A few more days had passed, and Violet had managed to avoid allowing her team to go out on the town again. With Mercury snooping around, and Adam remaining an unknown, Violet felt that there was too much risk for not much reward other than spending time with her team. She could do that in Beacon anyway.

It became the norm for her to invite team Siren over, or for Siren to reciprocate. Either way, Violet or Weiss would end up paying to have food delivered depending on whoever happened to be hosting that night. Once they had some food to snack on, they would use the earlier portion of the night to act as one large study group, and help out anyone that was having difficulty with any of the material. Violet may as well have been another Oobleck with how often she answered questions pertaining to history.

Yang and Blake continued their morning routine, while Violet and Blake continued theirs. Yang hadn't been joking when she'd said it would only get worse from then on. Each day, Blake's workout increased, yet each day by the time Combat Class was about to roll around, Violet could safely dispel her semblance. Her own endurance increased, leaving her less fatigued even by the end of the third day.

With Ozpin's denial of Violet's involvement, she had also increased the pace at which she was making 'improvements'. As it stood, Violet was betting on Qrow once again asking for the go ahead after the training session they were about to partake in. Violet sat at the edge of the Beacon cliff, cross-legged and leaning back with her hands in the grass, staring up into the shattered moon above while she waited for Qrow to arrive.

Violet had always enjoyed staring at the moon, no matter what world it was. The large pearlescent orb, sundered by the departure of the God of Darkness in a childish display, watched down upon Remnant from above. Violet had always seen a bit of herself in the moon. Beautiful, but distant. Rarely interacted with by any other than a chosen few. Its presence could bring hope and comfort on a moonlit night, while its absence bred fear in the darkness that took its place.

Violet couldn't help but think back to how she had once been. More than omnipotent, more than omniscient. She had known the exact outcome of every event; past, present, and future. She was there, and always would be there, for everything thing that would ever happen. However, among all that knowledge, there had been one path, one series of events that remained unknown.

It had intrigued her originally, this branching path that presented itself to her. Like a barely audible whisper, her attention had been inevitably drawn to this enigma.

'What happens if I give up my omniscience?'

It had been odd at first, giving up infinite knowledge to become just like any of her creations, but after a while a new sensation had appeared. A sensation that She had never felt before... Excitement. The unknown stirred up the same feelings for her as it did her creations. Until then, She hadn't believed herself capable of even feeling emotions. How would it have been possible, when every outcome was known ahead of time? You couldn't be happy, or sad, or surprised by the inevitable.

She had discovered emotions for herself, and after trying to go back to being omniscient… realized for the first time what boredom was. A constant state of being, an infinite string of events, stretching back to the moment of creation and forward until well past the end of time. None of which would provide any of those emotions she craved unless she gave up her omniscience for good.

It had been an easy choice. One that led to where she now sat.

Violet was brought out of her brief reverie by the tell-tale sounds of Qrow making his way through the trees. The sound of a bush against his pant leg, the swish of grass beneath his feet, the metal scraping of a flask being uncapped before he took a drink.

"You know that stuff is bad for your liver, right?" Violet peeked over her shoulder back at the greying huntsman as he stepped past the final few trees into the clearing next to her.

"I hear that often enough from Tai," Qrow snorted, recapping the flask and shoving it in his pocket, "I don't need it from a kid like you."

Violet picked herself up and dusted her hands off, "The truth is the truth no matter who says it, Qrow."

The huntsman grumbled and looked out over the forest, "You ready? You've been making a lot of improvements these last few days. I told Oz to keep an eye out tonight through the cameras so that he could judge for himself. Don't disappoint, alright?"

"Do I ever?" Violet smiled and fell backwards off the cliff. The wind whipped past through her hair and rippled her coat before she activated her semblance. Violet's rapid descent slowed drastically, allowing her to gently come to rest on the ground, eyes skyward to watch Qrow as he followed.

Qrow used his scythe against a tree to slow his fall and land heavily next to her, leaving a deep jagged gash through its bark. He transformed Harbinger back and stowed it away beneath his cloak, "Show me what you're made of, kid. I won't be running interference tonight."

"Fine by me," Violet gave the benefit of her semblance to Qrow as well as she set off in a jog, eyes roaming the forest and Zenith still on her back. They didn't have long to wait before the sound of beowolves howling in the distance was heard, echoing out across the still night air.

Violet led them into a clearing and walked to the center. It was decently sized, nearly a hundred feet across in any direction. Violet did a few stretches and cracked her knuckles, 'Time to make things a bit more spectacular.' She gestured for Qrow to stand nearer. Once he complied, Violet placed her hands against the ground.

Ice streaked out, small fingers of amethyst crystal that surrounded the two of them a dozen feet in every direction. They stopped for a moment at that distance, then erupted upwards at their ends, creating a cage of ice shards, two feet across with gaps between large enough to see through. In this cage, they would be protected from the grimm, while she would still be able to attack within.

Violet could hear the howls of the beowolves closing in, too few by far for the spectacle that she wanted to put on. With a small dip into her omnipotence, the number tripled in size, each beowolf suddenly joined by two more. The pack of nearly fifty closed in, the first few making their entrance into the clearing so that they were clearly visible in the moonlight. Scores of glowing red eyes streaked through the trees, surrounding the two hunters on all sides.

Qrow tensed, seeing the sheer number that had suddenly appeared from out of the woodworks, "There shouldn't be this many beowolves in the Emerald Forest…" his hand drifted down to his lower back, grabbing Harbinger but not yet drawing, "You got this, kid?"

"Easy enough," Violet admired her own work past the safety of their cage. Several of the beowolves she had created were alphas, adding to the perceived threat they posed. She smirked, "Just relax. I'll protect you."

A bloodchilling chorus of howls announced the beowolves' charge, as the sea of black furred grimm sprinted towards them, bearing sharp fangs and flexing large claws. Violet waited until the first of many was about to reach the cage, mere moments from putting its durability to the test, before slamming her hands down against the grass beneath.

From her hands erupted a circle of amethyst flame, a wave that grew in size the further out it went. Like a brilliantly colored tsunami, the inferno crashed over the charging beowolves, expanding out until reaching its apex, towering thirty feet into the sky. The wave receded at the edge of the clearing, ebbing back down until finally disappearing.

The beowolves were left in its wake, bodies still and lifeless, bereft of what little of the God of Darkness's power kept them animated. Aside from them, everything else in the clearing remained untouched, unharmed by the burning inferno that had inhabited the clearing only moments before.

Violet turned a smug smile to Qrow and shrugged, "See?"

Qrow shakily pulled his flask out and took a long swig, recapping it and returning it to his pocket before speaking, "Give a guy a little warning before you pull a stunt like that. I saw my life flash before my eyes…"

Violet waved a hand dismissively, "Oh, don't be a baby. You already knew I could choose what gets harmed by it," she brought her hand up and poked him on the chest affectionately, "You've got nothing to worry about, old man."

Qrow rubbed his chest where Violet had poked him, "There's a difference between knowing, and experiencing firsthand," he eyed the corpses that littered the clearing, "Any other tricks up your sleeve?"

Violet raised a hand and 'concentrated' for only a moment before the ice that surrounded them shattered to pieces, falling to the grass and disappearing in as many moments, "A few."

Qrow gestured for her to continue onward, deeper into the Emerald Forest. Violet took the lead once again, already plotting more encounters of a… believably spectacular level. Over the next few hours, she made a showing of her powers, walking the fine line between what was expected, and what was necessary in order to have her request accepted. Whether it was by calling lightning to strike down from the sky, or skewering grimm on thick shards of ice... death lay in her wake.

'The girl is impossibly strong for a maiden…' Raven watched from the trees, well beyond the range of Qrow's perception, but still able to observe the feats being laid bare. Raven had felt her twin's sudden panic, the instantaneous heart-dropping certainty of death, and rushed to the location through her portal. Instead of a fight, she had found a much more imposing danger than she ever would have imagined.

Not a danger to the world at large, but to herself. With the girl directly under Qrow's tutelage, Raven had no doubt that she herself would not be looked favorably upon, and with her daughter being on the same team to boot… 'Perhaps it's about time I introduced myself to Yang. I wouldn't want her coming to look for me with this girl in tow. The clan would never survive the fallout.'

Raven lifted off from the tree with a beat of her black wings, a portal shimmering into existence in midair. With a final flap, she vanished through it, leaving a single black feather to drift lightly to the ground below.

Violet's breath misted in the air as she panted heavily, arm resting against zenith where she had planted it in the ground to lean on. A field of ice, flames, and craters from lightning lay scattered about the battlefield. Those grimm that had died from a source other than her flames were still in the midst of disintegrating, sending thick trails of black ash spiraling up into the sky.

A king taijitu lay on the ground in front of her, the final victim of her training induced slaughter. Both heads were severed, its black blood coating both the grass around itself and the edges of Zenith's blade. The blood itself hissed, slowly evaporating in the heat of the flames that licked up Zenith's steel. Violet would have to thank Ruby for that idea at some point.

Qrow hung up his scroll and walked back over to her from where he'd watched at the treeline, "Oz wants us to head up to his office. I think he's got good news."

'He'd better after all that…' Violet breathed out one final heavy sigh and hefted Zenith back out of the ground to return it to her back, relaxing as her semblance once again took hold.

Violet's eyes scanned the carnage that they were about to leave behind, "You know, I hope Oz has someone coming out here to pick up after us. Someone might get suspicious if they stumble across a mountain of dead grimm that aren't disappearing like they should."

"Professor Peach collects them for her research," Qrow replied idly, beginning to lead their long trek back through the forest to the cliffs themselves, "She wanted me to pass along her thanks for all the new subjects, by the way. And that she doesn't have to keep making fake taxidermy grimm parts for Port's trophy collections."

Violet frowned, thinking about the few times she'd seen Peach from a distance. The female fox faunus professor was hardly five foot six, at best, and scrawny to boot, "How did Professor Peach manage to get them out of the forest in the first place?"

"Peach's semblance lets her store nonliving things in a… pocket dimension…? It was very confusing the one time she told me about it. Suffice to say, she can take stuff that isn't alive and make it disappear until she wants to bring it back again somewhere else."

'Oh no, she's a gamer fanfic character,' Violet laughed but refused to answer Qrow's questioning stare, "So, did you make any progress finding Torchwick on your own time?"

Qrow shrugged, "Not much. I went to that address you gave me, but it was already cleared out like you'd guessed. There was a sentry posted, but he only led me back to a smaller White Fang rallying point. None of them seemed to be in direct contact with Torchwick."

Violet nodded, "Unfortunate, but not unexpected. Tukson, then? He should be able to provide us with another lead."

"He looked pretty roughed up the last time I saw him," Qrow replied, a shred of sympathy in his voice, "Tukson may have been found out."

"If that's the case, he has even less of a reason to stick around, right?" Violet tapped her chin, "How would a one way ticket to Menagerie sound for an abused ex-White Fang member that needed to go into hiding?"

Qrow smirked, "Like a pretty good deal if we could guarantee his safety. I don't know anyone in Menagerie that could take care of him, though."

Violet smiled, "I do. And it just so happens that they owe me a small favor for reconnecting them with their daughter."

Qrow laughed and gave an approving nod, "I was wondering when your teammate would reveal herself. You called up the Chieftain of Menagerie?"

"Blake still had him as a contact in her scroll after all these years. Hard letting go of a parent, but that goes without saying," Violet shrugged, "Ghira has motive to help, too. He isn't exactly fond of the more violent factions of the White Fang…" a thought came to her mind, "And he might be able to put a word in with Sienna Khan about the most recent string of robberies and murders…"

Qrow frowned, "Isn't that the White Fang's M.O.? I doubt she'd care about humans being killed in Vale."

"But other White Fang members being threatened with death, or working for a human? I think she might have a thing or two to say about that. If Amber's attacker really is using Torchwick and the White Fang, we might be able to disrupt them inside as well."

"It takes around a month for a ship to go from Vale to Menagerie, kid. Even if Tukson does agree to go, it won't even matter by then."

Violet smirked, "Stop living in the past, old man. An airship could get to Menagerie in a couple days, at worst," she reached into her pocket to flash her Lien Account card, "and I'd be more than willing to send him First Class."

"If he agrees to it," Qrow replied, "You don't know how afraid of running away people can be. Someone like Torchwick would've been sure to make it clear that trying to escape would have far worse consequences."

"So we sweeten the pot," Violet argued, "We give him an escort. A huntsman that can keep him safe on the journey, watch his back."

"I don't know any hunters that would be available for a mission like that, kid."

Violet shrugged, "A student team then," she pondered it for a few seconds, "Team Coffee has Velvet on it. That would help keep things going smoothly, I'd think."

"That bunny girl?"

"Rabbit," Violet corrected, "They're a decent enough second year team, even by Beacon standards."

"We'll see what Oz has to say," Qrow replied after a few seconds, "There's no telling whether or not there are faunus in Menagerie that agree with what the White Fang are doing here. If they do, then Tukson and those second years could become a target."

'Fennec and Corsac would definitely fall into that category,' Violet agreed silently, "They can handle themselves well enough, but I get where you're coming from. Do you know if the faunus on Menagerie would be accepting of humans going there?"

"Beacon students, with a faunus on their team to vouch for them? They should be fine," Qrow confirmed easily, "Aside from a few, I've heard the faunus there aren't nearly as radical since they aren't dealing with humans every day."

"I'd like to go there myself some time. Blake's parents were nice enough, and I bet they'd love to have her back, even if it was only for a few days."

"Meeting your girlfriend's parents so soon?" Qrow gave a knowing smirk, "Next thing you know, you'll be taking her home to meet your parents in Atlas too."

Violet frowned, "How'd you know about that?"

"It's my job to protect you, kid. Doesn't matter if you know I'm there or not. You look good together. I'll say that much."

"Well, she isn't my girlfriend yet."

"What's stopping you?"

'Blake has been too busy doing her workouts with Yang, classes, and team tactics to finish the book the whole way through, that's what…' Violet shrugged, "I don't know if it's meant to be."

Qrow laughed, "You're going to have a rough time if you spend your whole life waiting for 'Ms. Perfect'. Trust me, nobody gets along completely with anyone else. There's always going to be petty differences. That's what relationships are, though. You work through them to better each other."

"This, coming from the resident loner~" Violet teased with a smirk.

"Hey, just 'cause I haven't been in a long term one myself doesn't mean I haven't seen what went wrong in other's," Qrow scowled back.

"Would be an awkward four years if it didn't work out," Violet mumbled, still loud enough for Qrow to hear.

"Better to regret trying than to always wonder what could have been…" the way Qrow said it clued Violet in to his own regret.

'Did he have a crush on Summer?' Violet didn't see why that couldn't have been the case. They'd spent years together, and with Tai and Raven getting together, it would have left the two other members of the team in a position to try things out for themselves. 'Maybe she never reciprocated. Summer was pretty quick to swipe up Tai after Raven left…'

"I'll keep that in mind, Qrow," Violet replied simply, "Always wondering what could have been' is a long time, in my case.'

With the cliff approaching, the two of them quieted down while they took the narrow path back up, eventually breathing out a sigh of relief at the top. It was a long back and forth trek across the paths that had been cut into the cliffside, more dangerous for a civilian than a huntress in training, impossible for a grimm.

The two set off across campus to the base of the CCT. Qrow was well known enough that the guards didn't bother them as they entered, allowing the two to go directly to the elevators. Before Qrow even had a chance to flash his identification, the elevator's systems pinged.

"Restricted Floor, Headmaster's Office."

Violet felt the elevator shift beneath them, carrying them up the length of the enormous tower to the top where the wizard's office resided. With another chime that announced their arrival, the doors dinged open, revealing both the Headmaster and Glynda already in the room.

Violet gave a polite nod of her head, "Professor Ozpin, Miss Goodwitch."

"Miss Regalia," Ozpin nodded back with a tilt of his head, hands steepled in front of himself while he sat upright in his chair, "Thank you for coming to see me."

"Of course," she flashed a smile and sat across from him, relaxing in the chair provided while Qrow and Glynda both remained standing.

"Do you know why I asked you here today?"

Violet shrugged, "I was hoping it was because of my request to help hunt down Roman Torchwick. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"You are indeed correct," Ozpin smiled, "I had another question that I wanted to ask you, but we may as well get the business with Torchwick out of the way first. I am approving the mission you desired. Your display in the Emerald Forest tonight was more than enough to sway my opinion to the positive."

"Glad I could give you a little entertainment," Violet laughed, "So, what did you want to ask?"

Violet could feel the air in the room still as both Qrow and Glynda seemed to hold their breaths. Ozpin's eyes became more intense, his body leaning ever so slightly forward despite his best efforts to appear relaxed, his eyes narrowed minutely.

Ozpin smiled, offsetting the mood, "How did you come up with such a miraculous design for your weapon?"

Violet made a small "Hmm" sound and sat forward, allowing her eyes to grow distant as if thinking back on the early days of Zenith's conception, "Well, I wanted something that would work well with my semblance. I thought, 'If I can shoot something with that much mass, then it can do a ton of damage'. You following?"

"I believe so. A larger projectile could potentially do more harm to its intended target."

"Right. The problem was the speed. With a heavy projectile condensed down into a smaller object, I would need a firing system capable of getting it up to a respectable speed, otherwise it didn't matter how much it weighed."

"And?"

'And now for the confusion.'

Violet mimicked back his own word, a confused look on her own face, "And...? I made Zenith. Not much more to say beyond that."

Ozpin shared a frown between the other two adults in the room, confusion palpable, "What inspired you to use magnets in such a way?"

Violet explained the mechanics behind how her weapon worked. The interlocking magnetic fields, the perfectly timed pulse that went into actually firing a projectile from it, and the systems in place to protect herself from its backlash.

Ozpin's confusion had only grown after all of the scientific jargon was used, and shook his head, "Miss Regalia, my question is more geared towards how you learned all this, not how it all works."

Violet opened her mouth to speak, then paused for dramatic effect, allowing her face to form into a frown, her eyes to awkwardly move around as if looking for an answer in her own headspace, "I… I just… know…" Violet gave an uncomfortable shrug, faking a nervous laugh, "It's all pretty basic… isn't it?"

Ozpin's eyes peered into Violet's soul, attempting to cypher out the answer he was searching for. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, "I suppose it is, Miss Regalia. Thank you for your time here tonight. Qrow can speak with you tomorrow and the pair of you can work together to bring down Roman Torchwick. I wish you the best of luck."

"Th-thanks, Professor," Violet kept up the confused act as she stood, then patted Qrow on the shoulder, "See you tomorrow, old man."

"See you tomorrow, kid," Qrow nodded as she left, the three teachers watching her right up until the moment the doors closed.

Violet kept her expression neutral, knowing of Ozpin's cameras set up in the elevator itself. She took off Zenith and held it in front of herself, looking it over for good measure. A single, clear message being repeated for all to see.

'Violet Regalia doesn't know how she came up with the designs for her own weapon.'

Violet had known the instant Ozpin asked where the question had been leading. He believed that the 'goddess' was influencing her life towards her own ends, wanting to be entertained. 'What's more flashy than a huge sword that makes even bigger holes in things?' With this reaffirmation, she was sure Ozpin wouldn't question her again. Violet had full confidence in her own ability to lie and manipulate, though she tried to refrain from it as much as possible.

The wizard didn't stand a chance, in retrospect.

"That was confirmation enough for me," Ozpin sighed, glancing to the other two still in the room, "God is manipulating events for her own gain. It is quite worrying, to say the least."

"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Qrow asked with a frown of his own, "That means she's on our side."

"Make no mistake, Qrow. I do not believe that the road ahead will be easy, despite Miss Regalia's powers. If anything, that only raises my fears to a greater extent. God wished to be entertained, and what is a story without drama? I am accepting your request for the two of you to hunt down Torchwick, because it will help to keep her team out of harm's way."

Qrow shook slightly and raised a hand to his face, covering his eyes as he sighed, "If God tries to take away my family…"

"Then there is nothing we can do about it… I have witnessed the powers of the Gods of Remnant first hand, Qrow. Anything greater than them is a force that cannot be denied its wishes. We are at the mercy of whatever story God is about to weave."

Ozpin turned to stare out the window, down across the city of Vale that lay below, 'We can only hope that it is a story of overcoming the odds, and not a tragedy…'

Saw the opportunity for a Gladiator reference, and went for it with the chapter title. Love that movie.

Blake's feelings for Violet, Mercury's mission to kill her, Adam knowing where Blake is, Violet's plans to hunt down Roman through Tukson (behind her team's backs), and Tukson's orders to give them the wrong address…

Now Violet wants to add even more to the mix by bringing Sienna and the Belladonna's into the frey. How much is too much for one goddess to juggle?

Guess only time will tell. There's a lot of different ways this all could go down, many of which ending with the unfortunate demise of various characters. Violet has a full plate, to say the least.

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen