RWBY||Defender of Remnant

Chapter 57: Witches and Roses

3rd Person POV

RWBY Dorm

"I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice," Ironwood apologized. He stood in the middle of Team RWBY's dorm, two Atlesian Knights outside. Yang, Sincline, and Ruby sat on one bed, Blake and Weiss on the other, with Accalia resting on one of the upper bunks, watching the proceedings curiously.

"But he was in danger!" Yang protested. "I was trying to—"

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise," Ironwood said somberly.

"But Yang would never do that!" Weiss protested.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, Sincline nodding his assent as well.

Ironwood sighed. "You all seem like good students," he admitted, turning to face them. "And the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances." He aimed this at Yang, who looked up at him. "What I believe, and hope this to be, is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgement can become clouded in an instant... sometimes you see things that simply aren't there... even after the fight has passed."

"But I wasn't tr—"

"That's enough!" Ironwood ordered, causing Yang to fall silent. He sighed. "The sad truth is... whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student, and, unlike Aspen, they didn't witness an unknown creature rip itself free of you. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that... you're disqualified."

Yang looked down, and Sincline stood. "Sir, with all due respect, you and I both know this is stupid," he said, deciding to get straight to the point.

"Sincline!" Weiss hissed, her eyes flicking toward the General, but the mech-turned-human ignored her.

"All six of us know that whatever happened to Yang was orchestrated," he stated, knowing that both he and the General were tired of half-truths. "Yang would never attack another student outside of combat, and even though she may be... hotheaded at times, she's not ruthless. So that leaves only one option."

"She was framed," Ruby agreed, catching onto his train of thought. "But why? And by who?"

"I think we all know the answer to that," Sincline said grimly, exchanging knowing looks with everyone before turning back to Ironwood. "Salem's planning something, something big. The woman in black, low crime rate, the Grimm from Mountain Glenn, the Alpha Nuckelavee, and the Breach prove that. As we all know, Grimm are attracted to negative emotions...."

"Which were what likely started drawing Grimm to the city," Ironwood acknowledged. He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. "You might be right; you might be wrong. But whatever the case, unless I have evidence, I won't be able to clear Miss Xiao Long's name. At least, not yet."

"I have something," Sincline said, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. "It's not much, but it shows that Yang could have been under the influence of a semblance." Pulling up a holoscreen, he flicked to the arena footage and froze it just as Yang's eyes flashed green. "I may be dense, but even I know that her eyes flashing green aren't natural," he stated.

"But semblances often show side effects, like your warping producing an aura," Ironwood pointed out. He, of course, already knew of the side effects of Yang Xiao Long's semblance, but he wanted to see how thoroughly Sincline had thought this out.

"Maybe," Sincline replied, knowing the General had a point. "But when she's mad, or when she uses her semblance, her eyes always turn red. Not green."

"He's right," Ruby agreed. "Yang's gotten mad loads of times, but her eyes never turned green. Like, ever. And she didn't even get that mad during the fight."