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Chapter 13: New Normal

(Y/N) had said very little on the long trek back to Atlas, mostly keeping to himself and staring vacantly out the window as they crept closer to their destination. He had been on an airship before, but something about this time felt so...unnatural. Every inch they flew twisted his stomach a little more and made him feel queasy. Some would write it off as airsickness, but deep down, he knew that it was just how his body was reacting to the ever growing distance between him and his other sisters. Though he had put on a brave face, in truth (Y/N) had fought with himself fiercely over this decision. Qrow had made it sound like him going to Atlas was the end of the line, a no going back scenario, and he had caught more than a few hush whispers about the treatment of Faunus in Remnant's most technologically advanced kingdom, but with Blake gone and Yang and Ruby on the mend, was there much of a choice? Weiss would be all alone in this place, and he didn't want that, especially if her father was as much of a creep as the boy thought he was.
Then again, how much good could he really do?
Despite his, let's say lack of social graces, Ironwood did see (Y/N) struggling with the decision he had made. In a different situation, a man under less pressure may have felt guilty for basically scaring an already traumatized child to abandon most of his support network, but without Ozpin, the General was the only one left to make the best call they could regarding the boy. It didn't matter what (Y/N) had been through, their enemies would surely subject him to more to either sway him to their side or break him down, and (Y/N) had to be ready to face that.
It was what was best for him at the moment.
As they approached their destination, Ironwood again attempted some form of reassurance towards the boy.
"(Y/N), come here."
The boy looked up from his spot at a port window. He was a bit confused as to why the General was now calling him, but he did as he was told and stood next to the older male at the helm.
"I'm told it's an impressive sight the first time you see. I've had that privilege my whole life, so perhaps it's different for me."
"What is?" (Y/N) asked, tilting his head.
Ironwood motioned with his head for the boy to look forward. (Y/N) did so and was left stunned at the sight. It was sunset by now, adding to the sight of the kingdom before them. A city in the sky laid before them, shimmering white against the backdrop of an orange, red, and pink sky. Several jets scrambled about in the sky as they approached. It was a majestic sight, but (Y/N) still felt his nerves jitter. There was a tension in the air as they approached, and though Atlas was a sight to behold, they city within its shadow was less so, to say the least.
"Welcome to Atlas, (Y/N)." Ironwood greeted.
"It sure is something." The dragon answered hesitantly. "The city down there...that's Mantle, right?"
The General nodded. "Yes. You know your maps."
"Weiss and Blake made me study all the major cities in Remnant. They said it would make me a better Huntsman when I got older."
"Very wise of them. We'll make sure to expand your knowledge more during your stay here. For now, our destination is there." He pointed at a particular campus that stood out, even against the rest of the city. "Atlas Academy."
After getting clearance to land, their airship settled in the courtyard. Exiting the ship, (Y/N) kept close to Ironwood as all around them, soldiers and students alike seemed to be running around in a panic. Considering what had just happened in Vale, it wasn't a surprise that everything was an absolute mess. Climbing up the steps to the school, (Y/N) saw two people waiting for them, one of whom he recognized. Winter Schnee was on standby, and next to her was a tall brunette man with green eyes.
"General." The two greeted with a salute as Ironwood walked between them.
"Status report." The general ordered.
"A chain of command has been established, but there is still disorganization in the lower ranks." Winter relayed. "We've managed to settle most of the uproar in Atlas, but Mantle is in a complete panic."
"Grimm raids are at an all time high." The male reported. "Most of it has been kept out of the city, but the walls are taking heavy fire and Grim are starting to leak in. Officials are requesting reinforcement of the barriers as well as additional men manning the walls."
"Send down more Sentries." Ironwood said. "Unfortunately, we can't spare many resources for what's to come. Have them focus on the turrets, that should keep the Grimm at bay for now. I'll need to gather the council and initiate a Dust embargo. For now, we need to pool as many resources as we can. Clover, get your team up here. There are things we need to discuss."
"Right away, sir."
A sneeze caught the attention of the adults as they turned to see the boy who had been awkwardly tailing them. (Y/N), not used to or built for the cold, was shivering beneath his own wings. Feeling her big sister instincts take over for a second, Winter walked up to him and immediately put a coat on (Y/N). It was identical to other military jackets the Atleasean soldiers were wearing, making the boy stick out less in the crowd (something he wasn't sure how to feel about), though it was a bit large on him. Still, it was warm, and it even had been modified to let his wings out.
He smiled up at the eldest Schnee. "Thanks, Winter."
"Weiss told me you have a deficiency with the cold. That coat is lined with fire Dust, to keep you insulated until we can get a proper uniform for you." Her expression softened a bit. "I was told you fought well in the battle. I'm sure you'll be able to hone your skills during your time here."
"I'll learn as much as I can. I promise."
Winter nodded before turning back to Ironwood. The General motioned to the man next to him.
"(Y/N), this is Clover Ebi. He's the leader of my most elite unit. He, his team, and Winter will primarily handle your training. Listen to what they have to teach you."
"Yes sir."
Clover smiled. "It's good to meet you, (Y/N). General Ironwood has told me plenty about you. I'm sure this is an adjustment, but I'm confident you won't find better training than here."
"Uh, okay..." Winter gently nudged the boy, urging him silently to be more respectful. "I mean, yes sir."
Clover nodded. "We'll make a fine soldier out of you yet."
(Y/N) flinched as Ironwood and Clover walked away. mumbling under his breath. "Huntsman..."
Winter placed a calming hand on his head. "You'll be fine. I've already made a promise to my sister to look after you, and I intend to keep it."
"Thanks, Winter."
"Though, don't mistake that for letting you slack off in your training. Weiss and her team might have laid the foundation of abilities, but I intend to make certain it is strong."
"I'll do my best."
"I'm sure you will." Winter then started down a different hallway than the one Ironwood and Clover had followed. "Let's get you settled in. You've had a long journey and I'm certain you're tired."
As if to prove her point, the boy let out a long, loud yawn, blushing and laughing nervously when he finally finished. Winter smiled softly before leading towards the dorm side of the campus. While it was a bit less rigid, the overall atmosphere was still rather stifling, making (Y/N) unable to completely relax. Winter open the door to the room closest to the exit. It was simple, clean, but overall barren.
"This will be your quarters. The staff area is down the hall in case you need assistance. In addition," She handed him a Scroll, though one that didn't look as advanced as his sisters'. "This is for emergency contact only. The General's, Clover's, and my contact are the only ones listed. Have it on you at all times."
"I will." The boy assured, stepping in.
Winter looked at him, sensing his hesitation. Some part of her knew this wasn't right. (Y/N) had been through too much to be separated from his support system, but if General Ironwood said this was for his safety, she would follow his lead. She would also hold to her promise to Weiss to look after him. (Y/N) wasn't her blood, but he treated Weiss like family and made her feel loved, and to Winter, that made him kin. She had already failed one brother, she wouldn't fail this one.
"Get some rest. Your training regiment begins tomorrow. I'll collect you in the morning."
"Okay. Thanks, Winter."
The older woman turned and left, the door shutting behind her, leaving the small boy alone. Despite the relatively small size of the room, (Y/N) felt incredibly small himself. Exhausted, he crawled into bed, curling up into the corner. It wasn't nearly as comfy as the ones back at Beacon. With a heavy heart, he gazed down at the charm bracelet, clutching it close to his chest.
This was only temporary. This was only temporary.

(Timeskip)

"Have you seen the kid General Ironwood's taken in yet?"
"What, a student?"
"No, an actual kid! I hear he's not even 10 yet!"
"You're kidding! And General Ironwood's housing him?"
"Housing and training him. Specialist Schnee and the Ace Ops as well. Apparently he's a dragon Faunus who fought at Beacon."
"Dragon Faunus? Those are just myths."
"Well, this one's real, and he fights like a mythical beast, that's for sure."
The two soldiers entered the view area of the training arena. A few faculty and some analytics were also watching as (Y/N) went toe-to-toe with a Paladin modified for training use. The thing was massive, but (Y/N), being a small, fast moving target, was basically untouchable as he tried to find ways to do damage to it. General Ironwood, Winter, Clover, and the other Ace Ops were up in the observatory, monitoring the boy's progress.
"He's improving." Winter noted.
Harriet, the resident speedster of the Ace Ops, rolled her eyes. "He's not dishing out enough damage. If this were a real fight, his enemy would just wait him out."
"This is an endurance test, Harriet." Vine contradicted. "Not everything is a race to finish."
"I'm with Hare." Elm interjected. "He should be trying to take out his opponent, not just dodge."
"If the General wanted him to do damage to the Paladin, he would've been granted training weapons."
Marrow, who had fought the urge to tuck his tail in worry since the exercise began, looked over to his leader and the General. "Maybe he should have weapons, sir. I mean, bare fists are fine, but he should start getting used to weaponry before he advances in his training. Right?"
"Clover, set the Paladin to Level 3." Ironwood ordered, watching as (Y/N) again weaved from the Paladin's grab.
All the adults, sans Clover, looked at him in surprise.
"Sir." Winter stated. "(Y/N) hasn't even started training with the Sentries at Level 3."
"I know. I want to gauge how he'll manage. Clover, raise the level."
"Yes, sir." Clover answered back before touching the com connecting him to the boy. "(Y/N), we're upping the Paladin to Level 3. Brace yourself."
"What!?" The boy yelped.
The Paladin became much swifter after that, easily knocking the boy from the air. (Y/N) bounced painfully off the ground before rolling to his feet. The Paladin was already on top of him, trying to crush him with a massive fist as he dove between its legs to escape. The Paladin swung around, stomping about to crush him. (Y/N) flew above and dosed it in fire. The Paladin leapt, knocking the wind from the boy as he felt the sharp pain in his gut. Rather than be knocked to the floor though, (Y/N) clung to the machine's head, holding on for dear life as it thrashed about, trying to dislodge him. Tired and sick of the exercise, (Y/N) crawled carefully towards the main control panel at the back. After the Fall of Beacon, all Paladin's had been fitted with an emergency kill switch. Typically, a remote control was used to activate it, but given he had training against these things for a while now, (Y/N) had found out a little concentrated fire and a swing punch was enough to activate the kill command. So he did just that, jumping off the machine as it crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. The spectators clapped with admiration, while there were more mixed emotions in the control tower.
"He went for the kill switch right away." Harriet said.
"Oh, lighten up, Hare." Marrow defended. "He was training on that Paladin for an hour. The fact he was still able to manually get the kill command on Level 3 is impressive."
"He'll need to be able to do more than dodge on the battlefield." Ironwood said firmly. "Schnee, have his regiment realigned to focus on hand-to-hand. Also, have the scientist start engineering a suitable weapon for him. Marrow has a point. He needs to start training with one."
"Yes, sir." The General turned to leave. "Sir."
"Yes, Schnee?"
"You have a meeting with m-...with Jacque Schnee scheduled today, correct?"
Ironwood sighed, not wanting to remember that. "Unfortunately."
"Might I suggest (Y/N) accompany you?" The General gave her a confused look. "I think it will be beneficial for his training to see my sister...his sister. It has already been a few months and he still isn't resting from what the medics have said. It could calm his nerves."
The General pondered it for a moment before nodding. "Right. I probably should have requested this sooner. I'll gather him then."
(Y/N) exited into the break room to catch his breath after his session. He had experienced a lot of different training programs and lessons since his arrival in Atlas, but combat training was always somewhat of a comfort. At the very least, fighting with his fist made him feel closer to Yang, and by extension, Ruby and Blake. That still didn't hide the bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep. Training only helped with nightmares so much.
"Did you see the way he fought that Paladin?" He heard a soldier whisper. "It was like he was an animal!"
"No kidding." His comrade agreed, eyeing the boy suspiciously. "Did you see those flames? What if they get out of control?"
"I'm more worried about those teeth and claws. Forget being a Faunus, we sure this kid isn't some monster cooked up in a lab?"
(Y/N) gritted his teeth, sinking his claws in the bench. He had experienced bullying for his Faunus traits once at Beacon, and his sisters and Nora swiftly dealt with Cardin and his team, making sure everyone knew the consequences of such an act. But here, he was opened to be mocked for his non-human nature, not helped by his rather timid approach to socialization. There were still Faunus students that offered him support while school had still been in session, like Neon, whose team was more than happy to look after him in their free time, but the soldiers were less diverse to say the least. At the beginning, they had been a bit bolder with their insults when Winter wasn't around to intimidate them back, but halfway through his stay, a soldier decided to get a bit more physical with his intimidation. (Y/N) had had a particularly grueling night due to his persistent nightmares and was nursing a headache, so when the guy took a cheap shot at the kid during training, the dragon snapped and punched his lights out. Fortunately, Marrow was the one in charge of his training that day, and though he scolded (Y/N) for his violent reaction, his tone all but gave away that he was not angry with the boy and understood. The dragon was given the rest of the day off, the soldier was forced to parade around his shiner given to him by a child, no one informed Ironwood of what had happened, and everyone learned to be quiet with their insults from then on. Marrow did inform Winter of what happened, and (Y/N) never did see that guy again, so all was well.
"(Y/N)."
The boy looked up to see the General walk in. The soldiers immediately made themselves scarce as the boy stood up straight to greet the older male.
"General, sir."
It had been an adjustment to greet a teacher like this, but (Y/N) was able to at least fake that he understood why he had to act like this.
Ironwood nodded, motioning for the boy to be at ease. "You did well in your evaluation today. I would have preferred you to spend more time fighting at Level 3 though."
"I..." The boy bit his tongue as he was about to respond that he was tired. "I'll do better next time."
"I'm sure you will. You'll be practicing more of your hand-to-hand going forward, and that will come with a new weapon."
"I get a weapon?"
Ironwood somewhat smiled at the boy's eagerness. "Yes, Ms. Schnee will assist you in picking one out, though this will be strictly for training purposes."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, go get cleaned up. You and I have an appointment at the Schnee manor."
(Y/N)'s eyes sparked with excitement. "We're going to see Weiss?"
"I'm going to be meeting with Jacque Schnee." Ironwood corrected. "I'm sure no one else would raise an objection to you visiting your sister while we're there."
He grinned. "Thank you, General!"

(Timeskip)

Jacque Schnee was not pleased at all to see (Y/N), but the look on Ironwood's face kept him from making any snide remarks about it. Rather than pick a fight he was going to lose badly, Jacque simply led Ironwood to his private study, while the General told (Y/N) to wait outside. (Y/N) sighed, hearing the passive aggressive arguing of the men inside. He kinda wished there was a place for him to sit. He felt exhausted. Suddenly, a tray with a rather fragrant tea blend was brought into his line of sight.
"A cup of tea for the young man?" A kindly looking older gentleman offered with a smile.
The boy blinked before nodding and taking the drink. "Yes, thank you."
"A blend of green tea, orange peels, hibiscus, and peppermint." The man explained as the boy took a sip, suddenly getting a kick of energy. "An excellent energy booster for one practically dead on his feet."
(Y/N) blushed. "Is it that noticeable?"
The man's eyes suddenly shifted to red for a moment. "If your bags were any darker, I'd call you a raccoon Faunus."
The boy snorted, finishing the tea as the man sneezed and his eyes changed to a light blue.
"Oh, forgive me." He said, his personality shifting to something more timid. "You should take better care of yourself, dear boy."
"No, it's okay." (Y/N) assured. "I just...have trouble sleeping."
"I find lavender and chamomile blends assist with nightmares. Having lavender flowers or candles also could alleviate those foul dreams."
(Y/N) tilted his head. "How did you know I had nightmares?"
The older man stood straight, his eyes returning to their brown color. "Klein Sieben, at your service, young (Y/N). Ms. Schnee has spoken very fondly of you."
"Oh!" (Y/N) said. "So you're Klein. Weiss has told me about you. It's nice to meet you."
The two shook hands as the butler smiled. "Likewise. If you would like, I can fetch Ms. Schnee. I'm certain she will be thrilled to see you."
"Please, if you don't mind."
The man nodded and headed off down the hall. (Y/N) felt better and leaned against the wall, waiting. At one point, he thought he saw someone with white hair and blue eyes looking at him, but they scurried off as soon as they realized he saw them. Eventually, a familiar voice called out to him.
"(Y/N)?"
The boy looked up to see Weiss standing there, a sad smile on her face. His face lit up.
"Weiss!"
Forgetting all the etiquette Winter had been coaching on, the boy leapt into his sister's arms as spun him.
"It's so good to see you again." She said, sounding relieved. "Look how big you've gotten!"
"Aw, Weiss, it hasn't been that long...has it?"
"It certainly has felt like it, sweetie." They broke their hug as she placed a hand on her cheek. "How have you been?"
"Uh, okay..." He said half-heartedly. "Atlas Academy isn't Beacon, but most of the students are pretty nice. Winter's been teaching me a lot of stuff!"
Weiss nodded. "So, she's been looking after you?"
"Yup, just like she promised! Ironwood and the Ace Ops have been training me, but I miss training with you guys and Ozpin."
"Oh, sweetie, I know. I miss it too."
He shook his head before trying to give her a reassuring smile. "How have you been?"
"Mhm..." Weiss looked at the door to the study, a somber expression now on her face.
(Y/N) growled, reaffirming his hatred of Jacque Schnee. Weiss, sensing his hostility, ran a hand through his hair.
"Never mind that. I'll be fine."
"You better, or I'll set him on fire."
"I'm not talking about the good of my company, I'm talking about the good of Atlas!" Jacque shouted from within the study. "Our entire kingdom!"
Weiss slowly walked up to the door, placing a hand on the knob and (Y/N) did nothing to stop her.
"That is a load of garbage and you know it." Ironwood shot back as siblings quietly slipped inside.
"I beg your pardon!?"
"Jacque, will you please just hear me out?"
The Schnee patriarch slammed a glass of alcohol on the table between them.
"You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James, but what you're suggesting is absurd."
"You are blowing it out of proportion."
Jacque shot up. "The council will never agree to it!"
"You forget." Ironwood stood up, composed. "I hold two seats on the council."
"Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions. I can promise you I have not forgotten!"
"So this is about you?"
The two men were so engrossed in their argument that neither of them noticed the kids standing there until the door behind them clicked shut. They turned to two, who stood straight as a reflex.
"Ms. Schnee." The General greeted. "My apologies. I had hoped you and your brother would enjoy your reunion elsewhere."
"It's okay." She assured. "Thank you for bringing him, General, as well as looking after him."
"(Y/N) has made it easy. He's eager to learn and approve. He has a bright future." Ironwood turned to Jacque. "We'll continue this at another time."
"Indeed." Jacque agreed. "Klein will show you both out."
"Hmph, don't worry. I know the way." Ironwood walked to the door. "Until next time, Jacques. Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Ms Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it. Until then, I'm sure I can spare some extra free time for (Y/N) to visit you."
Weiss smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you, General."
"(Y/N), we're leaving."
"Yes sir." (Y/N) quickly hugged his sister. "Bye, Weiss."
"Bye, sweetie. I'll see you soon."