I just wanted to say, I don't know why people keep misusing the word 'paranoid' with Ozpin. That's a word for when someone thinks someone or something is always after them. He's literally faced Salem's Klyntar enforcer and died twice to it. That's not paranoia, that actually happened to him.
Symbiote Knight
Chapter 31: Interrogation
Ozpin was in the basement area of the Beacon, well the 'true' basement at least. The sublevels that only a handful had access too and not the one above them that made people think was the bottom levels of the school. The large high ceiling area was actually a hollowed out underground cave, it was one of the reasons he had Beacon built here because of the natural deep rock to hide away the vault.
Said vault was actually hidden unlike the other three vaults under the other schools. He had built Beacon last and decided that it might be best to have one last safety measure installed to prevent Salem from finding all four pieces of the Relics.
It also housed the machine keeping Amber the Fall Maiden still alive in another section. Ozpin however was looking over the special room he had constructed along with this vault. It was a heavily reinforced room as he walked in. Pure metal walls that were welded in a way to prevent any gaps, an air system that could be shut off and a heavily reinforced door as the only way in or out. Even the lights were behind the strongest security glass and could be sealed off.
This was both a prison cell and a tomb, if need be, something he created in mind if he could ever capture Salem's special Enforcer as he called it. He never thought he would have to use it as it had been over a century since the last time, she had let it out, but they both had been at this shadow war for long enough for him to make plans for the future.
It would seem his 'just in case' prison cell was going to be used. He checked everything over, the flamethrowers that would come out behind hidden panels needed to be refilled and adjusted, they would burn the creature to cinders if it tried to escape before he could get some information out of it. The creature had been part of Salem's forces for so long it had to have some information. Plus, he needed to know why it was here and why Mr. Arc was attached to it.
He looked more thoroughly though Mr. Arc's records and while he knew the transcripts were faked, if this was Salem trying to get him into the school, she would have used something far better to avoid detection. This kind of sloppy work wasn't like her or her usually followers. The next problem that nagged him was that he could find nothing that would indicate that Jaune or his family were part of Salem's forces. They were a normal (if large) family that lived in a village that hadn't seen more than the usual Grimm attacks.
If the Arcs had made a deal to keep them save, then Salem was not keeping her word, so it made no sense. Not unless she was holding the Arc family hostage to get Jaune's cooperation but again, Salem liked to recruit willing followers of notable skills and abilities. This wasn't her style so again he couldn't understand what was going on. He knew he was missing pieces, that he wasn't seeing the full picture.
He just couldn't figure out what the picture was.
Ozpin looked at the center of the room, this was the latest piece he had recently installed, he had this made special and placed here a few years ago when the technology became ready to use. It was what he liked to call the sonic cage, a device that sent out large sound waves straight up to the ceiling, just large enough for a person to stand in comfortably.
The preparations were nearly complete when he heard the elevator arriving.
He walked out as he waited hoping his guest was here, he had sent an urgent message to drop everything and get here as fast as possible, that his family members might be in danger.
The door opened to see Glynda step out and a family 'old crow' with her.
"Ozpin, what's this about my nieces in danger?" Qrow asked as he stepped out immediately. "I was in the middle of my investigation when I got here, and I had to fly all the way here all night. I'm dead tired and I need a drink, so point me in the direction of this threat and let me get to work."
"Nice to see you too Qrow," Ozpin smiled but then got more serious. "I won't lie, there is a hidden threat in the school, I believe a creature that Salem uses has infiltrated the school, it's attached to one of the students."
"What creature? Like some kind of Grimm or something?" the experienced Huntsman stated.
Ozpin shook his head, "I thought so the first time I saw it, but it was far different than anything else I've seen on his world. It's like a living creature that uses people as a host, like a parasite controlling them, it's extremely violent and has a taste for…brains."
Qrow was taken aback by that comment, he never heard of anything like that. Glynda who had been told of this creature as soon as he explained why he had dropped his mug still felt nauseous at the thought of it. Ozpin had seen the creature bite the heads off of dozens of people and seen the headless corpses, with the creature stating he would eat his brains in the fights between them. He believed the creature might have done just that post his deaths at the creature's hands.
"So, what's the plan?" Qrow asked.
"I have a few but let's see if we can at least lure him to where we need him." Ozpin stated.
-JNPR Dorm-
Jaune was glad that classes were over for the day, he stretched out as he was ready to get out of the school uniform, granted it fit pretty well and he did feel kind of sharp in it. It was just Ruby said she had some designs she wanted him to look over for the upgrades to his weapon and asked to meet him in their dorm or somewhere when he was free. He was really looking forward to this.
"Finally, I thought today was never going to end," Nora fell face first onto her bed.
"It wasn't that bad," Ren stated.
"Port's story lasted for most of the class this time," Nora moaned.
"You fell asleep halfway through." Ren commented.
"Still too long," she moaned into her pillow.
Jaune just smiled at the interaction, he could tell the two were close, but he just wasn't sure how close they were. They commented on growing up in an orphanage together, but he wasn't sure if it was okay to ask about it. Being an orphan couldn't be a pleasant experience and he didn't want to drag up painful memories.
"So Jaune," Pyrrha asked using a hand to brush away some hair. "I was hoping since Valor is out as your 'semblance' we can use one of the smaller training rooms together with him."
~It would be nice to be able to come out more often~
"Well, he says he's up for it," Jaune smiled. "We're both eager to-"
Suddenly his scroll started to chime.
"Huh, wonder who is…uh…I just got a message from the headmaster," Jaune stated as he looked at the message everyone in the room looked at him.
"Did you get in trouble?" Nora asked confused.
"I don't see how-" then he froze as he remembered his transcripts he then paled.
'Oh no, no-no-no-no-no,' he knew this had to be it, this had to be the reason. The headmaster must have found out somehow, there was no other reason he could think why Ozpin would want to see him personally. What was he going to do? This was his dream, maybe if he threw himself at Ozpin's mercy, he could get a second chance?
~Jaune calm down, we're all here for you but your team is looking concerned.~
"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked.
~I think you need to tell them~
Jaune had to agree he sighed as he should have guessed this was going to come out. "Actually, I think I know what this is about…you see, I…I didn't get into Beacon, I used fake transcripts to get in."
Nora jumped up from her spot as both Ren and Pyrrha looked at him shocked.
"What? Why?" Pyrrha asked him.
"Because I never got any training," Jaune sat down by one of the desks. "All I ever wanted was to be a Huntsman but I'm from a small village, there was no one there to train me. My dad is part of the town militia but that's it, he's not a huntsman. There were no schools or anyone to learn under for this kind of thing."
"There have been warriors in my family for generations but except for me and I just…I just wanted to be like them, to do them proud." He sighed as the weight of it all fell on his shoulders. He wanted so bad to come here and live up to it all, to just be strong enough to help others and try to make the world just a little better.
Suddenly it clicked on why Jaune had been so out of his depth, Pyrrha herself felt like she should have known better. It all made sense now why he didn't have his aura unlocked or even knew what it was. She knelt next to him, while she was a little disappointed in what he did, she was still proud of just how far he was coming with all the hard work he put in.
Now though, it seemed that the headmaster might have found out and if he had, then Jaune would most likely be expelled.
"Jaune, while I don't condone that, I can understand your reasons. Not everyone gets the opportunities to follow their dreams."
"Yeah, me and Renny were lucky the orphanage had a program to put us into a combat school," Nora commented.
Ren nodded his head the orphanage was a place where many young kids lost their families to Grimm attacks, so it was only natural for many of them wanting to become Huntsmen or Huntresses. Some did it because they didn't have much in the way of prospects if they were never adopted like they had been.
"No matter what we'll still be here for you." Ren offered.
"Thanks," He sighed knowing he couldn't put this off. "I guess it's off to face the music."
There was a heavy silence as Jaune left, they were worried this might be the last time they would be able to see him. Pyrrha felt her heart ache at the thought that Jaune would no longer be a student here or that she could see him at Beacon again.
The walk to the headmaster's office seemed like a long one, he felt like he was heading to the gallows.
~Whatever happens I'll be here, maybe we can still help people, just not as Huntsmen~
'Thanks buddy, I really hope Professor Ozpin lets us stay, I'll take being in detention for my entire time here if it means I can stay.'
The ride up the elevator was a long one as he walked into the office for the first time. The place had a heavy emphasis on both green and clocks. The ticking sounds were all over the place as Jaune wasn't sure what all the gears were for. Standing there looking out the window was Ozpin and there was a heavy atmosphere.
"Uh…you wanted to see me, sir?" Jaune swallowed hard his nerves were going into overdrive, his entire future would be in this man's hands. He could feel his heart beating so hard in his chest it was distracting.
There was an odd pause before Ozpin turned around, it was odd. Normally the headmaster would have this air of openness, like you could just sit down, and he would hear anything you had to say but it was like he was guarded for some reason. At least that's what it seemed to be for Jaune, the stone in his stomach got a lot larger now.
"Yes, I did," Ozpin stated. "I've been looking into you Mr. Arc."
"Before you say anything I'm sorry," Jaune spoke up as Ozpin had planned out this conversation many ways, but not like this. "I'm sorry I lied to get into Beacon, I'm sorry about the fake transcripts, I just…I just really wanted to get in and prove I could do it. My team didn't know about this so please don't punish them for hiding this."
Ozpin wasn't sure what to expect now, he had known the boy's papers were fake from day one, it was obviously that the boy had gotten scammed out of his money for them, but he saw something in the boy, something he wanted to at least give a chance to cultivate and grow. He still saw that in the boy, and it was very conflicting with the creature he knew that was hiding inside of his student.
"Well honesty is a good thing," Ozpin decided to play along maybe he could use this. "Be that as it may you realize you are in trouble?"
"Yes sir," Jaune looked down.
Ozpin again looked at him not sure what he was seeing, was the boy honest or a very good actor? It was hard to tell but he had to be sure, it was dangerous since if the creature came out, he wouldn't have much room to defend himself, but the risk was worth it. Besides, when you've died as many times as he had, death becomes more of an inconvenience.
Granted dying still hurt most times and he wasn't looking forward to that.
"Come with me Mr. Arc," Ozpin headed to the elevators. "If you want to stay in Beacon, I have something you can do about it. Think of it as a special form of detention."
Jaune blinked not sure what was going on but he quickly followed the profession. "Yes sir, thank you for this, I promise I won't let you down."
Ozpin gave him a strange look. "Yes, well, we shall see."
~I don't like this, something is going on~
'Dude we might not get kicked out, I'm ready for anything, he can throw us into the forest again and we have to fight our way back and I'd do it.'
~This feels different~
'You're sounding paranoid,' Jaune told his partner as they took the elevator down, and down and further down. 'Huh…I didn't think it went this far down.'
When they got out the huge underground room was not what he was expecting. 'Okay, getting a little creepy now.'
~I told you~
"Come along Mr. Arc," Ozpin's free hand went to the device in his pocket. It was set to control the special room he was leading them to. "This is a secure facility that I hope you can help me with something."
"This is, really secure looking." Jaune looked around.
"Indeed, you're the first student to be down here in over a decade," Ozpin explained as they went into a large metal cube of some kind.
Jaune continued to follow him but there wasn't anything inside, just something on the ground and some lights. Ozpin went to the other side as he turned around and waited. Jaune hesitantly started walking forward as both he and Valor were getting a lot of warning signs. If this was anyone else, he would have most likely bolted by now but this was Professor Ozpin, the head of Beacon, he wouldn't do anything bad here, right?
"Professor Ozpin, what's this room for?"
"I built it to contain a very dangerous beast," Ozpin was waiting for Jaune to step into the circle in the center of the room. Qrow and Glynda were watching and most likely already in the elevator, he could hear it moving in the distance and they wouldn't be far behind.
"What kind of beast?" Jaune asked wondering what this would possibly be used on.
"This one," He pressed the button as suddenly a sound barrier came up around Jaune.
Jaune cried out as did Valor as the sound waves ripped into the symbiote, it came outside as it writhed in pain as Jaune felt it as well through their bond. Ozpin looked down with sad eyes, he hated doing this, hated to put someone so young in pain but Salem wasn't one to hold punches like he was. There were certain lines he had been forced to cross but he tried to hold himself back from crossing whenever he could.
Salem never made it easy and looking down at the young man in pain as the creature was out and thrashing it left him feeling conflicted. This creature had been a scourge on their world and yet, something was off. For instance, it was white originally but now it was turning to the black he knew it was.
It was then that Qrow and Glynda rushed into the room both at the ready.
"Now Mr. Arc what is Salem up to? How did she recruit you?" Ozpin asked him.
"W-who?" Jaune grunted out in pain, he didn't know why they were doing this. Professor Goodwitch was here along with some guy how looked like he needed a shave.
"Come Mr. Arc there is no need for that," Ozpin stepped a little forward. "I've faced that creature before, I know it works for her, how else do you think I know its weakness for both sound and fire?"
Even in pain Valor registered the words, Ozpin was talking like he had met a Klyntar and not a very nice one either. Through the pain he was able to wonder, what if he wasn't the first of his kind to show up? What if there was another this entire time?
~There's another~ he realized.
"I-it's not him! I swear!" Jaune called out.
"What does the kid mean 'not him'?" Qrow asked stepping through the door with Glynda behind both had their weapons ready for a fight.
Ozpin narrowed his eyes, "Yes, what do you mean?"
"There's…there's another!" Jaune cried out.
Ozpin wasn't sure what to think in that moment, he couldn't just take Jaune's word for it, it was an obvious lie, and yet, something had been off. This creature had to have been here the entire time, but he had never known it to be this docile. His gut was telling him something wasn't right here, but he couldn't afford to be wrong. If he was wrong this creature could cause untold dangers to all the students above them.
Suddenly a new head was formed as it seemed the creature spoke. "Stop, you're hurting him, he feels my pain! I'll tell you anything just stop hurting Jaune."
This threw Ozpin a curve ball, never had this creature spoke in concern for the host, in fact it seemed like it always controlled the host or didn't seem to think much of them.
"Ozpin?" Glynda asked seeing him thinking.
Ozpin lowered the levels of the sonic cage as he knelt down as Jaune was on his hands and knees panting. The symbiote relaxed but it was still in obvious discomfort. He held up the device. "Anything funny and despite that I will hate myself for doing it, I will turn it up to full power."
"Understood."
"Just what in the hell is this thing?" Qrow asked.
"A Klyntar," Jaune spoke.
"A…what?" Qrow looked confused as did everyone else.
"I am a symbiotic lifeform," Valor explained.
Ozpin had never heard of a Klyntar, he knew what a symbiote is, it was similar to a parasite but benevolent. However, the creature he was familiar with was anything but benevolent.
"Explain," he said.
"He's an alien," Jaune said still feeling like his skin was burning, like he had a bad suntan all over his body, it was livable and a lot better than before, but he got into a sitting position as he couldn't even think of standing. "He was in that meteor we found in the forest."
"Wait, that was only a few months ago," Ozpin remembered it, he had sent the remains of it to Atlas for study as they had better resources. The creature he fought for had been here for centuries. Suddenly the pieces were starting to fit together but he had to be sure. All the lives of all the students above him were on the line and if he was wrong it could lead to such horror that hadn't been seen in so long.
Salem's enforcer had killed thousands and for students they would most likely not last long against it without warning.
Ozpin looked at the creature's head and then as Jaune Arc's eyes, there was something here so he would hear them out. "I want you to explain everything."
"Yes, I didn't know Valor was there at first, I fell into some black goo when we were fighting Grimm at the impact site." Jaune started to explain.
"I was injured and needed a host to heal, I picked Jaune," Valor said next. "Looking through his mind I saw potential, when I had healed enough to talk to him properly, I explained what I was and what I could offer him in a partnership."
"Oh?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"He's, well he's been a big help," Jaune explained. "He's been helping me get better."
"So that's the reason for your sudden increase in abilities," Glynda stated hearing that. "I had my suspicions something was up, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, so I just assumed you were a quick study."
"Sorry," Jaune hung his head. "I know it's not exactly fair, but we just figured it was like someone with a natural talent. We didn't mean anything by it, he was just trying to help me fulfill my dreams is all."
Ozpin set the field to the lowest setting to show some trust seeing the two relax. "What exactly is a Klyntar, was it?"
"We are what you would call an alien lifeform, we travel the stars looking for hosts. My branch is the True Klyntars, we seek out noble hosts, to help them in their lives. I was imprisoned in that meteor for, well I honestly have no idea how long I was floating in space. I was placed there by The Corrupted."
"Corrupted?" Ozpin asked.
"They are another branch you see when we bond with a host, we take on mental traits of the host. A good host will give a positive mindset but if we misjudge the hosts, it can affect us negatively. Hence The Corrupted, they took on host after host that slowly poisoned their minds. They seek to dominate their hosts mostly and use them up and then spit them out." Valor looked at Ozpin's reaction to that. "And it seems you have met one of them."
"I think I'm too sober for this conversation," Qrow stated rubbing his head, this thing was an alien? An actual freaking alien? It was bad enough to learn about magic, immortals and stuff like that. Hell, he could turn into a bird when he wanted to, but this was starting to get heavy even for him.
"What's with the brain eating?" Ozpin said after a pause as it was a question he always wondered about.
"The what?" Jaune asked confused and looked at the Valor head who looked embarrassed by it. "What's he mean?"
"While certain foods and those pills we take help give us the chemical we need there is another way…a less pleasant way that the Corrupted or the Insane use since that chemical is found usually in most sentient brains."
"Wait you mean they…" Jaune couldn't finish it off.
"Sadly, yes. It is a great shame, and we don't like to talk about it."
"So, you take supplements to keep fed then?" Ozpin wanted to be sure, at least if this was true it explained why they hadn't gone eating the heads of the student body.
"Correct, as long as we have that or certain foods, I can survive off of that, I will not make Jaune experience that kind of behavior, it is mentally damaging to the hosts for obvious reasons."
"Thanks," Jaune stated looking a bit pale at the thought of eating people's brains like some kind of zombie movie.
Ozpin had to admit this was more information in the past few minutes than he got in a lifetime about this create, well this kind of creature. It certainly didn't have the same personality he was used to dealing with. "I want to trust you but as you can guess with my involvement with, well the Other One let's call him, I am hesitant."
"Understood, I know the kinds of things The Corrupted can do, it's a stigma that has plagued my kind for untold eons."
Ozpin filed that little length of time for a conversation for another day on just how old his alien creature was. "Can you separate from Mr. Arc so we can confirm your story?"
"No," Valor went on to explain. "We have bonded, I am attached to his cells, to his very nervous system. If I was forced to detach it would be extremely painful, the process would most likely kill him."
"Yeah, he explained that to me," Jaune spoke up. "Before we bonded, he went over that this was a lifetime commitment. That this was a one-way ticket and there was no turning back as he wanted to give me a choice in the matter."
"You agreed to this kid?" Qrow asked perplexed.
"He's my friend," Jaune simply stated.
"My friend," Ozpin muttered, it was such a simple statement but one that held meaning behind it. He stood up as he tried to think, if this was true, he now had a being that would help him understand the other one, maybe even help defend against it. However, if this was all one giant lie, it was a trap. Using his centuries of wisdom he didn't think Mr. Arc was lying, but there was also the fact there was no way to ensure that the creature was manipulating him.
"Does anyone else know?" Glynda spoke up.
Jaune shyly nodded. "My team knows."
"I see," Glynda adjusted her glasses as she made a mental note to have a sit down with all of team JNPR at a later date.
Ozpin wanted to trust him, but he had been betrayed many times over so the level of trust he gave out was carefully guarded. "I wish there was a way to test your intensions."
Jaune and Valor exchanged looks as Jaune looked up at him. "Professor Ozpin I know this isn't exactly easy, it took me time to accept it, even Ren questioned things when we told him, but in the time that I've had Valor with me he's been nothing but helpful. He's shown me things no one else on Remnant will ever see, through his memories I've seen alien worlds, he's been teaching me at night, he's been helping me simply because that's what they do, helping me with my homework and getting me stronger. It's their nature to help others."
"All I want is to help Jaune, he is my host, everything he feels I feel, we share our pain, our joy, our dreams and I want to make his dream come true. We are one in the same, I am a True Klyntar, a true symbiote and I will protect Jaune."
Ozpin nodded his head seeing the bond between the two, it was not something easily faked.
"Wait how exactly is he making you stronger?" Qrow was wondering about that, he had never faced this kind of creature like Ozpin had so he had nothing to go on, but it didn't look like much.
"I can enhance his strength," Valor looked at the Huntsman. "Also, through his training I've been healing his body, so it takes less time to recover."
"Wait," Ozpin suddenly looked sharply at the alien. "What do you mean heal him?"
"I can repair most injuries to a host's body," Valor explained. "I can fight off illness like cancer or viruses, I can repair cell damage, such as when you work out and the muscles tare, I can fix them as quickly as they do as I make them stronger like how they naturally work only much more quickly."
"Yeah, I don't even get sore after working out anymore." Jaune admitted.
The three adults shared a look as Ozpin looked down. "I know you said you can't leave Jaune but if someone was injured or sick, could you help them?"
"Maybe, depends on what's wrong with them and Jaune would have to be close enough for me to touch them," Valor extended a tendril from Jaune's arm as an example.
Ozpin knew this was a gamble, but this might be the best shot they had, he had tried everything else and at best he was just slowing down the inevitable, but maybe this one shot, this last-ditch effort might be what they needed. "I believe I have a way for you to help earn some trust, that is if you're willing to help us."
"Is someone sick?" Jaune asked.
Ozpin turned off the device, "She's dying, and you might be the only one that can help her."
Ozpin was throwing the dice on this one, either this moment would be the turning point, or he had just made a huge mistake. He just hoped he had chosen correctly.
TBC…
So you all pretty much have an idea on where the next chapter is going, although I bet no one thought of the symbiote healing properties to be used in this way so yeah, big changes to the timeline will happen here.