Note: PLEASE READ ME. This is the second part of a two-part chapter I am uploading on the same day. BEFORE YOU READ THIS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. Seriously, go back and read it, otherwise you'll be confused. If you just came here from reading that, then welcome! You're in the right place. We have a lot to cover, so let's not waste any time shall we? Enjoy.

Ozpin wasn't expecting to hear a knock on his office door at the late hour. He was just about to finish his work for the night and retire when the thunderous knocking disturbed him. He almost thought it was a burglar, or worse, Blake doing something she would regret. It wasn't until he heard Pyrrha's voice on the other side that he stood up to answer.

"Professor, open up! We need to talk!"

Ozpin hummed. He was happy to see that Pyrrha had changed her mind, though her tone could use some work. He calmly put on his best face and opened up the door, his charming smile at the ready.

"Miss Nikos, I—"

Pyrrha's face was bright red. She bared her teeth and pushed her way into Ozpin's office, shoving the Professor to the side. She stomped around his desk, throwing the fragments of the recording device onto the wooden surface.

"What is that?"

Ozpin hesitated. "I'm… I'm sorry?"

"This. What is it?" Pyrrha demanded, pointing at the cracked, broken wires. Ozpin had to approach the desk carefully to make out what she was upset about. When he saw the device, he paused, as if his brain had to load the appropriate response.

"That? Where did you find that?" he asked. He maintained his air of authority, though his voice slipped slightly. It wasn't enough for Pyrrha to notice. Not yet.

"In our rooms. In all of our rooms," she explained. "Why the hell were you spying on us?"

Ozpin cleared his throat. He frowned wide. "Miss Nikos, there must be some confusion. I would never spy on you."

"Really?" Pyrrha snapped. "Then what is that?"

"Miss Nikos, I—"

"Answer me!"

Pyrrha was rapid, unable to keep still. Every second she didn't get her answer, the rage bubbled inside of her, and her mind thought of new, awful deceptions Ozpin subjected her to.

"There's no need to yell," Ozpin instructed. He had dealt with unruly students before. This was unexpected, but nothing he couldn't handle. "Let's take things one at a time, all right. I can see you're upset, so why don't we start with something less stressful? Your mission with Team RWBY. How did it go? Did you discover what they were up to?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Pyrrha hissed. "You already know everything."

"I promise you, I don't."

"Yes, you do!" Pyrrha cried. "Ironwood already confessed it. He played Nora the recordings that you stole from us!"

"He… what?" Ozpin asked, surprised.

"Yeah! Earlier, while you were sending us out on a mission that you pretended to know nothing about," Pyrrha stated.

"I don't know anything about it. I don't know anything about what you're even saying," Ozpin insisted. "Pyrrha, please, why don't you have a seat? We can talk about this rationally."

He wasn't lying. Ozpin had been diligently working on plans for the Vytal Festival all day, and he hadn't had a chance to step outside of his office. He heard news that there was an incident involving some students, but he had trusted Ironwood to handle those details. Now, he was hearing that Ironwood played Nora Valkyrie's private recordings—something that seemed so out of character for James that he had difficulty believing it. And yet, that was one of Ironwood's recording devices lying smashed on his desk. There was no reason to let Pyrrha know that, however. Ozpin casually approached her, hoping to wrangle her worse impulses. but she shrugged away his advances.

"I am rational!" Pyrrha stated. "You're the one who has been keeping secrets from me."

"Pyrrha, if you are talking about me not telling you I was tracking Team RWBY, I already explained that."

"Don't condescend me."

"I'm not condescending. Honest, honest. Look…" Ozpin raised his hands innocently and sat down in one of the chairs near his desk, bringing himself beneath Pyrrha's eye level. "Please, sit down. You're very mad, and I can't understand you. I promise I don't know what you've brought in. If James did something, I didn't have anything to do with it. You know me. Sit. Please."

Pyrrha growled but didn't say anything else. She was horrible at reading people. Always was. Ozpin sounded like he was upset. Offended even. For a few moments, she thought she had made a mistake. It wasn't her intention to hurt the Professor. She just wanted answers. Nora technically hadn't provided any proof that Ozpin himself was behind anything. She never uncovered any secrets while at Beacon. Maybe this was a misunderstanding.

Still, she refused to sit. She wouldn't give in to his demands that easily. If Team RWBY was right, he was just trying to play her. She had to be careful.

"You really don't know what that is?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't. I swear upon my school," he stated. "Where did you find it?"

"In our dorm," Pyrrha explained. "Ironwood recorded a conversation between Nora and Ruby. He played it back to them when he called them into his office."

"I see. And why did he call them into his office?"

"I don't know. Something about a fight."

"I see. So, Team RWBY got into more trouble, and now it seems like they dragged your teammates into it as well. That's quite unfortunate—but typical for them, isn't it?"

"I… I guess."

"Yes, they do cause a lot of trouble, don't they? I don't think they're bad people. They are just misguided."

"They're trying to help people," Pyrrha said. The questioning was chipping away at her. She already felt her resolve crumbling.

"Are they? That's a much kinder assessment of them than you used to give," Ozpin noted. "Did something change your mind? Miss Valkyrie's words? Or perhaps something that happened on your mission?"

Pyrrha sighed, looking away. "You already know what happened."

"No, I don't. But please… do tell."

Ozpin hid his smirk as Pyrrha squirmed under his gaze. The beauty of Pyrrha Nikos was that for all her might, she was incredibly submissive. Years of training instilled in her a respect for command and kindness, both of which he had in spades. Whatever Ironwood's failings had unleased, he could control it. He always could. Her fury had been successfully tempered. All he needed now was the answer. He could see the truth bubbling within her, rising in her throat. He leaned in, anticipating the release.

Pyrrha nearly fell into the trap—but something suddenly stopped her. Team RWBY's paranoia had spread to her like a virus. Something still didn't feel right. If there were recording devices in every room, then Ozpin didn't need her to tell him Team RWBY's plan. He only needed a confession if he wasn't playing her, if he was really clueless. But if he was… she remembered Weiss's kindness toward her. Her trust for her sister's life. She remembered the crushing failure she was when she almost cost Winter everything. If Ozpin was lying, he didn't deserve to play her. If he was telling the truth, he didn't deserve the satisfaction.

And Pyrrha's frustration returned when she realized just how easily Ozpin had pulled her off track.

"This isn't about Team RWBY. I want to know why Ironwood was spying on us."

"I don't have an explanation and trust me, I will investigate this thoroughly," Ozpin promised. "But I do think it's telling Team RWBY is still involving you in their problems."

He was trying to change the subject. Again. On most days, it would have worked. Pyrrha's hyper-fixated mind would have latched onto Team RWBY and refused to pick a different target for her aggression. Unfortunately for Ozpin, she had found a new obsession. She dug in her heels.

"No. I want to see you investigate this now," Pyrrha said firmly.

Ozpin pursed his lips. "That's a personal matter between me and General Ironwood."

"A personal matter? He's been spying on us every day! I want to know you're going to punish him!"

"Pyrrha, you must understand. There's only so much I can do," Ozpin insisted. "This is still his Kingdom—"

"So, it's all right if he violates the privacy of every student?" Pyrrha shook her head. "No. I'm not doing anything until this gets resolved."

"We can't resolve this right now."

"Why not?"

"Because it's late. I will resolve this with Ironwood tomorrow morning. What we can do is discuss Team RWBY."

"I don't want to discuss Team RWBY. I want to talk about Ironwood spying on us."

"Then maybe we shouldn't talk about anything."

"Why do you want to know what Team RWBY did so badly anyway? Why does that take precedence over this attack on your students?"

"It doesn't." Ozpin stammered. Now it was his turn to feel the heat.

"Then why do you need to hide everything?"

"I don't."

"Then Ironwood is, and you're okay with that?" Pyrrha accused. "If you're really innocent, then Ironwood has been directly attacking your students behind your back, and you have to stop him. In fact, he's been attacking the entire Kingdom of Vale, and you aren't even aware of it."

Ozpin tried his best to dismiss the claim with a laugh. "Ironwood isn't attacking Vale. That's the whole point of us working together. Pyrrha, you've let Team RWBY affect your judgment."

"He has been! He's been keeping secrets. Confidential information you should know about."

"Ironwood doesn't have any confidential information."

"Didn't someone literally steal that earlier this year?"

"No, I mean… that's not what I—"

"Ironwood has secrets about Humanity's past, and if you really didn't know that, then you need to get in here and confront him. What did you think he was keeping to himself?"

"He has…" Ozpin grunted, trying to get his story straight. This was not good. Very not good. Normally he would have time to prepare a cover, but Pyrrha had taken him by surprise. He didn't know what had already been lost, and with Team RWBY in Pyrrha's ear, he had to be careful not to slip. Easier said than done with her staring a hole straight through him. "Miss Nikos, please, have some sympathy. I'm just as shocked by this news as you are. If General Ironwood is withholding things from me, I assure you I will find the proper punishment. I just feel like there must be some mistake. James has been my friend for many years. He is a bit of a hard ass, but he isn't the center of any vast conspiracies. Neither am I. Were you there when whenever this… thing happened, or did you hear all this from someone else?"

Pyrrha clenched her fist. "Nora told me."

"And Nora is… I mean, you know how Nora can be. Who are you seriously trusting? Her or me?"

"Nora wouldn't lie to me. We have our disagreements, but she's one of the most honest people I know."

"Then she's mistaken as well! That's all this is: one colossal misunderstanding. I'm sure her version of events must be… mixed up somehow. I can have a talk with her tomorrow—we can, together if you would prefer."

"She already told me what Ironwood did," Pyrrha claimed. "I know how he threatened to expel her—something he probably can't do without your permission. He showed her everything, everything that you have been trying to keep from us. The recordings of us, the Fables—"

Ozpin nearly jumped out of his skin.

"He told her about Fables?"

Time came to a sudden halt. Ozpin tried his best, but he couldn't catch the words before they tumbled out of his mouth. Pyrrha froze, then her face lit up with her most unrestrained anger.

That…

That was the wrong reaction.

That news caught Ozpin severely off-guard—enough to finally cut through his web of lies. And it was at that moment she saw through him, past the charm and the lies that had blinded her for nearly a year. Her eyes glimmered with realization.

"So you do know?"

Ozpin tried his best to recover. He had no idea what was going on anymore. By the time the power had slipped away from him, it was far too late to do anything. "I'm sorry, I don't—"

"Nora was right!" Pyrrha said with disbelief. "Oh my god, she was right! They were right."

"Miss Nikos," Ozpin stood up, but Pyrrha jammed her finger into his chest, spit flying from her lips as she chewed him out.

"You knew! You knew about everything!" she screamed, loud enough to wake the entire Academy. "You've been lying to me every single day since I came to Beacon! You manipulated me into doing your dirty work, and you've kept the truth from everyone who could have used it."

"Pyrrha, listen—"

"Stop trying to talk down to me!" Pyrrha shoved him, and he was so startled that he was forced back down into the chair. Pyrrha turned her back to him, continuing the rant as her emotions overwhelmed her. Hot tears formed in her eyes. She threw around her arms carelessly, fighting an invisible enemy. "I trusted you. I put my life into your hands! I gave everything I ever had to become a Huntress, and all you've ever done is use me. I believed you when you said you wouldn't try to harm anyone, but I should have seen you for what you were. You attacked Team RWBY—"

"I didn't."

"You tried to throw them in prison for saving Vale from a threat you knew existed."

"That isn't true."

"You threatened their families… my teammates…"

"You're going to hurt yourself—"

"No! Stop talking!" Pyrrha grabbed Ozpin's computer monitor from his desk and wrenched it free from its cords. She threw it violently against the wall, and the two objects both cracked upon impact. The screen turned into a jumbled mess of pixels as it splatted on the ground. She roared, but her fury was stifled by her tears. Everything she had ever believed was a lie. She had been played like a fool, turned against the people she was sworn to protect by a vindictive headmaster who lied to her even now. She had nearly ruined someone's life by listening to Ozpin, and he expected to trust her. All of those years of training, all of those tears shed… for a man who never cared about her in the first place.

Ozpin turned sour, rising back to his feet. He spoke plainly, coldly, in a tone that Pyrrha wasn't ever sure she'd heard before. With the power of hindsight, it was the truest he ever sounded.

"You need to watch it, Miss Nikos. You are making a fool of yourself, and you have just damaged the property of your Headmaster. I would think very carefully about your next move."

Pyrrha turned back to Ozpin, the fire inside refusing to be smothered. "I already know what my next move is. I'm going to make things right. I'm not going to give up on becoming a Huntress, but now I know who my enemy is."

Ozpin sighed, disappointed. "Is that really what you think of me now? Your enemy?" Pyrrha said nothing as she turned to leave his office. Ozpin kept chastising her. "And what does that make Team RWBY? Your friends? They're nobody's friend, Miss Nikos. They're rotten children who will discard you the moment you stop becoming useful. You'll see. Once you see how they pull the wool over your eyes, you'll apologize for what you've said here tonight. Mark my words."

Pyrrha stopped just before the door. She furiously brushed the tears out of her eyes. She turned to look at her teacher one final time. She spoke with heartbreak. "Did you really not know what Team RWBY was doing in the City of Atlas today?"

"No!" Ozpin said, exasperated. "I've been honest from the start!" In a past life, Ozpin's words would have stung. She would have crawled back for forgiveness or sulked in her bunk for days on end. That life was over now. Pyrrha took a deep breath.

"Fine. Then let me tell you what they were doing," she said confidently. "They were doing what I should have done a long time ago: not listen to you."

Pyrrha left Ozpin's office without another word, even as the Headmaster called after her. When the door slammed behind her, he was alone with the mess someone else had made, oblivious as to what transpired in the span of a few hours to ruin everything he had worked for. He needed answers, and even with how fearful he was, he was still unaware of just how much Ironwood had ruined everything. He cursed and slammed his fist down on the desk. It buckled under the impact.

"I cannot even comprehend your foolishness, James."

"Might I remind you where you stand, Oz. I don't tolerate disrespect, not even from you."

Ozpin scoffed at the notion. He hobbled around on his cane behind Ironwood's desk, pacing back and forth. His cup of coffee trembled from the rage in his hand. The moonlight coming through the back window was faint, but the raging fireplace cast his face into a heavy shadow. Ironwood sat patiently in his chair, resting his forehead against his knuckles. He simmered on his frustrations; being chewed out in his own office like one of his own petulant students was beneath him. He would have thrown Ozpin out if he didn't feel like he deserved some of it.

"Disrespect? I'll tell you what's disrespectful, James," Ozpin spat. "Sabotaging every single one of our plans because you got scared by the lies of a student."

"What would you have me do? Sit and wait?" Ironwood protested. Ozpin gasped.

"Yes! Precisely that! Ruby knows absolutely nothing. All of the leverage we have against her is rooted in her ignorance. Why would you throw any of that away?"

"She said that Rosaline was speaking with her. You know what that means?"

"Of course, I know what that means."

"She's years ahead of schedule. The average age of Rosaline's Blossoming is nineteen. Her mother didn't materialize the powers until she was twenty. If Ruby is already talking to her, we are working on a timespan of months. Can you comprehend how dangerous that is?"

"Of course, I do."

"Of course, you say," Ironwood mocked him. "An uncontrollable, rebellious Rosaline host is the gravest threat to my Kingdom's security. We need action."

"No, we need clarity," Ozpin growled, circling the desk and clanging his cane on its wooden surface. "Do you honestly think Ruby Rose is just going to start laying waste to Kingdoms, bring the Hydra down from the sky, overthrow the government, and make herself queen? No, the greatest threat that we are facing right now is all of the public's perception is being swaddled in the hands of a child who has no appreciation of the systems holding her lives together. Right now, Team RWBY has the world at their fingertips, and you decide that the best thing to do is to give her more ammunition."

"I gave her something to keep her mouth closed," Ironwood said defensively. "She doesn't know she's a host, she doesn't know what the Holy Grail does, and I doubt she's just going to babble to the media about her conspiracies. I distracted her from digging too deeply."

"You encouraged her. Now that she feels like she's on the right track, she will continue her search until she has the truth."

"If Rosaline is speaking with her, she will know the truth sooner than later no matter what I do. At least now we have some manner of control over her."

"Control?" Ozpin laughed. "You call this control? You don't control Ruby. She won't tolerate you."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Would you like to really know something about control?" Ozpin continued. "You know what isn't control, James? I have been working very hard to keep Pyrrha Nikos—very hard. And what do you do? In your attempt to one-up Team RWBY, you reveal to her teammate that we've been actively spying on them! How do you think that's gone over? Now Team JNPR is allying with Team RWBY, and they will probably try to attract more students to their little rebellion—like your Penny, who you also couldn't keep under control."

"You're not answering my question," Ironwood sneered.

"Because it's an irrelevant question," Ozpin countered. "You took drastic action to weaken any future hand we have against her. If Rosaline Blossoms within the year, not only do we lack any means to control her, but she will actively fight us in everything we do. This is disastrous, James, and you—"

"I was working with the hand you dealt me," James said, suddenly rising to his feet. "Let's set the record straight, Oz. You had Team RWBY under your complete supervision at Beacon, and all of your 'masterful manipulations' only turned them against you. It was your idea to have them attend this school to crush their spirit, your idea to sick Glynda on them, your idea to threaten their families to force them into submission."

"My idea?" Ozpin said, offended. "Don't pass your wrongdoings on to me. You wanted their families dead."

"Yes, I wanted their families dead," Ironwood explained. "I wanted to drag that cat from Menagerie and make an example out of her. I wanted to show our strength. You said it was 'unnecessary'. You insisted that mere threats were enough to keep Team RWBY obedient. Look where that has gotten us. Glynda is gone, my finances have been threatened, and Team RWBY is more influential than ever. I can no longer blink in their direction without worrying they will send Jacques Schnee down my neck. I have risked my reputation because I put my faith in your plans, and despite how much you speak of your intelligence, the truth of the matter is you have failed to ensure Ruby Rose's compliance. The clock to the Blossoming is ticking down, and you have nothing to show for it. And you wonder why I wouldn't be willing to play games…"

Ozpin rolled his eyes and resumed pacing around the room. "So, that's your strategy then? You can't beat Ruby Rose into submission, so you give her everything she asks for and more. I fail to see how surrender improves our position."

"Not surrender. A tactical defeat. No war has ever been won without sacrifices, Ozpin. I gave Ruby what I thought would keep her at bay without granting her too much influence. I think it's telling that you're offended by that."

"Offended? Please," Ozpin dismissed him, but Ironwood pressed further.

"Don't act like this is really about control. You have no problem with people disrespecting authority," Ironwood said harshly. "Your precious Team JJWL insults your authority every day, but you allow them. It's only with Team RWBY that you refuse to give them even hollow victories."

"Because Vivian Jupitarian is loyal," Ozpin claimed. "Authority is not destroyed by breaking a few statues. I would hope you weren't so deep in your Kingdom's own propaganda to believe they were one and the same."

"But you had Team RWBY's loyalty—or at least, their cooperation," Ironwood said, narrowing his gaze. "They expressed their willingness to work with you in an equal partnership, and you did everything you could to undermine them. You took the opportunity to have an influence over Rosaline and squandered it because it wasn't good enough for you."

"And why should they be treated as an equal? What have they done to deserve that luxury?" Ozpin asked. "Don't act like you would have done any different. If they came into your school, attacked your staff, undermined you at every opportunity, you would punish them far worse than I have."

"But that's the great hypocrisy, isn't it?" Ironwood finished. "You always act like you're the rational one, Oz, and I'm the impulsive one. You think you can put Humanity's needs above your own, but let's face facts. This is personal for you. You don't want Team RWBY to win because deep down, you are as petty as I am. Despite all your blustering… you can't admit that you were outplayed by a sixteen-year-old girl."

Ozpin glowered, but he otherwise held his tongue. If he were a weaker man, he would have thrown his coffee cup across the room in a fit of rage. Instead, he let Ironwood's petty suggestion slide off his back. When he was sufficiently sturdy, he hid his annoyance behind a smirk.

"So, James… since apparently you don't want to listen to my plans anymore, what exactly are you planning on doing with Ruby? Give her a seat at the table?"

"You know she doesn't deserve that," Ironwood claimed, returning to his chair. "I don't intend on giving her any more than she has already taken."

"So what then, kill her? Rosaline hasn't Blossomed yet. You might still have a chance."

"You also know I would do that if I could," Ironwood said, mulling his options. "Unfortunately, Penny is nowhere near ready enough to handle her responsibility as an Anti-Rosaline weapon. She requires years' worth of training that we no longer have. No, we are going to have to get Ruby back under our control."

"Then I wish you luck with that," Ozpin said sarcastically. "Everything we do to her, she takes as a personal challenge. Ruby doesn't have Rosaline's might, but she has her spirit, that's for certain."

"Then we crush her spirit," Ironwood said firmly. He clenched his fist. "We break down her resolve until there is nothing left but ash. I'm already working on a way to do that."

"Pray tell."

"You've gone about this all wrong, Oz. I admit, I've failed to see it as well," Ironwood explained. "We haven't been challenging Ruby in the slightest. All we've done through our threats is solidify her hatred of us. Even if we killed her friends now, she would simply turn them into martyrs. Ruby thinks of herself as a revolutionary. I've dealt with such terrorists in the past… those foolish enough to genuinely believe in their own self-righteousness. They require a more unorthodox approach to see the errors of their ways. What's the Valian phrase? Giving one enough rope to hang themselves."

"If you're playing the game I think you are, you're going to lose," Ozpin warned him. He wandered back behind Ironwood's desk, his gaze consistent throughout.

"You play games, Ozpin," Ironwood stated. "The opportunity will present itself in time. I promise you: I will have Ruby Rose crawling back to us. If she doesn't, then I will ensure she has no future at all."

"For both our sakes, I hope you're right." Ozpin stopped and looked up through the window. The heavy, shattered moon lingered overhead. Ozpin stared at the ancient wound, and his fingers gently curled around the tip of his cane. "Otherwise, I can see what your future will be…"

On a cold Sunday evening, Team RWBY convened to discuss their next steps. They laid out the terms for their conversation. No yelling. No speaking over one another. No leaving. In the end, they would come to a unanimous decision.

Option One: Have Winter infiltrate the Schnee Dust Company and take their secrets. Give the secrets to Sienna in exchange for keeping silent on their dealings with Jacques. Speak out against the SDC's mistreatment of Faunus when the time was right. Keep their cover. Honor their deals. Don't rock the boat.

Option Two: Have Winter reveal Jacques's criminal behavior. Let her take over the SDC. Renegotiate with Sienna and Jacques to keep them safe. Release the Faunus from the SDC themselves, if possible. Turn the tables. Risk it all.

Every hour, they would take a vote to see where each other stood. There was no one consistent position, and all of them swapped choices at least once. They discussed everything they could think of, each conceivable hole and flaw. How likely was Sienna to honor their deal? Would she continue requesting more information from them than they could provide? How likely was their speaking out going to impact Faunus employment in the SDC? Would Jacques tolerate any behavior seen as going against his bottom line? Would Sienna reject any attempt to work with them if they changed the nature of their deal again? Would Ironwood treat Winter as an equal authority to Jacques and respect her leverage? If Winter could renegotiate, would terms could they extract from Ironwood? Would Winter keep her cover after exposing Jacques, and would that even matter? Would he try to enact revenge if she didn't? How far would Ironwood go after him? Would Jacques reveal the nature of their deal in retaliation? Would Winter keep her word about releasing the Faunus? Which past would best help save Faunus lives instead of their own?

After five and a half hours, when dawn was creeping just over the horizon, they finally came to a consensus. Ruby sat on the edge of her bed, counting the raised hands.

"Well… I guess that's it then," she said with a heavy sigh. "Weiss, tomorrow you'll call Winter and tell her the plan. We'll have a few weeks before the news leaks, so everyone rest up. Let's hope we don't regret this."