"So I think… that about covers it," Summer finished, sitting upon a familiar bed deep beneath Shade Academy as Willow once again began applying sticky electrodes to her exposed skin. A changing shade had been pulled around the area, shielding her from the others in the room. "And Fox isn't here because he needs some time to acclimate to being able to see. Walking through the city and the Academy… he thought it'd be way too much stimulus for him this early on. When we left, he was busy inspecting a glass of water and losing his mind over the reflections and stuff. Can't really blame him, honestly. It must be wild…"

Professor Gumo didn't react at first- in fact, he had barely moved at all throughout Summer and the others' recounting of events. Though he had just seen them the other day, so much had happened that his head was left spinning with everything there was to process… and Professor Ozpin's presence in the room wasn't helping matters any. He hadn't expected the other headmaster to journey out to Vacuo, much less to come and visit him to discuss the war against Salem directly. Between his duties as Headmaster of Shade Academy, the amount of secrets leaking out, and all of the new additions to the supposed 'inner circle', the man could only let out a sigh and shake his head as he tried to come to grips with the fact that Fox Alistair could suddenly see.

"…Miss Rose, everything you've told me could be described as 'wild'," the faunus replied. "While I appreciate your inclination to come straight here and begin your training, I have no idea what to do with all of this information."

"I do," Professor Ozpin chimed in. The man was seated upon a rolling stool, watching Summer and Willow's silhouettes as the electrodes were applied. "I'll be taking over the schedule for training Summer from here, once I run some initial tests and modifications. Your support in such things will be greatly appreciated, Ochre, but I will ensure that as little as possible of these new responsibilities and problems fall upon your shoulders. After all… you do have other things to attend to in the near future."

Ghira, Velvet, and Sage all looked to their headmaster expectantly, but the older man didn't return their gaze. Instead, all eight of his eyes were locked on Professor Ozpin, to whom he offered a small nod.

"…that I do. Preparations are well underway, though… is that still the best course of action?"

"There is no other," Professor Ozpin said quietly. "Especially now. Do you trust me to take over from here?"

"Of course," Professor Gumo said with a small bow. "I trust you with my life. You're sure you're in the headspace to handle this right now?"

"Of course," Professor Ozpin answered. "I'll get you the results as soon as I can."

"My thanks," Professor Gumo said as he offered the trio from Team BASS a small bow. "I have another meeting to attend, but… do your best. We will catch up soon."

"…the hell is all this about now?" Velvet asked as Summer emerged from behind the changing shade, back in her outfit and serving as a timely distraction.

"I'm ready," the Maiden announced confidently, though her boldness soon faded. "For… uh, whatever all this is."

Professor Ozpin immediately turned his attention to the girl, ignoring Velvet entirely as he approached Summer instead.

"Well, assuming that your revelation of being the Fall Maiden is in fact true," Professor Ozpin began, circling the girl and offering Willow a nod of thanks as he went, "I will be able to unlock some of your potential. The Maidens and I were connected, when they were once alive. I aided them in imparting their powers to worthy adventurers, and I should be capable of doing so again. If I can in fact unlock some of your hidden potential… then we need to test the aftereffects."

Ghira let out a small grunt, folding his arms across his chest as he ignored Velvet's glare.

"…will that not negatively affect you once again, like granting Fox sight?" the faunus asked. "Or will it do no such thing as you are not shifting around your own apparent magic?"

"Well, there is only one way to find out," Professor Ozpin offered. "I would think that I'll be fine afterward, following your logic. This shouldn't do any permanent damage at all, to Summer or myself. Temporarily, though, it will likely exhaust me beyond being able to fight, should an emergency arise. That shouldn't be an issue, this far underground."

"Not exactly reassuring," Sage grumbled. "I doubt there's going to be any sort of attack on Vacuo, and you'd have to be an idiot to try… but did you have to phrase it like that?"

"Apologies," the professor offered with a lopsided smile. "I suppose it's simply my flair for the dramatic shining through. Now, Miss Rose… if you would be so kind as to offer me your hand?"

Summer reached out instinctively before hesitating, letting her hand fall halfway to Professor Ozpin's.

"…Miss Rose…?"

"What if…" Summer started. "What if it's… too much? What if you unlock something I'm not supposed to have access to, until I earn it on my own? What if it's overstimulation, like… you know. Fox. Imagine that this goes like a magical version of that. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but…"

"I don't think so," Willow spoke up as she put a hand on Summer's shoulder. "That's a perfectly valid concern. This… 'magic' that seems inherent to Maidens, it doesn't seem like something our bodies are used to. Maybe we were at some point in the past, but now… Professor, have you ever done anything like this before?"

"I have not," Professor Ozpin confirmed, keeping his hand out. "But isn't the prospect of being part of a grand experiment, one that could give us a serious edge, exciting? Intriguing? Something worth exploring?"

There was an immediate silence in the room, filled with discomfort. Professor Ozpin merely looked confused by the sudden shift in mood, while Velvet let out a snort.

"…okay. I've read enough comics in my time to know that sounded ominous as hell. Were you trying for a supervillain speech, alongside hiding whatever it is that Professor Gumo is doing from us?"

Professor Ozpin blinked twice before removing his spectacles entirely and putting them in his coat pocket.

"...I was not, no. Miss Scarlatina, you have my apologies, but… please, do try to understand. I am not at all like you. Sometimes, I say and do things that may come off as threatening to someone with a limited lifespan, and such moments often escape me. Some people see me as incredibly wise and experienced, and others, as unworthy of trust and scheming. It is never my intention to be the latter."

"Then what is Professor Gumo doing that warrants his attention right now?" Sage asked. "If it isn't something nefarious, then prove it."

"He is scheduled to be on a call with the headmasters of several primary academies in Mantle," Professor Ozpin answered. "After Beacon's move to allow faunus into our school, we're going to try to push to get at least one hunter's academy in Mantle to allow them as well. I should really be on the call, too, but… this is important."

"…this can wait," Willow insisted, sounding exasperated. "If that call is going on right now, and you being there could sway Mantle toward even a baby step for faunus equality, you should not be here messing around with Summer. In fact, putting her over an entire segment of the population is making me think of you as untrustworthy and scheming. Kali and I have been trying to work with my father to push for faunus rights, and y-"

Professor Ozpin raised a hand and let out a sigh while closing his eyes, causing Willow to trail off. He could feel Velvet's eyes on him as well, and her gaze was furious.

"…you are correct," Professor Ozpin surrendered. "And when you are correct, I will not fight you. Let us compromise. There is recording equipment in the training room here. Summer- as you are now, I would like to see you fight Team BASS while hooked up to the monitoring equipment provided by Professor Gumo. While it would be better for me to be present… I can work with a recording and data readouts. Do this now so we can get a baseline, and then we can return to the proposition of unlocking more of your latent magic sometime afterward. Meanwhile, I will go and join Professor Gumo in the talks with Mantle. Is that agreeable for the moment?"

"That's definitely better than rushing into things," Summer considered. "Go jump on the call, and we'll handle things down here. Thanks for at least listening to us…"

"Of course," Professor Ozpin agreed. "I will always take your perspectives into account. Things may be tense right now, but before I leave for Sanus once again, I would like to repair our strained relationship. I should be back in a little over an hour or so. Good luck, Miss Rose."

"You too," Willow offered as she watched Professor Ozpin give them a small bow and head for the door.

"…what an absolute douchebag," Velvet said, her tone dripping with disdain. "Just… everything about him, from the way he carries himself, to his priorities, to this whole little game about what we are and aren't supposed to know…"

"Well… to be fair," Willow began, looking uneasy, "he was originally planning to be on that call… from his office up in Beacon. We are the ones who caused his schedule to get jumbled, and he had every intention of following through until he was right here in front of Summer, who he now knows is a Maiden. He may be immortal, but he clearly isn't omnipotent."

"Additionally," Ghira followed up, "in his mind, arming ourselves against Salem does take priority over equal treatment for the faunus, especially up in Solitas. Without the ability to fight Salem, there may not be any more academies… or any more faunus, for that matter. While I do not like it, I can see why he would want to pursue this lead immediately and leave the negotiations to Professor Gumo. Our headmaster is capable on his own, and Summer's situation, along with our involvement, was a sudden, unexpected development."

Velvet let out a little growl and stomped her foot while balling her fists at her sides.

"…stop arguing rationally when I just want to be mad!"

"Stop acting like a child when we all want to be treated like adults by our superiors," Sage remarked, heading for the door. "Everything Ghira and Willow just said is true… but you're not wrong, either. This Ozpin guy's priorities seem to change with the wind, and honestly… I wouldn't be surprised if there is no meeting going on right now. It's entirely possible that he just wanted an excuse to get away from us after being called out."

The others moved to follow Sage in short order, Summer taking the spot directly behind him.

"Let's not get wrapped up in conspiracy theories, especially about our allies. It's not going to do us any good, especially if there's no way to find out if he's actually lying to us."

Willow snorted, rolling her eyes and earning a questioning look from Summer.

"…'let's not get wrapped up in conspiracy theories' coming from the one who has future sight and has made predictions that ended up being incorrect," Willow reminded. "And there is a way to find out if the call was actually made. I can take care of it later tonight."

"…that right?" Velvet asked, giving the heiress a curious look. "Got some contacts you can poke at up north?"

"I do," Willow confirmed. "I can ask my father to reach out to the academies and do a bit of digging, and I'll have an answer by tomorrow."

Velvet let out a little chuckle as she put her arms up into an overhead stretch. The group made their way into the underground training room and began to spread out to ready themselves for a fight.

"You know, Schnee… you're alright…"

Author's Note:

It can never be simple.

-RD