Qrow stood beneath one of the trees near the edge of Beacon cliff, his back against the trunk and one foot resting against it. Harbinger was clipped to his lower back, a welcome weight in these dark days. Qrow held his hand up, scroll resting in it as he watched replays from Glynda's combat classes. Ozpin had sent him several files giving him details about everything there was to know about their newest Maiden, and Qrow had started by sizing up her combat abilities.

'The kids good,' Qrow had to admit. She was a better fighter than Amber had ever been, that was for certain. The recently injured maiden had always relied too heavily on her powers, having grown up with them. Amber didn't have an appreciation for raw combat. The results were clear on how that attitude had panned out.

Qrow paused the video and pocketed his scroll as the sound of rustling bushes came from behind him, "Finally. I was starting to think you'd-" He cut off as he turned, his eyes being met with a familiar red instead of violet.

"Oh? I didn't think you'd be expecting little old me, Brother," Raven replied, hand on the hilt of her weapon as her eyes swept their surroundings. She stepped out from the trees and into the open, "We need to talk."

Qrow's hand drifted down to the hilt of his own weapon, but for the moment he refrained from drawing it. If God hadn't been lying, then Raven was a maiden. The pair of twins had always been near evenly matched, with Qrow's semblance being more useful in a one on one confrontation than his sister's, but with the elements at her disposal… Qrow wouldn't stand a chance.

"What do you want, Raven?" Qrow demanded, keeping a wide berth from his twin.

Raven turned her red eyes haughtily back to him after assuring herself that they were alone for the time being, "What is she, Qrow?"

"Excuse me?" Qrow narrowed his eyes, 'How did she find out so fast?'

"Don't play dumb, Brother. I felt Yang's distress and opened a portal, only to see what that girl did!" Raven glared, "What. Is. She?"

'Damn her semblance!'

"A student at Beacon, and your daughter's team leader," Qrow replied tightly, crossing his arms, "Aside from that, I don't have much to say to a child murderer."

Raven flinched back in surprise, immediately going on the defensive, "What are you talking about?"

"How could you, Raven?" Qrow could hear the pain in his voice, but he didn't care. This needed to be said, "How could you kill the Spring Maiden!? She was just a child!"

Raven's demeanor returned to the status quo in less than a second, dismissing his accusation, "Don't be ridiculous. I didn't kill Vernal. Who told you this nonsense?"

Qrow hesitated, a retort on his lips. He couldn't reveal his source, though, "Let's just say I have it on good authority that you are the Spring Maiden. You can't lie your way out of this one."

Raven slowly circled around Qrow, hand tensed on her hilt in worry, more than as a threat, "I've heard more believable tales spun by drunks in Mistral taverns, Brother. As much as it pains me to say, I'm too old to be a maiden."

"The power doesn't leave you when you get older. You killed Vernal when you were still young enough to steal the maiden's powers for yourself!"

"You're just deflecting with these ridiculous questions! The girl, Qrow! What is she!?" Raven had stopped her pacing and was now staring down Qrow, hand tensed to draw as a warning not to continue with his previous questions.

Qrow didn't back down from Raven's display. There wasn't a chance in hell that he would give her any information on another maiden, even if she was too old to gain the power now. Knowing his sister, she'd try to kidnap the girl and train her up as another little murderess for the tribe, "None of your business, Raven. Go back to the tribe where you belong."

"And here I was attempting to be civil," Raven shook her head dramatically and spared Qrow a pair of pitying eyes, "If you won't tell me, I'll find out for myself. She shares a room with Yang, right? Maybe I'll stop by when everyone is asleep and have a little heart to heart after dragging her through the other side of my portal."

"Don't you dare…" Qrow growled, pulling Harbinger from his back and holding it down to the side, ready for a fight.

"All I want is an answer, Qrow. You could stop this all from escalating any further… She's a maiden, isn't she? Her powers are on a whole other level, though… And the coloration..." Raven's eyes bore into Qrow's own, "Is she Salem's maiden?"

"You would know all about what a maiden is capable of, wouldn't you?" Qrow retorted, "And no. She doesn't have any connection to the witch, so you can stop that line of thinking right now."

"What else is there? Ozpin is too weak to have created another… Although it wouldn't be the first time he's lied to all of us," Raven replied. Qrow could see the growing frustration wrinkling her face.

'I have to give her something. If she makes good on her threat, who knows what could happen?...'

"There are bigger things at play here than you know. The girl is our best chance at defeating Salem for good. If you do anything to hinder that…" Qrow pressed down on one of the triggers along Harbinger's handle, causing the blade to spring out section by section to its full length and leveled it at Raven, "The entire tribe won't be able to keep me from getting to you."

"Defeat Salem?" Raven scoffed and turned away, hand unsheathing and slashing a red portal in the air in the blink of an eye before slowly stowing it, "How many more of the wizard's lies are you going to choke on, Brother?"

With that, Raven stepped into the portal and vanished, the tear in space closing with a sound unlike any other. Qrow let out a sigh and retracted his greatsword, returning it to his back. He tried to go back to his restful position against the tree, but his nerves were getting the better of him. Qrow pulled his scroll back out while he began to pace and sent a quick message to Ozpin, warning him that Raven already had some inkling of what Violet was.

"That is unfortunate, but she likely would have found out at some point. It is difficult to stop someone that can create portals to so many of us at any time. For now, focus on training Ms. Regalia. Raven wasn't wrong, her powers have the potential to outclass any of the maidens I created. If we can get her there, then she should be capable of defending herself against Raven."

Qrow slipped the scroll back into his pocket and let himself calm down. It wouldn't do any good to worry about things that were out of his control, 'Ozpin is right. I need to focus on training the girl.'

Qrow had another ten minutes to get his nerves in check before there was yet another rustling sound coming from within the forest behind him. He waited until he had eyes on the girl before speaking this time. Violet was dressed in her combat uniform, consisting of a large open coat of deep purple, capped on the sleeves and neckline with light grey fur and trimmed in gold. Underneath was a matching set of light leather clothing. Her top had a golden zipper down the front and left a small amount of her midriff exposed, while her shorts cut off long before her knees. A pair of purple stockings ran up her legs to a few inches above the knee, each held in place by golden straps.

It was the enormous greatsword poking up from behind her shoulder blade that drew his eye the most, "You know, bigger isn't always better."

The girl caught his eye and smirked, "Oh, please. You're just jealous. Bigger is always better."

"I've heard differently from many of the ladies," Qrow fully expected the girl to get embarrassed and try to change the conversation as his nieces would have. What he wasn't expecting was for her smirk to widen further.

"They're just out for a bigger tip," Violet chuckled. She stopped next to him and glanced out across the Emerald Forest, "So, what's first?"

Qrow shook himself out of his momentary shock, "Ozpin filled me in on your semblance. I'd like to see your gun in action at some point. Other than that, we'll start slow. I'll distract some weaker grimm while you try and harness your new powers and kill them."

"Ah," Violet paused at the mention of her gun, "The thing is, I only have one more shot… so unless we're going to run into a Goliath, it's probably best I don't use it."

"How do you only have one shot left?" Qrow asked, eyeing the small group of steel rounds clipped to her belt.

"Ruby," Violet replied simply, popping open a chamber along the hilt of her sword to expose what seemed like a single dust cell, "That, and my shipment was included somewhere in all those cargo containers. You know, before they exploded. It takes a lot of lightning dust to power this baby so I have to order a special compact version directly from the SDC."

"That's a problem…" Qrow stroked his chin, "I've seen Amber use lightning before. Mainly calling it down from the sky, but also from her hands on a few instances. We can give that a shot. Maybe you can charge your weapon yourself."

"That would save me a lot of lien," Violet shrugged, "Just don't tell the SDC you helped cheat them out of one of their best customers."

Qrow walked forward to the edge of the cliff and looked down, "No time like the present. Let's get started."

With a slight nod, Violet followed him as he dropped off the cliff.

'Qrow is a better teacher than I ever would have thought before.'

The drunk old bird had spent the better part of half an hour coaching her as well as he could, throwing in suggestions and tips based off past experiences with Amber. It was all Violet had to go off of for how her 'powers' were supposed to function, and she ate up every bit of it. Anything to keep from exposing herself.

From the sounds of it, he had assisted Amber in a similar way once upon a time, when the now half-maiden had been attending Beacon. Ozpin had found Amber soon after she unlocked her maiden powers and had kept her close for the majority of her life, not allowing the maiden to venture out too far until he believed she was ready. 'Yet another mistake on the wizard's part. I hope he doesn't think he can put me on a leash.'

Violet waved her hand and once again, a spike of amethyst-colored ice shot out along the ground and pierced up through the rib cage of the boarbatusk that Qrow was currently distracting. Violet placed her hands on her knees and breathed out, feigning fatigue, 'I'll have to ask Jinn later whether or not this is actually supposed to take energy. I don't think it normally consumes any aura, but I'll be damned if I'm going to make myself appear any stronger than I should be.'

No doubt Ozpin would be checking in on the pair of them through the hidden cameras in the forest. The danger of tipping off Qrow or the wizard was still in the forefront of her mind, keeping her from making any significant strides with her newfound 'maiden' powers.

"That was a little better," Qrow commented, standing back from the grimm as it made its last few death struggles and went limp, already beginning to turn to ash, "Seems like only the flames leave a body. You should stick to that whenever possible."

"Why? Do you want grimm bodies littered all over the place?"

Qrow stowed his sword and began leading Violet deeper into the Emerald Forest, "Because, if the flames kill the grimm in a way that makes them stay dead, then it's better than anything else we've got. We still don't know how grimm reproduce or where their bodies go when they die. What if they aren't actually dying at all?"

Violet had guessed as much, but also had to stop and wonder whether or not Qrow was lying to her, 'Surely he's been to the grimm lands? He knows Salem can make grimm.' Violet knew Qrow was on the right track, though. She was destroying the very essence that allowed the grimm to function at all. Whenever they were killed normally and evaporated into ash, that essence was simply being whisked away, back to the pools left by the god of darkness. The 'god' was more like a child that had forgotten to bring his toys with him when he left as far as Violet was concerned.

'Eventually, they're going to want me to try and do the same thing to Salem,' there was no doubt about that in Violet's mind. It was the clearest solution, and one that she herself had egged on by mentioning that Ozpin was no closer to defeating Salem, as if 'Violet' was the answer being given to them by God.

'As much as I enjoy being in this world, eventually Salem will need to be stopped. How soon that happens is up to me…'

Violet forcibly refrained from sighing in boredom and instead focused on letting a small charge of electricity zap between her fingertips as they walked, 'This is really like shooting fish in a barrel. I have to pretend to be excited about all this, though. A normal person would be head over heels if they found out they had extra magical powers. Still, I may as well mix it up a little bit.'

"I'm going to try charging up Zenith next, if that's okay."

Qrow glanced back over his shoulder, "Alright. Be careful. You know more about your weapon than I do, but I don't need to carry you back if that thing explodes in your face."

"That's what would happen if you used it," Violet quipped before discharging the dust cell and tossing it to Qrow, "Better hold on to that. I don't want it anywhere on me while I'm charging this thing up even more."

Qrow caught it deftly and stuffed it into a pocket, "Good idea. Ozpin told me your weapon was pretty over the top. I'm hoping for a good light show at the very least."

'You'll get more than a light show, old bird.' With the dust chamber closed, that left only the wind dust held in the blade and the ice dust near the hilt, both of which were kept insulated from any errant electrical charges. Violet had learned that lesson the hard way when she was first experimenting with Zenith. Henna had spent hours chipping away at the ice dust that covered both the weapon and Violet's arms in the resulting explosion.

Violet transformed Zenith into its railgun form and held it across her chest, watching the coils closely as she increased the lightning coursing through her hands. With a little tweaking, she managed to get the coils lit up the same as if she had been using one of her dust cells. Like all the other elements Violet had produced, the lightning flashed across the interior in the same color as the ice and fire.

'Aaaand now I'm Palpatine.'

Violet spared a nod to Qrow once the stream of electricity had reached a familiar hum, "Seems good enough to me. Do you want to scout out a King Taijitu or something?"

"No need," Qrow replied, pointing off ahead of them. Violet had to squint into the dark past the light flashing from her weapon to see the small group of ersa on the other edge of the clearing, sniffing the air as if they'd caught the two hunters' scent.

Violet shrugged, "Good enough. Step aside old man. Things are about to get loud."

Qrow grumbled something under his breath as he stepped out of Violet's way and leaned up against a nearby tree. Violet gave herself a few more feet from him, knowing the recoil her own weapon would produce. Her other hand dropped down to one of the projectiles on her belt, which she lowered into the magnetic field a moment later. Lightning arced from the coils to the projectile the instant it entered.

Violet gave Qrow a thumbs up as it hovered in place, magnetically locked in the space between the first set of coils. The weight from Zenith was then forced into it, all forty pounds of her greatsword compacted into the much smaller piece of pure steel. Violet took aim across the clearing, leveling her weapon's sights on the middle of the pack, and pulled the trigger.

The grimm never knew what hit them.

Black furred arms and legs went flying through the air in a smattering of black blood that instantly misted, nearly evaporating from the sheer heat that boiled everything in the projectile's wake. Purple lightning trailed behind it, exploding on contact with the group of ersa. The lightning slashed through those that remained, more like wild cords of heated plasma whipping through the air than electricity. They stripped through both flesh and bone like paper.

'I might have put too much power in that one…'

Violet picked herself up off the ground, the ice dust having failed to nullify the force behind the recoil. She heard Qrow coughing off to the side as he waved his hand past his face to clear the air. A shower of dirt had been kicked up around them, the smaller particles of dust still hanging in the air. A cone of vegetation and rock had been ripped open across the ground directly in front of where Zenith's barrel had ended.

Qrow coughed once again in an attempt to clear his throat, "Oz wasn't kidding…"

"That was a bit more than usual, actually," Violet admitted, checking over the internal workings of her weapon. Thankfully, they didn't appear to be damaged, "I'll have to recalibrate a few things…"

Qrow's eyes trailed back over to the carnage that had been left in Zenith's wake, "Oz didn't mention anything about lightning…"

"That's because there usually isn't," Violet replied, transforming her weapon back into its greatsword form. The vents opened as they were supposed to, giving her some relief. Steam rose up out of the weapon into the chilled night air, "I guess this gives me a crowd control option."

"If you don't mind getting thrown on your ass any time you use it."

Violet waved her hand nonchalantly, "That can be fixed with a bit of testing. An additional mode to switch between depending on whether or not I'm using dust cells, simple enough compared to what I've already gone through with this thing."

"Well let's leave that testing until you've made a few changes, alright? I'm not exactly enthusiastic about coughing dirt out of my lungs any more tonight."

"Fair enough," Violet returned Zenith to her back while it cooled off and stuck her hands in her coat pockets, "Lead the way."

Their journey into the Emerald Forest continued deeper. Violet let her mind wander to the necessary fixes she'd have to make on her weapon while they walked. She was more than confident in Qrow's ability to take on anything that could possibly be in the forest so close to Vale. Even if another deathstalker showed up like the one at initiation, Violet wouldn't put it past the elder huntsman to handle it as easily as the smaller grimm before.

"Did you have any more questions about being a maiden?" Qrow asked after a while without finding any more grimm, likely beginning to feel as bored as Violet already was.

"Something like that. You said half of Amber's power was stolen. Does that mean she's still alive? Where is she? Couldn't she teach me better than anyone else?"

Qrow sighed, "Amber's condition is… problematic, at best. Whatever they used to steal her powers left her in a coma. We've got her somewhere safe for the time being, but we don't know how long she's going to last."

"And if she dies…"

"There's no saying where the half she still has will go. It might end up seeking out the portion that was stolen."

Violet nodded, "So, we hunt down the thief, kill them, and get Amber's powers back to her."

"Correction. I, as in not you, do exactly that. Unfortunately, the trail ran cold after the attack. Whoever orchestrated it isn't being obvious about it."

"Qrow," Violet put her hands on her hips and waited for him to stop walking, "Do you really want to risk trying to handle it all on your own? My team has already proven how well we can track people down. We found Roman twice."

"How did that go again? The first time you failed to catch him and blew up a few buildings. The second time you failed again and blew up an entire dust shipment."

"Sure, I messed up a bit along the way, but it would have been so much easier with an experienced huntsman like you tagging along. Roman wouldn't stand a chance. The only obstacle left is his little friend that he uses as his ace in the hole."

"Roman Torchwick isn't even close to being on the same level as whoever stole Amber's powers. You don't know what you'd be getting yourself into, kid."

Violet shook her head in exasperation, "I'm nearly as good as Pyrrha Nikos, and that's without using any maiden powers, or," Violet patted the hilt of Zenith where it poked out from above her shoulder, "letting loose. Are you going to tell me that you think anything is going to stand up against what you saw back there?"

"We can't risk it. If you get dropped, we lose our best asset," Qrow's voice had started to grow a little heated in the argument.

"I can handle myself. I'm not going to end up like Amber."

"You don't know that."

"What's the alternative? We wait until someone figures it out? In the meantime, Amber dies and my rival gets even stronger because of it. Do you want Yang or Ruby to get attacked in an ambush? Or would you rather we be the ones doing the ambushing?"

Qrow glared at Violet, likely angry for using his nieces' safety as part of her argument. After a few moments, though, the older huntsman relaxed and eyed Violet, "I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it. We only need to get results."

Qrow waited a little longer before replying once more, "Let's pretend that I'm willing to hear you out. What's step one?"

"We use these training sessions as an excuse for the operation. I don't want my team in the crossfire. I already promised myself not to risk their lives again, and I am not going to break that promise."

"I would have to tell Ozpin, at the very least. I won't go behind his back."

"Fine. We get the Headmaster on board, maybe even Glynda if the situation calls for it. We find Roman and press him for information, make him give up his contacts."

"What makes you so sure he'd have any clue? What if they aren't even in Vale still?"

Violet scoffed, raised a hand out to the side, and let loose with a torrent of amethyst crystals that shot outwards across the ground, crashing through the trees and slashing deep furrows through both dirt and stone. In mere moments, a mass of ice fifty feet long and a dozen feet wide cut a path through the forest.

"I wouldn't want to settle for half of that. Would you?"

Qrow shook his head wordlessly.

"Neither will our would-be thief. She's holed up in the city somewhere. Trust me. Roman can at least supply us with potential targets."

'A great excuse to get directly to the source. Plus we cut into Roman's involvement in the Breach. What will you do then, Cinder? As worried as Qrow is, Amber will last a long time. We can try and be strategic about this. I guess the real question is, what will Salem do after her pet fails?'

Qrow drew himself up, "I can scout for Torchwick throughout the week. You focus on your classes and the team training from Glynda. Whether we catch the half-maiden or not, you'll still need all the time you can get with your team."

"Deal," Violet replied quickly, then paused a moment, "I uhh, do have a contact, though. Jury's out on whether or not I can get him to trust me again, but if I can then it might be faster."

"Who?" Qrow's brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes at the young huntress.

"Tukson, the bookshop owner. He's a member of the White Fang. But, with a little convincing, I think we can get him to turn."

"I'll check him out," Qrow nodded his approval after a moment of consideration, "Anything else?"

"I have an address for one of Roman's hideouts. I wouldn't put it past him to have changed locations already, so don't get your hopes up too much," Violet pulled out her scroll and messaged the address to Qrow, "Be careful there. I also wouldn't put it past him to have lookouts keeping an eye on the place for any return visitors."

"I'm as careful as they come, kid."

"I believe it," Violet replied unsarcastically. She wasn't about to start doubting his skills now of all times, "That's all I've got. You've already seen the dock footage. His sidekick is no slouch, that's for sure."

"Glass illusions and teleportation. That's a tough combination."

"We should be fine. Best case scenario, I take on the little minx and put her down while you keep Roman preoccupied."

"You're confident you can take her?"

Violet gestured to the towering ice off to their side, "If all else fails, she permanently stops being a problem. I won't risk letting her slip away to try and get revenge later on."

"Only if it comes down to it… You're too young to be taking lives."

"I'll keep that in mind. If it ever comes down to it though, and it's the difference between them or one of my teammates… I won't hesitate."

"I wouldn't want you to," Qrow sighed, turning his head back to face away into the woods, "Let's just… make sure you don't have to, alright? Come on. Time to keep practicing."

Violet nodded and followed him deeper into the Emerald Forest.

It was a few hours later by the time Violet and Qrow returned to the top of the Beacon cliffs, with some mild strategizing between them along the way. Qrow still hadn't revealed his ability to change forms into a bird, and Violet doubted he ever would unless absolutely necessary. She instead trusted him to pull off his half of the operation.

'Hopefully Blake and the others take my suggestion for a week off and don't get suspicious. As long as Qrow doesn't spill it to Yang or Ruby, we should be fine.'

Violet was determined to have the issue of Roman Torchwick and Neo Politan resolved within the week, 'Maybe then I'll be able to relax with my team on the weekend.' That would certainly be nice. She still wasn't sure how far she wanted to press Cinder's plans. If Violet threw too heavy of a wrench in, then the half-maiden might end up changing them to the point where they would be unrecognizable. 'I'd be just as in the dark as everyone else then.' That could certainly spell disaster.

Qrow parted ways when they reached the door into the student dorms, heading off towards the staff building instead. Violet climbed the stairs to the hallway that held Vibrant and Siren's dorms, among others, and quietly unlocked the door. Despite it being well past ten at night, Violet wasn't surprised to see Blake still up, reading by the small amount of light that filtered in through the partially open drapes.

"You know, I heard reading in the dark is bad for your eyes," Violet whispered, already changing out of her combat outfit and into her sleepwear.

Blake averted her eyes in embarrassment back to the book that Violet had given her, "That isn't really true for faunus. You humans have weak senses."

Violet nodded her assent as she slipped on her pajamas, "Fair enough. Henna would always read for me in the dark so the light wouldn't keep me up. I always thought that was really sweet of her."

Blake let out a quiet, breathy laugh, "You're usually one of the heaviest sleepers I've ever known. I'm surprised she even bothered."

Violet shrugged as she lay down, pulling the covers up over herself and shuffling her pillow into a more comfortable position, "It's the thought that counts…"

Violet glanced over to see that Blake had returned to reading the book. She felt some anxiety bubbling up in her chest, "How are you... liking it... so far?"

"Hmmmm…" Blake marked her place and turned over to look at Violet, still whispering, "It's interesting, to say the least. I never would have thought of eternity as boring, but the book brings up a lot of good points. All in all, though… It's…"

"It's what?..."

"Sad…" Blake replied quietly, turning back towards the ceiling as she gathered her thoughts, then met Violet's eyes from across the room, "I can't say I approve of all the things this 'God' does. There's a responsibility that comes with that amount of power. I wouldn't think well of any parent that abandoned their children, and if God created all these different worlds… Aren't they like her children?"

"I don't think the two are really all the comparable," Violet frowned, "Is it still abandoning if they're fully capable of taking care of themselves? Does a parent 'abandon' their child by letting them go off to college?"

"I suppose not… But a parent would still check in and make sure their child was doing well… From the sounds of it, this God doesn't look back once she's done with them."

'That's… true enough, for the most part. It's not like I ever went back to Middle Earth once the adventure was over. Why bother? The story is done. I suppose I could stir up trouble again, but that wouldn't really be fair to the world's inhabitants, now would it?'

"What kind of world would you create, if you could?" Violet asked.

Blake carefully stashed the book beneath her pillow for the night and paused in thought, "...I don't know. I think I would have to make sure everyone on Remnant was safe before I could even consider creating something new. How could I be happy somewhere else, knowing that my parents might still be in danger?"

"Not even Ninjas of Love~?"

Even with the small amount of light filtering through the drapes, Violet could see Blake's cheeks turning red at the remark.

She coughed, refusing to meet her team leader's gaze, "How'd training go?"

Violet laughed at the obvious change in subject, but decided to let her have it, "Easy enough. Turns out Qrow is a more reliable teacher than I thought he'd be. I'll be roasting fields full of grimm in no time."

Blake smiled, "That's good to hear. Make team Vibrant proud."

Violet placed a hand to her chest in a mock bow despite lying down as she was, "It would be my pleasure." A yawn escaped her lips, "...Now, if I recall correctly, you have a date with Yang in the morning. Better get your rest while you can."

Blake sighed and rolled over as well, "You're right. I doubt she's going to take it easy on me... Goodnight, Violet."

"Goodnight, Blake."

It was several minutes later before Violet finally let herself drift off to sleep, but as usual, refused to fall into the soft embrace of dreams. With only a slight tug back towards the waking world, she found herself hovering over her own body, watching her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath.

Violet turned her eyes over to Blake, hovering near the top of the room as she was. The cat faunus had curled herself up beneath her blankets. Every now and then, Violet could see her ears twitch in her sleep, reacting to some part of her dream that the goddess would never see. 'What am I going to do with you…'

Violet shook her head and drifted away, off towards Vale. There would be time to figure that whole mess out…

'Right now, I need to find wherever Torchwick is hiding… And maybe I'll stop in to ask Jinn a few things…"

Oh man. It took a lot longer than usual to write this one out. Sorry for the delays, but I've been really stressed looking for a job over the last month or so, and it's really taken a hit out of my productivity when it comes to writing. Hard to concentrate on all this when real life is getting in the way so much. That and the stress has managed to transfer over to actually writing the story. I deleted around 2,000 words from this chapter in the middle of writing it because I just didn't like the way it was going.

Fingers crossed I get the job that I was interviewed for earlier today. That would certainly take a load off my chest.

For those that want to see it, I posted an artwork up for Violet's combat outfit on my Twitter account. Someone asked for a description a while back and I thought I'd go the extra mile for it like I did with Olivia in Black Lotus.

So, our lonely goddess is making secret plans with Qrow to try and take down Cinder's operation and keep her team safe. I guess we'll see how that turns out in the future. What will Cinder do if she does lose Roman (and potentially Neo?) Who would end up being her fourth 'exchange student'?

And how far will Violet end up going with Blake? There's a first time for everything, but Blake will have a tough time getting past all of Violet's reservations. You certainly don't have to worry about the story turning into a 'mindless lesbian fap-fantasy' as one reviewer put it. That one does give me a really good laugh though whenever I read it.

Thank you all for reading. I really appreciate the attention this has managed to get despite Violet being an OC. This entire story started off because of a whim, and now has over 16,000 views and counting. Only 2,000 shy of Black Lotus which has ten more chapters and 60,000 more words.

Many of Violet's traits and features were actually cannibalized from 'Zoey Regalia', a member of team 'EMBR'. That was back when I was trying to learn Maya and dreamt of making my own animations. Who knows, might end up giving it a shot someday and make a trailer of sorts, Mark Zhang style. Zenith would be such a pain to animate, though.

I'm sure Violet will reappear in one form or another, whether it's when I end up writing my first book, or in some animation down the line.

I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner than this most recent one. Same for Black Lotus, which is now a week past due -_-

Sorry...