Howdy folks, how's it going?

Hope you all have been keeping safe.

It has come to my attention that this site has been experiencing some difficulties, so I can only hope that this update goes through ok.

As always, shout out to Chaos Productions for his assistance.

And as always, I own neither RWBY nor TES.

Now, enjoy.

/

"I have to admit, Mr. Soverick, Mr. J'Zargo, that although it shouldn't be the case by now, I still find myself rather pleasantly surprised by your ability to produce results." Ozpin commented praisingly, as he glanced towards the secondary pod within the chamber hidden deep beneath the tower of the Academy, which now had an occupant at last, providing company to the previous sole inhabitant.

It had been a couple of hours since the thief had been captured, and the matter brought to the Headmaster's attention. After that, while most other teams had been sent on their way to the respective assignments as planned (and none had likely missed just how rushed the ceremony had been on the faculty's part), team RWBYS had stayed behind, the girls currently accompanying some of the teachers in keeping the other two would be conspirators restrained. They weren't aware of the secrets the Headmaster kept, not yet, but they had understood that given the nature of the thief's skill set, the trio of another world were required to help keep her contained, which led to their current situation.

"I take it the sudden restraining of a foreign team will not have consequences that severe?" The dragonborn inquired idly, observing as Serana and J'Zargo stood before the pod where the woman, one Cinder Fall, going by the records Ozpin could provide, was still asleep, their hands alight as they worked their sorceries to probe and observe. Tristard didn't join them only because he was still concentrating on keeping the woman under his sleep spell, because while it wasn't a taxing task in the least, one slip was all it'd take for things to escalate, and if things were as they heavily suspected, it wasn't a risk they could afford at this juncture, if hardly for her sake.

"It might have, normally, if upon further inspection of the records we have, now that we're aware what to look for, we didn't find quite a few glaring inconsistencies." Ozpin replied, a pensive frown on his face as he considered the scroll in his hand, where the profiles for this particular "team" were on full display. "All the paperwork for team CRME of Haven Academy seems to be in proper order, but any information on the members themselves, outside the shining credentials I now doubt are real, is lacking to say the least. Odd that Lionheart would make this kind of mistake…"

"Best case scenario there would that your colleague too took this information at face value." Tristard commented, seemingly casually, but with not without some grimness as the obvious worst case scenario that this infiltration went deeper than the Headmaster imagined went unsaid, but not unnoticed.

"Indeed, a consideration to be made later." Ozpin replied with a sigh, which Tristard did not miss just how hopeful yet resigned the gesture was. "For now the biggest priority is to confirm the nature of Fall's magic and-"

"Well, it's a good thing that we have finished doing just that." Serana interjected, turning to approach the two, a serious frown on her face as orange, almost glowing eyes stared at the dragonborn. "There is indeed, a connection between the two of them. The stolen portion of the Fall Maiden's power and soul lies with this woman."

Tristard rumbled a low curse at the confirmation, while Ozpin took a quick moment to type something into his device, earning him a quizzical look from the vampire.

"Just calling in an associate of mine, he was the one who prevented the full theft, he'd like to know of this development for sure." Ozpin explained, before staring at them evenly, but with clear anticipation. "The question now is, what can be done about this?"

A good question, and one that Tristard considered seriously, as his eyes traveled from one pod's occupant, through all the cables and machinery in between, towards the other one it connected to.

"Well, there are a few options available to us, going by what we were told of how this… Maiden system is supposed to operate." J'Zargo spoke candidly. "From what we could ascertain, the power, regardless of what end it's trapped in, is calling to itself. By the expected progression, if the maiden were to die, the full extent of it would go on to fill the other vessel, our dear thief. If the thief were to expire instead, well, that would be going against the flow, so we cannot be completely certain, but there's fair odds that what was stolen would seek to return to the whole."

"That…" The headmaster started, before hesitating for one grim moment. "That is a risk I would be willing to take, if there's not other option, but I think it'd be far from ideal. There is too much information still that we could learn from Fall, too much about this plot that we still don't know."

"To learn who else she's working with, you mean." Serana commented, giving the dragonborn a meaningful glance, which for once was missed by the headmaster as he nodded.

"Indeed. So, that'll be our last resort, if it is all the same to you. Assuming that there are other resorts?"

"There are options." J'Zargo conceded, the words drawled as usual, but anyone who'd known the khajiit long enough knew he was addressing this matter with all the seriousness it warranted. "But J'Zargo's sorry to say that they largely overlap."

"…Elaborate, please." The headmaster requested after a blink and a moment to process the words."

"What he means is that, regardless of what we do, there is always the same amount of uncertainty." Tristard replied at last as he turned to the headmaster, his demeanour dour, somewhat reluctant even. "You could try to activate this machinery, but as you told us it is very experimental and you're not sure if it'll do what it is meant to. There are some… means that we could take to help with the process, things we could have tried from the moment you first brought us down here, were we not so unsure of what we were dealing with, but while now we might have some context, we there are still gaps in our knowledge. All that we have seen indicates that there is little to no difference between the souls of Remnant and Nirn. That J'Zargo could awaken an aura of his own is testament enough to that. But that is no guarantee that the souls of these two will react in any predictable way to such intrusive measures. It'll be a gamble, no matter what we choose."

"But if it is a gamble…" J'Zargo mused with a flick of his tail. "We could always try to stack the deck."

"What are you thinking?" The dragonborn inquired warily, because he was getting the distinct impression that his rival was entering a reckless experimentation mood…

"Simple." The khajiit replied, with a fanged grin. "Instead of debating which way we can go about this, J'Zargo says we use all of the options available."

"…I honestly cannot tell whether that is clever or idiotic, which is business as usual, I suppose." Tristard deadpanned, after a moment to fully grasp what the catfolk meant, before letting out a sigh. "You do realize that this approach is no less of a gamble."

"Perhaps not, but we are here, are we not?" Was the challenging reply. "And loath as J'Zargo is to admit it, more importantly, you are here. That should be more than enough to deal with any unexpected variable."

"I worried you would be thinking of that." Tristard replied, and as the headmaster witnessed the exchange, it did not escape his notice how… guarded the breton was acting.

"I take it there is something about these methods you speak of that you find disagreeable, Mr. Soverick?" He ventured, seeking better context.

"I find this entire situation disagreeable, Ozpin." Tristard admitted without preamble. "Some aspects of my being have made me rather… sensitive to the nature of the soul. The state the Maiden's own was left in offends me greatly on a deep and personal level. And some of the things that are in my power to do, well… they displease me in equal measure, for much the same reason."

"…I see." The Headmaster replied, and honestly, he did. What being a "dragonborn" entailed had long since been explained to him. "I find that such scruples speak of well of you, Mr. Soverick. And normally, I'd be glad to have more time to consider what can or should not be done. But, much as I dislike the notion, there is a certain… urgency, to this matter, now."

"Oh?"

"For one, Ironwood will find out what has transpired very soon, if he hasn't already. There is little doubt in my mind that he will start pressing for the power to be transferred back to the Maiden as fast as possible, and I will only be able to do so much to convince him a more patient approach is required without revealing your own involvement in this matter." Ozpin replied, the older man sighing, his entire demeanour speaking of weariness and resignation. "For another, it is imperative that we manage to interrogate Fall as soon as possible, which does not seem feasible for as long as she has the stolen power within her."

"…You believe that she was not acting alone," Tristard realized grimly. "Nor was this infiltration the full extent of her schemes."

"Yes, that is indeed what I believe." The headmaster replied with a nod, and then hesitated briefly, before giving the dragonborn a meaningful look. "And lastly, while it may seem selfish of this old man, I… I want to see Amber restored, Mr. Soverick. It was by my lax vigilance that she ended up in this situation, and for a long while I could only stew in the regret of yet another mistake where others suffered the consequences… Until you arrived. You offered me a solution, a fresh perspective for a problem I had no idea how to fix." The gaze then fell upon the pod, and the slumbering woman within. "Even if it is one not without its risks… I can't help but desire to see her wake up, to have her life returned to her. She did not deserve this."

Silence fell upon the chamber at the Headmaster's heartfelt words. Tristard turned to follow his gaze, towards Amber. The woman seemed to peaceful in her sleep, the only blemish that odd, burn like scar of her face, as he pondered upon the Headmaster's words, memories of mistakes of his own, of things he could never get back, crossing through his mind. For a split second, he didn't see the slumbering brunette, but rather someone else, red-haired, pointed ears, and a cheeky little smirk on her face…

His gaze fell towards Serana, who looked back knowingly, and gave a near imperceptible nod. Then towards J'Zargo, who was much the same.

And so Tristard made his decision.

"We can make an attempt, as J'Zargo suggested." He said, turning back to the headmaster. "If only to test the waters. Between the three of us, we should be able to keep things from going wrong. But at the first sign of trouble, we will stop."

"…Very well, Mr. Soverick. You have my gratitude." The headmaster replied at length, and genuinely looking the part too. "When will you be ready to proceed?"

"As soon as we can get a few runes and sigils drawn to facilitate matters." Tristard said, giving a meaningful glance towards his companions, as the trio immediately set upon their work.

/

My apologies, if this chapter felt of little substance. I had a bit of a chaotic weekend with visiting family, and this was the best I could manage.

On the topic of Cinder's team name, just imagine that whatever false name Neo picked for her disguised identity had an R in it somewhere.

Next time, we will find out if a gamble pays off.

Before that though, will be the next update to Ere We Go, Pluz Ultra!, so look forward to that.

Cya all on the next one, stay safe and take care.