章 716: 59
Chapter 59:
Present day:
"Quite the interesting notion," said Ozpin, watching Ruby carefully. "And one of these 'Maidens' is here, at Beacon?"
"W-well...I wouldn't quite call her a Maiden...not really," said Ruby, her expression falling, feeling lightheaded at the memory of the atrocious thing that lurked behind Cinder's pleasant facade. "She had the Maiden's power...or a part of it, anyway...and...I'm sure she did something terrible to get it."
"What makes you say that?" asked Ozpin.
"It was torn...tattered," said Ruby, shuddering, hugging herself tightly, "like she tore off a piece of the Maiden's soul and stitched it to her own. It was ugly and gross and..." She shivered, unable to fully articulate just how horrible it had felt to look upon such a soul. "And...if she's willing to do that to someone, then there's no way she can be good."
"It is indeed a disturbing thing you describe," conceded Ozpin. "And, if what you say is true, then she would have tremendously destructive power at her disposal, a very real and serious threat to my school...that is...if such things as magic and Maidens were real."
Ruby swallowed, the bottom dropping out of her stomach. She'd known it had been a long shot. All of this banked on Ozpin believing her, despite the absurdity of the claims she was making. But how would anyone believe that such things were real, just hearing it out of the blue, from a fifteen-year-old girl no less? If she was lucky, he'd probably dismiss her assertions as fantasy, perhaps born of a mistaken impression, caused by too much interest in fantastical stories and fairy tales. At worst, he might deem her too immature to be kept at Beacon.
Ruby's nervous musings were interrupted by a tone from the elevator behind her. Turning her head, she saw the doors open to reveal Glynda, and someone she didn't know. The tall, imposing man in a military uniform strode forward, his expression stony and determined, as though he were marching to battle, and not walking into the office of Beacon's Headmaster.
"Oz? What do you need?" asked the man, before his eyes found Ruby, and widened in recognition.
"Ms. Rose, this is General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy, and an old friend of mine," said Ozpin, his introduction only serving to make Ruby all the more nervous. "He is visiting to oversee his students' participation in the Vytal Festival."
"Why is she here, Oz?" asked Ironwood, his eyes going to Beacon's Headmaster.
"Ms. Rose was just telling me a most interesting story," said Ozpin, switching the focus of his gaze to Ironwood and Glynda. "Apparently, someone with a portion of the power of one of the four Maidens has infiltrated Beacon, under the guise of a student visiting from another Academy.
Ruby shuddered. There was no way Ozpin could be that cruel, was there? He wasn't just prepared to dismiss her words as fantasy, but had even called Glynda, and the head of another Academy, to worsen her humiliation. Surely there was no way that Ozpin could be so sickly sadistic as to do something like that.
"Ms. Rose," said Ozpin firmly, drawing Ruby's gaze back to him.
When Ruby met his eyes, Ozpin's stony facade fell, and he smiled encouragingly at her. "You can be at ease, Ms. Rose. I believe you."
Ruby's entire body suddenly felt so light that she might have floated off her seat. "Y-you d-do...?"
"I do," said Ozpin.
"Oz..." said Ironwood in a warning tone.
"There's no point in concealing it, James," said Ozpin, glancing Ironwood's way. "If she knows about the Maidens already, there's no point in pretending otherwise." His gaze returned to Ruby. "We know that the Maidens are real. In fact, we are the ones charged with concealing and protecting them."
"You are...?" Ruby whispered, her eyes going wide. She thought back to what she had learned from Natsuki, and the people in the Mibu who had known her secret, about the ones who protected the Maidens in the outside world. "It can't be..."
Abruptly, Ruby allowed her awareness expand, opening herself to sense the presence and nature of Ozpin's Aura. She reeled with shock as her awareness brushed against his Aura...or Auras rather. Ozpin didn't have just one Aura, but several, dozens, perhaps even hundreds. They were impossible to count, not simply because of their number, but because they had all layered together, the boundaries of where one person's Aura began, and another's ended, blurring from the compression and merging of countless disparate souls being pressed and fused together into a single being. At the center of it all, infusing the entire thing with its presence, was the Aura and soul of a single person, whose presence completely subsumed the others, which were all like him, in some fashion or another.
"You're him!" gasped Ruby, scarcely able to believe it, despite knowing that the Maidens were real. "You're the Wizard!"
"I am," said Ozpin, chuckling. "Well...your sister did say it was only a matter of time, before you noticed. Though I wonder if she thought you'd catch on this quickly."
"Her sister?" growled Ironwood warily.
Ozpin waved Ironwood's inquiry off dismissively. Instead, he focused his attention on Ruby. "Ms. Rose, I must thank you for bringing the presence of this person to our attention. As it was, we have been looking for her for some time."
"Who is she?" asked Ruby.
"We only know so much," admitted Ozpin, much to Ironwood's consternation. "You see, not so long ago, shortly before you arrived in Vale in fact, one of the Maidens, the Fall Maiden, was attacked, and a portion of her power stolen. It was a completely unprecedented occurrence, something we hadn't even thought possible, before it actually happened."
"So Cinder is..." said Ruby.
"Yes, she would be the one responsible," agreed Ozpin. "She and her companions attacked the Fall Maiden, out in the wilderness. However, they were interrupted before she could complete whatever process she was using to steal the Fall Maiden's power away."
"As a result, the Fall Maiden is currently in critical condition," said Glynda, chipping in, for the first time since she'd arrived. "And her condition has been worsening."
"It's fortunate that you uncovered her assailant," added Ozpin. "Before you came to me, we were considering...drastic...actions to rectify the situation."
"What actions?" wondered Ruby.
"You don't need to know," said Ironwood curtly.
"True, I'm afraid," said Ozpin, frowning and silently rebuking Ironwood with a sharp glance for his manner. "It's better if we limit saying things unnecessarily."
"So...now what?" asked Ruby, looking at Ozpin.
"That is the question," replied Ozpin inscrutably, tapping the surface of his desk, bringing up a holographic image that hovered above it. On it was a list of files that he began scrolling through. Ruby realized that it was a list of files on the students visiting from the other Academies, sorted by school and team.
"You said they were wearing Haven uniforms," observed Ozpin, scrolling some more. "Their leader identified herself as Cinder, along with two of her other teammates, Emerald and Mercury."
"That's right," said Ruby. "They didn't give me their surnames, though."
"That's fine," said Ozpin, selecting a file. "Their given names are enough."
Opening the file revealed information on the team in question, Team CMSN. "Team Crimson," said Ozpin, bringing up the profiles of its members. "Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Nyx Nocturne. They are listed as third-years of Haven Academy."
Glynda appeared to be reviewing their information on her scroll as well, now. "Their files all seem legitimate. From everything I can see, they are actual students of Haven Academy."
"If they have gone so far as to infiltrate, they would not take half-measures when it comes to falsifying the information necessary to masquerade as students," said Ozpin, frowning.
"We'll probably have to contact Leo directly," said Ironwood.
"Um..." said Ruby, squirming in her seat a little, only to find herself feeling even more uncomfortable, as she realized she'd just drawn everyone's attention to her. "What should I do?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Rose," said Ozpin. "We shouldn't keep you longer than necessary. You're already late enough for your dinner and bed as it is. We'll take things from here, for now.
"As for your question, I'm sorry that, for the time being, the answer is...nothing."
"Nothing?" Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"At this point, we cannot afford to arouse this...Cinder's...suspicions," explained Ozpin. "You've given us a valuable opportunity here. For the first time in a while, we might actually be ahead of the enemy's plans. But that hinges on her not realizing that we already know who she is, and where she is. Doing this right will require careful preparation and observation. We cannot afford to waste this opportunity by acting rashly." Ruby could have sworn he looked pointedly at Ironwood, when he said that.
"With that in mind," he continued, returning his gaze to Ruby, "I have to ask you not to try anything, Ms. Rose. This Cinder Fall was dangerous enough that she was able to successfully subdue one of the Maidens, without any of their power. While she most likely had assistance, and an excellent plan, that only makes her all the more dangerous, if she is capable of such things, in addition to wielding the Maiden's magic."
Ruby nodded nervously.
"As such, please keep your contact with her to a minimum. Do not seek her out at all. Carry on normally, as though you are aware of nothing amiss."
"O-okay," said Ruby, feeling uneasy at the prospect. It didn't feel right to simply sit by, when she knew someone so dangerous and evil was lurking around. At the same time, she had already gotten the impression that this was too big for her to tackle by herself, which was what had prompted her to go to Ozpin about this in the first place. At this point, the best she could do was defer to his judgment.
"I must also ask you not to speak to your friends of this matter," said Ozpin firmly. "The secret of the Maidens cannot be allowed to be spread indiscriminately. Even if you trust your friends, there is still a degree of unnecessary risk in telling anyone who does not need to know."
"Yes, Professor," said Ruby, finding it easier to agree to that particular stipulation, as it was something she was used to already.
"Then off with you," said Ozpin. "Thank you for everything you've done, Ms. Rose."
Ruby nodded, standing up and heading to the elevator.
Once she was gone, Ironwood's eyes narrowed. "She was far different from what I expected."
"A remarkable young lady," said Ozpin, with a soft chuckle. "I'm sure she will go far."
"Still...if she knows about the Maidens, then she could only have learned from the Mibu," Ironwood pointed out. "They know, Ozpin. If they know, there's no telling where their spies might be."
"You needn't worry overly much about Mibu spies," said Ozpin. "The Mibu have assembled that information over the course of centuries. They are a people with long memories, and there's no doubt that they are skilled in assembling facts gathered over the course of an extended period of time."
Ironwood frowned, not completely buying that explanation.
"In any case, I don't believe we need to worry about them being enemies in this matter," Ozpin pointed out. "Ms. Rose, the closest thing we have to a representative of them, has been nothing but helpful, even granting us with this unprecedented opportunity."
"I suppose that much is true," agreed Ironwood, somewhat reluctantly. "If nothing else, she is indeed as decisive and skilled as you described."
"Ah, watched her debriefing already, have you?" asked Ozpin with a chuckle.
Ironwood exhaled slowly. "She successfully defeated Adam Taurus, twice no less. This most recent time, she even managed it in the dark, with his natural advantage over her...though he's managed to escape both times."
"It would appear that he has obtained substantial help," said Ozpin.
Ironwood nodded. "At the very least, she seems trustworthy." He looked at the file on Team CMSN, still floating above Ozpin's desk. "And what about Cinder? When do we move against her?"
"That is more difficult," said Ozpin. "We cannot afford to waste this chance. But we must be cautious. If she catches wind of the fact that we are onto her, she will either cause an incident, or simply vanish. In either case, we will be back where we started, with Autumn's condition worsening, and no means of fixing this. We cannot allow her to slip away, but we need to be absolutely sure, when we do move."
"Yet we cannot afford to wait too long," said Ironwood.
"I believe we have time," said Ozpin. "She took the trouble of crafting such a convincing set of student profiles for herself and her cohorts. If this was meant to be a brief infiltration, she wouldn't need to be so comprehensive. The fact she went through so much trouble means that they mean for their cover to last for longer...likely through the Vytal Festival."
"So whatever they are planning involves the festival, and the tournament," said Glynda.
"Most likely," agreed Ozpin. "But that means we have time to gather information and observe them. Most of all, we cannot afford to be reckless."
"I hope you're right, Oz," said Ironwood, his voice a soft growl. "But, if we waste this opportunity, because you refuse to take action, then it will be on your head."
"So it will be," said Ozpin. "You are right that we must strike a balance between caution and decisiveness. Action will be required at some point. But, for now, let us gather as much information on our subjects as we can."
"When it comes to that, one of the members of this team stands out to me," said Ironwood, tapping Ozpin's desk, manipulating the interface to bring the picture of the gray-haired boy to the fore. "Mercury Black...There is another M. Black that I know of, one with quite the reputation. If this Mercury is connected to him..."
"By all means, find out what you can learn," said Ozpin. If Ironwood had something to work on, it would keep him from jumping the gun.
"Ms. Sustrai's profile lists her as being from Vacuo," noted Glynda, selecting Emerald's profile on her scroll. "Of course, there's a possibility that any information pertaining to their backgrounds or history is falsified."
"Yes, but they would still wish to have something that they can easily relate to," said Ozpin. "When infiltrators are questioned about their personal history, it is much easier for them to describe places they are familiar with, rather than making things up whole-cloth. Most likely, the information on Ms. Sustrai's home Kingdom is accurate. Her appearance certainly suggests someone of Vacuoan origin." Darker skin-tones, like Emerald's, were often characteristic of people from the desert region, where the tanning effect of sun-exposure almost seemed to have sunk in on a genetic level amongst many of the people who called that harsh region home.
"Cinder Fall is listed as being from Mistral," noted Ironwood. "But it will be difficult to confirm. Perhaps we could have Leo look into it."
"Let's not," said Ozpin warily, his tone drawing surprised looks from both Ironwood and Glynda. "Think about it. The information on these profiles is impressively complete, their cover as students utterly airtight. These are no mere cheap forgeries. These are authentic identities of Haven students...which means that someone at Haven helped in creating them...someone highly-placed."
"You can't possibly be suggesting Leo?" gasped Glynda.
Ozpin frowned. "Truth be told, I don't wish to suspect him. However, we cannot be too careful in this situation. Furthermore, even if Leo is not compromised, it is likely someone on his staff. We cannot allow any hint that we suspect them to reach Cinder Fall and her cohorts. Therefore, we should endeavor to keep our inquiries away from Haven in its entirety."
"That makes sense," agreed Ironwood.
"Then let us proceed," said Ozpin. "I will contact Qrow, and let him know of our plan of action."
"Hopefully he can come back quickly," said Glynda. "We will need every edge we can get against these people." Loathe as she was to admit it, the drunkard was unquestionably one of the finest Huntsmen currently active, and one of the few people that Ozpin trusted completely. He had been the one to rescue Amber, when she'd been attacked, and had been eager to find and deal with her attackers.
"I'll begin immediately," said Ironwood, heading for the elevator.
Once it closed, Glynda and Ozpin let out sighs of relief. "Must he be so difficult?" she wondered.
"He is eager," said Ozpin. "If we can temper that aspect of him, he will truly be a great asset."
Glynda nodded.
"Still, it is fortunate that he overlooked certain omissions from Ms. Rose's story," mused Ozpin.
"What omissions?" asked Glynda, looking at Ozpin in surprise.
"Ms. Rose's senses are incredibly refined," noted Ozpin. "So it is no surprise that she recognized that something was seriously wrong with Cinder Fall. That having been said...how did Ms. Rose know that Ms. Fall had stolen a Maiden's powers, specifically?"
Glynda gasped softly.
"She could only have made such a determination...because she is already familiar with the sensation of a Maiden's magic, from having sensed such power before."
"In other words, she's met one of the other Maidens, maybe even knows her," said Glynda breathlessly.
"Two Maidens are currently unaccounted for," said Ozpin. "The Spring Maiden abandoned her duties and fled, over a decade ago. We cannot even be certain that she is still alive. The Summer Maiden has not been found, not since the passing of the previous one."
"You believe that one of the missing Maidens is with the Mibu?" asked Glynda.
"She might even be one of the Mibu," corrected Ozpin. "If the Summer or Spring Maiden's power ended up going to someone at random, then the young women of the Mibu Clan would have had just as much a chance of receiving it as anyone."
"But what does that mean?" asked Glynda.
"At the very least, one of the Maidens is secure," said Ozpin. "If she is living with the Mibu, or is one of them, then she is probably in the safest position of any of them. The Mibu protect their own fiercely. And the power that they can bring to bear is not to be trifled with, not even by Salem. Few of her agents would have any hope of penetrating their defenses. The Mibu regard even the Grimm as a mere inconvenience at worst."
"I suppose that would be reassuring," mused Glynda. "Though James probably would not agree."
"Then we shall not bring it up with him," said Ozpin. "Though, if he does realize it himself, then we must do what we can to dissuade him from acting on that knowledge."
"That seems wisest," said Glynda.
"What did Ozpin talk to you about?" asked Weiss, as soon as Ruby returned from her late dinner.
Ruby swept an apologetic gaze across her teammates. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk about it," she said. "It's kinda...super-secret."
"Secret enough that you have to keep it from your own teammates?" pressed Weiss.
"'Fraid so," said Ruby. "I really wish I could tell you, Weiss. But these are serious secret-secrets."
"Then we won't pry," said Pyrrha, resting a hand on Weiss' arm, silently urging her partner to leave things where they were.
"I'm sorry," said Ruby, bowing her head to them.
"Well, so long as you're not in any trouble," said Jaune. "You'd tell us, right?"
"Of course I would," said Ruby, giving him a grateful smile.
"Then that's all we really need to know," said Jaune.
"Thanks," said Ruby. "Let's get some sleep."
"Well...at least tomorrow is Sunday," said Weiss, finding it in herself to smile. "We could certainly do with a lazy day, after what we went through."
"Pretty considerate of the White Fang to do all this on a Saturday night," added Jaune jokingly.
That night, Ruby slipped beneath the sheets. Despite the fact she didn't think she'd done anything wrong, whether pertaining to Ashley's rescue, or telling Ozpin about Cinder, she was struck by the nagging feeling that something was wrong, that she'd overlooked something. She just wished she could place it. Still, the exhaustion of what she'd been through caught up with her, and she slipped away regardless.
"I WANT THAT GIRL DEAD!" Adam's voice roared out from the scroll, the force behind his shout actually making the device's speakers crackle from the feedback.
Cinder grimaced, holding the scroll well away from her ear. "You certainly like to talk about what you want Adam. Need I remind you that we do not work for you."
"I've sunk an enormous amount of our resources into this 'project' of yours," Adam growled back. "You owe me."
"Adam," said Cinder, a dangerous purr entering her voice, "that is not how our relationship works. Do you need me to come down there and remind you of the basis for our alliance?"
For a few, tense seconds, the only sound coming from Cinder's scroll was the sound of harsh breaths, Adam trying to get his rage under control.
Mercury and Emerald traded looks, smirking. Truth be told, they could care less about the White Fang, or the organization's "mission". It didn't help that Adam was so unbearably dogmatic that they could scarcely meet with him for more than a few minutes before he would start ranting about "human oppression" or the like, when he wasn't complaining about having to work for Cinder. Granted, Adam's help hadn't been obtained through the most...polite...of methods. But they had tried being nice the first time. It was Adam's stubbornness that had resulted in their present relationship being even less-equal than it would have, had he accepted their overtures the first time.
At present, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald were in Cinder's room in the visitor dorms. Truth be told, there wasn't all that much for them to do on the weekends, except pretend to be students. Mercury and Emerald could go out to socialize, perhaps try to learn more about their possible targets. But that could wait until later. Cinder was generally stuck with the nitty gritty of organizing disparate components of their plan: managing Torchwick's criminal cohorts, the White Fang, and Morgan's pirates.
Unfortunately, their lazy, relaxing morning had been interrupted by a call from Adam himself. Apparently, his operation to use one of the dissenters targeted for elimination as a way to draw out Ruby Rose and kill her had gone south in a big way. It had actually been Emerald and Mercury who had floated the idea. In their investigations into some of Beacon's students, particularly the Academy's two most-notable first-years, they had learned that one of the White Fang's new recruits, Ashley Forrest, was a close friend of Ruby Rose in particular. Passing that information on to Adam, they suggested that he use Ashley's elimination as a way to draw out the girl who'd humiliated him into a fight on his terms, and repay the favor...with death.
The way they, and Cinder, saw it, there weren't many downsides. Another would-be deserter was made an example of. One or more of Beacon's promising students were eliminated. There would be at least one less candidate for them to evaluate. And, finally, the negativity stirred up by the White Fang's activities would receive a nice shot in the arm.
Of course, all that reckoned without the possibility of utter-failure on Adam's part. Every single aspect of this operation had ended in a loss for him. His efforts to kill Ruby, as well as her friend, had been defeated. Even his plan to kill Ashley's family instead had been thwarted too. In the process, several more of Adam's more loyal and committed troops had been subdued and captured, now in police custody. Adam's humiliation was compounded by the fact that he'd now lost to the same opponent twice, this time in a situation where he had deliberately tailored the environment to his advantage.
And now, here he was, shouting at them over a scroll, first thing in the morning; probably the first thing Adam had done since he'd regained consciousness from having his Aura broken the previous night. According to Neo's report, he'd passed out soon after their escape. Neo had also given them a fairly decent summary of the fight itself. As if all the other factors of Adam's defeat were bad enough, apparently Ruby Rose had literally beaten him with her eyes closed. On top of that, the young girl's analysis of the situation, and her understanding of Adam's tendencies, had been flawless. She'd completely read his plan, and countered it perfectly.
According to Cinder, rather than being a sign of Adam's incompetence, it was a sign that Ruby Rose was not someone to be taken lightly, reinforcing the threat the seemingly unassuming little girl they'd seen cringing away from them in the hallway actually presented.
Of course, none of that was any help in calming Adam, who had demanded that they do something. It wasn't even a matter of making good of the White Fang's promise of fatal punishment for those who tried to desert the organization. Adam just wanted to hit back at Ruby, to find some way to make her suffer for humiliating him...again.
"Much as I would like to help you, Adam," continued Cinder, "we simply can't. We cannot afford to jeopardize our cover for a single civilian girl. It's unfortunate, but I just don't see it as a risk worth taking.
"Look on the bright side, an entire family was forced to flee Vale, and are now cowering at Beacon. That seems to me to be an excellent sign of how fearsome the White Fang's reprisal is."
"That's not good enough!" snapped Adam. "This was your stipulation. Those who try to leave cannot be allowed to live!"
"And it was your job to see it through," Cinder countered, "one that you seemed very confident about being able to carry out. Yet you found yourself beaten, by the very same opponent no less."
"Aww...Come on, Cinder. Cut the boy some slack."
The scroll fell from Cinder's hand as she jumped up from her seat on her bed in shock. Both Mercury and Emerald jolted as well, looking around for the source of the voice. A figure sat down onto the bed, right next to where Cinder had been sitting, the light tinkling of bells that adorned his hat accentuating his movements musically.
"Jester!" yelped Cinder, unable to hide her shock at the man's appearance.
He inclined his head towards her, tinkling the bells attached to the three tips of his fool's hat, lips pulling back to bare his teeth in a shining grin, which, combined with the white domino-mask obscuring his eyes with opaque lenses, was downright sinister-looking. As befitted his name, the man was clad in a classic jester's outfit, something right out of the stories of the old royal courts of Vale's monarchy, although the colors were off.
Classical jesters typically wore bright, motley-colored coats and breeches. While Jester's coat was certainly motley, his colors were a patchwork of dark-purple and pitch-black, making his white mask stand out all the more unsettlingly amidst all that dark coloring. Leaning back on Cinder's bed, he kicked up one of his legs, revealing shoes that ended with curling tips, also adorned with bells.
"What are you doing here?" demanded Cinder.
"Well, I was in the neighborhood, and decided to pop in to check on y'all," said Jester, chuckling. "You know how the boss lady loves to worry and fret. Figured I'd just scamper on home with some good news that yer all healthy and happy as clams." He paused, raising the marotte in his right hand. Carved from ebony, the stick sported a carved likeness of Jester's fool's cap...fitted over the head of a human skull. "But here you are, arguing with our good man, Taurus, over a trifle no less."
"This is hardly a trifle," said Cinder. "Taurus failed in his responsibilities, yet he wants us to clean up his mess."
"Well now...that's true," agreed Jester. "But it's hard to hold against him, ya know."
Cinder frowned, and nodded. "How much do you know?" she asked.
"Enough," said Jester, tilting his face towards the ceiling, "maybe even more than you."
"So you think we should do Adam's job for him?" asked Mercury.
"Well, we can't exactly let it out that the White Fang is letting deserters slip through the cracks, now can we?" mused Jester.
"But we can't jeopardize our cover," Emerald pointed out.
"True, true," agreed Jester. "Well...that's not entirely true, I guess. Let's just say that, in these difficult times, sometimes a certain degree of risk is necessary."
"Risk...?" mused Cinder.
"High risk, high return," clarified Jester. "Now, set aside your frustration with our buddy, Adam, for a moment, and think about the situation. Here, you have someone who's fled the White Fang and sought sanctuary at Beacon Academy. Sure, you could just stick to your guns, keep your cover, and sit back. But let's think about where that leads, eh.
"Sooner or later, this girl is gonna speak out. Now that ain't the end 'o the world. But if she starts talking about the White Fang's...revised...recruitment rallies, as well as what they're doing to keep theirs in line, people are gonna start talkin'. More faunus will turn against the Fang, and it's gonna get harder to find the manpower to really make your plan come together. But think about this..."
Jester's grin widened slightly. Just that simple change was enough to make it all the more menacing. "Everybody assumes that, because this girl and her family made it into the loving arms of Beacon's security, they're free and clear. They beat the game, cleared the last boss, all that jazz... Now...after all that reassurance, what might happen if this girl and her parents were to...I don't know...turn up dead, in their room at Beacon; just when they thought they were safe, just when almost everyone else did too?"
"Hmmm..." Cinder frowned, pinching her chin thoughtfully.
Jester made sense. From the perspective of the two teams that had fought for them, Ashley Forrest and her parents were completely safe, now that they had been delivered to Beacon. Adam wanted to deliver a psychological blow to Ruby Rose. And what blow could be more powerful than having Ruby's friend die, after Ruby had saved her? From the perspective of their overall purpose, it had some interesting benefits. The people of Vale would get to see that Beacon's security was weak, that even the supposed sanctuary of the Academy was susceptible to being penetrated. It would reinforce the message to the members of the White Fang that there was no escape for deserters. Finally, it would enhance the overall fear and negativity within the Kingdom nicely.
"Ya see?" prodded Jester. "When you think about it, there might just be more pros than cons."
"True...I suppose," said Cinder. "However, we need to be careful. Depending on how we do this, Ozpin could realize that the White Fang has cohorts within Beacon's grounds itself."
"Yeah, and busting into where those three are hiding could be noisy," Mercury pointed out. "Even if Emerald worked the locks, they'd probably notice and call somebody. That comes with a pretty big risk of being discovered."
Jester laughed. "And why would dear Em need to deal with locks at all?" he asked. "After all, I suspect that this little girl is just the sort to throw the door wide open for a friendly face." He turned his gaze to Emerald, who was beginning to smile. "And we all know that Em is more than capable of delivering on that."
"Yes...I suppose this could be workable," said Cinder thoughtfully.
"Well, the choice is yours," said Jester, shrugging indifferently. "I've delivered my advice. You seem to be doing well enough, Cinder. Ta."
Abruptly, the strangely-dressed man toppled over backwards, seeming to fall through a gap between the mattress and the wall...except that the mattress had been pushed up flush against the wall. Yet he fell behind it all the same, vanishing from sight.
"Who was that?" asked Adam over the scroll, having heard everything.
"An...associate," said Cinder, frowning, while picking up the scroll. "In any case, his advice is always sound. So, that having been said..."
"You'll do it?" asked Adam eagerly.
"I suppose we will," said Cinder, lowering her head slightly. "However, we will do it in our time, not yours, Taurus. There is certain groundwork that must be laid, before we go ahead with this."
"Wait too long, and the little bitch will squeal," growled Adam.
"That will be your problem to deal with," said Cinder. "She's likely spilling everything to Ozpin and his staff as we speak anyway. So it's too late to kill her for the sake of shutting her up. We will just have to focus on delivering as effective a message as possible."
"I didn't want to join," said Ashley, her voice soft, her gaze distant. "I told Chrys that. But he kept pushing."
"Was he trying to force you?" asked Glynda.
"Not really," said Ashley, pausing to sniff hard.
Standing behind her seat, Ruby rested her hands on Ashley's shoulders, squeezing them as reassuringly as she could.
Ozpin nodded across the desk at her. "I can understand that it is hard to talk about your employer, considering what happened. However, please do your best to recall what you can."
Ashley nodded, letting out a soft whimper, and raising her arm to wipe her eyes. "Chrys told me about what the White Fang did for faunus, how he wouldn't even have his shop, if it wasn't for them. He wanted me to at least hear what they had to say. One rally, that was supposed to be it. If I didn't want to join, he'd drop it, and that would be that."
"What happened at the rally?" Glynda pressed gently.
"It was late," said Ashley. "Chrys asked me to tell Mom and Dad that I had an overnight shift, that we were gonna reset the shop's layout."
"So that's when it was," said Elowen, frowning at the memory. She'd thought she'd noticed some extra tension, when Ashley had returned from that particular shift.
"It was just supposed to be an informational rally," continued Ashley. "They'd make a few speeches, tell a few stories, let us ask questions, and then we'd go. But...when we got there...it wasn't anything like what Chrys said it would be."
"How so?" asked Ozpin.
"It was really tense," said Ashley. "They had a stage, and members came up to talk about how they were discriminated against. They were all really violent stories too. And they also talked about how the White Fang got back at the humans who'd hurt them. It went on for hours, with no breaks. I...I felt like everything was just too staged."
"Classic brainwashing tactics," mused Ozpin.
"After it was over, we were supposed to sign up," said Ashley. "I didn't want to, but the recruiters...they wouldn't let you leave if you didn't sign up. At least, that's how it seemed. There was a boy ahead of us, who didn't want to join either. But they kept saying that he needed to sign up. Then the others with us started to pressure him too."
"Inciting mob-mentality to increase the degree of peer pressure..." muttered Glynda.
"Chrys told me to just go ahead and give them my name and contact info," continued Ashley, "so that we could avoid a confrontation. After that...well...I just stayed away from the rallies, came up with excuses. But then...then Chrys..." Ashley broke down sobbing.
Ruby quickly wrapped her friend in a hug, letting Ashley cry into her shoulder.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Forrest," said Ozpin, giving Ashley and her parents a reassuring smile. "I understand that this was a traumatic experience for you. But this is very helpful information, and it may allow us to save others with similar difficulties."
"I hope so," said Ashley, pulling away from Ruby enough to meet Ozpin. "I just wish there was more I could do."
"There might be," said Ozpin. "However...it could be harder on you."
"What do you mean?" asked Ashley.
"If you wish to do more, then the most effective thing would probably be to start telling your story to a wider audience," explained Ozpin. "I won't make it a requirement. However, I would like you to consider speaking to the press about your experience."
"I-I'll think about it," said Ashley.
"Please do," said Ozpin. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Forrest."
Ashley nodded, Ruby helping her up out of her chair, so that they could leave.
Just after breakfast that morning, Ruby had been summoned, along with her team, to Ozpin's office. She found herself meeting Glynda, along with the Forrest Family, in the tower lobby, all of them convening, so that Ashley could share the story of her involvement with the White Fang.
Ruby had been shocked to learn that Chrys had been a White Fang member, albeit a passive one. But it also given her a glimpse into the organization's appeal, with the story Ashley had related about how they had helped Chrys get established, by dealing with a landlord who'd discriminated against him for being a faunus. Then had come the story of the rally, and the revelation that Ashley and other faunus were essentially being conscripted by the organization.
For the others in their group, it had been an experience of relief, mingled with dread, learning that their friend wasn't a committed member of the White Fang, but had been dragged into it against her will. Ruby wondered what Blake would make of this, once she learned what Ashley had been through.
"For the time being, you may return to your quarters," said Ozpin. "I hope you don't feel too confined, but we do need to be careful about having civilians present on our campus, so we can't afford to allow you to move around too freely. We don't wish to have you questioned or harassed. Our students generally have good intentions, but their curiosity can get the better of them."
"I guess that's the price we pay," said Oliver with a shrug, not minding all that much.
They had been given quarters in Beacon's faculty wing, a full suite of rooms, actually larger than their own apartment. It came with all the amenities they might need, including a full kitchen. The only downside was that there was only one bedroom, with one bed...but a very nice one. The couch wasn't bad either.
"I am sure that Ms. Rose and her friends would be amenable to escorting you, should you wish to go anywhere," added Ozpin, getting a nod of confirmation from Ruby, "though they will not be available during class."
"Of course," said Elowen.
"Then, if that is everything-" Ozpin began preparing to call the meeting to a close...only to be interrupted by the sound of Jaune's scroll ringing.
"Huh?" Jaune fumbled his scroll for a second, cringing away from Glynda's glare. "S-sorry," he said bashfully, "I thought I silenced it."
Pulling it out, he moved to turn off the scroll's ringer, only to freeze when he saw what was on the screen. "Ruby..."
"What is it?" asked Ruby, coming over to see what had stopped Jaune in his tracks. Seeing it for herself, she gasped softly.
"Is it something pertinent to this discussion?" asked Glynda cooly, her patience at this interruption being strained.
Before Jaune and Ruby could answer, the scroll rang again, then a third time. With each new message, Jaune and Ruby became considerably more nervous. Finally, they looked up at Ozpin and Glynda.
"It's very pertinent," said Ruby, nodding to Jaune. "Show them."
Jaune nodded, bringing his scroll over to the desk, and showing the messages to the two teachers.
The messages were from someone named "Neo." Each of the three messages was succinct and to the point.
"Your friend isn't safe at Beacon," said the first.
"They're coming for her," said the second.
"Don't trust what you see or hear," said the third.
"Who is this...Neo-person?" asked Glynda, frowning.
"If I had to guess, I think she's the girl who was with Adam, last night," said Jaune.
"Probably," agreed Ruby.
"And what about this message?" asked Glynda. "How do you know this girl?"
"I don't," said Jaune, going through his scroll. "She's not showing up on my contacts. I can't get anything from the sender-part of the message. There's no way to get the scroll-contact, or even reply. It looks like this is one-way...somehow."
"She picked Jaune's pocket during the fight," added Ruby, "and then threw his scroll to me, when it was over."
"She withdrew at the end, and stopped attacking," noted Pyrrha, Weiss nodding next to her. "I was tracking her weapons, but she stopped moving. We thought she might be setting up for an unarmed attack. But she never came for us, and didn't move again, until she saved Adam from Ruby."
"She must have been doing...whatever it was she did with Jaune's scroll...during that time," said Weiss.
"There are some truly genius-if rather illegal-programs out there, which might enable such a setup," mused Ozpin. "She must have downloaded Mr. Arc's contact information to her scroll, while her own has a masking program in place to prevent her messages being traced back to their point of origin."
"But what's the point of this message?" asked Jaune, frowning at the messages again.
"It seems fairly straightforward to me," said Glynda. "It would seem that the White Fang have not given up, simply because Ms. Forrest and her parents are in Beacon custody."
Ashley gasped, while her parents clasped one another's hands tightly. Ruby immediately moved to stand closer to Ashley, as though someone might attack them right then and there, in the middle of Ozpin's office.
"You think the White Fang are going to attack Beacon?" asked Weiss.
"That would be absurd," said Glynda. "However much manpower they might have, they would have to be suicidal to try and launch an assault on a Huntsman Academy."
"It wouldn't have to be an assault," Pyrrha pointed out. "What if they sent infiltrators?"
Ruby inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide. Her gaze darted to Ozpin, then Glynda. Beacon's Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress both met her gaze, understanding her unspoken suspicion.
It seemed outlandish. There was no tangible connection between Cinder Fall and the White Fang. After all, Cinder and her cohorts were all human. But...then again...there was a human working with the White Fang right now, one who had saved Adam from capture twice. And, if there was a connection, then the White Fang wouldn't need to send infiltrators, because some were already in place.
"Why would this Neo-person warn us about this, though?" asked Jaune. "I mean...she's working with the White Fang now, isn't she?"
"That is the question," said Ozpin. "However, it is still worth taking this warning seriously, if only because it is better to be prepared for the worst-case scenario."
"What bothers me is the third message," said Ruby, frowning. "What does she mean about not trusting what we see or hear?"
Pyrrha let out a soft gasp, then snapped her fingers. "Illusion!" she exclaimed.
"Huh?" Ruby turned to Pyrrha, confused.
"Oooh!" gasped Jaune, already getting what Pyrrha was suggesting, while Weiss nodded in silent agreement.
"When Neo attacked us, trying to get at Ashley, she used illusions," explained Pyrrha. "She could create false images, or completely hide herself from sight."
"You think she might be warning us that she would be sent after Ms. Forrest and her family?" asked Ozpin.
"Maybe," said Ruby. "Or maybe there's someone else they have with illusions. If she can practically make herself invisible, then it's pointless to warn us about seeing and hearing. So she might be meaning someone or something else."
"But what?" asked Jaune.
"Well...what if Neo's-or someone else's-illusions...let her take on someone else's appearance?" wondered Ruby.
A tense silence filled the room.
"You mean, if I saw...like...you at the door," said Ashley, thinking of the little peephole set into their door.
"A disturbing notion," said Ozpin.
"So...then...either Neo, or someone else, is planning to try and use some kind of illusion to get Ashley or her parents to let them into their room, so that they can finish the job," said Jaune.
"That appears to be the idea," said Glynda warily. "But can we even trust this message?"
"It's certainly odd," said Ozpin. "Why would this girl warn us, if she was planning an attack, or being party to one? Yet, at the same time, this message would simply lead us to taking extra precautions that wouldn't cause any harm, if it proved to be false."
They were silent for a few more minutes, before Ruby spoke. "Well...let's go with the assumption that this is true," she said. "I think I know what precautions we need to take..."
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