Chapter Forty Eight

It Fell (But We Didn't)

When a blinding white light beamed from Beacon Tower, Qrow Branwen felt pure fear for the first time in quite a while.

"Get up to Beacon Tower when that thing lands!" He barked to Glynda as he turned and sprinted away.

He barely spared Glynda, James, or that Cardin kid another glance and ran out of sight to shift into his crow form. They would catch up on that fancy ship James just called down, but he could get there in record time and dammit, his niece needed him.

Through his avian eyes, he surveyed the damage of Beacon. The airstrip was the only area relatively untouched, but even then, the grey pavement had scattered pools of dried blood. One of the decorative archways (the one that Glynda had to repair after his explosive meeting with Winter) was a pile of rubble, and it was a miracle the King of Vale statue didn't suffer any chips. Beacon Tower was… the top was demolished, gears and debris piled atop it, and a nondescript airship hovered at the edge, opposite of the direction he was closing in from.

The Wyvern screeched and flailed on the ground, amongst the rubble. Huge chunks of melting ice surrounded it, and parts of its body were covered with petrified stone. It wrenched its head around with rage. Qrow had no doubt it would break free eventually.

Qrow pumped his wings and reformed into his human form to land safely on the top. He drew Harbinger and flicked it into its gun form to aim at the ship. His dull crimson eyes glared down the area only to make a noise of surprise to find the area devoid of life. Didn't Amethyst's text specify Pyrrha was here? And that Ruby was on her way?

"Ruby? Kiddo?" Qrow called out as he walked towards the opposite end of the destroyed office. Or, he should say, what was left of the opposite end. One glance down and he saw the other half of Beacon Tower's structure, mangled beyond belief and with metal pylons twisted in such a way that raw strength couldn't have done it. No, Pyrrha Nikos did this with her semblance, she had to have. He cupped his hands to his mouth and called out. "Nikos! Pyrrha Nikos!?"

No answer. With a sigh, Qrow stepped off the tower and reverted back into a crow. He flew through the mess of the precariously hanging tower and landed once more as his human form underneath the metal monstrosity. White Fang grunts littered the area, some dead and some groaning in pain. Qrow crouched down beside a young woman with long brown hair

He placed a hand on her shoulder to roll her onto his back, but the girl batted his hand away with a weak slap and tried to crawl away. Qrow raised his palms in surrender as the girl glared at him through her horned mask.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Where are you hurt?"

The girl's lip quivered. "H-Human… sc-scum. You say you won't hurt me, but one of your people did this."

Qrow narrowed his eyes. "Don't play that card. You're the instigator in this little attack, and I'm offering you help."

She went silent, but eventually rolled onto her back. Qrow's expression dropped as he saw the extent of her injuries. Even with the dark colors of the special operative jumpsuit, the amount of bloodstains he could see was disconcerting, and the gold clasps let the red gleam brightly. Even her mask held splatters of her own blood.

"...I'm not going to make it, am I?"

"I'll try my best to make sure you do, alright?" He held his hands over the large wound. "What happened here?"

"S-Some… Some redhead was moving gears around with a boy amping her. We couldn't hit her. Couple-a professors hit us from the side. Cinder went after her while this girl fell from the tower and joined 'em, but- but then the building-" She coughed blood. "Redhead brought the building down. Cinder just- just abandoned us. Took up her little pet Emerald and zoomed off."

Qrow carefully masked any emotion that tried to leak out on his face. So Pyrrha put up a fight with someone else. Maybe her partner? Only for Ruby to fall into the party. But where were they now? Did they escape Cinder? Before he saw the flash of light, he had checked his scroll, and Ruby's aura was depleted… but that flash of light meant she had to be alive. Before communications went down, Amie's autobot had sent out a general message to the rest of Ozpin's fold too, so Ruby was with Amethyst.

"Alright, don't strain yourself. I'll-"

"Ah, Qrow!"

Oobleck and Port ducked under the metal debris and ran to him, noticeably scuffed but strong. Oobleck ran a hand through his green hair before he slapped the explorer hat right back on.

"She looks to be in a bad way," Port murmured as he lowered his axe. He carefully lowered himself down on the other side of the faunus. "Qrow, lift your hands so I can see what I can do. Now, don't you worry, we'll do all we can to ensure your health and safety. What's your name?"

The faunus, understandably, looked perplexed underneath the blood and mask, but said nothing. Not even her name.

"Any word on the others?" Oobleck questioned.

"Ozpin's MIA, Glynda's with Jimmy heading towards the evac site to make sure everything's going fine." Qrow brought his hands away from the faunus's wound. "Either of you catch sight of either of the Maidens? Ruby?"

"Amethyst we saw, and we noticed Miss Nikos, Mister Arc and Miss Rose make a hasty retreat, but Cinder Fall was in close pursuit with her associate, Emerald Sustrai," Oobleck said with his usual rushed tone. "Amethyst did manage to evacuate Mister Black, Miss Schnee, Mister Vasilias, and Mister Wukong on her ship, but whether or not she also corralled the other three on is a mystery."

Qrow nodded numbly, unsure of what action to take next. Beacon was a mess, and Vale wasn't much better. The Wyvern was still active, and James's forces were in shambles. James made the decision to focus reinforcements on the far end of Vale that overlooked the body of water that separated Vale from Patch. It wasn't much, but James's troops were scattered thanks to the virus, and when shaved down to his living troops, he was sorely lacking manpower.

"If this young lady is to survive, I suggest we start moving," Port suggested. "I've bound the wound so that should buy her some time. But that Wyvern is going to make things even more tricky if we don't move soon."

"Right…"

Oobleck laid a hand on Qrow's shoulder. "Worry not, Qrow. Ruby is a crafty girl, and she has powerful allies. I have no doubt in my mind she survived this ordeal."

Qrow looked down at his bloodied hands, and against every instinct in his body… he pushed down the want to search further. Instead, he raised his crimson eyes and said with a gravely puff of air, "Damn straight she did."

Roman Torchwick pulled himself to his feet with a groan as the Quietus eventually crash landed… somewhere.

The kiddos were spread out in various states of disarray. The monkey faunus was against the wall to his right, legs sprawled and open with his staff laid across his lap, knocked out. The blue-haired boy was beaten and bruised, sprawled on the floor right in the doorway to the cockpit, but with Lynae's sniper clutched in his palms. Roman raised a brow at the body of Tyrian Slate, sans a head, and pebbles scattered all around. Mercury was sprawled spread eagle behind the couch with a grey and white corgi viciously licking his face. He didn't react.

"Right."

Where was Neo?

Since Slate was dead, it was evident the kiddos must have also beaten Lynae back. She must have slunk back to the infirmary, where Boa took Weiss.

Roman looked around the main living space of the ship. He… had absolutely no clue what to do next. Make sure no one's dead? He huffed. He really didn't care about anyone on this ship. Didn't even know the names of two of them. And, well, Neo was his priority. Maybe a quick check outside to see where they landed?

He turned around and paced towards the undented hatch. He had to go slow because the ship was on an angle and he was walking on a 'hill.' Just as his gloved hand reached out to pull the emergency release, the autobot floated in from the hallway.

"Mister Torchwick, are you injured?"

"Uh. No." Roman leaned away from the hovering robot. "Checking where we are."

"That can wait. Help me tend to the injured."

Roman quirked a brow as the autobot zoomed over to Sun and a blue scanning light ran up and down his body. When the light flashed green, Boa zoomed to Neptune and did the same, but the light flashed yellow.

"You look like you got it covered." Was he really talking to a floating AI?

"Mister Vasilias requires my attention. Please check Mister Black."

His mouth pulled into a scowl. "I'm not taking orders from a glorified pile of scrap."

"Lady Laverna has given me explicit orders to keep you on this ship, under her protection."

Roman let out a long groan. "I swear, once Neo is in full swing again…"

Boa didn't reply.

With a grumble, Roman lowered his cane and sauntered over to Mercury, who was still suffering from a valiant attack by the corgi. Roman cocked his head, crouched by Mercury's head, and waited until the corgi looked at him with one ear bent in question and his tongue lolled out to the side.

"How's the patient, furball?" He quipped before he picked up the dog by the scruff of his neck and placed him on the floor beside him. The corgi whined but then decided sniffing Roman's shoe was a task he couldn't ignore. Roman slid one glove off as he narrowed his gaze at Mercury's unconscious, slobber-drenched face. "Alright then…"

He felt around Mercury's neck and eventually pressed two fingers to his pulse point. Mercury's pulse was strong and normal. He lifted his eyelid and used a small flashlight the autobot launched in his direction to shine light into his eye. No concussion. Kid was fine.

"Alright then, Kid. Wakey wakey." And with that, Roman reared his hand back and gave Mercury a mighty slap.

"OW."

Mercury jolted to consciousness with bleary eyes and a confused stare. He then grimaced and raised a hand to wipe down his face. "Dammit, Zwei…"

The corgi, Zwei, barked with a wagging tail.

"Get up, Kid." Roman stood and stared down at the still spread-eagle teen. His gaze focused on Roman.

"Huh. Half-expected you to jump ship first chance."

"It crossed my mind."

Roman reluctantly offered a hand, and Mercury, being the little punk he was, ignored it and struggled to his feet while he simultaneously batted away Zwei's desire to give more slobbery kisses.

"Did, uh… did Ruby make it out okay?"

"No idea." Roman shrugged.

Roman carefully watched the kid he chalked up to be borderline sociopathic not long ago. A carefully hidden worry sparked in his eyes. Mercury tried to hide it like he hid most reactions, but Roman prided himself in reading people. Made it easier to appeal to them and play on their wants. He watched as Mercury's jaw worked, as a million thoughts flew through his mind within moments, and finally, watched as Mercury shut down to place himself in an all-business mode.

"Everyone alive?"

"Ice Queen is up in the air, but everyone else? Yep. Well, minus Slate. You sure did a number on him."

Mercury blinked slowly. Then, his eyes gained a sudden understanding and he looked past Roman at the mess of Tyrian Slate on the ground. A sudden, haunted look passed over Mercury before he clamped it down once more and a near dead look overtook him. He nodded shakily. "Right… right."

Roman narrowed his eyes. Was Mercury… guilty? "Are you… why are you…?"

"It's nothing," He denied, which was about as convincing as that one time Neo vehemently denied switching out his bowler hat for a top hat. Before Roman could press further, Mercury's face gained a new level of panic. "Neo!"

The crime lord watched as, to his shock, Mercury immediately moved with urgent purpose, skirted around the couch, and studied what the autobot was doing. He ran a hand through his messy bangs.

"Uh. So." He addressed the autobot.

"Hello, Mister Black. I believe we have unofficially met. I am Lady Laverna's personal autobot. You may refer to me as Boa."

"Right. So, Neo...?"

"Once my operating systems are fully operational again, I will be able to track her exact location. Do not worry, Mister Black. While my mistress is not present, my duty is to ensure her orders are executed. She will be tracked down and placed back under the protection of the Quietus."

"Wait. Where's Neo?" Roman eyed Mercury as his shoulders hunched and he hung his head. "You - You fought Lynae off. Right?" No answer. "Right?"

Mercury averted his gaze. "Neo… gave herself up so Lynae wouldn't kill Sun."

"What?!"

"I tried- Neptune tried- we killed her Grimm pet and made sure she stayed in Vale, and Neo got her in the side," Mercury quickly explained. "We can find her, she has a tracking chip that Boa can trace once we fix… whatever's wrong with it. I…" Mercury sighed. "Lynae wants her alive for some reason. So. It's better than nothing."

"Better than…" Roman let the anger he felt deep within simmer and bubble. After all of the days sitting on his hands in jail, the mind games with Red that eventually led to his and Neo's so called 'protection,' and then, the desperate fight on top of the battleship to stop that winged sociopath and her money-grubbing ally from snatching up Neo, all for… what? A headache, a crashed ship, and the promise of protection by a Maiden who wasn't even around?

Roman, determined, marched toward the latch again. Being amicable had gotten him nowhere. Now all he had left of Neo was half her parasol, Hush, and the blood she left behind on Red's cloak. And he gave Red his coat, dammit!

"Mister Torchwick, I cannot permit you to leave the ship just yet."

He whirled on his heel and sneered. "Oh? So is this another form of house arrest? Break me out of one prison to put me in a slightly more spacious one?"

"That was never Lady Laverna's intention." The bot's drone was so aggravatingly monotonous. "She abides by Headmaster Ozpin's orders, and his order is to keep you safe. Allowing you to venture out in a distressed emotional state would be detrimental to this order."

"'Lady Laverna' isn't here right now, so what's stopping me from blasting you into a million pieces?" Roman raised his cane and the scope popped up.

"Your files suggest a close attachment to Miss Neopolitan, and I am the only means to track her reliably. 'Blasting me' is not advised."

Great. He's getting sassed by a robot, and worse off, the damn thing had a point. Roman only noticed he was bending his cane to the point of nearly snapping it when Mercury raised an unsure eyebrow at him. He seethed at the mere thought of Neo in the hands of the winged lieutenant, and with an aggravated huff, he bit out, "Well, fine, what exactly can I do before I blow another hole in this ship?"

"You are welcome to claim a room and work on your weapon on the personal workbenches. There are three bedrooms, however, so pairing up may be necessary. Miss Schnee is welcome to take Lady Laverna's quarters once she recovers."

Roman growled. Mercury sighed, squeezed his way past the autobot, and stared Roman right in the eye.

"We don't get along."

"I'm well aware," Roman stated blandly.

"But I imagine you wouldn't be too keen to share a room with Sun or Neptune. I'll share with you," Mercury said with a nod. "And… listen." His jaw flexed then, and his eyes turned evasive. "I-I care about her too. I'm not going to give up on her that easy."

"Christ." Roman reeled back and stumbled to the nearest door. He opened it, spared one last appalled look Mercury's way (Mercury, of course, seemed torn between amused and mildly annoyed at the response), and disappeared into the room to contemplate when the hell he got dropped into the Twilight Zone.

"Any word?"

Scarlet looked up from his scroll. Sage stood in front of him, arms crossed and golden eyes calmly gazing at him. The redhead sighed, shook his head, and brushed his thumb over his scroll screen.

"Low aura, but not broken."

"At least it's something."

"This is ridiculous! Let us out already!"

Scarlet slumped further on the bench he was perched on as he and Sage turned to watch Coco aggressively bang at the hard light cage they were in. Surprise surprise, assaulting Atlas soldiers, including a specialist from the 'Ace Ops,' bought them a ticket to confinement for some time. The only reason Yang wasn't in here with them was because not long after she overexerted herself (again) she promptly passed out.

"Vel, any word from Yatsu and Fox?" Coco reached out and grabbed Velvet's arm.

"Don't worry, Coco, they just made it!" Velvet said with a grin. "Nolan and the rest of ABRN are with them, too. CRDL… They lost Dove, but the others are alright. And, um, I tried talking to that Clover guy, but he's pretty insistent on keeping you in here until General Ironwood arrives."

Coco, with a groan, banged her forehead on the hard light.

"How did it all go wrong so fast?" Scarlet asked as he ran his gaze across his peers and the citizens of Vale. Sage's shoulders slumped.

"Cinder outplayed us all." He moved to sit beside Scarlet on the bench. "Ruby, Mercury and Neo tried, but… Cinder was faster on the draw, I guess."

Scarlet scoffed.

"Scar."

Scarlet rolled his eyes. "What?"

"It's okay to be worried."

"Of course I'm worried," Scarlet muttered with a bitter scowl. "Half our team, half of JNPR, and half of RWBY still haven't evacuated from Beacon as far as we know, and one of the ones that's accounted for was framed for murder-"

"Scar." Sage slung a heavy arm over Scarlet's shoulders and rocked him back and forth. "You know what I meant."

Scarlet hunched over and buried his head in his hands. Gods, this was confusing. He still had Neo's note tucked into his back pant pocket. While Neo didn't do anything harmful in particular, the fact that he and his team were unaware of her identity, of her true appearance, caused his brain to self-destruct. He wished he had a chance to talk to Ruby about how she was taking it, but even then, Ruby at the very least knew Mercury was Mercury. And now?

Now she might be dead, and he would be left with this unresolved feeling for the rest of his life.

He leaned into Sage and huffed a sigh. "Alright, I'm worried."

Sage went silent for a long moment. Then, he nudged Scarlet once more. "She's tough, and she's got tough people on her side. I… I'm unsure of what I think of her too, but whatever happens with her, I'm with you, alright?"

Scarlet nodded along, still morose. Then, he managed a slight smile. "Thanks, Mum."

With an annoyed groan, Sage removed his arm from Scarlet's shoulder and playfully shoved him. They shared amused smiles as they swayed away and back together again, and sat in silence for some time. Eventually, the hard light shield went down and General Ironwood stepped before them with a shawl covering his upper body. Glynda Goodwitch was beside him with a stern glare.

"Finally," Coco grumbled.

"Miss Adel, you, as well as Mister Ayana, Mister David, and Miss Xiao Long attacked a military officer tasked in evacuating Vale," Miss Goodwitch snapped. "If it were a less dire situation, I would have insisted you stay here for some time as a lesson. Now go."

Coco's mouth snapped shut, and Velvet darted around the two imposing figures to snag Coco's wrist and yank her away. Sage and Scarlet stood and approached Ironwood and Goodwitch.

"Specialist Ebi was going to bring Blake to Atlas against her will," Scarlet said with an air of distaste. "We kept him occupied to help her."

"My intention wasn't to cause distress to Miss Belladonna," Ironwood said calmly with a raised hand. "Considering the circumstances, it was the best play."

"Your 'best play' was to drag her to the second least tolerant kingdom towards Faunus Rights?" Sage asked with a twitching eyebrow.

"I… don't dispute the intolerance of Atlas." Ironwood sighed, long and heavy. "But I can say with confidence she would have been transported to Atlas Academy, where the only aspects of a person that is judged is their ability and character."

"And if she stepped outside the Academy she'll be met with no faunus allowed signs wherever she goes." Sage crossed his arms.

"What other choice do you see? Would you rather I send her to Mistral? Or maybe Vacuo, where specific discrimination is nonexistent, and all she would have to worry about is every other crime?" Ironwood spat hypotheticals. "Atlas isn't perfect, nor is Mistral, Vale, or Vacuo. But I offered a solution, which was far more generous than what the High Council wanted to do with her. Miss Belladonna refused to go along with it, and just as I am with you, I'm letting her go."

Scarlet blinked. "You… are? You're not sending people after her?"

Miss Goodwitch shook her head. "Officially, there's an arrest warrant out for Miss Belladonna, valid in all kingdoms. Since this is a cross-kingdom incident the Council is insistent on detaining her, and General Ironwood cannot afford to disobey such an order, considering… well." Goodwitch vaguely gestured to the situation around them. "Unofficially, no search parties are being compiled. She'll still have to evade the Atlesian soldiers, but should she run into General Ironwood, Specialist Schnee or myself, she will have nothing to fear. While I do not think leaving her to her own devices is wise, Headmaster Ozpin has given us specific instructions in handling Team RWBY, and we are doing our best to abide them without stepping on toes."

Scarlet and Sage shared a meaningful look. "Is there something we should know, Professor?"

Miss Goodwitch sighed, and pushed her glasses further up her nose. "In due time, perhaps."

The general and stern professor turned in unison and walked off toward the barricades then, a brusque way of ending the conversation before Sage and Scarlet could pry further. The boys huffed.

"That was the best non-answer I ever heard," Sage spat.

"Hm." Scarlet jerked his head towards the medical area. "Come on, let's check on Yang."

They walked towards the string of cots, but Scarlet let Sage pull ahead. Scarlet couldn't stop himself from glancing at his scroll, even though he tried to. Nyx- Neo disguised as Nyx Peridot stared back at him with a half-annoyed glare as she smirked and tried to avoid the camera with one hand up. Beside her picture and aura level, the red 'Disconnected' glared back at him.

He shoved his scroll into his pocket.

Atop a high rooftop in Vale, Blake stared at the remnants of Beacon. Distantly, she could hear the Wyvern screech and writhe, but from her perch she could hardly see its form.

Her wound ached, and she hissed as she pressed her palm to it. She stared at her scroll. Ruby and Weiss's aura dropped to zero not long before that bright white light overtook Beacon. She worried her lip, and hoped to the stars they were alive.

Adam and Emerald facilitated a great framing. It wasn't every day she felt more safe in the middle of a Grimm infested environment than she did within an evacuation site surrounded by her friends. She shook the thought away. Blake descended back into her old role as a scout, and used her keen eyes to scan the city. The battleship Ruby had supposedly boarded was in shambles and crawling with Grimm, and as much as she wanted to investigate further, she needed to wait, recover her aura, and really think about her next move.

She winced as a recent memory came to her mind.

I will destroy everything you love.

Adam's threats were never to be taken lightly. When she pulled him from that ditch with the SDC brand seared onto his left eye, she tended to his wounds and wrote off his spew of hatred toward the Schnee's and his wish of their deaths as a means to release his trauma of the event. Two months later, two of Weiss's cousins vanished, and then were found dead and tortured in some alleyway of Mantle. She refused to believe it was him. Refused to believe any form of extremism was him, because he was Adam and he took care of her and he trained her to be the fighter she was today.

But then, he brushed off the presence of workers on the train cars he was set to wire with explosives. And everything clicked into place.

His threats were always a promise.

Now she was a murderer in the eyes of the kingdoms. She knew that broadcast went out to every kingdom, every city, every home. The broadcast abruptly ended when that Grimm smashed into Beacon Tower, but Cinder's people had the gall to upload it for all to view right before transcontinental communication was cut. She had it at her disposal right on her scroll.

Blake was terrified to look at it.

With despair threatening to overtake her, she ran a hand through her long, black hair, and then moved to touch her ears. Her identity as Blake Belladonna was tainted. It was time for a wardrobe change, too. But… she had to find the others. It was Yang's final request before Blake ran. It was all too much. Where would she start? She couldn't safely make it to Beacon, and the city had a lot of ground to cover. They could be bunkered down near anywhere, save the agricultural sector.

Her right cat ear perked and curved as distant chatter sounded. Blake slinked to the opposite end of the building, used the shadows of the night to shroud herself as she peered over the edge, and widened her eyes at the pair that shambled down the street.

"Neo…"

She found her starting point.

All Weiss Schnee felt when she swam back to consciousness was a numb, aching pain.

She was laying on top of something soft. Not as soft as her bed back at the manor, but soft. Her right leg was elevated, annoyingly so, and the bottom half of her leg felt… off. Like a weird mix of numbing, ache, and pure nothingness.

She cracked open a bleary eye. Dim lights glared into her eye and she shut it with a groan. She heard someone shift from her right.

"Weiss?"

She forced both eyes open and rolled her head to find—

"Mercury?"

Mercury's steel grey eyes, predictably, rolled.

"No, his twin brother, Hermès."

Weiss blinked. "You aren't funny."

"Mhm."

"What happened? Where are we? Did Ruby make it out?" She winced and brought a hand up to cup her jaw. "Why does it feel like I was punched by a Ursa?"

"We retreated. We're on a ship called the Quietus, and…" Mercury's voice lowered to a murmur. "I don't know where Ruby is."

Her heart twisted and hitched in her chest. She felt the world fall away and let the old pessimism wash over her. Ruby was dead, so was Pyrrha, and anyone else they left behind. And where were Sun and Neptune? How did they acquire this ship? What did Mercury have to do to—

"Would you shut up? Ruby. Isn't. Dead. I know she isn't, she can't be. Sun and Neptune are just upstairs." He waved to the gold ladder rungs along the wall. "And, jeez, Ice, I didn't hijack a damn ship." Mercury rolled his eyes with the slightest bit of annoyance that he clamped down on and hid. She must have been speaking out loud her thoughts.

"Sorry." Her apology was muted and near-silent. Her glacier eyes dulled and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Mercury. Why… why can't I feel my leg?"

She couldn't see him, but she heard him shift. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Hm." She squinted as she thought back. "We saw Ruby run across the Wyvern. And, and that black substance, it dropped and-"

With a sudden jolt, she gasped. Weiss sat up and her eyes zoned in on the right leg, or lack thereof, she sported. It was bandaged and bloodied and the cut was atrocious. Her entire foot was gone and a part of her calf, and from her mid-thigh down a myriad of mottled skin marred her previous claim of flawless skin.

"My- My leg. W-Where's the rest of- what hap- I- oh Gods, oh Gods-"

"Weiss," Mercury broached with an unsure tone and hesitant hands. He held them in front of him, toward her with fingers flexed out, but he couldn't determine where he should place them. "Look, we had to amputate, alright? That stuff you got on you did a lot of damage-"

"To the point I lost my right foot?!" Weiss was near hyperventilating now.

Oh Brothers, her foot was gone, it was gone and it wasn't coming back, and who knows what else was wrong with her. She took a beating, and oh dear, if she returned home Father would be so mad. When she received her scar from her test against the Arma Gigas he was able to twist it into a prideful thing for the media, since it was a relatively clean scar and her eye wasn't damaged in the slightest and 'oh look, my dearest daughter is so tenacious,' but if he took one look at this who knows what he'd do!

"Weiss."

Oh, she knew what he'd do. He'd twist it on her to make her feel ashamed that she even entertained the idea of becoming a Huntress, and 'oh Weiss, I told you you would get hurt. You're just not cut out for the life of a neanderthal, dear,' and it would just be one big lecture and then - then he would- would he flaunt her? Would he want to? Would that be better or worse if he didn't want to?

"Uh, Weiss?"

She would need a prosthetic! That would make him furious. It's not like they're designed pretty. How could she spruce up for those damn publicity stunts? She can't go back, she can't go back. It would have been bad enough with all her limbs intact if she returned, but with this? He would call her broken and ugly and she would be an issue to wipe from the public's eyes, would he even let her keep the title of heiress?

"Alright, that's it. I'm taking my pants off."

If she were stripped of her title would he just cage her up in the manor for the rest of her life? Oh he would, he so wo— wait. What did Mercury just say?

Weiss shot up like a rocket as her eye latched onto Mercury, who was, indeed, standing and pulling down the zipper for his pants. "Wha— W-W-W-What are you doing?! I-I don't want to see that!"

"Shut it, Ice."

She squealed and flung an arm across her eyes as Mercury pushed his pants down, and by the Brothers, this is horrible. She might just prefer a tense conversation with Father instead of this. Why did Mercury take off his pants?!

"You realize you're saying all this out loud?" Mercury quipped with a very dry and very done tone.

"I can't hear you over the sound of your pants falling down!" Weiss snapped with her vision still black. "I swear if Ruby saw anything down there—"

"Weiss, look at my fucking legs."

She didn't know what possessed her, but with a raging fury she wrenched her arm from her eyes and turned her blazing eyes to Mercury—

And her gaze latched onto the metallic prosthetics, thigh to foot.

"...Oh."

In a faraway place in an unknown stretch of land, a woman with alabaster skin and dark veins looked over her small kingdom of Grimm pools and darkness.

She could feel it. Feel the despair as Beacon's light flickered before it inevitably was snuffed out. Humanity. What a weak willed and fickle force they become when their monuments fall and their leaders drown in the rage of battle. She waited patiently, as she always did now, for her vessel to return to her with Maiden magic and the relic.

With one last look, she turned and began her descent to the meeting chambers. Her acolytes gathered for her, and she felt something close to eagerness sprout within when she pondered what they would say in their reports. How many fell? How many more will?

"This… is the beginning of the end, Ozpin," She breathed with a growing smile. "I can't wait to watch you burn."

I might have forgotten to hit the post button. Whoops lmao. Also, next update will be two weeks from now! It's finals week and I've got some papers to write!

The next 'arc' will have specified dates and locations at most sections since I'll be maneuvering the groups around simultaneously. It's looking like it'll be one group per chapter with a concluding scene as a transition to the group in the next chapter, but hey, I'm a sporadic, chaotic writer so that might change.

Guest: Aw yay! I'm glad you liked it :)

Do not hug: Yup, this story is still going!

Dragon Lord Draco: Also true! Even though they were blindsided, a lot of factors made the outcome go their way

Car ride: Thank you! I keep saying it, but Adam is such an interesting character to write. Balancing his morally horrid tendencies with his leadership qualities is fun!

The Night Whisper: Lmao as much as I haaate Cinder, I've gotta admit, the woman knows how to get results. Ah, if only I didn't need her still...

Astray-Tech: Not quite a half-Maiden, but Pyrrha still has the part of the power that was successfully transferred over to her! Cinder still holds most of the power... at the moment.

Servos New Head: Aw dang, Raven strikes again. Hmm, maybe the next betting pool will bring more luck, lol!

Next chapter: Bunkered Down.

Lonessa out.