Happy Valentine's day to everyone – single or no.

I have the week off work as my parents have gone on holiday and I'm looking after their house and horses. That's why my mother had to have her pre-op early, so she can have the operation planned for when she gets back. Personally, I'd be too nervous to go, but I can also understand them wanting to go to try and take her mind off it and have some good memories if anything goes wrong.

Helping them with COVID tests and booking and PCR for flights, etc, was an absolute pain though. I both understand and respect the caution and need for them, but I wish they were a little less poorly run. We had a one hour window to provide proof for the flight, and the people they told us to use were 40 mins late on getting the results back, so they nearly missed the window! All well, though, and they are off. I'm now looking after two dogs, three cats and ten horses. Fun. Two of the horses are pregnant as well, so need to mix them special pregnancy mix food each day. Kali is loving the extra chores. She's a work dog at heart.

My own two strays have made peace btw. I go back each day to feed them, and this morning they both showed up and ate out the same bowl without so much as a hiss. That's a good sign.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 54

For all that Salem claimed she didn't want to give Cinder any more credit than she deserved – which in Salem's own words was none – she sure as hell was happy to spend the rest of the evening and the night complaining about her. To hear it, you'd think Cinder responsible for every ill to ever afflict her, from her original curse being a result of Cinder's unborn stupidity, to a chipped nail being incompetent filing from said snot-nosed brat. Jaune thought it her way of coping with Cinder having technically pulled one over on her, but he was wise enough not to say it. Tyrian lapped up Salem's excuses either way, providing an easy option to vent to.

It was a convenient enough distraction that Jaune forgot to question him about a news report on a washing machine factory having been set on fire in the night, and numerous machines being found strung up on wooden poles, spikes jammed through their open drums and fabric conditioner leaking down the poles as if they were being impaled and left to die. No one actually died so Jaune considered it a net positive, even if Hazel spent the morning banging his head on the nearest wall.

"Gentlemen!" Salem announced at breakfast. Or, as Jaune called it, the warzone. Vernal's fork attacked from the left, Neo's from the right, and in the brief moment of distraction he'd lost his bacon, sausages, hash browns and been reduced to a lonely egg on a single slice of toast. As if to mock his defeat, Neo reached over and stabbed the yoke, spilling yellow blood across the plate without even bothering to steal and consume it.

"Gentlemen, ladies, Nero-" Neo offered a middle finger while also disarming Jaune's attempt at revenge and flicking his fork away toward the living room. He hunched defensively over his fried egg and ate it with his hands. "I bring dire news. Most dire and terrible news. Cinder Fall… has betrayed me."

Silence. Waiting. Jaune managed to finish his lone egg. Eventually, Roman asked, "Didn't we already know that?"

"Yes," Salem admitted, "But now we have to actually care about it."

"So, the dire news is the betrayal or the effort we'll have to expend?"

"The latter."

"Aren't you more worried?" Emerald asked grumpily. "Cinder has the Grimm at her beck and call and is one of the most powerful huntresses on Remnant."

Salem, Tyrian and Hazel all laughed. They chuckled, roared and, in Hazel's case, cried a little. Tyrian pounded the table with one hand, shaking violently as if he was having a seizure. After a few moments, during which Emerald crossed her arms and pouted furiously, Hazel wiped his eyes and said, "Wait, you're serious…?"

"Em was picked up by Cinder as an urchin." Mercury said. "All she's ever known is what Cinder told her."

"Girl." Hazel rumbled. "Cinder had potential, true. She was good – but that is all. Better than many her age, good enough to be a huntress at eighteen, but not one of the best, let alone the best."

"There's a reason it took the three of you to best the fall maiden." Salem said. "And a reason you fled the moment Qrow Branwen showed up. Cinder could not have faced him and survived."

"B-But now she's all-powerful because she has the Grimm-"

"As did I," Salem pointed out, "And it didn't avail me much, did it? The Grimm, you will find, make wonderful meat shields and manual labour, but don't offer much when it comes to battle. Wonderful at taking out undefended targets of weak and helpless people, but then so is Tyrian and at least he can go toe-to-toe with huntsmen as well."

Emerald looked lost. "But…"

"There's a reason I keep strong humans around me as well as Grimm, child. If Grimm were enough on their own, I'd have never bothered with Cinder. Look at Ozma. He's been fending me off for centuries with his academies and huntsmen. Doesn't that say enough?"

It didn't to Emerald. Jaune accepted it easily – why wouldn't he? His dad was a huntsman and regularly went out alone to clear out any Grimm misfortunate enough to wander near Ansel. It was a day-job for him. He would sigh, eat breakfast, kiss his wife on the cheek, go out to fight the forces of darkness and come home in the afternoon to catch dinner.

If the Grimm were enough to make Cinder unstoppable, they would have already made Salem that, especially given her magic. "Cinder doesn't actually have a chance of taking Vale, does she?" he asked.

Emerald made to argue.

Salem answered. "None at all. I could not take Vale and I've been at this far longer than she has. That's Vale normally, too. This is the Vytal Festival. There are more huntsmen and huntresses here than ever before, not to mention Atlas. You'd be hard pressed to pick a worse time to attack. No," she said. "Cinder cannot defeat Vale. What she can do, however, is cause chaos and push much of that onto us."

"And she could kill us." Roman said.

Hazel, Tyrian and Salem made to start laughing uproariously again, but Roman cut them off. "Okay, okay – not you three, but she can sure as hell kill me and Neo."

Salem raised her eyebrow as if to ask what his point was.

Roman sighed. "And Jaune."

"That witch!" Salem roared, slamming her hands onto the table. "If she thinks she can take from me what it has taken thousands of years to find, she has another thing coming. I'll kill her myself!"

"Except that you can't find her." Mercury said.

"Yes, well, it's Cinder," Salem huffed. "I'm sure she'll show up at some point if only to gloat."

"Cinder would never do that!"

"Brother Gods. Why do we keep the fangirl around again?"

"Because you kind of kidnapped and/or drafted us." Mercury said. "But you know, maybe we should do something about the White Fang first. Since, you know, she plans to use them to kick off this whole thing."

"Plus, you have the mutual defence pact with Sienna." Ilia hinted. "Also, Adam is a monster and must be stopped."

"Is he, though?" Mercury teased.

"He's Blake's ex-boyfriend."

"Adam is a monster and must be stopped." Mercury said with a fist slammed onto the table. "My Queen, on this I agree with Ilia! We must defend Blak - I mean Jaune - and defeat the White Fang!"

"The bad White Fang." Ilia corrected.

"Any White Fang who lust for her!"

"Hey!"

"So good to see the two of you working together," Salem said sarcastically. For all her inability to remember names, she was not blind to the rather focused motives of both Mercury and Ilia. "And I suppose you are right. Cinder ever loves her toys, so we will take them away from her. Now, if only we had some way of coordinating this with the military stationed here."

The maid currently, and reluctantly, serving breakfast coughed loudly.

"If only…"

"Ahem!"

"We need them not, but it would not do for them to get in our way-"

"Hack!" Winter coughed a lung. "Ahem! Ahem-ha-harrumph!"

"For the love of…" Salem pinched her nose. "Jaune, give your bloody maid a lozengier or something."

Jaune laughed awkwardly. "I think Winter is trying to tell us something."

"What could a maid know?"

"I am not a maid!" Winter snarled. It was a less than convincing argument given the frilly uniform she was wearing, and the tray of collected plates balanced between her hands. "I am a proud Specialist of Atlas, second to General Ironwood and a trusted advisor!"

The woman's cheeks burned red as everyone turned to look at her. Jaune wasn't sure how much of it was embarrassment and how much was sheer rage at everyone having forgotten she existed. Jaune hadn't, technically. He'd been expecting her to run off for days now since they'd reached Vale. He'd kind of thought the unlocked door, no guard and no chains angle would have been something she'd catch onto and take advantage of, especially when they all went out to Amity and left her behind. Apparently, Winter had thought it a trap and had stayed in her room, refusing to risk it.

"I-I can convey your intention to attack the White Fang to General Ironwood," she said. "Though I cannot promise he will help, I am sure he would sit back and let the two factions fight."

"Of course he would." Hazel said. "Why not let your two enemies weaken one another."

"The White Fang is not Atlas' enemy." Winter said.

Ilia raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes. They are nothing more than a petty terrorist organisation, and as such are not recognised as legitimate enemies by the Kingdom."

"And right when I thought you were about to say something poignant, more Atlas drivel spills forth. Sure. We're not enemies. You always just deploy entire freaking battalions to deal with pests. You always blockade an entire island for no reason."

Winter blushed but did not answer.

"Can we trust her?" Salem asked.

"No." Jaune, Hazel, Tyrian, Roman, Mercury, Emerald, Vernal and Ilia said as one. Winter's face burned even brighter at the unanimous dismissal. "But…" Hazel said. "We also have no real use for her, and there's very little that could go wrong from releasing her to try."

"Except that Ironwood could come right to our door." Roman said.

"We would have left in pursuit of the White Fang by then."

"What about the tournament?" Jaune asked. "I'm in the semi-finals."

"You'll have to attend." Salem said. "Not only for the sake of our honour, but because Cinder will know something is wrong if you do not. And I daresay Ozma and Atlas will freak out and assume the worst if we don't show."

"That means Jaune and Salem will need to go to Amity at least." Hazel said. "Tyrian…?"

"I will defend the Goddess with my life."

"Good." Hazel nodded firmly. "We'll send Gillian with Jaune as both his partner and bodyguard while the rest of us deal with Cinder's so-called allies. If we take them out quietly, Cinder won't even realise and might start the attack anyway. That will place her in danger and present an opportunity to capture her."

Emerald raised her hand. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Girl." Salem groaned. "Sit. You can have your chance to report to Cinder later, preferably after we have her in hand."

"W-What!?" Emerald squeaked. "I… I don't know what you mean!"

Salem rolled her eyes slowly. Very slowly. "Of course you don't. Really, you realise using Seers as long-distance communication was my innovation, no? Just because I can no longer control the Grimm does not mean I can't recognise when they are being summoned."

Emerald sat there stunned, blood draining from her face and turning her white as a sheet as she was confronted by all too many knowing looks. Even Mercury was giving her a sarcastic smile. Knowing him, he'd probably been the one to notice and report it to Salem.

"W…W… What are you going to do to me…?" she asked, fear robbing her of all confidence and faith. Cinder could not help her now. "W… What happens now…?"

"Now?" Salem asked. "Honestly, I think we find you a girlfriend."

Emerald blinked. Her jaw dropped. "WHAT!?"

"Girl, Cinder is not good for you. She isn't good for anyone. Far too up her own asshole – I doubt she'd even reciprocate, let alone put out." Salem clicked her tongue and shook her head. "You can do better. How about Ilia?"

"W-What!?"

Ilia raised her hand. "I'm okay with that."

"What?" Mercury had to ask. "I thought you were all Blake and nothing but the Blake."

"Bro," Ilia whispered. "Her Semblance is hypnosis-based illusions. She could look like anyone when you're going at it. Imagine that for a second. I could have Blake, Kali, Pyrrha Nikos and any woman in the world as long as I show her a photo of them first."

Ilia wore a dreamy expression somewhat at odds with the creeped-out ones of everyone else, even Emerald. The green-haired girl looked mildly disgusted at the idea of her worth being measured in someone else's face. "Or maybe not Ilia." Salem decided. "Since she apparently wouldn't treat you properly. There are plenty more fish in the sea, however."

"Then I'm not being killed…?"

"I didn't kidnap and drag you around this long just to kill you off." Salem snorted and rolled her eyes again. "Really, at this point I've had to put up with your whinging and defending of Cinder long enough that what I really want is to see you turn your back on her."

Emerald stared at Salem long and hard. "You're one massive bitch. You know that?"

"Girl. I am the Queen Bitch. Now. Are there any questions?"

Ilia raised a hand. "If your Semblance is hypnosis by eyesight, does that mean you can look in the mirror, effect yourself and live out your wildest fantasies as a way to get off?"

Salem sighed. "Any good questions?"

Emerald raised a hand. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

"No."

"I promise it's not to tell Cinder this time."

"Girl, I know full well what it is you intend. You can experiment with your Semblance in your own time and out of earshot of those of us trying to sleep. Meeting dismissed."

/-/

It turned out that the White Fang loyal to them – feverishly loyal, with several having declared themselves Salemites to Jaune's horror – were more than okay with the idea of turning on Adam Taurus and the more militant members. They had gone against Sienna's wishes after all, and so Adam was technically the traitor, but a lot of it came down to the fact that it was Adam's orders that had them stationed in Mountain Glenn where they'd nearly died.

Once nearly died, twice shy. Or in this case twice willing to put a bullet through the head of the man who ordered the near-death experience.

"Where was he when we nearly died?" Perry asked loudly. "Nowhere – that's where. There was only one person who was there for us in our hour of need, only one person who helped light the way."

Jaune smiled bashfully and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess I-"

"Our Goddess Salem!" Perry cried and fell to his knees. The White Fang members behind him threw their arms into the air and wailed in chorus. "Salem! Salem! Salem!"

"B…But I got you out safely… I'm the one who fought…"

"An agent sent by Her hand, an instrument of Her divine will."

"No. I was there because you took me hostage."

"And so it was that She granted unto us Her hand, and by Her hand did She smite down the Grimm who might harm Her loyal children. So it was, so it shall be remembered unto the end of time!"

"I should have left you lot in Mountain Glenn…"

"Thank you. Thank you." Salem smiled and held her arms out, and the people went silent. "It is good that my efforts be recognised so." Salem missed Jaune throwing his hands up and stomping away. "But I ask you now, who here knows where Adam Taurus might be hiding away?"

"My Goddess!" a young-ish squirrel faunus crawled forward. "I have seen the heathens. I have witnessed them and their blasphemous rituals out in the Emerald Forest, not two miles from Beacon. There, they have erected a shrine to their wicked and decadent ways, surrounding it with dust for purposes unknown!"

"A shrine or an outpost?" Roman asked, trying to bring some degree of sanity to the conversation.

"A shrine-post!"

"Never mind…"

"Good. Very good!" Salem pointed to the girl. "And can you lead my people there? To smite vengeance upon those who would dare stand against us?"

The girl shook and trembled with naked glee. "It would be my great honour!"

"This is all kinds of messed up," Jaune whispered to Vernal from the outskirts of the group. The short-haired bandit nodded quickly back, wide-eyed and as disturbed as he. At least someone was.

"They're not even strong," she grumbled. "Gods and Goddesses. Who needs them when you have a strong sword arm and three feet of steel? Still, at least I get to have a scrap with the White Fang. I hear that Adam guys pretty good."

"And meanwhile I'm stuck at Amity…"

"Yeah. Uh. Good luck? I mean, you should be okay unless you get Team RWBY, in which case goodbye. Nice to have known you and all that. Hey, can I have your comic collection when you're dead?"

"No."

"Stingy."

"Jaune!" Salem called. "It is time for us to be away to Amity. We must act as though everything is normal, we must exude normality and stately calm. In short, don't be suspicious."

"Okay…?"

"To help, I have asked Tyrian to come up with a theme song-"

"No. Just… no…"

/-/

Jaune and Jill went down the ramp, to wait for the semi-finals. Jaune knew he'd go out, hopefully not crack his skull and have Jill come tumbling after. It all really depended on the draw, however. Four teams remained now – Team RWBY, JNPR, JIZZ and a fourth that Jaune didn't bother remembering because the roulette wheel turned and they were selected to sate Team RWBY's thirst for blood, and so weren't to be worried about anymore.

"Lucky break." Jill said. "You survive another day."

"Hello Jaune." Pyrrha walked up with a pleasant smile, likely all the happier for not having to face Team RWBY. Yang had been chosen for the one-on-one rounds, and the bookies had added a category where you could bet how many days in hospital her opponent would need. "Hello Jill. I hope you're looking forward to our duel."

"More than I am having to face Yang." Jaune said.

"Oh. Confident, are we?" Pyrrha giggled. "Maybe it'll be me who goes through to face Yang." Pyrrha paused then, and Jaune knew she must have realised she could avoid that by throwing the fight. It seemed to start an internal conflict within her, one that ended with her shaking her head and saying, "I intend to give it my all. May the best of us win."

"I can agree to that. How about a promise not to grievously wound one another too?"

"I thought that went without saying."

"It would normally. But if I can be honest, you Beacon huntresses scare the ever-loving crap out of me."

"What? Why?" Up above, Yang's competitor screamed loud enough to be hard in the pits. Pyrrha sighed. "Oh. Right. The worst part is that the final is not thirty minutes after our fight. I'd really rather have longer to strategize."

"To be fair, they couldn't ask the spectators to pay for a whole day for just two fights." Jill pointed out. "Especially not if they're as short-lived as that one apparently was."

True. Tickets for the tournament cost an arm and a leg, especially with scalpers buying and selling them on for five or six times the cost. For that much to amount to about twenty minutes of action would be a kick in the teeth no matter how much they dragged it out with speeches, fireworks and highlights. It was almost necessary they put the semi-finals and the finals on the same day. It'd only be three fights total as it was, but at least the ending and award ceremony could take up the rest.

Hey, technically speaking I'm already in the top three. Well, if I lose I'd have to fight whomever just lost to Yang, but I'm fairly sure they won't be in any condition to fight.

So, technically, he was already a bronze medallist at the Vytal Festival, even though he had no formal huntsman training. It had been his plan to join Beacon and earn glory in the first place, so in a way he'd succeeded. Now it was just a case of seeing if he could push it any further.

"And our next bout – Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR versus Jaune Arc of Team JIZZ!"

"Looks like it's our turn." Pyrrha said, turning away and toward the ramp on the other side of the pit. "Good luck – may our battle be a fair and glorious one. I admit, I've been looking forward to it."

"Yeah. You too," he said.

Jill grabbed his shoulder a second later and yanked him aside. "You can't win," was the first thing she said.

"Oh. Wow. Thanks for the faith, I guess…"

"No. You can't win fairly. Pyrrha Nikos is beyond you. I could beat her," she said confidently, "But that would defeat the point of you being here, and it would be like saying Qrow Branwen can beat you. I'm a fully qualified huntress. What I'm saying is that you won't be able to beat her if you fight fairly or fight her at all. You need to be clever. You need to fight dirty!"

"You want me to cheat?"

"If you can get away with it, sure, but really I want you to stretch the rules a little. Use your head." Jill rapped her knuckles against his skull. "And maybe go in a little more topped up than usual."

"What do you-" Jill's fingers began to glow and Jaune felt a rush of power. "-meeeeeeaaaaaaaaannnnnnn!"

"This is all mine this time," Jill said with a hint of exhaustion. She was flushed and breathing heavily as if she'd run a marathon. Her scroll beeped angrily, alerting her to critically low aura. "T-The best advantage I can give you. Don't think of it as cheating so much as using your teammate's natural advantages. It'll give you a big boost, but it'll only let you last longer. Even with this, she'll tear you a new anus if you let her."

Jaune nodded, fighting to bring the rush of energy under control. It had consumer him wholly in his bout with Penny, but that was because he'd never felt the like before and had no warning. Now, he had a moment to wrestle it under control. He still felt hyperactive, like someone had injected pure caffeine into his veins, but aside from a faint shaking that might be mistaken for excitement, it didn't show. His eyes glowed a little brighter than usual however, the excessive aura shining through. They always did say the eyes were the gateway to the soul, and not it was literal.

"Give it your all but don't run out. Cinder will attack during the finals."

"How do you know-?"

"Villainous motives 101," Jill said hurriedly. "Just trust me. Go. Go and give it your all. I'm going to find a nice lap to curl up on."

Her piece said, Jill slunk away and left him to face the ramp alone. Jaune took a deep breath and pushed his feet forward, ascending out of the gloom and into the bright sunlight and cheering voices. The audience pounded their feet, clapped their hands together and roared out their excitement.

Gone was the nervous energy they had on seeing him the first time, gone was the awkward claps and uncertain applause. This was Pyrrha Nikos versus Jaune Arc, and a grander fight you weren't likely to get. Flags, placards and foam hands waved furiously, some even thrown toward the arena. They didn't make it, falling instead onto the grassy lawns where the medical tents and soldiers waited, prepared to wheel off the latest of Team RWBY's opposition, or prevent any of the audience members rushing the stage.

According to Tyrian, they'd arrested four streakers already. Slow year, he'd said. There were usually a lot more. Jaune looked up at the audience, at the VIP box that held Ozpin and Ironwood. Hopefully, Winter, having `escaped` after breakfast, would have warned him of the White Fang's plans. He then looked to Salem, held his arm aloft, and turned to Pyrrha.

"Whatever happens," the redhead said. "No hard feelings. You're not so bad for a wanted criminal."

"And you're not so bad for a huntress of Beacon."

Pyrrha sighed. "We're not all bloodthirsty maniacs."

"Just most of you?"

"Just most of us…"

The commentators sounded a large horn, and a huge countdown began on the main screen. The audience counted with it, chanting 10, 9, 8… and so on, down to the lower numbers, where Jaune's legs tensed and Pyrrha brought her shield up, transforming her rifle into a sword.

"Three," the crowd chanted. Jaune took a quick breath. "Two!" Across from him, Pyrrha tensed. "One!"

Aura crackled.

The horn sounded.

And that feels like the obvious spot to end it. Lol.

Next Chapter: 21st February

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur