Two days later, Yang was back at Gévaudan Estate Agents and, this time, was let in without any hassles. She said, "Hi, I was here the other day," to a different agent to the one that she and Junior had talked to on her previous visit.

The new agent said, "Yes. I was actually here, hiding under the table we'll be sitting at today."

Yang sighed and said, "Sorry about how everything went down. I'm sure you can understand that I've had a lot on my mind, and then with what happened…it just kind of all came together in a rather explosive combination."

"Yeah. In any case, we confirmed your story…" seeing Yang frown, he said, "Just a figure of speech." Yang's eyebrows relaxed as she sat down. "I'm Bill, by the way."

"I doubt this is necessary, but I'm Yang. Branwen."

"Not going by Xiao Long?"

"It doesn't seem to be a particularly popular name around here, so I figured I'd just go by my mother's name while I'm here. Make things…less messy."

"I see. That makes sense. So then, Ms Branwen, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, not much really. I will need a main bedroom and an office. Maybe a spare bedroom that I can use as a home gym. Obviously I'll be needing a kitchen and living area. I also want a closed off double garage so that I can work on some projects that I don't want people to see.

"Would a shed suffice for your projects?"

"If it was big enough to store a large car, I suppose." seeing the confusion on Bill's face, Yang explained, "I've got Multiple projects in mind."

"I see. How about location?"

It'll have to be pretty close by. I work at Junior's club, and with my current…issues…I can't exactly drive my bike around and public transport is next to non-existent around there.

"Alright. And your budget?"

"Junior said that he'd take care of it, but the less that we need to fork out, the better."

"I see. Very well then. I'll see what I can find out. Could you please come back next week? I don't really have much of a portfolio that I can produce off of the top of my head, so I'll need to talk to my colleagues about what options we've got available for you."

"Of course. Thanks," Yang said, smiling as she stood up. "You've been most helpful."

"I just wish I could do more, after the way we all acted."

Yang frowned as she said, "I told you. Don't worry to about it."

"Even so."

"Yang sighed and said, "Well, whatever, I've got to hit the gym now."

The agent's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "YOU need to go to the gym!? Why?"

"I fight close range, so I need to be in better shape than other most huntsman and huntresses. On top of that, my instincts are to use one arm for defence and one arm for attack. I need to relearn how to fight without one arm. So I'm going to a boxing gym, not a regular weight gym."

"Oh. I see. So does that mean that you'll be re-enrolling in Beacon when it opens up again?"

Yang frowned as she said, "They're reopening Beacon? What do you mean?"

"Well, it's not like this was the first time that the school has been attacked like this…though it is the first time it has been 'destroyed' and it's probably not going to be the last."

"Really? When was the last time?"

"Hmmm…from memory…it was the time of Professor Ozymandias."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I heard that it got removed from the textbooks soon after Ozpin was announced as the new leader of Beacon."

Yang frowned and said, "Is that so? Thanks for telling me. It'll give me something to do in my downtime, when I'm not training."

The agent blinked as he said, "Hm…well, what do you know?"

"What do you know? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know…I know I don't know you personally or anything, but you just didn't really strike me as the type to sit down and study."

Yang sighed and said, "I get that a lot. My marks were second only to Pyrrha when we were both attending Beacon before..." A sad look appeared on Yang's face.

"Yes, well, I suppose I really can't even begin to imagine what must be rushing through your mind right now, after all you've lost. But, from my experience, the heaviness will fade with time."

"You think?"

The estate agent nodded and said, "Yes. You'll also have less time to think on it when you get busy too."

Yang said, "I suppose so," and stood up when the estate agent did and reached out with her hand and said, "It's been…nice…doing business with you…actually…I don't think you ever told me your name."

The estate agent thought over what they'd said and smiled and said, "Guess so. Sorry about that. People around here call me Mark."

"Mark, huh? So, what do people that aren't from around here call you?"

Mark smiled and said, "Out there, most of the people that I meet don't have time to learn my name."

Yang raised an eyebrow as she thought, 'Okay, that's like, totally weird. Well, whatever.' She shook her head and said, "Alright then. Thank you, Mark."

XXXXX

At the same time, in Atlas, Weiss was fuming. She exclaimed, "I can't believe this! Locked up in my room! Like some child! And after everything I've done too!" she started to pace the room. "I am the Schnee heiress! I'm next in line after my Mothe…wait! That's it!" Weiss smirks. "He can't keep me locked up! Next time he comes here, I'll tell him what's for…but no. That won't really accomplish anything." Weiss sighs. "If only there was some way to pressure him within the company. But I'm still 17. I don't have the right to vote for anything yet, least of the kinds of decisions like what would be needed. As my father he has the authority of my stake in the SDC too! Wait! Winter gave hers up when she joined the Atlas Military…that would certainly get me out of here, but it wouldn't put an end to Jacque's deranged megalomania. And Whitley…" Weiss bit her lip. She sighed regretfully. "No. That's no different from the last time, when I ran away to Beacon. He managed to get me back here anyway. No. I need to be smarter about it this time."

Then she looked at the door as she heard it unlock. She blinked as she said, "Klein!" and smiled. "You're just the man I wanted to see."

"Really Miss Weiss?" as he closed the door behind him and locked it as he'd been instructed to do.

Weiss nodded as she sat down. She patted the bed next to her, indicating that Klein should sit down next to her.

Klein nodded and sat down as he asked, "What is it that you wanted me to talk about with you?"

"Klein…you've been in my families employ for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yes Miss Weiss. Since your mother was a little older than you actually."

Weiss smiled and said, "Really? Then you would know a lot about the Schnee Dust Company and how it's run, right?"

"Well…not really in depth, but I do have an understanding of things. Why?"

"Maybe you could tell me how Jacque came to have such an important role within the company? From what I remember Mother telling me, it happened around the time my Grandfather started to become ill. From what I understand though, it should go from the eldest Schnee of one generation to the next. Which means that my mother should have been named successor."

"Well, that's true. From memory though, Jacque managed to convince him to name him successor to the company rather than your mother…though I could never quite manage to work out how he managed to do so. But, I suppose that he was already speaking on her behalf in matters concerning the SDC. It was such a surprise to me when it all went down. Nicholas was always glowing with praise for your mother…it's really sad about her drinking problem…come to think of it, that actually started around the same time."

"So…you're saying that you can nominate someone to speak in your place?"

"That's right. As your legal guardian, Jacque is executing that right for you at the moment."

"I see. So when I left to go to Beacon, and essentially left his guardianship, that must have caused him some problems with the other board members, didn't it?"

"Yes. He was getting ever so angry and was taking a lot out on young Master Whitley."

"I see. Thank you, Klein. You've given me lots to think about." Weiss put an arm around Klein's shoulders, and squeezed him to her.

"That's perfectly alright, Ms Schnee."

XXXXX

At the same time, in Mistral, Ren and Nora were stepping through the doorway into the trading guild. Ren saw Tabitha and lead Nora over to her. When they were there, Ren said, "Tabitha."

"Oh! Ren. You're back!"

"I am."

"And without that little hussy with you I see."

"Yes. I didn't want any…unwanted distractions…during our meeting with your boss."

"Yes…well…about that…"

Ren sighed and asked, "What about it?"

"He was…somewhat less than enthusiastic about your involvement in any investigations around our products, given the theories that the investigators are pursuing. I told him about the possibility of Grimm involvement and he dictated a letter of introduction to the police asking them to take you on as consultants on this case."

Ren said, "Thank you, Tabitha," as he accepted the letter and saw that it had been sealed with wax. He blinked saying, "This was…it's…rather archaic…isn't it?"

"Yeah. But the boss is a bit of an old timer himself and likes the sense of tradition that it gives him when he seals letters like that. Besides, with the communications system down, in small towns like ours, even electronic connections of the distance between here and the station have become problematic. And, to be frank, this neck of the woods was never one of the most rapid adopters of technologically advancements.

Ren said, "I see. Then in that case, thank you." He put the letter of introduction into his pocket before asking, "Did you talk to your friend about the possibility of us talking to them?"

"I did. She'll be at café du lorien next to the town hall at midday tomorrow if you want to talk to her."

Ren smiled and said, "Thank you Tabitha. You've been most helpful."

"I don't know about that, but I've certainly done everything that I can.

Nora said, "Well, that was…illuminating," as she and Ren left.

Ren said, "It was."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, now we have an in with the police."

Nora smiled and said, "I guess so."

XXXXX

At the same time, in Vale, Glynda was sitting behind Ozpin's desk, in front of all of the teachers that had been working at Beacon before the Vytal Massacre. She said, "I've called you here today to discuss what it going to happen with Beacon going forwards."

One of the teachers said, "And why are you sitting behind that desk, Glynda. Where's Ozpin?" a couple of the other junior teachers echoed the question.

Glynda said, "Ozpin, is dead. She thought, 'At least, for now anyway. But they don't know that and Ozpin only kept a few of us informed of the true history of Remnant, so it's not exactly like I can tell them and sound like I can continue on in the role of Headmaster like I need to in order for Beacon to survive.' She continued, "However, the fact remains that Beacon needs a Headmaster and as Vice Headmaster, that role should, obviously, fall to me. Any more questions about that?" There were a few murmurings of discontent, especially from the older teachers, but none of them said anything. "Good. Now, Thanks to whoever was responsible for the…" she gritted her teeth, "Vytal Massacre," Beacon has had its reputation dragged through the gutter and there will need to be at least some changes made in order to address some of those issues."

Thumbelina Peach asked, "Changes like what?"

"There were a number of events that I believe led up to what happened, and Ruby Rose seems to have been around for all of them. Some of you will be aware that she was skipped ahead two grades." The teachers that knew muttered amongst themselves, and commented on their discontent with it. "That was done because of Ozpin's history and his close relationship with her mother. Because of that, he knew of the potential for her to activate the power of her silver eyes."

Bartholomew Oobleck said, "Silver Eyes? But we were taught that that was a myth!" remembering back to his days in Beacon after Ozpin had just been instated as Headmaster.

Glynda said, "Yes. I suggested numerous times that it should be included as part of the curriculum, but Ozpin believed that if it became widely known that there was a power such as that, then the people that do bear them would be targeted for them."

"I see..yes…yes…most troubling. But!" Bartholomew raised his finger. "It would be even more dangerous for them if they were left in the dark about it and it activated and they were unable to control it."

Professor Peach said, "Yes. You're right. That's why we should consider ourselves lucky that Miss Rose's activated when they did."

"Yes," Glynda echoed, "Lucky."

"That's why we should start add Silver Eyes to the History Curriculum and a program developed to train these 'Silver Eyed Warriors' in their use if and when they appear."

"That's a good idea. Unfortunately, I don't know how they work myself. That's why I've decided to call in Qrow Branwen to become the new lecturer for combat. As the 'Q' from Team STRQ, he will have practical knowledge of its use and limitations. While he's here, I'll have him develop such a course. Now, as I was saying, Ozpin's nepotism played a significant role in the lead up to the Vytal Massacre, even if it didn't have much to do with the event itself. So no longer will the Headmaster have the sole discretion to allow early entry. However, in some cases, early admission may be warranted. In such cases the Deputy Headmaster, along with the Faculty Heads of the Combat Faculty will also need to give their permission for early access."

Thumbelina Peach said, "But you were Combat Instructor at the same time as you were Deputy Headmaster. Would that not invalidate the intention of having multiple parties involved?"

"Yes. It would."

A red head that was still unaware of why he had been called in said, "Then the solution would be to disallow the Combat Faculty Head from being named Deputy Headmaster."

Thumbelina said, "That is an absurd proposition for a combat academy like Beacon. A better solution would be to remove the Deputy Headmaster from the rotation of Lecturers. That way it would allow the possibility of a Combat Faculty Head or Lecturer becoming Deputy Headmaster and preserves the two-person majority necessary for such a procedure."

"Then which Faculty Head should it be? Combat makes sense, but if we use Ruby as an example and Qrow became Combat Faculty Head, then it would be effectively pointless."

Thumbelina said, "You've got a good point there, Cardin." She turned to Glynda and, questioningly, said, "Glynda?"

Glynda sighed and said, "Truthfully, the only thing that I could think of to cater for a situation like that is that the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster both agree on a Faculty Head to have that authority on a case-by-case basis. If one of you can think of a better solution at any point, I am open to suggestions." The gathered lecturers all nodded, satisfied with the solution. "Now, the next thing to address is legacy student admissions."

Cardin frowned and said, "Legacy Admissions?!"

Glynda frowned and said, "Yes. It's not known outside of Faculty, but the offspring of faculty members and former graduates, get added leeway in their admissions."

"Wait! Then Ruby and Yang…"

"We've addressed Ruby's entrance already. That was an exception to the rule. When it comes to Yang though, she did have that leeway, but there's a reason that she should have been in the final match of the Vytal Festival. Her scores in Combat were second only to Pyrrha, who, apparently, based on her performance in her battle against Penny Polendina in the Vytal Festival, could well have been cheating. And her theory marks were close to the top in most of your classes. In Professor Port's Grim Biology classes, they were at the top. You will all have access to the marks of previous attendees when we are done."

"I will…uhhh…why am I here…exactly Ms Goodwytch?"

"Because, Cardin, one of the new classes that we are instituting under the Combat Faculty, is Grimm Defence. It was a new class I was developing as part of the Combat Curriculum when I was Faculty Head and your marks make you most suitable for the position of Lecturer of that class. As such, you will be getting your Huntsman License when we are done with this meeting. However, because you haven't finished the entire course, you will of course still be having 'remedial' lessons from the other lecturers when you and they are not teaching your classes however."

Cardin blinked and said, "Yes Ma'am," and swallowed nervously at what he'd been told.

Thumbelina smiled and said, "Be proud Cardin. It will also make you the youngest lecturer in Academy History." And the other lecturers applauded.

When the applause died down Oobleck said, "If you don't mind my asking, Glynda."

"Go ahead."

"If Yang's marks were so exceptional, why was Miss Rose appointed leader of that team? Especially since Miss Schnee's marks were also a lot more exceptional than Miss Rose's."

Glynda sighed and said, "I've got no idea. From what I could gather, it was another instance of Ozpin's nepotism combined with her being capable of destroying the Nevermore that they encountered during their test. I did point out that, of the four of them, Crescent Rose was the only weapon of the four that had all of the requisite characteristics to be able to defeat one the size that it had reached, but he wasn't hearing any of it."

Oobleck thought back on his interactions with the team on the mission that he'd led and thought, 'Maybe I should have pushed back against Miss Rose more than the others back then. But I suppose I'd been blinded by Oz's actions towards her too.'

Port thought, 'Apparently Oz was more fallible than I'd thought. Maybe I was wrong about what I said about Miss Schnee back then.'

Glynda continued, "Frankly, if I'd had my way back then, that team would have been separated, but that's not how things were run."

Aurelia pointedly said, "How things 'were'? What do you mean? What other 'changes' have you come up with?"

Thumbelina said, "If I may?" Glynda blinked, raising an eyebrow at her to indicate that she was listening. "I would request that any early entries are forbidden from being assigned as team leader."

Glynda commented, "Sure. That makes sense," and typed into the computer in front of her. She said, "For now though, the way I see it, the teams were formed more by luck than by skill. So, my suggestion, and this one really is just a suggestion…" Glynda looked around the gathered lecturers before continuing, "…that we forestall the assigning of teams until the second year and have them rotate during combat classes so that they can get a feel for who they work well with." She paused before looking at Cardin and said, "Come to think of it, Cardin Winchester, you were leader of team CRDL. What are your thoughts on this?"

"My thoughts?" Cardin looked stunned that she would be asking him about it. He said, "Well…it does make a type of sense…but what if something happens like the Vytal Massacre again? If it happened once, surely it could happen again. If it did, wouldn't it leave a detrimental lack of leadership?"

"That's true. It could happen again. Of course, more guardrails have been put in place since it happened in order to prevent it happening as easily as it seems to have done. As to the lack of leadership; maybe, to an extent anyway. But, conversely, it would also let the people with the authority to make the decisions necessary, the true leaders that are informed of the situation to a far greater extent, and have the experience to make those necessary decisions, without upstart students going off on suicide missions against enemy Generals like Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna reportedly did and leave them to the ones actually capable of undertaking them. On top of that, you were there, how much leadership did your fellow students display during the assault?" Cardin nodded and shrugged, all the answer that Glynda needed.

"Now, there is two more things that need to be addressed before you all can go and start to prepare for your classes." Cardin started to get scared, because he didn't have the foggiest idea of what to do to prepare for teaching a class. "The first is that to repair Beacon's reputation, to truly repair it, we're going to have to include more regular courses that will be made available to non-huntsman. Of course, we are still a Huntsman Academy, so more focus will be placed on those courses." There was no reply or visible discontent with that announcement, which explained a lot of the other new faces. "Alright. Now, lastly. I would like Thumbelina Peach to take the role of my Deputy Headmaster."

One of the elder lecturers exclaimed, "What?! Forget Deputy, as the most experienced lecturer here, I should be Headmaster," and, in an almost venomous tone, she finished, "Deputy."

Glynda smiled and said, "I thought you would say something like that. However, for Beacon to survive in-tact, beyond the changes that we've decided to enact, a sense of continuity is also needed. As the former Deputy Headmaster, it only makes sense that I take the role of Headmaster rather than the likes of you. As to my Deputy, Thumbelina is the only one that has offered any ideas to secure the future of our Academy since this meeting started."

Thumbelina said, "If nobody else has any real objections, I humbly accept your offer, Headmaster." Glynda smiled and nodded when there were no further objections. "Since I will no longer be in the roster, it will also let me get young Cardin ready for teaching classes," and smiled as she heard Cardin let out a relieved breath.

"Thank you, Deputy." Glynda thought, 'Good. That's one more thing taken care of. I'd been planning on doing that myself.' She said, "I'll also have Qrow give you a hand when he gets here." Thumbelina nodded. Glynda said, "If anybody else has anything they want to say, then we're done."

The person that tried to question Glynda's right to lead said, "Well if you're all going to go along with this sham, then I'm quitting."

Glynda said, "If that's what you want to do, then it's fine. Do you want a transfer to Mistral Academy?"

He blinked and said, "You'd do that?"

"Of course. Despite your attitude to me since I joined the faculty, I have never had any issues with you, or misunderstood your love of the academy system." He nodded acceptance.

There are some other faculty heads that need appointing after the Vytal Massacre. Aurelia. You'll be taking my former position as head of combat. The teachers that will be under you, will be Cardin Winchester, for defence against Grimm, Qrow Branwen, for Combat against Grimm and Ann Greene, for Stealth and Security. I've got a mind to hiring doubles for all them, so that they're not so spread thin, but I think you can take care of that."

Aurelia nodded and said, "Thank you, Headmaster. I must admit that I had wondered why you called me."

Glynda noddd and said, "Professor Port, you will keep on in your role as the Head of Grimm Biology, but you'll have two lecturer under you, who have yet to arrive. Oobleck. You're going to be the head of the new History Department. Your lecturers are already here, though even I can't say their names correctly, so they'll have to introduce themselves to you later. Also, I would like you to remain here when everyone has left."

Oobleck said, "Alright."

"Miranda Malori. As you know, you'll be taking over as the Faculty Head for Plant Science and Medicine. I've separated the subjects out from one gigantic course into multiple disciplines, Plant Science and Medicine; basic fundamentals of the subject, which everyone should take in their first year. Advanced Plant Science & Medicine; Plant Science & Medicine: Poisons; Human Biology and Human Biology: Physical Education. Harold. You'll be taking lead of the Weapon Crafting and Maintenance faculty. Cardin will be teaching some of your first year combat and armour maintenance classes. You'll also have Dee and Dudley Tweed coming in from Mistral to teach. Alright. That's it. You can go and start preparing for your classes now." The remaining teachers nodded and started walking out of the office.