The atmosphere in the examination room was thick with tension as the teens and Professor Gumo stared each other down. Behind the headmaster's helmet, his eyes were alight with flickering colors… and each of the eight organs was fixated upon a different student before him. The amount of data that the man managed to collect in a matter of seconds was staggering… though the heart rates, oxygen levels, and aura fluctuations he saw suggested something had occurred that certainly wasn't good.
"…Mr. Alistair," Professor Gumo said, his tone warm despite the uncomfortable air in the room. "You are quite out of place."
"Yes I am, Sir," Fox answered, both sounding and looking uncharacteristically tense. "I-I… I think I made a grave mistake…"
"I opened a portal to Summer," Raven began to explain, stepping between the faunus and her friend. "That's my Semblance. We had a… situation with another friend of ours I and began to collect our group from various places around Vacuo to deal with it. Fox accidentally followed us through the portal and… well…"
"…I overheard them all talking about things that sound potentially classified," Fox confessed, remaining behind Raven. "I don't know what's going on, but I heard talk about Summer being a Maiden, a Sword, Relics, and someone called Salem."
"You didn't have to…" Summer began softly, only to trail off as Professor Gumo raised his hand and approached. All of his eyes were trained on Fox, each alight with a different color. "Professor, please… it wasn't his fault. We should have noticed him before we started talking. It was our fault."
"I see no fault at all," Professor Gumo reassured as he lowered his hand while standing amid the crowd. "I see only an accident. One that may do quite a bit of damage, yes, but… I believe you when you say that none of this was intentional. Though I haven't known any of you for more than a few days, you have been incredibly forthcoming and committed to working through this problem. To scorn any of you now would be folly."
Taiyang let out a sigh of relief, his knees slightly weak.
"Thank you for being reasonable and straightforward with us. We're used to dealing with… uh… more evasive and sometimes unhelpful people…"
"This is still going to take work to resolve, regardless of my understanding approach to the situation," Professor Gumo warned. "Do not mistake compassion and empathy for having a solution. Professor Ozpin isn't going to like this."
"Isn't going to like what?" Professor Calavera asked as she entered the room. "I still can't get through to him- his office, private line, anything. That isn't a good sign, and neither is this."
"Fox knows everything," Qrow said quickly. "Or at least, he's heard enough to need to know everything."
"Fox?" Professor Calavera scanned the room, eventually settling upon the correct teen. "Right. How did…?"
"Unimportant," Professor Gumo dismissed with a wave of his hand. "What matters now is our next steps. As Headmaster of Shade Academy… I believe it is my burden to fully inform Mr. Alistair of what is going on. Maria, I will leave your students to you, for the time being. Come."
Fox flinched as he felt Professor Gumo's hand upon his shoulder. With a shiver, he nodded and began to follow the man out of the room… though he had no frame of reference as to where they were headed. Fox had never been in the examination room before, nor did he know the layout of the deepest levels of Shade Academy. His trepidation was obvious enough on his face that Kali cleared her throat to catch his attention.
"Professor Gumo, can I come with you?" the faunus girl asked. "I can fill in some gaps in terms of what's already happened at Beacon. Could be helpful in getting Fox up to speed."
The duo stopped to consider Kali. Fox gave her a pleading look, while Professor Gumo saw right through her… quite literally.
"…Miss Moonglove, you have no reason to worry," the headmaster reassured. "I have no intention of 'coming down' on him, or Team BASS in general. That being said, perhaps you're right… and if it would make you feel better to be there for the explanation I now need to give him and his team, then by all means, accompany us."
"Sure thing," Kali replied as she took Fox's hand. She spoke in a hushed voice, leaning close to his ear as they left the room together. "Got your back."
"Thank you…" Fox returned, looking at least somewhat relieved.
Professor Calavera waited until the metallic door once again slid closed before turning her attention back to the remaining members of STRQ, OKRA, and Willow. Her tone was far less comforting than that of her colleague as she spoke, staring down Summer in particular.
"…how could you let this happen? What were all of you thinking?"
Summer shrank down a bit, and Willow stepped in to defend her.
"Hey! None of us planned for this! Things are… they're hectic at the moment, a-and w-"
"Do you think that's a valid excuse?" Professor Calavera interrupted furiously. "That you can simply relax your guard when things get difficult? STRQ was chosen by Professor Ozpin to be the inheritors of a great and terrible burden, and you have already failed to keep it secret from OKRA, Willow, and now, an international team that you've known for a matter of days is in on it as well! We had the makings of a plan! Things were progressing smoothly in this direction, but you have to follow protocol! Team BASS is still a largely unknown entity to your headmaster and I!"
"None of us wanted this!" Roman yelled, exasperated. "We just didn't notice Fox! Isn't having more allies against this Salem woman better?"
"None of you even know who and what Salem is!" Professor Calavera roared. "Summer somehow gleaned the name from her visions, but beyond that, you're clueless!"
"And why is that still true?" Qrow pressed. "What do you mean what she is?"
Professor Calavera turned and fixed Qrow with a look so venomous that he actually took a step back in fear.
"You are not ready," the woman warned. "You have no idea what you're up against, or what's going to be asked of you in the future. Whatever stress, whatever pressure you've felt in your time at Beacon… when Salem makes herself known, all of it will count for nothing. She commands the grimm- all of them- with her very thoughts… and that is merely the tip of the iceberg. The very knowledge of her true nature would be enough to shake most people to their core, and if anyone in the loop lets it slip in public… widespread panic could ensue."
"Then we'll make sure none of them do talk," Raven assured. "We'll impress upon them how serious this is, but to do so… they may need to know everything we do."
"And what do you know?" Professor Calavera asked. "What have you managed to figure out thus far? What were you all doing jumping around Vacuo in portals that brought us to this point? You were supposed to be at the beach house."
Raven and Qrow looked at each other before Raven spoke up once again.
"Professor… we have some bad news. Sienna Khan did come to the beach house while you were away. She attacked us, and then just… stopped. She said she was testing us… and she told us that Salem is currently on the mountaintop occupied by Those Above All, working to take possession of the remains of our clan."
It was Professor Calavera's turn to look suddenly shocked. There was a ripple effect across the assembled hunters in the room as they watched her confidence shatter for the first time.
"…she's on the move?" the woman asked, her voice almost wavering. "You are certain?"
"We're not there ourselves," Qrow pointed out. "But Sienna Khan has never been one to mince words or lie. Why do you look like you think we've already lost… whatever all this is? It's a war, right? We're going to war with this woman?"
"Woman is a stretch, at this point," Professor Calavera replied as she slowly began to regain her composure. "And yes, it is indeed a war, thus far in the shadows. Whatever she is planning, we need to nip it in the bud immediately. Professor Ozpin needs to be informed of this, as well as the current situation surrounding Team BASS, Summer's recent developments, and Professor Gumo's involvement. What else could possibly go wrong while we're here?"
"…Adam… left," Bartholomew contributed. "He's off on an expedition with the Oaks family. That's why we all gathered, to determine what to do about him. He left in a huff and is refusing to answer our calls."
Professor Calavera closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, looking rather annoyed as she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"…he's acting impulsively, letting his emotions seize control of his judgement yet again. What is it about this time?"
"It's a bit of a long story," Taiyang offered. "He's… not thinking straight."
"I can see that," Professor Calavera answered as she gave Taiyang a frown. "The last thing we need is another incident like the one with the weapon mod thieves."
"…you know about that?" Summer asked, her voice wavering slightly. "And what he did…?"
"I know about far more than you might imagine," Professor Calavera. "There are eyes everywhere in Vale… and there is precious little any of you have done that Professor Ozpin and I aren't already aware of."
Fox had never felt quite so low as he walked along deep beneath the earth, his hand firmly clasped to that of a faunus that he barely knew. Were it not for Kali's presence, he might have actually tried to just run… and that mental admission only made him feel worse about himself. He knew that the information he had been privy to came as the result of an honest mistake, but even so, he didn't like being responsible for causing hardship… especially for his own team. It seemed inevitable that they, too, would be drawn into whatever he had stumbled upon, and some of them wouldn't take it particularly well.
"Professor… I'm sorry," Fox said quietly. "Truly. I don't want the rest of my team to get into hot water over this. I should've been more careful. Maybe thought before I just followed everyone through the portal… or even just asked…"
Professor Gumo looked over his shoulder as he continued to walk, his visor obscuring his expression.
"Young man, did you even know a portal was there before you went through it?"
"I… no, I didn't," Fox admitted. "I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. I just felt people all going in one direction and it didn't really register that their auras were blinking out…"
"Stop being so hard on yourself," Kali advised as she gave his hand a squeeze. "You seem like a fun, spirited guy who really cares about the people around them… but if this is what you're like with the mask off, then I get it. I'm kinda the same way. You're not giving yourself enough wiggle room. I don't think anyone here is upset with you… except maybe Professor Calavera."
"I will handle her," Professor Gumo reassured as he turned his attention back to the hallway ahead. "Miss Moonglove is quite right, though- you have overcome much as a hunter in one short year, Fox. One misstep is hardly worthy of sullying your reputation with me, and again, I do not see you as being at fault. If anything, STRQ and OKRA are to blame for not thinking to stop you… but even that sounds unreasonable to me."
"Why don't you sound bothered at all by any of this, though?" Kali dared to ask. "I mean, I get it- it was a simple accident, but it's almost like you're… fine with how things are playing out."
"…you're quite observant," Professor Gumo said with a smirk as he opened one of the many hidden doors leading into his office and held it open for the pair. "Team BASS is… something special, already. Highest ranked in confirmed grimm kills among first year classes, and quite eager to do… extracurricular work."
"…I have no idea what you're talking about," Fox said hurriedly as he and Kali entered the office. "We're good little boys are girls."
"Are you?" the headmaster asked as he followed them in and closed the door behind himself. "That's going to have to change, if we're to include you in the fight against Salem. If any team here at Shade should be involved, it is yours… and I'm somewhat pleased to have an excuse to pull you in. That being said, we're going to need to work on your ability to lie, young man. Let us begin by going over the basics…"
Author's Note:
Next time- some info on Salem in this universe…
-RD