I'm proud of you."

Ciaran huffed before stomping out of the courtyard. His brother's pride had taken a beating over the course of the last few days. Hector was glad he had another chance to prove himself though. He knew Ciaran would appreciate that too, after he calmed down…he hoped. As he headed up to the manor he was surprised to see Winter at the door waiting for him.

"Ms. Schnee?"

"Judge, I wanted to know something."

They entered the manor and began to walk down its corridors. Hector was getting a strange vibe from Winter. She seemed more relaxed than he had seen her since his arrival. Although she spoke in the same cold and formal tone as usual.

"How did you know that the match would end in a tie."

"I didn't," he said to her surprise. "I thought that your sister was going to win."

"You had such little faith in your fellow Judge?"

Hector shook his head. "Ciaran is a good man and he can be a great Judge. But he was fighting solely for his pride."

"I think they both were."

Hector hummed in agreement. "True, I guess I was more invested in Weiss winning than Ciaran."

Winter actually stopped and stared at him. "You mean to tell me that the only reason you thought she was going to win was because you wanted her too? You bet that much on her on faith alone?"

"I've bet even more on her on faith alone," Hector pointed out.

"Why? What if you had lost? What if it hadn't ended in a tie?" He eyes narrowed. "Were you seriously betting that they would tie?"

Hector just smiled under his helmet "I bet that they were equal. They tied and it worked out. I doubt your father would have reacted any differently if she had won. Either way I could make my case that Weiss should be able to be a huntress. If I had lost, so be it. I gambled on something worth betting on.

Winter just shook her head. "What do your superiors have to say about you gambling with the Sable Judge's reputation like this?"

"If I had lost they were fine with me helping Ciaran build relations in Atlas for awhile. They've already written off Ciaran's mistakes as the foolish actions of a minor Judge. So long as he doesn't embarrass himself or the Order any further our reputation should be fine. According to them everyone's already started forgetting the duel between him and Weiss. They just passed it off as another person who raised their hand to a Judge and was punished for it. The situation seems to have been wrapped up neatly form their point of view."

"But that isn't true."

Hector clenched his hand and took a deep breath as the anger came. Thinking about it never made the idea any easier. He didn't think he'd ever accept the wrongness of the situation in Atlas "No, it isn't."

They walked a bit more in silence, Winter seemed to be mulling over something intensely. It took her a bit of time to speak again. "Would you still like to discuss, what was it you said, reforming the Judges?"

"I would be happy too."

Later, Hector stood near a fully loaded Schnee carrier blimp. The thing was a big white, bloated target of a craft. It was clear that Jacques was trying to deter them all as much as possible, so he had set them up with the slowest aerial vehicle in the Schnee sky fleet. He assured Hector that it would reach Beacon in time…on the day of initiation. They would be cutting it close but if nothing went wrong they'd make it. It wasn't ideal but the apparently Jacques felt better with his daughter being safely on the lumbering armored balloon than a plane. The others seemed to be suspicious of the reasoning but Hector liked to hope that deep down the man really wanted to keep his child safe.

"You have everything you need?" Winter pestered a prissy Weiss as they said their goodbyes. She had escorted her sister to the blimp and they were having a moment before takeoff. The Judges were off to the side having a conversation of their own.

"It was good to see you, brother." Ciaran just huffed and crossed his arms as Hector clapped him on the shoulder. "Despite your recent…dips in judgment, the Court has seen the good work you've done here. So you are to stay in Atlas and continue building trust here."

"Great, more time at the frigid end of the world. That's just my luck."

"Take heart brother, after I am finished escorting Ms. Schnee to Vale maybe the Supreme Court will have me return to help you here."

"Great, both of us can freeze to death here. Why are you taking that brat to Vale anyway? I doubt she's going to get lost on the way there."

"Mr. Schnee is sending his daughter out on her own outside the country for the first time in her life. I want to make sure it all goes as smoothly as possible."

"Yeah, well try not to run into any pirates on the way. That thing is a flying 'rob me' sign."

Hector nodded in agreement before shaking his brother's hand and bidding him farewell before heading up unto the ship. He put his blade in the overhead compartment before he sat in a padded seat and relaxed. Soon Weiss joined him and the blimp was off. The two just sat there in silence for what seemed like the longest time. With Hector focusing on staving back his headache and Weiss just taking deep breaths. She sat correct and postured but her shaky breaths showed how she really felt.

"You are nervous."

Weiss perked up at the words. "I am not," she practically snapped before realizing who she was talking too. "That is to say, I mean, I am fine Judge Hector."

"It is fine to be nervous. I remember when I was chosen to be a Judge. I made myself sick with worry in the days leading up to my initiation."

Weiss seemed to shiver a little less at the words, before looking down in sadness. "I was never supposed to be a huntress though."

Hector shrugged. "I was never supposed to be a Judge."

That caused Weiss to perk up. "What do you mean?"

Well now he was telling this story. "Ms. Schnee, how do you think Judge comes to be?"

"They are trained, obviously, far away in the Tower of Justice. Where the Sable Judges watch over Remnant, and continue to build their order." Yes, that was the description given in every history book in Remnant. The location of the Tower was secret to all but the Judges, hidden to protect their secrecy.

"But before they are trained, where do they come from?" Weiss looked like she was puzzling over the question hard. She looked so focused on the question that Hector decided to just answer the question for her. "They are found, Weiss. From all over Remnant candidates are found and brought to the Tower to be tested."

"What makes someone worthy to be a candidate?"

Hector shook his head. "That, I am not allowed to say. But you do not want to be worthy, trust me." His cryptic words caused her eyes to widen. He realized that he may be scaring her. He would have to dial it back a little. "Back to the topic at hand, training is rigorous and brutal. But not all candidates become patrolling Sable Judges. Some, most actually, take on other responsibilities at the Tower. Out of twenty candidates, only about five survive." Wait that still sounded pretty harsh. She looked intrigued though, and a lot less nervous. He decided to keep going. "Of those five only about one is chosen to be apprentice to a Judge and become a Judge themselves. The others apprentice themselves to other jobs. We have your blacksmiths, dust experts, so on"

"You said you never supposed to be a Judge though." Weiss asked, fully invested in the conversation. "What was your apprenticeship in?"

"I was apprentice to the Master Archivist. We organized the filled tomes of the Judges. I spent my days cataloging, refurbishing, rebinding leather and keeping the history of our order dust free."

"You were a librarian," Weiss said sitting up.

Hector just shrugged. "I suppose that is a name for it." He looked out the window at the clouds slowly passing by. He could still smell the musty old tomes and vague mildew. Those were simpler times.

"How did you become a Judge then?"

"I caught the eye of one of the Judges who had come to visit the Tower one day. The next thing I knew I was dealing with intense weapons training and conditioning to get ready for my new responsibilities."

"You don't sound very happy about the change," Weiss said looking at him confused. "Aren't you happy being a Sable Judge?"

Hector hummed at the question. Was he happy? "A strange question, it is hard to answer. I think I was more content as a librarian."

"Really, why do you say that?"

"Less people tried to kill or maim me for a start."

Weiss nodded at the answer as she lay back in her chair. The nervousness from earlier seemed to have completely disappeared. "Why become a Judge then, if you preferred working in the library?"

"Because someone believed that I was capable of helping people, and I chose to trust them." He remembered the conversation as if it had just happened. It felt like a lifetime ago. "I wouldn't have come this far if that Judge hadn't chosen to have faith in me."

"Like you say you believe in me?" Weiss shifted uncomfortably, she seemed unsure of what his answer would be. But Hector just nodded.

"Yes, and now I need you to trust in me, and my belief that you will be an amazing huntress.

After a few moments she nodded and gave him a smile. The next few hours passed by much more comfortably. Weiss suddenly let out an soft sigh, Hector looked away from the window. "This is taking forever."

"We will make it," Hector said soothingly.

"I know," she said huffing and laying back in her seat. "But I just wish that I could train or something. I want to be ready when we land."

Hector nodded, they would be cutting it pretty close, there wouldn't be any time for her to really prepare. "You will be fine."

"I know you believe that, but I'd just like to be sure. I mean we're still days away and we have nothing to do!"

Suddenly the cabin rocked. Looking out the window Hector's eyes widened as the blimp intercom came to life. "Ah, this is your Captain speaking. We're experiencing a bit of turbulence. As well as a small case of-"

"Sky pirates," Hector stood as their craft rose from the clouds beneath them. He took his blade out of the overhead compartment before seeing that Weiss had her rapier in hand. "Did you keep that under the seat?

She blushed. "I like keeping it nearby, it calms me down."

Hector would have to instruct her on proper weapon placement on an aircraft but as the blimp rocked again he realized that a lecture would have to wait. They were about to have visitor's.

"Come Ms. Schnee. Let us show our uninvited passengers the door."

Another step closer to Beacon, and the Judges continue to get fleshed out. Hopefully i'm not making my plans for the Atlas/Judge alliance too obvious but I am excited for having that pay off awhile from now. These two chapters went through so many changes it was crazy. The details of the bet, how sly Hector would have to be to get Weiss too Beacon, Ciaran's punishment, and the involvement of the other Schnee family members all got juggled around and messed with so often I could barely stop. It was great to write and it's nice to have a weakness for the Judge's so that the coming fights actually have way more bite. With the main characters out of the way and headed to Beacon I can start messing around with the idea of loss for Hector, and what that exactly means.

Thanks again everyone for the reviews, favorite and follows.