"And you're sure it was him?"

Cinder looked to Mercury, her amber eyes watching as he gave her the answer she wanted. The dorm room was quiet, the door was locked, and the windows had been shut. Every precaution had been taken to ensure that their little "conversation" wasn't heard, or interrupted.

"Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. Yeah, it was him."

"What do we do?" Emerald looked to her superior while she sat on the bed.

"Hmph." Smiling, Cinder walked towards the dresser inside of the room, her fingertips trailing along the top of the polished wood. "Nothing. None of them have any idea who we are. As far as they know, we're just students from Mistral." Cinder turned towards Mercury and Emerald, her hand pulling out her scroll, which flashed the symbol of a Black Queen on the screen. "So we don't have to worry about a thing since the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of. Speaking of which, it looks like our little friend has some new access points."

"Anywhere good?" Emerald watched as Cinder scrolled through a few things, a smile slowly spreading across the woman's face.

"You could say that. Go to your rooms, I'll prepare everything for tomorrow."

Emerald and Mercury then got up, and left, leaving their leader inside of her room. Her smile continued to widen, turning into an elated grin. Chuckling, she sat upon her bed, looking through all of the brand new files she had just accessed. From schematics, R&D reports, along with the whereabouts of some of Ironwood's agents; this all seemed to be too perfect.

"Now." Smiling, Cinder scrolled through the roster of fighters for tomorrow's tournament. It consisted of doubles rounds, the woman's eyes watching as multiple students trailed past. Smiling, she pulled up Emerald and Mercury's portraits, before aligning Coco's and Yatuhashi's portraits right next to them. "Let's give the crowd a good fight tomorrow."

Smiling, Cinder closed the files she had named "tournament, however, as she was about to turn off her scroll, a new file on her scroll's screen stared at her. Curiously, Cinder tapped on the file, causing it to open. Immediately, she was met with dozens of photos, there being different sets for each day, along with reports as well.

"Now...what would this be?"

Slowly, Cinder began to look at each and every photo, the lighting within them suggesting that they had been taken at night, while the contents of the photographs were simply of reports. Hmph, nothing at all. But...it couldn't hurt to read them, would i? Cinder coyly thought to herself, a smile on her face while she opened a random document within the folder titled "personal journal", its date being set to a couple of weeks ago.

September 12th, 1894

Last night had been a small godsend within my assignment, and why wouldn't it be? I not only had been asked by General Ironwood for advice, but I was also able to discover a potential threat as well! Yes, I will admit that I had...overreacted when I was talking with Ms. Rose's sister, however, it was completely justified. Ms. Rose...Ruby...she needs HELP. I don't know if she has some sort of disease, infection, Hell, she might even be turning into some sort of monster, but what I saw on her was NOT natural. And neither was her behavior. Over the past couple of weeks, and like I've said in previous entries (which only I get to see, yet why the fuck do I even still write these like someone else is reading this?!), her behavior has been erratic. First she nearly castrates the Winchester boy with her foot, and then later that night she attacked Goodwitch! I mean, yes, with such an attitude that Professor Goodwitch has, it wouldn't be entirely unplausible to but heads with her, but she is Ms. Rose's superior.

Cinder raised her brow, wondering what this woman was even talking about. However, the false student continued to read, her curiosity beginning to get the better of her, compelling her to finish the journal entry.

But...in all honesty, I do feel sorry for Ruby. The poor girl's got it tough. Youngest student in Beacon, a team leader, and Hell...she lost her mother too. And now she has not only teenage hormones to deal with, but she's got this new disease too. So, I just hope that Ruby will be able to...well, get through this thing! But god...I couldn't imagine what it's like right now, especially with those plates that make her look like she's turning into a grimm.

"..."

The phone dropped to the ground, the blue light from the scroll now being projected onto the ceiling, however, Cinder didn't move a muscle at all. The woman was completely wide eyed, and in shock. Everything around her now felt as if it didn't matter...nothing mattered at all now. The fall of Beacon, the assassination of Autumn that would happen, and even the planned death of Ozpin, they all seemed miniscule and meaningless.

"...no..." With tears in her eyes...Cinder smiled, her body rocking forward as she soon sat on her bed. "Yes...yes...YES!"

Quickly, she got up, picked up her scroll, and began to dial a number. In the meantime, she reached into the closet that was a part of her room, her free hand pulling out a large storage trunk. It was made out of polished leather and redwood, the brass hinges and edges being polished to a shine. Everything seemed to be falling into place, especially so when the person she had been dialing answered her scroll.

"Before you say anything, I have marvelous, wonderful news!" Cinder smiled, her scroll being pressed against her ear while her hands rummaged through the robes, fabrics, and even cloaks within the trunk...and soon, her fingers curled around something hard, yet smooth. "Yes, I will admit now that I may sound overzealous and hopeful right now, but...I...I think we found the one!"

"...Truly?" The voice on the other end of the call was gruff, yet smooth, like an old, expensive wine that had been aged to perfection. "Are the signs there? The behavior? The physical changes?"

"Yes, they are ALL there."

Slowly, Cinder pulled out the item that she had been looking for; a mask. It was pointed at where the nose would be, this sharp edge extending all the way up and down the face, however, that was only one feature of this mask. The actual mask was shaped like that of a skull, the teeth from what would be the upper jaw being pointed as they extended well past the chin of the wearer. The mask only covered the face, with the eyes being concealed by two plates of black glass, and the rest of the head being covered by a blood red cowl.

"Hmm...have you seen them? The signs?"

"...No...but...I have the journal of someone who has. Once it's sent to you, you'll see what I'm talking about." Chuckling, Cinder placed the mask gently onto the ground before beginning to fish her next item of interest out of the trunk. "And I promise you, that you will not be disappointed."

"Good...very excellent actually, however, what about your plans for Beacon?"

"..." Cinder hesitated, her hands stopping as she thought of an answer. Her lips were slightly parted, and yet, she knew that her decision was the correct one. "...Well...the...destruction of Beacon...will have to wait."

"...Go on..."

"H-however! Yes, we will not destroy Beacon, but...we will be able to weaken them."

"Hmm..." The person on the other end of the line seemed to contemplate this, yet within moments, a deep, throaty chuckled bellowed out from Cinder's phone. "A wise decision, Cinder. Especially when you think of the circumstances. Knowing Ozpin and his dogs, he will most likely use one of his own students as the next Fall maiden. But, if we force him to move the maiden, then that may allow us enough time to focus on the one that was chosen."

"So...you agree that this is the correct route?"

"Agree?...Cinder, I believe that allowing Ozpin to play at his little game for a little longer, if it means that we get the chosen one, is the best course of action. Now, what is the chosen one's name?"

Cinder grinned, her voice soft, yet full of zeal as she uttered those words that she knew would please the man on the other end.

"Her name is Ruby Rose; she is a young, strong huntress in training. And, she also has silver eyes."

Laughter filled Cinder's ear while she pulled out a small statue, the man's laughter on the other end being filled with joy, and irony. With the items in hand, Cinder brought the statue to the dresser, before turning off the lights. With a flick of her fingers, a small flame danced in her hand, before it was transferred to a single, black candle that was affixed onto the statue.

"Cinder, you have done VERY well. Not only have you gained some of a maiden's powers, but, you have discovered the vessel that has been chosen by our lord." Happily, the man sighed, the silence of the room filling Cinder's ears before he spoke again. "My beautiful girl...my myshka, you have made me so, SO proud. You've done so well as a harbinger, and you've done even better as the woman you grew up to be."

"T...thank you father." Smiling, Cinder wiped a few tears from her eyes while her father continued to speak.

"Now, it must be very late over in Vale myshka. Rest, and pray. Pray to him for these blessings."

"I will father...I will."

Slowly, Cinder hung up the phone, placing it onto the dresser before she stood the mask behind the statue. The statue itself depicted a large, winged dragon curling around a crystal that was black as night, the dragon itself being stained the color of blood. Cinder's eyes closed while she bowed her head, her knees soon being pressed together as she knelt in front of the makeshift altar.

Cinder prayed; she prayed for the blessings her father had given her, she prayed to the one that she knew would bring her family back to its former glory, and most of all, she prayed in thanks to Autumn, for if it wasn't for the maiden, she would've never taken an interest in Vale. Because of this, she was filled with hoy; even though yes, neither Qrow, nor the fall maiden saw her face, or her allies faces due to the masks they had worn, she still felt joy in the meeting.

"Thank you...thank you for this hallowed victory." Cinder looked to the statue while smiling, pride swelling within her chest. "I thank you, my lord, for giving me this gift, and for showing me where the chosen vessel for your return was. Now soon, you shall be reborn, and no longer will you be barred from the realm of mortals."

Chuckling, Cinder slowly reached towards the candle, and with two fingers, she extinguished the light.

" Sanctificetur tenuem, soon, you will take your rightful place upon thy throne.~"


Sorry this took so long, but I do promise that the wait was worth it. Thank you for your support in liking and following this fic.