"You'd better be there tomorrow. You and Tai need to tell Yang the truth about Raven, maybe even about her being the Spring Maiden… I'll leave that second part up to you. Yang deserves to know everything. No excuses, Qrow."

With a few muttered words about 'kids trying to tell their elders what to do', Qrow typed back a quick response that he'd be there and slipped his scroll away, turning back to the task at hand.

The annoying Ice Queen walked beside him, arms clasped behind herself and back straight in that aggravatingly perfect posture she was so fond of. Two useless droids flanked them, walking with their weapons aimed towards the ground. Hunks of metal that weren't capable of taking down a beowolf on their own, let alone any quarry the two hunters sought. They were only good for one thing, and that was making other people get out of your way.

"This 'goddess' transported you directly into the Mistral vault? Why didn't you or Ozpin grab the relic when you had the chance? Then it wouldn't have mattered whether or not Raven was the Spring Maiden," Winter chided sternly. With the wide berth the citizens were giving them, Qrow didn't mind too much with how loose-tongued she was being.

"We didn't exactly get a choice in the matter," Qrow grumbled, "One second we were there, the next we were back in Ozpin's office."

"And it couldn't have been some semblance? Teleportation, perhaps? Or a similar effect that almost led to your death?" Winter spared him a glance, eyebrow raised, "Are you sure you were ever in the vault to begin with?"

Qrow shook his head, "I know what I saw, Ice Queen. This was different... If someone was capable of doing that, we would have lost this war already."

"Well, excuse my skepticism. It's difficult to believe, to tell you the truth. The Brothers being real is hard enough to come to terms with, but another entity above them altogether?" Winter stared hard at the ground, one hand moving to grip her cutlass tightly, "And all for its entertainment. Inexcusable."

"You're telling me," Qrow agreed, also troubled by the reality of the situation, "Oz is worried about the students. That's why he told Ironwood in the first place, and agreed for you and the girl to know as well. The more eyes we have on this, the better our chances at mitigating the damage to our own side."

"You mean, better chance that the ones who die won't be your nieces?" Winter questioned firmly, an unpleasant curl to her mouth.

"...I've paid my dues," Qrow drank deeply off his flask and returned it to his inside pocket with a sigh, "I would rather no one gets hurt. That isn't the way the world works, though. I know that better than most."

Winter remained tense for a few more seconds before relaxing, the fingers gripping her cutlas going slack, "I trust my sister to act appropriately for her position. She is a leader, and a Schnee. It's her duty to keep her teammates alive while completing the mission. Still… she's inexperienced. None of them should be going with us at all."

"Couldn't agree more," Qrow huffed, steering them around a corner and down a much darker alleyway. The sound of the crowd slowly diminished as they made another turn, going deeper and deeper through various twists and turns, "All we can do is play this as safely as possible. We get good intel, keep them out of harm's way as much as we can, and when the time comes…"

Winter nodded her assent, not needing to hear the words left unsaid. They would kill the half maiden themselves, and spare their loved ones the responsibility of taking another person's life.

"You said the new Maiden already killed two? How did she take it?"

Qrow held up a hand for silence, approaching the final corner before arriving at the destination he'd led them to. He'd been staking out some locations similar to this one while in bird form, navigating the city's underground network from above. The alleys he had led them through wound their way through the city to a half dozen streets over, near the back of a shady club that only served faunus.

Qrow pulled his scroll out to check the time and nodded, seeing that they'd arrived a minute before the usual meeting time between one of the employees and a member of the White Fang. Qrow could hear the footsteps of said member approaching from the other end of the alley, leading him to the club's metal door.

He rapped his knuckles against it roughly, causing a metallic echo to resonate through the cramped alleys, then stood with his arms crossed while he waited. After a handful of seconds, the door swung open to admit another faunus into the alleyway, his large tan colored tail twitching irritably while his eyes darted back and forth down the alley.

"How many you got for me today?" the White Fang member cocked his head to the side, clearly the dominant of the two.

"S-six," the employee stated, rubbing his hands together nervously before reaching into his pocket. He withdrew a handful of paper slips, each with three iconic slashes across their front and some writing along the back, "F-few of them looked promising. Big fellows. Lots of muscle. The others were… passionate…?"

"We'll take all the recruits we can get," the White Fang member grumbled, slipping away the papers. He pulled out a handful of lien and gave it to the employee, "I expect at least ten tomorrow."

"T-ten?" the employee's eyes went wide, freezing in the middle of stashing away the lien, "Why so many? We've already set you up with dozens this week!"

The White Fang member's demeanor changed, his shoulders rising, his stance shifting forward so that he would appear more imposing, and his hand moving to the blade at his side, "Like I said, we'll take all we can get. There's big plans in the works, seems like," he poked the other faunus in the chest hard enough to push him back a foot, "All you have to worry about is finding us more. Do what you have to, and you'll continue being paid handsomely. Fail…" he ran his hand back down over his weapon before his other grabbed a fistful of the man's shirt, pushing him back to slam into the wall, "... and we'll replace you with someone who can. Fair enough, eh?"

"Y-yes, sir. Fair enough!" he was dropped unceremoniously back to the ground a moment later with a groan. He stayed there while the White Fang member scowled down at him before beginning to walk down the alley.

Qrow kept his voice low, waiting for the employee to head back into the club before speaking, "Leave your garbage. We'll follow him across the rooftops."

Winter complied with a roll of her eyes, instructing the bots that had been following them to head back to base. With a short nod, Qrow took the lead in scaling the building next to them. He hefted himself on to the rooftop and quietly continued on, the Schnee following a small distance behind.

Their quarry didn't appear to be in any rush. He continued on through various alleyways on his way towards the industrial district, apparent from the large plumes of smoke that rose lazily into the sky. Once he neared the end of the alleyway, he removed his mask and stashed it into his back pouch, withdrawing a cloak at the same time. White Fang outfit obscured, he stepped into the throng of city goers and attempted to blend in with the crowd.

With a small flex of their auras, Qrow and Winter jumped across the city street to land on the opposite side and continued to follow from above.

"Industrial district, huh? Looks like Torchwick might be wising up. Think they're actually making anything?"

"That remains to be seen," Winter replied offhandedly, keeping her eye on their prey as he wove through the other citizens, "What on Remnant could they be making? It's far more likely that Torchwick simply moved locales in order to avoid detection."

"I hope you're right."

The two remained silent the rest of the way, keeping up with the faunus as he made his way into the less densely populated streets. Once the residential and shopping districts had reached their end, Qrow and Winter were forced to desert the rooftops, the buildings much too sparse to remain on high ground.

For another ten minutes, they followed him deeper and deeper into the industrial district. Finally, with a few quick glances to his surroundings, the White Fang member crossed the street and drew his cloak open upon approaching another building. A loud buzzer sounded off before the large steel door was hefted open, allowing him entrance.

Qrow eyed the building, noting the lack of any windows anywhere aside from the small one set into the door. The front of the building came complete with a much larger warehouse style door, but it was currently shut. Looking at it closely, it likely required some type of hydraulics in order to lift it open. They certainly wouldn't be able to do so between the two of them.

"I'll check the roof. Keep an eye on the front and let me know who goes in and out," Qrow didn't bother waiting for a response, but sped across the street from where they were. He ran into the space between the building and the next. Through a series of practiced leaps back and forth between the two walls, he scaled to the top and caught the ledge, dusting off his hands once he'd pulled himself up completely.

Qrow breathed a sigh of relief upon spotting the skylight on top of the building, 'At least we'll have an access point… and somewhere to scope the place out from.' He crouched low and carefully peeked down through the dirty windows, trying to distinguish exactly what it was he was seeing below.

Sparks flew wildly off a half dozen blow torches, their users wearing metal plated masks with darkly tinted glass to protect themselves. Ladders were set up around six hulking metal contraptions. Qrow squinted and rubbed a hand across the windows, smudging them to try and see more clearly.

"...Ice Queen… We've got a problem," Qrow muttered quietly over their comms a moment later, backing away from the edge of the windows.

"Nothing we can't handle, I hope?"

"Depends. How many Paladins do you think you could take on by yourself? I'm good for one. You wanna take the other five?"

"Six Paladins? Surely you're joking, Qrow. We don't have time for your games."

"I wish I was. They've got them popped open like tin cans. I think… it looks like they're fitting them with more explosives as a last resort."

"Are they crazy!? They'll die with whoever else they try to take with them!"

"Yeah, no kidding…" Qrow returned to the window's edge to peek once more, rubbing his forearm more firmly across the window and giving himself a better view. His eyes searched closely around the room, catching onto what he'd been hoping to see, "Torchwick is here. He's near the front with a large set of blueprints… I don't see anyone that might be the half maiden we're after."

"Should we retreat for now? As dangerous as it is, this might be our best chance. Surely she'll want to inspect the Paladins once they're finished?"

Qrow scoffed, "Problem is, that means they'll be finished…" he muttered in annoyance, "I hate to admit it... but we may need the students for this."

'Damn that Goddess…'

"I don't like it Qrow. If those Paladins are rigged to explode, there's any number of things that could go wrong. We can't possibly protect all of them."

"If we go in ourselves, and Ozpin's theory is true… We may end up dying for no reason anyway. The Goddess wants her show, not for us to take care of things behind the scenes."

Winter muttered under her breath angrily, barely coming through over the comms before raising her voice, "How close do they look to being done? Do we even have until Monday?"

Qrow squinted, trying to make out more fine details. Each of the Paladins looked to be getting worked on. With a glance at the blueprints being projected for all to see, he could make out exactly where they planned on adding the explosives. Qrow paid careful attention to the workers, noting their progress.

"Tough to say. I'll need to keep watch for a few hours to get an accurate idea of our timeframe. They could have just started, or they could have made only a little progress over several days…" Qrow frowned in thought, "Did you hear about any Paladins being stolen?"

"No, and I surely would have been informed if we'd already known. Either it was an extremely covert theft, or it was very recent. Even then, I don't see how they would have gotten them into the city without anyone noticing. Paladins aren't exactly small tech."

Qrow moved positions, circling around the edge of the skylight so that he could look down into other sections of the building, specifically near the front where the large door was located. Sitting there in current disuse were three large semi trailers, each large enough to fit two Paladins apiece. They were unmarked, but still distinct enough that they might be spotted on traffic cams.

With a quick message sent to Ozpin, Qrow asked him to give some of Ironwood's men access to the network so that they could scour the nearby area over the last few days, and informed him of the Paladin's existence. Ozpin responded within a few minutes, telling him that he had alerted Ironwood, and that the General would also be looking into the disappearance of military equipment.

"I thought you lot were supposed to be professionals? How'd you lose something so big, let alone six of them?"

"I don't know, Qrow. I'd hate to believe that it was an inside job… but there aren't many other alternatives."

Qrow sighed, sitting down and stretching a leg out while being careful to expose as little of himself as possible, "Well, I'm all set for the next few hours. You can leave if you want. Wouldn't want to keep you from all your Ice Queen duties."

"I'm hardly going to ditch you on a stakeout. What if you're spotted?" despite the words she spoke, there was hardly a hint of actual worry in her voice.

Qrow laughed in a short burst, turning his head away from the glass in case any of the four eared faunus below might hear, "Give me some credit. You're talking to Qrow Branwen here. I don't get caught."

"Unless it's a building set to explode?" Winter replied, tone dripping with smugness.

"A once in a lifetime mistake. It won't happen again."

"Well, if it does, I'm sure you're big sister will swoop in and save you again," Qrow could hear Winter's smirk through the comms.

"My little sister Raven is done helping us... She's more afraid of Salem than anything we could do to her."

"Then why would she become a Maiden? All she did was paint a bigger target on her back," Winter replied incredulously.

Qrow shrugged absentmindedly and then realized they were still speaking over comms and put the gesture to words, "Who knows? She was certainly strong before becoming a Maiden, but with it…? I'd put my money on Raven no matter who Salem sends to collect."

"Why don't we get into contact with her and make a deal? The Relic of Knowledge would be an invaluable asset to have in our possession."

'If only it were that simple…' Qrow shook his head, "The Relic was… less than cooperative the last time Ozpin attempted to use it, and it seemed to be pretty chummy with the Goddess. I don't think we'd get many answers out of it even if we did cut a deal. Better that it stays in the vault collecting dust instead of risking it to Salem. What about the Winter Maiden?"

"Still in isolation," Winter answered quietly, "She may have a few more years yet to live. It's hard to say. We've made progress in some of our research, and are testing one such invention out currently. If it proves to be a success…"

"I'm surprised James hasn't sped up the process. I never figured him for the patient type."

Winter's voice grew more heated, "The General would never do such a thing. His body may be half machine, but he isn't heartless, Qrow."

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties twisted, Ice Queen. Any activity down there?"

Qrow could hear Winter muttering something about her 'undergarments' before snapping back with a simple, "No."

Qrow chuckled, "Well, get settled in. It's gonna be a long night."

The two spoke only passingly for the next few hours, Winter keeping an eye on the few that entered and exited the building, Qrow from the skylight above. Aside from the work being done on the Paladins, not much else appeared to be happening. Torchwick eventually disappeared into a back room, leaving the White Fang to continue with their work.

At the rate they were going, Qrow figured they would be finished by Monday night.

'Perfect timing, eh Goddess…?'

"We all ready to go?" Violet asked lightly, scanning across those that had gathered in the Vibrant dorm room.

Ruby and Penny were still sitting up in her top bunk, reading through passages of the book that Ruby had already finished and sharing her favorites. Yang was just then finishing up with her hair, the last one left that had used the bathroom since she always took the longest. Ren was sitting in one of their desk chairs, with Nora giddily bouncing up and down on her toes behind him and her arms wrapped around his neck. Weiss stood off to the side with Pyrrha, both trying to distract themselves from the Mistralian's happy humming.

Blake sat on her own bed, a book sitting in her lap that she hadn't actually been reading for quite some time. Having so many others in the room was certainly too much of a distraction, and she had resorted to listening to Ruby and Penny's gushing instead with a small smile. Violet was dressed modestly and planned on leaving Zenith behind. The large greatsword would be far too awkward to keep around within the confines of their theater seats.

Penny overheard Violet's question and jumped off the bed excitedly, landing heavily on the carpet below, "Oh, I cannot wait!"

Ruby hopped down next to her, landing much more lightly and pumped a fist in the air, "Yeah!"

Nora grabbed Ren by the hand and hauled him to his feet towards the door. Yang stopped halfway across the room and waited for Blake to join her at her side. Violet led the way out, shortly followed by Weiss and Pyrrha, the rest taking their respective turns.

'Anyone that's foolish enough to attack this many students is just asking to get caught,' Violet thought idly, sparing a glance back. Everyone else had brought their weapons despite not wearing their combat attire. It was mildly amusing to see such a mismatched bunch, wearing casual street clothes yet carrying a variety of deadly weapons on their persons.

Yang walked with her arms crossed, still put out that the others had changed the movie they were going to see. Blake's presence seemed to be making up for it, though. By the time they reached the bullheads, Yang was back to her regular self; inappropriate jokes and all.

The trip down to Vale went smoothly, everyone unboarding once they hit the bottom and melting into the rest of the crowd. Later in the evening or not, it was still a Saturday. The throng of people was just as densely populated as it had been earlier in the day, if not more so. Violet gave up trying to keep track of everyone while in the midst of the crowd and counted heads once they were out of it and headed down the sidewalk.

Violet overheard Penny gasp, "Is the screen really going to be that big?"

"Yup!" Ruby agreed happily, "Just wait until you see the size of the popcorn buckets! I can never finish them by myself. Do you wanna share one with me?"

"Pop corn?" Penny's frown of confusion faded back into a smile, "I do not know what that is, but I will gladly share some with you."

"Cool!"

Violet smiled, happy that the two seemed to be getting along so well no matter who had been the first to find Penny, 'Friendship is friendship, I suppose,' and with Emerald out of the picture, the ginger robot's chances at living through whatever was to come had drastically improved. 'She made it to the finals, after all. Her only real competition was Pyrrha,' Violet couldn't wait to see what a timeline with Penny and Pyrrha both surviving would look like.

'Which reminds me…' Violet hung back a moment to fall between Pyrrha and Weiss directly behind her. The three now spearheaded the group's way through the crowd, "Did Pyrrha bring up training with your summons, Weiss? Now that your sister is in town, I bet you can get some more tips."

"She did," Weiss confirmed with a smile and a nod in the Mistral Champion's direction, "I've been training with it on my own for the past week since we agreed to accept your 'invitation', actually. I've made quite a bit of progress!"

"Really?" Violet raised an eyebrow in surprise. Weiss had been next to useless with her summons at this point during the regular timeline, "How far have you gotten?"

Weiss smirked, holding a hand out in front of herself. A small boarbatusk slowly took form, conjured into existence by the same misty white material that usually made up her glyphs. It vanished a moment later in a puff of white, Weiss breathing out a heavy sigh.

"It takes quite a lot of concentration, but I can finally create them in full, if only for a short time!"

"Nicely done, Weiss," Violet praised happily, 'I wonder if her being a leader had anything to do with that? She's had more time to grow used to responsibility,' she smirked, 'Maybe daddy Schnee doesn't have as tight a hold anymore?'

"Thank you," Weiss replied a little smugly, "I'll be sure to use it to my fullest capabilities during the tournament. I hope you don't come to regret giving Pyrrha the suggestion."

Violet laughed, "Not a chance. Why would I regret it when team Vibrant is going to win anyway?"

Weiss narrowed her eyes, smirk betraying her amusement, "We'll see about that, Violet. Your Maiden powers can't help you in the tournament."

"Ah, who needs 'em anyway?" Violet pretended she was going to pat Weiss on the back, but instead conjured a small amount of ice to drop down the back of her shirt.

Weiss's eyes widened in surprise and she began to flail about, arms trying to reach her back where the ice was, "Violet! Stop! It's too cold!"

Violet laughed and let the ice disappear, giving the heiress immediate relief. Her glare became real, but after a few moments, softened back into mild annoyance. Weiss crossed her arms and huffed, "Should you really be using that in a crowd like this?"

"What, ice dust?" Violet mocked jokingly in case anyone was nearby to overhear their conversation, "For the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, you seem awfully worried about only a small bit going to waste."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Back me up here, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha had been hiding a smile by turning her head away from the both of them. She turned back, her lips still threatening to twitch back up into a grin, and forcefully scrunched her eyebrows together in an attempt at looking indignant, "You really shouldn't be using… ice dust… so casually, Violet."

"Oh," Violet waved a hand dismissively, "There's plenty more where that came from," she moved her hand back behind Weiss's shoulder blades and smirked when the heiress shot forward away from her touch, "but I guess you have a point."

Weiss sent her a look of distrust and silent warning before falling back in line with the other two. Violet chuckled and let her hand fall to her side, "Best of luck in your training, Weiss. Whether or not it ends up winning you the tournament, it'll be a nice ace up our sleeve while we're out in the field. I wouldn't want any of you at anything less than your best."

Pyrrha and Weiss grew somber, eyes looking to Violet for reassurance. Pyrrha was the first to speak up, voice hesitant, "Do you think we're really going to be alright? If Qrow and you almost died the last time…"

'That isn't going to happen again… Not on my watch.'

Violet gave each of them a firm but confident smile, "We'll be fine. Trust me. I have full faith that whatever comes our way, we'll handle it together."

"You really think so?" Weiss asked quietly.

Violet scoffed, "I've fought all of you at least once or twice. I know what you're all capable of. We've got this in the bag, half maiden or no half maiden."

"I'm glad at least one of us is confident," Weiss smiled lightly, then nodded past her to Pyrrha, "We'll follow your lead, Violet."

"What do you mean?" Violet patted her on the back for real, then looked ahead, "You're just as much a team leader as I am, Weiss. We'll both bring our teams out of this alive and kicking. You just need to trust in yourself."

Weiss grew quiet in consideration of Violet's words. The three simply enjoyed each other's company for a few minutes, listening in on the various conversations taking place behind them. Ruby and Penny still excitedly discussed the movie, while Yang and Blake spoke softly. Ren had given up on avoiding Nora's affections, or perhaps was slowly warming up to them. His hand held hers as they walked side by side.

"Who got Ren to ease up, by the way?" Violet asked with a backwards glance at the two.

Weiss's cheeks grew heated, eyes staring at the pavement ahead of them, "I may have had a hand in that. Ren seemed to be under the impression that accepting Nora would hinder him in some way," she straightened out with a small look of defiance in Violet's direction, "I talked him out of such foolish notions. They're stronger together."

Violet nodded her assent, "Couldn't agree more, Weiss," she pushed the heiress lightly on the shoulder, "And you were worried about not being a good leader. Give me a break."

Weiss accepted the praise, though her cheeks were still slightly discolored. She glanced back over her shoulder as well towards Yang and Blake, then turned to Violet with a smug look, "Seems I'm not the only one playing matchmaker."

Violet shrugged, "They were meant to be together."

Weiss frowned, "I recall what you said earlier. Excuse me for saying it, but… I thought you and Blake would have made a nice couple. I'm sorry it didn't work out."

Violet was careful not to look back, knowing there was a small chance at least that the cat faunus would overhear their conversation. Violet gave a minute shrug, "Some things aren't meant to be, Weiss," she flashed a grin to both her and Pyrrha, "Like team Siren winning the tournament. It just isn't in the cards."

"Did someone else catch your eye?" Pyrrha asked timidly, far from being the most comfortable when it came to issues of attraction.

Violet opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off as a vision swam through her head.

A beach with three moons... A girl with grey hair walking ahead of her... The Goddess, eagerly waiting for her approval at the beginnings of the new world, the first world they would create together. A name coming to mind. The only one that truly mattered to her...

Ser-

Violet brought a hand up to massage the sudden headache directly behind her eyes, rubbing at the bridge of her nose while the memory faded from her conscious mind. What had she been thinking about?

'Right. Whether or not I've ever liked anyone.'

"No. Not a soul."

Weiss looked at her worriedly, then glanced around the streets, "Are you alright? That happened earlier, remember?"

It was Violet's turn to frown, "What did?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "You getting a headache. It was a bit more severe this morning."

Violet wasn't sure where to take the conversation from there. It wasn't as if she could divulge the issues surrounding her omniscience to Weiss, and she didn't want the heiress to be worried for her. On the other hand, it was strange that she was getting headaches seemingly from nowhere. The trail led back to the hole in her memories.

'And I am not opening that can of worms...' Whatever was locked inside that gaping chasm would stay there, even if her curiosity was egging her on to reach in and tear it to pieces.

'What am I keeping from myself?'

Violet waved a hand nonchalantly, "It's probably just something that has to do with being a Maiden. I doubt there's anything to worry about, Weiss."

With the theater nearing, Violet took that opportunity to direct attention away from her problems and towards the fun night they were supposed to be having. Despite her best efforts, she noticed Pyrrha and Weiss hanging back a moment to share a concerned glance. Violet firmly pushed it from her mind. If she didn't seem to be bothered by it, then it wasn't something to be bothered by, right?

Violet held the door open for the rest as they all filed in, then joined them in line for concessions. Ruby and Penny were the first in line, and bought a large tub of popcorn and a large soda to share between them. Nora and Ren went next, getting a whole host of different candy that Violet knew Ren would have to clean up afterwards. Yang and Blake awkwardly discussed what they wanted, taking longer than the others but eventually going with separate drinks and another, smaller tub of popcorn to share.

By then, the time for the movie to start was nearly upon them. Violet brushed past Pyrrha and Weiss, hoping to take their minds of the earlier matter, "What are you guys up for? I'll pay, since the movie starts in only a couple minutes," she waved her scroll, "I've got all the tickets saved so nobody can really get in until we catch up."

They agreed and ordered some light snacks. Violet wasn't really a fan of popcorn, so went with a small bag of shelled chocolates that were similar to M&M's from other worlds. She ordered a small drink and left the lien on the counter to rush off with the others. The rest of their group were stuck waiting in front of the usher.

Violet pulled out her scroll and allowed the attendant to count the number of tickets before matching it up with how many people were there with them. With a grateful nod, he pointed them off towards the appropriate theater. Violet could hear the commercials still playing as they entered and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was relatively empty, many movie goers likely going to see the movie that Yang had been so excited for. While it wasn't in an ideal position, they did manage to secure an entire row to themselves near the front. The entry was a little ways behind them, a short passage leading back to the door.

Blake and Yang took up the furthest seats, Ren and Nora following soon after. Pyrrha and Weiss scooted in as well. Ruby and Penny followed soon after, taking up the end. Violet realized far too late that their group took up an entire row by themselves, plus one extra.

"Oh," Ruby looked to Violet who was still standing at the end of the isle, a small frown on her face, "Ummm, you could take my place if you want to. I wouldn't mind sitting behind everyone."

Violet waved her off, "Nah, no biggie. You guys are sharing. I'll just sit behind Penny." Before Ruby could protest, Violet slipped into the seat directly behind them and set down the armrest to lean against it before getting comfortable, "Best seat in the house, honestly~"

Ruby rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but suppress the smile that popped onto her face when Penny set the tub down between them, half on each of their laps, "Have it your way, Auntie Vi."

Violet smirked and sat back, ready to watch her friends instead of the movie. If she was honest with herself, they were far more interesting.

A short female usher entered the theater as the lights began to dim, and glanced overtop those within the theater. She smiled briefly once it looked like everything was in order and nodded before stepping back out.

Violet thought nothing of it and averted her attention back to the others as the lights dimmed to black and the movie began. She paid little attention to the plot, instead focusing on the reactions the others were having. Nora loudly cheered on the protagonist that was desperately trying to win over her crush, while Blake and Yang couldn't decide whether or not to blush or enjoy the movie. Ruby and Penny giddily watched the entire way through, sharing in their laughter as if they'd already been friends for years.

Weiss and Pyrrha seemed to enjoy the movie as well, but every now and then Violet would catch one or the other glancing her way, as if checking up on her. 'I'm fine,' she wanted to say, but knowing them, that would only further their suspicions.

Violet sighed, 'It's a lose-lose situation.' Since she wasn't truly watching the movie anyway, she felt no qualms when she needed to use the restroom. Violet got up silently, not wanting to disturb anyone else, and made her way out of the theater. The hallway was mostly empty, aside from a few other movie goers moving to and from the different rooms.

Violet spotted the bathrooms along the opposite wall and quickly went about doing her business. The room was thankfully empty aside from her.

Once she was done, she washed her hands and dried them off, looking at herself in the mirror. Without much thought put into it, her mind reached out towards the gap in her memories to feel across its surface. Violet ran her conscious mind along its hard exterior, gently feeling for any cracks in its defenses. She stared into her own eyes, willing herself to simply let her curiosity go.

'There's nothing there for you but pain...'

Violet frowned. It had been her own voice, her own thoughts… yet she had not thought them. She pressed harder, now fully feeling along the locked memories' outer shell.

'Don't. You'll regret it!'

Once more, her voice came through. It was louder, more desperate. Violet's curiosity only grew. What in all the worlds could she be hiding from herself?

'I can just make myself forget again if I don't like it, right…?' Violet thought to herself, trying to talk her way into potentially forcing this mystery open. She could feel an ache beginning to form in the back of her head, driving a spike into her conscious mind.

With one final push, the voice came through again. Violet stopped immediately, hearing the misery behind that voice. She was in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Violet could feel her shaking, mirrored by her own physical body as the emotions began to filter through. A single word followed it, warning her for the last time. If she wanted to, Violet could press only the slightest bit more and have the answers she was looking for.

'...Please…'

Violet fled from her omniscience as her heart threatened to fracture in two. No amount of healing could fix whatever memories were locked away. It would be the end of her. She was sure of it.

Breathing out heavily with sweat beading on her forehead, Violet wasn't surprised to find a tear running down her face. She used the sleeve of her coat to wipe it away and continued to breath deeply. It took several minutes to get her emotions back in control, and when she did, Violet considered adding another layer to the lock on her memories.

With a final small sigh, Violet turned to leave the bathroom. She attempted to push the door open, only for it to collide with someone on the other side. The female attendant let out a choked gasp and fell to the floor, landing on her backside with her arms breaking her fall. She looked up in fearful surprise at Violet standing above her.

"Sorry about that," Violet reached a hand down to help her up from the floor, "I was a little preoccupied with… something else. Hope you aren't hurt?"

The girl smiled in understanding and reached in for a hug. Violet froze in place, awkwardly staring down at the small brunette. The girl let go soon enough, backing away a few feet.

'Wait… she looks-'

The girl's outfit and hair rippled like glass as it shifted, starting from her midsection and spreading in either direction to reveal her true form. She shook Violet's scroll back and forth in her other hand with a devilish grin, then slipped it into the back pocket of her tight jeans.

"Neo…" Violet grimaced and prepared herself for an attack, raising her hands slightly and lowering her body into a defensive stance.

Neo only tilted her head, that same smile still on her face.

"What do you want?" Violet asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "As you can see, I don't have my weapon…" she looked Neo up and down, noticing how her hands were empty as well, "And neither do you."

Neo shrugged and held up her empty hands in a 'what can you do' gesture, sadly shaking her head. Violet tensed when she reached behind herself, but it was only to pull out another scroll. She held it up between them as if to give it to Violet, then shook it limply in annoyance when she appeared hesitant to accept it.

Violet took the scroll gingerly and looked down at the screen. The contact list was already pulled up, 'Dum Dum' highlighted at the top. Violet glanced to Neo and she nodded happily, mimicking pressing the 'call' button.

Violet pressed it.

The scroll was only ringing for a few seconds before Roman answered, appearing on the other side in what looked like a rather barren room with no windows. He tipped his hat up as Violet was revealed, a similar grin to Neo's coming to his face.

"Ah, if it isn't the thorn in my side. How are you doing these days?"

"Well enough," Violet replied with some annoyance. His voice was too friendly and jovial considering what he'd tried to do, "Word is two of your allies are dead. Is that true?"

Roman glared for a moment, then relaxed, "Allies of mine? No. They were very much not my allies. I wanted to discuss something with you… see if we could come to an... agreement of sorts."

"I'm not really the type to make deals with people that try to blow me up," Violet scoffed. Neo crossed her arms and nodded in understanding, as if agreeing with Violet.

"Neo. You're not helping."

Neo smirked and gave a small shrug, then used her index finger to make a 'go on' motion.

Roman cleared his throat, "Alright, here's the deal, kid. I underestimated you before, but according to Neo, you aren't afraid to do what needs to be done. There's a smoking crater that can attest to that. So, I'm thinking if you can do that, then perhaps you could help put an end to one of our more… mutual problems. It might come as a shock to you, but I'm not the one running this show. There's another puppet master pulling the strings, and unfortunately for her, I hate dancing on them. If you promise to help me, then I'll help you."

Violet rolled her eyes, "You think I'd trust you and this homicidal maniac?"

Neo put a hand to her chest as if hurt, eyes going wide and mouth pouting. Roman laughed roughly, "Careful. Being called names is a real turn on of hers." Neo smirked and nodded, dropping the pout to lick her lips and put a hand down between her thighs as if it had all been an act before. Violet really wasn't sure which to believe.

"You didn't answer my question, Roman. Why would I trust you?"

"Because, kid, my boss has got a whole lot planned and none of it is good for any of us. I'm willing to offer up information."

"And in exchange?"

Roman shrugged, "When the fight goes down and one side ends up dead, you won't blame me either way. I want a full pardon, and passage to my city of choice," he looked Violet up and down as well as he could from the scroll, "I'm also going to need proof."

"Proof of what?" Violet frowned.

"That I can trust you to win. I'm really sticking my neck out here, kid. I need to know you've got what it takes."

Violet feigned ignorance, "I'll have to know what I'm up against first. Who's this puppeteer?"

Roman glanced nervously each way on his side of the scroll, Neo doing same in the hallway they were both in. He moved his face closer to the camera, beginning to speak more quietly, "Cinder Fall. I don't know what kind of crazy shit she's gotten herself into, but she's too powerful. Does all this stuff with fire and ice and- It's bad, alright? Neo and I don't stand a chance against her."

"Anything else I should know about?" Violet raised an eyebrow.

Roman glared, "Not until you can tell me you've got what it takes. You and the rest of your little teammates. That older huntsman, too. I want you to be sure. I'm not trying to downplay how dangerous Cinder is. If you aren't up for it, we'll end the call right here and go our separate ways."

Violet stood in thought for a moment, 'Can I trust Roman? I watched them try to betray Cinder once already, and I doubt seeing Salem inspired confidence in either of them… If I play my cards right, I could really turn them against her. We'd have a better chance at victory…'

The idea of there being less risk to her friends sold Violet on the idea. She gave Roman a firm nod, then raised her hand, palm up.

"The things she can do is a little like this, right?" An amethyst colored flame ignited in her palm, causing Neo to backpedal in fear. Roman's eyes widened, and he shifted even closer to the screen to get a better look.

"How the hell…"

Violet closed her hand into a fist, snuffing out the flames in the same motion, "So, we got a deal or what?" she glanced up to see Neo still keeping her distance and gave a small smile, cocking her head down at Roman, "Tell you what. I can even sweeten the pot~"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Roman stumbled out, nervously tugging on the collar of his jacket.

Violet gestured with a finger for Neo to step closer. The girl gave her a worried frown, slowly approaching but trying to keep her distance. After a few moments, Violet sighed in exasperation, "If I wanted to hurt you then I could have already. Come here."

Neo gulped fearfully and approached the last few steps. Violet raised her hand, gingerly reaching out for Neo's throat. The petite girl stepped back, raising a hand as if to defend herself and rubbing the other across her throat.

Violet tilted her head as if to say 'Really now?'

Firming up, Neo stepped back within range, flinching when Violet finally placed her hand softly against the smaller girl's skin. She frowned, feeling that it wasn't nearly as smooth as it looked. There was a bumpiness beneath, as if she…

"Could you drop your semblance, Neo...?" Violet asked softly.

Neo's eyes grew doubtful, but with a glance to Roman, reluctantly allowed her semblance to fade away. Glass flaked from where it had been covering her throat, revealing the jagged scars that marred its surface. They ran from one side to the other, long gashes of scar tissue that had never fully healed correctly.

Roman spoke up, watching it all take place, "I found her in a small town near Vale… Her parents were killed by the Grimm. They died protecting her, using their bodies as a final shield against it. I arrived in time to kill it, but not before it had gotten to her. I… unlocked her aura with my own. She hasn't been able to talk since, but at least it kept her alive."

Violet smiled sadly, "So you do have a heart, Roman?"

He cleared his throat, "I did back then."

Violet nodded, "Well... how about I give that Roman a little reward? There can never be too much good in the world, but there can always be too much evil."

"What are you…?-"

Violet dipped into her omnipotence, feeling out from where her hand was touching scarred skin. She gently caressed across its surface, feeling the damaged tissue receding beneath her touch. Neo pulled away slightly at the sensation, eyes widening, then slowly leaned back into it. In only a few seconds, Violet had fully healed the scars across her throat. She ran her hand one last time over newly softened skin, and gave Neo a doting smile.

"Better?"

Neo's hands raised to her own throat, feeling for herself the changes that had taken place. She opened her mouth, working muscles that hadn't been used in far too long. Tears came to her eyes, and her shoulders shook as she stared up at Violet.

"Better…" Neo gave a sobbing laugh and crashed into Violet in a fierce hug, throwing her arms around her midriff and squeezing for all she was worth. Violet put her arms around the smaller girl and hugged her back, remaining as gentle as possible.

"You…" Roman was speechless for several seconds while his vision was blocked from view, scroll pressed against Neo's back. Violet raised it up so that he could see the way Neo was pressed against her, and gave him a wink.

"That good enough for you?"

A smile tugged at Roman's lips, and he nodded, still dumbfounded. Neo pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiled brightly up at Violet.

Her eyes went to Roman on the scroll's screen, her voice around the same pitch as Ruby's, if not higher, "We should tell her everything, Dum Dum."

Roman smiled, taking a moment to blink rapidly and let out a contented sigh, "I couldn't agree more, Neo."

He turned back to look at Violet, struggling to quell his smile.

"Where do we start?"

You're doing God's work, Violet. Literally.

INB4 this story was secretly a harem the entire time, lmao. Not really, but with how often people suggest shipping pairs, anyone reading through the comments could end up getting that impression.

Looks like things are set to rapidly come to a head. Cinder's plans are about to be divulged, at least as much as Roman and Neo know, and the pair will certainly be working against the puppeteer after Violet's act of kindness. How will things play out?

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen