Aight so before you shoot, hold on XD. Firstly, I wanna say thank you all for being so patient with me and getting me to over 450 Favourites and 550 Followers! Second, apologies again for the long wait, just been going through some stuff that's admittedly been affecting my confidence. To make up for that, the next two chapters have already been completed and will be coming out shortly after! This chapter especially is gonna drop a LOT of bombs, so look out for that.
And finally, to those who read this on a laptop or can somehow see the cover-image in your phone (I'm still not able to unfortunately), we've got BRAND NEW COVER-ART! The artist has chosen to remain anonymous, but the epic piece is in fact done by the same person who did the cover for my BNHA story!
That being said, I won't bore you any longer: let's hop back into it!
Fighting Rose
Chapter 32
Meetings
While SSSN's fight against the all-female Team NDGO was nothing short of hilarious, with the former being forced to work around Neptune (of all people) being hydrophobic, there was this uncomfortable undertone in the air throughout all of it. She and the rest of her team managed to catch a few mutters regarding Sun himself, none particularly good.
"He one of the Fang?"
"Should a Faunus even be here?"
"After those damned terrorists ripped up Vale, you'd think that they'd be smarter about letting animals in."
Ruby's fingers pierced through the armrest as she ground her teeth and forced herself to block it out, trying to rationalize the whole thing. After the Vale-Incident, it made sense that Anti-Faunus sentiment rose and had remained consistently high the entire time since. Nobody really knew about the conditions that the Fangs who participated in went through. The news hadn't exactly helped with that either. There was a flash of something from the crowd being thrown into the arena itself, shattering and sputtering against the shielding with a distinctly foul smell. Even as he was dragged out of his seat by security, not a single person spoke up against it.
"I knew it'd be bad, but…" Blake said in a small voice, suddenly extremely aware of how her top-ears moved in her bow and curling in on herself.
"Ignore it, at least for now," Yang said softly, a reassuring touch on her hand, "As far as everyone here is concerned, you're human."
"The fact that this is the case at all is… alarming," Weiss muttered.
"Like Yang said," Ruby spoke up, "The best we can do is ignore it. If someone tries to pull anything physical, then and only then do we step in."
With their silent agreement in place, they still managed to enjoy the match overall, Weiss bursting into laughter as Neptune tiptoed to the edge of the water and electrocuted the remaining members of Team NDGO with his trident. As they celebrated, Ruby felt the negativity surrounding her banished as Sun stopped goofily dancing to search for her in the crowd, his eyes locking with her as he shot a beaming smile her way.
"They're quite the goofballs, aren't they?" Weiss said wryly as she lightly nudged Ruby in the arm, grinning as Ruby's cheeks went from pink to red, though she never lost her smile.
"Absolute dorks, all of them," Ruby said.
The sound of an airship flying overhead naturally drew everyone's attention upwards, Weiss' jaw dropping as she saw the sleek design, the Atlan Military Symbol and a unique snowflake embroidered on the flowing blue flags connected to each wing. Yang, Blake and Ruby couldn't help but stare at Weiss in surprise: it was rare to see her get so emotional in the first place, but to watch and feel the utter excitement and joy leaping forward from her features and soul was odd.
"She's here…!"
With that, Weiss practically lost all composure and took off after it, the rest of the team standing there in shock.
"Should we…?" Yang started.
"I think we should," Blake agreed.
"So we shall!" Ruby announced, "Team RWBY (minus the Weiss), follow Weiss!"
Right before they took off, she shyly smiled and waved to Sun, her heart leaping at his pinking cheeks and his hand going up to his ear, thumb and pinkie extended to say 'Call me when you're done.' That she would definitely do.
}-{
"God, I don't think I've ever seen Weiss move this fast!" Yang gasped as they made their way to Beacon's airport-zone, not too far behind Weiss but actually struggling to keep up. Even Ruby was shocked at how much effort she had to pour into using her Semblance and muscular augmentation in order to keep pace, all three of them thankful as they slowed down in time to reach Weiss.
"Weiss, are you-?" Ruby started.
"I shouldn't have run that fast, she might tell me I'm making a fool of myself," Weiss muttered rapid-fire as she began to bite on her thumbnail, "Make sure my clothes are in order, nails are clean and hair is in place..."
A pang of worry flashed across Ruby's face: for Weiss of all people to be so excited in one moment before degrading to an almost panicking state… both Blake and Yang also took notice of this and tensed up, equal parts worried and protective. They didn't wait long as the door to the airship opened and out stepped a woman who captured the eyes of all who could see her. White hair tinged an icy-blue was done up in a neat and professional bun, frigid blue eyes almost the same colour set in a sharp yet beautiful face so similar to Weiss, it was quite clear who this was. The High-Grade Atlan Sicario androids flanking her sides only seemed to accentuate the badge of office proudly displayed on her uniform, a polished silver 'I' with a detailed skull in the middle.
'Most people know them as Specialists,' Blake thought, on edge as she easily recognized the symbol, 'But to think that Weiss' sister is an Inquisitor…!'
"I am honoured in your presence, dear sister." Weiss said, her tone suddenly far more formal.
"Weiss," Winter's voice was flat, though there was a slight softening of her eyes that betrayed just the sliver of happiness that slipped through. That was enough to tip Ruby off, and judging's by Blake's eyebrows going up, her as well. "Beacon's air is… strange. Different to Atlas."
"And what might that difference be, sister?"
"…less discipline," Winter said bluntly before looking at Weiss again. "It is… good to see you again. You and your Teammates." Again, that little slip.
"Of course, how rude of me," Weiss said, "Sister, my Teammates Yang and Blake."
"Yo," Yang said flatly.
"Hello," Blake greeted a bit more warmly, though she too remained cautious.
"And my Team-leader…" The tension between RBY and Winter finally seemed to register to her, and she began to get nervous, "…Ruby Rose."
It was at this that Winter took on step forward, eyes narrowing as she examined Ruby, the latter staying silent and not flinching in the slightest.
"So you're the team-leader that Weiss talks about so much," Winter said after a moment, "…your performance against an entire Team looked impressive… but too flashy. Sloppy."
"Flashy was the point, Winter Schnee," Ruby bit back, her face equally as deadpanned. "Negativity's been at a high since the Vale-Incident, and I'm part of the reason behind that. I was flashy and cocky because firstly, I have to be: people will grasp onto any perceived weakness and stretch it as much as they can, and during times like these, that's the last thing people need. Second…" Ruby's stoic face morphed into a shit-eating grin, utter confidence radiating from her as she put her hands in her pockets and raised a brow. "I damn-well deserve to act cocky. What's a military-girl with daddy-issues compared to my almost unmatched ability to kick ass, Grimm or otherwise?"
Weiss gaped in horror at Ruby's open provocations while Yang and Blake smirked as Winter's eyebrows went up in surprise, tension thick in the air… right up until Winter's eyes darted around as if to ensure nobody was watching before she quickly looked away and covered her mouth with her gloved hand, a sharp snort poorly covered up as her body lightly shook. It was just for a moment, but it was unmistakable: she just laughed.
"…it is good to see that you've surrounded yourself with a wide range of people, and certainly not completely foolish ones," Winter said, her tone far more relaxed, "Though correct me if I'm wrong, is Miss Blake not the daughter to-?"
*CHKCHK-SHHHK-CHG*
"I'm gonna ask you to stop right about there princess," Yang growled as Ember Celica had been unfolded in the blink of an eye, as had Beowulf, and most shockingly was Myrtenaster partially drawn but firmly gripped as they stood protectively in front of Blake.
"I concur," Weiss said firmly, "For the sake of Blake's safety, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from talking about that any further. If you please."
It was here that Winter actually smiled, still stiff and icy in appearance, but the team could feel the genuine warmth behind it.
"… it pleases me that much more that you've found genuine friends Weiss," She said simply, "Come, walk with me. It's clear we have much to discuss and more to catch up on sister."
It was here that Ruby understood: Weiss just really looked up to Winter. It wasn't hard to see why: the elder sister was stunning in her appearance, elegant in her mannerisms and graceful with her words, yet there was this unmissable sort of relaxation to all of them that spoke of a heavy burden being absent.
'No, not relaxed…' Ruby realized, '…freedom.'
Something about the realization made her pause, startled.
"Ruby, you good?" Yang asked with a raised brow.
Ruby blinked, the thought suddenly fleeing her mind and leaving her grasping at it fruitlessly.
"Y-yeah, yeah I'm fine," She said. She meant it too, not frustrated at the vanished thought but curious as to what it meant for her. Storing the thought away for the time being, she caught back up with the group and was content with listening to Weiss and Winter's back-and-forth. '…it's nice to see that everything's been relatively peaceful today,' She hummed happily to herself.
She made the critical error of assuming that there would ever be a truly peaceful day in a world like this. Almost at the doors to the front Beacon itself, the scraping and tearing of metal sent the group to a grinding halt as they turned around on guard, seeing the destroyed forms of the Atlan Sicario on the floor.
"Hey, Ice Queen!"
Ruby and Yang's brows shot up before massive smiles lit their faces up as they recognized just who did the destroying.
"Qrow…"
Weiss, initially ready to step in at her most hated nickname, paused at the sudden spike of Winter's aura. There was annoyance in there, certainly, but there was something else within it that Weiss had felt numerous times from Ruby, Yang, and more recently herself. Anticipation, excitement, the thrill of a fight.
"Figured you were in town, no thanks to that gaudy ship of yours," He scoffed.
"And just like my ship, those Sicario units were Atlan Military property," She snipped back, though the slight uptick at the corner of her mouth showed that she was enjoying this.
"Bah, you Inquisitors are all the same," He drawled, "Thinkin' you can make anythin' your business."
"It's kind of in the title Qrow," She said with an eyeroll before something in her tone turned dangerous, "And you should know that my title comes with unlimited authority. Unlike my patience."
Qrow snickered as he stumbled a bit to the side, an eyebrow going up.
"Authority? Didn't seem like you had any when we were-!"
The blast of wind that slammed into the team almost blinded them from Winter's sudden movement, the woman having closed the distance in an instant to thrust her exquisite sabre right at Qrow's head in a flash of silver. He grinned as he barely leaned his head to the side, the blade whiffing by his cheek over and over while he continued to dodge in an almost casual manner, bowing as she slashed at his head before she brought her blade down on his exposed back in one smooth motion.
*CLANG*
Her blade bounced off the perfectly placed flat of Qrow's own sword, a wide Buster-type blade that served well enough as a shield as he deftly pivoted away and easily drew it with one hand. His stance was loose, unguarded, almost silly while hers was upright and professional, but with they way they cheekily tried to slap their respective blades aside, it was clear that both were being equally playful. Qrow was the first to step in and use his greater brute strength to smash her sabre out of the way, hounding her backwards with seemingly wild cuts that were all aimed at vital areas, all cuts missing as Winter expertly timed backflip after backflip to perfectly dodge each and every attack he sent her way. He quickly adapted and stepped in hard, cutting diagonally up right at her static midsection only for her to land on her feet and block the blow head-on, her wrists visibly trembling but her little grin never wavering.
"Yang, Ruby, you know this ruffian!?" Weiss asked as she watched the duel in awe.
"Know him? Weiss, that's our awesome uncle!" Ruby shouted in excitement, "Kick her butt uncle Qrooow!"
"Yeah, show her how it's done!" Yang cheered.
"Wh-! T-teach him some respect Winter!" Weiss cried out.
"…but she attacked first though," Blake pointed out.
"Shut up, not helping!"
Qrow flipped clean over Winter's flurry of stabs, chuckling as he twirled one of her bangs in his fingers before landing behind her, only to glance down in surprise at the glyphs binding his ankles.
"YAAH!"
*CLANG*
The handguard of Winter's sabre cracked Qrow across the temple, everyone watching flinching as his body slumped slightly… right up until it didn't. His head whipped around with a fierce grin on his face, Ruby and Yang noticing the sudden glow in his dull red eyes and aura as he raised his sword. Yang's brows shot up as she felt something familiar emanate from him, and from his back, his bursting aura seemed to coalesce into a pair of great winged arms, taloned hands grasping whatever space was left on the handle before slamming it down. The blade went clean through the stone without a sound, Qrow's feet literally lifted from the floor by the force of the swing.
"Predictable as ever Qrow," Winter said, smirking as she got right up in his face before placing a hand on his chest, a glyph flashing to life and blasting him away through a light pole in a crash of metal.
'She just sidestepped that so casually!?' Blake thought, 'And those wings… they felt kind of like…?' Her eyes met Yang's, and they both nodded in agreement. 'That power felt like Yang's Black Sun!'
From the dust, Qrow launched himself even harder at Winter as if he'd never taken damage, his eyes wide and practically vibrating in his skull while his grin threatened to split his face as every swing of his hunk of steel turned into a terrifying blur. Through it all, Winter stood toe to toe with him, never retreating but strategically giving ground while her wrist twisted and flicked out to bite into his body while also parrying his swings off to the side. Though she seemed more refined, her expression was almost an exact copy of his. It was every time that a flicker of those phantasmal wings appeared though, that Yang felt her blood begin to run hot in her veins. Her muscles began to tense up, her breathing quickening, fists clenched and teeth grinding. She wanted to leap in, to throw herself into the fight than for no other reason than for the fight itself, to feel her blood burn and flow from countless wounds as she delivered just as good as she got, to sink her teeth into-
*CRUNCH*
She was ripped from her trance as a stray chunk of stone the size of her torso was flung at her faster than she could defend, only for a meaty, muscular hand to catch and crush it with ease. The aura of this man was that of an unmoving wall, the boiling in Yang's blood and mind silenced by his overwhelming yet calm presence.
"Please move backwards to ensure your safety," a deep, almost monotone voice said, "It would be extremely unwise to continue standing close to an area that is currently being occupied by two destructive combatants."
The voice belonged to a very muscular and broad man, wearing a light-grey polo-shirt under a pair of mustard-yellow overalls. His stern features were extremely masculine, almost militaristic with short white hair with a slight widows-peak, a very straight jawline, large nose, a neat 'friendly mutton-chops' beard and deep dark eyes under lightly pinched eyebrows. Even more intimidating was his height, easily up to ten feet tall. Though, his features somewhat softened as he ensured that Yang and the rest of the team was alright before moving once more, far too fast for a man his size and bulk, easily defending others from the stray debris all while quickly fixing whatever was destroyed so perfectly it looked as if nothing had happened. The one who was most struck by his appearance however was none other than Weiss, confusion and wonder on her face as if she's just experienced something familiar but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Regardless, it was quickly forgotten at the spectacle that was Qrow and Winter still battling it out while the extremely large man quickly tidied up after them.
"COME GET SOME!" Qrow cackled as he stepped in and smashed his blade into her guard hard, a clap of sound following Winter being flung back, her hasty defence unable to deal with the sudden raw power he produced. She barely managed to maintain her footing, but managed she did, her fingers pointing at him even as she slid back and forming a cage of wing-engraved glyphs around him.
"You first!" She shouted with a grin of her own, Qrow forced to block as a torrent of juvenile Nevermore pelted him from all sides at bullet-speeds, the hale of talons swift enough to tear through armour in a few moments. The flat of his sword and his auric wings provided cover enough, but Winter's attack was clearly wearing him down -
"Now that's more like it!" He laughed as his wings billowed out and shattered the glyphs surrounding him, a cheeky grin on his face as he dusted himself off. "We both know you can do a good deal more than that, can't you?"
"Don't write a check…" Winter rose to the taunt with one of her own, a propulsion-glyph forming behind her as she crouched down, more glyphs circling around her blade as she prepared to blast forward, "THAT YOUR ASS CAN'T CASH!"
"COME AND TRY IT!" Qrow roared back, the mechanisms on his scythe whirring and clanking noisily as it began to transform into something curved. His eyes were blazing now, the auric wings and talons entirely opaque as they flared proudly behind him. Winter didn't give him the chance to finish, blasting forward once again, barely visible even to the trained eye while Qrow laughed as he swung his half-transformed weapon.
"Alright, enough o' that!"
"Agreed brother."
There was no shriek of steel on steel, only a dull but deep thud and a gust of air gently washing over everyone watching as two giants managed to stop Qrow and winter from clashing, the white-haired one gripping the blade of Qrow's weapon with ease while the red-haired one held a palm out in front of the tip of Winter's body, purple and bluish light surrounding it and stopping her in place. In the very middle stood Diodes and Altria, the former obstructing Qrow's weapon from further transforming while the latter held the point of Winter's blade between two fingers.
"Seriously," Markus groused, "Learn to get a room or something, the last thing we need is for you to start screwing around in the middle of the courtyard."
"Their actions have nothing to do with screws brother," Door said, his voice a rumble as he raised a brow, "If we are to look into it further, their rampant destruction is the exact opposite of - "
"Metaphor, Door," Diodes groaned, "It was a metaphor."
"No," Door droned, as if to refuse the notion.
"Ah, it seems as if we've gotten ahead of ourselves," Winter said, sheathing her blade and bowing at the giants, "It is an honour to meet you, Lord D - Door. Lady Altria, Lord Diodes. You as well… Markus."
"What, so they get the 'Lord' treatment but I don't? I call bull on that."
"We both know very well why that isn't the case, regardless of whether your allegiance has been brought back to the right side of things," Winter drawled, a playful grin on her face. "But regardless, it's not every day you get to meet one of his sons, at least in a setting where you're in the middle of a battlefield."
"Well Winter, you did just start a fight in the middle of a civilian populated zone," A voice said from not too far-off, Winter's face turning red as she quickly snapped around and took a knee, her hands over her chest with her fingers splayed out and thumbs interlocked as if to create the image of some kind of two-headed bird.
"L-lord Inquisitor Ironwood, Sir!" Winter exclaimed, "Qrow was the one who started the altercation!"
"Hey, she attacked first," Qrow said, "And all I was tryin' to do was make some small-talk and exchange some pleasantries."
"Don't you even start Qrow," Ironwood sighed, though there was an easy-going grin on his face as he clasped hands with him and the giant man. "It's good to see that you and Lord Door are alright."
"Thank you for your concern," Door said politely, "But Qrow and I are considerably stronger than regular civilians."
"Everybody knows that Door," Altria said as she pat him on his bulky forearm, "And we love you for it."
"Thank you."
The entirety of team RWBY could only watch from a distance as they conversed, all of them able to feel the collective might casually radiating from the group of adults and trembling from the sensation of it. This was a meeting of some of the most powerful beings on the planet, right before their eyes, talking as if it was a lunchbreak.
"Talk about cool," Ruby muttered, goosebumps breaking out on her skin.
"I know right?"
Ruby almost leapt out of her skin as Jaune seemed to appear right next to her, though she hid her reaction well enough… at least from him, if Yang's snickers was anything to go by.
"So these are your uncles then," Ruby said, "They're… really strong. Hell, seems like everyone in your family can put up a hell of a fight."
"You think so?" He snorted, though she could feel the flare of anger from him.
"…to be fair, seems like you're not exactly the same dweeb who walked into Beacon," She said with a light-hearted grin, elbowing him in the side, "You can count yourself in as a genuine badass now. I mean hey, you won your match right?"
"Y-yeah, I did."
"I figured you would," She said earnestly, "You've grown a lot and fought things nobody our age should be fighting." She smiled as he felt the surprise and joy light up in him and she laughed as she pat him on the back. "Don't let it go to your head, we've still got work to do."
"Heh, fair enough," He chuckled before nodding grateful at Ruby, "Thanks anyway. Speaking of which, hey Uncle Door!"
"Heya uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang likewise greeted by launching themselves at him.
"Boy," The burly man said as he towered over his nephew, the fortress-like aura he exuded just a touch softer, same with his stone-like features, "It is good to see you so healthy. Judging by the manner in which you stand, the capacity of your aura and how your musculature has better-filled out your Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, you've evidently become considerably stronger."
"It helps that I've had a hell of a slave-driver keeping me motivated."
"…This young lady here is a-?"
"Metaphor uncle."
"No."
"Hey kiddos," Qrow laughed as he easily held up both of them, "Geez, both o' you are puttin' on some real muscle. Glad to see my favourite gals are doin' so well."
"We learned from the best!" Ruby laughed, "At least when you aren't blackout drunk."
"Hey, I'm not that drunk all the time," He groaned. "Still, Oz sent me some clips of your fights and I gotta say, you're only going up. Besides, didn't really need to teach you that much, you're both born fighters like your old man."
"You know these guns only get better with time," Yang chuckled before she set herself down, "Hey, Uncle Qrow… that thing where you brought out those wings of yours… that wasn't your semblance."
Qrow seemed to sober up in an instant, a look of shock on his face before he turned a bit sad.
"Oh… your mother spoke with you not too long ago, right?"
There was a pang of pain in her chest, but Ruby's gentle hand on her shoulder and soft nod kept her going.
"…Yeah. It's… it's related to that, isn't it?"
"…yeah. We'll talk about it as soon as we can and as soon as you're ready. Pinky-promise?"
Yang couldn't help as she let out a shaky breath of relief. Finally, some answers. She could forgive dad for wanting to remain tight-lipped about it, but she needed answers to whatever was boiling in her blood.
"Pinky promise," Yang sighed, considerably more relaxed. Come to think of it, she realized that whenever Jaune's stone-faced uncle was around, the heat in her veins dissipated entirely.
"Now-now ladies and gentlemen," Ozpin's voice got everyone's attention, "There is a sanctioned fight about to happen in the coliseum with much better seats. And popcorn." While Glynda was quick to sharply break up the crowd, Ozpin turned to face the gathering of Remnant's finest, a far more serious look on his face. "Now that we are all here, we should start the meeting immediately."
"Agreed," Door nodded, "Come brothers."
"Yeah-yeah, might as well get this over with," Markus sighed.
"Right Oz, lead the way," Diodes agreed, the group following after the headmaster of Beacon, the very appearance of them leaving the people in their wake awed.
"…talk about a hell of an impression," Blake muttered, the hairs on the back of her neck slowly going down before she took a glance at Weiss, the girl still in a state of surprise and recognition. "Weiss? You okay?"
She snapped out of her reverie, blinking a few times.
"Y-yes, just… that man, Door…"
"You recognise him?" Ruby asked, surprised.
"…I think so? It's just that…" She struggled for a moment to find the words, "He… felt like my father."
}-{
"I understand that it's been some time since we've last convened," Ozpin spoke as he sat down at the head of a massive round table situated in the centre of his office, some of Remnant's most powerful people sitting around it in appropriately-sized chairs, "But there are more pressing matters at hand."
"Aye," Altria nodded, "Qrow, Door, spare no detail."
"Yeah, it's worse than we thought," Qrow confirmed gravely, "The Traitor Astartes are all riled up, Chaos Champions and Lords are gathering their forces, and that's nothing to say about the Grimm, Daemons and Demons they've got on their side. It's subtle, but they're wiping out isolated settlements in Vacuo making it look like there was nothing there to begin with. Hundreds of thousands more slaves, sacrifices and potential cultists to add to their forces. We won't even get into the rogue hunters who've joined them."
"And from what we've gathered," Door spoke, "It's being led by two of the most dangerous ."
"Che'," Markus kissed his teeth, a scowl on his face, "So they're really putting all their eggs into one basket for this one, eh? We'll crush those two lacklustre fools and send them screaming back to hell."
"And yet those 'fools' were in part responsible for taking down one of our best opportunities at ending this war for good," Door said gravely, the mood in the room dropping even further. Qrow especially was incensed, teeth audibly grinding and his fingers slowly piercing holes into the chair's armrests before Winter managed to calm him down.
"…Summer…" Ozpin started after a moment, "…Is not dead, as far as we are aware. Simply out of action and missing for the time being. It would be unwise to rely on her, but we equally cannot count her out of the picture just yet. That said, thank you for this information, this only confirms that something much bigger is being planned here: a war on two fronts."
"Erebus has been captured," Ironwood announced, much to the shock of Qrow, Markus and Door, "And we currently have him restrained to the highest degree and under surveillance 24/7."
"That bastard is HERE?!" Markus screeched, "What's more, why the FUCK haven't you killed him yet!? That little rat is one of the main REASONS that Horus betrayed the Emperor! Hell, he's practically RESPONSIBLE for the state of the world right now, regardless of how diminished his role is nowadays!"
"I was there when he was 'captured' and understood that killing him in front of people would've raised too many questions," Diodes said, his own face twisted with rage. "But I agree with Markus. The mere presence of that little shite is a really bad sign. I wouldn't trust a damn word that comes out of his mouth, so we should honestly just get rid of him while we have the chance."
"Agreed," Door rumbled, the very air around the trio of superhumans trembling with fury.
"He will be made to tell the truth," Ozpin's voice cut through the anger with a cold, matter-of-fact tone, "I will personally see to it myself. But that is not the worst of the issues: there are agents on the inside acting as students."
"…You've got to be joking," Qrow groaned.
"And you cannot apprehend them without people asking questions at best," Altria concluded, "And at worst, accusations of political tampering. All action leads to the further imbalance of people's emotions, which is one of the last things we need right now."
"Correct." He pressed a button on the table, showing three holographic images of the spies in question, "Emerald Sustrai, has criminal records for stealing. Supposedly has no semblance. Mercury Black, son of Marcus Black and is currently one of the most powerful assassins in the world. His semblance was stolen from him and as such as developed an extremely violent pseudo-semblance. Finally, and the most important of the three… Cinder Fall.
"Her application to Haven Academy was extremely barebones, and the same can be said with her performance in class. However, she was responsible for the crippling of the Fall Maiden and stealing half her power. She's already a combatant that we cannot afford to treat lightly, and any action against her may result in the destruction of Beacon itself regardless of whether we win or not."
"…Damn," Markus hissed, "So they're planning on starting something big enough at people that it draws the attention of the world, and Chaos can strike at Vacuo first."
"That is my train of thought as well," Ozpin agreed, "I have already spoken with the Headmaster of Vacuo and they have subtly redirected military and Hunter attention to the North when the attack comes. Of course, the Relic of Destruction and Reformation has been doubly secured."
"I have already contacted Commander Gunhildr of the Valic militia," Winter spoke up, "Though their presence won't be noticeable they're already doing checks on Vale as we speak. There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary aside from the usual influx of people wanting to see the Tournament."
"How exactly did you get the militia to listen to you?" Altria asked.
"Jean is a good friend of mine Lady Altria," Winter said with a smile, "I may not have any real authority over the Valic military branch, but she knows when something serious is going on."
"That is good then," Altria smiled back, "Having reliable companions are always a boon in one's time of need."
As if by instinct, Altria and Diodes' hands intertwined, both of them sharing soft but beaming smiles at the other as subtly as they could.
"We know you're holding hands under the table," Markus rolled his eyes as the aforementioned couple turned red, "Honestly, it's like you two are teenagers sometimes."
"Brother, Altria and Diodes are not – " Door started.
"We know Dorn," Markus groaned, trying to massage his own face with his palms before huffing, "…anywaaay, I've peered into the Immaterium to almost no success. Aside from the obvious undercurrent of negativity that's been centring around Vale and the Black Manor, trying to predict anything has been a mess. I'm guessing it's the same for you as well Oz?"
"Indeed," He confirmed. "But there's no point in delving on the topic. I do have some good news. I have come across… potential new champions."
"You speak of the Knights of Juniper and Ruby," Artoria said, though there was a steely edge to her voice.
"Indeed," Ozpin continued, heedless of the warning tone in her voice, "All members of each team have potential, and it is in fact RWBY who went to such lengths to warn me about the dangers lurking in Beacon itself."
"… don't tell me you're dragging–!" Qrow began to growl before Ozpin's face hardened, the tension thick as the air seemed to tremble.
"Do not let something like personal attachment get in the way of the reality of our situation Qrow," Ozpin said evenly, "Ruby Rose has already had experience with her Eyes, Yang Xiao Long unexpectedly inherited traits from both her father and mother's side, Weiss Schnee is showing signs of her father's abilities, and while Blake Belladonna appears to be the weakest of them, the power of her own race is still not something to be underestimated, not to mention the potential that her semblance may well tap into."
Winter flinched at the mention of Weiss, eyes going wide before she expertly schooled her emotions.
"Ozpin, they are still children!" Altria said aghast, "You're absolutely correct that nobody can deny how powerful they are despite their age and how much good they've already done, but we cannot be so arrogant as to throw them into a war that they are not ready for before they've even reached their second year!"
"…then shall we bring them into the fold?" Markus suggested after a moment.
"…What?" Diodes said almost incredulously, his wife equally stunned.
"I know this is rich coming from me of all people," Ironwood said, "but that's too much Markus. As much as we may want to tell the world the truth, there's a reason that the Inquisition has rewritten history and withheld information like this. Just imagine what would happen if this got leaked to even part of one kingdom. The hysteria alone is enough to draw a massive Grimm incursion at best. At worst... an invasion of Chaos."
"Is it so bad when such information is given to those we can trust?" Ozpin retorted, nodding at Markus before he turned serious yet again, "I had already planned to bring them into the fold as soon as possible. If ever there was a time to have powerful allies at our side, now would be it. Something big is being planned, and they're the closest to ready out of every student we have here. So… my suggestion is that we bring them into the fold, at least partially. I've technically already done that with Ruby Rose herself, and she is due to come to me for the reimbursement of her service."
Altria grimaced for a moment, the quiet hum of gears in the air as everyone considered their words.
"I am against it," Winter spoke up first, "There is no need to drag them into a situation as complicated as this, especially now that we have the tools and information to handle it."
"They deserve some answers," Qrow said, "But I agree with Winter. They've done enough, fighting a Khornate Berserker and helping capture Erebus of all people shows that they have what it takes, but bringing them into this mess is only gonna add more stress on their plates."
"I'm staying neutral on this one," Ironwood sighed, "But regardless of the final decision, we have to be very meticulous about how we take things from here."
"…No more secrets," Markus spoke, "No more lies. Giving them half-answers will only lead to them uncovering truths that could break them, and trust me…" His very form seemed to ripple, beautiful ivory horns suddenly appearing on his head and great eagle-like wings shining with a vibrant mix of blue and purple shimmered in and out of sight for a moment, "I would know."
"I see benefits to both sides of this argument," Dorn said, arms crossed, "And so I remain neutral."
Diodes and Altria looked at each other, contemplating what to do for a moment as they held hands. Even then, the words of Markus rung clearly through their minds, and their decision was set in stone.
"Bring them in," Altria nodded. "So long as we can slowly ease them into this role then… very well."
"No more secrets…" Diodes said, looking at Magnus as the latter nodded softly, "No more lies. A war is upon us, and I'll be damned if I lose the people I love because I refused to tell the truth."
"Then it is decided," Ozpin said simply.
The door to the side room suddenly opened and out stepped Roman Torchwick, fresh from a shower if the towel around his neck and his wet hair were any indicator. His head snapped up to look at everyone in the room stare at him silently.
"…yeah, I didn't sign up for this shit," He muttered as he promptly closed the door.
(TWBY Continued...)
After an very important discussion with an absolute bro of an author on this site, I have made the decision to rewrite this chapter. While frankly I was never entirely happy with this chapter in the first place, long-time supporter Alucard45 and his co-writer SirDarkvid had given me an extremely comprehensive and detailed review + constructive criticism of this and the following chapter, confirming the underlying dissatisfaction I had and pushing me to make this change. Now it's much less of a clusterfuck with the exclusion of random names, unnecessary fluff, titles and most importantly suddenly setting up JAUNE of all people to have potential OP plz-nerf GOHAN levels of unearned potential. However, this is may not be the last time I re-write this chapter in particular as I may come back to add or remove more things as is necessary.
I actually highly encourage you to check Alucard45 and SirDarkvid's RWBY story 'One Last Patch before the War' on SirDarkvid's page. While there are only a handful of chapters out right now, the fucking worldbuilding in the story is BONKERS. Straight up, while I'm proud of what I've done by using other series to supplement my fic, they're doing their own original stuff from scratch. So in short, read, Follow and Fave their work [COCKS GLOCK] RIGHT THIS INSTANT.