Author's Note:

As usual, I'm interested to hear how I did, if everyone is in-character, all that jazz. You know the drill, I beg for reviews, yadda yadda whatever (do it though). Follow, fave, all that crap.

Of particular interest to me is Neo. How am I doing with her?

So thanks for reading, and continuing to do so, you glorious bastards!

Shrinking in the dark corners of the room, Adam waited for the signal that the coast was clear to move up. While doing this, he had some time to reflect on what he had gotten himself into. He had been promised a "more than competent" assistant from Cinder, and while he couldn't deny that, he could wonder and worry about what she was. If it was even a she, that was. He didn't know of anything, human, Faunus, or Grimm that could change its appearance so completely as that. One minute he had been looking at Neo, the curiously small mute girl that he had rarely seen at all, and then he had been looking at something else. Ironwood, or at least, a perfect imitation. The memory of the popping and creaking sounds as her skeleton had rearranged itself.

He had averted his eyes sometime around when she had started to twitch, and he was glad that he had done so, for if the sounds of the transformation had been so deeply disturbing, he was sure that the visuals would've been much, much worse. And that smile had stayed on her face the entire time as well, he was sure. When the sounds had stopped, he had looked back to find himself staring into the eyes of Ironwood.

The immense sound of an alarm sounding startled him, and a dim red light shattered the darkness that he had concealed himself in. Quickly, he stood up and started off out of the room and back into the hall. It wouldn't matter much now if they were discovered, something betraying their presence had already been uncovered. He wondered what it was. It was probably the corpse that Neo, or whatever had accepted that name, had produced after being questioned by a man who was unfortunately doing his job. His dying was better than them being exposed, but the brutality and the suddenness had taken him completely off guard. One minute he had been asking for an update to his order, and the next, a single well placed blow with an elongated metal rod had pierced his throat and his spine, causing him to crumple instantly with a few muffled gurgles. Neo had instantly moved into action, taking ahold of the corpse and dragging it off into a side room. He had watched him go without much feeling other than surprise.

And now he had to find this psychotic murderer himself, as she was likely the only way that he would be able to open Torchwick's cell. He might be able to blast it open, of course, he had brought explosives, but that ran the risk of injuring the man, and that was something to be avoided if possible. He turned a corner, and found himself face to face with Ironwood again. The man's face was blank, and Adam was startled enough that his hand reached for his blade without consulting his brain first. His arm was about to draw the blade out in a quick, deadly strike when he saw a wry smile come across his face, and he knew that it belonged to his strange companion.

He slid the blade back into its sheath and growled at her. "I could've killed you." The imitation of Ironwood raised an eyebrow and cocked its head questioningly. Even without words, he could tell the mocking intent of the motion. He rolled his eyes from behind his mask and nodded forward. "Is the coast clear? Can we get this pig and get out?" She nodded, and Adam pushed past her. "Good. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to. Come on."

It was true. Being in the den of the enemy was setting him in edge, and he didn't like it. He wanted to get out as quickly as possible. As she walked behind his, he heard her bones start to pop and shift as they walked, and he felt himself cringe in spite of himself. If she was changing again, she must've thought that the guise of Ironwood wouldn't help her anymore. Whether she was changing back to what he thought was her "normal" form he didn't know, but he didn't want to look back to find out.

He turned another corner, than quickly ducked back behind it, holding out a hand so that Neo also stopped. Peaking around the corner, he listened to the words being spoken down the hall. The voice of Ironwood was easy to hear, bouncing off the walls in a very commanding tone, obviously not very happy. "-did you get in here? Are you responsible for the death that we've discovered?"

A voice that sounded almost mocking replied, saying "If we were, you would know about it. There would be more than one. No, we are here to offer our assistance to you, should you be clear-sighted enough to accept, and keep your prisoner in your possession." Ironwood's eyes narrowed, and he nearly shouted "How do you know what-" his voice was cut off by a particularly loud and painful sounding pop from behind Adam, and he ducked back behind the wall again, looking at Neo with an angry gaze than immediately remembering that there was a very good reason to not look at her. Thankfully enough, it seemed that her transformation had been mostly completed, and that she was not quite the horrifying sight he had been expecting. A few of her bones seemed almost to be dislocated, or otherwise sticking out at odd angles, but she seemed to be reverting back to the form that he had seen before, a short, strangely colored girl.

The mocking voice from before said "There, see? That would be the rats themselves. We could go and capture them, if you wish. Simply give us a chance to prove our goodwill, and we would gladly go." There was a heavy pause, after which Ironwood said in a tried voice "Fine. Go get them, than leave my home. And you'll have to answer how you got in here!" The second voice replied calmly "Of course."

Adam was about to shrink back and find another way to approach the issue, when Neo strutted past him, now looking exactly as she did when he had first seen her. He put a hand out, about to stop her, when he thought better of it. If she thought it was bet to confront them head on, maybe there was something to that. He could try, at least. He stepped around the corner as well, and put both hands on his blade, mentally readying himself for the battle. Maybe he would get the chance to kill Ironwood while he was here. It would certainly do much for his people. Ironwood was the leader and organizer of many teams that had brought Faunus movements down across several kingdoms.

The ones that he was talking to came into view, and Adam had a hard time at first deciphering anything about them at a distance. There were two figures, dark and tall, wearing what looked like heavy armor and having wicked-looking weapons at their sides. What they were, he couldn't tell, but he was sure that he didn't want to come up against them.

The figure in-between them was much easier to make out, not wearing any armor that he could see. Instead, it appeared to be a child, about the age of a student, with a large broadsword on their back. He was confident that he could beat everyone present in a fight, but he didn't know if that was the best way to get this done. Neo, however, seemed fully confident in her ability to defeat them, and continued to strut forward without hesitation.

The group turned to face them, and Ironwood snarled when he saw Adam. "White Fang." He spat the name like a curse, and he looked back to the boy next to him. "Fine. Capture them and we'll work this out later. Do you need any assistance?" The boy smirked and said "What do you take us for? We will handle this."

The two soldiers by his sides stepped forward, positioning themselves in-between the child and his attackers. Neo now broke into a sprint, charging their opponents down. The darkly armored fighters drew their weapons, and the child brought his blade above his head, a pale glow being cast out across the floor in front of him. Instantly Adam felt his limbs grow heavy, and his eyelids start to droop. The fire within his chest started to die down even though he was only seconds from a battle.

He used his aura to defend himself from whatever this attack was, making a shield against it as quickly as he could and resuming his charge.

He was totally unprepared for the second attack that he would come under. With the roar of a massive waterfall, an immense pressure set on his mind, forcing his thoughts down and his actions to become clumsy and weak. It was only four more steps before his body gave out, and he stumbled and fell to the floor, unable to move.

Naze smirked as the man fell, soul suppressed into inactivity beneath his own willpower alone. Distasteful, certainly, but quite entertaining. His attention turned to the girl, and his eyes narrowed. He knew what she was, but it would be an interesting game to let her know. Perhaps she already knew that he knew, her kind always were difficult to read. Her face only had one expression, a cocked grin and burning eyes, and her soul was alien in comparison to a human's.

The shape shifters known as "changelings" had existed throughout most of human history in what could be considered a symbiotic relationship, wherein humans built settlements, and the changelings lived in them. They were very long lived creatures, and reproduced infrequently, so Naze had assumed that they had all died out in one way or another. Whatever fate they had ultimately met, he was sure that there numbers were fewer now than they had ever been in the past. She posed something of a threat, though not much. They usually were loners, though, which puzzled him. This one seemed to genuinely care about Torchwick, which was a very uncommon thing for them to do. It was possible that it intended to mate with him, if it hadn't already, but that didn't seem particularly likely.

He cleared his thoughts, reminding himself to focus. He would unravel the mysteries of this specific specimen after he had defeated it. It drew within melee range, and he struck out at it.

The blade went straight, but found its way next to its intended target. The woman had moved incrementally to the side, just dodging the strike. She hesitated, waiting for him to try again, but he knew this game better than her. Instead he stepped back, not making any move towards her. Her plastered-on smile thinned slightly, and he said "Yes, I'm afraid there's no fun to be had here. I won't be played with, and nor will my guards. We will not move from this cell until you take your leave, and I'm sure that you'll be surprised by how long we can remain here."

She shook her head, almost jokingly, and brought a parasol out from behind her back. Naze raised an eyebrow, but wasn't too surprised. He had seen stranger weapons in the world of Remnant. With a deft swiftness common among changelings, Neo struck out with it, making a flurry of jabbing motions, all of which were aimed rather suspiciously directly at the center of his chest, precisely where one of the crystals that allowed the control of the body was located.

He was certain that this was not just a manifestation of his growing paranoia. She knew where the weaknesses in the body were. She had to. Else, how would she know just where to place her strikes to do any real damage? The two soldiers sensed his distress, and moved to intervene. With a single step each, they had moved to force Neo back. Their weapons, one long blade and one wrist mounted, claw like series of blades, both with vicious spikes set all along their lengths and glowing with a deep crimson, came down as speeds almost faster than the eye could see, dangerously close to Neo's head. Her eyes widened, and with a nimble cartwheel, she retreated several steps. Naze smiled again, spreading his arms to indicate the two at his sides. "I may not be very good, but I assure you, these two could tear you to shreds instantly. I suggest that you take your leave of this place, before I decide to take you hostage and study you."

A somewhat fearful look came across her face, and Naze smiled again. "Yes, you wouldn't want that, now would you? Run along, little changeling, you'll get your human some other time." His voice was nothing but condescending, but it obviously caused some trepidation in Neo. She glanced behind him briefly towards the cell that held her target. She didn't want to leave him, but she had little other choice.

Naze glanced behind him at the cell, finding Roman pressed against the door of his cell, doing his best to get a glimpse of her. When he saw Naze looking at him, he sat back in the cell, pretending not to care. Naze looked back, and found Neo taking a few steps back. Then, in the blink of an eye, she jumped back and disappeared in a flash of white light.

Ironwood stepped forward, practically shouting "You can't just let her go like that! Come on, what are you doing? Go after her!" and making mad motions with his hands. Naze only returned his agitated gaze with a stone cold one of his own. "What would you have me do? She's gone. And besides…" he gestured to Adam, still unconscious on the ground "…you have him. The leader of the White Fang, right? If that doesn't count for something I've been wasting my time here."

Begrudgingly, Ironwood nodded, saying "I suppose I'm forced to thank you, then. I expect you'll want me to say something about this to the public as well?" Naze nodded, and Ironwood hissed through his teeth. "Very well, but I also expect to hear how you got in here in the first place!"

Naze was about to offer a retort when a small voice, almost a whisper from behind him, spoke up. "P-please Mr. I-Ironwood, don't be mad. I brought them here." Naze stepped aside and looked behind him, finding the ginger-haired, green-eyed golem looking sheepishly up at Ironwood. The man's face softened, and his shoulders fell in an almost defeated sort of way. He sighed, and said "What do you mean, Penny?"

She brought her hands together and held them close to her chest for a brief moment before pulling them apart and wrapping them around her sides nervously. As she did this, she took a few more small steps forward, eventually walking past Naze. "I brought them here, because they said that someone was going to come for Roman, and I knew that you wouldn't want him to get out. N-Naze told me that he could help keep him here. He did, didn't he?"

Naze gave Ironwood an expectant look, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. Ironwood returned this with a scowl before looking back at Penny and making a visible effort to calm himself down. "Yes, Penny, he did help, and for that I am thankful." He shot a venomous glance over at Naze "I only wish that I had been made aware of the situation." Penny had a hurt look about her, and apologized profusely. "I'm sorry, sir! I'll be certain to tell you in the future, and I'll-" she was cut off when he held up and hand, saying "Penny, we can discuss this later. Go back to your room until I call you again."

She nodded, and started to walk away again slowly. As she went, Naze spoke out, saying "Your assistance has been much appreciated, Penny. I hope we can help each other again in the future." With that, Naze turned to the two soldiers, wordlessly communicating that they could sheath their weapons and be at ease. They didn't like it, that much was obvious, but they did it. Ironwood seemed to relax when the weapons what been stowed away. He turned back to the man, saying "Well, I suppose that it goes without saying that I expect to see some word on this incident very soon. If you don't make an announcement, then I will, and I have evidence of my very own to support me." He turned to leave, but Ironwood spoke up now, saying "And what about the energy on Menagerie? Will you make mention of that too?"

Without missing a beat, Naze turned back to him and nodded, saying "Of course I will. If you want some exclusive information, some word from me, than I will give it. It is an archeological expedition, nothing more. I can promise you that there is no malicious intent behind it." The man was clearly not convinced, and folded his arms, saying "Then you wouldn't mind if I sent down a team to investigate it?"

Naze shrugged his shoulders, the motion appearing awkward for him. "You may, if you wish, but the numbers of Grimm in the area are quite sizeable, and weather unpredictable." The two glared at each other, Ironwood's harsh gaze meeting Naze's neutral one. "I'll send out a team right away." He turned, breaking the conversation off rather informally. Naze watched him go, and over his shoulder, he shouted "And get out of my house!"

This amused Naze somewhat, and he nodded, pulling a small stick of chalk from a pocket and setting about inscribing the rune that would take them back. His hand moved quickly and exactly, but before it could finish, another voice interrupted him. "E-excuse me…" The voice trailed off, and he turned to find Penny, finding her looking around the now nearly empty hall nervously. She saw him looking, and took a few more tentative steps towards him. "Yes, what is it?" he asked.

Penny's hands went together again, dry washing in front of her, and she looked at him with a disturbed look. "Mr. Ironwood wasn't too mad, was he?" The concern in her voice was very genuine, and Naze found that a stark contrast to the usual tone he got from people who weren't undead. He felt some stirring in his soul, and instantly set about smothering it before it grew any larger.

He shook his head, and said "Perhaps, but it matters little. He will do what I need him to, and that's enough." He returned to etching the rune, speaking while he did so. "And speaking of sorry, I must apologize for the behavior of the poltergeist I sent to deliver the message earlier. They are rather simple, and don't quite understand the intricacies of human interaction. Instead of convincing you, it simply tried to make you. I'll be more careful in the future." Penny seemed to think for a moment about what he was talking about before shaking her head. "Oh, no, I don't mind! I'm glad that you trust me enough to have me do that!"

The last line of the rune was finished, and he stood back up. "Well, Penny, I appreciate your help, as I said before, and your concern touches me, but I must be on my way. I've things to do, and delay is…unfortunate." Penny nodded. "I understand." She said in a sympathetic voice. "Mr. Ironwood has that a lot too. Maybe we could meet again some other time!"

He nodded. "Yes, perhaps." In a slow, and generally nonthreatening gesture, Penny put her arms out towards him, and after a few short moments, he realized that she wanted to hug him. The two guards by his side moved almost imperceptibly at this, but it was apparently enough to register to Penny that they didn't want Naze to be touched. In spite of this, she continued moving towards him, confident that he would tell her to stop if he wanted her to. He didn't, and she put her arms around him gently.

It wasn't like hugging Ruby, like she thought it might be. His body was cold and rigid, and he didn't return the gesture. She supposed that she should've been ready for that, but it was simply slightly hurting to feel no response. She broke the contact and put her hands on his shoulders, holding him at arm's length. She looked into his face, and for a brief moment, they seemed to come alive with something. What it was, she didn't know, but his deep eyes sharpened suddenly with an emotion of some kind, followed by the very recognizable look of panic.

With one sudden movement, he jerked back, using one arm to remove her hands as he escaped her reach. The two guards standing by his side again shifted, this time in a much more threatening yet subtle fashion. She knew that she should back off, and she did. She looked at Naze questioningly, feeling slightly hurt by this. He looked back, and whatever echo of emotion that had resided in his eyes faded completely. "My apologies. I would explain, but I haven't the time. Goodbye."

With a sudden flash of light, all three of them were gone. She looked to the floor, and saw that the chalk markings were scuffed and blurred. There was a deep emptiness inside of her now, she could feel it. That had been bad. She had offended him somehow. She wished that she could talk to him again, to find out what she had done wrong, but he was gone.

The bell rang, and the students stood up to leave. Yang did so slightly hesitantly, as she did not want to tumble over just from walking. Ruby stood next to her, offering her shoulder for support, but Yang shook her head and waved Ruby forward. "No, you go, I got this."

Her steps bent her leg further and further out of shape, and she was sure that she could feel a bone poking against the skin, but she wanted to so this herself. She was perfectly capable, and there was nothing to hold her back. She didn't need help.

After taking a few lurching steps, a voice from down at the center of the arena called out "Miss Xiao Long!" Her team mates looked back at her with wide eyes, and she winced, thinking that the tone fairly obviously meant that she was in trouble. She turned slowly, and faced Professor Goodwitch, saying "Yeah? Do you want me to stay?"

The teacher nodded, and waved a hand. "Your team can go. I only want to speak with you." Yang turned to look back at her friends, who all had expressions of both worry and confusion on their faces. In the best response to their unasked questions she could muster, she shrugged. "I don't know. Just get going, you shouldn't be late for the next class."

Hesitantly, they did as she said, and made their way out of the room. Yang now turned back to the Professor and asked "So what's up? Am I in trouble or something?" Ms. Goodwitch shook her head before tersely saying "No, now please accompany me to my office." She walked off to the side of the ring, and Yang heard a door open. She had forgotten that there were teacher-only passages in the school, and had a bad feeling about being invited down one. She had never heard of anyone else who had been.

With slow and deliberate movements, she descended the stairs, keeping weight off of her bad leg and arm. When she finally reached the bottom, she found the Professor standing, arms crossed, waiting in the doorway, foot tapping impatiently. Yang made the conscious effort to speed her movements, and was surprised at how quickly she could shamble with a teacher glairing daggers at her like that. Without another word, Goodwitch turned and started to make her way down the sterile looking hall. It was small in comparison to the ones above, but there were much fewer teachers than there were students.

Goodwitch walked, heels clicking on the floor, and Yang wasn't far behind. They walked for roughly a minute, passing many doors that Yang didn't recognize before stopping at one in particular that Ms. Goodwitch opened, revealing a small set of stairs leading upwards. She climbed the stairs without word, and Yang followed again.

When they reached the top, Yang stopped to take in her surroundings while Ms. Goodwitch took a seat behind her desk, shuffling a few papers before pushing her glasses up on her face and saying "Now then, I would like to ask you a few questions."

Yang nodded, taking a seat across from the desk, taking weight off of her broken leg and glancing down at it briefly before looking back at the Professor. "Ms. Goodwitch, If we could hurry this along, that'd be great, because I really kind of need to get my leg fixed, and if I'm late to my next class-" Glynda cut her off, saying "I will excuse any absence, and I assure you that I have set my share of bones in my time. Now, if you would kindly obey your teacher…"

Yang looked down to the ground, knowing that if she were still alive her cheeks would be red. "Yeah, alright." She had seen the woman assemble whole tables from splinters and broken planks, a bone couldn't be too different, right? "Good, now…" she knit her fingers together and leaned forward on the desk. "I want you to tell me about what you did in that ring. The fire that you threw was unlike anything I've seen before. Certainly, fireballs are not uncommon, but those were different. How were you able to create them?"

Yang sat back against the chair and thought for a moment before saying "Well, it wasn't dust, which is probably why it stood out. That was magic that you saw me use, and I'm not even joking. I learned some magic before I got brought back, and that was the first time I got to try it out. Pretty cool, huh?" Glynda simply stared back at her blankly for moment before saying "Magic? What exactly is "magic"? And why were you taught this?"

Yang sighed, saying "Uh, well, there are a whole lot to it, but the way magic was explained to me was that it's an outward manifestation of someone's soul. Like, uh, well…" she tried to think of an example. "Someone's semblance is magic, basically. It's a manifestation of a person's natural soul shape and disposition. When I died, my soul kind of… well, loosened up is a good way to put it, I guess. So after that, it was a lot easier to learn magic. There are a lot of different types of magic, and not everyone can learn it, but I can now." She gave a small chuckle "All I had to do was die!"

Glynda did not seem amused. She leaned lightly more forward and said "What other kinds of magics are there?" Yang felt the intensity of her gaze, but didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought she would. "Well, there's necromancy…" she gestured to herself "…obviously. Then there's other stuff, like elemental magic, physical magics, that kind of stuff." Glynda nodded, then said "And the fire that you used? That was…" her voice trailed off, and Yang picked it up. "Pyromancy. It's fire, basically. They taught me it because fire was the one that I relate to the most, I guess. Feelings and emotions are really important to me, so it seemed like the most obvious choice."

Again, Glynda nodded before asking "What other kinds of elemental magics are there?" Yang let out another sigh, saying "Oh, geez, uh…" after another brief moment of thinking, she continued "There's stuff like geomancy, cryomancy, basically everything that exists, there's a classification for. I didn't get too far into it, but apparently they get really specific, like people who use magic to forge metal really well, or to grow lots of crops. Magic can really be used for anything, as long as you can figure out how to apply it."

Glynda sat still for a moment, eyes unfocusing as she thought. She was brought back to the present when Yang's metal fingers snapped loudly. She was startled, and said "Oh! My apologies, I was simply thinking…" her mind started to gravitate towards the effects that magic could have on the world again, but she made a conscious effort to pull away from that train of thought. She cleared her throat and said "Anyways, would you like me to fix your injuries now? I can do it quickly, and you may return to your class afterwards."

Yang nodded and said "Sure, yeah, go ahead." With that, Glynda stood up, pushing her chair back and walking around her desk. Yang made to stand as well, but Glynda motioned for her to stay, instead pulling a second chair from a corner of the room and sliding it next to Yang. She looked curiously at the teacher for a moment before Goodwitch said "Put your leg up on the chair."

Yang raised an eyebrow, but did as the teacher asked. Ms. Goodwitch grabbed her weapon, a simple riding crop, and held it out straight as Yang picked up her leg and placed it on the cushioned seat, flat. She was about to ask if she needed to remove her boots when a purplish glow started to grow around the implement, and a matching glow seemed to appear below Yang's skin. It was a few seconds before she felt the different fragments of bone shifting below her skin, moving past the tendons that needed bone to function. The fragments met and fused together, than muscle reattached to the bone, restoring her ability to move it. She wiggled her toes inside of her shoes, than smiled at Goodwitch. "It feels good."

She smiled, and nodded. "Good, I'm glad that I still have that touch. Now, before you go, I'd like to ask you one last thing." She held her hand out for Yang's arm, and she gave it to her, saying "Go ahead, shoot."

Glynda gave her a dry, serious look before saying "Why are you here? I don't mean here, in this office, I mean at all. Why were you brought back, really? Are there purposes other than being a simple ambassador?" The glow encased her wrist, and the bones realigned themselves, making her fingers twitch slightly as the muscles were jostled by the moving shards.

"No, not really. I mean, if he needs me to do something else, I'll probably do it, but I have that choice. He doesn't force me to do anything." Her bones fused back together, and she moved her fingers around, opening and closing her hand. "Yeah, that's good. Thanks." She gave a smile to the teacher, who nodded and pushed her glasses back up on her face. "Thank you, Ms. Xiao Long. I believe the pleasure was all mine."

She got up from the seat and walked towards the door, opening it and taking a few steps out. She felt good. Everything seemed to be going well somehow, and she wasn't exactly sure why she felt this, but she did. She was happy. As the door fell closed behind her, she started walking off to get to her next class, even looking forward to it.

Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, and Nora all walked out of the classroom as the bell rang. Nora was practically glued to Ren's arm, looking up at his face, a look that seemed to have lost nearly all control on her face. Her eyes went up at Ren's like she was looking at the starry sky, and she held him like he was her one and only link to being alive.

Pyrrha and Jaune walked behind them, talking worriedly to one another about the two. "Jaune, we have to do something! This is just… she's out of control. What did Ren say about it?" Jaune sighed, than told her "Ren said that him, Ozpin, and Naze all met to talk about that. Apparently the only way that Nora could get "fixed" is by some really dangerous operation that could wind up doing permanent damage to her soul. It's either that, or let this thing take control of her." He sighed again, gazing forlornly at the reverent girl. "There's no way she would ever agree. We both know it. The only way to get it done would be to force her to, and I don't think we can just do that."

Pyrrha thought for a moment before saying "Well, it really seems like this thing has control of her already. You're sure that there aren't any other options?" Jaune replied in a quick, angered tone. It was one that Pyrrha had never heard him use before, let alone at her. "I don't know! I don't know anything about what's going on, and the only one who does is a million years old and dead! I just… damn…" his voice trailed off, and he clenched his fists as hard as he could. Pyrrha saw a tear roll down his face, and fall to the floor. She hated seeing him like this.

She put a hand on Jaune's back and rubbed it gently, trying to set him at ease. "It's alright, we are all frustrated. Maybe there's something that Naze hasn't said, like something he doesn't know about. If we can find that, we might save Nora."

Jaune looked sidelong at her, an incredulous look on his face. "Something he doesn't know about?" his voice was bitter "Pyrrha, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't think that there's anything like that on the planet we could have a prayer of finding." She took her hand away, taken aback. This wasn't like Jaune. "I was only suggesting that we try." she replied solemnly.

Jaune closed his eyes, and stopped walking. Pyrrha could do nothing but stop and wait. Jaune was shaking, with tears starting to roll from his eyes. Pyrrha took a few quick steps over to him, saying "Jaune! Jaune, are you alright?" She took ahold of his hand, getting worried and meaning to check for anything the matter. As soon as her fingers touched his, his moved, wrapping around hers tightly. She was about to try and pry them out, as it was starting to grow painful, when Jaune pulled her close, putting his arms around her and squeezing tightly. "I just want to help, and I can't do anything!"

His voice was little more than a horse whisper, but delivered directly into Pyrrha's ear, it was louder than a shout. She hugged him back, trying to make him feel better. "We all want to help, but you can't shoulder this alone! I want to help, Ren wants to help, and even Ozpin wants to help! We aren't alone in this!" Jaune's arms loosened, and Pyrrha looked up from behind him, seeing the sun. The light burned her eyes for a moment, but the warmth and the light gave her an idea.

"What about the Paladin?" The question seemed to hang in the air for a moment, before Jaune broke the hug and took a step back, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "The paladin? W-what about him?" his voice was still shaky, but it was clear that he was getting better. Pyrrha smiled when she saw this, and said "Yes, remember the speech he gave about what the Paladins did? He said that they were focused primarily on the purity of the human soul. It sounds like just what we need!"

A small smile lifted the sides of Jaune's mouth, and he asked "Do you really think that he would help?" Pyrrha smiled confidently, doing her best to inspire the feeling in Jaune. "Yes, of course I do! He wants to help everyone, just like us, and he is far older than us. He's got to have some knowledge that we don't!" Jaune sniffled, wiped his nose again, than nodded, saying "Okay, how do we get ahold of him?"

Pyrrha felt very glad that he had accepted it as a possibility, at least. It seemed obvious, but the two events had simply seemed so disconnected that she hadn't put them together. "I don't know, but it can't be too hard. We can ask Ozpin to get in touch, or we can try to find ourselves. I think that asking Ozpin would be faster, but if we do it ourselves…" it was her turn to trail off. She didn't know where she was going with that. Asking Ozpin was really the only viable solution.

Jaune seemed to understand this, and nodded, saying "I could do that now, and I could probably even just get excused from class. But what do we do about them?" His eyes pointed towards Ren and Nora. They couldn't separate them, and not for lack of trying. Pyrrha had tried to take Nora out to Vale, or to get her to tag along talking to teachers, but she simply refused to leave Ren's sight. Ren was no better. If anything, Ren's behavior was even more worrying. Whereas before he had tried to avert or keep his distance from Nora, now he seemed to be trying to stay close. When he was with her, his eyes went blank, and a dull smile came across his face. Both Pyrrha and Jaune had agreed that Nora was affecting him, like some kind of drug. The thought was scary, to say the least. To think that their feelings could be so twisted was uncomfortable.

If they were somehow able to get Ren away from her, he would snap out of it, and return to his normal self. That much they knew. It was another thing that Jaune was going to speak to Ozpin about. Although he didn't want to admit it, Jaune had felt the feeling too. Nora's scent was simply so sweet, and her body so perfect…

He shook his head, violently dispelling the thoughts. If he started thinking like that, than he would be just as pacified as Ren. He couldn't leave Pyrrha to deal with this on her own. It wouldn't be fair. And if he threw away the order of the team like that, than what kind of leader would he be? A poor one, to say the least.

The warning bell sounded, indicating that it was only minutes before class started. This snapped Jaune out of thought, and he looked to Pyrrha, saying "I'm going to go to Ozpin. Just tell Professor Port something like that, or that I'm caught in the bathroom, or whatever." Pyrrha giggled slightly at this, and nodded. "I'll do my best to keep any more accidents from happening with those two." It had certainly been a long, weird day. Jaune nodded, said "Wish me luck!" and took off towards the office tower.

The jog there was easy, and halfway he heard the bell ring, meaning that class had started. It was of little importance, but he read into it, and seemed to find some finality in it. He was going to get help, and nothing would stop him. No matter what he had to do, he would save Nora.

The automatic doors slid open, and he slowed to a walk. The receptionist behind the desk looked up and said "Hello! Do you have an appointment?" in a chipper voice that didn't seem to fit the somewhat desperate mood that Jaune found himself in. He looked for the confidence that Pyrrha had given him, and when he recalled her sure smile, it seemed to cast some of the doubt away. "No" he answered "but I really need to get up to see him. If you could call him now, I think he would-"

Before he could finish his thought, the elevators dinged, and Ozpin himself stepped out. Jaune had never rode in the elevator before, but he knew that the ride from the top to the ground had to be longer than that. He hadn't just come down to see him. This was further evidenced by the surprised look and raised eyebrow on Ozpin's face. He turned away from the secretary, who was now forgotten, and said "Sir, we need to talk. I-it's about Nora."

Ozpin's eyebrow went higher, and he said "Oh? Then I had better see to it before I go out to lunch." He stepped back into the elevator, and gestured for Jaune to do the same. He did, and the doors soon slid closed, and the elevator glided up the shaft, pulleys and cables dragging it on its way. Jaune shuffled awkwardly next to the man. He couldn't help it. How could he not be nervous? Ozpin was one of the most prominent members of society, and Jaune was just a kid. A kid who was in the man's school illegally.

At that thought occurred to him, he felt himself shrink away from the man in spite of himself. He seemed so big and ominous that Jaune could hardly do anything else. He quickly stole a glance at the man's face, and found his brown eyes staring piercingly over the rims of his half-moon glasses at him. He jerked his head back to the smooth door, not wanting to make it seem like he was staring.

He tensed up when the man's voice came out, saying "You know, there really is no need to be worried. At least with talking to me. I think that both of our experiences would be bettered if you would take a moment to collect yourself." This advice seemed very applicable, and Jaune did just that, breathing in deeply and then letting the air escape his lungs slowly, bringing his thoughts into focus. He needed to talk about Nora, and about finding Solace. Those were the two things that they needed to discuss. If he didn't say anything about his transcripts, then Ozpin wouldn't think about it at all.

His own mental voice didn't seem terribly confident, so he imagined Pyrrha saying it. This worked much better, and he felt himself relax a little. If he didn't say anything, Ozpin wouldn't either. It was that simple.

The doors slid open again and Ozpin walked out into his office, towards a large desk that had papers strewn in a somewhat orderly fashion across its surface. Jaune followed, taking note of the many gears that rotated softly against each other, and wondering if all of this machinery was simply to power the clock on the exterior of the window.

Ozpin took a seat, and gestured at Jaune to do the same. He did, and without hesitation launched into discussing the issue at hand. "Alright, sir, I know you've been talking with Ren and Naze about all this, but there has to be another way to do this. This "ripping Nora's soul apart" thing is just not going to work! I mean, you can't really expect her to agree with that, even if she was able to make that decision, and you can't expect us to make that decision for her."

Ozpin knit his fingers together carefully and leaned forward. "Mr. Arc, I can promise you that I dislike that option every bit as much as you do. The implications of it are far-reaching, and the potential for failure is much too great to be comfortable with." Jaune nodded, but Ozpin continued. "However, one cannot forgo taking a medicine simply because it is unpalatable. We may have no other choice, as it had been made clear to me that should Ms. Valkyrie be allowed to continue on this path that she is taking, the consequences would be catastrophic. I wish I could set your fears to rest, but I believe that I can only make them worse."

Jaune held up a hand, not meaning any disrespect, but as a sign he was eager to share. "But, what if you hadn't looked at all the options? I mean, I know that you probably trust Naze, but what if there's something that he didn't think of? Or didn't want to think of?" A slight widening of Ozpin's eyes betrayed that he might have already come to the conclusion that Jaune was leading to, but he didn't let that deter him. "What about the Paladins? That guy, Solace, said that their main concern was the purity of the human soul, right? Well this seems to fit as an issue with that. Maybe he had some way to just filter this thing out or Nora, rather than ripping it out!" He realized that he was almost shouting, and that he had almost risen out of his seat. He sat back down, and made a conscious effort to lower his voice. "If he can do that, then maybe it's a lot safer than what Naze wants to do."

Ozpin leaned back, considering for a moment. As the seconds dragged by, Jaune felt eagerness start to build inside him like a balloon about to burst. He felt his nerves start to prickle with worry and fear. Why was he taking this long to give a determination? The answer should've been immediate.

After a period of time only determinable as "painful", Ozpin nodded, saying "I think that investigating this possibility would be an excellent idea. I will send for Mr. Lah at the soonest opportunity." Jaune smiled wide, and said "Thank you, sir. That's very good to hear." Ozpin nodded again, taking stock of his desk for a moment before saying "Mr. Arc, I'm exceedingly pleased that you brought this to my attention. I know many of my students would have simply accepted the determination of treatment, and moved on. You did not, and showed considerable initiative in coming to me directly. I think you'll make a fine Huntsman one day."

Jaune was grateful, but rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Thank you sir, but it wasn't really my idea. Pyrrha's the one who came up with it, not me. If I'm perfectly honest, I was about to give up on the whole thing. It's just been a lot of stress, you know?"

Ozpin shook his head, saying in a somewhat matter-of-fact voice "No, I don't think I could. The stress that you've been put under as a team leader in such a situation is certainly a heavy burden, and I'm sure that very few would bear it as well as you." He separated his hands, making a gesture of capitulation "But, if you insist in depraving yourself of that credit, than at least take pride in your team, and in your partner. I get the feeling that you lead Ms. Nikos to that idea, whether you know it or not."

Jaune didn't answer, but nonetheless felt some pride bud up in his chest. It was much, certainly not enough to remove the apprehension about Nora, but it was something, at least. The two rose from their chairs, shaking hands over the desk and saying their goodbyes before Jaune turned and walked into the elevator. Once inside, he held the door for a few moments, waiting for Ozpin to join him. The white-haired man looked up from his desk and waved Jaune on, saying "I think I've lost my appetite. Go to class, I will arrange for your tardiness to be excused."

With that, Jaune bid another farewell, and the doors slid shut again. Ozpin was left alone in his office, not a sound disturbing the air other than the quiet grinding of gears. He took a moment to think.

There was no chance that Naze had simply forgotten to mention that possibility. Were he a mortal man, perhaps, but he was not. No, there was something more sinister about that small blunder. Perhaps it was more intentional than it seemed. There was little that he could do about it, though. He would discuss the matter the next time the two met, and he would see if he was provided with a satisfactory answer. If not, he would be forced to reevaluate the agreements that he had come to.

Heels clicked hollowly against the paved sidewalk, and eyes darted from side to side as Neo walked down the street. She tried to keep as constant vision on everything that she could. Her eyes lingered on every face that she passed, but only for a moment before she moved to the next one.

Her mind shifted its concerns, and she started to think about Roman. He had gotten himself captured, and now she had to get him out. One way or another, she would need to spring him from that cell. Not only did she like him, but Cinder would want him soon as well. Taking Adam had probably been a good call, though. He had distracted that creation long enough for her to close distance, and she would've been able to damage the crystals keeping it functional, had it not been for those two soldiers.

They had made sense, reanimated fighters, she could feel their souls, and thus could predict their actions to a limited degree. Although she hadn't been able to predict the other one, it had been slow, and was obviously not experienced to the degree the others had been. It had known this, too, and taunted her about it. "I may not be very good, but I assure you, these two could tear you to shreds…" and "before I decide to take you hostage and study you." Both were significant threats, and it made her think that he had been the one in charge, but she hadn't been able to get any read off of him.

His movements all had a rigid, robotic quality to them, as if her were making them out of careful consideration. There had been no secondary muscular movement, or even brain activity. She could feel the neurons firing in other's brains, it was what allowed her to toy with them so much, and to imitate others so well. Whereas the other two guards had not had any brain activity either, their souls were fairly plain and easy to predict. The thing that made them dangerous was that they were outright faster than her. Her swift reaction times, much faster than a human's, had saved her from their blades, but she also got the feeling that they had not intended to actually catch her with them.

Wheels in her head started to turn, and in the changeling fashion, she started to regard the unknown with a high degree of both caution and interest. It was beneficial to know everything about a person, and she was accustomed to finding this out an instant after meeting them. By learning their thought patterns, she could anticipate any action, imitate any mannerism, and impersonate any person flawlessly. Unfortunately, she had inherited her mother's traits, and as a result her actual shape shifting abilities were somewhat diluted. She couldn't maintain a form that wasn't her own for long without hurting. It was something like pulling a muscle, but in every nerve of her body.

She shook her head. Roman. Roman was what she should be thinking about. It was her instinct to seek information on individuals she didn't know, but she needed to think of a way to get Roman out. She would return to Cinder, than see if she could get any other help in the matter. If not, than she would do it herself.

She blinked, and a nearly involuntary change happened. Her eyes shifted from brown to one brown one pink. This was, like a dog snarling to show its teeth, an indicator of aggressive thoughts.

If those two guards hadn't been there, she would have destroyed that thing, and sprung Roman from his imprisonment. If she could find that thing again, than she might be able to learn more about it, and maybe even find a way to defeat it more quickly. That would require finding it, though, and that would not be an easy task with the little information that she had.

Her heels clicked on the pavement as she walked, heading back towards the warehouse that Cinder had been as a base of operations. She had passed into a seedier part of town, and there was not a soul around to see her. Her body relaxed in situations like this. While she herself didn't have any particular fear of being found out as what she was, it was a changeling instinct to avoid that at all costs, not dissimilar to a human's trepidation at jumping from a cliff. The only person who really did know was Roman. She had changed in front of Adam, of course, but that had given her a thrill like bungee jumping or skydiving, simply taking a risk.

The empty streets seemed to tense, and she pulled herself together tightly, reasserting her careful control over her body. She was being watched. She could feel it. She didn't know from where, or by who, but there were eyes boring into her from somewhere.

She turned quickly, eyes scanning for anything that her extra senses might miss. The only thing that she was able to make out was the brief flicker of a thin shadow at the far end of the street before it disappeared down a storm grate. The feeling of being watched left, and she resumed her path, not letting herself relax again. She didn't know if it had anything to do with the thing she had fought that looked like a child, but it seemed fairly likely.