Chapter 10

<Vale Police Department>

"You have silver eyes…" Ozpin said slowly.

Glynda watches as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy sweet talks a talented young girl into his academy. Granted that Ruby Rose has always been under their watch due to her heritage and her connection to Crow.

Just like her sister, both of them have been nurtured under their father's care. Both of them have seemingly unlimited potential and with Ozpin's training, both of them will turn into capable huntresses that will protect Remnant from the dangers of the Grimms.

'But does he always have to do this?' Glynda asked inwardly.

Profound wisdom, great charisma and empathy are Ozpin's greatest strengths, but that doesn't make him a great man. In fact, he is as human as a human can be. He is weak and irrational, just like every human being out there.

He collects soldiers while calling them frivolous titles like warriors or protectors. He instills loyalty into them but never puts his faith on them. It doesn't actually bode well for the world if the man in charge is so afraid of his shadows.

'I guess that is why he has James as his 'knight'...' Glynda thought inwardly.

James Ironwood, is a brash and hot-headed man but his effectiveness can't be denied. His skills in warfare and combat are unparalleled, if and only if he was not being burdened by the weight of the entire world.

Some of his psychological indicators have gone off the rails due to his common encounters with the Grimm but all in all, he is not a bad specimen for a human being. His more paranoid tendencies just need to be kept in check.

Then there is the drunkard Crow. Surprisingly, his drunkenness makes him more tolerable than his sober self. At least he's making jokes when he's drunk. Sober Crow is just a depressing bundle of feathers.

The man earned power in return for his servitude and Glynda can't help but feel like Crow made the wrong choice. Even his sister seems to have realized that, because as far as Glynda knows, Raven dipped when she saw any signs of danger.

'Not that I'm any better than them…' Gylnda thought inwardly.

Just like James and Crow, Glynda herself was not an entirely normal human being. Ozpin recruited her for her power and attitude but Glynda stayed because she truly believed in Ozpin's visions of world peace.

A foolish vision that clings onto the ideals of humanity, despite the fact that Glynda herself knows the impossibility of such sentiments. She revels and bathes in that naivety as it is the only thing that has been keeping her on her toes.

'And my hatred for conflict, I guess…' Glynda thought inwardly.

Glynda didn't have any special reason for fighting the Grimms. She simply didn't like the fact that the Grimms are the main source of conflict in this world. She just wanted to teach in peace and quiet, which is not possible because the Grimms will never let her have her peace.

"I guess that is all for now, Miss Ruby. I will inform your guardian about your choice." Ozpin said, waking Glynda from her daydream.

"Oh, ok!" Ruby replied cheerfully.

'Skreee!'

Ozpin pulls himself out of the chair and turns to look towards Glynda. He gestured outwards softly and Glynda understood his cues. She promptly walked out of the room and soon after, Ozpin followed.

"Get her certificate ready. I want her on the airship to Beacon as soon as possible." Ozpin said right after exiting the interrogation room.

"Done, Professor." Glynda said politely.

"I want your daughter on the ship to Beacon as well." Ozpin said nonchalantly.

Ozpin's words somehow baffle Glynda. Ozpin, despite being known as a laid back superior, has a serious attitude when it comes to issues concerning Beacon. She didn't expect Ozpin to joke around about adding her non-existent daughter into his academy.

"I'm sorry?" Glynda said quizzically.

"You heard me, Glynda…" Ozpin said.

"But Professor, I don't…" Glynda's words were cut off when Ozpin suddenly brought out some papers from inside his jacket.

"Read this." Ozpin said resolutely.

"What is this, Professor?" Glynda asked cautiously.

"Just read it…" Ozpin urged Glynda to take the papers that were in his hands.

Seeing Ozpin's serious expression certainly caused Glynda some worries. Deciding not to postpone the issue any longer, Glynda grabbed the papers from Ozpin's hands and started reading the papers thoroughly.

Her face turned pale as she kept reading the papers that are now in her hands. After she finished reading the papers, she can't help but feel anger and experience an insufferable amount of confusion in her head.

"This is impossible!" Glynda said, almost shouting it out.

"Indeed it is…" Ozpin said calmly.

"This is clearly a fraud!" Glynda exclaims again.

"It most likely is…" Ozpin said calmly again, paying no mind to the hyperventilating Glynda.

"That girl is clearly lying!" Glynda said exasperatedly.

"She probably is…" Ozpin replied nonchalantly again.

"Why are you smiling, Professor?!" Glynda asked Ozpin.

Ozpin didn't notice it but Glynda was watching his reactions from the very start. She is freaking out while her mentor is clearly enjoying the situation. She sees the look of an amused man in Ozpin's decrepit old face.

"This will be good for you, Glynda." Ozpin said ominously.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Glynda asked.

"Are there people in your life right now? Family or friends that are important to you?" Ozpin asked.

"..." Ozpin's question silenced Glynda.

'Somebody important?' Glynda asked herself.

Ozpin's questions struck a chord inside Glynda. It has been a long time, not since James. They used to have something, just a little something but that didn't pan out as she would have hope. They both have their own ambitions and aspirations.

James yearns to be the people who will protect the future, while she finds herself falling in love with the profession that nurtures the future. Both are noble professions but with different roads and destinations.

"Our job becomes easier when we have something to fight for…" Ozpin starts talking.

"You think I need companionship?" Glynda asked seriously.

"Your performance recently has been questionable…" Ozpin said softly.

Ozpin walked slowly towards Glynda and pats her shoulders softly. He gave Glynda a look of pity but also a look of hope. Glynda noticed Ozpin's look and she understands what he is implying but she ignored it since the idea seems absurd to her.

"You are not going to win the fight without anything supporting your cause." Ozpin said again.

Once again, Ozpin's words strike a chord in Glynda. Her mentor mentioned the fact that her power has been regressing and it is slowly affecting her mission. Glynda can't help but grit her teeth in frustration as she turns towards Ozpin and asks with confusion.

"So you want to train me? By asking me to take care of a child criminal?" Glynda asked Ozpin.

"I want you to reform her. Turn her to our side and possibly make her join our cause!" Ozpin clarified to Glynda.

"Must she be my daughter for that?! What do you see in her, Professor?" Glynda asked exasperatedly.

"What I see in her doesn't matter. I just need you to prepare her. If possible, find out her real origins." Ozpin said slowly.

"So you want her to be my daughter in order to investigate her?" Glynda asked.

"Indeed…" Ozpin said slowly.

"That is absurd! Why…" Glynda tries to reason with Ozpin but he cuts her off in the middle of her questions.

"She lets you detain her despite knowing the fact that we will comb through her past info." Ozpin starts explaining.

"She has enough resources to sponsor the Xiong family, which happens to be one of the biggest crime families in Vale." Ozpin continues to explain.

"Her connection to Roman Torchwick shows that she has connections in Mistral, maybe in Atlas and Vacuo too." Ozpin explains again.

"That is why I wonder, what is her reasoning? Even going so far to forge her own adoption papers? Isn't that interesting?" Ozpin ends his explanation with some questions.

"..." Ozpin's words once again silenced Glynda.

Frankly, she still can't understand what Ozpin finds so interesting about this teenage criminal. The girl clearly has a few screws loose in her head. But she can't also deny the truth of Ozpin's words.

'Why did the girl seek me out?' Glynda thought inwardly.

Seeing Glynda's contemplative state, Ozpin chooses to leave her to her own devices and head straight towards the room that is currently detaining Glynda's surprise adopted child. He was quite intrigued by the girl.

'Her body emits an energy that is familiar to me...' Ozpin thought inwardly.

Ozpin, is of course talking about Magic. The arcane arts that have been lost due to the outrage of the God Of Darkness. Magical energy only exists in the forms of artifacts nowadays and those artifacts are even rarer these days.

'Yet the girl is emitting magic energy like a fountain in a park!' Ozpin thought inwardly again.

Aside from Ozpin himself, a certain suicidal queen and the four maidens, nobody in this world should be emitting any magic energy out. Crow, who has been granted the ability to morph into a bird, is merely transforming his Aura into magical energy.

This young girl, however, is constantly emitting a steady stream of magical energy. Not to mention, Ozpin also noticed that the girl has an Aura as well. With both magic and aura at her side, the girl will be an unstoppable force.

'A new Maiden, one who is not sired by me. How interesting…' Ozpin thought inwardly.

'Kchack!'

Ozpin put his hands on the handle of the door and opened it slowly. The door slowly revealed the figure that is currently slumped up on the table. Ozpin can't help but smile as he didn't expect the girl to be dozing off.

'Such a carefree spirit…' Ozpin thought inwardly.

"Professor, I must…" Glynda, who had stopped contemplating the issue, tried to speak to Ozpin again but she suddenly saw the girl sleeping happily which caused her blood to boil.

"This girl…!" Glynda said exasperatedly as she moved to the girl's side and knocked on the table loudly.

"Excuse me!" Glynda said solemnly.

<At the same time>

Sage is having a lovely dream. She is surrounded by a group of women that are pampering her with love and bliss. She relished in the blessings that have been given to her until it was suddenly interrupted by a loud knocking sound.

"Excuse me!" the voice beckons to her.

Sage, with extreme frustration, opened her eyes only for her to see her future adoptive mother staring angrily at her. She smiled wistfully towards Glynda and put her head on the table again to continue her sleep.

"Don't continue your sleep, girl!" Glynda said exasperatedly.

"But it's past my bedtime. You guys took too long to question me, mommy!" Sage said sleepily.

"Please don't…" Glynda tries to discourage Sage from calling her 'Mommy' but Ozpin cuts her off with a question.

"Is that mask removable?" Ozpin asked with curiosity.

All this time, Sage has been wearing her mask in order to hide her face. She even slept with the mask still glued to her face. It's not that Sage doesn't want to remove it, she just didn't want to cause any trouble by removing it. Even her usual gaze can cause immense fear to normal people, let alone her face.

'Not to mention, Ozpin will surely recognize my face, since my face is quite similar to Salem.' Sage thought inwardly.

"It is removable but I will not remove it under these circumstances." Sage said solemnly while she was still slumped on the table.

"You are currently under the custody of the Vale Police Department. We ask for your cooperation to remove the mask that is hiding your face." Glynda said, interrupting their conversation.

"No!" Sage said.

"Young lady! Do you realize the amount of trouble that you are currently in?!" Glynda asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

Glynda's tone seemed to have offended Sage, since she suddenly started to sit upright and brought both of her hands to her chest. She would look like an angry customer if not for her mask covering her face.

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Sage said resolutely.

"Are you sure about that?" Glynda said ominously.

Glynda then puts the paper that she received from Ozpin on the interrogation table. On the papers, there are some images of familiar figures and information about their movements. Among those familiar figures are our main character, Sage.

"Based on these papers alone, we can arrest you under the excuse of soliciting with known criminals." Glynda said solemnly.

"I'm not removing my mask! And, for your information, Junior is not a criminal. He is a businessman!" Sage said.

"How about Roman Torchwick?" Glynda asked.

"He is a nice thief. He stole from the rich and gave it back to the poor!" Sage answered resolutely.

Glynda was speechless. From Sage's answer, tone of her voice and her demeanor, she can tell that the girl in front of her is actually quite naive. Probably a rich kid that has been pampered by her parents and has her head filled with childhood fantasies.

'Don't tell me…' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Did your parents send you here? For a trip or a vacation? Maybe school?" Glynda asked with a tone that adults use when they talk to children.

"How did you know?! My mom sent me here!" Sage said with a shocked tone.

"I thought so…" Glynda said exasperatedly.

It is a common occurrence in Beacon. Parents send their children to the Huntsmen Academies in order to train their children and make them more disciplined. For criminals from Mistral's underworld, it is an even more common occurrence.

They need their heirs to be strong and thus, they send their children to the Huntsmen Academy. The Academy will train their heirs for them. Not to mention, they also need the privilege that comes with the Huntsmen licenses such as the permit to use a mechashift at all times.

'Since she knows Junior, her family must be a member of Mistral's underworld.' Glynda thought inwardly.

Glynda's conjecture is based on the fact that Sage manages to sponsor the Xiong family entirely. Atlas may be the richest kingdom but they are a militaristic kingdom. Most of their money goes back into Atlas in order to enrich their economy and maintain their status as the most advanced and rich kingdom.

Vacuo is a place where strength prevails above all and as such, they don't care much about money. Not to mention, most of their money is used to buy necessities like water and food since both of those resources are scarce in the desert. Mistral, on the other hand, is the place where both good and evil coexist together.

The government controls one side of the kingdom while the other side is controlled by the rich and the criminals of the kingdom. It's the perfect place for an 'underworld' to be formed. Glynda concludes that the girl must be the daughter of some gang leaders or even possibly one of their crime lords.

Glynda turned and looked towards Ozpin, who is currently sitting on the chair opposite of the girl. He is watching her carefully, observing every single move that the girl makes. Glynda can't help but sighed as she seems to have figured out Ozpin's attention.

'He has plans for her already...' Glynda thought inwardly.

"Professor, I suggest that we send her back to her parents with a warning." Glynda said solemnly.

Glynda still wanted to prevent Ozpin's plan. She has enough problems as it is and adding a child to that whole situation would be a total nightmare for herself. Her words seem to have caught both Ozpin's and the girl's attention. The girl responded abruptly.

"What?! I just got here! No way!" Sage said angrily.

"Stop being unreasonable! We are letting you off easy by just sending you home!" Glynda said angrily.

"You don't even know where my home is!" Sage said.

"I can certainly find out!" Glynda said, as if accepting Sage's remarks as a challenge.

"I'll sue you for abandoning your adopted child!" Sage suddenly mentioned.

"Those papers are forged! Which, in case you didn't know, count as another crime under your belt!" Glynda retorts with anger.

"Ladies!" Ozpin said slowly but with enough force that made both Glynda and Sage stop to look at him.

"Sage, that is your name, right?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah! If only mommy would say my name properly!" Sage said with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Again, please…" Glynda tried to stop Sage from calling her 'mommy' again but similar to before, Ozpin cut her off.

"Sage will be staying here, in Vale, and she will be attending Beacon. She will also be your daughter, Glynda." Ozpin said as a matter of fact.

His face was solemn and Glynda could see a hint of irritation in Ozpin's eyes. She was shocked, to say the least. Ozpin very rarely shows his emotions and this is one of the few times that Glynda has actually seen him express it very clearly.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Glynda asked, knowing that something is amiss.

"I have just received a message from Lionheart." Ozpin said slowly.

Glynda then noticed the scroll that was in Ozpin's hands. Ozpin, noticing Glynda's gaze, handed the device to her. Understanding Ozpin's intentions, Glynda took the scroll from Ozpin's hands and started reading the message that was displayed on the screen.

"This…!" Glynda only managed to utter a single word before she turned around to face Sage, who was smiling knowingly.

"Is there any problem, 'Mommy'?" Sage said with a smile that reached her ears.