Chapter 16 - CHAPTER XV =∆

KINGDOM OF ATLAS

ONE WEEK LATER

POV

"Jaune Arc, Leader of Team JNPR." As winter said as then she just approached him in the briefing room as It had been a week since the party and as he had kept his distance from Weiss and her family members and then from her team as well

His new Atlas Scroll had simply told him he was expected to there at this time for a mission. It hadn't clarified the nature of the mission or who'd he'd be assigned with. But with Weiss' big sister strode in and called out his name, he knew.

Jaune took a deep breath and prepared himself for a long, cold mission. "Yeah, that's me. What's the job?" He asked. From what minimal exposure or details he had gained about Winter Schnee it was that aside from Weiss, she was strictly business and even colder then her little sister.

Winter looked him over once before looking at her scroll. "I'm told your Semblance is that of transferring Aura to another. Is this correct?" She asked not looking at him when she talked.

"Yeah, that's about right." Jaune said coming off as a little more, curt then he intended. If that offended her, he couldn't tell.

She scrolled further and further down on her scroll. "So, in theory, if partnered with my sister, Weiss, you would be able to maintain her aura and lengthening the time of which should could maintain her summons. Is this also correct?"

Jaune was about to respond immediately, but stopped to consider the exact elements of that scenario. "Well, if her summons are a constant drain on her aura, or if the initial summoning is a sizable drain, then yeah. That seems like an accurate, uh, assessment." Jaune wasn't sure where Winter was going with this. Probably something 'mission critical' that she wouldn't tell him about.

Winter collapsed her scroll and pocketed it. "Good. The General has saw fit to assign you and you friends specific missions with the Ace-Ops to test the capabilities of their Semblances. So that we may further understand the ranges, lengths, and shortcomings of them. So that when something critical happens we are intimately aware of what we can and can not ask you to accomplish. You've been assigned to me. We are to report to the Mantle perimeter wall, where I will maintain several Summons over a period of indeterminable time to defend the wall or distract the Grimm, while said wall is being repaired."

Jaune nodded. Visibly thought processing occurring on his face. "So I'm going to keep your aura at a level that you can keep summoning. That about it?" Jaune asked already not liking the idea of this mission.

"Yes. That is an, accurate summary of what will be expected of the two of us. This is not training, this is an official mission. There will be lives at stake. Clear?" Winter leaned in ever so slightly diminishing the comfortable space between them.

"Crystal." Jaune said, not budging. "When do we leave?"

Jaune walked with Winter Schnee through the halls of Atlas Academy and saw how everyone reacted to her. It was mostly professional respect, there were many that appeared fearful, but there was an underlying tension to it though. When Winter's peripheral vision moved onward, some of the stern and stoic faces turned to scowls. The underlying tension was resentment.

Jaune had been so distracted by his assessment of the other Atlas officers he failed to notice that Winter had stopped in front of him. He almost barrelled into her, but was able to prevent himself and only just slightly bumped into her. Though the intense scowl on her face made it clear that no amount of undue physical contact was ok. "Sorry. Didn't, uhm, I didn't see you stop."

They were standing on front of an elevator. Winter sighed and pressed the button. "We're heading to the hanger, we'll take a shuttle down to Mantle and be dropped off directly at the repair zone. There I will engage the Grimm with only my Summons." Winter started to explain to him, clearly aggravated with him. "You will replenish my Aura as needed until either the repairs are complete, you can no longer do so, or, worse case scenario, I am unable to adequately engage the Grimm with only my Summons, at which point we will engage the Grimm directly, if capable. Do you have any questions?" Winter's barely contained disapproval of him rising to the surface.

Jaune weathered the storm and held fast. "Actual yeah. Is the area expected to have that many Grimm that our combined efforts would be drawn out that long? And, has the Mantle side of the wall be evacuated?" Jaune said. Being unaware of Grimm that close to civilians was something he vowed to never be guilty of. First Beacon, then the trip across Anima, then Argus. Mantle was just another example of the power structures ignoring those closest to harm. "Also, are we prepared if just the two of us aren't enough? Is there any backup reasonably close by?"

At first Winter seemed confused. She wasn't expecting him to have actual question, then to follow that up with another wonder, they were actually good questions. She merely raised an eyebrow at him before reviewing her scroll. "The immediate block has been temporarily evacuated. Should a straggler slip by us, there won't be any civilians in immediate danger, and should our combined efforts not be enough, we are to call in reinforcements from the nearby deployments both North and South of our location on the wall." Winter explained as she read it herself.

Jaune didn't seem happy with that answer. "These reinforcements. Are these Huntsmen and Huntresses, or just more soldiers with guns. If you and I are in a scenario where we can't handle the Grimm, our backup should be able to. No offence to 'the might of Atlas' but your regular soldiers don't really do much when it comes to the kinds of Grimm that we fight."

Winter crossed her arms. She should have been offended, or upset, but his assessment was correct. The Grimm that they fought were not the types of battles that the Atlas Armed Forces were meant to combat. "Atlas' Huntsmen and Huntresses are spread thin. There are no licensed professionals we can draw on right now. So Mr. Arc, unless you have any suggestions, the situation is what it is."

There was a moment of silence where Jaune stroked his chin in thought and Winter just looked at him with disdain. "Oh!" Jaune exclaimed. "So the reason our lack of potential backup is because Atlas has a shortage of licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses. Right?"

"Yes, I believe that is what I just said."

"So what if our back up isn't licensed. Pull from Atlas' student body. They're prepared to face the Grimm and the type of incursion we might have should be something that third or fourth years should be able to handle as a team!"

Winter was about to correct or shoot down his idea, but his idea had merit. She had watched the Beacon albumin face off against Team FNKI in the training facility. Team JNPR was practically on par with Team FNKI, even with the lack of a proper fourth member and young Oscar Pine filling in. They had fought at the Fall of Beacon, so she knew that had the mettle to do it. With a quick check on her Scroll, they were not currently preoccupied with a training mission or anything.

"Please give me a moment to make a call." Winter said as she scrolled through her contacts list for the Academy. "This is Operative Schnee. I'm requesting Team FNKI for an operation. Potential backup for a Mantle Defence Perimeter repair. They will be expected to move out and should be armed and ready at moments notice."

Jaune watched as Winter spoke to someone on the other line. Clearly in her element. Jaune saw why Weiss admired her sister. There was a lot to look up to there.

THREE HOURS LATER 

Jaune stood by and watched as Winter summoned another group of Beowolves from her glyphs. So far her Beowolves had been enough. Not native to the cold barrens of Mantle, the Beowolves were more then a match for the few Sabres that approached the hole in Mantles defences and the repair team working on it. Eventually both the Grimm Sabres and Winter's summoned Beowolves dissolved into nothingness.

There were a few moments where Jaune and Winter assessed the situation. Winter had depleted her Aura 3 times over by now and Jaune's own Aura was getting critically low. The repairs were almost complete and the Grimm encounters had slowed down significantly. "Well, looks like we got the job done." Jaune said checking his scroll before surveying the barren wastes.

"It would appear so, but until the repair team is evacuated we are to be on alert." Winter said, her breathing just ever so slightly laboured. "I will say, you have exceed all of my expectations. You're Aura reserves are likely the largest I have ever seen. You're semblance is equally matched. My report to the general will endorse that your Semblance and Aura are beyond training and any efforts to increase your skills be purely martial."

Jaune smiled and stood just a little taller in that moment. "I will attempt to schedule one on one sparring for you and myself, or possibly Qrow. As your Semblance lacks any offensive capability you must solely rely on your Weapons training to defeat the enemy. It is my advice that you focus entirely on your sword skill, as they are sorely lacking."

And just like that, his confidence boost was gone. Jaune smiled in defeat and took it in stride. "That mostly sounded like a compliment. I'll take what I can get."

Winter stood up as straight as she could and pulled out her scroll. "As soon as the repair team gives me the all clear, I will signal for transport. I do not like the looks of the approaching blizzard." She said looking at the work done so far. When they had arrived the segment of wall was nearly collapsed in on itself, now stood a brand new segment. It was almost entirely secured. The central support beam was being raised up and lined up to slot in.

Jaune leaned over the wall top railing and attempted to call out to the repair team when a dreadful trumpet rang out. Jaune locked eyes with Winter. They both slowly looked out into the blizzard. At first there was nothing but wind and snow, then slowly appeared the red glow of a pair of eyes. "No one mentioned a Megaliath. We're not up to this." Jaune said forcing calm into his voice.

Winter ignored him. She just continued to stare into the blizzard. Silently she was hoping that the Megaliath would reconsider its attack. It may be old enough to second guess the success of its attack. She watched the red, glowing eyes within the blizzard, waiting for them to either charge forward or to turn back.

Slowly, agonizingly so, the eyes faded back into the snow and wind. Winter let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "We're lucky. I'm not sure if we'd be able to-"

Before Winter could finish her sentence the trumpeting began again. Stronger then before and the glowing red eyes burst out of the snow and wind, revealing a massive Alpha Megalioth. Scared and covered in bony protrusions. It was obviously old and the evidence suggested quite lethal. Most important though, was the fact that it was charging straight for them. The wall wasn't close enough to finished to withstand the force of a charging Megaliath.

"This is Operative Schnee! Send in the reinforcements now! Alpha Megaliath incoming! Prepare Aerial Support and Evacuation Team!" Winter shouted into her scroll. They had less then a minute until the Megaliath was on them. 

Jaune and Winter briefly looked at each other, knowing that their reinforcements wouldn't arrive in time. They were both tremendously low on Aura, but they were the only line of defence for the foreseeable future. They were all that was standing between the Ancient Megoliath and the peoples of Mantle.

With a deep breath Winter closed her eyes and steeled herself. "See to getting the workers to safety. I will attempt to slow down the Megoliath from a distance." Winter said to Jaune firmly but with a hint of uncertainty at the end. The task in front of them, to say daunting was a critical understatement.

There was a brief moment before springing into action that Jaune looked into the barren wastes, to the charging Megoliath. He gave Winter one last look before vaulting off the top of the wall to the ground below. "Let's go! We're evacuating now!" Jaune shouted. As confident as he had become, he was still unsure of himself when issuing orders to people he didn't know. This was a moment in which Jaune forced himself to be confident. A moment of 'Fake it til you make it'. "Drop everything and head towards the nearest Emergency Shelter, three blocks east, one block south. Go !"

To his surprise there wasn't a second of doubt or disregard to his orders. All of the Repair Team just listened and did as he ordered. As soon as they were out of sight Jaune returned his attention to Winter atop the wall. Struggling to conjure her glyphs at such a range that would be difficult even in the best of situations. Her black repulsion glyphs only proved to further infuriate the Megoliath and barely slow it down.

Jaune quickly assessed the state of repairs on the wall. The key support beam was still several feet away on a skit. The wall looked up to snuff, but without that central beam actually reinforcing the large plates, they'd give way with little effort from the Grimm. The Megoliath would have no problem what so ever breaking through it.

Jaune, in a stroke of brilliance started eyeballing the measurements of the wall and affixed his Disc Grenades to the interior of the wall and activated their Hard Light planes. While it wasn't anything else then a short term solution to the very problem they were there to remedy, hopefully it would do something.

Winter felt her Aura struggling to keep making her repulsion glyphs as fast as she needed them. The Megoliath would be on them soon. The strain was taking its toll. She dropped to a knee but kept her glyphs coming. "Arc, I'm ordering you to retreat and await reinforcements. I'll do what I can to keep the Megoliath occupied as long as I can." Winter shouted but never took her eyes off the rampaging Grimm.

Jaune ran up the attached ramp and stood next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and attempted to bolster her Aura further. While it had the desired effect, it didn't last very long. Jaune checked his Scroll. His own Aura was just teetering in the yellow, just above red, while Winter's was halfway into the red. "I'm not leaving." Jaune said before pushing harder and getting more Aura into her. Her glyphs responded to his Semblance and started to appear more quickly and lasted just slightly longer.

"I gave you an order!" Winter shouted at him as she gripped the handle of her sword, using it prop her up. "You will retreat back to the safe zone to await for air support and reinforcements. I will stay here to hold it off as long as possible." She clenched her jaw and forced more glyphs before the Megoliath.

Jaune shook his head. "Not happening. I'm not leaving people behind anymore. Never again." He said with an amount of resolve that Winter was not expecting. She going to relent and allow him to stay but never had the chance. The Megoliath had reach the wall.

They never had a chance to react as they were both thrown though the air as the Megoliath barrel through the wall completely destroying the incomplete section. Jaune and Winter crashed against the hard, cold ground. Their Auras all but broken. Winter attempted to shake off the daze and regain her wits. When she tried to move an immense pain shot up her left leg. She reluctantly looked down to her her shin bent in a direction that it should not.

She staved off the lightheadedness and focused on the pain instead of the reality of her injury. A triumphant trumpeting snapped her attention back to the Megoliath. There it was, standing barley more then a dozen feet from her. Easily the largest of its kind she had ever seen. Her hand sprang to her waist but found no sword.

There she was, laying on the ground, defenceless, broken, and just hoping that this massive Grimm either ignored her or didn't notice her presence. It did neither and immediately turned its gaze upon her. Slowly it walked towards her, stopping directly in front of her. Towering over her, there was an odd moment of calm. It was clearly assessing her and her situation. The Megoliath locked eyes with Winter and scowled. It trumpeted at her. Rage, Hatred, and Death incarnate.

Winter, not for a moment allowing pitiful acceptance or fear to overtake her did the only thing she could in the situation and screamed back at it. The Megoliath reared up on its hind legs, preparing to come crashing down on her with its front two feet. Winter could only think of Weiss. Hoping she'd be okay, that she'd succeed in life, she'd flourish and surround herself with good people. She closed her eyes and waited.

The moment seemed to stretch out. She was plagued with memories of her childhood. Her father's demanding expectations. Her mother's distance. The coldness of Schnee Manor. Then it seemed warmer then she saw a baby Weiss for the first time, who reached out and with her tiny hand grabbed at Winter's finger. She was so small, so frail. She needed protecting.

Then there were memories of Weiss' recitals. How proud of her she was. When Weiss proclaimed she wanted to take up Ballet. Their father seemed to dismiss the idea out of hand. There was no point to it, she was already garnering clout with her singing, any other "hobby" would just detract from that. But Weiss wouldn't be taking no in that instance. She smiled as for the first time in her life, Weiss stood up to their father and demanded something.

Then she remembered the day that word of Weiss' intention to Beacon had reached their Father. Winter had only been present to collect some of her personal belongings from Klein when the news had reached them. She allowed herself the guilty pleasure of seeing her father writhe in frustration. Shouting and cursing Weiss' independence.

Weiss' would be fine. Winter relaxed in the conclusion that Weiss was strong and independent enough that she wouldn't need her big sister. Winter prepared to the impact and only hoped that it would be swift.

The impact came, but there she still was. Had the Megoliath missed? She opened her eyes and looked up. There, standing between her and the Grimm was Jaune Arc. He was shimmering in his own faltering Aura, bracing himself, holding his shield up, holding the Megoliath back. The ground beneath him cracked under the impact. His Aura was patchy and spotty. He was burning through all that remained to hold back the Megoliath.

Winter could only watch in awe as Jaune remained stationary against the might of the Megoliath's stomp. She had never seen an Aura as bright. Jaune was expending the last remains of his already vast stores to hold back an attack that would have crumpled any other Huntsman. There he stood, bright and shinning.

She could only watch as the Megoliath recoiled and readied for a second attack. Jaune dropped to his knees as his Aura broke and scattered in the wind. He looked back to her and smiled. "Did my best." Was all he said. Winter could only look at him in shock. He looked, peaceful, serene in a sense.

As the Megoliath reared up again it was suddenly assaulted with several explosions. Jaune and Winter looked up at the Megoliath as it feel backwards. Suddenly a trio of Mantas flew overhead. They swung back around and unleashed another volley of missile on the Megoliath before swooping in low. Low enough for Team FNKI to jump out.

The same Manta that previously housed FNKI landed behind Jaune and Winter. "Go! We got this!" Flint shouted before propelling Neon at the Megoliath with his Dust infused Trumpet.

Winter watched in awe as Jaune, clearly exhausted, scrambled to his feet and rushed over to her. "Survival takes precedence." He said as he unceremoniously scooped her up bridal style and ran for the manta. Her leg did not take the transition lightly, causing her pain enough to almost lose consciousness. As he got her onboard and strapped in, he approached the pilots and started shouting at them to get her back to the academy for medical care. As her vision started to wain, she saw him rush back to her.

"Hey, stay with me. It'll be alright." Jaune said kneeling next to her. "Come on, we just gotta get back to Atlas and it'll all be okay."

Jaune sat in the hallway, head hung low, nervously tapping his his foot. Aside from his Aura depletion, his wounds had been numerous, but entirely mild. The worst of it was a broken finger and a minor concussion. He briefly looked down at the splint on his left hand. Meanwhile Winter was in Intensive Care for her leg. The break while a concern was the least of the problems, or so the doctors told him. The concern was possible internal bleeding and nerve damage. If she lost usability to her leg, then that would severely affect her ability to move, and could possibly be the end of her career as a Huntress.

He looked up at the opposite wall, which now had a shattered monitor from when he punched it out of frustration. Even with his Semblance, if the damaged was not corrected in a manner that could be healed correctly, no amount of Aura would be enough. The Doctors explained it to him that if they didn't properly repair her nerve endings, then even with a boost to her Aura, the damage would be irreparable.

For now he could only wait, and hope.

Only a short while later the doors opened and Jaune watched as General Ironwood marched in. An expression of tightly controlled anger and concern on his face. "What happened?" Ironwood demanded of Jaune.

Jaune sighed and stood up. Jaune did his best to explain in detail and expediency how this had happened. How they were already running low when the Megoliath appeared. They prioritized the evacuation of the workers and delaying and shoring up the defences. But to middling results.

The was a moment of awkward silence when Jaune finished and Ironwood just stood in front of him, staring at him. Finally Ironwood sighed and closed his eyes while massaging his brow. He slumped into a seat and his professionalism faded away. "Is she going to be okay?" Ironwood asked, pleadingly.

Jaune took the seat next to him. "The Doctors are hopeful. Had we waited longer, maybe not. If everything goes well enough, then she'll need a few weeks of physical therapy before she's marching through the academy glaring at anyone." Jaune said with a smile. "She's really something isn't she. I can see why you'd pick her for your executive officer."

Ironwood nodded. "Yes, she really is."

They both sat in silence for a moment contemplating the fate of the women in the other room. "I've not yet informed her sister." Ironwood said finally breaking the silence. "I don't want her to worry unnecessarily. Not until we have definitive information for her. Be it for better or worse."

Jaune was going to argue this decision but remained silent. If Winter were to come out of this no worse for wear, then all was good. But if the worst should happen, then Weiss would be there for her. In the current situation, all Weiss could do is be as miserable as Ironwood and himself, more so. It was cold, but it was probably the right call.

Ironwood suddenly let out a small chuckle. "Would you like to hear how Winter and I first met?"

Jaune was at a loss for words. It felt like he was about hear something top secret or intrusive, given how impersonal and reserved Winter was. "Uh, yeah. I guess. If you don't mind sir." Jaune said sitting up and giving Ironwood his attention.

"You can call me James for now. Makes this whole situation easier to bear." James said leaning back in the chair. "Well, this was many years ago and I wasn't General yet."

MANY YEARS AGE

POV

"This makes 3 disciplinary actions this month alone. I swear, if this doesn't stop, I'm gonna have to take more drastic measures with her."

James smiled and looked across the staff room table. With a chipper smile and not yet sporting any grey in his hair. "Seriously? You're this out of sorts by a single first year?" James asked stirring his coffee. "How bad can Winter Schnee be? I've seen her scores. She's practically top of all her classes. What's the issue Harrow ?"

Penelope Harrow dramatically sighed an exaggerated sigh. "That's part of the problem. She's too damn good for her own good. She's constantly second guessing instructions, lessons, and even orders. She undermines me constantly and argues with her classmates." Harrow racked her fingers through her hair. "I've had to stop several altercations and that doesn't seem to temper her at all. She's just so vindicated. At first I thought it was a sense of entitlement that she got from her father, but from all evidence she seems to despise the man and this is all just her. She's just naturally high strung and a total pain in my ass!"

James just laughed at his colleagues woes. "And this is why I never dealt with first years." James said before standing up. "If you'll excuse me I've got to go prep my forth years for the Vytal Festival." James patted Harrow on the shoulder and took his leave.

With coffee in hand, James was in a good mood. He never had to deal with such insolence or drama from his fourth year cadets. He was considering his students when he turned a corner and noticed a commotion down the hall. A crowd had formed around a group of students clearly arguing. He was about to gloat to himself that none of his students would ever be so unprofessional to cause such a scene when he saw specifically a group of his own students in the center of it all.

They were arguing with the one and only, Winter Schnee. "Atlas protocol dictates that the transfer of munitions from live fire zones need to be overseen by a professor, prefect, or ranked officer. You are obviously none of the following." Winter said standing in front of a team of fourth years. She was standing at perfect attention, arms firmly behind her back.

"Oh stow it Schnee! We're Seniors and you're just a Freshman. What gives you the right to give us orders?" Inquired Abigail Towse, leader of Team TEAL. "We aren't your butlers and this isn't your fancy manor, so take that holier-than-thou attitude elsewhere unless you're willing to back it up." Abigail stared Winter down, clearly willing and ready to escalate the situation.

Winter didn't falter. "Operational Code 4.231.9 clearly states that it is the duty of any and all Atlas Academy member, student, faculty, or military to inform, correct, or report any deliberate mishandling of legitimate live fire ammunition." Winter said loudly for everyone to hear. "Your intention to use said Fire Dust rounds for your celebratory outing, regardless of your seniority or selection to represent Atlas at this years Vytal Tournament, are not above reproach. Now as I have already said. You must return those boxes to wherever you found them." She gave Abigail a frosty look of disdain. Who in return closed the gap between them.

"Is that right? Well, why don't you make me." Abigail said confidently. Clearly attempting to force Winter to make the first move. James shook his head. He had been teaching Team TEAL for the semester and thought that Abigail was one of his bests. She was confident and proactive. She'd assess a situation, get her team in where they could do the most good, then get them out if need be. Now James just saw a bully. Unbecoming of a Huntress. What he saw Winter do next was inspired

"That won't be necessary. I'll simply return them for you." Winter said as she conjured several glyphs on the Fire Dust crates, levitating them several feet in the air, out of reach of Team TEAL. "I'll let Headmaster Chopfyt know where I acquired them from as well." Then she turned to leave. James smirked from the corner.

Although his mood was instantly soured when he saw Abigail clench her fist and pull back to strike Winter from behind. James was ready to intervene, but that was clearly unnecessary. Winter had predicted this outcome and defended herself with a glyph behind her. There was a brief moment when Abigail's hand was stuck within a white glyph, confusion on her face, then the glyph turned black and threw Abigail across the room.

She landed with an undignified thud and tumbled a few feet further. When she regained her wits, she got to one knee and glared at her Team. "Well don't just stand there! Get her!" Abigail shouted at them.

In a few seconds the commotion turned into a brawl. James was intent on intervening but was shocked to see that he wasn't needed. Winter Schnee simply avoided the 3 upperclassmen. Using her glyphs to propel herself between their strikes, to move them away from herself and into each other on occasion. It was clear that should couldn't take them in a proper fight, but she wasn't fighting them. She was dancing around them.

A first year was making fools out of his, formerly, favourite forth year team. He was content to just watch and see how it turned out, but then Abigail did something, unfortunate.

Winter flipped over the rest of Team TEAL and propelled them into each other using a generous application of repulsion glyphs. She returned her attention to Abigail who now had a handful of Fire Dust crystals aimed at Winter. "You need to be taught your place around here Schnee." Abigail said as the Fire Dust started to glow. With Abigail's Semblance she could activate and direct the power of any dust she came in direct contact with.

The raw dust crystals in Abigail's hand crackled with small bursts of energy. The onlooking students started to flee. "A few burns should do the trick. I'm sure Headmaster Chopfyt will see reason when I tell him how you assault my team when we found you with a crate of Fire Dust, and couldn't convince you to return it."

Winter prepared her strongest glyph to take the brunt of the attack, but from the stories she wouldn't be capable of stopping it all. What happened next shocked them both. The ensuing explosion of Fire Dust went wide, shooting completely off target and out a window.

When the smoke cleared it was clear what had happened. James was standing behind Abigail with a grip on both of her wrists, one arm stretched outward pointing at the now destroyed window, and the other arm bent painfully behind her back. "That, was a critical error Cadet Towse." James said sternly.

Within the hour Abigail Towse was packing her bags and being escorted off Academy premises. James had called off his class that day and sat in his office with Winter across from him. "Coffee?" He offered gesturing to a fresh pot behind him.

Winter shifted ever so slightly. "No thank you sir." Winter said tersely. Her ever present scowl seemed less disdain, and more worry. "Sir, with all due respect, if this is the conversation where you tell me I've been expelled then I'd rather just get this over with quickly. I'm sure my father will be quite enthused to hear of my failure and need to return to his, care."

James was a little taken aback by Winter's shortness with him. Clearly she had a chip on her shoulder that Jacques had spent years carving into her. "You know, I've actually met your father a few times. We rub elbows with the same people at some Military functions. I'm there on orders, but he's there like a shark in water." James said as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"So I get your desire to stay as far away as possible." James said before sipping on his coffee. "No, what I'd like to know is why you did what you did. Its one thing to report other students for breaking the rules, its another thing entirely to confront them about it." James leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

Winter immediately opened her mouth to respond but paused before a single word was spoken. She seemed to reconsider what she was about to say. "In my experience, telling someone in power about an abuse of power garners no results. It needs to be dragged into the light, kicking and screaming to be seen, otherwise no one will care, and it will continue to happen." Winter said, clearly dropping her guard ever so slightly. "If I had simply told someone about it, then there was no guarantee that that person would be held accountable to do anything about. So when Towse flagrantly flaunted the rules, the fundamentals of Atlas Academy, I simply could not stand for it. This is Atlas. We do not falter in the face of adversity. We rise above it."

Present

"And from there on I took a particular interest in Winter's career. I changed my curriculum to make sure I taught her in her second, third, and forth year." James said with smile on his face. "Then she graduated. A year later I was General and a year after that, Headmaster. She's been next to me the whole time."

Jaune had been enthralled in the story. He had a goofy smile on his face. "So even back then she still had that pole, I mean she was still unyieldingly professional?" Jaune fumbled. He coughed awkwardly and looked at his shoes.

James laughed a little. "Yes, she's always been, professional to say the least. Obviously more intense then me in certain regards. I'm sure you noticed something similar with Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch." James said giving Jaune a knowing look. "Men of power, who can't be the stone cold leader, need someone to support them with a sense of certainty. While I can stray into leniency and forgiveness, Winter is my rock. She can be demanding and on occasion harsh, while I can be less intimidating sometimes."

Jaune laughed sarcastically. "I'm sorry, but from where I'm sitting you both have mastered intimidating." He said with a smile. "But I get what you mean. Ozpin was always patient and calm. We were never worried too much about getting in trouble with Ozpin. It was always a lesson, or we had disappointed him." Jaune's smile quickly faded though as he remembered how Ozpin had betrayed their trust. He was about to mention this, but remembered that they had opted not to tell the general about the Jinn's revelation.

"Yeah. That sounds like Oz." James said with a smile. "But let me guess, Glynda was a force of nature?" James gave Jaune a knowing look.

Jaune smiled and laughed nervously. "Yeah. Professor Goodwitch, Glynda was the one we all feared." Jaune said before rubbing the back of his neck. "I had quite a few detentions for under-preforming in her class. She was quite demanding, but I get it now. We weren't ready. When Beacon fell, we were just first years, then we were thrown into the deep end with no warning. She was just trying to do her best to made sure we had the best chance at getting through it all."

"Sir, I don't mean to pry, but, well. There were rumours back at Beacon about you and, uhm Glynda." Jaune stammered out, still uncomfortable referring to Professor Goodwitch by her first name. His curiosity getting the better of him. "Were you two, like a thing?"

James' smile faded ever so slightly. "Once upon a time, yes. There was something there." James said, clearly with an old sadness. "Before our duties demanded more of us. It was hard, We travelled to see each other when we could. Wrote to each other when we couldn't. But eventually, Glynda just couldn't do it anymore. I never, blamed her for it. It hurt, but I understood. Having someone that close, yet so far, when dealing all the things we dealt with. It was a nice distraction from what we knew we were fighting."

"For a while I thought Ozpin was to blame, that he had stolen her away from me. But that was never the case. I just didn't want to see the growing distance between us." James said before standing up and stretching. "After that, though, there was no one else. That special place was just too hard to fill. I, understand you know what that's like."

Jaune was blindsided by James' statement. He sighed and wrung his hands together. "Yeah. Pyrrha. But then you already knew about her involvement with all that, yeah?" Jaune said, trying not to sound bitter and resentful towards the general. He knew that involving her as they had planned wasn't meant to be the death sentence it turned out to be. "Pyrrha was so many thing to so many people. To Ozpin, he was her Guardian. To the people of Mistral she was their Champion. But to me and my team, she was Pyrrha. We loved her. The way she'd laugh when something caught her off guard. The way she put other's before her own wants. I'd give anything to have her here now. Even if it meant I wasn't."

James put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "We've all lost people, and I wish we hadn't. But we continue to fight so that no one else has to." James said with experience. "We do what we do now to make the world better and safer. That doesn't mean I want you charging towards Death. What you did today, prepared to fight to the last for the people of Mantle. That's the behaviour I considered when I approved you and your friends as Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"When all is said and done, if you'd want it, you and your friends would have a place here at Atlas." James straightened his coat just a little. "I'm sure Winter wouldn't mind having someone that can keep up with her, Professional-ness, eh?"

Jaune was about to make a witty remark when the doors to the operating room opened. "Ahh, General Ironwood. I wasn't aware you were here." Said the Doctor. "I'm happy to say, everything went perfectly. We were able to set everything in place as it should. She's currently sedated and won't be capable of having visitors until tomorrow at the very least. But so long as she actually listens us this time, she should be perfectly fine."

James let out a deep breath. "That's wonderful. Thank you Doctor. I'll see to it that she stays off her leg as long as possible."

Jaune while elated couldn't help but ask. "This time?" He looked back and forth from the Doctor and James.

"Yes, well. Winter has a bad habit of overworking herself when she should be resting." James said. "She always thinks that we can't manage without here. Last time, as the doctor put it, she tore some stitches on her abdomen and further increase her recovery time." James shook his head. "But this time, I think have someone overseeing her and her recovery might be beneficial. Perhaps someone with a particular talent for accelerating the healing process."

Jaune only took a moment to realize what was being implied. "Oh. Well, if you think that would help." Jaune said not entirely sure of what kind of affect he could have. "But if its okay, sir, I'd like to continue with my current regular, uh, assignment in Mantle."

There was an awkward silence before James realized which mission exactly that was. "Well, so long as no, actual mission critical assignments come up, you're approved to continue with that particular assignment in Mantle."

"Well, if you'll excuse me. I should probably inform Weiss of her sister's condition." James said, obviously not looking forward to that conversation. He pulled out his scroll but was interrupted before he could arrange the meeting.

"It its all the same, would it be alright if I did it?" Jaune offered. It was not something he was particularly looking forward, but Weiss was his friend and he had been there with her sister when it happened.

James looked apprehensive. "Are you certain? This won't be a pleasant topic to explain. I've done this before." He offered, but Jaune was adamant.

"Weiss is my friend, and I was there." Jaune said knowing full well that Weiss was likely to blame him for her sister's condition. "It might be better coming from a friendly face. No offence." He knew that what he was offering to do would be uncomfortable, but it was the right thing to do.

James nodded but accessed his scroll regardless. "Well, then I'll leave you to that. If you need anything, or if Winter's condition changes, you can reach me at this number." James said as he waved his scroll in proximity to Jaune's.

There was a brief indicator that the contact information had been received. "Thank you sir. I'll keep that in mind." Jaune said before accessing Weiss' number. "I should probably do this in person. Right?"

There was a moment in which Jaune was worried that James took his query as rhetorical. "That entirely depends on Weiss and you. Though if I were to offer some experienced advice, do it in person unless that if you suspect that she'll lash out at you with some misplaced aggression. Other then your own safety, yes. You should probably inform her in person."

Jaune nodded and slipped his scroll into his pocket. "Thank you, sir. Not just for the advice. But for everything." Jaune said, getting a little emotional. "This were looking kind of bleak for us before getting to Atlas. But you've welcomed us in, gave us something we can fight for again and people we can trust. If you had turned us away, or worse, well... I don't think all of us would have kept up the good fight."

"I see. Well you're most welcome." James said before adjusting his necktie. "Let me know if there's any change in Winter's condition." And with that he left.

There Jaune stood alone for a moment and collected his thoughts. He took a deep breath before making his way to the Atlas dorms to tell Weiss what had happened to her sister. "Ah man, this is gonna suck." 

Jaune silently watched Pietro work. The old man peered through his spectacles as he fiddled with his tools making minor adjustments and tweaks Jaune wasn't even trying to understand the tiny circuits and motors of his new fingers.

The grey metal pinky and ring finger sat in front of the elderly man disassembled for him to see every minuscule wire and screw. Jaune looked at the metal caps on his fingers. He'd only received them yesterday after a short surgery installing them in preparation for his new prosthetic fingers.

"Do you still feel them?" Pietro asked, he didn't even glance away from his delicate work.

"Huh?" Jaune was pulled away from his thoughts and looked up at the old man as he worked.

"Your fingers, do you still feel them?" His voice was warm and he looked away from the little fragments of machinery to meet his eyes.

"Sometimes," Jaune admitted, "the doctors said it's called phantom pain, sometimes it feels like they itch and I can't scratch anything."

"Well hopefully these will help put an end to that," he said, grabbing a small length of copper wire. "You'll be able to feel through these, tactile surfaces at least, and temperatures. These pads in the fingers will send electrical signals so you will be able to feel through them."

"Is it like how Penny feels?" He asked looking around his workshop idly.

"More or less," Pietro explained. "Penny has extra sensory systems in her synthetic flesh so she has more data being sent to her brain. But you also have experience with touch and feel different than Penny, your brain will interpret the sensation differently because of it. Like how your brain knows what itchy fingers feels like; it'll probably feel familiar over time."

"Can they feel pain?" He asked.

"Yes, if they experience heat or pressure or a surface capable of causing harm you'll experience pain." He explained to him as he installed the wire into one of the tiny motors.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" He said awkwardly.

Pietro chuckled, "we'll you've already asked a couple, you might as well keep going."

"Well uh… why did you design Penny to feel pain?" He asked tentatively. "I mean… wouldn't she be a more effective fighter if she couldn't feel any pain?"

Pietro chuckled. "You know General Ironwood asked me that once?"

"What did you tell him?" Jaune asked.

"Well… what is pain?" He said picking in a screw with a pair of tweezers installing it with a thin screw.

"Uh… it is when you physically hurt?" Jaune knew his answer was lame. This felt like when Penny would ask him to describe how something tastes or how some kind of natural sensation felt to him leaving him rather stumped. She hadn't asked him anything like that since they were back in that abandoned home huddling in front of the fire.

Pietro laughed. "Ironwood didn't exactly have an answer either," he assured him. "Pain is the body registering damage," he explained. "Or potential damage, it's a signal in our brain that something is wrong and we act to avoid it. Penny too is able to sense damage or the threat of it and work to avoid it. A soldier that is careless about getting injured or risks injury unnecessarily won't be fighting for very long will he?"

"So that's why you programmed her to feel pain? So she could be a more effective fighter?" Jaune asked his brow furrowing as he watched Pietro assemble the two fingers. He knew every piece and it's precise position like an expert watchmaker knowing every gear and spring in a pocket watch.

"That's one reason," Pietro explained. "It's the answer I gave the General and he found it satisfactory."

"But she's more than just a weapon!" Jaune said, perhaps a little more passionately than he should. He felt a little jab of embarrassment at his little outburst. "Isn't she?"

Pietro smiled as he assembled Jaune's new ring finger and moved to build the smaller pinky. "She is more than a weapon," Pietro said, "the other reason I programmed her to feel pain was so she might learn empathy."

"Empathy?" Jaune asked.

"I figured the best way to teach someone compassion was through pain," he explained, "if you can understand what it means to be hurt you learn why it's wrong to hurt others, that's the other reason why I gave her the ability to feel pain."

In moments the pinky was assembled and he laid it out for him on the table next to the assembled ring finger. Jaune starred as the grey metal pieces of machinery. These were going part of him now? These little pieces of circuits and screws?

"You gonna try them on?" Pietro asked, he sat back in his mechanical chair, the legs pulling away from his personal workbench as he moved to the end of his personal workshop.

"Uh, yeah," Jaune said, his thoughts disrupted. He picked the ring finger up and inspected it. "Do I just… pop it on?" He asked looking at the little metal caps on the nubs of his fingers.

"That's all there is to it," Pietro said, opening a drawer. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "Do you mind if I have a cigarette?"

"It's your place," Jaune said. He attacked the finger, it clicked into place easily and with a twitch the finger flexed. "Woah!"

"Something wrong?" Pietro asked, releasing a cloud of smoke. His cigarette burned between his fingers. "I can make adjustments if necessary."

"It's fine," Jaune assured him, touching his thumb and mechanical ring finger together, "it's just easier than I thought it'd be."

Pietro smirked, "Well that's good," he said, "try the pinky on."

Jaune did, again the mechanical limb snapped into place and he was able to move it with ease and dexterity he hadn't expected. "It seems fine to me."

"Get some practice with it and see," The old man suggested taking a long drag off his cigarette. "It can take a little getting used to."

Jaune nodded. "They do feel a bit heavy," he said, flexing the mechanical digits again and again.

"You'll get used to that, I might be able to design something a lighter in the future but since you're a huntsman I figured you'd adjust to the added weight and want something tough and resilient."

"I think I'll make do with these for now," Jaune said forming a fist. "Thank you, it's nice to have ten fingers again."

"It's the least I could do," he said, giving Jaune a friendly smile. "You helped bring my darling girl back after all."

Jaune frowned and looked away scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "You're not the first person to tell me that," he confessed. "But I think it's honestly the other way around." He touched his abdomen feeling where Vasily had stabbed him. He was told that Penny had stopped the bleeding with her laser burning the wound closed to stop the bleeding. He couldn't remember that aside from bits and pieces, thrashing and screaming in the snow screaming.

Pietro flicked away some of the ash of his cigarette before taking another drag. "It seems to me that it was a bit of both," he said exhaling the smoke from his lungs. "I saw the footage Jaune, I know what you did."

"I got my ass kicked," he said with a forced chuckle.

"You stood between her and that murderer," he said seriously, "you shared your aura with her."

Jaune looked away awkwardly. "I would have been screwed either way," he explained. "If she died… well I wouldn't have been far behind her. I slowed her down like that assassin said, and she also ran out of power and died trying to save me."

Pietro sighed and snubbed out his cigarette. "I appreciate your efforts nonetheless," he assured her, "don't hesitate to call me if those fingers give you trouble."

"I won't." Jaune waved as he showed himself out the door.

Just outside two soldiers waited and chatted idly outside waiting to help escort him. "Are you ready to return?" One of them asked him.

Jaune sighed and nodded. Back to Atlas to spend his days killing time however he could. He wished he had an excuse to stay out a little longer but he had none. "Yeah I'm ready," he said walking with them.

"Blake!" Penny said, walking swiftly down the hallway towards the Faunus girl.

"Oh hey Penny," Blake greeted standing outside the door to her team's dorm room. "Ruby isn't here right now, I was just leaving."

"Actually I wanted to talk to you Blake. Do you have any more of those books?" She asked her expectantly.

"I got plenty of books," Blake said, her brow furrowing a little. "Is there one you mean in particular?" She asked her.

"The sundered crown!" Penny told her. "I want to know what happens next and see if Princess Elize and Sir Ashton find love!"

"You think Ashton should be with Elize?" Blake asked skeptically.

"Oh course," Penny told her. "He's brave and kind and noble and he's always risking himself to protect Elize!"

"But he's also bullheaded and naive," Blake argued. "I prefer Darvin personally."

Penny frowned at that, "Darvin? But he is so dishonest and mean."

"He's cynical, not mean, and he'll do anything for Elize!" Blake told her, "just like when he was a spy there's no boundary he won't cross for her."

Penny deflated, "please do not tell me the princess ends up with that spy."

"It's… complicated," Blake said, "I won't spoil it for you but are you sure you want to read the next book?" She asked tentatively. "I didn't actually mean to give you the first book, and the sequel is a bit… explicit."

"Explicit?" Penny asked curiously.

Blake's cheeks turned a little red and she averted her eyes. "It has some scenes that are rather… graphic, you know what I mean?"

Penny shook her head no.

"There's uh… there's a few sex scenes," Blake blurted out for her, "graphically detailed sex scenes."

"Oh!" Penny said. "I see… well uh… I mean… I did not know that."

Blake smiled awkwardly, still rose red in her cheeks. "Yeah… I just thought you should know that."

"Thank you," Penny said a little flustered herself.

"Yeah," Blake said, with a nod and moving to leave.

"I really want to know what happens next!" Penny exclaimed looking at the floor bashfully as Blake looked back to her. "Would you mind if maybe I… borrowed it?"

"Of course," Blake said gently moving back to the door of the dorm room and slipped in for a minute before emerging with the desired paperback in hand. "Here you go," Blake said, handing the worn book to her, "enjoy it, sadly we're going to have to wait a bit for the final book."

"You mean the story is not finished?" Penny asked, accepting the book and looking at the cover showing a sword, a dagger and a crown. Penny frowned a little, "will it end with me desperately wanting to know what happens?"

Blake giggled slightly, "oh yeah, even worse than before." She waved goodbye and left.

Penny walked away holding her prize in both hands staring at the cover contemplating the various possibilities. As much as she wished to return to her room and read it privately and sate her curiosity on the continuation of the story Jaune would be getting back soon after visiting her father.

She walked through the hallway alone. They would have thought that finally being allowed to leave the infirmary would have given them more to do but with being confined to the academy and their friends being constantly busy their options for entertainment were still rather sparse.

So far they were spending their days together watching movies or taking occasional walks around the academy. With her guidance Jaune was becoming intimately familiar with the area as he never missed an opportunity to stretch his legs. But it seemed she was failing to keep the blonde knight from boredom. Try as she might she could tell that Jaune was loathing this time confined to the academy.

Jaune was only seeing his team and friends for a fraction of the day and even though he no longer needed to remain in the infirmary with the doctors and nurses observing him he was not well enough to train. He still wasn't able to maintain his aura, it was still healing him despite most of his external injuries having been healed. His nose was still bandaged and healing and his handsome face was still colored with bruises.

She was at least trying to stay close to him assuring that he was timely in taking his medication properly and getting sufficient rest and nutrients along with whatever entertainment they could find.

Jaune had shown her all of his favorite Spruce Willis movies and all his comic books. He'd given up on playing any board games against her, he always lost. He was a talented chess player but he was hopeless against her, chess was easy for her, it was just a manner of observing every piece and considering the options before choosing the most obvious maneuver.

She stepped out onto the landing pad feeling the cool wind take hold of her hair and skirt as she waited for his bullhead to arrive.

Jaune stepped off the bullhead to find himself being already greeted with a familiar smile and wave. "Hey Penny," he greeted giving her a little wave as he walked closer.

"Hello Jaune!" She said falling into step beside him as they stepped inside. "How did it go with my father? Is he doing well?"

"He's fine," Jaune assured her, holding his left hand up for her to see the metal fingers. "And so far so good."

Penny stopped an evident frown on her face. "Jaune… were you smoking?" She asked, her tone was uncharacteristically serious.

"Huh?" Jaune said, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"My artificial olfactory sensors have detected traces of nicotine on you," she explained gasping as realization dawned across her face. "Was it my father? Was it?"

Jaune backed away from her intimidated by the sudden intensity from her. "Uh, he had a cigarette after he finished constructing my fingers."

"He lied to me!" Penny said. "He promised me he stopped smoking!"

"Uh I know it isn't really any of my business but it's not a big deal." He said rather meekly.

"He lied to me! And he knows how bad smoking is!" She told him.

"I know I know," Jaune said holding his hands up. "But I mean we all have our vices." He kind of felt a little silly the moment he said it. What vices could Penny possibly have?

"Why would anyone do something if it is harmful to themselves?" She asked him.

"Because we like it I guess," Jaune answered. "I mean I don't smoke but I eat my fair share of junk food, some people just do things that are kind of self destructive for one reason or another."

Penny's frown remained. "It is just… so illogical," she said evidently frustrated. "Such habits can eventually kill you."

"Well we all die eventually," Jaune explained and immediately saw that it was the wrong thing to say.

"So you carelessly indulge in these harmful practices?!" She asked him pointedly.

"No it's just… I guess it helps some people accept their own mortality," he explained, "like it helps them feel like they're in control of something that they have no control over."

"That does not make any sense," Penny said.

Jaune sighed, "no it doesn't," he agreed. He supposed trying to justify harmful vices like alcohol and tobacco and junk food was pointless. There wasn't any way to justify it with cold logic and she had no means of enjoying such things herself. "I don't really know how to make you understand."

"I do not think I want to understand," Penny told him.

"Fair enough," Jaune said, ending the conversation. They walked in silence for a little bit as he moved for his dormitory with Penny following along with him as she had been doing the last several days.

So far he was seeing her more than anyone else. He supposed she was as bored as he was, probably more since she didn't need to sleep like him. For the most part he was happy to have the company but her constant presence and her insistence to help him with every little thing was becoming somewhat irksome.

"Why don't we ever go to your room?" Jaune asked her idly, trying to make a little conversion.

"You want to go to my room?" Penny asked him.

Jaune shrugged, "why not?" He asked, "We've been hanging out in my team's dorm day and night, I'm a little sick of it to be honest."

"Well alright Jaune," she said, turning down an unfamiliar corridor leading the way. She led him to an elevator taking them up several different levels to a maze of corridors that she navigated seamlessly before arriving at a rather nondescript door. "Here we are," she announced typing in a code and opening it.

Jaune's first observation was the size. He estimated it was a little less than half the size of the dorm room they had here at Atlas. It had a bed pressed against the corner, a glass shower stall in another with a rack of Penny's usually green and white dresses. Calling it spartan would have felt like an understatement.

"This is where you live?" He asked, stepping inside behind her into the cramped little room.

"I do not spend much time here," she explained to him, turning to sit on the corner of her bed. "I usually just come here to recharge or change my clothing once it has become damaged or dirty, or to clean my hairy and synthetic body."

That explained why there was just a shower and none of the other amenities of a dorm room. "Still, I feel like you should have a window at least." He said looking around to find the walls plain and unornamented. It felt more like a closet to him than the room of a young girl. Shouldn't she have posters? Pictures? Stuffed animals?

"I'm fine here," Penny assured him, turning to a little shelf beside her. She set a book she'd been holding down on a little self next to a few other books. "If you want we can go to your room like usual." She offered a little sheepishly.

Jaune shook his head no. "It's fine," he assured her. "What do you want to do?" He asked sitting on the little single person bed next to her.

"I have downloaded a new movie we could watch," she offered.

"Sure," Jaune said looking around and seeing no TV.

Penny scooted back against the wall as a single one of her eyes glowed to life projecting a holographic display. The studio logos flashed and played before him and he simply scooted back to lean against the wall with her watching it play from her projection.

They sat shoulder to shoulder with each other and watched another one of Penny's preferred romance movies play out in front of them. He was starting to get tired of movies in general but Penny was always ready for another having hardly ever seen any before now.

Penny blinked and the movie stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked.

"It is time for you to take your medication," Penny said standing and moving immediately towards the door, "I will retrieve it along with your water."

"It's-," Jaune tried to offer to go with but she was out the door before he could even offer. He sighed sitting on the empty mattress where she recharged herself between missions and various duties. He looked at the bland lifeless walls and wondered idly if he could find a poster for any of these romantic movies she liked so much. 

Jaune folded his hands in his lap and looked out the window to the streets and spires of the academy outside. He shuffled in the armchair and looked across to the friendly face of a woman with her scroll in her hand.

"Are you comfortable Mr. Arc?" Dr. Jasmine asked, typing something into her scroll with a stilius. "Would you like anything? A different seat? A glass of water?"

"I'm fine," Jaune assured her, crossing his arms. "Let's just begin."

The psychiatrist nodded. "Very well Mr. Arc, just so you know I have viewed the footage recovered from Miss Polendina. Also know everything you say to me is completely confidential, anything you say here doesn't leave."

Jaune nodded, "alright," he said. "Where do we begin? When the truck was attacked?" He asked her.

"This isn't a debriefing Mr. Arc, we don't need to retrace events. I'm here to evaluate your psychological condition so please just relax." She explained to him. "How have you been the last several days recovering?" She asked.

Jaune sighed as he considered the question. Being told to relax always had the opposite intended effect for him. "A little stir crazy," He answered her honestly deciding that the best and most relaxing thing to stare at was the ceiling. "Being confined to the academy grounds hasn't been easy, especially with my friends still working with the General, I probably would be pulling my hair out by now if it wasn't for Penny."

"You have been spending time with Miss Polendina?" She asked him, continuing to make notes on her scroll.

Jaune nodded, "yeah… we're stuck here together so we've been passing the days with one another."

"Did you have a particularly close relationship with her prior to these events?" Dr. Jasmine asked him.

"No, I honestly barely spoke to her before this, never really had the time to." He admitted to her.

"How would you say your relationship with Miss Polendina has changed now that you're interacting more?" She asked him.

"It's… nice," he admitted to her. "It's good to have company after all of this and she's pretty fun to be around."

"But?" The doctor asked clearly, sensing that there was one.

"But… I don't know but it seems like she's been doing everything for me," he explained releasing a frustrated sigh. "Ever since I woke up she does everything for me, she gets my medicine, she fetches me water, she does every little thing. I don't know if she pities me or if she's just trying to be helpful but it's been a bit frustrating."

Dr. Jasmine wrote something down again on her scroll. "Let's move on to the incident itself. There are a couple moments within the incident I'd like to examine."

Jaune nodded, "alright."

"When you fought Vasily you pulled the knife he'd stabbed you with out," she explained, "you risked bleeding out."

"I needed a weapon," Jaune explained, a little embarrassed that he'd done that. "My sword felt like it was made of lead and I knew if I didn't stop him I'd be dead anyways."

"So you feel that you were being pragmatic in your actions?" She asked him clinically.

"I don't really remember what I was thinking at the moment," He admitted with a shrug. "Penny was down and I needed to do something," he confessed to her considering the mental image he had of her trapped beneath that wire net, the razor thin steel cutting her.

"I was scared," Jaune admitted, "I never really thought much about it but I've already seen Penny die once before back at Amity Arena, I just… I don't ever want to lose anyone, not if there's something I can do about it."

The doctor nodded and typed more on her scroll. Jaune wished he knew what she was writing about him. "The assassin Vasily Patterson, you allegedly killed him," she explained, "have you thought any about that?"

"A little," Jaune admitted feeling a coldness to his words.

"Any particular feelings about it?" Dr. Jasmine asked him looking through her spectacles at him.

Jaune sighed, "I don't know, I should feel bad right?"

"No one is telling you how you should feel Mr. Arc," Dr. Jasmine told him.

"But aren't you?" Jaune asked. "This is a psychological evaluation after all, how I answer you is supposed to reflect on me and determine if I'm mentally fit enough to continue working as a huntsman. So there is a way I'm supposed to feel, isn't there?"

Dr. Jasmine didn't answer him at first, instead she studied him clinically through her spectacles for a long moment. "It's not a wrong answer if it's true Mr. Arc."

Jaune sighed looking at the carpet and clenched his fist. "I hope Vasily is dead," Jaune confessed. "Part of me thinks I should feel bad or guilty for taking his life but I don't. It was him or me and I don't regret choosing me, I don't regret saving Penny, I don't regret anything."

Pain. Even with his numbing pills and drink Vasily felt it with every movement. He welcomed the sensation, he savored the focus and clarity it gave him though these long tedious days. Pain kept his mind sharp and centered on the one who'd given it to him.

Arc.

That name. He thought he'd heard it before, a hint of familiarity when he'd told him, when he thrust the android's blade through him. When he beat him.

Arc, Jaune Arc. A huntsman, a warrior from a family with a long history of warriors and heroes. He wasn't some amateur huntsman as his informant had claimed. If he had known he wouldn't have underestimated him.

Jaune Arc, age nineteen. Beacon student, partnered with the renowned Pyrrha Nikos, survivor of the fall of Beacon academy. His record, incomplete as it was, left Vasily with much to ponder. Atlas's documentation on the boy was sadly limited and with the Vale tower inoperable Beacon's more detailed files were out of reach to him.

It hardly mattered however. Vasily would not be underestimating him again, he would give him the care and attention he deserved.

He stood up from his chair feeling his wound ache. Balancing on a cane he suppressed any sound of discomfort or show of weakness. It mattered not that he was alone.

Whatever few sensations he could still feel all seemed to remind him of Arc. Of his humiliation. The stitches in his temple would itch and temp him to scratch the sensitive flesh, the stab wound also was filled with fiery pain as he tried to walk through this temporary safe house he was calling his home.

He looked down at his chair spotting the blade resting against the table with the tip leaving a tiny mark on the hardwood floor. He'd intended to take such a blade as a trophy, another trophy to add to his collection. But this blade wasn't a symbol of triumph but another reminder of his defeat, a trophy of his failure. He'd caught Bonnie trying to dispose of the blade and reprimanded her for it.

His cane thumped on the floor with every painful step. He'd been rather pleased that Bonnie had managed to procure such a large safe house here in Mantle but now it was difficult just to get around in his simple state.

"Bonnie!" He called entering her little workshop and finding her sitting in front of her workbench fiddling with a drone assembling it from scratch. Most of his support drones had been destroyed, felled by Arc himself.

"Yes darling?" She asked turning away from her technical work rising to help him find a seat but he waved her off, having no interest in resting here. "You could just call me," she told him, "the doctor said you should avoid walking for the time being."

Vasily scowled. "I'm sure that butcher would be delighted to see a better man than him weak and bedridden." Just the thought of that doctor made his blood boil. Some black market surgeon with a revoked medical license who didn't ask questions and kept his mouth shut.

"You should conserve your strength," she suggested. Her brow furrowed with worry, pity. It infuriated him.

She sensed his anger and took a step back calming herself and remembering her place. "Do you need anything?"

"I want an update on our progress," he explained to her.

"I've just finished constructing your new rifle," she explained, moving to another bench where a shiny long sniper rifle awaited him. She picked it up and held it for him. He handed her his cane and took the weapon shouldering it and looking through the scope.

"It's a little light," he mused, taking hold of the bolt and cycling it as fast as he could before lowering it and handing it back to her, trading the rifle for his cane. "The bolt is a little stiff, and add a pound or two to dampen the recoil," he instructed her, looking at the other weapons on her workbench. A new express rifle, a four barreled howdah pistol, a bayonet.

"Yes," she nodded, setting the rifle back on the stand, "I hope you will find these weapons to your satisfaction."

Vasily picked up the four barreled pistol and checked the empty chambers. "They'll have to do," he said bitterly, "hardly adequate replacements to the trophies I lost."

Bonnie nodded, "I know, it must be hard to lose such treasured weapons," she said sadly.

"Indeed," Vasily grumbled turning to leave, "I imagine the Atlas military likely took possession of them after recovering the Arc boy and the android."

"I see," Bonnie said, "so they are likely at the academy?"

"Quite likely," Vasily mused, "I'm sure Ironwood would be interested in learning a thing or two from them," he chuckled to himself, "especially considering the damage I did to his little toy soldier." The thought of the General wanting to know how he damaged the android so much was a pleasant one at least.

"Speaking of which I have procured the materials and dust for the ammunition," she told him, "you can begin assembling rounds if you wish."

Vasily nodded, "something to pass the time at least, I'll be sure to put Arc's name on one."

Bonnie smiled at that, "Yes, and worry not my hunter I'll see you are adequately armed to face him once more."

Metal hissed against metal as Jaune drew Crocea Mors. His ancestral blade ringed for a moment as he inspected the fine edge finding no nicks or chips. The shield deployed, unfolding from the scabbard form. No black dents scarred the white and gold surface like before, no scrapes from robotic claws, it was as if the battle had never happened.

"Good as new," Jaune praised looking over to Pietro. Penny sat in front of his back turned and open allowing him access to her weapons compartment.

Penny and Pietro both smiled as he inspected his restored weapon. "I repaired the dust dispensers too, next time you're looking for another upgrade just give the word."

"Thank you," Jaune said, collapsing the shield and clipping it to his belt before sheathing his blade. It was a welcome feeling to have the weight of Crocea Mors on his hip again. After so long with it at Beacon, traveling to Mistral and finally here to Atlas being without it felt wrong. He supposed he now understood Ruby's attachment to Crescent Rose.

"Don't mention it," Pietro said as he worked with Penny, sparks came from her back compartment and Jaune tried not to stare. Some part of him felt embarrassed with her in such a state, like he was witnessing something rather intimate. Penny however showed no sign of discomfort or embarrassment, perhaps he simply wasn't comfortable seeing something that transparently showed Penny to be quite inhuman.

Pietro closed the compartment in Penny's back and his mechanical chair stepped back away from her. "Alright darling let's see if you're combat ready once more," he said.

Penny obeyed, she took a stance as the compartment in her back opened up and deployed Floating Array. The multiple blades fanned out separating from each other around Penny like points on a steel star.

The elegant movements of the many swords and their wielder. She moved with an efficient and mechanical grace as her blades cut and thrust at holographic targets. Each blade moving independently but with an almost choreographed unison. They slashed at the floating lights and others morphed into their laser gun forms firing low energy blasts at the dancing targets.

"Weapon test complete," Penny announced proudly, "all blades are operating at peak performance, I am once more combat ready."

Jaune smiled watching the dozen blades reform together stacking atop one another before folding back down and setting themselves back into the compartment on her back.

"Mantle should feel safer already," Jaune smirked, pleased to see her fall back into her role of combatant so easily. He'd probably need a few hours of training to polish off any rust he picked up since being injured.

Penny smiled at him and nodded. "I hope so, I have been away from my duties for too long."

"I hear that," Jaune agreed. Back before everything that had happened the idea of having a break from the day in and day out huntsman contracts, training and escort jobs would have seemed wonderful to him. But now more than anything else he wanted to get back to his work, to fighting grimm and criminals with his team and the rest of his friends, to taking his usual contracts, to helping those kids get to school everyday. "Just another day or so," he said, hopeful that his evaluation would indeed clear him. He was at least able to form an aura now that it wasn't being immediately drained to heal him.

"Don't be in too much of a hurry," Pietro warned, "I'd hate to see either of you hurt again so soon."

"We will be careful father," Penny assured him. "General Ironwood is boosting security in light of the recent events and has already warned me to be careful."

Jaune nodded in agreement, "Ren and Nora already made me promise to take it slow," he admitted.

"Glad to hear it," Pietro said.

Jaune's scroll buzzed in his pocket. He retrieved it and activated the screen seeing the still image of General Ironwood next to a text message asking him to see him in his office.

"Looks like the general wants to have a chat," Jaune said, giving them a wave goodbye. "Thanks again for the repairs Pietro, I'll catch you later Penny."

"Anytime," Pietro said, giving him a wave.

"Goodbye Jaune," Penny said watching him leave.

He exited the small training room and moved for the elevator pressing the button for up and waiting. The doors opened and a stern but serene face greeted him.

"Good evening Mr. Arc," Winter greeted him as he stepped in, "you are looking well."

"Um thank you Miss Schnee," Jaune nodded seeing that she was already on her way to the same floor as him. "I'm definitely starting to feel better," he said, watching the doors close again to take them up.

"That's good to hear. I've noticed you have been spending quite a lot of time with Penny since you woke up." She told him remaining rigid and statuesque as the elevator rose. Her stiff posture and rigidly formal demeanor made Jaune decide against leaning against the corner and simple stood straight next to her.

"Yeah we have," Jaune confirmed to her. "Since we're stuck in here together and everyone else has been bust we've been killing time together." He explained to her.

Winter nodded silently to him showing that he understood. "That is good, it at least seems that this incident has made the both of you closer if nothing else."

It was Jaune's turn to answer with a silent nod of his own. They had grown closer. Before even coming here he hadn't even met Penny only heard of her through Ruby and her Vital Tournament matches. Even arriving at Mantle, their interactions were short to say the least. Before now he would have even hesitated to have called them acquaintances. Even if he was finding her insistence to help him with every little thing overbearing and insufferable he couldn't deny just how close they have gotten. "We've become good friends," Jaune told her meaning every word.

"I am pleased to hear it," Winter said with a tight but sincere smile. "It's reassuring that something decent could come from this unpleasantness and I confess I've been concerned about how this has affected her."

"Have you talked to her?" Jaune asked.

"I've been indisposed managing the investigation," Winter explained to him.

"I see," Jaune said, "how's that been going? If I am allowed to ask."

"You may ask," Winter told him, "but I am afraid I cannot say much right now, except that the General might have some questions for you."

"That probably explains why he called me to his office," Jaune mused aloud as the elevator dinged and opened its doors to their desired floor.

"Probably," Winter agreed, her heels clicking on the floor as they walked down the corridor. They reached an intersection and Winter turned down a different hallway. "I wish you the best of luck Mr. Arc, good day."

"Thank you uh... Miss Schnee," he said as they parted.

He approached Ironwood's office and entered after being let through by a secretary. He stepped into the rather spacious room and a Jaune noticed the lack of any other furnishings save for his personal desk and chair. Jaune hadn't noticed it before when he was here the first time but it seemed Ironwood expected people to remain standing when coming to meet him.

"Mr. Arc, thank you for coming." The General greeted him from behind his desk hands folded in front of him. "I see the repairs on your blade have been finished, just in time too."

"Uh sir?" Jaune asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Your evaluation was just sent to me," the General said standing up. "You've been deemed psychologically fit to return to duty. Thought Dr. Jasmine has recommended that you use her services and schedule future appointments. I'll leave that decision to your judgement."

"Thank you," Jaune said, "and that is good news, I was a little worried I hadn't left the doctor with a good impression."

Ironwood nodded and stood up rounding his desk to approach Jaune. "I can relate, I had to undergo such evaluations myself. I could never quite feel comfortable being observed trying to explain myself to someone who's never been under fire before, I could never quite relate to them."

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Yeah," he sighed. "It was kind of the same way for me. Do uh… sir would you mind if I asked you a personal question?"

Ironwood considered him a moment before answering, "you are welcome to ask, though I cannot promise I'll answer."

Jaune nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat. "You've… you've killed people before… right?"

Ironwood nodded, "this is about Vasily isn't it?"

"Yeah… I mean I know it hasn't been confirmed that he's actually dead but if he is, and if I'm the one that killed him then how should I feel?" He asked him tentatively.

"Well, what did you tell Dr. Jasmine?" He asked a Jaune.

"I told her that I hope he's dead, that I don't regret killing him or saving myself or Penny," he explained to him. "But I also feel cold… I feel like I should feel some sort or guilt or regret or sadness but when I think about how I put that blade through him the only thing I feel is bitter satisfaction. And I've felt it before, when I've thought about killing a Cinder."

Ironwood looked at impassively for a moment before holding his hand out to Jaune. "May I see your sword Mr. Arc?"

Jaune nodded and removed his sheathed blade from his belt handing Crocea Mors over to the General who unsheathed it and activated the shield letting it fold out. He inspected the sword, its intricate hilt and well honed edge. "This is a family sword is it not? Your family fought in the Great War and the Faunus Rights Revolution, and with a distinguished service record as well."

Jaune nodded, "Uh yeah," he answered not quite sure what he was getting at.

"Did you know Mr. Arc that statistically of soldiers on the frontline and under enemy fire only twenty five percent fire their weapons?" He asked him.

"I did not know that," Jaune answered him.

"And of that twenty five percent who fire their weapons only three percent fire with the intention to kill, the rest aim above or below their target. What does that tell you Mr. Arc?"

"That even though they're soldiers fighting for their lives, most of them don't want to kill someone." He answered him.

"Yes that is indeed true," Ironwood agreed, "but what does it tell you about the other three percent that do fire?"

Jaune frowned, "that they don't have reservations about killing."

"It's a little more complicated than that but yes," Ironwood explained. "Some soldiers don't feel guilty killing other people, others are hateful of their enemy or fervently motivated by their duty, others are afraid for their lives and see their only option is to kill. And then you have those who kill because they're trying to protect their friends on the frontline, usually these people have statistically come from large families or backgrounds where others have depended on them, they make strong friendships and bonds with those they fight alongside and are motivated to protect them."

The shield collapsed back down into a scabbard and the General sheathed it once more and held it out for Jaune. "I know your background Mr. Arc, and you said that you wanted to protect Penny and I believe you. I have no doubt what kind of man you were when you killed him."

Jaune felt a bashful, once again he felt like he was earning praise he didn't deserve. "Thank you sir," Jaune said, taking his sword back from the General, "that helps."

"I have been in your position before Mr. Arc, I too found myself lacking remorse after doing what I had to," he explained, "but it is natural for soldiers to dehumanize their enemies, it makes their duty more palpable, and for what it is worth I believe you did the right thing."

"Thank you," Jaune said again, attaching the scabbard back onto his hip and resting his left hand on the pommel.

Ironwood gave him a smile and nodded. "Now as to the actual business I called you here for, I have a couple of questions for our investigation into the incident."

Jaune nodded, "Winter told me you might have some questions," he explained.

Ironwood nodded, "yes, I simply want to know if you might have noticed any potential discrepancies with Fredrick Carlan, the driver who escorted you the day you were attacked."

"The driver?" Jaune asked, "what about him?"

"We think he might have been involved with Vasily or whoever hired him," Ironwood explained, "Winter's investigation has uncovered a number of large monetary transactions into several accounts of his shortly before the truck was targeted, it is possible he was the informant that warned Vasily that Penny took Miss Belladonna's place aboard the truck."

"I see," Jaune said, "but I didn't really know the guy or notice anything, did Penny perhaps record anything?"

"Penny was busy conversing with you, I was simply wondering if you might have noticed something she did not, an unusual use of the radio or type of signal."

Jaune shook his head, "sorry I can't think of anything that stood out."

Ironwood nodded, "well I appreciate the-." A red light bathed the office in scarlet and the screech of an alarm could be heard just outside the door. The General pressed a button on his desk. "This is General Ironwood, status report!"

"General sir! A body was located in the east wing, we believe there is an intruder here on academy grounds and have initiated lockdown, we're sending a security team your way." The intercom on his desk crackled.

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TO BE CONTINUED