Author's Note: Nothing of note.

Present

(Qrow's POV)

"If you keep staring, you'll burn holes…" Jaune taunted me quietly, referencing the silent stare I had been observing him with for a few minutes now.

I wasn't trying to make him sweat it out—he had already proven that wouldn't work—but instead I was truly lost in my thoughts.

Parts of this can make sense, given that there is one crucial piece of info that we're missing. What would make sense is that Jaune had been offered something by Cinder, or possibly even Salem herself. Was the kid foolish enough to believe anyone who offered to give him back the Nikos girl in exchange for his loyalty? I doubt that. He figured out that I had been following Ruby as bait for Salem's minions. He clearly has a good head on his shoulders, or at least good instincts, so he wouldn't fall for something so easy.

Which is a shame, because that would have made sense. A reward big enough to buy his loyalty could explain away everything. Well, not everything.

It was Ruby's sudden insistence to lie to me on Jaune's behalf that really muddied the waters. Whatever Jaune had said to her, had it changed her mind? Given her something to consider? What sort of motivation would turn Jaune against us that would also give Ruby pause? The only motivation for Jaune I can think of would have been Pyrrha, but aside from him not being likely to fall for false promises, there isn't any way that Ruby would also fall for it.

"What did she offer you?" I asked in a hushed tone, almost hoping that he wouldn't hear it. I was really musing more out loud than I was asking him a question.

"Isn't it obvious?" He answered after a long sigh.

The only answers that make sense aren't true.

"What am I, Qrow?" Jaune asked quietly. He seemed…reserved. And tired.

If he's going out of his way to talk, then something must have changed. And the only thing that's been different for him was Ruby's visit.

"An asshole…" I responded flatly. "And an idiot."

"Okay…what else?" He responded with an irritated frown.

A traitor, a scoundrel, a fiend, an enemy.

With a sigh, Jaune changed his question.

"Do you believe that our weapons reflect who we are?"

"No, I don't." I answered after only a moment of consideration. "Be Ruby has absolutely nothing in common with a heavy scythe or a sniper rifle. Our weapons are the best compliments to ourselves."

Jaune appeared to mull over my answer for a few moments. He's trying to tell me something, without actually telling it to me. It could be that he's playing me, or…

"Okay, so the metaphor doesn't work for everyone. It does for me, though."

…or he could be trying to tell me something that he's supposed to keep from me.

"What, plain? Ineffective? Antiquated?" I answered back sarcastically, trying to goad him into correcting me and therefore get him to keep talking.

"Other than antiquated, sure. After some time to think, I've decided that I am my shield."

"Do tell…"

"My only purpose is to make sure my sword has the best chances to be effective. My first function is as a sheath, where my only benefit is protecting my sword with myself."

"And weighing more than is necessary for a sheath…"

"And being a burden, yes. But when a fight comes, I become a shield. My entire purpose is to soak up blows so that my sword doesn't have to. This is my job until I break."

An analogy could be made, but not a pretty one.

"Sure, I can be used as a weapon, but I'm more of a last resort. Something you only use if your attackers aren't expecting it. Otherwise I'm very ineffective."

That part makes sense.

"So I take blows and take blows and take blows, until finally the sword finds an opening and strikes them down. And then?"

"And then you go back to being a sheath…" I answered.

"And then I go back to being a sheath. It's a thankless job, but a necessary one. I make the sword better."

The question that he was begging started to become obvious. If he is the shield, who is the sword that he sacrifices himself for?

His friends.

"The thing about a shield is that you never get any credit. No one really notices the shield until it breaks and things go…wrong. Qrow, I am a broken shield."

His meaning was obvious, if a little heavy handed. It wasn't something that was unexpected: he still blames himself for Pyrrha's death.

"A broken shield protects nothing. It's just a burden that needs to be tossed aside. It means that it wasn't strong enough."

He set his jaw, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I am not going to be broken any longer."

Past

(Salem's POV)

"Bring him in and…let him keep his weapons. It's not as if he poses any threat alone." I ordered. Mercury nodded—more so to break off eye-contact as quickly as possible than anything else—and walked out of the room to fetch our guest.

It surely was an interesting development, if nothing else. This boy—a failure with a low ceiling and bland future, as Cinder's intelligence had read—had confirmed Ozpin was alive. And that wasn't even his bargaining chip; he used that just to get a meeting. He had something else on his mind, something else he thought he could offer me, and he was coming to see what he could get to trade for it.

The doors opened again as Mercury lead in a tall blond boy. To my left, Cinder watched him suspiciously, while to my right Tyrian cut his eyes and made no attempt to hide his anger. He must remind him of the fight that lost his tail. How petty.

"Jaune Arc. I'm told you had news for me…"

The boy took his time, his eyes nervously eyeing the figures around the room as Mercury made his was to stand behind Cinder. His fingers flexed nervously, as if he was itching place them on the hilt of his sword. He's nervous, but he is doing a marvelous job at managing it. That either speaks to confidence, or he is simply too foolish to know just how afraid he should be. And keeping in mind what Cinder did to his partner and what Tyrian did to his whole group, he has reason to fear those two for certain. And all he knows about me is that they answer to me.

He should be shaking in his boots.

"Uh…yes. The thing about Ozpin?" His words stumbled out.

"Yes." I answered, leaning forward slightly while maintaining a stare into his eyes that normally makes even my most loyal supporters squirm.

He tried to subtly take a breath to steady himself.

"He didn't die, but he didn't…completely survive, either."

Cinder frowned and cut her eyes at the boy, feigning that she didn't believe his story. Because if she did, then she would have to admit that she failed.

"Go on." I answered, maintaining my stare.

The boy shifted his eyes away from mine and towards Cinder. Coming from any of my servants, breaking away from my stare would be an insult that I would not have taken kindly to. Coming from the boy, it was not something I was yet prepared to punish. Besides, his reaction to Cinder was far too interesting.

When he saw the look Cinder had shot at him, he didn't cower away like he should have. After all, an angry Fall Maiden is not something to be taken lightly, especially to someone of this boy's combat skill. But her glare did nothing but inspire confidence in the boy, as once he realized he had gained her ire he set his jaw and stood up a little straighter.

He was taunting her. This boy, who knew firsthand the power and severity of Cinder's wrath, was inspired to see that she was angry with him. He was proud that he had earned her ire. It inspired him and gave him more confidence.

Isn't that interesting?

"Ozpin has... Well, his soul has found a…a new host, I guess."

When he received no answer, he continued.

"He no longer has a body, but his…ghost can speak to a young boy. Qrow has hidden the boy somewhere."

"And how do you know this?" Tyrian spat out, still pouting over the reminder of his lost tail.

Although the boy missed it, the glare that I shot Tyrian for speaking out of turn nearly melted the faunus. His stupid pout morphed into fear and shame. As it should.

"I…uh…I might have been spying on Qrow at the time. I was kinda angry."

"And why, my dear child, had Branwen earned your distrust?" I asked.

"Well. You see… It was how he used Ru—his niece—as bait." The boy answered nervously.

"Ruby Rose. I know the girl. How did he use her as bait, and why did this upset you?" I asked probingly.

"He…uh, he followed Ruby and us. He was using my friends and I as bait for…" The boy trailed off as his eyes nervously shifted to Tyrian.

Ah. I had already suspected that Tyrian had fallen into Qrow's trap, but as I looked towards the man he slunk away from my gaze out of shame.

"And you didn't appreciate him putting you in danger?" I asked, not revealing my actual suspicions but instead baiting him to correct me and confirm them.

"I was angry that he would risk his own niece and didn't trust him. That's why I was eavesdropping on him when he found Ozpin."

As I suspected. His priorities begin with those closest to him.

"But that is not why you are here. What is it that has driven you to me?"

He paused again, though this time to collect his words.

"There are a lot of strange things I've been hearing about recently. Maidens, Silver Eyes, Robot Girls…so you would understand that when I, uh…found access to some very old books, I started to read through them.

"One of those books had some…interesting accounts of the Maidens and their accomplishments."

He paused to take a breath and think through what he would say next. I am intrigued to say the least.

"There were eye witness accounts of harvests that replenished several times over, and stories of soldiers on boats that were suddenly frozen in the water. The most interesting one was one hidden between the other feats. There was a story of a man that was dying a painful death who was put out of his misery by a Maiden. While dark, it was a nice heartwarming piece about the mercy of a Maiden. She…incinerated the man. There were multiple accounts of that. Of how he turned to ash. Of how he glowed as she killed him."

He stopped speaking and intentionally stared at Cinder now. His gaze was much more intense than I had expected him capable of.

"Much later, there was another account by one of the same people. It told of how, years later, they ran into that man again. The one who had died at the Maiden's hands."

From the context of his story, I knew what he wanted. But what was interesting to me was that he seemed to believe that Cinder had done this same thing to his partner. He was so confident, in fact, that I began to consider whether Cinder had failed to tell me of this.

And the look on her face—her tare between glaring at the boy and cowering from me—told me that the boy was not wrong.

"State what it is you want from me." I commanded.

"I want Pyrrha Nikos resurrected by Cinder and returned to me."

The boy is bold, I'll give him that much.

"And in return for such a gift?"

"I'm negotiable." He answered simply.

A small laughed found its way out of my lips. The boy fights his way through some of my more talented pawns and gives up information that is detrimental to Ozpin—literally betraying the man—to stand before me and ask for me to return the dead to him, and he came without anything left to offer. It was a laughable, and I likely would have ended negotiations then and there if it wasn't for one thing: he was an Arc.

Sure, he was an offshoot of an offshoot of the Arc line, but his very existence was an insult to me. I had gone to great lengths to cull that blood line. The Arc line paid dearly for the heroics of its past, and though it wasn't necessary I had spent a lot of resources to ensure that it was gone. Any chance that his name was a coincidence was quelled by Tyrian, who had seen the boy's shield and the crest it held.

So some small faucet of the Arc line had survived, then, despite my efforts. This child's very existence was an insult to me. I have no doubt that was the sole reason Ozpin let him into Beacon. He may not have been ready, but Ozpin would be damned before he missed a chance to through a failure of mine in my face. He's smug like that.

And now he stands before me, offering to betray Ozpin and assist me. A delicious irony and an opportunity that I do not intend to let escape me.

"Ozpin."

"Qrow has him hidden away. There's nothing I could do to help."

"Qrow then."

"What do you think I can do to the guy? I don't even have a tail to get chopped off. Only way to Qrow is through Ruby."

Over to the side, Tyrian stirred with anger again. Cinder's glare lightened slightly as she flashed Tyrian a small smirk.

"Ruby."

"All I could do to Ruby is lure her into a trap for you. And really, you don't need my help to do that. That's not worth the trade for you."

He turned down that offer for my benefit? Sure, that's the reason. Most likely, he wasn't willing to harm his friend, but in the end, it didn't matter. He did bring up a valid point.

During the silence, I watched the boy stare absently into the table, the gears in his head turning at a furious pace. I decided to wait and see what he came up with, largely because anything I said looked as if it would not make it to him.

"What if I could get rid of General Ironwood?" The boy asked

"And what good would it do me to change the leadership of Atlas's forces?"

"Well, Atlas and Mistral have a shaky alliance as it is. A power vacuum at the top of the largest fleet in Remnant has got to make a bad situation worse, right? Not to mention the potential infighting that would weaken Atlas."

A blow to Atlas like this could make our next moves against Mistral easier to perform and potentially cause greater damage, not that this boy needs to know when our next strike is. On its own, a deal such as this might be acceptable—favorable, even. But for all of the trouble this boy has caused and the blatant disrespect that he has unwittingly shown me? He will have to pay extra.

"Jaune Arc. I hope you realize the gravity of the situation you are in. You are here as my guest and stand before my table. I have afforded you much more leniency than I have to anyone in a very long time. You will have to do better than just one offering."

The boy shrunk back—as he should—but didn't dare to break away from my gaze.

"I could…sneak someone onto an Atlas ship. From there you can get whatever you need. Hack into their files or sabotage the engines… We might even bring the whole thing down."

I set silence fill the air again. If it could be pulled off, then this would be an unexpected boon that would bolster our already thorough plans for Mistral. It would also feel very, very nice to use an Arc against Ozpin for a change. In a battle as old as ours, irony is a very precious commodity.

"Can you deliver your end?" I asked sternly, not allowing the boy to break from my gaze.

"I thi—Yes. I can sneak Mercury in as my "prisoner" and in the confusion of the sabotage I can take out Ironwood."

"Then you have a deal."

I turned my head to my side towards Mercury and nodded slightly. Without a word, he stepped forward to show the boy the way out the door, where he would again be knocked unconscious and smuggled back to Mistral.

"My Queen, may I ask a needless question?"

With a huff on annoyance, I turned to the faunus who address me.

"I'll permit it."

"We are going to go back on this deal, aren't we?"

Past

(Jaune's POV)

As the doors shut behind me, I finally released the tension in my shoulders that had almost caused me to cramp up. I did it. I had a goal now. A final objective to complete. A clear end in sight.

And of all the prices she could have asked, I can't complain on what we settled on. I was really scared that she was going to make me go after Ruby. Since that Tyrian guy had been trying to capture Ruby, that means that I would have had to do the same. In all honesty, it would probably be easier to kill Ruby than capture her. Capturing her involves both beating her and being able to hold back. All that is needed to kill her is to hold nothing back and fight unfairly. I can always bring a bomb that can kill; it's a lot harder to get a bomb that knocks you out.

I hadn't taken two steps since the door closed before I realized something was wrong with my legs. Mainly, they stopped working, and I realized my head was getting fuzzy.

"He fainted…?" Mercury asked himself bemused as I crumpled to the floor. "Well shit, I guess I don't have to knock him out now."

.

..

.

When I finally woke up, I was in a somewhat dark room that was shaking and rattling.

"Where am I?" I grumbled to no one in particular.

"A train headed back to Mistral." Came a voice from somewhere to the side that promptly made my heart skip a beat. "And if you try to look out the window to see how you got here, then I'll knock you out again."

It was Mercury's voice.

"A train?"

"Yup. Last time you were unconscious. Also, this is the last train. We've switched a few times, so don't think this gives you any info on where we just were."

Mercury walked over and handed me a bottle of something. As my eyes finished adjusting to the lighting, I read the label.

"Vodka? I'm flattered, but I don't think getting me drunk is the best way to get into my pants…"

"Fuck you. That's your alibi. Now drink up." Mercury walked back to his own seat on a cargo crate and reached into the box that I presume the vodka came from. His hand reemerged with another bottle of alcohol and he poured himself a shot.

"Whiskey? Why do I get stuck with the vodka?" I whined, mostly for the sake of whining. Mercury promptly flipped me off.

"So why are we getting drunk?"

"You are getting drunk. I am drinking."

"Okay, fine. Why am I getting drunk?" I clarified.

"What are you, retarded? That's your alibi for being gone for two days. We'll give you back your phone and turn it on at a bar way out of the way in Mistral, and we'll pay off the bartender to say that you were there the whole time getting smashed alone like some loser. The bit will work better if you wake up from a hangover when they find you. So start drinking."

I looked down at the shot I poured myself. I really don't want to go back through that, and I really really don't want to have to explain to my team that I went on a two-day bender.

But it beats the hell out of telling them I was making a deal with the devil.

I downed the shot.