A long time ago, in an unknown age, in an unknown land. There was a woman of great beauty. Sea for eyes, the sun for hair, and snow for skin. She sat in her lonely tower, locked away, by a cruel father. There, silent fingers played with trinkets of great wealth, but still, she couldn't smile.

Born a cursed child, an ill fate, the end at her hand. Through love, through loss, and through it all a transformation. From angel to that of a fallen maiden, a demoness.

But, before then, she was just a lonely beauty in a tall tower.

Cries of pain echoed throughout a large cave, surrounding it was a huge mass of dark creatures, Grimm. The cries echoed, bouncing from wall to wall. However, these cries of pain weren't the death throes of a person. They were the signal to an event, nature's most precious event, the coming of a progeny. One to bear flesh and blood, given new form, behind the eyes of those who love him dearest of all.

There, in an ornate room of the cave, dressed and prepared a woman screamed. Skin, white as snow, veins of dark royalty over her body. Red eyes, like a blood moon, and black sclera. The Grimm outside of her doorway was fully dressed in bonelike armor, with no apparent opening, and with lances for arms, a body of a horse.

There the woman screeched and howled, childbirth wasn't anything new to her. It had just been so long, cursed with immortality, her body would just natural heal any damage to it. Even the most intimate of damage wasn't shown favor, healed over.

She bore four beautiful daughters prior to this wretched world, created by uncaring Gods. However, that was when she had a stable life and a love. It all broke to pieces when they couldn't agree on how to guide mankind, their very people, and their children couldn't pick a side…so they chose to hide away from them.

For a very long time, the woman knew nothing but sorrow. Watching as one of her children, born in Spring died from battle. Another child, born of Summer, dying from a disease. The child of Fall, she went on to have children herself but barred her mother from ever seeing them.

The only grace given there was that the father was also denied his grandchildren.

But, one remained, her lookalike. Winter, she stayed at her side. Learning all she could, but even she denied her the tools that her mother needed to fulfill her wishes. But she couldn't blame her child for being neutral, a pact between them all.

She had raised her daughters to keep their words.

Would she have described herself as vindictive? Perhaps, but only if you were an enemy to her. Neutrality didn't mean you were an enemy, it just meant you wanted peace. That's all she ever wanted, peace. Denied time and time again, cursed by the very Gods she prayed to every single night.

The child residing in her womb now, however, was a child from a being coming before even Gods themselves of this world. A being that was her equal in every way, even in a curse. Immortality brought with the fear of losing all that she loved once again.

And, here, pushing a child into this world.

Her fears, her sadness, her hopes, and her happiness. All of them, all of the good and bad invaded her mind. A fear pervades her mind, what if she lived to see her child wither away like she saw a child born within Winter do so.

What if, one day, he didn't come home?

She was The Queen of Grimm, but right now, she felt like any other mother. Fear, fear that something wasn't right.

However, with one last howl and a cry of anguish. Salem, Queen of Grimm, brought into the world a child. her cries died into heavy breathing, while another set of lungs let loose their first wails into the world. Unlike the times she had given birth to daughters, this time it was a boy.

With hair, golden like the sun, skin so fair and tan like the land. Upon his body, adorned a tail at the very end of his bottom. Unlike the golden hair, that his father would easily recognize as his own, the tail was white as snow.

A fox, born in the darkness, with a light in its heart.

Grabbing a dagger off a nightstand Salem cuts at the umbilical cord. A shot of sadness reigned through her, but she knew that this was to happen, a mother separating herself from the thing she brought into the world. She leans up, grabbing her child, cutting the rest of the umbilical off from him.

She grabs a blanket from the side as she held her newborn with one hand, she wraps him up. The blanket, made of the finest cotton, stained with the afterbirth of new life. She looked at her child, underdressing her right shoulder to expose her breast for him to nurse.

The child had three whisker marks on both sides of his face, an obvious gift from his father. His father, sadly, was handling some business on the other side of the world. Unlike her, he was temperate and sought a nonviolent solution to everything.

How opposites attracted.

A being of peace, and a woman of sorrow making a child that seemed so bright just by the look. She took deep breaths, feeling her child nurse. Leaning her head back, she looked down at him. Opening his eyes, she saw ocean blue eyes.

Much bluer than her own as a human but held in them was the look of innocence. She took moment to rub her child's hair but was shocked when it bounced between golden locks to white at the presence of her aura.

Her child seemed to take much more after her than she initially thought.

But, for her fears, she knew the child couldn't be near her when she was with her council. She trusted none of them, well, she trusted one. Hazel, he expressed loyalty that was boundless, but that was done due to hatred. Tyrian, her assassin, was the most untrustworthy. It wasn't that he was shady, he was an open book, but the problem was his obsession with her.

If he wasn't such a skilled fighter and assassin, she would've been rid of him a while ago, but the old saying goes, beggars cannot be choosers. But, for a while, her son would be with his father until he was strong enough to hold his own.

That's when she'd step aside, as promised with her current lover, and see what a new generation with both world's mindsets could accomplish? Lead humanity back to The Gods, or lead humanity away from their further.

Deep breaths, she looked at her child as he finished nursing and snuggled against her. In the moments his hair turned white while feeding off her, his sclera would turn black, but his eyes would remain blue. Perhaps, because he was born from two cursed people, he would share that very curse? Only time could tell, and she feared that time would only bring more suffering.

Weakly, she got him snuggled in the blanket tight enough to where an attending Beowulf could pick up by a tied piece of cloth and put him in a crib near the bed. She relaxed in her bed, smiling as she leaned her head back.

She began to hum, looking at her child and at a small plush toy in the form of a dog. She felt a pang of sadness hit her heart. Looking at the plush toy she continues to hum but sheds a small black tear.

She watches as the crib rocks back and forth, slowly, the newly born child slumbers in his blanket. She'd have to wash him thoroughly when she found the strength to get up, she was exhausted, and the twenty hours of labor wasn't exactly easy.

A man with silver hair and bifocals was sitting in a tavern, he was looking at his device, a scroll. He saw various pictures of people he had called, all of them were coming at the moment. This small, remote village, on the continent of Menagerie, was the perfect place for this meeting.

Looking at the entrance to the tavern, the owner and every staff member had been cleared out. Taking a deep breath, he smiled. Raising his head up, two new faces flanked him on either side. A man greenish hair and thick bifocals.

And, a man with white hair, and burly build. A mustache that was most manly and had a bottle of whiskey in his hand while pouring some into a shot glass.

"Hello Ozpin," the man burly man greeted. "It must be one smashing hunt for us all to be called up by you."

"Indeed, Port," Ozpin acknowledged as he watched the man pour the shot. "I do believe that an old friend is in the area.

"You know Ghira Belladonna insisted on being apart of this hut. I had to explain to him that the Grimm there were all possible Alphas and that he had a daughter on the way," Port slushed the glass around. "But, to be fair, Oobleck gave the fairest point that The White Fang needed him to live."

Oobleck nods, speaking with a smile on his face. "so, this old friend, Salem?"

"Unfortunately," Ozpin lowered his head as answers them.

"Damn it all, and how long have her forces dug in?" Oobleck further inquiries.

Ozpin sighs, "give or take a couple of months."

"Dr. Oobleck, is that fear I hear in your voice?" A feminine voice called from across the room.

"Ah, Glynda, finally you have arrived. No, just frustration, when we think we had finally cleared out a Grimm nest she just goes and builds another." Oobleck states as he gets up from the bar, walking over toward her and shaking her hand.

"Ah, Port, aren't you going to drink that?" Glynda inquires while looking at the man.

Port instead answered her by sliding the shot glass across the bar and just as a red portal emerged. A hand reached out of the portal grabbing the shot as she walked through. Downing the fiery drink in one go, a curly-haired woman with her hair as black a raven's feather stood proudly with her hand wrapped around the glass.

She looked at her portal as a man with similar looks walked through the portal, a large scythe folded at his hip.

"Alright, we're all here. Team S.T.R.Q, the best team to come out of Beacon Academy!" A cheerful young woman states as she followed behind the man, and behind her was a blonde haired man.

"Well, thankfully Raven's portal didn't lead us to another dead end again." The blonde says as he looked at her, "I mean how many times do we have to go through the portal?"

"Three quit crying, besides this job pays well anyhow." Raven admonished the blonde, "or would you rather be a stay at home father."

The man sighs, "no Raven, but like I was saying before the jump where you should come to see your daughter."

"When you let me take her." She retorts, only for him to roll his eyes.

He looked at her, "and like I told you my daughter won't be caught up in that kind of life."

"So," Raven slid the glass back over to Port. "We stand at an impasse, Taiyang."

The room's air became tense as Taiyang and Raven stared each other down. Taiyang stood up to Raven, and Raven wasn't exactly backing down. Melee fighter facing down a master swordswoman. Both not exactly friendly to one another, with Raven and Taiyang sharing a turbulent history.

"As much as you two desperately want an excuse to workout your failed marriage," Ozpin stands up from the stool he was sitting on. "We've got much bigger issues."

Taiyang and Raven snarl, facing away from each other and toward Ozpin. The group all looked at one another, a Grimm Nest was a powerful threat. It took months to build up, with Grimm numbering in the dozens, and a high number of Alphas made it all the more dangerous.

There was no time to sort out a civil matter, violently or diplomatically.

"Friends," Summer stepped in between them. "We're in this together. Plus, as a bonus, Ozpin secured enough money for us to take it easy in our life later on."

"True…" Taiyang sighs as he looked at Summer and smiled, "enough to take care of my daughter."

"Then it is settled," Ozpin got up from his stool. "We leave now."

Port looks at Ozpin and nods, "hear-hear let's show these demons of the night not to come near civilizations that don't want them."

Oobleck rolls his eyes, getting up from his stool as well as they walked out of the tavern. A tavern he had bought out for the entire day and the next.

Salem was busy, she was back inside of the cave, lightly playing with her newborn who was trying to latch onto her fingers. Chuckling a little bit, she saw his little tail swoosh back and forth inside of the basset as she played with him.

Two months had passed after she had brought him into the world, and he took a particular liking to the dog plushie that used to belong to her youngest daughter. Looking at the newborn, smiling as she wiggled his nose with her finger.

He yawns, laying his body on the basset in a manner that indicated he was about to go to sleep. Salem sighs, rubbing his head full of blonde hair. She leans down, placing a quick kiss on the baby's forehead. The baby whimpers a little bit as she pulls away, looking at a rune on the wall.

"Your daddy will be here to see you soon little one," she rubs his head one last time. "Mommy has to make sure no one but us knows about you."

"It hurts…leaving you like this, but my love, you are my world today." She spoke, openly, even though she knew the babe couldn't understand her.

Flicking her wrist over the rune a portal of purple opens up, she looks back at her child and smiles before entering it.

It hurts her because she couldn't trust her own council, not to the extent of making sure they wouldn't try to make a power play involving her child. Tyrian most of all were unstable, and if pushed the wrong way could threaten her child's life. Dr. Watts was the most untrustworthy of all, he was smart and calculating, while also being cruel.

A very dangerous combination.

As far as anyone knew she was going to a secret garden she grew, the only other person who knew of her child was the lover that helped make him. It was for the best until he could be trained in magic and defend himself, and he would wield magic.

Salem figured that if both parents had access to magic that a child would still be born with it, despite what those fallible Gods believed wasn't possible.

Raven and Summer ran ahead of the group, both swirled in black and red rose petals. Summer turned her semblance off as they came upon the mountain, watching with amazement as two giant Nevermore circled it.

There were dozens of Beowolfs, Beringels seemed to lead those per the dozen, and then there were just a few Deathstalkers near the entrance of the cave. Raven looked at Summer, then back toward the horde of Grimm.

"So," Summer speaks up, "that's a lot of them."

"Indeed, it'll put you to the test with those eyes of yours. But," Raven stepped out from the tree line. "We might as well go ahead and dispatch them."

Summer got her scythe ready as Raven unsheathed her Daikatana. Both women stepped in unison as Qrow emerged from the woods and stepped beside them, along with Taiyang, who was activating his gauntlets.

Taiyang looked at them, "the others will split in a pincer and attack from the side."

"Leave it to the young to take the front," Qrow takes the last swig from his flask and looked at Summer. "Ready Short-Stack?"

"Pfft," she aims with her scythe's rifle. "Don't slow me down Qrow."

She fires a single shot that resounded across the open landscape just before the mountain, striking a Beringel right in its head. It blew it completely off, and before the other Grimm could react another round was fired from the charging group as they ran forward. This time, a couple of Beowolfs who were lined up almost too perfectly was the next to go back to The Dark God.

Raven ran ahead with her brother, both running side by side, both cutting each other as they dashed as fast as they could. Activating gale dust and burn dust, Raven and Qrow then moved in tandem, with spinning on his foot as he got in the middle of Grimm. Sending a wave of gale dust energy out, Raven capitalized on it by using her burn dust to suddenly ignite the air around them.

That dozen of Beowolfs was totally demolished, burning the small twister of fire, with Qrow's Bad Luck, not activating…thankfully. Raven turned around to see a Beringel heading for her, opening a port up she sends it over to Taiyang, who had been waiting.

Taiyang jumps up, delivering a powerful punch to the creatures face, using his aura to blast the face of the beast off as he dodged a Beowulf. Standing back to back with Summer, Tai drops into a fighting stance before jabbing several Beowolfs that tried to attack Summer from behind, all the while he and Summer danced around each other.

Killing Grimm after Grimm in unison.

Activating ice dust in his gauntlets Taiyang roars out as he smashed his fist into the ground, "Summer!"

"Right," she jumps up and spins about with her scythe-rifle. "White Dragon!"

Taiyang froze the Grimm in place as Summer took pot shots, killing a lot of them while Taiyang went around and smashed the others she couldn't get. Clearing them out with easy both then see a portal open up from Raven and as Summer drops Taiyang catches her and throws her into it.

Appearing out of the portal Summer was spinning on her side with her scythe out, slashing a Beringel in half while Qrow and Raven worked on the local Beowolf population. Oobleck came out of the nearby forest line from the right just as one of the Nevermores got into position to launch its feathers.

He jumped up, sending a wave of fire out from his weapon, "Glynda!"

The blonde's eyes widened as she emerged on the opposite side, pointing her crop rider at the flames before suddenly expanding them into a skyward blanket of fire that soared into the air. It destroyed any feathers that were launched, effectively forming a shield of fire.

Ozpin came running from behind her, he looked up and saw the other Nevermore getting ready to dive on Team S.T.R.Q. He then turned around and looked at Glynda who nodded, she focused her semblance onto the other Nevermore as it began its dive.

Catching it just in time before moving it away and roaring out. As she roars out, she brings her crop rider down, slamming the beast into the ground. She then points her crop rider at the sky and soon ice shards began to rain down on top of the Nevermore.

Piercing its wings to keep it from escaping, it raised its head up to roar at every human in its sight. Port suddenly leaped from behind Oobleck smashing through several Beringels as he leaped up and chopped the head of the Nevermore off.

Ozpin runs toward the first Deathstalkers to come toward the fight, he easily dodges their stingers, blocking their claws with even further ease. He moved like greased lightning, bashing his cane into the shells of the monstrous scorpions when he found an opening to get on top of them.

He had channeled gravity dust into them, making sure to add weight to his impacts, and it worked when on his last few hits the shells broke off. As he backed off another cloud emerged above him, raining even more ice shards down, killing those Deathstalkers by skewering them into the ground.

Summer and Qrow used their scythes to slice the tail and claws off another Deathstalker as Taiyang drops down from the sky, using newly loaded gravity dust in his gauntlets to smash through the beast. It was killed upon impact, and he stepped away from its decaying body as he looked toward Raven was cutting Beowolfs to pieces around her.

Just as the last Deathstalker suddenly emerged from the ground, Oobleck got behind Summer, blasting and washing it with flames. The beast cries out, breaking down in the fire, and then finally dying in agony.

The group turned to the last Nevermore, which was flying around the mountain. Summer closed her eyes, taking a deep breath but then suddenly snapped them open as a silver light emerged around her. Any few stragglers were immediately turned to stone, while The Nevermore above them turned to stone slowly as it fell from the sky.

Smashing into the ground, the beast's stony body broke into pieces before finally, it disappears.

All of them walked together, toward the entrance of the cave, only for them all to hear a massive pair of roars. Suddenly the cave's entrances busted open, revealing two centaurs. Both of them were Alphas if their amount of body armor was anything to go by.

Summer huffed, "well that sucks."

"Why is that, Ms. Rose?" Ozpin inquires as he smirked, "no more gas in the tank."

"Nope, completely spent." Summer loaded a dust round into her rifle, "so I guess we do this the old-fashioned way."

Taiyang bumps his fists together as he stood by her, smirking as he took a deep breath and activated his semblance. A large light emerged around him as his body glowed, with his eyes becoming bright as he readied himself.

Qrow and Raven stood by each other, with him transforming his scythe into its sword mode.

The instructors and headmaster of Beacon stood together as well, all of them stared down the massive Grimm as they charged.

Summer's group was the first to move, with Taiyang roaring out as he ran headfirst into the action. He draws his fist back, using his full power break through the first lance with ease while dodging the other as Summer jumps over him and cuts the broken lance's arm off.

Taiyang screams as he smashes his fist into the horse body of the Grimm, roaring as he broke through its armor.

Qrow slashes at the legs as the armor peeled off of it, "get some Tai!"

Tai roars out smashing through the next leg, causing it to fall over, Raven used her portal semblance to cut a portal above it and one in front of Taiyang. Taiyang jumps through it, emerging above the beast before Summer jumps through her own portal and grabs him.

Activating her semblance in tandem with his, both roar out as they smashed into the centaur, blasting it to pieces as white and golden petals flowed around the area. The other centaur roars out at the instructors, slashing at them as they dodged.

Glynda uses her semblance to break its back legs, snapping them like twigs, while Oobleck uses his weapon to blast fire onto it, weakening its armor as it thrashes about. Screaming in pain, Port jumps up before slamming his gun-ax into its mouth.

"Sorry dear," Port glared right into its eyes, "but goodnight."

He squeezed the trigger, blasting the beast's head of with a resounding boom from his gun. It fell back before disappearing. With everyone looking at each other, Summer helping Taiyang stand up. He was exhausted, his semblance always drained whatever he had left in his body. However, there was no denying that he was basically a one-man army while it was going.

Even if it was brief.

"They defended this place to very last one," Qrow points out as they walked toward the entrance. "Do you think she has another of those sacred treasures thingies?"

"Relics are secured in the vaults still, but it could be one of the other treasures of the world. Perhaps a mighty weapon," Oobleck pushes his glasses up as they walked into the entrance.

Port hums, "well we'll soon find out, won't we?"

"I don't know, something just feels off about this. Centaurs aren't stupid, they're just as old as Goliath Grimm and just as smart. That situation was hopeless, but they didn't try to flee, instead, they just tried to fight. Whatever is here," Oobleck took a deep breath. "Is worth more to Salem than some highly evolved Grimm."

"Yes," Port points out as he rubbed his mustache, "and they take forever to get to that level. She's lost a lot of Grimm today."

Summer got nervous, but then her mind raced when they got deeper into the cave. She suddenly ran ahead and dropped Taiyang, causing confusion amongst the other people. They followed her, as fast they could, but they weren't anywhere near her speed.

Raven begrudgingly helping Taiyang.

She found the source of her haste, crying. She looked at the door, noting that it was well built. Using her scythe, the white rose cuts down the door. There, they are met with a sight they couldn't believe. It was a child's room, with a bed in the middle of it.

Obviously, the bed wasn't meant for the child, the child's wailing came from basset just next to the bed. Ozpin's eyes widened, realizing some of the toys on the shelf, and the others didn't take notice as a few tears dropped from his eyes.

'She's moved on…has she…" Ozpin walks forward after drying his eyes, "what do we have?"

Summer was the first to make her way over to the basset, expecting a demonic looking creature, but instead was met with the curious blues of a young newborn. It gurgled, reaching out to her, but when she became unresponsive it began to cry some more.

Ozpin saw the rune on the wall, quickly deactivating it.

The infants wails echoed in the room. Everyone looked at it, all of them gobsmacked. Unable to speak, unable to form any words simply due to the sheer surprise and shock. It wails to the top of its lungs before Summer reaches down and picks it up.

She peels the blanket back, "it's a boy."

"Boy?" Raven growls as she walks over toward Summer and points her katana at it, "that damn thing is a monster!"

"What?!" Summer barely dodged the stab made by Raven, holding the child close.

"Raven stop!" Taiyang yells and stands in between her and Summer, "what the fuck are you doing?!"

"Taiyang that damned child is a monster, it's a monster!" Raven screams as she looked at the baby in Summer's arms, "it is her fucking child!"

"Child, you mean that demoness can have children!" Port screams out as he looked Summer, "Summer…that child you're holding, can you tell if its really her child?"

Summer shook her head, "no, but please stop this! This is a child, what has it done but be born!"

"It will become just like its mother, I saw its eyes flash red when it looked at me!" Raven yells as she pointed her blade at Summer, "Summer just give up the baby!"

"No!" Summer resists as she backed away with Taiyang guarding her.

"I'll cut you down, I fucking swear it!" Raven roars as she raised her sword up.

Only for Ozpin to step in and grab the blade, "enough!"

Raven growls and glares at everyone before taking a deep breath. Ozpin lets her sheath her sword back into the scabbard. The baby continues to wail, sobbing for its mother, or perhaps it was hungry. Everyone looked at one another, with Ozpin debating on either leaving the baby here or taking it with them.

Taiyang looked at him, "what are we going to do…there's no way we can just leave him here."

"No," Port shook his head, "we have to take him with us…if she's able to train him as he grows up, he'll be the second Salem.'

"That's if we let him live," Raven argues. "I mean really, we can't be entertaining the idea of letting him live!"

"And why can't we, he's but an infant, what has he done but be born?!" Summer yells at Raven, holding the baby closer to her.

Raven yells at Summer, "he's a demon child, look at him! He's the spitting image of that witch, change his hair to white and give him red eyes!"

"How many times do we have the chance to make her Salem suffer," Raven held out her hand. "Give…me…the baby."

"No!" Summer screams using her semblance to get away from Raven.

Raven growls looking at Qrow, "Qrow!"

"I am not getting in the middle of this, I'm waiting on Oz to tell us what to do." Qrow looked toward Ozpin, "Ozpin?"

"Let us head back to the tavern, have a few drinks to calm down." Ozpin looked at Raven, "we're fresh out of a fight and we're still heated."

Back at the tavern, everyone was still tense, everyone watches as Summer was nursing the baby, something Raven found disgusting. Taiyang was making sure to stick close to Summer just in case Raven made a move, while Oobleck and Port discussed several things.

Ozpin was drinking some hot cocoa he had made with Glynda, looking at them all.

Finally, Qrow spoke up after taking a swig, "so, its been a few hours. What are we going to do about the kid?"

"You mean monster…" Raven corrected Qrow as she glared at Summer, who only returned the glare in kind.

Qrow sighs, "look…Raven…"

"No, no! You don't get to say 'look Raven' to me, you understand this very well, Salem will hunt us down if we keep that thing alive. We can make her suffer," Raven looks at Qrow as if begging him to side with her. "For our people, brother."

Qrow sighed, "your people Raven, not our people."

She just shook her head, "so what, we just let it nurse on Summer until it grows up and begins to develop his mother's powers?!"

"Look," Summer spoke up finally, "I'm only feeding him because the only other parent in this room wants to kill a baby. What if it was Yang, would you allow us to kill her?"

"Don't bring my daughter into this!" Raven yelled, barking at Summer as if a rabbit dog.

Summer shook her head, "yeah…your daughter. Meanwhile, Tai is struggling to get by, and you are out with your tribe of crooks."

Raven and Summer glared at each other, finally, Raven walked over and grabbed a knife to begin peeling an apple. She looked at Summer, glaring at her all the same. The tension in the room was intense, everyone looked like they were ready to fight one another.

Ozpin sighed, "if we keep him, we need to find a way to make sure no one else knows about him other than us."

"James and Leo would call for his head," Taiyang agreed and then looked at Summer. "If he didn't have that tail, I'd be able to claim him as my own."

"Oh yes, and not like you already had a child two months ago, that's pathetic Tai." Raven states as she begins to eat her apple slices, "unless you were sleeping around…"

"Oh yeah," Taiyang rolls his eyes and glares at her, "like I wasn't loyal to you at all."

"Whatever," Revan brushes off his retort, "but we still need to figure out how to play this card."

"We can't, I mean look, maybe it's the alcohol…but…I kind of agree with Raven. He is a threat, a very big threat, we could try to curb him as he got older…but…" Qrow took a deep breath, "if she ever meets him and reveals to him his true heritage, we'd be looking at a second Salem quite possibly more powerful than herself."

Ozpin shook his head, "no, Qrow just because she gave birth to a child doesn't mean he'd inherit her powers to a T."

"Quite true, genetics and all, its possible that he'd grow up just learning how to use aura and not controlling Grimm." Oobleck walks over to the baby, looking at it, "he's quite a cutie…despite who the mother is."

"Oh, for The Gods," Raven stood up and slammed the knife into the bar. "He's a threat, and your sitting here discussing his viability as a weapon!"

"The child isn't a weapon!" Taiyang stated as he looked at them all, "but he doesn't deserve to die."

The baby gurgles a little bit, making Summer stop nursing him and pat him on the back. She bounces him around a little, looking at the group. They all looked back and forth at each other, and then Glynda spoke up with a sigh.

"We can vote, though it is an equal number of people here…" Glynda offers up, "Port?"

"I say…well…all things considered. He's a baby, but the risks of him growing his powers and becoming curious of them is very high." Port took a drink of tea he had gotten from the bar, "and with it…a risk we cannot afford."

Summer's eyes widened, that was three votes for death, just right there. Glynda looked at her, and then sighed as she looks around.

"I say he deserves to live, even if he develops his powers…he's still a child. A child that has no concept of good nor evil and has not even babbled his first words." Glynda places her hand on Summer's shoulder, "I vote for life."

"I vote life as well," Taiyang stepped up and joined Summer's side, "its just a baby…he's just a baby."

Raven growls, "foolish, death is the only way we could ever truly hurt Salem. Think about all the suffering she has caused!"

Oobleck then stands up and joins Summer's side, "and what makes us any better than her if we go around. Killing an infant, we'd be no better, we must rise above that type of thinking, Ms. Brawen."

"Well, that makes four for life, three for death…" Port looked at Oobleck, "are you sure this is what you want, old friend?"

Oobleck looked at Port, "are you?"

They both looked at each other and sighed, looking away. Ozpin was the only voter remaining, sighing, he looked at them.

"Now what, we decided not to kill him. But someone needs to take him in." Summer then looks down at the baby, bouncing around.

"I cannot…" Ozpin sighs, "people would question too much."

Taiyang looked at them all, "I could…"

Everyone turned to him, with Raven glaring at him.

"No seriously, after this mission, I think…well…I think I'm going to retire from active callups and become a teacher. And, with that, I can have a steady income to take care of two kids. Though, I don't know how this little guy will act on formula." Taiyang rubs the back of his head, "and Yang can be a handful sometimes."

Glynda shook her head, "no, I'll take him in. Worse comes to worst about his parentage I had brief one night stand in a moment of vulnerability."

"Well," Summer looked at them, "there's also me…I mean…well, he seems to be attached to me."

She looks down at the baby who happily gurgles at her, gurgling out unintelligent sentences. She wiggled its nose, making it smile, for what it seemed like to smile. Raven glared at her now, her hands balling into fists so tight her knuckles turned white.

"I say Glynda should take the kid in," Qrow raised a bottle up. "No offense Short-Stack, but Glynda has more time and money."

Summer blanches, sighing as she looked down at the baby, "I guess that's true."

"Well we need to make it seem her child was killed, that way she doesn't just go after us," Ozpin reached over for the knife only Raven to suddenly grab it and form a portal near Summer.

Before she could react, Summer felt the child get ripped away from her arms, "no! Raven please, don't!"

"You want her to believe he's dead?! Well here," Raven screams as grabs the tail.

Everyone watches in horror as she cuts off from very bone where it emerged from, she looked right at them all she held the severed tail up. She then slammed the knife down into the bar, walking toward the door.

"I hope your self-righteous attitude in this world is justly rewarded," Raven tells them as they looked each other. "Because she will come for us all, one by one, and when she is done…none of us will be alive."

"You're a monster!" Summer screamed as she tries to comfort the baby.

"I'm a warrior," Raven argues. "I am doing what I can to defend my people, and my life from this demoness."

"You want to raise her child, go ahead, but I'll be sure to let you know the irony of when you die to his hand. You cannot change a monster, you can dress him in fine clothes, but he will always have the desire to join his mother!" Raven slams the door as she walked out.

Everyone looked toward where Summer was trying to use her aura to heal him but found that his hair and body rapidly changed from the original color to Salem's. Ozpin saw the bloody tail laying on the bar, and sighs as he picks it up.

"Summer," he speaks softly. "Take him with Oobleck…I'll be back shortly."

"Where are you going?" Glynda inquires as she watches the two do as they were instructed.

Ozpin sighed and picked up the blanket and the tail, "to take care of the illusion."

It all began with the failed activation of her rune, Salem was not panicking. She was worried but wasn't panicking. Using a Nevermore, a small one, she managed to fly into Menagerie undetected. She had many runes scattered across the world, but she had only one in Menagerie for her child.

She flew past a town in the middle of the night, ending up at her mountain. She stops, her heart skips a beat, the evidence of a battle was fresh. She shook her head, she slowly stepped away from her Nevermore as she looked at the fresh craters in the ground.

Now, she began to breathe hard, she saw the entrance to the cave had been broken open from the centaurs, and the worse part of it…there was a blanket in the entrance. She rushes over to it, but as she unwraps it her world shatters.

Dropping to her knees, weakness pervaded her being, she wretches as she sobs. Screaming in rage as she punches the ground, wrapped in the blanket was the severed tail of her newborn son. She screams in anguish; black tears fell from her eyes and onto the ground.

She was not in her right mind as she clutched the blanket with the tail still wrapped up in it. Rocking back and forth, she cries.

"Not my son, not my baby, no! No! No!" She screamed over and over, sobbing as she clutched the blanket to her chest.

Her heart shatters as she looked at the severed tail once more, "why…Ozma…he was baby…"

The Queen of Grimm chokes out, "I loved all of our children, why would you…why…you knew…"

She brushed the tail while sobbing, crying laid against the cold ground. In anguish she covered the tail up, unable to look at it anymore. Feeling pain emanating from the very womb that brought her children into the world, she rocked against the ground.

A flash of light behind, a man with red hair and eyes ran over toward her. He knelt down, looking at the blanket, he moved to open it up, but she stopped him and shook her head. Faced away from it. Sobbing himself, he sat on the ground while clutching her.

He looked at his lover as she cries in anguish over their child, "Salem…who?"

"It was Ozma, he did this, he had too! He killed our baby, he killed our precious son…Naruto…he killed…my only so-ahahaha!" Salem screams in her sobs as she clutched the blanket, she looked at her lover.

The man's eyes glowed as several tails emerged from his back, he faced that very town they would've had to be staying in. He stands up, pointing his palm out at it as red and blue orbs appeared. He was forcing them into a single ball of violent energy before Salem clutched his arm and shook her head.

"No," Salem growls. "I want them…to suffer…Kurama."

The thing, Kurama, looked at his lover before growling and stopping his attack.

He looks at her, "I merely want them to know…they have committed the most horrible offense."

"We cannot," Salem struggled to stand up, "allow ourselves to fall into destruction. That town will be burn, but I want Ozma's head on a pike…and if any of his cohorts raise a family…I want it broken."

Kurama growls, "let them have a few years to enjoy it, and I will tear it away…just like they took our baby."