"Honestly, those girls! I knew that they were going to be trouble since the moment you put them all on the same team, but their actions tonight have shown me that I was completely wrong! They aren't going to just be trouble – they're going to be the death of me!"

"Glynda, there's no need to be so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic, I'm being properly irritated. You, on the other hand, continue to have a very lax attitude when dealing with the students. Need I remind you that they destroyed the freeway?"

"I believe the mech did more damage to the highway than the students. And must I remind you of the fact that they were off campus during the fight and so we technically have no jurisdiction over their punishment?"

"The police released them into our custody because they believed we would punish them accordingly."

"Well then that was their mistake."

"Oz."

Professor Ozpin forced his eyes away from the words on his scroll and looked at his colleague. Glynda's face was stern but her tone was tired.

"What would you have me do?" Ozpin asked with a sigh. He reached for his mug and sipped his tea, his mind going back to the message.

James: Confirmed stolen Mech. Queen has pawns and pets.

Ozpin frowned, though not for the reason Glynda thought.

"Detention would be nice. Or a stern lecture at least. By not acknowledging that what they did was wrong then we are giving them permission to do something like this in the future."

"But was what they did wrong?"

Ozpin got up from his chair and walked over to his office window. He stared past his reflection and focused on Vale. At this time of night the outside darkness made the windows into transparent mirrors, often times creating the illusion that two realities were really one. It was an illusion Ozpin was all too familiar with.

He looked at Glynda's reflection in the window and he could see her green eyes narrow at his question.

"No," she gritted out, obviously not finished answering.

"Then why punish them?" Ozpin interjected before she could continue.

He turned around to look at Glynda instead of relying on the window's image of her. She was more cross in person than she was in the mirror. There was silence between the two as she gathered her thoughts together; the only sound in the room came from the metallic ticking of the thousands of mechanical gears that occupied Ozpin's office.

"We wouldn't be punishing them," Glynda finally spoke, her voice a forced calm. "We would merely be drilling into their heads that their behavior will not be tolerated at Beacon."

"Saving the city from a rampaging stolen mech is not tolerated at a school designed to train hunters and huntresses?" Ozpin inquired. His eyebrow quirked and a ghost of a smile formed on his face.

"You know what I mean! It's all well and good that they were able to stop one of Ironwood's weapons, but it begs the question as to why they were involved in the first place," Glynda explained. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her face threatened pain – it was an expression Ozpin was all too familiar with.

He picked up his mug once more and took another sip of his tea. It was getting cold.

"I don't trust Miss. Belladonna, nor that exchange student who seems to be around her with increasing frequency."

"If you're talking about Mr. Wukong," Ozpin supplied, raising his eyebrows at Glynda.

"Yes, him," she affirmed. Ozpin was happy to see that she looked embarrassed by his correction.

"This is the second time the two of them have inexplicably found themselves confronting the White Fang; the only difference between today and the incident at the docks is that this time they had endangered their teammates as well as themselves."

"And this is the second time they have succeeded in foiling the White Fang's plans before they could be put into action. If you are suggesting that Miss. Belladonna and Mr. Wukong are members of the White Fang then I believe you are not seeing the whole picture," Ozpin countered, once more sitting down in his chair.

Glynda glared at him.

"What are you planning?" she asked, her voice demanding an answer.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ozpin replied a bit too quickly.

"They're children – your words, not mine. What happened to that outlook of yours?"

Ozpin steepled his fingers and stared at Glynda.

"Who says that they aren't still children? They are children who are growing, not only into their abilities but as human beings. Part of growing older is making mistakes and getting into trouble. Yes, the six students should not have been the ones fighting against the rogue Atlesian Paladin – a more experienced hunter or huntress should have taken care of it before they ever had a chance. But that fact does not diminish their triumph against a fully weaponized and highly dangerous mech and we should be celebrating their achievements instead of punishing them."

The ticking gears were the only sounds in the room after his declaration; Glynda and Ozpin stared at each other over the tops of their glasses.

"What are you planning?" Glynda probed as she pushed her glasses back into their proper position.

"I have no idea what you mean."

Glynda glared daggers at Ozpin but before she could speak his scroll buzzed with a message. He quickly glanced down at the screen and frowned once more.

Qrow: The Tin Man isn't answering my messages.

Ozpin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Do you want to fill me in?" Glynda inquired, her arms went back to being folded over her chest as she eyed his scroll.

"James isn't answering his messages," Ozpin answered.

"Oh, well I don't care about that," Glynda stated. Ozpin could feel his lip twitch.

"I know you don't," he replied with faint humor in his voice.

"If that's all then I think I'll go to bed. It's been a long night." Glynda stared pointedly at Ozpin as if she could will him to go to bed as well.

"That it has been," he agreed before taking another sip of his tea – it was cold.

Glynda looked at Ozpin for another second before she turned to leave. She was just about to open the office door when Ozpin spoke.

"If you feel so inclined in the morning then you can properly punish Team RWBY along with Mr. Wukong and Mr. Vasilias, though I'm not sure how effective the message will be after a good night's sleep."

Glynda turned to glare at Ozpin, though it fell into concern as soon as she saw the look in his eyes.

"Make sure you keep in mind that they are children and not pawns. At least promise me that," Glynda implored. It was the first time that night that Glynda's caring-side had shown itself and Ozpin felt himself relax at her concern.

"Of course."

Glynda stared for a second longer before she left Ozpin's office, and as the doors shut Ozpin was enveloped in the metallic sound of gears grinding away.

Ozpin knew that Glynda meant well, however that promise would be hard to keep. Everyone at one point in their life is a pawn – in fact, many people remain pawns throughout their entire lives. There are many reasons why someone would stay a pawn: they might never be taken off their starting position, and so are never involved in the conflict; they might partake in the conflict but be blocked by an opponent piece, unable to move forward; or they are killed by the opponent whether they are active or not.

But there are some pawns who are able to move forward no matter who or what is blocking their path.; these pawns are able to reach the other side of the board. It is then that they can cast off their powerless position and be promoted to something more powerful – a queen, or rook, or bishop, or knight.

Ozpin wouldn't be that surprised if the girls of Team RWBY and their allies were able to shed their statuses as pawns before they graduated from Beacon. But scars don't fade once one is promoted.

Maybe Glynda was right; perhaps it would be best to keep the students away from outside conflicts from now on. After all, they are already stressed with the amount of school work they have, no need to let them fight a battle that experienced hunters and huntresses should fight.

But maybe it would be best to let the children continue with what they are doing. If he and the other teachers were to keep the students secluded and ignorant then that would only lead to resentment and rebellion. But if they continue to give their students freedom then events like tonight will occur: the students will find themselves in danger but that will only make their victories that much sweeter or their losses that more painful. Confidence is not gained through imprisonment, but innocence is hard to keep when one is given the freedom to do as they please.

It was a good thing Glynda agreed to be a teacher at Beacon – Ozpin could only imagine how the students would have turned out if he didn't have someone to argue against his decisions. Together they created a good line between control and anarchy and the students were better off for it.

The buzz from his scroll drew Ozpin's attention back to his office.

Qrow: He doesn't take failure very well.

Ozpin sighed and picked up his scroll, cradling it in his arm so he could type out a message of his own.

Ozpin: I see you've lost your heart again.

He sent the message before standing up to look out at Vale once again. The city looked peaceful from his office but Ozpin knew that looks were deceiving. Barely three minutes went by before Ozpin received the reply.

James: Tell braindead to stop messqging me

Ozpin frowned at the response – he could see why Qrow was worried.

Ozpin: Make sure you sleep on your side tonight.

He sent the message not expecting a reply. He and James would need to have an in-depth discussion but now was not the time. Instead, Ozpin started to write out another message.

Ozpin: The Tin Man's oiled up. We have confirmation about our theory.

Qrow: Tin Man is an idiot and that's troubling.

Ozpin: Keep as planned for now – no need to stray off course.

Qrow: Will do. How's the progeny?

Ozpin: They are unharmed and in high spirits; I can't say the same for Witch.

Qrow: Good.

The messages stopped from there and Ozpin placed the scroll back into his pocket. Qrow would convey the news to the others and then they would all continue with the plan like nothing had happened.

Ozpin tried to take another sip of his tea but he was dismayed to realize that it had reached the undrinkable phase. Frowning, Ozpin held his mug and picked up his cane in order to inspect it.

He stared at the gears in the handle of his cane and sighed. He desperately wished to go out and be a hunter again but he had given up the nightly hunts years ago.

There was an even rarer occurance in chess, when a piece becomes self-aware; when it would look around at their lives and realize that they had no control over their own destiny. At that revelation the piece had a choice of either remaining tied down or rebelling to take control.

Pieces can become players – the true masterminds behind the game. Players delegate, and pieces obey.

The world was made up of players and pieces.

But maybe – just maybe – that would change.

Author's Note:

Title comes from Volume One, Chapter Eight - "Players and Pieces." RWBY is not owned by me though I feel like that is obvious.