Symbiote Knight
Chapter 33: Inner Circle
Jaune was currently sitting in the Headmaster's office, after the doctor's said he was good to leave he was asked to show up before going back to the dorm rooms. Jaune had to admit that it was a lot less intimidating being here without thinking he was in trouble. There was Ozpin and Glynda of course and also apparently the uncle of Yang and Ruby named Qrow was there too.
"So, I wanted to first apologize for the rough treatment in the vault," Ozpin honestly was sorry for it. At that time with the limited information, he had it had been the only option he had.
"While it wasn't pleasant, we get it," Jaune spoke for himself and Valor. "You thought it was the other guy I was bonded with."
"While I regret what I did I am thankful for your understanding," Ozpin nodded his head. "I also wanted to thank you both for what you did to help with Amber."
"We're just glad she's doing okay," Jaune nodded back.
"It will still take time for her to physically recover," Glynda stated looking at her tablet on her medical condition. "And it looks like a full recovery won't be possible, at least she's still alive."
"Indeed, for that you have my gratitude," Ozpin stated. "Another reason you're here, you wanted to be a part of this Inner Circle, so I wanted to formally welcome you to the group. However, you should know since you're a student your primary purpose is still to be a student. If you are needed, you will be called but I want you to finish your training here first and foremost."
~So, we're a junior member then~
'Sounds like it but it's expected, we only just joined right?'
"That's fine," Jaune knew that he preferred to be a student first anyway, but he guessed his life was going to get a lot more complicated after graduating taking a glance at Qrow. The man caught his glance as gave him a small nod he knew exactly what this kid was going through after he had been offered the chance to join Ozpin's little mission to save the world.
"I also hope you don't expect any preferential treatment beyond helping you keep Valor's secret," Glynda stated in a serious tone, she wanted to make sure there were no illusions about this.
"Noted ma'am," Jaune quickly stated.
Glynda nodded her head in agreement.
"The last thing we need now is your help in identifying Amber's attackers." Ozpin sat back. "She's resting at the moment, but we need to be able to visually identify them."
~Oh, I think I have something that might work~
'Really? You mean bond with them and show them the memories?'
~I was thinking of something a bit easier to get a photo of, I haven't had the chance to really use this ability yet~
'Wait what ability?'
"Mr. Arc?" Glynda asked seeing the expressions on his face.
"Sorry Valor said he has something in mind but I'm not sure what." Jaune stated before his symbiote covered his body suddenly. It felt a little different than normal, he could feel it sliding over but also taking on shapes. He wasn't sure what was going on until Valor was done.
"Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked with his eyebrows raised.
"What?" Jaune asked looking at the surprised looks. "What's wrong?"
He looked down and suddenly realized he wasn't himself anymore, he had dark skin and a very feminine body, in fact he was looking down at exposed cleavage.
"WHHHHAAATTT!?" He screamed in a high pitch tone that almost matched the new body as he checked out his new form.
~Ta-da~
"What did you do!?" Jaune asked. "Am I a girl now!?"
~Don't worry it's just me covering your and taking the shape of one of the attackers, you're still the same you under me~
He felt a bit better about that as he looked himself over. "This is so freaky I didn't even know he could do this."
"You didn't?" Ozpin had shaken off the surprise hearing Jaune's voice coming out of a tall dark-skinned girl with green hair.
"It's not a perfect copy," Valor's voice came from the body now. "Jaune's taller than the girl and I can't make him smaller, not without…compressing him."
"I don't like the sound of compressing, let's not compress me," Jaune's voice quickly answered from 'Emerald's' body.
"So, you can only make things of equal mass?" Ozpin asked intrigued.
"Mainly, I can make him bigger in the suit as I can expand, that's easy enough to do. The host body determines just how small I can get. Still with this you can get images of the attackers."
"We'd only need the headshots," Glynda thought out loud since the scale would be off just a headshot then you wouldn't be able to tell just how large the person was.
It was at this point Qrow couldn't keep his laughter in anymore. "I swear this has been one hell of a day, Kid, does that feel like a real body?"
"I mean I guess so?" He looked down as he felt kind of like himself and then adjusted his new chest. "Feels kind of heavy in the front though."
'Oh, wow is this how actual breasts feel like?' he thought suddenly.
"Mr. Arc, while that is a criminal please watch your hands," Glynda told him sternly. She wasn't sure just how inappropriate it was to grope 'yourself' but that was the body of another woman.
Jaune suddenly realized what he was doing and pulled his hands back. "Yes ma'am!"
"Ya know, this might have potential," Qrow stated. "Now you can really walk a mile in a woman's shoes."
"This feels weird enough," Jaune leveled a look at him.
"Hey I wouldn't complain." Qrow shrugged.
"You wouldn't complain if you were suddenly a woman?" Glynda asked.
Qrow shrugged. "I'd most likely just get to the nearest mirror and just look at myself naked first chance I got."
Glynda made a disgusted sound as she pinched the bridge of her nose, she shouldn't have asked.
Jaune hated to admit it, but the thought did bury itself in his mind before he mentally shook it free. "Can we please just get this over with?"
"Right," Glynda took out her scroll as she took a head shot of the green haired one. Valor then changed into the grey-haired boy and finally the women in the red dress. By the time it was over Jaune was thankful to be back in his own body again, it was a really weird feeling and not something he thought he would want to do again.
"That trick will come in useful for infiltration missions," Grow grinned. "Too bad you can't use voices."
~I can, I just didn't see the point~
"Uh, actually he said he can do it." Jaune offered.
"Well damn, looks like we'll have one hell of an agent in the future Oz." Qrow looked at the headmaster.
"Indeed, but hopefully, that won't be for years later, first I believe you should get some rest as it is starting to get late." Ozpin stated. "And Mr. Arc please take a few days to rest up if you need to."
Jaune realized the sun had set and he really should get back. "Yes Professor."
Ozpin watched the young man leave and felt a bit better about things. Amber was back and they might have just the perfect agent for the future. He wanted Jaune to at least try to experience a normal life here at Beacon (well as normal as things got) before his life as a Huntsman but he couldn't help but feel like a storm was on the horizon. Call it a gut feeling but ever since Amber's attack Ozpin had this sense of unease. Salem was up to something, he could feel it in the air but every time he grasped at it, it was like trying to grab smoke.
"Should we send these images out?" Glynda asked.
Ozpin thought about it, if they exposed them then every law agency and hunter would be on the look out but then they would most likely dig themselves even deeper underground. They hadn't found anything on them until Jaune linked with Amber.
"I think we should keep this information close to our chests," Ozpin thought about it. "We'll inform the other headmasters to be on the look out for them, they might run into them, or the other Maidens could be targets as well."
Atlas had theirs under security as the woman was old and suffering from dementia, one was MIA but the last was in Shade. They would need to be informed that they had identified Amber's attackers and what they were capable of and who to watch out for. Looking at the time he would have to schedule in a meeting with all the headmasters.
Jaune however was getting ready for a decent night's sleep, it had been a big day, and he was still feeling drained after what happened with Amber.
~I did take a lot out of us, maybe tonight we'll skip the mental training~
'Fine with me,' Jaune got off the elevator and went to the first-year dorms.
He opened the door to his room when he was suddenly looking at not only his team but Team RWBY as well. "Oh, uh, hi?"
"Hey Jaune," Ruby who had been sitting in one of the chairs jumped up. "Are you feeling better?"
"Oh yeah, Professor Ozpin just wanted to make sure I took it easy for a few days." He explained remembering the last thing that was said to him would make for the perfect excuse.
"Good, because we've been talking and you need to rest," Yang told him. "So, no morning work outs or training for a bit."
"Yes, we're a little worried you might have been trying to put in too much effort," Pyrrha nodded.
"I have some recipes for health drinks you might want to take," Ren spoke up. "They're good at replenishing electrolytes and to improve your health."
Behind Ren, Nora was crossing her arms and violently shaking her head in warning. She had tried many of Ren's 'health' drinks over the years when he got into it, they all tasted horribly to her.
"I'm just not sure what to do while resting," Jaune stated. "I mean other than schoolwork."
"You could read," Blake offered seeing as it was her favorite pastime.
"Oh yeah, we can see what new comics are out," Ruby beamed.
"Not exactly what I meant," Blake sighed. While she didn't really have an opinion on comic books, she preferred actual books without pictures drawn in them.
"I believe some of us have come up with a few ideas," Weiss stated looking mainly at Pyrrha and Yang.
Yang nodded her head. "Oh yeah I got a few ideas how to get him to relax."
The blonde brawler smirked as she had been thinking about something for awhile now. Pyrrha was a little less sure, most of her free time I the past had been taken up with her training and celebrity status. She was a little worried that both Yang and Weiss would have come up with unique ways to enjoy relaxing with Jaune.
"I'm just happy everyone is taking such an interest." Jaune smiled warmly.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ren asked.
"You're our leader!" Nora happily said.
"My partner," Pyrrha stated.
"Our friend," Ruby said as team RWBY nodded although with two of them, they wanted to say something more but didn't have the courage to say it just yet.
~It's nice to have a group like this~ Valor stated as he could feel the warm emotions coming from Jaune.
'Yeah, it is,' Jaune had friends before but the people around him right now, well he felt very close to them all. I
-Later-
Amber woke up to the sun on her face as she blinked her eyes open. She looked around to see herself in a medical room of some kind. She groaned as her body felt like it had been put through a war zone. On shaky legs she managed to get to the bathroom, after relieving herself after what felt like forever, she looked herself in the mirror after washing her hands.
She stared at the image in the mirror as her hand gently traced the lines on her face, while she didn't know how badly she had been hurt or that her face used to have worse scaring, there were still lines running over her face. Under he left eye was the worst of it, she was going to get looks and not the kind she usually got that was for sure.
If you could look past the scars, she was still pretty but she knew people would look at the scars first now. She sighed, tracing them. At least she was alive, she could console herself with that, but she still felt weak. Her body felt so much weaker now and not only that, but her powers also felt weaker too. She could still feel her Maiden powers, but they felt like someone and just sliced them in half. She felt incomplete, like there was a gap inside of herself now.
She started to remember the attack and that woman in red with the yellow eyes and the glove she used on her. She felt that little Grimm creature as it felt like it was tearing her apart from the inside out. Shutting her eyes she looked away trying to bury the memory. She didn't want to think about that, not now. Seeing a cup, she filled it with water and took a long drink as she shuffled her way back to bed.
"I'm glad to see you're up," Glynda's voice nearly made the girl jump.
"Oh Glynda, I didn't notice you were here." Amber spoke realising her voice was a little horse, she cleared it as it sounded better. "What exactly happened? I know I was attacked and, I just feel so different."
Glynda looked sadly at her as she sat on the bed and padded the spot next to her. Amber sat down as her body was grateful for it.
"Yes, you were attacked by Salem's people, we're going to spread the word about them as we now have their images to give out. You were close to death when Qrow got to you, and you've spent almost last year in a coma as we tried to keep you alive." Glynda went on to explain.
"A full year…" Amber had a feeling that was one of the reasons she felt so weak but if felt more than that. "My body and powers…"
Glynda nodded. "The one in red we know took part of your Maiden abilities and in the process, it harmed your body greatly, your organs were failing, and you have cell and nerve damage."
"Feels about right," Amber sighed she never felt his weakened before. "I remember something, being in a metal coffin or something."
"That was the device that kept you stable," Glynda would tell her when she was feeling better that at worst it was also set up to transfer what remained of her powers to another user. At least that's the theory, they had no idea if it was possible which was one of the reasons they hadn't used it yet. It was a last resort option they had.
"There was a boy with yellow hair and…something else, something," She struggled to come up with a way to describe it. "Something old and I'm not sure it was human."
It had felt so old in her mind, like ancient kind of old and the feeling of it was unlike anything she had ever felt.
"That would be Jaune Arc and Valor," Glynda explained. "You'll meet them in time, it's because of them that they saved your life and healed you up to this point."
"I hope I can thank them then."
"You will," the professor gently grasped one of her hands. "We're just waiting for you to regain a bit more strength and he's going to be taking a little rest it was kind of an intense process for them."
Amber nodded her head feeling tired already," Yeah a rest sounds good, I feel like it takes so much effort into moving."
"You were motionless for a long time," Glynda explained to her. "We're setting you up with a physiotherapy program to help get you back on your feet."
"Sounds like I got a long recovery road," she looked at her hand and squeezed it, it took a little effort on her part. "Still, at least I'm alive."
Glynda patted her hand before getting up and left a scroll by the table. "I'll leave you with this so you can catch up on what you've been missing out on and to rest, Ozpin will most likely visit you tomorrow morning before classes to check up on you."
Amber gave a soft smile, "How worried was he?"
"Very but you know him, always trying to carry the world on his shoulders with a smile and hiding his discomfort from everyone." Glynda sighed shaking her head. Ozpin always came off as this friendly and even aloof at times. But she knew him well enough over the years to see the mask he wore was to put others at ease. He didn't like to worry others if he could help it, tried to protect them from knowledge he felt would just burden their souls and silently tried to carry this burden alone on his back.
Maybe because in the end he was alone, constantly dying and being reborn, he would outlive everyone he knew except for Salem. The only constant person in his life was his greatest enemy, everyone else was temporary.
Amber nodded as she slipped back onto her bed, it was going to be a long recovery she was curious about these two individuals that had saved her wondering what kind of people they were.
Back up in his office Ozpin was sitting at his desk waiting for the reply from all the headmasters, he had sent out an emergency meeting request as large screens started to appear in front of his desk.
First was General Ironwood, punctual as always and the newest member of this inner circle. There had been some dissent (lots from Qrow) but as a Headmaster and leader of both the Atlas Academy and military, Ozpin felt the man had to be brought in if only to deny Salem the chance to tempt him but also because they might need his resources and power on their side. The man was the prime example of a military life, uniform was immaculate as was his poise and appearance.
Next was the Headmaster of Shade, Professor Theodore looked a little rough as it was early morning for him, he most likely woke up not too long ago. The tanned skinned man with a youthful look to him was holding a cup of warm coffee as he greeted everyone. Whie young the man was very cautious, Ozpin remembered his chest games with the young man, he took great pains and always made moves with backups in mind and long methodic strategies.
The last was Leonardo Lionheart the Faunus in charge of Haven academy, he looked tired most likely being up the latest out of them all, his greying bushy hair and beard looked a little dishevelled. Ozpin guessed the man had taken a nap before the meeting given how late it might be for him.
"Thank you all for coming," Ozpin stated.
"You wouldn't call if it wasn't important," Theodore spoke up.
"Indeed," Ozpin nodded. "We've identified those that attacked Amber."
"What?" Ironwood had been briefed on the Maidens when he took over the role and while Atlas held one, he had heard about the attack on Amber.
"H-How exactly was this done?" Leo asked.
"A new member of our Inner Circle has a unique ability shall we say," Ozpin was going to hold a little back, he wanted Jaune to have a full life here at Beacon but if the other Headmasters knew about him and his symbiote, well things could get complicated. He already knew Ironwood would want him for his Specialist program or over operations given his unique talents. Although he was going to have to ask some questions to him after all this.
"Oh? Who is this person?" Theodore asked with a raised eyebrow taking a drink genuinely interested.
"I prefer to let them keep their secret at least for now," Ozpin explained. "You see they are still young and because of extenuating circumstances only just joined. I wanted them to get used to things first before we start sending him out on missions."
"Sensible," Theodore nodded.
"Seems like a waste to me," Ironwood crossed his arms clearly not pleased at being kept in the dark while Leo was a bit quiet on the subject.
Ozpin mentally shrugged as he used his scroll to send them the images they took earlier. "These three are the ones that attacked her, we should quietly try and look for them. Send the images out to our Huntsmen and Huntresses and other assets."
Ironwood looked at the times. "I can also place them in the Atlas CCT security system, if they show up anywhere in my Kingdom, I'll have them flagged immediately and send in the Ace Ops to deal with them."
"Must be nice living in a place where everyone's movement can be watched," Theodore was often a critique of how James ran things in Atlas.
"Yes, it is actually,' James fired back.
"Gentlemen," Ozpin gave a slightly warning tone. At times he truly felt his age when even adults started to snipe at each other like his own students. "Please, we're all on the same side here."
Leo looked at the images with hidden worry, he knew exactly who those three were mainly because he had to deal with them and a few others. Salem had gotten her claws into him years ago and he had been forced to work for the woman. He always told himself it was to protect Haven, to protect his students but I his heart he knew it was because he was a coward at heart.
He knew he was going to have to tell Salem what happened, that her three servants were compromised and now they would be looking for them. They could operate in his territory, at least if they were quiet but any Huntsman or Huntress from the other kingdoms he couldn't keep blind of his information. She was not going to be happy and when Salem was unhappy, she got…violent.
"How is Amber?" Leo asked hoping for some kind of good news he could pass on. "You said they managed to get these images but while you didn't say how, did you have to wake up Amber for this?"
Ozpin got a smile on his face, "That is another piece of good news, Amber is awake and healing."
"Oh, that is good news," Theodore nodded in approval. "How is she doing?"
Ozpin took a breath. "She's healing, but there will be long lasting effects of the attack, I'm afraid she'll never be at full strength even if she regained her part of her Maiden powers."
"Shame to lose an important asset like her," Ironwood bluntly stated.
Ozpin looked a little annoyed by how he stated that. "She is a person James, not just an asset and she's been through a lot."
"She also was one of our most powerful operatives to use again Salem and her forces," Ironwood stated. "That means two Maidens are sidelined, one power is missing and we only have the one in Shade."
"I will have to agree that this isn't an unfair assessment," Theodore sighed. "We can only hope that Amber can regain enough strength in time, how is the Winter maiden Ironwood?"
"Currently her mind is still the same," James explained. "I have someone as a backup but the doctors said that it might take a year or more for her to expire through natural causes."
"Well, it's not like you can just kill the woman," Leo stated with a shrug.
"At any rate," Ozpin did not want to get onto that subject, killing a Maiden to get their powers because they were unable to perform in combat had been something he had seen a few times in the past done by others and he did not want to see that practice brought back. "This is all I have."
Theodore nodded. "Okay, I'll get started on my end to quietly get this information out."
"I need to quickly go too." Leo stated.
Both screens blinked out but Ozpin spoke up before Ironwood could leave.
"James, a moment," Ozpin said.
"Yes?"
"I have to ask did you find anything in that asteroid we sent to Atlas?" He asked him.
Ironwood froze for a moment wondering if there was a leak in his people and that Ozpin had heard about Project Noir. He didn't think there was but with Ozpin you could never be sure just what kind of cards the man kept to his chest. He knew that this was a major revelation about the creature found but it was also a secret of the Kingdom of Atlas.
"Have I found anything?" Ironwood parroted hoping to get some insight or stall.
Ozpin had played these games a lot longer than James so he could tell there was something. He also knew that James wouldn't divulge anything he felt he didn't need to, not unless there was a good reason for it. Mentally sighing he quickly took stock of his options.
"Although I can't go into it as I promised to keep quiet about this for now, you should know there had been something inside it." Ozpin looked very closely as he could see Ironwood's reaction, the man tried to hide it but there were subtle things. Tightening of certain face muscles, avoiding looking at you, there were many subtle little signs but this wasn't a perfect science.
If it was, then Ozpin wouldn't have been betrayed by so many people over his long life that took him by surprise.
James' jaw was working as he sat a little straighter. "Say for arguments sake that there was something left behind, a small something, is it dangerous?"
'So, there was something left behind? I'm going to have to talk to Jaune and Valor about this,' he thought. "What I can tell you, is that anything I find I would treat well, if you do it should be not hostile."
He was going to have to see if Jaune and Valor were up to meeting with James if there was another or a piece of the symbiote left behind he needed to know how dangerous it could become without a host. Wait, how was it still alive without a host? Thinking back to the conversation with Valor on why he bonded with Jaune he didn't think James would just give it to a person.
There were just too many things he didn't fully understand.
"James, I suggest we have another meeting after I talk to someone who is more and of…expert in these matters."
"I think that's a good idea." Ironwood turned off his monitor as he sat in his office thinking long and hard.
There was another creature, there had to be, maybe there was more than one or was this a piece of it, if so, just how many more were out there? This was the most unexpected thing to happen but now that he thought about it, he should have thought that there could have been more than one at the impact site. He chided himself for the oversight, he was so focused on what they had in front of them he didn't even consider anything else.
And Ozpin obviously had his own but he got the feeling something else was going on. This so called 'expert', there were no real experts so was he talking about the creature? Did he figure out how to communicate with it already? The reports from Project Noir said the creature they had was learning at a quick rate and there was a 'yes' or 'no' system in place but the creature was still learning their language.
James sat back as he thought about it, this future meeting was looking to going to be an interesting one.
TBC…