The Man in the Emerald Tower (Rewritten)
The Man in the Emerald Tower
“-completely unnecessary, not to mention reckless and unauthorised!” Professor Goodwitch snapped as she paced up and down across the amphitheatre.
Apparently, they were not important enough to be worth the Headmaster’s time to deal with directly.
“Professor, we had intelligence of an imminent robbery,” Blake tried to explain.
“Then you should have passed this on to the relevant authorities, Miss Belladonna,” Professor Goodwitch said.
“The relevant authorities haven’t been doing anything, Professor Goodwitch,” Ruby protested. “Someone had to do something!”
“You are not a huntress yet, Miss Rose,” Professor Goodwitch snapped, “and as I understand it, it was the only sudden manifestation of Mister Arc’s semblance that prevented you from ending up as a headstone on the cliff beside your mother.”
“That’s out of line, Professor!” Yang shouted.
“No, Miss Xiao Long, putting yourselves in jeopardy as you did was out of line,” Professor Goodwitch declared. “I wonder what your father would say about your conduct in all of this?”
Ruby squeaked in alarm. Yang took an involuntary step back.
“And no, that is not an empty threat on my part,” Professor Goodwitch declared. “Perhaps you’ll listen to Tai when he tells you that a huntsman must exercise wisdom in equal measure with their valour. A huntsman who doesn’t recognise his own limitations will only be another death to add to the list of those they failed to save.” Her tone softened. “One of your number almost died tonight,” she reminded them. “Any one of you could have joined them. Confidence is one thing, but none of you are invincible, not even you, Miss Nikos.”
“I’m well aware, Professor,” Pyrrha said.
“Or you, Miss Dash,” Professor Goodwitch added. “Perhaps General Ironwood should have spent a little less time training you to fight and a little more time teaching you to think.” Her eyes swept across the entire group. “Mister Wukong, your status has yet to be determined, but there is sufficient room for you to stay at Beacon while Professor Ozpin and Professor Lionheart discuss your future. However, while you are at this school, you will follow all of the rules of Beacon and conduct yourself in such a manner consistent with the reputation of Haven Academy. Including following the law.”
“Yes ma’am!” Sun yelped.
“Miss Belladonna,” Professor Goodwitch continued, “may I ask why you felt the need to precipitate this entire affair by disappearing? You behaved as though you were in trouble when you were not… and could have gotten yourself into serious actual trouble.”
Blake glanced at Rainbow Dash, but said, “I have no excuse, Professor.”
Professor Goodwitch drew in a deep breath. “Miss Dash. Attacking a fellow student, unilaterally deciding to hunt down a fellow student in spite of Professor Ozpin making himself perfectly clear to you that Miss Belladonna was welcome here, calling in fire from an Atlesian warship over Valish soil. You should think yourself lucky that you didn’t cause an international incident! You may rest assured that General Ironwood will be hearing all about this in due course; I am sure that this is not what he expects of his students.”
Rainbow Dash paled visibly.
“Miss Schnee, Mister Sentry, you may go,” Professor Goodwitch said.
“Professor?” Weiss asked, seeming to not understand what she had just heard.
“As you did not set out to engage in a battle, but only acted upon impulse to defend the lives of your fellow students, you will not be receiving any punishment on this occasion,” Professor Goodwitch informed them. “Which is more than I can say for the rest of you.”
It would have been easy for Weiss and Flash to head straight back to their dorm room, since they were getting away without any punishment for their actions. Weiss, however, did not go back to her dorm room. She lingered outside of the amphitheatre in the chill of the night - or the early morning now, she supposed - waiting.
“Weiss?” Flash asked, turning back towards her when he realised that she wasn’t following. “Is something wrong?”
Weiss clasped her hands together behind her as she waited. “No,” she said softly. “Not wrong, at least I don’t think so. I just need to have a quick word with Blake.”
“Right,” Flash murmured, taking a step closer towards her. “What kind of word?”
“Not the hostile kind,” Weiss replied. “Just… the curious kind.” She paused for a moment. “It doesn’t bother you? What she used to be?”
Flash was silent for a moment. “I… would be lying if I said that it didn’t bother me at all,” he admitted. “The White Fang have done some terrible things, and she used to be one of them. But that’s the point, isn’t it: she used to be. Just like we humans used to keep faunus as slaves, and still… I guess what I’m trying to say is that if Blake can forgive us for that, then I can try and forgive her for what she was before.”
Weiss looked up at him. The moonlight fell upon his face, giving his skin a fairer aspect than normal; it made the blue of his eyes stand out all the more. “You’re a very good man, Flash Sentry.”
He looked away in embarrassment. “Well, I don’t have it in me to be a great man, so I suppose I ought to try being a very good one if I can.”
“You shouldn’t undersell yourself.”
“A great man,” Flash said seriously, “would have taken that hit instead of Ruby.”
Weiss’ brow furrowed. “You can’t blame yourself for that; nobody was fast enough to get in the way of that attack except Ruby-”
“And that’s what makes her great,” Flash declared, “and me not.”
Weiss could concede the point of Ruby’s exceptional ability without simultaneously accepting any denigration of Flash by comparison, but before she could say anything to that effect, Blake emerged from out of the amphitheatre.
Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Weiss and Flash. “Is… something wrong?”
“I hope not,” Weiss said. She hesitated for a moment. “I’m aware that what I’m about to ask might be difficult for you… and I suppose if you tell me to butt out, then there’s nothing I can do about it, but I’m hoping that you will tell me… a trainload of dust was stolen not long before the beginning of the semester. Do you know anything about that?”
Blake was silent for a moment. “I ought to,” she admitted. “I helped to steal it.”
Weiss was very still, even as her insides roiled as though she’d eaten something that had disagreed with her. “I see.”
“It was my last mission with the White Fang,” Blake continued. “It was… my chance to get away from Adam and the rest. Free transport, you could say.”
“So it was you who severed the engine from the cargo cars?” Weiss demanded.
“Yes,” Blake said.
“And if you hadn’t?”
Blake’s gaze flickered down to the ground. “Adam would have blown the engine.”
“I see,” Weiss whispered. She smiled. “Thank you.”
Blake blinked in surprise. “You’re… thanking me?” she gasped. “But I… all that dust-”
“All those lives,” Weiss countered. “Worth so much more.”
Professor Ozpin sipped from his mug of cocoa as he watched, for the third time tonight, the footage of the first-year students and their battle at the docks.
Considering the circumstances, they had all performed most admirably. Although he would have to thank James for the invaluable contribution of his forces. And won’t he enjoy hearing that? James was a good man, and not given to the sin of personal pride, but when it came to pride in his military and his students… it could get just a little much, sometimes.
However, it could not be denied that, absent the Atlesian intervention, things would have gone much worse than they had. They had been staring down defeat and possibly the loss of some very promising young people, and instead, they had won a victory. He wasn’t going to deny that fact merely to avoid swelling James’ ego.
In any event, there were more important matters to consider. With the touch of a button, Ozpin switched from the live feed images to a message from his agent in the field: Ruby’s uncle, Qrow Branwen.
It was very simple: Queen has pawns.
Indeed she does. Ozpin sighed. They – the first-years – had removed a few hostile pawns from the board tonight, but how many more of them had yet to be dealt with before they confronted the serious pieces, the knights and rooks?
Still, tonight was a victory. Considering the other ways in which it could have ended, this was a definite success.
And yet, it was a victory that should not have been, a battle that need never have been fought.
He had not intended to cast the children into the war so soon. He had wished – he had hoped – to preserve their innocence a little while longer.
It appeared that, gallant as they were, they were determined to force their way into the story, one way or another.
If they will insist on joining the battle, then I may have to reveal to them the true shape of the battlefield.
He had known – or at least strongly suspected – that this moment would come, for one of them at least, but he had hoped it would not come so soon.
It still need not, not yet. One incident, the scope of which they were as yet unaware of, did not necessitate such a step.
And yet, it showed that step might one day be necessary.
At least those students had, tonight, given him cause to think that his instincts about them had been right.
If he had to involve them in his affairs, he would at least be involving the right people.
The elevator doors opened, and Glynda walked into his office. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she strode towards his desk.
“Ah, Glynda,” he said, gesturing to the other coffee mug. “Would you care to join me?”
“No, thank you,” Glynda replied. “It’s a little late, and I’d like to get some sleep tonight. Or rather, this morning.”
“Suit yourself,” Ozpin said genially, taking another sip of the hot cocoa. “Are the students all in bed?”
“They are,” Glynda declared. “Or in their dorm rooms at least. I gave Mister Wukong a room to himself for now.”
“And you’ve informed them all of their punishments?”
“Detentions on both days of the weekend, for the next three weekends, starting next week,” Glynda replied. She pushed her glasses up her nose. “I think that something should have been done to punish Miss Schnee and Mister Sentry. The fact that they left Beacon – in lockers no less – was reckless in the extreme, and the situation they walked into was dangerous.”
“And yet, the fact that they were motivated to go gives me hope,” Ozpin said.
“There are proper authorities, Professor-”
“Yes, I am sure it would have been the right course of action for Miss Schnee to have stayed to do what Miss Sparkle did and informed me of what was going on,” Ozpin replied, cutting her off before she could finish. “Just as it would have been the correct course of action for Miss Belladonna to pass her information onto the police. And yet…”
“And yet, Professor?”
“If humanity has a chance to survive, it is not because of armies or ships or dust munitions but because of the bonds of friendship that inspired Miss Schnee and Mister Sentry to risk their lives for their comrades, that inspired Team Sapphire to stand by Miss Belladonna, that allowed Mister Arc to discover his semblance tonight to save a dear friend. The ties that bind us together are our greatest asset against the darkness.”
“I understand,” Glynda said, although judging by the slight impatience slipping into her voice, she didn’t understand as well as he might have liked. “But these are still children.”
“I’m well aware of that, and there are even times when it is good to see them behaving like children,” Ozpin agreed, “but there are also times when it is good to see what kind of fine adults our children will become with our assistance.” He refilled his cocoa mug from the porcelain pot. “She’s coming for us, Glynda; the days of childhood may end all too soon.” He smiled. “You should be proud; they all performed admirably. You’ve taught them well, I see.”
“You can’t distract me with flattery.”
“Nor would I ever seek to do so,” Ozpin reassured her. “A major quantity of dust was not stolen, and our students have been buoyed in confidence by a small victory. Tonight… has been a good night.”
“Mhm,” Glynda murmured. “And what about Miss Nikos? Do you plan to tell her?”
“Not yet.”
“Her performance in battle is exemplary,” Glynda said. “Honestly, I don’t feel as though she’s learning anything in my sparring class. She’s as ready as she’ll ever be.”
“I’m sure she is,” Ozpin said. Just as he was sure that Miss Shimmer was ready to look behind the curtain and find out some of the truth that he and his inner circle kept concealed from the world. “But, as you said, they are still children, and there is still time for them to enjoy a little more childhood yet.”
How much time exactly, he couldn’t say, not with the mysterious Black Queen on the move, but considering the burden that he meant to place upon Miss Nikos’ shoulders… he was willing to give her what little time he could.
“Three weekends of detention!” Sunset snapped as she slammed the door behind her.
“It could have been worse,” Pyrrha murmured apologetically.
“Not much worse,” Sunset growled. “Three weekends,” she added, her voice dropping to more of an angry mutter. She stalked across the bedroom and sat down heavily upon her bed.
“Hey, Pyrrha?” Jaune asked, his voice gentle and a little uncertain.
Pyrrha undid her ponytail. Her long red hair fell down behind her, spread out across her back. “Yes, Jaune?”
“I wanted to ask you something, about tonight,” Jaune said. “How… how did you do that thing with the Bullhead?”
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “Oh. Yes. That… I suppose I should have told you all much sooner… force of habit I suppose. That was my semblance.”
“Your semblance?” Ruby repeated. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use your semblance before. I wasn’t sure whether you had one, but I didn’t want to mention it.”
“Nobody’s sure if Pyrrha has a semblance,” Sunset said. “It’s the most common point of speculation on the fan boards.”
“Well, I do have a semblance, and you have seen me use it, even if you didn’t realise it,” Pyrrha said. “My semblance is Polarity. I control magnetism. I can move metal, like the Bullhead tonight.”
“Or like the weapons that never seem to hit you,” Sunset murmured.
Pyrrha smiled sheepishly. “Well… a lot of that is plain skill, if I do say so myself,” she replied. “But, yes, occasionally, I divert my opponent’s weapon away, just give it a little nudge. That’s why I keep my semblance a secret: it’s my trump card against a skillful opponent. That’s why… as I said, I should have told you. I’m not just used to telling anyone.”
“Understandable,” Jaune said. “Habits are hard to break.”
“And we’re not going to tell anyone, right?” Ruby asked.
“Of course not,” Sunset said. “Your advantage is our advantage too… plus, you know, we’re a team and would never betray your confidence.”
“Thank you,” Pyrrha murmured. “It… it feels good to be able to trust someone with this.”
“You can trust us with anything,” Ruby declared. “Any time. Because we’re your friends.”
“Friends, teammates,” Sunset said. “Fellow condemned prisoners.”
“It isn’t that bad,” Ruby insisted.
“Three weekends of detention is quite bad enough,” Sunset replied. “You know what the worst part is? The worst part is that I’m pretty sure that Professor Ozpin set this whole thing up.”
The other three members of her team stared at her as though she were insane.
“Uh, Sunset?” Jaune asked. “You want to run that by us again?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense!” Sunset declared. “He knew about Blake’s past, clearly he likes having a former White Fang agent in the school-”
“Are you sure he doesn’t just want to give her a second chance?” Ruby suggested. “You know… like he said?”
“He knew that she had run off, and yet, he didn’t really do anything either to find her or to stop Rainbow Dash,” Sunset reminded them. “I think he was counting on us doing what we did. I think he set up this situation so that we would be at the docks to stop the White Fang.”
“Sunset, that…” Jaune shook his head. “That’s… why would he do something like that?”
“Because that’s what people like him do,” Sunset replied. Even Princess Celestia was not above manipulating her students and meddling in their lives; she had admitted as much to Sunset. She manipulated Twilight to get what she wanted out of her; the fact that she was doing so with good intentions didn’t get away from that.
And as for Professor Ozpin’s intent… Sunset wasn’t so sure that his motives were benign. He’d nearly gotten Ruby killed tonight through his machinations; she couldn’t forgive that.
“Professor Ozpin is a hero,” Pyrrha protested. “His deeds in the field-”
“Don’t make him trustworthy,” Sunset said.
“Nor do your groundless suppositions make him malign,” Pyrrha pointed out.
“The fact that he knew about Blake is not a supposition; it comes from the man’s own lips.”
“Maybe, but, well… none of the rest does,” Ruby said.
“True, that he concealed Blake’s heritage,” Pyrrha agreed. “But he has concealed mine, too. Neither Jaune nor Ruby knew how nobly born I was until I revealed it. Do you think that Professor Lionheart at Haven would have been so generous? Professor Ozpin respects the privacy of his students; it is nothing more or less than that.”
“My mom and dad both knew Professor Ozpin,” Ruby added, “and not even Mom’s journal says anything bad about him.”
“Yet,” Sunset said. She sighed and flopped back onto her bed. “I don’t want to argue about this right now. Or rather, I’m too tired to argue about this right now. But I don’t trust him.”
And I’m not sure I ever can.
Most of the animals had been carted off to their cages in police vans, but Roman Torchwick was being conveyed in a black and white squad car which he had to himself. Well, aside from the officers up front, of course: Sergeant Alan Johnson was heavyset, with a moustache and a receding hairline; Officer Rusty Brown had freckles on his face and copper-coloured hair.
Torchwick glanced at the brown paper bag sitting on the seat next to him. Since he hadn’t been invited to open it yet, he didn’t. He was a thief, but that didn’t mean that he had no manners.
He stretched a little on the seat, wriggling his hands in spite of the cuffs on his wrists. “So, tell me something, Al, how are the kids? How’s Marie?”
“Oh, Marie’s doing great,” Al replied cheerfully from the driver’s seat. “She made you a pastrami sandwich; it’s in that bag next to you.”
Torchwick groaned with anticipation. “Pastrami!” he declared as he grabbed the bag with both bound hands. The brown paper rustled as he extracted the sandwich, which was slathered in mayonnaise between the two halves of the thick, seeded bap. Lettuce crunched as he bit into it. He could feel the tomato on his tongue. And the meat! Marie Johnson always made the best sandwiches.
“Now that is delicious,” Torchwick declared. “Your wife is a saint, Al, I hope you realise that.”
“Oh, trust me, Mister Torchwick, I know what a lucky guy I am. A great wife, two awesome kids, and a nice house uptown. I couldn’t have done it without you, Mister Torchwick.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d have managed the wife and kids part fine, although I’ll take some credit for the house,” Torchwick agreed.
“So where can we drop you, Mister Torchwick?” Rusty asked.
“Oh… under this bridge, I think,” Roman said. “We can get out and wait without being seen.”
“You got it, Mister Torchwick,” Al said, as he pulled the squad car over underneath a roaring overpass, where traffic rumbled overhead and the bridge cast a shadow over them.
Rusty and Al got out, and Al opened the door for Torchwick to do likewise. He clambered out, still finishing off his pastrami sandwich. In between mouthfuls, he walked away from the car and said, “Best stand well back, fellas. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
The two cops followed him away from their car, even though they both looked puzzled. “Hurt by what?” Rusty asked nervously.
“Oh, you know,” Torchwick said as a black armoured truck appeared out of nowhere, rippling into existence as the concealment faded, to ram the squad car from behind, tail-ending it so hard that it flipped over onto its roof with a sickening crunching sound and the shattering of all the windows. “That.”
The door of the truck opened, and Neo leapt down, beaming broadly.
“Hey, Neo,” Torchwick said. “Nice of you not to leave me hanging.”
Neo signed exasperatedly.
“Yeah, yeah, I know I should have taken you with me on the job. I just wanted to give you the night off.”
Neo signed some more.
“Okay, so this isn’t exactly a night off for you, but it’s not my fault!” Torchwick said defensively. “I didn’t know those kids were going to show up again.”
Neo rolled her eyes. She glanced at Al and signed a brief greeting to him.
“Nice to see you too, Neo,” Al said. “Here, Mister Torchwick, let’s just get these cuffs off you.” He fished the keys off his belt and unlocked Torchwick’s restraints. As they clattered to the ground, Torchwick felt the strength of his aura returning to him.
Al took a step back. “Make it look good, okay, Mister Torchwick?”
“Sure thing, Al,” Torchwick said. “I’m sorry about this.” He decked his tame cop – one of them – across the jaw hard enough that he went down like a sack of potatoes. A similar blow took care of Rusty the same way.
“And with the money we’re paying to that guy in IA, nobody should look too closely at what happened here,” Torchwick declared. He sighed. “Although it’s not the cops that worried me.”
Neo signed.
“Yeah, her,” Torchwick agreed. “She’s not going to be happy we didn’t get any dust.”
Neo signed.
“What do you think I’m going to do? I’m going to throw the White Fang under a bus,” Torchwick replied. “But we can worry about that later. Right now, do you want to get some ice cream?”
“Where did you go, Blake?” Lyra asked. “I mean, you just disappeared Friday afternoon after going out with the team leaders – who wouldn’t say what had happened to you – and then you come back now? I thought you might be dead!”
“I knew that you weren’t dead,” Bon Bon said.
“I thought that you might have been abducted by a Vacuo slaver and sold into the harem of a sheik!”
Blake narrowed her eyes. “Lyra, I like a good bodice ripper as much as the next girl – you, in this case, apparently – but those stories aren’t real life.”
“I’ve been trying to tell her that for years,” Bon Bon muttered.
“So what did happen?” Lyra demanded. “Were you in an accident and suffered amnesia?”
“No.”
“Were you betrayed by all your fellow team leaders who tried to kill you?”
“Not exactly, and where are you getting these ideas from?” Blake demanded.
“Leaving aside the fantasy world of Lyra Heartstrings,” Sky said, “where did you go, Blake? Where have you been?”
Before Blake could answer, there was a tap on the window. Coming from outside.
Sky frowned as he opened the curtains, then recoiled with a gasp from the sight he saw on the other side of the window.
It was Sun, waving with his tail as he clung to the window frame.
“Sun!” Blake cried.
“You know this monkey?” Bon Bon asked.
“He’s not a monkey,” Blake said.
“No, he’s a shirtless man,” Lyra declared. “With abs.”
Blake rolled her eyes as she leapt over Sky’s bed and opened the window. “Sun, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know,” Sun said. “Just wanted to see how you were.”
“And you didn’t come to the door like a normal person because...?”
“Because I wasn’t sure if I was confined to my room or not?” Sun said.
“That… is not a completely invalid point,” Blake conceded. She sighed as she stepped back. “Come inside.”
“Thanks,” Sun said, leaping through the open window frame. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”
“Sun, this is my team: Sky, Lyra, and Bon Bon. Everyone, this is Sun; he’s been helping me.”
“So you were with this glorious specimen of masculinity since last night?” Lyra asked, in a tone that suggested no further explanation would be necessary. “No wonder you didn’t come home.”
“Lyra,” Bon Bon whined.
“What? Just because I’ve committed to an oyster doesn’t mean I can’t admire a snail!”
“It’s not what you think,” Blake snapped. “Sun was helping me fight the White Fang.”
The room fell silent.
“The… White Fang?” Sky repeated.
“We caught them trying to rob a large dust shipment down by the docks,” Blake explained. “Sun and I, Team Sapphire, Team Rosepetal, Weiss and Flash of Team Wisteria, we fought them, and we stopped them.”
“But why?” Bon Bon asked.
“Because… because it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Blake admitted awkwardly.
“Never mind about the White Fang, what about Sun?” Lyra demanded. “How did you two meet? Who are you? What’s your favourite-?”
“I need to talk to you outside,” Blake said firmly. “Outside the door,” she clarified.
“Right, sure,” Sun said, allowing Blake to lead him outside the dorm room, where she shut the door firmly behind them both.
“She’s… lively,” Sun said.
“You have no idea what you let me in for.”
“Sorry about that,” Sun said. “I just wanted… to make sure you were okay.”
Blake looked up at him, into those guileless blue eyes. “You’re a really sweet guy, you know that?”
Sun grinned. “I mean… I know that you weren’t totally sure about coming back here, so-”
“It’s fine,” Blake assured him. “I’ll make it work. But… thanks for checking up on me.” She stood on tiptoes to give him a light kiss upon the cheek. “Goodnight, Sun.”
Sun stood still for a moment, his mouth slightly open. “I, um, hey! I know that, uh, we’re not exactly having weekends for the next few weeks, but once we do, I thought that it might be cool to go someplace together. Someplace… not violent.”
Blake stood at the door, and turned to face. “Sun… did you just ask me out?”
Sun hesitated. “I… guess so?”
Blake hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for another relationship, after Adam and everything… but at the same time, how would she know if she was ready, unless she tried?
She couldn’t let the fear of Adam, the memories of what had happened between them, dominate her entire life. If she was going to move forward, then she had to, well, move forward.
And he did have very kind eyes.
“Okay,” she said.
Sun’s eyes widened. “Okay?”
“Yes,” Blake said. “Why don’t we talk about it more… when we get our weekends back?”
“Sounds good to me!” Sun said loudly. “I mean it sounds great! I, uh, good night.”
Blake smiled. “Good night.”
She opened the door and stepped into the dorm room. She heard him shout ‘Yes!’ just before the door closed.
“You went out and fought the White Fang?” Nora demanded, hands upon her hips. “Without us?” She snorted out of her nostrils like a bull.
Yang raised her hands pacifically. “It’s not like I was leaving you out on purpose; it was just-”
“Oh, really?” Nora replied. “So you’re saying that you had no time to call at all during the time you were gone?”
“Well, when you put it like that, I suppose it was a little on purpose,” Yang conceded.
“I’m not sure what’s worse,” Dove muttered. “That you went into battle, putting your life in danger… or that you did so without us.”
“Duh!” Nora cried. “It’s the second one, obviously!”
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I agree with Nora,” Ren murmured.
“Hey! You agree with me on lots of things,” Nora squawked.
“Rarely when you’re in a mood like this,” Ren pointed out.
Nora hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, I guess that’s a good point.”
“If there was one person I thought might be on my side,” Yang muttered.
Ren rose from his bed, where he had been sitting. “Yang, what were you doing down at the docks tonight?”
Yang was quiet for a moment. “I… I can’t say.”
“Can’t?” Nora demanded. “Or won’t?”
“Both, but mostly can’t,” Yang replied. “It’s to do with… it’s just not my secret to share. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that it was important and that we did a lot of good tonight. If we hadn’t been there, then… some very bad things could have happened.”
“Trust,” Dove said, exhaling slowly. “I’ve trusted people when they left me behind before; it didn’t exactly go well then.”
“But you can trust me,” Yang insisted. “I’m not leaving you behind; I went out, and then I came back.”
“But it becomes harder to trust you when you do untrustworthy things,” Dove declared.
“We want to trust you, Yang,” Ren said, “but-”
“But trust is a two way street, you know!” Nora reminded her. “We’re supposed to be a team, Team Iron! How can we trust you when you didn’t trust us to have your back?”
Yang’s brow furrowed. What Nora was saying wasn’t wrong, but all the same… “It was pretty rough out there for a while. I didn’t want to put you guys in danger.”
“We’re huntsmen, Yang, not your baby sister!” Nora snapped.
“Ruby almost died tonight!” Yang yelled back at her, her eyes flashing red for a moment.
Nora gasped, recoiling a little, her hands flying to her mouth. Dove’s eyes, normally lidded as if he were half-asleep, snapped open. Ren’s discomfort was harder to determine, but even his stoic countenance seemed to become a little less so at the news.
“'Almost'?” Dove asked as he followed Ren in getting to his feet. His voice was hoarse. “Almost died? How… how is she?”
“She’s okay,” Yang whispered. “She… Ruby’s going to be okay. Jaune saved her.”
“Jaune?” Dove repeated. “How?”
Yang snorted. “He found his semblance. Lucky break for us, I guess.”
Dove looked away. “That… that’s good to hear. Ruby… your sister is a gem, Yang. It would be a terrible thing if…”
“I know,” Yang whispered. “Believe me, I know.”
“We’re sorry,” Ren said. “And glad, if you understand.”
Yang nodded. “Yeah, I get it. So you see-”
“I understand,” Ren said. “But, without wishing to brag, Nora and I have seen more danger than anyone at this school, at least in our year.”
“And while I can’t say the same, I would rather have been in danger than find out that I had been sitting idle while Ruby had a brush with death,” Dove said.
“Sharing is caring, Yang,” Nora said. “Are we a team or not?”
“Yeah, we are,” Yang replied. “We’re a team. Team Iron. I’m sorry, all of you. I promise, I won’t leave you behind again.”
The moon shone down upon the coast as the waves lapped against the shore.
It was a beach, a common, ordinary-looking beach - not a particularly pleasant-looking beach, scrub plants growing amongst the sand - but it was an ordinary beach with nothing untoward about it.
A beach towards which a dark shape was approaching through the water.
Adam Taurus gasped for breath as he breached the waves and crawled onto the sand, lying there for a moment as he breathed in and out.
A crab approached his prone and motionless form, pincers snapping. His hand snapped out and grabbed the creature, crushing its shell beneath his fingers.
Adam knelt upright, scooping the raw crab meat out of the broken shell and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing quickly. All that swimming had left him with a powerful appetite, and he still had many miles to go before he reached the safety of Camp Freedom.
He wondered how many of his comrades had made it out. Walter, his strong right arm, was either dead or captured; in fact, of his lieutenants, the only one he had not seen fall was Billie. If she had made it out, then she and Gilda would be the only two he could rely on. Certainly, he could not trust any of the so-called old guard, those who had been there when Adam had taken up the leadership of the Vale Chapter. They had opposed him at every turn, never more vociferously than now. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of them hadn’t sold him out in an attempt to get him killed.
Well, he would deal with them in time. Just as he would deal with Blake and that damned Atlesian race traitor with the rainbow hair!
He would deal with all of them. Anyone who stood in his way would fall.
And his people would survive.
His scroll started to buzz. He didn’t think it was possible; he had thought the device must have broken for sure after so long in the water, but apparently not. Apparently it still worked.
Apparently Atlesian technology – built as it was upon the backs of an army of faunus slaves – was as good as they said it was.
He pulled out the device. Perhaps if it was Gilda calling from Camp Freedom, she could send an airship to pick him up.
It was not Gilda; instead, a sultrier voice by far emerged from the device. “I hear you had a bad night.”
Adam scowled. How did she know that already? “Who told you that?”
“I’m told,” she said, not saying by who, “that the children who bested you are crowing over their victory.”
Adam bared his teeth, for all that she couldn’t see it. “Their turn will come, and so will my time.”
“I hope so. As you so astutely pointed out, I could have gone to a number of people with my offer -: mercenaries, renegade huntsmen - but I chose you, Adam Taurus. I chose you because I thought you had the skills as a warlord and strategist to command my army and deliver me the victory that we both desire. I’d hate to think that I made a mistake.”
“I will do this!” Adam snarled. “This is just a temporary setback! Everything will be in place by the time you arrive from Mistral.”
“I’m delighted to hear it. The world is on the verge of a great change, Adam; a new order is rising. The White Fang can be a part of that new order, if you serve me well. Serve me poorly, and…” She let him think on that as she ended their conversation.
Adam growled wordlessly, crushing the scroll in the palm of his hand and throwing it back into the sea. He would kill anyone else who dared speak to him in such a way, even the High Leader herself. But the witch had power, power that he had seen for himself in all its terrifying glory, and she was earnestly desirous to overthrow the corrupt system of the world that kept his people chained in bondage. She offered him the best chance the White Fang would ever have to achieve victory and the destruction of all their foes.
For such a prize, he would endure much more than her proud and supercilious attitude.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be annoyed by it every so often.
Adam took a deep breath and studied the stars above him. Yes… yes, he thought he knew where he was; that meant…
Adam breathed in again and began the long walk home.
The sun had risen, but for Professor Ozpin, there was none of the feeling of a new day. He hadn’t slept since the old one; sleep was a luxury for a man in his position at the best of times, and the business at the docks last night had kept him more than usually preoccupied.
He had reached a temporary end to his labours, but that state of temporariness was likely to be so fleeting that he knew there was no point attempting to go to bed or even leaving his office. Rather, he was using the brief moment when nothing pressed upon him to watch a news bulletin in which – as one might have expected – the robbery of last night – or early this morning – figured prominently.
Currently, the screen was dominated by the face of Sir Orange Peel, baronet, leader of the Liberal Conservative party, vociferously denouncing the soft line of the current Council makeup on law and order.
“Nobody is more glad than I am that Pyrrha Nikos and the Atlesian forces happened to be there last night. Nobody is more glad than I am that so many of these animals are off the streets. But let me be frank and explicit: the fact that an Atlesian warship needed to fire its guns over Valish soil last night, the fact that so many of these terrorist scum are roaming the streets, is a clear indictment of Novo Aris and in the years of police cuts over which she has presided-”
The image faded, replaced by an incoming call indicator from no less than First Councillor Aris herself.
Ozpin rubbed his eyes for a moment and sipped some cocoa – he had only recently made a fresh pot, for which he was very thankful – before he accepted the call.
The face of the First Councillor appeared on his screen. She looked… vexed.
“First Councillor,” Ozpin said politely. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
Novo sighed. “You’re not fool enough to have not expected this, Ozpin. Do you mind telling me what your students were doing running around fighting the White Fang in the middle of the night?”
“I… had some intelligence that there might be an attempt to rob the dust shipment at the docks last night,” Ozpin lied. If he told the truth, that he hadn’t known what the students were up to until the shooting had started, then he would have made himself look foolish and possibly gotten the children into trouble. “I wasn’t sure that it would amount to anything, so I had a few my students check it out.”
“And you decided to do this instead of using any professional huntsmen because-?”
“As I said, Madame Councillor, I wasn’t sure that it would amount to anything,” Ozpin replied.
Nova stared at him evenly. “I see,” she said in a voice that gave very little indication either way of whether she believed him or not. “I’d like to have the students come down to Parliament for a photo opportunity.”
“I’m afraid not, Madame Councillor,” Ozpin said.
Novo’s eyebrows rose. “When I said that I would like it, Ozpin, I was being courteous.”
“And I must courteously decline your courteous request, Madame Councillor,” Ozpin replied. “My students are not publicity props for your re-election campaign.”
“Nor are they soldiers in your private army, but you seem to have no difficulty using them as such,” Novo said sharply. She leaned forwards. “Ozpin, these dust robberies were becoming embarrassing enough already, but with what happened at the docks, it’s become impossible for me to sweep it under the rug as a local issue for police and aldermen. I’m sure you’ve been watching the news.”
“I have,” Ozpin admitted.
“They’re going to hammer me on this from the right, unless I can get a handle on it,” Novo said.
“Nevertheless, I cannot allow you to use my students in such a fashion,” Ozpin said. “In order to retain the trust of the whole kingdom, Beacon must be above politics.”
Novo sighed. “If I have to, I’ll just go to the students and ask them directly.”
“And Miss Nikos will refuse on the principle that she is not here to court publicity, Miss Rose will refuse because she dislikes your stance on security, and Mister Arc will, in all likelihood, refuse out of solidarity, if nothing else, although I must concede that you will probably get Miss Shimmer down to Parliament, and Miss Dash of the Atlesian Team Rosepetal. You may even be able to secure the presence of Miss Schnee. But do you really think that parading three Atlesians in front of the cameras will demonstrate that you are on top of things?”
Novo put her head in her hands, if only for a moment. “You do realise that of my two opponents in this election, one of them wants to cut the defence budget to the bone, and the other wants to expel foreigners, right? Surely you can see that I am the best pair of hands for Vale at this time.”
“Nevertheless, Madame Councillor, I will have to work with whoever triumphs in the forthcoming elections.”
“Including me,” Novo reminded him. It was her turn to rub her eyes. “I’m announcing the formation of an inter-agency task force to coordinate the response to these robberies and the White Fang going forwards; can I announce that you’ve accepted an appointment as the head of the task force? All information about this crime wave will hit your desk, and you can respond as appropriate. People trust you, and they’ll feel better knowing that you’re on the case.”
“I must-”
“Work with whoever wins the election, yes, you said,” Novo muttered. “But there’s a difference between endorsing my campaign and working to protect the kingdom from subversive elements within the walls. Surely you can’t object to working for the good of Vale?”
She had him there. Quite frankly, this was the last thing that he needed, but at the same time, she’d put him in a position where it was very difficult to refuse. Somebody needed to put a stop to all of these robberies, and there was very little more important than preventing the spread of panic amongst the populace.
He bowed his head. “I am at the service of the Council, and of Vale.”
“Thank you,” Novo said. “I’ll brief the press shortly.” It was her turn to rub her eyes. “There is also the question of the Atlesian involvement in all this. When the Council granted permission for the Atlesians to station a single cruiser off the coast of Vale and fly some unmanned drones over our skies for a limited period, I didn’t envisage Atlesian forces getting into fights on Valish soil, still less calling in fire support from that same cruiser!”
“What did you imagine they were going to do with a warship, Madame Councillor?”
“I am not in the mood for wit, Ozpin,” Novo growled at him. “Did you decide to get the Atlesians involved in this?”
“Yes,” Ozpin lied. “They have a level of skill and experience that I thought would be an asset in support of my own students.”
Novo’s eyebrows rose. “And here I thought you didn’t like the Atlesian military.”
“They have their uses,” Ozpin murmured.
“I’m sure, but in the future, try and let me know before you make foreign policy decisions; it gives me more time to come up with explanations for them,” Novo said.
“I’ll try and bear that in mind, Madame Councillor.”
“You’d better,” Novo said. “You might have to work with whoever sits in this chair… but whoever sits in this chair doesn’t necessarily have to work with you.”
“I’ll bear that in mind, too, Madame Councillor.”
“I’m glad to hear it. And Ozpin?”
“Yes, Madame Councillor?”
“Pass on my congratulations to your students,” she said. “They did very well out there.”
They would be having detentions for the next three weekends – wasn’t that going to be fun? – but Professor Goodwitch had taken pity on the fact that they’d been out all night and allowed them the chance to sleep in this Sunday. Sunset had planned to take full advantage of her largesse – she would start her new and more rigorous training regiment tomorrow – and was consequently a little annoyed to hear a knock on the dorm room door.
“Ruby,” she groaned, “you didn’t invite your sister round, did you?”
“No,” Ruby replied plaintively. “I think she’s planning to sleep in, too.”
“Ugh,” Sunset groaned, sitting up in bed. There was another knock at the door. Sunset scowled as she swung her legs out of bed and padded over to the door, opening it.
Rainbow and Blake stood on the other side.
“Have you heard the news?” Rainbow demanded. “Pyrrha Nikos foiled a dust robbery at the dockyard!”
Sunset smirked. She was aware of the fact that the media had given Pyrrha and the Gallant almost all the credit, with her companions barely mentioned, if at all. “That must be killing you, mustn’t it?”
“Oh, please, like it isn’t eating you just as bad.”
“Not at all,” Sunset lied. “I have achieved a state of calm about the whole thing.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” Sunset insisted. “Now is that all?”
“Unfortunately not,” Blake replied gloomily. “Can we come in?”
Sunset huffed, but stepped back from the door. “Sure, sure, come on in.”
Rainbow led the way, Blake following.
“Hey guys,” Rainbow said. She snorted at Jaune. “Nice onesie.”
Jaune raised the sheets up a little to conceal more of the blue onesie from view.
“Hello again,” Pyrrha said wearily. “I’m very sorry about the way that last night was covered. I never meant to-”
“Yeah, I get it,” Rainbow said, raising one hand. “I don’t like it, but I’m not going to get mad at you about it.”
“Very big of you to come down here and tell us,” Sunset muttered.
“How’s Penny?” Ruby asked.
“She’s doing okay; she’ll be fine,” Rainbow said.
“So… what are you guys doing here?” Jaune inquired.
“Professor Goodwitch just gave me some disturbing news,” Blake said. “Roman Torchwick escaped from police custody last night.”
“What?” Ruby cried. “How could they just let him get away? We caught him! How they could just… let him go?”
“The police car taking him to jail was ambushed, and he was freed,” Blake explained. “The two officers escorting him were injured but left alive.”
“Oh,” Ruby murmured. “Well… that’s good news. At least no one died.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Sunset muttered. “I suppose we’ll just have to catch him again when he surfaces. If he surfaces.”
“I think he will,” Blake said. “You see, that’s not all.”
“The VPD divers just finished searching the harbour,” Rainbow said. “No trace of Adam Taurus.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “You mean… he’s still out there?” The memory of that red sword, of the sky turning the colour of blood, of everything being turned to pure fear pumped into her veins, flashed before her eyes.
“Unfortunately,” Blake murmured. “And if I know Adam, we haven’t seen the last of him.”
Pyrrha frowned. “Meaning that, whatever is going on here in Vale, whatever we stumbled into last night-”
“It’s not over yet,” Sunset concluded.
“It might even be… just getting started,” Jaune muttered.
“Well… what if it is?” Ruby asked. “Whatever’s going on, whatever comes next, we’ll face it together, right?”
Pyrrha nodded firmly. “Together,” she agreed.
“Together,” declared Jaune.
Rainbow flashed a thumbs up. “Together. Team Rosepetal will be there every step of the way. Any time, any place.”
Blake looked down at the floor. She hugged one arm with her other hand. “Together,” she whispered, without much enthusiasm.
Sunset looked around the room: the runaway princess with whom she could identify, the old school rival who was both every bit as bad as Sunset remembered and yet much more tolerable, and her teammates. Her friends. The people who had accepted her and raised her up.
She would stand with them, against whatever the wind next blew their way.
“Together.”
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Ozpin doesn't know that Sunset is becoming a third player in this game and not just a piece on the board like the other two think she is.
...He didn't think there was any real danger? What do you call having someone almost die and only be saved by someone awakening their Semblance right there?
9284400
Yeah, she will be the Red Queen. With Red knights as her subordinates.
Did you write this before or after todays episode?
9284894
I wrote it before, on Saturday morning, but since I didn't want to post it until I'd finished the next chapter as well I knew bits about last night's episode (I'm not a First member, but I check the recap page on TV Tropes for important details); I know that Ozpin's thoughts about eventually defeating Salem don't match the relevation that she apparently can't be defeated; but I haven't worked out what I think about that little tidbit yet nor have I heard the actual wording from the episode to understand if there are any nuances.
9285499
It should be noted that wording is very important. Ozma asked if there was a way to destroy Salem, to which Jinn said no. Had he asked if there was a way to stop or to defeat Salem, the answer could have been different.
9285499
9461150
Since your version of Ozpin is well aware of Equestria, maybe that means he thinks there are additional paths open for humanify on Remnant. Even if he's still using a more narrow interpretation of 'destroy.'
I'm really curious how you're going to explain Equestria using the lure of the Two Brothers. Is Equestria going to turn out to be a world where the inhabitants didn't piss off the Gods so much? Does Ozpin think they need to model themselves after the ponies somehow, and he uses the Thousand Year rule of Celestia to justify his own deep seated control of people's lives?
Not too much to say this chapter other than that I do enjoy this little distraction. I am glad it's not part of the last chapter, however. Having it here on its own is better, both for its own sake, and the way the last chapter ended is better than if this came immediately after. Puts a larger period on things, with this being a sort of addendum.
Also, this was the first read through I realized that Queen is Cinder, not Salem. I was scratching my head starting out again, but you spell it out towards the end. Good all around.
I can't seem to help but relate Ozpin to Princess Celestia. Those two behave so similarly.
10176812
Damn. I can't not but help to agree
Fantastic chapter! You really overhauled this one to the fullest!
Everyone gets a proper lecture for their behavior. A lot of people could have gotten hurt. Even if they felt they couldn't talk to the authorities, then they could have informed other Huntsmen. Ruby Rose almost died tonight, and the only reason she lived was that someone on the scene spontaneously discovered their Semblance which happened to have healing properties. That's a miracle. Fearlessness may be fitting for soldiers, but they make poor leaders.
Just as importantly, Rainbow Dash finally got the dressing down she deserved for her actions!
Then we have everyone meeting up with their teams and trying to explain as best they can. We also have Adam's rage at RD and Cinder (I wonder who he hates more?) And you even showed the political blowback! Excellent work at covering all the bases!
Condemned Prisoners
that's funny
I think that's funny
Do you think Ms Shimmer going to kick Ozpin's ass for trying to use Pyrha to his secret project?
Yes Roman
10506764 If anything, she would be jelaous.
Oh no. Adam has seen Sun. And now he has asked Blake out.
... He is going to get hurt instead of Yang, is he not?
He sounds like a freaking teenager.
Alright, i really appreciate that addition for Roman. Of course budget cuts and Officers still living the good life goes straight to him.
Gadimit, I almost die. I was eating and almost choked lol