I have a business speech/awards ceremony I have to host and speak at on the 30th September, so that whole week will be no fanfiction as I have to prep, plan and perform, then deal with clients after, break down the show and transport all the equipment back afterwards.

That'll mean no updates on 27th Sept – 3rd OCTOBER (typo on last chapter said november) inclusive, just to forewarn you all.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 34

Dawn settled on the city of Vale with remarkable ignorance. Jaune watched it from the upper window of the multi-storey townhouse Roman Torchwick somehow owned secretly, and which they now occupied. It was a narrow, terraced building between several others, with a hidden basement, escape tunnel and all the other things a wanted thief needed. Of course, it may as well have been a prison for Jaune Arc, Remnant's second-most-wanted person ever. He let out a long sigh and watched people walk around below.

How ignorant were they to not fear what had come to their city? The explosion at the docks was all over the news this morning, but no one acted like it was a big thing. Wake, eat, work, rest, sleep. The grind continued in real time, and Jaune wasn't sure if he envied them or not.

"Right. I'm going out. Need anything?"

Mercury Black earned his fair share of dark looks for that. He ought to have been seen a couple of times, but everyone was so focused on Salem, Jaune and Tyrian that his face and name had somehow avoided attention. That left him, along with Emerald and Vernal, free to go about as they wished.

"Food." Jaune said. "And something to drink that isn't alcoholic. Maybe some comics? Do you need money?"

"Why would I…?"

"Well, I don't know how much you have…"

"No. I mean why would I need money to get those things?"

Jaune sighed at the honest question from the frankly confused looking boy. Right. He'd forgotten he was surrounded by thieves, killers and psychopaths for a second. "You know what, I don't have the energy to stop you right now. What are you going out for if you don't need anything?"

"I'm looking for my wife."

Jaune, Emerald and Vernal all replied at the exact same time. "What?"

"You want to find a girlfriend?" Vernal added. "Now of all times? This isn't exactly the best moment. What are you even going to do, hit a bar and bring someone back here?"

"Nah. I'm starting with the ticket office. If she's entering the tournament, there has to be some basic info on her. Then I just need to track her down, show her my charm and wait for the wedding bells."

Emerald and Jaune exchanged befuddled looks. "You've already picked your future wife out…?"

"Course I have. Anyway, got to go. See ya! Time for me to go find some pussy!"

The door slammed behind him.

Vernal asked the question. "Do you think he meant pussy literally or…?"

"I've no idea and I don't want to know." Jaune replied. He stroked a hand over Gillian's back. "The only pussy I need is in my lap right now."

The cat stiffened, ears flattening for a second. He brought her back to bliss by scratching behind them and she withdrew her claws from his thighs. At least Gillian hadn't run off when they reached Vale. He'd been worried she might leave and get lost, but she was sticking to them still.

There really wasn't much to do other than pet her. Roman and his miniature minion had left earlier – something about meeting an information broker, but he was also going to try and get them some fake ID. It wouldn't do much given how known his and Salem's faces were, but they could at least order things online and maybe travel at night in disguise. The thief was being more helpful than Jaune expected.

And clingier, too. That's probably not a good thing.

Several loud noises came from the floor above, followed by an angry shout of "Jauuuuunnnneeeee!"

"Welp." Vernal glanced over at him. "Looks like her majesty is calling."

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune stood, sighed and moved for the door. "I'm on it."

According to Roman the buildings on either side of them were rented out but empty. He had fake personas taking them up, assuring himself, and now them, some privacy from prying eyes and ears. That was probably for the best given Salem's lack of tact. Jaune walked past Winter on his way upstairs, instantly receiving a death stare from the captive woman in a maid's uniform.

"You can't keep me here forever," she hissed. "I will escape."

"You're not even tied up or anything." Honestly, she could have run by now. It was probably only fear of Tyrian that stopped her. "And why are you still wearing that? Didn't Roman say you could take his clothes?"

"I'm not wearing a thief's clothing!"

"Then it's your own fault for looking how you do. And I wouldn't boast about how we can't keep you prisoner forever. Salem might take that literally and decide it's safer to kill you."

That shut her up. He couldn't blame her for being defiant and all, but constantly complaining to him – she'd call it threats, but it was whining – wasn't going to help her. If she wanted out, she should have taken any one of a hundred chances she had to run. Now, they couldn't let her because she knew where their base of operations was. The worst part was that he was half sure the only reason she hadn't run already was because she was too embarrassed at the idea of being found dressed like a slutty maid. That she wanted to get a change of clothing before escaping so that she wouldn't be so humiliated.

"Jauuuunnnnne!" Salem called.

"Coming!" he shouted back, leaving Winter to head up the stairs. He didn't knock on her door and walked in. "I'm here, your most patient majesty." As always, his sarcasm was missed. "How may I be of service to you today… what are you wearing?"

Salem huffed and crossed her arms. Her pyjama top rode up perilously high, showing off not only her stomach but a generous portion of under-boob. It hardly helped that her shorts were… well, they may as well have been spandex, so tightly clinging to her thighs and covering so little that every movement threatened to have her bursting out of them. The outfit was so small she may as well have been wearing a bikini.

"My robes stank of sea salt and need to be washed. I have borrowed some clothing from Roman's squire." Salem pulled her arms up. It was a risky manoeuvre because her breasts almost exploded out of Neo's pyjama top. "How do I look?"

"Like you're one muscle spasm short of a wardrobe malfunction."

"Speak clearly!"

"You're too big for them."

"I am not too big!" she hissed. "Roman's squire is too small."

He hadn't meant it as an insult, but of course she had to go and turn it into one and deflect it onto someone else. "Is this why you called me?"

"No." Salem let her arms drop and puffed her cheeks angrily. "I'm bored."

Jaune waited. When nothing came, he sighed.

"There's nothing to do!" she went on. "I am a Queen, Jaune. I am not used to being trapped in a small home like some prisoner. Well, I am, but I thought I was beyond that. Then I remembered the last time I was in this situation I was saved by a Knight, and so it falls to you to save me here."

Convoluted reasoning thy name is Salem. Still, he couldn't fault her being bored out her mind. He was as well. It probably wouldn't hurt to try and find some way to keep her occupied, if only to prevent her making it his problem every hour of the day. He still had to train after all, even more so than usual if he was to compete as she wanted him to.

Which is still stupid. There's no way Roman can get me into the Vytal tournament anyway, so it's not a problem. The tournament was for the schools only and he wasn't part of one. There was no way he could just insert a new student into a school either. At this point Jaune and Roman were both just playing along until Salem realised her plan wouldn't work.

"Jaune."

"I'm thinking." He rolled his eyes at her impatience. Reading was a possibility, but she knew that, and he wasn't sure how many books Roman would have. Board games? Again, he kind of doubted the guy would have any. "There is a computer," Jaune said, eyeing the sleek, black desktop in the corner of the room.

It couldn't hurt to try, right?

/-/

"-you dare refer to me as a scrub!" Salem roared, rocking on her seat with the bright red headphones over her ears. One hand clutched the mouse while the other slammed down in a fist on the table, shaking the can of soda until it fell off and clanked to the floor. "I will flay your skin from your bones! I will drive a metal spike through your anus and out your mouth, then leave you outside for the Nevermore to peck out your eyes! I will- no!" she cried. "Stop sending those stupid bugs at me! I'm not ready!"

In hindsight, he might have unleashed a monster. Well, at least Salem was having fun yelling at random people over the internet now, which meant she wasn't yelling at him. He still wished she'd wear clothing that fit her a little better, because the way she was rocking and screaming vitriol down the microphone was making the fabric stretch precariously.

He told himself he wasn't holding his breath and waiting for the rip.

"What?" she spat. "You question me? Do I sound like an old man? What-? What does that even mean?" She leaned back. "JAUUUNNNNEEEE!"

"I'm right here." Jaune said.

"Speak louder! I can't hear you!"

"You have your headphones o-"

"YOU'RE TOO QUIET!"

Jaune winced at her volume and stepped up to peel one side of her headphone off. The loud music and constant blaring sounds of attack alerts was audible even to him. He reached out and scrolled down her volume a little, idly checking the screen and noting her base was entirely overrun with little insects slowly devouring all her people and infrastructure.

"You're losing."

"I am not!" she hissed, right as her last soldier died. "I am… merely experiencing a setback. A temporary setback. These stupid soldiers were too weak. Why didn't they train better? And the workers are so slow! Are they unionised? I hate unions. Anyway," she hissed, "I need you to translate. This cretin speaks in a language I cannot understand."

Jaune looked at the chat box where she was pointing to.

Lol. Noob.

Git gud.

Grl?

ASL

pics

Tits or gtfo

"He's speaking moron." Jaune said. "It's a special language of twelve-year-olds and middle-aged mouth-breathers with no prospects in life. You probably don't want to waste time learning it."

Judging by the flashing mic icon on the side, his – and Salem's earlier words – were being broadcast to the other player. The quick `u mad bro` he got in response all but proved it. Luckily, the game flashed up with a loss for Salem a second later, sparing both of them having to deal with the guy again.

"Well, I guess this is a fail." Jaune said. "There are plenty of other games we can buy with Roman's card-"

Snarling, Salem started a new match with a new player. Immediately, she leapt into action – barking commands at the screen and wholly failing to actually order her units around. No wonder it wasn't going as intended.

"Another…?"

"I do not lose! I am a queen!"

"You're on mic again."

Omfg. You sound so cute.

Cam?

Adding u to frns

I can tutor u

Dnt ignore me

Thirsty people online at the moment, he noticed. Jaune clicked the mute button on her microphone before Salem could get herself an army of loyal and slavering men.

"Okay, you need to start by controlling your units. The game doesn't have voice commands, so you need to do it yourself. Drag the box, that's it. Now, the first thing to focus on is your economy-"

"I am aware of the logistics behind military operation!"

"I know. I know. But this game is different. It's not as realistic as the things you're used to, so you have to exploit it differently." Honestly, he was more surprised how competitive she was being, though he probably shouldn't have been. Salem was not a person who took losing well, not in life or, apparently, in online PvP. "Now you need to start building some units, so you don't get rushed like last time. A few early on will do…"

He'd created a monster.

"How do you like that!?" Salem shouted down the microphone. "You thought you can raid my supply lines and not face punishment? Ha ha ha! Watch as your base burns to dust, as all your hopes and dreams crumble into nothingness. Good game? Yes, I suppose it is. Though lacking in difficulty for one such as I. Oh, does that bother you so? Harrumph. Do not test me in the theatre of war if you cannot handle the heat."

Jaune sighed and watched as she left the lobby. A small bar filled up and the screen flashed, promoting Salem one more rank on the online leader boards. The queen took it with glee, pointing and saying, "Look! Look! I've ranked up again!"

"Well done. You're doing good." Jaune stamped down on the annoyance he felt at the fact she was now a higher rank than he'd ever been. "Maybe you could stand to be a little less toxic after…?"

"What? I am in no way venomous."

"I'm talking about your tongue. People can get pretty upset if you insult them like that."

"Oh Jaune. How naïve you can be. I sometimes forget you lack the formal training of a squire serving under a more experienced knight." Salem paused to slurp up some soda and tuck a strand of hair behind her gaming headphones. If the people she was playing against could see her now, they'd fall in love. Wrinkly pyjamas too small for her, womanly figure, messy golden hair and no modesty. "One who rules must be capable of remaining calm at all times, or at least of making decisions free from what they feel. If they cannot control their tempers, I shall exploit it to achieve victory."

"And the shouting at them after the match…?"

"Advice."

"You told one person to give up and uninstall the game."

"It was good advice." Salem defended. "He was terrible."

Jaune sighed.

"Still, to think humans would create a virtual arena where they can face off against one another in simulated warfare. I may have underestimated them. No wonder Ozma has had so much success lately. By testing themselves in combat like this, he is able to select the greatest generals of this generation and nurture their talent."

"You're reading too much into this."

"And this number one player, the one at the top." Her eyes narrowed. "XxTwelveInchDongxX. He could well be the greatest threat I will face. How foolish have I been to not see this? Why did Cinder or Watts not bring it to my attention?"

"I highly doubt the person leading currently is going to be doing anything productive with their life." Jaune said. "This is a game."

"No, Jaune. This is war."

He wanted to argue, he really did, but then he reminded himself that there was nothing else to do, and that this was probably the least problematic thing Salem could be doing. "Okay, fine. What's your plan?"

"Hmhmhm." Salem chuckled. "It's simple. I shall rise within the ranks of this virtual arena. If Ozma is searching for the ultimate general, the one left standing when all others have faltered, then I shall claim that spot for myself. He will realise the truth all too late, at which point it will be too late!" Her voice rose. "I will have struck a devastating blow that he shall never recover from!"

Jaune opened his mouth.

Jaune closed his mouth.

"You know what, sure. Good plan. Go for it."

"And the first victim on my path to military domination will be you, little IceQueen." Salem sneered as the next match began. "You who press a claim on my title."

/-/

Ruby winced as Weiss threw her scroll so hard at the wall it almost cracked in two. That didn't stop the vindictive little "and yet another pathetic challenger falls to my might. You were almost a threat, girl. Almost."

Stomping over, Weiss closed down the game she was playing, shaking with visible rage. Ruby's self-preservation instincts were telling her to not say a thing and earn her partner's wrath.

Yang's were on the fritz as usual.

"Get your butt kicked, Weiss-cream?"

"I don't want to hear it! It's bad enough I had to listen to that… that rude, immature witch insult me throughout the entire game."

"Why didn't you just mute it?"

Weiss grumbled something under her breath. Ruby caught it from the bunk above. "Because I wanted to hear her eat her words when I won. Stupid, booming, unit-spamming-"

Ruby laid back with a sigh. When she'd first met Weiss she kind of assumed the other girl didn't do anything for fun. A bit of a crazy thing to think, sure, but Weiss had given off that impression with how mean she'd been. Obviously, she had hobbies, but Ruby had been surprised to hear gaming was one of them. Sadly, it wasn't the same kind of gaming Ruby liked. Weiss was one of those strategic people. She called Yang and Ruby's fighting games low-class, brash and boring.

As if having to collect food, wood and stone for ten minutes before the fun could even start even remotely classified as a game. Way too boring. Ruby had even tried to play just to get closer to Weiss and been roundly thrashed by the other girl. Weiss didn't exactly take it easy on newcomers.

Maybe she deserved this loss for that.

As for why Team RWBY were stuck in their dorm playing video games on a bright day that should have seen them outside… well, the official term was punishment. Sort of a detention-style house arrest. Unofficially, it was more like Miss Goodwitch had threatened them with a fate worse than death if they dared show their faces or make things worse than they already were.

Something to do with all that lost dust, the Council and people clamouring for their money back. Yeah, it was dumb. Didn't the people realise they were the heroes, and that it was better the dust be destroyed than in the hands of Roman and the White Fang? Apparently not! Either way, Ruby didn't want to find out what Miss Goodwitch had in store for them, so they were staying in their dorm all day.

Nora brought them breakfast like a true friend.

"I'm so boooored!" Yang whined, toying with the little bird that kept fluttering from finger to finger. Mr Birdie was back and more affectionate than ever, if a little skittish. The poor thing must have been through hell, because it kept hiding every time Ozpin or Miss Goodwitch came on by.

"Deal with it." Blake grumbled.

"You don't get to talk, miss runs away and drags us into a fight with the White Fang. We could have died for your little crusade."

If there was one good thing for being locked up it had been that it gave them time to talk. Time for Weiss to admit she was wrong for judging Blake and the faunus unfairly, time for Ruby and Yang to apologise for not stepping in sooner. Time for Blake not to apologise for being so obsessed with her old organisation.

To think Blake would turn out to be the problem child of the team was kind of a surprise. She'd really thought her age and lack of experience would be the biggest issue, but now they had an ex-terrorist teammate who couldn't very well leave said terrorists alone.

Ruby understood. Sort of. It was their job to stop bad guys, which was why she'd tried to stop Roman in the dust store way back when. The problem was that Blake was being so inconsistent about it. One second it was how the White Fang were being misjudged, then they were being manipulated by Roman and now they just had to be stopped entirely.

Make up your mind! Are they innocent people, naïve victims or dangerous criminals!?

A knock came at their door.

Ruby sat up but made no effort to answer. It was an unspoken rule that bottom bunks should get the door on account of being close to the floor. An unspoken, unwritten and mostly arbitrary rule enforced via her and Yang up and refusing to move. After a few seconds ticked by, Blake sighed dramatically and stood up, padding over to open it.

She came face to face with a huge bouquet of flowers.

Huge.

Not, like, a big bouquet, but more like six of them strapped together until it was the size of a car. Somewhere in the midst of it all was Lie Ren, looking somewhat amused.

"There was a delivery for you all, and since you can't leave Miss Goodwitch asked me to bring it to you."

Blake looked stunned.

"Oh really?" Yang called teasingly. "The old `delivering it for a friend trick`, is it? Why don't you come out and admit you have a thing for one of us, huh? No need to be shy."

Ren chuckled good naturedly and didn't rise to the ribbing. He was good – most guys tended to get flustered when Yang started teasing. "May I come in? There's more."

"More?" Blake asked. "More what? Flowers?"

"Chocolates. I'm sorry, but Nora stole a box. She called it a `Ren tax` and took it before I could stop her. Somehow… I'm not sure you'll notice the loss."

The reason why became apparent when Ren wheeled a literal trolley full of boxes of chocolate into the room. It was kind of ridiculous just how much there was that he couldn't carry it on his own. There were a few heart-shaped boxes, as if the message couldn't have been clear enough, and others of a more square and oblong shape. There was even a huge stuffed teddy bear on top, stark white but for a big red love heart on its chest. Ren wheeled it all into the centre of the room, then settled for resting the numerous bouquets of flowers down by one of their dressers.

"How much is there?" Weiss asked. "It looks like a small fortune."

"Or enough chocolate to give us all diabetes." Yang said. "You sure this isn't an assassination attempt?"

"I'm sure Nora would be willing to act as taste tester for you." Ren replied.

"Who is it even all for?"

"Blake."

Ren said it so casually, so easily, and yet Blake rocked back as if he'd screamed in her face. "M-Me!?" she gasped. "T-This is all for me!?"

"Looks like it. It was labelled to Blake Belladonna; the flowers have tags listed out to you. Oh." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vanilla-coloured envelope. "And there's this. Addressed to you by name."

Ruby, Yang and even Weiss leaned in meaningfully.

"T-This is too much." Blake said. "This is ridiculous. Do you think it's a threat?"

"I think you should read the letter." Yang said.

"Oh for…" Blake looked at them. "Do none of you find this even the slightest bit concerning? The day after we bust the White Fang, I receive all of this. That doesn't strike you as odd in any way?"

"There might be key evidence in the letter." Weiss said, trying to sound disinterested and wholly professional.

Ruby would give her props for effort, even if it didn't work.

"You're going to share, right?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Ruby, I would die if I ate all this alone."

"Enough stalling." Yang yelled. "Open it! Read!"

Blushing, Blake pulled the letter away from Yang's grasping hand. "Excuse me?" she snapped, hiding it. "And what makes you think I'm going to read this out loud? I'm not a source of entertainment for y-"

Mr Birdie swept past Blake claws first, snatched the envelope out her hand and flapped back up to Yang.

"Yes!" Yang shrieked. "Best bird ever." She pulled the envelope free and away from Blake's hands as she leapt up to try and grab it. It was mean, probably, but Ruby was too curious to tell her sister off.

Yang would be Yang, right? It wasn't her fault if Yang read it out loud.

"Yang, no!" Blake hissed.

"Yang, yes baby!" The envelope was ripped open. "Oh my lord, it's a poem!"

Blake, if possible, turned even redder. "Don't you dare!"

"Ahem. Roses are red, violets are blue, I met your parents, and now I'm going to marry you." Yang stared at the page for a long moment. "What…? Hang on a minute, there's something in here."

Yang shook the envelope and something small toppled out, slipped past Blake's grasping fingers and bounced on the carpet. Ruby and Weiss both leaned out to take a look, then gasped loudly.

It was a golden ring set with a pure white diamond.

Blake's entire face lit up in red.

"Huh." Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Does this make Blake a mail order bride…?"

/-/

Qrow glared at his captors.

"I'm not going to break."

"Oh, you will, Qrow." Nicholas Arc said. "You will break sooner or later. The only question is how long that's going to take. I'll admit I'm surprised you've lasted this long."

"Heh." Qrow grinned. "I'm better than you realise."

"And I'm also surprised your sister hasn't used her Semblance to save you."

"Ugh." Qrow sighed. "She's worse than you realise."

"Nor Ozpin."

"More stressed out than you realise."

"But either way, we're here." Nicholas said. "And you have information I need. I'm willing to make a trade, Qrow. I'm prepared to give you what you want. All you need to do is help me out."

Qrow licked his lips. It had been days now, days of horrible torture. He licked his lips, crazed eyes staring at the bottle in Nicholas' hand. "You're a sick piece of work, Arc."

"I'm a family man. I'll do anything for my children."

"Even this? Even torture a man?"

"This isn't torture, Qrow. It's an intervention."

"I'm old enough to kill my liver if I want to!" Qrow wailed, desperately lunging for the bottle. Nicholas yanked it away. Days without a drop of alcohol. Qrow could feel himself going cold turkey. "Give it to me! Just a drop! I'm so thirsty!"

"There's a bottle of mineral water right there."

"To hell with your poison! Give! Me! Booze!"

"Then give me my son, Qrow. My son for your right to drown yourself in alcohol. It's a cheap trade. Hell, it's a good one. You want him and his wife out of Vale from what I can tell. Funnily enough, I want that as well. I want them where they'll be safe to raise a family."

Qrow sucked in a breath. "It's true, then?"

He'd suspected – hard not to notice how soft Salem had been to Jaune on the ship. Plus, there'd been the rumours from Vacuo. It all pointed to the possibility, and even Ozpin didn't dismiss it, but Qrow had still not quite believed it. If even Nicholas was saying it, though? Well, the boy's father had to know.

"Your son went and knocked her up, didn't he?" Qrow laughed, amazed at the size of the kid's balls. He'd well and truly stuck himself into the crazy. "Holy crap. I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I." Nicholas admitted. "But if my son is going to start a family, I'll support him any way I can. Vale isn't safe for him. You know that. I've heard rumours of how dangerous she is, too. You're not a dumb man, Qrow. I can tell you don't want to fight her."

Yeah, well, that wasn't exactly a big surprise. He was prepared to do what he had to do but having Raven fail to deliver Ozpin and Lionheart had been a blow to his confidence. Nothing against Oz there, but it left Qrow with the lingering suspicion he'd almost died.

"I don't have much of a choice, Nick."

"You do. They have been travelling the world, Qrow. Every Kingdom, every continent. Did you not wonder why that was? What they might be looking for…?"

Of course he had. At first, he'd assumed it was just part of her evil plan, some scheme to destabilise each kingdom. Now, though… now he wasn't so sure. Salem hadn't really done anything in each place, and now with the confirmation that she was `in the family way` he was beginning to suspect why.

"Are you saying they're looking to settle down…?"

"Have they ever attacked you?"

"Uh. Yeah!"

"No. Have they attacked you, or have they only fought in self-defence?"

Qrow thought, winced and suddenly regretted. "Oh shit."

One pregnant woman, one group of people loyal to her and one worried father-to-be. It was all starting to come together in Qrow's head, and the worst part was that he came across the villain in this scenario.

Was Ozpin wrong about her? It wouldn't be hard to be. Ozpin had no idea she was pregnant either, and the last they'd heard she was after the maidens and Relics. There was no realistic reason to think she'd suddenly stop, so Oz could be forgiven for assuming the worst. Nicholas had a point, though. Salem and Jaune had mostly been travelling and staying out of trouble. They'd unearthed a human trafficking ring in Vacuo, saved a village from his old tribe in Mistral and only really been dragged into open warfare when Atlas went for them.

When Atlas went for the kid. That's when she lost it and turned half Ironwood's forces into dogs. Was it that she was that worried about losing the father of her baby?

Holy shit.

"Help me." Nicholas said. "You don't want to fight her, and I don't want her fought. Not in this state. If you help me get to them then I can get them out of Vale. Away from you, away from your nieces, away from Ozpin and Ironwood. Would you even care if they settled down in some far flung settlement to raise an army of kids?"

Would he? Why would he? Salem busy raising a family sounded like the best way to keep her out of trouble. It'd even spare them having to fight her, maybe not forever, but for this lifetime at least. Ironwood would never accept that. The nutcase wanted any enemy of Atlas dealt with without compromise. He'd push for Salem to be killed no matter what.

What if Salem looked human right now specifically because she was pregnant? A Grimm couldn't bare a child after all. What if the reason she was using her old magic and making mistakes was due to hormones?

And what happens if Ironwood pushes her to the edge? What happens if Ironwood and Ozpin kill her boyfriend, or worse if they cause her so much stress she miscarries?

Qrow spared a thought for a furious Salem, Queen of the Grimm, lost to the fury and grief of losing her lover and unborn child. Right in the middle of Vale, during the Vytal tournament, with his nieces in attendance. Mountain Glenn 2.0 Now with more slaughter.

"We need to get her out the city." Qrow whispered.

"You're seeing things my way now." Nicholas Arc handed him a bottle of vodka. Qrow tipped it back, needing it now more than he ever had before. "So, can I count on you? Ozpin means well, but he's bound to honour the alliance with Atlas, and we both know how Ironwood is."

No negotiating with terrorists. No mercy. No listening to reason. No brakes on the `kill Salem` train. Ozpin would probably listen and be open to the idea of a peaceful resolution, but whether he could actually do anything to stop Ironwood was another matter entirely. If they could get Salem out before it came to that and spare everyone the drama, that would be for the best.

"Fuck me." Qrow sighed. "I'm in."

Nicholas and Qrow with all the assumptions.

Mercury not knowing how romance works. To be fair, from what little we know of his upbringing it sounds more like Marcus Black would practice eugenics than family. Marry someone for their Semblance, kill them and then move on.

Next Chapter: 13th September

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur