Chapter 15
Pyrrha sat silently at the foot of her bed; glancing over at the digital clock on her bedside she could see that it was a just shy of four in the morning. Normally she woke up at five to get her early morning workout in but once again sleep had mostly eluded her.
It had been a little more than a week since they arrived back at Beacon and things have been hectic. Both teams had to deal with the administrative mess of their mission. First there were the comprehensive medical checkups, though of the eight of them only Jaune and Yang had the most hassle in that regard.
Yang recounting her near disembowelment at the hands of one of the creatures prompted scans for any residual internal effects.
Dillinger had explained in a hypothetical scenario while her Aura is trying to repair the damage it would still get worse as it could only do so much which meant that while her life was extended from a few minutes or hours to days or maybe even weeks eventually the damage would get to the point that her Aura wouldn't be enough to save her.
In Jaune's case, getting knocked out from essentially one blow that either completely destroyed his Aura or negated it meant there was something to it that was unique. Plus in his description it was safe to assume that even after the initial incident it had some effect on him which rendered him unconscious for more than a few hours.
Doctor Dillinger was furious when he learned of their injuries. The middle age man had gone on a tirade at how irresponsible they both were in not seeking immediate medical attention once they were off the battlefield.
The two of team of course tried to reason their way out of the lecture. Yang stating that they were fine in the end so it was okay but Dillinger countered by saying that if Ruby had been the one that almost got gutted then Yang would have no doubt have demanded every medical procedure to check on her little sister at the earliest chance.
Jaune however pointed out that there just wasn't any time for it. To which Dillinger snapped at her partner saying that it was the duty of a team leader to make time for the health and safety of their team including themselves.
He would end on telling them that ignoring your own health and safety only burdens those around them.
Afterwards they had to each go over what they knew about Fusia Aster's death. Though while it was relatively short since none of them knew how it happened but just the result it did feel as if the Council agents that had interviewed them were judging them for not doing anything.
Which to Pyrrha was utter nonsense, they had no idea what was about to happen nor did they have any reason to believe that out of all of them she was the one that needed the most help.
After the medical examinations and debriefings they were allowed to return to class. Everything seemed normal at first aside there being a rumor that Atlas soldiers were found dead or incapacitated at Beacon Tower during the dance but that was it.
It didn't last long however both teams soon were hounded by other students about what it was like in the Hurin Valleys or pestering Jaune to hang out with them or in some cases asking if he would like to go out on a date.
She felt a spike of irritation as she thought about that, thankfully Jaune had turned them all down.
Glancing over her shoulder in the dark she knew Jaune would be tossing and turning again. She had found out that Jaune was having nightmares of sorts, as the first time she saw him in distress she had thought about waking him up only to stop short.
He hadn't been the only one to have nightmares, every now and then she would also see Nora or Ren twitching or fidgeting as they slept. Nora had even put a hole in the wall above her bed which they had to send a request in with Maintenance to get it fixed up while they were at class.
Team RWBY were also having their own problems, Weiss had the tendency to seem withdrawn from the group while Blake would just disappeared during breaks or after classes were over for the day. Yang was getting frustrated a little more than usual and had gotten detention twice in Goodwitch's combat class when she took her frustration out on others.
Surprisingly enough, Ruby was mostly fine, she would get a little gloomy whenever she noticed these new tendencies manifested in front of her. Yet Pyrrha didn't know if there was anything that was bothering the young scythe wielder.
Sighing she stood up then headed into the bathroom to change. As she stepped back out, she could hear someone murmuring, it was Jaune.
He was having another nightmare, Pyrrha was certain of it as she moved silently to his bedside, her memory of the room's layout was adequate enough that it allowed her to avoid stubbing a toe or tripping.
Pyrrha stood over Jaune in the dark, while she couldn't see him exactly she could get a vague sense of an outline of him in his bed tossing and turning. He was mumbling something but she couldn't figure out what it was so she decided to kneel down beside his bed listening to his short panicking breath.
She still couldn't understand what he was saying but she could hear the fear in his mumbling voice. It left a pit in her stomach to hear him so agitated but she wasn't sure what she could do.
The first time she had tried asking about it she didn't want to be to direct but he seemed he brushed off any attempt for her to even hint at it.
So Pyrrha knelt there for a few more minutes listening to him before deciding to try something. She maneuvered herself up to sit on the edge of their joint nightstand.
If Jaune woke up now it may convince Pyrrha to climb Beacon Tower then take a swan dive off it to end the perpetual embarrassment it would cause her.
She leaned carefully down until she was certain that her head was close to his, she could hear his head turning but it didn't seem like she was in threat of accidentally knocking her head against his.
"Jaune." She whispered softly but her partner didn't wake up instead just continued to mumble in her sleep.
She remembered something that her grandmother used to do for her when she was a little girl. If she recalled correctly she would sing a small song whenever she was sad or upset, it was a beautiful song, one that always brought tears yet they weren't bad tears.
Pyrrha didn't remember the lyrics of the song as what she remembered was they were words that she had never really heard anyone else speaking. So she just began to hum softly to the best of her ability in reminiscence of the song.
It seemed to have an effect as after a few moments Jaune seemed to stop moving before he inhaled then let out a small sigh of relief. Pyrrha continued to hum for a few more minutes before finally standing up, careful not to make too much noise as she left the room.
What she didn't know was the fact that Jaune was awake when she left.
Later that Day…
Jaune sat with the others in the main cafeteria, around them he could occasionally see someone looking in their direction before looking away when he caught their eye.
"Anyone else getting tired of this?" Yang asked and there was a murmur of acknowledgments from around the table.
"I mean, can you really blame them? Most of them haven't even gone on their mission let along did something as fascinating as what we did." Nora said.
"Well that is true but could they the least they could do is stop staring at us whenever they think we're not looking." Blake grumbled.
"Ah come on, it's not that bad, I always had to deal with people staring at me when I was in Atlas." Weiss said then gestured at Pyrrha.
"Pyrrha was already pretty famous before this as well and we never heard her complaining about it."
"Ah but Weiss just because I never complained about it doesn't mean I didn't have my own gripes about it." The tall red head said and Weiss nodded.
"Fair enough."
"If this isn't a problem for you then how come you came to Beacon instead of going to the Atlas Academy?" Ruby asked looking confused as she picked at her food discreetly pushing aside the vegetables that Yang piled onto her plate only for the blond girl to push them back into the center. All while Weiss just looked at Ruby as if the younger girl had grown another head.
"Have you not been listening to anything I've said over the last few months?" This prompted Ruby to look up at Weiss with the same confused look.
"I'm sorry were you saying something?"
"I just…wow really….I can't believe…ugh…never mind." Weiss sputtered before looking back at her own plate. The eight of them sat in relative silence as they went back to eating before Ruby broke the silence again.
"So, anyone hear any news about the Tournament?" She asked looking around the table.
"Well I heard it's been cancelled in the wake of everything." Ren spoke up.
"I heard that as well, it seems the Vale Council is being pressured to postpone the Tournament to address the public's concern." Blake said.
"Really? I heard the Vale Council was deliberating about pushing it forward. You know, to take everyone's minds off the last few weeks." Weiss said.
"I don't know, they haven't even announced the opening matches let along a start date. I think they're going to push it back." Pyrrha said.
"It's been delayed." Jaune finally spoke up and everyone looked at him.
"Has it?" Yang asked
"Yes it has." He said evenly but Pyrrha could see him squirming a little as if he was trying to say something but couldn't figure out how.
"Jaune? Is there something you want to tell us?" She asked and Jaune looked at her for a few moments before sighing.
"I guess you're all going to find out about this sooner or later so might as well give you a heads up." He said.
"Heads up about what?" Blake asked and Jaune folded his together.
"Just before Tava left she told me something rather important." Jaune glanced around as if expecting someone to do something before leaning in.
"You all know how my Aunt and her soldiers were arrested?" They nodded so he continued.
"Well, it seems my father has not taken kindly to that and now has put together a Naval Task Group to come to Vale."
"So what you're saying is?" Yang prompted.
"He's coming to Vale with a military force." Blake finished.
"So what does this mean?" Weiss asked and Jaune could see that the heiress looked almost nervous.
"You don't think he's going to take them back by force?"
"How many ships is a Naval Task Group Jaune?" Ren asked and Jaune thought about it for a second.
"If I recall my lesson's correctly the standing doctrine of Arcadia's Navy is for Naval Task Group to be anywhere from thirteen to twenty four warships. If I had to guess what sort of composition the Task Group might be, it'll probably be something like eight frigates, eight destroyers, maybe three Light and Heavy Cruisers. As for the last few ships it's maybe going to be any mix of two Aircraft Carriers though normally it would be three Aircraft Carriers. However in this case I'd imagine the last ship would be the Fleet's Flagship. Plus that's not even getting into what sort of Auxiliary ships that will be accompanying them." Jaune said.
"But do you think he's going to take your aunt back by force?" Weiss asked again and Jaune shrugged.
"I don't think so."
"You don't think so? So that means there might be a possibility that he might do it?" Blake asked and Jaune shrugged again.
"No, I know he won't do anything rash but I guess it all depends on what Ironwood and Vale does when he gets here." Jaune said and no one said anything for a moment before Nora exhaled loudly.
"Well, that's absolutely terrifying."
The Next Day…
Jaune knew what was happening before he even saw anything as students were running towards the windows in the corridor. Sighing Jaune glanced to his right to see not only team RWBY but his team as well pressed against the large windows.
"Jaune you might want to see this." Ren called out and Jaune walked up to the window. In the distance, the Atlas Navy was forming up in a loose circle but he couldn't see what was causing exactly.
His scroll began to buzz in his jacket pocket so he reached in to pull it out. Flashing on his screen was unsurprisingly Headmaster Ozpin.
"Yes Headmaster?" Jaune said as he accepted the call.
"Jaune Arc, you've been requested to head to the docking bays as there's someone that wishes to meet you."
"I understand Headmaster Ozpin I'll be there shortly." The call ended and Jaune looked at the others.
"So…who wants to meet my father?"
30 Minutes Later…
Jaune and the others pushed passed the assembled crowd that stood near the Docking Bay. No one made a move to come forward however as Jaune could see that there were at least a dozen teachers forming a perimeter along the student body though he didn't really know any of their names.
Standing on the docking bay however was Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch who was facing them. The stern deputy beckoned them forward so the eight of them climbed up the steps onto the platforms behind him the assembled crowd began to murmur but Jaune ignored it.
In the distance he could see dozens of small aircraft coming closer to them, high above them however Jaune watched a three Flights of Lightnings roared over the sky above them. Trailing behind them were a dozen Atlas fighter-transports for some reason that Jaune wasn't quite sure.
As the aircrafts got closer however Jaune could see that there were at least sixteen Arcadian aircrafts. Eleven Valkyries with an additional Flight of Vulture Gunships, surrounding them were more Atlas fighter-transports.
In the background Jaune could see three of the Atlas vessels peeling away from the formation over Vale that were beginning to advance towards them.
Jaune shielded his eyes however as the eleven Valkyries began to descend on the platforms as they twisted to point their ramps towards them. He did noticed however that Ozpin was standing calmly without even flinching despite his clothes whipping in the wind.
The center most Valkyrie began to lower its ramp as it touched the ground two figures emerged and Jaune recognized the Housecarls of the Arcadian Royal Family. Though of the two only one seemed to be carrying a poleaxe while the other had a sheathed sword.
These Praetorians technically didn't belong to the Legion; instead they were apparently supposed to be teams assigned to protect each member of his family. From what Areto told him, they've wanted to be the ones protecting the Arc Household in Avalon but his father had instead given that job over to the Umbra Praetorians.
These warriors in gold looking armor with white surcoats were not officially attached to each member of his family save for him.
Pyrrha watched as the next figure emerged, this one was rather different. Even from this distance she could see that this figured in golden armor wore a unique looking helmet with a purple crest on their helmet and a slightly billowing purple cloak with a golden thread trim.
Behind this figure emerged another unique looking individual in what she thought was dark green armor with a beige hooded surcoat. Standing next to this hooded figure was a man in what she recognized as an unarmored Arcadian infantry uniform.
"Shit, he brought a Frontline Centuria." Jaune hissed and Pyrrha turned to see what he was looking at. The other Valkyries had lowered their ramps as well with more Praetorians exiting them though unlike the golden armored ones from the first one these ones had black armor with gold trimmed pauldrons and crimson surcoats that showcased the Arc emblem.
The wind began to pick up as the eleven Valkyries closed their ramps then began to ascend again. In the skies above them the remaining aircraft hovered in position until the Valkyries began to form up as they headed towards the coast again.
Looking back down however Pyrrha was caught off guard to see Headmaster Ozpin leading the main group towards them.
To either side the black armored Praetorians began to line up in rows of ten, on the right side a solitary Praetorian who had a red transverse crested helmet stepped out while on the left was one with a faintly visible red stripe on their helmet, Jaune cleared his throat drawing her attention again as he knelt down. Which Pyrrha and the others were quick to follow as the golden procession stopped before them.
"Team JNPR, Team RWBY, allow me to introduce my father, High Lord Alexander Arc first of his name, King and rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Arcadia." Jaune said in a loud and clear voice.
"Please rise." A commanding voice said and the eight of them stood up by instinct as the largest of them removed his helmet revealing a man with short silver hair and a clean shaven aristocratic face despite the long scar on his face.
"Hot damn." Yang whispered only to get elbowed in the ribs by Blake. Pyrrha however did have to agree, the man before them reminded her of Jaune but in a more mature way that age brought about. There was also the fact that he was rather of handsome
"I don't know about you all but I for one feel it would much more relaxing if we head inside." He said and Ozpin nodded.
"Well then, if you don't mind please follow us." Ozpin said and the group turned back towards Beacon. Behind them the distinct sound of people marching in step could be heard and Pyrrha looked over her shoulder to see the black armored Praetorians marching into a column four wide and twenty five deep with the red crested Praetorian at their head.
The assembled mass of each of the Four Kingdoms that had been watching parted in the wake of the group. Pyrrha wasn't sure how to handle the looks everyone was giving them as they walked past and what's worse was the fact no one seemed to be saying anything.
All she could hear or really focus on was the sound of marching behind her. For some reason it unnerved her but it might have to do with how Jaune reacted at seeing them.
He had called them a frontline cohort, which to her meant that they had a fundamental difference in their roles to the Comitatus Praetorians they had met in Nodens. She dreaded what the reason was that saw his father to bring them here of all places.
A Few Hours Later…
Jaune hated life at the moment; he wasn't sure what was more nerve rending. The fact that his father was here which surely meant that at some point he would want some alone time or how it seemed like everyone was expecting violence to break out.
The student body of the Four Kingdoms had essentially split up. Atlas and Haven Academy students were sticking together. While Vale and Shade students were mostly keeping their heads down, as there had already been a demonstration by Mistral students against what they had called as foreign there were rumors going on about how Arcadia was planning to do a hostile takeover of the school in order to get their people back.
"You know, I never really imagined your father to be like that." Yang said from across Jaune. The group had gone back to their dorm building after Ozpin dismissed them when they had reached Beacon Tower and now they were sitting in the commons room.
"Be like what?" Jaune asked.
"Well, he looks like you." She said and Jaune frowned.
"Why wouldn't we look similar? He is my father after all."
"See that's the thing, I know that but I still couldn't quite believe it."
"What Yang is essentially saying is there are so many rumors and stories of your father that he's sort of well, a legend, whereas you're not really someone that fits. So it's surprising to see so much of you in him or vice versa." Weiss said with a look that suggested to Jaune that she thought she was being helpful but the withering glare Yang was shooting her said otherwise.
"Yea I still don't get what you mean but now I feel kind of bad about myself, so thanks?"
"You're welcome."
"It's crazy to think what's going on, it wasn't that long ago that we were just worrying about what sort of assignments the teachers were gonna give us. Then out of nowhere we go to the Outlands fight not only an army of Grimm but an Army of messed up people now there are two Kingdoms about to lock horns with each other with the rest of us in the crossfire." Blake said.
"My father wouldn't go to war over this not unless he's pushed by Ironwood. At the same time I doubt he would push on his own end to make this into a fight." Jaune replied.
"Nice to know you think that but Ironwood arrested your people, I doubt he's going to let them go willingly." Weiss said.
"Don't forget you told us that he wanted to take you into custody after finding out you were a prince." Ren pointed out which actually make Jaune realize that he had a point on that account.
"Guys, I'm sure Ozpin will keep the peace between the two." Ruby said and Blake shook her head.
"Ironwood undercut Ozpin from security for the Vytal Festival, so I don't know how much we can trust Ozpin to keep things from getting too heated. Besides you saw how those Mistral students reacted, it's clear to see that they're biased against them as well."
"They just don't know anything, given time I'm sure Ironwood and the rest of the students will accept them." Ruby replied confidently.
"I admire the enthusiasm Ruby but Blake's got a point besides what if something happens in the mean time?" Yang asked and no one said anything as they all thought about the consequences. Around them other students who had been chatting in the background grew quiet and Jaune looked up to see them all staring at something.
"Jaune Arc." A faintly familiar voice said and Jaune stood up before spinning around. Standing there was a familiar woman, while she was in full Praetorian plate her helmet was tucked under her left arm with her right hand resting on the pommel of a sheathed longsword.
"Areto?"
Meanwhile…
Ozpin sat silently in his chair as he poured two cups of delicious coffee, a minor vice on his own part but sometimes life has more meaning when it's filled with imperfections.
Across from him was Alexander Arc, leader of Arcadia and a warrior to his very core was dressed in an elegant three piece business suit after Ozpin had given him some time to get settled in.
Ozpin had a great deal of time to study people and their emotions whether it was physical ticks or the things that were unintentionally spoken even without words.
With this man before him he could not decipher a thing about what he was truly thinking. Sure the man was careful enough not to appear guarded as it would imply that he had something to hide nor was he too lax as it would also be a sure sign of false ease.
No, he gave as much as he hide maybe more but at the same time with certain events playing out it would be easy to assume what he might be worried about.
For Ozpin though what troubled him were the things that he didn't know he should be worried about.
"How long has it been?" Alexander asked.
"Pardon?"
"How long has it been since Vale has felt threatened?" Alexander clarified looking at him and Ozpin set his cup down before gesturing to the seat opposite of him. The much larger man walked over and settled down in the chair which creaked nosily under his weight that Ozpin was certain it would break any second.
"One gets used to the dangers of the outside world; we no longer baulk in fear at what lurks in the shadow but now stand around the light looking out into the night." Ozpin said as he picked up his cup again to take a sip.
"Yet the defenses of this light are no longer a wall of strength but a wooden fence with a solitary old man shepherding a flock that knows not where it goes."
"You speak as if strength is the only path to victory, mindless force is a bigger detriment than it is help." Ozpin pointed out and Alexander nodded.
"That is true strength alone isn't enough, yet to disregard it for misguided conviction or sight isn't going to be helpful for anyone."
"By that I must assume you're talking about Ironwood."
"Well there is him but he is just one amongst many others."
"Interesting might I ask who else you might have in mind."
"Come now, it would uncouth of me to speak ill of others towards my host."
"Be that as it may, to know that my guest has ill feelings of others that I may know vexes me in thinking that I can't amend these irritants that trouble you."
"Ah, spoken like a true teacher, molding and shaping the world around you to educate and assist those that surround you."
"True, that is my job to facilitate the young minds of those that are to take up the mantle of responsibility for this world."
"In that case Ozpin, why did you send my son on that mission up north?" Alexander asked and Ozpin took the time to sip his cup again.
"Why Lord Arc, I merely did what can be seen as improvisation with the curriculum. During that time the first year students were to pick and shadow a professional Huntsman or Huntress in the field. However the Vale Council came to me asking for additional bodies to provide security while I didn't think it was necessary to call in other professionals I did believe it was prudent to show some of my more hothead students that there's more to being a Huntress than just fighting while also showing the values of politics and providing leadership training to others. So I assigned team RWBY and JNPR on that mission which I must also say that the option was given for either team to back out of it if they felt like they were ill suited or not interested in a mission such as that." Ozpin said calmly.
"If anything I should question your judgment in allowing Jaune to continue to use his last name. As surely you would have known that someone would piece together the obvious connection as your own last name recorded in history for all the Four Kingdoms to read from the Great War."
"Why Ozpin, I can't help but get the feeling that when you say that you mean that I was in the Great War? An event that was eighty years ago?"
"Maybe I am."
"Surely a reasonable person would never believe such a thing, even on the extreme side of Aura and technology people can barely make it to the age of a hundred and twenty."
"True but you surely are not a normal person with normal Aura." Ozpin said and Alexander smiled as with the briefest of motions with his arm he suddenly had a knife in his left hand.
"You sound so certain unfortunately for you such certainty is founded on nothing." Alexander said and Ozpin tensed for a moment as he held his free hand up then slid the knife across his palm.
Ozpin frowned as blood trickled out from the open cut before Alexander put the knife away then held up the bleeding hand before wiping the blood away to reveal nothing was there. Before Ozpin could say anything however the elevator at the far end of the room chimed as the doors revealed General Ironwood.
The Atlesian General strode confidentially into the room as Alexander stood up adjusting his jacket. Ozpin watched mildly interested in the way the two seemed to eye each other up; it reminded him of a duel.
Two opponents would eye each other up as they circled around waiting to see who would make the first move.
"So you must be High Lord Arc." Ironwood said breaking the silence as he stepped forward and held his right hand out which Alexander took with a simple smile. Ozpin once again was reminded of a duel as it looked like two men locking blades with each other.
Ironwood however began to frown and Ozpin realized that they must be in fact testing each other's grip strength. This surprised him as he would have figured that Ironwood would have the advantage yet he gave a strained smile before they finally released their grips.
"It's a pleasure to meet you General Ironwood." Alexander said with an easy smile and Ironwood cleared his threat but didn't meet the taller man's gaze.
"Ozpin, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Ironwood asked instead and Ozpin shook his head.
"It's not that I didn't want to speak to you but more to arbitrate between the two of you. High Lord Alexander wished to discuss the events of the last few months with you before the Council hearing tomorrow." Ozpin said and Ironwood narrowed his eyes as he looked back at Alexander.
"I don't hope you'll try some political trick to get me to release my prisoners before a proper trial."
"I'm a simple man General Ironwood, those sorts of tricks I leave up to someone much more intelligent like my wife or ironically the woman you captured during that event." Alexander said as he walked back to the window he had been standing at before.
"No, I want to show you the truth because believe or not I'm not your enemy. In fact I'm trying to help you all." He said before pulled out, of all things, a folder.
"In here is the culmination of reports that the operation I sent here had gathered. The reason why I wanted to show you two this before I did with the Vale Council was because some of the information in here puts into question the trust and loyalty of some members themselves or at the very least suggesting that their staff has been compromised by enemy agents." This got Ozpin's attention as well as Ironwoods. Alexander set the folder down on Ozpins desk and opened it for them to see.
Ozpin began to spread the papers out, many of them had attached photos of what he presumed were government employees most of whom were Faunus meeting with either shady looking individuals or uniformed White Fang members. The documents that these photos were attached though were marked as the written transcripts of recorded audio or information that had been gathered detailing the target's activities.
"If even a quarter of these are true then there would seem to be a number of White Fang affiliates or sympathizers within the Vale Council as you said compromising the integrity of the institution." Ozpin mused aloud but Ironwood scoffed.
"How do we know you're not making this up?" He asked and Alexander titled his head as he moved aside a more pages to show them a picture. Ozpin saw Roman Torchwick handing what he could only assume was a briefcase of Lien to a uniformed SDC member.
"Why would I have any need to make this up to you? Everything we've gathered points to a serious operation from a third party that's working not only against me but against the Four Kingdoms as well." He tapped the picture of Roman again.
"And he's the clue, despite his bluster we all know that Roman at his core is just a criminal as such he doesn't want to have too much heat on him, so why would he do these robberies one after the other? Sure the initial assessment from all of us was that he's just doing this to make a name for himself but even after achieving that status from the people of Vale he was still doing them. Then out of the blue he's gone, no more robberies, the news outlets go quiet but the city is still in fear of him because they think he's just waiting for them to drop their guard." Alexander said.
"He's causing fear." Ozpin said softly starting to catch on.
"Then the hits on the SDC start picking up, after the first train shipments out in Forever Fall were hit earlier this year the White Fang have been picking up momentum. Yet what's on those shipments? Dust, mining equipment, weapons and of course the occasional SDC employee but to me there was something else there. What tipped off my operatives was the fact that there wasn't any noise about it. This is understandable on the part of the SDC, if they start blabbering or complaining that Vale needs to strengthen its side of security then confidence in the Dust Market goes down. The shops in need of new Dust shipments after getting robbed by Roman now know they have nothing to refill their stocks, people hear that the stocks and prices are now in a volatile state so they start to buy what they can before the prices start going any higher. Now not only is the economy getting damaged but it shows that the White Fang is doing some serious damage or in the minds of wayward Faunus youth, they're making a difference. This of course will drive up the number of White Fang recruits. Though this is all based on the idea that the SDC reports these increased robberies to either Vale or Atlas. Instead they didn't which only meant that the White Fang could continue to hit with near impunity against the SDC without fear of reprisal from Vale or Atlas devoting more assets to crack down on them. At the same time the fear of the White Fang growing in strength increases as words and rumors leak inevitably from the SDC which of course promotes fear from the populace who think they might get labeled as racists or traitors. With Roman tying the public and Vale authorities up with his crimes and the SDC keeping quiet about the increase of their little war with the White Fang these two events are bound to cause Vale a serious headache on each of their own merit."
"Yet the two seem to be working together." Ozpin finished and Alexander nodded.
"So Roman was stealing resources to supply the White Fang but how is this possible? The White Fang would never work with a human, especially a human like him." Ironwood pointed out.
"And that's where you must come in." Ozpin said looking up at Alexander.
"Yes, it was never my intention to get caught up in Vale. Yet circumstances and evidence led me here."
"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked.
"A little while back words got to us that an Outland village had an incident that worried us greatly. I was still on the continent at the time so I went there personally with a small detachment to see what was going on since I can't rely on the disorganized nature of Huntsmen or Huntresses to act accordingly. Yet even with my more timely response the village was razed before I got there and when I did I encountered, enemies, afterwards I found evidence that suggested that the last group to arrive before the village was destroyed had come from Vale itself."
"So, you're tracking down who you think would be responsible for this village's destruction and now have come to the conclusion that whoever had a hand in it is also involved with Roman and the White Fang." Ozpin surmised.
"I wouldn't say involved as much as behind the two. I think that there's a stronger faction that's taken both of these parties under their aegis to use as proxies."
"Proxies for what?" Ironwood asked and Alexander shrugged.
"I can't say for certain but I know that someone has the information that we need." He said and Ironwood crossed his arms.
"You mean Roman."
"Well he is your prisoner, surely by now you must have tried to get information out of him."
"I have."
"And what did he say."
"He's my prisoner and that information is mine to keep." Ironwood said evenly and Ozpin sighed audibly.
"James." Ironwood looked at him then back at Alexander.
"Oz, you can't be serious."
"Please James; I think it's pretty clear that Lord Arc is on our side."
"I would kindly have to disagree Oz, just because he's not our enemy in this case doesn't mean he's friendly." He said looking at the seated man before sighing and looking at Alexander once more.
"But I've always been a man to believe what I see with my own eyes and as I've said it's clear that he's not our enemy in this matter." He said before sticking his hand out which Alexander took once more.
"I'll present this new evidence to the Council and convince them to release your people as a show of good faith for this budding alliance." Ironwood said and Ozpin release a small sigh at this. He had been trying to figure out a way to reconcile the two sides but he couldn't think of anything that would work without blood being split.
"So then Lord Arc, where do you plan on staying?" Ironwood asked and the Arcadian ruler looked at Ozpin.
"I was hoping to stay here for the time being while my people request space to construct an Embassy."
"An Embassy?" Ironwood asked.
"Well my son is becoming a Huntsman and with everything going on it would be a good show of faith on my part by giving an official path to communicate with my Kingdom for the Four Kingdoms. In the meantime I was wondering if Ozpin would be so kind as to give me a small room to stay here for the time being." Alexander said and Ozpin nodded.
"I would be honored to let you stay here Lord Arc, in fact if you're so inclined then I think I have another idea that might strengthen your relations with the Four Kingdoms."
"And what's that?" Alexander asked and Ozpin felt a genuine smile touch his face.
Later That Night…
Jaune walked through the Academy's campus; here and there he could see another student or two walking either to their dorms or the cafeteria to grab a late night bite.
For him however he needed to clear his head. Jaune hadn't expected to see Areto here; sure while he knew she was a Praetorian he didn't realize she was in fact a member of the Royal Housecarls. Though that wasn't a big deal in the end, it honestly made a lot of sense.
"So you're the one everyone is talking about." Jaune jumped as a voice spoke up behind him and he turned to see a green hair girl standing with a silver hair guy.
"Ya know, I guess if you give him some fancy looking armor he might fit the role." The guy said and the green hair girl glared at him before looking back at Jaune.
"You know it's normal to introduce yourselves when you come up to a stranger and talk to them." Jaune said as he crossed his arms for some reason he didn't like these two or maybe it was just the silver hair guy he wasn't sure yet.
"My name is Emerald Sustrai and the idiot behind me is Mercury Black." The green hair girl said.
"Sup." Mercury interrupted.
"Well alright then, is there a reason you two are here?"
"Wow someone is a little rude." Mercury said.
"You know I don't think I can really be blamed when two people who I've never met before want to have a small chitchat in the middle of the night." Jaune said as Emerald and Mercury started to walk to either side of him. Every instinct in his body was starting to rattle off a warning.
"Emerald I don't think he's very comfortable around us."
"To be fair Mercury, you do have one of those kinds of faces." Emerald said.
"Lord Arc." A new voice called out and the three of them turned to see a pair of the gold armored Housecarls watching them. Emerald and Mercury both bristled a little on the inside at this sudden intrusion though Jaune didn't notice.
"Uh, yea?" Jaune asked and one of them stepped forward.
"The High Lord wishes to speak with you." One of the helmed Praetorians said and Jaune looked around just realizing that there was at least three other Praetorians waiting in the shadows.
Emerald and Mercury watched as they disappeared into the night. They didn't say anything to each other as they walked back to their dorms.
"You two are back early." Cinder Fall said from her spot next to one of their windows.
"Well we met him." Mercury said.
"Who?"
"The Arc kid." Emerald said.
"And what was he like?"
"We couldn't do much talking; Mercury spooked him with his ugly face." Emerald said.
"Hey, it's not my fault. I said it would be smarter to approach him during the day but you wanted to do this at night when it's going to look weird." Mercury huffed.
"What happened?" Cinder asked evenly but Emerald still felt her mouth go dry a little as Cinder stared her down.
"Well ma'am, it's those soldiers that the Arcadians brought, we think they might be more than a show." Emerald explained and Cinder frowned a little. It was already annoying to have the Atlas General around but the Arcadians might just tip the balance against her.
"What's your assessment of these Arcadians?" Cinder asked.
"Well, I don't know what they're like in a fight but considering what I've heard and seen so far they're either massively overrated since they don't seem to utilize Aura or they'll live up to their reputation and more as unlike Atlas as they might be a ruthless but competent militant Kingdom." Mercury said.
"Which if we also take into consideration that neither Mercury nor I noticed five of those armored soldiers sneaking up on us makes me think we should be taken seriously." Emerald concluded.
"They won't be any trouble for you." Emerald hastily added as she noticed a dark look entering Cinder's eyes.
"Leave me." Cinder said as she stood up and Mercury looked like he was going to say something the glare she gave him made the taller teen baulk before beating a hasty retreat after Emerald who had left the room.
This was a problem; while Ozpin was the most dangerous person in the vicinity he was passive in his hunt for her after she slipped his right hand man. General Ironwood was much more attentive but with the White Fang on her side it meant his Atlas background would make a perfect target to use the White Fang to blunt his blade and cover his eyes.
The Arcadians however were a much trickier sort, as it seemed that they had their fingers in a number of pies in addition to being a mostly unknown variable.
What little she knew was also about the same as everyone else in Vale. The Arcadians reputation was still founded on probably outdated bits of information that were gathered from random observers during the Great War and the Faunus Right Revolutions.
Yet everyone knew that the Northern Sanus Campaign was one of the deadliest theaters in the early part of the Great War.
As despite the tentative truce to fight the Arcadians after they essentially declared war on everyone, the Four Kingdoms at the time had been close to losing that campaign. The only thing to stop it was the abrupt peace and subsequent truce that the last King of Vale was able to broker between Arcadia and his newly formed Vale-Vacuo Alliance.
It was vexing enough to know they were the ones to break her plans for Mountain Glenn and leading to Roman's capture. It was even more problematic to think that they are technically on the lookout for someone like her.
She needed a new tactic as even with her virus in Ironwood's systems he would still have more than a few thousand human soldiers.
Plus she didn't have an ounce of faith that the White Fang or Roman's thugs with the stolen SDC and Atlas military tech would be able to take on both the military might of Atlas or Arcadia. Including the Huntsmen and Huntresses that would no doubt be in the city for the Vytal Festival there were a lot of people poised against her.
As the aftermath of the battle to the far north showed that she needed an edge and the thought struck her as a smile grew on her face, sometimes the best way to fight fire was with fire.
Elsewhere…
Jaune stood behind the Housecarl as the elevator came to a stop the doors dinged as they parted and he followed the Praetorian out of the elevator, partially glad to do so as only one Praetorian could ride the elevator at a time even then he had the sinking feeling that the elevator might collapse.
Looking around he could see that they were in a relatively well lighted room with ceiling lights throwing off a pale glow; though half the wall on one side of the room was really just one giant window that gave a clear line of sight of Vale in the distance. Aside from that Jaune could also see the room was rather sparse save for a few couches around a small table in the center with unmarked doors to his left and right.
More importantly however was the figure that stood looking out the window. Alexander Arc was dressed in black trousers, a white dress shirt and an unbuttoned suit vest.
"So…hi." Jaune said after a moment where his father didn't say anything else.
"Is that all you have to say?" His father asked turning around and Jaune felt the blood drain from his face.
"Hi? A simple two lettered word is all you have to say to me? Your father? The man who raised you from a young infant into the man you are today but all you can say is hi?!" Alexander said as he crossed the distance in what seemed like a few steps before looming over Jaune. Jaune didn't know what to say, his mouth opening and closing but words failing him at seeing the fury in his father's cold blue eyes.
"Gotcha." He suddenly said before the wrathful look on his face disappeared into an ear splitting smile.
"What?"
"Come here boy!" Alexander said loudly before wrapping massive arms around Jaune lifting him effortlessly off the ground before whipping him back and forth like a dog with a chew toy.
"D-Dad! I'm d-dying!" Jaune gasped as his father had begun to squeeze him which also cracked his back loud enough that for a second Jaune was worried his spine broke. Though in truth he normally did like getting his back cracked so that was fine by him.
"High Lord, I believe the young lord is going to die at this rate." A new voice said it was a deep baritone voice that had a strangely stereotypical aristocratic flair to it. Thankfully his father did let go of him as he stepped aside to show a large familiar looking man that was still wearing the beige hooded surcoat over dark green armor.
"Is that you Zophiel?" Jaune called out and the figure reached up to pull back the hood revealing a clean shaven bald man with a scar that ran over his right eye which had been replaced by a red lensed bionic eye that was drilled into place on the side of his skull.
"It's been too long High Prince." The giant said as he bowed from the waist which Jaune returned. Chaplain Zophiel Inias, another unique individual in his father's retinue. Jaune was still not sure what Zophiel did for the Praetorian Legion or really his father aside from giving advice.
Behind the giant however was a more normal person, at least in comparison to his father and Zophiel. Jaune recognized a Major General's insignia stitched onto the man's lapel.
"Now I bet you're wondering why I brought you here." Alexander said and Jaune nodded.
"I assume you wanted to talk about what happen in the Hurin Valleys." Jaune said to which he could see the Chaplain and Major General stiffened a little but Alexander looked as if Jaune hadn't said anything at all.
"We'll get to that in a bit but first I figured I should explain what I plan on doing here first since it involves not only you but our people and Kingdom as a whole. So please, sit." Alexander said gesturing to the furniture and Jaune walked over to them before carefully sitting down.
"Oh, before we start let me introduce Major General Janus Heider, commander of the 3rd Army Corp's 14th Infantry Division." Alexander said pointing to the man, if Jaune was standing up he figured that Heider would probably be about the same height with dark brown hair and a small scar that nicked his left eyebrow in the middle.
"Please to meet you High Prince." The man said as he saluted which Jaune nodded in return as Alexander sat across from him.
"So, were should I start." Alexander mused.
"I assume you're here because of Aunt Lilith." Jaune said and his father nodded.
"That is true; bailing her out of trouble is the original reason though I can't really blame her for getting caught. It was a tough situation and she did what she thought was right."
"Yea I'm still fuzzy on the details, the media here in Vale hasn't stated anything more than that Arcadian troops were at the sight of the incident and then spun it up as if we were the ones that caused it."
"Oh, is it we now?" Alexander asked and Jaune flushed since as far as his father was aware Jaune wanted nothing to do with his people or the Kingdom.
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, yes, I'm just teasing you. As for the media it seems the Council and Ironwood at the time was adamant in tying us up with the blame for the incident."
"So you came here to defend her at her trial?"
"If necessary but I already talked with General Ironwood and worked out a deal with him to release Lilith and her troops from his custody while acquitting ourselves from the crimes that the Council and people of Vale believe we committed."
"So she's already free?"
"Pretty much."
"Then are you leaving?"
"Not really, Lilith is going to return to Arcadia for a time as there is still a political mess to deal with so having her on the continent in arms reach of Council hired Huntsmen is a dangerous thing."
"So the Council might still try to fight us?"
"Fight is a strong word but just because I've convinced Ironwood of our innocence that doesn't mean the more hard line parts of the Vale Council will take kindly to releasing their prisoners."
"Wait, I thought Lilith was General Ironwood's prisoners?"
"Technically yes, he was the one to arrest them and is currently holding them captive on his ships but he's only able to operate under such a capacity due to the Council giving him that authority for the duration of the Vytal Festival otherwise he would have to hand to them over to the Council." Alexander said as he leaned back.
"So he's only got temporary power which is predicated on the good faith he has with the Vale Council over Headmaster Ozpin."
"Ozpin? What does he have to do with this?" Jaune asked not sure how the Headmaster fitted in.
"As far as I'm concerned he's got a stake in this more than anyone though for what reasons I can't guess. That being said it seems that he knew who you were from the very start which to me suggests he's got reasons that he's not willing to share about your mission north." Jaune nodded along.
"I suspected that as well but honestly I don't think we have to worry about him, he's not a bad guy." Jaune said and Alexander held up a hand.
"I know that Jaune, I'm fairly sure I can trust him to do the right thing but I fear I don't know what his reasons would be. The same can be said about Ironwood, he doesn't want, chaos, in the Four Kingdoms and neither do I." Alexander said and for some reason Jaune got the inkling that there was more to that statement than what he was letting on as Zophiel shifted wordlessly at it as well.
"Speaking of that northern mission, I've got some questions."
"I'm sure you do." Alexander said but this time Jaune felt bold enough to cut him off.
"Don't try to change the topic father; I've seen things that I still can't explain. Things that are not only haunting my dreams but my friends as well, people died that shouldn't have up in the Hurin Valleys to an enemy that I've never even heard of and I want to know who or why they did it." For a brief second Jaune thought he saw a dark look cross his father's eyes but it was replaced by his usual unreadable expression.
"I would tread carefully with your words High Prince." Zophiel was the first to speak up and Jaune felt his spine tingle at the coldness of his words but Alexander held up a hand to stop the Chaplain.
"Seeking answers is an admirable thing, to know and understand the world and universe around us is something that should be sought after as to do so is to bring knowledge which is a fundamental step to power, not only for yourself but to protect those around you." Alexander said before leaning forward.
"Yet not all is meant to be known as for some the wisdom that answers bring is only the stepping stone to fear and from there it's a spiral down to insanity and destruction to everything around you."
"Good news, I'm already afraid but now I want to know why." Jaune said and Alexander smiled though Jaune could see that the smile didn't reach his father's eyes. Yet instead of the normal inscrutable stoicism, it was something that Jaune rarely ever saw, sadness and something clicked in his head.
"Katherine." He whispered but his father nodded a little.
"Did she give up her right as heir to the throne because of this?" Jaune asked.
"Mostly but pray tell, what is it that finally tipped you off?"
"Areto always said during training that Katherine didn't leave out of hate or rebellion but a more fundamental feeling. I never understood what she meant at the time but considering I was always too tired to think straight I never gave it much thought. That is until I was in Nodens, there I was able to finally start getting my thoughts together and Katherine was a major focus that led a part into my conclusion."
"And what conclusion did you reach?"
"I think you know what that is."
"Maybe I do but let's put a pin in that just for a second." Alexander said as he ran a hand over his hair.
"Major Wiscard's After Action Report that Kagiris forwarded to me suggested that you've finally come to terms with your position though I suspect that you aren't going to drop out of Beacon." Alexander said and Jaune grinned.
"I'm still set on completing my Huntsman training maybe even working as one for a while after I graduate but I do accept that I have a responsibility to Arcadia."
"Fair enough and what did you think of it?"
"Think of what?"
"Fighting with the Army, you saw how they fight against not only a mindless horde like the Grimm but a relatively more intelligent enemy as well."
"That's true, I can see why you didn't think it was necessary for me to become a Huntsman but at the same time I felt that our method exposed too many people to dangers that they could have avoided if we had a more dedicated unit of highly trained individuals to fight."
"What do you think the Praetorian Legion is Jaune? If I could deploy the Legion as the main strength of my forces then I would but you have to realize that such an effort to train individuals to that extent as the main or sole force is ridiculous. They would never be able to grow or be sufficiently sustained as a force. If I dismantled the Arcadian Military leaving the Praetorian Legion as its defenders we would have to give up most of our territory because there aren't enough of them. Look at the Four Kingdoms Jaune, Vale's population rivals most of cities in Arcadia combined but unlike Vale our cities are spread out because we can cover more ground with the Army whereas even with almost a thousand Huntsmen and Huntresses contracted with the Council they're limited in their reach. It's why the number of Outland towns and Villages on Sanus are more prevalent, because they have to rely on themselves more so than the Kingdoms. There is something else you should have realized now as well after being on a real battlefield, the Huntsmen and Huntresses of the Four Kingdoms will never be a real military force even with Atlas, their operational scope is too limited, they can't take ground nor can they defend it. I would rather have a full strength Army Division than a thousand professional Huntsmen or Huntresses." Alexander said in that a tone that gave Jaune the impression that having a debate wouldn't be in his best interest.
"I understand." Jaune said though he didn't really but it was better not to go down this line as it would just end up in an argument.
"Alright then but before I tell you again I want you to tell me what it is that you saw out in the Hurin Valleys." Alexander said and Jaune took a deep breath before he began to recount the events he saw.
He told him everything from the western mountain fortresses to being in the forest as they moved to take up position outside the Outpost with Grimm attacking sporadically. Saving the tank crew, watching the Arcadian Air Force bombing the area around them where the Grimm had gathered as they attacked the Outpost.
To then going inside to hear the sounds of dying people as his senses were nearly overwhelmed by the metallic scent of blood and bile.
The feeling of panic and fear when team RWBY ran off on their own to find the missing Huntress Fusia Aster only for them to come back in shock at seeing a new enemy that paraded her mutilated corpse.
Followed by the brief but violent siege as this new enemy assaulted the Outpost after following team RWBY's retreat. Their strange weapons and creatures seeming to be unstoppable as they destroyed the accompanying Heavy Tanks before breaching the gates to slaughter the surprised defenders.
Then Jaune recounted his brief fight with the Mage Warrior only to be defeated and waking up hours later into the night to see the Arcadian survivors retreating northward to regroup with the Battalion. Upon which they were housed in the Vestri Outpost as Major Wiscard gathering most of his Battalion to engage the now identified Norsii Army before defeating them.
"So who are those people or things or whatever the fuck they are?" Jaune asked and Alexander sighed as Zophiel stepped forward.
"My Lord, I think it's safe to say that he's witnessed enough to warrant an explanation." He said and Alexander nodded to Zophiel who stepped closer before kneeling in front of Jaune.
"That he does, Jaune what I'm about to tell you must stay between us. Nothing that I say can leave this room for your safety and those around you."
"My safety?" Jaune asked perplexed but Zophiel gave him a cold look.
"One of my duties is to train individuals in the ways to preserve not just the mind and body but the souls as well, as with all wars not everyone that returns bears a scar on their body but instead their mind or soul. These scars must be treated like any other illness though unlike physical wounds those that fester do more than just kill the host but infect them with something that is much worse than death. Like Chiurgeons we treat and heal the sick but sometimes we must amputate or grant mercy to those that are too far gone." Zophiel explained before finally going into detail on want the Norsii and the creatures he had seen were. Jaune listened but as Zophiel continued to talk with his father interjecting for clarification the less Jaune liked what he heard and after what seemed like forever Zophiel stopped.
"Any questions?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Should I go over it again?" The bigger man said and Alexander chuckled.
"It is fine Zophiel; Jaune just needs a moment to process this."
"I understand." He said as he stood back up and backed away as Jaune put his head into his hands.
"So, that's all true?" Jaune asked after a moment looking up at his father.
"Every single bit."
"We need to tell people this; a threat like this is as big maybe even bigger than the Grimm."
"We can't." Alexander said softly but he held up his hand to stop Jaune from exploding.
"At least not the whole truth Jaune, no matter what it will be hard if not impossible to fully explain even now I bet there are some parts that you will never truly understand and neither will other people. Think about it, monsters, demons, gods, alternate dimensions these are things you can't just plop down on people. It just doesn't work like that; to force it out in the open will only do more harm than good." His father said patiently.
"Then how do you explain it to the people in Arcadia?" Jaune asked.
"It took time but I and many others like Zophiel were able to piece together the story in a more organic way. As the history of our people is tied hand in hand with the Immaterium and believe it or not so are the rest of the people on Remnant. In fact the biggest tool that Huntsmen and Huntresses use has its roots in what we told you." Alexander said and Jaune nodded after a moment of thinking realizing what he meant.
"The Sea of Souls."
"That's right, Aura, like magic is based on a person's connection with the Sea of Souls. The larger or stronger a person's soul is the more power he or she has."
"But then shouldn't Huntsmen be more prone to these, possessions or taints?" Jaune asked.
"That's the thing, what we've come up with is that the natives of Remnant have a special, connection, in a sense. While they have a presence in the Immaterium they seem to be limited by the fact that they can only use their own soul putting an effective cap on their exposure with the Neverborn that dwell in the Immaterium."
"So we're protected but also not as powerful or versatile as others. I guess it's better than nothing." Jaune said and sat there for a few moments digesting the information some more. It was hard to get his head around it as it was pretty complicated but after seeing what he saw it didn't feel out of place.
"So now that you understand that, I guess we can move on for now." Alexander said but Jaune shook his head.
"There's something that I still don't get." Jaune said as he looked up at his father but for some reason he wasn't quite sure how to put it so he shook his head.
"Never mind."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing I was just thinking."
"You can tell me son." Alexander pressed and Jaune sighed knowing he wanted something.
"I mean, how did these things start? Surely there was a point in which everything turned for the worse right? Maybe there's a way to stop it." He said but Alexander shook his head.
"It's not like that Jaune, as far as we know they weren't forced or even technically corrupted but merely exist as a sort of physical representation of these concepts or ideas but with so many various interpretations that sentient creatures have makes it so muddles that there cannot be one clear cut definition thus making them, chaotic in their nature."
"So what you're saying is they'll never change?"
"Probably."
"Alright then how do we beat them?"
"By surviving as long as we can without falling or becoming tainted ourselves."
"So, what you're saying is, the only way to survive is to not die and not go bat shit crazy?"
"Pretty much."
"Okay."
A Few Days Later…
"So to reiterate, the Norsii and those like them are worshipers of entities that dwell in a nightmare realm that mirrors our own taking aspects of sentient creatures or life then twisting them into fucked up parodies. They have weapons, armor, and support from these entities that if left unchecked violate every natural law of the universe all for the purpose of utterly wrecking our shit." Yang was the first to speak up after Jaune's explanation of his conversation with his father and Zophiel a few nights before.
After talking with his father for another hour catching up on how his family was doing in Arcadia and other current state of affairs. Jaune had decided that it would be best to relay this information to not only his own team but team RWBY as well.
Looking at the seven of them now though he was starting to think it might have been better if he had convinced his father or Zophiel at least to talk to them.
"Honestly, I was hoping for something less elaborate." Weiss said and Jaune tilted his head at her.
"Don't get me wrong, a part of me thinks you're either crazy or stupid but I'm also not blind or willing to push aside what we all saw in the Hurin Valleys." She said before taking a deep breath.
"But why did you tell us this?" She asked and Jaune shrugged.
"It seemed only fair to me to help you all put or have some rational understanding of the things we saw."
"I for one am thankful for you for to do so Jaune, from what it sounds like it seems like your father would rather keep this a secret." Blake added in.
"You're right in that regard Blake in fact I don't think he even wanted me to tell you guys about this."
"I can't really say I blame him on this, matter, if we weren't there I would think you're making this up." Ren said.
"I wouldn't say that though, we already fight against the Creatures of Grimm so I don't think there is much of a difference. In fact, from what we've seen the Grimm are far more numerous and constant in their threat to us." Nora pointed out.
"Nora's right, besides didn't you say your father brought like an army to Vale?" Ruby added.
"Not an Army, an Army Division. It's about twenty thousand frontline soldiers with accompanying armor, artillery and heavy weapons support and with the task group anchored just off the coast there's twenty four warships anchored offshore with probably another dozen support and transport ships. As for the Grimm even my father would say that they're a serious threat but just because one enemy is in front of you that doesn't mean you should ignore or forget that there's another lurking behind you."
"So what does that mean for us?" Blake asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we know this, stuff, I guess but we can't talk about it and certainly we can't fight against it so what now?"
"I…I don't really know I just felt like it was the right thing to tell you. What you do with that information is up to you though I would prefer if you would talk to the rest of us about it before doing anything dumb." Jaune said and Ruby snorted.
"Come on Jaune, have we ever done anything dumb?" The younger girl said.
"I'm not sure if I should answer that seriously or not." Jaune said and Pyrrha cleared her throat.
"Well, I for one think we should come back to this another time. The Vytal Festival is going to start in a few weeks so let's just get through our class and train." She said and the others nodded.
"I can agree with that but don't hold it against us when we win." Yang said with an over-dramatic sigh.
"Oh? What makes you think you'll win?" Nora said as she crossed her arms and Yang shot her a grin as the four of them did some weird back to back pose.
"Cause we're awesome." Weiss said before slapping Yang's hand.
"Right but let's go now, Goodwitch's class is going to start soon and I for one don't want to be late." Jaune said and Nora snorted.
"That's because you fell asleep during break and didn't come to class till the last ten minutes."
"And I'm pretty sure I told Pyrrha to wake me up." Jaune replied and Pyrrha suddenly started to whistle very poorly.
"Well in either case let's go."
10 Minutes Later…
The eight of them entered the combat classroom which seemed to be abuzz with more noise than usual. Looking around at the stands they could see that there were in fact more students than normal as well, it looked like a packed stadium waiting for a concert to start.
"What's Ozpin doing here?" Ruby asked and Jaune could see the silver hair Headmaster standing next to Goodwitch.
"This can't be good." Jaune muttered as they made their way up the steps to an open spot at the very top. Below them Ozpin waited patiently as the hourly chime of the clock rang out signaling for the class to start. Goodwitch however had to clear her throat loudly in order to get everyone's attention though it helped that she had a mouthpiece that was wirelessly connected to the room's speaker system.
"Quiet down children!" She called out and even students from the other Academies became silent at the commanding tone of the deputy headmistress.
"As today is a special day, I figure it would be best to cut to the chase." Ozpin said his voice much easier to hear with the relative quiet.
"As you may all know Professor Goodwitch here is our lead instructor for the Combat Classes. However it's come to fruition that up until the start of the Vytal Festival in which classes will be suspended there will be a new instructor taking over the Combat Classes." Ozpin called out and Jaune suddenly felt very nervous.
"You may have all heard or seen that Beacon is now playing host to the representatives of another Kingdom. Well starting today, High Lord Alexander Arc has kindly accepted my offer to oversee the Combat Classes until the start of the Vytal Festival." Ozpin said and on cue a door opened at the far end behind the two professors.
An armored form appeared in the doorway and stepping out from it was Alexander who had to duck to avoid hitting his head as he came into clear view. Unlike before Jaune could see his father was wearing ash white armor with a back surcoat and a crestless version of his regular helmet. Jaune began to groan loudly in despair that several people looked over to see what was going on.
"Let's give him a hand." Ozpin called out as he clapped his hands softly and the students began to clap respectfully as well. Though Pyrrha could see that more than a few of them look confused or shocked at what was going on which she didn't blame them as she wasn't sure how this would go. Next to her however Jaune finally sighed after he finished groaning.
"Someone kill me."
Bit extreme there wouldn't you say Jaune?
Ah who am I kidding, I always feel like that whenever I see my parents coming out of nowhere to do something I wouldn't expect or really want.
Lots of talking this chapter but ya know me, blood and gore is never far away besides sometimes faux political talk is nice to try writing even if it's bound to confuse or annoy someone.
On a side note I will say that I wanted to get more done with this chapter but it's been 100+ in temperature which made writing then editing a nightmare of a task since I could barely focus. Plus I've lost my voice cause I got into a fight recently and apparently I'm not very accustomed with yelling in pure anger which has honestly also made me not feel like writing. Also let's not forget the collective boner for Cyberpunk 2077 with the godly good guy Keanu Reeves.
Anyways, let me know what you thought about this chapter, so as always feel free to write in the review section or even PM me. A few of you know that I always try to discuss or address your thoughts or concerns.
Till Next Time!