AN: Sorry this took so long. I was finishing my other series The Silvan Elf, which I recommend you check out if you haven't already. Hopefully the wait was well worth it!

*Ozpin didn't want to meet with his father. His father had been kind enough to welcome Glynda and Theodora into their home, but he didn't really do anything to take care of them. Oz had to do that. He didn't mind having to, in fact for him it was his pleasure, but he disliked his father for neglecting their need for care in the first place.

Oz found his father exactly where he expected him to. In Collus' night club. Oz figured he wasn't welcome there anymore after the incident with the red cabbage, but his father wasn't willing to meet him anywhere else.

Ozpin entered the night club and found his father sitting at the counter. A nervous thin man was wiping a glass with a rag behind the counter, constantly eyeing Oz's father as if he was about to erupt. Oz couldn't blame him.

"I suggest you make this quick," Oz said, sitting down next to his father. He waved away the bartender when he started to approach him.

"You should drink. That's what people come here for," Oz's father pointed out.

"And be like you? I'm not interested in the 'like father, like son' concept. In our case, it's not appealing to me."

"You think you gain something by talking to me like that? I'm your father."

"A father works to support his family and raise his kids, including ones that he adopts and takes in," Oz snapped. Oz's father slammed his glass down on the counter. A cracked suddenly formed on the side.

"Well this reunion has certainly been a blast so far," he remarked.

"Is that why you called me here? Just to have a father-son chat?" Oz asked.

"I thought maybe we could have another chance, but I thought wrong apparently."

"Yes. You did. Will that be all, Haman?" Oz asked. His father looked at him with flames in his eyes. Oz had referred to him by his real name instead of 'father'.

"For now. Don't think we're done," he said, jabbing a beefy finger in Oz's throat.

"I dream for the day we'll be every night," Oz replied. With that, he turned around and walked away. Tears threatened to escape Oz's eyes. He forced them back. He didn't want Glynda to see him in such a mess. She was waiting for him at the door. He couldn't bear the idea of coming by himself. It made him feel guilty in a way, because he was treating her almost like a comfort object to cling to whenever he was stressed, but he was grateful for the fact that Glynda was always willing to accompany him somewhere if he wanted her to.

She stared on at him with concern etched in her eyes behind the glasses that James had bought for her. Oz couldn't help but think that she looked even more beautiful with them.

"Come on, we're leaving," Oz said.

"Where are we going now?" Glynda asked, pushing her further up the bridge of her nose.

"For a walk in the woods."

Ozpin didn't have time to try to revive a relationship gone broken. His mind was now firing on all cylinders. The idea to create an academy was beginning to come together in his head. It would take a while to reach that point, but once he gets enough people together to start, things would pick up the pace from there.**

*Ozpin found himself kneeling in a bed of red roses. The sky was completely overcast above him and snow drifted down, sprinkling the roses with a white frost. Oz realized he was kneeling in front of a tomb. He squinted to try and read the name on it. No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't read it. There was more writing right underneath the name though, which he was able to somehow read.

Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest.

Oz couldn't understand. He felt something wet on his hand. He looked down to see the back of his hand brushing up against a rose. A crimson stain glistened on his hand. What was this? Oz wiped up part of the stain with two fingers and looked closer. It was blood.

Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest.

Who was in the tomb? The riddle on the tomb made sense to him. 'Red like roses fills my dreams' made sense because he was kneeling in a bed of bloody roses in his dream. 'To the place you rest' made sense because there was a tomb that was obviously someone's resting place before him. Who was in the tomb?

Oz was startled awake when someone shook his shoulders.

"Ozpin," Glynda's voice said. Oz felt Glynda's soft hands on his shoulders. He looked up to see the young woman looking down at him with concern. Oz sighed and rubbed his eyes. Despite his young age, he can feel a serious ache in his back as he struggled to stand up.

"Are you okay?" Glynda asked.

"Yes, don't worry about me," Oz replied. His feet stumbled a little bit and he raised his hand to steady himself against the tree he had been resting his head against.

Glynda laughed. "Maybe it's about time you started using a cane."

"How old am I again?" Oz teased. The sky was beginning to darken and the last rays of the sun were slowly vanishing. Oz and Glynda knew they had to get home before the Grimm presence became too strong. Oz wondered if his father would be home by then.

Just then, Oz heard a twig snap. He stiffened and his hand moved to his weapon on his belt. Glynda stopped behind him.

"Stay behind me," Oz whispered. Then in the dead silence of the nearing night, there was a sudden rush of wind that yanked Oz off of his feet and tossed him forward. Oz fell face-forward. He lifted his face out of the ground, spitting dirt. He scrambled back up onto his feet and gasped to see someone standing near Glynda, who could only stare on in bewilderment at the stranger.

The stranger was a tall thin man wearing a scavenger's hat. He had large round glasses that were thick enough that you couldn't really see his eyes, and he had grass-green hair that stuck up everywhere. He wore a traveler's cloak and held a cup in one hand. He took a quick sip from it.

"Who are you?" Oz demanded, his hand now fingering his gun.

"More importantly I want to know, who's this lovely lady walking through the woods at a preposterous time like this?" The man asked. He spoke so fast that Oz had a difficult time catching up.

"Excuse me?" Oz and Glynda asked in unison.

"Ah well, it was worth trying to ask. I can honestly care less, I should be minding my own business," the man said.

"Yes, you should be. I've never seen you here before. What's your name?" Oz asked.

"Oobleck. Or as I like to refer to myself, Doctor Oobleck."

"Doctor Oobleck?" Oz asked.

"Correct! How may I be of service to you?" Oobleck asked.

"For one, stop eyeing Glynda. Two, I want to know what you're doing out here. No one but us two usually dare explore the Emerald Forest," Oz said.

"Ah yes, I'm here studying the creatures of Grimm themselves," Oobleck replied.

Oz raised an eyebrow. "Studying them?"

"The more we study of them, the more we can know how to defeat them, but they're much more than the creatures of evil that most view them as, yes! They are much more!" Oobleck informed.

Oz had no words for Oobleck. He seemed like a nice enough man, but he also seemed somewhat misguided and a little hyperactive.

"Forgive me if I seem pessimistic, but the creatures of Grimm are not animals to study. We kill them," Oz said.

"Oh I believe you good sir but in order to destroy the enemy one must first study the enemy."

Oz opened his mouth to speak again, but Oobleck zipped away from him and stopped in front of a tree, he seemed to be counting marks on it. He pulled out a small notepad and flipped it open. Oz can hear the odd man mumbling to himself as he took notes.

"What are you looking at?" Oz asked.

"You see? You see these?" Oobleck yelled, pointing to deep scratch marks along the trunk of the tree. Oz stepped forward and squinted. The scratch marks looked like they belonged to an Ursa.

"These marks are fresh. Why, I believe these marks were left here a total of five minutes ago," Oobleck explained.

"That's not possible, Glynda and I would have heard it," Oz said. He and Glynda had just been a few feet away from an Ursa without knowing it?

"Grimm tend to get quieter when the night falls. It's their way of keeping themselves hidden to avoid any unpleasantries with others," Oobleck said.

"Avoid unpleasantries? Oobleck, the creatures of Grimm…"

"That's Doctor Oobleck."

"Doctor Oobleck, the creatures of Grimm do not intentionally try to avoid run-ins with humans. As a matter of fact, they would love nothing more than to tear us to pieces," Ozpin said.

"Do you really believe that? What if they are just being territorial around here, and we are trespassing on their own territory?" Oobleck pointed out. Oz didn't know what to say about that. He had to admit that he didn't know very much about the creatures, only that they were monsters that tore people apart if they ever saw them without hesitation. They were animals. They were the only creatures in the world that didn't each have their own Aura. They didn't have souls.

Speak of the devil, Oz thought when he heard a loud growl behind him. He saw Glynda flinch and take a step back, nervously staring at whatever was about to come up behind Oz. Oz brought his hand to his gun and whirled around to face the Ursa that was crashing through the trees on all fours. At the sight of him, the Ursa roared. Oz tensed for several seconds, relaxed and then fired several shots at the Ursa straight in the chest. Oz flipped a switch with his thumb on the gun and fired a small blade that embedded itself in the Ursa's throat. With a wet groan, the Ursa fell forward with a loud crash that threw stripped grass up in the air.

Oz looked back at Oobleck, who was furiously taking notes. He finished and slipped the notepad back in his pocket.

"In order to destroy the enemy, one must study the enemy," Oobleck said again. Oz found himself intrigued with this thin man. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing even though he didn't look like he played the part of a fighter.

"Do you fight at all?" Oz asked. Oobleck pulled off the backpack he was wearing, unzipped it, and pulled out a tall cup. He sipped from it and then pressed a button on the side of it. It turned out to be a Thermos, which transformed into what looked like some kind of torch. Oz heard Glynda whistle.

"You made your own weapon," she said. Oz too was impressed. Oobleck was a strange fellow but a smart one too. He realized Oobleck couldn't be underestimated.

"What if I told you that I'm trying to get a team together. Would you be interested?" Ozpin asked.**

*When Ozpin and Glynda returned home, Theodora was waiting for them. She was wearing a glamorous red dress that seemed to sparkle. It took several seconds for Oz to realize that the "sparkle effect" in the dress was because Dust had been sown into it.

"Ozpin, where have you been?" Theodora asked.

"Out and about, Theodora. It's nothing to be concerned about," Oz assured her. He tried to keep his gaze away from her as much as possible. He didn't know why he felt like he had to be so cautious around her. The truth is, he didn't want to slide too close to Theodora. He felt like he would be abandoning Glynda if he did, and he couldn't help but admit that Theodora was more beautiful than Glynda. Was he trying to keep his gaze away because he was afraid of what Glynda would think? Sometimes he didn't understand the way his own mind worked.

"You've been out all day. Please, have a seat and I'll make you a cup of tea," Theodora offered. Oz mentally confessed that a cup of tea sounded perfect. The whole day had been a mixed bag. He had a heated confrontation with his father, but on the other hand, he found someone that was interested in joining him, Glynda, and James.

"A cup of tea sounds perfect. Thank you," Oz said, sitting down on the small couch that was set up in the living room. Glenda passed by him.

"I'm going to bed," she announced. Oz felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of Glynda leaving him with her sister, but decided to brave it for now. Theodora bustled into the kitchen to get prepare the tea. She came back with a cup a couple minutes later. Steam bellowed from it.

"Here," she said, holding it out. Oz looked up at Theodora's face to smile as he took the cup with one hand. He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, making a satisfactory noise.

"So, how was your day?" Theodora asked. She sat down next to Oz. Oz was too into his tea to feel uncomfortable anymore.

"Alright I guess."

"Anything interesting happen?"

Oz eyed her with a smirk. "You are one very curious lady aren't you?"

"I just care about you, that's all," Theodora said as if it wasn't a very big deal. Oz sighed and swirled his tea around by moving his cup.

"I had an unpleasant confrontation with my father," Oz said. He rarely told Theodora about his personal issues. He felt like it was something reserved for only Glynda to hear, partially because she was always the one that Oz had around him the most.

"Was he at the club again?" Theodora asked.

Ozpin nodded. "I guess he wanted me to have a bonding moment or something, but he was crazy. I can never get along with him, because he'll never get along with me."

"It must be hard," Theodora replied.

Oz set the cup down on the table in front of him. "He wasn't the one that took care of Glynda, or raised her, I was. He did nothing."

Theodora took Oz's chin with her hand and positioned it so that Oz was looking straight into her eyes. "You're a good person, Ozpin. You've done an amazing job taking care of Glynda, taking care of me. Don't forget that we both appreciate you even if your father does not."

Ozpin nodded after several seconds. "Thank you Theodora."

"No. Thank you," Theodora replied. She then proceeded to kiss Oz on the cheek. She stood up and left Oz to feel the place where she kissed him.**

*"You've finally managed to get into his head," the man Theodora came to report to said. Theodora pursed her lips in thought. They burned from touching Oz's skin.

"It takes one small step at a time," Theodora said, saying the exact words she and Roman said together not too long ago.

"Keep doing what you're doing, but nothing too hasty. We've been doing things too slowly over time to mess this up," the man warned.

"I agree," Theodora replied.

"Killing Collus couldn't just be done suddenly in one night, you understand that right?" The man asked. Theodora nodded.

"Of course, you explained everything."

"Just making sure. I know that you don't want Ozpin to turn against you."

"That is correct, sir."

"Then keep doing what you're doing, and you will have Collus dead and more," the man promised.

"Yes, sir."**

*Ozpin sat in a coffee shop in downtown Vale with James, who had the blueprints of his robot out on the table. The first synthetic being capable of generating an Aura. Or as James liked to call it, Penny.

"I've been doing some thinking," James said when he finally stopped studying the outline.

"Hmm?" Oz asked, looking up from his cup of coffee. With Oobleck now part of the team that Oz was trying to put together, he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do. He wanted Huntsmen and Huntresses, or potential people that can become those things. Then what? He had an entire building up in the mountains all to himself.

"I was thinking that I might travel to the kingdom of Atlas and set up a facility there in order to have more room for my projects," James said. That got Oz's full attention.

"Atlas? The Schnee Dust company headquarters is located there," he pointed out.

"Precisely," James replied with a winning smile. Oz was almost jealous James had that kind of smile.

"You said that you didn't like the Schnee Dust company," Oz said.

"I didn't say I don't like them, I said that I don't always trust them, but I know what they have, and they can help achieve what I want to create," James explained.

"Penny?"

"Not just that, but an entire military force. I can create an army that can serve as a powerful force against any forces that conspire against any kingdom around the world," James said. He had a passionate light in his eyes that took Ozpin aback a bit. Never once until now has he seen James look that way.

"That's very ambitious of you to think of, but there's a catch isn't there?" Oz asked. James's expression changed. He looked dead serious now.

"Yes, I'm going to ask Glynda if she would like to come with me," he said. Oz sat back and folded his hands across his lap. It was the position he made when he was thinking hard. He hated to admit that he felt like Glynda was his to decide where she should or should not go, but how can he blame himself? Taking care of Glynda was something that was near and dear to his heart and something he has done for years. Seeing her go would be the hardest thing he's ever done. It was also his idea for her to be with him when he gets the new academy established.

"Find someone else," Oz finally answered.

James frowned. "Excuse me?"

"You can't take her. She's with me," Oz insisted.

"What about how she may feel? What if she would like to go?" James asked.

"It doesn't matter because you're not asking her."

James stood up and began rolling his blueprints up.

"I thought that maybe you would be reasonable, but I guess I thought wrong," he said.

"Yes. You did," Oz replied. He felt like he had just said those words to someone else not too long ago.

"Goodbye, Ozpin," James said. Oz didn't answer. He didn't watch James walk out the door. He didn't see Jasper walking past him into the shop. He wasn't wearing his cap like he used to. He walked up to the front counter.

"We don't serve your kind here, pal," the man at the counter exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"You're a Faunus. We don't serve your kind," the man pointed out. Ozpin looked up to see what was going on.

"This is an outrage, sir. I work for the Schnee Dust company, surely I have some benefits," Jasper said.

"I don't care if you work for the city council itself. Get out of my shop," the man replied, pointing a long finger at the door.

"Please, sir, please—" James turned and spotted Oz, who stared back at him with a blank expression.

"Ozpin, my dear friend, please help me," he said. The man behind the counter looked at Oz.

"You know this guy?" He asked. Oz looked between the man and Jasper for several seconds then shook his head.

"No. I don't know him," he said. If he was to eventually be a headmaster for an academy like he was thinking about doing, he knew he had to keep his reputation looking good, which included not being a friend of a Faunus, not because he disliked the Faunus' but because others would dislike him for liking them.

Pain marred Jasper's emotion. "But—you—."

"Someone get him out," the man ordered. Two security guards came up to Jasper, grabbed him, and started dragging him out of the shop. Everyone else inside the shop watched Jasper with disgust.

Ozpin turned away and took another sip of his coffee. Now it was time to get to business. It was time to start building an academy.**