Chapter 16

Standing at the edge of the academy, Ozpin sipped his coffee mug and allowed himself a contented sigh. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the students were terrorising the Grimm in the emerald forest. And in the distance, he could begin to make out the shape of Winter's aircraft coming in to land.

The landing pad she was aiming towards wasn't empty, her younger sister stood waiting at attention for her arrival. She was a good student, so Ozpin had been told, but was also a very insecure and stubborn person. Perhaps he would make a suggestion to Winter whilst she was on campus, but his first priority would be on other things.

"Pilots have confirmed they faced no issues from Grimm, skies clear the whole way through." Glynda slipped her tablet under her arm. "Winter is going to meet with her sister and draw any eyes away from the craft. The technicians on board will take the cargo inside and down through the service elevator."

He nodded, taking another delicious sip as he watched the craft come in to land. "Very good. Any news of our other guest?"

Glynda sighed. "No, Qrow has been silent. Probably drunk and sleeping in with some random woman."

Ozpin didn't begrudge her assumption, especially given that Qrow had indeed once been late to a meeting for that exact reason. More than once in fact. "I'm sure that Qrow will be here when we need him to be." She grimaced but didn't say anything further, watching as Winter Schnee disembarked the craft and led away her sister, talking all the while about something. "How about Miss Nikos, anything of note?"

"She had a… incident. She struck Cardin Winchester over some childish taunting, and I put her through detention. There were some lingering feelings over prior Mr Winchesters prior actions. From… before the start of the semester."

"Ah." Ozpin nodded with a slight sigh, and the cargo began to be offloaded. "Do you think there will be a risk repeats?"

"Unlikely. A spur of the moment under heightened emotions is all. She is still a teenage girl, and was made particularly emotional due to a crush."

"Hm. On Mr Arc was it?"

"Correct." The cargo was moved towards the school, and the pair began to follow from a distance, heading towards another elevator to take them below. "She is young and inexperienced, but nothing to be concerned about. Though she may have some questions every now and then."

"That's what we have the guidance lines for." As they drew nearer to the basement, a silence grew between them. An unspoken tension as they knew what awaited them, and a reminder of the threat that faced them. When the doors opened, the technicians were finishing the final touches of the machine and connecting it to the academy's power supply. A battery had been used for travel to and from the aircraft, and it had been connected to the ship itself for travel, but even a minor interruption could cause major issues to the occupants' life support.

Amber looked almost peaceful as she laid silent and still inside. It tugged at his heartstrings, but Ozpin forced himself to look at her. She had been a person of great value, not only in the war against Salem, but to all around her. Duty had kept her lonely. Murder had taken away her future. But Ozpin remembered the woman she had been before all of this. Kind, caring, and supportive, though withdrawn and shy. She didn't deserve what had happened, and the target on her back had been her fault. No apology he gave would ever reach her ears, but at least he could do his part to ensure her sacrifice was not wasted, and to maintain the fragile peace he'd managed to establish across the world.

But how many sacrifices had he needed to honour now? How many people had he forgotten in the endless war? Would it ever end?

No. But neither would Ozpin ever falter in his duty, his work to protect the world and keep it living. It was why it had been so painful to refuse to act on Cinder. He hid it well, but there was a rage inside of him that he felt towards her. One of his students, someone he had taken under his wing and personally trusted, had been targeted by this woman. He wanted blood.

Many lifetimes ago, he'd been the man to act. Unafraid of the consequences, he had been the man who had done what others couldn't, or wouldn't. Struck at every opportunity. He'd tried being the first to act. But so often he had failed. The ideals he preached meant nothing in the face of his actions, and when he'd not held himself to the same standards as others, they would follow in his stead. Others broke the rules, they acted at what they thought to be true, and innocent people had paid the price. True, he'd never encountered a situation like Pyrrha's before, but if he allowed the way they fought to slip, he knew how far others would fall. Perhaps not now, not for a while. But eventually, his justification would be used again, and for the wrong reasons.

No. He needed to ensure that the rule of law was maintained. Even when it was unfair, even when he burned inside with the desire to fight. Because it was the only way he'd found to keep the world stable. Stable didn't mean fair, and there were deep injustices that he wished to see fixed, but the slow progress he found was more reliable than shooting wildly.

He just hoped this time would be no exception. That he wasn't making a mistake out of a fear to act. He hoped, because for all of his experience, he had never been able to know the future, or the outcomes of his risks until it was too late.

"Has the police commissioner approved the plan?"

"He has. His most trusted officers are being formed into a special taskforce for investigating Torchwicks' heists. He figured the obvious answer would be the one least looked into, but outwardly they are making no progress. Another store was robbed last night, near the docks. We expect it will be the last now that the Vytal Tournament arrivals are beginning."

"Good. Once we have Torchwick, we will be able to act fully, and know where to strike." Another concern twinged at his mind. "What of the White Fang?"

"Well…"

_/\_TIG_/\_

Scrolling newsfeeds of White Fang activity played across Weiss' screen. She did it in secret, pretending that she had been doing research on the Vytal Festival instead when her team had asked. They'd believed her easily, and she really had wanted to research more into the festival, but this took priority.

As she listened to Pyrrha and Jaune training, and Ruby servicing her weapon, Weiss instead focused on trying to find the connection. There was something between the White Fang and Pyrrha's meetings with the headmaster, she was sure of it. But all she could find was tabloid garbage. She almost couldn't believe how much of it she'd believed, when it was so sloppily written. Every other line throwing out prejudiced descriptions of the Faunus like they were working through a thesaurus.

To her great shame, much of it sounded like her.

The bright spot of her day had been Winters arrival, but she'd been more dismissive than usual, and clearly focused elsewhere. A less suspicious person might have come up with another explanation, but Weiss was not that kind of girl. Clearly, Winter was here for the same reason that Pyrrha had been meeting the headmaster.

The White Fang.

But finding actually actionable information was swiftly becoming a pipe dream. There was a news article covering the latest robbery by Roman Torchwick, and she'd hoped that maybe she could find some kind of connection there, that maybe the White Fang had been spotted, but nothing.

She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I need a break." She announced loudly, grabbing her handbag and a jacket. "I'm going into the city."

"Really?" Pyrrha seemed especially surprised, a strange expression on her face. "Why are you doing that…?"

"I just said, I need a break. Maybe I'll…" She waved her hand as she fumbled for an excuse. "I'll look at the festival decorations, they've started now."

"R-Right."

Pyrrha suddenly seemed completely out of it, and Jaune looked at her with slight worry before trying to shift focus. "Well hey, maybe we can all go into the city? Pyrrha, you wanted to go there before." She cringed and looked at the others, though Jaune didn't notice. "And Ruby, didn't you want to get the new issue of Mecha-shift Mayhem?"

"Ooh! Yes! Absolutely!"

"Mechashift Mayhem…? What is that, a comic book hero or something?" Weiss tried to fight back the eyeroll, she really did, but judging by Ruby's sudden defensiveness, she wasn't completely successful.

"No. It's an inspiring weekly literature piece that provides concepts of mecha-shift weaponry and their designs."

She crossed her arms in victory. Weiss pretended not to notice the copy that was on her bed, featuring brightly coloured Huntsman and Huntresses fighting aliens and ghosts. Honestly, they could have at least made them fight the Grimm if they were going to create such childish work.

"Fine. But I'm taking the first Bullhead to the city and I'm not waiting for you."

Pyrrha gave herself a brief once over, debating how much time she would have to get changed and dress up before they left. Ruby and Jaune weren't changing, and if Weiss wasn't waiting for them… She slumped, accepting the defeat that any potential date opportunity she was about to make would be marred by her sweaty uniform.

_/\_TIG_/\_

The decorations in the city were just as nice as she'd remembered, and Pyrrha took a few moments to bask in the nostalgia of it all. She also made a point to focus on her memories. This seemed to have been the day when Weiss and Blake had blown up at each other. Sun had arrived in the city, and in their chase they'd met Penny. The gnawing pit in her stomach threatened to devour her at the memory of Penny, and what she'd done. But she crushed it with the reminders that she was alive, and with the sweet sight of Jaune's innocent joy.

He was perusing the city with a childlike sense of wonder that made her want to just caress his hair and cuddle him tightly. Though Jaune was perhaps the only one who seemed so interested. Ruby was too distracted looking for the right shop, and Weiss was… oddly uninterested in any of it. Instead, she almost seemed to be storming down the street instead of walking, the group making a quick walk to keep pace.

Pyrrha tried to steer them subtly, heading towards the docks where Sun had appeared. Perhaps Weiss was acting strangely, but if she could at least distract her then maybe she could get some alone time with Jaune.

Oh no Jaune, Weiss and Ruby ran off together, perhaps we should wait for them to come back inside of this intimate little café here?

Oh yes, there was an opportunity here. She was practically licking her lips in anticipation as they reached the ocean view, a cargo ship coming in to dock. Pyrrha leaned against the short wall and looked out, scanning the waves but the ship most of all. Any second now…

"Do you see something Pyr-"

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!" Jaune's words were cut off by the angry shout of a dock worker, gesturing violently towards a blonde monkey tailed teenager who had leapt from hiding within the ship. Jackpot.

"Oh my, how shocking." Pyrrha made a dramatic gasp as Sun ran towards their direction. "Do you think he might be a Huntsman from one of the academies? Perhaps we should chase him down and question him?"

Her query finished just as he passed them by, apparently throwing out the same flirtatious wink to… Weiss. Wow, she congratulated him on his boldness, and wished him luck if nothing else. Weiss certainly wasn't impressed.

"Ugh. No thanks."

Mild panic began to creep into Pyrrha's mind. "But, wait, don't you want to know about strategies and things? Are you sure you don't want to…?" She made a shooing motion with her hands which set Weiss' eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Why do you want me to go after him? Are you planning something?"

The only thing Pyrrha had been planning was how to taste Jaune's lips again, but it seemed Weiss was determined to cock block her. "No no, I was just trying to help is all. Like how I want to help Ruby find that new comic book she was looking for-"

"Bleh, it doesn't come out until tomorrow." She pointed a deflated finger at the notice written aboard the nearby comic book store. All shipments delayed due to numerous recent thefts by Torchwick.

"Great." Pyrrha muttered, and Weiss' eyes narrowed even further. She forced an energy back into herself instead. If she couldn't have some private time with Jaune, then she would just have to work up the nerve to try and seduce him in front of her team. There was no way that she was about to let anything else distract her. "Right then, well how about we go to this café and-"

"Greetings friend!"

Pyrrha stilled, the swift anger at yet another interruption dying horribly as she turned to see a familiar face. One that last time she'd seen it, had been laying dead on the floor of the Amity Colosseum. Ripped apart by Pyrrha's overexertion of force, a mistake that had cost the life of Penny Polendina.

And now here she was, right in front of her.

"Penny…"

"Greetings friend Pyrrha! I was hoping to find you here. General Ironwood told me that you might be trying to repeat history by coming here today, and I wished to say hello!"

"Pyrrha, do you know this girl? And what does she mean by repeating history?"

Weiss' words fell into the void of Pyrrha's mind as she felt her chest tighten, her breaths becoming short and sharp as that image replayed in her mind over and over again. She broke, running away from the group and fleeing in utter terror.

She knocked people over as she ran, frightening others and ignoring the angry shouts before she ducked into an alleyway. Throwing herself behind a dumpster, she sat as she struggled to breath. Rapid and shallow, she hugged her knees and wished she could be anywhere else, that she could be at home with her mom again, being held tightly and told it would all be okay, that it was just a dream.

Slowly, her breathing began to slow. Her hands were gripping her legs so tightly she was almost leaving marks through her aura, the light flaring beneath her fingers. As her heartbeat calmed, her grip relaxed, and she began to let go and look around. Only to freeze again as Penny looked sadly at her.

"My apologies friend Pyrrha, I did not mean to upset you."

"I- you…" Her body was shaking, and with great effort she brought herself under control. "You know about… what happened?"

"Indeed. General Ironwood has informed me about your experience and trusted me to be a confidant for anything you wish to say. He told me your story and what befell me during our match. I understand that seeing me must be a traumatic experience for you, for that I apologize, however I wished to assure you that I harboured no ill feelings towards you."

"No ill feelings? I- I killed you! I mean, even if it wasn't the same you I- and I did it by fucking accident!" She had risen to her feet now, an anger in her heart that she didn't understand. "How can you stand there and tell me it's okay!?"

Penny tilted her head in confusion. "Because you didn't mean to. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, so why would I be angry with you? It was only a mistake."

"I-… I don't understand." Pyrrha slumped against the wall, feeling the angry spirit inside of her wilting. The fury that she'd been projecting outwards only a manifestation of her guilt. But there was no blame, except from herself.

Penny smiled and took a small walk closer before sitting down as well. "That's okay. There are lots of things that I don't understand, but I'm trying to learn. Perhaps we can learn together?"

Pyrrha sighed with such force it came out as a laugh. A weak and pathetic laugh failing to understand how a girl like Penny could be serious. But then again, she supposed Penny was a machine after all…

_/\_TIG_/\_

"I can't believe you lost them! Aren't you supposed to be super-fast?"

"Well, I didn't know we were going to be chasing them! You didn't even say anything until after she was already around the corner!"

"It should have been obvious! Besides, she's your partner, why didn't you take some initiative?"

Jaune sighed as he began to tune out yet another argument between Ruby and Weiss. It had generally been on the decrease, but never disappeared, and Jaune was becoming far too used to their fights now. If they weren't going to settle down, then the next best thing would be simple separation.

"Listen, Pyrrha has her Scroll on her in case we need to reach her. Why don't we split up and look for her?"

Ruby and Weiss scowled at each other, crossing their arms with a huff before stalking away in opposite directions.

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Double fine!"

"Child!"

Ruby responded with only angry mutterings at Weiss' retreating form, and Jaune allowed the mental weight to drop from his shoulders. He decided instead to pick a random direction and begin walking, though with no real plan in mind. As such, he was very surprised when he came by an alleyway and heard familiar voices speaking.

A peak of his head confirmed his suspicions, that Penny and Pyrrha were there, speaking to one another about… something. He opened his mouth to call out to them, before shutting it instead. Whatever they were talking about, it was clearly something private and personal. It was also, probably none of his business, and best that they had their conversation. There was the option for him to let Ruby and Weiss know that he'd found them, but those two needed some time apart to cool off. So, he changed his mind, and walked away, finding another store to wait by as they spoke.

It was quite some time before they emerged from the alleyway, Pyrrha looking emotionally exhausted but not sad, and when she saw him her eyes lit up in shock.

"Jaune!?"

"Surprise. I got you this, I thought you might need it." The ice cream cone he held out tempted her deeply, yet she looked at it like a forbidden treasure. "Hope you like it, I don't know what flavour you normally get."

He'd gone for a plain vanilla for a safe bet, and was rewarded with Pyrrha bursting out into tears for a brief second before she stifled them back. Worry must have been clear on his face, because she gave him the happiest smile he'd ever seen on her.

"Thank you Jaune."

"Oh, no problem." He said as she took it, and he held the other one out to Penny. "I got one for you too."

"Oh, why thank you friend Jaune. However, I do not eat." She paused, then seemed to panic. "Ice cream! I do not eat ice cream. However I thank you for the gesture, nobody has ever offered me ice cream before."

"Oh really? That's sad."

"Yes, it is." Penny's smile never wavered as she spoke, even as she looked past Jaune at something written on Pyrrha's scroll. "Oh my, would you look at the time, I'm afraid I need to be departing now. I shall reconvene with the two of you at another time of our choosing. Thank you for the offer friend Jaune and remember to brush your teeth after eating ice cream."

She spun on the spot and skipped away, much to Jaune's confusion. Though it was bashed away as Pyrrha swooped up by Jaune's side, savouring her first lick of the ice cream.

"Thank you Jaune. Say, would you like to see this café I found?"