Chapter 71: The light within a tainted mind

I'm still alive. You may recoil in minor horror and go 'Oh no!'. Nothing can keep me down for too long. I'm tough!

Preparations for the inevitable (Jaune Arc)

Jaune's eyes could barely comprehend what he was seeing. The ragged forms that had been lashed to the sides, emaciated bodies making little movements, the hollow eyes that just stared at them, the same thing as with Ruby Beornir having happened here.

'Disgusting…'

Another bandit camp, yet belonging to a different faction. There would be no pity for these scoundrels, none whatsoever. With a wave of his hand, he allowed the Grimm to move in, his own eyes picking out several of the women already, Raven approaching him from the side, standing stoically at his side.

"It's not pretty."

Small words that would not look amiss anywhere else, as the memories of the Beornir family came to him. The pleas from the sister, Top… something. He had made it nearly out of the camp without a hitch, back when he'd only freshly gained these powers, this curse…

"It isn't."

The bodies looked broken and useless, the eyes hollowly staring at them, as the Grimm ripped and tore into the bodies. There would be no new entrants to the ranks of the bandits, this clan being much more feral than the other ones. Banditry, pillaging, murder and arson, all such crimes could be forgiven if it came down to it, but the crime of treating humans as if they were livestock, lashed to the frames for 'rest' and whipped, tortured for cruel amusement…

That went too far.

It was like the Order of the Grandmaster, a sickening coalition of those who had been reared with the silver eyes. Already, he could feel how Summer's mind was a cacophony of madness that swirled and writhed with the tensions of a life that had been turned upside-down, Raven's own mind reaching out through the darkness.

"They have a habit of this. Travellers that they snag, they put to work. Good-looking ones? They use. There were meetings with them once, when they tried to take more… guests. Struck down with extreme prejudice, of course, but still."

Raven's voice was soft and definite, clearly making her opinions on this known, her awareness of how the world turned and the bandits worked in their own right, like always, respectable.

She was obviously more knowledgeable about bandits and their antics than he was. She had been with him for the past few nights, and in the morning, she shaved him. Smooth shaving was something that he'd have to get used to, Kali usually doing it for him.

"The cookpots are here. They usually- Ah."

Jaune saw the first body parts on meathooks, Raven looking cool and dispassionate at the bodies, a tremor of something that might be fear shooting through her for a moment, before she firmed herself against the sight.

'Disgusting…'

"They must be wiped out."

He realized that he wasn't becoming like the Grand Witch. It was… making sure that no more people would be eaten. It'd be a service to the world. He reached out with his mind towards the Grimm that circled around the bandit camp, a Nevermore landing next to him. Bandits took a careful step back, as he climbed atop the Nevermore, the Grimm quivering a little as he fed some Vitae Tenebris into it, the bony growths around its beak changing slightly, the feathers growing larger, as additional wings burst from below the two major wings, lumps growing on the underside, Jaune concentrating and changing the internal consistency of the Nevermore. It worked better with some examples, but it was still mix-and-match.

It was still a terrible thing to behold, a mutating Nevermore, but his will was like iron and steel, forged into the proper shape to make sure that the Grimm would not explode. He wasn't trying to make a leviathan-level Grimm, nor was he going to shape an Elder Grimm with superior intellect, it would serve his need.

It was time for it to take flight, as he closed his eyes.

"Raven? Come with me. It's time to give the rest of these animals a little present."

Bony growths grew through the feathers of the Nevermore, the second set of wings needed in order to get enough lift so they would be able to get off the ground. It wouldn't be an easy task to alter Grimm under normal circumstances, but the focus that he had with the Relic as the head made sure that things were constructed like they should be anatomically.

To force a creature of the Grimm to be able to move around, one had to craft them to a certain standard. Beowolves were easiest to fashion, their structure similar to the wolf, the bones of the internal structure nebulous and easy to forge. There was a space that could be filled. The smoke that the Grimm released after death was a part of that inner side leaking away with the Vitae Tenebris exposed to the light of day.

Grimm corpses dissipated much slower during the night, after all.

That was a benefit, of course, even though during daytime it was much harder to mount attacks like this.

She appeared on the Nevermore, and he let it lift off, the bandit camp before them looking like a hellscape, with the dying rasps of some of the bandits, or the relieved sighs of those that were to be cooked, as he knew that the bandits and the others would take care of them. Kali was still there, and she cared for the lives of people, obviously.

They flew, the Nevermore squawking softly, the wings beating a little faster, as his fingers pressed to the beak, the eyes glowing as he infused more of the Vitae Tenebris into the bird. The growths slowly pushed outward, starting to swell. A weapon, something that he had consciously created, the mount only the delivery platform, as the soft caw from the Nevermore made him feel almost like it was trying to reach the state of being an animal, yet its Grimm nature did not make it rise to becoming a real animal.

It was what was needed, Raven looking at him with indecipherable expressions flicking behind her eyes, as clear as day to their connection, the Grimm on which they stood moving slowly through the air, the heavy load that it carried making for a slow vehicle for their transport, the expression on Raven's face like a devilish call for something wicked by any casual onlooker, though her emotions were conflicting with her expression.

He wondered whether he would be able to make her smile one of these days, whether he had that gift to make her smile more than the moments when they had been intimate. Summer would know the tricks to getting Raven to open up, but he felt like he should be the one to make a move first.

"They are depraved people, yes?"

Raven startled when he suddenly spoke up, uncharacteristically twitchy, her eyes focusing on him.

"They are. Not like the others, as the Beornir were wiped out by your hand. Several groups fill the void, but there is always depravity within humanity, or so I was told by the Order once."

The words weren't unusual for someone who was a subordinate, giving the information freely and without any hidden motives. Raven was more of a follower than a leader when it came to him, though her orders were decisive and without a flaw, her eyes watching the ground from high above.

"Good. I…"

He struggled with the burden of judging those who were still human in their mind, no matter how depraved they were to normal ethics and sensibilities. It was something that made him feel like he was watching the slow corruption of his own moral code, as Raven looked up from her perch on the aberrant Nevermore's back.

"I wonder sometimes about how human I am."

He was corrupted by the Vitae Tenebris, though not in the manner that he knew the Grand Witch was. The woman had been torn in twain by the dark ichors and brought into a terrible fold, half-Grimm and wicked, something that made the rage within her even greater, with the loss of the child that was sacrificed for power.

"You are better than most."

Raven Branwen was not an accurate judge of that, he knew. It was her own opinion that she voiced, not the truth. They were intimate with each other, with a woman who was old enough to be his mother, she was a friend's mother, and his own…

He wondered how his mother would take the news that he had come back from death, that he'd been changed. It was pretty certain that his father would not approve, but Sage Arc was someone who believed wholeheartedly in the Order's beliefs, with no alternate interpretation allowed. It wasn't something that he could find easily within people, those who blindly obeyed the words of a leader in the hopes that it would all be alright, that there would be no casualties from a bad call.

It was a burden that he bore on his shoulders, the unwavering faith that he enjoyed from the women who he had attracted through sheer luck and coincidence, or so he hoped. Summer was a wildcard, someone who made him doubt her loyalties at times, but it was still within the acceptable bounds of treachery, though having such a level of faith in a woman who had been a member of the silver/eyed band of loyalists to the old Grand Wizard was something that he should probably get used to.

"I mean it. You're a team leader, are you not?"

He nodded, remembering Ren, who had fallen in the line of duty, Nora who was bereft of her love and Pyrrha who had been over-eager with her affections, whose body had been slightly corrupted before he'd pulled the Vitae Tenebris out of her.

"I never was made a leader. That always was Summer, always able to pull tactics out of her butt when we needed it, when she just told us to go and do what we did best. We all obeyed her."

That would be normal, Jaune supposed, as he noticed the reverence in the woman's voice.

"But you harboured doubts."

A small nod from the woman, her mask bobbing once and her gaze returned to look at the Nevermore on which they stood.

"It is why we had been separated. It was not fair in the slightest to my daughter, and I wish that I could apologize for…"

The woman's voice trailed off, as she seemed to concentrate on something.

"For doing what I did."

Yang would forgive her mother if she was here, undoubtedly. Yang was a good young woman, just like Ruby was a good young woman as well. It wouldn't be a problem if they all got together, before the Order had finalized their defense against the attack that would be coming.

The pawns were moving on the board, and he knew that he would need the assistance of the women that he loved, Kali's own influence marginal compared to that of her late husband, Whitney's influence greater than most, but still…

"She would forgive you. She's not one to carry a grudge for long."

He knew, because he knew her. She'd been his best friend's sister, and she'd sat with him on that bench in the park, and he'd vented to her. It was not the love that he expected from his lady friends, but the lack of it, the lack of being forced to act like everything slid past him.

He couldn't make amends for what they had done, not so easily. The murders of hundreds of bandits by the Grimm that he had orchestrated were necessary, the grudges grown from the murders that he had committed in order to safeguard his own existence.

It was troubling to him how easy it felt.

Lives, like grains of sand, slipping through his hands.

They were like small lights that were smothered by the darkness within him, his eyes beholding their little sparks of light that were silenced by the frenzied blackness that was the Grimm power within him.

He knew on some level that this was wrong, but he could not stop himself from starting to see them as little lights.

They sparked, little glows that were coalescing into the radiance that was an Aura. He willed the Nevermore to ascend, the Grimm floating at the height that made breathing harder, though neither Raven nor he were suffering from the thin air, as the Grimm on which they rode twisted and crunched below them, the lumps growing to full-sized sacks, the Nevermore making a pathetic cawing sound as the payload was disgorged.

Eggs, of a sort, escaped through the natural opening, the cloaca that he'd forced into the Nevermore's internal anatomy allowing the payload to be delivered, a black egg falling down to the settlement below, another caw loud in the air, as another came, and another came. It was disgusting, but he could feel the power of the Vitae Tenebris wax, as his body felt the power swell.

The first egg hit the ground, Jaune's eyes watching as the people below heard the crack, the black liquid splattering onto the ground, screams of alarm and terror coming, as the Grimm rose from the black liquid, Beowolves half the size of the normal one. It wasn't something that would be expected, as the Nevermore continued to unleash its payload. The Grimm swarmed from the eggs that had been disgorged, rather than to draw the Grimm from the surroundings.

It was a frighteningly effective way to deal the maximum damage to the settlements, something that he knew would be able to conquer most of the settlements. With how the fear and terror generated by the floor of Grimm would rise up and form the Vitae Tenebris, it would replenish the Nevermore's eggs by natural osmosis, forming the generator that would be producing an endless stream of Grimm.

The black tar-like substance was more than enough to keep Jaune's internal stores relatively full, as much as Grimm creation used. It was the focus on his staff that kept the efficiency high and the deficiency low. With how the pleasure that came from the influx of negativity influenced him and the acolytes that followed him, he knew that it was a dangerous precipice to walk on, and to go over the edge would make them all fall into what would be considered darkness, vile and wicked.

"The little lights… They fade so easily."

The resistance was already put out, as the Grimm surged towards the living, aura-enhanced humans. With the deaths of each Grimm, more spawned, the darkness forming some kind of haze, as the Nevermore cawed again, Jaune feeling the internal store of Vitae Tenebris and finding it to be nearly empty.

The terror slowly abated, as he made the Nevermore stop, letting it descend, his gaze watching the people that had fallen below the gnashing teeth of the Beowolves, his eyes watching the remnants of the resistance be mowed down by the tide of Beowolves.

'Disgusting.'

They were disgusting little lights, unworthy of salvation. They would not bow before a leader, but they would bow before the unending tide of Grimm that he could summon.

None lived after five minutes, as the Nevermore descended and set down in the camp, the Grimm slowly evaporating, coalescing into a bubbling sphere of frothing Vitae Tenebris in front of him, sucked into his body after a moment, closing his eyes and finding another camp in the vicinity, unaware of the terror that had happened here, the bodies left there to rot. A testament to the disgusting state in which these bandits lived, consuming the flesh of those who were around.

'Some people deserve death.'

He would bring it to them, as he was the harbinger of death for them.

"Good job."

Raven commented, and he smiled at her, offering her a warm smile, knowing that she meant no ill will towards him, as the praise was genuine and he felt no treacherous emotion from her. He could trust her.

Trust was a rare commodity in this world.

A terrible thing occurred (Weiss Schnee)

"So…"

Yang was here, she was looking at her with that expression on her face that made the world a little brighter and warmer to her, as her mother busied herself with something out of sight, Yang's generous chest brushing against her own, a smile on her lips.

"How'd you get back to fitness? I didn't think you could get up that quickly, and I hope- You aren't forcing yourself, are you?"

The concern in Yang's voice was more concern than she'd expected, as Ruby would undoubtedly force her to be with her father or someone else. It wasn't going to happen, Weiss Schnee was not going to be some easy woman for a man who hadn't earned the right.

'I'm not going to settle for anything less than the man who healed me.'

It was a silly thought, but it was one that she clung to.

"No, I'm… Someone helped me."

Yang's gaze went to her mother for a moment, before it returned to her, a small smile on her lips that made Yang look so terribly sexy, something like a big sister that she could trust. It might be the big breasts or the way that she looked at her, but something made her feel like more of a sister than Winter ever had been.

It was a sweet moment that she felt, contrasting with sadness that her sister wasn't able to experience it with her.

"Tall, handsome, nice blonde hair?"

She had no idea who Yang was referring to, as the purple eyes met her own, a smile that warmed her heart a little on the lips of the girl.

"I think I saw your mom… She looks a lot like you."

Yang nodded, giving a girlish smile at her, something that made her look younger than the mature beauty that she'd only glimpsed briefly, as her tongue slid over her lips.

"That sounds like a hero, alright. Let me tell you, he's one hell of a kisser."

That meant Yang knew who it was, and it was a surprise to hear that Yang had actually kissed the man! Weiss stared, wide-eyed, her mouth half-open.

"Oh, you don't know?"

She most certainly did not know! She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Well…"

Yang grinned with that teasing manner of hers that was so infuriating! It wasn't like Blake's usual smile of 'I am dead inside, don't bother with me' or Ruby's near-infectious cheer that she'd had before.

"He's a cutie. A very sexy cutie, who's in need of a bit of a hand, who-"

Weiss had watched her mother approach from behind Yang, laying a hand on Yang's cheek and then on hers. Yang seemed to stiffen, as Weiss could see the eyes light up, her mother's eyes turning a deeper blue, as darkness seemed to shoot through the veins, and Yang's mouth opened in a low moan.

She was suddenly in a room, one that she'd felt she'd been in before, looking at a blonde young man that she knew intimately, as someone who had been lost. She could feel his hands, both of them there, one pale as the moon and the other fleshy, grope at her breasts, the weighty orbs in his manly hands, squeezed with that masculine grip, moaning at him in that needy, breathy tone of her mother's.

She felt his large shaft invade her, an odd sensation that nevertheless brought her pleasure, as she could feel every nerve in her lower body engage in that pleasurable sensation, looking down at the young man with a heated gaze and kissing him.

It was love, lust and craving. It was heated ravishing love that came inside her, as she pushed herself up, like an animal in need of his manly seed, smacking her hips down on his groin again with a loud smack.

He spoke her name with a fury that made her tremble, the name that her father had given her during that moment, as his hard rod pounded in her lower entrance, full of him, knowing that he was a young man who had been the subject of her craving, of the desire that she felt since she had awoken to the warmth of a man once more, from the bitter chill of her marriage.

It was sweet, as they laid on the bed, his sexual stamina lesser than her own, her fingers tracing over his cheek. He was a boy compared to her, a young man whose hard cock had stroked the depths of her intimate parts and who was only the age of her daughter, the youngest one.

It was a sweet little thing that she had here, a young man to mould and to shape into someone who could be a father for her children, rather than the man who had been the father that they would not love.

Weiss snapped out of the moment as her mother's fingers left her, Yang looking at her for a lengthy moment, before she seemed to stir awake again.

"Woah… I mean, woah woah… woah. Woah."

Yang looked uncomfortable, her eyes fluttering a little, her hand going to her shirt, where her nipples were hard, pointing against the fabric.

"That was… Shhhhiiiiiit…. I think I need the bathroom. One moment."

Yang made for the bathroom, as her mother smirked at her with that smile that made her feel a little like she was being experimented on by some cruel savage leviathan of malicious import, some wicked witch that held only lust and misfortune in her broomstick.

It was a sweet little smile that blossomed on her mother's face as her hand reached out and Weiss was carried along on a trip down whatever sexual heaven her mother wished her to see, the warmth of a bed around her, as she let her fingers lightly tease over the skin.

"It'll be okay, Jaune."

Her mother's voice, speaking quietly, as she could see the dark shadows morph into a woman who looked very much like Blake, her mother, something in her mind supplied, as the woman sat down on the bed next to the pair. Both were naked, yet it did not bother the Faunus woman one bit, as she looked at him.

"We still love you. It is a thing here, widows liking young men who could be their son. You mustn't think that you are someone who should not be loved, my great and strong man."

Kali, the woman's name supplied by her mother's memories, leaned forward to kiss her cheek, to touch over the sweet young man's side, clearly leaving him to feel the touch of fingers, a flash of jealousy coming from within, as Jaune, the man she loved like a husband, the man of her life, gave a soft sound of discontent, as if he were uncertain about the direction his life would take.

He wasn't going to stop being the man she loved, and the plan would account for that. It would be one small step on the long and fruitful path towards getting the freedom that they had craved for so long.

She could feel the freedom that she had enjoyed as she lazily turned to him, seeing the expression on his face. It was something precious to her, like he had given her a sweet little hint to something that was deep inside him, the warmth of love, as she kissed his skin, tasting the salty sweat on the skin.

"I love you."

Her mother spoke those words and Weiss felt a shudder go through her body at the thought of loving him, a wetness that came from more than just sex, a need, a craving, something terrible to feel when her nipples hardened and her eyes watched him, the man who had made her mother love once more.

"Do you see?"

Her mother's voice called her out of this haze, as Weiss shuddered. Her nipples were hard as well and Weiss lamented that she didn't have the chest that her sister had, or her mother.

"I'm- I see."

She blushed. She totally blushed like some girl with a crush, her eyes going down to her hands, which had been touching herself.

"Love. Craving."

Her mother's fingers brushing over her cheek, to trace up to her ear, Whitney Schnee's lips pressing against her earlobe.

"Desire."

Weiss felt that desire surge through her lower body, knowing that it was just a small fragment of what her mother had under her control, something linking her to the woman's own Semblance, blood or just the inheritance of Glyphs, as her mother's tongue slid up her ear.

"It is what we both deserve, Weiss. A love that cannot be tarnished. Don't you want to feel loved?"

She nodded, feeling her body respond to that sweet pleasure as her mother pulled her tongue from her ear, the twitch making her feel that carefully concocted shudder, as she touched her ear after her mother had leaned out of the personal distance, her mother's fingers gently seizing her throat.

Unnatural crimson spread through the blue eyes of her mother, gazing at her with that gaze almost hellish in its intensity, as her fingers teased over the base of the neck, those digits digging into her skin.

"Crave it."

Weiss felt the warmth explode, as her eyes rolled up and her mother gently held her, letting the quivers of her orgasm leak the juices out of her, as gasps and groans came from her lips, feeling the tremors subside, as her mother looked away, the sheen of sweat on Weiss' body making her feel dirty.

"Experience it."

Weiss felt the intimacy that her mother had with her chosen partner, the love that she shared for the young man blazing like a bonfire, as the red met her gaze, and something wormed its way inside her. Orgasms, blinding and hot, worked through her lower body, shudders coming with every moment that her mother touched her.

"That's enough."

It wasn't enough for her. The pleasure that had given her jitters was still not enough, she craved more. She looked at her mother, whose eyes were returning to their blue colour once more, as her mother kissed her cheek.

"It isn't always a good thing to be too interested in things like this, Weiss."

The caution wasn't needed, but she needed more of that pleasure. It wouldn't be fair if she was left on this edge, without the pleasure there to soothe her need for affection, when she'd-

Her mother's hand lightly smacked her cheek.

"Calm yourself, Weiss. It's just the residual effect."

It must be that. Yang emerged from the bathroom, looking like she'd just ran a mile, her face a little damp, hair a messy state, as she gave a lazy grin at her.

"Woah, I am just… So, how'd you- Damn, you look like you wet yourself."

Weiss looked down at herself, at the small puddle that she'd got between her legs, the sweaty skin and the smell hitting her nose.

"I… I should use the bathroom as well."

She definitely had to clean herself up, to look proper again.

She was breathing heavily too.

'Calm down!'

She couldn't really calm down until she stood in the bathroom, looking at her features in the mirror. The skin around her scar seemed to be ragged and rippled, the flesh looking rawer, like there was some mending taking place, her earlobe tinted with a faint redness that seemed to slowly fade away the longer she looked at it.

'I'm not going to do anything weird. I'm not going to be weird, because I'm a Schnee and I'm…'

Her mother had been willing to show her secrets, hot secrets and warmth and had warned her as well of the effects of the need that she felt. Weiss could feel the sizzling heat in her groin, around the place where a precious flower rested and the realization that her mother had intended for the two of them to be there with the same man.

It wasn't a scary thought anymore. It wasn't, not really. This was her mother, basically telling her that she would be cherished by a man who cherished her mother in much the same way, who would defend her if it came down to that, to be the girl that would snuggle up to her daddy and make her daddy be happy.

It was such a sick little happiness that Weiss nearly cried a little from the feelings, as her fingers brushed over her pussy, leaving her feeling restless, helpless and still wrapped in that joy.

Ruby could love her father all she wanted, she could love everything about the man, but Weiss wouldn't be so stupid as to do something like that. She was a girl who needed to be cherished, loved and protected from danger until the moment she could protect him in return.

'Well… I wonder if he'd like to go out on a date with me.'

It was a fair trade, of course. A very fair trade, since she had been healed with his assistance.

A date with spending time together, going out to eat somewhere and then to the place he stayed at, or- or maybe a hotel. A hotel with a nice soft bed, a shower to get clean and- and underwear. Lingerie. Something to make him caress her like her Mama was caressed, to show that a Schnee was someone worthy of desire and love, more-so than the people who thought that a Schnee was cold and cruel.

She wanted that. She wanted it so much that she burned a little inside, knowing that Ruby wasn't going to be pleasant to be around if she knew that she could walk again. It was strange, but Ruby felt like she was an enemy, rather than a friend. Whatever had happened had taken her friend and turned her into this happy cheerful murderer, who wanted to sleep with her papa and who…

'I'm not that dissimilar, but Mama said that she'd take good care of me.'

She wasn't going to be anything but her stepfather's best girl, of course.

Weiss Schnee did not do things half-way.

A burning spirit (Yang Xiao Long)

She watched Weiss emerge from the bathroom after that experience that she'd had, something that had lit a fire in her crotch when she'd had that rollercoaster orgasm that just did not stop. Whatever her mind had told her that had happened to her, it was still something that made her shudder and shiver, aware of those feelings of love and craving and desire.

"S-soo… Good little girl-time?"

Weiss turned bright red, looking at her with a blush growing on her cheeks, her gaze cast down, her hair falling over her cheeks. It wasn't a bad sight, Yang thought, as she definitely felt a little gayer than before, knowing the feelings that surged inside her. Of course, Blake had been a partner, a partner that loved to drag herself down into regret and darkness, without even considering the things.

"It was highly stimulating, Yang."

The raised chin and the haughty words made her grin, getting up and sashaying over to Weiss, who looked a little intimidated, pressing her chest against Weiss' own, looking into her eyes with that hint of barely restrained interest.

"Care to bet on that, snowflake, hmm?"

Her breasts laid on top of Weiss her own, as Weiss looked up at her, Weiss flushing deep red, as Yang's hands grabbed the petite girl with a dancer's body and raised her up a little by grabbing the hips. Weiss was standing on her tip-toes now, with a ballerina's grace.

"I'm glad that you're alright. I was worried, I'm… I'm worried, Weiss."

She had worries for her sister, for what the world held in store for them, and more or less knew that Ruby had to be restrained from doing the worse things that the Order did. The Order was the factor that had to be accounted for when dealing with Ruby, because Yang knew that she could not trust her own sister again, or her own father.

Or her uncle, now that she thought of it. Sage Arc wasn't someone who would deliberately bring about the world's end, but it felt like there was so much stress in the world to make her feel crabby and uninterested in anything but keeping her friends safe.

Her mom had been diverted from being a mother because of the Order, because of what she had done to protect her. It was something that Yang could only accept as the truth, aware of how it felt in her heart, the betrayal of her father, her cousin to be used as a sacrifice.

The story of the prince who would never be a king, who would be sacrificed to a wizard who held only the world's balance in mind, was something that sprung to her mind, a dark stain that blotted out the thoughts that surfaced, a whisper in her mind that continued to burn and twitch and writhe like some sort of buzzing insect that had buried itself into her mind.

Rowena was like a replacement for Summer, her mother who had been out of her life, out of her world. Now that she was a little older, she had seen the truths that she hadn't recognized in the past, when she had been but a young child.

Summer Rose was someone who held the Order's existence in her eyes as a paramount existence, contrasting to Rowena, whose world was vested within the son that she had birthed, in order for the Order to allow another tragedy to occur.

"Don't worry. We're going to be okay, Yang. If Ruby isn't…"

Weiss looked like she wanted to say more, but Yang felt a shiver go down her spine, as Weiss looked much like her mother at that moment. Determined blue eyes, the scar making her expression look like that of an old warrior, of someone who had weathered a storm.

"I am not going to be your father's breeding oven at her insistence. I am a Schnee and we do not lower ourselves for a man who has ties with a shadowy organization."

The haughty expression that Weiss donned that moment made Whitney Schnee laugh softly.

"Your father was one of those men, you know that right?"

Weiss flushed a little, as she cleared her throat, embarrassed by her mother's correction.

"Well- I mean, my virginity deserves at least someone of high status and love. I am not like a cabbage, I shall not be sold to some man who looks like he is an unshaved brute!"

Weiss spoke so confidently that Yang smirked, letting her hips go and leaving Weiss to adjust a little, yet not pull away.

"Unless you want him to be an unshaven brute, plundering your sweet treasure hoard with his really hard big stick, Weissey."

Weiss turned pink, the colour erupting on her cheeks.

"H-hey! You can't just go out and say that, y-you! You!"

Yang grinned, grabbing Weiss by the buttocks and squeezing down with a hint of roughness.

"Now, girls… Play nice. I don't want to see a lesbian orgy erupt here…"

That implied more than two partners. Yang looked at the older woman, who was already getting herself a little bit less clothed, pale skin and pale hair looking like a dusting of snow covering her archaic elegant features, a snow queen, if one ever was one.

"Hey? Mama? I'm not… I mean, we aren't-"

Weiss stammered, as Yang caught the grin on the older woman's lips, as she felt the desire within her skyrocket. An image of herself straddling Weiss her face, seeing how a pussy laid before her, begging to be explored, the mother pleasuring the daughter in a triangle of bodies, a lewd and desire-riddled mess that would only come with an orgasm that'd leave them breathless, one body merged by three souls, pleasure burning through the body like an undulating wave.

It was gone a moment afterwards, as she snapped back to attention, seeing the expression on the Schnee Matriarch's face, a hint of a smile, Weiss turning a cherry red colour in the face, Yang realizing that she was blushing as well, but trying to make light of it.

"A good girl gets rewarded and a bad girl gets punished, Weiss."

The teasing, sweet smile on the woman's face was something that made Yang realize that the woman held some twisted kind of amusement at teasing her daughter, possibly due to having been declared dead and thought dead whilst it had happened, as Whitney Schnee got up.

"Now, girls… Weiss, I think it is time that we order something to eat. Yang, would you be so kind as to set the table for the three of us? Plates are in the cupboard."

Yang supposed she could enjoy dinner whilst she was with Weiss. Weiss looked like she'd rather have something nice and filling, a sausage with cream… which Yang was going to tease her about.

"Don't start thinking about taking your stepfather away from your mom, Weiss… That's naughty girl behaviour."

Weiss gave her a sharp look, colour flooding her cheeks.

"I-I won't dare! He's- He- Ah, you're bullying me!"

Yang smirked.

'Still got it.'

A wish on a Rose (Ruby Rose)

The door to the dorm room opened up and Yang appeared, letting the working sister look up from the maintenance to the weapon that currently laid half-opened upon the workbench, the minute twists to the inner gears and the mechashift materials slowly continuing, as she fixed her gaze back on the work that she was doing, her fingers twisting one of the small nuts to the metal, a shiver going through her body at the feeling that welled up inside her.

"Are you going out on missions with her?"

The question was voiced, as it bounced around in her mind. Surely, Yang would need a partner when it came to completing the mission, after all, if there was no partner, who would step up? The Grandmaster had told her that she would be one of the best Order members, and Yang wasn't quite like that yet.

It was not something that was spoken of aloud, of course, but Yang would know that there would be a partner for her as well. Working with the mean one from the d'Arc-Night family definitely would make her turn into a murderer as well. Innocent little Faunus lives, reaped by the blade of an evil witch. She hated her, because she wouldn't like to be partnered with the older woman.

"Who? Cousin Rowe?"

The meanie, Yang spoke her name so casually, as if it was really family. There was no family except for the Order, of course. Without that, there was no peace and no love in the world! It was all for the little people, the silver-eyed Order members far and wide would allow for their safety.

"Yes. I've been fine-tuning my weapon… it's going to be better, yes, don't you know? I've gotten three new rifling parts ready for the final upgrade, just before the Vytal Festival."

The Grandmaster had said that whatever was needed to make her weapon the best it could be would be provided for her, if she was a good member of the Order. There were so many people that the Shadow could turn, the Shadow always having its sway over the people, with how the world had come to this dark tinting of grey and black.

"How about we go out, have a bit of a spar, huh? I went to visit Weiss earlier, she's feeling a little better, getting some feeling back in her arms. She told me to wish you a great time."

There was that weakling, of course. With how much wealth the SDC had accumulated, her mother would be the one who would need to manage it once the old man passed. It was a shame, really. It was so much wealth that could be used to fuel the war against the Shadow, and Weiss didn't even want to be with daddy.

'She'd better have time for that… but broken arms aren't good. At least she can't run then, though…'

That was an issue, but the Grandmaster had assured her that Weiss would have a perfect partner waiting for her, if things didn't pan out. You could still have a baby even if you didn't have functional arms anymore, of course!

"Sure thing, sister!"

They were sisters of the Order now, of course. With how the world required those that held the power to fight within their bones to rise up to combat the darkness that lurked in the world, they would have the bonds of sisterhood to guard them, with the blessing of life within their belly.

She readied her weapon, nearly ten minutes later in one of the sparring rings, the mechanical devices measuring their aura humming softly, as they got into their positions, Yang shifting her jacket a little to show off those big lumps of ballast, her eyes glinting with that eagerness that was perfect for an Order member.

'You'll be great! We'll be sisters once Pyrrha is properly given the blessings!'

Yang would need to know that she served, rather than to think that she had any other goal than the mission. The Grandmaster had told her some things that she had to keep to herself, but she was a good girl, after all!

"Let's go!"

The fight was on, as her weapon slashed at the blonde, her blade cutting into the Aura, Yang's fist lashing out faster than she'd imagined, feeling how it passed by her, the petals slowly reforming into her body once more as she rose-blinked back, her fingers adjusting her grip on the handle of her weapon, the scythe's tip going low, a slash up at Yang's face, dodged a moment later, Yang's mouth turning to a grin as her weapons shifted to their shotgun configuration and Ruby had to evade a barrage of shotgun shells loaded with Fire Dust, her body sliding from corporeal to incorporeal, her body appearing behind Yang, the scythe anticipated by Yang by firing down, Yang's foot hitting her right in the chin, Yang doing a little flip.

"Thought you'd get me, huh? Good, good… Let's get at it, Ruby! You're only half-way drained!"

Yang had a massive amount of Aura, compared to her own, knowing that she could take the punishment, Ruby's fingers twisting the scythe into the sniper configuration. The shells were used for heavy-target volleys, but she'd try them out on Yang, the impact growing heavier with every round that was fired from the barrel, her hair fluttering as explosions from the ammunition rocked the defensive shields, Yang grinning at her.

"Close, close… But no cigar, Ruby!"

'Stop that!'

She wanted to take Yang down, that was no way to deal with a superior sister of the Order! She would make sure that Yang knelt before her and said that she was magnificent! She was a Rose, she would bloom!

The aura shattered after the next punch, Yang having weathered the barrage and advanced, grinning like a lunatic as she offered her hand.

"Good one! You nearly tore through all of my aura, as if you were going for the kill. Oof, glad I'm not going to be the one smarting after this, Ruby."

Anger welled up inside her as she looked at her sister, as she looked at the girl that had dared to break her aura. Why did she have so much whilst she was just able to have so little, huh? What made her better than Pyrrha, able to weather a heavier blow than Pyrrha could?

It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair and she'd know that Yang would be just like the one who'd initiated her! It was all her fault, all the fault of that mommy of Jaune, that evil woman with the evil weapon! She'd show her, she'd show why the Rose was better than a clan that had only had dregs to support it!

"Let's have a shower, Ruby."

She didn't dare show her anger to the girl, because the meanie would get it. Everything would go as the Grandmaster had said that it would, so it would all be fine and the world would be a better place.

'You'll see…'

She looked at her reflection in one of the mirrors in the locker room, Yang giving her an endearing ruffle through her hair that she suffered. She'd kill the meanie eventually, when she wasn't looking. Yang was not going to turn into a monster like the meanie… no matter what. She'd kill Yang before that happened, before she'd have an evil weapon like- like Ember Murdermace or something!

"Ruby, you're improving a lot. How about I help you with your homework? I remember a little Ruby who absolutely sucked at languages…"

It wasn't her name.

She was a Rose after all. One of the Roses that bloomed in the light, to banish the shadow.

Her name was Summer Rose, Yang just hadn't gotten the news yet…

Pyrrha would be so happy to be the partner of the Summer Rose, after all.

Summer Rose, her true name.

Well… You can see that our dear Ruby isn't quite herself anymore.

We're coming to the crescendo of the volume, ladies and gentlemen.

Have a funny, or at least amusing, omake scene. It's been at the back of my mind, a bit of an apology for the long-long wait.

Not in Vale anymore (Jaune Arc)

He landed on his face after the hole had sucked him in, groaning loudly as he got up. Standing in front of him were some people that looked familiar, different in their style from the last time he'd seen them, the farm boy that had been there looking like he was having some kind of surprise, as well as a man in military uniform and a woman who looked a little like Weiss. The staff with the Relic as a focus blinked out of existence, to remain faintly in his periphery, but nowhere within his sight in his presence.

"Well… it seems that I'm here again."

The uniformed individuals that were pointing their weaponry at him were definitely a hindrance, but he didn't think that he'd have to fear too much. Already, he felt the presence of those who had been bound to him in the shadows, a whisper that was both sweet as well as seductive in the air, as he saw the yellow-golden eyes and felt the presence of Kali stir.

"Oh, gosh, Jaune! Ah, this is our Jaune, hi Jaune! Say hello to Jaune- Oh, that doesn't make much sense, does it?"

An older version of himself, standing there wearing armour that he'd worn once so long ago, hesitant and yet resolute. A sweetness of feelings of loss and craving, as the uniformed man with the beard regarded him.

"May I know your name? It seems our guests have some prior acquaintance with you."

Paranoia, mistrust and not a little fear from the man, like a sweet fine wine, as the other uniformed members of whatever force the man had did not stop their aggressive stance, definitely aiming at him with intent to disable. In the shadows, he could see Kali's claws form and then disappear once again.

"Ah, Jaune Arc. I'm not exactly from this place, but I'll have you know that I'm eh… I know these people. Ruby's one of my best friends, Weiss is a girl I really liked and Blake is… well, Blake… and, eh… Yang is Yang."

That outfit she wore was definitely going to need some changes to it, as he glanced around the large place that he'd arrived at. An observatory, it seemed, for something. Perhaps an office for the man.

"You're… You're me, right?'

The older version of himself asked, and Jaune felt nothing but sincere honesty and trust, as well as a disgusting positive emotion.

"Well… Yes. I'm-"

He noticed Nora and Ren standing there, noticing Nora more than he did Ren, the emotionless void already familiar now, and he took a step forward.

"Ren, you're… You're alive, by the Gods."

Surprise flashed on his old friend's face, knowing that there was death in his world, as he felt the emotions well up. It felt so good to see Ren alive again, to see that he was still with Nora, and that they were together.

"Where's… Where's Pyrrha?"

Pain, delicious darkness and depression came from his alternate self, and he realized that it had been something different, something that had led to her death, and he closed his eyes.

"She's… she's alive with you, isn't she? Is she- is she happy?"

Jaune thought she was, but she wasn't with him right now.

"I think she is? I'm-"

He noticed that the negative emotions came from those around him, the man who had asked him who he was regarding him silently.

"He's ah, someone we saw when we tried to get the Relic of Knowledge, I think he's a good person… probably?"

Ruby came to his rescue, and Jaune offered a smile, as the other version of him did the same.

There were similarities between their Ruby Rose, at the very least. A girl who would always strive to make the world a better place.

"At ease, Ace Ops."

He didn't think they looked like aesops very much, really, but then again, who was he to judge?

"A room will be given to you all to lodge. With this new arrival, we seem to have need of another room…"

Jaune d'Arc-Night gave his counterpart a look.

"So, your sisters… What are their names?"

The guy in the fancy military outfit could do what he wanted, he was curious.

"Ah, Saphron is one of my older sisters, and then there is Marron, Kolor and-"

Jaune watched as strange names were listed off, names he didn't know.

"Aren't your parents Sage and Emerald d'Arc-Night?"

The queer look on his counterpart's face and the mystified expression told him enough.

"Well, my oldest sister is called Rowena, followed by Heather, they're the Huntresses of the family, and then-"

They talked for a while, as Ren and Nora joined, the farm boy standing at the side, not joining in.

"Come, let's get to the dorm. It seems you'll be getting a dorm to yourself, if-"

A squeal came from Ruby as a redheaded girl with green eyes and a really weird outfit appeared, a 'Punny' or something, who seemed to be giving them a tour.

'This feels like a long time…'

"So, this is the dorm you've got… Woah, a dorm to yourself."

The alternate version of himself seemed impressed, and Jaune smiled a little. RWBY's whole lineup was located slightly outside of the door, a few doors down.

"Well, not to myself."

He knew that Kali and the others would be stepping out of the shadows a moment later. They were present, after all. They were always present, tethered to him.

"Hey, eh… Was I- were you-"

The alternate version of himself seemed to be trying to ask a question.

"Pyrrha is still alive, but there was this thing with Mountain Glenn…"

That was about the time that he remembered, feeling the strangeness of having been intimate with his older sister, a woman who was fully grown and womanly.

"Listen, you must prevent her from going to Ozpin, she'll be turned into a maiden and she'll die!"

Fear, terror and a little yearning, as his alternate self pleaded with him to keep her safe. Jaune nodded.

"Don't worry."

Weiss peered inside, her eyes inquisitively, as Jaune noticed the look on her face.

"I hope you've got a great time with your girlfriend. She's already looking for you. Remember to use a condom. Oh, and lube."

Weiss Schnee's face turned crimson, as Jaune's face turned crimson as well.

"We're not like that! I mean, he's a dorky geeky- We're not- No!"

Jaune d'Arc-Night merely stared at her, tilting his head to the side, as this local version of Jaune had turned red as well.

"She's not into me, I mean-"

Jaune d'Arc-night looked at the two of them, shaking his head softly. That wouldn't do! She was obviously concerned for him, so he peered at her with a little more focus on the emotions brimming inside of her.

'Fear, hesitation, a little fascination…'

"Why not? She's good-looking. I like the dress."

Weiss flushed red, as the local Jaune looked at her, blushing as well.

"W-well, I mean, I didn't- I didn't think I'd- Thank you for the compliment."

Jaune d'Arc-Night got up, as he touched his local counterpart with his hand lightly.

"Unless you want to have a threesome?"

Weiss looked like she was going to hit him.

"I most certainly do not! How could you even get that conclusion that I'd want to be with you!"

It was just like with Whitney at times, though Whitney was mellowed out seriously.

"Then with him? He's your local Jaune."

Weiss turned red in the face, as the local Jaune turned a little pink-cheeked at the suggestion.

"I'd need to buy condoms for that! Do you know how embarrassing that is?!"

Jaune d'Arc-Night never really thought about it much.

"There are things that can be done without a condom."

He helpfully added, as Weiss turned redder in the face.

"I'd- I'd never! I am not thinking about doing anything with Jaune!"

Jaune d'Arc-Night watched how Jaune Arc seemed to slump.

"Then, who else? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Weiss frowned.

"No! I'm- I… I don't. Why would you even think about that?"

Her gaze was confused.

"Think about your relationship in the future. What about the child with you?"

Weiss made a face of disgust.

"He's fourteen!"

Jaune d'Arc-Night nodded.

"Then the guy with the scruff? Or the man with the beard?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Ren is off-limits. So… Who are you going to date?"

Weiss seemed to understand what he was hinting at. Hopefully, she would.

"He's still Jaune Arc!"

Jaune d'Arc-Night offered a smile.

"You can be Weiss Arc if you want to have a very big family. Mom was pregnant many times from father, and I think it went similarly here in this place. Just imagine it – A man who will love you forever, if I know that look well enough. Do you really want to pass up on that opportunity and die three years later in some far-away place, childless?"

Weiss looked troubled, but Jaune d'Arc-Night supposed that he'd said enough, watching as she came to a conclusion.

"Jaune Arc, our Arc, come with me. Escort me back to my dorm- No, to the Cafeteria."

Weiss looked at him with a glare and a serious expression later on.

Three hours later, the door opened, the local Jaune giving him a look that was mellow and very content.

"Woah, I'm… Yeah, thanks. She- woah. We have to wait for a bit, but- Woah. Thanks for the advice."

Jaune d'Arc-Night grinned, as Whitney stepped from the shadows and gave his older counterpart a wink.

"Schnee girls like it when their man has a set of balls that they can use, Mister Arc."

The local Jaune flushed, and Jaune d'Arc-Night grinned at the woman that he loved.

"I'll… ehh, we're supposed to get dinner. Weiss and I sort of took a detour and- and we're talking about going steady. She's- I mean, those lessons Saphron taught me came in handy. Weiss needs to work on her gag reflex though."

Jaune d'Arc-Night gave a thumbs up.

He liked happy endings.

Well, the omake segment is basically what would happen if Jaune from A Grimm Tale was thrown into the V7 universe, since I did an earlier segment with him interrupting Jinn. To someone from a dark, dark Remnant, Weiss remaining single doesn't really make much sense. With how Grimm (Pun intended) A Grimm Tale is, it'd make sense for people to have at least selected a partner. Over-25's who are still single must love the bachelor life, or want to die.

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