Chapter 2

"Is my son gonna be ok?"

Layla Arc just had the worst week of her life, one moment everything was fine, the next she was receiving a call from her husband telling her that her son had been attacked by Grimm and was in critical condition. She hushed to the local doctor clinic only to find her husband waiting outside more scared than she ever remembered seeing him. They waited hour's outside the clinic until eventually the doctor opened the door to tell them that Jaune was stable, but it would be best to take him to Vale to make some tests.

The next hours where a blur of finding somebody to help look over her daughters, arranging a bullhead to take them to vale as soon as possible and praying her soon would be fine. The trip itself felt like it had lasted ages, same with having her soon admitted to the hospital. She especially hated when the doctor told them they have to put Jaune under a light comma in order to run some of the tests even though she understood their reasoning.

"Did his semblance act up again?" Her husband asked, looking as tired as she felt, neither of them had been able to sleep properly ever since this started.

"No, no, the comma worked. Jaune stayed physical, and I just got the results of the tests."

And them there was that. Apparently the fight had caused her son to awaken his aura, an extremely rare occurrence that happened most often to children in high stress situations according to the doctor, as well as his semblance. That was what allowed him to escape the house before the creature could…

It didn't matter, what mattered was that the same ability that allowed her son to survive had made his treatment more difficult. At first, at the village, things had been fine, his aura too focused on healing him to trigger his semblance, but after they reached Vale whenever the doctor would try to take some blood or do anything that would damage his body, no matter how little, his aura would activate to protect him. That was fine, the hospital had devices to deal exactly with that, things that would allow them to penetrate the shield of the soul. What wasn't fine was his aura wouldn't just block the damage, it would allow it to pass right through him without touching his body at all, almost like he didn't exist. She almost had a heart attack the first time she saw it.

At first she had been concerned that the semblance would make him fall right through the hospital bed, but it seemed that just like regular aura, only the attacked parts would be protected, while the rest would remain exposed, or in this case, solid. His semblance was not without it's price though, making him intangible would continually drain his aura, with the bigger the area affected causing the ongoing cost to increase. At first her husband had asked if that was the case, why not drain his aura before doing the tests, but the doctor said that wouldn't do. His aura would come back and if his semblance activated during the test, it might taint the results. They wouldn't even have a way of knowing since there was no visual sign when the boy's semblance was active, not to mention the risk of accidentally hurting him since the semblance would most likely deactivate as fast as it had come, possibly leaving a needle somewhere it shouldn't be.

In the end it was with great reluctance that she and her husband had accepted putting Jaune under a special type of chemical induced comma that the doctor said should neutralize his Aura temporally.

"Your son will be fine, he has a concussion and some broken ribs, but with enough rest and some medication he should have a full recovery."

Layla felt the relief fill her body, the doctors had said that the situation looked good but she didn't dare believe it completely until know. Her husband looked at her, a huge smile on his face, she could fell tears coming.

"Before I go though there is something else I need to talk to you about."

"What is it doctor?"Her husband ask, still grinning.

"During the treatment I consulted with headmaster Ozpin from Beacon academy. He has experience with unusual semblances as you might expect from someone that runs a Huntsman school, and he asked for a meeting with the two of you."

"A meeting? About what?" Layla asked, a bit concerned.

"He didn't say, but he and his deputy should be here for the meeting later today if you would be okay with that."

She looked at her husband, but he seemed just as confused as her.

"Alright" He said "I guess it must be something important for him to come so soon. Can you get somebody to watch over Jaune during the meeting? We don't want him to be alone."

"I will see what I can do." Said the doctor with a smile.

_/**\_

Julius Arc didn't know hat to expected from this, even though he had attended Beacon himself, just like most of the student body he never got to interact much with the academy's mysterious Headmaster, only ever seeing him on special events. Now the busy man and his second had made time for a meeting with he and his wife that could only be about their son and he wasn't sure he liked that.

"I'm sorry to take you away from your son at this moment, is he doing well?" Ozpin started.

"He is doing fine." Said Layla "He actually just woke up, though he wasn't happy about us leaving. I hope you don't mind if we can keep this short."

"Of course" Replied the Headmaster "Well them, in that case I will get straight to the point, your soon has unlocked a powerful semblance and I'm afraid that dangerous people might come to target him as a result."

"Is it really that powerful?" Asked Julius "I can see why being able do ignore attacks could be an incredible advantage, but his semblance drain his aura just like everyone else and a lot too, surely there are some semblances that are just as impressive if not more."

"Indeed, if it was just it's combat potential, there would not be any need for this meeting, but the problem lies in how dangerous you son ability might be when it comes to infiltration."

A looked of realization appeared on his wife's face. "You think somebody might try to get him to steal something?"

"Or hurt someone?" Julius face darkened.

"It's possible. Jaune semblance would render many of the most effective security systems on the world useless. Most defenses rely on physical obstacles after all, and most cameras are pointed to entrance and exit points, not solid walls. Even though there are many semblances that could allow someone to break in or enter undetected, I only know of one other semblance that could allow someone to simply ignore any obstacles like your son does, and even she would need someone already inside. I am afraid powerful groups might one day come after him with malicious intent."

Julius scowled "I think I see where this is going, you want him to join Beacon don't you?"

Ozpin nodded "While giving your son a Huntsman training would not make impossible for someone to take advantage of him, it would make him a much less appealing target. Trying to make somebody with the capabilities of a Hunter do something against their will is a dangerous idea in the best of cases, doing so with a Hunter that can literally walk into you most secure base and attack you in your sleep is the kinda thing even the most powerful people in remnant would think twice about."

"But a Huntsman training is a dangerous thing on it's own, not to mention what about after he had his license? Would you be ok with him deciding to do something else or would rather keep him close?" Julius asked suspiciously.

Usually he would not be so rude, specially with someone like Ozpin, but after year's working as a Hunter himself, he knew how dangerous it could be and he never wanted his children to go trough that. On top of that, there always been rumors about the headmaster and his inner circle, nothing too bad, but some of the hunters closest to the man always seemed to be going on missions they couldn't discuss, for example, nobody ever knew what Qrow Branwen was doing or why.

"You can rest assured mister Arc that I would not try to keep you son from pursing anything he wanted even if I could. While I will admit that you son ability is interesting I can promise you my only objective here is to ensure his semblance does not fall on the hands of somebody what would use it to harm people." Julius stared at the man trying to see any sign of falsehood but there was nothing, still he was reluctant and looking at his side he could see that so was his wife.

"If you would prefer there are some things we can do to make things more safe for you son, such making him part of a five person team as opposed to just four."

"Is that allowed?" Asked Layla.

"It is." Answered Glynda Goodwitch, the professor had stayed so silent until now, Julius had almost forgotten she was there.

"Almost every year there are one to three teams with five members. After all it's rare that the students that pass initiation end up being a number that can be divided exactly by four, and Vale is not so well off that it can pass up qualified huntsman in training just to keep the teams uniform." The professor said while adjusting her glasses.

"Usually the teams that get the extra member are decided randomly." Continued Ozpin. "But in this case I'm willing to make an exception if it helps keep your son safe."

Julius found that suspicious, though maybe the fact that the Headmaster was willing to go that far was proof of how much he believed that this was necessary. He certainly looked very serious.

"Also during his stay at the academy the Headmaster has asked me to personally check on your son from time to time to make sure nothing happens to him, and you have my word that I will intervene the moment I see suspicious activity around him." Said professor Goodwitch.

At this point his wife looked conflicted and he was much the same. In one hand the he strongly disliked the idea, Jaune had already almost died to a Grimm and he would rather his son never came close to one again. On the other hand what Ozpin was saying made sense, as much as he would have liked, neither him or his wife could watch over their son forever. Huntsman training would allow his son to live more freely while still having something he could rely on in case somebody ever did come after him.

"Can we have some time to think about it?" Finally asked Layla.

"Of course." Replied Ozpin. "It's not like your son could start to attend Beacon immediately anyway, he is not even old enough to attend a combat school after all. Most start their kids training at the age of thirteen so you still have a lot of time to consider this, though I do hope you consider my words, I honestly believe that whatever danger your son may suffer during training does not compare to the danger he would be in without it." He said getting up, Professor Goodwitch following suit.

Before he left he said "By the way, I have asked an old Huntress friend of mine, Lapis, who should be retiring and moving to Ansel soon to check on your family from time to time, I hope you don't mind." Said Ozpin.

Julius looked at his wife, who nodded.

"That's fine, thank you Professor."

The moment they were out of the room she turned to him "What do you think?"

"I don't know" He answered tiredly "And to be honest I don't want to know right now. What I do know is that we are in no state to think about this."

"I can't believe this" Layla looked down "He almost dies and now people we don't even know might come after him? Why is this happening?"

Looking at his wife on the verge of crying Julius felt like joining in, how could things go so wrong, so fast? It felt like it was yesterday their son had started to walk. But he held it in, there would be time for crying later.

"It's okay" Said Julius hugging her "You hear what the Ozpin said, we have time. For now we need to get back to our son, we can think about it later."

_/**\_

"Do you really believe this is necessary? I understand his semblance could prove problematic but I'm not sure this warrant so much effort, last time I checked Lapis had no intention to move to Ansel." Said Glynda as soon as they entered the car.

"She doesn't but I'm sure she wont mind when I ask her." Replied Ozpin.

"Why go so far?" Glynda had been curious about this for a while now but so far the headmaster had not explained what was so important about the boy, is not as if other powerful semblances didn't exist after all, matter of fact, she knew of a criminal hunter in Vacuo that who's semblance allowed him to control minds, albeit only by touching somebody who did not have aura or had said aura broken. Ozpin never paid a fraction of attention or effort to the man that he was paying to the boy now.

For a while he did not answer, instead simply staring at the space in front of him, Glynda patience was about to run out when finally he started talking "There is one application of the boys semblance that is far to dangerous to be ignored. Something that he might be able to steal that we can't allow to be stolen." Said the headmaster, a very somber look on his face.

Something they can't allow to be stolen? "Wait, you think he could take the relics?" Glynda usually had all the trust in the world in her boss but she found that a little hard to believe, Ozpin himself had told her they existed in a type of pocket dimension, that could only be accessed with the maidens. How could the boy semblance work against that? Even if he walked inside the vaults, according to the headmaster, they were empty, only serving as a gateway to the relics, it was why Salem had never broken them open even though they were not indestructible and she had the power to spare.

"I see your doubt Glynda. The problem is not that young mister Arc can walk through objects. If that was all I would not be concerned, no, the problem is that when he uses his semblance while parts of his body become disconnected to this world others don't." Explained the headmaster.

"How is that a problem" Glynda did not see how the detail changed anything.

"I once told you the place where the relics reside is a pocket dimensions, separated from this world, I also told they were not completely separated, the vaults work as a connection point, allowing the space where the relics reside to still be connect to Remnant even if not a part of it. Mister Arc semblance seems to work in a similar manner, disconnecting parts of himself from the rest of the world while still keeping them connected to himself, otherwise he would lose the pieces that his semblance affected every time he used it."

Realization appeared on Glynda's eyes "You think his semblance operates on the same principle of the Vaults?"

"I don't know" A rare look of frustration appeared on Ozpin face "I've been thinking about it for a while now but is simply to soon to tell, even if they do work the same way that does not guarantee he would be able to go inside any of the Vaults, but if there is even the smallest chance that he's semblance could be used in that way…"

"That is a chance we can not take." Finally Glynda realized the reason for the Headmaster concern. But that still left her with one question.

"What about after he gets his license? Other may be impeded by the training we will give him, but Salem will stop at nothing. Do you intend to keep him at Beacon forever?"

He shake his head "Even If I though that could work, there is no need. We only need to keep mister Arc close long enough to test his semblance in one of the Vaults, It will take a while since we need to make sure he understands he can not speak about it to anyone and we need to find an excuse to take him to one of the other kingdoms since there is no Vault in Vale, but we should be able to do it before he graduates."

"And if he can do it? What if he can take the relics? Even if Choice remains safe letting Salem have a way to three of the relics is too dangerous."

Ozpin sighed "If it comes to that we will have to make sure he understand what is at stake, hopefully he will agree to work with us at that point."

Left unsaid was what they would do if the boy decided against it, but Glynda choose not to ask the Headmaster about that, with any luck she would be able to make sure the boy understood the importance of a Hunter's job at the academy, at least, she hoped so.