Crystal / Few Days Ago

I was on a nearby roof in the form of a black wolf and I saw a dust shop being robbed. I narrowed my eyes and I heard fottsteps walking in my direction. "You don't plan to stop them, Crystal?" I looked to see Glynda beforr giving a talking mumble and she looked at me. "Don't start acting sarcastic about me being here as well."

I still stood where I was and looked back to see Ruby and Nikki come out of the shop and start beating up the men with their weapons but a ginger head ended up running from them and when the guy got onto the roof nearby, I got ready to change. "Let's go." She said and I jumped across to the other roof and Glynda followed.

Glynda began using her semblance against the guy and the haliecopter, but the person they were against at first seemed familiar when she came out. I growled at them and the fight continued before they got away and I stood normally. I thought I'd seen a girl with familiar eyes, but I couldn't get a good enough look at her. "Aunt Crystal!" I looked at Ruby as she hugged me and I smiled a bit before licking the side of her face. "You brought another Huntress with you?" She rushed up to Glynda with a fangirly look. "Can I have your autograph?!" She exclaimed.

We all suddenly stood in an interrogation room and I leaned against the wall before Glynda walked next to the table. I smiled a bit as Nikki spoke up with a glare at Glynda. "Look, all we did was kick their butts and go after a ginger haired guy." Nikki said and I looked at Glynda.

"It wasn't your place to fight crime yet. But that's only if it were up tp me. There's someone here who wants to see you though."

"Who?" Nikki asked and Ozpin came in with his cane, coffee, and a plate of cookies.

"Cookies?" He asked and I took a couple off of the plate.

"Just before my niece and daughter eat them all." I said and Ozpin chuckled a bit, setting them onto the table. I began eating the first cookie as Nikki took one and began nibbling on it, but Ruby was practically chowing through them like a lawn mower with grass. I chuckled a bit in amusement of it.

"To be straight to the point, where did you two learn to fight?"

"My dad and mom taught me cause I was always running into trouble when I'm just minding my own business. Plus my dad helped me with my leg and make my own weapon." She fixed her hat to hide her deer ears. "I'm thinking about adding a blade that has a gun on it cause you know what they say. 'Can't bring a knife to a gun fight'." Nikki said and Ruby began talking with her mouth full.

"Ruby, empty your mouth before talking." I said and she did so and smiled.

"Right, sorry. But yeah, my uncle Qrow taught me how to use my scythe. He's a teacher." Ruby said and I smiled a bit.

"Interesting." Ozpin looked back at me for a second before looking back at the girls. "And why would you two want to train with these custom-made weapons such as these?" He asked and Ruby spoke up.

"Well, we want to be Huntresses. I mean, police are great, but Huntresses are so much cooler!" Ruby exclaimed, childishly and Ozpin looked towards Nikki as it was her turn now.

"Plus, now my goal is to go after the ginger head." She said while pointing a bit at Glynda's video to show who she was talking about and continued to explain. "But my old goal is to take down my real father. I know he's out there harming people and I want to put an end to him and keep these people and animals safe." She said and I smiled a bit as I went to my second cookie.

"How much would you two like to become Huntresses?"

"More than anything." Rubh responded sincerely and Nikki spoke up.

"Like really bad! We've been through trainjng nonstop!" Ozpin looked at me with a raised brow. I shrugged at him.

"You try controlling these two when they want something badly enough." I said simply and Ozpin chuckled as if he was gonna take the challenge and smiled at the girls.

"How would you two like to join Beackn starting this year?" Ozpin said and I was a bit surprised that he involved Ruby into it as Ruby went sorta fangirly over the fact she could get into Beacon.

"Really?!"

"It would be an honor sir!" Nikki exclaimed and Ozpin smiled, handing a paper for the two of them. I then left with Glynda and Ozpin. I stood with my arms crossed for comfort.

"You sure we should be having Ruby in Beacon this year?" I asked and Ozpin smiled at me for a moment.

"Crystal, she's close enough in age to be able to work on work at Beacon Academy."

"I'm not saying she's incapable, but she only needs at least one year left at Signal and she'd be fine." I said and Glynda looked at Ozpin.

"Crystal makes a valid point. She's too young to be attending Beacon."

"By a year, ladies. And a year is close enough to be considered that they'd be fine working with others." Ozpin said and I put a hand on my waist with my other one relaxed to my side. He began walking away and I glanced back inti the room and saw Ruby geeking out with Nikki, but Nikki was much calmer about it. I took a breath before sighing it out and I opened the door again.

"Let's go, girls." I said and they both got up with the papers Ozpin gave them and began walking out with me.

After a few months of the girls attending Beacon and teaching there myself, I saw Jaune was sleeping in my classroom and I sighed quietly before I walked up next to him before taking his textbook and I bonked him on the head with it enough to wake him up.

"Ouch!" Jaune exclaimed and I tilted my head towards him.

"Mr. Ark, if you intend on sleeping in my classes, as a teacher, I would suggest making scheaduled times on which homework to work on when and pay less attention trying to play video games," He looked at me and sighed to himself.

"Yes, ma'am. . ." He said and I smiled a bit as the bell went off.

"That's all for class everyone. So head back to your dorm rooms and take the rest of the day to work on your homework." I said and I looked towards Yang and Ruby's group. "And no playing video games when I arrive, you two." I said and Yang pouted.

"Fine. . ." Yang said as I walked back up to the front to my desk. I left aftrr I finished and heard fighting happen and I rushed over with Rubt who happened to be headed towards it as well.

"What's going on?" I asked Weiss who looked at us.

"Some crazy guy just srarted attacking my sister!"

"That's crazy, who would do such a-" I cut her off as I turned her head to look at the fight and her expression lit up the next second. "That's my uncle! Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!"

"Get her, Qrow!" I yelled to cheer him on. Weiss seemed speechless for a second before cheering on her sister.

"Teach him respect, Winter!" The two ended up taking the fight throughout the courtyard and destroyed bits of it as well. Mostly pavement though.

Eventually, the fight ended because Ironwood had been here apparently and had intervened, but not directly. Qrow actually stopped on his end before Ironwood had to stop them both. I was now having to be told by Ozpin and Glynda to have to head inside. I leaned towards Ruby with a smile.

"Save me a seat at the colusseum later for me, okay?"

"For the free popcorn, yes." Ruby said with a smile. I chuckled a bit and Qrow smiled.

"Let's go, hon." He said and I nodded.

"Alright. See with you later, Ruby." I said and I headed with Qrow back into Ozpin's office.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter yelled as soon as we walked in.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" James said and Qrow got his flask out.

"If I was one of your men, I would've shot myself." Qrow said and I glardd at Qrow before elbowing him, making him grunt from the sudden attack and he looked at me, putting his hands up. "Hypothetically speaking, babe," he said for recovery and I mived to stand next to Winter.

"I certainly wouldn't condone his behavior. Retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Glynda said, looking at Winter.

"He was drunk!" Winter said as everyone looked at her.

"He's always drunk." I said, making eveyone look at me and then we all looked at Qrow to see him drinking from his flask. He then paused, noticing that we were all looking at him before he moved the flask frkm his mouth and looked at it before shrugging. I sighed woth a slight smile. "And that just further proves my point." I said simply and he smiled a bit.

"You still love me for it though, hon." He said and Ozpin seemed to have one of the funniest looks I've seen on him in a long time before he sighed and sat down in his chair with exasperation.

"Qrow, why are you here?" He asked, still sounding exasperated and I put a hand on my hip.

"You've been out of contact for weeks. You can't just go dark like that in the field."

Qrow put his flask away as he glared at James. "I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy."

"General." Winter forcefully corrected him.

"Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy and I'm telling you. Our enemy is here." Qrow said and James went to the other side of the table near me and sat on the edge of Ozpin's table.

"We know." James said.

"Oh, you know? Well, thank goodness I'm risking my life to keep you all informed!" He yelled, sarcastically and irriratedly. I actually understood his part in being frustrated though.

"Qrow,"

"Communication's a two way street, pal." He pulled out his other flask and pointed at it. I wasn't sure whether he did that on purpose, or he was drunk enough to think it was his scroll. . .I had no clue which it was though. "See this? That's the send button. And so far, I've only ever got contact from Crystal the whole time cause she actually used it, unlike you, James."

"They had reason to assume you'd been compromised." Winter said as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here." Qrow said before looking at the rest of us while pointing at Winter. "Seriously, who invited her?"

"Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back on my ship." Ironwood said and Wjnter looked at him.

"But, sir-"

"Winter. Leave." Ironwood ordered and Winter saluted at Ironwood.

"Yes, sir." She said before starting to walk away, but she gave a glare at Qrow before managing to leave into the elevator to head back to the ship or something.

"Go on." Ironwood said to Qrow.

"Their little infiltrators are just another pawn. They're the ones responsible for Autumn's condition." Qrow said and he took another drink from his flask that he had out.

"What?" Glynda asked with shock.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, the rest of Crystal's team, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils that no one even knows about." He said, walking towards James. "It's why we meet behind closed doors. Why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James. When you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discrete? Or did you just not give a damn?" Qrow asked and James was silent for a moment before grabbing his scroll from his pocket.

"Discrete wasn't working." He set his scroll on Ozpin's desk making a projection appear and he walked towards it. "I'm here because this is what was necessary." He said as the projection showed the entirety of Vale with many of Ironwood's ships which seemdd like way too many for tracking a few things or something.

"You're here because Ozlin wanted you here!" Qrow said, pointing at Ozpin. "He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us."

"And I'm grateful."

"Oh, well, you have a very funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them. Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe and our enemies will feel our strength." Qrow began laughing.

"You think there's scared of your little ships?" He said wifh his tone laced rapidly wkth humor until his tone went straight back to being serious. "I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made and let me tell you. They are fear." Ozpin stood up from his seat.

"And fear will bring the Grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. An army is a symbol of conflict." Ozpin said and I walked over to the projection.

"Which would bring me to ask you something, James." I said and I gestured towards the projected air fleet that Ironwood had set around Vale. "If this is going to the size of the defenses, then what are we expecting to be fighting against?" I asked and Ironwood looked between all of us before sighing and heading back up to Ozpin's desk. He took his scroll off of the desk and I walked back over next to Qrow.

"So then. What would you suggest we do?" Ironwood asked, walking away slightly but he looked back at Ozpin.

"I suggest we find our guardian." Ozpin said and I crossed my arms for a bit.

"The only question would be who or what it is specifically we'd be looking for." I said simply and we all left except Glynda and Ozpin.

"You should've kept silent of it, Crystal."

"Ozpin was going to ask of it anyway, James. If I'd done the same, Olivia would have gotten onto my case of it anyway. I've only been out there half as many times as Qrow has and I would know better than to send and entire fleet to protect Vale, James. It may make the people feel safe, but it makes them also feel uneasy about what's happening." I said simply and I had my arms crossed.

"I agree. What you were doing was unsettling everyone aware of how many ships are surrounding Vale." The elevator opened as Ironwood spoke up.

"I get the feeling you two are only trying to think things through too deeply." Ironwood said and I crossed my arms.

"At least we wouldn't be thinking like idiots who don't know what we're doing." I said simply and we all walked out of the elevator.