Chapter Ten: Survive

Southeast of Anima

Roman was running out of cigars, and despite being in proximity to a team of sailors he didn't have anyone to bum a smoke. He wasn't fond of staring out at ocean, and he didn't want to sulk in his cabin while sharing it with a trio of Faunus, so he took to passing the time on his journey on whatever deck had the fewest people to fill his field of vision and chomping through one cigar after another. On this night he was happy to lean against a railing staring at the deck and away from the various groups of Faunus milling about. They were still days from Mistral, and at the rate he was burning through his supply…

Still, he was never one to be patient. Roman pulled out another and searched his coat for his lighter, thinking he could find some innovative way to smoke a little more slowly and think of a way to not be bothered by his current crop of company.

"Could you please wait a moment?"

Roman turned his attention to whoever bothered to address him. He'd quite enjoyed not having any Faunus bothering him for a while, but now someone was interrupting his blissful isolation…

Well, not all Faunus were so annoying. At least this one was easy on the eyes. And apparently offering him a cup of tea to alternate from his cigar chomping.

Normally Roman was smart enough not to accept a strange drink from a pretty girl. But if they were going to bump him off, they'd have probably been a bit more practical about it and just tossed him in the ocean. So Roman withdrew the cigar from his mouth and slid it into his coat pocket, graciously taking the drink. "Thanks."

The older cat Faunus leaned on the railing beside him, drinking from her own cup. She was quiet for a few moments, but Roman suspected she hadn't come simply to give him a gift; she would've left by now if she was simply being courteous. She just had social grace enough to wait and let him get comfortable before she pursued her true intention.

"Something you wanted to know, Miss…?" Roman inquired, taking a draught. He wasn't well-versed in tea, but he thought it tasted good enough.

"Mrs.," she gently corrected him, "But call me Kali, please." She sipped from her own cup before resuming conversation proper. "I heard a lot about you from Sun; he's the energetic one with the tail."

Roman did his best not to remember every punk he got the better of, but this one stood out because he happened to be in close proximity to a genuinely pretty Faunus… and then accused him of a bunch of stuff he'd never done. "I think I mentioned he has the wrong guy."

"So you're not a notorious criminal mastermind?" she asked, with just a hint of playfulness.

"That's just what I tell people," Roman assured her. "Big hit with the ladies."

Kali was patient with his remark. She'd probably heard better… but at least it seemed she'd also heard worse. "Sun told me you were a big problem for my daughter and her friends. That you were the most wanted man in Vale."

"Well, I got the cops' attention once or twice," Roman acknowledged. "But they had bigger problems than me to deal with. Neo and I were just trying to make a few bucks. The White Fang were blowing things up more often than they were stealing Dust. I like a good explosion as much as the next guy, but it's really not the sort of thing you should give away for free."

"So why did Sun think you were working with the White Fang?" Kali wondered. "You… don't seem particularly fond of Faunus."

"Most Faunus," Roman replied with a wink. "I don't hate Faunus more than I like money: I did one job with the White Fang, because someone hired me to steal Dust for her and I needed some muscle. I wouldn't have worked with that crazy freak Adam Taurus if I thought she'd take 'no' for an answer."

He saw Kali visibly tense up. She knew the name. And if Roman had to guess, not only by reputation.

"We were hitting some Dust being stored at a port in Vale," Roman explained. "Things were going smoothly for a while, until a Huntress showed up and cut right through his men. I got what I could carry and headed back to the warehouse. Last I heard a new girl took over leading the Fang in Vale, so I figure Adam wasn't so lucky."

"Adam is very much alive," Kali replied. "He's assassinated Sienna Khan and taken over from her… though he's been deceiving everyone into thinking a human Huntsman was the one responsible."

"Huh, good for him," Roman thought. "Maybe I'm out of the loop, but last I heard the girl who took over from him ended up as High Leader after she led a bunch of Grimm into Vale. I wasn't at all willing to work with the Faunus after that, especially when the boss lady stopped returning my calls."

Kali pondered over her tea. In close proximity to him and with relatively little noise to interfere, Kali could listen to any changes in his pitch and tone or sudden jumps in his heart rate. She had no doubt a career criminal would be a capable liar, but he hadn't slipped up even once. He firmly believed he'd experienced the events he was recounting to her now.

Sun told her about how Roman Torchwick hung over her daughter's head and haunted her thoughts for weeks and months. He mentioned how his capture helped set Blake's mind at ease and made her much more open and lively, if only for a few fleeting moments. The man she was talking to now didn't match up at all with Sun's recap. And his motivation now wasn't profit, and he wasn't actively sowing seeds of chaos… he was just trying to find something –someone- he'd lost.

"The girl you're trying to find –Neo," Kali inquired. "You said she was family to you. Your daughter?"

Roman chuckled. "Not quite." At Kali's raised eyebrow, Roman scratched the back of his head, ruffling his handsome bowler a bit. "I've never really known how to describe it. No one's ever asked me to. We're…"

Finally Kali detected a change in his heartbeat, her ear twitching to listen in. She waited to try and discern a lie, while her eyes carefully measured his face, watching his eyes shift back and forth. But after a moment of contemplation, Roman's heartrate steadied. "It's honestly strange to think about. I haven't known her that long at all… not even a year, honestly."

Roman normally wasn't one to spill his thoughts to a relative stranger, but he'd entered many strange alliances in the past few months since the Breach… since the Fall Knight took his girl from him. And it didn't hurt this Faunus was easy on the eyes and seemed genuinely curious, rather than accusatory like the younger one.

"I found her lost and alone," Roman explained. "I've been there myself, and used to be I'd have passed her by without a thought, but something about her was different. Something about her was special."

Roman paused only long enough to drink some more tea. Kali seemed quite intently focused now.

"First I just thought… this girl has some skill, and maybe she'll be grateful enough for food and a roof over her head to work with me," Roman continued. "Slowly but surely I got used to having her around… so much it feels weird even now to be stuck without her. I added her to my life but I couldn't just take her out of it. That's what family is, isn't it? Something you can add but can't replace?"

Kali finally turned her eyes from him down to her tea, thinking on her child, and the day she left with Adam to keep fighting against the inequality of humanity, and how long it took her to grow accustomed to her baby girl's absence… to feel something missing even when she eventually learned her child was safe.

"That sounds about right," Kali finally confirmed.

Roman took another sip. "You don't have to be concerned about me. I'm not exactly thrilled to be stuck working with Fau- working with people I don't know," –he quickly amended, apparently thinking better of his first thought- "but no one's buying me out this time. I've lost something more important to me than Lien… and I'll do what it takes to get her back."

Kali hadn't necessarily expected the hardened criminal to be so sincere. She hadn't thought a kind gesture would be returned by a genuine display of very… uncomfortably familiar concern.

She rested against the railing, thinking her daughter may well have been right to give the thief a chance to prove himself. "Are you certain she's still alive?"

"That's what I taught her to do: survive," Roman replied. "We gave each other something to fight for… something more than we had, anyway. I'm sure she's had it rough out there, and I wish I'd had more time to teach her all the tricks… but whatever she's seen, whatever she's been put through, she's alive."

He had faith in his girl. Kali could certainly relate to that.

There were worse people to share tea with.

Mistral

Neo glared at the redhead while she helped Jaune up. She hadn't been privy to all the details of Cinder's plans, but Neo distinctly recalled that girl as being a centerpiece prior to the attack on Beacon. She also recalled that the redhead was on Jaune's team, and Neo was pretty sure she'd made eyes at him once or twice in the preliminary round. Why was she attacking him now?

"It's okay," Jaune assured her, "I'm okay. I think she just…" He couldn't even complete his thought. He was trying to hide it, but he'd been hurt. Far more by the action than by the impact, given the slight flutter in his tone.

The redhead turned her attention to Ruby Rose. She wasn't looking at Jaune any longer, paying him no more heed. Apparently she'd come for the young girl rather than her old partner, and was motivated to keep her safe. That motivation sounded very familiar to her now… Ruby Rose had so many protectors.

Nora took one final look at Jaune before stepping forward to listen to the tall redhead's explanation. Neo's hands were still on Jaune's chest and shoulder –in fact reaching over her own head- to keep him steady, but it seems his injury was no longer on anyone else's mind. Jaune glanced down at her and Neo abruptly retracted her hands, averting her gaze for a moment.

He was quiet for a moment, but Neo knew he was still looking at her. He might've been surprised by her concern… but then, Neo had been too.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw his despair slowly overcome his confusion. And she really didn't want to see that again, considering the last time he'd revealed anything to her he'd made Neo empathize with him, and now she'd become… protective?

That was a familiar thought. The last time a man showed her kindness when Neo had been at her lowest she'd decided to devote herself to helping him, adopting him as kin in all but name. More even than that, the last time –the only time- she'd felt such concern had been for one man, and only one man. She hadn't expected to ever feel it again.

And she didn't want to look at him when he was sad. She was feeling angry at the tall redhead, the thing that put that despair in his eyes… the partner he'd lost, the failure he carried with him.

If Neo saw Roman again she'd break down and rush to embrace him too. She'd show even less composure than Jaune had; she'd want to experience him with so many of her senses and confirm she had him back in every way she possibly could. The thought of Roman shrugging her off or ignoring her, let alone lashing out at her like that…

Qrow and Raven emerged from wherever they'd gone to talk, both with weapons drawn, no doubt concerned by the loud noise caused by Jaune being flung into the wall. Qrow briefly glanced at Jaune, Neo, and the impact site before refocusing his attention on Pyrrha and Weiss just inside the doorway. He took a moment to look between Pyrrha and his hip flask, before leaning over to Raven and muttering: "You see that too, right?"

Raven nodded. "Friend of yours'?"

"Used to be," Qrow confirmed. "But she might've just been putting up with me 'cause Oz kept me around."

"Yeah, that sounds like a friend of yours'," Raven concurred.

Pyrrha turned to face the two. "I was just explaining to the others that I've come here for Ruby. When we lost her to Salem in our world we knew she'd captured the last silver-eyed warrior. We knew there was no other way to stop her."

"Uh, what?" Ruby interjected. "Last…?"

"When I heard there was a second Remnant, another world like our own, I thought I should try and prevent it from suffering the same fate," Pyrrha explained. "My friends were lost, my home was conquered by the White Fang… and all we could do was wait for Salem to push."

"Raven's filled me in on some of the details, but I think she got out before you did," Qrow told her. "How bad is it?"

Pyrrha turned her attention to the red-eyed woman at Qrow's side. "You're… not from this Remnant? You crossed over too?"

"When I attempted to use my Semblance to find my family," Raven explained. "They… either they were killed or Salem or Ozpin sealed them off from me with their magic. When I emerged, I ended up here in Anima, in the camp of a tribe I was born into."

"The bandits?" Weiss interjected. "Wait, you're the one who captured me!"

"Weiss, trust me, it only gets weirder," Ruby assured her.

"Yeah, see that's my mom," Yang explained.

"Your mom-?!" Before Weiss could even finish her thought-

"Yeah, but see in her world she was my mom, marrying our dad after I was born and my mom disappeared," Ruby explained.

"Wha- how does…" Weiss stopped herself, trying to process it all, before glancing at Pyrrha. "When you get a chance, please explain this so I don't have to piece together the gibberish these two give me."

"I've missed you," Ruby said, smiling fondly.

Pyrrha cleared her throat before turning her attention back to Raven and Qrow. "Beacon finally fell when Ja-" She stopped when she noticed the blonde still looking despondent nearby, "-when the Fall Knight attacked. When Atlas pulled their military out and fell back, I knew we'd lost." She paused a moment. "Unless they were hit too, Atlas is all that's left. General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch moved as many students as they could, but their machines were hit by a virus and turned against us. We lost a lot of people before they ordered a retreat."

She looked over at Ruby and Weiss. She was tempted to tell Ruby what happened, but reminded herself that Ruby would have a different recollection to her own. She wouldn't necessarily have a reason to care about a girl who may not have been her partner in this Remnant.

"You said we could defeat Salem," Ruby pointed out. "How? What does it have to do with me?"

"The silver-eyes are what she uses to control the Grimm, forcing them to obey her," Pyrrha explained. "You're the last one, the last remaining silver-eyed warrior. Her current ones won't last forever, and when she exhausts them, she'll need a replacement. If she never catches you, she loses control over the horde. The Grimm go right back to being what they are: monsters outside anyone's control. Still a dangerous threat, but no longer one that can be marshaled and coordinated to attack us."

Qrow scratched his chin with his free hand, turning his attention to the dent Jaune had put in the wall. "So, I take it you know blondie… was he your teammate in your world too?"

"Yes," Pyrrha confirmed. "He was the leader of Team JNPR, consisting of myself, Jaune, Nora, and Ren."

"She doesn't know me but her team is exactly the same?" Yang wondered. "What is up with that?"

"In a minute, Firecracker," Qrow assured her. "First… what's the deal with these 'knights'? How is it two guys ended up with powers that are only supposed to work in Maidens?"

Pyrrha glanced over at Jaune again. "There is… or at least there was a machine that was developed by Atlas to draw the Aura of a wounded Maiden and put it into a new host. General Ironwood didn't explain it properly to me, but somehow Professor Ozpin was able to use it to place the powers of a Maiden inside each of them. Apparently he already had some portion of the Fall Maiden's power to give to Jaune."

"What about the Spring Maiden?" Qrow pressed. "Who was it? Who did Ozpin use?"

Pyrrha knew there was someone else in the second pod, but her attention had been wholly on Ren. She'd been driven to avenge Nora, to understand why someone dear to her had fallen so far. "I don't know," Pyrrha admitted. "I got there too late."

Nora recognized the careful word choice. It seemed she was every bit as poor a liar in the other world as she'd been in the brief time Nora knew her in this one.

Qrow grimaced. "Yeah, figures. Guess it couldn't be that easy… we've been trying to find her for a while now. My sister –that is, my sister in, uh, this side- had her somewhere and Leo was supposed to coordinate with us to find her."

"The camp I found Weiss in was under attack by someone," Pyrrha explained. "A scientist from Atlas named Watts and a woman in red who seemed to think I'd fought her before."

"Cinder," Weiss quickly clarified. "And Emerald and Mercury were with her too."

Neo focused her attention again. Cinder was nearby too. Her revenge –and Jaune's revenge, now that she thought of it- was closer than she expected it to be.

"Did she find the girl?" Qrow asked.

"They retreated," Pyrrha explained. "I think if there'd been another Maiden present she'd have been drawn out during the fighting."

"The bandits should've scattered by now," Qrow muttered. "The information I gave Leo is worthless-!" He reached down to find his Scroll. "I need to let him know. We need to regroup and think up a new plan now. If Salem's buddies are out looking for the Spring Maiden too, then this turned into a race."

"It always has been, brother," Raven reminded him. "But now that Salem's attention is elsewhere, we can focus on the Spring Knight before he-"

"He's here?" Pyrrha interjected. "Ren's on this side too?"

"They both are," Raven replied, jerking her thumb back at Jaune. "We managed to intercede in time to keep this one here."

Pyrrha seemed very unnerved. "I see…"

If they were both in this Remnant with her, that likely meant they'd come for her. Jaune certainly would follow after she'd frustrated him by escaping his clutches in Vale.

Who was the girl on his arm now? What had become of him in this world after the death of Pyrrha's opposite here?

Not what she should focus on. Ruby was the priority. Ruby was the key to their victory over Salem.

There'd be time to think on the smaller victories later.

Haven

Leo looked down at the buzzing Scroll. He wasn't sure why Qrow was calling, but Leo doubted it was good news. He was concerned about the missing Huntsmen, perhaps... a thought that made the headmaster feel guilty. Or he was wondering about what progress Leo had made with the Mistral council in acquiring resources for their mission… another thought that would only compound his guilt. Or maybe Qrow was reporting that he'd found something that would help them, and Leo would have to feign being grateful for his help… and add to his guilt.

He'd missed two calls already. Whatever Qrow wanted, it was important, and Leo couldn't dodge him forever. No doubt he already suspected something after Leo's reluctance to go after the Spring Maiden when he first provided the coordinates, to say nothing of the long stretches of silence in the months prior to their meeting, including months Qrow had been on the continent an in range of the Haven tower CCT.

A gloved hand pressed down on his desk. "Answer him."

Lionheart wasn't at all pleased to be taking orders from Salem's latest visitor in his school, but he did as she instructed, disabling the Scroll's video conference function and answering the transmission audibly. "Hello?"

He listened to Qrow's warning: that Salem had sent her followers to Raven's camp and scattered the bandits. Lionheart had to pretend to be surprised. "What? How?"

The woman in red across his desk seemed amused by Lionheart's weak improvisation. "I'm… not sure what I can tell you-"

"Tell him you have the people he needs," Cinder harshly instructed. "Arrange a meeting outside the kingdom."

"I, uh," Lionheart covered the Scroll's receptor with one hand. "What?"

"Tell him to bring all his little friends and join the team you've assembled," Cinder commanded. "Tell him you'll organize a search to find the Maiden together."

"Why?" Lionheart mouthed.

"Because my disciples and our new friends will be there waiting for them," Cinder explained. "And after they've finished, you won't have Qrow Branwen bothering you with any more calls."

Mistral

"Okay, Leo, I got it," Qrow agreed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll let them know." He finished his call and turned his attention to the others. "Lionheart says he can get a search party organized in the morning. Apparently now he's decided to be helpful."

"Convenient," Raven observed.

"Too convenient," Qrow agreed. "We should give-" He was about to say a name, but stopped himself, quickly correcting before Pyrrha overheard, "-we should probably just send a few of us to scope it out. In case this is as fishy as it seems to be."

"Ruby should remain out of harm's way," Pyrrha insisted.

"Hey, there's no need to-" Ruby began, but stopped when her uncle raised a hand.

"No, she's right, kid," Qrow told her. "I'm not gonna tell you to stay out of the fight the whole time, but either Leo's up to something or this is just a scouting mission. Salem already knows you're here and she thinks you're traveling with me. We keep you out of her line of sight while she sends her little buddies on my tail instead… I think the redhead's onto something there."

"What about the rest of us, then?" Yang wondered. "Who is this guy Leo expecting to meet?"

Qrow considered his options, glancing back at Jaune. "He's seen Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Ruby. Could just take these two with me… not let him get wise to us."

"You're going out there with just those two for backup?" Raven asked.

"Well, unless you have someone else in mind…" Qrow murmured, before silencing himself when Raven's left hand took hold of his wrist.

"I'll keep watch. You'll probably get yourself killed if I take my eye off you," Raven assured him, before turning her attention to Nora. "But I want that one to stay with Ruby. She's almost as protective as…"

She glanced at the blonde girl Yang. Raven hadn't even thought of asking the big sister to protect Ruby… mostly because the very notion of Ruby having a big sister didn't stack in her mind. It still felt strange to look at her and try to understand how she came about. The girl Nora had been right there beside Jaune in protecting Ruby when Raven first appeared. "…as I would be," Raven finally finished.

Qrow massaged the back of his neck. "Leaves us a little understaffed… anybody else feel the need to get out of the house?"

Neo stepped over from Jaune and tapped Qrow in his side. He looked down at her, eyes immediately narrowing. "Hey, now… just because I believe you'll help us kill your old buddy Cinder doesn't mean I want you around some Huntsmen who don't know your deal…"

"You'd rather she stay here with Ruby?" Raven asked him.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Maybe if we knock her out or something…"

"Qrow," Jaune finally spoke again. "She's okay. She's not as bad as you think."

Neo turned back to look at him. It was preferable to glaring at Qrow, as the drunken Huntsman asked: "Oh, how'd you figure that one out?"

"She gave me some ice cream," Jaune replied. "I'm sure that wasn't easy for her to give up."

Neo couldn't quite prevent the smile that formed on her lips. It was a pretty bad joke, but it improved her mood immensely just the same.

Qrow sighed behind her. "Believe it or not, I've heard worse reasons. Fine, she can join us. Anyone else feel like tagging along?"

"If Nora's keeping an eye on Rubes, I'll come with," Yang offered. "I'm curious to see what happened to those bandits."

Qrow nodded. "Gives us enough people to hold the fort, I think… Leo told me morning outside the city walls."

"What about Oscar?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha and Weiss glanced around. The others seemed –if it was possible- even less certain what to think.

"He's…" Qrow began, casting another brief glance Pyrrha's way, "…not ready. Still just a kid, you know? Give him time."

"Well, then," Weiss noted, "If Yang's leaving us so soon, perhaps we should use this time to catch up."

"Oh, you'd better believe it!" Ruby agreed. "I sent Yang letters, but I didn't get a chance to tell you about the adventures of Team RNJR!"

"Team… what?" Weiss wondered.

Jaune discreetly moved to Nora, giving Pyrrha a wide berth. "I'll move my stuff out of the room and have her bunk with you tonight. She seems a lot more comfortable with you."

"Jaune-" Nora began, before he raised a hand.

"It's okay," he assured her. "I'll take one of the spare rooms for tonight and give her space. I'm… I'm not sure what the deal is with this other Jaune, but I don't want to put her on edge. She'll talk about it when she's ready."

"Or she could talk now and you don't have to," Nora tried.

"She's here for Ruby, not me," Jaune reminded her. "And there's no one I'd rather have protecting Ruby than her."

He shuffled off to the room he'd been sharing with Ren and Nora, collecting his stuff. Nora (and Neo, she realized) watched him disappear down the hall, the former frowning as she wondered what could lead to Pyrrha lashing out like that.

There'd be time to ask her while they were staying in the house keeping an eye on Ruby. Hopefully Nora could convince Pyrrha Jaune –this Jaune, anyway- was someone Pyrrha had fallen in love with, and even if that wasn't the case where she hailed from, still not someone she should be afraid of.

Nora did her best to be grateful to have her friend back… after a fashion. That there were kinks to be worked out was a only a mild hurdle to overcome if it meant having Pyrrha in her life again.

Neo wasn't sure how late Ruby Rose and her friends stayed up. She rested for a short time in a room by herself, and woke at some point hours later, suffering a brief bout of panic as she contemplated an unfamiliar ceiling over her head and a strange, far-too large bed beneath her. Once her mind composed itself and she recalled where she was and how she'd ended up there, Neo spent a few minutes trying to get back to sleep, to rest after a few too many long nights… but all she did was toss and turn in this stranger's room, and eventually she dragged herself up and went to a bathroom to clean herself.

She had nothing but the clothes on her back, her Scroll, and a few Lien cards. She didn't care to leave herself more vulnerable than she was already, but in the middle of the night with the dangerous people apparently asleep, Neo took the time to wash her clothes and shower, to feel clean again after a few days of travel and coming out the worse after battle with a Huntress and some of her friends. Maybe sleep would come easier when she didn't feel quite so out of sort.

Once she emerged Neo tried to sleep again: on the bed, in a chair, on the floor… no help. She went to the kitchen to find something sweet, but she'd already finished off the ice cream the previous day. Or rather, she'd let Jaune finish it.

Jaune…

Neo knew what helped her when she couldn't sleep before. She knew where she'd go when the night seemed particularly dark and cold and the world managed to frighten her.

He was staying in a room by himself, away from his teammates. Jaune didn't seem to have any more trouble sleeping than Roman had, but after the day he'd had Neo honestly expected him to be worse. Maybe he was used to being worn down. Or maybe the disappointment he'd felt after being attacked by the partner he'd thought lost had made being asleep seem a more appealing option than being awake.

Neo sat down at the foot of his bed, looking down at him. She ran her hand along his back, leaning down to listen to his heartbeat.

She'd gone weeks before she'd been courageous enough to walk into Roman's bedroom. Maybe Jaune scared her less. Maybe she was less worried he'd toss her out and leave her alone again… or maybe the fact Roman hadn't the first time she curled up beside him uninvited had simply emboldened her.

Neo nestled her head to Jaune's back, counting each beat the way most people counted sheep. He wasn't Roman… he wasn't what she'd lost, but even after Jaune found what he'd lost he hadn't simply left her. Maybe that was because of the unusual circumstances of Pyrrha's return, but Neo was content just the same.

Another man had found her lost and given her a place to stay and a bond she wanted to protect. For now, that was a far better reward than Ruby Rose's head.

For now…

When Neo woke again, she saw light filter in through the window and Qrow standing over the bed with her umbrella in hand. Jaune was still asleep… Neo wasn't sure he'd ever even realized she was there. The drunken Huntsman seemed amused, raising an eyebrow when he asked: "Pity?"

Neo glared at him, snatching her umbrella from his hand… and then immediately checking to see if she'd woken Jaune, sliding out from beside him before she risked doing so.

"I don't care what you two got up to," Qrow assured her, "I really don't. I'm just putting some faith in you to get things right today… for blondie's sake, as well as yours'."

Neo glanced down at Jaune as he slept. Qrow observed, watching her eyes. "You care. Can't say I saw that one coming."

Neo rolled her eyes. There was no way he could understand… but then again, he wasn't wrong. She wouldn't have bothered to stay in the house had it not been for Jaune. She'd have run away and planned another attack on Ruby Rose instead…

Damn this boy.

Mistral, Outside the City Walls

"Any word on who Branwen's bringing with him?" Emerald asked.

"We don't know for certain," Cinder admitted. "Presumably he has Ruby and her friends from Beacon tagging along. And her you'll capture alive."

"And the anomaly, if she's found him as well," Lie interjected. "No one kills Raven Branwen."

"And what about the others?" Mercury asked. "What do we do with the old man and whatever Huntsmen he managed to find?"

"If it's necessary," Lie allowed. "So long as you remember the objective, I'll leave you to handle the others as you see fit."

"What if Pyrrha found her way there?" Emerald asked. "Or the Schnee?"

"Pyrrha's mine," Jaune replied. "Her I want alive."

"This is gonna get complicated if we have to drag a bunch of people back with us," Mercury dryly observed.

"Only the ones our masters want," Lie assured him. "We strike quickly and capture who we need. Anyone else in our path, anyone who would deny our Queen's command… they were fools to begin with. The world is well rid of them."

"So," Yang observed as she marched alongside the others, "You gonna share where you went the past six months? Ruby and Weiss told me some interesting stuff happened to them."

Neo didn't want to give her the satisfaction. She wasn't inclined to give Yang the time of day at all, and she was already on edge after seeing Raven transform into a bird and fly over their heads. Unfortunately, with Jaune and Qrow marching in stoic silence, Yang seemed to think the best person to get a rise out of was the mute girl. She'd been just as bold the last time they crossed paths… Neo hoped Yang would've learned a lesson about taunting her after their last encounter.

But then again, Neo also hoped she'd improved since the last time. Presumably Raven and Qrow she wouldn't need to be concerned about, but Neo recalled Yang being brute strength and little else. She wasn't sure what to make of Jaune's combat prowess… the only advantage she could immediately discern from him was a higher-than-usual amount of Aura.

Still, he'd been unfortunately distant, and not at an ideal time. Neo didn't trust the other three, nor did she particularly like these erstwhile allies… but if she was stuck alone in a house with Ruby Rose she'd almost certainly be tempted to kill her. And if she was going to be out doing busywork for these people, at least she'd be out with Jaune.

Qrow was out ahead of them, periodically stopping to check his Scroll. They were getting further from civilization, stepping out to forest and hills, eventually winding up in a clearing nearly two miles from their starting point.

Yang glanced around. "Are we early?"

"A bit," Qrow confirmed, "But something tells me it wouldn't have made a difference." He put his Scroll away and reached to the hilt of Harbinger… only for a length of chain to emerge from the treeline and ensnare his wrist, dragging his arm to the dirt and away from his blade.

Neo drew her blade from her umbrella, instantly on her guard. Yang readied the gauntlet on her left arm and Jaune drew his sword, the three scouring for signs of an adversary.

"Well, isn't that interesting…"

Neo glanced over at the boy beside her. That was Jaune's voice. But he hadn't spoken: the voice came from somewhere else.

Then she saw it emerge from the woods, shining brightly like the sun far over their heads. Neo had to squint to see it, what appeared at first glance to be a mere blob of yellow-white light. As it drew nearer she saw a figure standing within it, tall and lanky, not unlike…

"No way," Yang whispered, slowly lowering her arms as Qrow continued to struggle with the chain on his wrist.

"Well now, aren't you a pretty one?" he asked. "You didn't mention she'd be here…" But then his head turned towards Jaune. "But first things first, I think."

Jaune just stared at the man standing before him. "How…?"

A second Jaune Arc drew nearer, becoming clearer within the cloud of Aura with every step he took. "I'm not sure myself. So you're still working with these losers?"

The second Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors from within its shield, his weapon unmodified –not carrying the tiara now emblazoned on Jaune's family heirloom as a new emblem-but no less imposing. "Where's your little buddy Ruby?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "And why would I tell you?"

"Heh, all right, fair enough," Jaune agreed. "Where's Raven Branwen? She doesn't belong here, you know…"

"What do you care?" Yang asked. "What do you want them for?"

"Oh, feisty," Jaune noted, grinning broadly at Yang. "I think I may like it here more than I thought…" He then turned his attention to Neo, his grin quickly evaporating. "…or maybe not."

He looked the same, but he was not the Jaune she knew. Neo would be only too happy to skewer him.

Qrow finally managed to get his wrist free and reached to his back to find his sword again, only for someone to attack him from behind, delivering some powerful feet into the small of his back. Qrow grunted and tumbled along the dirt, whirling around to find a silver-haired boy standing where he'd been, looking pleased with his handiwork. He turned his eye to the other three, smirking. "Oh, hey, Neo. You joined up with these losers?"

"Mercury!" Yang realized, eyes turning red at the sight.

"Oh, hey, blondie, ya miss me?" Mercury asked. "Be careful around this one, guys… she's the kind who'll break your heart. Or maybe your legs… she's not very choosy."

Yang leveled her left hand and fired a concussion burst at him. Mercury smirked as the attack appeared to pass right through him.

"What?" Yang gasped, before quickly realizing: "Emerald!"

The green-haired thief struck Yang from behind with her kama, ensnaring the blonde bruiser in metal chain and driving her into the dirt. The illusion she'd cast of Mercury vanished, and the real one stepped back into the fray, apparently having retreated to the tree line after landing his first strike on Qrow. Mercury went for the downed Huntsman, and Jaune moved in his path, only for Mercury to kick him aside with contemptuous ease.

The other Jaune watched his counterpart hit the dirt. "Huh. Guess someone should go back to school…"

"Ruby's not here," Emerald pointed out, struggling to hold a thrashing Yang in her chain. "What now?"

The other Jaune turned his attention to Qrow, who'd finally managed to draw Harbinger. "Kill the ones we don't need. Maybe let he girls live… I'd really like to take my time with them."

"Disgusting," Emerald spat.

Neo glanced between them. Her former allies and a less-than-likeable Jaune doppelganger… she wasn't sure where to turn her blade. Or if it'd be wiser not to bother.

"Don't just stand there!" Yang snapped at her. "Help us!"

The sensible course would be to retreat; to fall back and call for reinforcements and let Raven intercede instead. Roman would tell her to run, to survive, to fight another day. But seeing Jaune in the dirt with Mercury standing over him…

Neo'd seen one person she'd grown attached to vanish from her life already. It wasn't an experience she'd ever allow herself to repeat.

She dashed in. Mercury raised his leg, clashing his metal shin against her thin blade. "So, you really are working with the Beacon kids? I knew you were crazy, Neo… didn't know you were dumb. Cinder always thought you were clever…"

Just mentioning her name infuriated Neo. Just thinking about Cinder set her off. She withdrew and struck rapidly, one thrust after another. Mercury was fast, but he couldn't block every poke, and Neo scratched his Aura.

Jaune dragged himself up and moved beside Qrow as they faced off against his more Aura-smothered counterpart. The other Jaune moved in, clashing blades with Qrow, then immediately following up with a bash of his shield to the older Huntsman's face. Jaune tried to intercede again, only for his doppelganger to sweep one leg and take Jaune's legs out from under him, knocking him into the dirt again.

A bird flapped down from the treetops. A woman emerged mid-dive, aiming for this second Jaune battling her brother, reaching with her off-hand for her sword…

…when a flash of green moved out to meet her, a dagger aimed for her neck. Raven couldn't finish unsheathing her blade in time, and had to block the strike with armor on her shoulder, her Aura taking a wound before she could properly enter the fray.

She met his pink eyes as they descended. She took note of the scar running down his nose… a scar she gave him.

"I've been looking forward to this," the Spring Knight told her. "This time you will not escape."

"I was about to tell you the same," Raven assured him, shrugging off the hit and drawing back in midair, completing her draw and leveling her sword at her foe when she landed.

Lie observed Raven holding her sword in her left arm. "Seems you came off the worse, anomaly."

The pain in Raven's right arm reminded her how their last encounter went. "Then I suppose I owe you."

They clashed again, dashing about the clearing. Yang continued to thrash in her bindings, eventually freeing her new right hand and taking hold of the metal chain, pulling with considerable force and dragging Emerald to the ground. Without a firm grip on her kama, the weapon slipped from Emerald's hand and Yang wiggled her way out. She fired a shot from Ember Celica at the ground where Emerald fell, only to watch her attack pass through empty air and impact on the dirt.

Yang quickly whirled her fist around and fired at her back, pushing herself away, narrowly avoiding an attack from Emerald at her unguarded flank. Yang put some distance between them, but Emerald only used the opportunity to recover her weapon and compose herself. She couldn't fire at range with Qrow, Raven, and Jaune (and Neo) bunched together with her adversaries, so all Yang could do was move back to close range, even knowing her enemy could play head games.

Jaune dragged himself up again and turned his attention away from his counterpart, staggering over and dashing into Mercury's back. Neo quickly disengaged and let Jaune use some brute force in striking her foe, sending the silver-haired boy tumbling past her and into the dirt. Neo ran forward, springboarding off Jaune's back with one hand and kicking Mercury back down before he could finish dragging himself up. She turned her attention to the other Jaune, who was receiving hit after hit from Qrow's heavy longsword, but whose Aura never once seemed affected.

Neo moved in to help the older Huntsman, attacking the other Jaune at his back with rapid stab after rapid stab. Jaune joined her, slashing wildly at the Aura around him. Neo tried to coordinate with his swings, stabbing in the same vicinity to try and break the barrier.

The other Jaune ignored them, drawing in close and bashing Qrow with his skull and his fiery Aura. When Qrow fell back, momentarily stunned, the other Jaune turned to face them, reaching out and taking hold of his counterpart's throat, squeezing his neck with his bare hand.

Jaune dropped his sword and tried to scratch his doppelganger's fingers, wrenching to get free. The other Jaune merely scoffed: "Weak."

He tossed Jaune back into the dirt, the blonde hacking and coughing. He then fixed his attention on Neo, who stood ready with blade in hand. "And as for you… well, it's a shame your old buddy Roman had to go and cause so much trouble for me… I was really looking forward to punishing you for it."

He knew Roman? On his side?

On the other Remnant Roman was still alive?

The thought would have to wait. This other Jaune slashed at her. Neo barely managed to block the hit with her thin blade, nearly knocked over from the sheer force of his strike. This other Jaune pressed his advantage, each blow knocking off a bit of Neo's Aura. She tried to get to her feet and retreat, she used her Semblance to create an illusion… but this second Jaune instantly shattered it with just a touch of his Aura, discovering Neo again.

Jaune was lifting up at his doppelganger's back. If she could just hold out for a few more seconds…

His sword struck again. She felt her Aura shatter, dissipating along the surface of her body. Jaune rushed towards his counterpart's back, hoping to at least knock him off-balance…

He was rushing to help her now even though he was clearly outmatched. He was going to help her get revenge on Cinder.

He was about to…

Neo felt something cold. She tasted metal in the back of her mouth.

She looked down at the sword in her midsection, just above her hip. She was having some trouble breathing…

Jaune –the other Jaune, the Jaune covered in blinding Aura- leaned in close to whisper to her: "Thanks. I really needed that."

She felt him pull his blade back. Blood splattered on her coat.

Jaune skidded to a halt, unable to carry out his surprise attack. He just watched as Neo looked down at the bloody hole left in her stomach, reaching a trembling hand towards the wound.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the blonde she'd fought on the train, looking on in shock... hadn't Neo been fighting for Roman then? How odd it was they ended up cooperating in this fight. How strange life was to lead them to this moment.

Survive, kid.

Roman… she still owed him revenge… still owed him for saving her life…

Jaune... she had to keep him safe now, he was outmatched here, he needed her help.

Still had to…

Neo fell back, lying still in the dirt.