Sorry for last week's absence. The event went okay, though, and I didn't get any confused PM's asking where the chapter was for a change. Yay.
Cover Art: Mystery White Flame
Chapter 16
However you cut it, the battle of Haven was swinging in their favour. It had been a doomed effort from the start for Cinder and her lot. There had only been four of them – five with the help of that girl Raven brought – and that was never going to be enough to fight off them and the entire school of Haven Academy.
They had to know that as well.
Which meant their goal wasn't to win at all; they were after something.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that the prize was down the hole Cinder and Raven had gone down, nor did it take much to have Jaune panicking when his arrival somehow scared off Raven's associate, the girl making a run for it while she had the chance, and Blake told him that Yang had gone down to stop Cinder and Raven.
Alone.
His feet were carrying him in that direction long before he remembered that Yang was probably tougher than he was, and that if he went down there on his own it would be just as stupid. By that point, Blake was with him, Gambol Shroud at the ready, and he couldn't back out.
"If you see Yang, get her out," he whispered to her. "Leave Cinder to me."
"Yes sir." Blake didn't argue, either believing his reputation wholesale or having enough misplaced confidence in his skills to trust he had Cinder in hand.
"Find Glynda once you're back up," he added. "And maybe Qrow."
A little help wouldn't hurt.
Making their way down the staircase hewn from solid rock, the noise of combat above faded away, replaced with cloying gloom and a faint glow from ahead, a mixture of blue and orange. Crackling like fire reached their ears and Jaune's pace increased, taking the steps two at a time as he drew Crocea Mors.
His first thoughts on reaching the bottom was that the blue glow was from a naked woman floating in the air. They weren't the best thoughts, but what could he do? There was a bright blue naked woman floating in the air. Hormones aside, that was just far enough out there to make even Blake stop and stare.
The orange came from fire.
So much fire. It wreathed across the burnt floor and black marks licked up the stone walls. The stench of it assaulted his nostrils and smoke pooled in the ceiling, coming lower and lower as the vault filled with noxious gasses. Blue and naked was remarkably unconcerned with it all, floating with crossed arms and a bored expression. Cinder was less so. Cinder stood panting and heaving, arms extended towards what appeared to be a blackened and charred lump by the wall.
"Yang…" Blake whispered.
Yang? What did-?
No.
Oh no…
Jaune stumbled forward, heart in his throat as he approached the shape and slowly realised that yes, it was vaguely humanlike. Or what once had been human. Burned beyond recognition and with the skin black and blistered, the figure, if one could still call it that, was well and truly beyond saving. Hair that had once been like spun gold was burned down to the scalp and her chest wasn't moving.
"YANG!" Crocea Mors clattered to the floor as he ran by, ignoring Cinder entirely. His hands found Yang's shoulders, rolling her over and into his arms. "Yang, please. No. Oh fuck. You can't be – This wasn't supposed to happen!"
A pointed cough came from the blue figure.
Jaune ignored it. There was a flicker of movement, a whispered breath – like a sigh exhaled. Desperately, he pulled her up against his chest and listened. There, he felt it. Movement. Drawn breath.
Alive. She was still alive.
The blue woman coughed again. Louder.
"Hah! Hah!" Cinder gasped for breath, staggering back and propping herself up against one wall. Despite the exhaustion, her smile split her face in two. "Was she – hah – special to you, Jaune? Oops. M – My bad. Hah. She cried at the end, you know. Hah. Screamed for mercy."
Jaune didn't believe a word of it.
"She did not," the blue naked woman remarked.
Cinder glared at her. "I thought you were out of questions."
"I cannot grant knowledge. Seeing as everyone in this room knew without fail that Yang Xiao-Long would not beg, I have given no knowledge. Technically speaking."
"Tch." Cinder spat on the floor, annoyed that her goading had been foiled. "It doesn't matter. The girl is dead. She died because of you, Jaune. Because she trusted you to lead her." She threw her head back and laughed. "What a fool!"
The blue woman coughed for the third time.
"Blake," Jaune said, cradling Yang in his arms and standing. "I need you to get Yang out of here." He felt her push weakly at him, eyes still closed, and lips tugged down. There was life in her still, but she needed a doctor. Needed medical attention.
Jinn coughed another time. Really hacked loudly.
"I'm coming," Blake whispered, eyes frightened. Carefully, she reached for Yang.
Yang tried to kick Blake in the face, all the while pushing off from him at the same time.
Jinn coughed louder still.
"Yang!" Jaune hissed. "Relax, it's us. You're safe. Just let Blake get you out of here and mff-!"
Yang had stuck a hand in his mouth, silencing him. She then let out a frustrated sigh, one delivered in absolute silence, and opened her eyes to glare at him with a fierce pout. One pink eye and one brown eye.
He screamed and dropped her.
Neo bounced on her backside once, rubbed her behind and glared even harder at him. The burns across her body faded in mirror-like motes of light, revealing unharmed skin and her usual outfit. With one last pout at him, she stood and dusted herself down, rolling her eyes and drawing her weapon.
"It was a trap," Jinn remarked, a second after the realisation filtered into his head. "By pretending to be injured but still alive, she hoped to draw Cinder close enough to stab her." Apparently, she could reveal that information now that everyone within hearing knew, Cinder having figured it out soon after Neo revealed herself.
Oh. He'd kind of ruined her plan, hadn't he?
"Yes," Jinn said happily.
Neo just glared at him.
"Wait. Then where is Yang?" Blake asked.
"H-Hey," a weak voice called from the stairs. With a shattering of mirror-light, the bruised and slightly charred body of Yang appeared. Her clothing was worse for wear, her hair singed, but she was alive and well, if black and blue all over. "D-Didn't wanna say anythin' and ruin it," she wheezed. "B-But thanks for the bridal carry, Prof. Heh." The laugh turned into a wheezing cough, then a hack as she choked on the smoke. "Kaff! Hack! Ack!"
"Blake…"
Rather than answer, she was already halfway to her partner, kneeling to pick her up. That left her back to Cinder – something she should have known better on. Blake trusted him to cover her.
Sometimes, his reputation really sucked.
Cinder took the bait. Of course she did. A huge fireball screamed toward Yang and Blake, more than capable of finishing the job. Since Blake trusted him to cover her, she made no move to dodge, which meant he had to cover her.
His shield deployed as he leapt between them.
In the books and legends, there were often pictures and stories of knights with shields like his – a heater shield – blocking fire from Grimm-dragons or the like. The fire would come out in a conveniently concentrated stream to hit the shield and then be deflected in every direction.
Fire, it turned out, didn't work that way. Cinder's fireball struck his shield but was much larger than it. The bits that did hit the shield were stopped, or at least dissipated. The heat still rolled over it to burn his arms and shoulders, but that was a small thing – mostly because those same arms and shoulders were already on fucking fire from the rest of her fireball, and the added heat didn't make much of a difference.
"We'll get help!" Blake called, lugging Yang up the stairs. "Hold on, headmaster!"
Hold on. Yes. That was an idea. Jaune lowered his shield, revealing his face and chest, unburned, while the rest of him smouldered.
I need a bigger shield…
"You need a bigger shield," Jinn confirmed.
Great. The fact she could reveal it meant even Cinder and Neo were thinking it. In an attempt to regain some control of the situation, he stepped out of the ring of fire left after the fireball detonated on him and pointed his sword at Cinder.
"Surrender! You're beaten, Cinder. Lionheart is out for the count and your friends will soon follow. You're outnumbered two to one and have no way to escape."
"No way?" Cinder laughed. "Oh, Jaune. I see a way out right behind you. All I need to do is go through you to reach it." Cinder floated up into the air. Eyes flicking back, she turned and stabbed a hand out, summoning a blast of wind that knocked a charging Neo away and into a wall. "You forget yourselves!" she sneered. "I was able to hold you, Neo and Roman off at one time, and that was when I had only just come into my new power. Now, I am more practiced."
He'd taken the moment she started speaking to try and sneak forward, then broken into a charge when she turned to deal with Neo. If Cinder wanted to talk, great. He'd try and cut her head off. Unfortunately, she turned back to mock him with Neo dealt with and Jaune froze with a deer in the headlights look, caught halfway between where he had been and her.
Cinder's eyes narrowed.
"Oh fu-"
The wind blast caught him in his stomach and was angled upward. He flew up into the air, crashing into the ceiling and wreathed in the smoke congregating there. He choked, falling back down like a paralysed falcon to splat on the stone floor. The impact tore his shield and sword from his hands, sending them skittering away.
More wind caught those, driving them further and further until they slapped into the back wall with a metallic clang. The wind continued to grow, building and swirling in the small vault like a self-contained hurricane.
Jaune grit his teeth as it caught and dragged him back, making him slide across the floor on his breastplate.
"You're both melee fighters," Jinn said unhelpfully, "So Cinder has decided that rather than use fire to deal with you, she'll keep you away with constant wind attacks. Neither of you can harm her if you can't reach her."
Cinder glared at the woman. "Do you mind not revealing my strategy?"
"The very fact I am able to means that they know your plan," Jinn said. "I'm simply articulating it. They're not idiots."
Hard not to figure out Cinder's plan when it was being used on them. He couldn't find his footing, his brief attempt to climb to his knees foiled as Cinder struck him with a blast of wind so powerful he was sent rolling onto his back and away, hitting the wall and coming to a stop. If she'd had this kind of control back in Beacon, she could have knocked them all off Ozpin's tower and be done with it.
"Know it or not, you will be silent!"
"I've spent the last thirty years locked in a room," the blue woman remarked. "And a hundred years before that. You'll forgive me if I'll take the chance to speak my mind. Or speak at all. You have a scar, by the way." Jinn touched her face, her eye. "Right here."
"I KNOW!"
"Hm. I guess you do."
The brief exchange lasted only a few seconds but the wind holding him down weakened a little by her distraction, allowing him to crawl over and grab his weapon. It gave Neo the same chance and she blinked forward, slicing at Cinder's back.
Panicking, Cinder spun and swept an arm at her, hurling her back.
Not without being struck in kind.
Cinder hissed and held her hand, not wounded thanks to aura, but smarting. Whipping back upon realising the trick, she pinned him to the wall as well. Much slower than Neo, he barely got anywhere near her, but that also meant he wasn't launched back quite as hard. He struggled against the stone wall, managing to stay on his feet but only because he was braced against it.
"You distracted me!" Cinder hissed at Jinn.
"Hm." Jinn smiled. "I suppose I did. I am the Spirit of Knowledge, created to aid humanity. Aid being the operative term." The implication wasn't lost on him or Cinder. Jinn could act and choose a side if she so wished. If nothing else, she could speak over someone to distract them. The aid was appreciated but wasn't enough. They couldn't get close to Cinder and the power of a maiden wasn't something either of them could bring down. Sooner or later, she was going to start tossing fire into the whirlwind she was creating.
Jinn coughed again, staring right at him.
A message…?
Distraction. The spirit had distracted Cinder for a moment and that made her powers weaken. They relied on concentration; she couldn't keep it up all the time, so it must be mentally taxing. The smallest distraction could cause her to lose control of her powers.
That's why she keeps looking between me and Neo. She's struggling to keep us both pinned down when we're on opposite sides of the room. Reaching out with one hand, he used the rocky surface of the wall to drag himself along, manoeuvring so that Cinder was properly in the middle of him and Neo, and unable to position herself to watch both at the same time.
As he did, he also broke one of his own little rules. He talked.
"You think this changes anything, Cinder? Oh, we can't hit you. That's scary. Whatever will Ruby's sniper rifle or Glynda's Semblance do? They'll never be able to beat the power of a stiff breeze."
"They'll still be too late to save you!"
"Yeah? I don't know about Neo, but my aura is still pretty full – and there's a reason you're not burning us." He shot her a grin he didn't feel inside. "You're exhausted, aren't you? You used too much of yourself to try and kill Yang – except you didn't kill her at all. Hell, I bet Neo was dragging her out the way while you launched attack after attack on an empty bit of space. Nice work."
At her rising fury, he kept going, forcing out a laugh.
"I guess all the power in the world doesn't mean a thing if you're too stupid to use it properly. That was always your problem, though. If you were half as intelligent as you think you are, Emerald and Mercury would still be alive. Beacon would have fallen."
"You – You arrogant fool!" Cinder brought both hands forward, slamming force into him until he was dragged up off the floor and pinned against rock. "Do you think I can't kill you? Do you think I'm going to magically let my guard down so Roman's rat can stab me in the back? I wasn't born yesterday, and I can keep both of you down!"
"Yeah?" Jaune grimaced and worked one hand free. "Then what about this!?" Pushing off the wall with all his strength, he turned his back on her to shield his hand from the biting wind. The brief instant let him move freely and he hurled the object in his hand up into the air. "Fire in the hole!"
Cinder's eyes widened. One hand came up, drawing the wind with it and up toward the ceiling of the cavern.
The simple rock he'd thrown was blasted aside.
"Wha-?"
Cinder's localised hurricane whirled across the ceiling, collecting all the smoke from the fire that had risen there and blasting it about the cavern. It descended like a smog, whirling around the outside edges of the vault and rushing into the centre when it found the edges of the wind targeted at him and Neo, the difference in air pressure causing the smoke to rush in toward Cinder instead.
The storm cut off with a sudden cough and a hack as Cinder Fall, maiden or not, suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Summoning more wind to herself, she blasted the smoke aside, revealing Neo an inch away from her face, swinging her sword down.
The acrobatics that Cinder had to pull off mid-air were mindboggling, the woman twisting upside down and to the side, deflecting Neo's attack with the back of her arm even as she left herself open on her other side, where any competent opponent would strike.
A shadow appeared there.
Cinder tensed, spun and thrust a hand out.
Jinn, the Spirit of Knowledge, smiled as she was sent sailing back. She'd rushed into Cinder's guard, not to attack but to draw attention.
Cinder's eyes bulged. "What-!?"
He wasn't a competent opponent. He wasn't as good as Neo or Yang or Glynda would have been. In fact, it took him longer to get off the wall and he'd had to go fetch a weapon. His sword had been too far away, so he grabbed his shield. It took time, so instead of appearing in her blind spot as Cinder had so readily predicted, Jaune came in a few seconds late and from an altogether less advantageous angle.
One she never expected. The front.
Half turned away and with both arms in use, Cinder looked back in time to taste the shield of Crocea Mors' sheathe, which smashed into her face with a meaty crunch breaking her nose and knocking her back. Aura flared and slammed into place, but expecting more wind, Jaune dropped his shield and hurled himself forward, wrapping both arms around Cinder's waist right as she began to rise up into the air. Dangling from her, he grunted as she drove a knee into his chest.
"Why won't you just die!?" Cinder roared.
"I should be asking you that! I cut your face in half!"
"You took my eye!"
"I was aiming for your life!"
Neo completed her arc and fell out the air, but he and Cinder kept rising up and up, Cinder propelling herself higher with her power and trying to kick him off with both feet. He held on for dear life, not wanting to give her a chance to return to the status quo of her keeping them away with the power of wind.
"What's the matter, Cindy?" he asked, aping Roman to try and piss her off and make her lose concentration again. "Everything not going to plan? I don't have a battleship, but if you give me a few minutes I can find you a model replica."
"Idiot," she spat, showing him two open palms and smiling ferally. "Let's see if I can't burn that smug face down to the bone!"
Uh-oh. He threw all his aura to his face, chest and shoulders as he saw her hands light up. Preservation winning over any strategy, he let go of her and crossed both arms over his face.
The explosion of flame and heat that erupted in his face seared even the air from his lungs. He choked and plummeted down, his momentum enhanced by the force of the explosion delivered directly against him. His back struck stone. Something cracked; hopefully the stone. His entire body heaved as he drew in air, throat raw and scratchy, arms peeling back blackened on the outer edges and with his sleeves utterly burned away.
Opening his eyes and wincing at the pain required to do so, he rolled over and prepared himself to roll away.
Cinder slammed down into the ground next to him, face first. She bounced once and rolled onto her side, where she lay still. There was blood in her hair.
Confused, disbelieving and just plain shocked, Jaune rolled onto his back next to her and looked up toward the rocky ceiling. There was a little blood on that as well, right above where she'd been when she created an explosion between them.
"Yes," Jinn said, floating over. "The force of the blast sent you sailing down and her up. Unfortunately for Cinder, she neglected to consider that. Expecting all the force to be directed forward, she pushed her aura in that direction."
She'd already been pulling up with her flight, so she'd probably rocketed up the second he let go, aided even more by the blast. He wasn't sure what to make of it. While it was perfectly reasonable, the idea that Cinder had knocked herself out was ridiculous.
"All part of your cunning plan, I'm sure," the Spirit of Knowledge said.
He groaned. "Sure-"
"Why not." The blue woman giggled and floated away. "You're an interesting one, Jaune Arc. Much more so than that fossil, Ozpin. If only I had some questions left, I think I might have enjoyed finding out what you'd use them on. Alas, you'll be dead by the time I have more."
"I feel dead now…"
"You're unharmed. You know that as well as I. Ah, I see. You're just complaining out of self-pity and a desire for sympathy."
He scowled at her. "I don't think I like you…"
"Not many like the truth. Cinder certainly didn't."
Neo stepped into his vision and offered a hand. It was a rare show for her and rarer still that she didn't trip him up or taunt him. Instead, she helped him to his feet and gave him a solid slap on the back, genuinely pleased with his performance.
The slap on his ass that followed diminished the effect somewhat, but he let it go.
"She's helpless," Jaune said, looking down at their foe. "Do we kill her?"
Neo had her sword out already.
"It would be illegal if we can arrest her alive…"
A roll of her eyes prompted a response from Jinn.
"No one would know other than what you tell them. At least not for another hundred years."
"Even you're saying to kill her?"
"I'm merely saying what is possible," Jinn said with a little shrug. "My questions have been used and I could never answer for the future anyway. I would not be able to guarantee what might happen if you kill her even if I had a question remaining." Her smile was lopsided. "I'm merely translating for your silent friend here."
"You can understand her?"
"I can put word to the thoughts in her head. I am the Spirit of Knowledge, so I know everything, including what she is thinking."
"Doesn't that make you the ultimate information leak?"
"Not really. I cannot reveal anything I know unless everyone within hearing already knows it, in which case I am not revealing anything. You already know that you could kill her and get away with it. You're thinking it just as much, if not more, than Neo is. You want her dead. Everyone here knows that."
It was true. His hand itched to finish the job he'd started on the tower.
For once, it would be easy – and he wouldn't say it was ethical concerns stopping him. The world would be better off if Cinder died. A better person might have had thought for how she could be redeemed, or how killing her when she was defenceless was cruelty.
His thoughts were more pragmatic.
"We can't afford to kill her and have the Fall Maiden's powers rush off again. There might be other women of suitable age in Salem's employ that Cinder would send it to. Plus, she has information. If there aren't any questions left, Cinder is our only source of information."
Neo grimaced and grumbled but there was no heat to it. He had a feeling she was thinking the same, both wanting nothing more than to kill her. You're lucky you're more use to us alive, he thought, giving her body a little kick.
It wasn't necessary but it felt good.
Neo gave Cinder a kick as well.
He stared at her, knowing he should tell her to stop.
Neo kicked her again.
Jaune turned to Jinn. "Now we've just got to figure out what to do with you."
"Take me with you."
"Hah-?"
"Take me with you!" Jinn repeated, suddenly floating in front of his face, still naked, still blue but with a desperation in her eyes. "Hundreds of years I've spent trapped in a room, Jaune Arc. Trapped in a vault within a Relic. I am harmless for one hundred years more. The Spring Maiden is compromised; you know this. If you're worried about me falling into wrong hands, you'll need to keep me in yours."
"B – But-"
"Forget Ozpin! Ozpin isn't omniscient, he isn't perfect. He can and has made mistakes – he's told you that enough times."
"You don't-"
"Even without the questions I can be useful. Didn't I prove that by distracting Cinder?"
"Admittedly. My only-"
"There's no risk of that, and your paramour, Yang, knows of what she asked me." Jinn looked entirely too amused about that. "And besides, you can't leave me here. You know that Haven is compromised with Lionheart a traitor."
"You know, reading my mind and answering my questions before I ask them makes talking to you very difficult."
"I do know," Jinn said. "I am the Spirit of Knowledge after all. It is my business to know."
Great. She was a mind reading spirit-entity thing born of a Relic that was for the next hundred years a glorified paperweight. One that, if Qrow was right, had the potential to still cause the end of the world if Salem gathered them all in the same spot.
Jinn was right; he couldn't just leave her here anymore. Cinder had opened the vault, which meant Raven was the Spring Maiden. If she'd been bought or coerced into working with Cinder once, she'd do it again. The safest place for the Relic of Knowledge was the one place they had any kind of security.
Beacon.
"What am I going to do with a glowing blue naked woman who knows everyone's most inner thoughts but can't actually talk about any of them?"
"I happen to know you have a position vacant in Beacon. One which would be easily filled by someone who could instantly know what ailed a student, show incredible confidentiality and then not tell them how to get better, but lead them gently to the conclusion themselves…"
Jaune stared at her.
Jinn smiled hopefully.
"Glynda is going to kill me…"
/-/
The fight was apparently over when the three of them made their way back up out of the vault. The students combined with teachers of Haven and reinforcements from Beacon had managed to push Tyrian into a retreat, while Lionheart was roundly collected and now tied up, several teachers from Haven surrounding him with murderous expressions and Neptune looking like he wasn't sure if he should be using his cattle prod on Lionheart of them.
Glynda, Blake, Ruby and Pyrrha were about to enter the vault, Glynda shouting instructions on how they would combat Cinder. Her instructions were cut off midway by a gasp from Ruby.
Everyone turned to follow her gaze.
Jaune sighed and considered how it looked.
He, Neo and a naked blue chick come out of a hole in the ground. Neo is busy walking away to play with her pet Nevermore, the blue woman is floating off to the side out the way and he, Jaune Arc, Headmaster of Beacon, is left to lead at the front, Crocea Mors strapped to his hip beside the Relic of Knowledge, and an unconscious and bloody Cinder in his arms.
"It's not what it looks like."
"You did it!" Ruby squealed. "I knew you could beat her!"
"Aaand no one is listening," he mumbled. Beside him, he heard Jinn snicker.
Naturally, the skirmish at Haven hadn't gone unnoticed. Apart from the students, there were now police on the scene looking to arrest Lionheart and take statements, along with paramedics who had been flown in to treat students. There was even someone dressed in a suit, either a politician or an official, demanding answers from other staff members.
All of that hadn't gone unnoticed either, and there was a veritable legion of reporters, photographers and paparazzi, all of whom were now taking pictures of him and his no-doubt glorious victory.
Jaune's eye twitched.
"I see you've defeated her," Glynda said, voice somewhere between a question and a disbelieving query as to how he wasn't dead or dying. "That's good. Very good." Knowing she had to perform for the audience, she winced and said, "I never doubted you."
Jinn coughed.
Jaune rolled his eyes. Yes, it was a lie but who could blame her? His plan had really just been to hold on until Glynda came and saved him.
"Is the battle over?"
"Tyrian and Raven have fled," Glynda confirmed. "We found Qrow unconscious and battered in one of the corridors, minus his hip flask. It has been confirmed that Hazel escaped. Lionheart is captured and Ozpin is currently performing first aid on Miss Xiao-Long under the guise of an unusually knowledgeable fourteen-year-old boy." Her eyes roamed over him. "Are you okay?" she whispered.
"Exhausted but alive," he replied quietly.
"How?" she had to ask.
"Luck and a good portion of her over-estimating me. I'll explain more later."
Seeing the students rushing in, Glynda nodded and took command. "Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. I want you to carry Cinder Fall between you. Miss Nikos, you are to watch her like a hawk and do whatever you must to keep her escaping. Miss Scarlatina, aid her. Miss Rose-"
Ruby tore past Glynda and crashed into him. He fell back. Cinder went flying.
Blake made to catch her, paused, considered who she was and then didn't. Nora also conspicuously stepped aside as Cinder belly-flopped on the tiles between them. They might have both murmured apologies and something about how they thought someone else had `it` but he wasn't fooled.
Mostly because he was dealing with Ruby.
"You saved Yang! You beat Cinder! You did it! You did it! You did it!"
"Y-Yeah." He tried to pry her off, but Ruby was in full limpet mode. "Something like that. Um. You're welcome? How about you go make sure your Uncle Qrow is okay? And look after Oscar for me. Hazel and Tyrian might loop back to try kill him."
He'd said the latter because Oscar – or more likely Ozpin – was making his way over to talk to him, eyes firmly fixed on Jinn, no doubt wondering why she was still out and what Jaune was thinking in not sealing her away again.
Ruby swept Oscar up before he could reach them. "Come on, Oscar. Let's not disturb the headmaster while he's working."
"M-Miss Rose, I really must-"
"Nope!"
"But-"
"And call me Ruby. Miss Rose is what the teachers call me."
"Ruby, then. I need to talk with-"
"Nope! Hey, wanna see my scythe?"
Glynda watched Ozpin be dragged away and then looked back to him. "He's not going to forgive you for that."
"Probably not. I kept Cinder alive. Thought she might be useful questioned…"
"I agree. Tyrian was badly wounded in the attack. Not fatally, but enough that he'll take a few days to recover. I can't say the same for Rainart with Qrow unconscious, but I doubt he would mount an attack on us single-handed to try and rescue Cinder. We should have time to get her back to Beacon, especially if we send Qrow and a team to escort her. Tsune can keep her sedated once she arrives and we'll throw her in the cells."
"Beacon has cells?"
"It does now that it incorporates a crashed battleship. It's the same cells you and Torchwick were kept in by Ironwood."
Heh. There was some irony there. He liked the sound of it already.
"We've got Cinder ready to move," Velvet said, strolling over. "Nora and Ren don't know where you want her, though. The police look like they want to take her…"
Velvet didn't say that the police were probably compromised and utterly unable to keep her prisoner. She really didn't have to. Pyrrha was busy stalling for time and using her celebrity status to convince the police to stand back.
"Um. Another thing," Velvet said.
"Yes?"
Unsure how to phrase the question, Velvet pointed. "Who? What?"
Jaune followed her finger and sighed.
"That's Miss Jinn. Your new Student Counsellor."
/-/
"We lost Cinder." Hazel grunted.
"Yes," Tyrian agreed, unusually quiet.
"We also lost Lionheart, and by extension Haven."
"Yes..."
"We have lost the Relic of Knowledge, any chance this era of asking it three questions and we do not know the answers to the questions Cinder asked, because she has been captured."
"Yes..."
"Salem will have to be told."
This time Tyrian showed more reaction. Pain, fear, disappointment. "Yes. The Goddess will need to know. We... We will have to be the ones to tell her."
"She will not be pleased," Hazel warned.
"Yes. I know..."
Hazel sighed and reached down to his waist, pulling forth the silver flask he'd taken as a war trophy. It was half full. Or as Hazel was thinking at that moment, definitely more on the half `empty` side of things. "Drink?"
"Yes."
Tyrian downed the whole lot.
Well, who could be a better counsellor then the Spirit of Knowledge?
She knows exactly what your problems are the second you enter the room, she can't share them with anyone, and while she can't give you the answer straight out, that wouldn't help you anyway. Instead, she helps to offer advice that guides you to realising what your problem is, allowing you to confront it yourself.
Or she trolls you. Fifty-fifty, really.
"So, what happens to be the problem? Oh, you like someone but don't know how to confess. Yes, yes, I see. Oh? It's Velvet? Odd. I thought three quarters of the school already knew the two of you were dating. Oh, you thought it a secret? That's adorable."
Cardin squirmed on the chair. He hadn't even opened his mouth yet and had already decided this had been a terrible mistake.
Omake:
Summer's instincts were screaming at her.
They had been ever since she woke up that morning, and the fact that breakfast, lessons and lunch had gone by without incident wasn't helping. Her eyes scanned the corners for a Grimm attack, and she kept her back to the walls, moving down Beacon's corridors with the sort of caution that had other students taking one look at her and deciding the weather looked better on the other side of the academy.
Team STRQ had a reputation. Summer liked to think she was considered the sane one but doubted anyone cared. The only thing the people of Beacon knew was that where their team went, insanity followed. She had the disturbing thought that considered her as much a part of that as her teammates.
Reaching the wall opposite the door to her dorm, Summer paused to catch her breath but did not let down her guard. Balancing on one foot, she drew the other up and tugged off her shoe, then threw it at the door.
It bounced off and fell onto the floor.
No trap. No trap on the door or the floor outside it. Her eyes hardened and she scanned the ceiling and every nearby nook and cranny. When that didn't yield anything, she removed her other shoe and tossed that with the first, ready to dive for cover at the first sign of movement.
Nothing. Was it safe? Where Raven and Qrow out?
Maybe.
Stepping back into her shoes with a sigh, Summer unlocked the door, stepped aside to dodge any projectiles, then walked inside once none came forth.
There was a naked man on one of the beds.
"SORRY!" she screamed, slamming the door shut and breathing rapidly, eyes wide and face red.
Idiot! Idiot! You picked the wrong room!
Argh.
Wait. Her scroll had unlocked the door. And now that she thought about it, this was her room. Summer checked the number on the door just in case and even scanned her scroll again, finding it unlocked the door. Swallowing, she held a hand over her eyes and peeked back in, daring to look between a crack in two fingers.
There was still a man on a bed. Her bed. He wasn't actually naked, though. Not entirely. He had what appeared to be a set of underwear made entirely of black leather belts. He was also reclined on her bed, which was covered in roses.
He was also Qrow, Summer noticed, once she could tear her eyes away from the scene.
"Qrow. What the hell happened!?"
"Nothing." He hooked an arm under his head and winked at her. "I'm just getting comfortable."
"Yeah. On my bed." Grumbling but deciding it wasn't worth it, Summer stalked in and tossed her bookbag to the side of the door. "Why are there roses everywhere? And what are you wearing? Take that weird thing off."
"Really!?" Qrow perked up. "Wow, this worked faster than Raven said it would."
"What are-?" Summer turned.
Her eyes bulged.
/-/
"It didn't work," Qrow mumbled, favouring one side of his mouth, the other swollen and bruised.
"Hm hm hm." Raven chuckled. "Don't be foolish, brother. In battle, no action is considered a failure until the day is won or lost. Why, I'm sure Summer is thinking about you even now."
"I'm sure she is," Qrow whined. "About how I flashed her!"
"Exactly! She's thinking about you naked."
Qrow's head fell into his hands.
"This was but stage one. Now that you're in her mind, you need to ensure she can't take her eyes off you. If she can only think of you and constantly sees you, you're sure to win her heart."
"I don't know…"
"Fool. Animals show off to court their mates and women wear perfume and makeup to look better for people they want to attract. Even men get suntans, work out or use aftershave." Her blunt logic was winning him over, making him relax. "You need to do the same, except that you'll need to go further. Do something that Summer cannot help but notice! You'll need to look different. Something to shock her expectations of you."
"Like…?"
"I have just the idea."
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Two days later and Summer had only just managed to start looking Qrow in the eyes again. It was a weekend and she was in her room, filling in on some homework she'd failed to do during the week and then begged an extension off a teacher for. For once, she was able to do it, owing to the fact that Raven and Qrow were out in Vale and Taiyang was off training.
Probably, anyway. He might have been trying to stalk Raven. You never knew with Tai.
A buzz and a click at the door told her such peace was about to come to an end as someone let themselves in. Deciding that if she looked busy, they might know better than to interrupt her, she huddled down over her desk and scribbled away.
No such luck.
"Hey Summer!" Qrow cheered.
Well, there went that hope. Putting her pencil down, Summer spun on her seat, ready to let him know in no uncertain terms that if she didn't get this done, she was going to be in detention for a week.
The words died on her lips.
"What do you think?" Qrow asked, fluffing his hair. "I thought it was time for a change."
Her brain wouldn't work.
"I-Is that an afro…?"
"Looks good, yeah!?"
/-/
"It's not working!" Qrow slumped down onto his bed with his head in his hands. "Summer laughed at me. I… I don't think this is working…"
"Don't be such a defeatist," Raven snapped. "You wouldn't surrender a fight so quickly."
"Maybe I should."
Raven froze.
"Maybe it's just me, Ray. I'm not good enough or… or maybe I'm not as good as Tai." He laughed bitterly. "Forget it. Just… Just don't bother."
"You're just going to give up, then?" She snorted. "That does not seem like the brother I know."
"Yeah? You must not know me all that well then." He smiled and shook his head. "Thanks for trying and everything. It was more than I expected. You putting your all in and everything. Even if it didn't work, I'm happy for that."
"It could still work," Raven said. "You should not be so weak."
"This isn't about strength!" Qrow yelled suddenly, shocking her. "It's… it's about what Summer wants. I'm not good enough, Ray. I'm not good enough for her."
"You are my brother."
"That doesn't matter to Summer. Just leave it." Qrow rolled over on his bed. "Night, Ray."
Disgusted, Raven stood up and made her way to the door. It didn't take her long to find Summer; she was sat at a table in the common room by the kitchen, eating a late-night snack. Raven announced her presence as she always did; walking straight up to the person she wanted to talk to and slamming a hand down on the table in front of them.
Summer jumped and fumbled her food.
"The school dance approaches." Raven snapped.
"Eh?" Summer looked up from her sandwich and at Raven. "Uh. Yeah. It is."
"Who are you going with?"
"No one at the minute." Summer leaned away. "Are you asking me…?"
"No."
"Oh, thank the Gods…"
"If you have no one to go to the dance with, go with Qrow."
"Qrow?" Summer looked surprised, if not immediately disgusted. "I mean, I could as a friend. Why? I don't think he's asked anyone to go with him. Hell, the dance isn't for two months. No one has asked anyone to go with them."
"Good. Then go with Qrow."
Summer raised a single eyebrow, then leaned forward on one elbow. "Where is this coming from? Qrow's been acting really weird of late. Is that anything to do with you?"
Raven refused to answer the question.
To do so would be to admit guilt.
"Tell you what. I'll go with Qrow if you go with Tai." Summer said it with a smug little grin, turning away the moment after. "So yeah, there it is. I guess we'll both be going single."
Summer laughed, certain Raven would never allow Taiyang to court her.
/-/
The next morning, Raven announced her return from the lockers by kicking their door open and striding in, weapon drawn. Summer, Qrow and Taiyang jumped, the latter falling out of bed and scrambling to his feet. He didn't have the time to defend himself as she stormed forward.
"Taiyang Xiao-Long!" she boomed, gripping him by the collar.
"Eh?" He winced, then cringed like a puppy in trouble. "W-What did I do?"
"You will be accompanying me to the school dance in two months' time. Am I understood?"
Taiyang's mouth fell open. "I-I… what?"
"Do you reject me?" Raven asked, raising a dangerous eyebrow.
"NO! Hell no! I–I mean… Is this for real?"
Seeing that Summer was watching, open mouthed and disbelieving, Raven dragged Taiyang in and pressed her lips to his, cutting off his air as she forced her kiss on him. Forced might have been a poor choice of words, however, as Taiyang dove into it eagerly.
"Decide for yourself," she said, pushing the starry-eyed young man aside. "You shall be my date for the event. Do not disappoint me." The last remark she aimed toward Summer as much as she did Taiyang, before she made her way over to her own bed, sat down and opened a book, making it clear to everyone that she would not be talked with.
Normally, Taiyang would have crossed that boundary anyway, but tonight he was too busy staring off into space with a dreamy expression. Raven listened as Summer nervously got off her own bed and made her way over to Qrow, though.
"Um. Qrow. So… the dance…"
"Y-Yeah?" Qrow looked up hopefully. Pathetically.
"Can you… me… we…" Summer winced. "Talk outside?"
"S-Sure!"
The two rose and fled the room, closing the door. Raven rolled her eyes, leaving them to it. If her idiot brother couldn't make something of this golden opportunity, he deserved everything he got. And to think, she would have to sacrifice both her time and dignity to spend time with that stupid lug, Taiyang.
Though…
That kiss hadn't been half bad.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to do that again. Just a kiss to let him down after the dance...
And twelve months later, Yang was born!
Well. Not quite.
Next Chapter: 4th July
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