One day I'm going to look back on this and laugh, Jaune thought to himself as he laid down on the bedroll with nothing but a blanket preserving his modesty from the curious gaze of the naive and very cute looking robot girl that was examining his body with her hands, Goddammit! Down boy! Down I said!
"Jaune are you okay? My scanners are indicating heightened body temperature and blood flow to your genital area, oh! I see now, this is what is called arousal which means that the blood flow is because you are having an erection," Penny cheerfully stated before a curious look came over her face, "Does that mean you find me sexually desirable?
"Well I um, you see. Um, you are kinda cute but," Please, someone, anyone kill me…
"I'm happy to hear that you find me desirable Jaune but I'm currently not looking for a romantic or sexual partner and even if I was I am currently unable to perform vaginal or anal intercourse in the receiving position because I currently lack the parts for it. However, you do not need to worry as my father is working on amending that."
"What?" The moment that word left his mouth he screamed internally because he knew that he had just opened the doors to a conversation he wanted no part of.
Penny began touching his chest to assist with the deep scan, Unknown Foreign Matter Detected, "Well, when my father built me he desired that I'd be able to live a complete life as a human being which was something that the General approved because it was believed that doing so would allow me to better relate with people thus increasing my willingness to protect them."
"That makes a bit of sense actually," he admitted.
"However my father is having trouble designing the proper orifices as well as the related organs. He has also run into some difficulty in getting the funding necessary to do so, that said I am still capable of performing all of the other positions and actions related to intercourse with the caveat that I am not of the receiving end of anything vaginal or anal. Furthermore, there are also a few fetishes that I am unable to perform such as-"
'How about we talk about something else, like Rage?" Please work! Just anything to get out of this mess!
"Of course Jaune, I suppose you would like to know how I acquired the information?" She said before suddenly coming close to his face and looking deep right into one of his eyes which allowed him to see what appeared to be numbers and symbols moving across her pupils, Sclera: Damaged - Iris: Damaged - Veins: Damaged.
"That would be a good place to start." Thank god it worked.
"I'm just… interested *hic* in the current events going on within Vale, after all, it is my first time away from Soiltas and I want to learn as much as I can," She then moved on to his other eye. Sclera: Damaged - Iris: Damaged - Veins: Damaged.
"So, I guess that means you'll also be meeting up with Sun and Neptune to talk about the drug?"
"Of course I will! Even if the results of the discussion fails to further my understanding of the situation, it will be worth it just to interact with everyone else! If my memory is correct, you also expressed a bit of interest in the drug, in addition, you were the person who suggested that the victims are tricked into taking it and you are also planning on talking with Sun and Neptune. Would it be okay if I inquired why you are so invested in Rage?" She asked him before moving away from his eyes and turning her focus to his fingers, Major Irregularities Detected.
"Have you heard of my Semblance?"
"I heard some people call you a zombie and others a berserker along with a few other names that I understand are less than desirable but it the subject always confused me since body altercation has never been recorded as a semblance, I will admit that the rumors played a big role in my desire to perform a deep scan of your body. By the way, I'll be done soon, and if you'd like I would be happy to tell you the results."
Jaune felt a strong unease rising from within himself and it wasn't very hard to figure out why, the truth could sometimes be the most terrifying thing of them all. But at the same time, I want to know. I want to know exactly what that monster did to me, Penny said that I wasn't a human anymore… I'm scared but I need to know what she meant.
Penny soon detected his discomfort and a quick look at his face revealed a bizarre look of joy and unease on his face, it did not take very long for her to understand why, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable again… if you want, I'll stop and even delete what data I've acquired."
"But this is what you wanted, why would you just get rid of it just like that?"
"Because I want my friends' happiness more than I want data," she answered as if it was the most natural and obvious thing in the world.
At that moment everything about Penny changed in Jaune's eyes, he could no longer look at her and see a droid, the machine had been replaced by a smart but awkward girl just trying to fit in and wanting nothing but to get to know the people around her and make some friends. She's just trying to be human, just like me. "Penny you don't have to delete anything… you've probably heard about how my semblance works, right?"
"I've done more than heard Friend Jaune, I found video recordings of it in action."
"It's not a semblance, I… someone… did this to me, that's why I was so interested in the Rage case. That's why I suggested that the users had no idea what they were taking because…," he thought back to the nightmare, to the bar, the stranger, and the drink. "I had no idea that the drink was tainted, that someone had purposely put some kind of drug in it, and by the time I realized it… I'm lucky to even be alive."
Penny was shocked and found herself struggling with the idea of someone going out of their way to do something so unnecessary, so illogical, so cruel so… evil. Yes, that was the word she was looking for: Evil, Updating Lexicon. "That makes sense especially if one were to compare what is known of your false Semblance to what we have seen from the alleged users of Rage, there does seem to be some striking similarities in regards to certain aspects," Scan Complete, "The only thing left for me to scan is your spinal cord but I can do that just before you put on your shirt, in the meantime, I'll store away the bedroll and pillow."
Jaune got up and began putting on his clothes and then had a thought, "Hey Penny? How did you get this stuff in here without anyone seeing you?"
"I was assisted by a student named Cardin Winchester who helped procure the items and has been keeping people from entering the room while I examine your body. Which reminds me, I should text him to let him know that it's okay to let people back in," she blinked and with a smile added, "Message sent!"
"Wait, what!?" he hurried to put back his clothes but was stopped by Penny from putting on his shirt.
"I still need to scan your spinal cord, otherwise I won't be able to give you a complete and accurate analysis, oh! And Cardin messaged me back and requested that I tell you congratulations on getting laid, oh dear it appears as though he misunderstood the purpose of my request though, in hindsight suppose it is my fault for not being clear. Apologies Friend Jaune, if you'd like I can tell people that you are an excellent lover."
"No, thank you!" He instantly answered while thinking to himself, Well, of course, Cardin was going to misunderstand you, anyone, even Ruby would come to the same conclusion he did! A small and very mean part of him wanted to point it out and even berate her for lacking basic foresight but he soon thought better of it, She's still learning and besides, there is something far more important to talk about. "Hey, Penny? Did you mean what you said earlier about telling me exactly what's going on in my body?"
"Of course I will, I did promise after all but…," she looked away from him for a moment while nervously fidgeting, "But I have to warn you, it's bad."
When Penny was trying to decide on a classroom there were many factors that she took into account before settling on a room. One of the major things that she was looking for was privacy since even with her limited knowledge of social interactions she knew just enough to correctly guess that Jaune might not want any witnesses for the examination. So even when a room had been selected she took it upon herself to eliminate any possibility of an unwanted onlooker with the only exception being the security camera on the wall.
From the moment Qrow had discovered Jaune in the woods the boy had been placed under watchful eyes, his check-ups with Dr. Gris had been noted, his discussions with Dr. Riviera had been recorded, his meals, workouts, and even his daily conversations have also been under the careful gaze of Ozpin and his inner circle for the purpose of determining whether the Knight was a danger to the people he wished to protect as well as to shield the boy from any of Salem's plans. But the one watching the boy now wasn't Ozpin or Glynda or anyone else who might have had the boy's best interests in mind.
"Hey, Penny? Did you mean what you said earlier about telling me exactly what's going on in my body?" asked the leper.
"Of course I will, I did promise after all but…," she looked away from him for a moment while nervously fidgeting, "But I have to warn you, it's bad," the artificial girl replied.
Overhearing the conversation, Professor Thumbelina took a break from working in the flower garden of her lovely apartment in uptown Vale and turned her attention to the scroll that she had left on a nearby stool. It wasn't her personal scroll but rather it was one she received from Watts shortly after she had agreed to spy on Jaune though why someone as smart as Arthur Watts cared about a good for nothing freak like Arc was something she did not know nor did she care. However, what she did know was that on that scroll had software that allowed her to connect to the security cameras inside the Academy, had there been any love in her heart for the school this might have been something that she would find disturbing but as things were she simply didn't care. Either way, on most days there was nothing worthwhile to be found within the footage of that wanna-be huntsman but she received payment regardless of what the film contained so she just kept sending it and that was all that mattered in the end for her. Frankly, if that fake girl that Ironwood brought hadn't been involved she would have just done what she usually did and passively record, skim the footage, hit send, and get paid sometimes in moderate amounts of cash and sometimes in small but helpful favors.
But right now her curiosity was dictating her actions and she had questions that demand answers, for example, Jaune Arc was an enigma to her. He was someone who was clearly sick with some unknown disease and thus belonged in some quarantine ward in some hospital located far away from Vale. Yet here he was walking around in the open in the halls of Beacon wearing a student uniform instead of a hospital gown and to make matters worse Dr. Gris is keeping the brat's medical files locked away and then there's the machine from Atlas who not only looked like a girl but insisted on acting like one! Where did Ironwood even find someone with the skills to build that? Normally I'd assume that it was just some sick pervert's fantasy but then why give it the skills to put her on par with Pyrrha Nikos!? Why give her will of her own and bring her to Beacon? If only Marilla didn't flunk initiation or was too broken to try again then she could just get the answers for me and I wouldn't have had to go this far to get to the bottom of this! Feeling her temper wearing thin she marched back into her apartment and headed to the kitchen where she grabbed a cup of iced tea that was already waiting for her on the counter then took a long sip just letting everything go and letting the medicinal leaves work their magic, "Breathe in and out, breathe in and out. Alright, let's just take a break from gardening and watch." She walked over to the scroll with the security footage and rewind to right before Penny started talking and hit play.
"-warn you, it's bad," the puppet replied.
Half an hour later the scroll was on the floor, its screen cracked as a puddle of tea slowly snaked its way around the shards of a now shattered ceramic cup while Thumbelina leaned on the counter to keep herself from falling as she tried to process what she had just learned, "Grimm-esque!? Ozpin let a fucking Grimm into the school? I always knew that there was something off about that guy but this?" Normally she would be far too composed to ever let herself do anything as unsightly as talking aloud to herself but at this moment she needed to let loose. "That's why his medical records are kept under lock and key, that's why his aura doesn't work and why he's so prone to emotional outbursts! Because he's not a human or Faunus, he is Grimm a literal monster! I, I gotta do something!" Her first thought was to grab her spear, march up to the school and kill him just like any of the other countless Grimm that she had slain during her career as a Huntress, and had she been still a student or even a recent graduate that would have been exactly what she would have done but, age and experience tend to mellow out a person or at the very least help keep them grounded. I need answers, she looked at the scroll on the floor and considered her next set of actions, Watts knows, he has to know what is going on otherwise why would he pay me for information on this boy? I can't trust that mustached bastard but I can't trust Ozpin or Glynda either…, "I suppose this is the meaning of the phrase: Better the devil you know." With a sigh of resignation, she scooped the scroll from the floor and called Arthur who promptly answered.
"Hello Thumbelina, to what do I owe this pleasure?" In his voice was his characteristic assured self-importance, which got on her nerves, but it also sounded oddly sincere like he was happy to hear her voice. It was just a little bit disconcerting.
"You knew that Arc boy was a Grimm! Don't try to deny it, you've known from the very beginning, that's why you asked me to spy on him but, why? Why are you so interested in that monster?" Now isn't the time for subtlety.
"My my, you are being rather upfront about this. I thought you hated most of those brats so why the concern?" he asked.
"Did you not hear what I just said, Arthur? There is a Grimm masquerading as a human in Beacon if and as if that wasn't bad enough there is also a machine walking around pretending to be a real girl, the other Professors and even the Headmaster are in on it and don't even get me started on that drug that has been going around! So either you tell me what going on or I'll-"
"Gladly," he interrupted her.
"Wha, what?" she was almost certain she misheard, "You're just going to tell me? Just like that?"
"There is no harm in me telling anything, after all, you are far too concerned about your position to throw it all away by informing anyone who might believe you, besides you're one of the handfuls of people working in that rubbish institution who's worth anything so I'd rather keep you as a friend."
Friend? This guy doesn't have any friends, just pawns and allies. Though he is right that Ozpin is simply out of the question and don't even get me started on the police... it looks like there isn't a choice not if I want to find out what's going on, "Fine, tell me what's going on but don't expect me to just believe whatever comes out of your mouth."
"I'd be disappointed if you did. Now tell me, what do you know about Grimm?"
For the first time and perhaps only time in his life Jaune counted himself lucky to be taking one of Professor Port's courses, now to the man's credit, there were valuable nuggets of truth inside his stories which could also be entertaining at times. Furthermore, the fights the man would occasionally arrange with live Grimm have been an excellent way to gain some experience against rare or foreign species, though there was that one time he had to cut himself free from the belly of a River King after the fight went south in a hilarious and equally terrifying way. That was an experience that Jaune most certainly did not enjoy, fortunately, there was no cage tucked away in the corner today which meant no fight which gave him time to consider what he had learned from Penny and it was a lot to process.
He didn't know much about medicine and even with Penny trying her best to explain things, there was still plenty that he didn't understand though maybe that was for the best. What he did understand was that from a purely biological perspective he would no longer be considered human, had he learned this right at the beginning of his stay in Beacon he might have fallen into a pit so dark that he dared not think of what he would have done out of despair. However Penny, Bless her soul, was proof that you didn't need to be a human or a Faunus to still be a person, besides he still had his emotions, he was still capable of love, creative thought, and even forgiveness which were all things that the Grimm simply weren't capable of. You also crave the death of the man in your dreams and the desire to shed his blood and that is something that the Grimm does possess in abundance. But, people can feel that way too, and besides revenge and justice are concepts the Grimm could never understand. His retort seemed to quell the voice of doubt for now but he knew that it would be only a matter of time before it reared its ugly head again, But I'l-
Jaune was snapped out of his inner monologue by the sound of a snarl and a rattling cage as the door to the classroom opened up revealing a scared man holding a scroll while standing in front of a caged Grimm. It was a large powerful humanoid species that he had never seen before but he recognized it thanks to stories that the rest of his team told him about some of the species unique to their home regions of Mistral. I wonder when Port is going to bring in a Grimm from my home? It would be fun to see someone kill an Apsonsi.
"Um, I have a live Beringel for a Professor Peter Port?" The understandably nervous man asked, looking at the chubby professor who walked right up to the man and signed for the package before grabbing the still rattling cage, picking it up with ease, and setting inside the classroom as though it was a chair instead of a biological machine of hate and death.
"As you know from my many lectures on the subject, different regions have to deal with different types of Grimm and what I have here is as the delivery man already said a Beringel! Take a close look and decide for yourself who amongst you want to tussle with this king of the jungle?" Port questioned the edger crowd.
The monster itself was about as large as a Beowolf standing on its hind legs and could have been possibly been taller if it wasn't constantly hunching over, it was also much stouter than a Beowolf though it seemed to be lacking in any claws or teeth. That being said, the creature's thick powerful arms left no doubt in the minds of these students that it didn't need any natural weapons, that a single strike from the beast carried enough force to cause incredible damage if not outright death to anyone lacking Aura. Its body was covered with the boney armor unique to the Grimm but not to the point that most would think a creature this large would normally be, instead it took a middle ground between protection and speed. This Grimm was a nightmare built to hit hard, move quick, tank solid hits when it had to and it was now looking right at them with oddly intelligent eyes desiring nothing but a painful death for everyone in this room and preferably by its own hands.
Naturally, this meant that several students were already volunteering to fight and kill the beast which was a sight that greatly pleased the Professor as he looked at the class. Jaune himself was tempted to fight this thing but wisely decided that maybe the sight of his broken body regenerating was something that his peers didn't need to see… again.
"Nora Valkyrie come on down!"
"YESSSSSS!" in a blink of an eye she was already standing in front of the cage bouncing up and down with excitement and her treasured weapon Magnhild in its grenade launcher form ready to blow the gorilla-like monster from here and back to whatever pit it crawled out of and in return the beast howled in anticipation for the fight and banging on the bars with such ferocity that they started to bend.
Professor Port took out his signature blunderbuss ax and pointed at the lock on the cage, "Are you ready Miss Valkyrie?"
"Hell yeah, I'm ready!"
There was a gunshot as a miniature cannonball flew out of Port's gun and smashed against the lock of the cage ripping through the reinforced metal like it was wet cardboard and filling the classroom with the sound of metal being rendered asunder. It was a magnificent sight that went completely unseen because a hail of grenades showered the cage before the beast could even attempt to break free and obscured both the monster and cage in a blanket of pink smoke and explosions. What the audience did see was the Hard Light Shield activating to protect them from a shower of deadly shredded metals that once was the cage.
"Well that was very unsportsmanlike of you Miss Valkyrie, however, you are not hunting him for sport, so Extra Credit earned for excellent decision making!"
"Alright did you hear that Ren!" She turned to face her partner and gave him a wave right before the fist of the still very much alive Beringel smashed into the side of her head and sent her flowing across the room right into a wall forming a crater upon impact.
"And that's why you never let yourself be distracted!" Port pressed a button and the Aura reader on everyone's scroll came to life revealing that the strike had taken out about half of the bomber's Aura which then dropped to a quarter as a follow-up strike from the brute drove her deeper into the wall and at the same time knocking Magnhild right out of her hand. Sensing the danger, Port moved closer while tightly gripping his weapon and getting ready to intervene should it become necessary to save his student.
The monster stared right into her eyes looking for any sign of fear as it pinned her to the wall with one arm while the other arm raised ready to break her aura and then snuff out her life with one last follow up attack, then it would kill the fat man and everyone else in the room! But for some bizarre reason, the girl wasn't staring at him with scared pleading eyes, instead, she was perfectly at ease and even grinning! Before it could even comprehend what was happening she raised a fist of her own and drove it right into the wall instead of trying to futility strike him, had he been a person her actions would have no doubt befuddled him but instead all he felt was rage over the fact that she was still alive and thusly his free arm lashed out at her only for her other hand to catch his fist and effortlessly hold it in place.
Everyone in the classroom except the professor and Team PRAN was shocked by her sudden display of strength and then that feeling of surprise became astonishment when the devil in ape form started screaming in pain as electricity worked its way through its body. "No way! Her Aura levels are rising!" Someone in the class declared causing most of the students to peel their eyes away from the fight to look at the reader which did indeed show that her Aura levels somehow being restored and even supercharged as it soared above 100%, "How is this possible?"
As a Grimm, the Beringel's normal thoughts revolved around death and how to swiftly deliver it to those whose only crime was existing. However, another thought now entered its mind: Escape. Make no mistake, the Grimm do not feel fear or anything even resembling an emotion but they do understand the concept of self-preservation, so with all its strength it tried to break free and run but the girl kept a hold of him until the arm that buried itself into the wall suddenly burst out and slammed right into its chest with enough force to send his body careering into the wall on the opposite side of the room forming another crater. Nora pushed away from the wall and picked up her hammer making the room go silent with anticipation. Pink electricity was visibly running through her skin and into her weapon has she cautiously approached the Grimm who was lying on the floor and struggling in vain to get up, it saw her and gave a weak roar before Magnhild came down on its head crushing the skull and ending the unholy beast's unnatural life as the entire classroom erupted into cheers, with the voices of her teammates along with Ruby and Yang rising over and beyond everyone else.
"Sadly I can only give you a B minus for that display Miss Valkyrie," the Professor stated once everyone had calmed down.
"What!? But I kicked its butt!"
"Did you though? Or did you just get lucky that your prey punched you into a wall with enough force to allow you to break through the tempered steel which lines the wall thus granting you access to the electrical wiring hidden inside? What if your Semblance wasn't Electrical Abosortion but rather something like Miss Belladonna's Aura Clones? Or Mr. Tusk's Aura Platforms? What if your Semblance made you faster rather than stronger?" He passed for a moment to let her process everything that he had just said. "I'm sorry Miss Valkyrie but while it was an entertaining match this score reflects your overall ability to handle the Grimm in question and to be frank, had this been an encounter on the field you would have probably been killed by the beast."
"Then why a B minus? Why not lower?" she asked as she returned to her seat.
"Because you bombarded the Beringel before it could even exit the pen, you kept calm and formed a plan even while being pummeled and promptly finished off the beast instead of letting the fight drag out by attempting some overly complicated and time-consuming feat of acrobatics. However, the biggest reason is that I feel like you would have easily won had you not distracted yourself by waving at your partner."
"Well can I at least improve my grade by smashing another Gorilla?" Nora asked after she placed her hammer back into whatever dimensional pocket she had originally pulled it out from.
"Why of course you can! In fact, I'm going to get another Bringel as soon as possible, hopefully, I can acquire a silverback this time! Jaune! How would you like to tussle with another River King?"
For the briefest of moments, the boy flashed back to the warm slimy, and dark insides of the creature's belly as the fleshy walls tried to smother him to death, "Can I fight something else instead?"
"How about a Bicorn?" The professor asked.
"What is that?"
"It's basically a unicorn with two horns and instead of purity, it likes the cries of helpless innocent's who are about to be trampled to death under its hooves."
"Deal."
"Wonderful! Now before I end class I want to remind you all that the homework is to research a Grimm that you may have problems fighting against and come up with a strategy to defeat it on your own with the assumption that you are fighting it inside of its natural environment! Please remember that I've seen you all fight either here in this classroom or elsewhere so I will know if you are bullshitting me! Class Dismissed!"
Just like that everyone rose out of their seats and began conversing with each other with most talking about the fight they just witnessed as they all began to walk towards the door. "Hey, Jaune!" Ruby's voice rose above the crowd as she made her way over to him with quick use of her semblance to go over the heads of everyone else as her team followed after her.
Under most circumstances, Jaune would have been happy to talk to Ruby or anyone else on her team, but he had a feeling that the topic was going to be the time he spent with Penny, It's already bad enough that Cardin is probably going to spread rumors about us and Penny doesn't need me making things worse by saying the wrong thing. I got to set the record straight but how? Before he could think of anything Ruby was already standing in front of him.
"Nora was awesome! Seriously what kind of training are you guys doing? Come on, tell me!" she turned to face Nora, "And you! You have got to let me tinker with that weapon of yours!" She turned back to face Jaune "The same goes for you and the rest of your team!" she said while excitedly jumping up and down.
"Well I suppose Storm Flower could use a bit of tinkering, the rate of fire is excellent but its lack of stopping power leaves much to be desired," Ren thoughtfully answered.
Pyrrha scratched her chin for a bit as she thought things over, "Miló could benefit from being reforged to be a bit longer."
Yang suddenly leaped forward so that she was standing right in front of Pyrrha and with a sly wink and shit-eating grin said, "What's wrong Pyrrha? Getting bored with handling short swords all day? Trying to get your hand around something bigger and more… fulfilling?"
"Seriously Yang please try to have a modicum of class," Weiss spoke after she and Blake had caught up.
Blake then turned to face the knight and asked, "By the way, Jaune were you and Penny by any chance talking about the White Fang or the Rage drug?"
"Blake whatever Jaune and Penny were talking about is their own business! If they want to tell you, then they will!" The Heiress snapped at her teammate but the way she looked at Jaune made it clear that she was indeed curious and she wasn't alone either. Everyone wanted to know and who could blame them?
Under most circumstances, Jaune would have been racking his brain trying to come up with a way out but by asking about the White Fang and Rage, Blake unintentionally gave him the perfect way out of the situation, not to mention we did talk about the drug amongst other things so I won't be lying! "Actually yeah, we did talk about the drug and what was going on in the city. The reason we wanted to speak in private was that we didn't want other people overhearing our wild theories and coming to the wrong conclusion!" If he was, to sum up, the look they were giving him in one word it would be, doubt. They seemed to believe that he and Penny did talk and he was willing to bet that they believed that he and did share a few theories, the problem was that they also seemed to believe that the two of them did more than just talk, I'm not even going to try and explain what happened, though Cardin might say something but let's be honest they aren't going to trust a single word out of his mouth. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to change the conversation… "Hey, Yang I heard from Ruby that you've got a date this weekend with Coco is that true?"
The brawler's face split into a wide grin, "Sure is, though like I keep telling everyone the whole thing is mostly an excuse to ask her a few questions about the stuff that's been going on lately. That said it's still technically a date and I'm a little excited, it'll be my first time going out with another girl even if it's to do a little investigating."
Ruby then stepped in, "Sis isn't the only one spending her weekend investigating, Weiss is going to the CCT to get some info from her company while Blake and I scout out some potential hideouts! She's even helping me put together a disguise!"
Blake explained, "I'm going to use some makeup in order to mimic the scales of a chameleon Faunus, it won't trick anyone up close but as long as she keeps her hood up and we stay a fair distance away from everyone, they shouldn't suspect anything. And in the worst-case scenario, we are the best at running away."
Suddenly the doors to the classroom swung open as Velvet rushed into the room and towards them with her scroll in hand and an anxious look on her face. Before they could get a single word in she reached them and thrust the device forward revealing a paused video, "Have you seen this?" she asked everyone at once.
"What is it?"
"The White Fang uploaded a video and you guys need to see it before the council takes it down!" without any further explanation she hit play.
The video started and the viewers were greeted by the sight of Adam Taurus standing in a clean well lit room that lacked any identifying features that might have given away or even provided any clues on his location. Noticeably the man wasn't dressed in his signature coat though he was wearing his mask, instead, he wore a modified version of the standard uniform worn by most of the rank and file, it had the effect of making him seem less like a terrorist and more like a legitimate authority figure.
"Citizens of Vale," he spoke calmly to try and mask his disdain for all humankind. "My name is Major Adam Taurus and I am the leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang and now that introductions are out of the way I will get to the point. The White Fang had nothing to do with the creation or distribution of Rage and we condemn both the drug and its distributors. Our mission is to expose corruption and fight against the oppressors of the Faunus race, the goals we wish to achieve is to provide strength, safety, hope, and the means to fight back and be heard against the ones who stand in the way of true progress. The ones who would try to convince you that our treatment after the Great War was fair rather than the slap in the face that it was, who claim that the Faunus Rights Revolution was triggered by trouble makers who could never be satisfied rather than the reality that it was humans trying and failing to force their cruel will on those who just refused to accept a life of servitude!"
He paused for a moment but it wasn't to catch her breath, instead, he started walking around the room as the camera followed him soon revealing a door that opens to a corridor that he began traveling through, "Many of you are probably wondering what that history lesson had to do with Rage, good that means that you are thinking. The answer is that the number of Faunus victims is being severely underreported and in many cases are being flat out ignored in favor of humans." He spat out that last word with such hatred that he had to take a moment to recompose himself.
He then reached a point where the hallway split into two other directions one continuing straight ahead with a window at the end and the other path going right, Adam took the turn revealing a short hallway with a pair of doors at the end and kept going walking till he reached them, then he stopped and looked right at the camera, "Now I know what some of you are thinking and you are correct to doubt my words, after all, great claims require great evidence… well here is my evidence."
He opened the door and walked through them revealing a room that was filled with occupied hospital beds and masked medical professionals checking on the patients laying on them, all Faunus of various ages and some which for whatever reason were being kept sedated. For the first time, the camera panned away from the Major to focus on the victims of the drug as Adam kept talking, "We have not only rescued these people but we are currently working on their recovery after they were exposed to multiple doses of Rage at the hands of those who cannot accept the results of the Faunus Rights War. You heard me right, some Humans have gone out of their way to forcibly expose our people to this poison."
The focus shifted to one patient, in particular, a large man who was under sedation. "This is Tukson Grif the owner and founder of Tukson's Book Trade, a store which some of you may remember was vandalized the same day he suddenly went missing. The White Fang found him inside a cage being forcefully administered Rage by a group of human supremacists who called themselves the Hunter's Lodge. He and a few others had been kidnapped by this group who had somehow acquired a stash of that vile concoction and were planning on releasing their captives on an unsuspecting public along with their manifesto which would decry all of Faunus-kind as rabid animals and you people call us terrorists... but, don't take my word for it, you can ask these people yourself. Letters containing the address of this facility have already been sent to the police so that they can take these people back home and have a chance to do their job by delivering justice to those who deserve it regardless of their race."
The camera moved back to Adam who carefully took off his mask revealing a face that would have normally been considered rather handsome but, it was horrifically marred by a dead eye and burn scar tissue on the left side of his face in the shape of the letters SDC, the initials of Schnee Dust Company. "To my fellow Faunus, I ask, how much longer are we going to keep turning the other cheek? Humans demand Civility from us and yet they return our Civility with open Barbarism! Again and again, we have been mistreated, ignored, exploited, and denied justice by those who have the power to grant it, and yet somehow we're the troublemakers!? We are the White Fang, we wear the faces of Grimm to remind Humanity that we are the monsters they created through their own words, actions, and inaction. We are the constant reminder that their crimes have not been forgotten nor will they ever be forgiven, Glory to Faunus-Kind!"
The video ended.
Just like Adam had hoped the footage had an immediate impact and the subsequent recovery of the patients only magnified the effect until they were felt throughout the halls of Beacon and the streets of Vale as students and citizens alike began arguing back and forth about what they had just seen. Initially, the Council of Vale had attempted to quell the outcry by ordering the video taken down but it soon proved to be a futile effort as the film was being reuploaded faster than they could remove it. Furthermore, their actions resulted in a public outcry over what was seen by many as an attempt by the Council to censor and silence the Faunus community which only gave greater weight to Adam's words, it would not take very long for the Council to cease any further attempts to silence the film. After that decision an emergency meeting was called by the council to discuss how to best move forward, Ozpin as the headmaster of Beacon was therefore a member of the Council and was thus required to attend. Before leaving to go to what was sure to be a long and ultimately fruitless debate, Oz decided that it would be wise to call a meeting of his inner circle to converse and decide their next move.
"Qrow hasn't returned from his mission and Gris is currently busy with the treatment of a student who apparently attempted to make Gravity Dust on her own without the proper equipment or safety measures. According to him, she will recover and surprisingly she is very much eager to continue her training but she will be on pain medications for the rest of her life. Dr. Riviera is trying to talk her into considering other careers but she's insistent that she can continue and it is doubtful that he will succeed," reported Glynda who wasn't sure what to think of the poor girl.
"Well, at least there are still some people who care about doing their job around here!" Ironwood roughly stated. "Honestly, when it comes to the Faunus I'd expect this sort of negligence from the police force back home in Atlas but I thought Vale was supposed to be better than this."
Under normal cases either Ozpin or Glynda sometimes both would have stepped in and said something to defend the law enforcement of their kingdom, however, Adam's words and the rescued Faunus had left their faith somewhat shaken as old societal wounds that they had thought healed were suddenly ripped opened exposing the ugly truth, that it never really healed. But that doesn't mean it can't be healed, the old wizard thought to himself, "Then you will be pleased to hear James that the police have requested the assistance of Beacon both in regards to investigating the drug which I already have Gris and Professor Peach working on. In addition, Beason will also be assisting them when it comes time to conduct raids and make arrests which I believe we can all agree would be an excellent experience for our students. Naturally, we will have professors and some licensed Huntsmen present as well."
"About the students," James softly spoke while pacing around the room, "The new Fall Maiden will need bodyguards but not just anyone, she will need people she can be comfortable around, they have to be people that she can trust without hesitation and if possible, they should be people she has worked alongside in the past."
"Their teammates," Spoke Glynda who understood what he was suggesting.
"Not necessarily but they would be ideal, I also believe that we need to speed up the selection process. Frankly having a new Maiden before the Vytal Festival would be the best-case scenario," James replied.
Ozpin pressed a few buttons on his scroll and a projector came to life as a list of various teams came into view with Team RWBY, PRAN, and CFVY being at the top of the list. "These three teams are currently the most promising though I admit that I'm also taking into consideration the time that they will remain under our care," he explained.
Glynda walked up to the projected image and with her riding crop to pointed at the image of Team CFVY which caused all the other names to fade leaving only the profiles of the team members, "Here we are considering Velvet Scarlatina due to her semblance which would make training her extremely easy furthermore her team have also proven themselves in their missions. They have won fights that would have been a challenge for even licensed teams but more importantly, they have experienced failure and therefore understand that sometimes retreat is the only option."
"There are however two concerns we have with Velvet, the first being her low Aura reserves and the second being the fact that her weapon Anesidora is reliant on Hard Light Dust. Thanks to how expensive that type of Dust is, she more often than not is forced to take a backseat to the rest of her team," Ozpin added.
The riding crop left the screen which returned the to the list, she then selected Team RWBY, "Here we have two possible choices with the first pick being Yang Xiao Long, this is due to her large Aura reserves, Semblance, her skills in CQC and her surprising maturity that is hidden behind her laidback and flirty demeanor. She also has a strong sense of responsibility that is no doubt born from her acting like a surrogate mother to her little sister. Frankly, we are lucky that she chose to become a Huntress rather than an arena fighter," Glynda concluded.
James Ironwood then remembered something, Didn't recently I hear something about her in the news? Oh, that's right! She wrecked a nightclub. "We will have to do something about her temper first," he added while the others agreed with him.
Glynda continued "Another issue with Yang is that she relies far too heavily on her semblance which has created a tendency to charge headfirst." The Glynda then selected the next member of Team RWBY, "The Second pick is Weiss Schnee whose Semblance and skill in Dust usage might make her the most potentially powerful Maiden we've ever seen and that is before we consider her connections. As for the team, they had a rough start but that is in the past, we can trust them to support each other making them fine bodyguards and better friends."
"However Weiss has a target painted on her back and White Fang activity has skyrocketed and those same connections you mentioned are a double-edged sword and that is before we consider the possibility of Jacques learning of the Maiden powers. Even if he never learns, he will remain an obstacle as long as she is the Heiress," James pointed out.
Finally, the screen shifted to display the members of Team PRAN, "Pyrrha Nikos is the obvious choice here as her skills are unquestionable and are only going to get better but even more noteworthy is the effort she's made to help her team grow and come together. I will honestly admit that I find her work admirable and the fact that they have paid off is simply praiseworthy, if she wasn't already a household name in Mistral I would recommend giving her the Maiden powers posthaste however, she isn't the only choice."
Pyrrha's profile changed to the Pink Grenadier as a surprised look came over the General, "Nora Valkyrie? But I was under the impression that you considered her a trouble maker."
Oz smiled before explaining, "While Miss Valkyrie most certainly needs to work on her self-control her erratic behavior hides a cunning mind, her Semblance also possesses a surprising synergy with the Maiden Powers, and as a survivor of Kuroyuri village, she's experienced first hand the kind of tragedies that Salem is so fond of creating but has emerged stronger as a result, as a Maiden, she would be the most self-sufficient of them all. The team is also very close so whichever one is chosen will receive the full support of the others which is important because Jaune Arc's condition plus Lie Ren's Semblance means they could potentially become all but invisible to the Grimm. That being said Mister Arc's condition is still shrouded in many unknowns thus making him a risk for the foreseeable future."
James examined the candidates presented and carefully began to weigh the pros and cons of each one before a clever idea popped into his head, "Do we have to pick someone in Beacon? Does it even have to be a student?"
"You're thinking of your Lieutenant Winter Schnee," Oz observed.
"Not entirely but, I will admit that I think she would be an excellent choice," he answered honestly. "Rather I was thinking of the possibility of giving the power to a student from another academy since Salem is undoubtedly focusing her attention here. Of course, we could always give the power over to an already licensed huntress but that would also require bringing in someone new to the inner circle."
"Like Lieutenant Schnee?"
The general gave a small laugh, "Well she is my protege and hopefully my successor in more ways than one. She's ready Oz, all she needs is a chance to earn your trust and I assure you that she will exceed all your expectations as she did with mine."
Ozpin wondered how to best respond to his friend's request, Winter is a rather intelligent woman but she lives up to her name for too well for my tastes. Then again several of my greatest allies have been people that I originally thought I wouldn't like and even then I don't have to like her to trust her… but I do need to know her, "Well in light of recent events we will be needing extra security for Vytal Festival and a woman of her caliber would be much appreciated should things take a turn for the worse and if they don't, it will still be a fine opportunity for me to get to know her." he looked at the general and saw that James was accepting but a little disappointed since waiting for the Festival meant that the Lieutenant would not be chosen for the Fall Maiden. I'm sorry old friend but I believe it's for the best that the power stays in Vale where I can keep her safe. Unless you fail her like you've failed so many others, you old fool, Spoke the old voice of doubt once more. He pushed the unwelcome thoughts of doubt back into the dark recesses of his weary mind, knowing full well that it would never truly be gone and had only been strengthened with every lifetime. Sometimes he wondered if the gods were punishing him for being the reason why Salem did what she had done so very long ago and other times he considered the possibility that they were just sadistic. There was yet another part of him that recoiled at the mere thought of issuing such a human trait to the Brothers, however, it wasn't a reaction based on any respect he had for them. Instead, it was because those two were far too alien to ever understand their own creations which in an odd and rather depressing way meant that what happened back then was inevitable...
"Ozpin?"
The sound of Glynda's voice snapped him out of his introspection and back into the reality of the task before him but the doubts refused to let go, No matter who you chose you will be killing Amber and altering a young woman's life for the worst as well as dragging her team into a pointless war. Why do you even try anymore, what are you even trying to accomplish these days? The stalemate cannot last! He gritted his teeth and turned back to the list of candidates ignoring his ever-growing fear that nothing he did ultimately mattered. I need to do this, I need to do whatever I can to protect as many people as possible. It is as simple as that! So to protect people you lie to people and send them to their deaths knowing full well that their sacrifice doesn't matter? That's not true! Every single one of their sacrifices mattered every single one made a difference! Stop lying to yourself and look around you, she is chipping away at everything and you are powerless.
"Oz, are you okay? We can put this off till later, that way Gris and possibly even Qrow can be present for this," Ironwood suggested.
"I assure you that I'm fine, I am just… tired," So very tired.
Author's Notes: Adam's youtube debut was originally going to be in the next chapter but I think we can all agree that it was time to cut the fluff and start cranking up the tension so the next chapter will be the start of Sun and Neptune's Junior Detective Adventures!
As for the River King, it is an adult-sized Grimmified frog that stands on its hind legs freeing the arms to grab. They are fast swimmers and possess a powerful leap and have a long barbed tongue used to weaken prey. They are aggressive and will try to kill people by swallowing them whole and smothering them to death inside the belly. In fact, in my headcanon, Grimm does not have stomach acid since Aura will just shield any huntsmen that get caught thus allowing them plenty of time to break free. However, Aura can't protect you from a lack of air thus smothering is much more effective since it also comes with the benefit of limiting their prey's movements. That said, River Kings were considered a failure by Salem since a prepared huntsman can take advantage of being swallowed to kill the creature from the inside out. In the past, there was an incident were a huntress wiped out an entire lake full of River Kings by use of explosives to thin the hoard and then purposely letting herself get caught by the survivors so she could kill them one at a time, afterward she retired and became a blacksmith in a small village in Mistral. Unknown to the huntress the results of the battle were reported to Salem who then decided to stop creating River Kings.
The Apsonsi are from Thailand Lore and have the appearance of a fourlegged lion human hybrid (the front half is a human woman and the back half is a lion) and they are considered protectors from harm. However in this story, they were created by Salem in an attempt to improve upon the Nemean by creating a creature that could lower the target's guard by tricking them into thinking that the Apsonsi was just another human, it did not work. That being said, the stories about the Grimm proved that it is still had value as a demoralizer which led to further and more successful experiments.