Acnologia had his hands full the next day. There was not a shortage of students coming to him for help as his speech from the previous day spread through the school, but he didn't mind. Though he did have to ask Glynda for help, not that he minded that either, as some of the students required a less in your face manner of encouragement or aid.
The day passed by quickly this way, much quicker than the day before. But not before Acnologia caught wind of something from a group of students that had made with him a few days prior. Something about going out to find out more about Torchwick.
With the last class out of the way and his and Glynda's remaining classwork done, the dragon slayer was making his way to the dorm room of team RWBY. He had made it just out side their door and was about to knock on it when he heard them talking. Acnologia turned his head and came closer to the door to listen in on what the were saying.
"-So its decided. Me and Weiss will head off to the A.C.T tower while Blake and Sun go to the White Fang meeting and Yang and Neptune will go to where ever Yang's contact is." The mage heard Ruby said before an assortment of "Yes's" came from the room. He heard shuffling as they came near the door and Acnologia quickly retreated to a nearby hallway, hiding from the six students as they made their way to the docking area to get a ride to Vale.
He began to think to himself on what he should do. 'Ruby and Weiss will be fine on their own, there should be nothing at the tower that should get in their way. The other four though......Yang seems to know where she's going and how to handle it. Blake and Sun however are going to a White Fang meeting.' Acnologia let out a hum as he tried to figure out where to go. 'Yang has a good head on her shoulders and the White Fang make Blake and Sun's mission that more dangerous. The other four should be fine on their own, so I'll keep an eye on Blake and Sun.' Acnologia decided internally before he began to follow them.
There was only one problem once he had made it to the docking area, undetected of course, how was he going to follow them once they were on a bullhead? His draconian form isn't exactly the stealthiest of things, especially in a world where dragons didn't exist.
He would have to improvise as they boarded a bullhead. Acnologia waited until its door shut and he quickly sprinted to the flying machine and jumped to the roof of it, landing as quietly as he could. The second his body landed onto the machine, his stomach began to twist and churn. Acnologia fell over onto his back as the sky above began to spin, he lout a groan as the machine began fly into the sky,"Bad idea.....bad idea." The mage told himself over the roar of the bullheads engines and the howling wind.
After what felt like forever to the incapacitated dragon slayer, the bullhead came to a stop as it had arrived in Vale. As the machine touched ground, Acnologia forced himself up and off the roof of the machine as his students offloaded from the bullhead. The dragon slayer thanked every part of existence as he touched solid ground before he quickly began to follow the group of six. They walked together for a long while before they finally split up in the middle of town.
Acnologia had climbed a building as was now looking down at them from a vantage point. As they split up, the mages gut churned for a very different reason that it did earlier,"I have a bad feeling about this little mission." He said out loud as he watched Blake and Sun begin their treck to some warehouse, where the meeting was going down. He quickly shook off his feelings and began to follow them, scurrying from building to building until he ran out of roof and was forced to drop down to an alley way across from their destination.
The dragon slayer watched as they were, quietly, ushered to a warehouse with two White Fang mask's in hand. Acnologia's face scrunched into confusion before a flyer on the alley wall beside him drew his attention. The flyer was subtle and plain, but to someone like Acnologia the smell of faunus hands was all over it. Acnologia ripped the flyer off the wall and turned it over, the back of the flyer had the White Fang symbol with a vague address and a few words on it describing the meeting as a recruitment rally that was completely anonymous. 'That explains the masks, lucky them. I doubt I could do the same though.' He thought to himself, raising his hand to his hair,'I am far to recognizable......plan B then.'
Acnologia held his head high as he sniffed the air. The breeze from the sea just a few blocks in front of him filled his nose with the smell of seawater and mostly fish. But he also managed to sniff out some different animal like smells that weren't coming from the warehouse Black and Sun had went inside. The dragon slayer concentrated and silenced out the world as he focused on the buildings in front of him. The sound of machinery faded away and he heard the arming of guns high in the air. Acnologia scanned the area and found three White Fang members hiding in the cargo cranes that littered the area where construction was taking place and in them lookouts armed with sniper rifles.
A smile tugged at his lips before he ran across the street quickly, avoiding detection and running right up to one of the cranes. He scurried up the crane, moving in between its large metal frame in a fashion that kept him hidden. Once to the spot where the White Fang had hidden he quickly used his strength to flip himself into the armed faunus, knocking him out instantly and quietly.
He didn't spend much time in the vantage point though as he ran along the inside of the cranes long arm, straight towards another one of the lookouts. Once at the end of the crane he jumped out, allowing himself to be seen all to late by both of the remaining lookouts. The faunus he jump towards didn't even have time to raise his gun as the mage kicked him in the jaw, breaking off his mask and knocking him out. Acnologia wasted no time as he quickly turned and threw out his arm in one movement. A magic circled appeared and he fired a small bolt of magic energy at the other lookout, shocking him and rendering him unconscious in one swoop.
The mage let out a sigh of relief before he made his way back to the ground. He landed near the warehouse, the front unguarded to better keep it hidden. On the right side of the warehouse, a scaffold stood leading to the roof. A perfect way to ease drop.
Acnologia quickly jumped from level to level of the scaffold until he made it to the roof. The sound of cheering filled his ears as he grew closer. An in construction glass window in the roof is what was emitting all the noise. Acnologia crouched next to it, peering inside. A large crowd of faunus kind filled the warehouse floor, a large makeshift stage stood in front of them. The dragon slayers eyes widen as he saw who stood before the crowd, Roman Torchwick bowler hat and all along with a massive White Fang banner that stood tall behind him. A low growl emitted from his throat as he tried to listen in on what he was telling the crowd, but their cheers overpowered the crook from the distance Acnologia was at and he couldn't risk getting closer and being spotted. Another growl of annoyance came from his throat as he was forced to simple watch the spectacle.
Having a look around the crowd, he spotted Blake and Sun with out much difficulty. That worried him. If he could find them that easily from this distance, the crook could to. Suddenly a hush went over Acnologia's ears and he could finally hear Torchwick for a moment,"-The Atlesian Paladin!"
The dragon slayers eyes widen as he turned back to the stage to find the banner had opened and revealed a fully developed version of the robotic behemoth of a machine that he had only seen in a hologram just a few short days ago. 'Where did he get that?! The Atlas military was just announcing them a few days ago, I didn't even think they were a real thing yet!' Acnologia thought as Sun had a very similar thought.
The mage's concern only grew as he noticed Roman looking towards Blake and Sun before the crook moved to a White Fang guard close to him and began to whisper something to him. He had found them out. Acnologia stood up about to jump in when the lights inside the warehouse shut off, leaving it dark in the building. Acnologia could only assume Blake had come up with the idea and he smiled at the thought. The sound of screams filled his ears and then the sound of glass shattering and the sound of robotic wiring as the paladin came to life. Acnologia looked off the side of the warehouse to find Blake and Sun running down the street. The paladin busted out of the warehouse's wall.
Acnologia only grinned as he noticed who the pilot was, Torchwick. "This'll be fun." Acnologia tilted his head and allowed his neck to pop. He quickly began to follow after them.
It wasn't hard to follow either, especially with Sun screaming for help. Acnologia jumped onto a building and ran along side the paladin before he heard the sound of a motorcycle. He looked back to see Yang and the boy he assumed was named Neptune coming out from around a corner and coming after them. Blake and Sun jumped onto a highway with Roman coming after them.
Acnologia continued just below them on the rooftops before he launched himself onto the highway, running faster than most of the cars that were driving around him. Yang and Neptune were just a head of him,"Yang!" Acnologia called out and ran up next to them. Yang looked to the side to see her teacher,"Professor?! How the-"
"Big robot first, super speed later!" He ordered,"You with the gun! We need to slow that thing down or else people are gonna get hurt!" He shouted at the boy. He nodded and readied his weapon.
Inside the paladin, a warning sensory went off. Roman turned to see what it was before he let out a huff of annoyance and then piloted the paladin into a bunch of cars in front of him. "Yang look out!" Acnologia yelled as the cars began to fall towards them. Yang quickly whipped her bike around, dodging the cars as they came down around her and Neptune.
Acnologia however had a very different way of avoiding the falling vehicles. He jumped forward and ran along the roof of one that was flying straight for him before he launched him self to the next car in the air. He bounced along the falling cars in a blur of speed before he landed on the last one in the air and then jumped onto another highway above him, still running close to Roman. Neptune had managed to hit him with a couple of blasts from his gun and was now hanging from his weapons trident form which was stabbed into the machine's back. Sun tried to save his teammate from flying off by using his semblance, creating two golden clones of himself and sending them after him. They hit the paladin and exploded upon contact, not really slowing down the machine in the slightest. Sun launched himself into the air trying to hit Torchwick but the crook just twisted the paladin's upper half and sent Neptune flying into them, sending them off somewhere out of the fight.
The dragon slayer growled as he watched the machine chase Blake. He jumped down to the same highway that they were on and rocketed towards them, passing Yang and her bike easily. Up ahead, Weiss had made it to the fight and had iced over part of the highway. The paladins momentum sent it skiding onto the slipper surface and Acnologia used this chance to launch himself into the machines back shoulder first. The force behind his shoulder charge sent Roman flying across the highway and down to the large unused area below, where Ruby was waiting for him.
The fall did little to the paladin, but Acnologia's shoulder had put a massive dent into its back. The rest of team RWBY landed next to their leader as the paladin stood up. A very displeased look on Roman's face. "Get ready." Ruby told her team, they all silently nodded to their leader as they assumed combat stances. Roman let out a growl as he charged forward with the paladin. Ruby quickly began to call out an attack name,"Freezer bur-" It was interrupted as Acnologia landed in front of the paladin and stopped it from swinging its metal fist at his students.
"Huh? Professor?!" Ruby questioned confused. Roman let out an angry sneer as he pushed the control for the Paladins arm down. The hydraulics in the arms powerful motor began to hum as the force increased behind it, but Acnologia didn't even seemed bothered by the increase in strength as he held the robots fist with his only hand. The mage turned his head to look at the team,"I thought I told you to let me know when you were planning something like this?"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Roman called out to the dragon slayer as he pushed down the controls even more. Acnologia didn't budge but the concrete under him began to crack under the pressure,"I'm trying to have a talk with my students, I'll be with you in a moment." Acnologia told the pilot of the paladin calmly, not bothering to turn to him. Roman let out a yell of annoyance and pulled back from Acnologia's grasp before trying to swing the other arm. Acnologia simply moved his arm and stopped the other hand, twisting and crushing the metal under where his hands grip fell. He turned back to the crook with a displeased look on his face,"Fine, I can correct them later." Acnologia's grip tightened and he pulled on the paladins arm.
Romans face widen as the metal arm of his paladin was ripped from its socket, leaving behind broken wire that were dancing with electric sparks. His shock was short lived as Acnologia used the arm to knock him flying backwards into one of the concrete pillars holding up the highway. The dragon slayer tossed the arm aside before he began to walk forward,"I have a feeling I will be enjoying this more than you will, Roman Torchwick." Roman brought the paladin to its feet before he pressed one of the many buttons in the cockpit of the paladin.
The back of the paladin opened up in slots and missiles came flying out from the slots,"Tch." Acnologia shot forward into a run, dodging the first missile by jumping into the air and allowing it to exploded where he was standing. The other missiles came flying for him and he threw out his hand, catching one of them and then throwing it back at another missile while still in the air. The explosion created a cloud of smoke that the other missiles came flying through.
Acnologia let a quickly breath in as he charged up magic energy,"Black Dragon: ROAR!" He fired his signature dragons roar at the missiles, moving his head to the side to allow the beam to destroy each other missiles coming for him. Roman quickly moved the paladin to the side as the magic beam cut across the concrete in an arc, knowing full well what that attack could do as it seared through the ground effortlessly. The paladin's shoulder mounted guns turned and began to fire at Acnologia, who had just landed back on the ground.
A grin found itself on Acnologia's face as he darted to the side, the bullets trailing behind him as he ran around the paladin. With a jump he ran across the wall of a nearby building before he jumped again, his fist beginning to glow blue as he summoned more magic energy. Acnologia swiped his clawed hand across the gun and tore through it like its paper. The dragon slayer then swung his foot into the back of the machines cockpit and sent it stumbling forward while he began to spin in the air.
Not bothering to waste a moment, Acnologia fired another smaller roar at the machine's backside creating an explosion that sent it flying into the concrete ground and then some. Acnologia landed and then wiped his thumb under his nose in a cocky manner.
The paladin began to rise once more, its pilot almost screaming in anger and annoyance. He pushed the controls forward but found that he was firmly planted where he rose. The paladins legs were frozen to the concrete. Ruby and Weiss stood a distance away with their weapons raised, Weiss had used her semblance to make Ruby's sniper rounds freeze the paladin in place.
Blake and Yang came running up the sides of the machine, Roman aiming its remaining arm guns to the two but it was pointless as they easily avoided the bullets. Their lessons with Acnologia taught them to anticipate their enemies attacks, even gunfire. They got close and Blake jumped into the air while Yang ran up to the paladin. She used her gantlets and her abnormal strength to jumped up to the paladin's cockpit and rail on it, cracking the glass of the pilot seat. She quickly jumped off the machine to avoid being hit by more gunfire and landed a distance away,"Heads up buddy!" She shouted to Roman.
He squinted in confusion before he heard a battle cry from above. He looked up to late as Blake came down with her blade, slicing off the other arm of the paladin easily.
Acnologia pulled his fist back and began to charge up magic energy. The energy he gathered in his fist began to glow blue and lit the area in its light. Roman looked up as the blue light hit his eyes which widen as he realized what was coming next,"Oh no." The dragon slayer crouched down and pushed one foot out behind him before he rocketed forward at lightning speed,"Apocalypse fist!"
He threw out his fist as he came at the paladin, the blue light shining over the now scratched metal of the machine. In a single blow, Acnologia's magic power and brute strength shattered the metal and glass of machines upper half, going straight through it and into Roman's face. Acnologia landed on the other side of the machine as its pieces came flying down around him and Roman went flying in front of him before rolling to a stop.
Acnologia straightened himself out as team RWBY came running to his side, two on his right and two on his left.
Roman began to stand as he groaned,"This is why-" He let out a huff of annoyance as he stood on his feet and wiped off his suit,"-I can't have nice things." He looked over the destruction of his paladin at the hands of Acnologia before he turned to the mage,"You know how difficult it was to steal this? It wasn't exactly a walk in the park."
"You shouldn't steal." Acnologia stated with a scoff,"Surrender. You have no where to run this time."
The crook began to chuckle,"I don't?....please, I've been in worse situations." He told the dragons slayer as he dusted off his arm,"That's gonna be a pain to get out." He muttered to himself.
Yang got fed up with his rambling and then cocked her gauntlet before firing at him. No one, even Acnologia, was expecting a small girl with pink and brown hair to drop from the sky and use an umbrella of all things to block the dust round.
Roman walked out from behind the girl with a wide smile on his face,"I'd like to introduce you to my partner, Neapolitan." The girl gave a cute smile before bowing in a polite, but cocky, manner. "She prefers Neo."
Acnologia growled in annoyance but before he could do anything Yang moved forward about to attack. The mage threw out his hand and grabbed the girl by back of her shirt, stopping her from blindly attacking. "Yang, calm down. You can't charge in blindly."
"You should listen to him Blondie." Roman chided Yang. The blonde fighter let out a grow and Acnologia tightened his grip on the girl before she could try to attack. "Yang..." Acnologia warned her.
"That's enough of that, I'm a busy man and this is taking up a lot of valuable time.....and you know what they say-" Roman adjusted the cuffs of his suit,"-Time is money. Neo?"
The girl curtsied and then reached into her back pocket and tossed a red dust crystal into the air. Acnologia quickly pulled Yang back and threw up his hand with a magic circle appearing in front of it. Neo swung her umbrella by the top end, using the cane like handle of the umbrella to break the dust crystal in two and sending it flying towards the five of them as it exploded.
Acnologia's magic circle grew and blocked the explosion as it the dust from it came over them. With a deep growl Acnologia threw his hand to the side and the magic circle spun before it fired three Calamity Spears through the cloud, dispersing parts of the dust cloud as the blasts traveled towards Roman and Neo. When the magic bolts hit the two, they shattered like glass. Acnologia managed to see this through the cloud and his eyes widen out of confusion, his magic doesn't do that.
A sudden blast of air blew away the dust cloud from the explosion and that made everyone turn to the source of the air, a bullhead. Acnologia looked up at the bullhead to find both Roman and Neo standing inside it, waving from the opened side of it.
"What just happen?" Weiss asked as they watched the bullhead fly off, keeping just above the buildings so that Acnologia couldn't use his magic to bring them down without creating a massive amount of collateral damage. "We were played." Blake told her. The dragon slayer growled out in agreement. He let out a scoff as the bullhead went off into the distance. "Twice.....They have escaped me twice.....I don't like that."
The mage turned to the four girls,"I believe we had deal about your little outings, didn't we?"
The four girls immediately looked at each other with worry, and then they looked to their leader. "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Ruby began,"Well....we....well....we...didn't ...want to...we wanted to bring you solid evidence. Yeah we wanted to make sure we actually had real proof of what we found!"
Acnologia raised his eyebrow,"Do you now? Well what have you found?" Ruby's face widen and she began to stutter before looking back to her team,"Guys?"
"The White Fang have an operation in the southeast!" Blake told her Professor. "Really? The Southeast? Interesting....Alright, that's a good start. Your going to want to back off on trying to investigate more. You might spook them into moving their operation or scattering it, and then you won't be able to do anything until their sure that they can continue. For now, lets go back to Beacon." Acnologia told them before walking off. "Wait, that's it?" Yang asked him, slightly underwhelmed.
"You've done your research, your investigation is on hold to let things settle, and..." The mage looked back to the team,"Your still alive. We will consider today a win, but the next time you meet Torchwick and his little sidekick they need to be dealt with. If they can get their hands on Atlas equipment just after it was introduced to the public, they have some inside connection. That connection needs to be found and severed. But we need to be patient, until then we go back to Beacon and we continue with your studies." Acnologia looked over head to the highways above,"....And I have a feeling I'll need to be explaining that to Ozpin." He told them, motioning for them to look up behind them.
A sudden crash caused them to straighten up before slowly turning around. The concrete highway above was crushed in some places and a massive chunk where the paladin had tumbled off had broken off and fallen right behind them. Civilians were lining the highway wall, looking down at the group. "Oh....woops." Yang looked back with a nervous grin.
Acnologia grumbled under his breath before he turned around and began his journey back to the bullhead docking station, much to his dismay.
-Beacon, Ozpin's Tower-
Ozpin sipped from his mug from behind his desk while Acnologia stood at one of the several windows in the room, staring down at the bustling ground below. "So let me get this straight......" Ozpin started,"...Team RWBY started an investigation into Roman Torchwick, the notorious criminal who we failed to apprehend at the beginning of the year, and after you found out about it.....you gave them your permission as well as your support in the matter?"
Acnologia said nothing as he was questioned. "And today Torchwick tried to sell an Atlesian Paladin to the White Fang, but instead he found out the Miss Belladonna and Mr. Wu-kong were at the meeting and used that paladin to chase all of you down a main highway system in Vale, endangering several civilians and destroying part of a main transit......Is that it?" Ozpin finished, placing his cup on his table.
"You missed the part where I blew up the top half of the Paladin and a good portion of the docks." The mage corrected. "A yes how could I have forgotten?" Ozpin sighed as he stood from his desk. "Acnologia, I am surprised that you encouraged their reckless investigation."
"There were conditions to me allowing them to continue with my permission. They would have done it anyways Ozpin, at least with me in the picture they had some level of safety that wasn't present before. But I understand that there may be some form of consequences for this and I am prepared to take the weight of those consequences." Acnologia said turning to Ozpin as the headmaster came around his desk.
"Your right. There are consequences to what you have done." Ozpin said before he leaned over and pressed a button on his computer. Glynda's voice came from the computers speakers after a few seconds,"Yes Ozpin, do you need something?"
"Miss Goodwitch, would you please come to my office. Its time we explain some things to our resident mage." Acnologia's face twisted into confusion as Ozpin spoke,"P-Professor Ozpin, are you sure?" She asked the Headmaster, probably sprouting the same confused look as the dragon slayer he was referring to. "I'm quite sure, he has proven to be capable as well as trustworthy enough to know."
"...As you wish Professor." Glynda said after a few moments and her call ended. Acnologia looked over Ozpin, gauging what he had said. "Ozpin, what am I about to find out? If you are firing me, just do it, don't make it a spectacle."
Ozpin only laughed,"Dear Oum no, I just called you trustworthy. No, I'm not going to fire you. Though, in a few minutes, you may wish I had." The mage raised an eyebrow,"Ozpin what are you talking about?" The Headmaster let out a sigh before he returned to his seat behind his desk. "Tell me....do you believe in fairy-tales?"
Acnologia froze,"What did you just say?"
"Do you believe in myths, legends, the occasional story by the fire?" Ozpin asked him. "Oh, you meant that kind of fairy tale....." Acnologia sighed as he thought back to the famous guild bearing the name Fairy Tail. "I believe that every story comes from some true story. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I have quite the story to tell. Please sit." Acnologia did as he was asked and sat down in the chair across from Ozpin. "Tell me something my friend, have you ever heard about the story of the four maidens?"
The dragon slayer raised an eyebrow,"Four maidens? I cannot say I have." Ozpin leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk he sat behind. "I'm not surprised, its not recorded in any book except for the occasional child's bed time story book. Even so, I enjoy it very much. Would you care to hear it?"
"I have a feeling that I would be listening to it regardless of what I want." The mage said as he leaned back in his own seat, readying himself for a long story. Beacon's headmaster began to laugh,"Perhaps. Shall I begin?" Acnologia tilted his head to the side, but gave him a nod.
"Very well. This story begins in the middle of nowhere, just off an old and beaten path by a long river. Off this old and beaten path there lived and old hermit, a wizard, who had long since closed himself off from the rest of humanity." Acnologia let out a chuckle,"Sounds like a smart man."
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Regardless of that fact, he lived the majority of his life alone with very few travelers coming near his rugged home. However one day the old hermit noticed a young woman sitting under a tree just outside his home, silently and calmly in tranquility. The old man demanded an answer from the young maiden. She told him,'My name is Winter, I am on a journey and I am waiting on my two sisters.' With that she closed her eyes and remained seated under the tree in silence. The old man believed that she was a fool, but the longer she sat the more he wished to share in the serenity the young woman seemed to find herself in. In time he grew tired and he found himself closing his eyes to as he fell asleep. Upon opening his eyes, he found another maiden speaking to the first. This one was much more chipper and spry than the first, with a basket of fruit and flowers. When he asked for an explanation she replied the same as to the first,"My name is Spring, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sisters.' For the old mans reluctant hospitality, the young maiden plucked a handful of seeds from her basket and planted them in the mans garden."
Acnologia continued to listen in silence at the old "Bed time Story" but he found that Ozpin's telling of the story seemed to elect more personal telling of the story, as if he had been there.
"The old man watched in amazement as the maiden turned the pile of dirt he called a garden, into a beautiful master piece. He would have continued to watch for hours, if he had not heard an unfamiliar laughter coming from under his tree. He once more found another maiden with a warm smile, to which he begged her to introduce herself. She replied the same as the others,'My name is Summer, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sister.' The old man thought as much, but another chirp of laughter left the old man confused. What was so funny? As it turned out, it was him. The third maiden found it funny as to why the old man was insistent on staying inside, why view the world from a small window when the door leading out to it was just by his side. With only a brief moment of hesitation, the old man stepped through the door. The warmth of the sun brought forth a surge of energy and life, and soon the old man wasn't feeling like himself anymore....He was feeling much better. As the day came to an end, the old man and the three maidens sat down to a feast that they prepared. Winter set the table, Spring provided the crops, Summer prepared the meal, and the old man was the happiest he had been in years. In all the excitement, he missed the last maiden, so delicate she was, that had found her way to the table. He beckoned her to join them, asking only for her name. And she told him the same as the three before her,'My name is Fall and I am on a journey here to meet with my sisters. And who are you?' The old man was caught off guard by the question,'Me?' He wondered,'I am an old man who has been living in these woods alone for many years. I am afraid my story isn't very interesting as I have no one to love and nothing to my name.' He told her sadly."
"The eldest sister looked around to all that surrounded them,'But sir don't you see? You have so much.' Much to the old mans surprise, she was right. He had everything he could ever need, all thanks to them. He was great full but a question found its way to his mind,'But why me? Why have you four decided to open my eyes? What makes me so special, what made you share your gifts with me?' He asked them. The four sisters looked between each other, perplexed. Finally the maiden named Fall answered,'Good sir we did not do this because you were special. We do what we can for everyone, because we can.' The old man was at a loss, never in his centuries of living had he come across such kindness. It was then that he knew what he needed to do. Drawing out what little power as a wizard he had left, he gave every ounce of magical power he had to the sisters. With a smile he told them,'Take this gift and know now that you can do so much more.' Now armed with the power of the elements, the very power of nature, and magic of the old wizard, the four maidens Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall promised to continue onward with their journey to help others. Before the four sisters left, they made one last promise.....to return each and every year to visit their dear friend. And with that you have the story of the four maidens, the very seasons themselves." Ozpin told him with a smile.
The dragon slayer looked over the headmaster over,"And why exactly have you told me this?" Chuckling, Ozpin answered him with his own question,"What if I told you it wasn't a mere story, but a true mark in Remnant's history?" Acnologia's eyes widen,"Are you telling me that the season's are actual people, that they are these maidens? That this world does have magic?"
Behind him, he heard the elevator ding. Turning to address their new companion, he found Glynda walking towards them. As her presence entered the room, Ozpin stood tall with a smile. "Its time we show you something Acnologia. A well hidden secret of this school." With that, he began to walk back towards the elevator with Glynda in tow. The mage quickly stood and followed them. Silently, they all began their descent in the elevator. As it drew closer to the bottom Acnologia waited for it to slow as they came to the ground floor, both from assumption and hope as the elevator always did make him motion sick. However, to both his surprise and dismay, the elevator passed the ground floor and continued down.....for a while.
"Ozpin if this ride was the consequence you were talking about I'll never do it again I swear." To Glynda's confusion Ozpin laughed lightly,"I'm afraid this isn't it, but it is a nice touch now that I think about it."
"I hate you, you white haired-" Glynda smacked the dragon slayer on his arm,"Acnologia!"
"Its not my fault he put me on an elevator!" The mage argued back as his stomach threatened to leave his body. "Do not fret," He told him as the elevator slowed to a halt,"Were here." Acnologia's eyes widen as the doors slid open to reveal a dimly light hallway that spanned several meters in length,"What....is this?"
Glynda turned to the mage,"Its a vault of sorts." Acnologia looked back to her,"A vault? What kind of vault would you keep under a school?" Without looking back, Ozpin answered in a way Acnologia expected...and hated. "The secret kind." The dragon slayer grumbled at the answer but his eyes finally picked up something at the end of the hallway. Finally taking in a deep sniff of the strange air the place had, he picked up something he hadn't smelt since he originally met Ozpin. Magic. "Ozpin told you about the maidens, but did he tell you that the maidens change?" Glynda asked him.
"What do you mean?" Acnologia asked her. "The maidens, much like the seasons change. When one dies, their power is inherited by another young maiden. Usually whoever was in their last thoughts." With a grim tone, Ozpin interjected. "And, as you will see, that power can be...hijacked so to speak. See for the first time in history, part of the maidens power was stolen." The mage's expression crunched into confusion,"Stolen?" Ozpin waved off his question,"You will see when we get to the device." Acnologia shifted his eyes to the end of the hallway, which was slowly getting closer, and he made out the device that Ozpin had spoken off.
When they reached the object of question, Acnologia deeply examined it. It was a set of champers which were connected via a machine in the middle and long tubes that ran up the wall behind them. In the chamber on Acnologia's left a woman, with a nasty scar on her face, laid unconscious. "Acnologia, may I present Amber....the current Fall Maiden." Ozpin said in a very dark tone. Acnologia could only understand as he looked the woman over. His ears peered into her heart beat. It was strained, almost forced. "That chamber is the only thing keeping her alive, isn't it?" Ozpin sighed as he nodded in confirmation. "I thought so, I can hear her heart beating....its so strained...I've met people mere moments away from death with better hearts than hers." The mage walked forward and placed his hand on the glass of the chamber. He shut his eyes as he tried to feel out her magic,"The scar. How did that happen?" He asked, trying to assess both her magical and physical damage. His old healing magic couldn't fix what had happen to her, he knew that.
"It seems it is the result of whatever process her assaulter used to take her maiden power. As a maidens power is tied directly to her aura and soul, it ripped that from her to." Ozpin explained. "No wonder her heart is so weak.....that process....you said it ripped part of her soul from her to?"
Ozpin nodded. "That.....hm....That is similar to my dragon slayer magic." Glynda and Ozpin exchanged glances,"What do you mean?" Ozpin asked him. "In my old world, the dragons I hunted required more than normal magic to truly hurt. Their scales were comprised of their natural element, or they were to dense to pierce with normal weapons. That is the difference between normal magic and dragon slayer magic. To fight dragons, slayer magic goes further than physical damage and reaps the souls of the dragons themselves."
"That's....effective." The headmaster told him,"If not a little brutal." Acnologia shrugged as he removed his hand from the chamber,"It was the only way to really hurt them. But enough about the past, why have you shown me this girl now?" Glynda and Ozpin averted their eyes from the dragon slayer,"Well you have proven trust worthy, of great morality......and we are running out of time." Ozpin told him.
"We believe that the person that did this to Amber is here, or at least they will be here by the time the Vytal Festival starts." Glynda told him. Acnologia growled lightly,"I see. Well then, do we know what this person looks like?" A disheveled sigh confirmed his answer,"Of course we don't, that would make things easy. Well if what you say is true, then it doesn't matter what she looks like, I'll find them the second I smell them out."
Ozpin's face scrunched into confusion,"Smell them? I understand that you have heightened senses but how will you smell someone that you've never met before?" The dragon slayer turned to the headmaster with an emotionless look on his face,"I can smell more than a persons scent. You say they stole part of her magic, so I will just smell out magic that seems similar to hers." The white haired man's face widen in shock and a few other emotions,"You can smell magic?"
Acnologia nodded to the man, a little bit of knowing passing over his eyes as he did. "It won't be to hard, in a place where magic is rare, finding this people will prove to be little more than an annoyance." Glynda smiled at his words,"So your going to help us then?"
With a light smile he tilted his head in agreement,"I doubt I could very well ignore the problem seeing as I teach here. Of course that also begs the question, who else knows about Miss Amber and her fellow maidens?"
"Not many. The people targeting them obviously, the head masters of the other schools, a man named Qrow Bradwen....his sister Raven Bradwen, and-" Glynda began to rattle off before she was interrupted by a new comer.
"-And me." The three professors all looked back towards the elevator to find a man in a clean white suit, black hair that was turning grey, and a calm expression on his face that practically dripped with authority. "James, I almost forgot you were coming." Ozpin said to the man.
"I went to your office but no one was there. I can see why now." The man told them as he looked over Acnologia,"So this is him?" He asked them with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.
The dragon slayer growled at his statement,"I'd advise caution when looking down on me General Ironwood. I've taken on more than a few armies in my lifetime." Ironwood's face widen in surprise,"You know my name?"
"I learned about all the current headmasters at the other schools as well as any noteworthy figures in any organization I found in my brief research of this world." Acnologia told him,"But I will admit I wasn't expecting you to be working in tandem with the General and Headmaster of Atlas, Ozpin." The headmaster merely shrugged,"I was bound to surprise you instead of you surprising me."
Acnologia grumbled under his breath,"So....what have you told the General about me?" Ozpin sighed,"Only that you can use magic and of your draconian faunus heritage. Anything else you wish to reveal is yours to tell."
"Is there anything else to you that I need to know?" Ironwood asked the mage. "Nothing that concerns you. I trust Ozpin, and I trust Glynda more than him. You? Had I met you any other way than Ozpin, I wouldn't turn my back to you." He told the general with a disdained look on his face. Ironwood's face widen in shock at Acnologia's seemingly distrust of him. Glynda and Ozpin were both surprised at this. "But, if I am going to be in your inner circle Ozpin.....I will try to trust the man."
"Perhaps we should take this conversation back to my office." Ozpin suggested to the group. "That's a good idea headmaster." Glynda told Ozpin and she walked to Acnologia,"Right Professor Acnologia?" The dragon slayer kept his eyes narrowed at Ironwood, he growled but did walk forward his shoulder hitting Ironwoods as he did. Glynda looked between the other two men and then went after the dragon slayer.
"What his problem Ozpin?" Ironwood asked as he turned to his friend. Ozpin rested his hands on his cane as he watched Acnologia and Glynda bored the elevator,"I don't know. I've never seen him act in that particular manner except when he was speaking of something he hated."
Inside the elevator, Acnologia was sifting through his discomfort of even being near the General of Atlas as well as his motion sickness. It was silent for a short while before Glynda spoke,"Acnologia....what was that?"
"What was what?" He asked as he leaned against the elevator wall. "You were treating James like he was some kind of....criminal, like you hated him. I understand that some of his methods are....a little much but-" The elevator doors open and Acnologia's eyes widen as he gazed out the windows of Ozpin's office. A fleet of airships littered the sky, all bearing the Atlas symbol on their sleek white frames. "Oh my Oum.....is that-" Glynda muttered as a very deep growl came from his throat,"You call this a little much?" He said as he turned to Glynda.
"I don't know why so many of his fleet are here....I-I don't know what he could possible be thinking." She told Acnologia. "The only reasons for a force of that size to go anywhere, would be to protect, threaten, or attack something. Which do you think a foreign countries General is planning?"
"Acnologia, we are in a time of peace! All four of the Kingdoms are in harmony, the last war brought so much destruction and no one wants that to happen again. I can promise you that much." Glynda told him while Acnologia turned back to the window to sneer at the ships.
"Why do you hate Atlas's military so much?" She asked them man. "They remind me of a military force back on my own world. Forces commanded by something called the Magic Council. They were corrupted from the inside out once from my understanding and were destroyed. When they were rebuilt they made very poor decisions, not that they didn't before but right before I was....sent here, their rules and decisions went towards making their power greater more towards a dictatorship than a council. In all honesty, their very existence was part of my old hatred for human kind."
"Acnologia....James is not like that, he may take extreme measures but his heart is in the right place." The mage turned to Glynda before he sighed,"....Your right. I-I'm not in Earthland anymore.....Atlas is not the Magic Council....and I'm not the same man I was then. I'll....lighten....up towards the General."
"That's all I can ask of you. Were all on the same side after all." The blonde told him. After a few more moments the elevator dinged and its doors opened. Ironwood and Ozpin walked out of it, the General's face was back to the stoic expression it was when Acnologia first saw him instead of the shocked one it had been when they spoke. Ozpin looked outside his window to the Atlas fleet as he walked around to his desk, an expectant and almost annoyed look on his face. Something that was reflected in Acnologia's face.
"We should get down to business." Ironwood said as he put his scroll on Ozpin's desk. A hologram of his forces appeared over a outline of Vale. A growl formed in Acnologia's throat but a riding crop hit his chest and pushed back on it. The dragon slayer looked to its owner who was only looking at him from the corner of her eye. Glynda shook her head and Acnologia merely let out a breath and took a deep breath in.
"Agreed." Ozpin said as he turned back around,"I've brought my forces here to better discourage Amber's attackers from continuing to pursue her. Though how they figured out she was here continues to confound me. It should also keep any fear from entering the citizens of Vale's minds." Acnologia snickered at his entire sentence and Glynda hit him again. "What, I'm not allowed to voice anything?"
The general turned to the dragon slayer,"You have something to say professor?" Acnologia looked to Glynda and she removed her ridding crop from his chest. "Your forces, they don't inspire safety. They inspire doubt, worry, if not hatred in some. I would even go as far as to say that your fleet would further push White Fang activity through our Vale, their numbers could swell and their attacks could increase in both frequency and violence." The other three in the room looked at him in shock, or slight disbelief on Ironwoods part. "And what exactly, Mr. Acnologia, do you suggest we do?" The general asked the mage.
"Patience rewards those that wait General. I'd wager that you bringing your forces into Vale, was just another move in their game. To think that they would give up after their first plan failed would be idiotic, they probably have back up plans for their back up plans back plan. The mere planning it must have taken to just get someone like a maiden into the position where her power could be taken is astounding." Ironwood looked at Acnologia with utter confusion before he turned to Ozpin who only had an amused look on his face,"Well put Professor."
"Ozpin, you surely you understand my reasons for-"
"I understand your reasons James, but Acnologia makes a valid point. There may be a sense of comfort in seeing your fleet, but now....there's a question in the back of everyone's mind....if this is the size of our forces, what are we expecting to fight?" Ozpin said as he gestured to the sight behind him. Ironwood only sighed as he picked up his scroll,"Then what would you have me do?"
"Leave them for now, we can make it part of the festival. That would calm most of everyone, but as Acnologia said it would not calm the White Fang....Acnologia, have you found anything out about them in your...excursions?" Ozpin asked as he sat down. "They have a base in the southeast, I assume that would be Mount Glenn as its the only thing out there."
"A reasonable guess, and Team RWBY would be the ones that found that out?" Acnologia grumbled,"I'll take that as a yes.....the Vytal Ball is in two days, and after that its the first official mission day of the year.....team RWBY will most certainly find their way to Mount Glenn....Acnologia, I'll send you on a simple mission at the base of Mount Glenn so that your with in range to take care of anything that should arise. Ironwood, if you would be kind enough to keep what ever sensors and radars you have trained on the southeast it would be a great help."
"Ozpin your just taking his word? He got his information from some first year team that-"
"That he has taught and helped keep them out of trouble. I have placed my trust in him as I have placed my trust in you, not any more or any less. That's why he is in our inner circle James. You may not trust him, and he may not trust you, but I ask you both to trust my decision to trust both of you. Alright?" Ozpin asked the both of them. Acnologia growled as he looked at Ironwood but stopped as he saw Glynda reach for her riding crop,"I have placed my trust in your Ozpin, so I will trust him as you have asked me to."
"Thank you, James?" Ozpin turned to his fellow headmaster and friend,"....I...And I will trust him to." Ironwood said. "Well then, everything is settled. I suggest you all prepare for the Vytal Ball, which means getting fitted for a suit in Acnologia's case." The dragon slayer's face scrunched into confusion,"Get what?"
"I'll explain later Acnologia, for now why don't we all just enjoy the rest of the weekend alright?" Glynda suggested. "Yes, things will be getting hectic around here with that Ball coming up. If its alright with you Ozpin, I would like to up place some men around the school complex for better security." Acnologia growled lowly but Ozpin merely smiled,"That would be more than acceptable James. More students will require more security."
"Perfect, I'll inform my men and then we can speak on any other matters you may wish to discuss." Ironwood said,"That's perfect James, Glynda could you show James where he will be staying during the festival before he goes off to his men?"
"I'd be happy to. Come James." Glynda said as she walked towards the elevator. Ironwood walked towards her, and by extension Acnologia. He stopped by him for a moment,"I know we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but we are on the same side. So please allow me to start a new." Ironwood held out his gloved hand,"James Ironwood, its a pleasure to be working with you."
Acnologia looked down at his hand before he shut his eyes with a sigh. He returned the gesture by shaking his hand,"Acnologia. I hope that anything I have believed about you turns out to be wrong."
"And I you." Glynda and Ozpin both smiled at the scene before Ironwood continued to walk towards Glynda. "So where will I be staying?" He asked the combat professor as he stepped into the elevator. "Same as last year, and the year before that." She told him as the doors shut leaving Acnologia and Ozpin alone.
As the sound of the elevator's wiring faded, a very serious expression crossed Ozpin's face. "Professor Acnologia.....Down in the vault, you made mention that you can smell magic.....can....can you smell-"
"Yes I can. It wasn't hard, though your aura masked it upon our initial meeting. The second I was told that magic wasn't common, I started to sort out the difference scents and yours had magic weaved deep into it." Ozpin sunk into his chair and sat stiring quietly.
"You've known from the beginning......c-can you tell how-"
"I know how old your magic is. I would wager your older than me by a long shot, yet your magic is far frailer even though it is a mere fraction of what it once was." Acnologia said as he turned towards the headmaster.
"You even know that much. Heh, I should have expected as much from you. I don't know why I didn't expect it." Ozpin muttered as he waited for Acnologia to ask any questions. He was rewarded with silence as the elevator dinged and the doors to it opened,"That's my Que Ozpin. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow." The mage told him before heading to the elevator.
Ozpin's eyes widen and he nearly stood from his seat,"Your not going to ask?" Acnologia turned his head to look at the headmaster,"Like I told you earlier, I have placed my trust in you Ozpin. Your secrets are yours to keep, as my secrets are mine to keep. If you wish to tell me why you have magic, or why it seems so fractured, that will be of your own accord. I will not ask for it."
Silence ensued for a few moments before a long sigh escaped Ozpin's lips,"Everyone has secrets that they hold close to themselves. It is hard to simple tell those secrets."
Acnologia thought back to his previous time with his teaching partner,"Trust me....I know." Another sigh came from Ozpin,"Well.....you have placed your trust in me and you have joined my inner circle. At the very least, I can tell you what is really plaguing humanity. Care to have a seat, just once more?"
The dragon slayer turned around and sat down in the chair in front of Ozpin's desk. "You mind if I give a guess about why you have magical power that is older than your actual scent?" Ozpin laughed to himself,"By all means."
"Reincarnation."
The white haired man's eyes widen and his jaw dropped,"How did you...." Acnologia chuckled to himself,"Your magic doesn't smell the same as your aura, its similar but not the same. That and your aura has a mixture of similar but different scents to it, like other aura's are combined within you. So reincarnation, probably over hundreds of lifetimes."
Ozpin leaned forward at his desk with a massive smile on his face,"You have no idea how much I've wanted to converse with someone as versed in magic as me, but I couldn't simply reveal I'm someone who has reincarnated over so many lifetimes. To merely speak of this with someone even close to my age is exhilarating. But that can wait."
"So what is this real threat you've mentioned?" The dragon slayer asked him, quelling his cheerful mood. "It....she....is a single person. Like me, she has magic as I do....and she is just as old as I am. But if you are to know her name, you are to know a little more about this world." Acnologia leaned back in his seat,"More 'Myths and Bed time stories?'" Ozpin laughed at his statement,"Afraid so, but some myths are more truth than legend."
The mage shrugged before gesturing for Ozpin to continue his story,"Before I, or her, there were to brothers. The younger brother, the god of darkness, and the older brother, the god of light. The older brother spent his time creating life, things of beauty like flowers, water, and things that make our world's natural beauty so....well beautiful. His brother hated what he had made, and spent his time creating things to destroy what he had built. Drought, famine, fire......but no matter how much he destroyed his brothers creations, they always came back. Out anger and spite, the god of darkness created one last thing something that would share in his destructive desires. Grimm. The older brother had enough of the younger brothers destruction and the two fought. The elder brother won, but he wouldn't strike down his brother, he, instead, offered out a hand to his brother and told him that together they would make something they could both be proud of....and so they made humans, they would be unlike any other creation they had ever made with the power to create and destroy. Humans were given the gift of knowledge, to learn about world and themselves but most importantly....the gift of choice...humanity could create and protect, or it could destroy and harm."
".....So these...gods...gave people the ability to create, destroy, learn, and choose? Why do those four things matter?" Acnologia asked the headmaster,"Those four things matter because they are real objects. The four relics, they matter because when they are brought together, their user could change the face of the world. And that's what she wants, its why she hunts the maidens."
"You've said she several times, who....is....she?" Acnologia leaned forward. A very solemn look came over Ozpin's face,"Her name is Salem. You could consider her the Queen of Grimm.....and she is why I fight. It is my duty to defeat her and I have been failing for thousands of years. She is the one who has orchestrated it all, and like me she can use magic."
A smile made its way over Acnologia's face before it settled to its normal state,"Then that makes me your secret weapon. I can use and search out magic, making me uniquely suited to deal with her minion that stole the maidens power as well as her."
"That it does....your heritage also makes you suited for combating the white fang." Ozpin sighed,"But with everything....we've both learned today, a rest would be required to digest all this information. But I do have but one question, if that's all right?"
The mage nodded to the headmaster,"Salem is the Queen of the Grimm, I am the Headmaster of Beacon, James is the General of Atlas....what are you? What is your title or what was your title?" Acnologia's head shifted upwards a bit as his hand clenched in response of the mere thought of his old title. "That...that is in the past, it does not matter here. And I hope it never does."
"Fair enough. Why don't you head off to meet up with Glynda, I'm sure she will help you with the need for a suit for Sunday's festivities. I wish you luck." Acnologia got up with a hesitant look on his face,"....Why?"
Ozpin chuckled,"Well...you'll see, its nothing bad of course, its just....shopping." The mage looked at Ozpin with a bit of disbelief,"How hard could shopping be?" Ozpin only chuckled while shrugging. "What ever you say Ozpin. I'll see you tomorrow, probably after this...shopping spree goes down." He told him while getting on the elevator. Ozpin only shook his head while he laughed lightly to himself.
"You poor, poor soul."