One week.
That was how long I was in Vale, along with Ironwood, enduring Ozpin's repeated 'subtle' attempts at trying to recruit me into Beacon despite having said that I would join the school when my younger self was ready to attend Beacon.
The only reason I even stayed here was due to the fact that Ironwood wanted me to return to Atlas with him for something important, something that he had not even revealed to Ozpin yet.
I have to say, it felt good to have Ironwood's complete trust, even more than Ozpin, as a consequence of knowing just how much information the thousands-of-years-old Wizard was hiding from him.
It was also one of the most grueling week since Summer Rose did not let any chance slip by to pester me. This was due to the fact that, as the person who caught Raven, I had the biggest say on how severe her trial could be, even with Ozpin's meddling.
I could make her trial nothing more than a farce, releasing her with nothing but a fire. Or, I could make it hell on remnant for her by pressing charges on her, charges that I had actual proof for, thanks to the very public way she conducted her raids with the Branwen tribe.
I have to say, I was starting to really dislike Ruby's mother due to her stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the faults of someone she cares about. She reminded me too much of how Blake was back in Beacon.
For some time, I felt like relenting to Summer's continuous pestering just to get rid of her, but then I would remember the many lives that were ruined by Raven and her tribe, causing no small amount of internal conflict in my mind.
Fortunately, I had an ally who was willing to take this burden from me.
It came as a surprise to me, and a real shock to Summer, when Ironwood took the entire set of files filled with evidence that we collected against Raven, printed on paper just like most of the other important documents after Ironwood learned about the possibility of the CCT being hacked, and directly filed for the trial to be held by a joint panel of judges from all the four kingdoms, severely limiting Ozpin's and his own influence in the matter.
Summer Rose was not a happy camper after that incident, and she showed her displeasure in many ways by being completely uncooperative with Ozpin's or Ironwood's interrogations about why she ran off on an unauthorized mission.
Then came the miracle that hammered some sense into the Rose in the form of her Husband, Taiyan Xiao-Long.
Taiyang was nothing like what Yang described him to be in my past. He was not as easy-going, pun-loving 'super-dad' as she said. Instead, what I saw was a veteran Huntsman who was barely sober after drinking himself to sleep for a few days straight. The only concession was that he was rapidly recovering from his depressed state now that he had his wives back.
It was Taiyang who talked to Summer and brought her out of her tunnel vision. It was he who explained just how bad Raven's actions had been in the few years she left the family and just how many lives she had ruined with her selfishness and cowardice.
Of course, being the mother of Ruby Rose, she was filled with just as much over-optimism, if not more so, and demanded that Raven be given another chance since 'she can change'.
Slowly, the talks turned to arguments, and by the time I left the couple to sort out their own issues, emotions were already high enough for Taiyang to raise his aura and Summer to start using her maiden powers.
Honestly, I think Summer is way too optimistic, even more than Ruby was during Beacon. But even during Beacon, Ruby knew that some people were beyond redemption, unlike what I see with Summer.
In the end, Taiyang won the argument and led a depressed Summer back to their home, leaving behind Qrow to look after an equally depressed Raven and a very antsy Ozpin, who was starting to look at me with no small amount of suspicion.
Frankly, I did not care one bit about what the old man thought of me. The only reason I even came to Beacon was to clarify the changes in the timeline, something that I already got answers to.
While I did hate Ozpin, simply because my mind still refused to accept the fact that he was not responsible for Pyrrha's death, that did not mean that I failed to acknowledge the fact that he was someone who was necessary to keep Salem at bay, even if his strategies were always defensive and reactive in nature instead of being the aggressor or taking an active stance.
That was the reason why I was willing to reveal what happens in the future, even if it was an oversimplified version. Because I knew he was someone who needed to be brought into the fight if we were to find a way to defeat Salem.
"….Don't think too harshly about Summer. She tends to get tunnel vision when it comes to her loved ones."
I glanced to the side where Qrow was drinking beer, an anomaly since I remember him drinking really hard stuff from back in my time. Then again, since Summer was not dead and his family was not a wreck, maybe he did not have as much reason to drink the hard stuff.
"I can tell that much. But that does not change the fact that she was defending a criminal who needs to be brought to justice. We at least owe that much to those who died by either her hand or the hands of her so-called Tribe."
"Hey, I ain't going to argue with that, in fact, I think she deserves everything that is coming for her and more, but I don't like the fact that her actions are now reflecting badly on my partner."
"I see. Then don't worry, I don't see her in a bad light. I know what happens when people get overwhelmed by emotions and make stupid choices."
"Sounds like you are speaking from experience?"
"…You can say that."
Indeed, I know that better than anyone. The folly of letting your emotions get the better of you.
"…You know, I thought you were going to be another one of Jimmy's uptight and arrogant underlings when I learned that you were a Specialist, but I guess I was wrong. You are much easier to talk to than any of them."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you. Seriously, you have no idea just how grateful Tai and I are for saving Summer, and to a lesser extent, for bringing back Raven."
I simply nodded as the man got up from the stool and left after leaving behind a lot of Lien, enough to pay for his beer and my mead, and then some, probably a tip.
One thing I can say with certainty is that Qrow Branwen is probably the only person I can talk to openly without any fears, whether it was back in my time or here. He always had that kind of presence to him that allowed others to relax, probably one of the reasons why he is such a valuable spy for Ozpin.
An alert on my Scroll brought me out of my thoughts. Looking at the message from Ironwood, I got up from my own stool and left the bar.
Looks like it's finally time to leave.
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"…..Excuse me, but it seems my hearing has failed me. You want to make me what?"
"Correction, I have already made you a Colonel of the Atlas military. There is no changing that."
I take it back. Ironwood is just as crazy as his future self.
"And what kind of reasoning did you give to the Council for this sudden promotion? Hell, what are you going to say to the rest of your Specialists when they hear about it?"
"You don't have to worry about that."
Oh, I am definitely going to worry about that!
The journey back to Atlas was uneventful. When we finally arrived at the floating city, I thought I would listen to whatever it was that Ironwood wanted to say and have Mason take me back home.
I did not expect this man to drop such a huge bomb on me so casually!
"James, you have already seen how bad I am at making hard decisions when I failed to push through Raven's trial and needed your help. How can you expect me to take on a position like this that involves commanding soldiers into battle? If I fail to make a decision like before in a crucial situation and cause the soldiers to lose their lives, how are you going to answer to their families? How am I supposed to live with that?"
"You will be a Colonel in name only. You will not be leading any men into battle, especially since we are not at war right now all you will be doing is going through some paperwork and familiarizing yourself with how Atlas military and, by extension, Atlas as a whole, works. As for your decision-making. Jaune, you are a human. It is inevitable that you would let your emotions cloud your judgment from time to time. Of course, as a Colonel, you cannot afford that. That is why you will have a few trusted subordinates of mine who will share the burden for you if you are ever emotionally compromised."
Something is wrong here. Why is he insisting on this 'promotion' so much? Did something happen? Why is he pushing me to rise higher in the ranks of- wait a minute!
"James, be clear with me. Are you trying to make me replace you in the Atlas Military?"
"…Nothing gets past you, huh? Yes. I want you to become the General and replace me."
"James Ironwood, what the hell are you thinking?"
James sighed and got up from his seat, motioning me to follow him as we walked out of his office.
"After you told me about what happened in the future, specifically, what my future self did, I started to doubt if I was really worthy of being the General of Atlas Military."
"James, it wasn't really your fault, well, not entirely-"
"Jaune. I know it was solely my fault. If my future self had not succumbed to his emotions of fear and paranoia, Atlas would not have fallen. That much I am confident in."
"…If that is what you think, then why have me replace you? Especially since I am just as mentally unstable as your future self, if not more so. Hell, you remember what the Psychiatrists said when we had my evaluation over a year ago? That I am extremely unstable and a danger to everyone around me."
"And yet, here you are, after saving the lives of Summer Rose, who resembles her daughter too much, based on your reaction, and not having killed Raven Branwen despite the many descriptive details you gave about how she was responsible for causing harm to your friends. That restraint is not the sign of someone who is on the verge of insanity."
"James, that was a fluke. I was this close to actually killing Raven-"
"Regardless, I still believe that you are the best replacement I can find for my position on such short notice, at least, until Winter grows up and becomes as formidable a Specialist as you said."
Soon, we arrived at the Vault hidden beneath the building, where the Relic of Creation was on full display. Because of the fact that the Winter Maiden is too old to move about freely, James had decided to remove the Vault's restrictions, much to the chagrin of Ozpin.
"….Fine, I will take the promotion to Colonel. But that's it. I am not going to become a General. Despite what you seem to think about me, I am not fit for that role. But I will help you shoulder your responsibilities until Winter is ready to take your place. Then, I am out."
James just smiled at me.
"I guess that is the best I am going to get out of you. Very well. Now, for the other reason why we are here."
He motioned to the side, where I saw Pietro working on a massive machine.
Inside the machine was a figure that took my breath away and forced me to relive my worst nightmare.
It was none other than the still form of Penny Polendina. The innocent android-turned-human that I killed in cold blood. Something that I never forgave myself for.
"….So he really succeeded in constructing her in only a year?"
"Thanks to the blueprints that were on your scroll, he was able to optimize his designs and build her much faster than anticipated."
"…That is good. But why have her activate here?"
"You will see soon enough. Dr. Polendina! How long?"
"Not long, General. We are almost ready! Oh! Hi Jaune, or do you prefer Juniper?"
"Call me Juniper, Pietro. It will cause confusion for others if you call me Jaune in public."
"OK then, come. We are about to begin."
Confused about what James and Pietro were going on about, I followed them closer to the machine where Penny's body was located.
And then, I watched the miracle happen.
Pietro got into another pod that was connected to the machine and turned it on from the inside.
"All systems green. Beginning Aura infusion."
Green Aura was being extracted from Pietro and was being transferred to Penny's body. This process went on for nearly an entire minute before the pod stopped supplying Aura to the Machine.
But Penny's body continued to shine with the light of Aura, in fact, the glow was starting to become stronger and stronger.
Pietro rushed out of the pod and kept his eyes on the displays.
"All systems are still in the green. Aura catalyst is at 25% and rising."
"What is an Aura Catalyst?"
James looked surprised at my question.
"You don't know?"
"Hey! Just because I had the blueprints doesn't mean I actually understood them. I only had them as a backup should Ruby or Weiss ever lose their copies."
James looked embarrassed about the assumption and started explaining.
"Well, the Aura Catalyst is a device that Pietro created when he first envisioned Project: PENNY. It is a device that takes a small amount of Aura from the donor and starts expanding it by using a complex combination of multiple forms of Dust. Once the Aura inside the Catalyst reaches a certain level, the Aura collapses on itself and births a soul. Simply put, it is a device that creates artificial souls, and by extension, artificial Aura. Of course, all of this was only considered theoretical, and many people still don't believe Pietro's research. The only reason that we are now in the testing phase is thanks to your blueprints that proved his theories."
That was the most awe-inspiring thing I had ever heard. I knew that Penny had an artificial soul before, but Ruby and I always thought that it was just the soul of some terminally ill girl who decided to donate her soul to Atlas Military. Now, I have learned that this assumption was far from the truth.
"Aura Catalyst at 100%. Aura implosion detected."
James became tense, just like Pietro, who continued to stare at the screens. The machine that housed Penny's body was now glowing with enough intensity to blind a normal human temporarily.
"Aura implosion has stopped. Beginning Aura regeneration test."
As soon as Pietro's words rang out, a relatively large needle descended from inside the machine and tried to poke Penny's arm, only to be obstructed by the green Aura that now surrounded her.
"Aura drop detected. Aura regeneration detected. It is a success!"
Pietro wasted no time and ran to the machine and began to open the container while James relaxed beside me.
"The hard part is now done. Now comes the easy part."
"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't Penny already born?"
James just gestured for me to follow as Pietro took Penny's body and started heading toward the Relic of Creation.
Instantly, things started to fall into place in my mind.
"…So that is why you used the Vault to build her."
"Indeed."
"But, what about Atlas? Wouldn't it fall out of the sky the moment the Relic is used?"
"Normally? Yes. But there is a reason why I have been stockpiling obscene amounts of Gravity Dust in the past few months. It should be enough to keep Atlas afloat for 10 minutes at least. More than enough time for us to complete our task."
I nodded at his reasoning and moved along with him, just a little bit of excitement putting an imperceptible skip in my steps.
It's time for these damned Relics to do some good for once.