All credit to respective owners.
-Y.A.R.N.
Jaune rolled over in his bed, unable to settle and drift off no matter how many times he tried to roll over or shift or just get some rest. With a sigh of annoyance, he hauled himself up from his bed and padded over to the window to let a sliver of moonlight in by opening his drapes a bit. The light always helped him fell better physically but nothing seemed to make him feel better about the way the tearful departures that had taken place earlier that day.
He decided to stay in Empire City despite his sister's offers.
It had been hard to look at the honestly crestfallen expressions on his various sister's faces at the time, but he said that he wanted to stand on his own. He already had so much here, and he couldn't — wouldn't — let them host him when they already had their own lives. What he didn't mention was that he was a trouble magnet and a problem as long as Jonathan was after him and his status was out in the open. If he stayed with them, they could get hurt and he was not going to allow that to happen no matter what they said. Besides, they already said all that needed to be said between all of them, they all knew the truth and Jaune didn't want the time they currently had together spent on lamentations. So they spent the next week — under Kali Belladonna's strict orders to spend time with his family when Sinne let slip how long it had been since they had seen each other — hanging out, playing with Adrian, learning about Terra, and strengthening the ties that hadn't been tended to in years.
Jaune had never felt so free and happy since he was a child.
He had noticed people staring at him and whispering that seemed to be quieted when he was in public, but whereas he had been ignored before, this wasn't so different. At his return to work, Pyrrha had relieved to see him after she checked on Blake when she heard about what had happened and who had been involved. It actually led to Yang meeting Pyrrha and his small band of friends expanding and he couldn't be more relieved that Pyrrha had taken the news of his status with such level-headedness. If anything, people had been visiting the coffee shop more in the hopes to the talk to the blond conduit who refused to use his powers until he saved his best had even had the one officer who had been kind to him right after his arrest visit the Cafe to see how he was doing. Jaune had been a bit embarrassed by the attention but he tried to make sure he didn't come off as any different than he was before.
He didn't see any problems coming so soon after the Yuma fiasco, and he had more conviction in regards to his endeavors now that he knew he had people at his back.
Ozpin drummed his hand on his desk as he watch over Yuma's husk being reconditioned by another of his longtime associates. While Cinder was very good in breaking the mind, reconfiguring the personality and morality was Glynda's specialty. The amount of time and sheer rigor of convincing her to actually do this was only possible thorough a web of carefully spun half-truths and plausible incidents. 'This was only to help him recover from the trauma' or 'his powers led to instability and we are simply trying to prevent another incident' were common excuses that he used (as well a few documents fabricated). Glynda was a tough but ultimately fair and kind person, even if she hid it behind a calmly cold and stern demeanor; if she every discovered why Ozpin was doing what he did, she might just report him herself.
'Still, this was for Oscar.' Ozpin told himself.
That's all it was.
Ozpin was simply looking out for Oscar.
If circumstances forced Ozpin hands, he would shatter a million carton of eggs to make the omelet.
Jaune carefully pulled the odd shard out of the rock he had found from the outskirts of the city, observing the blue glow of the shard with awe. These blast shards were so rare in the post ray-sphere era and the subsequent natural activation of Conduits since Cole's gift. Part of it had to do with the cleaning of this land to once again be inhabitable by clearing out the bodies and repairing the city, another part of it had been the stigma against Conduits. Out here, vegetation had covered what once had been charred and blackened earth like an open wound that was finally scabbing over.
It had only been feasible to try to find shards out here because the only focus had been on rebuilding the city and thanks the ability to sense latent ray sphere energy with his powers.
He had placed a hold on his mapping of probable locations as his entire life had been going through numerous upheavals and distractions; now he had time and no reason not to look, so he put a considerable amount of time into it. He closed his eyes and stretched out with his powers, tapping into the energy held in shard in his hand. The shard glowed with a bright light and he felt the power within surged down his arm and suffused his body with a subtle thrum of energy that hadn't been there before. Jaune grinned as he stowed the drained shard into a backpack he had brought and flexed his hand, enjoying the feel of the increased power that swam under his skin.
He had debated long an hard about whether it would be a good idea to try to gather these shards to bolster his abilities in the first place.
But recent events had changed his outlook.
They didn't have to be a burden.
They could be a blessing.
He could use the power he had to protect what he cherished, so he decided to look into ways to help him get stronger.
And there was one thing he had heard of back in Seattle.
There was a rumor and hushed whispers in the halls of Curdun Cay that there had been a different kind of blast shard since The Beast's creation and subsequent destruction of the original Empire City had given birth to another type enhancement that Conduits could tap into.
Red and glowing shards referred to as 'Beast Shards' that retained some of the latent radiation and power of the strongest Conduit to have ever existed.
Apparently they had been fantastically rare even in the desolate wasteland of Empire City but had been either collected, destroyed, or lost as the New Empire City rose. Maybe they had never existed at all and it was just hokum that was made up to try to interest Conduits in finding them. Of course, Jaune had no evidence they existed and even less knowledge of where to look for those fabled shards, so he had shelved looking into them until a later date or he had done all he could in regards to finding blast shards.
But if he found even one Beast Shard an drained it… how much power would he gain from it?
Weiss Schnee strode into the cafe with her brother in tow, steadfastly ignoring his complaints that he could very easily just use a coffee machine at their new residence. While Weiss knew that was very true and they had more than enough money to get top quality coffee grounds, she figured it would be good to at least explore the city and frequent popular spots, or at least the decent ones she could find based on reviews. Staying in their residence wasn't going to help them in the long run and Weiss had always been the more proactive sort. Knowing the lay of the land — so to speak — would help them if there was any sort of crisis in progress.
The recent battle between the light-wielding and concrete-wielding conduit had only assured her of her decision to explore.
And drag poor, poor Whitley along (though Weiss was actually relieved to see her brother regaining some of the fire that she thought was extinguished when they were kicked out of their childhood home).
She habitually scanned the area before the blond manning the counter smiled her and greeted her with a cheery, "Hello! Welcome to the Aura's Gift! How can I help you?"
Weiss walked up to him, "May I see a menu?"
He nodded and reached under the counter to pull out two laminated menus, "Of course. Take your time in ordering."
Whitley took the menus with a nod, "Thank you very much."
His smile widened, "It's my job sir. You're very welcome."
Wiess' eyes flicked to his name tag and her eyes widened slightly —recognizing exactly who was working there — as Jaune caught the motion and the genuine smile shifted into a polite smile while he inwardly grimaced.
His name was well known now but that didn't mean he liked it.
Either way, Weiss seemed to ignore it and sat in once of the Cafe's tables to scan the menu with who could only be a family member judging by the identical shade of snow white hair.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief.
He may have been well-known for his heroic actions, but that did not mean he wanted to dwell on the actions that brought him out of hiding.
Steaming cup of tea in hand, Weiss sipped the beverage and hummed in appreciation as the pleasant beverage sent tingles of warmth throughout her body. It wasn't snowing yet but the air had definitely gained a chilly bite while Winter was looming over the city. She once again glanced over at the blond who was the light wielding Conduit who battled what could only be a king-concrete Conduit — based on the damaged she had seen done by his haphazard attacks throughout the city — to a standstill and even emerge victorious. It was rather disconcerting that he was be so powerful and didn't seem to radiate the innate power that all Conduits usually had. No doubt he had gone through great lengths to hide his powers, and he must have been forced to show his hand due to the fight.
But why?
Why hide all of that power?
Weiss shook her head and turned away, she had no reason to dig into his reasoning or life.
Oscar stared out the window at the sky outside, lost in thought as he rested his arms and head on the windowsill.
His dad was always working and frankly Oscar wasn't in the mood to disturb him.
He was still brittle.
Oscar sighed at himself as he shifted.
He hated who he was now.
Back before the incarceration, he had been normal.
Happy.
Now he was anxious without cause, plagued by nightmares, and drove his mom away due to his weakness. The sound of the conduit sirens had damn near crippled him with shock as he desperately tried to hide even though there was no danger. He hated that he needed to know he wasn't alone, that he had formed a crippling fear of not having someone around. His dad was great and helped fight off the fear, but Oscar was no fool when it came to his limits; especially since he had to learn them all over again when he finally was released from his incarceration.
Ozpin would not live forever.
As a Conduit, Oscar would outlive him by a large margin.
Reaching out to make friends wasn't hard, but who would want to be friends with him?
He turned away from the window and padded over to desk to sit down and turn on his computer, opening the web browser and typing.
"Conduit fight in Empire City…" He mumbled.
The dozens of videos of the clashing conduits filled the screen, and Oscar picked one of the first, setting the video into fullscreen as he leaned back in his chair. He flinched a bit at the sounds of their fight but forced his instinctive nervousness down, forcing himself to watch. He watched in fascination as the end of the altercation had the blonde Conduit healing the CCS before letting himself get arrested.
Oscar had access to the many files of Conduits that his father had gathered and pulled out the files he copied concerning Jaune Arc.
What as he like?
Why did he just let himself be arrested?
Why didn't he end up broken like Oscar?
"Yes Ms. Nikos. The academy I am constructing would happily accept you. I should be able to put the finishing touches and then I can send invitations out to many other individuals en masse."
"Are you sure this is a good idea sir? If anything this will cause a division between the regular people and Conduits…"
"I am fully aware of what it may initially look like , but I assure you given the number of Conduits already in Empire City, this is a experiment that cannot be discounted because it seems divisive. Logistically it is feasible in both student numbers and available professors; it is more like simply having a private school, not a separate community."
"Is this offer made to all the Conduits? Why discuss this with me?"
"You are not from Empire City, and an outsider's view is often invaluable in how the world's perception will be later down the line."
Pyrrha smiled as Jaune sat with her, shoulders eased of a tension that he hadn't even noticed he carried. Every since it came out that he was a conduit, Pyrrha had actually been thrilled in an odd sort of way about it. Back in her hometown, no one had powers like she did — but while her parents were supportive — and she had lost practically everything else. There was definitely a strong conduit presence in the city — which made her feel more at ease about what she could do — but there was a bit of an unspoken rule among them the they don't announce their powers to the world if possible. She had abilities just like he did and frankly she didn't think that there could be anyone better to have powers than Jaune. She had gotten the news through the grapevine, news channels, and the multiple media accounts that videoed the fight that Jaune only stopped running once there weren't people to worry about.
Not many would have done that.
He was definitely a good person, and with Pyrrha having spent more time at the cafe rather than her house or the college nearby Pyrrha had grown close to Blake and Jaune.
"How are you doing today?" She inquired.
"As well as can be expected." Jaune replied, sipping his drink, "It's nice that people still can see me as a person… I have to say that I expected all the suspicion and hate and fear from before the DUP forces fell. I can just let it go… and that feels so amazing."
Pyrrha nodded, wondering if she should say the same, exposing her secrets to her friend as well. It had been about a month since her relocation to Empire City and while she was still sussing things out with Ozpin in regards to his proposal, she had swiftly come to like the city and the people she met. Jaune was easy to trust even without his secret out in the open; he just radiated an easily approachable demeanor and positivity. With a sudden loss of tension and worry and a sudden jump in his mood, Pyrrha could see why Jaune was much easier to trust in now.
It was still just as important that he find more people he could implicitly trust with his troubles when he needed to.
He had ruefully confessed that Blake pushed him into exposing what he was, but was adamant that it was for the best she had forced the issue otherwise he may have just stayed quiet forever and fall apart at the seams.
Pyrrha wondered if he would've ever told someone that if he naturally came to be friends with them and he wasn't being pushed.
She wondered if she could be that person.
Ozpin made sure Oscar was resting before slipping out of his son's room and going to his office. He made his way to a bookshelf and gently pulled three books out form the shelving. Behind them lay a handprint and eye scanner. A quick authorization later, and a small staircase opened up and Ozpin descended the steps one at a time at an unhurried pace as the entrance closed behind him and lights lit up the passageway. It led to a street through the still abandoned areas of Empire City that he purposely held back the renovations on. He couldn't afford to let any of his plans be leaked to the public. He need to make sure only a trusted few were even allowed the slightest glimpse of the full scale of his plan.
Cinder and the threat of painful incarceration.
Glynda's desire to help those who were damaged.
James' inclination to make a safer world.
Ozpin had twisted their desires to suit his wants, using their resources to gather what he wanted.
Ozpin got into a car he stored and drove silently to what he intended to make his school.
His future power bank.
Ozpin came to another hidden door, this one reinforced and made to take a truly punishing amount of damage before failing. He leaned out of his car and scanned his eye into a hidden scanner as the walls slid open into a hidden passageway he built below his school that used to be a parking garage. He drove inside and stepped out of his vehicle to large atrium he constructed through the use of a few concrete Conduits he hired; it was a shame Cinder had to break them afterwards, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
But what the chamber was now wasn't what it used to be.
What it housed now was beyond valuable to the right people.
A bunch of charts, computers, and tools littered one of the tables while Pietro and his daughter — Penny — stood straight, halting from their work to greet him. He nodded to them and walked towards the center of the room, letting his gaze fall on his most important acquisition.
Shipped straight from New Marais.
In the middle of the room, stood the damaged power transfer device, still bearing the marks from it's last recipients. It wasn't as hopeless to fix as before, as Pietro and his talented daughter had slaved over the device over the course of years to understand how it worked to and to get it to function. Pietro and his daughter were both in the dark about what exactly he had handed them and were also sworn to secrecy through the use of a lucrative contract. But to ensure he wasn't spreading any news, powerful firewalls and data scrubbers kept any outgoing emails or messages trapped and destroyed.
If they had something to say to Opzin, he would have a face-to-face discussion.
And if there were any breaches… Cinder was always on hand to help.
Ozpin's gaze lingered on the side in contained case were blast shards, compressed together to make a pseudo-blast core as they were fused with high amounts of radiation. A suitable replacement for what no longer existed as Cole MacGrath had used all of them up in his preparation to fight The Beast.
Ozpin pressed his hand against the blackened metal of the device.
His lips curved into a smile.
It would all come together soon.