"So you took my advice, after all. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to – and since I hadn't heard a word about you for two months…"

"Well, it wasn't bad advice. It almost got me killed, sure, but-"

"To be fair to myself, you carried it out most dangerously. I had nothing to do with that."

"But – it got me what I wanted. Merlot is locked up. My family and friends are safe. And… it was fun to kick some supervillain butt after so long. So, thank you, I guess."

Cinder crossed one leg over the other and leant back on her chair, her lips parting with her signature smirk. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, but otherwise kept her exasperation to a minimum. There was little harm in letting Cinder have her little moment of fun, she supposed.

"You are very much welcome," Cinder said. "And I thank you for putting your reservations about me aside, if only momentarily. It might have been for the greater good, but you never can disregard the significance of a first step."

"If you think I think you're not a bad guy anymore, you're wrong," Ruby said. "You're also very silly. You know I'm not that dumb."

"I do know… Which is why I'm delighted you came to talk to me again anyway."

Cinder's face lost its levity as she stared at Ruby. Whatever was going on inside her head, Ruby couldn't tell, and as much as that scared her, it was also very intriguing.

"I used to think you were naïve. I said so when we first met. You still are, to an extent… but you've grown a lot since then," Cinder said. "I could almost think you intend to change me to your side. To help me turn over a new leaf…" Her eyes straightened. "But that's not it. So why are you here?"

Ruby looked at her obviously. "You said before that you were bored." She mirrored Cinder in crossing her legs and leaning back, then shrugged. "I'm a hero. I can't ignore people in despair, even if they are evil."

Cinder stared at her, her feelings unclear – except that she was caught off-guard, and that alone almost had Ruby jumping out of her chair in petty triumph.

"Hmm. I see." Cinder's eyes sparked with understanding. "What a shining example of humanity you are. I almost forget how much I despise you."

Ruby smirked. "So, what do you wanna talk about today?"

Glynda walked out the back of her jet and marched straight onward, her powerful steps and the steel case under her arm drawing the attention of the agents out in the Beaconship. She didn't say a thing to any of them, but they all diverted their stares before long, knowing better than to pry into the Sub-Director's business.

She entered the Command Room in record time, stopping briefly after the entrance to stare at the Director. Catching sight of her, Ozpin stopped talking to an agent and gestured for everyone to leave. The room was empty in less than a minute, except for the two of them.

Glynda put the case down on the strategy table and opened its latches.

"I assume it wasn't just a freak accident, then," the Director mused.

Glynda shot him a look that served better as an answer than any words. "The entire facility's surveillance system went down at once. It stayed so for thirty-seven minutes. All attempts at restoring it were met with failure. Eventually, it came back on its own."

"On its own," Ozpin repeated, as if he didn't entirely agree with that assessment. "Nothing was stolen?"

"As far as we know," Glynda said. She opened the case, revealing a holographic projector, which she turned on. The projection showed a barren white room, and a lone frazzled figure pacing restlessly. "This was Merlot's cell moments before the event. Recovering the footage was no easy task."

She pressed a button, speeding up the footage. It soon turned into a static mess. When it returned to normal, nothing was changed about the room – except Merlot, curled up on the floor without a trace of movement.

"He has been unresponsive to any sort of contact since then, but the wardens have reported occasional shouts from his cell at night. Everything points to him being terrified of something – or someone," Glynda said. "The other prisoners haven't shown any signs of sharing his condition."

"The footage," Ozpin said. "I didn't imagine those red flashes, did I?"

"I was going to point them out next," Glynda said, unimpressed by his quick grasping of the situation. She knew him too well. "You already know what they mean, don't you?"

"Yes. This was a warning."

"As I thought." Glynda stepped back and took out her Scroll. "I will contact Qrow and start the necessary preparations. He'll refuse to assist, but I will make it clear I am not making requests."

"Remarkable initiative, Glynda, but none of that will be necessary," Ozpin said. "We have nothing to worry about. The warning wasn't meant for us."

Glynda crossed her arms, demanding an explanation. Ozpin nodded at the case, and the recording of the unmoving Merlot.

"He hurt a man he should not have," Ozpin said. "Frankly, he is lucky to have survived the ordeal."

He closed the case and handed it over to Glynda.

"Delete the footage, then relocate Merlot. Someplace isolated and quiet where he can clear his head."

Glynda stared incredulously at Ozpin. If Merlot was to be taken anywhere, she would think it to be a more secure location, not the contrary. But she wasn't the Director – Ozpin was, and she trusted him to know what he was doing. With a curt nod, she put the case under her arm and walked away.

Alone in the Command Room, Ozpin took his cane in both hands and stared at it for a moment, then nodded assuredly to himself and called everyone back into the room.

"For the love of God, Jaune, put that fire out! And that cloth – OH MY GOD get that cloth away from the fire!"

"I can't put it out! You do it, you're the one that's fireproof!"

"You started the fire!"

"Because you told me to cook! Pyrrha, help me out here!"

"He does have a point, Yang. You knew the risks ahead of time…"

"See? Pyrrha gets it!"

"Oh, shut up! I just wanted the place to be nice when Ruby moved in. Now look at all of this! It's a miracle we're all still alive at this point!"

"If you cared so much, you should have cooked yourself and left me to make the decorations."

"Oh, yeah, and then we'd have the place looking like a nerd convention."

"Wouldn't Ruby like that?"

"Is she your sister now, Pyrrha?"

"Right. Sorry."

"I'd like to point out that Pyrrha did all her tasks flawlessly."

"Thank you!"

"Look. Okay. Let's all calm down. If the three of us work together, we can fix everything before Ruby-"

"Hey guys, I'm – woah!"

Ruby got out the elevator with her luggage in tow. She looked at the place, eyes widening as she took in the raging fires, collapsed furniture, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling by a thread.

"Did… did you do all this for me?"

Yang and Jaune looked at each other, nodded, and pulled Pyrrha to stand between them and Ruby.

"…Yes?" Pyrrha answered tentatively. "Welcome home…"

The chandelier fell from the ceiling, crashing on the table between them.

Ruby blinked a couple times, then threw her arms up and shouted, "Awesome!"

THINGS WILL GO VERY WRONG

(OR RIGHT)

IN

TALES FROM THE HUNT TOWER