A/N: Alright guys, the next chapter has arrived! As usual, I hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to follow, favorite and review! This is ArchSinccubus, signing out for today, and I'll see you all next chapter!
Ozpin's office has seen better days. While the furniture itself wasn't in any shape of disarray, the footsteps of General Ironwood across the room left nothing but a somber mood, hanging over the heads of everyone present in the room, namely Ozpin and himself. In his hands, he held several photos, taken from an aerial source, pointed at a certain giantess, covered in dust. "I certainly do not appreciate the surveillance, James." Ozpin's voice finally came out, after a good while of silence. "I understand your intentions are for the best, but having surveillance from above at all times is not the proper way for it."
Ironwood stopped in place, shaking his head for a moment. In truth, he knew what he was looking at damn well. The reports from Topaz were quite clear that a dust-infused person was walking the halls of Beacon, and while the presumed discovery of said person was staged as a fluke, he had to take action nonetheless. "On the other hand, hiding such a person from the rest of the kingdoms isn't the proper action to take, Ozpin. I don't know what went through your head when you accepted her." His retort came soon enough, looking at Ozpin with disbelief. He stepped closer, feeling betrayed to a degree, putting a glove covered hand on his desk. "I thought you trusted me, Oz. Why hide this? Someone like her could save the lives of hundreds, no, thousands of people. If we could learn the secrets of her infusion-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Ozpin raised his hand, to stop him. "Because, James, I knew this it how you would react. Jin, so far, hasn't shown she is capable of fully making these sort of decision on her own. She seems to blindly put trust in people, despite what their intentions should be. If she could make proper decisions, I would be happy to offer her the chance to come with you to Atlas, and help with research. But, until that point comes, I won't let anyone hinder her development." Despite the lawful answer, Ozpin was just as curious as anyone else. Jin has presented him with quite the potential, and being the man he was, a backup plan was always the case. Of course, Ruby was his first and foremost target, and he wouldn't give up on her so easily. The girl has shown the development he expected of her, and there was no reason to just let her go.
However... If her mother before her could fail, so could she.
He shook his head one last time. "My decision is final, James." He repeated one more time. "Jin is a citizen of Vale, and is under my care in Beacon. As such, I have the final say in anything that involves her moving to other schools, and I do not approve of it, whatsoever."
"Ozpin she is the KEY!" Ironwood slammed his hands on the table one more time, his tone rising to a quickly hushed shout, but a shout nonetheless. "Don't you understand what researching her could do? If we can determine what keeps her from being crystallized entirely, we could figure out how to infuse people with dust safely! The potential here is limitless!" Realizing he let his emotions out of check briefly, Ironwood instantly straightened his posture, fixing his tie hastily. He could already envision it, the next generation of Huntsman and huntresses, each using dust in ways forgotten by time for centuries.
However... Ozpin kept his stand. "When Jin graduates, I will let her make the choice. Until then, I will hold my ground. She is not just a test subject, but a walk of life of her own. She should be allowed the freedom to find what SHE wants to do in her life, before whisking her away to a lab to be experimented on."
Realizing Ozpin's mind wouldn't budge, Ironwood stepped back. "I hoped you would be able to see things how I see them... But so be it." Holding back his anger, he turned around, coming to leave the office, empty handed. In his head, he already tried to come up with a plan, anything at least, that would suffice, considering the turnabout of the conversation. "Regardless... We'll discuss this after the tournament is over."
"We can discuss this as many times as you wish, James." Ozpin leaned in his chair one last time. "My opinion isn't going to change."
Sighing, Ironwood nodded, and stepped into the opening elevator, going back down. As he descended, watching ground level grow closer, he noticed a figure, laying down on the grass, watching the moon above them. As he realized that the amount of hair she had covered her entire body height, and saw the dust laced in her skin, Ironwood suddenly realized that the giantess was right there, in front of him. Wanting to meet her in person, he stepped out as soon as he could, walking over at the awestruck girl, nigh hypnotized by the moon's light.
"Hello there." He spoke, as commandingly as he usually did. She didn't pay heed to him, still transfixed by the moon, and he stepped in front of her, trying to block the celestial body from her line if vision. "Hello." He repeated himself, still as dogmatic as ever. While on any other day he would take being ignored like that as a personal insult, something about her told him that she wasn't acting out of spite.
She shook her head once or twice, now finally looking at the imposing man. His aura, cold and calculated, gave off the impression of leadership, though the way it moved made her twist her head in confusion. "Your aura... It's..." She tried to come up with the right way to describe it, as one-half of it moved just fine, while the other was static, not even flickering. Instead, it jittered like electricity, zipping about through the metal underneath is suit. "...Zappy!"
He stepped back, raising an eyebrow curiously. "She could see it?..." The thought slipped his lips, distrust visibly in his aura. "Well... Yes. It is... Zappy." Trying to tone down his authoritarian behavior for a bit, he approached the girl again, kneeling down before her. Despite what Ozpin said, he had to make sure for himself about what she wanted. "Do you know how you were formed?" His question, like many other things in his life, was as direct as ever. If he couldn't take her with him, at the very least, he had to get out of what anything she could tell him.
Of course, his question was only met with a confused stare from the person in front of him, as her simple mind couldn't understand what he was referring to. All her life, she only focused on the things right in front of her. And right now, this aura looked at her, a bit intimidating, though not enough to make her shy away. "Uhh... Mama told me I was born like this!" Trying to answer his question, she put on her friendliest smile. After all, this was a new friend for her to meet!
He sighed, deciding to try a different approach to getting to her. If he could not reach out to her directly, perhaps she could use one of his speeches, that he so loved to impart on his subordinates. It was the one thing that helped Winter push through her decision to become a specialist, at the end of the day. "Jin, do you understand how important you are?"
"Imp... Impo... Impnt?" The lack of understanding of the most basic terms from her only crushed his spirits further, but regardless he pushed on, refusing to give up.
"Special, Jin. Do you realize how special you are?"
"I'm not special; I'm me! Mama told me that! She told me that we're all special!" Her innocent smile even managed to bring a tiny, minute grin to Ironwood's face. At least her heart was in the right place.
"And you're right, but you're more than that." His voice slowly raised in volume, the enthusiasm in what he says clear in his aura. As Jin's eyes began to sparkle in interest, he was sure of it; he could convince her. "You're the key to securing the future of Remnant!"
"Yaaaay!" She clapped her hands wildly, swept away by his determination and willpower. He could hardly believe how easy it was to sweep her off her feet.
"So, Jin, I have to ask. If you could come with me, and help me understand how you work, will you do it?" Finally, the question hit, and as Jin cheered and smiled and clapped her hands again, simply enjoying the aura he was giving, he only felt even more pride, believing he managed it. "Alright then, I'll talk to Ozpin at once! I'm sure he'll see now that you can understand what's important!"
Just as Ironwood came to leave, sure of himself that her transference to Atlas was secured, another voice, more hoarse than hers, pierced the silence of the evening around them. "Oi brute! We got dinner!" he turned his head, seeing another girl, clad in a suit, coming towards the two of them, trying to lift Jin on her feet, before giving Ironwood himself a look, realizing he was staring all along. "What're you lookin' at?"
"Excuse me? Do you not know who I am?" sensing the rudeness in her voice, he glared at the delinquent, stern, and cold. "In MY academy, students don't treat higher ups with such disrespect."
"Well, we ain't IN your academy, are we?" Her retort, coming just as quickly as his own words, showed the lack of respect she held for anyone in his position. Perci, on her part, couldn't give any less of a shit if he was the king of Vale. "Far as I heard, we're in Beacon. Wait..." She then narrowed her eyes, having seen him once or twice on the television. "You're James Ironwood, right? That general from Atlas."
"That would be correct, yes." He straightened his pose, a slight smirk forming on his lips, being recognized publicly, while commonplace for someone at his position and power, still held a certain pleasantness to it that he couldn't deny. Yes, every time a person realizes that they were talking to the great general from Atlas, he almost instinctively puffed his chest in pride, being a symbol of protection and peace.
But of course, the only response he could get from the girl in the suit and the hat, was a mere shrug. "...Huh. Well, so we're DEFINITELY not in your academy, are we?"
"Yes... But regardless. I was just about to talk to Ozpin about transferring Jin here to Atlas, where her potential can be maximized to it's fullest." As the fact that his title wasn't going to help him get anywhere with her, he came to conclude the conversation, before hearing her chuckle.
"And let me guess, you gave her like a big speech or some shit, she got all excited, and when you asked her she said yes." Her question hit right at home, and he nodded in response. Her constant chuckling, however, left him confused.
"Is there something the matter?" He couldn't help but wonder. "And watch your language."
"A, fuck off, you're not my boss." She retorted swiftly and harshly, showing no signs of respect to him whatsoever. "And B, you DO realize she'll say yes to almost anything, right? here, look." She turned to the dust giant. "Hey, Jin! Jump in place!" She called out, and Jin got up, doing as instructed, hopping in place like a bunny a couple of times. As she did, enjoying the motion, Perci gave the general an almost condescending look. "See?"
He could just feel Ozpin, looking down at the exchange from his office up above, chuckling at the nerve Perci held against him. "Humph. That will be all then." He decided he had enough, turning his back on the two, walking away from them, anger in his throat. If he had things his way, that girl would be expelled, if not worse. Perci's laugh from behind him certainly didn't help elevate his mood, but regardless, there was nothing he could do about the matter. Taking his scroll out silently, he opened up his contact in Beacon, instructing him to follow the girl, as well as her team. He didn't want to do anything drastic, but if worse comes to worst...
He'd do what he needs to do to secure the future of man on Remnant.
So far, it was a quiet night for Ash and her partner. The two of them already combed through most of the upper-class district, passing by many extravagant, rich houses, looking for some semblance of suspicious activity within the local community. it wasn't far fetched for rich people to occupy themselves with eccentric, odd interests, and joining a cult wouldn't be out of the question, if it was up for Ash at least.
She turned her head, looking at her partner. Melody was close by, almost directly behind her, looking around scared to a degree. The last thing she needed was an encounter with that crazy cultist guy. At that point, she wasn't even sure how accurate Copper was on describing him, and at the heat of the moment, pretty much anyone would fit the position of the grimm conjurer in her mind. Sighing, Ash tugged her shoulder, Melody giving an audible gasp and jumping back. "Mel, seriously. You gotta learn to chill and relax. At this point you'll die of a heart attack." She chuckled, resuming her slow pacing.
"Y-Yeah... You're right." Melody nodded. So far, it was far easier to face her fears when she was sitting in her warm, comfy dorm, looking at everything from afar. After all, from there, it looked far less scary to her.
Ash continued her chuckling for a while longer. "Seriously, sometimes I wonder what someone like you does in Beacon..." Of course, her question was meant as a joke, but nonetheless, she seems to have hit a nerve, as Melody stopped in place, looking down in a mixture of fear and shame. "Mel... Is somethin' wrong? You know I was joking." She quickly hurried over, trying to cheer her up.
"D-Do you... Really want to know? Why I came to Beacon?" Melody asked her, out of nowhere. Ash nodded, realizing that this could be important, and Melody took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Y-You see... I-I used to have a bad habit of... Impulse shopping."
"I'd reckon you still do, Mel. You always manage to burn through our allowance first..." Ash commented, though from the look on Melody's face she quickly realized it might not have been her smartest choice, shutting up and letting her partner continue.
"W-Well... One day... I received a mail, with my monthly credit card debt." She looked to the side, trying to avoid Ash's direct gaze. "And it was... Bad. Very bad." Her head fell again, sobbing lightly, as the memories came flooding back.
"But... It's not like the bank is gonna close down on you and demand payment right away. Hell, the legal system actually makes it very easy for teens to pay debt like that." Knowing her legal talk, Ash tried to reassure her right away, but all Melody could do was wave her head.
"I should have known that before I... Turned to..." She tried finishing her sentence, but the words god choked behind tears.
"No... You didn't. Not loan sharks." Distress began to form on Ash's face. She grabbed Melody by her shoulders, shaking her lightly. "Melody, you have to tell me. How much did you take from them?" At this point, she wasn't joking around anymore. Luckily for Melody, the wouldn't touch her while she's in Beacon. But after that...
"F-Five hundred?" Despite the questioning tone, Melody couldn't pretend like she didn't know how bad it was. "L-Look... I know that this is bad. T-This is why I came to Beacon. To earn enough. I don't want my parents to get hurt."
Ash actually paused, taking a step back, and breathing as deeply as she could, looking at Melody with concern. She didn't have to tell her twice how bad the situation was, Ash already saw enough of what loan sharks can do to a late payer, if her father's work was anything to go by. "Mel... We might not have time, you know. Loan sharks can get very impatient. Enough that they go to drastic measures when you don't pay in time. When did you take that loan?"
"A-About... Six months ago." After hearing that, Ash took a small sigh of relief. She couldn't imagine loan sharks actually letting a little girl take money from them, but with the sort of people who go around Vale's underworld, who knew. She was sure, that somewhere, there was someone rotten enough to exploit a child's innocence and misunderstanding of how the world works, just to make a quick buck, or get some twisted pleasure out of tempting them with an easy way out of their issues, only to do unspeakable things to them later. Luckily for her, most groups she knew about didn't demand pay this early into a loan, usually going about two to three years. Hopefully, by then, Melody would have matured enough to be able to stand up to them, but even if she didn't Ash knew she'd be there for her.
She decided to drop the subject for now. It was pointless to try and do anything about it at the moment, as Melody wouldn't know any gangs or how they went around Vale, nor would she be able to point out where they sit. "Alright, for now, we'll continue with our investigation, alright? And don't worry, if something happens, me and the others will help you, I promise." She gave Melody a determined look. "You still have time, I can promise you that much."
"R-Really?" Hope started to gleam in her eyes. As Ash smiled lightly, nodding in approval, Melody's tone changed, and she shed her fear, if not to a degree, letting her usual self come out. "Alright then. Let's find something!" She strode forward, feeling far better about herself, before stopping again, a few houses away. "Uhh... Ash? You... Might want to come and look at this."
The sight that revealed itself to the team leader was something straight out of a police case: A house, or rather, the remains of a house, burnt down to the ground. Some of the walls still stood, though the police tape around the premises showed that some investigation took place here. Her detective instincts kicking in, Ash instantly approached the ruins, hoping to find something, anything about the reason for the fires. Perhaps, if she was lucky, it would be related to the cultists too.
When she realized Ash was heading straight into what seemed like a crime scene, Melody ran after her, trying to stop her. "A-Ash! We can't go there! What if someone sees us? We could get arrested, or-"
Ash raised a hand without looking at Melody. "Don't worry about it, see?" She pointed to the police tapes. Beyond the passage of time showing on them in closer inspection, it was quite clear that they were from a different era. "See those? Old, tattered. Police haven't been here in at least... Ten years, I'd reckon. Only reason this house is still burned down is most likely there's no owner to take it. The rich folks have total ownership of their own property, so no owner? No renovation."
"I... see." Melody couldn't quite keep up with Ash when she was like this. It was like talking to a completely different person, seeing her usually calm and relaxed team leader going fully enthusiastic and energized, heading into the ruins of the house to try and determine anything about it. "So, what do you think happened here?" She asked casually, looking around, trying not to touch anything. Watching enough detective flicks finally proved its worth, and she at least knew not to mess with anything crucial for Ash to look at.
As for Ash herself, her mind reveled at the mystery before her. A house burnt and charred for the past several years, and yet, nothing she ever saw held any truth about what happened there. She quickly pulled her scroll out of her coat, typing a number from memory, though with the speed of her fingers she made several mess ups, forcing her to delete and retype them, until finally getting her father's number right. "Hey, dad?"
Clint, sitting in his small office, just after dealing with a client, recognized the tone in his daughter's voice. "Yes Ash? What's up?" Keeping his calm, he opened up his computer, already prepared to dig some crazy bit of information she wanted for something that interested her. This was, of course, not the first time she'd call out of nowhere, seeking some piece of information from one of his older cases.
She looked around before asking him, trying to determine if there was anything else she could learn from the ruins. With nothing identifiable inside, she returned to her call, staying direct and clear. "I need some information about a burnt house in the upper-class district. Timestamp about ten years ago, if I had to guess."
He typed a bit, out of habit, thinking about anything he knew off hand. "I... see." Suddenly, the sound of fingers on a keyboard ceased from the other end of the conversation. "Well... There's one case I can recall. It was something that the force called me on, to try and help them, in fact." He didn't expect her to remember. Sure, at that age she was already trying to learn the ropes, but this particular case demanded he worked alone.
The answer being so close to her, Ash couldn't help but tap her foot impatiently. It was a habit she got a few years back, and while she did try and cut it, here and there it would still manifest in her behavior. Clint, on his end, took his sweet time, trying to think about all the details before spilling it in bits and pieces on his daughter, shuffling through his file cabinet until finally unearthing a rather old looking one, dusting it off and looking at the name.
"The burning of the Valiére mansion, seven years back."
Ash froze in place. There was only one person with that name she knew, and something told her it wasn't just a coincidence. "Wait... What?" She asked, voice dripping with shock and disbelief.
"They were a pretty big name in importing, a few years back." Clint, unaware of the reason for her confusion, started to explain. "Did a lot of hefty work for several big names, from pumpkin Pete's to the SDC. However..." His tone fell down, grim and dark. "That, Ash, was only a front. In truth, they worked for the underworld as a smuggling business, moving illegal goods into Vale, from drugs to human trafficking. Of course, the force didn't have any solid leads, and like any good cartel, they had a legion of lawyers, ready to make sure none of them could go behind bars." he then took a sigh, part relief, part disdain.
"And? What happened to their house?" Ash looked around one last time. It was perplexing, to say the least, but regardless, she had to know at this point, cultists or not.
"Some rival gang, presumably, decided to put an end to them. The only thing the force saw when they arrived on the scene was a burnt down house, an unconscious Mr. Valiére, and a pile of bodies. His wife was gone from the scene and wasn't heard from since. Mr. Valiére himself was promptly put into custody, and after some persuasion ratted out the rest of his group. He should still be in prison, if I recall." He concluded his explanation, putting back the file after reading its contents. "At the end of the day... What really happened there is just as much of a mystery to me as it was to you. Regardless, Valiére Imports are dead."
"Alright..." Ash rolled her words a bit, trying to draw some time. "One more question, then. Was there any information about Mr. Valiére's family? A... Daughter, perhaps?"
He closed his eyes, trying to recall. "Well... There was a rumor that him and his wife had a child. Then again, no one knew what was going on behind those doors, since they would never let anyone they didn't personally trust in or out. Hell, I heard they put an actual security check at the front door when they were expecting guests." He then chuckled lightly. "I'm ralmblin' again, aren't I? Well, I hope that helped sweetie. If YOU find anything new about that house... You be sure to give ME a call, right?"
As he hung up, Melody and Ash looked at one another with disbelief. At some point, Ash put the call on speaker, letting Melody hear the details as well. "You don't think..." Melody finally asked, looking at the wreckage with a renewed sense of wonder. Ash nodded.
"Yeah... I do. And I think that I know where we'll get the confirmation for that, too."
"But don't you think she'll get mad? You know how she is when it comes to talking about her parents and past..."
Ash waved her head. While some part of her still remembered a tale of cultists and eldritchan grimm, this new mystery was just as intriguing. She turned to Melody, giving her a resolute gaze. "I know. But at this point? Perci has the answers."
As so, the two of them went back to Beacon, finding not what they looked for, but rather something they didn't expect...