So, in the event people didn't notice or had problems, last week's chapter was updated on Monday, but the link people got in their emails didn't work. That's because I had to delete the "delay note" which invalidated the link, because chapter 36 then became chapter 35.

The previous chapter IS last week's chapter, so if you missed it then you may need to go back and read it if you haven't already. Sorry for the trouble but the ISP died massively. It's still bad now, but the difference is that it's "can barely watch videos bad" whereas last week it was "cannot even access internet bad".

So hey, that's an improvement.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 36

"The police are using an extension of Terry's Law as defined in Terry V. Ohio," Ozpin explained to the assembled hunters in the Beacon. "This allows for a stop and search provided the officers have reasonable suspicion as to criminal behaviour. Unfortunately, several of our associates were engaged with Grimm at the moments they were stopped – and their combat was taken as aggressive action toward the police, who feared for their lives. Those searched have been arrested for carrying concealed weapons."

"That's bullshit!" someone yelled. "It doesn't work like that, and some of ours have been arrested just for walking down the docks. The law specifically states they can't count `reasonable suspicion` as being located in a certain area. That's discrimination."

"You're welcome to go down to the station and argue that. See how far it gets you."

Silence greeted Ozpin, people grimacing and looking down at the floor. Jaune and Ruby were sat with Weiss far at the back, listening in but not having the same emotional attachment as the others, who doubtless had close friends or even family now in custody.

"The truth of the matter, ladies and gentlemen, is that laws do not exist in an infallible state. While the police shouldn't stop people without due suspicion or an adherence to the law, they also shouldn't pull over more black people than white, nor shoot unarmed citizens or use unjustified force on peacefully protesting students. Laws and safeguards exist in an attempt to keep our civilisation civil. If they worked one hundred per cent of the time, we would not have thieves, rapists and murderers."

It was something his father had said about the military once, how ninety-nine per cent of serving men and women followed the discipline and standards expected of them, but that in any engagement, almost every engagement, there would be one who did not. War crimes did happen, and all the military could do was do their best to stop them where they could.

Come to think of it, the female officer had been frustrated at her colleague when he tried to speak to them casually – probably because she'd wanted to do things officially and her partner was making mistakes. It had cost her dearly, seeing as she was dead now.

"The police in Vale are as human as anyone else," Ozpin continued. "They are capable of making mistakes, and of being influenced by emotions even when they should not be. We have been blamed for attacks killing hundreds of innocent people and emotions are running raw. I'd not be surprised if a fair few of our casualties came from police who were a little too eager to use lethal force."

"That's illegal!" the same person from before complained.

"Yes. Yes, it is. But I can assure you now that those officers, placed on administrative leave or not, are being hailed as heroes. Even were they convicted, you could rest assured the President would pardon them."

A wave of angry protests and grumbling threats echoed about the main room, though there was no one who argued with Ozpin's words. They'd all seen it before with extremism in the past and people's reactions to it. Fear and panic led to overreaction and people treating fellow Americans like animals or worse.

Like it or not, Vale and the US couldn't see the war they were engaged in. All they knew was that a bunch of crazy fanatics were running around waving swords and knives around, shooting off shotguns and handguns in crowded streets. Even if one of them did talk, the police would assume ravings of Grimm monsters to be drug-addled madness. They'd be labelled as narcs, with the Hunters being some gang. Given the current climate, they'd be called a gang straight of out Mexico, because of course they were from Mexico. Couldn't be good and proper Americans behind this.

"We will need to take care in the coming days. As loathe as I am to admit it, it might be better to allow Grimm to wander the streets unchecked."

"People will Awaken. It'll be a massacre!"

"It's going to be a massacre if we send our own out, and if our numbers continue to fall then it will only get worse and worse, until we cannot hold back a Nightmare." Ozpin stood from his counter, slamming one hand on the woodwork for silence as people began to speak out. "We must make the decision that gives humanity the best chance of survival! That means the whole of humanity."

"You're sayin' we should let people die to cover ourselves!"

Ozpin sighed. "I am."

"We swore to protect people!"

"We did," Ozpin agreed, "And I do not wish to say that our lives are worth more than the average persons, but in the battle against an unseen foe, that is simply the case. Vale needs hunters. If it does not have them, it will fall to a Nightmare and be consumed."

"Then we need to break our captured brothers out!"

"No!" Ozpin snapped. "Assaulting the police would be the worst thing we can do right now!"

Doing so would surely confirm in the eyes of everyone that they were terrorists, the kind of terrorists that required the military to come and stamp them out. The FBI were probably already investigating – or the CIA if they convinced themselves the hunters were international. Stop and searches were bad enough, but if they attacked and killed police officers, it would be so much worse.

Of course, suggesting that the captured be left behind only made Ozpin look the monster. When he had no immediate answer, people rose up and began to shout insults, while others called for the hunters to band together and storm the station during the day, when the Grimm were weakest.

Ozpin remained silent throughout, either not knowing what to say or knowing that anything he did say would be hopeless. Jaune watched with a nervous expression, hoping that someone wiser would speak up to quell the rage of the hunters. No one did, and he began to think it should be him – for all that no one would listen to him.

Weiss was busy frowning and Jaune didn't know her well enough to have a glimpse at her thoughts. Whether she was angry at the crowd or at the police themselves. Ruby was far easier to read, frustration mixed with annoyance, almost all of it at the fact that Cinder's actions had yet again put them off the search for her and their quest to avenge Yang.

"We can't just leave them! The Grimm will slaughter them!"

"Then we deal with the Grimm," someone said. Jaune was surprised to find it was him. All eyes turned on him and he fell back under them. The hunters were angry, furious, and as much as he told himself they weren't angry at him, he still shrunk back.

Luckily, Weiss spoke up. "Jaune is correct. As is Ozpin and as are all of you. We cannot leave our fellow hunters behind, but if we attack the station then we confirm all that the people fear. Worse, we do the Grimm's work for them. Our best bet is to attack and liberate our colleagues once they are transported out of Vale. This, we can do without endangering innocents."

Vale didn't have a prison. Being such a new city, there hadn't been enough crime to require one and not enough of a population to be a burden on nearby penitentiaries. Prisoners would, Jaune assumed, be transported out by vehicles to nearby prisons.

"That's all well and good if they get transported out, but the Grimm might kill them while they're incarcerated," someone said, not angrily but more pointing out the flaw. "We'd need to guard the police stations."

"That means getting close and getting arrested," another said. "It'd never work."

"Would they expect it, though? I mean, it's ballsy for us to go right to them…"

"Ha. That kind of `so crazy it just might work` bullshit only works in Hollywood. You can best your ass they're expecting us to try and break out our friends. Especially after we apparently firebombed a hospital. They'll have more security active now than they have for the last ten years combined."

"Do we have any Awakened among the police?" Weiss asked Ozpin.

"I'm afraid not. The roles are somewhat incompatible and our last member among them was discharged for drawing a gun and shooting at a civilian. Naturally, no one could see the Grimm behind said civilian that he killed. He was almost convicted himself for that and was ultimately discharged. It was quite the scandal." Ozpin sighed. "He fell two years ago to a Nightmare."

Looking over the crowd, Ozpin continued, "I would support an attack on a prisoner transport assuming we moved to minimise casualties. It is not that I wish to leave our comrades behind and more than I desire to avoid bloodshed. Though as our colleague says, it will be a risky proposition, watching the station."

"Only during the night," another person said. "Grimm won't show in the day. We have until tomorrow evening to decide who-"

"Jaune and I will go," Ruby interrupted.

"We will?" Jaune asked quietly.

"Cinder," Ruby explained, and that was all she needed to say. Louder and to the others, she added, "I'm already wanted because they think I killed someone, so I'm not afraid to risk myself more. Jaune has…" Ruby thought for an excuse that didn't involve Grimm powers. Not everyone knew. "Jaune's first aid will be useful if anything goes wrong. And we're teenagers, so we're not as threatening if they see us."

"An excellent suggestion," Ozpin said, eager to avoid any more bloodthirsty hunters being sent. "I will co-ordinate with them to watch out companions trapped in the station. Should any Grimm appear, they will be dealt with."

"And if the worst comes to pass?" someone asked. "If the Grimm get into the cell block?"

"Then Jaune and I will enter and deal with them," Ruby said.

The conviction in her voice ended the discussion then and there.

/-/

Jaune cornered Ruby after, as they entered Ozpin's office with Weiss behind them. "What was that? I never offered to do this."

"Cinder will be there."

"Might be there," Jaune countered. "If she's in a human body, she has a cover to maintain. What's to say she won't be out on patrol like she was tonight?"

"The captured hunters. She'll want to kill them."

He wanted to argue against that, saying how Cinder needed to keep her cover, but if she really had access to an almost limitless number of hosts, then what did one less matter? He grumbled and sat down.

"Miss Rose is not incorrect. Our situation is a tenuous one, as Cinder no doubt designed it. Act and we expose ourselves, fail to act and the hunters fall apart. Never before have we faced a Grimm with such intelligence. I find myself wondering if this is evolution among them, a natural progression to our defeating them time and time again."

"There have always been Grimm like her," Ruby said with a shake of her head. "We just normally don't like risking ourselves. We're smart enough to let the mindless ones tire our prey out first."

"Troubling words, Miss Rose."

"The whole situation is `troubling`, Ozpin," Weiss said. "I was going to speak with Blake tonight. My body in that world is recovered enough to move around, and now that I have the Lord of Light's powers, I'm not sure Blake would dare try kill me. She might know something."

"Maybe," Jaune said, doubting it. "Just be careful not to let her convince you to give her a body. I'm still more worried about Ruby's plan, and whether I'll even make it there. I have school tomorrow and Cinder knows where."

"Skip," Ruby suggested.

"After an event like last night?" he asked. "I might as well staple `suspicious` to my forehead and dance round town naked. They'll call my parents. I don't want them involved."

"Go to school," Ozpin said. "If the police come, make a fuss and demand to see evidence of why they want to speak with you. Frame it as young anger against what you see as a defiance of your rights." He chuckled. "Everyone is so busy complaining about millennials that they'll label you as one soon enough."

"Will that be enough to keep me safe?"

"I should think so. The only reason Cinder knows of you is because of what she is and who she formerly possessed. While she can point the police in your direction, she cannot make them act on that without some evidence of a crime. While I'm sure she could concoct something given enough time, it's not as though she can explain to her superiors that she `just knows` you're bad. The worst they can do is keep an eye on or investigate you. Or ask around Eastfield."

Nora was the only person there who knew what he was, and he was sure she'd keep his secret. Other than that? There shouldn't be anything too bad to raise suspicion. His suspension with Cardin would come up and they might try to use that to say he was violent, but what could they do about it? Miss Goodwitch had already punished them both.

A schoolyard scrap was hardly a matter for the police.

"And Ruby?"

"I don't have anyone to care about," she said. "I'll be in hiding. If anyone asks, you never knew me."

"Is that a good idea?"

"One of us has to stay out of the way to react if Cinder makes a move," she said. "You go back to your kingdom, oh lord of the sewers."

With a sigh, Jaune turned to leave.

Ozpin stopped him before he did. "Wait a moment. I'll have a sleeping bag for you, along with some food that will last until breakfast."

At least someone cared.

/-/

Weiss looked down at her perfectly human hands and flexed her fingers, testing them in the warmth of the sunlight. Her fingers curled and closed as they normally would have, but there was a hint of tension, a tiny fragment of wrongness that she couldn't quite place.

It wasn't the fact she was flying, that was normal.

"Does my body in this world want to be in my Grimm form?"

She hadn't had much time to experiment in truth. From the moment Jaune and Ruby helped her slay the beast, she'd come back to recover, then the police were on them and it was all she could do to help Ozpin try to direct people out of danger. They'd worked over a map of Vale, triangulating and identifying where people could hide while Velvet translated police signals from a police radio they had somehow patched in.

That wasn't a new addition, Velvet told her. It was a useful tool for the hunters to learn where `unusual disturbances` were taking place. Those were to be investigated as best the hunters could and Ozpin would normally have sent people out.

All of those things, she had to learn if she was to take over when Ozpin was gone.

Funny that I hated father for always assuming I'd follow in his footsteps, but I'm fine with Ozpin doing the same.

Context, mostly. Ozpin was trying to save the world. Jacques just wanted to be remembered as a powerful man. They were as alike as the sun and moon. Besides, Jacques would never have allowed her any degree of freedom. It was a sign of how little he cared that he hadn't once thought to contact her since he sent her here, or that he – or anyone from her home – had noticed she was missing at all.

Weiss allowed herself to fall toward the ocean but not into it. Knowing a little more now about what a Domain was, she didn't want to disturb Jaune if he was sleeping by diving bodily into his. Instead, she floated across the top toward the shore, only landing down once she was halfway up the beach. An itching sensation beneath her skin hinted at her true form – Grimm, anyway – wanting to come free. Was that feathers trying to burst through? Weiss shuddered and scratched her arm.

Stay in human form, she ordered her body. Blake isn't going to be happy if I crush her forest.

There was an almost tangible feeling of crossing a line as Weiss approached the forest's edge, like she'd stepped over the boundary of one country into another – except it was a border only in her head. The scent of fresh pine and rainwater caught her nose, and then she could smell Blake approaching. There was no doubt it was her in Weiss' mind, even before the large black feline appeared.

She might have called it a jaguar, except… the shape was wrong. Subtly off in a way she couldn't quite identify. The not-quite-jaguar regarded her with its head tilted to the side, then began to chuff quietly.

It took Weiss a second to realise that was laughter.

"Well, well, well," the cat said in a voice gravellier than Blake's human one. "It has been a while, Weiss. I can't say I expected to see you here."

"Nor I," she replied. "May I enter your Domain? Forgive me if I'm unaware of some social more."

"Social rules-"

"Exist in human definition, yes, but I would still not offend you if I might help it."

Blake's lips peeled back into what Weiss assumed was a snarl at first, but quickly realised was the closest the feline could manage to a smile. "That's a generous gesture. You're welcome to enter, for what it's worth. Adam is out patrolling the eastern border; something has encroached on us."

"My presence here doesn't bother you?" Weiss asked. "Jaune and Ruby said you weren't always so hospitable."

"Ruby-? The Reaper?" Blake's ears fell flat. "Her presence causes death in all she touches. My Domain buckled and died under her presence." There was a note of both fear and anger there. "Yours is as sunlight on a warm day. You do not destroy and so you are welcome."

A logical explanation. Weiss hid her smile, wondering how Blake might bristle if she pointed out the human logic behind Blake's actions. Before, Jaune and Ruby had warned her against approaching Blake, saying she might surely kill her and take her body.

Weiss did not doubt that, even as she followed Blake deeper into her glade. Everyone was out for themselves and it only made sense that Blake's helping of her in Vale had been self-serving. It put Blake on a level Weiss could understand, and once you understood someone you could predict their decisions. Blake would have killed her once but would not dare now.

Simply put, Weiss was a bigger Grimm.

"How goes life in the human world?" Blake asked.

Weiss told her. Recounting the recent events and the movement by the police, instigated by Cinder. Fortunately, Blake had lived long enough a human to understand the nuances and words used, and what it meant for the hunters. Weiss finished by explaining Jaune and Ruby's plan to watch the police station, to which Blake predictably scoffed.

"That is a trap if I've ever seen one. Cinder will be watching and waiting."

"I know. I think they do as well, but they can't leave those hunters behind. It's not about doing the right thing. It's about keeping morale up for the others."

"A fault of human nature. Would that you could simply show your dominance and control them."

There were some leaders who did, though most relief on employment and the treat of job insecurity to do that. The hunters were a voluntary force, really more of a militia or vigilante group.

"Cinder is keeping Jaune and Ruby busy in the human world to protect herself here," Weiss said. "If this continues, I'm not sure the boundary will stay standing. Isn't there any way you can help us from this end?"

"Should I?" Blake asked. "If the boundary falls, I can reclaim a human body once more."

"You wouldn't have much to use it for, seeing as how our world would be turned into a similar state as this one. What's the point of taking human form if it's not different? It would be better for you to keep our worlds separate. At least then, if a human ever strays here and you kill them, you'll get to experience something new and exciting."

Blake chuffed again, shoulders shaking.

"You're better at this than Jaune. He would just shout at me about doing the right thing."

Weiss shrugged. "You're not an idiot and neither am I. It's easier to bargain with you."

"And what?" Blake asked, "Do you have that I would desire?"

"How about a way into our world?"

Blake stilled. "The only way is for us to take over humans…"

"I'm aware."

"Are you-?" Her eyes narrowed. "Jaune would never allow it."

"Jaune is not me, nor is he the leader of the hunters." Weiss sighed. "I cannot promise anything, but it might not be hard to find people who are essentially braindead. I presume that wouldn't matter, since you would replace their minds?"

"I suppose." Blake mulled the concept. "As long as it was not a physical sickness which caused it, we should be fine. At the worst, it wouldn't work, and we could leave those bodies behind. But the souls would still be devoured, you realise."

"Yes. I'm not saying I am comfortable with the idea. However, when the alternative might well be the end of the human race, I am willing to consider such tactics. I will have to talk with Ozpin, of course, and I would ask you to keep this from Jaune or Ruby."

"Understandable. I'll be interested in seeing what is decided." Blake sat on her hind and ran a paw over her face, patting some fur flat. "I assume, then, that the condition for you aiding us in this way is that we aid you against this Cinder."

"Correct. Before, you once said that you aided humanity because you had something to lose should our world be destroyed."

"My freedom and the experiences granted by having a human body."

"Indeed." Weiss smiled. "I'm simply offering you those temptations again."

"Ha." Blake chuffed once more. "Well, you have yourself a deal. I'll see what Adam and I can do and report back to you once we have something. I hate to be a bother, but we would prefer a male and female body respectively. For… reasons."

"I'm sure I know what those are, thank you."

Blake chuffed loudly.

"There is one other thing, however." Weiss said it simply, as though she'd remembered some small thing. "Obviously, you would need to follow conditions for existing in our world. Consider it a set of house rules. If we're going to be sharing the same world, you could stand to follow them."

"Adam won't like that."

"He will learn to like it," Weiss said.

Blake's eyes narrowed. "I do not like your tone, Weiss. Be wary."

"No, Blake, it is you who should be wary. I have made my offer and it is a generous one, but I do think it's important to set the conditions of the contract." Weiss sighed, almost frustrated that her father's lessons were coming back in such a way. "The benefits to you are obvious, as is what we want from you in terms of finding Cinder, but in order to avoid any… complications, I feel it might be prudent to fully explain just why you should obey the rules I grant."

"And those reasons are?"

"Just one." Weiss smiled. "And that is that if you break the rules, I shall destroy you."

Blake's paws dug down into the grass.

The sun beat down on her in turn, shining so bright Blake shied back.

"The sun can end life as easily as it supports it. It would not be difficult for me to hunt you and kill both you and Adam in either world, or to burn your Domain to the ground and turn it into a barren desert where no life grows." Weiss let go and the searing heat diminished, replaced once more with a warm spring day. "Keep that in mind, Blake. I can be a kind and powerful ally or a terrible foe. The choice is yours."

"What happened to dealing in good faith?"

"Why, Blake…" Weiss adopted a shocked tone. "Those are human terms for human worlds. Didn't you tell me earlier that life is so much easier if you just force your allies into submission? I do so respect you, after all, so I thought to take your advice to heart."

The feline watched her for a moment, considering and tense. The distance between them was short and they were in Blake's Domain, and yet for the Grimm Weiss had become, and the Domain she claimed as her own, fighting her was an almost impossible task. And in the end, the offer Weiss had made was too good for Blake to turn down.

She chuffed once more. "I always knew you were a dangerous one," Blake said. "You have yourself a deal, on both my and Adam's parts. I'll keep him in line."

"I'm glad to see we could reach an agreement."

/-/

Pyrrha Nikos wiped the sweat from her brow as she pushed into her home and let the wet towel hang off her shoulders. "I'm home!" she called.

"Welcome back," a voice came from the kitchen. Pyrrha walked through to find her mother preparing a lunchbox for tomorrow morning for her father. "How was your jog, Pyrrha? Nothing bad happen?"

"I stuck to the safer parts of town. As promised."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Athena Nikos leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I'm sorry to get in the way, I know you love your freedom, but with things as they are, it's just not safe to be jogging around the waterfront anymore."

"I know. I've seen the news as well. And dad-" Pyrrha cut off as she noticed the empty plate on the table. "Is dad home?"

"He's in his office." Athena looked toward the corridor with an odd expression. "He seemed distracted. Didn't even stop for a kiss." She laughed good naturedly. "I suppose all these problems have him on edge; it must be hard for him, especially to keep work out of the home."

"Yes." Pyrrha smiled weakly. "I guess it would be."

"Is this about his promise, dear?" Athena hugged her tight. "I know he said he'd take you to those try-outs, Pyrrha, but I think that was before terrorists struck Vale. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten, just that he has other things to focus on."

"I know, mom. I…" Pyrrha sighed. "I understand. Dad's work protects people's lives."

Athena ruffled her hair. "But that doesn't mean you're not disappointed. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with being a little selfish every now and then. Tell you what, if he can't, I'll see if I can find someone else who can. I know it's not what you want, but you know he would move heaven and earth to come watch you compete if he could."

Pyrrha nodded, looking briefly to the numerous family photos that covered the kitchen wall. Many of them were of her mother and father, Athena and Alexander, including images of their wedding, but there were also far more of her with them.

On one stretch in particular, images showing her father proudly kneeling – and standing as she grew taller – behind her as she posed in various sports outfits. They depicted her rise in the athletics circuits, and her father's immense pride. Even as he grew older and more weathered, the smile remained the same from picture to picture, a huge grin that split his face in two, showing teeth.

If he'd been physically able to get time off, he would have. She knew that. She managed a smile for her mother's sake and told herself it would be okay. Maybe their uncle could take her, or her older sister, Helena, who had moved out years ago.

"I'm going to get some homework done," Pyrrha said.

"What? I thought you said you had your homework done before your jog."

"Ah- W-Well, this is homework in advance." Her mother fixed her with a stern frown and Pyrrha's will buckled. "I'll get it done," she mumbled. "It's not hard."

"Well then, it's not hard enough to do before your jog tomorrow."

"Yes, mom."

"Good." Athena hugged her again. "Run along now and try not to bother your father. He's awfully busy."

Nodding, she made her way up the stairs and to her room, shrugging off her trainers as she did and running her fingers through her hair. There would be time for a shower before homework, then bed. If she were being honest with herself, she was looking more forward to school tomorrow than she had for a while, and not for a reason she'd have first thought.

Her cheeks burned a little as a pair of bright blue eyes appeared in her mind. She shook the thoughts away and tried not to feel any stupider than she did already. As she made her way to her room, a door at the end of the corridor opened and her father stepped out. Approaching fifty, he normally wore his greying hair slicked back, but of late had let it fall messily wherever it wished to.

He paused upon seeing her and reached up to take a cigarette from his mouth. "Pyrrha."

Pyrrha. He used to call her daughter. Or `my little girl`. She'd hated that, but strangely found she missed it of late. "Dad," she said. "I didn't realise you smoked…"

"A new habit," he said eloquently, a slow smirk spreading across his features. "Don't tell your mother."

She tried to laugh. "Are you working tonight?"

"Case work." He nodded behind him, to the now closed door. "These hunters need to be stopped and there is plenty of evidence to work through. Don't worry, though. I'm confident we'll have them dealt with within the month."

Her eyes lit up. Her big try-outs were the month after. "Does that mean-?"

"Hm?" Her father looked at her oddly. "Does that mean what?"

"You know. Your promise…"

"My promise…?"

Her smile fell. "I… The try-outs. You promised you would take me."

"Did I?" His eyes narrowed. A moment later, he sighed. "I'll have someone else take you. That should be good enough. If you'll excuse me, I need to head back to the station."

"Oh." Pyrrha tried not to sound too hurt; it wasn't his fault the city had turned on its head. "Good luck, dad. Love you."

"I love you too, Pyrrha." He chuckled as he walked by. "Sweet dreams."

The second he was gone, Pyrrha shivered.

The house felt colder all of a sudden.

Uh-oh. Well, not exactly subtle on the end there. Like, at all. Negative ten subtlety.

Pyrrha's father is Santa!

Ahem. Yes, well…

Next Chapter: 16th June

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur