Howdy folks, how's it going?
I am going to be honest here, this weekend I had to do some travelling, and that cut a fair bit into my writing time, so this chapter might feel a bit barebones as a result. My apologies.
As always, shout out to Chaos Productions for his assistance.
And as always, I own neither RWBY nor LoL.
Now, enjoy.
/
The next morning, all three teams that had been part of the mission found themselves back in the office at the top of Beacon's tower, standing in a line before the headmaster's desk as they gave their full report of events. Penny stood to the side, in a pose no doubt learned by her time working with the Atlesian military, while Jax was casually leaning against the wall, not looking like he was particularly paying attention to the proceedings, but then the man's mask made it difficult to be sure.
Silence fell over the room, as the headmaster sat behind his desk, pondering over what he had just heard with his usual, calm demeanour, eyes closed in contemplation.
"…I see." He eventually replied. "This certainly helps clear out some of the things that I've been made aware of during the evening."
"Sir?" Jaune asked curiously, after a few moments of the students looking uncertainly at each other. Some focused their questioning looks on Ruby, but as usual her blank expression gave nothing away.
"As I had expected from the moment I saw you all come out of that Bullhead, Mr. Arc, during the night I was contacted by Vale's police department, as well as representatives from the Atlesian Military, and the Councils of both kingdoms. It was a busy evening, all told." The man replied with a slight upper tilt to his lip. A fair few of the students glanced towards the decidedly abnormal number of mugs on the table, but wisely chose not to comment. "I was informed about the White Fang agents that were left for the police to pick up, with comments about how… disturbed the prisoners seemed to be." He gave a meaningful look towards Ruby and Weiss, the latter squirming uncomfortably under the attention. "From our Council, I got complaints about the property damage that occurred in the city's old road and some nearby buildings, while from the Atlesians I got inquiries about the involvement of Miss Polendina here. The White Fang had been on their radar for a while, specially since some military hardware was stolen. Including some Paladins, the wreckage of at least one of which was found near the location of your escapade."
His dry, unamused gaze, followed by the awkward ones by a few of the students, fell on the champion resting on the side, as the connection was swiftly made to the explosion they had all noticed during the pursuit…
"Toldja I was busy doing my part." Jax replied with an unrepentant shrug.
"Well…" Arslan ventured uncertainly, her usually confident demeanor absent. "Sorry?"
"Oh, do not misunderstand, Miss Altan. None of you are in any sort of trouble." The headmaster clarified with an amused shake of his head. "This was, for all intents and purposes, an official mission, fully sanctioned by myself, and despite all the complications, it was a success, given the collection was safely brought to the academy. Everything that followed was, unfortunately, just the bells and whistles that follow after a successful mission. There is always a clean-up, and it's part of my job to take care of that. Rest assured, I'll be sure to get in touch with Headmaster Lionheart, with a commendation for your assistance."
Bolin and Nadir shared a pleased look at that, while Reese fist pumped once.
"And as for the Atlesians, well, that has already been handled between me, Miss Polendina and her handlers, and nothing you should worry about." The headmaster continued. "In fact, Miss Schnee."
"Yes, sir?" The Heiress inquired, a picture of discipline, although there was no hiding the nervous curiosity in her eyes at being suddenly called out.
"I have been informed that a representative will be joining us here at the Academy, ahead of the rest of the incoming Atlesian delegation." The man explained, with a knowing smile. "I do believe it'll be a good opportunity to catch up with your sister."
Weiss startled at that, her prim demeanour momentarily broken before she collected herself.
"Thank you, sir." She said with a prim nod, but the downright giddy shine in her yes was impossible to miss.
"Now then, once again, you have all performed admirably for this first outing, and for that I congratulate you." The headmaster continued after nodding back to the girl. "During the next few days, you'll be expected to have individual interviews with Doctor Oobleck and myself, as part of standard post-mission procedure, but for now, I would say you have earned your rest. You are dismissed, although I would ask that the team leaders remains behind, to discuss some minor details."
The students momentarily hesitated, but eventually after some encouragement from their respective leaders, they begun making their way to the elevator. Ruby did not miss the lingering glance that Weiss had given her, nor the similar one that Pyrrha had given Jaune, although she suspected that they'd been for entirely different reasons.
In but a few moments, they were gone, leaving behind only those privy to more sensitive information.
"You know," Jax commented, as he finally walked forward. "Eventually those kids are bound to get suspicious of dead-eyes and not-Ezreal here being called aside so often."
"I am well aware, Jax, and I would have preferred it if this was unnecessary. But you know as well as I do that there are secrets that must remain hidden." Ozpin sighed, giving the three students that remained a weary look. "If I am being completely honest, if you three hadn't already been connected to this secret by events outside anyone's control, I would have preferred if you hadn't gotten involved. Alas, that ship has sailed long ago."
"…Is this secret related to why you offered to have Tukson's… my collection transferred to the Academy?" Jaune prodded after a moment to consider the admission. "Is this related to anything that was discussed between you guys last night?"
"Yes to the first, no to the second." The headmaster replied, glancing towards Penny. "Yesterday evening, before all those calls happened, was mostly spent with Miss Polendina and Jax sharing their stories, which I believe you are already aware of. One of the few mysteries of those times that had any sort of resolution. You did not miss much."
"I technically should not be so eagerly sharing my origins, ancient or more recent, with people, even if they are a recognized friend and ally of my employers." The ancient robot shrugged with a mischievous smile. "But what they don't know won't hurt them. I do have a life outside of work, after all."
"It still amazes me how much more lifelike you are nowadays." Jax commented. "Sure, you could be a little shit back then too, but now it sounds genuine rather than uncanny. Those quacks in Atlas did ya good."
"I'd ask you not to insult my father, but I know that'd be an exercise in futility." Penny replied with snarky exasperation. "At least I had a better reason to not know what happened back then than "I got drunk.""
"I'll have you know I don't get drunk. I get very drunk." The grandmaster at arms retorted, sounding entirely serious. "The champ don't do things by half."
Ruby did not miss how the Headmaster slowly breathed out through his nose as the bickering continued, mumbling something under his breath she couldn't quite make out.
"Moving on…" The man said tersely, cutting off the two champions, before his gaze fell on the trio once again, before settling back on Jaune. "I can see that there's something troubling you, Mr. Arc. By all means, feel free to voice it. You've trusted me so far, I'd say you've earned the right."
Ruby turned to stare at her friend, expression blank, while Merle leaned forward in his perch at her shoulder, clearly curious.
The boy's expression grew pensive at that, silence filling the room for a few moments as he seemed to organize his thoughts.
"I have to admit that over the last few days, I haven't really been… in the right state of mind to consider things." Jaune admitted as length, a slight frown on his face. "But now that I think about it, there's something I feel like I am missing here… You've told us before, that your stake in this is to make sure the mistakes of the past aren't repeated. And I can respect that. But… how does keeping the past a secret that only a handful is aware of help with that? I mean, I get that the White Fang wanting this stuff is a point in your favor there, sir, but still… And I get that Jax, Penny, or even Ruby are deeply connected to this for obvious reasons, but… Me and Arslan? I mean, she's basically only getting dragged into this because of me and a distant ancestry, and yet you clearly already trust her more than any of our teams or even other students of our Academy. No offense, Arslan."
"None taken." The Buhru girl drawled dryly, throwing what was probably meant as a friendly punch at the boy's shoulder, clearly not noticing the way he winced.
"I suppose what I am getting at is," Jaune continued hesitantly. "Well, I suppose it's that there is still a lot about the situation that you're trying to keep secret that I still don't get."
"Ah, don't feel wrong in voicing your reasoning, Mr. Arc, you raise a valid point." The older man replied, sounding legitimately pleased with the words. "I understand, Mr. Arc, that I have been asking for a lot of trust from you, while keeping my own cards close to my chest, so to speak. And that was precisely why I asked that you stay behind."
"Sir?" The boy asked, clearly surprised by the admission. The headmaster for his part, turn to look towards Ruby.
"Tell me, Miss Rose." He said, a distinctly serious and tired edge to his voice. "Do you recall what I told you, at the end of our discussion, when I had you and Jax meet?"
Ruby blinked at the question, then blinked again as she connected the dots.
"Another time… now?"
"Quite so." The headmaster confirmed with a nod and a mirthless smile as he rose from his seat. "I'd say you deserve to understand more of the context of this… delicate situation. So, despite how much I'd prefer otherwise, I will show you. If you would follow me? You too, Miss Polendina."
The three students and Penny all glanced at each other curiously, as the headmaster walked past them towards the elevator. Only when Jax casually made to follow did they do the same.
It wasn't until they were all within the cabin, with the elevator having already started its descent, that the headmaster spoke again.
"Tell me, Mr. Arc, where do you think I have stored your collection?"
"Uh," The boy startled, blinking as he considered the question. "I guess I… just assumed there'd some room in the Academy's storage room?"
Jax chuckled at that, but didn't deign to clarify when all attention turned to him.
"In a way, yes," The headmaster replied, clearly sharing in the champion's amusement. "But not quite in the way you think."
He said no more, leaving the students to their confusion and curiosity as the elevator went down. And down. And down. It arrived to the bottom of the tower… and went yet deeper still.
Eventually, it stopped.
"Your collection is a part of the secret, Mr. Arc." The headmaster said gravely. "But, if I am being candid, it is not the only one, nor the most important."
As if prompted by the words, the doors opened. And Ruby's eyes widened ever so slightly.
/
Have you ever looked back at the whole secret underground level where Amber was stashed, and kinda wondered why was there a space the size of a bloody cathedral down there, and 97% of it was just… empty? Seriously, what's up with that?
Ah well, next time, we got revelations.
But before that, next up we have the next update to Beneath a Broken Moon, so look forward to that.
Cya all on the next one, stay safe and take care.