[RWBY] The Great Temporal Step-Sibling War!

[AndrewJTalon]

Radian, Gallia, Vale

Four Years After Salem's Defeat

- - -

The church was gorgeous, even from the inside with all the stained glass windows and sculpted arches. Pyrrha herself could admit that the vision before her in the mirror was one of loveliness-White dress, veil, her hair up in a bun, her makeup perfect.

Yet she couldn't stop crying. No matter how many goofy faces Nora and Ruby made.

"Come on Pyrrha, what's wrong?" Nora demanded. "It's your wedding day! You should be happy!"

"The happiest!" Ruby added, dabbing Pyrrha's eyes. Pyrrha sniffled a bit more.

"I... I'm sorry, I just... Um... W-Well..."

"Well what?" Ruby demanded. Weiss walked around to Pyrrha, frowning deeply.

"Yes... What is it?" She asked. Pyrrha shook her head.

"I... It..." She stared back at herself in the mirror and broke into sobs again.

"Oh geez," Nora murmured. She snapped her fingers. "I'll be right back!" She rushed out. Weiss sighed.

"Is it Blake and Yang's drama? I know it's just tiresome to deal with them now that they broke up so badly-"

"N-No," Pyrrha whispered, "It... It's not that... Though it doesn't help..."

Ruby sighs.

"Yeah, Yang being under mind control from Watts to turn into a lesbian jerk... Wish we'd caught it sooner."

"Not that Blake had that excuse," Weiss muttered. Ruby scowled at Weiss. "What?!"

The door was flung open. Nora stormed in, dragging Jaune in. Weiss yelped.

"NORA! They're not supposed to see eachother-Oh, um, I-I'm very sorry Jaune-!"

"No, no, it's fine," Jaune said, "I turned off my eyes to keep the tradition. Can you excuse us for a second?"

"But-" Weiss tried, but at Nora's look, she sighed. "Fine. Ruby, let's try some of those snack cakes."

"Ooh! Read my mind!" Ruby chirped. She gave Pyrrha and Jaune quick hugs before she headed out, Weiss following with a lingering look thrown back over her shoulder. The door shut. Pyrrha looked away, staring into the mirror, as Jaune approached.

"Pyr? What is it?" Jaune asked softly, walking up to rest his hands on her shoulders. "Nora told me you were crying constantly after seeing yourself... What is it?"

Pyrrha sniffled.

"I... I'm getting married to the man I love, Jaune," Pyrrha mumbled, "I-I'm not... I'm...!"

"Pyr." He turned her to face him. "No more masks, remember?"

Pyrrha bit back a sob.

"I... I just realized... You don't get to see me. You can't see me... A-All of this... People tell me I'm beautiful and it's all so lovely and-and you can't see it! All because of me-!"

"Pyr..."

His quiet voice was punctuated by him tilting her chin up. To look him in his artificial eyes, still off.

"Pyr," he murmured, "I told you before: I knew that if I stayed and fought with you, there'd be a price to pay. And I'd pay it again, just to keep us both alive." He stroked her cheek. "No, I can't see you without these things. But we're alive, and we're getting married. That's what I want. Is it what you want?"

"Of course Jaune," Pyrrha sniffled, "But... You lost so much... For me..."

"Because I love you," Jaune whispered. "Like I said, I would do it again. As far as I'm concerned? I've gained so much in the exchange."

Pyrrha smiled, and hugged him tightly. Jaune hugged her back.

"Besides," he whispered, "Ren taught me to sense Aura... And in Aura? You're the most beautiful woman in the world to me..."

"Oh, Jaune," Pyrrha sniffled. She kissed his jaw. "I... I'm sorry."

"You? I... I've been worried about you marrying... An invalid," he murmured. Pyrrha shook her head and kissed him again.

"Mm... We're both stupid, aren't we?"

"Of course we are," Jaune chuckled, "We're in love."

Pyrrha giggled.

"We are... And always will be."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Meanwhile, at Beacon, Isabel Arc had broken from her now very large family. All of her son's future brides had headed off, bent on their own plans. She now sought out some solitude.

She found it in the Garden of the Star Maiden. As the sun began to set, she went into her family katas, as familiar and comfortable to her as the sweaters her grandfather had knight for her and her siblings.

Palm strike. Punch to the exposed gut. Leg sweep, then finish off with a punch right to the head. She rose gracefully, moving into the next set of strikes and kicks.

"Wow. You're pretty awesome."

Isabel paused. She looked over to see Yang Xiao-Long watching her. Isabel nodded with a smile.

"Thank you," she admitted, "Nick keeps dragging me out to practice whenever possible. Says I shouldn't drown myself in paperwork."

"Heh," Yang grinned. She walked up, and ran through a kata of her own. Isabel watched it with a very practiced eye, her arms crossing underneath her breasts.

"So? What do you think?" Yang asked. Isabel nodded in approval.

"Very polished," she said, "Taiyang's style was always very straightforward, but effective in the hands of a master."

"And your style isn't?" Yang asked. Isabel shrugged.

"I can take a lot of damage, but even bit of Aura I spend on myself is less I can spend on healing others," she said, "And I was the best healer. My grandparents trained me in their own styles."

She unleashed several quick jabs and leg kicks, as fast and agile as a rabbit fighting back against a pursuer.

"Savate, Albion style boxing…"

She switched to more violent movements, striking the air with her knees and elbows as well as her fists and feet.

"Muy Thai, Mistralian southern kickboxing… All to make my own. Switching styles in the middle of combat can be difficult, but it makes you a far better combatant and much more unpredictable."

Yang grinned and nodded.

"Yeah… Think you could train me? I mean, I don't know if you've seen Xia fight but she's got some of the same moves. So I'm betting it's a family tradition."

Isabel smiled softly.

"I would be happy to," she said. "I did promise your father to look after you while he and Qrow are gone."

Yang's face darkened a little. Isabel remained impassive, but gave her an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry," she said.

"No, no, it's… Fine," she muttered. "Biggest thing in our lives to ever happen and he… Can't stay."

Isabel opened her mouth, but Yang cut her off with a bitter:

"Story of my life. Ruby's life too," she muttered. "If I'd known we were old family friends…"

"If I'd known how bad things got, Nick and I would have been there," Isabel said softly. "I'm sorry we weren't."

Yang sighed.

"Yeah well… Dad never told us about you. Or Jaune. Or… A lot of things," she admitted. "Not until now."

She shook her head.

"I get it. Stop the bad guys, save the world. I understand it. But, I'm still pissed."

"I get it," Isabel said softly. Yang looked into her eyes.

"Listen, Aunt Isabel… I… I don't have many people to turn to, and I get that you need to be fair and junk but-"

"But?" Isabel prompted. Yang winced.

"I… Xia is…" She shrugged. "I don't know how to describe it, you know? Like I barely know her but…"

"But you'd do anything for her," Isabel said with a soft smile. Yang nodded. "No… I understand perfectly. It's what being a parent is."

"My mom didn't get the memo," Yang muttered. Isabel walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked up.

"She may have been your mother, but that doesn't make her your parent," Isabel said gently, "Summer was. And she loved you dearly, Yang. You and Ruby both. Just as much as you love Xia. Or Ruby. And your dad too… Despite everything."

Yang slowly nodded. She leaned in, and Isabel hugged her tightly. She sighed and stroked her back.

"Thank you," Yang murmured.

Isabel nodded. Yang then slowly raised her head. She bit her lower lip.

"So um… I mean… We've all got dates with Jaune coming up. I just… There's nobody else to… If you could-?"

"I will help you as much as I can, Yang," Isabel said with a soft, warm smile. Yang smiled back, blushing lightly.

"Truth is… Between Ruby and my dad, I… I didn't get out much. I mean yeah I went to dance clubs, danced, but I mostly wrecked up the places, never… Ya know… With guys? I couldn't afford to."

"Between my siblings and the bills, I didn't either," Isabel agreed. "Though I did at least have Nana to teach me some things, and Nick and I kind of made it up as we went along. So I will help you. I'll help the others too. It's only fair… But I will help you."

Yang sniffled and nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning into her embrace. Isabel tightened her hug.

Nora poked her head up from a nearby stone fountain. Upon seeing this, she walked up and hugged Yang from the other side. Yang started.

"Ah, Nora, wha-?"

"We are family now, right? This is what family does," Nora insisted. She looked to Isabel in some worry. "R-Right?"

Isabel, initially startled, slowly smiled lovingly at her newly adopted daughter.

"It is," she said, "Don't worry, Nora. You don't need my approval. This is all new and…"

"Bazonkerinos?" Nora asked. Yang and Isabel stared. Isabel nodded.

"Yup," the doctor stated, "But we'll get through it together. Promise."

"Promise!" Nora beamed, hugging on Yang's other side. Yang again smiled, and discreetly wiped her eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"So," Nora asked, "Where'd your daughter go?"

Yang shook her head.

"She said she had some business to take care of with Theodore, the Ash Twins, the Kitty Twins, and Julian," she said. "The other kids are meeting with Weena again to do some more testing. Cept for Amythest, she's with Emerald, and Cereal Girl and Xander are with her mom. Blake's off with her parents, too."

Isabel frowned.

"We really need to stay together better," she said, "Given Cinder was able to infiltrate the school and-"

"Come on, we'd drive eachother crazy otherwise!" Yang snorted. "I mean, I get it. Safety in numbers but geez. After a while you need some space."

"And besides," Nora said cheerfully, "What's the worst that could happen?"

Yang immediately began looking around. Isabel sighed.

"You're just taunting fate at this point."

"Yup!"

- - -

The interior of the Yak and Yeti was very on theme-Blue and White paintings of the Atman mountains on the walls, with Pandavan figures in their ancient art style depicted doing everything from fighting Grimm to drinking with the mythical Yeti. It was a noisy, festival atmosphere filled with the aromas of Pandavan spices and meats. The hostess immediately spotted them and took them to the back of the restaurant, where several private booths shrouded in dark wine colored curtains awaited. Inside one such booth was a single table that looked like it was carved from a single block of wood with a single, elegant candle in the middle of a round couch-like seat.

"Enjoy!" The hostess said cheerfully, letting the two teenagers slip and sit down on opposite ends of the table and couch. The hostess shut the curtain, and Jaune looked around, impressed with the constellation-shaped patterns on the interior of the curtains and Penny's insight.

Penny picked well. We're at a restaurant but we're hidden from view. Perfect for May!

He turned and smiled at May. The shy sniper smiled back, even as she tried to hide in her small black jacket.

"It… It's nice," she said quietly. "I've-I've never been someplace so nice, if-if I'm being honest."

"Oh?" Jaune asked. May nodded, bright red.

"Um… I-I was lucky to eat at a Burger Jester's, if I'm being honest. The food the orphanage and Academy makes was great, r-really! I didn't starve!"

That was for sure, Jaune's libido supplied. Jaune ignored it.

"I'm glad," Jaune said with a nod. "I mean that you didn't starve! Not the-I mean-You know what I mean."

"Y-Yes, I think so," May managed. She flushed and looked down.

"Sorry," she whispered, "I… This is all so overwhelming." She looked up at him. "N-Not that I'm saying you're not under a lot of pressure too! You are! I-I just-!"

"May," Jaune said, quiet but firm. It was the tone his father used when he really needed his mother to listen to him. "It's okay. We're… We're in this together."

May slowly nodded. She was squeezing her hands together under her chest.

"I-I know," she admitted. "It's just… It's really hard, y-you know? In battle, I know how to do things. With people… With parents..."

She sighed. She shut her eyes tightly.

"It's like a dream come true," she admitted, "I mean… I'm not an orphan. I have a mom and dad… Th-They love me. They really do! Even if my mom is… A little pushy. And I have a-a family. And friends. And you… It just… It doesn't seem real. Or like… Like I deserve any of it. Like it's all going to be ripped away like…"

She trailed off. She looked at him nervously. Jaune reached out, very slowly, like he was dealing with an easily startled rabbit. May stared at his hand. She swallowed a large breath, and reached out to let him rest his palm over hers.

"Like?" Jaune asked.

May slowly shook her head.

"My… My kidnappers… My foster parents…" May shut her eyes tightly. "G-Geez… Now my feelings are complicated over them-!"

"It's okay," Jaune said gently, "It's okay! I get it. This is… Crazy."

"I know, but… I-I mean… I never thought they were anything but my biological parents!" May insisted. "I truly loved them! The night I lost them I…" Tears filled her beautiful eyes. Jaune squeezed her hand tightly. She sniffled and sobbed quietly, her head bowed.

The hostess peeked in… And then silently shut the curtains, moving away. Jaune let out a soft breath, and scooted around the couch. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in, sobbing softly.

"I… I promised I would live, for them," May admitted, "That… That they didn't die for nothing… But they kidnapped me! F-From my real parents! And I… I-I don't know…" She sniffled. "August says that… That I forgave them. I named him for m-my… My father… But my real father and mother…"

Jaune sighed quietly.

"… The future is… I mean…" He shrugged. "My dad says that… That just because we have a great future doesn't mean we have to be that… Right now. We can't be."

"N-No, no," May whispered. "But I'm… I'm so ashamed at being angry at my parents again. After they…" She shook her head.

Jaune leaned in, his head resting against hers.

"I know," Jaune murmured. "I… I was angry with my mom for a while. She denied me any way to realize my dream. Always insisting I become a doctor. I tried everything, like… To join the militia. To join a Paladin Order of the church. She forbade Dad from training me, from anyone training me…" He wet his lower lip.

"For a while… I-I think I might have hated her. Hated Dad too, for-for not letting me train. For not even unlocking my Aura."

May sniffled, but she did manage to look up at him. He shrugged.

"I… Talking with them these past few days? Learning everything that happens? I guess… I mean, it feels kind of stupid and silly now. My mom was wrong, but… She did it out of love. And she admitted she… She shouldn't have done that. But I get why she did it."

May stared at him. She slowly nodded.

"I… I guess I get that," she admitted. "August said that their orders were to kill me. But… But they couldn't kill me. They ran off, hid with me, gave up everything for me… Even their lives."

She turned away and stared at the small, glowing candle.

"Still… Part of me is angry with them again. I was angry with them because they died… That's so awful."

"No!" Jaune insisted quietly. "No… It's natural. That's what my dad says. He was angry with his mentor for dying, even though he was really old. All the pain and grief… The anger is natural. Anger at them for dying, anger at the world for not… Not being fair."

"No," May murmured, "No, it's not fair." She sniffled. "It's not fair to my… My actual parents. To think their daughter was dead for so long. It's not fair we're in this ridiculous situation and a war with some evil goddess and-and all that. None of it's fair…"

"No," Jaune said. May hummed.

"But… Father Marcus of the orphanage, he… He said it was good that the universe was so unfair."

Jaune blinked.

"Oh?"

May nodded, a small, nostalgic smile emerging on her face.

"Yes. How much worse would life be if it were fair, and if we deserved all the terrible things that happened to us. If it was fair we suffered so much. So he said we should take comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."

Jaune laughed.

"I think my Father Percival would get along well with him," he said. May winced and bowed her head. "What is it?"

"I… I-I mean… I stayed at the orphanage and it was a Tablebreaker one. But I still follow Dharmism because my parents did… Both sets, I-I guess. I mean… How is that supposed to work? We get married but eventually-" She rested her hand over his chest. They were silent for a while, processing it.

I guess when you're able to know your future, you can't help but think about the end of it… And beyond, Jaune thought.

Jaune again took her hand and squeezed it.

"I think," he said, "We should let that kind of stuff go. We shouldn't try to drive ourselves crazy with worry… But I think I can only say that because I'm all worried out."

May looked up at him, and softly giggled.

"I… I guess so," she admitted. "I wish I could stop worrying. I had to worry over everything. My team didn't really do any of that. They just thought if they hit something hard enough, and I shot it enough, we'd get through anything."

"Heh," Jaune chuckled, "Nora is like that. I can't imagine handling a team of three of her."

"Hee," May giggled, "She's not so bad. At least she didn't try to build a bridge over a river by blowing up a bunch of trees and expecting them to pile up just right."

"No," Jaune agreed, "Not trees, anyway."

It took a bit of patience, but they soon began to talk about their teams, their training missions, and eventually their lives. The hostess came, took their orders, and brought back rich Pandavan food. They enjoyed, but still they talked. And surrounded by stars in the warm booth, their worries seemed very far away.

- - -

"You're pretty good to escape my sight, grandson. But you still have a lot to learn."

August winced. He lowered his menu in the booth on the far side of the Yak and Yeti restaurant, revealing his lightly glowing eyes. Arjun and Saia were sitting across from him, both looking lightly stern.

"I just… Want to make sure everything went okay," August said, "It is my future we're talking about! All the other kids are gonna do it!"

"He has a point, Arjun," Saia said gently, resting a hand on his forearm. "If we just… Meddled a little-!"

"No," Arjun stated firmly, "We can't just force these things. It has to happen naturally, just like in the original timelines."

"But those are… Well…" Saia shrugged, wincing. "I mean knowing the future-!"

"And it coming true are different things, and you know it," Arjun uttered. "Besides… As much as I love May? Eliminating any of the other futures is out of the question."

"I wasn't thinking of eliminating the others," Saia pouted, "But helping Maia become First Wife at least! She needs out help!"

Arjun stared intently into the booth. He slowly shook his head.

"She needs our help in many ways. I'm not sure this is one of them," he admitted. He grunted and looked back to his wife and queen. "Besides-Would you have appreciated our parents hounding us on our dates if they had lived?"

Saia opened her mouth to protest, a bit incensed… Before she deflated.

"I suppose not," she murmured. "Still… I do hope we sort out some solution to this. Something to allow all these families to exist. I don't think Jaune could survive a full on harem."

"Ozpin seems to think he could," Arjun observed.

"Yeah, but he's completely nuts!" August insisted. He blushed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But he is! Heck, in my time he and his wife blow eachother up for fun!"

"They are both immortal, sweetie," Saia pointed out.

"Still doesn't make it any less freaky," August muttered. "Poor Moses sometimes doesn't know if it's a weird sex thing or actual science!"

"That would explain a lot about Ozpin, actually," Arjun mused, as Saia giggled softly.

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Raven heard the door open. She looked up and saw a tall, hulking figure enter the basement. She saw him head towards her, and greeted her visitor with an angry scowl.

"Hey Raven!" Nick said cheerfully. He set down a plastic container of cake and pushed it through the food flap. He produced his own cake in another package, and opened it up. Raven's glare remained the same, as Nick munched on his cake.

"Mmmm... Chocolate with strawberry frosting. Love it," he said. "I think it was your favorite back at Beacon, right? They still make it just right."

"Why are you here?" Raven asked. Nick shrugged.

"Jaune's off on a date. Izzy's chilling out. Arjun and Saia are watching their daughter on their date with Jaune. Everyone else is busy... Didn't want you to feel left out."

Raven snorted.

"I have never cared about that."

"Sure you do," Nick said, "You have a tribe, after all. You fight together. You fought with us, too."

Raven scoffed. Nick munched on the cake thoughtfully. He pulled out a small bottle of milk and drank it happily.

"Mmm... Still good," he said happily. "Come on. You still like sweets, right?"

She shot him an angry glare. Nick didn't so much as flinch.

"We have fought together, you know," Nick pointed out. "Even saved eachother's lives. Remember the fight against that Chimera Grimm around Edge? Hoo... I must have hit its tail nine times before I took it off."

"I took it off!" Raven spat. "And you hit it ten times!"

Nick beamed.

"Huh! I guess you're right." He licked his fingers clean. "But I loosened it up for you."

"You did not!" Raven growled.

"Come on," Nick huffed, "I took the hits for you to get in close enough to take it down!"

"I didn't need you to-!" Raven huffed. "I know what this is!"

Nick blinked.

"Hm? What?"

"You-You're trying to make me trust you!" Raven spat, leaning forward against the bars. "You're trying to change me! Domesticate me! Turn me into a little pet, just like Ozpin did to Qrow!"

Nick chewed his cake. He swallowed.

"Hm? Me?"

"Yes you!" Raven hissed. "He sent in the idiot to try and make me lower my defenses!"

Nick rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why you want to get mad over this. I just wanted to talk about old times and keep you company. You were always fun to fight, Raven. It was fantastic! You were so savage, holding nothing back! It was always great!"

He grinned happily... Before he shook his head.

"Except when you were fighting us at the airfield. I mean, that was actually pretty fun in parts. But I saw how you fought. It was all just... Sad."

"Sad?!" Raven demanded. Nick nodded.

"Like, you were just so sloppy. Like you hadn't even fought properly in years. Just throwing around lightning bolts and wind. So..." He made a face. "Boring."

"I'm not boring!" Raven snarled. "You don't know anything about me! I don't believe any of this-this nonsense! We can't save this world!"

Silence fell. Nick stared back at her. She glared, and turned away.

"... We failed," she whispered.

"We win in eleven futures, Raven," Nick said gently. "Why is that so hard to accept?"

Raven remained silent. Nick stood up, brushing his pants off.

"Well. I'm gonna keep visiting you. I actually missed you, you know. You and Qrow and Tai... Summer too. Ruby's really grown up like her. She's just so much fun to fight!" He grinned. "And I bet you can be fun to fight again too. One day."

He turned and headed upstairs, the door shutting behind him. Raven stared at the wall, fists clenched.

She sucked in a breath. She reached back, and took the plastic container full of cake. She opened it up, and dragged her finger over the top. She held it up to her lips, and licked it. She shook her head.

"... Still good," she mumbled.

- - -

Winter had just disembarked from her airship onto the tarmac. The sun was setting and the city lights were starting to come on. She stared at the skyline for a time, her mind far away.

She'd never been so daring before. Not with any boy she'd dated in the past! Was it simply the mad situation they found themselves in?

Maybe I should be less harsh on Weiss for her own crazy activities, she thought to herself, especially given what I got up to.

Oh. Weiss. Her sister and… Sort of rival. She sighed and rubbed her temples.

"What a mess," she murmured. Still, maybe she could rest, sort things out. There was a lot of work left to do in regards to the festival, her mother, her son-

"Hey Mom!" Theodore appeared in front of her via one of his Glyphs. Winter scowled at him.

"Theodore! That was completely irresponsible and-"

"And you're the one who told me that forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission if the stakes are high enough," Theodore pointed out. He adjusted his stylish sunglasses. "Honestly, if anything, you should be thanking me! Something like this happened in the future between you two! I just speed ran it a little!"

Winter paused in her outrage. She blushed deeply. She noted the smug look on Theodore's face, and her scowl returned.

"B-Be that as it may," she managed, "You shouldn't have been that blunt!"

"I could have been more subtle, yes," Theodore admitted. He shrugged. "But again: If I was going to learn that, I wasn't gonna learn it from you two."

Winter flushed, and glared at him. Theodore flinched a little, but held his ground. The silence became a bit tense.

Finally, Winter sighed and closed her eyes.

"True," she admitted. "Still, would you mind slowing down a bit? Just because we're in the past doesn't mean you have to go off… Half-cocked!"

"You're right Mom," Theodore agreed, "I should probably be more judicious in my actions, given time travel and all. I will start on that tomorrow. Promise. Also, I'm sorry."

"Tomorrow? Why tomorrow? And sorry for what?" Winter asked. Her Scroll beeped. She held it up to her ear, noting the overly innocent expression on her son's face.

"Schnee here, sir…"

Her jaw dropped.

"HE DID WHAT?!"

"That's what," Theodore said with a smile and shrug.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

"So you've actually worked with these guys before?" Taiyang asked as they moved through different back alleys on their approach to Haven Academy.

"Yeah, I've actually worked with them a lot," Qrow answered as he saw their destination ahead, one of the few skyscrapers in Mistral that had a view overlooking Academy grounds.

"Basically every time I've done something in Anima without letting Lionheart know about it. So that's like, a quarter of the jobs I've done on this continent. They do solid work."

"That wasn't in question," Tai replied as they strolled down the street in an inconspicuous manner. "What is in question is how two members of Fuujin's Secret Mobility Unit were willing to put up with you."

Qrow rolled his eyes at Tai's ribbing. "It isn't complicated. We ran into each other on a few different missions where our objectives overlapped more than they clashed, we begrudgingly agreed to work together, I saved their bacon a few times and then they saved mine one other time, we agree to swap intel every once in a while, they eventually want to know my sources so I get them in contact with Oz and then bada bing bada boom they owe the old wizard a bunch of favors and that makes us friends."

"I guess trying to keep up with Ozpin's whims is a good enough foundation for a friendship," Tai allowed as he scanned the lobby of the building in front of them through the windows. "So are we meeting them inside or—?"

"Oi! BLACKBIRD! OVER HERE!" A loud and pretentious-sounding voice called out to them.

"Hey Omaeda," Qrow casually waved to the shouting man approaching them. "What's up?"

Taiyang turned around and beheld a man that was frankly, kinda ugly. Only an inch short of seven feet and carrying at least three-hundred pounds in a manner that looked more like fat than muscle, the man had a broad nose and fat lips that looked out of place on someone so pale. His hair was black with a hairline that was both receding and a pronounced widow's peak at the same time. He wore an expensive-looking black suit with a purple button-up shirt and a large purple boa. Two giant golden wristwatches rested on both of his arms, and he had two gaudy golden rings on both hands. Completing this ensemble was a weapon; a spiked ball on a chain hanging from his waist.

"What's up can wait till we're away from listening ears," Omaeda answered. He then gestured to the building. "Follow me; we have a room set up."

Qrow and Tai followed the massive man in, who stomped to the elevator, stomped in when it arrived, and stomped off when it reached the top floor. They followed him as he stomped to a specific door that opened up to a room whose window overlooked Haven Academy with a telescope pointed at the headmaster's office. A mobile computer and some other spy-looking equipment were set up on a table in the center of the room between two couches.

"Alright, we can talk now," Omaeda announced as he closed and locked the door behind them. "I believe introductions are in order."

"Right, Omaeda, this is Taiyang Xiao Long," Qrow began. "He's the father of my nieces and was one of my teammates back at Beacon. Tai, this is Omaeda, a lieutenant in the SMU."

"How are you with the Secret Mobility Unit?" Taiyang couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Hmm?" Omaeda raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Taiyang gave an embarrassed chuckle, then figuring if Qrow considered the man a friend he could just be direct and continued, "It's just you were walking loud enough to wake the dead. I'd expect a professional ninja to stay light on their feet even when they aren't sneaking around, for practice's sake if nothing else."

"Rest assured I can be sneaky when it's required of me, Mr. Long." Omaeda took a seat on the couch the little mobile spy computer was facing. "The captain just doesn't require it of me that often. She normally requires other things from me."

"Like what?" Taiyang questioned as he sat down on the couch opposite Omaeda. Qrow headed over to the window.

"The quartermaster isn't willing to pay for all the toys the captain wants for her missions," Omaeda answered as he typed something into the computer, an almost aristocratic pride beaming from every syllable. "However, my family is one of the wealthiest in Fuujin! A mere pittance of my weekly boyhood allowance would have been enough to get everything my captain needs, so I take care of it. It's the prerogative of the wealthy to help out the less fortunate, you see."

"Oooooh, that makes sense," Taiyang allowed. The guy was support and probably didn't see action all that often.

"He's also willing to keep his mouth shut about the dumpster fire that is his boss's love life," Qrow joked as he looked through the telescope into Lionheart's office. He could see Leonardo pacing about his desk arguing passionately with Haven's chief combat instructor Audrey Androtrix, a mouse faunus with a long tail. He was still here. Good.

"Why is her love life a dumpster fire?" Tai inquired with mirth in his voice.

"I don't have to keep my mouth shut about it because her love life isn't a dumpster fire!" Omaeda protested with a scowl.

"You're right, she doesn't need your silence because she hasn't spent the last decade pining after the woman who used to be Menagerie's most skilled assassin," Qrow sarcastically drawled. "And I definitely didn't see her spill a bunch of spaghetti from her pockets when trying to talk to the younger brother of said assassin. She definitely doesn't need a subordinate who won't tell her superiors about that because she certainly won't fold like paper the instant either of those two ask her for something."

"Who used to be Menagerie's most skilled assassin?" Tai grinned as Omaeda sputtered, unable to find the words that could move the conversation to another topic.

"You've seen a couple of videos of her," Qrow shrugged unashamedly. "She's one of the martial artists that let me record her katas and other training routines back when we were trying to get Yang to branch out and experiment more with her fighting style."

"Really? Which one?"

"The cat faunus that's more than good friends with my shopkeep contact in Oda. You know, the one that sells the lollipops the girls always want me to buy a bunch of whenever I'm in that area."

"Let's see, that was... Yoruichi, right?" Taiyang guessed. When Qrow nodded in confirmation, Tai let out a low and appreciative whistle. "I can understand pining after that. What's the brother like?"

"Basically a younger femboy Yoruichi," Qrow turned back to the telescope to take another look at Lionheart's office. Leonardo was still pacing, and still arguing with Audrey.

"Can we focus on the matter at hand?" Omaeda pleaded. "You know, the job Ozpin asked us to do?"

"You're right, there's no point in teasing Soi Fong when she's not here to throw stuff at me," Qrow turned away from the window. "I'm guessing she's out there right now? How close is she to the headmaster's office?"

"Close enough for our listening equipment to work," Omaeda struck a key on the spy computer's keyboard. "I sent the captain a message letting her know you're here. She'll either text or call depending on the situation out there."

"So you know what the Headmaster and Combat Instructor are talking about?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah, they've been arguing about the school's budget for the last few hours," Omaeda spun the spy computer around so they could see the monitor. Three cameras were filming through the office windows and a speech-to-text program was transcribing their words in real time. He spun the monitor to face himself again.

"When we got here it looked like Headmaster Lionheart was packing to leave in a hurry, but then Professor Androtrix came in complaining about Dust procurement, and that morphed into how money's been split between the different departments over the last semester. Fascinating stuff really. How do people run an entire school with a budget smaller than my little sister's tea parties?"

Sounded like Leonardo was preparing to flee only for one of the few teachers he couldn't casually dismiss to show up and demand his time, and if he wanted a quiet getaway instead of a dramatic exit he had to give it to them.

"Alright, let her know that King Arjun of Pandu is sending his best guy to help out and he should be getting here soonish," Qrow requested as he turned back to the telescope. "The capture will be a lot easier with Karna on hand so if we can wait for him to plan out our attack—"

The little spy radio on the table next to the computer crackled to life, and Soi Fong's voice cut through the air in a sharp whisper.

"Omaeda. Qrow's there? Can he hear me now?"

"He's here," Omaeda answered after he flipped a switch on the spy radio.

"And I can hear you loud and clear," Qrow added.

"My location, now," she instructed. "Something's off."

With a quick look to Taiyang and a nod to Omaeda, Qrow slid open the window and jumped out, transforming into his avian form as soon as he cleared the frame. He swooped down towards Haven's main office, keeping his senses on high enough alert to spot the place Soi Fong had concealed herself.

He zeroed in on a tree that seemed like the best place for her to have set up, and as he dove into the foliage he found her within the thickest part of the bramble with her listening setup propped up against the tree's trunk. Qrow perched on a branch near her and braced himself for what he was about to do.

Crows and some other corvids could imitate human speech with practice and effort. As a man in a crow's body Qrow had a leg up over most other corvids in figuring out how to do that, as he already knew what sounds had real meaning. So after some practice he had become proficient enough to have a stilted yet comprehensible conversation in his bird form. He hated doing it though. His words were uncomfortably rough and the skill was niche enough in its application that he never really got the chance to practice, so it wouldn't get better anytime soon.

"wHaT wRoNg?" He cawed, flinching internally at the grating tone of his words.

Soi Fong glanced his way before looking back to the headmaster's office windows, her left hand holding the earpiece of her listening equipment tightly against her ear.

"Lionheart just repeated something he said fifteen minutes ago, and it sounded like a pitch-perfect, no-variation repetition."

That was unusual. Qrow turned his bird eyes to peer into the headmaster's office, and blinked. Things that had looked normal to his human eyes seemed slightly off now that he was a bird. His gaze intensified as he tried to place exactly what didn't feel right...

The doors to the office were flung open and Haven's chief Grimm Studies teacher, the fox faunus Rena Aurum, stormed in. Qrow wasn't able to hear what was going on in there since Soi Fong was the one with the equipment to her ear, but he was decent at reading lips.

"Have you two been in here all day?!" is what it looked like Rena was yelling. "Audrey! Your students came to me saying you haven't shown up to teach any of your classes! Why have you... Hello...?"

Neither Audrey nor Lionheart had reacted to Rena's arrival or outburst, both of them arguing as if she hadn't just barged in.

"AUDREY! LEONARDO!" Rena looked like she yelled while snapping her fingers. That didn't elicit a reaction. The fox faunus frowned as she stormed forward. "Real mature you two! Are you seriously going to ignore me and—" Rena tried to grab Audrey by the shoulder, but her hand just went through the mouse faunus lady like she was nothing but air.

"What in Charn's Wastes..."

"hOlOgRaMs!" Qrow squawked as he watched a startled Rena gather her wits again and walk around Lionheart's desk. She examined the headmaster's workspace closely, looking for a remote or something like it.

"She's going to unintentionally disrupt evidence," Soi Fong concluded. "Move in?"

"mOvE iN," Qrow agreed as he launched himself from his branch. Soi Fong followed after him with an aura-powered leap, landing on the outer wall next to a window frame a few moments before Qrow reached it via wing-power. She jammed her blade into the gap where the window's latch was, forcing it open in one smooth motion. She jumped into the office the split second after Qrow flew through the window, both of their feet hitting the ground at the same time as Qrow returned to his human form.

Rena spun about to face them with shock on her face, having apparently found a holoprojector remote that she tightly clutched in her right hand.

"Qrow?! What are you doing here?! Who's she?!" Rena shouted even as the Leonardo hologram yelled a rebuttal to the Audrey hologram's last point. The Grimm Studies teacher scowled at the loud hologram and hit the power button of the remote.

CLICK. CLUNK.

All three of them turned towards that ominous sound. As the holograms faded away it showed that the holoprojector was doing more work than displaying two arguing people; for the disappearance of the holograms made an absolutely massive Fire Dust bomb fully visible.

By the Stone Table, The Breaker who broke that table, His Father the Emperor Above, the Horns of the Animal God, The Brothers of Light and Darkness and every other being of power man and faunus had ever called a god from the dawn of history to the present day, that was a terrifying-looking bomb.

For a long moment none of them moved, not even to breathe. Then Soi Fong took a slow and experimental step towards the massive explosive, and then she took another, and another. The woman carefully knelt before it to take a look at the controlling mechanism of the deadly device.

"Qrow..." Soi Fong began after a long and hard look. "I think your semblance damaged the ignition. I can't think of any other reason this thing hasn't gone off."

She reached for the com unit in her ear.

"Omaeda? I need the bomb disposal kit in the Headmaster's office yesterday. I'm looking at a big enough Dust explosive to level this building and all the buildings surrounding it."

"Oh. Oh no." Rena managed before looking down at the remote in her hands, her mind connecting the timing of things. "Turning the holoprojector off was supposed to trigger that bomb. I... I almost killed everyone here in the building..."

Her face grew pale as her shaking hands slowly placed the remote back on the desk.

"I... I'm the only... I'm the only person that would have come in here and turned that thing off..." Her face turned green. "Oh God! They... They... Someone planned for me to die right then..."

Rena stumbled to the open window, and with her hands gripping the windowsill her last meal saw the light of day again.

"Yeah, I'm going to stand as far away from that thing as possible," Qrow muttered as he headed to the far side of the office, hoping his semblance didn't trigger again for any reason.

Tai and Omaeda rushed into the office only a few moments later with the bomb disposal kit, their dead sprints coming to a complete and sudden stop at the sight of the bomb the disposal kit was for.

"Holy..." Tai started and stopped, his face becoming pale. "...That's..." His eyes became unfocused for a moment. "I still have so much to do in life; that library book won't turn itself in..."

"Is... Is that what ate the school's budget...?"

Omaeda managed as he grappled with the scale of the thing, even as his feet moved him closer to deliver the bomb disposal kit to Soi Fong not out of conscious effort but rather reflexive loyalty...

- - -

Karna frowned as he strode into the headmaster's office of Haven Academy and took stock of the situation in front of him. Along the wall of the office's left side were all the parts one would need to make a truly impressive bomb, having clearly just been disassembled and strewn about in a manner that left them harmless.

At the headmaster's desk working over its built-in computer and arguing over the meaning of the files on display were Ozpin's personal problem solver Qrow Branwen and Soi Fong of Fuujin's Secret Mobility Unit. Karna had worked with both of them before on separate occasions, Qrow on a hunt for a particularly rare and disturbingly cunning alpha Grimm and Soi Fong while dismantling a smuggling ring. Both of them did good work, and he wouldn't be surprised if they had already found a plethora of useful things from the computer's documents.

Along the right wall he saw Soi Fong's primary assistant Omaeda and a man that matched the description of Qrow's brother-in-law Taiyang Xiao Long. The two of them were doing their best to comfort a clearly shell-shocked faunus woman Karna recognized as Haven's Grimm Studies teacher, Rena Aurum. Taiyang was doing most of the comforting, rubbing circles along the woman's back while whispering soothing platitudes in her ear. Omaeda in turn was awkwardly patting her shoulder while looking like he wanted to say something yet was at a loss as to what his words should be.

He returned his gaze to the headmaster's desk and announced himself to the room. "Qrow, Soi Fong."

"Karna," Qrow greeted back as he looked up from the computer's screens.

"Karna," Soi Fong acknowledged as she glared at one screen in particular, as if the data displayed had offended her personally.

"Lionheart isn't here," he observed the obvious with no heat or malice before asking without accusing, "How did he slip past you?"

"His computer has a highly sophisticated LLM program," Soi Fong began with disgust evident in her voice. "He fed it recordings of every budget discussion he had with Professor Androtrix and the school's financial information from this year, and then instructed it to simulate a debate between himself and Androtrix about the school's budget and to project holograms of that debate here in the office. It was convincing enough that it kept my eyes here while he and Professor Androtrix were actually somewhere else."

"The holograms also hid that bomb," Qrow gestured to the disassembled contraption. "Which was set up to go boom when somebody shut down the holoprojector, destroying the building and any evidence the two of them didn't have the time to take or dispose of."

Qrow frowned as he looked towards the pile of Fire Dust crystals that would have fueled the bomb.

"Some of the bomb's components were designed to survive the explosion, stuff that would have implicated a couple of radical separatist groups... separatist groups strong enough to try fighting back in the face of a major crackdown. That bomb going off could have easily plunged Mistral into a civil war, especially since we found a couple of bot accounts set up to start posting twenty-four hours after the blast hit the news cycle claiming credit for assassinating the top three members of Haven's staff..."

Karna and Qrow's eyes drifted to Professor Aurum, who was staring forward into the middle distance. However she was still with them enough in this moment to add her haunted voice to things.

"I... I'm the faculty member that everyone turns to when Leonardo and Audrey are too busy to be disturbed... and that makes me the one person who would have come in here and blown myself up..."

She fell silent again, lost in her own thoughts.

"The good news," Qrow looked back to Karna, "is that Lionheart and Androtrix expected the bomb to do most of the cleanup here for them, so we still have plenty of clues to work with."

"Yes, we do," Soi Fong agreed as she pulled up the receipts of several different train and airship tickets as well as fake IDs and passports. "We have a solid list of possible destinations they could be headed to, the methods of transport they are most likely to use and the most likely identities they'll use as cover. From the look of things we have two trails to follow... unfortunately we can't narrow things down further so we'll have to investigate both of them at the same time if we don't want them to get away."

"I see," Karna mused. "It's fortunate that there are enough of us here to do that then."

"It is," Qrow agreed. "How do you want—"
"Do, do you know why this happened?" Rena interrupted, her voice taking on the determined edge of someone who had just pulled themselves together again. "Why would Leonardo and Audrey do this?"

"I'll admit I'm also curious," Soi Fong added as she looked away from the computer screens to Qrow. "When Headmaster Ozpin called in his favor he didn't have time to explain why he wanted me to watch Lionheart and keep him from leaving Haven, but he did say you'd be at liberty to explain everything once you got here."

"My brother's explanation was also sparse on details thanks to the encryptions he had to use for security," Karna allowed curiosity to color his tone. The message Arjun had sent made it clear that his brother had proof Lionheart had a connection with Duryodhana during those dark days, and that he wanted Haven's headmaster brought in alive for questioning before Arjun would personally administer justice for his crimes; while that was enough for Karna he was sure the further context Qrow could add would be enlightening.

Qrow and Taiyang locked eyes and had a quick and silent conversation where they agreed which of them would share what and how.

"You're the acting Headmistress of Haven Academy in the absence of Headmaster Lionheart and Professor Androtrix?" Qrow directed his attention to Rena.

"I... Yes. Yes I am." Rena answered with conviction.

"And you're the most likely person to become the true Headmistress when it's time to officially replace Leonardo?" Qrow pressed on.

"I am," Rena confirmed.

"And you're fully willing to commit to the burdens and responsibilities that position entails?"

Rena took a deep breath and steeled her nerves, before looking to Qrow with unwavering eyes.

"I am."

"Well then, the first thing you need to know to understand what's going on is that the Headmasters of the Big Four Huntsman Academies are all part of a secret society," Qrow began. "A secret society whose aim is to combat the influence of Grimm cults in society and to stamp them out whenever possible. We recently discovered that Lionheart betrayed this society to the woman who's both the de jure and de facto leader of every Grimm cult on Remnant, from the dawn of recorded history to the present..."

With that pronouncement he had a firm grasp on everyone's attention, and he and Taiyang spent the next few hours explaining everything they knew about the ultimate enemy of human and faunus kind...

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

They'd moved to another safehouse. This one was beneath one of Vale's abandoned steel foundries, but despite this it was fairly comfortable: White walls, decent furniture, some art Roman had stolen. At the moment, the small underground room hummed with tension, the air thick with the acrid scent of Dust residue and stale cigar smoke from Roman Torchwick's ever-present habit.

Holographic screens flickered, displaying news feeds and drone imagery of Mount Glenn: a massive crater was smoking at the base of the mountain/former underground metropolis, where the White Fang base and the hijacked train had once been. Shockingly, reports confirmed all White Fang operatives had escaped—warned away just in time, then captured by the Valean Defense Force and Atlasian troops.

Cinder Fall sat rigidly in her chair, her amber eyes fixed on the black void where her meticulously laid plan now lay in ruins.

Mercury Black leaned over her shoulder, whistling low.

"Well… that's not good."

Roman paced, his cane tapping furiously against the concrete floor nearby, as Neo licked an ice cream cone on a loveseat across the cheap coffee table. Iridescent was lounging on the old couch nearby, typing on her Scroll in silence, her eyes down at her screen. Roman looked at the crater and cursed loudly.

"FUCK! Are you kidding me?! You know how much that Dust cost?! Do you?!"

Neo, silent as ever, signed a large sum with exaggerated gestures.

"AT LEAST!" Roman roared, throwing his hands up.

Cinder's fists clenched, flames flickering at her fingertips, but her voice remained cold.

"Enough," Cinder stated, "This isn't helping."

"And neither are you!" Roman raged, too angry to be afraid. Roman whirled on Iridescent next, as she continued to ignore him.

"And the new girl isn't paying any attention! Big help you fucking are! Brought in a lot of mercenaries who haven't done jack shit—!"

Iridescent's hand shot up, phasing through Roman's chest like mist. Roman choked, his face going pale. Iridescent looked up, all smiles, even as Neo drew her knife in a blur. Mercury tensed, glancing at Cinder for a moment.

"Now now. All that anger's not good for your heart, is it?" Iridescent purred, her grip intangible yet threatening.

Roman gurgled. "Urk… I-I didn't mean anything—!"

"Of course you didn't," Iridescent went on. "And your friend doesn't mean anything either! But surely she should know that even if she got a shot on me-You'd still be dead."

"IRIDESCENT! Enough! Let him go!" Cinder barked.

The dark skinned white haired woman stared into Roman's desperate eyes for another moment, before she nodded.

"As you wish." Iridescent yanked her hand free. Roman staggered back, gasping. Neo's knife remained poised, her mismatched eyes glaring.

"Neo… stand down," Cinder ordered.

Neo scowled, glanced at Roman—he grimaced but nodded—and lowered her blade.

Mercury relaxed slightly. He snorted, rolling his eyes, as he looked to his master.

"So I'm assuming you still have a backup plan then?"

Cinder's gaze returned to the crater imagery, her eyes narrowed but otherwise her face was unreadable.

"I do have a backup."

Iridescent's smile widened.

"Yes… please, tell them, Lady Cinder! Does it involve your twins?"

Silence fell, thick and heavy. Cinder's voice was steel.

"…Yes. We're going to take Arc hostage-using them."

Roman's eyes widened. "You'd use your own children…"

"Yes," Cinder said flatly. "To accomplish the mission. They have escalated. Our original plans are no longer workable, so we need to adapt."

Iridescent clapped softly.

"Oh, splendid! But if I may, Lady Cinder? I have a suggestion."

Cinder slowly looked over at Iridescent, and slowly nodded. Iridescent beamed.

"From what I can see, while the base and train were destroyed… the special Grimm in the mountain were not disturbed." She gestured to a screen, pulling up seismic data and old schematics. "They're still there. Dormant."

Mercury leaned in.

"…Wait, back up. How are we using the kids?"

Iridescent's eyes gleamed.

"It's quite simple! Lady Cinder did say she wanted to meet with Arc at some point, yes? We use them to arrange the meeting. No doubt Ozpin's forces will be there, ready to spring into action…"

Cinder frowned deeply at Iridescent.

She knew what Salem told me...

"Yes. That's what the mercenaries are for."

"Of course! But the enemy has revealed a means for us to accomplish all our goals at once!" Iridescent continued smoothly. "You see… the camera network in Vale is still ours. They keep forcing us out, but I'm still getting data."

She pulled up footage: Jaune Arc and Winter Schnee in a café, their tall son appearing via glyph. "Here, his son asks for a boost of Arc's Semblance. It increases Aura—and massively increases the power of your Semblance, based on their lips. It's probably what let him blow up Mount Glenn."

Roman crossed his arms. "So? How does that help us?"

Iridescent's smile turned predatory.

"Very simple. We're going to try to kill ourselves."

Mercury blinked.

"…Say what?"

Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"You'll have to run that by me again."

"It's very simple!" Iridescent repeated, delighted, "Arc clearly cares about you. About your children. His Semblance can heal any injury and supercharge our powers. If both of us are nearly fatally wounded while meeting with him, he will heal us… and supercharge our powers." She spread her hands.

"After that? We can take care of the rest of our plans."

Roman rubbed his temples.

"And our mercenaries? What are they gonna be doing?"

"All in good time, my dear Roman," Iridescent purred. "All in good time."

She turned to Cinder.

"After all… your reactions need to be genuine for the plan to work. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Cinder? The director gets the best reactions out of their actors when they don't know everything that's going to happen."

Cinder's gaze was distant, calculating.

"…Yes. We all have our roles we must play out," she murmured. With a nod, she looked to Roman. "We will need to time this carefully."

Roman groaned. "Still, ya know, if they know the future—"

"The future, clearly, can be changed," Cinder said coldly. "Which means we are now more unpredictable."

Mercury whistled. "Hey, um… small problem. A) We don't know if the others would let him heal any of us—kids' opinion be damned, since we're trying to destroy everyone and everything they love. It'd be stupid of them to heal us just so some kids don't cry. B) Even if he cares about her, that doesn't extend to any of us. What's stopping them from healing Cinder with loads of terms and conditions, then leaving us to die?"

Iridescent's smile didn't waver.

"Because I've looked at Arc's eyes. Look at them closely."

She pulled up a close-up still of Jaune with his son. "See what's in his eyes when he looks at his child."

Silence fell for a few moments. Mercury snorted.

"He's staring at him. His eyes are weird and gooey. So what?"

Cinder's voice was soft but dangerous. "Explain it, Iridescent."

Neo stared at her intently, but Cinder gave nothing away. Iridescent nodded eagerly.

"It's love," Iridescent said. "which is far more dangerous. He loves his son. He looked at you like that, didn't he, Lady Cinder? Didn't you see it yourself, Neo?"

Neo scowled at the homicidal girl, but nodded briefly.

Cinder swallowed. "…Yes," she confirmed quietly.

"Love is his strength," Iridescent continued, "and his weakness. And we'll use it to get him. And of course, Lord Zaroff will provide fire support for the next phase of the plan."

Roman raised an eyebrow.

"And… that is?"

"Kill the Maiden," Iridescent said simply. "Get her power. Get Raven under our control… and let loose the Wyvern on Vale."

She smiled widely at Roman, her eyes disturbingly alight.

"When this is done, we will have the powers of two Maidens—and the most powerful Grimm in Vale under our control. After that? I believe you will have no further questions. Just demands of the authorities who jailed you and dismissed you as a mere thug. How does 'King' Roman Torchwick sound, hm?"

Roman exhaled slowly, his hand on his chest.

"I'll think about that when I get the crown… What about Arc?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Iridescent said. "With him as our prisoner, Ozpin won't be able to move against us. We'll have all the power… Isn't that right, Lady Cinder?"

Cinder's eyes burned into the holographic image of Jaune, into his eyes.

"…Yes. Yes it is."

"Ooh! This will be so much fun!" Iridescent squealed. "The final act is going to really bring the house down!" Her grin shined like so many knives. "Can you imagine the screams?"

"Yes," Cinder murmured again, nodding, "Yes I can."

She ignored Mercury's stare. Ignored the daggers from Neo's eyes, and the nervousness on Roman's face. All she could see were Jaune's eyes. Eyes that the twins both had.

Eyes she had stared into when she…

She took a deep breath. She pulled out her Scroll.

Hello children. This is your

She paused for a long moment.

Mother.