Chapter 23) Important Announcements
A/N: Must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'… must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'… must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'…
James Ironwood liked to think of himself as a rather patient and understanding man, all things considered. The nature of his complex position as both General and Headmaster, not to mention politician alongside, required him to be calm and collected, rational and open-minded. He was the one whom others depended upon to lead, to make the hard choices, to know what the correct course of action to take was in any given situation. He kept a level head at all times, and never allowed his emotions or his personal feelings to get in the way.
But like everyone, he was only human.
Like everyone, he had his limits.
"They were here, Oz! They were right here, right under our noses!"
Glynda pursed her lips and levelled James with an unimpressed stare. "We are well aware of that fact, James."
"Fantastic, you're aware!" James huffed sardonically. "So glad to know that we are all on the same page! Now, are we going to do something about it, or should we just stay the course and ignore what is happening right in front of us!"
"James, calm down," said Ozpin. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't even know for certain who they were, or what they were after."
James scoffed. "We all know better than that, Oz. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots in this case."
"Nonetheless," Ozpin continued, cool and collected as ever. "It would be unwise to jump to any conclusions or rush into any rash decisions when we still do not have all of the information we require."
Reigning in his aggravation as best he could, James folded his arms behind his back and turned his full attention to his long-time friend and ally.
James trusted Ozpin with his life, he truly did. But there were times when he found Ozpin's more cavalier attitude to the circumstances they were facing to be unbearably intolerable.
"I have four men, four good men, recovering from an attack that shouldn't have happened. One of them is in a critical condition. Not to mention that one of your own students was also attacked alongside them. The CCT may be compromised for all we know, or they could have retrieved some information that could prove catastrophic to us in the near future."
Ozpin's mouth was hidden behind his clasped hands, and his spectacles concealed his eyes, so his expression was unreadable.
James allowed his own countenance to darken as he glared at the seated Headmaster. "If you had just listened to me and agreed to allow me to deploy more than a skeleton crew for security last night, this could have all been prevented."
Glynda was the one to respond, moving into James' field of view and looking at him furiously.
"We are not in Atlas, General." She almost spat his title as she spoke to him. "Deploying dozens upon dozens of armed soldiers on school grounds was never going to be something we would agree to."
"Then perhaps your attitudes need reconsidering, before something worse comes-"
"Enough!"
Both James and Glynda fell silent at once.
Ozpin rarely raised his voice, and he rarely looked truly angry. He tended to be aloof most of the time, at worst he might get annoyed with someone if they pushed his buttons once too often.
But Ozpin was human as well.
He too had his limits.
"Bickering will not solve our problems," he said sternly as he rose from his seat and began to pace across the office. "Nor will dwelling on what could have been. What we must do now is consider what we must do next."
James frowned. "Then please Oz, by all means, what are our next steps?"
It was at that moment they all heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.
"Come on in," Ozpin called, his expression turning neutral once more.
Four girls stepped into the office, all of whom James recognised from prior accounts he had heard.
Team RWBY all looked rather skittish to be stood in their Headmaster's office, in the presence of Ozpin, Glynda and James at the same time. Given what he had heard about the incidents these four had been involved in as of late, he supposed it was a natural response for them to have. They likely only ever were summoned to this office to be reprimanded one way or another.
"Miss Schnee, how are you feeling?" Ozpin asked, his tone softer than it had been mere moments ago.
The girl in question offered and uncertain shrug. "I'm not badly hurt. The doctor said I'm fine to carry on as normal."
Ozpin nodded. "That's good to hear."
James decided to interject at this point. "Weiss, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think you made the right decision to take action last night."
Weiss did not look happy to hear that. "I didn't do anything. I couldn't do anything. It all happened so fast…"
"You recognised a threat, you took action, and you did everything you could to try and salvage the situation you were faced with." James gave Weiss what he hoped was a comforting smile as he spoke. "I can see the makings of a great Huntress in you. So don't be disheartened."
"The General is right, Miss Schnee," Ozpin added. "Now, if you are feeling up to it, I would like you to tell us what happened. Any insight you can give us will be of great value in ascertaining the full depth of the situation."
"Headmaster," Glynda chimed in. "Might it be best to ask the rest of Miss Schnee's team to wait for her outside?"
James was a bit amused to see Ozpin smirk at Glynda. "Come now, Professor Goodwitch. You know as well as I that whatever Miss Schnee says to us, and whatever we say to her, will inevitably be repeated to her teammates after the fact regardless. I merely figured we could save everyone a little time and avoid any potential miscommunication that may arise from such."
Well, I can see you've settled on a new band of favourites this year, Oz.
Glynda watched Team RWBY leave, the door to Ozpin's office clicking shut behind them. Her shoulders sagged somewhat as she allowed her stern mask to slip now that her students were no longer around.
"I don't think I have ever had a group of students who have caused me this much stress in such a short span of time," she muttered, mostly to herself.
"They do appear to be magnets for trouble, don't they?" Ozpin remarked dryly. "I suppose we should at least be thankful that this incident was less… bloody than their prior adventures."
Glynda was about to offer a response to that particular summation, but James spoke first, cutting her off before she could say a word.
"Well there we have it," he said quickly. "Confirmation of who is involved. Added to the information we already have, it's clear what we are dealing with."
Glynda watched as James pulled his Scroll from his pocket and began tapping away at its display with one hand.
"I can have a battalion of troops here within two days. We send them out to the southeast and smoke out the enemy, capture the leaders, cut the head off this before it can spread-"
"Absolutely not!" Glynda snapped. She rounded on James and stared him down. He may have towered over her, but she glared at him with all of her fury nonetheless.
"We don't have the luxury of time, Glynda," James replied. His tone was no longer heated. Now he was icily cold. "If we allow this problem to grow, it's only a matter of time before they make their move. So we have to move first."
Glynda almost growled in frustration. "Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!?"
"James, listen to me."
James turned away from Glynda and faced Ozpin once again. Glynda herself likewise turned her attention back towards her trusted leader.
Talk some sense into him, Ozpin. Please…
"I understand your feelings regarding this matter," Ozpin said calmly. "But this is far too delicate a situation for us to go charging in with everything we have. There is the very real chance that this goes beyond Vale. If that is the case, and there is some grand plan to which we do not yet know the final move, we mustn't be so bold. We cannot tip our hand too early, nor risk the spread of unnecessary panic."
Glynda found herself in full agreement with Ozpin's words.
She was disappointed however, although not especially surprised, to see that James remained less than agreeable. His expression had darkened once more as Ozpin spoke, and she could almost feel the barely supressed anger boiling underneath.
"If you mean to tell me that your only plan is to wait and see…" he seethed, trailing off towards the end as if he couldn't find the words to express his fury.
"It is not!"
Glynda stepped back in surprise as Ozpin abruptly rose from his seat once more, voice raised and eyes hard.
She had rarely seen him so furious.
"You are a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?"
Glynda felt her stomach drop as she registered his words.
He can't be serious…
Weiss sat upon her bed, Ruby's borrowed and thankfully working Scroll still held to her ear as she finished recounting the events of last night for the third time in the span of a few hours.
On the other end of the line, Winter remained silent for an uncomfortable length of time.
"Um, Winter?" Weiss asked tentatively.
For a moment, she wondered if the signal had cut out yet again, but no. After a pause, Weiss heard her sister let out a long and very exasperated sigh.
"Be thankful I am not there to berate you in person," Winter said, sounding quite defeated.
Weiss fidgeted where she sat, as if Winter really was there in the room with her and pinning her beneath a firmly disapproving stare.
"Sorry," was all she could think to say.
She heard another sigh from the other side of the call. "Well, I at least have some more information to work with on my end now."
Weiss sat up a bit straighter at that. "What do you mean?"
"Did you actually manage to read the documents Whitley copied for you?" Winter asked.
Weiss grimaced. "No. I had to turn it all over to the police after the rally."
Were I not so out of it after that fight, I might have thought to make another copy.
Winter huffed. "Well, you're assumptions were right. Jacques has managed to keep a tight lid on it, but SDC transports have been targeted in recent months. Atlas ones, too. The General has me running investigations into it at present."
Weiss found herself gripping the Scroll more tightly, her other hand grasping at the bedsheet beneath her. "Last night…" she said slowly. "You wanted to talk about what I asked Whitley."
"He's fine, before you start getting worried," Winter replied quickly, stopping Weiss from starting down that line of thought. "Jacques doesn't know. I only know because Whitley told me himself."
Weiss let out a breath and felt some of the tension leave her body.
Well, at least that's one bit of good news.
"Weiss, I need you to listen to me."
The tension returned. Winter's voice sounded dangerously serious.
"I know that asking you to stay out of this would be a waste of time at this point. If I'm being honest, a part of me is glad that you're doing this. But you have to promise me that from now on, you'll keep me informed. Whatever else you find, whatever else happens, no matter how small it might seem, you let me know straight away."
"I don't want to bother you…" Weiss said quietly.
I don't want to worry you. I don't want to cause you any more trouble. I don't want to give him any more reasons to go after you, to go after Whitley…
"You're not bothering me Weiss, you're helping me. The more information I can gather, the easier it will be for me to draw a complete picture of this whole mess."
Weiss sat silently for a moment, absorbing her sister's words.
Then she smiled. "OK. I'll help however I can."
"Good," Winter replied. "I'll need it. If something is truly going on with the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang, we're the ones who could wind up having to deal with the fallout. We need to be ready for that."
Weiss nodded firmly. "Of course."
The auditorium was packed, wall to wall. Students from every Academy jostled and chatted and generally made an awful lot of noise as everyone waited for the assembly to begin.
Towards the back of the hall, where there were less people and the level of noise was less painful, Ruby stood with the rest of her team, sans Weiss, who was taking a bit longer to arrive.
"She got lost again, didn't she?" mused Blake.
"Sh-she's probably s-still talking to her s-sister," Ruby replied.
"Well, she'd better hurry up, or she's gonna miss the announcement," commented Yang, excitement evident in her voice and on her face as she almost bounced up and down on the spot.
Blake shot Yang a bemused look. "Yang, we're not getting selected. You know that, right?"
"Never say never, Blake," Yang retorted. "We've got as much of a shot as anyone else."
Ruby wasn't so sure. After all the problems they had caused and all the trouble they had been wrapped up in, the idea that the Professors would want Team RWBY representing Beacon in front of the entire world seemed pretty unlikely.
It was disheartening, to be sure. Despite her anxiety and her worry and her fear of making a fool of herself, a part of Ruby had genuinely been as excited as her sister was at the prospect of getting to compete in the same tournament as their parents. The thought of missing out on that was a definite disappointment.
But if she were being honest with herself, Ruby wasn't actually all that upset. With everything else that had happened since arriving at Beacon, Ruby was really just thankful that she and the others were even still here and in one piece.
"Quiet!"
The hall fell silent at once. As usual, Professor Goodwitch's voice was able to cut across the crowd with ease.
"Thank-you," she said, taking centre stage. "Before we begin, I would like to ask you all to join together in a moment of silence as we mark this day, and remember those whose lives were lost decades ago, and all those who have left us since, giving their lives to safeguard Remnant."
Ruby lowered her head and closed her eyes, as did everyone else in the hall.
Every year for the past five years when this day came around, Ruby's thoughts in this moment of silence were for one person and one person only.
She thought about her headstone upon the hill, carved with her name and emblem.
She thought about her smiling face as she ruffled Ruby's hair, eyes warm and full of love.
She thought about the sound of her voice, and the feeling of being wrapped up in her hugs, and the joy she felt whenever she came home after being away on her latest mission.
… I love you, Mom.
… I miss you so much.
"We will remember you always," intoned Professor Goodwitch.
"We will always remember you," everyone responded.
Ruby lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her vision was a little blurry, but she quickly blinked that away, returning her focus to the present as she saw Professor Ozpin take to the stage next.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo and Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the Great War came to an end. A war of ignorance, greed and oppression. A war that was about much more than simply where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself.
"We fought for countless reasons, both petty and grand, but one of which was the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. As you are all well aware, this was something that the people of the world could not abide. And so, those who opposed this tyranny chose to begin naming their children for one of the core aspects of the arts: colour. It was their way of showing that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. It is a trend that has held to this very day.
"We stand here in this hall united, a veritable rainbow of different cultures and creeds. But these bonds cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work tirelessly to uphold it. And soon, it will be your turn."
Ozpin concluded his speech, and stepped away from the microphone. The students in the hall were given a moment to absorb his words.
Then, Professor Greene stepped forwards, looking only slightly less exhausted than she usually did, a small stack of cue cards in her hands as she took position in front of the microphone.
The energy returned to the hall, as the students' anticipation for the next announcement rose once again.
"It is my great pleasure to now announce the teams selected to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament," Professor Greene droned, sounding far less enthusiastic than her words implied. "First, the candidates from Beacon Academy."
Professor Greene shuffled her cards while the audience waited.
Well, whatever happens, it'll be fun to watch at least.
"In no particular order, the first Team from Beacon is… Team CFVY, second year."
A round of applause and cheers, especially from the Beacon students, accompanied the first announcement. Ruby clapped along and smiled as she watched Coco lead her team up onto the stage to stand beside Professor Greene, who waited for the applause to die down before continuing.
"The second Beacon team is… Team PRAN, first year."
Ruby quite clearly heard Nora's loud exclamation of triumph even over the applause as she and the rest of Team PRAN joined CFVY up on the stage.
"I'm here!" came a shout from behind Ruby. Turning around, she saw Weiss doubled over, panting for breath, looking like she had sprinted the entire way to the hall.
"Sorry I'm late," she gasped. "Lost track of time. Have I missed much?"
"CFVY and PRAN w-were chosen s-so far," Ruby replied as the applause died down once again. "Two m-more to go."
"The third Beacon team is… Team RWBY, first year."
The hall filled with applause once again, and Ruby joined in as the third team was…
… what?
"What?" said Blake, echoing Ruby's mind.
"What!?" exclaimed Weiss.
"Heck yeah!" cheered Yang, punching the air. "What'd I tell ya, Blake? Never say never! Vytal Tournament, here we come!"
"But… but… but…" Weiss stared up at the stage, dumbfounded.
Ruby was much the same, and she imagined Blake was in a similar boat.
Am I dreaming?
"Team RWBY, would you be so kind as to join us so we can announce the other teams as well?" Professor Greene asked sarcastically, her gaze falling upon the four girls where they remained stood at the back of the hall.
"Well, you heard her, let's go!" Yang immediately began making her way up towards the stage.
After a few seconds, Ruby followed, Weiss and Blake following behind her as well.
The four girls found themselves standing beside the other two teams who had been chosen, both of whom offered congratulations as the audience slowly settled once more.
Professor Greene announced the next team, but Ruby was no longer paying any attention. The sudden turn of events in the last few minutes was proving to be a bit more than she was able to process at once.
How? Why!? After everything we did wrong, how did we still get chosen?
There must be some sort of mistake.
That had to be it, surely? Somehow, some way, their name had wound up on the wrong card, and in a moment Professor Greene was going to correct herself and tell them to get off the stage so that the real nominees could be announced.
Either that, or I really am dreaming right now.
Professor Greene stepped back from the microphone, and a teacher from Shade Academy took her place to begin announcing the next group of chosen teams.
Professor Greene came and stood beside the Beacon contenders… and Team RWBY.
"Um… Professor?" Ruby found herself speaking before she could stop herself.
Professor Greene turned her attention to Ruby. "Before you ask, no, this does not mean your probation is over."
Ruby blinked. "Uh, that w-wasn't… I mean… I w-w-was…"
"Why?" Weiss asked, cutting in when Ruby was unable to get the words out. "Why us?"
Professor Greene stared at the four of them, her face unreadable. Ruby began to fidget underneath her gaze.
Then her glare lessened, and she gave them a small smile that was almost a smirk.
"Because the world needs more people like you four," she said.
Then her face turned serious again. "Don't let me down."
Blake sat with her back against the wall and stared at her Scroll, finger frozen above her father's name, as she pondered her next action.
"You OK, Blake?"
Blake looked up to see Yang looking at her worriedly from where she was sat on her bed.
"I'm alright," she replied. "Just… thinking."
"About what?" Yang asked.
Blake sighed. "Well, now that we're going to be competing in the Tournament, that means we're going to be on TV when they broadcast the matches, so that means…"
Yang frowned. "Adam."
Blake shook her head. "He already knows I'm here, that's not it."
"Then what is it? Is there some other crazy White Fang guy out looking for you?"
Blake shot Yang a decidedly unimpressed look, causing the other girl to look away awkwardly.
"Sorry," she murmured. "That was in bad taste."
"Yes it was," said Blake shortly.
She didn't stay mad at Yang for long, though. She knew her partner hadn't really meant anything with her joke, after all. Just a poor choice of words.
"My parents," Blake said quietly. "They'll see me."
Yang turned to look at Blake again, her head cocked to one side. "They don't know you're here?"
Blake shook her head. "I haven't spoken to them since I left home. I… changed my number so they couldn't call me. They have no idea where I am."
Yang blinked and said nothing for a long moment.
"That's…" she trailed off. Her expression was now one of…
Disappointment.
Blake felt a twinge of guilt seeing the look Yang was now giving her, in addition to the guilt she already felt for going dark with her family all this time, and the guilt she felt for leaving in the first place, and the guilt she felt for what she had said to her father before running out on him and mom, and the guilt she felt for how badly she had thought of them both for so long.
Blake grimaced and looked back down at her Scroll.
"Yeah, I know."
She had a lot to feel guilty about.
Blake heard the creaking of springs, and the sound of footsteps making their way across the room. Looking up, she saw Yang walking towards the door.
"I'll give you some space," she said as she opened the door, not looking back as she spoke. "If I run into Weiss and Ruby, I'll tell them to wait a while before coming back to the dorm."
Blake didn't have time to respond to Yang before she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her.
She's being polite. She doesn't want to intrude while you call home, said one part of Blake.
She's disappointed in you. She thought better of you, but now she sees how spineless you are, said another part of Blake.
She wasn't sure which side of her mind she agreed with.
The second possibility certainly upset her more than the first.
DAD
She may have changed her number, but she had kept theirs, Dad and Mom both. All she had to do was tap her screen…
But what would she even say at this point?
Sorry?
It wouldn't be good enough. Not after everything she had said and done.
Guess I should just add this to the pile of problems I'm choosing to ignore-
BUZZ! BUZZ!
Blake startled and almost dropped her Scroll as it began ringing in her hands.
CALLER UNKNOWN
She frowned. That was definitely unusual. She wasn't exactly in the habit of sharing her contact information with very many people.
Perhaps against her better judgement, Blake hit answer and raised her Scroll to her ear.
"Hello? Who is this?"
The voice that spoke to her was immediately familiar, and hearing it again after so long caused her to freeze up entirely.
"Blake, it's Ilia."
Ilia!?
No, it couldn't be. She had to be mistaken.
"Don't hang up, please," the voice that was Ilia yet couldn't be Ilia continued. "And don't ask how I got this number. Just hear me out for a minute."
Blake swallowed hard. "What is this?"
It can't be. It can't be. It just can't be…
"You need to get out of Vale. Now."
That got Blake thinking clearly again, if only because of how jarring it was. Not just the words, either. Ilia… and yes, it was Ilia, Blake accepted that now… Ilia sounded scared.
"What are you talking about?"
Ilia continued, and Blake could hear plainly the sheer panic and terror in her old friend's voice.
"I can't tell you everything. Just trust me when I say that you need to get as far away from Beacon as you can, before it's too late."
Blake stood up and began to pace back and forth across the room, her free had rubbing her arm nervously.
"Ilia, you call me for the first time in months, after somehow finding out my number from who knows where, and all you have to say is I should… run away? Again?"
"Blake, please!" The desperation in Ilia's voice was as plain as day. "Forget about what happened before! I don't care anymore! None of it matters now, so please… just get away from there. I couldn't live with myself if you-"
Ilia hiccupped and stopped talking. Blake heard her breathing shakily on the other end of the call.
"Ilia…" Blake said slowly, dread filling her mind. "What's going to happen to Beacon?"
No response. Blake realised belatedly that the line had gone dead while in the middle of her asking her question.
The number had been withheld, so there was no way to call Ilia back. Her number had been one Blake had not saved when she left.
So all she could do was stare at her Scroll as she stood in the centre of the dorm, replaying the brief conversation over and over in her head as she processed everything that had been said.
Something bad was coming, that much was clear. What it was and when it would come, Blake could only guess.
But as for who? Well, if Ilia was the one warning her, then the question of who was very straightforward.
The thought of running suddenly seemed very appealing once again.
But no. She couldn't run. Not this time. Not now that there were other people involved.
She wouldn't run. She refused to run and leave them all behind.
Blake left the dorm in such a rush, she didn't even bother to close the door behind her.
Yang. Ruby. Weiss.
She had to find her friends. They had to know what was coming.
"You cannot be serious!" Roman exclaimed. "This is already shaping up to be a major rush-job as is, and you wanna speed things up more!?"
"The timeline has changed, Torchwick. Now stop complaining and go do what you do best."
"Alright kid, look. A little friendly advice for you. If we-"
Roman felt cold red metal pressed against his neck before he even heard the sound of the blade being drawn. The boy had been on the other side of the room, yet now he was in front of him, and Roman hadn't even had the chance to blink.
"I am not your friend," the boy spat. "And I do not desire any 'advice' from the likes of you."
Roman did his level best to not let his fear show, levelling the boy with as much of a glare as he could muster. "You need me."
"I need you to follow my orders, human," the boy said cooly. "If you won't do what you are told, then that makes you a liability."
The blade pressed against Roman's neck remained where it was for a few more seconds of tense silence, before the boy withdrew his weapon and sheathed it at his side once more.
"I will remain here in Vale to oversee the situation on my end. You will go to the site and oversee the final preparations. You will not complain, or question my orders again."
Roman's confidence was non-existent at that moment, but he was not about to allow the boy to see that. So he rolled his eyes and put on an air of disinterested annoyance.
"Whatever you say, kiddo. Just don't come crying to me when your big party doesn't go as planned."
Turning to leave, Roman began to leave the room.
"Make no mistake, human," the boy called after him. "The only reason you're still alive is because I allow it. Don't test my patience again."
Roman made his way outside and towards the other building he and Neo had been using. He kept his face schooled into his usual mask, but he could not stop his hands from shaking slightly.
Roman was under no illusions anymore as to the gravity of his situation. This kid was a bomb just waiting to go off, and if Roman made the wrong move…
Roman wasn't a fool. He knew that if it did come down to it, he wouldn't have a hope of surviving a fight with this kid. He needed to keep him happy, or he and Neo were dead.
I should have never gotten involved in this. This is getting way too messy, way too fast.
But it was too late for any of that. Whether he liked it or not, Roman was in too deep to back out now.
Hello again to you if you are someone who has been keeping up with this fic so far. And if you are a reader who has joined us after checking out my other fic, or just happened to stumble on this one by chance, welcome! I'm Not Scot.
The Great War is something that gets brought up a fair bit in the early volumes of RWBY, but it doesn't get mentioned much in the latter volumes. I wonder if we're gonna learn more in the final quarter of the series? It seems too important to just be left aside with only a single World of Remnant entry explaining the basics.
Next chapter, 'Mission Start!', is already part done, so for once I feel confident in saying that the next instalment of this fic will definitely be uploaded within a week.
By the way, if you're also an Owl House fan, maybe check out my new anthology fic, 'Family'. It's got two parts so far with more on the way.
For now though, I could use a good night's sleep, so I shall take my leave.
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: Must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'… must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'… must resist urge to get 'Tears of the Kingdom'…