Hole in wall fixed, patio windows installed, now have plasterer coming round to tidy up the edges because they're jagged and broken as fk from where the old ones were ripped out. They had to be. The wooden frames were hollowing, and ants had made their home inside. Now have metal with a wood-like finish so that won't be an issue again.

I actually had to spend a full night with the five-metre hole and the burning question of whether someone would just walk into my house during the night. Honestly very stressful, but that was a couple of days ago now so it's all fixed and locked.

Now I just have to prepare for a visit to the doctors on Monday. Please no more blood tests. I hate them…

Cover Art: Jack Wayne

Chapter 154

"You did what!?"

Cinder wondered if she was supposed to be listening in on Jaune and Raven having what was increasingly sounding like a domestic argument. She shrugged and dug into her bowl of ice-cream instead of making any effort to leave. It wasn't like she was actively eavesdropping, sitting on the couch as she was with her treat while Jaune shouted loud enough to be heard several rooms over.

Ice-cream was not normally her thing. It was too sweet, too childish, but Mr Ashari's shelves had been bare, and she'd been left with nothing more than him unconscious on the floor and her too exhausted to move him. He was lucky she dragged a blanket over his body before collapsing on the couch to sleep off the horrific removal of Salem's seal.

Now several hours later, her stomach was growling, and she'd gone for the only thing she could find that wasn't out of date. Cinder spooned another dollop of mint-choc-chip into her mouth and closed her eyes, savouring the flavour, if not the peaceful atmosphere.

"I told them."

"Why!?" Jaune roared. "Why would you tell them? Do you have any idea how much danger they'll be in now?"

"Less danger than they'd have been in if I hadn't. You sent those two a cryptic message. Did you expect they wouldn't try and investigate?"

"I told them Oscar was untrustworthy and to stay away. What's cryptic about that!? I also told Emerald not to stick her fingers in the plug sockets and she didn't respond by turning herself into a Christmas tree."

Cinder snorted faintly, swallowing her treat and digging for another. It didn't surprise her Vernal had gotten up to mischief in her absence. If it hadn't been for Cinder actively doing her best to cover for the girl then she'd have been kicked out of school a year ago.

Not that she'd covered for Vernal out of any sense of camaraderie or affection. Quite the opposite. Discipline that fell on Vernal would have fallen on the team, and she hadn't wanted the attention of Goodwitch and Ozpin on them while she'd been busy infiltrating the school. It would have been only worse if Vernal were expelled and Cinder lost a partner. Then the teachers would pay more attention to her to make sure she didn't have any problems. Enacting Salem's plans would have been impossible.

That's not a problem anymore. I'm a free maiden now. I could choose to join Ozpin's side if I really wanted.

He was the winning side now, made evident by Salem's decision to retreat. While she would have normally taken that as enough reason, there didn't seem much point now. Ashari was a stronger side, offered her much more independence and treated her like an equal. He didn't consider her one. That much was obvious – he tried, but she could tell sometimes that he looked at her a little too… fatherly. Not condescending or overly sentimental, but with that kind of look a parent might when their child was tyring to act like the adult. Still, whatever he thought of her he still treated her the equal, so she would let it go.

"You dipped a worm in the pond and act surprised when something bit. Children are naturally curious. You should know this."

"How do you know this?"

"They were about to use Emerald's Semblance on Ozpin to trick him when I intervened. You should be glad that I did, or you'd be coming back to an interrogation."

Cinder nodded. She may not have been a part of the conversation, but she happened to agree with Raven's interpretation. Loyalty to Jaune for removing her seal was one thing, but when Raven was right, she was right.

"Ugh." It sounded like Jaune had realised it too. "Fine. I can fix this. I'd been thinking of removing them from Beacon anyway. The second we put this plan into action, Ozpin will do anything he can to stop it. I don't want to leave those two around as targets."

"You're taking them out entirely?"

"Only for a little while. If all goes well this should take a few days, maybe a week. It won't look too suspicious."

"You don't think Ozpin will wonder why you're taking them away for a week to Atlas? He's probably suspicious already."

"I'll tell him we're going to see Winter."

"You underestimate his paranoia."

"He'll accept or he won't." Jaune said. "If he doesn't, I'll have you spirit them out. I want to try and bring Winter back before the attack anyway…"

"Has there been a breakthrough?"

"Maybe. It's more on my end than anything. I could feel mine and Cinder's souls when I…" He trailed off – or spoke so lowly that Cinder couldn't hear him. "I want to try. Even if it fails, she… Winter is… it can't get any worse. She's dead if I don't try and there's a chance I can save her soul. Reverse what Watts did."

Raven was silent for a long moment, and then said, "If it were me, I'd rather you try and fail than leave me in that state."

"Y-Yeah." Jaune breathed in deeply. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm confident we can beat Salem but if we can't… if we can't then I want to make sure I don't leave any threads around. What about you?"

"What about me?" Raven asked.

"Don't you want to speak to anyone? Taiyang, Summer, Yang…?"

"We said our pieces a long time ago. Leave them be."

/-/

The signs of the oncoming Vytal Festival were everywhere to be seen, from streamers and flags to teams from all over Remnant training out in the grounds around Beacon. There were signs too, placed here and there to help direct newcomers staying at the school who hadn't yet gotten used to the layout.

It was strange to think that everything started for them after the festival, and yet if all went well here, they would have Salem dead before it even started. Pyrrha would live, Beacon would survive, and his old teammates would continue to live their lives without knowing how close they'd come to death. Once upon a time he might have been jealous of them.

"Jaune."

Summer was the first to catch him, and early. She headed him off at the Bullhead docks, and from the looks of things she'd been there for a few hours. They'd known he would be coming today but not what time.

"Did Ozpin ask you to wait for me?"

Her face twisted uncomfortably. "No. He… Can we talk?"

Her office was empty when they arrived. Summer closed the door behind him, moved over to her desk and shakily poured them some tea from her kettle. Her blinds were down, and the room looked dishevelled, papers stuffed in her bin haphazardly and the desk's surface swept clean.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's… It's Ruby…"

Jaune's heart tightened. "Is she okay?"

"Yes. Yes, she's fine." Summer bit her lip and rounded on him. Her tea lay forgotten. "You care about her, don't you?"

"I… well… of course…"

"You care a lot," she said, stressing the words. "When the White Fang attacked us in Atlas, you split a person in half when they went for her. That was because of what she meant to you before, isn't it?"

"Ruby was my first friend in Beacon. One of my best. I…" He trailed off, unsure if he wanted to mention that they might have started to develop feelings for one another. That there could have been something between them had they both survived Cinder. It didn't feel relevant anymore. His Ruby was dead. Their future was gone, replaced by this one. "I loved her as a friend," he said instead. "We were very close. Why? What's going on?"

"I'm worried about her. About what the future holds for her. Once we're gone and Salem starts to come back, Ruby is going to be on the front lines. Ruby and Yang are both going to have to fight."

"Probably. Unless Salem takes a lot longer to plan her next attack than we expect."

"Even then it'd be Ruby's children who have to fight." Summer bit her lip so hard it went white. "I… I can't believe how selfish I acted."

"Is this about Ozpin's decision to leave Salem be?"

"You said we'd be letting down our children." Summer spoke without answering him, pacing left and right agitatedly. "I didn't listen. None of us did. We were all too happy thinking about how we would finally have peace, how we could relax, how we wouldn't have to risk our lives anymore."

Was this a trap? Had Ozpin set this up? Jaune looked around for signs of anyone, but Summer's room looked like it hadn't seen people for a day or two.

"Ozpin has made his plans," he said. "There's not much we can do about it now. Why? Having second thoughts already? It can't just be you realising all this. I said it all at the meeting."

And back then she'd agreed with Ozpin. All of them had. He wasn't about to tell them he'd gone behind their backs and arranged an attack on Salem, not when there was still time for them to warn Ozpin.

"It's… It's Ruby…"

"You said as much earlier. What is it? I need details, Summer. Is Ruby in danger? Has someone made threats toward her? This could be something that happened in my time. I might have the answer."

"It's Ozpin."

"Ah." One word and that was all it took. He knew exactly what she was talking about now. "He's playing his old games again, is he?"

"He's trying to get Ruby to become a huntress. He's been asking her to spar with him, offering to teach her, spending time around her – always as Oscar but… I heard about it from someone else." Summer crossed her arms and looked away. "I confirmed it with Ruby though and she says it's true. Oscar has been following her around, always in the infirmary when she's trying to do her studies or work. Tsune has had to chase him out multiple times already."

Trying to recruit her, huh? In all honesty Jaune couldn't blame Ozpin for it. There was no crime in being prepared and it wasn't as though he hadn't done the same himself with Cinder and a whole bunch of others. The silver eyes were too valuable to let be lost, and while it was intrusive and creepy to imagine, he could see the logic in Ozpin indulging in some eugenics with her.

Not forcefully, mind, but if he were her headmaster and she a student then he could arrange for her to spend time with a guy with a strong Semblance, put them on tasks together and hope they developed a rapport. It wasn't too far different to what he'd done with Pyrrha, picking the best Semblance and skillset to be the maiden.

Blame or not, that didn't mean Summer had to be happy about what was a blatant intrusion into her daughter's life. Even if there's a good chance he did the same for her. Summer's silver eyes would have been too valuable to lose while she was in school, too. And she's put on a team with Taiyang and Qrow, one of which she ended up marrying. Coincidence or a pairing orchestrated by Ozpin? There was no telling, and it really didn't matter now.

"I'm not sure what you want me to do about it. Ozpin isn't breaking any laws and as long as he's in Oscar's body, no one will think twice. Have you tried talking to Glynda about it?"

"I did…" Summer looked down.

"No dice?"

"She said Ozpin has Ruby's best interests in heart and is trying to look out for her. She's too loyal to him."

"And you're not?"

"I am loyal! I trust him and followed him…" Summer trailed off. "I'm saying I'm more loyal to my family than I am to him. Ruby made her choice. Ozpin has to respect that!"

"He doesn't have to. He should, but he doesn't have to…"

"Well he should!" she snapped. "And now I'm worried about Yang as well. How much does he plan ahead? Has he already started picking out the best ways to earn their loyalty? Did he do the same with us? Were we all groomed from the day we entered Beacon?"

Possibly. Team JNPR felt like they may have been, what with Ozpin letting him in despite his transcripts, then Pyrrha being invited to become the maiden. It always felt like Ozpin knew best, even after Beacon fell. He'd been one of those cool teachers. When they trashed the cafeteria to the point of intense structural damage, Ozpin let them off. When Ruby was caught in the CCT, Ozpin let her off. When they'd run crazy through the streets after Roman endangering lives and engaging in a huge killer robot chase across a busy freeway, Ozpin let them off.

How many other students could have gotten away with that? How many other first year teams are all allowed to compete in the festival. He had loads of upper-year teams that should have been better than us.

Favouritism. Nepotism. Or maybe he'd been working on them, subtly giving them what they wanted and making sure they knew it was all thanks to the kindly old Ozpin. It was so easy to imagine that if Beacon hadn't fallen and they'd graduated normally, they would have owed Ozpin so much. If he took them aside and explained about Salem and how he needed them, Jaune was sure more than half of them would have complied.

And the worst part was that he really couldn't fault Ozpin for it. He had to fight Salem, he had to gather allies and the best way to do that was to build your allies up from scratch. Ozpin was just doing what he had to. It hadn't even been a bad experience for them at the time. But it felt so much worse when it was your children, and you could see it happening and understand the implications.

Ruby was being groomed to be a silver-eyed warrior. Yang was being groomed into a perfect huntress and bodyguard for her. Nora into the perfect maiden – or candidate once Ozpin realised she wasn't the Spring Maiden. Pyrrha was probably already getting private lessons on how to control her power, likely with the implied caveat that only Ozpin and Glynda could help her, and that she had to stay in Beacon and loyal to them to receive it.

He probably wants Emerald and Vernal as well. Why not? They're strong, connected to me and Emerald has a versatile Semblance. Vernal is already leaps and bounds ahead of her peers, too.

"Have you talked to Taiyang about this?"

"Not yet." Summer rubbed her elbow. "I'm worried he'll overreact. You know how protective that big guy can be. If he thinks his baby girls are in danger…" She smiled at the thought before becoming more serious again. "I told Qrow, and he agreed it's not on, but he also said Ruby is old enough to make her own decisions."

"Which she is…"

"Yes, but those decisions shouldn't be influenced by someone Ozpin's age. I'm just worried," she said. "Maybe it's nothing and Ruby will be fine, but what if she keeps refusing and he tries to push a little harder?"

Worrying thought. "I don't think Ozpin would risk alienating her."

Better to have Ruby a doctor but loyal than angry enough to defy him. Even if she was useless at actually fighting Salem now, she could still settle down, raise a family and give Ozpin a chance at more silver-eyed warriors in the future. It also wouldn't be a problem for much longer. Once Salem was dead, Ozpin would be free of his curse to age and die a natural death.

I can't tell her that, though. She's starting to doubt Ozpin, but I can't run the risk of him finding out. He might take steps to hide the Relic of Choice if he did, and then they'd be screwed.

"He'd lose a lot more than Ruby too," he pointed out. "You, Tai, Yang, Yang's team, me, Emerald and Vernal… The list goes on. There are a lot of people connected to Ruby and Yang who would come to their defence if Ozpin pushed too hard. He's not an idiot. He'll make some subtle attempts to sway her, prod a little, but he won't take any risks or cross any lines."

"Can you talk to him?"

Here it came. "Ozpin?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm just… I lost my temper at him before, and I think I came across too aggressive."

She thought. Thanks to Raven, he knew she hadn't spoken with Ozpin at all. I need to warn Emerald against trying to use her Semblance on him. Well, I suppose she knows the reason now. She'd dodged a bullet in all honesty. It could have been a lot worse.

"Is it really my place to tell him to stay away from Ruby?"

"No, but… You're her uncle. Spiritually, I mean." Summer smiled. "Both Yang and Ruby consider you family. I know it's not fair that I'm offloading this on you. It's just that I don't know what to say or do."

And he was? At least this would give him an excuse to talk to Ozpin and request time off for Emerald and Vernal to go see Winter. There was no way he could convince him to let any others go, however. Maybe Weiss and Whitley at a push, but even that might be asking too much. Jacques should be the one getting in touch on their behalf.

"I'll talk to him."

"Thank you!"

"No promises," he said. "I'm not sure what I can say anyway, but I'll have a word and make sure he knows your concerns. Is that enough?"

"Yes." Summer grabbed his hands and held them tightly. "Thank you. I'm going to talk to Ruby more, and maybe to Tsune as well. I don't want… I want Ruby to be able to make her own choices."

/-/

Ozpin met him in his old office, the small body of a boy sat behind the desk while Glynda poured them each a cup of coffee. He wasn't sure why the teacher was there – maybe Ozpin thought he'd come with ill intent and that he needed a bodyguard. To be fair to him, he knew Jaune had gone to Vacuo to try and drum up support with Theodore. They were still on the same side, but Ozpin had to suspect that might change.

"Mr Ashari. You asked for a meeting. Is this about what occurred in Vacuo?"

"No." Jaune strode forward and took a seat, thanking Glynda for the mug. "It's about Winter, and also Summer asked me to talk to you on something."

"Oh?" Ozpin's surprise was genuine. He really did think I was coming to challenge him or something. He would have to keep the element of surprise up. "Has there been a development with Winter? Has something gone wrong?"

"No and no. There haven't been any changes and the longer I wait, the worse her chances are. Ironwood and I are going to try and reverse the process that ripped her soul out her body."

"Then I wish you the best of luck, Jaune. I hope the notes I provided were of help."

"Not as much as I would have liked." A white lie. "I guess magic and technology are incompatible."

"I expected as much. I didn't want to say it and deprive you of hope but… magic is outside of Remnant's domain. It is of the Gods. Even if they created our world, science and technology are locked within the boundaries of what is possible and impossible by the laws of nature, physics or biology. Those two things do not go hand in hand. I tried my hardest regardless."

"I appreciate that."

Ozpin leaned forward. "You are aware of the risks, I take it?"

"If this fails, Winter will die." Jaune said with a nod. "I… I think it's worth the risk. If we don't try, the chances of her body surviving at all will keep getting lower and lower. I spoke to Raven and she said she'd rather die than live in that state."

"Raven said that? Well, I can't disagree with her. If you fail, then there is a good chance Miss Schnee's soul will move on peacefully. I know that is little comfort for you here and now, but it is all I can give. That and my wishes for your good fortune."

"Thank you."

"But I have to ask, why come here to tell me of this? Your movements are your own, Jaune. You hardly need my permission to attend to your fiancée."

"I want to take Emerald and Vernal with me."

"Ah." Ozpin sat back. "I assume this is so they might see the woman who would become their mother one last time? Or have the pleasure of seeing her recovery if things go well."

"Yes. It's also to keep me grounded if… if things don't go well…" Glynda shuffled uncomfortably. This wasn't a conversation anyone wanted to hear, let alone be involved in. Jaune would have spared her if he could. "There's a chance Jacques might ask for Weiss and Whitley for the same reasons once I tell him. I thought I should forewarn you."

"I will await his call." Ozpin said. "How long would this take? I hate to sound insensitive, but the Vytal Festival begins in two weeks."

"One week at most. They'd be back in time for it."

"Mr and Miss Schnee might not be in any position to compete if they do return." Glynda warned. "We should prepare for the possibility. It's not fair to ask them to."

"Agreed. Have a backup team ready, Glynda. But wait until Mr and Miss Schnee are informed. I assume you are going to tell them?" Ozpin asked him.

"Yes. I plan to speak to Jacques tonight and them after."

"You came to me first?"

"I hadn't planned to, but Summer cornered me on the other issue. Figured I should kill two birds with one stone."

"Ah yes, the thing Summer wanted you to talk about." Ozpin hummed. "I'm a little surprised she couldn't come here herself and tell me. Is she busy today? I hadn't thought her schedule so busy. What's the problem?"

Jaune said it flatly. "You are. With regards to Ruby."

"Excuse me?" Glynda interrupted. "Is that any way to speak to-"

"You're trying to pressure Ruby into becoming a huntress and Summer doesn't appreciate it." He crossed his arms and spoke over her, keeping his eyes on Ozpin. "Summer wants Ruby free to make her own choices, even if those aren't what you want."

"Mr Ashari!" Glynda tried again.

"Miss Rose has incredible potential." It was Ozpin who interrupted her this time, in a calm and reasonable voice. "That potential is wasted in the infirmary. There is much good she could do against the Grimm."

"Ruby doesn't want to. I know she doesn't like combat."

"Ever since the attack on her family in Atlas…"

"Are you blaming me for that?"

"You are to blame." Ozpin said. "If you hadn't traumatised her as a child then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Not that I would change anything. Better to have her and her family alive. I'm simply pointing out that Miss Rose's fear of combat stems from an external event. It is something we can help her overcome."

"Ruby is happy where she is."

"That need not change. I am offering to train her alongside her lessons. She can continue to work in the infirmary if she wishes."

"You're missing the point." Jaune frowned and fixed Ozpin with his sternest look. "Ruby has said no. Summer also says no. Whatever you think is best for her doesn't matter. They've made their decisions."

"Minds can be changed."

He's like a dog with a bone. He just won't let go…

"Respect their choices," Jaune warned. "Or you'll end up losing them entirely."

"Is that a threat?"

"Not from me. Summer is upset, Yang is weirded out, Qrow is uncomfortable and Taiyang doesn't know yet but will if you keep pushing." He let that sink in and watched Ozpin sigh and palm his face. "I understand your reasons, Ozpin. I don't think you're doing anything bad by preparing the next generation and wanting the strongest people you can get. Just be careful you don't push so hard that you push people away."

"Very well." He released his face and nodded. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I hadn't thought I'd made myself a bother, but I see that I've upset them all. I will hold off for a while, though I would prefer it if Miss Rose knew how to defend herself at the very least. If not me, would you consider teaching her some self-defence?"

"Only if she asks. I won't force her into anything."

Ozpin sighed again. "I suppose that's all I can ask for. You will have your permission to take Emerald and Vernal with you to Atlas. I expect you will wait until Jacques decides on if Mr and Miss Schnee will be accompanying you."

"I'll be here a day or two before I go."

"Good. Are we done here?"

"We are." Jaune stood. "I don't think you're doing anything wrong personally, Ozpin. Just tone down how you're doing it."

"The advice is appreciated, Mr Ashari. As is the understanding. I do what I must because I must, not because I wish to. I'm sure you have experience with the distinction."

"Of course." Jaune's eyes strayed over Ozpin and to the giant cogs working in the back of his office, the huge, bronze constructs slowly clicking and moving along. His eyes snapped back down. "I'll be in the city if you need me."

"Wait. Has there been any news from Salem?"

"None. If Tyrian is doing anything, I'm not trusted enough to know."

"Precisely what I wanted to hear." Ozpin smiled, sat back and drank from his mug. "Thank you for coming to talk to me. I wish you good luck with Winter. I will pray for her safe return."

/-/

"Did he give you permission?"

"Yes. I'll be taking Emerald and Vernal with me when I go."

"And the Relic of Choice, correct? We won't have another chance to take it."

"And that."

"You've found where he's hidden it?"

"It's kind of obvious looking back on it. When Pyrrha received the maiden's power he told her she had to defend the tower at all costs. That would have never been an issue if the only thing he wanted to hide was the maiden's power – Pyrrha should have run away to protect that. There was something in his tower he didn't want Cinder to find. Something outside its vault, and that she could take without being the maiden."

"It's in his office then? That's so reckless of him…"

"Hiding in plain sight. It's so audacious that Salem and her people would have never guessed it. I'll go for it the day we go. I could use help."

"Contact me when you start," Raven said. "I'll portal right over. You realise what's going to happen if we're caught, however. We'll be enemies of all of them. Ozpin, Beacon, Summer, Qrow, they'll all want to hunt us down."

"I'm aware." Jaune's eyes hardened. "It's worth the risk."

"And if Ozpin chooses to fight?"

"I'll do what I have to."

Raven chuckled. "I know you will."

I can only assume the Relic of Choice was hidden in his office, either among the clockwork components or somewhere else, otherwise it really was dumb to tell Pyrrha she "had to stop Cinder reaching it" and causing Pyrrha's death.

Next Chapter: 29th May

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur