"He's waiting for you." Clover announced, standing off to the side with his companions flanking him. "Don't waste any time."
I nodded at Clover and the others as one, getting a sneer from Harriet and a wide smile from Elm. My feet automatically led the charge towards the office with Winter, only after completely ignoring Harriet. The door hissed lightly as both halves receded into the walls.
The open sky met my gaze from across the large office once the door was out of the way. Large windows measuring the entirety of the back wall revealed all of Atlas, only broken up by stone pillars that separated the panes of glass. I stepped calmly into the room with Winter, taking in my surroundings. The walls to our sides were covered in shelves and various wall-mounted metal storage boxes. Items littered the shelves in an orderly fashion, some looking important and others sentimental. The blue tones of the various lights set a particular atmosphere that was hard to pin down. A steely desk sat above the depression in the center of the room, resting atop a tiered set of steps that skirted around the room. I looked appreciatively at the domed ceiling before a throat clearing caught my attention.
"Specialist Schnee. Good to see you've returned." James Ironwood greeted from behind his desk, gently placing a holopad down as he acknowledged us. "And you've brought our guest, too. Good work."
I ignored how Winter preened at the kudos, instead regarding the man with a cool gaze.
"General." I greeted. "Heard you wanted to see me."
"Mr. Arc. If I may call you Jaune?" I shrugged at the question, and Ironwood seemed to take it in stride. "It's good to see you up again. The Fall of Vale was devastating, and it's unsurprising that many were out of commission from it. I'm glad to see you weren't among those that were permanently off duty."
"I'm beginning to learn that I'm hard to put down." I grunted out, getting a small smile from the General as he stood from his seat.
"That's an understatement, Jaune. The refugees we've ferried here from Vale have spread all sorts of interesting stories since the Fall. My own soldiers that have been rotated out of Vale have turned in some eye-catching reports." James reported, tapping a few buttons on his desk. In a mere second holograms leapt from the surface of his desk into the air, all displaying different bits of information. Chief among them were reports and videos playing of my deeds, from defending Beacon tower all the way to killing the Wyvern. Newscasters flitted around the room on screens, all speaking of the current state of Vale and the narratives showing how the situation continued to improve.
"Welcome to Atlas, Jupiter."
The words from Ironwood were warmly welcoming, and I couldn't help but recognize that with an appreciative nod. Slowly though, my gaze slid over to Specialist Schnee beside me whose face was slowly turning red.
"Holding your laughter is bad for you." I deadpanned, watching as she struggled to maintain her decorum.
"Am I missing something?" The General interjected, looking between us in confusion. I rolled my eyes away from the Schnee and shook my head.
"She said the same line on the airship." I sighed. "She thinks the name is funny."
"Really? Well I tend to think of it in opposite. What you have accomplished in Vale is nothing short of phenomenal. You took nearly everything that was done to cripple Vale and neutralized it, giving Vale's forces every opportunity they need to reclaim the rest of the Kingdom and the academy itself." Ironwood praised, taking time to walk around to the front of his desk to face us.
"General Ironwood is correct. I may give you grief for the reputation you've garnered, but it is well earned. Your actions have practically nullified all the work of that woman and her lackies, and the Kingdom of Vale will be standing again in a mere fraction of the time they theorized." Winter explained, her voice with a steady coolness to it that put weight behind her words. The General clapped his hands as she finished, a smile growing again on his face.
"Well put, Specialist." Ironwood commented. "I couldn't have put it better myself. Compared to the file of your time in Beacon Academy, your skills and examples of your work are almost unrecognizable. All to the point where I admit I've been impressed. For that, I believe I'll be doing this."
Ironwood leaned back against the edge of his desk, only to press a series of holographic buttons on his desk behind him. When he finished, he gestured to me. Right on cue, I felt my scroll buzz in my pocket. I dug it out and checked, and was shocked.
"With all you've accomplished, I find it only fitting that I instate your official Huntsman license." I looked at the scroll with wide eyes as Ironwood's words fell on me. A snapshot of my own face looked back at me, obviously taken after the Fall of Vale. The details and credentials scrolled across the screen slowly, and I soaked every bit of it in. A hand on my shoulder tore my frozen attention away.
"Congratulations, Jaune." Winter said patting me on the shoulder. "You earned it."
"I'm… not sure what to say, General." I muttered blandly, still clutching the scroll.
"Then you don't have to say anything." He led with a smile. "The information will be updated in the future with more official data, but since the license is directly from me it's as legitimate as you can get. I feel three years in an academy would be a waste of your skills."
"Though I've been briefed that Atlas Academy has a room reserved for your stay." Winter added.
"Indeed. I hope you'll consider staying in Atlas for a period to get experience through our missions as an official Huntsman. I've also been informed you wish to make use of our forge, which won't be a problem. The forge, our training facilities, and all of the amenities afforded to Atlesian Huntsmen will be at your disposal during your stay. Including the technology in our Academy." Ironwood listed off his offer with pride seeping from his militaristic demeanor, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"I think I'll take you up on that, General."
"I was hoping you would say that." He sighed. "Now with that out of the way, I'd like to speak to you about something more… delicate."
I narrowed my eyes at the General, studying him strangely at the words. He didn't present anything I could label as shifty or strange, instead he just waited for my response. I glanced over at Winter too, but she didn't seem caught off guard by the shift the General presented.
'She must already know about whatever he's hinting at…' I thought calmly, taking another second to look cautiously between the two before humming and resting my hand on Crocea Mors.
"I'm listening." I stated blandly. Ironwood nodded with a serious expression scrawled across his face, and pressed a single button on his desk before walking towards us.
A metallic thud echoed quietly throughout the office and I snapped to look towards the source. To my surprise, the center of the depression in the middle of the room opened and a gear-shaped surface rose up from beneath. It folded and expanded upon itself, and I watched in muted interest even as the General and the Schnee moved to surround it. I followed their footsteps, coming to rest next to James just as the surface leveled into a table.
"Your actions in Vale had a far greater effect than you probably realize." Ironwood said seriously, resting his hands heavily on the metal table.
"Hm?" I grunted, not bothering with a response.
"In the aftermath of the attack on Vale, our entire civilization very well could have collapsed." My attention snapped to the General as he stared harshly at the table. An icy feeling of solemness seemed to emanate from him, and the seriousness of the tone he took wasn't lost on me. "The events of Amity Colosseum are broadcasted all across Remnant, played in every Kingdom, nearly every continent, and every settlement with a signal, bar none. The 'death' of Penny and the subsequent panic-inducing speech were shown to every person watching the tournament. After that, everything went dark. For every, single, person."
"Even though there is no reliable way to be notified of such events, our personnel believe firmly that entire settlements were wiped off the map due to the fear of the events attracting Grimm." Winter added, still standing at attention with her hands folded behind her.
"… holy shit." I breathed, now feeling the weight on my shoulders that Ozpin, Ironwood, and everyone in power must have felt that night.
"Indeed." Winter agreed, with Ironwood nodding stiffly.
"We're in agreement. Now, while your actions may have succeeded in undoing much of the work that went into crippling the Kingdom, they also succeeded in something so much more important." Ironwood continued, straightening up from his position against the table. "The people of Vale and any survivors that came from other Kingdoms to see the tournament were terrified. Completely and utterly. Given enough time with enough negativity stemming from living conditions and steadily dwindling supplies, the defenders keeping the Green Zone safe would have been overwhelmed. It's happened before in Remnant's history, and it always went the same way."
"All a civilization needs is one decisive blow dealt to it. Afterwards, the negative emotions from the losses will draw in Grimm and suddenly the Democracy, Patriarchy, Autocracy, and anything in between no longer exists." Winter continued the explanation matter-of-factly. I scowled at the thought, and Ironwood clasped his hands behind his back with a new expression.
"This all brings us to you, Jaune." My head tilted towards him, curious as to what he meant. Ironwood smiled at the gesture, and once again the documentation and reports of my actions burst to life from the table in hologram fashion. "Your actions, whether intentional or not, provided a focal point for all the people of Vale. Everything you did even during the Fall itself was relayed to everyone struggling to survive in the aftermath, and it was all painted as pure altruism. Your campaign against White Fang operatives trying to bomb Beacon Academy, your reactivation of the Valean Defense Network and retrieval of a surviving child, and your defense of the Green Zone from a reawakened Wyvern was presented to the eyes and ears of Vale. Every man, woman, and child left to struggle in the remains of the Kingdom were shown the lengths you went to."
I listened to them as they spoke, paying attention to every word. In all honesty, I felt like the actions couldn't be attributed to me as they were presented. They weren't as purely altruistic as they seemed.
"In the end, your actions prevented the degradation of hope in Vale. Without overwhelmingly positive stories to look at that meant strong victories for everyone in Vale, people would look in at themselves. They would have focused on their current hardships, and everything they lost in the attack that led to the Green Zone existing." James explained seriously. "To put it bluntly, your actions prevented the Grimm from wiping out the remainder of the Kingdom."
"That's fine and all, but I did most of that for myself." I interrupted blandly, eyeing both the Atlesians. "I'm no one to look up to. My actions were my own, not for anyone else."
"If that's the case, why did you save Cerise from the Overstate?" Winter asked sternly, now glaring at me from across the table. I balked at the question, gulping dryly. "Why would you put in the effort to eliminate every Grimm in the Lurker swarm?"
"Aside from that, why would you stay to confront the Wyvern? If your actions were for yourself, why not simply escape?" The General added, addressing me much the same as his Specialist.
"…"
I remained speechless at the silent accusations. Through the seconds of silence I struggled with my perception of myself, and everything I'd done. I saw everything I did as a manifestation of my own selfish desire, and in some ways still do. I tore through the positions of White Fang to get to Pyrrha because I wanted her to be safe. I reactivated the turrets all throughout Vale because I wanted Professor Goodwitch's help getting to the top of the tower. I ended up killing the Wyvern because…
'… because I woke it up?' The thought was sobering. What started as a selfish reason to kill it, simply because it helped Cinder, evolved into something more. I took responsibility for it, all because I couldn't let the Green Zone be razed to the ground because of my own negativity waking the Wyvern. There were too many people I cared about there to run.
"I see you've realized it on your own." Ironwood broke the silence amusedly, chuckling as he rested a hand on my shoulder. "The reasons you take an action matter of course, but not nearly as much as the effect that comes from the action. I've been in the position to come to the same conclusion as you through my military career. Making a selfish decision and preparing for the consequences, only to have it lauded by those around you."
His hand lifted from my shoulder and gripped around his own wrist. For a moment, he looked at his arm, but before a second passed he snapped out of it.
"The effect will go much further than Vale." He stated, his tone presenting this as definite fact. "The stories, reports, and videos have already made their way to Atlas. When Vale reclaims their territory and reopens their public travel options, your actions will be carried with the people all around the world. It wouldn't surprise me if bits of the story have made their way to Patch and Vacuo by now."
"It's only a matter of time before your actions spread across Sanus, Anima, and Menagerie. People will know of the man that brought Vale back from failure, even in the farthest settlements. For better or worse, you'll be high-profile when it's done." Winter said, an oddly somber tone sinking into her voice towards the end.
"It's for these reasons that I've decided to offer you something else." He announced, tapping the table in much the same way as his desk. "It's something I think you'll find useful."
"Hm." I grunted out, crossing my arms and staring at the light-made videos. "Lay it on me."
[AN- Sup guys, glad to see you back. Comments last chapter were great, keep em up. 300 marker passed, good job! This is a note for the near future. Since there was a canon timeskip after the end of Vale, I'm extending it to make room for the events in Atlas I have planned. About a year and some change will pass between Vale and the events in Mistral Academy, so be prepared. Enjoy!]