Standing at the foot of the Airship's landing deck was a woman clad in an Atlesian Specialist uniform that stood a little shorter than he did at 5'9 compare to his taller stature but her intimidating glare through icy blue eyes certainly helped to make even a giant feel small. "So…You are the young man that my sister has become so…Taken with? Though she never did mention that you were quite so tall…"
Jae laughed a little in embarrassment; it started once his Demon genes kicked in for the first time and he began his slow growth spurt from a middling 5'5 to an almost towering 6'3 which earned him a few jokes from Yang and Nora. "Yeah, I uh…I've been getting that a lot, recently…I'm Jae, it's really nice to meet you Ms Schnee."
Winter nodded as she dismissed the robots and gestured for Jae to walk with her; "Weiss, I'll need to talk to Mr. Cielo alone for a few minutes…" Winter mentioned as she had Jae walk with her away from Weiss so they could talk alone; Once they were significantly away, she decided that now was a good time for her to go into Big Sister Mode; "So Mr. Cielo…I trust you know why exactly I'm here?"
Jae nodded since he figured that this wasn't just a social thing and he wanted to ensure that she had very little reason to dislike him. "Weiss said that you work for the Atlas Military and that you came here to oversee security."
Winter nodded; "That is one of the reasons but it doesn't normally require a Specialist's full attention in order to watch over cargo." She explained with an even tone in her voice and keeping her look serious on him. "I came here because I heard from Weiss that she was now pursuing a relationship with someone and I wanted to see what it was that was so compelling to choose you."
Jae raised an eyebrow; "Compelling? She makes it sound like I'm a distraction…." He thought but decided against snarking for self preservation reasons. "We're classmates together and since my team and her's are both together in most of them…It kind of…Made sense, I know it's a little lame sounding but it's the truth, Ma'am." He explained since he didn't want to bring up all the weeks of her belittling, criticising and outright meanness that was their first meeting. "I help her out with school stuff and with what happened at Vale with the Grimm…I think that helped me and her see things."
"I see…Can I tell you something, Mr Cielo? Why exactly did you choose to date my sister out of everyone here? Was it because of her status? The Family Name or what it entails?" Winter was practically interrogating him with that same cold stare but even though it was from her staring up at him; It intimidated him nonetheless.
"No! Gods no, nothing like that!" Jae shut that line of thinking down hard; "A lot of people might but the only reason that I like her is for something a little less superficial than that…" He then took a deep breath to clear his head.
Winter raised an eyebrow, as an Atlesian Special Operative; She was trained on how to properly question someone including how to tell when someone was lying. However when she looked at him and his somewhat awkward demeanour around her, he had given her no reasons to doubt, though there was something she still had to ask; "Tell me…Mr. Cielo, do you have any siblings? An older brother or a younger sister like that?" She asked but then decided to elaborate when he shook his head; "To be an heiress to the Schnee Dust Company means that there is a lot expected of her; I was often worried that she would end up with someone who only showed interest because of her name, her money or her status…So what I mean to ask is…Can you understand my concerns when I ask you these questions…Not because I wish to intimidate you but because I wish to know your true feelings."
Jae nodded; "I can't really relate about having a sibling….Most of my family say that having me around alone was bad enough punishment." He said to her with a dry chuckle but then turned to face Winter with a serious expression. "I know you're just looking out for your little sister and I can understand why you'd be so worried but you have to understand that Weiss can make her own decisions too and after the things I heard her say about where she came from? I can't exactly blame her for wanting that choice for herself." He finished before stepping a little back; "W-With all due respect, ma'am…" He added quickly to show respect.
Winter gave him a second glance about his comment regarding his own family to see if he was joking about being punishment but found herself a little concerned when she realised he wasn't joking. For a brief moment at that time, her frozen mask of indifference softened a little though she decided not to press him on the context; "Alright….I admittedly can't see any reason why you would lie to me and as such, I shall trust you with my sister." Winter relented and accepted their decisions to see each other before placing a hand on his shoulder with a softer expression such as a caring older sister would have; "….Just…Make sure that you do your best to ensure she's happy. Life back home in Atlas was never that kind to her…to any of us and I think it's…Nice that she now has someone besides me to care for her in such an honest and genuine way." She admitted as she walked back towards where Weiss was to join her; "I should probably get back to Weiss, I did come here to visit her while working after all…"
"HEY! Yeah you! I'm talkin' to you Ice Queen!" A rather abrasive looking drunk man was clutching onto the zapping pieces of robot that were strewn across the ground.
"Excuse me! Just who do you think y-" Weiss started to snap at him since the nickname was causing her to act on reflex but his palm and slurred shushing stopped her from finishing that sentence as she was lightly nudged to the side.
Jae could only watch nervously as the air around everyone spectating got more tense with the drunk's snippy tone and Winter's equally stiff and no nonsense retorts.
"So…You don't just stop at following your general's or-urp!-orders…You had to try getting your hooks into the kid too?" The man now known as Qrow accused Winter since he saw the two talking but he didn't hear what it was.
"It is not only impolite to eavesdrop but it is none of your business to what Atlas personnel conducts." Winter argued back as Qrow's insufferable remarks were getting to her despite years of learning restraint and discipline.
"So what's the deal then? Ironwood already has his mind set on how things should go so you wanna earn brownie points by trying to coerce this little nimrod into doing Atlas's work? Because bad news for you! He's already here at Beacon…And working with someone else." Qrow argued with the ironclad logic that came from 4 whiskeys, a Mistralian sake bomb and a few dozen Atlesian patented vodka BlizzardBusters.
"I don't know what you think you're implying but you are not going to run your mouth here in front of everyone!" Winter barked as she drew her saber and threatened him to shut up.
"Well then…Come and try." Qrow smirked as he gained a devilishly coy smirk and got his sword into a stance to connect with the elder Schnee.
"Weiss…What's going on?!" Ruby asked as she rushed over to her and Jae to find out what happened; "Why is my Uncle Qrow fighting your sister?" She asked as she saw the two evenly matched.
"He seems to think that Winter is trying to ensnare Jae for whatever reason." Weiss mused since she was just as confused as Ruby was about the whole thing.
It took several broken pillars, a shattered floor and more swears than Yang's room at night but Ironwood and Ozpin finally managed to get the two to break it up and order them up to his office to discuss "Urgent Business" and the sound of the elevator's chime started the whole argument again.
"Qrow!" Ozpin snapped to break up the lashings that the group were dishing out; "Why are you here? We haven't heard from you in some time and you show up here without so much as a notice."
"I got some intel that I couldn't let slip via Scroll or a letter…But the person or people who put Amber in critical condition are currently here…" Qrow mentioned as he shook off the buzz momentarily to explain his business. "Speaking of which, that kid you've talked about…Why are you putting so much effort into some Demon kid and why are you having me track down some missing parent?"
"I ask you because there is…A concern of mine…Well, not so much a concern as a curiosity." Ozpin admitted; "This boy has no clue about where exactly his heritage for Demonhood comes from and the only person nearby who can say anything refuses to do so…If we can find them and try to straighten out the facts…Then we can have an easier time figuring out if Mr. Cielo is a Dormant or a FullBlooded."
Qrow raised an eyebrow at hearing that name; "Huh…Cielo…That name kinda sounds familiar…Ruby mentioned someone like that when we met up…"
Ironwood took the chance to jump in; "Ozpin, if we aren't going to test out what we have down there than I think we should discuss about our candidate now that we know who to select…With the Fall Maiden in the way that she is, we can't afford to waste time! We need to take action as soon as poss-"
"James, we haven't even told her about it yet because for starters everyone is in the tournament and we need them focused to perform at their best…And secondly; This kind of decision isn't to be taken lightly! If Pyrrha Nikos chooses to accept the powers of the Fall Maiden partial or not, that is a whole other responsibility than becoming a Huntress." Goodwitch pointed out to Ironwood as she was starting to get tired of the Atlas General's insistence.
"And on top of that, we are not putting stock in your theory…Considering all the myths and legends regarding it, I'm not risking a student to find out which one is true."
"Okay, hold on! Oz, what are you talking about risking a Student? And your golden goose for the next Maiden is Pyrrha Nikos?" Qrow pushed in to clarify; "Why her specifically?"
Ozpin cleared his throat; "Despite my reservations about James's impatience…He does make a good point in nominating Ms Nikos; She's kind, strong and incredibly capable as a warrior…She knows how to use her own abilities for good which gives me reason to believe she would fit." He would explain as he sipped from his mug; "As for the other reason, James can explain…"
Ironwood changed his glance to Qrow before starting to detail; "The sword that belonged to the former Demon King Sparda…Supposedly it has a variety of effects when someone wields it but considering it's origins and from who you hear it varies…."
Glynda opened her tablet; "Some people say that any human who touches it can awaken the powers of a Fullblooded Demon in them if they have any genes in them…Others say that anyone that it cuts down turns into a Demon." She listed off; "But there are far more stories about it that list curses on them such as anyone who isn't deemed worthy enough to wield it gets burned to ash…Or it sucks the life out of them…"
"So? We got Magic and Maidens, surely we can take the risk if this kid is as badass as Oz makes him out to be." Qrow mentioned as he looked to Oz; "Right? Because that info you gave on me was a lot more than I expected from a kid like that."
"That's exactly why we don't want to do it…There is too much risk and not enough of a solid understanding of what happens if we try it…Along with the fact that if that worthiness clause is in effect and Jae is a simple Dormant Type could be dangerous." Glynda mentions; "Because Ironwood seems to think that he could improve our chances by introducing the sword to Mr. Cielo."
"You mean like…Letting him hold it?" Qrow raised an eyebrow and looked to the group.
"By stabbing him with it." Glynda explained with a grim face and glaring at Ironwood who didn't seem phased by the concept.
"Hold on…You're not serious, are you?! You're genuinely that willing to put someone at risk just so you could gamble on a potential power boost? I mean…For Gods's sake James, that's a kid!" Qrow lashed out and yelled at Ironwood in his face.
"Qrow, I know it's hard to imagine but this is a Demon that we are talking about…It lifted an industrial container barehanded, wiped out an entire nest of Grimm on it's own and on top of that: It's still becoming stronger every time it enters a fight." Ironwood explained coolly before he turned to Glynda; "You saw it too when he first joined here at this school, with these two together as Maiden and Demon…Salem will be hard pressed t-GH!" He was then suddenly grabbed and pushed into a wall by a very sober and now very livid Qrow who had heard more than enough.
"It, it, it! No amount of sure things and back up plans are EVER going to make me say "Okay, sure! Let's just STAB A FUCKING CHILD AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" Because I am NOT going along with that no matter how much you think it'll work!" Qrow roared in Ironwood's face as he gripped his collar tighter; "I knew you were a hardass but I never actually thought that you'd be this morally skewed…I'll help Ozpin with whatever he needs but I REFUSE to even touch whatever ideas that you have cooked up!"
"In all honesty Qrow….The feeling is mutual…" Glynda agreed as she kept her sour gaze on James who looked like he had his Mettle activated; "Which is why I have spoken to Ozpin and have suggested that we simply start by putting him in the same vicinity as the sword to see what could potentially happen."
"Still…This is a kid we're talking about…You really okay with trying to experiment like this, Oz?" Qrow asked as he looked to Ozpin who nodded.
"To an extent; I do want to ensure that Mr. Cielo can have a chance to discover who he really is and earn his potential…But NOT at the expense of his own life and wellbeing." Ozpin made sure to lay out the facts as the elevator dinged.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Jae asked as the doors opened up and he felt a sudden bout of anxiety at seeing not just Ozpin and Goodwitch but Ironwood and Qrow too albeit with one at the other's throat. "I…I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
Ozpin shook his head; "You are right on time, first of all I must congratulate you and your team for excelling into the semi-finals of the tournament, have you opted to choose who will go through?"
Jae nodded; "We talked it out, I thought it was best that Pyrrha definitely goes through but the others kept saying that I should go for it too." He explained though he admittedly was still nervous about being the focus of attention.
"Honestly, you shouldn't be surprised with what I've heard aboutcha…." Qrow mentioned as he dropped Ironwood; "With someone who has skills like your's, it makes sense that you take things front and centre."
"I-I'm sorry, I don't believe that I've met you before." Jae specified as he was a little perturbed at Qrow's direct comments. Though when he took a second glance at him; From his face and towards the cape he wore along with his weapon was when he realised. "You're Ruby's uncle aren't you?"
"Right on the money kid…Name's Qrow and I'm both Ruby and Yang's uncle so make sure you're careful if you start thinking about putting the moves on either of 'em…." Qrow warned Jae before he got a comment from Glynda to back down.
"Hehe….Little late to comment on one of those…" Jae internally commented before looking to Ozpin; "So you said that you had something to tell me, Professor?"
"Yes…I know you've been doing some outside research through books and with those women that you trained with in the village…Can you tell me what you know about the Demon Lord Sparda?"
"Him? Well…I've read SOME things about him but a lot of it came from the fairy tale books I found; It was said that he tried to gather all the Demons around and bring them to the land that would later become Vale to set up in a mountainside fortress. After that he started to declare battle against Humans and Faunus in the neighbouring settlements to expand; Hi eldest son Vergil took to the east and used his ability to summon swords to cut down armies by the hundreds while the other son Dante began to push back against Grimm and avengers who tried to attack his father." Jae stopped to take a breath but nodded once he saw Ozpin prompting him to go on. "When the Demon Hunters were formed to fight back against Sparda; They began forcing Demons back into the mountains where Sparda held them off for several days and nights until Gildo Arc shattered his sword and struck down the Demon king for good."
"You certainly learned a lot since coming here." Glynda complimented him since she was impressed that he could find out so much on a vague subject.
"Indeed…Which is why I would like to inform you, Mr. Cielo…That we have reason to believe that there may potentially be a lot more to you than what you have accrued for yourself so far." Ozpin explained; "And for that reason, I want to show you something."
Jae felt his stomach tighten as the five of them went down the elevator deeper and deeper into the depths of the school until they finally came out into a dark and lamplit hallway that echoed with every step. "What…exactly is this place?"
"We are several feet underground the school…Where we keep the vault." Ironwood explained since he had the chance; "It's where Professor Ozpin keeps the most carefully guarded secrets that could ever hope to exist across Vale…"
"More like across Remnant…Just don't go telling all of Oz's secrets James, you're already stuck in the bad books for what happened back there." Qrow mentioned but then turned to look at Jae suddenly; Causing the teen to bump into him rather brusquely. "Okay, just take it easy…" He remarked and then pat him down.
"So…If this is such a big secret, why show me?" Jae asked them curiously; "And if I'm meant to then why now and not after the tournament…OR before it for that matter?"
Ozpin sighed; "I had originally hoped to show you after we conducted that physical test on you but with the inconclusive data plus what the General turned up made it a difficult choice to make for what this entails."
"Okay, but what exact…ly…" Jae asked but his question trailed off as he saw Glynda open a door to a closed off room leading towards a stone pedestal holding what looking like a broken stone sword and it's fragments; "Is this…"
"Yes, what you are looking at right now is the broken blade that belonged to one of the strongest Demons to exist…Rebellion." Ozpin stated as Jae stared intently at the shattered blade and it's numerous pieces.
"You kept something like this down here all this time and you never told anyone about it? Why? Wouldn't it be a good sign for Vale if they could show off that they hold the trophy of Sparda's legacy as victory?" Jae quizzed them as despite what the teachers thought; Something this historically impactful would change things for good.
"Because there are things about that sword which we'd rather not disclose to the public." Qrow filled him in, "Things that would make Beacon OR Vale into a gigantic target."
"For untold years that this sword has remained here, we have heard of countless rumours of what the sword can do such as turning normal people into Demons…Or killing anyone who it sees as not worthy to try an-" Ironwood explained about the sword but for some reason; Jae couldn't hear him as everything faded into white noise and the only thing around him was the sword and himself.
Jae could feel something emanating from it and it felt like a gravitational force was pulling him closer and closer. "Uh, buddy? This probably isn't a good idea…." The Voice warned Jae but started to get concerned when there was no response. "Buddy! Wake up….Something doesn't feel right about this!"
Jae however didn't seem to hear him as his fingers reached out to touch the hilt; The noise of everything else blocked out by what sounded like crashing waves in his head.
"Do it…Take up the sword…"
"JAE!" Qrow yelled in Jae's ear and grabbed his wrist hard to knock him out of his tirade and he saw the young teen snap out of it.
"W-What! What is y-" Jae snapped as he thought that he was simply examining it but he saw Ozpin gripping his cane tightly, Glynda looked like she was trying to stop Ironwood from pulling his gun Due Process out of his coat.
"You were zoned out and you were about to grab the sword!" Qrow snapped; "Weren't you just listening when we said what would've probably happened if you grabbed it?!"
"I…I don't know…"
"Mr. Cielo, we don't either which is why we must approach this carefully and why I wanted to offer this to you; Things are changing in the world and we may potentially be on the brink of another war…This sword could be your chance to allow us to attain a further peace in Remnant…But the risks we have that are connected to this sword is a lot, so we would like you t-"
"I'll do it." Jae cut them off; "You want me to try and help in stopping whatever might be coming right?"
"W-Well, yes but you must consider the options and the risk of what could ha-"
"Then I don't care…I've already been told plenty of times that I'm not worth much of a damn so let me prove them wrong!" Jae argued as he realised that the prospect of getting both stronger AND being able to help protect others in the process was a tempting offer. "That is what you want, right?!"
Ironwood was about to reprimand him for not listening but Glynda stopped him and began to chime in; "It is but like Professor Ozpin said…There are risks involved in this, especially with what little we know about you as a Demon; There's a chance the power from that sword's power could rebound on you."
"…Or it might have the possibility of killing you in the process." Ironwood finished bluntly with Glynda growling his name under her breath, "But the biggest question is that even if you're able to survive this….What will it do to you?"
"What we're asking you to do is a lot to accept which is why I suggest you take some time and come to us once you have a decision to be made." Glynda tried to keep things calm and explain things without the worry of Qrow's abrasiveness or Ironwood's lack of tact.
"But one thing is for certain…By the time that the Finals arrive or at the very least when the Vytal Tournament is over, we are going to need an answer from you." Ozpin explained with a serious note in his voice.
"A-Alright…I'll think on it…" Jae accepted as he turned to walk with them for the elevator. "I'm guessing that this is to be kept a secret?"
They each nodded but Ozpin was the one to lay it out; "Discussing your heritage as a Demon is one thing, Jae…But what you saw here is too much of a threat in case someone decides to try…What it was that you tried."
As Jae left to go back to the dorms after the whole event, it left Qrow and Ozpin alone to discuss what happened. "Oz, are you really sure you wanna test this with the kid...You saw what happened back there." Qrow questioned things as what Jae had done unintentionally still lay fresh in his mind.
When his hand reached out to touch Rebellion; The sword began to vibrate on the pedestal and Jae's Aura changed from it's murky gray into a dark purple Aura with crackling black electricity dancing across his fingers for the briefest moment and then it all suddenly stopped when Qrow grabbed him out of his funk. "It was...Something that I had never expected to see...All I can really guess is that...There is something very powerful and very dangerous lurking in all of this..."