"Hello again."

Now that was a voice I hadn't heard in quite a while. Heading towards it, I was quickly picked apart from the rest of the aimless wanderers by Maria, who was seated near the outer railing. As far as I knew, the plan was in full motion, courtesy of the general himself when he announced it over the school speakers. I, however, had no personal part to play as of yet, and seeing as my very presence may upset some of the interviewers giddily awaiting the expected trio, I had settled on distancing myself as far away from the activities as possible, until requested otherwise.

Which led me out here, in some outside rest area just south of the cafeteria a few hallways. It had a nice view of the lower city and academy grounds, with a few tables and chairs to rest and meander around with friends if need be. Some floral décor accented the edges of the academy entrance, trailing lowly and stopping just before the overhang, which made use of a solid set of railing to keep any stray daydreamers from tumbling off the edge.

"Maria." I greeted, and she smiled as I drew close. Resting against the rails, I let my sights settle out at the scene. The midnight sky was a welcome reprieve from the blinding luminance within the academy halls. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"That makes the two of us." She said, looking out as well. "I'm not one for politics dear; they get too silly too quickly for my tastes. So, are you going to tell me why you yourself aren't part of the general's jolly gathering?"

"My appearance and less than stellar reputation would most likely cause a scene." I expressed, letting my eyes gently trail to her as my interest in the view waned. "Of course, that can change at the general's beck and call."

"True." She hummed, accepting the answer and smirking. "You never know when the old coot might call you up to scare everybody straight."

"Perhaps." I wouldn't discount the idea, but if Ironwood did end up calling me, then I figured it would be for more than simply proving a point. He already had to jump through a couple hoops just to keep the council lady from before at bay, and I doubted he wanted to run through that again so soon.

Maria hummed, appearing to sense my disinterest; not a hard thing to do at the moment.

"And what have you been up to recently?"

"Whatever the general needs." Not the most lavish of answers, but it was the truth. Sensing her disappointment at that, I bobbed my head over, shooting that same arrow right back at her. "Yourself?"

"Bah." She began, sinking a little in place and pressing back against the railing. "Not much I'm afraid. Most of my time is spent loitering around that boy Oscar and the rest of your buddies. Although, I did get the chance to take a quick jaunt over to Pietro's and get my eyes checked, back during your little scuffle down in the city."

"You don't seem too shocked about that." I tossed out, and she just waved it off.

"Maybe the others didn't catch it immediately, but I saw the red of your cloth flick out as you landed. Honestly, I figured you were just in an awkward spot. Besides, after giving Oscar the go ahead to take off home with the others, I had my little visit with Pietro, which was a relaxing change of pace. We end up chatting a bit about the good old days before this whole little adventure of ours, and his daughter: Penny. Interestingly, I got to meet with a young girl he's supposedly watching over for a bit. Apparently, Atlas is looking into her to find her family, but until then, she's Pietro's charge. Inky's her name, or so the little lady says." Maria giggled a little. "She certainly has things to say whenever we get going about Penny."

"That's good to hear. Dr. Polendian... I wasn't aware he dealt in conventional medicine; I assumed he was just given the title for his mastery over machines." Both a medic and mechanic; one alone was impressive, but two took dedication. Strangely, Maria started chuckling. "Hmm?"

"You and him both." It fell off into a content, and yet fairly amused, sigh. "Pietro's Pharmacy he calls it, and yet the only thing pharmaceutical about it is his devices. Man can deal out prosthetics of all kinds, and prescribe painkillers and other drugs to make your body's acceptance of them near second nature, but that's where his specialization ends."

"So he's not a standard medical practitioner then?"

Maria waved that claim off. "Now now dear, I didn't say that." Her hand planted itself calmly back on the rail. "Dr. Polendina is a fine enough doctor when he needs to be, but it isn't his strongest suit. He knows enough for his particular specialty, and it does cross over into a few other fields, but he isn't like your usual pharmacist." A grin crossed her cheeks again. "Now, don't tell him this or he'll start a fit: he's got just as much know-how with medicine as just about every other 'doctor' down there in Mantle."

"Why shouldn't I tell him?" I couldn't fathom why anyone would get upset at being told they're skilled in anything. Maria sighed, pulling away from the rail and leaning more on her cane.

"Because he has high hopes for the other, "real," doctors as he calls them. He learned exactly what he needed to keep updated in his field, but that's all. While it's no easy task, the unfortunate truth is that every other medic down in Mantle is running on that same level of training." Maria's tone dropped off a small amount as she went on. "With all the doom and gloom, it's been said that the local medical community lost most of its better folks with the divide created by the general's decision to ramp up security. All that's left down there are, essentially, just a bunch of students: young novices and interns forced to put their studies to use far before they're ready."

That wasn't something I expected. From my few memories of visiting doctors out in the wilds of Mobius, usually with injured guards or civilians trailing behind, I recalled the way they shifted fervently, working with the apprentices, who themselves were not only learning by example, but also tending to their own patients. The idea that the masters would abandon their pupils felt… wrong.

"Why would the doctors abandon their students?" From Maria's sad smile, I could already tell I'd uttered a naïve question, even if I didn't know it.

"Why indeed. Unfortunately, money and stability take priority in their minds over the needs of their patients and peers." Her smile then took on a bit more sincerity. "On the bright side though, Atlas Academy seems to have their staff in check. I've seen students go in and out constantly, and from what I've gathered, the doctors up here aren't ones to just abandon a case; something the rest of 'em in the city can learn a thing or two about." She leaned in a little closer and whispered, "you didn't hear this from me, but I've seen a few of the kids bring up family members to have them looked over. Apparently, some of the ones in the city still refuse to help if they don't like you."

I could easily hazard a guess as to which breed of students, and whispered it with complete certainty.

"Faunus?"

She nodded without a word. We stood in silence for a bit, doing nothing but mulling over our own individual thoughts. Maria was in a bit of a downer mood now, and I was just letting the faint breeze on the winds whirl around me. Some of the passing students and staff, who were probably here to escape the excitement of the meeting as well, eyed me from time to time, but they'd mostly grown used to me by now - or so I chose to believe.

"Ah, there you are."

Catching my eye wasn't all that difficult for those trying, however, out of everyone I expected to come seek me out, the man walking up was the last one I would have chosen. His relaxed, focused posture carried into his voice as well. He addressed me with a nod, at which point I acknowledged him.

"Vine, was it?"

He smiled briefly, beginning with a simple greeting.

"Good to see you again."

He didn't look all that bothered by the fact he was facing down the man who'd bedridden him, and so I commented on it.

"You seem well. I trust my damage towards you wasn't too detrimental."

"It certainly was... interesting." I couldn't make out his face completely; either he was thinking, or he'd seen something on the floor. His eyes jumped back to me regardless, and he carried on with, "I still can't quite remember how it felt specifically, only that it hurt. Other than that, I bore no lasting injuries of any kind."

"None at all?" I asked, and I could have sworn a smirk skipped by the edge of his lip.

"Not one. While stunning, I've yet to discover even a trace of permanent damage."

"For someone who laid across the ground trembling, you seem rather cheerful." Not exactly the best word to use, but compared to how I remembered him acting, I felt he wasn't always so openly expressive; he seemed the type to keep his emotions obscured.

"I wouldn't go that far, however you aren't wrong in your guess either. It's just a bit... intriguing, I suppose, to find someone with an ability perfect for subduing others. Most non-lethal means of takedown are quite risky, but I feel that skill you'd used on me would work perfectly in more than a fair share of situations." He paused for a second, hitting me with another unreadable expression. "Of course, that's supposing you don't need to impale yourself every single time."

A tiny smidgen of amusement tickled up from within, and I briefly shook my head.

"I haven't used it since, but no, I'm sure impalement has nothing to do with its activation." Raising a hand up, I flexed my fingers. "Think of it like an extra set of limbs. I can reach out with them to grab hold of you, at which point they feel the innate urge to clamp down, somewhat akin to a starving animal. They bite their fangs in and inject their poison."

"Ahh, I may be getting an understanding now." He then tossed on a little grin. "However, this is the first time I've ever heard someone relate their skills to a living creature."

"My abilities are just as much a mystery to myself as they are to others." I let my arm drop, pressing off from the rails to straighten myself. "Now then, I take it you didn't come here just to catch up."

"While I'd love to theorize like this more often, you are correct." His voice lost all amusement. "The general has requested your presence for the event, and I was assigned to guide you over."

Interesting, and yet a touch spotty.

"Will I be visible to others?"

"I'd think so, yes." Vine hummed, calling out my unspoken concerns. "While he knows it'll cause somewhat of a stir, Miss Beck of the council pointed out that a discovery of your presence after the fact would fare far worse. Both she, and the entirety of the council, are aware of your 'arrangement' with the general. While she may have staked the claim first, I'm sure you can guess it was ultimately the rest of them who sought to include you."

That I could understand; the difficulty came from what my appearance would offer them. Politics never changed, no matter the era; the only differences came in the pieces and prizes. If they were requesting my personal attendance, a presence that would only harm the general's image further, then it made sense to reason that their goals aligned with depowering him in some way. It didn't take a genius to tell that, when it came to running Atlas, Ironwood was calling most of the shots.

"He knows this'll only harm his appearance, correct?" I questioned, already knowing Vine's answer before he even said it.

"He does, but I don't believe that's much of a concern anymore." That, however, piqued my interest.

"And why's that?"

"The project is nearing its final stages of completion; all it needs is a few following touches before its finished. Once it is done, we'll have no more need for the embargo, or the lockdown period; the general confirmed as much with Clover and the rest of us."

"Amity?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yes."

"Fine." If we were already inches from the finish line, then I figured there wasn't much more to lose. Besides, seeing Cinder beforehand had proven both she and her cohorts were getting desperate; it wouldn't be long now. "Let's go."

"Thank you." He turned away, starting down towards the school. "This way."

.

.

"Hey Rubes." Yang's voice was met with a 'meep' from the girl, who sat on the edge of her bed, book in hand and slightly startled after being ripped from the pages. Yang's smile tweaked a fair bit at the corners, crooking as she chuckled. "Sorry for the scare."

"It's fine." She closed the thing, setting it down by her side. "You just surprised me a little."

"Yeah, well, are you all ready to go?" Yang stepped in a little, enough that Ruby could see out the door a bit. Blake was behind her, however unlike her sister, the usually silent type was focused on something down the hall. "We gotta keep an eye out for trouble, remember?"

Standing, Ruby slipped the book into the cubby beside her bunk, which was itself embedded into the wall. It was best to keep the journal safely here, on the off chance something actually did happen at the meeting and she got torched - as unlikely as that scenario was. By now she'd read through most of it, or at least enough to have a good grasp on what happened with Veronica and her family. Some of the sights and events described within were the stuff of fairy-tales to most people, but for Ruby and her crew, it may as well have been just another Tuesday.

"I know, and I'm ready." Making her way over, Yang stepped back, allowing Ruby room to join them in the halls. Once out, she started peering in the same direction Blake had, catching sight of Pyrrha in the distance, who was with the rest of her team. The girl waved to them, and Ruby waved back. Afterwards, she turned to Blake. "What are they waiting for?"

"Us."

"Well, yeah." Ruby flattened a look. "But why? I thought we were going to split up and cover more ground."

Blake took a step, beginning the walk towards their friends as she spoke. "When we get there, yeah, but Pyrrha suggested we show up as a group first."

"Why?" Ruby didn't know why that would matter.

"I think it's to make more of an impact. Once she shows up, everyone will no doubt question her appearance. However, with all of us there at once, some of the less rowdy ones might withhold any offhanded comments."

"I guess." Ruby got the feeling a simple group wouldn't be enough to prevent those folks, but what did she know? Actually, if they wanted to know how the people of Atlas would act towards them, then really, they'd need to ask someone intimately familiar with the kingdom, which is what spawned Ruby's next question. "By the way, where is Weiss?"

At that moment, Yang hopped in. "Off with her sis."

"Oh." Okay, that made sense; they had a bit of time before the event, so there was no better chance to visit family than now. "I guess she'll meet us there."

Yang laid her hands behind her head casually. "That's the plan."

As they finally reached the end of the hall, Nora popped right out to greet them before Pyrrha even got the chance to open her mouth.

"And where have you all been?!" This forced the trio to back up, and Nora continued her bombardment of an interrogation. "We agreed to meet up exactly one minute ago for this mission, ladies!" She then straightened her posture, stomping her right foot down and stiffening up like a board. "A good soldier should know the importance of proper adherence to schedule and show up on time!"

Jaune, who was slightly behind his partner, stepped out around to deliver the news.

"Sorry guys, she's a bit excited about the job."

"Yeah." Yang grinned, holding back her giggles. "We can tell."

Blake rolled her eyes. "At least someone's excited."

"Why?" Pyrrha questioned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but we're supposed to be watching for "trouble," remember?" Blake grumbled out the solitary term through her teeth, low as to ensure no nosey nobodies could hear her. "We're not here to make a scene."

"We won't." Pyrrha smiled. "But that doesn't mean we're forbidden from having some fun with our roles."

Blake opened her mouth, ready to argue back, until Yang sent her a look that said, 'eh, what can you do?' Seeing no assistance from her partner, the woman then turned to Ruby, but she too had nothing to offer. While Ruby understood the importance of what they were doing, she didn't see the issue with letting Nora lighten up the mood. Sure, it was a pretty important event for those involved in the election, but they were having it at a school, so there wasn't much harm with the visible students acting like, well... students.

Blake, seeing nobody taking her side, just sighed.

"Why is it that I'm the only one thinking logically here?"

Ren then walked over and settled a hand on her shoulder; a knowing look smeared all across his face.

"Some things just cannot be stopped." He told, wise and mysterious, causing Blake to stifle a chuckle. He himself looked to be holding back a grin, showing that while he appeared to understand where Blake was coming from, he adamantly chose not to verbally support her. Most would call this betrayal, but Ruby - as well as everyone else for that matter - knew that when it came to sides, he'd always stick with both his team, and especially Nora.

Essentially, it was the hammer swinger who called the shots, and she chose to embrace the lighter atmosphere, so that's what they would do.

"Okay, you win." Blake stepped off, letting Nora silently celebrate. "So long as nothing advertently horrible happens, I guess it doesn't matter how we go about things."

Yang leaned over with a whisper, but Ruby was just close enough to hear it too. "Nice save."

"Buzz off." Blake clapped back, and Yang smirked with a wink, before settling her eyes back on Pyrrha.

"So, are we all set and ready?"

"Yes." The dark champion exclaimed, pointing out the lack of Ruby's partner and presumably the reasoning for it. "Would it be right to assume Weiss is already ahead of us?"

"Seeing as her sis is with her, do you even have to ask?"

Yang made a compelling argument.

"Fair enough." Pyrrha nodded to the door next to them. "Shall we?"

Yang agreed.

"Let's light 'em up."

With that, the pair pushed open the door to the stairwell, and soon the group had meandered all the way down to the lower floors. Crossing out into the halls, they took a shortcut through the cafeteria and its few late night snackers. After suffering one more hallway beyond, they took their first steps into the lecture hall. Atlas Academy had its fair share of classrooms and such, but this particular one was said to be where most of the important announcements took place, where students were directly addressed in person and en masse. Similar to the lobby which they'd found themselves in during Beacon's welcome, the space was vast enough to accommodate almost the entirety of the student body.

All it took was the notice of one single individual - probably a news reporter if the crew seated beside him was anything to go by - who'd spied them walking in, and the eyes began to flow their way. Ruby never really believed it was possible for so many people to shut themselves up and focus all at once, but she was witnessing it with her own two eyes: everyone, and she meant everyone had stopped over the course of a minute to stare at them.

Well... not so much them as opposed to Pyrrha herself.

The young woman took it well enough, actually tossing on a small happy smile and waving slightly - had she not looked almost nightmarish with her pulsing veins, Ruby would dare call the act a little cute.

"Geeze." Yang whispered, letting her vision spread all around. "That didn't take long."

"It's Atlas." Blake added with barely narrowed eyelids. "You know the rumors of how most of them view Faunus; it seems some of them were true."

"Yeah?" Yang proposed, stepping aside and letting Pyrrha and the rest of JNPR go ahead; this was where they broke off, and would you know it, there was Weiss over by the back wall with her sister. "Well nobody told me it would be this intense."

"We have to keep in mind her similarity to V as well." Blake threw back as they drew closer to Weiss. Ruby could see her partner now, and decided to speed up her own pace, just barely catching the last reply her sister gave before greeting their final teammate.

"True." Winter's word was seemingly thrown into the air when Weiss noticed them, long before they got over to her. Slipping on a resting look, Weiss addressed them.

"Good, you made it. I was starting to think you got caught up somewhere."

"We're fine." Ruby told, only to look back and across the room at Pyrrha and the crew. "But I'm not sure about the others."

Weiss waved it away. "They'll be fine. Besides, once the meeting starts there'll be nothing but the trio to focus on." She then set her sights towards the front, and Ruby followed along. "They're just about to start."

And once the show got on the way, so too would their job begin.

"Excuse me." One impatient woman raised her hand up near the front, situated right before the stage which seated all three contenders for the council seat being fought over. "We've been waiting for quite a while. Will we begin with questioning soon?"

"We will." The general answered from above, exuding the same power he always did when speaking seriously. Oddly, Ruby noted a strange twitch to his eye along with the answer, but it never showed itself when he continued on. "We've just got one more guest on the way, and then we shall begin the event."

"Excuse me." Called someone else, a man who looked much older than the woman at his side. Like everyone else besides the staff and lingering student aids, he was dolled up in a suit and more, only he lacked the microphone of the first woman who spoke up. "Will this guest be running late? We've been here for well over twenty minutes past the appointed time."

"I'm sure he'll be arriving any moment now." Again, Ironwood's eye twitched faintly near the corners. Ruby figured he was just upset, and so never really commented on it; she'd be irritated too if people kept complaining towards her constantly.

"Pardon." And then came another one: a young woman, again with no microphone. Ruby began to wonder why the extra guests were the ones complaining; the reporters she could understand, as their whole jobs were about questioning. The other guests had no such excuse. Were their questions just that important? The woman's voice centered Ruby's focus back into reality. "Are you willing to divulge who this final guest is?"

"He'll be here any minute." General Ironwood kept his form firm, and his eye never even twitched this time; it seemed he'd accepted that the questions wouldn't end anytime soon. "I ask that you please have patience."

"Excuse me, general."

It was the older looking guy who spoke this time; but not a guest. No, the voice came from the man seated right beside the general. Ruby could hear the slight shuffle from her side, and a quick glance showed both Weiss and Winter scowling. Ruby knew they didn't like their father much, but those faces just screamed 'shut up old man.' Settling her eyes back on the scene, Ruby wondered what Jacques Schnee had to say, considering he was choosing to break the norm of silence both he and Robyn had held so far - at least, since they'd all arrived.

"Yes?" Ironwood's voice was noticeably more strained, which got a grin out of Jacques.

"Perhaps we might tame the understandable impatience with a few preliminary questions?" The man's suggestion silenced everyone on the floor, and Ironwood just stared, motionless. "Seeing as our final guest is taking longer than it appears even you expected, it may quell everyone's nerves if we tackle a few unrelated topics our guests might have in mind; a small warm up before the event truly begins."

There was silence, which was then broken with the general's response.

"Very well." This drew a grin from Jacques, who righted himself in his chair once again, settling his arms and hands linked on the table before them all. Ironwood shot his eyes over the crowd, and Ruby felt a weight fall over her as he started. "Let us begin with a few questions from the back-"

He didn't get much further than that when the door at the front opened, and this time, there was more than pure silence to go along with the crowds bewildered - and rather shell shocked - expressions. Some gasps escaped into the air, and Ruby nearly giggled seeing it all happen so suddenly. To the ordinary patrons, their final guest appeared to be a nightmare, but for her and their friends.

He was just the same old V.

"Ah." General Ironwood spoke anew, rather refreshed from the sounds of it. "Our final guest has arrived. Vermillion, please come up here beside us; as per the council's wisdom, you are to stand guard over the three of us and insure we are kept from harm's way, on the off chance someone attempts to get violent."

V nodded, and marched straight ahead, right through the crowd of petrified people, and hopped up on the stage. Ironwood nodded over towards Jacques' side, and V returned it by stepping over and planting himself staunchly in place. There was an itch of terror, and some very obvious surprise across Jacques Schnee's face. Robyn seemed surprised too from the looks of it, but she was more angry than scared; if looks could kill, then Ruby figured V would be stabbed all over with hundreds of tiny knives by her glare.

The general, unlike his adversaries in the election, was a tad amused. Straightening himself again, Ruby had to hold back a giggle of her own amusement yet again as he started with a fresh, and far too pleased, tone of voice.

"Now then, with our guardian's arrival, we may officially begin questioning."

Author's note

…

Nobody ever expects the council to hop in and mess things up, but here we are. Well fine, let them call their shots and flex their power, not that Ironwood or the crew really mind. If push comes to shove, you know the sister teams will defend their friend, especially Pyrrha and Ruby.

So yeah, the event can truly begin, albeit a bit different than some may have imagined.

That's all for now; see you next time.