Four months ago, Whitley Schnee had lived in a mansion. He had been dressed in the finest clothes lien could buy and could call for a full nine course meal on a whim. He had Servants to fluff his pillows, polish his shoes, and massage his feet. He had been the envy of every man, woman, and child in Atlas and across all of Remnant.

Now, he was trapped in a freezing cell barely larger than his old bed. His once finely pressed suit was now a filthy rag after months without cleaning, and he only ate when that brute Hazel remembered to come and feed him (though he learned not to complain when he learned that the man came of his own accord. The Grimm woman had given no orders for him to be fed). He slept on the black dirt floor of his prison, the only faint light coming from a small barred window open to the red sky above.

That is when a random Grimm wasn't trying to break through it and devour him whole.

Suffice to say, Whitley was sure he was in hell. His frame was thin, it hurt to stand or walk, and most days he woke up only to pray for sleep to return as soon as possible. At least his nightmares were bearable.

For the life of him though, he couldn't figure out what he was doing there. The Grimm woman had wanted to talk to Weiss, but that shouldn't have taken… however long it had taken. Whitley had lost count the torture had gone on so long.

What did the demon queen want with him and his father? She had his sister, so why didn't she let them just go home. She wasn't even doing anything with them for gods' sake!

Though, that led his thoughts to darker places. If it was already so terrible for him, what agony must Weiss be suffering? What secrets did she know that could possibly make drive the Grimm woman to send Hazel and the others to kidnap them all? And how strong must Weiss have become to still be keeping them from her.

Whitley misjudged his sister. To have held off their captor's torments for so long, and she must have held out if they hadn't all been killed yet, spoke of incredible fortitude and will. Perhaps she did learn something of value at Beacon. Maybe he was too harsh on her. She had sought to escape father just as he had, she simply chose the most readily available method. There was no shame in that.

If they got out of this hell, he would see to it that she received a share of the company. Her character demanded that much.

At that moment, the door was flung open. Whitley weakly pushed himself up into a sitting position against the wall. Hazel walked through the entrance, though unfortunately without a fresh meal.

The giant man looked over Whitley impassively. "Time to get up, boy" he stated. "The Queen has summoned you."

The Schnee heir pawed his hands up the wall until he was standing. When he wavered, Hazel came over and allowed the boy to lean on his arm. Whitley nodded his thanks, though the stoic man did not acknowledge it, and the two made their way out of the cell.

The flickering torchlight of the halls seemed much brighter to Whitley after months in darkness. He shielded his eyes as best he could as Hazel helped him limp along through the black castle.

"What does she need me for?" he inquired to his escort.

"A test" the brute stated simply.

Whitley sighed. That didn't seem ominous at all.

"Unhand me!" a hoarse voice shouted. "Unhand me this instant!"

Around the corner, Jacques Schnee came into sight, suspended between the tentacles of two Seer Grimm. His eyes were sunken, and his once neatly trimmed mustache had grown long and gray. His muscles looked as shriveled and weak as Whitley's felt, his suit now a size too big for his body. Nevertheless, he thrashed about in his captors' grasp, fire still blazing in his eyes. Let none say that he lacked wrath at his darkest hour.

Of course, lacking wrath had never been his problem.

"You think you can break me, you cretins! I've been slaughtering monsters like you since my days in the SDC Security! I'll run you all back to hell where you belong—" his eyes darted when he caught sight of Whitley. "My boy! Stay strong. Don't let these beasts break you. They're nothing to a Schnee."

Whitley didn't understand how his father's bravado was still intact after their captivity, but he found that it lacked the indubitable gospel it once encompassed. Despite whatever Jacques had deluded himself into thinking, they were trapped. The aura dampening cuffs around his wrists were proof of that.

The two were arrived in the throne room. The Grimm woman sat upon her seat, a patient smile on her face. Before her were that green haired girl, the woman in the purple cloak, and…

"Lady Salem, what shall be my studies today?" Weiss inquired on her knees.

The woman, Salem, apparently, glanced at Whitley and his father and grinned. "Oh, it will be your most wonderful test yet, my dear Weiss. But first, I believe you made a request of me, a bit ago. I have decided to grant it."

Weiss turned where the queen was looking, and her eyes widened in horror. Her hands shot up to cover her gaping mouth. "Father. Whitley" she murmured, aghast.

Whitley squinted as much as he could. He couldn't be seeing what his exhausted eyes were showing him. His sister appeared radiant. While he and father were corpses waiting to fall, she looked better than she had at the mansion. Her body was thicker than before, her lithe muscles more defined. Her face was unblemished and lively, her eyes shining pools of crystal. She wore a stunning black gown, similar to what she'd worn at the castle but with a hem slightly below her knees, with dark stockings covering her legs. Her rapier was strapped to her side.

…

Her rapier was strapped to her side.

She had her weapon and she was doing nothing.

He and father were barely surviving, while their captor had given her fine clothes and training.

Training. Infernal huntress training. Weiss was leaving them to rot, because she wanted to accept huntress lessons from this demon.

Once again, she abandoned him to Beowolves.

He had no sister. He had only himself to rely on. Just like always.

And just like always, he would survive.

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As the shadows of sunset fell across Patch, Yang danced across the grass, her feet light and her step spry. She bobbed and weaved around her father's swift jabs, remembering old evasion drills she hadn't thought of since she'd learned them.

Her old style had relied too much on her semblance. She would rush headlong into whatever her opponent threw at her, confident that she could take it and dish it back out twice as hard. But, as her father pointed out, the strategy had some serious drawbacks. If her opponent dodged her superpowered strike or was strong enough to shrug off the damage themselves, then she would be left exhausted, beaten, and vulnerable.

So, her dad had advised her on a new tactic. She would observe her opponent, sort out which attacks were strong, and which were weak, and then pick and choose which ones she took. She'd let the weak ones make contact, slowly building up her semblance over the course of the fight, while making sure that anything powerful enough to do real damage missed by a kingdom mile. Any foe she couldn't overpower outright, which was distressingly more than she'd once thought, she would wear down over time before moving in for the final blow.

She couldn't just charge in anymore. She needed to be smarter.

That was the only way she was going to take down Robes.

That was only way she'd be able to call herself equal to her friends.

The only way she'd stop being alone.

Yang ducked a heavy cross aimed at her head, then barely dodged a kick aimed at her right side. She narrowed her eyes and growled. "Hey, watch the broken arm, dad!"

Taiyang smirked, his fists still up and ready. "An enemy isn't gonna care. If you're going to fight, you've got to be ready."

Yang snorted in disbelief. "That'd be a lot easier to take if you weren't going easy on me."

Taiyang Xiao-Long may have been commonly regarded as the weakest of Team STRQ, but that was like saying a Goliath was weaker than a Dragon. He was still one of the top huntsmen in all of Vale, probably in all of Remnant. His time teaching at Signal had only afforded him the opportunity to refine his technique. The fact that he hadn't landed a single blow on her the entire spar was laughable.

The man himself sighed. "I'm trying to help you get better, not put you back in the hospital."

"I'm not going to get better if you keep treating me like a kid" Yang shot back, returning to her ready position. "I can take it."

Her father just stared at her, unamused.

Then, he dashed forward, faster than Yang had ever seen him move. He threw a jab right, clearing going for her bandage wrapped arm. She danced to her left but realized too late that it was a feint.

Her father stuck a leg out to her side, right in the path of her dodge. She tripped, and he sweep through to deliver a devastating spinning kick to her back as she fell. A moment later, she was spitting out dirt.

Tai shook his head exasperatedly. "You can't take on the whole world alone. Gosh, you can be so much like your mother sometimes."

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Oh. So now we can talk about her?"

"When, as I have been informed, you're an adult now, remember."

She scowled as she sat up. Zwei came over to hand towels to them both. She snatched one and rubbed off her sweat. "Well, I'm sorry I remind you of her so much."

Her father smiled wistfully. "Don't be. Raven was great in so many ways. Her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for. I'm proud of how much of her I see in you. But, I'm glad I don't see all of her in you."

"Why?" Yang inquired softly. What was it that made her different from the woman who abandoned her?

Tai sighed. Zwei came up to him and rubbed his leg comfortingly.

"Your mother was… a complicated woman" he said at last. "Like everyone, she had her faults, but those faults are what drove her team apart. And they did a real number on her family."

The huntsman kneeled down to both Yang and Zwei's level. "You both act like the best way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you take a second look, then maybe you see…" He scratched Zwei behind the ears, compelling the corgi to dash behind Yang, happily panting, "…there's a way around."

Yang nodded slowly. It would take work, but she could do it. But if her father was finally talking about her mother…

"You said that mom fought in the last Grail War, right?"

Her father frowned, a broken look flashing through his eyes. "Yeah, she did. In a lot of ways, that was the beginning of the end for Team STRQ. Afterwards, your mom's Servant stuck around, something about getting thrown in some Grimm mud. Apparently, it was supposed to be worse, but the Rider used his Noble Phantasm to stop time. According to Raven, he'd been impressed by his combat skills and wanted to fight him one on one."

Yang smirked. "Sounds like my kind of guy."

Tai chuckled. "Yeah, well good old Lancelot managed to pull out a win, and then he and Raven joined up with the rest of us. We headed to the Grimmlands to meet up with Summer and Lancer, and well, we met Salem."

The huntsman closed his eyes and shuddered at the memory. "We barely got out alive. Fighting her was like fighting her entire domain. If Lancer hadn't shown up when he did, we would have been worse than dead."

Yang bit her lip in dread. But she had to know. "What happened next?"

"Next? We met Gilgamesh" Tai revealed. "Not Kirei, he was probably skulking in the shadows, but we never saw him. Summer and Lancer fought him while the rest of us went for the grail. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the war's Ruler to keep Salem from getting her hands on it. We got back in time to see Gilgamesh finish Lancer with this…weird, spiral sword. Summer said he called it Ea."

"Why didn't he kill you?" Yang asked. From what she'd heard about the bastard, he didn't seem the type to leave survivors if the grail was denied to him.

"Some sort of sign of respect to Lancer, I think. Summer wasn't in much shape to give any details. So, we all went home, relieved to be alive. Your mom and I got back to our lives as newlyweds. But things, never went back to normal. With Berserker still around, his Madness Enchantment started bleeding onto Raven. She stopped sleeping. She had a lot of private talks with Oz that ended with her storming out of his office. Then, a bit after you were born, she just left. Without a word, and without a note."

Zwei whined at his master knee, cuddling him for comfort. Tai gave him another scratch behind the ears.

Yang sat in thought. If Berserker was affecting her, then maybe…

"Maybe she didn't want to leave" she proposed. "Maybe the Madness Enchantment was doing something to her and she wanted to deal with it on her own."

Her father frowned. "For nineteen years? Without even a letter? No. If something like that was happening, she would have told us. Or at least Summer. Berserker certainly didn't help matters, but he wasn't the reason she left. That was something else. What, I don't know."

Yang growled. After all this time, she finally got some information on her mother, but everything she learned just seemed to raise more questions.

Why did she leave?

What did she have to gain?

Tai shook his head and smacked her heartily on the back. "Come on" he said, rising. "It's getting late. Let's head in for dinner."

He offered her a left hand up. Yang grinned wryly and accepted her father's assistance.

At least she didn't have to worry about him leaving her.

The two Xiao-Longs and dog happily strolled back to their cabin.

Neither noticed the shadow of a man casting across the grass.

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Weiss' mind was overloading with dread. Salem was cunning, methodical. Nothing she did was without purpose. Allowing her to see her family again after months of no word was not an act of kindness. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what she was doing.

Whitley and father were thin and gaunt, trudging along with Hazel, Emerald, and Caster like lost puppies. Even still, Weiss could see the fire of resentment and defiance in their eyes. They would need it if they were all going to get out alive.

Salem had taken the group on a winding path through the castle, even stopping by Weiss' room and commenting on its plush nature. Eventually though, their route became far more familiar to the girl. The Queen had had showed it her only a short while ago.

Caster gasped. "It that?"

"Yes, the Greater Grail, my dear" Salem confirmed. "A useful prize, but not why we are here."

Weiss' hand involuntarily shifted to Myrtenaster. The group made their way to the rim of the mud pit, the substance within churning with just as much malice as before. Weiss took care to place herself between Salem and her family. Sure, that meant her back was to everyone else, and that she was precariously close to the ditch, but given the circumstances, it was the best she could have hoped for.

Not that she could do anything if the Queen decided to slaughter them all, but it made her feel better.

"Caster dear, please provide young Whitley with some reinforcement" Salem requested. "I think Hazel is getting tired from keeping him afoot."

Caster glanced at Hazel, who looked like he didn't even notice Whitley, but she nodded and waved her hand. Green lines flashed across the boy's body, and Hazel removed his support. Whitley's eyes went wide, and he stumbled for a moment, but in the end found himself able to stand.

Weiss' glare narrowed. "My lady, I appreciate your generosity, but I must inquire why you have brought us all here."

Salem smiled softly. "Why, my dear, it is as I said before. I have a test for you. For all three of you really" she declared gesturing to the present Schnees.

She turned to the pit, her gaze focused on the mud. "Below us, as you know my dear, is my essence. The womb of the Grimm. Within it churns all the evils of the world."

"Not all of them, obviously" Jacques spat, his icy glare frozen to Salem's back.

The Queen ignored him. "I wish to perform an experiment of sorts. I have made some modifications to this pit in particular. Now, I wish to see if its effects are as I hope. So, I would like one of you to enter it."

Weiss' hand tightened around Myrtenaster's hilt. "Enter? You want us to jump into that?"

"One of you, my dear. Only one of you" Salem insisted. "And in return for your assistance in this matter, you have my word that the two who remain shall not spend another night in this castle."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the Grimm woman. She knew what she was trying to do. Why she brought her family to this farce. Salem wanted her toss one of them into the mud to save herself. She wanted her to give in to the years of pain they'd inflicted upon her, to betray them for all they'd done.

She would be disappointed.

"No" Weiss declared firmly. "You cannot make me become a monster."

She'd sworn that she'd keep them safe.

And a Schnee did not sink to dishonor by breaking their word.

Salem sighed, a bittersweet smile on her lips. "My dear. I've already told you that I will never force you to aid me. Just as I warned you what the people you wish to protect will do in turn."

"What are you— AH!"

Something slammed into Weiss's back and pitched her over the edge. She screamed as she tumbled through the air.

She drew Myrtenaster from her side and tried to conjure a glyph to stop her fall, but out of the mud shot half a dozen black tentacles. The dark appendages smashed through her meager defenses and entrapped her. She struggled as best she could, managing to steal a glance above.

She saw Salem grin.

And Whitley glare, his fists glowing green.

Her eyes widened in shock, and then she was dragged into the depths.

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Where am I?

You are here.

You are with us.

Why?

I did everything I could.

I wanted to save them.

Why did they betray me?

Because that is what they do.

That is what they all do.

They strike from shadows, so they may claim the light.

No.

Not all. There are others.

Yellow Beauty. Black the Beast.

Red the Rose.

They love me.

I love them.

They love no one.

They burn, an endless, undying fire.

They abandoned, so they can blaze ever brighter.

No.

They love me.

I love them.

Then why are you alone?

Burdened by a royal test.

…

…

…

I…

I…

You bleed.

You bleed red like roses.

You bleed alone, so they don't have to.

I…

I…

I am not…

Do you want to bleed?

…

No.

Then join.

We will not bleed.

We will not suffer.

…

Will they?

They can.

We can make them.

Would that make us happy?

…

Yes.

That would make us very happy.

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Emerald stared at the mud pit in horror. Her hand still shook from when the Ice Queen's brother had shoved her in.

The boy himself staggered back from the edge of the hole, his body shivering. He turned back to his father, still restrained by Seer Grimm and Huntsman cuffs. His eyes watered and pleaded for understanding.

The old man gave him a stern nod. The boy smiled.

Emerald had done a lot of horrible things, probably a few worse than what she'd just witnessed. But still, to his own sister…

"Hey, Caster?" she whispered to her Servant. "I know you weren't in control when your brother died but… did you feel…"

"Remorse?" Medea supplied. "I did. Even through Aphrodite's curse, I mourned my brother."

Emerald grimaced. "Do you think he'll mourn her?"

"I don't know." Medea glanced at the huge glowing orb stuck in the wall. "Something isn't right. That mud, it is pure evil. Not mortal could possibly be submerged in it and hope to survive. Why would she go to all the trouble of training the girl only to dispose of her like this? If she wanted her dead, she didn't have to arrange something this complex. And what is the Greater Grail doing here?"

Emerald had no idea. Caster had given her a run down of the details of the Holy Grail War over the last few months, but she couldn't fathom what Salem was doing with the chalice's core.

Jacques Schnee cleared his throat. "Well? You have what you want. Now release me and my son!"

Salem held up a finger. Her eyes closed. A manic grin of ecstasy blossomed on her face.

"Now we see" she whispered, a demonic vibration filling her voice. "They wish for evil. So, they shall have evil."

"What are you blathering about?" Jacques shouted. "You said you needed someone in the mud. And now Weiss is—"

An unholy shriek split the air. Emerald rammed her hands over her ears to lessen the pain. The Schnee boy was driven to his knees. Even Hazel twitched in irritation.

A line of black glyphs flared to life up the side of the pit, and a moment later, something blasted out of the mud and rode them back to the chamber floor.

Said figure kneeled before Salem, a familiar rapier now black in their hands.

"Impossible" Caster muttered in horror.

Weiss Schnee opened her eyes, her once blue pupils shining a sickly yellow, black veins branching off of them into her forehead.

A vicious smirk came to her lips.

"W- Weiss" Whitley stammered. "How?"

The Ice Queen stood up and faced him. "Through acceptance. Acceptance of fact."

Any childish petulance was gone from her voice. Her words were now cold, yet infinite. Like a glacier proclaiming which ship would sink beneath the waves.

Whitley's eyes understandably widened. "Weiss, I did what I had to do. There was no way—"

"Shush, brother dear. I cannot abide useless thoughts, and I doubt you have anything but in your head" Weiss proclaimed. "However, I do remember an interesting query you once posed me. 'What can a single huntsman do, that an army could not?' I'll admit, I didn't truly have an answer to you then. But now?"

Her smile put her pearly white teeth on full display, like the grin of a shark. "Well, I think I'll show you."

She turned to Salem. "With your blessing, your grace."

The Mother of Grimm proudly nodded her ascent.

Emerald shivered in dread.

"You might want to take a step back" Hazel advised, strolling back to the chamber's walls.

Emerald and Caster quickly followed.

Weiss slammed the tip of Myrtenaster's dark blade into the castle floor, an intricate black glyph appearing on the ground.

It was one Emerald had seen only once before.

"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill!" Weiss proclaimed, the timbre of an unseen legion bleeding into her voice. "Repeat five times, but when each is filled, destroy it!"

"For the elements silver and iron, the foundation of stone and the archduke of pacts, and for my great master Angra Mainyu."

'Who?' Emerald wondered.

"Master" Caster warned mentally. "We are in grave danger."

"Raise a wall against the wind and close the gate of four directions. Come forth from the crown and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom."

"Heed my words! My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny!"

"If you heed the grail's call, and obey my lady's will and reason, then answer my summoning!"

"I hereby swear, that I shall be all the truth in the world. And I shall defeat, all lies in the world!"

"And let thine eyes be altered, in the sky of turmoil and chaos. Thou, you art free in a field of evil. And I the summoner, who guides thy hand!"

"Seventh Hell, clad in the great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, Bane of the Scales!"

Trapped in the castle wall, the Greater Grail's glow flickered for a moment.

The summoning sigil glowed a violent purple, then spouted a small pool of mud. Slowly, it piled upon itself, shifting color and assembling into a humanoid form.

When it finished, a tall man took shape. A black hood covered his head and shoulders, while spiked armor coated the lower half of his body. His bare chest was splattered with ancient crimson runes. A dark blue ponytail rested beside his face. In his right hand, a massive blood red spear bayed for battle, a hundred lethal spikes sticking out of every bare space on the shaft.

His scarlet eyes opened, and he flashed a fanged smile. "So, I take it you're my master?"

Emerald shook with terror. She knew powerful beings had a certain aura about them, not the regular kind but an immense pressure. Caster's was subtle, slithering like a snake. Salem's was an omen of impending dread.

But this man? He felt like blood.

Blood and battle and screams.

Weiss smirked smugly. "I am your summoner, Lancer Alter." She gestured to Salem. "My Queen provides you with prana, and so she is your master."

Lancer Alter grinned. "So I see. Pity. I would have loved to fight beside such a lovely young lady."

"Don't be so hasty, my dears" Salem interceded. She placed a proud hand on Weiss' shoulder. "I cannot leave my domain, and you will still have to go forth and slay the other Servants, dear Cu Chulainn. It seems fitting that you should have a handler of sorts."

A single black mark appeared on Weiss' right hand. The girl's eyes widened and she bowed her head to the Queen. "You honor me, your grace."

"Do me proud, my dear."

"Wha- What was that?" Whitley Schnee stuttered, pointing brokenly at Lancer Alter. The poor boy had fallen to the ground in shock. "How did you get here?"

"Who's the pipsqueak?" the spearman remarked.

Weiss raised Myrtenaster. "No one of consequence."

She stalked towards her brother.

Whitley desperately tried to get away from her but was so debilitated with fear that he couldn't even get off the ground.

"Weiss! Weiss! I'm sorry!" he protested. "What else was I supposed to do? You have no idea what it's been like here. She's given you a plush room, food, and freedom. I was trapped! I couldn't go on any longer—"

"What on Remnant are you babbling about, Whitley?" she interceded, playing with the saber in her hands. "What do you think I'm going to do? Kill you?"

The look on Whitley's face answered that question quite clearly.

Weiss sighed. "I'm not going to kill you, brother. You are beneath me. I have grown beyond our family name, ascended to far greater heights. You, meanwhile, have sentenced yourself forever to father's shadow, to being his servant. You didn't have the will to push me into the pit without his say so, did you?"

Whitley looked down in shame, but nodded his confirmation.

"I thought so" Weiss sneered. "You're pathetic. A mere pawn. And a queen has no reason to dirty herself with the blood of a pawn."

Whitley looked up, a small spark of hope shining in his gaze.

"No" Weiss continued. "A servant should die to a Servant. Lancer!"

The spear ran the boy through faster than Emerald could see. Black spikes burst out from the wound and pierced every vein in his body.

Whitley Schnee died before he could even scream.

The hope didn't even have time to leave his eyes.

"NO!" wailed Jacques.

Hazel closed his eyes and lowered his head in respect. Caster averted her gaze. Salem looked on unfazed.

Weiss laughed.

Emerald didn't know what to think. She'd killed children before, most of the huntsmen trainees she'd fought had been under eighteen, but they could always defend themselves. This was just… sick.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!" Jacques screamed, tears streaming down his face. "You murdered him! You murdered my boy! You'll die! You'll die screaming!"

"Gag him and prep him for transport" Salem commanded. "I have given my word, and he shall not spend another night in this castle."

The Seer Grimm dragged him off, the man howling vengeance all the way.

Lancer Alter tugged his spear out of Whitley's corpse. He frowned. "I hope I was summoned for more than just killing children. Gae Bolg is hungry for worthy blood and so am I."

"Don't worry, my friend. You'll get your fill of battle" Weiss assured him. "Our Queen's plans are opposed by many. And those fools shall soon be receiving a quite rude awakening."

Lancer Alter smirked. "I'll take your word for it, gorgeous."

"Excellent" Salem remarked. "Now we'll just need to summon the other two. Are you ready, my dear?"

"Always, my lady" Weiss bowed. She struck the ground and another glyph appeared.

As she chanted, Salem turned to the others. "Hazel, once you have your Servant, head to the White Fang's headquarters in Anima. Adam Taurus proved useful to Cinder during her campaign in Beacon, but we've had no contact since. Ascertain their loyalty and if it wavers, give them a demonstration."

The brute nodded. "As you wish."

Salem smiled and turned to Emerald. "Emerald, you and Weiss will go to Haven and join Watts and Headmaster Lionheart in tracking down the Spring Maiden. I will be sending Watts' Servant on an alternate route in order to remain inconspicuousness."

"Of course, my lady" Emerald bowed.

Salem patted her on the back and then went over to Weiss, who had just called forth a blond swordswoman in with a black battle dress and mask.

"My lady?" Emerald piped up. "Why didn't you just throw Weiss into the pit yourself?"

Salem shook her head as if the answer was obvious. "How could I make her see things my way if I did to her exactly what I said others would. Showing her the faults of humanity through her family made her more, agreeable."

Emerald nodded her understanding and Salem went to greet the newest member of their cabal.

"We are in grave danger, master" Caster informed Emerald mentally.

'You think?' Emerald snarked, not seeing how anyone around this craziness could not be in danger.

"You don't understand, master. That mud, it wasn't just some magic. It was All the Worlds Evils."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means we might very well be dealing with a being who wants to wipe out humanity" Caster revealed.

Emerald raised an eyebrow. 'Was the army of Grimm not a giveaway?'

"Please, master" Medea implored. "Look at what she has done here. She's twisted that girl into murdering her own brother! Do you really think someone like that is just going to hand you the grail when this is all over? Do you think you are an exception to your species' extinction?"

Emerald closed her fist and looked to the side in thought. Whatever superficial kindness Salem had shown, whatever reason Cinder had trusted her, she knew it was only a matter of time until she outlived her usefulness and the Queen had her dunked in the mud pit.

Still, maybe that time would be enough to do what she needed to do.

'We'll stick it out for now' Emerald declared. 'She once told me that a Servant she's directly powering, these Alters, can't claim the grail. Until then, she still needs us. And I still need that wish to bring Cinder back.'

"Master, I strongly advise against this course of action."

'Noted. Which is why I want you to start coming up with escape plans for if everything goes to shit. Think you can do that?'

She could feel Caster smirk behind.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Emerald nodded. She watched as Weiss called forth another dark Servant, this time a towering man with completely black skin and a skirt of purple and gold.

Her instincts as a thief were screaming at her to get out while she could. But she couldn't waste this chance. Cinder had given her everything. She owed it to her to save her from Kirei.

She just wondered if she would be able to save herself.

Ooh, I have been waiting so long for Weiss Alter. When I was planning this story, priority one was making sure each member of Team RWBY had their own plot and Weiss was the one I was having the most trouble with since I was trying to go off of canon. Then I realized that with a bit of tweaking, I could give her one of my favorite character styles (a hero becoming evil and pointing out their friends' character flaws) and vastly increase Salem's threat level, which was already good, but had trouble competing with Gilgamesh, even with the time he's taking to heal up.

But with Weiss' summoning and Salem providing the prana, Team Grimm now has three brand new Alter Servants to terrorize the world with. Lancer Alter is Cu with his Berserker look from Fate/GO, but he may end up acting a bit like a less moral regular Cu. I have never played Grand Order, and as such don't know exactly how that Cu Alter acts.

Not telling who the other two Alter Servants are because I like the reveals I have planned and they may accidentally foreshadow other events that might be happening in the story.

For the record, Weiss Alter will not be a bland "Haha I am evil villain". She will be an Altered Weiss, still Lawful, but the laws she obeys are Salem's now, especially having drunk the cool-aid of All the Worlds Evils.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, please review and give me your thoughts.

Go Forth and Conquer!