Egrer loved cleanliness. He really did.
But he didn't love being forced to clean as a punishment.
Luckily, at least Chuckler wasn't with them this time. According to Goodwitch, he had recently unlocked his Aura and was now under a doctor's observation. Egrer prayed to all the Gods that the psycho vivisector would use the old man for experiments...
But even without Chuckler, slacking off wasn't an option, since the Iron Lady would personally check the quality of their work. And upsetting her was even less desirable than upsetting the janitor.
Teams JNPR, RWBY, and MJEI were cleaning the library in full force. You'd think twelve young, energetic teenagers could knock it out in half an hour. But no such luck.
The library was huge. Absurdly so. So huge that by the time they reached the top floor of this monstrous tower, a new layer of dust would gather on the first floor again. It looked somewhat smaller from the outside... Good thing no one expected them to tidy it all up today; this detention was clearly going to drag on for a while.
The first few minutes were terrible. Just looking at the impending workload made them despair and ready to just cry in a corner. Illmond constantly tilted his head back, stared at the intersection of the upper-floor bridges, and sighed heavily. The rest followed his example and did it with such synchronicity that it was fitting to suspect them of reading each other's minds.
The higher they climbed, the more wild and uninhabited the places seemed. If the first floor was the center of albeit lazy, but at least some kind of life (after all, this was where everyone did their homework, studied for exams, or played board games), then the third was already a realm of death and decay. There was more dust on the books than the books themselves, and spiders, moths, and other insects felt right at home there.
But as the ancient wisdom goes—the eyes are afraid, but the hands do the work. Little by little they advanced higher and higher, everyone fulfilling their role.
"Crassius Curio's 'The Lusty Faunus-Lizard'," Weiss read the book's title, holding it gingerly by her fingernails. "Eaten by bookworms, the pages are stained. How disgusting, to the trash."
She ruthlessly dropped the book on the floor, and Egrer made a note in the log that such-and-such a book from such-and-such a shelf needed replacing.
"'The Life and Sufferings of Mr. Brande' authored by William Brande. Will probably hold out for a couple more years, I think. We'll keep it."
Based on the results of the draw, during which their whole crowd picked their jobs, the two of them got the cleanest job (Egrer mentally patted himself on the back for the pun). Just finding heavily damaged books on already-dusted shelves, cataloging them, and subsequently subjecting them to a ritual burning.
Of course, Goodwitch hadn't said anything specifically about "burning" them; she just told them to get rid of them. But could you really blame irrational teenagers for choosing such a beautiful method of disposal? They had to somehow compensate for the hours of boredom she had doomed them to.
The pile of books kept growing larger and larger. The upcoming bonfire promised to be truly impressive in scale, and that served as one of the few motivations to keep moving forward without giving up.
Weiss climbed higher on the stepladder and started sorting through the next shelf of books.
"Christopher Illopoly's 'Travelling at Night'. The cover is crumpled, many pages are missing. A pity, but it'll have to be thrown out."
"Do you really have to say all of this out loud?" Egrer couldn't hold back.
"Am I bothering you somehow?"
"It's just getting annoying."
"Well, I'm annoyed working in silence. At least this provides some entertainment." Weiss picked up the next book. The cover featured a screaming human face stretched across it. "'Necronomicon' authored by Abdul Alhazred."
She quickly flipped through the pages and dropped it on the floor.
"The ramblings of a madman. Gods, demons, nightmares... What is this even doing at Beacon? The higher we climb, the more trash we find."
"You read that a bit too fast to judge," Egrer nitpicked just for the sake of nitpicking. "Jumping to conclusions again."
"Three seconds is enough for me to fully digest the text on a single page," Weiss boasted.
"Yeah, right. You're making that up," he waved her off.
"Wanna bet?"
"Bring it on!"
"Hey, hey!" Yang aggressively swung her wet mop, sending drops of water flying in all directions. The bandana on her head looked funny and ridiculous, but if that was the price of keeping her hair clean, she gladly paid it. "Don't slack off! The more work we get done today, the less there'll be tomorrow."
"We'll just be three seconds," Weiss replied with a smirk.
Egrer set the log aside and began searching nearby for a book with the most intellectual-sounding title. Eventually, his gaze landed on a detective novel called 'Dick Mullen and the Secret Identity'. Opening to a random page, he showed it to Weiss for exactly three seconds.
To his astonishment, she retold its contents almost word for word.
"Are you a psychic? Is that your Semblance?"
"My Semblance is Dust glyphs," Weiss saw fit to remind him.
"So a psychic, got it."
"Alright, alright, alright!" Yang swung her mop again. Of all people, nobody expected such a fierce desire to end the workday as quickly as possible from her. "You lovebirds can coo later, work waits for no one! I am not smiling at the prospect of stretching this detention out into the weekend. I have plans for Saturday, by the way!"
"Anyone can learn to read as fast as I do," Weiss said condescendingly in parting.
She reached for a far shelf, but the stepladder suddenly began to wobble. Making a clumsy attempt to grab onto the bookshelf, Weiss only made it worse and went tumbling down, right on top of Egrer.
His reflexes immediately screamed danger, and he darted to the side. Weiss smacked onto the floor.
"Wow, what a chance to blow," Yang shook her head in disappointment. "Hero of the romantic front, my foot..."
Judging by Weiss's glare, Egrer did exactly the right thing; had he actually caught her, she would have strangled him on the spot. The victim stood up, dusted off her school uniform, and as if nothing had happened, continued her work. Egrer grabbed his logbook and also got back to his task.
"'The Man from Heimdall and the She-Devil'..."
Egrer turned off his brain. All that was required of him anyway was a mechanical recording of the titles Weiss pointed out. But despite the boredom, this was definitely way better than scrubbing floors with a mop like Yang or hauling water for the others like poor Ruby. Now there's someone who really got unlucky with her job...
Suddenly, Egrer's Scroll received a message. From Illmond.
«Did you take your chance?»
Egrer tiredly looked up. A floor above, Illmond was wiping down the railing and nodding meaningfully with his eyes at Weiss. How annoying this is, honest to Gods.
«I don't know what you're talking about,» he simply replied.
«She's standing on a stepladder! You know what that means, right?»
«That she might take a tumble again? I'm afraid I'm too agile to let her fall on me.»
«Don't play dumb, you know what I mean, blockhead!»
«I do, but unlike some people, I follow basic ethical norms. If you want to so badly, go peek up her skirt yourself. But when she's flaying the skin off your bones, I won't stand up for you.»
«Coward!» It was distinctly audible how Illmond punched the railing. But Egrer was looking at their text thread and didn't see his disappointed face.
«At least I'm alive and not morally degenerate.» The last word was his, which meant the victory was too. Putting the Scroll back in his pocket, he turned off his brain once more.
Another message arrived on his Scroll.
"Ill..." Egrer hissed under his breath.
«Hey, little wolf! Sorry I didn't reply right away, dad and I have just been really busy lately. Well, you know what kind, since you watch the news» there was a winking emoji at the end. «How are things at Beacon, anyone picking on you? If so, don't be shy to tell me, I'll shatter every cervical vertebra that freak has» the threat was complemented by a smiling face.
Egrer immediately felt energized and started typing a reply to his mom, first of all declaring that no one was picking on him and that he was actually friends with everyone here.
"Who are you constantly texting over there?" Weiss asked in displeasure.
"My mom. Does anyone mind if I get distracted for a couple of minutes?"
"I mind!" Yang objected. "Business first, everything else comes after."
"Oh come on, I've been waiting for a reply from her since my first day at Beacon. Don't be so heartless."
"She's a busy one," she grumbled. "Some kind of big shot?"
"A... real estate agent," Egrer found a deflection, hiding his stupid smile behind his Scroll. But even so, everyone easily guessed it was a lie just from Yort's laughter alone. "You know, she goes through various buildings, appraises their value and all that stuff, buys, sells... Stop laughing, damn it!"
"Really?" Yang squinted jokingly.
"I wouldn't lie about trivial things." That was an opaque hint that this specific lie wasn't trivial and that they'd better stay out of it. Weiss had understood everything long ago and continued checking the books.
"No, no, no, I'm curious. Come on, spill it, what kind of secrets are you hiding so fiercely?"
"He blew up a bridge," Magenta answered condemningly on Egrer's behalf.
"Madge! You don't talk about things like that, it's not your secret, for crying out loud."
"And the White Fang was there too."
"Magenta!" Egrer forcibly clamped her jaw shut. "Why are you making up such nonsense!"
"The White Fang?" Weiss and Blake asked simultaneously. They were both surprised by their synchronicity, not to mention the people around them.
"Believe me, it's a long story, and anyway, we have cleaning to do! I don't want to hold you up for nothing. Weiss, tell me which books are damaged, I'm writing."
"The cleaning can wait," Weiss declared. "What's this about the White Fang?"
"And what about the bridge?!" Nora asked, hanging over the railing from the floor above. A caring Ren caught her by the collar just in time, keeping her from falling down.
Egrer rubbed his face tiredly. Everyone here was watching him intently.
"Fine. I'll start from the very beginning: I have parents." This revelation didn't impress anyone. "Adoptive ones. They're... not bad, especially mom."
Weiss skeptically raised an eyebrow at this part, but said nothing. Magenta, Yort, and Illmond had already heard this story, so they weren't particularly captivated by the tale. But since no one was working, they also decided to slack off and pretend to be listening closely.
"But it just so happened that dad and I had minor differences in our views on my future. He wanted me to... well, help out in his business," Egrer deflected, "and I wanted to be a musician. We had a fight and I ran away from home."
Not a single word of a lie. Perfect.
"Cool." Yang approvingly gave a thumbs up, appreciating the sheer rebelliousness of the act.
"My old man chased after me, and at that time there were cops driving around on the street, they were following some truck. There was a shootout, someone was screaming. I ran in that direction, thinking dad would back off. He had some minor issues with the law back then, and didn't want to catch the police's eye."
"Minor?" Weiss squinted with a chuckle. Egrer shot her a displeased look so she wouldn't ask questions like that. It was funny to her to interpret the events like that, but not to him.
"Well, you know that business, offshore accounts, shadow operations, frontmen. And don't tell me your dad doesn't do the same." She had to nod, because the SDC is a world-renowned "evil corporation," and only a fool would argue with that. Egrer barely suppressed a smile and moved on to the reason this conversation had even started. "Anyway, in a panic I jumped into a moving truck, and there were White Fang goons inside. They didn't have much Aura, and I flew in on them unexpectedly, so I threw them out without a problem and took the wheel. That's it."
"I see..." Blake said thoughtfully.
"What about the bridge?" Nora bounced on her heels. "You blew up a bridge! I want to know every detail! Everything!"
"Sigh... my old man hijacked a car too," Egrer didn't specify he hijacked it from the police, "and then he started shooting at me... damn, what do you call that thing... from a mini-rocket launcher, basically."
Ruby looked like she was about to faint.
"Wait, what?! You two definitely just had 'minor differences in views'?" She mocked his raspy voice. "People don't shoot rockets over trivial things!"
"He didn't even hit me once."
"What difference does that make?!"
"And anyway, he didn't have any other weapon, he could only shoot rockets." Torchwick's cane really couldn't use any other ammunition.
"Stop making excuses for his attempts to kill you!"
"He wouldn't have killed me. Most likely..." Egrer added uncertainly, remembering his father's promise to string his guts across every streetlamp in Mistral.
"Did you seriously just have to think about that?" Weiss inquired.
"What about the bridge?!" Nora bent the railing in her impatience. Ren was still right next to her, keeping her from falling. "How did you blow it up?!"
"I... well... it just so happened that out of fear I confused the gas with the brake. My father crashed into the back, and as it turned out, there was Dust in there..." A heavy silence hung in the air. "Outcome. Truck go 'Boom'."
"Boom," everyone repeated like an echo.
"On the other side, I met Ill! Just don't ask how, just know that we became friends."
"You guys had a simply explosive introduction," Yang smiled.
"I'd even say bomb-ass," Egrer nodded. "And since I've buttered up my dear listeners with an interesting story, I've earned a fifteen-minute break as a reward. Be right back!"
And before anyone could object, Egrer dove like a fish through the open window.
Running far away from the library, he hid in the bushes. Despite all his squeamishness, Egrer sat down on the bare ground and let the branches mess up his perfectly slicked hair. Nobody would see him or bother him here. Perfect.
«Hey, ma,» he typed with a smile.
It had been a while since they last texted. It was one of the few comforts in Egrer's rather nerve-wracking life, at least before Beacon. Now, however, he lived on full room and board and in complete safety, which meant he rarely experienced true stress or anxiety. But he still missed her.
Because she always cared for him. Although, her care sometimes took a very peculiar form... For instance, Egrer learned his agility entirely thanks to her. Well, that and his own stupidity, when he had the idiocy to ask Neo to train him in combat so he could be more useful.
Mom gladly tried to kill him. Several times.
And after a while, Egrer's natural ability to dodge strikes increased multifold. But despite all the benefits of those so-called "Trainings," he would gladly go back in time and beat his younger self in the face. No skills were worth that hell.
Even when Egrer ran away from them and essentially betrayed them, Neo didn't abandon him. By some incredible means, she found out his new Scroll number, and they began texting regularly. Generally speaking, she had always been quite sociable, but due to her innate muteness, hardly anyone could realize that.
But in the digital space, she was a very frequent guest on various anonymous imageboards, where she shared useful tips in her difficult trade or with sadistic pleasure tormented those she didn't like. She was a terrifying troll, second only to Roman in her ability to piss people off. But only because she preferred physical violence to moral violence.
Fortunately, Egrer had nothing to fear; Neo wouldn't touch him. Unless Torchwick ordered it.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had ordered her to do exactly something like that.
Over time, a sweet conversation about everything under the sun and tossing funny life photos to each other morphed into something strange. Mom started talking frequently about how important it is to look to the future and that it's very good that Egrer has such far-reaching plans for his future.
A common thread ran through her messages—it was very important that nothing interfered with this. That he shouldn't get involved in any shady ventures.
Egrer's smile faded.
«Did Roman put you up to stopping me?»
«Yes,» she didn't deny it. «I know you're actually a brave little wolf, but this task is too much for you to chew right now. Leave adult problems to the adults, we'll handle it, believe me. We've gotten out of worse scrapes.»
There definitely hadn't been any scrapes like this one yet. But Egrer didn't dare write about it; right now he was concerned with another question.
«So you only started texting me after all this time because you were told to? And here I thought you missed me.»
«Sorry, but I really have almost no free time right now. Just don't be mad, I promise that as soon as this is all over, the two of us will definitely go somewhere together. Or maybe not just the two of us...» after the ellipsis there was a thoughtful emoji. «Will you introduce me to your friends?»
Egrer couldn't stay mad at her for long. They really were in a tough situation.
«I'll definitely introduce you. Just go easy on them, I've only told them good things about you. They won't survive the dissonance if they see your usual manic-sadistic state.»
In response, Neo sent a pouting face and went offline, wishing him a successful study session in parting.
It didn't escape his notice that she didn't demand an answer from him. Neo simply wrote that it would be better for him to leave this matter alone. It was as if she trusted him to figure it all out himself, or she simply believed that she of all people would be able to talk Egrer out of jumping into this swamp.
It was time to return to the library. Detentions won't work off themselves.
He was met with a good dose of angry sarcasm from Weiss, who had been doing both of their jobs alone all this time, and displeased mumbling from Yang.
Nevertheless, Egrer felt at peace and calm, even though his conversation with his mom ended on an unpleasant note. In the end, she didn't want him to get hurt, and was simply looking out for him. Even though she hadn't been obligated to for a long time.
By evening, they had finished the first three floors of the library. The shelves there shone clean, the corners were cleared of cobwebs, and all the ruined books had been piled by the cliff behind Beacon and ritually burned. Magenta even made a move to drag out her flamethrower and personally torch the pile of useless waste paper, which reached Yort's shoulder in height, but was talked sense into.
After all, using one's weapon outside the dueling hall walls or without a direct request from a teacher was strictly prohibited.
Starting fires was also prohibited, by the way, but this remark from Pyrrha was drowned out by the desire to destroy the hated books they had been fussing with all day. Plus, they were far enough away that the teachers wouldn't notice the trail of smoke stretching into the sky. Even the perpetually strict Weiss couldn't deny herself the pleasure of roasting the marshmallows Nora had brought.
The view of the former Emerald Forest brought back pleasant memories of their initiation day, and after a short, cozy sit-around, they scattered the ashes to the wind.
The workday was officially over. All that was left was to report to Goodwitch on the completed work, a task taken up by Illmond, who lost the draw, and then continue cleaning tomorrow. They parted ways tired, but satisfied. Everyone went to relax in their own way.
But as soon as Egrer tumbled into his room and played his Baby for a bit, Weiss out of nowhere called an emergency meeting of the union. The guitar had to be set aside, along with any thoughts of simply ignoring the party summons.
Today, there was no tea or expensive treats in their abandoned classroom. Weiss gathered them only for one important announcement.
"First of all, I want to immediately explain why there have been no Enversion meetings for so long. In short, I recently underwent a shift in moral compass, which no longer permits me to hold the executive position of General Secretary. And only now, gathering all my responsibility, have I found the strength to state this directly."
"Are you leaving?" Egrer asked in confusion, taking a seat at a desk.
"To be even more brief—yes, I am leaving. I am transferring all my authority to Egrer Peleni. That is all. I just wanted to make an official statement while looking each of you in the eye. Are there any objections?"
"But why?" Nora stared at Weiss, lost. "Did we do something to displease you?"
"I already said why. I just can't keep going like this. Besides, we should be focusing on our studies, not staging revolutions. That's what we're at Beacon for."
The private stood up and in a couple of steps approached the now-former General Secretary. With tears in her eyes, she hugged Weiss until her back popped.
"Let go, you fool, that hurts!"
"You were the best General Secretary I ever knew!"
"Of course I was, since I'm the only one you ever knew!"
"I will never forget you. Your contribution to our struggle will remain with us forever!" Nora squeezed her victim even tighter.
Egrer shifted his gaze to Ren, who watched this scene without any emotion. He was simply observing what was happening and had no intention of stopping his insufferable friend from committing mortal murder. Does that make him an accomplice to the crime taking place? And since Egrer himself is afraid to intervene, is he an accomplice too, or what?
Fortunately, breaking them up wasn't necessary; Weiss handled it herself.
"Alright, alright, you're going to crush me. I hate long goodbyes." Nora obediently let her arms drop to her sides, continuing to sniffle. "Don't cry, it's not like I'm departing for the next world. We'll be living in rooms across from each other for another four years."
"It's different," she pouted. Before Nora could start bawling again, Egrer decided to take the floor.
"Since I'm the General Secretary now, on behalf of our entire community, I promise to give you a proper send-off."
"There's no need for formalities, I'll just leave and that's it. No unnecessary fanfare."
"As you wish." With that, the shortest meeting in the union's history was adjourned, and they headed to the dorm.
After a hard day's work, he just wanted to fall face-first into a pillow and doze a bit, even if there were still a couple of hours until curfew. But that didn't apply to Nora. Energetic as always, she dragged Ren in tow, which is why the two of them pulled far ahead.
"So, you solved the problem with Ruby," Egrer stated, nodding approvingly at Weiss. "Good job. I knew you'd do the right thing."
She smiled as if that had been her plan all along.
"The Order was a stupid idea anyway, I decided to leave that too. Ruby really isn't all that hopeless... I just didn't want to admit it. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to fight her."
"Well, all's well that ends well," Egrer smirked. "And I'll take you up on your generous offer and take the post of General Secretary. Although, without you there, it'll be terribly boring. Who else am I supposed to constantly bicker with over scraps of influence? The whole charm of our meetings was exactly that!"
Weiss laughed quietly.
"I'll tell you a secret, but the Order was very boring without you for that exact reason. But Nora is the Supreme Chairman of the Order now, and she has her own personal organization, just like she dreamed. But I doubt she realized that since I left Enversion, I left the Order too. Just in case, I'll clarify that for her."
"I doubt she'll be happy about her promotion. A secret society of exactly one person, which its two previous heads abandoned before her... she'll just drop the whole thing out of boredom. Plus, she never cared about the goals of the Order of Backstabbers anyway."
"And tell me, why do you need the union? You sorted out your problems with Magenta too, how is it going to help you?" Weiss suddenly frowned. "Don't tell me you seriously bought into the ideas of revolution..."
"No, of course not. I just want to bring back the music club."
"Excuse me, what?"
"The music club was banned six years ago because someone went overboard with pyrotechnics at a concert. As a result, they blew up the Headmaster's tower."
Weiss's eyes widened. Obviously, she wasn't particularly interested in the stories the upperclassmen would gladly share. Given her unsociability, it wasn't surprising.
"Goodwitch refuses to even hear about its restoration, and the students only whisper about the club too. But I dream of becoming a great musician, and at this rate, gathering an initial audience is going to be difficult. That's why I want to gather a fist of discontented masses and present the Headmaster with a list of changes, where the return of the music club can easily get lost. Something like that."
"Wow," Weiss nodded respectfully. "You know, I didn't expect this from you."
"Such cunning?"
"Such a workable scheme," she explained. "Surprisingly, it all sounds quite coherent, even though usually all your ideas always failed... but this one just might work as intended."
Egrer positively beamed at her words. Since Weiss is the future heiress to the SDC, she understands under-the-rug intrigues better than anyone else. Praise from her meant a recognition of his professionalism.
"Heh-heh, believe me, Weiss, I will raise Enversion to unprecedented heights!"
***
Since Egrer had taken the place of the head of the union, it was time to change the party's course. No more half-measures, flirting with the authorities, or humiliating attempts to somehow justify fighting for a righteous cause. The people of Beacon must know what Enversion is fighting for! For the freedom to choose your own room, for the fight against racism and bullying, for a new era of peace and prosperity!
And for the opening of the music club, too...
The very next day, the new General Secretary gathered Enversion and set out to deliver the loudest speech in the history of the union's existence. It would outdo even their very first agitation, when Weiss stood in the middle of the cafeteria and declared the birth of a new power in Beacon, threatening to break the established order of things.
The union's anthem blasted from speakers in the background, while Nora and Ren handed out pamphlets left over from Weiss's previous attempts to draw attention to their organization. In one hand Egrer held a megaphone, and in the other a flag with the union's emblem—a crossed hammer and sickle against a red star.
Naturally, this wasn't Nora's original; while she is a master of all sorts of inventions, she absolutely cannot draw. Her scribbles served as a reference for Illmond, who used them as a base to paint a majestic emblem that was right now fluttering in gusts of wind.
A small crowd had already gathered in front of the hastily nailed-together stage, and with every passing minute, it grew larger and larger. And although Egrer was far from the previous General Secretary in terms of oratory skills, he compensated with bold speeches and promises. A special charm was added to his performance by the view of the Headmaster's tower behind the stage. To shout about something like this right in front of the current government's lair truly required astonishing bravery.
Or stupidity.
Obviously, Egrer had never been a brave man.
Those who knew him had already drawn their conclusions.
He paced back and forth, talking about the injustice of a system where all decisions are made by one person. On behalf of all Beacon students, he demanded the creation of a parliament and the firing of the main weapon of oppression of the current regime—Fill Chuckler. He demanded the drafting of a people's constitution and the convening of a commission to oversee the activities of the Beacon administration, advocating for the formation of an organ of popular self-government—a student council.
Honestly, Egrer himself had no idea what he was spouting, but the crowd loved it, so he kept going...
"Are we trembling creatures, or do we have the right!? We can and must decide our own destiny! Modern laws are written to intimidate us, to turn us into an obedient flock of thick-headed sheep!" a student with horns objected indignantly, but went unheard. "So tell me, must we follow such rules?!"
"No!"
"We demand a constitution!"
"Down with Ozpin!"
"We are not sheep!"
An explosive effect. The crowd rejoiced. Egrer bathed in the rays of universal adoration.
The current General Secretary of Enversion was overwhelmed with a feeling of complete impunity and omnipotence. This whole crowd would follow him to the barricades, even to storm the Headmaster's tower. With a wave of his hand, Egrer could sic them on an objectionable student, and they would eat him alive without asking questions. Surely, this is exactly how great dictators felt before their armies and revolutionaries before a crowd of oppressed people.
After a brief pause, during which the hubbub of the crowd died down a bit, Egrer continued his monologue.
"Mr. Peleni." Except he was interrupted by this quiet, kind voice. Egrer dropped the megaphone, and it rolled off the stage into the recoiling crowd. Behind his back stood Headmaster Ozpin with a tired expression on his face. "I understand that you are young and have nowhere to put your energy, but please, do not shout under the windows of my office. Unlike you, I do not have a long recess and I must work."
"O-of course, Headmaster. A-as you s-say, Headmaster." The revolutionary army, which in Egrer's opinion had been ready to tear anyone apart, suddenly started dispersing about their business. Only the most radically minded remained. "That's all for today, friends! When the next event happens, we, uh... Enversion will notify you! Anyone interested in joining the union, please stay to sign up."
"Mr. Peleni." Ozpin began speaking again. "Why don't you form a club? Legitimize your society, so to speak."
"A-a-ah..." Egrer scratched the back of his head. "We could do that? I mean, clubs are gatherings of people with a shared hobby."
"Politics is a hobby just like playing tennis, simply on a different scale. You will be given a room, funding, and a spot on the club board. Also, the student newspaper will be obligated to write about your upcoming events."
So they'd seriously be given money? That meant he wouldn't have to spend out of his own pocket on treats for the union. Given a room? That meant they wouldn't have to huddle in a dusty abandoned classroom anymore. And the student newspaper... the cherry on top, a nice bonus.
But the General Secretary was plagued by vague doubts. It was too generous, too suspicious. As the ancient wisdom goes—free cheese is only found in a mousetrap, and a cautious Egrer couldn't help but heed it.
"Why are you helping me?"
"It is my job and calling—to help my students."
And with that, even the most radically minded students decided to leave. They realized that the Headmaster wasn't quite the asshole he was made out to be a minute ago. Ren and Nora watched their retreating backs with disappointment.
Such deviousness... Egrer thought detachedly. He used some psychological trick and under the guise of helping presented himself in a favorable light, managing to turn my future followers against me. I had completely forgotten what kind of trickster the union and the Order were fighting.
Ozpin was smiling.
Or maybe he decided to tell me all this, not even hoping that I'd agree? He sees right through me. The Headmaster surely thinks I'll just get scared to step into such an obvious trap... Which means I have to act in a way he doesn't expect!
"Let's do it," Egrer nodded with feigned bravery. "Where do I sign?"
"Bart handles that matter, go see him." And with those words, Ozpin walked away.
"Comrades," the General Secretary addressed his two privates. "We're going to see Professor Oobleck."
The historian's classroom greeted them with the familiar smell of old paper and coffee. The owner of the office was preparing for tomorrow's lecture by hanging maps on the walls, so he didn't notice them right away.
"I have heard of your organization, Mr. Peleni," the teacher said when Egrer explained the gist of the situation. "I dare say that a good Huntsman is apolitical first and foremost, so your beliefs should not prevent you from saving adherents of a different ideology!"
"And they won't, Professor."
"How many times must I repeat, I am a Doctor!" the teacher yelled. "Doctor Oobleck! Doctor of Historical Sciences Oobleck! When will you all remember?"
"Sorry, Doctor. So what needs to be done to form a club?"
"A few minor details. Write a registration application in free form, and I will sign it. Describe the purpose of your club in it, what qualities you value in your members, and a rough schedule of club activities. Also, you need a faculty advisor, any teacher will do."
"And could you~"
"I would be glad to, but I already have four clubs under my care." Oobleck started rapidly bending his fingers. "The History Club, the Medieval Reenactors Club, the Board Game Club, and the Coffee Enthusiasts Club."
"Coffee Enthusiasts? They have their own club?"
"Coffee!" the professor suddenly shouted, shaking his thermos. "Coffee is the blood of the modern world, the oil of the most complex mechanism called 'Remnant'! You will understand its full indispensability the moment you realize that there are three days left until your final exams, and you haven't even started studying."
"Absolutely," Egrer nodded neutrally. "Could you tell me which teachers aren't busy?"
"Ask Glynda," the teacher brushed them off and ran out of the classroom.
"Well then, comrades..."
"Ah, yes!" Oobleck appeared before them again. "Almost forgot! You need five members to create a club, so you'll need to rope two more people into your struggle." After which he vanished again.
"Comrades, an important announcement." Egrer raised a finger, then pointed at Ren. "I appoint you as my secretary and task you with asking Miss Goodwitch about available teachers. I'll handle recruiting for now."
"Dumped the most dangerous job on Renny," Nora grumbled. Ren himself did not express the slightest displeasure.
"If you want, you can go with him."
"No-no-no, I'll just get in the way."
"Nora," Ren suddenly said. "I could use some moral support."
"Of course, Renny, I'd follow you to the ends of the earth!"
"Excellent, then march!" the General Secretary gave the signal. Everyone immediately set off to fulfill their share of the work.
Egrer already had a couple of candidates in mind who could be easily talked into joining Enversion.
Magenta agreed immediately, but keeping in mind that she had also agreed once before and then completely forgot about the union's existence an hour later, she was made to sign a hastily handwritten document.
Jaune was harder. He politely refused, citing a lack of free time. After all, he's constantly studying, practicing with Pyrrha, and even working on weekends. Not a second to breathe.
So Egrer had to resort to extreme measures and remind him who he owed the honor of studying at Beacon to. A sour-faced Jaune couldn't find a worthy excuse against this argument, and the free time in his already packed schedule became even smaller. Not a pretty move, but if it brought the return of the music club closer, then it was nothing to worry about...
Ironing out all the bureaucratic formalities took up the whole evening, and the next day they finally got the coveted keys to a room in the club building.
And so, Egrer triumphantly threw open the doors to meet a new milestone in the history of the union's development. The General Secretary chuckled in satisfaction, while his deputy and three privates wandered around the room. Before them stood a table, a slightly dusty sofa, and a water cooler. The free space, though there wasn't much of it, provided room for imagination and hopes for future expansion.
"Now we won't have to skulk around in unused classrooms. Now we have a home," Egrer nodded to himself. "Ren, by the way, who is our advisor?"
"Miss Goodwitch."
Every union member silently turned to him. Even Nora and Magenta, who had been whispering about something, went quiet.
"The others were already taken," Ren said as if apologizing. "She offered Chuckler as an alternative."
"Goodwitch it is, then," Egrer immediately agreed. "Let's not dwell on the bad, because there's so much good ahead! Just think, we achieved such astonishing growth in just one day. Weiss couldn't even dream of this."
"In the historical chronicle, we'll call this the 'Great Leap Forward'," Nora fully shared his good mood.
"The main thing is that it doesn't turn into a 'Great Leap Backward'," Jaune sluggishly responded. He certainly didn't look particularly happy.
"So, comrades!" Egrer stood in the center of the room and planted his hands on his hips. "The future is right in front of us. First things first, we'll do a little rearranging here. We'll hang our emblem over there, stick the flag over there, and plaster propaganda posters here. Speaking of posters—we need to wrangle a color printer and a computer out of Goodwitch. I entrust the negotiations to Ren."
"Give me something important to do too!" an inspired Magenta asked. She had absorbed the good mood like a sponge and now intended to return it tenfold.
"Alright, I order you to take charge of beautifying the room. Rearranging furniture and all sorts of decorations are completely in your hands."
"Me too, me too!" Nora jumped in place.
"You'll hang up our old pamphlets around the academy, the ones from our first agitation. We need to let the good people of Beacon know that we're stronger than ever!"
"I doubt putting up flyers without permission is allowed," Ren noted.
"Then you'll take care of that along with the printer and the PC," the General Secretary issued the order. "And Jaune... Let him act at his own discretion. You're just here to make up the numbers anyway, so we won't stress you too much."
"O-oh, thanks," he thanked him from the bottom of his heart.
"So, ladies and gentlemen! Today begins a new era in the history of Beacon!"