Chapter 35: Villainy Thrives

"The only way I depict you, is that your redemption's undeserved.
Meet the vessel of your reprisal, retribution calls.

It's not that I take life for granted.
It's only that the good won't make it.
Innocence dies while Villainy Thrives." - Matt Heafy

BEACON ACADEMY

SLATE

"She's your Queen you've been searching for." I said to Ozpin, his form going rigid for a brief moment before recomposing himself.

"What!?" I hear the headmaster's assistant say as everyone in the room now has their eyes on me.

"Now why do you have that kind of information Mr. Slate." Ozpin says as he stands for his desks and leans into his cane.

"Sir I'm not sure if it is a leak from within your academy but this Cinder woman has a lot of information regarding not only your academy but everyone enrolled into it as well. If she seems likes she's been waiting to make her move then that is very bad news, as far as me and Reign know we're the only thing she is not expecting to see within this school."

The headmaster gives his assistant Miss Goodwitch a brief glance, and she nods and walks out into the elevator typing into her scroll.

"Well then I appreciate this extremely useful information Mr. Slate and Ms. Reign. This changes everything." Ozpin says before going into a brief moment of inner reflection. "Now then I would like to hear anything else you have to say but I'd like you to wait until two more companions of mine are present. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course, when will they be present?" I asked the headmaster.

"Well one will be here within the week, and the other will be here as soon as I can contact them." He replied.

"Well then I'll give you a way to contact me, Reign and I will lay low in Vale until we can all gather."

"Why can't you stay here for now?" I hear Ruby speak up.

"Like I said earlier Ruby, there may be some sort of leak in this academy, one thing for sure is that it isn't anyone in this room. I can't risk blowing my cover if said leaks makes me or Reign out."

"Which brings me to your four." The headmaster says as he shifts his gaze towards team RWBY. The four of them now showing a hint of worry.

"Y-Yes sir?" Ruby says, shifting uneasily.

"I commend the four of you for doing your utmost to protect our Kingdom, ther four of you went above and beyond what is expected for students of my academy, even more so for first years." The headmaster said as smiles lite up their faces, them being absolutely ecstatic for being complemented. "With that being said," Ozpin started as he lifted his hand, "I want you to leave the rest of this to the professionals. I know I can't ask you to completely give up your search as you've gone against my will before but I'm letting you know this for your own safety. The people that we are searching for have no qualms killing fellow man and woman, and I fear if you get further involved I won't be able to guarantee your safety. So Team RWBY, please be safe, I'm not only asking this as your headmaster but as fellow hunter." The headmaster finished.

Team RWBY looked among each other, sharing a few words before eventually coming to a consensus. "We understand headmaster, thank you." Ruby said as she and her team walked to the elevator, Purpura and I following them.

"I'll stay in contact, Slate, Reign."

"We'll be waiting." Purpura spoke as we joined RWBY in the elevator.

"Well that went a lot better than expected." Weiss said as we began to descend the tower.

"You can say that again." Yang agreed.

"So what should we do now?" Ruby asked, looking to Purpura and I, then to the rest of her team.

"Do as Ozpin said, it may already be too late for the four of you to stay completely out of this situation. So as long as you don't go about seeking any more trouble then the four of you should just focus on the tournament. If push comes to shove then do what you can as huntresses. Nobody will hold it against you for doing the right thing."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Ruby asks as the four of them look to me.

"Yeah but now's not the time, is there anywhere else we can talk?" I asked them as I motioned towards the elevator, now nearing the bottom.

"Yeah we can talk in our room." Yang said as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. I handed Purpura her mask as I slipped mine on, it wouldn't hurt to be safe. After a brief moment of walking we reached their room as Ruby unlocked the door. We followed them in and overlooked the room before us, they had they're room set up in bunk beds, the two top bunks being precariously set up in their own fashion.

Ruby took a seat on the lower left bed as Yang stood by her side, Blake and Weiss mirroring them. "So is there anything else you're not telling us?" Blake asked from her bunk.

"Well so far I've told you just about everything, barring one, well two things. Cinder isn't alone. She has two partners beneath her, I don't know much else about them besides their names. Emerald and Mercury if I'm correct." I state as the four them go eyes wide.

"WHAT!?" They shout out it unison.

"What's wrong?" I ask them for them as they are still stuck in their state of disbelief.

"Their in our class! They're supposed to be part of the transfer students, with the rest of their team!" Ruby says as she looks to her team.

"Wait? What!? They're here? Well shit then we have our leak, damn her. I mean it's the perfect plan sneak them in with the transfer students, but I didn't think she'd be so bold. Wait have you seen their other teammates?" I ask the four of them.

Blake, Yang, and Weiss all shake their head but Ruby suddenly looks up. "Yeah I have, just once though, I bumped into her a couple months ago when I was grabbing my board game from the library." Ruby explained.

"Her?" I start.

'There's no way she'd risk it...'

"Ruby what did she look like?" I ask, my tone as serious as can be.

Ruby starts rubbing the back of her head as she tries to remember. "Uh.. She had long black hair I think? And amber eyes like Blake's. Why?" She finishes as my fingers dig into my palm, causing blood to drip from my hand and hit the ground.

"She's here..." I let out just barely louder than a whisper. Ruby's eyes going wide as she hears me.

"Wait she's Cinder Fall?" She asks confused at the situation in front of us.

"It makes perfect sense, the reason why the huntsman and huntresses couldn't find her. She's been hiding right under their noses the whole time, disguised as a damn student no less."

"What do we do?" Ruby asked no one in particular.

"Nothing." Purpura spoke up. "They don't know that you've made out their cover, so the best course is to do nothing. Dezmond and I will shadow them, there's no way that they could be planning this whole uprising from inside the school. She'd have to leave at some point to meet with the other collaborators, right?"

"Not necessarily, she could be already done with whatever she's planning and just be waiting for the right moment to strike. Damn it's just what is she waiting for there has to be something else, something that not even she has the answer to, but what?" I say to the group.

They look among each other, unsure of the reason she is just laying in wait. Hopefully the rest of Ozpin's allies will have more information, I just couldn't help to feel that he was still hiding something from me as well. As much as I didn't want the hunters help in the first place it looks like I'm now depending on them for any kind of answers.

"So then you just want us to act like nothing has happened? Despite all that woman has done, I say the next time we see her we just clobber her then and there." Yang says as she pounds her fists together.

"Don't underestimate her, there is a reason why she is so bold. She'll have no problem fighting a group of students and then turning tail if she really needs to, and then who knows if we'll ever see them surface again. Everything we would have worked for would've been for nothing." I explain to them as they take it with mixed reactions.

Ruby just hangs her head knowing she may not be ready for such a serious opponent. Weiss shifts uneasily, unsure of what to do. Blake sits in deep thought, clearly thinking out her next move. But Yang takes what I say as a challenge, a burning look of determination in her eye.

"So please, just act normal for now. Not just for your own safety, but for everyone else too." I say as I nod towards the window as Purpura opens it. "We have to go now, we'll be in touch." I say as Purpura leaps from the window and into the dark outside. As I'm about to step out a turn to give them reassurance. "You four will be fine, but for any reason you need to see me or talk don't hesitate to contact me. I reached out to you four because I knew I could trust you, I hope one day I'll earn that degree of belief from you." I say as I follow Purpura into the darkness outside.

AN: Short chapter, expect a follow up soon. In other much more exciting news, brief glimpses of Volume 4 have been shown at RTX, and man o man the hype train towards October 22nd has started. I know the animation for RWBY has gotten better with each season but damn they've really dropped the hammer on this volume, and it was still an unpolished early work in progress. Can't wait for it, but now I have a bit of a timeline. Ass I want to finish this story before then, so the good news is expect more regular updates. Until next time. -MidKnight209