So, uh, remember that idea I mentioned last chapter as a between-Volume filler?

Yeah, screw that idea (or at least put it on the shelf) cause I got an even better one. I even began writing it, which accounts for part of my 'absence.'

Reviews!

DaToskin: Don't worry… I guarantee the feral Cole situation will be resolved within the next 1-2 chapters…

rocketmce: I consider 'hell' to be the 'cleanest' swear word, c*** taking fourth place.

mister nope: Nuh uh uh! 'To spaaace!', remember?

Bomberguy789: Yep… the timeline is messed with almost beyond recognition, but Cinder's a clever woman… she'll adapt to changing conditions. Whether Ozpin and his team can stay two steps ahead is the question.

XIII=====Chapter 13: Kill and Observe=====XIII

Cinder tapped her fingers lightly on the tabletop, mentally reviewing the mission report from Adam's new operative, brought fresh from Menagerie. A blow against Beacon, one of the most heavily-guarded locations in Vale—if not the world—would refresh the terror and unrest that had been somewhat alleviated by the police raids against the White Fang bases.

Granted, security as a whole had been more relaxed due to the ball… but that raised another question. Why was security tighter than normal around the CCT tower specifically that night? Even disregarding the two huntsmen who'd run off after the explosion, there were more guards than normal, and General Ironwood himself was inside the CCT's central communications room.

Something wasn't quite adding up. There should have not been as much security around the CCT as there was. Sure, it was important, but surely it wouldn't have earned that much attention on this night only. Something had made them up security that night, but for the life of her Cinder couldn't figure out what. The only explanation was a spy. She'd already grilled—almost literally—the pair of guards who had been posted outside the room where she'd explained her plot to Adam. Cinder's beowolf had detected no hint of anything to suggest betrayal. The room was checked for bugs, and she knew her closest associates were infallible, so unless Adam had developed a sudden liking towards humans, there was no reasonable explanation.

Cinder would consider it in more detail later. She motioned to a nearby guard. "Bring them in, then leave us." The guard nodded, rushing out to notify Cinder's false team to come in. Emerald, Neo, Ilia, and Mercury entered the room, the faunus shooting Cinder—and the beowolf 'sleeping' on the ground behind her—an untrusting glare.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Mercury asked, pulling up a chair and leaning back. Emerald snorted in disdain as Mercury rested his feet on the tabletop.

"We will begin our infiltration of Beacon."

I===I

"Penny!" Ruby yelled.

The android turned around to be greeted with an attempt at a tackle-hug. Of course, her greater weight was able to negate Ruby's momentum, but she still stumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Penny said when she recovered, "I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else." *hic*

Her statement was contradicted by the telltale hiccup.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "C'mon Penny, it's just me, Ruby!"

"I'm sorry, but I really must—" She was interrupted as Ruby grabbed Penny's arm and dragged her away from the hubbub surrounding them. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Penny asked, yet she did not resist.

Ruby dragged Penny into an alleyway. She had been shopping for some more dust bullets when she spotted Penny on the streets of Vale. Yang had gone on to the store, agreeing to let Ruby reunite with her friend.

Seeing they were alone, Penny asked, "Friend Ruby, what did you wish to discuss?"

"Penny, I know."

"Know what?" Penny asked.

"That you're a robot."

Penny's eyes widened. "W—what?" She asked quickly. "What are you talking about? I'm not a robot!" *hic* "That would be ridiculous!"

Ruby didn't need to be a grimm to tell Penny was close to panicking.

"Don't worry, It's fine! I'm still your friend!"

"You promise, Ruby?" Penny asked, sounding desperate.

"Yes, of course! Just because you're made of nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts doesn't make you any less of a person! Cole could tell you had a soul, and Grimm senses are near infallible! You're a real person, Penny!"

Penny had calmed down somewhat. "You're… taking this surprisingly well. But… how did you find out?"

"Cole," Ruby replied. "You had a soul, but something wasn't quite right about you. It only took a few more clues—like how heavy you are—and some connecting-the-dots to figure it out."

"Oh… I have some unfortunate news for you," Penny replied sadly.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ruby asked, suddenly worried.

"General Ironwood has issued the order that… well, Cole Xiao Long is now a kill-on-sight target."

I===I

"And when were you going to tell us?" Yang demanded.

"When it became an issue," Ozpin replied coolly.

"How is it not an issue already?!"

"Tell me, Ms. Xiao Long, have there been any sightings of your brother lately?"

"No?"

"And have the Atlesians made any active attempt to find him?"

"…No…?"

"Then I do not see how it is a problem at the moment. And likely you would not be nearly as worried about him—and therefore less likely to make brash decisions—had you not known."

Ozpin sighed, putting down his cup. "You must understand, Ironwood has been put in a difficult position. As head of security for the Vytal Tournament, he must ensure the safety of everyone here. He was denied a valuable resource when the CCT was hacked. In addition, the citizens of Vale, who were barely tolerant of a beowolf in their midst to begin with, are now calling for blood, having seen said beowolf at the raid against the White Fang, fighting against the huntsmen present. And who is Ironwood to ignore the will of the very people he is protecting?"

Yang still wasn't satisfied. "Then tell them! Tell them that he's being controlled, that that's not him!"

"Ignoring the challenge of having scared civilians believe us, what do you propose we tell them? That the Grimm have a Queen that holds untold power over the Grimm? That she has enlisted humans to do Grimm's work? There would be panic in the streets, and you know what panic brings."

Yang scowled, but conceded that Ozpin made a valid point.

"We must wait until your brother reveals himself or is revealed before we make our move regarding him." [*]

I===I

"Actually, I'd like to fight her, please."

Pyrrha looked, suspicious, towards the person who had requested a duel with her. Glynda shared her sentiment. "I'm afraid that Ms. Nikos has just finished a spar, please choose another opponent, Mr…"

"Stone," the student replied. "Silver Stone." [**]

Pyrrha had actually never encountered Mercury or Emerald, but she was willing to bet that the challenging student and the girl sitting next to him were Cinder's cronies.

Granted, they didn't look like they had been described as by team RWBY, but that's what disguises were about.

"C'mon, she's the invincible girl! Surely she can fight one more person!"

"No, Mr. Stone. Choose someone else or I'll choose for you."

'Silver' grumbled, but said nothing.

"Very well," Glynda's eye held an uncharacteristic mischievous glint, "Your opponent will be Ms. Valkyrie."

"All right!" Nora rose giddily, eager to rain destruction upon her opponent. Even moreso knowing what he was planning.

The two students exited the locker room with their weapons. Nora with her beloved hammer, of course, and 'Silver' wearing a pair of boots and gauntlets. As far as Nora could tell, the armored gloves had no ranged weaponry, and were solely for defense.

Even so, Nora could faintly sense the electricity running through Mercury's legs. Either his boots were made of/infused with lightning dust, or he had bionic legs. That settled it for Nora. She gripped her hammer tightly as Glynda finished connecting their scrolls' aura sensors to the main screen.

"Ready?… Begin."

Nora instantly rushed forward, intending on breaking some legs.

Best of all, it was OK to do so cause his could be replaced!

Mercury (because it was most certainly him) ducked under Nora's swing, pushing forward to land a punch. Nora took the blow in stride, swinging her weapon around and waist level, causing Mercury to leap back. He dodged her next few swings with relative ease, leaping into the air as Nora smashed the ground for an area-of-effect attack. However, the grenade blast into the ground sent the back of the hammer rocketing up towards Mercury. He attempted to twist out of the way, firing bullets from his boots (definitely Mercury) in an attempt to gain momentum. The hammer was too fast, and it hit him directly in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him.

Nora continued the backwards swing, driving Mercury into the ground. With two hits, Mercury was already in the yellow. Mercury fired his boot's guns—still free even with the hammer pinning him to the ground—towards Nora. She dodged away, taking her hammer with her. Mercury got up and retreated to the edge of the fighting platform, firing repeatedly at Nora, but positioning of the hammerhead allowed her to deflect or block some of the blasts.

Nora charged him again him again, but Mercury leapt over her head and used his greaves to launch himself away from the crushing attack. He once again moved opposite of Nora, up to the arena's edge, shooting the whole time.

"Heeeey!" Nora whined. "Get back over here!"

"I'll keep my distance, thanks," Mercury replied.

Nora shrugged, collapsing Magnhild. "Suit yourself!"

I===I

Mercury muttered very unkind things about Nora as he tried to wash the soot out of his outfit.

I===I

Classes were canceled the last week before the Vytal Festival so that students could train. Pyrrha and Ren decided to use this opportunity to try to get friendly with the enemy. All the easier to keep an eye on them that way.

"Hello!" Pyrrha said, sitting down across from Emerald (who was now blue-themed) at a lunch table.

"Oh, uh, hi," Emerald responded semi-hesitantly.

"My name's Pyrrha," Pyrrha said, maintaining her smile.

"Ren." Ren said simply, sitting down next to Pyrrha.

"I'm Lapis, member of team I-L-N-S, team 'Illuminates.'" Emerald replied. "And this is my partner Silver."

"Sup," Mercury said, wolfing down some pizza slices.

"So, what school are you from?" Pyrrha asked politely.

"Haven Academy," Emerald replied easily. "You guys students here?"

"Yes," Ren answered. "I assume you will be competing in the tournament?"

"Of course! Though, if I'd known I'd be fighting the 'Invincible Pyrrha Nikos'…well, I'm not sure how much of a chance I'll have."

Pyrrha looked toward Mercury. "You wished to spar with me during class Friday, right Silver?"

Mercury looked up from his pizza. "Yeah. I mean, who wouldn't want a go at the Invincible Girl?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Well, your partner, for starters."

O=O

Yang felt the sudden, inexplicable urge to blow an airhorn.

O=O

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. You open for a spar latter, Nikos?"

Pyrrha nodded. "That sounds grand."

I===I

Mercury grumbled as he lay in one of their dorm room beds. Unless her semblance was passive, Pyrrha hadn't even used it against him! He got his a**[+] handed to him with no intell to show for it!

In reality, Pyrrha had used her semblance freely on herself, to enhance blows and dodging ability, but not on Mercury at all.

I===I

"Does it seem to you like they're stalking us?" Emerald asked her partner.

Mercury shrugged. "Pfft, I don't know. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Maybe they're overly friendly. Or maybe the Ren guy's into you." He teased with a suggestive wink.

"Eww, no!" Emerald replied, shoving Mercury, who just laughed in response.

"Seriously though," Emerald replied, "They were kinda insistent on coming with us."

"I just think they're overly friendly," Mercury said. "They couldn't know about our plans."

Emerald glanced over her shoulder, just in case. Nothing. "Yeah, maybe you're right, I'm just being paranoid…"

I===I

Team ILMN avoided RWBY like they had plague, especially once Neo and Ilia joined them. Sure, they all had disguises, but even so, they couldn't be too careful. Although the constant want of one of Team JNPR made it difficult at times to avoid RWBY, or to simply discuss plans of the future. And when they could discuss or call Cinder, they couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, despite Neo being on vigilant lookout. Despite their interaction, none of JNPR let leak the secret to Pyrrha's 'invincibility.'

I===I

Teams RWBY and JNPR, being among the highest-performing in their year, easily made it through the qualifiers and preliminaries, accounting for four out of six days of fighting. Cinder sat alone, aside from the ever-present beowolf, in her private quarters at the remaining White Fang base. She watched the ongoing match between teams RWBY and ABRN.

While Coal held no interest towards the onscreen proceedings, Cole found himself cheering each time RWBY landed a good blow. Of course, unless they really messed up, Cole already knew the eventual outcome. And indeed, a final blow from Yang finished off the round.

Honestly, he had resigned himself to the fact that the timeline was mutated almost beyond comprehension. He hoped that the foreknowledge and planning ability of Ozpin and crew would be enough to counter Cinder's adjusted plans. He had expected destruction, to be sure… but this… RWBY was in for a bumpy ride.

I===I===I

[*] This section accounted for the majority of the delay.

[**] So creative, Mercury.

[+] Wasn't sure whether this was censor-worthy or not :P

I===I

Yeah… I got nothing. Except that either the next chap or the one after will be super-quick to come out, cause I got it already partially-written.

—dragoncraftertex