Note: Thank you to everyone who commented and was supportive of the previous chapter. I understand that was EXTREMELY HEAVY, so I am grateful to those who have either shared their experiences or helped me edit the chapter on my Discord to ensure nothing crossed too many boundaries. I am definitely going to get lighter from here, and yes I know I've said that before and proceeded to do dark things, but I don't think I can literally get darker than the previous chapter. In these next few chapters, I've actually decided to give Team RWBY a break. They deserve it. I think instead we should check in on some of the other students of Atlas. Enjoy.

General Ironwood was dreading this call. Mostly, he feared what news she would bring. A security breach of this scale would bring untold disaster to his Kingdom. The interrogation of Emerald Sustrai had been fruitful in determining motive, but the method eluded him. He could feel the nightmare coming like prickling hairs on his neck. However, he would be embarrassed to admit he also feared just what pure inanity she would bombard him with. He sat behind his desk, sorting through the applications on his computer. He exhaled his frustrations and began the call. She was late picking up. Of course.

It took two attempts, in fact, before Glynda Goodwitch answered the call. She seemed particularly worse for wear; her hair was knotted and only partially tied back, leaving plenty of loose strands jutting out in strange directions. Plenty of lipstick was smeared on her mouth, but the rest of her face was bland and lifeless, beady eyes poking out from behind her smudged glasses. He could only see the tips of her shoulders, but it was apparent that her jacket was covered in dandruff. The lighting only made things worse. She was in total darkness, illuminated purely by the flashlight on her Scroll, and the harsh bulb highlighted every unfortunate crease of her weary features, leaving the rest in pure shadows.

"Hello, James." Well… at least she sounded normal.

"Glynda, what's the status report?" Ironwood said briskly, getting down to business.

Goodwitch huffed. "Really? You don't call in a month and you can't even ask me how I've been? Hi, Glynda, how are you? That's not too hard." Her voice echoed off the walls of her surroundings, and Ironwood could see her breath as it condensed around her lips.

"This is serious business."

"It's always serious business," Goodwitch countered. "Ozpin still knew how to smile."

"Status report," Ironwood repeated. Goodwitch sighed, and she turned around her Scroll so Ironwood could see the subject clearly.

"Nothing. It's exactly the same."

Ironwood couldn't let his guard down yet.

"Have you done a full sweep of the perimeter?"

Goodwitch turned the Scroll back around just so Ironwood could see her rolling her eyes.

"James, there is no perimeter. It's a Vault. There's one way in and one way out, and it hasn't been opened. You have an entire platoon of soldiers waiting outside. No one is going to get in here."

"We have to keep our guard up," Ironwood said, still unsatisfied. "If the Anti-Fable is really making a move toward the Holy Grail, we cannot allow it to succeed."

"No shit," Goodwitch sneered. "But we've always known that, and unless they've come up with some novel way to get past everything, I think you are overreacting."

"They've never known where this Vault was until now," Ironwood reminded her. "They're going to try anything to get through. If they try a Grimm attack, and we still don't have Rosaline—"

"James, you know what your problem is?" Goodwitch said bluntly. "You try too hard. You get caught up in all these silly, pessimistic fantasies, and then you bluster. That's how Team RWBY got the better of you. They make you paranoid."

"Team RWBY got the better of us because you attacked them in public like an animal."

"And you won't let me do anything about that because you're scared that Jackie-wackie is gonna take your funding away. Speaking of that, though…"

"No."

"You really don't need me here. I could go do something else."

"No."

"Nobody would even know it was me."

"No."

"In and out. Quick little throat slit."

"No."

"She's a Faunus in Menagerie! People go randomly missing there all the time! I won't even torture her—well, maybe a little—"

"Glynda, you are to stay exactly where you are and do nothing," Ironwood ordered. "I am such thin ice now that I can see through it into the icy waters. We cannot allow any mistakes… or distractions. Do I make myself clear?"

Goodwitch groaned. "Fine. I'll be here. Standing in front of the giant, impenetrable door that will do all my work for me. That sounds like a great time."

"Perhaps you should use that time to reflect," Ironwood suggested, "on why you are in this predicament in the first place."

"Well, the signal here is garbage, so it's not like I have many other options."

Ironwood smirked. He had to admit: something about seeing Goodwitch dejected brought out the best of him. "I'm sure you will figure something out, Glynda. After all—"

The General's words were instantly cut short as the world around them was disrupted by a brilliant white light. The tremendous glow, brighter than the sun, burst from the window in a split second and vanished just as quickly, casting Ironwood's face in darkness. The room around him shook as the crack pushed its way through his spine, the desk, and the bookshelf, and flicked the roaring fire. Then, only a millisecond after the light, he heard the powerful crack of thunder that rattled his bones.

Ironwood fell forward, his face contorted into a fierce grimace. "By the Gods, what was—"

He couldn't get the words out before another bolt of lightning flew past his window, stronger than the fiercest winter storms. The thunder was deafening like a gunshot, and Ironwood's fury only grew with the intensity of the blast. From the computer screen, Goodwitch just grinned knowingly.

"Well, it looks like you have a lot on your plate, James. I best be going. Toodles!"

She hung up the call, leaving Ironwood stewing on his own. With a growl and thunderous footsteps of his own, he marched to the window, furious at the disruption. He knew there were no storm clouds in the sky, yet his gaze initially drifted upward to the heavens to confirm the weather was pure. Instead, he should have directed his anger down below, to the true source of his disruption. From his high perch in the tower, the courtyard of Atlas Academy was broad and its visitors barely more than specks. Yet, his keen gaze could make out four of them, sitting just below the tower. He could barely make out a patch of bright pink hair.

Vivian Jupitarian.

Nevan Jupitarian.

Luci Wyld.

Calaheart Luvcano.

The Crown JJWL of Beacon.

General Ironheart hadn't heard much positive from the supposedly violent Huntsmen upperclassmen since their initial meeting the previous month. If he recalled correctly, that meeting ended with him getting slapped in the face, a dishonor so great he had half a mind to expel the students on the spot. Ozpin told him not to worry about it, to allow him to monitor the progress of his own students. Still, Ironwood listened through the grapevine for reports on their behavior. He was thoroughly unimpressed. Several counts of truancy. Multiple instances of sneaking out past curfew. That was what he knew about. He could see now that while his attention was directed toward Team RWBY, they continued to get into trouble beyond his watch. As of now, the young, talented team was tearing up his courtyard, and all he could do was watch.

"Nah, you can do smaller," Vivian egged her teammate on. Calaheart, whose excessive brawn was only matched by her confidence, took one of her massive sledgehammers and jammed it into the floor. A large chunk of stone erupted from the courtyard, a craggy mess of polished tile and infertile soil beneath. Engraved on it, like so many of the other tiles that were spread across the yard, was a small nameplate, a brave higher-up in the Atlasian military who bravely served their Kingdom. Calaheart took her hammers and flattened the object into a smaller disc, no more than a foot across, but Vivian shook her head again. "Smaller."

"You're so full of it," Calaheart teased, but she complied with her leader's command. She flattened the hovering disc to half its length and a third of its thickness. Sitting off to the side, Nevan cheered on their sister, while Luci, uninterested, fed an owl that had come to perch on her leg.

"Lightning travels forever, ya idiot," Vivian said, puffing up her white, fur coat to show her dominance.

"I'm talking about seeing it," Calaheart stated. "You still need to aim."

"Like shit I do!" Vivian laughed. She hunched over, knuckles flickering with electricity, readying herself. "Come on. Fling it."

Calaheart shrugged her shoulders and pulled back both of her hammers. She stomped forward and smashed the disk as hard as she could. The metal flew upward in an arc, rising in an exponential curve through the sky, away and above and into the bright sky. It had to fly nearly completely beyond the bounds of Atlas Academy, no less than a star's sighted width, when Vivian finally unleashed herself. The lightning that flew from her fingertips came out in a wild, uneven wave, sparking through the sky and eclipsing all in its path in shadow. The energy that came out of her hands was enough to send a small shockwave through her spine, but she held her feet and her grin steady. When the lightning vanished, and the light returned to normal, Vivian was able to see a small pile of dust falling to the earth below.

Nevan clapped. "Beautiful, sister!"

"Haha! Told ya I could hit it!" Vivian cheered. Calaheart reluctantly, politely applauded her team leader's success, and Vivian stood up straight and gave a mock salute. "Rest in peace, Corporal Blah Whatever. Your sacrifice to Atlas has not been in vain. Yo, Luci, did you see that?"

Luci spoke dryly. "I'll be honest. I missed it."

"Boo. You have to watch!" Vivian playfully whined. "Watch this next one, or I'll throw your fucking bird up instead."

"It's a Northern Crested Owl," Luci said, not believing Viv's threat in the slightest. "It thinks you're too loud."

Vivian snickered. "Ha! Doesn't everyone? Okay, Cala, I think next time you can…" She stopped and narrowed her gaze toward something in the distance. Five security guards were rapidly approaching them, assault rifles in hand. "Uh oh. Fun police."

She shoved her hands into her coat pockets as the guards surrounded them, aiming their rifles at the unbothered students. "All of you, stop where you are! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Whoa, officers! Cool," Vivian said calmly. "We got permits to be here at this time."

"What are you talking about?" the officer asked.

"Permits! Oz gave them to us. Oh, they're in here somewhere…"

"There are no permits to use Semblances on school grounds."

"No, wait. Hang on. It's right here somewhere." Vivian smirked. "Oh, here it is!" She whipped her hands out of her pockets and showed her two middle fingers to the guards. That was likely the wrong move; the sudden display of movement with her hands after keeping them hidden triggered the officers, and the leading guard fired a shot at the floor in her general direction. That seemed to snap the others to attention, and they jumped up and threw up their hands. Vivian backpedaled from the bullet hole in the floor.

"Jeez! What the fuck, man? It was a fucking joke!"

"You four are coming with us," the officer said, stepping forward to take the students into his custody. "Now. Don't resist."

"Watch it, asshole. I know my rights. You can't—hey, not the hair!" The officer grabbed Vivian by a chunk of her pink hair and pulled on it, nearly yanking the lanky teen off her feet. Her teammates instantly reacted to the harsh treatment by bracing themselves for a fight, but there was little they could do. From high above in his tower, General Ironwood watched with scorn. He was glad that he wasn't the only one who had noticed their flagrant disregard for his authority, but the incident alone was enough to unsettle him. No one was allowed to make a mockery of his school, his Kingdom, or his power. He was going to need to have a long talk with Ozpin to ensure they were properly punished.

"What do you mean you don't want to punish them?"

Ironwood snarled like a rabid dog, but Ozpin just sipped from his mug like he usually did.

"I know what I said," Ozpin said gently. "Take a seat, James. You look like your blood pressure is up."

"They are running rampant!" Ironwood screamed, his voice taking up more space in Ozpin's cramped office. "They have damaged my property, threatened my staff, and made a complete mockery out of our rule. They should be given life sentences, not Huntsmen licenses."

Ozpin placed his mug on his desk and spoke thoughtfully. "James, do you remember the first time you met Professor Goodwitch? What did you think of her?"

"The same thing I think of her now," Ironwood stated. "Petty, reckless, and vengeful."

"Precisely. And if you recall, when you met the young Huntress, you told me I was insane for placing my trust in her. But then, what happened? I explained to you Professor Goodwitch's Semblance, and showed you her remarkable talents as well as her unshakeable loyalty. And now, all these years later, she's arguably the finest asset that we have ever produced."

"Except when she nearly costs me my standing."

"Which is outweighed by how she got you it in the first place," Ozpin reminded him. "You see, James, fundamentally, we are teachers. I know it's easy to get wrapped up in other ideals, but day-to-day, our goal is to nurture and grow the Huntsmen of the future. More specifically, it's to find the Huntsmen who can be of the most use to us, and prepare them for the tasks ahead. I have had my eye on Team JJWL for quite some time, long before I ever dreamt of Pyrrha Nikos attending Beacon. I believe, quite rightfully, that they—and Miss Jupitarian in particular—have more than enough ability to one day surpass Glynda herself. But, to do that, they need room to grow, and every plant grows right in different conditions. It's all about finding the right balance."

Ironwood scoffed, stroking at his chin.

"The right balance?" he asked ineffectively. "Those students need discipline. A lot of it."

"Discipline doesn't work too well on Miss Jupitarian. Trust me on that."

"No, no, you trust me," Ironwood insisted. "I have seen plenty of students like that brat before, thinking they can be the ones to flout the system without consequence. Do you know what we do to them to straighten them out? We punish them. Harsh, direct consequence, that's what it is. We don't play favorites. We set a standard and we hold them to it."

"Oh," Ozpin shrugged. "I suppose that's why Miss Polendina could sneak out of the Academy and get nothing more than a smack on the wrist." Ironwood opened his mouth to retort but found no answer. Ozpin just smiled at the brazen oafishness of his lifelong friend. "We all play favorites, James. Miss Polendina, Miss Jupitarian, Miss Nikos… they survive when others fail because we allow them to. I don't pretend that it's righteous—I acknowledge that it is necessary."

"How is it necessary to let that team violate my property?" Ironwood asked, exhausted. "I wouldn't allow Penny to do that. Not at all."

"Miss Jupitarian is a… troubled child," Ozpin explained carefully. "I don't quite know what happened in her home life, but I know that it instilled in her a terrible disrespect for those who look down on her. I think she views the Huntsmen's life as a sort of game, if you will. See, Penny is a Huntsman because of loyalty. Pyrrha fights because of her ambition. Vivian… well, she just thinks it's fun. After four years of watching her, and nurturing her, I've realized that if she doesn't find it fun anymore… she'll just leave. I'd rather not see the most talented Huntress in a generation walk out my front door."

"She has a lightning Semblance. What talent?"

"Have you not watched any of the tapes I sent you?"

"I'm not wasting my time."

"Well, that's unfortunate," Ozpin said, disappointed. However, an idea quickly struck him, and his smile grew. "You know what, James? Maybe it would help if I gave you a proper demonstration. Hype without substance doesn't really have the same impact. Would you mind summoning Miss Jupitarian to the office?"

General Ironwood could never know what his friend was planning. Ozpin's greatest asset was his inventiveness. He had honed his wisdom over the decades, and it was with some humility that Ironwood admitted that Ozpin was more often right than he was not. Yet, his track record in recent months had taken a downturn. Ever since his total miscalculation with Team RWBY, it had been one misstep after another. Goodwitch was excellent, he could have pointed out, but she wasn't here anymore. Recklessness, in any form, was the last thing they needed with Grimm at their doorstep and Jacques threatening to pull his funding. Then again, if there was one thing Ozpin had never failed at, it was his eye for talent. If these students were as good as he claimed them to be, could he truly risk losing them at such a crucial time?

He thought about Penny, what he would do to keep her as a Huntress—what he had done to keep her as a Huntress. Playing favorites was always something he could live with.

As Ironwood pulled out his Scroll and messaged his security team, he took a deep breath. "You better know what you're doing."

"You have such little faith. Just let me do the talking. Vivian doesn't seem to like you very much."

Minutes passed in silence. When Vivian entered the room, she looked past Ironwood's perpetual sneer and flashed Ozpin a charming smile. She didn't seem any worse for wear despite being roughed up by the guards, and if anything, the confrontation seemed to put more of a skip in her step.

"Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy," she sang, leaning over his desk as if he were an old friend. "The man wanted to speak to me?"

"Miss Jupitarian, I understand that you ran into some trouble with Academy security."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Look, I was practicing, yeah? They wouldn't let me use the shooting range for anything other than bullets or grenades, and it wasn't big enough anyway. Lightning doesn't work too well in an enclosed space surrounded by metal, know what I mean?"

"Is that what you'd call it? Practice?"

"Target practice, yeah."

"I see. And when you decided to skip the routine morning training on Monday?"

"Oh, I was sleepy," Vivian said, feigning a yawn. "I don't know how you can expect anyone to be a Huntress without a proper sleep. Humans need eight hours a night. I was just looking out for my health is all."

Ozpin held back a laugh. "Is there anything you would like to apologize for?"

"Getting caught," Vivian shrugged. "Look, Ozzy, I get your trying to enforce the rules and all that, but this place is a fucking bore. I'm not allowed to go anywhere off the Academy grounds, the food is shit, it's fucking cold all the time, I can barely breathe 'cause of the air, everyone's grouchy all the time, and the other students are the biggest stacks of wet cardboard I've ever seen. Nothing is exciting, you know? I'm not Team R-Wee-BY. I can't magically make interesting shit happen. You can't blame me for trying to pass the time."

"I understand your plight," Ozpin nodded, "but you still can't destroy the courtyard while you train, and you probably should have asked me permission first."

"Well, forgiveness is easier, right? And besides," Vivian side-eyed Ironwood, "some people around here are too uptight."

Ironwood held himself back per Ozpin's wishes, but it was harder than he anticipated. Sensing weakness, Ozpin kept up his end of the conversation.

"I understand that, too. Listen, Miss Jupitarian, the General and I were just discussing what to do in terms of punishment. Obviously, you wouldn't attend detention, and I don't want to overly distract you from your Huntsmen training. I also don't think you would like to pay for the damages to the property you ruined. I was wondering if, instead, you could help me with a different problem I've been having."

"A little quid pro quo?" Vivian checked her fingernails.

Ozpin leaned forward. "You're more than familiar with Pyrrha Nikos?"

Vivian's smile turned sour. "The prodigal twat? What of her?"

"You see," Ozpin explained, capturing both Vivian and Ironwood's intrigue. "Miss Nikos hasn't been doing so well lately. I'm not exactly sure what's come over her, but she has been stumbling in several areas of her studies. It's been quite disconcerting for us, considering how much we have invested in her success. I was thinking that instead of you facing detention, perhaps you could help steer Pyrrha on the right track."

"I ain't a tutor," Vivian protested. "And honestly, I don't have a stake in if she fails or not. Just less competition for Vytal."

"Oh, I don't want you to tutor her. Far from it."

"Give her a pep talk?"

"Not that either. You see, Pyrrha is a very… abstract learner. When she becomes focused on the task ahead of her, she's quite unstoppable. However, she gets distracted quite easily I'm afraid, and once her mind has shifted, it's difficult to return it to where it needs to be. What I want you to do is give her a nudge in the right direction. Remind her how important her training is."

"Right… and I do that by…"

Vivian leaned in close, and Ozpin uttered four words that caused her to break into hysterical laughter.

"No… no fucking way."

"I'm completely serious," Ozpin nodded, beaming with pride.

Vivian jumped back, barely able to stand still from her excitement. Ironwood stared at his friend in disbelief, shocked at his strategy for dealing with this mini-insurrection.

"Oz, I don't know if that's—"

"I accept!" Vivian said quickly. "Oh God, I accept! This is a dream, I tell ya. I take back everything I said about this place being a bore."

"Hold on one moment," Ironwood demanded, stopping Vivian's fun. "Is this really what we need right now?"

"These are my students, James," Ozpin reminded him. "I know what makes them tick. We've talked before about our Pyrrha problem. Why not kill a few birds with one stone?"

"In case you forgot the rules, Pyrrha will have to accept. What in the name of the Gods makes you think she'll agree to this?" Ironwood asked sternly.

"Oh, Miss Jupitarian is a creative individual," Ozpin noted. "I'm sure she will come up with something."

"I got ideas," Vivian bragged, giving Ironwood a cocky glance. "But, uh… they might involve more destruction of public property…"