Ruby Rose

After arriving at the location that Weiss suggested, Team RWBY took a look around. They were in an abandoned village that had seen better days. While a few buildings still stood, most had crumbled to the ground. That meant there was plenty of open space and few shadows for Umbra to use. Zipping her jacket up all the way due to the cold, Yang looked over to Weiss.

"You sure he's gonna pass through here Ice Queen?" Not happy with being called Ice Queen, Weiss shot Yang a look.

"I've told you multiple times to stop calling me that! And yes, I'm certain he'll pass through here. Unless he wants to take the long way around, which he won't, then he'll come straight to us." Yang rose her hands up in defense.

"Alright alright, I believe you… Ice Queen." Huffing, Weiss chose to roll her eyes and ignore her annoying teammate. Ruby was about to say something when Blake beat her to the punch.

"How about we stop arguing and find somewhere to set up camp. Preferably somewhere warm." Much like Yang, Blake was getting sick of the cold. The faster they got inside, the better.

Taking a short walk through the decayed village, Team RWBY finally settled on a building. It was a two story house with plenty of room inside. The team took a look around and was able to find a hatch on the second floor to the attic. Since there was a giant hole in the roof, it gave them a perfect view of the direction Umbra would be coming from. Having found the perfect spot, all that was left for Team RWBY to do was sit and wait.

"As team leader, I'll volunteer for first watch." Giving her sister a thumbs up, Yang smiled.

"Sounds good Ruby. If you see Umbra, let us know and we'll go ambush him." Nodding her head, Ruby was ready to finally capture Umbra. Heading up to the attic, she got into position. Taking out Crescent Rose, Ruby shifted it into it's sniper form. Looking through the scope, she kept an eye out for Umbra.

"…I won't give you a second chance." Ruby just couldn't stop thinking about what Umbra had said. At first, it terrified her. When they had met for the second time, Ruby was scared out of her mind. It made focusing on their fight extremely difficult. But now… she saw his words for what they were. A bluff. Umbra was only trying to scare Ruby and her team off. Why Umbra lied, she didn't know. It could be that he's weaker than he seems, or… Leaning back, Ruby stopped looking through the scope of Crescent Rose. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the homemade necklace the girl wanted her to give to Umbra. Holding it as gently as possible, Ruby looked down at the necklace.

"Tell him to come back as well! My grandparents still want to thank him themselves!" Maybe… Umbra didn't want to hurt them. Pocketing the necklace, Ruby shook her head. She was going in circles. Until they captured Umbra, she'd never truly be able to break free from the loop. Looking through her scope once more, Ruby continued to keep her eye out for Umbra.

Umbra Hart

Waking up to the light from the sun hitting his eyes, Umbra felt horrible. As he tried to get up, a sharp pain stabbed at his right shoulder. Falling back down, bits and pieces were starting to come back to him.

"Back from the dead are you?" Looking over to where he heard the voice, Umbra saw a man wearing a cloak sitting in a chair. "How are you feeling?" Since he didn't know who this person was, Umbra didn't trust them. "Tell me, how much do you remember?" Whoever they were, they didn't seem hostile. Though they could still be a Huntsman that's after Umbra's bounty. Either way, he needed information. Right now, the hooded figure was his only hope for finding out where he was.

"I've been better… Where am I? Who are you?" Leaning back, the hooded figure crossed his legs.

"You're at a clinic run by a woman named Mary. As for me, you can call me Damian." Damian pointed at Umbra. "You have my friend to thank for your survival. Alfred was able to administer an Antivenom into shortly after you were stung. After… an incident… he's been adamant about carrying around a few shots. Just in case." Gently touching his bandages, the rest of Umbra's memory had come back to him.

"How long have I been asleep for?" The longer he stayed in one place, the faster those Huntresses would catch up to him. Right now, Umbra couldn't afford that. Standing up, Damian walked over to the foot of Umbra's bed.

"It's only been two days. To be honest, I took you for dead more than once." Two days!? Umbra thought. Panicked, Umbra tried once again to get out of bed.

"I have to go. Where are my things?" Putting a hand on his uninjured shoulder, Damian didn't let Umbra get up.

"I told you Umbra, relax. I know about your predicament, and they won't be here for a few hours still." Tensing up, Umbra felt extremely uneasy about his current situation.

"How do you know my name? Or about…" Letting go of his shoulder, Damian made his way back to the foot of Umbra's bed. Crossing his arms, Damian leaned slightly forward.

"I've known about you for quite some time, Umbra. Why shouldn't I? After all, it was your father who killed mine." That was all Umbra needed to hear to know that he was in danger. Feeling his blood run cold, Umbra looked around the room. "Don't bother. Your weapons aren't in here. Mary saw to that…" Accepting that he was at an extreme disadvantage, Umbra could only wait and see what happened next. "Do you remember me Umbra? The sound of my voice? Or would it help if I were to don the uniform of a White Fang Lieutenant?" The White Fang… Umbra only had a few encounters with members of the White Fang. Most of which are dead now. That only left one of two people.

"If you knew who I was… Why did you save me?" Walking back over to the chair, Damian sat down.

"Trust me, I thought about killing you. An eye for an eye. But at the end of the day, what good would it do me to kill you? Or your father for that matter. All I would be accomplishing is dirtying the soil with more blood. Nothing would change if I were to kill you. It wouldn't bring my father back." Still not letting his guard down, but feeling a little safer, Umbra got bolder.

"So you're fine with just letting him get away with it? With killing your father? That doesn't make you angry?" Putting his hands together, Damian leaned forward in his seat.

"It very much does make me angry. Unlike you however, I don't allow my anger to dictate my actions." Scoffing, Umbra rolled his eyes. "I only have one more question Umbra, then we can be done here." Sitting in silence, Damian was either thinking on how to word his question, or building unnecessary tension. Either way, it was making Umbra angry. "Do you believe in fate?" Confused, Umbra failed see what Damian's question had anything to do with what they were just talking about.

"Sorry, but no. The only thing I really believe in anymore is that you can't trust anyone. Only yourself." Slowly nodding his head, Damian crossed his legs again.

"Hmm. Well, I for one do. You're telling me that you don't find it odd that we were able to find each other in this world not once, but twice?" Umbra didn't have any interest in Damian's philosophical ranting. "I believe that we were fated to do something great. Don't you agree? You and I can save many people. If we were to join forces, I believe that we could even put an end to the horrible things that the White Fang are doing." So that's what this is about, huh? Umbra thought.

"You've got a bone to pick with the White Fang eh? Instead of all that philosophical shit, you could've just said that." What Damian really wanted was a mercenary for hire, which Umbra was not. All he wanted to do was bring Team SHDE to justice, and that was it. "Like I said, I don't believe in fate. Also, I thought you were against bloodshed?" Sighing, Damian stood up. Walking over to the door, Damian prepared to leave.

"I'm sorry to hear that you don't want to help. If you change your mind, my friends and I will be waiting in Vale. Until then, be well… Umbra." As soon as Damian left the room, Umbra tried to get out of bed again.

This time he made sure to use his left arm to prop himself up in order to avoid agitating his wound. Searching the room for his shirt and jacket, Umbra was only able to find his shoes. While he was in the middle of trying to put them on, the door opened and a woman walked in.

"Oh, it looks like Damian was right. You are eager to get a move on." Stopping what he was doing to look up at the woman, Umbra knew he'd have to talk his way out now that he was caught.

"Yes. I am. If you don't mind ma'am, can you bring me my clothes and weapons? I really need to get going." Damian had said that he had a few hours before that team of Huntresses arrived. While it was weird that Damian knew about his situation, Umbra didn't have any time to dwell on it. Right now, he needed to leave.

"Oh dear, you can just call me Mary. As for your request, I'm sorry but that just isn't possible. Do you have any idea what kind of condition you were in when you arrived?" After he was stung by the Death Stalker, there wasn't a whole lot that Umbra could remember. "That sting did more than just pump you full of venom. It also left you with a dislocated shoulder. I was hoping that by today your Aura would be back, but it seems that's not the case." Walking over to Umbra, Mary led him back to bed. If he wanted out, Umbra had to think of something that would convince Mary of letting him go.

"Listen, Mary, there's somewhere I really have to be. It's… important to me." Stopping Mary looked into Umbra's eyes. Most likely she was trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. Since Umbra was telling the truth, he didn't have any reason to be worried. Sighing, Mary had Umbra sit down on the bed.

"Wait here. I'm going to go grab your things. That, and something to keep your shoulder from dislocating again." Doing as Mary said, Umbra sat and waited for her to return. Seeing as how he didn't have any other options, it was the only thing he could do. Umbra hated it. Before long Mary returned with Umbra's weapons, shirt and jacket. She also had what looked like a cast. "Since I was hoping that your Aura would be back by now, I didn't bother putting a cast on you. Since that isn't the case, and you don't want to wait around, I have no choice but to put one on you. This might hurt a little, but do your best to hold still." Once again, Umbra did as Mary told him to. Sitting still, he allowed her to put a cast on him. Just as she said it would, it didn't feel the best. Umbra had been through worse however, so he managed to keep still throughout the process. Once it was on, Mary also had to help Umbra put his shirt, jacket and shoes on. Again, Umbra hated it.

"I… appreciate your help." Normally Umbra would never show his thanks with mere words. However, he doubted that he'd ever see Mary again. That and he didn't have the time or energy to run any errands for her right now. Laughing, Mary put her hands on her hips.

"It's alright dear. You and your friends saved our village. It's the least I could do to repay you." Standing up, Umbra retrieved his gear. Double checking to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, he was happy with the results. "Before you go, why don't you join us for breakfast? I'm sure you're starving after sleeping for so long." Umbra was about to decline Mary's offer, but it was as if the mention of food reminded his body that he hadn't eaten anything for a few days.

"Alright, but I have to leave as soon as I'm done." Leaving his room together, Mary led Umbra to the dining room. On the way they were nearly run over by two kids running around the house. Before Mary could stop them, they were already gone.

Walking into the dining room, Umbra saw that two others were waiting for them. One was a girl around Umbra's age while the other was a woman around Mary's age.

"It's good to see you up young man. You were starting to worry my daughter." Embarrassed by her mothers words, the younger girl flushed red and averted her gaze elsewhere.

"Mom… I was not worried." After carefully setting Ignition and Lunar Eclipse against a nearby wall, Umbra sat at the table with the others. Instead of doing the same, Mary left the room. For awhile, the three sat in silence. If Umbra had it his way, that's how things would remain. Since things could never be that easy, the silence was eventually broken by the older woman.

"I must say, I never expected to run into you again." The opposite of what Umbra was hoping for happened. One of them had remembered him. "You left before we could properly thank you. Though I suppose considering my daughter here saved your life, you could consider us even." Not knowing what to say, Umbra shrugged.

"Yeah. Guess you can." Sitting in another bought of silence, Umbra was growing impatient. Damian had told him that he had a few hours, but that didn't put him at ease. After all, what made Damian so sure about that? Umbra wasn't going to put his freedom in the hands of someone he technically just met. Then, just as Umbra was about to walk out, Mary had returned with a man. They were followed closely behind by the two kids from earlier.

"Sorry that took so long everyone. Nicola had an accident thanks to the little ones." Finding their seats, the two kids in question sat down at the table. Together Mary and who Umbra assumed was Nicola served everyone. Soon enough everyone was seated and eating.

Throughout the meal, Umbra stayed quiet. The only ones who seemed to talk were Mary and the other woman. Once in awhile Umbra would catch the two kids try and sneak a peak his way. Needless to say, they weren't all that good at being subtle about it.

"I have to ask, where did you learn to fight?" Looking up, Umbra could see that it was Nicola that was talking to him. "Are you a Huntsman?" Adjusting his glasses, Nicola took a closer look at Umbra. "No. You look much too young. Are you attending Beacon?" Interested in the topic, Mary turned her attention towards their conversation. This caused everyone else to focus in on Umbra. With all eyes on him, Umbra grew slightly uneasy.

"No, I'm not a Huntsman, nor do I attend Beacon. I was… taught by someone I knew." Shifting in his seat, Umbra focused on his food.

"That's too bad. The world could always use more Huntsman." Huntsman this, Huntsman that. Umbra was getting sick of hearing about Huntsman. Umbra was going to say something, but refrained from doing so. He decided that that was the end of their conversation. For the rest of the meal Umbra stayed quiet. When everyone one was done, Nicola got up. "Beatrice dear, why don't you and Cherry help me with the dishes?" Umbra got up as well to retrieve his weapons. It was time for him to leave. Mary followed suit in order to lead Umbra to the front door.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?" Looking over at Mary, Umbra debated over whether or not he should give her that information. There was something about Mary that made lying to her… difficult. So in the end, Umbra decided to tell her.

"Atlas. There's… something I have to do there. Something important." Choosing to stay silent, Mary merely nodded her head. It wasn't until they reached the front door did she say something.

"Before I let you go, I have to know… Just how important is this… something, to you?" Not even needing to think on it, Umbra answered Mary's question immediately.

"It means everything to me. Even if it didn't, I can't afford to leave things unfinished." Reaching out, Mary took Umbra's free hand in hers.

"Even if that means throwing your life away?" Umbra got the feeling that Mary knew more than she was letting on. It was possible that Damian had told her about him, but he couldn't be certain about that. After all, what would he get out of doing so?

"I've never had a life of my own to begin with. There's nothing for me to throw I've ever been is my fathers son." Mary gave Umbra's hand a squeeze. Losing his confidence, Umbra lowered his gaze. "Listen. Mary. I… I've done things that… have gotten me in serious trouble. People are after me. They want to take me to Vale. To… prison." Umbra was at a loss. He had no idea what was making him talk so much.

"Do you regret what you've done?" It was a simple question. Yet Umbra was having a hard time answering. On one hand, he didn't regret killing his father and setting out on the path he was on. At the same time, he did have regrets about how things played out.

"Some of it. Yes. There was an accident, and…" Carefully bringing Umbra into a hug, Mary cut him off.

"It's okay. That's all I needed to hear." Seizing up at the contact, Umbra didn't know what to do. He went to return the gesture, but stopped himself.

"What if I'm lying?" Backing up, Mary kept a hand on Umbra's uninjured shoulder.

"I know you aren't lying. As for how I know, well, that's a secret." Smiling, Mary ruffled Umbra's hair. "Now, since Solitas is such a cold place, why don't you wait here and I'll go fetch you some warmer clothes. Without your Aura, you'll freeze to death as you are." Even with freedom so close, Umbra knew that Mary was right. If he were to leave for Solitas in his current condition, he'd die before he even made it to Atlas. So, doing as she said, he waited. When Mary returned she gave Umbra a jacket, gloves and a hat. "Here, this is older stuff from my eldest. He's been attending Beacon for the last few years, so I'm sure he won't miss it. Either way, he'd be happy to know that in a way, he helped someone in need. For obvious reason, you won't be able to use both gloves. You should take both however, because you never know when you might need the other." Helping Umbra put the hat on, Mary gave the rest of the clothing to Umbra.

"Thank you… for everything. If you or your family ever need anything from me, I'll gladly lend a hand." Umbra felt indebted to Mary. After everything she had done, how couldn't he?

"Nonsense. You've done enough already." Seeing Umbra out, Mary waved. "You're welcome back anytime. Hopefully the next time we meet, conditions are a little calmer." Returning her wave, Umbra left Mary behind. A part of him wanted nothing more than to stay, but he knew he couldn't. In order to keep the thought of staying out of his mind, Umbra kept his gaze forward.

Arriving at the ferry, Umbra was given a free ride. During the breach, Umbra had unknowingly saved the owner and his family. Boarding the ship with all his belongings on hand, Umbra found a seat above deck. Just in case. Soon enough the ferry set off and Umbra was on his way towards Solitas. Once he made it to Solitas, he'd be more than halfway to Atlas. His journey was coming to it's end. Deciding to get some rest in before landfall, Umbra set his belongings next to him. Getting into a position that didn't agitate his shoulder, Umbra slowly began to doze off to the sound of the ocean.

Ruby Rose

Sitting at the lookout, Ruby was keeping an eye out for Umbra. They had gone through the rounds once, so now everyone was on their second watch. The sun was starting to go down, and Ruby was growing worried. What if he went around? Or, what if… Shaking those thoughts out of her head, Ruby focused on the mission.

Just as Ruby was beginning to get cold and was about to switch off, something caught her attention. At the very edge of the forest, she could see someone emerge from the woods. Adjusting the sights on Crescent Rose, she focused in on the mystery person. They were wearing a red jacket that stood out against the white snow. The hat they wore covered most of their head, but their face was still visible. Memorizing what their face looked like, Ruby reached into her pocket and pulled up the photo of Umbra on her scroll. There was no mistaking it, the person in the red jacket was Umbra. Leaving Crescent Rose, Ruby used her Semblance to speed downstairs to her teammates.

"Guys! He's here!" Everyone looked up from what they were doing. Smiling, Yang was the first to get up.

"Finally! C'mon guys, let's do this!" Weiss put her scroll away and Blake put her book down. As they were all getting ready to head out, Yang turned to face her sister. "Remember Ruby, now that it's getting darker out, you have to knock him down. We don't know how dark it has to be for him to use his Semblance, so we don't want to take any chances. We're counting on ya sis." Ruby gave her sister a thumbs up.

"You got it Yang, I won't let you guys down." And with that, Team RWBY set their plan in motion. Ruby was tasked with slowing Umbra down while the others moved in to restrain him.

Getting back into position Ruby lined Umbra up in her sights. Now that he was much closer, she could tell that something wasn't quite right. He was struggling to walk through the snow, and he was holding onto one of his shoulders. Finally, he was wincing in pain.

Beginning to feel nervous, Ruby felt her heart start to beat faster. Crescent Rose began to shake in her hands. He was staying at a clinic, does this mean he's still hurt? Does he even have his Aura? Would shooting him… Ruby was beginning to feel a little nauseous. She didn't know what to do. As she was looking at Umbra's face, Ruby remembered what Mary had said.

"…He's scared and confused…" Lowering Crescent Rose, Ruby took a few deep breaths. After steadying herself, she raised Crescent Rose back up. Tightening her finger on the trigger, she got ready to shoot. Once she did, the others would jump into action. It was time to finally get the answers she was looking for.

Umbra Hart

Trudging through the snow, Umbra was practically forcing himself to keep moving at this point. The snow was nearly up to his knees and he was slowly running out of energy. If he could last only a little longer, there was a village just in sight. While it looked abandoned, that hardly mattered. All he needed was shelter from the cold. Holding onto his shoulder, all the straining was starting to agitate it. Instead of focusing on the pain, he thought of what he'd say to Eliza when he finally got to Atlas.

Suddenly, a loud boom rang out and the snow in front of Umbra exploded. Falling off his feet, Umbra scrambled back up. More explosions rang out and Umbra felt his shoulder burn. Moving as fast as he could towards the village Umbra dodged bullet after bullet. At first, he thought he'd be safe inside the village. Once someone with blonde hair stepped out from behind a decaying wall however, his heart sunk.

"Hey jerk, remember me!?" Punching him hard enough to send him flying, Umbra slammed into a nearby building. Coughing and gasping for air as he stood up, Umbra was surprised to still be conscious. With blurry vision, Umbra watched as Yang approached him. Looking around he could see that she wasn't alone. Effectively ambushing him, the other two closed in on him as well. Hearing who he thought was Weiss begin to talk, Umbra desperately searched for a way out.

"It's over Umbra. There's no way for you to snake your way out of this. Now, come with us back to Beacon so tha-" Without his Aura and Semblance, Umbra had no hope of getting out of a fight as the victor. With all of his exits blocked, and again, without his Semblance, running wasn't an option either. As things stood, he only had one option. Quickly unzipping his jacket, he pulled out Solar Eclipse. Putting the blade to his neck, Umbra felt his legs turn to jelly.

"Back off! All of you! If you don't, I'll do it!" Halting their advances, the three Huntresses all lowered their weapons. "Don't you dare test me! You want me alive, right? You want my bounty? Well… I won't let that happen." Looking for any way out, Umbra took a quick look around. Head pounding, heart racing and shoulder burning, Umbra thought that he'd collapse at any second. "I'm after one more person. That's it. Once I'm done, I don't give a shi-" Everything that happened next was a blur. Before he knew it, Umbra was on the ground and Solar Eclipse was knocked from his hand.

"Blake! Quick, help me tie him up!" Due to the stress of the situation, Umbra had forgotten about one vital element. The sniper. All it took was a few precious seconds for them to take away his only chance of escape.

"Ah shit! No no no! Stop!" In trying to restrain him, they had injured his shoulder further. Not only that, but they destroyed his cast as well. "Fuck! My shoulder!" Getting off of him, the sniper gasped.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" As they continued to rant, Umbra slowly realized who it was. That brat Ruby lived after all. "…will you forgive me?" Having tuned out most of her ranting, Umbra missed her apology. Either way, he didn't want one.

"Just shut up. I don't need or want your sympathy." Yang and Blake gently raised Umbra to his feet. When he was up, the confiscated all his weapons. Yang was the one to pat him down. "Be careful with that Katana. It's worth more to me than my own life. If any of you break it, I'll break you." Laughing, Yang finished her pat down.

"You know, if I were, I'd keep my mouth shut. Considering how you just got your butt kicked and all." Sneering at Yang, Umbra couldn't do anything more. In the end, she was right.

Weiss had taken out her scroll and was presumably calling for pick up. While they were waiting, Umbra figured he'd try to fix his shoulder. Grabbing onto his wrist, Umbra took a deep breath. Not bothering with a countdown, he pulled his arm out and straight. Feeling it pop back into place, Umbra grunted in pain. That probably wasn't the smartest thing I've done.

Not having to wait long for their ride, most likely because it was parked nearby, Umbra was escorted onto the Bullhead when it touched down. During their flight it was deathly silent. The only sound for most of the flight was the Bullhead. At some point the team began to talk among themselves. Only Ruby had tried to strike up a conversation with Umbra every now and then, but he ignored every attempt. At the moment, he wasn't in the talking mood.

Due to him dozing off along the way, Umbra had a fragmented memory of the ride. After waking up from one of his naps Umbra noticed that they had finally made it to their destination. Beacon Academy. Once they got out Umbra could see that another Huntress was waiting for them. It was some blonde lady with a serious look on her face. She joined the group and took the lead. Upon reaching an elevator, all of them entered and rode it to the top. One short but awkward elevator ride later, they were on the highest floor in Beacon.

Sitting at a desk was a man wearing a green suit. His gray hair and glasses made him seem wise, but since he was a Huntsman Umbra knew better. This man was the worst of the worst. In a sense, he was the 'King of Hunters'. He was Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon. After taking a sip from his mug, he set it down to greet everyone.

"Ah, Team Ruby. I'm glad to see that you've completed your mission in one piece." Scoffing at the teams name, Umbra could easily guess who their leader was. "As for you, Mr. Hart, I haven't seen your father in quite sometime. How is he?" Keeping quiet, Umbra only stared at Ozpin. "If you don't wish to talk about him, that's fine." Looking over at Team RWBY, Ozpin put on a small smile. "You've done well Team Ruby, I'll take things from here. Before you leave, please leave Mr. Hart's weapons on my desk." Obviously not okay with leaving Umbra's weapons for him to snatch back out in the open, the older blonde tried to intervene.

"But Oz-" She didn't get out much before Ozpin cut her off.

"It's quite alright Miss Goodwitch, our guest doesn't look like he's capable of fighting his way out at the moment." Shooting the man a glare, Umbra hated the fact that he was telling the truth. Doing as they were told, the members of Team RWBY left his weapons on Ozpin's desk and left. Returning his attention to Umbra, Ozpin motioned towards the empty chair in front of his desk. "Mr. Hart, please, take a seat." Only because he was tired did Umbra sit.

"Just call me Umbra." It was starting to drive Umbra crazy that Ozpin used his father's name to refer to him. Ozpin looked at Umbra over the top of his glasses.

"As you wish, Umbra." Clearing his throat, Ozpin stood up. "Now, you're probably wondering why I had those four bring you here." Rolling his eyes, Umbra really hopped that Ozpin didn't have some lame, generic speech planned. "The answer is quite simple really. I want you to attend my school." Giving Ozpin a deadpanned look, Umbra didn't find his joke to be very funny.

"You have a horrible sense of humor. You know that, right?" Keeping a straight face, Ozpin took another quick sip from his mug.

"My offer is no joke Umbra. It is a serious one." Umbra scoffed at the word offer.

"Sorry, but no thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something very important that I need to get back to." Adjusting his glasses, Ozpin straightened out his posture.

"Is that so? What if I told you that I know about the predicament you've found yourself in? That you're the prime suspect in the murder of two Hunters and one civilian? If you were to accept my offer, I have the power to make that go away. All you have to do is attend my school." Leaning back in his seat, Umbra pretended to give his offer thought.

"No. With my Semblance, evading the police is way too easy. You know what, once I get my Aura back, escaping this place would be just as easy." Smiling, Umbra wasn't trying to bluff. He viewed what he said as fact. During the night, no one could keep him down. Setting his mug down, Ozpin seemed to get serious.

"What I'm offering you Umbra is far better than what will happen to you if you go to prison. Because of the risk that comes with your Semblance, they will put you in maximum security. There, you'll be chained down and drugged with an Aura suppressant. You'll never see the light of day again." Putting his hands on his desk, Ozpin leaned forward. "But here, Umbra, you would be allowed much more freedom. You wouldn't be treated as an animal here, but a person." Feeling a chill run up his spine, Umbra was actually frightened. If he were to be locked away like that, he'd never be able to accomplish his mission.

"Fine. I… accept your offer." Putting on the same small smile he gave Team RWBY, Ozpin offered his hand for Umbra to shake. Umbra didn't take it.

"You've made the right decision Umbra. I'm glad to have you as a student." Rolling his eyes, Umbra didn't believe him. Umbra found it odd that Ozpin wanted him as a student so badly. Whatever the reason, he doubted that he'd ever find out why. It possibly had something to do with the fact that he knew his father. How many people want me dead because of you old man?

"One thing, I know you do teams here. Don't bother putting me on one, because I don't play nice with others." Realizing that Umbra wasn't going to shake his hand, Ozpin took it back.

"Very well, but at the very least I'll need to assign a team to watch over you. They'll follow you to each of your classes to make sure that you're actually participating." Umbra knew that was code for spy on him. "Miss Goodwitch here will lead you to your room. I'll have your weapons sent to a locker as well. Tomorrow morning before classes start you'll have the locker number, a scroll, and uniform sent to your room." Walking over to Goodwitch, Umbra was ready to end the day. "One last thing Umbra. If you do managed to sneak out, I won't be sending a team of students to collect you. The person I send the second time will have you back in no time." Once again, Umbra felt a chill run up his back. Whatever. I was just caught at a bad time is all. Whoever he sends won't get the same chance.

With everything settled, Umbra followed Goodwitch to his room. When they arrived, she opened his door with her scroll. Giving Umbra a glare as he entered his room, Goodwitch obviously was just as happy with Ozpin's decision as he was.

"While Ozpin may trust you, for whatever reason, I do not. As long as you are here, you will follow the rules. I will be holding you to a higher standard then every student here." She was about to leave, but had one more thing to say. "If it were up to me, Mr. Hart, you would be in prison right now. Away from all the students." Hearing the door close behind him, Umbra was glad to finally be left alone. He was done with others for the day. The whole week even. Walking over to one of the beds in the room, Umbra laid down.

For the time being, Umbra was forced to play by Ozpin's rules. He'd need time to fully recover his strength and learn the layout of Beacon. Once he knew where all the cameras were located and what security was like, he'd be able to come up with a plan. In time Umbra would have his freedom, and when that happened, nothing would ever cage him again.