Chapter 8: Unexpected Enemy

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, this was a show. A performance, done by prepared actors and arranged by the tournament organizers, that got out of hand."

"And I've said it before, that's ridiculous."

"Why else would the Atlas troops wait so long to stop the fight?"

Click.

"-had asked me five days ago whether she was guilty, I would have said no. But after going back over the footage and looking more closely at her behavior, I think she could quite easily have-"

Click.

"The name "Saiyan" is clearly a derivative of "Saiyajin", the name of a nomadic tribe that lived in the deserts to the southeast of Vacuo. The tribe was reportedly wiped out by Grimm nearly two centuries ago, yet-"

Click.

"Everyone is jumping the gun here by making assumptions about guilt and innocence in what is quite literally a he said she said situation."

Click.

"What we're seeing is yet another example of Atlas's heavy handed approach to civil unrest. Based solely on an accusation from someone clearly mentally ill, they had decided to detain this young girl with no consideration for her civil liberties. Now, they say-"

Click.

James lowered the remote after turning the television off. "As you can see, public opinion is divided on the incident during the tournament. No one knows what to think about either Mato or Cinder, or us for that matter."

He stood in Ozpin's office with the man himself seated behind his desk. Glynda stood off to the side, prim and proper as always. Qrow, the Huntsman finally returned from his long absence, leaned against the wall with his arms folded. Of James' three co-conspirators (that was what they were, no matter how the admission disappointed him), the perpetually drunk man was the only one who seemed amused by the situation.

It had been five days since the battle at Vytal Festival. The tournament had been suspended and ultimately canceled in the wake of the public uproar over the bloody duel within the colosseum. There had been so much to do to handle a captured Maiden and her accomplices, with the need to maintain appearances all the while, that James had not been able to meet with the others up until now.

James continued his report. "The decision to keep from intervening," his eyes flickered over to Ozpin, inscrutable as always "has kept the public from becoming alarmed and fearful from the battle, but we trade that for uncertainty and suspicion. If you ask ten different people you'll get ten different answers and a large number of them involve accusing us."

Mostly him, he knew. Atlas' reputation had never been sterling but in recent years it had gotten downright villainous. James knew the rumors, everything from illegal weapons experiments to plans to take over the other kingdoms. It'd be less depressing if most of them didn't have grains of truth embedded in them. Doctor Polendina might be satisfied with his 'daughter' but the project had always had larger aspirations than that and Ozpin's precious guardian creating Aura transfer machine only didn't break laws left and right because no one knew those laws even needed to exist yet.

"An unfortunate situation." Glynda said. From the wall, Qrow snorted.

"Not really. People like thinking the guys in power are scumbags. Helps them believe everything is the way it ought to be."

Glynda scowled at him. "Your cynicism isn't appreciated here."

James despite himself was nodding in agreement. "No, he's right. One of the best outcomes of this situation is everyone assuming this was exactly what it appeared to be. An attempt at revenge by a powerful faunus on an enemy of his, with our reaction delayed because we were being incompetent. The public is already predisposed to believe the worst about us anyway and this avoids certain questions."

"Speaking of questions," Glynda began. "What's been done with Miss Fall?" The stern teacher looked as though she suspected an answer she did not want to hear but was willing to accept.

"For the moment she's being held in a special Aura dampening cell." Another one of those experiments James got so much flak for. Even now that it was proven to be useful, he wasn't expecting any apologies. "With the amount of public interest in this whole mess, regrettably we can't just cut her throat and shunt the Maiden powers back into Amber. Still, it will be pretty easy to manipulate a trial and get her sent to prison for life. From there we'll have more flexibility."

When James had been starting out as a Huntsman, he hadn't expected nearly as much blatant political corruption to be part of his job. Glynda looked a bit disgusted at the bluntness of his plan. Considering it was in essence waiting until they could murder Cinder without it causing too much trouble, he didn't blame her. Qrow merely looked resigned to the necessity of it all and Ozpin's expression was unreadable as usual.

"You're sure she's being held safely?" Qrow asked, taking a swig from his flask. "There was one of her group that got away, and it's not like the Cult is only four people strong."

"She's being guarded by my best operatives, and within the cell even a Maiden can't use their powers." The security wasn't as tight as he would prefer, but it was the best he could do without dragging her back to Atlas or taking her down to the vaults. The former wasn't an option given she needed to stand trial in Vale and the latter was a bad idea in numerous ways. "I have my men keeping an eye out for her accomplice that escaped the colosseum as well."

"Given how you managed to completely miss Cinder when she was right under your noises," Qrow said, James fully aware that 'you' meant him and his troops as opposed to the other people in the room. "I'm not really reassured."

James frowned. He knew this was going to come up sooner or later. "Maybe if we had been given a description more specific than 'pale skin and dark hair' we could have been more effective. What did you expect, for us to round up the several thousand people that covered?"

"What worries me," Glynda headed off the argument before it could truly get going. "Is what about Amber? Even imprisoned, Cinder still might be able to hijack the remaining half of the Maiden's power from her."

"Amber's condition is largely stable and even if she did… pass away," James had only ever met Amber a few times, but she had been a close friend to the other three. "The cell should be capable of holding even a full Maiden."

"Should?" Qrow asked pointedly.

James spread his hand in a 'what could I do' gesture. "I haven't exactly ever needed to imprison a Maiden before." The cell's specifications would indicate it could restrain Cinder, but that was ultimately guesswork, after all.

"And what of Mato?" Ozpin asked, his first contribution to the conversation. The headmaster's question wasn't directed to anyone in particular and he was looking at his own folded hands. It was a good question though. James had been doing a lot of thinking about that young man in the past few days. A warrior at least half as powerful as a Maiden with no discernable origin or goals was a troubling prospect to say the least.

"What about him?" Qrow asked. "He nearly killed someone on global television then vanished like a fart in the wind. Unless the general has offered him a job under the table, we have no idea where he is or what he wants."

Glynda primly adjusted her glasses. "According to Bart, he was fully complicit in the recent White Fang terror attack. However, Peter claims he defended a village from prolonged Grimm attacks, so it is unlikely that he is solely driven to attack humanity like many other members of the White Fang."

James had his own theories. "Most likely he is a Faunus from the wildlands. That would explain why we have never heard of someone of this power. He came to the kingdom, was seduced by the lies regarding Faunus treatment and joined the White Fang to 'make a difference'. He defended the village because he has a soft spot for his fellow wildlanders, that's all."

Glynda frowned at him. "Do you really think the Faunus have no cause for complaint about the atrocious ways they are treated, in your kingdom especially?"

There were few things James wanted to talk about less at this moment than the Faunus Rights Movement. "Is that really relevant right now?" He asked, then continued before she could answer. "For that matter, his personal history is largely irrelevant as well. What matters is ensuring he isn't a threat to the peace."

"Do we know where we can find the guy?" Qrow asked. For all he criticized James and his men for being blunt instruments, it was clear he intended to remove the threat Mato posed with his sword.

James sadly shook his head. "At the speed we clocked him travelling, and with five days of potential travel time, even conservative estimates allow him to be anywhere in the world by now. Hopefully he'll slink back into obscurity and that will be the end of it."

"You ignoring what might be the most important thing of all." Ozpin replied. "Who is he, and where did he come from?" He stood up out of his chair. "If we knew that, we would know what his plans are now and where that incredible power of his came from."

"I believe I already outlined the most likely answers to those questions." James said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

Ozpin gave him that look that somehow always made him feel like a fool. "Then you believe that a boy younger than almost every student at this academy either possesses two Semblances, or both has a supply of Aura greater than a dozen Huntsmen put together and has mastered controlling it in ways that take decades of training to utilize."

Put like that, it did seem rather implausible. "Well then, who do you think he is?"

There was a ghost of a smile on Ozpin's face. "He said it himself, did he not? He is a Saiyan Warrior."

"Yes, but that doesn't tell us anything." Glynda said, clearly sharing James' lack of comprehension.

"Doesn't it?" Ozpin asked. He sounded a little too much like he was talking to some of his students. "He said those words with significance. That was how he declared himself before the world."

"And what does that mean?" James asked, annoyed at getting the run around.

"He is a warrior. Warriors fight." Ozpin turned to stare out the window, hands clasped behind his back. "I feel we will be seeing more of this young man fairly soon."

From Ozpin's desk there came a chime. "Professor Ozpin?" Spoke the voice of a secretary. "A Mr. Eonwe is here to see you, he says you have an appointment regarding Academy Governance."

"Thank you Mary." Ozpin sat back down at his desk. He looked up at the rest of them as his hands grabbed various papers. "Our work must continue, public as well as private. I'm sure there are things you all need to attend to as well."

It rankled a little to be dismissed like that, James thought as he waited for Glynda and Qrow to board the elevator, but Ozpin was right. Running an army was hard enough, running a school was even tougher. And he wanted to get some people looking into the origin of the name 'Saiyan' while he was at it.

"Professor Honeysuckle, I have the final grade forms for the semester. I just need you to sign them."

"Leave them on the desk." The headmistress of Haven Academy was looking out over her school bathed in the orange of sunset.

There was a ruffling as Sol laid the stack of papers down, but not the sound of receding footsteps.

"Was there something else?"

There was a shuffling noise. Sol always stepped between his feet when he was upset. "Has there been any word about Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury?"

She turned around. Sol's big blue eyes were full of concern. "There have been no new developments." She told him. "They remain in the custody of General Ironwood's soldiers, pending formal charges be laid on them."

"That's not fair." Sol said immediately. "How can they even believe for one second that those sweet kids would be even remotely connected to something so horrid?"

Honeysuckle sat down behind her desk. "I intend to press the matter. I shall demand that Ironwood either present concrete evidence of his accusations or release our students immediately. Ozpin will be of help in that area, he is not fond of our colleague's presumptuous nature either."

Like the sun poking out from behind a cloud, Sol's constant smile returned. "That is good to hear. I'm sure the General's probably realized by now he has nothing to go on and just doesn't want to embarrass himself, but that's no excuse for treating innocent students the way he is."

"Mmhmm." Honeysuckle pretended to peruse the files he had brought her. "Was there anything else?"

"No ma'am. Have a good evening." She waited until the elevator doors had closed behind him before cracking into a sardonic grin. Those sweet kids. Only Sol would call them that. Mercury had once shoved him down a flight of stairs, which had broken the thoroughly normal Sol's arm. He had refused to believe it was anything other than an accident. Sol saw the good in everyone, even if it was only his own good reflecting back. And he had plenty of good to go around. Sol was perpetually optimistic, upbeat, and friendly. He never got angry and only rarely was sad. And never for his own sake, all sorrow Sol felt came from his sympathy for others.

It was enough to make Salem want to vomit.

Still, she liked keeping the man close. His complete lack of combat ability in every way made him incapable of defying her should her uncover any secrets. And his complete lack of duplicity meant he would never work against her without her knowledge. His constant happiness meant she knew her job was working whenever she saw him down, the most recent instance notwithstanding. He could run this school singlehandedly and often did. Her real calling required enough time spent on her part that she could not truly perform the duties of headmistress , something Sol was happy to do for her if she ever asked.

Speaking of her real calling, she needed to revise her plans. She would make the call to keep up appearances, but that was a lost cause. Now that they had found the dreaded Maiden drainer, Ozpin and his lackeys would never let her go. Cinder's defeat scrapped the original plan, to bring down Vale and make off with the Maiden powers. Something had scattered the White Fang to the wind and if Salem's information was accurate their oh so pliable leader was too broken to even stand at the moment. The Grimm concentrations around the city had been reduced, not drastically but enough that they would pose no threat to the kingdom on their own.

And Cinder was taken. The young woman had been such a useful tool. Intelligent, driven, powerful. She had amassed power and subordinates, formulated strategies to match the ever shifting situation, and been a hairs breadth from achieving their goal. She was largely irreplaceable. And then she had fallen to the fists of some random stranger who had fixated on some petty wrongdoing of hers. It was almost pathetic enough to be humorous.

Still, Salem had plenty of options on the table. She would have to return to the Shadowlands tonight, to reassess her Grimm. No one could replace Cinder, but perhaps she did not need to be replaced. It's time I woke him up.

Jaune flopped back onto his mattress. The bed had been stripped bare, as had every other part of the room. A small mountain of luggage waited by the door to be carted away. Jaune, who had just finished, was the last one to be packed up.

The end of the year. That he had even made it this far without being expelled was nothing short of a miracle. Before he had enrolled, Jaune had had no idea what he would be getting into. Forget expulsion, he came frighteningly close to being killed more than once. If it hadn't been for Pyrrha, he wouldn't have survived initiation.

Pyrrha. Jaune knew there was some reason he had fallen for Weiss at the start of the year, but for the life of him he couldn't think of what that was when he was with Pyrrha. The red haired girl was beautiful, strong, funny, and always happy to lend a hand. She was perfect, or as close to it as a person could get. Someday she was going to find someone who deserved her. Whoever he was, he'd be one lucky bastard.

Jaune sat up. He didn't have time to mope about his romance troubles; he was supposed to be going down to find the rest of his team as soon as he finished packing. Since Pyrrha was returning to Mistral and Ren was going back to his home village, they were going to spend their last night in Vale eating out at one of the best restaurants in town. And since it was the best restaurant in town, they had invited Team RWBY so a certain Schnee heiress could foot the bill. Jaune chuckled. Who would have thought Ren of all people would have a devious side?

He found his teammates hanging around the entrance to the dorms and they set off across the campus. As they walked, Nora chattered on about this thing and that as usual and as usual Jaune mostly tuned her out. As much as he liked the hyperactive hammer slinger, he didn't know how Ren kept up with her at all. It was only after the chatter ceased Jaune realized the question she had asked wasn't one she intended to answer herself within a few seconds and his eyes followed her pointing finger.

Beacon's practice courts, no longer in use due to the end of the year, were opened to students at Signal and other lower academies. The idea, Jaune believed, was to entice the younger students into coming to Beacon, liking the facility, and wanting to enroll there rather than going to another kingdom's school. At the moment a small group of people Jaune thought of as kids, despite them probably being older than Ruby and stronger than him, were having a sparring match. Watching from the entrance to the recessed arena was a man wearing a very professional looking suit. If Jaune was any judge the tailoring on that suit was immaculate, the kind of clothes you wore to meet Vale's Council. But it was his face that drew the eye. With gray hair atop a face lined from age, he looked dignified, but also very old and a bit tired. No, not tired, more like weary. Jaune's immediate instinct was that this wasn't someone they should bother.

Nora disagreed. "Hey! Old guy over there!"

The old man turned surprised at the shout. "Ah, hello there." He greeted them as Nora bounded over and the rest of the group reluctantly followed.

"Whatcha doing?" Nora asked without preamble. The old man turned back to the practice courts.

"I was watching the practice."

This was not an acceptable answer to one Nora Valkyrie. "Why?"

A small, almost sad smile appeared on the old man's face. "It is encouraging to see young people striving to improve themselves. It motivates me not to be negligent in my own duty to this school and its students. Keeping this place stable and prosperous can be a trying task at times, sometimes I need a little reminder of why it is so important."

Unconsciously, Jaune straightened up a little. Was this man some kind of higher up at Beacon? He definitely wasn't a teacher and as far as Jaune knew Ozpin was at the top of the heap, but maybe the school had like a board of directors or something? Even just looking at him, Jaune got the sense this was a pretty important figure, whatever his job.

"That's creepy." Nora said bluntly. Jaune slapped a hand to his forehead behind her.

The old man slowed turned back to them, looking taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"

"An old dude hanging around and staring at kids is totally super creepy." Nora explained in her usual straightforward manner. It was impressive how she could manage to say something offensive without actually having any malice in her expression or tone. It was like she didn't realize what she would be taken as an insult.

Ren, as always, was there to smooth things over. "I'm very sorry." He sketched a quick half-bow of apology to the old man. "Nora, that was very rude." He began to reproach her.

The old man surprised them all by breaking into laughter. "I can see what you mean. From your perspective, I must seem quite 'creepy' indeed." He walked away, waving over his shoulder at them as he went. "Well then, I'll take my leave. I wouldn't want to unnerve anyone with my presence." He set off at a surprisingly quick pace for a man of his age.

Team JNPR watched him go. "Well," Said Jaune. "That was… odd."

Ren spoke up. "Guys, we'll need to hurry if we are to meet Ruby and the others on time."

Jaune put the old man out of his mind as they made their way to the lifts. The plan was to meet RWBY at the restaurant, so they would have to cross a large chuck of Vale to get there. Pyrrha had suggested they travel there on foot, to soak in the town one last time before they left, so they had some walking to do. It would actually be nice to get a chance to wander the city without getting into a fight, or having to fend off a Grimm invasion.

Mato aimlessly walked the streets of Vale, thinking about his life.

Not the sequence of events that had led to him being stranded on this miserable mudball, no. Mato had no intention of reliving those memories. The past is the past, why dwell on it? He was being mature, not refusing to own up to his mistakes.

Instead, Mato was thinking about his time on Remnant. He had done a lot since he had arrived months ago. Joined a revolutionary army, defeated what this planet considered a warrior, rampaged as an Oozaru, and took bloody revenge on what he had learned was global television. He'd been busy.

And what had he actually accomplished for all that? Well… nothing really. He was still homeless and penniless. His dinner last night had been a deer he had brought down himself and he had slept in the dirt under the stars. He'd spent the week since the Vytal Festival like that, surviving. Mato would hesitate to call that living.

Mato unconsciously wove through a crowd coming the other direction. He had returned to the city on a whim, nothing more. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Despite his public performance, he passed unnoticed simply by tying back his hair and covering his tail. The denizens of the city saw only a young man with a black ponytail, not the prodigious warrior who had shocked the world on a global stage.

Mato paused as he reached a plaza. He looked up at the clouds slowly drifting by. What was he going to do now? He had burned his bridge to the White Fang, their enemies had already won and didn't need to hire him. He could go back and defend villages from Grimm for food and shelter, but was that much of an improvement over right now? Was that all he would be for the rest of his life, a mere guardian of a handful of mudmen? Maybe he should just do as his old man suggested and start a farm somewhere. Mato snorted and looked down. He froze.

For a moment, he hoped he was mistaken. But the longer he stared, the more that pleasant thought withered. He stood there staring back, his eyes boring into Mato's. Eyes set into a face with crimson skin. Ornate robes covered his body. There was no mistaking it. Standing less than ten meters away was a god.

Mato took an involuntary step back and cursed himself for it.

"Wh-wh-" Mato stopped, forced his voice to stop trembling. It was harder than it could have been with his throat suddenly bone dry. "What are you doing here?"

The Kai cocked his head inquisitively. "Why do you think?" He asked. "Even if you hadn't rampaged across this world, with your ki constantly roaring the way it is finding you would never have been difficult. If you had quieted it, perhaps you could have blended into the crowd."

So Kais really can sense ki without using a scouter. There was some truth to the stories after all. "What do you want?" Mato demanded, forcing himself to inject some boldness into his words. The Kai just gave him a pitying look and upon reflection Mato realized that was a dumb question. It would seem more of the stories were true than he thought.

He noticed something strange. People were walking past the Kai without appearing to notice him at all. They were walking around him, so they clearly knew he was there, but they were paying no attention to someone obviously not human standing right next to them. The Kai noticed Mato's confusion.

"People see what they expect to see, as you well know." He gestured towards Mato's hair. "Still, I will confess to helping them along a little." His body flickered and for half a second the image of an elderly human covered his form. "Now," The Kai began, stepping forward. Mato noticed they were starting to get odd looks from members of the crowd. Even with their respective disguises, they were rather obviously about to fight. "Let's take this elsewhere." Mato jerked his head to the west. "Here's a little too crowded."

The Kai gave a curt nod. Mato took off, startling the humans around him as he blasted into the air. He followed the river towards the coast and the industrial district. Glancing behind himself, he could see the Kai seemed content to follow for now. Mato picked a dockyard bare of workers even now in the afternoon and descended.

The Kai landed about fifteen meters away. "I'm surprised." He called over to Mato. "I half expected you to make a break for it."

"Don't be stupid." Mato replied as he ripped his hair free from its tie, letting his spikes return. Or rather, don't treat me like I'm stupid. "You can sense my ki, so I can't hide. If I wanted to escape I'd have to outrun you. And if I'm powerful enough to do that, I'd rather just save time and beat you into the ground instead."

The Kai grudgingly accepted that. "Well-reasoned. Then since you are interested in saving time, we shall begin without delay. As a final mercy, I will respect your people's tradition. I am the Eighth Kai of the Northern Galaxy." He raised a hand and somehow took a fighting stance using only one limb. "And I don't need to hear who you are. Enma will sort you out soon enough."

Asshole, that's only funny when I do it. Mato focused, his every sense honed and aimed at his enemy. Cheap tricks wouldn't work, neither would brute force. Mato forced a grin. He'd never had a chance to commit deicide before.

AN: The name 'Honeysuckle' was one of those things that comes to you in a flash of inspiration and you accept it automatically because you know you'll never think of anything better than that.

Something I really wanted to work into the chapter was Ozpin suggesting that Mato was an alien, but I could never get that to fit. Even following the idea that Ozpin knows more than he lets on (which is a direction I'm not sure I want to go) I couldn't think of plausible arguments he would use in his position or even why he would bring up the topic.