AN: Guys, I teared up at one point while writing this story. I'm really happy for the way this turned out, but it was difficult to write. I kept going back and tweaking stuff and changing stuff so I really hope you guys like this. For this story, I think it's appropriate to quote Elfin Maid, one of my readers: Yay, Glynda!
Seriously, Glynda is awesome in this chapter. I love how she's getting more attention.
Glynda Goodwitch stood on one side of a ring in another room in the temple which Ozpin had chosen to use as a practice arena. Standing on the other side of the ring was her sister Theodora, who appeared to have full confidence in the coming match. It made Glynda feel unsure that she looked confident herself. She tightened her grip on an old sword that Peter had lent her for the match. Theodora was holding their mother's sword. She stared up at the screen on the wall beside her that showed off her Aura meter. Right now, it was in the red. Theodora's Aura meter on the other hand was dead in the middle.
Glynda knew the others were watching. Ozpin, Peter, and Oobleck all watched the two from a safe spot on the bleachers on the other side of the room. Glynda practiced a few swings with the sword to get a feel for it and checked the setting on the hilt. The material of the blade had been electronically tweaked to prevent actual injury during a practice duel. The same thing had been done to Theodora's sword.
"Let the match begin," Ozpin announced. Glynda shot one last quick glance at Oz before charging at her sister. For a second, consistent concerns for her friend circled back around in her head, then retreated when she refocused her attention back on the match. Theodora was already coming for her with her sword raised over her head. Glynda noticed something like a light flickering at the tip of the blade that Theodora held. Glynda raised her own sword and parried Theodora's downward swing. Several more clashes between blades later and Glynda unleashed a gale of wind that tossed Theodora back. Her sister landed on her side with their mother's sword lying next to her.
"Time out," Ozpin called out. Glynda's cheeks burned from embarrassment. She lowered her borrowed sword and her gaze fell to the floor.
"Sorry, sorry, I know," she said. Oz came over to Glynda and gently raised her sword-hand up so that the blade was straight before her face again.
"When I say this, I am not only speaking to Glynda, I am speaking to all of you. Essentially, there is nothing wrong with using your Semblance or Aura during a fight, but we can't always rely on our Semblance to defeat the enemy. If we did that, then we would decide it's okay to use our power too much and physically we gain nothing," Ozpin explained. Glynda watched Oz shoot a glance at Theodora, who nodded in understanding.
"He's right, sister," she said.
"Let me try it again," Glynda responded. Ozpin shook his head, which made Glynda's spirits fall to the floor in a dead heap.
"I think you need to watch more matches between different people so that you can gain a better understanding."
A tear rose in Glynda's eyes, and she can feel pain bulging up the bridge of her nose and between her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I failed you," she said.
"Do not call it a failure. You're training. Mistakes will be made, and you will learn from them," Oz encouraged. It was the warmest tone he had spoken to Glynda in in quite some time.
"Okay," Glynda replied, still refusing to look up at him. She walked off of the ring and sat on the bottom row of bleachers against the wall. Up on the screen with her Aura meter, the meter was full but she had apparently used it wrong.
Three weeks after Jasper's death, Glynda was beginning to realize that things weren't the same between her and Ozpin. Their relationship was different. Now it wasn't like the time when they were simply best friends looking out for each other and spending nights in the temple, which they had not called their "happy place" since Jasper's demise. Glynda was realizing that she hated change, and change was all around her now. Whenever Glynda would try to find Oz just to talk to him, she normally couldn't find him. One night when she went to his room when she couldn't sleep, Ozpin wasn't there.
Glynda realized she had sat next to Oobleck, who had a notebook open furiously taking notes. Glynda could swear she saw a thin trail of smoke from the point of the pencil he was using to write with.
"Do you ever stop taking notes?" She asked with a hint of humor. Oobleck didn't stop until he finished his current sentence.
"Well I tend to take a break from notes to draw some diagrams and graphs but…other than that, not really," he answered. No wonder Glynda knew Oobleck less than everyone else. With Oobleck, she had to come up with just the right topic choice to get him to talk to her.
"I want to ask you something," Glynda said. Oobleck looked up from his notebook but he didn't look at her.
"What happened three weeks ago—with Jasper and the Faunus—do you think that will become a part of history?" Glynda asked. Oobleck finally looked at her with wide eyes that she was only able to know because of his raised eyebrows. His eyes were hidden behind shady, round glasses.
"Why what a preposterous question my dear! Why of course it will become a part of history. It was a continuation of the war between the humans and the Faunus race. If it wasn't for Ozpin, I fear that another great war would have been started and more lives would have been lost," he replied. Glynda looked away for a moment to process this. It was true that Oz had defeated a threat that would've only grown bigger, but at what cost? Jasper's followers were able to get away. What if they came back with a new leader?
When she looked back at Oobleck, he was already lost in his notes again. Finally, he finished filling the last page and shut it. Glynda breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of not having to hear a pencil that sounded like it was going through convulsions, but her enthusiasm wilted when she saw Oobleck pull out another fresh blank notebook and start writing on the first page.
Glynda was about to find a different spot to sit when she noticed Oobleck writing about Ozpin in the notebook which kept her attention.
"Why are you writing about Oz?" Glynda asked.
"I write about almost everybody I'm acquainted with. It helps me learn how I'm supposed to socialize with them," Oobleck said. He looked up to face Glynda again with a mischievous grin. "But I also like getting to know their motivations. In a bit, I plan to ask each one of us here why they want to be a Huntsman or Huntress."
"Starting with me?" Glynda asked. Her next two heartbeats came faster than normal.
"Why do you want to be a Huntress?" Oobleck asked without warning. Glynda hoped that she would have an answer to give right away, but she shut her mouth in the middle of opening it when she realized something.
She didn't know why she was training to become a Huntress. For three years, she did whatever Ozpin told her to do, and was willing to let him train her so that she can discover her Semblance and learn to use her Aura.
Then she thought about her parents and how they had been murdered and devoured by creatures of Grimm. She lost her parents because of them. She knew something had to be done about that. So her reasons for training were personal then? Did they have nothing to do with trying to protect others from suffering a similar fate as her parents?
"I don't know why I want to be a Huntress," Glynda told Oobleck. It wasn't the exact truth, but it was how Glynda felt for now. Glynda felt something like worms squirming around in her stomach when she saw Oobleck's expression in response to her answer. He looked as though he was trying to figure out if she was lying, and it looked like he was coming close to that conclusion.
"I see," he finally answered in an emotionless tone. He didn't write anything down. It made sense. Glynda's answer to his question wasn't particularly noteworthy.
"Let the match begin," Ozpin said again. Glynda's eyes widened when she looked up at the ring and saw Ozpin standing on one side with Theodora standing on the other side. An inkling of jealousy dropped through her senses and sizzled.
"Oobleck, can you tell me Ozpin's emotions based on his attacks?" Glynda asked. Oobleck frowned.
"Odd request, but I think I can do that. Why do you want me to do that?"
"Just let me worry about the details for now," Glynda answered, deciding it was a safe enough response.
"Very well," Oobleck said with an affirming nod. Glynda leaned forward in her seat to watch Oz and Theodora charge at each other. Ozpin had a long cane in his hand to parry Theodora's deadly swings. Glynda noticed that every time Theodora's sword hit Oz's cane, the tip would release a burst of white light that was almost blinding. Ozpin struggled to keep his sight intact whenever the sword's tip lit up and he heightened his own attacks.
"Hmm," Oobleck thought aloud next to Glynda. Glynda half-expected Oobleck to say something but he didn't. Returning her attention back to the fight, she watched Ozpin grow more and more aggressive, managing to twirl the cane in his hand so that the butt end was pointing up and attempt several strikes, one of which successfully got Theodora across the kneecap. With a pained gasp, Theodora's eyes shot up and she fell on one knee. Using both hands to grip her sword, she held it up just in time as Ozpin's cane came down at her. One clash and the tip of Theodora's sword lit up again, this time through the whole blade.
"Oh my, it's just as I suspected," Oobleck finally said. Glynda jumped, realizing how absorbed her attention had been in the fight.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Ozpin generates anger through his fighting. It's evident throughout his fighting style," Oobleck replied. He looked at Glynda with concern etched in his expression.
"I believe Ozpin may be letting out some bottled-up anger when he fights. The physical demands in the fight drives him to let loose," he explained. Glynda looked back at her friend in concern and watched Oz push his cane down against the sword so that it was inching towards Theodora's neck. Theodora's eyes grew wider as the blade drew closer. Finally, the side of the blade gently pressed against her neck.
"Need I go further?" Ozpin asked.
"I forfeit," Theodora replied, her voice shaky from trying to push back. Ozpin's ominous manner changed back to a softened nature.
"And that's the match," he declared, raising the cane away from Theodora. He reached his hand out for Theodora to take, which she gladly took and Oz helped her back onto her feet.
"I see you transmit some of your Aura to your blade. That is good. Your weapons can be used as conduits to project your Aura," Ozpin said.
"My mother—mine and Glynda's mother—taught me how to do that," Theodora replied.
"Well, she certainly taught you well. And that is an example of fighting and taking down an opponent without having to rely on your Semblance. Sometimes cases like this will happen, and we have to be physically ready for it," Ozpin said turning to the others sitting on the bleachers.
"Anger," Oobleck muttered close to Glynda's ear. Glynda felt a deep dread in her stomach. Ozpin was using bottled-up anger to have an advantage in a fight. His anger didn't appear to be about Theodora, it was being directed towards Theodora to best her. What his anger is towards Glynda wasn't sure. She suspected that it may be towards Oz's father Haman or Collus. A pit in her stomach made Glynda feel like Oz was in danger of growing reckless because of his emotions.
Oobleck kept his word. He asked Peter, Theodora, and Ozpin why they wanted to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. After Glynda, his next target was Peter.
"Peter, you have been through a rough time lately. Have the recent developments altered your reasons for becoming a Huntsman?" He asked Peter. Peter Port was sitting on the foot of his own bed in a room Ozpin provided for him inside the temple. Oobleck sat in a chair across the room with his notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other.
"My grandfather was a great man. I'm going to miss him, but I made the choice to become a Huntsman before he passed away and I was confident in my decision," Peter said.
"You're avoiding the real question, Mr. Port," Oobleck pointed out. "Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"
Peter released a heavy sigh while one hand played with his growing mustache. "I like the idea of being seen as a hero. The way I see it, I'm either a hero or I'm nobody. I can't stand the thought of being nobody, so I strive to be a hero. I want to be celebrated as one too."
Oobleck nodded. "I see." He finished his notes and dusted the eraser shavings off the page with one brisk swipe.
"And what about you, Theodora?" Oobleck asked. Theodora turned while walking down the hallway, one eyebrow was raised.
"What?"
"Why do you want to be a Huntress?" Oobleck pressed. Nervousness pricked Theodora's insides. How was she going to answer that question in a way that didn't make her sound, well, selfish? Also, what was an answer she could give that wasn't completely honest, but wasn't a lie either?
"My mother was a Huntress. That sword I used in the arena was given to me by her and I already know my Semblance. She helped me discover my Semblance and transmit part of my Aura to what is now my weapon," Theodora explained, patting the hilt of her sword in a sheath on her belt.
"I see," Oobleck said, taking a note. "So what you're saying is that you want to be a Huntress because your mother wanted you to be."
Oobleck's observation shocked Theodora. He didn't even say that as a question, it was an observation he made himself. He didn't even know the half of it, but she couldn't help but feel that he was right about that part. No, he couldn't be. She wanted to be a Huntress because that was the decision that she made on her own.
Was it?
Theodora was left speechless, which made her feel envious. She was normally the one with the right words to say, but this time she was beaten in a game she typically hosted.
"Hmm," Oobleck sounded, and he ran off in a blur that Theodora missed when she blinked.
FInally, Oobleck found Ozpin outside staring out at Vale sprawled out below them.
"Hello there, Ozpin. I have a question for you that I've been asking everyone else today," Oobleck said with his notebook already flipped open to a blank page. Ozpin smirked and turned to face him.
"You're going to ask me why I want to be a Huntsman," he said.
"You catch on quick," Oobleck complimented.
"Not really. Theodora told me," Ozpin admitted.
"Right then, so, what is your answer to the question?"
"How about I redirect the question to you," Ozpin suggested.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Why do you want to be a Huntsman?" Ozpin asked. It only took a second for Oobleck to gather up the confidence to answer. With his composure and shoulders straight, he answered.
"While it's true that I can fight…creatures, with physical weapons, I believe my most powerful weapon is my mind. I can take in knowledge and be able to pass it along to whatever students will come to your school. I want to be in a position to study and learn from the tragedies that have happened in our history so that those events will not be repeated," Oobleck rambled on. His voice brewed with a passion that made Ozpin stop thinking about everything else and completely focus on Oobleck.
"Sure I can study and learn without having to be a Huntsman, but there's nothing else in this world I would rather be," Oobleck finished. For a short while the only sound in the air was running water from a nearby fountain. Oobleck had rendered Oz speechless. He knew exactly what to say and where his motivations lied, and Ozpin found it honorable and intriguing.
"Should I repeat all of that, because it doesn't look like you caught all of it," Oobleck finally said, shattering the silence.
Ozpin shook his head. "No, I caught all of that. Thank you, Oobleck. That was quite an eye-opener."
"My pleasure Ozpin. I'm just telling the truth."
"Good. I'm going home now, go rest and we'll meet together again in the morning," Ozpin said. By the time Oobleck remembered that he was supposed to ask Oz why he wanted to be a Huntsman, he was already gone.
Ozpin woke up when he heard something that sounded like someone was moving quickly away. He noticed that the door to the room was slightly open, which wasn't right because the door had been clicked shut when he went to bed. Curious now, he sat up and touched his bare feet to the floor. He looked behind him at Theodora sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. Ozpin believed Theodora was very beautiful, but there was something about how she looked while she slept that felt strangely off. Her expression looked conflicted.
When he stepped out of the room he saw Glynda's bedroom door shut. Oz groaned and went to the door and softly knocked on it.
"Glynda?" He whispered. Glynda opened the door.
"Can I talk to you?" She asked before Oz could get another word out.
"Um, yes of course," Ozpin said with a nervous half-smile. Ozpin and Glynda slowly and carefully walked through the living room where Oz's father Haman slept on the couch with a bottle of brandy still in his hand. Without giving it a second thought, Oz stopped to take the bottle and slowly dump the rest of the contents onto Haman's lap. Haman didn't even so much as stir. When Oz looked at Glynda, he noticed she was giving him a disapproving stare.
They walked out onto the balcony and shut the door behind them together. Normally the howl of a Beowolf could be heard in the night, but there was nothing this time. The air was perfectly still. There wasn't even a breeze.
"I wanted to talk to you, but I decided I didn't want to wake you up when I saw my sister with you," Glynda commented. Oz felt his cheeks grow hot.
"That was probably for the best. But you woke me up anyway, so what is it?" Oz asked, irritation leaking into his tone.
"I don't like this. Where this is all going I mean."
"Be more specific Glynda," Ozpin pushed.
"I—I miss when it was just the two of us. I miss coming into your room and waking you up so that we can go to the temple. We called it our happy place," Glynda said.
"I remember Glynda, it wasn't that long ago," Ozpin replied. Why was Glynda talking about this? Where was she going with this?
"But we don't do that anymore. Now you're with Theodora and I feel left out. You don't talk to me anymore except to lecture me, and in fact you grew distant after I discovered my Semblance. When I lived with my parents, they taught Theodora how to unlock her Semblance but not me. You gave me something that my parents never did," Glynda explained.
"You have no idea how special you are to me Glynda, you have to know that," Ozpin said.
"You're possessive. You told James not to invite me to go with him to Atlas, but now you barely talk to me. You've grown obsessed with the idea of destroying Collus," Glynda pointed out. A fire sparked in Oz's eyes.
"There's a good reason for wanting to destroy him. He uses Dust to create weapons that hurts innocent people. I can't let him keep doing that."
"He's your responsibility to take down?" Glynda asked. Ozpin threw up his arms in a kindling rage.
"He is!"
Pain clouded Glynda's eyes behind the glasses James had given her. Was there any way that she would be able to get back the Ozpin she knew? There had to be something. Then she thought of something that could possibly help. A memory. One of her favorite ones. She took a step closer to Ozpin, wanting so badly to reach out and touch him but decided against it.
"Remember two years ago when my birthday was coming up? I didn't tell you that because you were still getting over your mother's passing and Theodora told you it was coming. Remember when I came into your room the night before my birthday to ask you if we can go to our 'happy place' and when we got there you had a cake there for me?"
Ozpin's expression begin to soften and his eyes made it clear that he was thinking about that. Glynda felt hope flicker on and she kept going.
"You didn't even invite Theodora to join us, it was just—just the two of us. Celebrating the mere fact that I exist. It was the first time you smiled in weeks," Glynda said. As she told the story, she could see the wall Oz had built between them crumble and waver a bit. Glynda started to believe that she was getting her point across through the story to Oz.
"I remember making the wrong kind of cake. You hate coconut," Ozpin said. Tears rose in Glynda's eyes.
"Yes, yes that's right, but I didn't care. You were beating yourself up over it but I was laughing. We still ate it together," she said. Ozpin let loose a small smile, but it transitioned back to a frown.
"Things are different now Glynda. I'm sorry if you can't accept that," he said. Though he sounded regretful, his tone was also final.
"You need to push yourself more during training. I want you to be part of this team, but I need you to be capable of what I expect from you," Ozpin insisted. The real Ozpin was gone again now, replaced by a revenge-driven, angry tutor. Glynda felt herself grow numb from grief and she watched her best friend walk back into the house, leaving her alone on the balcony to cry. In the distance, the Beowolves started howling.
Jasper studied the data on two screens with his hands clasped behind him. His shirt was off, showcasing the long, wicked scars on his back from the lashes in the mines. Half of his face was burned from the explosion in The Witch's Apple.
Several Faunus stood behind him waiting, one of them looking like he was nauseous, as if he was expecting something terrible to happen. Another one of them was the Faunus that was with Jasper when he woke up to discover his new cybernetic legs. His animal feature, which was a dog's tail, had been cut off while he was a slave in the mines.
"When I was a young cub, my father broke the news to me that when I was born, I had no Semblance. Everyone eventually gets to unlock his own Semblance, but I had nothing," Jasper explained.
"Tragic backstory," one of the Faunus commented. Jasper slammed his fist down on the operating table in front of him and the others in the room froze deathly still.
"There are other ways to achieve a power just as great as a Huntsman or Huntress, and that is what we are discovering today," he said. He turned and the group of Faunus fidgeted altogether.
"Now, let's begin the procedure. Time is of the essence," Jasper announced. He sat down in the chair in the center of the room and rested his head back.
"Sir, the procedure should be done with you put under," the Faunus that was with Jasper earlier said.
"Do what has to be done Mr. Taurus," Jasper replied. His features twisted to appear almost demented. Taurus shuddered and motioned to the others to start. Once a drug was injected into Jasper to put him to sleep, the group went to work. Taurus was handed an injector that contained a microchip, which had been stolen from the Schnee Dust company.
"These chips are in the experiment process, we don't know if it will work," one of the Faunus warned.
"I know the stakes doctor," Taurus insisted, "and so does he."
The other Faunus stepped back as Taurus stuck the injector into the side of Jasper's head, then pulled the trigger. The chip imbedded itself into Jasper. Visible bolts of electricity exploded through Jasper's head and his entire body convulsed several times. A weak scream protruded from Jasper's lips and his arms flailed. Taurus took a step back to avoid Jasper's swings. Finally, after ten long excruciating seconds of convulsing, Jasper's body stopped and stayed still.
"Let's wake him up," Taurus said. Taking a cloth sprinkled with a strong powder, Taurus pressed it against Jasper's sweating forehead. Jasper's eyes flew open as if he was waking up from a nightmare. Jasper immediately sat up and put his head in his hands.
"It's alright sir, the procedure went according to plan," Taurus assured him, but he made sure to stay a few steps away from him just in case. Jasper lifted his head from his hands and looked at him with a hopeful grin.
"It's in?"
"It's in."
Jasper looked away and stared straight ahead. "I can feel it Taurus. All of it. The power."
Taurus nodded but his insides sank in dread. He feared what Jasper was capable of.
AN: The next chapter is going to be-can't give anything away! I wish I could at least drop a hint.