God, who'd have thought that we'd reach this point? When I started, this was just an idea that came to me, mostly just wondering about how Ruby would act with Weiss' aim to form the ultimate duo with Pyrrha going on, while P-Money had to deal with Jaune's actual crush being so close. From there, it grew and grew, until it reached this point. The aim was always to go up to Volume II's end, seeing how things would change with the altered set-up, and now I've reached it, for better or worse.

The battle is over, the good guys won, and now the wreckage begins to be cleaned up. I may do a few one-shots covering Volume III and how they adapt, although I'd have to ignore which canon parts break this fic (the suffering of those who have canon-compliance until a certain moment), but this will be the end for some time. For those who read and reviewed, thanks for all the support (including sarista wow most of all, for the in-depth look and many a mentioning of mistakes here and there, to help me grow as a writer), and I hope this was all you wanted it to be, mistakes in writing and all.

So, with that, I hope you enjoy it, and any final feedback will always be appreciated.

It wasn't natural, James thought, to see Ozpin treated the way he was.

A man once seen as a source of wisdom, someone who knew everything, or at least the proper course of action, was now being scolded like a child. His power and image of wisdom was stripped from him, after the Grimm struck and his prior actions were found wanting, and now his silence and words were no longer eccentric pieces of advice from a genius, but a child who was refusing to speak or cooperate with being sent to their room, petulance took the place of a wise man. For a former student, and a friend who hoped their friendship would survive these events, it felt strange, however deserved it was.

When he heard the siren cry out throughout the city, James had been in a meeting with Frost and Geppetto, and a few other military and civil officials in Atlas, discussing the military situation and the rise in mines running out of Dust. The second it cried out, James ordered an end to the meeting, and arranged for every commander on the Steelpoint to ready themselves for action, assembling the Atlesian Knights and fighter pilots they could.

Everything he had in Vale was thrown at the Grimm infestation, as he quickly contacted the Vale military and got them to focus their resources on keeping the monsters at bay as he moved to reinforce the attacking position. In less than twenty minutes, he was on the Steelpoint and sending every last bit of his troops against the Grimm, firing everything they had on the skies and then the ground.

In battle, whoever controlled the most fronts decided the fate of the conflict. The Nevermores were preventing a suitable ground response, by picking off either troops of airships that tried to rescue civilians, so they had to be wiped out first, and then the stronger Grimm such as Ursa Major, Alpha Beowolves, GrimmApes, and Chimeras were taken out next, followed by fighter pilots moving to back-up specific zones of conflict outside of the town square.

With that, as Bart had managed to prevent further Grimm intrusions from the breach, and Glynda succeeded in plugging the breach back up again, it was simply a matter of removing what was left. Their strength in numbers was nothing if superior firepower was attained, and the Grimm were cut off from the wider herds and swarms, allowing for James and the rest of the Atlesian military to ensure that they were purged from Vale and the threat of destruction was removed.

In the immediate aftermath, the concern was with making sure that all civilians in the areas affected were accounted for, as either dead or alive, roaming groups in the sewers still being found and told that the threat was over, and in evacuating those injured to proper medical facilities. Most of the injured were sent to regular hospitals, now overcrowded with the wounded and loved ones trying to find either what remained of the deceased or signs of life.

For Huntsmen and Huntresses, they were sent straight for Beacon, their smaller numbers justifying the movement and their Aura managing to heal their injuries. It was great news for James to hear that none of them were life-threatening, most of the first-responders being teams performing their first missions, and only a few would need to spend more than a few weeks in the infirmary.

After that, came convincing the public that it was safe to return to their homes and that a breach from there was impossible. Only, times such as these required a figure for blame to be attached to, and proper punishments to show that the regime had learnt from their errors, and held the factors at fault accountable. Otherwise, people assumed that the problem would emerge again, the elites putting their comrades above the people, a dangerous accusation in the aftermath of an attack like this.

The Council of Vale, upon the situation being declared, moved to investigate where things went wrong. James, for his part in organising the response and being acclaimed as the figure who prevented the Grimm from going further, was invited into the matter, while Ozpin was made to attend for his age, expertise, and the belief that he was somehow related to the disaster of the mission.

Hundreds were dead, thousands injured, and millions had been at risk. The time for cold and honest truth had come, and James was going to give it, however much it would harm Ozpin's standing amongst the Council.

The team sent to South-East Vale had blame pinned on them, only for James to speak up in Team Jasper's defence. They were first-years sent to do a mission that groups of professionals should have been assigned, with military support and an analysis of any method of attack that could be launched from Mountain Glenn. The risk-evaluation that a military planning committee could have dealt with, had Ozpin not gone out of his way to keep James locked out.

With that, their glares turned to Ozpin, interrogating the man over every single point. The man answered each question as if it were a weapon he was forbidden to disarm, answering as little as possible, assuring them that he had everything under control and that their complaints would be taken on-board. It was as he always dealt with the Council's requests for accountability.

Only they weren't willing to accommodate such things. The King, making up his lack in power by his experience over the years, made it clear that the Council were willing to strip Ozpin of all official powers if he continued to answer their questions in the way he was doing. That unbalanced the senior Huntsman, enough to make him more cooperative with their queries.

James told them of how he pushed for action, to be opposed by Ozpin at every turn. The supposed taskforce under Ozpin's command after the docks that could have discovered the plan early on having been delayed, the general sense of passive 'wait and see' around Beacon, and the veto over military action on Mountain Glenn. Ozpin simply sat and nodded at each demand to see if James was telling the truth.

After an hour of pure interrogating, James made it clear that the students were not incompetent, or even misguided in their actions. The people that made their stand on Ground Zero, those who risked their lives to keep Vale safe, and those that managed to hold the line and keep the Grimm from completely consuming Vale, they were heroes, not the ones at fault.

The mood to blame everyone passed, and thankfully the blame game abetted to talk of how to ensure that Vale was rebuilt, and those who stood against the tide were rewarded. James gave his recommendations, and Ozpin forwarded the ones that Glynda, Bart, and Peter recommended for laurels and the such, his own likely to be held against them, after the apparent decline of his reputation.

"Teams CRDL, CFVY, and BRNY shall be granted the Bronze Shield, for acting beyond their call of duty, and saving the lives of civilians, and surrounded members of Team JWPR." The head Councilman listed, his nasally voice not matching the image of a strong and vital member of a governing body. He more than made up for it with his diligence and passion for doing what was right. "Team JPWR themselves will be given the Silver Blade, for their attempts to prevent Roman Torchwick and the White Fang's plan to unleash the Grimm onto Vale, and for their actions in holding back the Grimm, despite their injuries."

The Golden Sword and Shield would have been too much. In a warped fashion, had the containment failed, and they not being the same team as the ones who were not assigned the mission to monitor Torchwick and the White Fang's plan, they might have gained the prize. For some in the Council, it felt as like a step too far, the public possibly not reacting well to the highest honour being granted to a team that some might have seen as allowing the Grimm to get past in the first place. Silver was enough, as the youngest recipients of the prize since the fall of the Totalists, and very few ever gained the Golden Sword and Shield.

Even with the rewards being given, the plan was to keep it secret until the Tournament, where the Festival could bring a sense of happiness back to Vale and revitalise the economy. After the deaths, sights, and stock market fluctuations, it was judged to be better to announce the awards when tempers cooled and the blame was properly appropriated so that heroes weren't judged as over-praised by the system. Besides, history taught how some became arrogant with awards, or at least became haunted by them if they felt as if they were undeserved, by the people, rivals, or themselves.

The important thing was to make sure that none of them felt as if they were to blame, or had survivor's guilt.

"That would be a fair reward for their actions, they've gone beyond the call of duty. Where others would have fled from the fight, or surrendered to the seemingly impossible, these students moved to save the innocent and placed the greater good above themselves." James said, the approval clear in his voice, after having argued for it so firmly. "There is no greater example of what it means to be a Huntsman and Huntress." He didn't mean to look at Ozpin when he said that, but it wouldn't be the sharpest thing said to him.

"A prompt response to a crisis is another merit in their favour." The Councilwoman replied, in her second year of her term when this struck, perhaps having to prove more to others. "Your recommendations for a Silver Blade for Bartholomew Oobleck, and Glynda Goodwitch has been considered, but a Bronze Shield shall be granted instead for Ms Goodwitch, judging by the fall in Grimm numbers by the time of her arrival, and Mr-"

"Doctor." Ozpin said, in a voice that might have once been seen as the intermission of a good friend, now looked upon as a pedantic interruption by an old man by the Council.

"Your intersection is not appreciated, Ozpin, after what we have heard." The Councilman snapped, before turning his attention to James once more. "Doctor Oobleck's running of the mission might have been called into review, were it not for your arguments General Ironwood, even if his actions have balanced them out."

"People can understand a figure managing to balance out his mistake, but the press may sink their teeth into the idea of rewarding prizes for the friends of the top." The King added, his wizened looks only adding to his regal grace, adorned in the regalia of a high-ranking general. The revelation of Ozpin's actions had hit him the hardest, being one of the people who placed their faith in him for so long, but he was still doing his best for the people of Vale. "Our press are less deferential here in Vale, and they may not look kindly to such a reward, no matter the context. Grief does terrible things to them, and an unfair scapegoat cannot be assigned."

Not used to the position of the accused, Ozpin chose this moment to try and lend advice. "I presume that it is with this fair reasoning that we should avoid any crackdowns on civil liberties? After all, we cannot let the tide of public opinion after such a disaster sway us-"

"When it can be your opinion?" The King asked, taking Ozpin back. To be treated like this by a friend must have been horrible for the man. "How much do you know that you refuse to tell us? We can understand private information sources, and even influencing connections for what you see is right, but there is a difference between that and what you have done. You let anything that could be beyond your circle's control be stagnated or killed prematurely, you refused to even discuss things that could rock the boat, and no one here appreciates you acting as if we are children. The people speaking to you are elected by the people, have proven themselves in the field of battle, or have seen many a great decision be made with all the thought placed behind it, and you have no right to judge us as unworthy of taking independent action."

The man must have been in his late sixties or early seventies, James brain failing him on this occasion, yet he still had strength to him. He must have gone to Ozpin for advice countless times before, the two of them ascending to the positions they held around the same time, when Mountain Glenn collapsed and the previous King lost his battle with cancer, and he was now hearing of how his people were almost wiped out because of the closed nature of the man. Disappointment and sadness coloured his words, rather than anger and indignation at how they had been treated as outside the need to inform them of decisions..

How many of his confidants and friends feel like this? As if they were merely pawns to ensure control, and that they were considered nothing else. James wondered, knowing that Beacon still saw its headmaster as the best man as always. What about the people in Signal, or those who were not in such close contact with the man enough to be in the circle, but enough to feel as if a trust had been broken by this failure? He had failed as well, not having the courage to risk sending in his troops anyway and making the moves and calculations needed, to go over every bit of Mountain Glenn and take out the routes out and leading to Vale.

Even if he didn't say it, he bore some responsibility for the crisis, and had only made up for it by getting his soldiers there in time.

"It is not merely that you left us without vital information, and actively moved to prevent action on this, alongside withholding information from us even now," The Councilman started, no doubt annoyed by Ozpin's use of his right as Beacon Headmaster, and leader of Vale's Huntsmen and Huntresses to avoid certain questions. "But that your actions were so limited. Is it not the case that independent action led to the discovery of both an alliance between Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, and the location of their plan? Did you not send first-years, however talented they were and admirably they acted, to stop this plan? You could have sent your best, we know they were available, and achieved the same stealth."

"So why not?" The Councilwoman asked, glaring at Ozpin.

"All I knew was that the next stage of their plan would be in the South-East, and there were more areas than Mountain Glenn." Ozpin replied, taking a sip of his mug, which only seemed to anger the Council further. "Besides, we didn't have the resources to investigate such things. There are rumours of White Fang meetings everywhere, and we certainly couldn't go through every building."

"We can at least start investigations, with the Security Bill we are moving through." The second Councillor of the three declared, this one looking as if he could eat an Ursa and ask for dessert and having gained his seat by populism over any grand vision. "No Faunus militant watering-hole or sympathiser will escape our notice." He added, with a slight twinge of contempt.

"I should add that the programme tends to be more effective when not reliant on merely assumptions of links with radical Faunus Rights activists." James added with a sense of urgency. Before he got one of his men on it, the agency merely focused on Faunus activists, rather than wider issues and corruption that helped the groups. Eventually, certain Faunus Rights groups were left alone, even if Frost insisted that their members were going to join the White Fang at some point.

"If that is the will of the Council, I am merely their humble servant." Ozpin said, before turning away from the screen. "I am happy to submit my actions to a courtroom, if you judge that to be the wisest course." He added, waving at them with a free hand, perhaps thinking it gave the appearance of confidence in their judgement, only now appearing as a noble lord dismissing his servants.

"You know it isn't." The King growled, before frowning and speaking his mind. "Is this how you act when we do not agree, and you cannot make us play along? When you are proven wrong, and no one is willing to sing your praises? Is your response to a preventable tragedy is to by double down and blocking your ears to others? The man I was told of by my father, and who I worked with for many decades, was not this petty." He said, shaking his head before shutting off his part of the transmissions.

James knew and sympathised with the King, having to see Ozpin act as if nothing was going wrong, as if the world hadn't been so close to collapse and calamity. It horrified and infuriated him, even when the both of them probably knew that Ozpin was likely raised to contain his emotions, and continued this with each event, needing to be the guiding figure that people could rally towards, even when all he wanted to do was weep. Only, Ozpin would not have been attacked for showing regret, or any sign of weakness. It might have rallied some of them to try and offer him consolation, or do more than allow his career to end in such a way.

Instead, he didn't even really look at them, throughout the entire conversation, Ozpin didn't even look James in the eye.

"Ozpin? Ozpin!" A nasally voice commanded, getting the Beacon Headmaster to turn and face the Council once more. "Five hundred people have died, and the number is only rising, one thousand two hundred and eighty-five people have been injured, and thousands more have seen property damages of all sorts! This could have been prevented, to quote His Majesty."

"The Vytal Festival cannot be cancelled, after the insistence of the other Councils, backed up by their Crowns. We have prepared for this for too long and done too much, and people need a sense that we can rebuild from this." The Councilwoman added, placing emphasis on the word rebuild, inferring that Ozpin's place was not guaranteed.

"The broadcast of this, let alone it being held, however, cannot be done under your leadership." The third Councillor finished, his belly shaking with each word, pointing to Ozpin. "Therefore, we are stripping you of the status as Head of Security and will be handing them over to General Ironwood, with the agreement of the Atlas Council, and all decisions concerning matters beyond Beacon and internal Vale City matters will be done in consultation with him."

Thank you, Councilman," James said, sensing that it was his moment to speak. "Atlas will be happy to provide all it can for Vale, in its time of need, both militarily and economically."

They would have gone further, so taken aback by the revelation of Ozpin's actions. Privately, James ensured that his friend would at least have independent power over the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale, outside the City, and in assigning missions to them when it came to such matters. To do otherwise would all but declare that Ozpin was being fired, and that he no longer had authority in a land that did not consider him worthy of respect. The man is down, there is no need to all but turn him into a paper tiger and spit in his face.

"Will that be all?" Ozpin asked, perhaps unable to adapt himself to the new stage. He gave the image of a teacher listening to a student blather on, rather than considering their words, and that only set off the Council once more.

"Do you even care? Or does the fact that Vale isn't completely destroyed enough for you to see it as grounds for considering this a success?" The Councilman asked, his voice doing nothing to diminish the anger in his voice. "We will be reviewing your position as Headmaster of Beacon, and as head of Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale, after the Festival. General Ironwood's comments on the matter have been disturbing at least. We'll see if forty years is long enough."

With that the Council ended their call, and it was James and Ozpin facing one another, the latter showing no sign of concern or fear, and the former waiting for any indication that Ozpin was going to initiate conversation. Silence reigned over for a few seconds before James chose to speak up first, happy to stand firm and defend himself and his qualifications, guessing that he'd have to do the same the second that he saw Glynda and possibly Bart again. He wasn't about to let Ozpin think he gained the moral victory, whatever the status of their friendship.

"This is for the best, whatever the personal consequences." James said, as gently as he could. A sense of spirit then entered his words. "I will do all I can to keep the people safe, but you have to trust me. Not as someone who can carry out orders, but as someone who can act on his own, and as someone who can do the right thing wh-"

"Oscar." Ozpin said, the word shocking James. "Oscar Ozpin. The alliteration was perhaps an early indication that my parents were not so fond of me from the start, but what can you do?" He asked, almost smiling.

None of them said anything, James realising that he was being trusted with the role. Shutting off communications, James looked upon Beacon from the windows of the Steelpoint, regretting that things had to come to Vale almost being destroyed and Ozpin's authority all but destroyed, but no less certain that it had to be the punishment given, after what happened today. He was certain that proper action could finally be taken, and that they would all look back and judge things as an unhappy necessity.

"You brought this on yourself. It's up to others to act in your stead." James said to himself, contemplating who could take Ozpin's place as Headmaster.

If he was asked a week ago, after the initial shock at the thought of Ozpin going anywhere, he'd have said that it'd be Glynda, Peter, or the Headmaster of Signal Academy, often a tradition for the head of one school to be made the head of the senior one, judging by their experience, skill, and merits in running a school and teaching the next generation. The events of today made it difficult to think that someone in Ozpin's closest circle would get the job, leaving merely the kindly old Headmaster of Signal to take the role, although he was sure that if Philip wasn't busy with still raising the youngest Arc children, he'd have been chosen in a heartbeat owing to his fame, family name, and distance from the existing top circle. He wouldn't have wanted the job anyway, in all probability.

The entire day had been insane. Frost had demanded that they take Ozpin's head, during one of the immediate aftermath when communications were opened up again, and didn't care about 'his daughter's baubles' in times like these. Anyone else might have thought him as attacking his daughter's achievements, but James could tell from the cold sweat and the extremely pale skin on his friend that he was more concerned about his daughter having not perished in the battle over what awards she gained. Ozpin had committed the sin of endangering his daughter due to a mission going wrong for outside reasons, a cardinal sin in Frost's book.

The battle itself had reached the point where Penny was going to be sent out, if the line Vale's military set up looked ready to collapse otherwise, rather than risk having her secret revealed to the world by a stray Grimm attack, or by her having to go all out. The secret had to be kept, unless the cost was letting Vale fall to the very creatures she was meant to battle against, and Ruby meeting her again would create even further complications, especially if one of her team had learnt of what James, Frost, and Geppetto were doing. Still, things ended for the best, even if Ruby had been sent to the infirmary.

Taiyang probably won't care about her being stable. If he heard about what happened, he'd probably have come storming back from wherever he is. James thought to himself, knowing how too much personal loss can destroy anyone professionalism, having seen it for himself in his subordinates. Qrow was colder and more rational, unless the news had been Ruby or Yang dying, where he'd likely swear bloody vengeance against whoever killed his niece, while Taiyang would likely demolish everything he judged as having to do with their deaths.

Walking down the room, however, James had no time for thinking of what-ifs and the future of Beacon, when he had a prisoner to interrogate. Before him was the cell of Remnant's most wanted criminal, for the crime of aiding the entrance of the Grimm into Vale and working to bring death to millions, along with a few dozen other charges including aiding a known terrorist group, guarded by two of his elite soldiers, normally ordered to make sure that Penny was safe and sound. An overreaction for the criminal himself, broken and bloodied as he was when he was turned over to them by some Mistral students, but not for whoever would try to rescue him.

"Leave us, he won't try anything." James ordered, Cyan and Maroon obeying his instructions, Even if he could try anything, James was an experienced Huntsman who could kill him in seconds, the glass around them was reinforced to withstand far more than one person could throw at it, and there were guards, cameras, and automated turrets all around the battleship, not to mention the Vacuo Special Forces soldiers that were here as a goodwill gesture to Mistral, a neutral nation keeping tabs on any aggressive movements.

The soldiers were clean, James investigating them himself, and monitoring them at all times.

Torchwick's partner was in the infirmary, with proper restraints on her, as her size led them to first assume her as too young for the confinement they often gave someone like Roman Torchwick. She was healing up well, especially when placed on the painkillers, as her Aura worked on saving the young girl from the battered and burnt condition she was in, barely conscious and talking, although James suspected the silence was part of her refusing to cooperate with them. To think that she had been thought of as a victim, until they identified her as Torchwick's right-hand woman.

The man himself was little better, his sitting form trying to show confidence and mockery, even when in the plain white clothing given to prisoners, and failing when the full sight of his wounds were shown. His whispers of pain were not helping the matter, however much he tried to smile through them and give mocking jibes to the soldiers bringing him in, the defiant glares when he was dragged to the airship and placed in the cell that he was. Roman Torchwick tried to come off as a grand mastermind, everything going to his plan, yet it was clear that control was something he lacked for some time.

"I've been informed of your refusal to cooperate, and I think I can tell why." James said, as the cell door opened and revealed Torchwick in all of his glory. "You're a materialistic man, Torchwick, this doesn't make sense for someone like you. There's no profit, nothing worth the risk of doing this. So why do this?" He asked, guessing that intimidation was the true answer, whatever Torchwick said.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but authority and I don't mix well. Maybe I wanted to see the world burn," The criminal replied, trying to chuckling, only to hiss in pain. "These painkillers are not doing it for me."

"They're the lowest dosage possible." James said, as if they were discussing the weather. At Torchwick's clear show of anger, he explained his methods. "Torture is inefficient and only gets the answers you want. Giving you the barest of essentials is much easier, along with your partner. Co-operation brings you improved conditions"

"Of course it is." Torchwick growled, before changing his expression to the closest thing to pleading that he could manage. "Give Neo the good stuff, I'll go without. I can name a few White Fang names, if you want your villain up and in your face." He offered, already showing that this was not something he passionately cared about, at least over his badly-injured partner.

If Frost was here, he'd be urging James to take the offer regardless of Torchwick's true involvement. The White Fang were going to be ruined, once news of Faunus casualties and their determination to have the Grimm wipe out all of Vale came into the picture, and the crackdowns on them were only going to make things even worse for them. The chance to ruin the enemy of the Schnee family, and break the enemy in two was right in front of him, but James knew better than to take the offer. It'd be seen as a set-up by enough people. He wants to destroy the enemy who took his family, not the enemy that weakens the nation.

"We already have Diego Hawkfang and a few others identified, whatever the state of their bodies. You merely said that they died trying to bring you to their base, after you panicked and fled. Some killed by Grimm, and others by you yourself." James replied, before making himself clear, and avoiding further pretences. "They didn't have much time to write out a good script did they?"

"Oh?" Torchwick raised an eyebrow at that, clearly interested in what James was saying.

"The state we found you in was nowhere near enough to take them out. Testimony of figures dragging you to safety say that they were in better shape, and a certain Ms Rose swears that you were anything in a treacherous mood." The exact testimony was someone being carried, and Ruby wasn't in any condition to give testimony, but James' story was clearly the case, from how shocked Torchwick looked, and the sweat that emerged on him. "Whoever you're working for, even if they destroyed the bodies, apart from the masks, they didn't make everything perfect."

Torchwick seemed impressed, or at least stopped looking so mocking and pretending to have control over the situation he was in. James did what was right, and merely wanted to protect the people from the great evils of the world, and sometimes that meant making deals with lesser evils, those who cared more about lining their pockets than actually harming people for its own sake. It was messy, and morally questionable, yet it was the pragmatic course of action and was a monumental help in establishing a form of control over the shadows where the light of the law couldn't shine.

If making a deal with Torchwick meant catching the mastermind, that was something James would do in a heartbeat.

"Whoever is coercing you, know that we can outweigh them. You're talking to the man who runs the strongest military force in the world, with connections to the richest and most powerful company in the world." James said, taking a bit of pride in himself for that. "We have suspicions about who the mastermind is, whoever is strong enough to force the White Fang along, and keep tabs on you from afar. A high-ranking figure in the Kingdoms? I can make sure you are safe and secure. You're not the first criminal who was in too deep for something and wanted out."

"Are you sure your friends won't get mad?" Torchwick asked, his eyes motioning to Beacon.

"I am a man who can make sacrifices for the greater good, or look the other way when others make that choice." James explained, before deciding to bring up a few examples that Torchwick could recognise. "Locke Valkyrie, banished from Atlas after his part in assassinating a Councilman, and tracked down after his part in the Mistral Central Bank Robbery, and he now helps the Schnee Conglomerate and the Atlesian military in the happenings of the black market. Hei Xiong gives the Vale police information for a drop in the ocean of the public budget, and the Xiong Triads know what happens when they try to go too far. Even Gustav de Rais revealed the truth of the last remnants of the de Rais family and their many plots."

However much he tried to hide it, the offer was clearly tempting for Torchwick. "Your point is...?"

"Work for us, and you can avoid being in a firing line, or inside a noose. If we can't prove that your partner is underage, she'll be right beside you for that." James then made clear the conditions that Torchwick would have to follow, in no mood to back some mad crimelord. "There is only one chance, however, and I need the name of the mastermind, or at least any name of this conspiracy right now. Say it now, and we can give you and your partner painkillers, and make you obscenely wealthy. We can even arrange for you two to hide in the Ice Palace, under controlled conditions, while we root these culprits out."

Locke had been happy to surrender control of what activities he did, if it meant that his daughter wouldn't have to either see her father live on the run or be put in chains, and became a very rich man with very close connections to certain underworld plans. Torchwick could have something similar, some power over the black market for Dust or something similar, gain more money and power than he ever wanted, and all he would have to do was give up his robbing ways and allow his criminal empire to have their piece of the pie decided by the government. All the money, for surrendering liability, sounded like a good deal for any criminal who wasn't insane.

Torchwick was considering the offer, that much was obvious. Everything about him looked ready to explain everything he knew and cash out, take his apprentice and move out to somewhere safe, where they wouldn't have to worry about the dangerous game they were playing. The fact that someone like Torchwick was restraining himself said something to James anyway, about the power and influence that the mastermind had, that not even the offer of going to one of the most secure compounds in the world was seen as more than enough protection for the time being.

"Heh, isn't it obvious who's running this whole thing? Isn't it just hilarious?" Torchwick asked, laughing despite the obvious pain. James wondered which figure in Mistral was pulling the strings, if they were public or in the shadows, before Torchwick pointed to himself. "You're looking at the mastermind. Taught by the master himself, Roman Torchwick is going to make sure this whole world gets set alight." He happily declared, throwing his arms up and giving a slight yelp at the pain.

"Very well then, you had your chance." James replied, turning his back on the man in pain, with his false smiles and laughter. "Maybe your partner will agree. Or we can miss out on a few painkiller sessions. I have supreme judgement over you two, as granted by the Council, so make yourself comfortable. I plan on making someone talk soon."

James knew that it was immoral to imply that harsh treatment was being used on the partner of the one who didn't talk, no doubt making Torchwick fear for Ms Neo Politan and vice versa, especially when the two of them were already in pain. Penny would have to be kept from the both of them, the criminals likely using their situation to try and manipulate Penny into doing something for them, or something worse to her. That said, James found consolation that they were not really being hurt, and that he was on the trail of the true villain of this tale.

Who are you? Why are you doing this? Whatever this is, I'm not going to let millions suffer because of your desires, even if it kills me. He vowed, walking down the battleship and thinking of the men he had at his disposal. To stop an enemy with overwhelming strength was the nature of his job and life. James was the wall between the people of Remnant and the dark forces the worked to bring suffering and pain to them, and it would take more than a single blow to bring him crumbling down, he would take whatever the enemy threw at him and then fight back with all that he had in response. Even if it killed him, he would save the people.

That was what being a Huntsman meant.

Yang was not at Beacon right now, that much was obvious.

There were a lot of reasons for this, mostly because she remembered being at Beacon in the first place, specifically the infirmary room where she was waiting for Ruby to wake up. A lot of them had be treated, mostly making sure that there wasn't any internal damage and that they could heal the injuries that there wasn't enough for Aura for, but JWPR had the worst of it.

Broken ribs, Aura all but gone, their bodies having more parts of it that were injured than not, and they still hadn't woken up from their rest after waiting for four hours for them to do so. Cardin was the only one who needed to stay in the hospital, after fracturing his leg and needing a cast, while Yang just needed to have a lot of bandages wrapped around her and she was ready to go.

Sun and Neptune had rushed to the room, deputy badges in hand, and wanted to know if things were bad, their team in tow. They easily settled down when they were told that things weren't as bad as they feared, and they joined the others in waiting for the injured to recover from their injuries, Yang being told that it'd depend on how long it would take for JWPR to wake up and how they were then.

She wasn't planning on leaving Ruby alone when she woke up, however, and neither were the others. Even Team CFVY, after they had been so nice to Velvet when she had been left out of her team's lunch period, were willing to sit down and wait for Ruby and her team to wake up, even a single one of them. Most of them took turns, as some of them had to give in reports about what happened, what they saw, and if they saw anyone matching the missing person's report.

Yang was given an exception, owing to not wanting to leave her sister, and Goodwitch agreed to let her give in her report after they made sure that Ruby was fine. She mostly just sat there, flickering through the channels, seeing reports of broken homes, candle-lit memorials for the losses, and people asking what the hell happened and why things turned out that way.

It got too depressing for her, and she switched off the TV, to try and rest her eyes. Only, when she opened them, she found herself by the steps leading to Beacon on the broken-off mountainside that the students called their home, towering over Vale as their protectors. Even if people were starting to question that, saying that the people on the bottom did their best, but got let down by the top.

Yang didn't know how to feel about that. One part of her was furious that they just let JWPR go into the enemy base and risk getting slaughtered, but another side of her told her that she thought she and the rest of her team could handle it fine, and that they had managed to do it without help before. It was only when it went wrong that she found all the problems with it.

Either way, she was more concerned with the ghoulish look Beacon had to it, the very feeling of it reminding she of when a screen went a bit blurry, everything becoming just slightly more faded. The colours around her became much brighter, from the red leaves on the trees, to the pitch black sky above her, and the murkish grey building that was Beacon, a building that first looked so majestic, then becoming a welcoming sight like home, and now something dirty and repelling to her.

Walking forward, because there was nothing else she could do, Yang wondered if everything around this false Beacon was even real, or if it was just nothingness all around her. Just a giant void where only this place remained. Either way, she quickly made her way to the only other person around here that could even come close to answering the questions she had.

The woman who stopped those Grimm. Yang recognised the full mask that covered her head, the red and tattered clothing she wore, the black feather-piece, the katana that came from some sort of giant sheath, and even the butt-load of beads she had around her. Four red slits looked right at her, Yang wondering if she was an enemy, before recognising the look as anything but a killing intent.

"Hello Yang." The woman said, her voice warped by the mask she wore. "I imagine you have some questions."

"Who are you, and where the hell am I?" Yang asked, not in the mood to be played around. In response, the woman seemed to laugh at that, whether at the bluntness of Yang herself hard to tell, considering the Grimm mask kept everything hidden.

"You are in a dream, as you can guess. A realm of your mind, built with memories that we share, all so we can interact from our distances. It's a trick you learn, if you've got the time and knowledge, although you probably inherited Taiyang's aversion to such work." The woman said, which unsettled Yang, to say the least.

"H-How do you know Dad? Did you steal that from my memories?" Yang asked, replacing discomfort with anger, readying her fists, tough weapons even without Ember Celica. "Why did you save me? Why do you look familiar?"

She was certain that she had seen the masked woman before, and not just in that battle with the Grimm. It was distant, something long ago, more blurry and mysterious than anything else, while it was more her very figure that set off Yang's memories of someone in her past. When she thought back to a certain photo, and the colour hair of the woman in it, with the same unmistakeable eyes that Yang had only started getting when she first saw the picture, that she remembered the pose and hair-style of the person in the photo, and how it matched the person in front of her.

There was nothing that solid to go on, until the woman moved to take off her mask, revealing her face to Yang. It looked just like Yang's, only if it was aged by ten years or so, more mature than old-looking to anyone looking and comparing the two, except for red eyes looking at violet ones with barely concealed anticipation. At first, Yang had thought the red eyes of the mask were merely to scare people, until it was obvious that it was merely reflecting the eyes of her mother shining through. It was the woman who gave birth to Yang, the person standing in front of her who first got together with Dad, and had been missing for years.

Raven Branwen was staring her right in the face, after Yang had spent years searching for her.

"Sometimes it's a parent's job to save their children from their own mistakes. When I saw you surrounded, I was ready to leap in, no matter the cost." She replied with a smile, before frowning at Yang. "You killed hundreds of Grimm, but you forgot the point of that move. Please don't ever try that ag-"

Naturally, Yang was stressed and had a lot of issues with her mother kind of ditching her when she was a baby, and her quest for finding said mother risking a lot of things. So, when she heard her mother lecture her on stuff, Yang felt a powerful urge to deck her mother in the face that she thought it was better to not resist, running right up to the woman as she was talking and landing a right jab to the face. Or rather, she threw a punch, and hit air as her mother disappeared and appeared from nothing right behind Yang, ducking from a left swing and rushing back to a safe distance from the bruiser, not even drawing her blade.

"I'm hearing crap about responsibility from you?" Yang cried out, nearly growling as the woman in front of her kept dodging every blow, no matter how quick she moved. "Dad never said when you left. Was it the second you got me out, or did you make sure I was in a cot when leaving me behind?"

"I deserve those questions, and even the strike you're trying to land on me." Mum said, not even looking at Yang as she kept trying to get her revenge for being abandoned for so long. "I should say, however, that this realm we're in is a very fragile construct, and touching one another will cause it to shatter."

"That's convenient." Yang growled, ignoring the not-tears growing in her eyes.

"Convenient?" Mum asked, almost laughing, if it wasn't so hollow. "I cannot hug a daughter who hates me, I cannot see her when she is brightest, and my time with her is limited, all because I was scared for a few years. That's not convenient, that's punishment."

For what it was worth, Yang began to realise that hitting a fully trained Huntress who didn't want to be hit wasn't going to happen, and that it was useless to try. Hearing how sad her mother was, Yang began to get the feeling that her walking out wasn't meant to be as long as it was, to avoid all contact with the outside world, and tha it wasn't entirely her fault that she couldn't see Yang until now. As much as she hated it, trying to hit someone for something they didn't plan on didn't sound as fulfilling as it once did, now that she was here and listening to this.

Her mother still walked out on them, however, and was planning on coming back only years later, by the sounds of it. Yang turned her back on her mother, not wanting her to see her wipe her face down, even as she felt a hand reach out to her before it forced itself back.

"I never wanted to leave you, or Taiyang. Hearing him cry out was almost as painful as never being able to see you grow." Mum nearly whispered, loneliness and regret clear in each word. "Summer did a fine job, before she went. I didn't think Ozpin would be so cold, to send her on that kind of mission. Just goes to show how well you know people." She said, cynically, which got enough of Yang's attention to turn around again.

"You can't show yourself, but you can make the Grimm turn back." Yang said, which got her mother to nod. "What's going on here, and what's even happening?" Everything had gone from 'almost fine' to 'nothing is making sense' just a few minutes after she entered the dream.

"Plans, all of them in motion, some working with each other, and others clashing with each other. Had Ozpin trusted others with his plan, and allowed them to merge, we may not be here. Some with more aggressive plans aren't s secure as they like to think, just as open to a strike as Vale was today, and some with plans I don't like to think about." Mum replied, her face going into a frown, her eyes turning a deeper shade of red, and her hand gripping themselves.

"How do you even know this?" From what Yang was hearing, it was like she could see into the future or something.

In response, her mother pointed to her face. "These eyes I've got now, they can see more than they did when I last saw you. It's a long story, I'll explain it later." She replied, before motioning to the false Beacon around them. "I can see a future of kindness, and a future of death. I suppose that's what happened when things go wrong the way they did. I thought I would be able to return to you when I was ready, but things happened, and that wasn't possible. The only good thing about this is that I can see my daughter again."

"You can see the future? Then mind giving us a hand?" Yang needed this to happen. If Mum could see the future, and talk to Yang, they could find out what the enemy was planning, even try to stop it.

"All I can see are paths leading to different roads. The future comes in brief images, since it's all chaos, easy to change if you know a bit you don't like and try to avoid it, leading to someone else acting different, and so on." For a parent, her mother took the voice of a kid, describing something magical that they saw for the first time. "Reading the past is seeing different views and creating fact from it, the present is happening now, and the future is merely the result of decisions, all of them having the potential to change. Before you even came to Beacon, I saw you and your friend with your sister and the Schnee girl, I saw the Arc and his partner with your team's other half. Sometimes I saw and still see worlds made of love, and worlds made of hatred and anger. The Arc trapped in a battlefield, one physical and one mental, the former creating the latter, for example, or worlds that have teams that are either perfect or dysfunctional to say the least."

Feel free to simplify it for people who didn't read a book on this stuff and become experts. Yang inwardly snarked, more than a bit confused about what was going on. Her confusion boomed when she saw Mum listening to her as if she could read her thoughts, although it may have been the bewildered look on her face.

"It's confusing, to say the least, and it's natural to not get the first time. Heck, I wasn't as calm as you when I first learnt this, even if the circumstances were different. Summer was always the 'nicer' and less cranky girl, according to Qrow." Mum laughed at that, an actual laugh instead of something empty, the sound going all over the area. "Says the man who was born with the mind-set of an old geezer. Does he still complain about his back?" She asked, which got Yang laughing too.

"If he didn't, we'd be asking about it." Yang said between laughs, the two of them laughing together as if the two had been together for their entire lives. Only, the fact that they weren't popped into Yang's mind once more, and she knew she wanted the answer. "Why did you leave?" She asked, much more gentle than she ever thought she'd ask that question.

"Fear. I told myself I was ready, but in the end I was a coward. I let Taiyang pick up the pieces and I fled, taking a mission to the Grimmlands before Ozpin could suspect what happened. Maybe he did, and thought the experience would either make me shape up, or just be a punishment. In the end, thing went wrong and I didn't come back, while Ozpin thinks I just ran off after that, going where the wind would take me." Looking to the pitch black sky, lacking an actual moon, she spoke again. "Taiyang doesn't know, judging by the fact that Beacon is still standing."

"Ozpin isn't that kind of guy." Yang insisted, remembering the happy old teacher who spoke sometimes as a guest at Signal, the man who Ruby admired as the one who gave her a chance, and the man who seemed to be the head good guy.

On the other hand, her mother didn't look like a liar, and Yang didn't exactly know Ozpin that well.

At that, she sighed and spoke again. "He's complicated. Willing to make sacrifices, but loathes every second of it, and I suspect he's hoping that he can see the idealistic solution prove itself. The problem is that he's far less trusting then he thinks, no one but the people he chooses can be allowed to make decisions on his side, lest they fail in some manner and he can add the mistake to his cross." Her voice turned firm, looking Yang right in the eye. "Make no mistake, he thinks his solution can still work, even if Vale had been all but burnt to the ground, he would have hope that it could rebuild and the same overall plan could work. Fear a realist who will stop at nothing to create a fairy-tale."

"What's going on?" Yang finally asked, guessing that something bigger than reuniting with her mother was going on.

"We have a lot to talk about, Yang, and not nearly enough time." Mum admitted, looking up to Yang and smiling. "I'll start with the personal matters, you deserve to be put first before the world, after all the time we've been apart. Then we can talk about why Remnant faces certain destruction, if we can't stop certain forces from achieving their desires. I don't know their exact faces and names, and you should remember to enjoy your time with your friends, but they will kill millions, if they are not stopped."

"All in all, considering the circumstances," Cinder said, looking down at her personal Scroll. "That went better than expected."

"Better than expected?" Her partner asked, not sounding very pleased with Cinder's opinion. "We face an insurmountable wall, our ram has been destroyed, and Vale shall only be that much more protected by the time of the Tournament. If that if good, I shudder to see your vision of bad."

"Well, then, perhaps you'd prefer the White Fang sending us Adam's head, Roman telling Ironwood everything, and my back against the wall facing a firing squad. Would that satisfy your definition of bad?" Cinder snapped, Emerald being taken aback by the anger in her voice.

The plan was off the rails and she was having to find a way to build enough rail that it could be on something resembling a track. She had Adam arrive early, in case something happened, but even he found to process of purging the survivors a toll on himself, and she ended up having to let Torchwick know far more than she'd have liked to intimidate him into silence. Even if it worked, there was always the risk that Ironwood and Ozpin would somehow know that the mastermind was in Beacon, as one of the students, checking both Vacuo and Mistral's foreign exchange students to find issues with background.

Even when stripped of his reputation, and much of his power outside of Beacon, Ozpin was still dangerous.

Damn you, Ruby Rose. I will you see you destroyed, somehow. The emotional turmoil of her entire life's work going to ruin helped to add some reality to the false pretence of 'needing some air' when she saw Ruby and the rest of her team comatose in bed, Emerald going with her as Mercury stayed behind to make sure they all kept the idea that Cinder's 'team' were good friends.

She had spent her time in her dorm room preparing for the worst, creating contingencies and paths to take to rescue Mercury, if it was needed. By the time she heard her Scroll ring, and the crown symbol be the only indication of the caller's identity, Cinder had some idea that she was safe from arrest or death by then, accepting the call and speaking to her true partner.

Partner was a strange word for their relationship. They were both using one another for their own ends, and wouldn't blink to sell the other down the river at the first chance, only working together as they needed one another to achieve their aims. Cinder needed help from inside the system, and her partner needed someone on the outside, to keep her enemies from looking within too much.

Even in front of her, Cinder needed to remain as professional as ever, showing no signs of panic or fear on her face. If there was even the slightest chance that her partner thought that Cinder was doomed, it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and everything she spent years working on would be lost. There was no question that it would inconvenience her partner, the girl having to spend years finding an ideal replacement, but to a far lesser extent than with Cinder.

So they continued the verbal dance, both trying to ensure that the plan had not collapsed entirely, while attempting to attain the upper-hand over the other.

"Explain to me why I was not told about Torchwick's failure to contain information, or why we did not act to dispose of the Faunus girl earlier." Her partner snapped, before calming down and lowering her voice. "This was before the Queen's Jewel was placed into Vale's system wasn't it? Fine, I understand that infiltration would have been more difficult. Still, you could have tried to ensure that pre-emptive poisoning was performed. Ricin is easier to come by than it seems, and a syringe of air would leave little trace." She argued, at her most annoying when she had good arguments.

"Yes, and then Beacon would have become a fortress. Ozpin knows that we are moving, however much he hides his plays from everyone around him, seeing as his Qrow has begun to look around for us. Killing one of his students would have raised the alarms, even if it appeared to be an accident, and my flexibility for action would have been compromised." Cinder replied, her thinking going along the lines of not wanting to have been confined to Beacon grounds and have all communications with the outside world monitored.

She had considered removing Blake, much easier and less harmful to the plan compared to finding a replacement for Roman, his skill, connections, and isolation from others, and it might have disrupted Teams Jasper and Burgundy enough that they're lack of a White Fang connection would have delayed them. Unfortunately, Adam would have informed the White Fang leadership of everything Cinder wanted, the man sharp enough to know when foul play was being used, and there was the risk of Ozpin sending out raids all across Vale and either discovering the plan in Mountain Glenn, or captured Roman.

Even if we were lucky enough to escape that, and it all went well. There was always the risk that then we'd be looked at by one paranoid figure, and that's all it can take. Cinder analysed, judging the risk as too much. It might have been a fair criticism to say that she was being too cautious, but that was to underestimate the weight of her task and the skill of her opponents. To face down a foe like Ozpin, she needed to have planned for everything and avoid even making the smallest of mistakes.

"I fear you are letting your fear of the reputation of the Master of Time get in the way." Her partner said, her disapproval clear, and making Cinder expect a lecture to emerge. "I have met him, and many who have done the same have told me the same thing. There is power, influence, and intelligence, and he can destroy our plan with ease until Phase III, but there is fear underlying his every move, fear of himself and fear of everyone who is not him. He shall not move, if he can help it. Not to mention that he is weakened, with the loss of his good name and official powers"

"Don't think the public persona is the private self, or that his power ends with the bureaucratic and political institutions. You of all people should know the difference." Cinder pointed out, her words carrying more weight, considering who she was speaking to. "Her Royal Majesty, reluctant executor of Security Bills, and easily manipulated by her Council. Nothing more than a figure head, smiling and waving to the crowds, while others use her as a piece in a conflict with Atlas' military expansion. Tell me, how do you do it, Your Majesty?" She asked, teasing the Queen before her.

Queen Hera didn't seem happy about her title being spoken with such ease, which made the light tone of her words even more threatening. "I thought we agreed to avoid saying names, or perhaps your...ward would be happier if we were direct with names, Lady-"

"That is not my name." Cinder snapped, which took Emerald by surprise, as she remained silent. If there was one good thing about her wards, it was that they knew better than to talk when Cinder was in such a mood. "I do not appreciate your insinuations about my relationship with my partners. They are merely my students and wards, if you must know." She added, more venom than what was likely wise.

"I'm sure it feels nice to have subordinates like them, happy to serve your every need. A half-wit and a street rat, both with such an energetic master, I'm sure you must be the model of health, with the early guidance of oth-"

"Continue speaking of my past, or calling my companions 'half-wit and street rat', and maybe some White Fang bases in Mistral will be leaked, and bring some attention there. Is it not strange how certain factories produced certain random components, how certain ships just happened to be lost? I'm sure Vacuo may be curious about radio-jammers being so close to where a few ships were lost, to remove suspicion of merely Mistral." Cinder said, letting her rage get to her.

"I shall stop, if you stop." Hero conceded, which brought some peace to a room where there was once a stand-off. "Our window of opportunity is passing. We need something great to bring down Vale, or at least all but cripple it, if the people are to believe that a Neo-Totalist regime is what is needed to protect them." She pointed out, likely from the safety of her throne or her bed.

"I am amused by your fascination with them. Did you feel that your ancestors made a mistake in abolishing them? Do you hate the way things have changed that much?" Cinder asked teasingly, half mocking Hera and half intrigued with whether she would learn more about the goals of her partner.

"Do not pretend you do not see the things I do." Hera snapped, before ranting. "The Grimm are growing stronger, their numbers are barely kept low, Man and Faunus spend more time bickering than fighting the enemy that united them in the first place, going over old friendships and betrayals, and we have not made a heavy expansion in nearly a century. Mountain Glenn was a rushed piece of work by a regime that remembered that there is a life beyond paintings, and the constitution, and they couldn't even fight until the end. Could the Four Kingdoms have expanded the way they did, or created the districts in place of random hodge-podge placements, were it not for the Totalists?"

"I remember reading of commissions for sale, Faunus slaves, and a mad attempt to save the nobility from the unwashed masses." Cinder said, wondering if she should have pressed the rant button for Hera. "Be honest, you just want the days of the descendants of the Original Hunters ruling over all to return."

"The failings came from the regime putting their friends over the survival of all. The Faunus War, and drive to purge arts they just didn't like on artistic merits, are proof of that." Hera replied, as calmly as ever, just as every broadcast and story portrayed her to be. "The regime that shall emerge from the ashes will be one based on merit, not family names."

"Of course." Cinder said, accepting Hera's delusions of what her little world would be like. She does have a point. The world is running out of time.

If what Hera said was true, backed up by Vale government files that were now available with the smallest of movements on her Scroll, then current consumption of Dust and falling supplies gave Remnant about twenty years left of the resource at best, with about seven years at the shortest. Only the SDC knew for sure, however their movements to other markets and cold-blooded demands of pursuing further sources and expansion of settlements suggested panic. At the moment, humanity was in a locked room with a sword and dwindling food supplies, as the wolf prowled outside their door.

Naturally, the lands that were not settled by mankind were still ample in resources for all willing to go out there and get them. Not just a few dozen miles beyond the furthest outpost, but in the regions of pure flatlands and deep dark caves, where Huntsmen and Huntresses normally went to merely slay Grimm, and mountains of Dust, gold, iron, and other natural resources were just waiting for someone to move to take them. The Grimmlands themselves were said to have enough Dust in a tenth of the land to fuel Remnant to a thousand years, even at current consumption, and there were always the mad and greedy who yearned to move further and further north to take the prime estate before them.

Of course, with so many explorers, and a few who wanted to evade the law, settlements grew. The southern parts had green parts, and large estates of mines and homes where most resided and spent their days either fighting, hiding, or stopping to drop off cargo both legal and illegal. It was the middle section, where sand and desert poured out for miles, and mountains burst through the ground like blade to a body, where warlords made their residence, waiting to garner their strength and feed on what little grew around them. No doubt would they love for humanity to strike at the Grimm, if it meant arms and money their way, in exchange for handing over their wealth.

Yet, warlords tended to deal in slaves, mutilation, and all sorts of dark rituals and crimes that civil society disdained. No doubt would there be great protest over working with their knowledge of the land, and paying them to accept basic laws of decency, amongst other problems. Remnant had grown accustomed to the Grimm being a distant enemy, and having grown happy to enjoy the fruits of peace without any deep thoughts about sacrifices made to ensure those fruits were grown, and would fight against any direction towards expansion and moving them towards settlements further and further away from their beloved walled-off paradise.

Few would choose to leave, yet they would be surrounded by horror and panic when black-outs would be instituted to preserve what Dust was still around. They would turn on one another when Dust would become the preserve of the military and Huntsmen and Huntresses, having to fight off the Grimm with weapons that would be depleting faster than they could replace them, and then they would all perish once the panic and fury gained the attention of the Goliaths and other Grimm of equal power. With nothing left, and an endless horde of Grimm, the Four Kingdoms would collapse to as they were before the Original Hunters.

Oh how joyful it would be to watch, if it did not mean to take so long. As much fun as it would be to see who would become dominant in such a dog-eat-dog world, Cinder yearned for her revenge now, and as soon as possible.

The hypocrisy of a society that celebrated civilisation and freedom, happy to ignore the slavery of the daughter of a man who gave his time and life to the world, and was forgotten for his troubles. Even then, she would take revenge most of all for a world that judged someone who refused to kow-tow to people who usurped what was hers, and turned her into nothing more than a hybrid of a servant and a weapon, she would make sure that everyone would see what they truly were when the lights were out. When they couldn't pretend to respect one another anymore, and when there was everything to lose.

"How much does Torchwick know now? He may turn on us, just as his mentor and others did." Hera's words brought Cinder back to reality, as she looked down on her Scroll, personally vetted to ensure that no one but the people in the rooms could hear. "He's with Ironwood, and his flagship may prove harder for the Jewel to break into than you may think." She argued, the Jewel being the latest in hacking technology, built over a decade by the finest scientists.

It was supposed to ensure that cyber-terrorism could be stopped, and now it was going to destroy the powers it was supposed to protect.

"True, military equipment is harder, but it's the smaller things that will get us in." Cinder replied, smirking as she thought of how the virus must have entered Ironwood's systems, dormant until the right time. "The Steelpoint must have tried to communicate with Vale, so it is infected. Whether via the communications, or second-hand infection from one of the aircrafts, we have a form of control over it, especially turrets, communication systems, and their new Knights. Soon, we'll be able to keep all of Atlas' little occupation force from moving against us. It's a shame that it'll be so weak, but that's the cost of having such a handy virus. Not that Mistral would be so dependent on such machines."

That got Hera to smugly laugh, no doubt thanking Mistral's preference for martial superiority over reliance on technology and the safety of terrain. Long ago, that was enough to give them a hegemony over many regions, from Vale and Palate, and other settlements, Mistral were the true masters, until a disastrous campaign in Atlas and Vacuo, not helped by the rise of Grimm attacks on certain areas, wrecked their power and the rise of new technologies mean that their advantage was gone. No doubt did Hera intend for Mistral to lead Remnant in changing the world and how it worked, even if she had none of the distaste for Atlas as her predecessors centuries ago might have.

Her disdain for using figures like Torchwick, however, remained true, especially considering his role in Mistral Central Bank Robbery.

"I'm sure he know understand his position. I merely hope you remember how vital it is that we do not allow the situation to collapse the way it almost did." Hera replied, playing the aloof, her instructions clear. Both of them had the power to set down the circumstances in which the other should cut a subordinate loose, and it was obvious that Cinder was to do so if there was any sign of Roman being close to cracking.

"Of course not, I'd never dream of such a thing." Cinder replied, almost offended that Hera thought she hadn't already readied such a plan.

"Millions could die from this. Does that haunt you?" Hera asked, no doubt the implications of what she was going haunting her sleep, even if it changed nothing. "I am doing this to protect everyone, to save them from the Grimm, and from their inability to think in the long-term. In time, after the White Fang and Faunus militarism have been broken, I shall make sure that the Faunus will be treated well, and that the generations after us will know of the sacrifices made to ensure that they survive, that the monster was finally slain. We read the stories of the old heroes and ignore what dark things the Original Hunters had to do, the people they needed to leave behind. It falls to us to make the hard decisions, and history will vindicate us for it."

There was no reply, as one was never expected or likely even wanted. The call ended, and the screen of Cinder's Scroll turned to darkness, the very hypocrisy of her partner making Cinder laugh. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

"Is church over?" Emerald asked, which got the both of them laughing. It was something that Cinder needed, after how today had gone, and it did bring back memories of when it was just her and the two young orphans she found on the streets, first readying themselves for the trials ahead. "How long do we need her?" She asked, eyeing the Scroll.

"For a good long while," Cinder admitted, sharing Emerald's distaste for them playing the happy partners to some girl's desire to be a story-book hero. "She is likely saying the same thing to one of her confidants, readying herself to turn me into the great villain." She noted, wondering if Hera saw them as bitter anarchists, with no idea of what they were doing.

These two women rested on the top of their little conspiracy, both of them playing against masters of political and military intrigue, and then playing against the other. Hera's new world had no place for someone like Cinder, who would be running around and enjoying life after dooming millions, no doubt would having her as the scapegoat to pour the hatred of the world over serve both her interests and her conscience over what she was planning to do. It was the same with Adam, who would no doubt try and have Cinder killed the first chance he got, as the likely last human with the power to oppose his designs when it was all said and done.

Adam doesn't have the most dangerous Semblance I've ever learnt of before, bar Ozpin, however. Cinder regretted ever showing her Semblance in front of Hera, giving the other girl a firm advantage over her.

Hera wanted humanity to pour everything into the struggle it contended with since the dawn of time, and Adam wanted something different. One could not form a nation for the Faunus while the Four Kingdoms lived, and humans still had the numbers and power they had, so you needed to destroy each and every nation, remove those Faunus who wouldn't allow humanity to be fully crushed, and then mankind would be driven to the wilderness or put in chains, to create the state for the Faunus to call home. No doubt would the Grimm be allowed to take everything that Adam couldn't secure.

Cinder was a much simpler woman than that. Society was built on coercion, surrendering of rights to some great power to protect them, and a false friendship so that you wouldn't fear falling asleep next to your neighbour, and that you wouldn't fear death at every turn. So much hypocrisy and madness was built upon this, as the Grimm fed themselves on the discontent of such an empty bargain with one another, while those who rocked the boat were either ignored or disdained for their entire lives. Cinder saw this, experienced the pain of being on the wrong side of such things, and chose another path.

Hera wanted chaos to create an order that restored a modified version of a once-dead ideal, at the cost of millions. Adam wanted chaos to create an order that made Faunus rule over humanity, at the cost of millions. Cinder wanted chaos so that there would be no order, at the cost of millions.

No longer would people wear pretend-masks, their ugly and brutal natures would be revealed, as every decision became one of life and death. Every choice would have a cost, no one would be safe in their tall buildings for fortresses, and the world would look just like the Grimmlands, people latching themselves to the rule of a strong-man and serving as glorified servants or weapons, or face the apocalypse around them. The entire world would burn to the ground, and whatever grew from the ashes would know that there was no such thing as peace and security, and that everything was temporary.

It would be magnificent to watch.

With that in mind, she decided to call upon her other companion, to see how Ruby and the others were doing. "Mercury?" She asked, as a familiar face popped up, looking as if he was making the call from outside the room they had. "Have our dear friends woke up?"

"Yeah, and it seems like it's just hit them." He replied, having to restrain himself, in such a public area. "You want to come over?"

"I'll be a while, but keep them entertained, I have the feeling that they may not need us." Cinder said, Mercury nodding at those words, before signing off.

She had hoped to torment Ruby with small hints as to the casualties, while playing the supportive friend, as the others would do with Pyrrha and Weiss, but it looked like it was already happening for her. If Ruby and the others were broken by learning of the deaths and injuries themselves, then it was nothing that bad for Cinder, and they could even play the kind-hearted companions then. All in all, things were not as bad as they appeared to have first looked, even if a fair amount of planning, skill, and even luck was needed to keep things on-track and have the plan succeed.

For the time being, Cinder would first enjoy some rest and allow her brain some time for itself, for the first time all day.

"Professor Goodwitch, you promised me." Ruby asked, her eyes glimmering with desire, the Huntress in the bizarre position of awkwardly hoping to leave the room.

At first, once all of them but Jaune had awoken, Pyrrha being the first, then Weiss, and then Ruby, the mood of been celebratory. They had stopped the collapse of Vale, the Grimm were dead, and they were even to be recipients of the Sliver Blade, one of the highest honours that they could be assigned in the Kingdom of Vale, and none of them had died.

Yang remained strangely asleep, Blake content to let Ruby know that Yang had been by her side the second she was admitted into the infirmary, but the rest were happy to let the three of them know that everything had been brought back to normal. Ruby had wrapped herself in the fact that she had successfully been a hero, Pyrrha was happy that they had survived, and Weiss was fine with nothing going too badly wrong.

Where it all changed was when a nurse stormed in and revealed Weiss' Scroll, ringing violently and explaining that the person on the line demanded to know how her sister was doing and that she was going to keep calling until she heard a reply, in between coughing fits and a few instances of bringing up her last name. Bringing it in, Weiss had hoped that Winter would calm down upon seeing Weiss, or that either Father or Mother had somehow reached her beforehand and made sure that she wouldn't just burst into tears upon seeing her old sister and humiliate her in front of her friends.

No such luck.

"Weiss! Are you alright? I heard the newscast and I had to make sure that you were alright, hoping that you were in Beacon. When I saw an e-mail about you being in Ground Zero, I was horrified! I thought you would be among the dead, oh it was horrible to see so many people lament the loss of their loved ones, and we'd never see you again! Now we're hearing that the White Fang were behind the whole thing-even if they deny it to their last breath-but it sounds so much like them. Those monstrous, beastly, Faun-" Winter wasn't in too much of a state that she didn't see Weiss motioning her eyes towards Sun, which got her little sister all flustered. "Not all Faunus. I wasn't referring to Faunus in general."

"No, I get what you're trying to say. Not a lot of Faunus like being devoured by Grimm either. It kind of gets in the way of living life." Sun replied, which managed to get a giggle out of her.

After getting Winter to calm down, and to agree that Weiss would call her the second that she got out of the infirmary, the fact that people died did impact on them. An atmosphere of mourning enveloped the whole room, the members of Team JWPR who were awake most of all, as they realised that even if they managed to stop the Grimm, people still died, and the actual breach itself had been because of the failure of Team JWPR to stop the train from reaching its destination. None of their friends said anything like that, but Weiss knew that it was a thought that was plaguing Ruby and Pyrrha.

Sun and Neptune departed, apparently to get some food for everyone, while Weiss wondered if they were more trying to find their team and flee from the awkward conversation that would soon bloom. I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to try that. Weiss thought to herself. It's all fun and games, until the death count is brought up.

They tried to get answers from Professor Goodwitch, who looked amazed that Ruby of all people would ask such a question, but she insisted that they needed to make sure that Jaune was awake and in the proper condition to hear such information. Maybe it was a way for her to buy time and find the right way to phrase it to them as lightly as possible, when Jaune woke up and began asking if everyone was alright. After the greetings, assurances that the crisis was over, and other pleasantries, Jaune noticed the downbeat expressions of the rest of the team and asked what the problem was.

Goodwitch's attempt at leaving the room, using the excuse of needing to talk to Ozpin, before Ruby cornered her with her words.

"Winter said something about casualties, and we want to know them, just so we can know that there was a price for victory." Weiss argued, although it felt more like a price that didn't have to be paid. All because she messed up for her team, when it mattered most.

"W-We helped people right? The ones in the sewers, they're alright?" Jaune asked, fright taking hold of him. In the team, what he lacked in strength he made up for in concern, and it wasn't exactly helpful for him to think that he had failed as well.

"We found all of them, Mr Arc, and many of them testified that your efforts were vital, as were Team CRDL's." Professor Goodwitch explained, as she looked at the team, the others looking at them with sympathetic eyes. "If I answer this question, promise me that you will remember one thing. Your performance could not be attacked. You held the line, distracted the Grimm from going further, and did all of this while heavily injured from an earlier fight with Torchwick and the White Fang." She said, looking less angry and more hopeful. It was likely that four panicking students was the last thing she needed, on top of everything else.

That very statement made them uneasy, however, even when they nodded. "Was it a lot?" Ruby asked, more fragile than ever, holding her cloak as if it were a security blanket

"Five hundred and ninety eight people, as of this moment, have passed away due to the Grimm incursion." Professor Goodwitch said, almost quickly enough that Weiss thought that she was trying to get it out of the way. "These were just below the minimum figures for an incursion of this size, and the Council has seen fit to reward your team with the Silver Blade, I should add. Any other team in the same situation couldn't have done better." She added, a probable attempt to make them feel better.

"But we failed." Ruby mewled, shuffling into her cloak more and more. "I let myself get caught, I went off alone instead of getting you guys. We could have found it, and then attacked them with stealth. You guys had to rush in because I did badly, and then they succeeded in getting that breach in."

"Ruby, it was my fault." Weiss cut in, refusing to let her mistakes cause her best friend to suffer. She owed the girl that much, when all was said and done. "I thought we had to fight them, but I could have easily just led that White Fang member follow me to the control room, Jaune and I could have worked together, or we could have struck as a team." She said, a thousand thoughts going into her head of what else she could have done.

"That was hardly your fault, I practically continued that little charade." Pyrrha added, almost hugging herself. Looking anywhere but at the group of people. "I let my anger and fear control me, I could have knocked her out when she was down, and then moved onto meeting up with Jaune. I could have done something to help those people."

"No, you three weren't the problem. I should have done more with Crocea Mors, blown up a rail or something, or at least do something to make the control room break down. Brakes weren't the only thing that can stop a train like that, maybe." Jaune looked the guiltiest of all of them. From what Weiss heard, he didn't have the strength to move back and help out her and Ruby, and could barely walk on his own, naturally causing something to feel bad about.

A cloud of misery enveloped all of them, the expressions on everyone else ranging from shock to an inability to register what they were seeing. A part of Weiss' mind told her that everything she was saying didn't make sense, that there wasn't anything better that she could have done and that death was an unfortunate but expected part of her role as a Huntress, and that there really was nothing to be done. Yet however illogical the doubts were, they were far stronger than that voice, and took hold of Weiss, as she thought of the funerals to be had, and the lives that could have continued or not been destroyed by them not having failed to stop one damn train.

We thought we'd be heroes, but we were more cleaning up our own mess. The best of a horrible situation. Weiss thought, happy to have her mind punish her for failing as a Huntress. The room's silence was broken, however, when Yang began to shake and stir, her eyes flickering open, helped by Blake moving to shake her firmly.

"Yang, we really need you up right now." Blake said, as her partner began to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Ruby's awake." She said, which got the blonde's attention.

It was a small miracle that nothing fell off or accidentally tripped Yang up, as she rushed to wrap her arms firmly around her sister. "How long was I out?" She asked, looking back at the others.

"Before that, Ms Xiao Long, I think you should let go of your sister. She looks somewhat discomforted." Professor Goodwitch said, pointing to a wincing Ruby. Yang, seeing that she was probably putting pressure on some wounds, let go of the young girl and stood up right next to her bed.

"You were out for about twenty or something minutes. Pyrrha woke up right after you slept, and Ruby woke up about ten or fifteen minutes ago." Mercury said, before motioning to all four members of Team JPWR. "Things have taken a turn for the depressing."

"Yang, I messed up. We were supposed to have stopped Torchwick, or at least found out something more about their plan, but all we did was fail and rely on others." Ruby said, her lower lip wobbling and her eyes glistening. It sounded so unnatural to hear her like this, at least for Weiss. "If you didn't turn up, we'd have ruined everything."

"Hey! No more of that. If it weren't for you guys, who knows how far the Grimm could have gotten before we showed up? There'd be thousands of dead people, and half of Vale burnt to the ground trying to get them all burnt out." Yang spoke with a voice that was somehow both firm and kind. "As far as I see it, you guys are heroes. Yeah, things didn't go exactly to plan, but we're human. We have flaws, we don't get perfect 100s in every test, and we have to make sure our mistakes don't go nuclear."

"Besides, life isn't exactly like a story, because it doesn't end. Sure, we didn't get the bad guy spouting his evil plan, but now we know they're doing something, and we'll be there to thwack 'em in the face." Nora added, smacking her forearm to indicate a beating.

"Basically what Nora said." Ren said, before looking at the whole team. "We could have gone in your stead and didn't, does that mean it was our fault?" He asked, raising an eye at them.

"No! But you might have done a better job? We could have at least found out something!" Weiss argued, the rest of the team nodding along. It took a fair amount of effort to keep her voice level, and to keep herself from motioning with her arm, knowing it would only hurt. "All we did was put our lives at risk, doom a mission set to scan the enemy, and killed six hundred people."

"Ms Schnee," Professor Goodwitch's voice and stare was hard as nails, before it became something softer, moving down so that she was level with all of them. "I had a partner who was horrible injured, and a teammate who was killed in action years ago, not to mention many civilian deaths on missions I was assigned to lead and direct. My mind turned on me during those times, tormenting me of all the things I could have done, or how I was the cause of each negative factor, that I was the source of their pain. I managed to triumph over it, and every Huntsman and Huntress will have those moments where their decisions weigh upon them like stones, by remembering one thing. It's good to remember that your decisions have consequences, and some of them will be yours to hold, however the moment you accept the idea that every death and wound was because of you, it'll be a spectre that will doom you."

"All the people that died though. If I was a better team leader, and not trying to be the best Huntress, maybe they'd be alright." Ruby argued, taking Weiss' place. The reminder of a certain piece of valuable advice compelled Weiss to stop her partner from taking all the blame.

"You can't blame yourself, Ruby. We were all at fault, and I didn't even triumph over my opponent." Weiss said, as Pyrrha and Jaune moved to say something as well, before Blake cut in.

"Weiss, Ruby, you and all of your team have done something good." She said, a fire in her eyes that the Schnee barely recognised. "The White Fang have been revealed to be hypocrites and willing to doom millions for spiting humanity now. Faunus are not going to align themselves with a movement that uses them as pawns, they'll move to civil action groups, they'll be turning back to peaceful direct action again, protests over bombing, the old days. If you see the news, it's like when I was a kid and standing with Faunus like myself who wanted change. Torchwick's in jail as well. He's not going anywhere for a long while."

"You're a Faunus?" Cardin asked, from his position on the side of the room, his team flanking their leader who had his leg in a cast. All of them seemed shocked, before murmuring about the bow and clear proof. "Seems kind of obvious now, but yeah, she's right. You guys didn't back down, you were happy to die over letting them just walk by and kill everyone in sight. That's what a hero does! People don't say they're awesome because they knew everything and did it all right, they're awesome because even when they make mistakes, see people go down, and aren't at their best, they still fight to beat down the bad guys. If you guys weren't there, the Grimm would have just had us over a table and gone in dry."

At the blunt and rather disgusting metaphor, the rest of Cardin's team joined their leader and voicing their agreements. The image of a Grimm mountain Cardin was suitably horrifying enough to blank Weiss' mind, and Professor Goodwitch looked eager to show her horror at their words, and happy to try and forget about it as soon as possible. Even then, what they were trying to say was appreciated, although Weiss might have preferred another team to have said something before Cardin lowered the bar enough that anything would be excellent by comparison.

"If it helps, you've always done something nice things for me." Velvet spoke up meekly, almost hiding behind Coco and Yatsuhashi. "Everyone in the lunch room was happy to let me be a victim, but you guys wanted me with you, to be like a friend. You saw me as just another person, just like my team does." She said, motioning to the others, who seemed happy at the praise.

"Yeah, take it from us. There are times where it feels like everything's gone wrong, only you keep on fighting. If you think you did badly, then keep fighting on for the side of justice! Don't forget their names, while not letting them take over your lives." Coco's cheerful words took on a more serious tone, when motioning to Velvet. "When Velvet was being bullied, I felt mad at Cardin for doing it, her for not laying the beatdown when she could, but me most of all for not being able to help her out. In the end, I realised that it was better that I be happy that it stopped and you guys took her in as a friend. That knowing that she wasn't being treated like that was better than any revenge I could do."

"Does that mean we're cool?" Cardin ventured, which got him three glares from CFVY.

"No, we will never be cool. I've just decided that I won't bury you." Coco said, leaving a middle finger directed at them, joined by Fox, while Yatsuhashi was happy to just glare at them to show his anger.

"We are happy to hear that." Professor Goodwitch responded, as if she had heard that someone was going to do something adventurous for an assignment. At the sound of something scampering and scratching at the door, she sighed and looked at the door with a weary look. "I told Peter to keep him busy."

At that, a certain corgi somehow managed to force his way into the room even as the door was closed. Zwei barked happily at the sight of Ruby being awake and struggled to make his way up to the bed, only reaching his owner with the help of Yang, which he followed up by intense snuggling into Ruby's lap. "Zwei! No, that kind of hurts right now." Even with her words, Ruby was laughing.

"I guess he at least approved of our record." Pyrrha said, still sounding somewhat sad with herself.

"I'm not good at the whole 'you are as crap as you think you are' thing, but I do think I owe you one, Pyrrha. You did help improve my reading of certain situations, and this slightly beats out the idea of a shirtless-lap dance." Mercury said, which got Pyrrha and a few other girls, including Weiss, to blush. The only ones immune seemed to be Nora, Coco, and an indignant Goodwitch, while Ruby and Yang were busier with Zwei. "Look, someone pretty smart told me that people can be more capable than everyone else says, and that can even include them. Trust me, I'm sure whoever the big bad criminals are, they're panicking in their seats."

It was good to see that Mercury's good nature was still going strong, no doubt would Emerald and Cinder be saying the same thing if they were here with him. His words at least got Jaune and Pyrrha to smile, although the latter was blushing at those words, and that was more than enough for Weiss to be happy with.

"Whatever you guys think, you're still great heroes in our eyes, and we're still going to treat you four as the same friends as you've always been." Yang said, with the same famous smile as always. "We're not exactly the Golden Team, but we're Team BRNY, best friends to Team JWPR, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey guys, we got some not-hospital food!" Sun cried out, as he led his team in probably getting some food for them. Professor Goodwitch looked close to losing her mind at everything that was happening, but Weiss was happy to taste normal food before becoming dependent on hospital stuff. "Oh, are you guys talking about what happened in Vale today, because you guys are the coolest people ever now. Even with our badges, and Nora being able to eat her weight in food." He added, motioning to them and Nora, before pointing to the badge in his pocket.

Nora beamed at that, as Neptune followed his partner in. "Yeah, we only had a few Grimm for our side, mostly in that nightclub Yang, Nora, and I went to, and the biggest casualty was some baby Ursa one of the detectives called 'Cinnamon' turned on him. Junior batted it away, and told us to go and keep the city safe." Neptune explained, before giving a thumbs-up to them. "So yeah, you guys had a better time than us. Especially more than Sun 'Notastowaway' Wukong." Neptune glared at Sun as he said this, getting his partner to hold his hands up in surrender.

"It was those two detectives from the docks, I needed something!" Sun argued, before turning back to the people in the room. "The important thing is, we're here for you. We're all friends."

"You can count Team CFVY in on that." Coco said, with the same smile as ever, Weiss wondering if her teeth almost sparkled then.

"And Team CRDL." Cardin said, which got only stares and an awkward silence. "What? We're friends." He insisted, despite everything that happened ever between them since the first day.

"How?" Jaune asked, the same thoughts as Weiss probably going through his mind.

"Jaune, we used to play all those jokes on each other, Ruby, we helped practice fighting on the roofs, Velvet, we had all those mutually-fun games." Cardin said, his lies obvious enough that not even Goodwitch extended the courtesy of neutrality. "Look, wouldn't it be better if those were our memories, instead of what really happened?" He asked, appealing to the people he was talking to earlier.

Weiss, seeing that Ruby, Jaune, and Velvet honestly looked like they were thinking about it, decided to cut in. "No, go form your own group." She commanded, wanting no more of whatever this was.

"Fine, we'll go with the Haven students you guys don't have." Sage and Scarlet had walked in at his words, the latter nodding happily at the offer. "See, don't need you guys."

Goodwitch sighed, Weiss sympathising with the woman, before Mercury decided to say something next. "Cinder's been worried sick about you, Ruby. The whole time, her mind was on what this did to you, and whether you'd be okay. Emerald's been the same with you, Weiss. We all care about you, and we're not going to just let you guys fall into a guilt complex."

His words managed to make everyone emotional, Jaune looking as if he let go of the last bits of guilt, and Pyrrha thankful for the same reason. "Thanks you guys. I'm not sure what would have happened without all of your help. I just hope no one blames us." Jaune said, which got the rest of the team agreeing with him. Weiss was prepared for that, even if it would be painful.

"On the contrary, I imagine I'll be taking that role." A certain voice said, as Ozpin walking into the room with his cane in hand. "The Council has seen fit to remove me of certain powers over the Vytal Festival, and put my status under review, considering the circumstances. General Ironwood sang your praises, and declared that you were all heroes of the finest calibre, especially a certain team led by you, Ruby."

Yang and Mercury seemed almost guarded around him, maybe fearing that he was going to rail on how unfair it was, or simply just still somewhat on edge after the battle they had not fully left yet. Either way, Ruby seemed happy enough to see him that she didn't look like she paid much attention to his actual words, while Professor Goodwitch looked like she was having to restrain herself from openly speaking out against such a decision. Moving right beside Ruby's bed, he was met with a confused look, as if Ruby needed some advice, with Yang on the other side, and Zwei on her lap.

"Professor Ozpin, what would you have done differently?" She asked, as if the man in front of her had all the answers.

"It's not for me to say, Ruby. As team leader, you made the decisions, and must now stand by them and learn from the mistakes." Ozpin replied, before looking out of the window, looking down on the bright lights of Vale, barely seen from the distance of the mountainside. "There are a hundred ways things could have been better, and a million ways that they could have been worse, however the moment has passed. For myself, perhaps I have grown complacent, and too passive in the face of the enemy, yet I can't change anything now. Events like these are like pieces of a chess board, sometimes you choose one formation, and other games you decide to rearrange the board and try something else. At times, they work far better, other times they are far worse, and sometimes they aren't that much different beyond small changes.

All I can say is that we need to accept the game as it is being played now, and that includes both the people that died, but also the people who did not. Ruby, every life you save can mean the world is saved. You and your team placed the people you swore to protect over yourselves, by doing what you did, and the fact that the teams in this room would do the same is proof that I have done something right. If you ever doubt your actions, remember that." He finished, letting his words settle over them, before he moved to leave with Professor Goodwitch, leaving all of them alone.

"Well, I guess we can't solve everything." Jaune said, looking to the others for guidance. "What do we do now?" He asked, almost lost for ideas.

"We live, we strive to improve ourselves, and we ensure that we remember this day." Pyrrha answered, her words something that Weiss could get behind. "I'd include train for the Tournament, but we're already going to win, so that doesn't matter." She added, smiling right at Nora.

"Whoa, let's not get too hasty," Nora said, waving her finger at the fellow student. "We're not going to lie down and just let you take the victory for your team."

"Of course not, it'll just feel like that, in terms of effort." Weiss replied, with the face and voice of an angel.

"A-Are we going to take that, Blake?" Yang asked, acting as if they were a street gang who had just been insulted.

"Ren? You heard that?" Their team leader asked, looking at the pink-eyed boy.

"Don't worry, Blake. Preparations for the Team Jasper Memorial will start tomorrow." He said, which got Blake smirking and Yang and Nora doing some bizarre gang-sign at them.

"Oh you guys are on," Ruby said, as she crouched down and whispered in Zwei's ear, just loud enough that everyone could hear it. "Zwei, make sure you spy on them."

That got the whole room laughing, everyone forgetting problems before today, at the idea of Zwei being a spy-dog, and the false feud emerging. It was only when a nurse knocked on the door, not a few seconds later, and stepped into the room that they stopped. "Visiting hours will soon be over, unless someone is willing to enter treatment." She said, looking right at Yang with her words.

"Nah, I'm fine." Yang replied, stretching out and ruffling Ruby's hair. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

With that, their friends, acquaintances, and people they tolerated filed out of the room. Cardin was the only one still with them, by virtue of his leg being in a cast, only to fall into a slumber when the nurse gave him his mixture of painkillers and sleeping pills, which soon had the man out like a light. As the lights shut off, the room barely lit up enough for them to barely see one another, Weiss realised that the four of them were alone with one another, in a peaceful setting for the first time in two days, which seemed so long ago compared to everything that had happened.

"Who'd have thought we'd be in this kind of position?" Jaune asked, as that question might have applied to him the most. "It feel weird, but nice at the same time."

"Jaune, you've done more than grow these past few months, and the same goes for the rest of us. We're all very lucky to be together still, and we should remember that." Pyrrha said, sounding introspective, mournful, and hopeful all at the same time. It was something that Weiss found compelling, so much more to Pyrrha than the tough girl that she once only saw as a way to attain fame at Beacon.

"Yep, and to celebrate that, we need to beat down Team BRNY as soon as possible." Ruby declared, smacking her open palm with a closed fist, so determined to succeed. "Gah, I don't have my whistle. I guess Zwei can be our alarm, Team JPWR needs to be out of here as soon as possible!" She commanded, which got Jaune and Pyrrha to nod in support.

"Of course, oh mighty Red Tyrant." Weiss said, which got Ruby to playfully stick out her tongue in response. "Blow a whistle in my ear, however, and I can't promise you'll make it to the Tournament." She jokingly warned, which had the whole room filled with quiet laughter.

"Got it, Zwei will be my emissary." Ruby replied, motioning to the dog in her arms. With that, she snuggled into Zwei, making her cloak into a de facto extra bed cover, and moved to fall into the land of sleep, joined by the rest of them.

Weiss was tucked in to an infirmary bed, looking up to a ceiling, having saved Vale. It made her think of her life, how she was once the irritable heiress who saw Beacon as a path to freedom and snapped at anything that threatened her ideal life, how she became partners with Ruby and the two of them had met Jaune and Pyrrha, the latter helping the former out of a tree, and everything else that happened in the six months since. Haven't got that heart attack yet, but you were right about that dolt being a hazard to your health.

Looking at her team, the energetic, young leader who advanced forward by two years, the champion who wanted to have true friends, and the boy who finally got his dream going, Weiss felt herself wonder what might have happened. With all that happened in the Emerald Forest, with each other, with Cardin, with the docks, the Dance, and even Mountain Glenn, Weiss wondered how things might have been with this and that teammate instead of the ones she had instead, and how different it could have been. Had she and Ruby gone the other way on that day, they'd have had a different team, and all the drama Weiss went through might have been avoided, as she looked to her team.

I wouldn't trade it for the world. Not a single second of it. She decided, her mind, heart, and body all agreeing with her on that. Weiss had the feeling that it would be a much more calm sleep than her first days, either filled with bickering with Ruby and Yang, whistle-related awakenings, or dealing with a coffee-addicted Ruby. With Vale saved, and the Vytal Festival and Tournament emerging, Weiss awaited the next day, and the day after where they might get released from custody, with joy and anticipation.

And so, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of sleep, knowing that it would be a peaceful one, without the need for a whistle or an alarm to awaken her.

Weiss Schnee was a morning person, after all.