Here we go.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 30

Ruby couldn't help but feel they'd been robbed.

"Is this it?" Weiss asked, hands planted on her hips. She stood next to Ruby and with the team looking at a gnarled and broken tree off the side of the road, which had a black object stuck into it that pulsed with life. Grimm carcasses smoked around them, slowly disappearing. The rest of the team was unharmed, including Oscar, who had his hands on his knees and was panting.

He'd killed his first Grimm as part of their team. And he hadn't even needed their help to do it.

So proud!

"This looks like the one from Patch," Yang said. "What do you say, Neo? You're the one in charge?"

Ruby felt like pointing out Neo wouldn't say anything, but looked over nonetheless. The strange multicoloured girl who had once posed as Jaune's sister, Noah, shrugged her shoulders. She was leaning on her umbrella and yawning into one hand, looking twice as bored as Ruby felt. This wasn't the epic mission they'd been promised!

Well, Torchwick hadn't actually promised anything, and they knew better than to believe him even if he had, but Ruby was still holding to her guns. It was supposed to be a cool mission. They'd been gone, like, four hours tops, and the Grimm had been way too small.

"I guess being so close to Vale, it's not had a chance to cause that many problems," Blake said. "There are more huntsmen per population the closer you get to the city."

"You'd think one of them could have dealt with this in that case."

"Maybe they didn't notice."

That felt like an excuse but Ruby shrugged. As far as they knew the Oobelisks – and she still couldn't believe that name stuck – merely drew and increased the spawning of Grimm. They didn't make any themselves. If the area was routinely cleared by huntsmen, then it stood to reason it wouldn't have had much luck.

"Do we destroy it?" Yang asked. "I bet Oobleck would be pumped if we brought this back in one piece."

"While that's a valid point I'd question how we'd transport it." Weiss said.

"Carry it."

"You want to carry a Grimm? By all means, Yang, lift away. You're a brave soul than I."

"Uhhh…" Yang, realising what she'd just suggested, didn't move toward the thing. They all knew the one in Patch had turned into a big golem creature, so trying to carry it wasn't exactly a great idea. "I guess we just destroy it then. Seems like a shame. It's pretty much contained already, and we could research it or something."

"Or something," Blake echoed with a little sigh. "It's not our call. Neo? Destroy or no?"

Neo tapped her pale cheek with one finger and then waved a hand toward the thing, giving a nod. It was like an ancient queen deciding the fate of a gladiator, and the death sentence was given with the same disinterest.

Yang cracked her knuckles and strode forward.

The Oobelisk sensed the threat, or sensed Yang, and began to transform like the one in Patch. With a groan and a crack, the tree limbs pulled and peeled back, uprooting themselves from the ground and stamping forward. Gnarled roots formed legs and branches cracked and sprayed leaves down on them. The tree itself came to life, its core a rock of black and red in the centre.

"Oh, come on," Yang said. "That's even more sad!"

The Golem roared oakenly and swung a bough at Yang's face. Her fist hit it, destroying the limb in an instant. Several branches still managed to catch her face, but with the same results it would have if she walked into a bush. She coughed some leaves out but was otherwise unharmed save for several leaves in her hair. Meanwhile, the Grimm was down an arm and moving with the speed one would expect of a sentient tree. Aka, not very fast at all.

"Now I just feel like a bully."

"The Oobelisks must use the surrounding material to create their bodies," Weiss said. "Most fell in rock like the one in Patch and became powerful rock golems, but this one hit a tree and became lodged."

"Heh. Or logged. That's fine. I'll just have to chop it down to size."

"Damn it, Yang."

Oscar stepped up beside her. "Shouldn't we help?"

Ruby looked back to Yang walking sedately away from a gnarled limb trying to reach her. She picked a bird's nest off a low branch and gently placed it off to the side, then came back and stepped under another attack, putting the same kind of effort into it she would cleaning her room. The Grimm struggled to chase after her, but roots weren't made for quick movement. Or locomotion at all.

"No. I think Yang has this."

"Any more animals in there?" Yang asked out loud. She hooked a hand onto a branch and pulled herself up into the tree, startling and confusing the Grimm. "Doesn't look like it. Cool. Won't feel so bad about this."

The boughs, leaves and canopy of the tree suddenly burst into flames. They crackled and roared merrily, in stark contrast to the Grimm which flailed around like it was on fire. Which she supposed it was. The poor thing didn't take long to burn up. It crackled and wilted and fell over when the roots supporting it turned black and cracked. Yang rode it down to the ground, eyes red and hair glowing, until the thing eventually crumbled to ash. The core, the Oobelisk, shattered and a thick black mist slipped out of it, fading on the wind. The rock it otherwise was remained inert.

"Well, here's for the easiest job ever," Yang said, dusting herself clean. She picked up the nest and secured it in a nearby tree. Hopefully, the momma bird wouldn't abandon them for smelling Yang's scent. "What now? We just go home?"

"I think so," Oscar said cheerfully. "There's nothing else to do."

A loud thump echoed in the distance. The six of them paused and turned toward the noise, ears straining. A low screeching sound and a thud echoed after – both far away.

"That sounded like an explosion," Blake said.

"And a tree falling," Weiss echoed. "Quite far. Do you think some of the Grimm from the Oobelisk wandered?"

Ruby grinned. "We should investigate."

"Should we?" Oscar asked. "Wasn't the mission just to deal with this?"

"If the Grimm are from this then it's still our responsibility," Weiss said reasonably. Ruby wasn't offended. Oscar was new, so he still needed to learn how it all worked and Weiss was explaining that for him. "Huntsmen are to complete their mission, yes, but we should also render aid wherever we can. Assuming Neo allows us, that is."

Neo looked back in the direction of Beacon with a longing expression.

"There might be combat," Yang said. "Decent combat."

Neo looked back in the direction of the explosion with a thirsty expression.

Oscar sighed.

"Cheer up, Oscar," Ruby said. "What's the worst that can happen?"

/-/

"Slowly. SLOWLY! I said slowly, you stupid twat!"

"That was slow," the faunus said, hanging out the side of a Bullhead as the cargo container touched down. "You want to try controlling this thing in heavy wind over a forest while carrying a tonne of explosive cargo? No? Then shut up."

"Calm down, all of you," Ilia said, sighing. "We're here to do a job, not to argue. The container isn't split so it's good work as far as I'm concerned." She waved the Bullhead away and it went to collect more material and ship it to their current location. "Check the goods," she told the other faunus. "Make sure nothing is damaged or loose."

"Yes, team leader."

Ilia Amitola watched the masked man go. Team leader. That was a new and unusual thing to hear. There were so few of any real competence after Adam finished purging the White Fang. He called it removing the old guard, those sympathetic to Sienna, but she had a feeling he was getting rid of everyone who didn't approve of him. Oh, he made his excuses on how a streamlined system would mean faster and better decisions. They all knew it was bullshit.

Well, things were moving at least. There was that. Adam wasn't content to sit on his rear like Sienna, and he was ready to show that to the world. The Corsac brothers explained it better; they had to deal with the rotten work before they could reap the benefits.

"Ilia." Another White Fang member approached. "We've finished clearing down some trees to make space for the deliveries. I've had a perimeter set up to spot anyone approaching. Is there anything else you need?"

"Good work." At the very least, she could foster a reputation for praise where it was due. "We're far away enough from the main roads and villages that it should have gone unnoticed, but I wouldn't be willing to bet our lives on it. Tell some of the men to lose their masks and spread out – act as travellers and approach anyone who comes close."

"Should we kill them or capture?"

"Try to dissuade them first; tell them there's Grimm this way. Capture them if they refuse to comply and only kill if your lives are threatened. We don't want to draw attention."

"Yes, ma'am. For the glory of the White Fang!"

"For glory," Ilia parroted. She kept her proud smile up until he turned away, at which point it withered and died. The White Fang had never been about glory – was never supposed to be. Even Sienna called it work. Cruel work conducted out of necessity thanks to the blind eye Atlas turned on SDC mines that branded children and faunus as property.

They would fight, die and kill to change that, and Ilia was fine with all of that, but it was supposed to end once they achieved it. The White Fang would disband with their work done and their horrible legacy would go with it. The history books could call them monsters, Sienna said, as long as they did it while faunus children grew up with their families and had the same rights humans did. There was never any talk of glory because Sienna knew what they did wasn't glorious.

Adam thought otherwise and surrounded himself with people who were the same.

White Fang is becoming more and more twisted. What would happen if Atlas punished the SDC tomorrow? Would Adam disband? Somehow, I don't believe he would. The bloodshed wouldn't stop, either. That much, she knew.

"It doesn't matter," she said, shaking such thoughts off. "Atlas isn't stopping the SDC and faunus are being abused." More than ever since Adam's failed attack on Beacon. As usual, people were happy to blame the faunus for that – even when it was clearly organised by human criminals using the White Fang as tools.

They didn't care – the public, that was. They just wanted someone to blame, and why blame dangerous terrorists or international criminals when you could pick on that ten-year-old girl with scales or animal ears? Easier to make them cry. Easier to feel good about yourself like the twisted person you were. Ilia hissed under her breath, shoulders straightening as the anger came back and washed the guilt and doubt away.

There was work to do. She could feel bad once the faunus were free.

/-/

"You know," Jaune said, "It's weirdly relaxed around here when both Team RWBY and Neo are missing. Well, not missing. On a mission. Same thing."

"That's what it's like having children," Kali said.

"But I don't have children…"

"I'm sure it's similar, being a teacher. They're still your responsibility. One moment they're crawling around cutely and staying out of trouble, then you take your eyes off them, look back, and they're trying to commit suicide by table, electrical socket or staircase." The older woman brought a hand to her cheek and sighed. "I swear, raising one child was hair-raising enough. And it didn't get any easier as she got older."

He laughed. "She stopped putting her fingers in sockets, surely?"

"Oh, of course – she started putting her fingers in dust mechanisms instead. Or the White Fang, or criminal activity or the faces of Grimm. No different here, really. They're old enough to not trip down a staircase and break their neck, and instead exchange that for acrobatic spars at least five times as likely to do the same."

He'd never thought about it that way. Combat class was always stressful for Glynda – and him whenever she asked him to cover. No one had badly hurt themselves or died yet, but you were always one step away from it. Sharp blades swinging, bullets flying and the knowledge all you needed was a slip of aura to get someone killed.

"Maybe you're right. Wow. You're turning me off having children already."

"Oh, I didn't mean to. Blake was a little bundle of joy…"

"I'm sending a but..."

"No. Well, maybe…" Kali looked awfully guilty. "Ah, but it's nothing out the ordinary. Pee, poo, nappies, vomit and waking up every hour of the night." She waved a hand. "I still prefer my little baby Blake to White Fang Blake, though huntress Blake isn't so bad. The hardest part of being a parent is that `you have to support them in whatever they do` thing. It's ridiculous."

"Is it?" he asked.

"Would you support your daughter dating a psychopath and joining a terrorist group?"

"Ah. Point taken. What were we talking about…?"

"How peaceful it is now the children are gone," Kali reminded him. It was weird to hear how much that sounded like he was the husband and she the wife, but for once he could see she hadn't meant that. It was nice having a woman he didn't have to worry about offending or drawing the attention of. He had enough trouble with Glynda, Neo and Cinder. "And you wanted to ask me for advice on the White Fang, I recall. Though I'm not sure how much use I can be."

"Right. That was it. We're planning the next stage of Operation Bullshit." Coined by Sienna as their name for the plan to ruin Adam's reputation. "Obviously, we know we can't use anything relating to your family without putting Ghira in a dangerous spot. I wanted to ask if there was anything we could do to specifically target their supporters in Menagerie."

"Hmm. There might be." Kali tapped her lips.

Targeting Menagerie was important because it was the White Fang's base of operations and the largest pool of recruitment outside of SDC mining camps – which tended to join the White Fang wholesale whenever they liberated one. As far as he was concerned, that was the biggest proof of the Schnee's terrible conditions – though the SDC saw it differently and Atlas turned a blind eye as ever, reliant on the SDC's dust for their war machine.

I know dust is running low across Remnant but ignoring the crimes they commit because they're the biggest provider lets them get away with murder. They might have, he knew. Who could say how many faunus who had `accidents` in the mines were really that? Either way, they couldn't target the mines to ruin Adam's rep, but they could target Menagerie.

"The problem will be doing it without harming my dear Ghira. He'll have to stand up and defend Adam, if only to keep himself alive. It would have to be subtle; something Ghira could publicly deny, but which would stick in the heads of the common folk regardless."

"Our last one was Adam's incompetence…"

"That's good for turning away those already thinking of joining, or those part of the White Fang. It won't bother those unaffiliated, however. They'll just shrug and ignore it since it doesn't affect them. You have to remember that most of the faunus in Menagerie are just living their lives."

And they didn't see what the White Fang did. They only knew what the White Fang told them, which would be a hefty dose of propaganda and PR drivel. Show a few videos of the SDC conditions and you'd already have well-meaning people eager to join. He couldn't blame them for that.

"What kind of image does the White Fang have in Menagerie?"

"They're more of a community outreach group than a terrorist organisation. They help people around the island, building homes, supporting families and settling abused faunus from the mainland in." Kali smiled whimsically. "You have to remember that for every bad thing they do, there are also good things. It's not all death, blood and bullets. They transport those who can no longer handle the cruelty if the Kingdoms to a new home and help them find work. They rescue faunus from mining camps and help hide their scars. Everyone knows they're considered terrorists by the Kingdoms, but the overall feel is that they are called terrorists by cruel oppressors."

"Does that include us?"

"Vale is one of the nicer Kingdoms. Atlas and Mistral are worse, with Atlas being the absolute worst. Vacuo has the best reputation among the four."

It was good to know Vale wasn't so bad, but that painted a pretty horrible picture overall. There were still racists here – they'd seen as much from the reactions to the White Fang attacking Beacon. If this was `one of the best` then he dreaded how people in Atlas were reacting to it. And that played perfectly into Adam's hands. It pushed innocent faunus into desperate situations and let the White Fang hold up their hands and say "well of course Atlas would say we're evil. They're just hiding their own crimes".

"We need to show Menagerie what the White Fang did here," he decided. "Not just the attack but the results. People died. Innocent people – even some faunus. If we sent footage of that to Menagerie, how would it be taken?"

"Adam would deny it. The loyalists, too. I think Ghira would have to say he didn't believe it, or risk being usurped, but it would certainly disgust a lot of people. I wouldn't send raw footage, however. That's unfair to those who died."

She was right. He couldn't use them like that. Statistics, though. Those could work. There were plenty of news reports talking about the numbers that had died. If they could spread those around the forums the people of Menagerie visited, it would travel. Not enough, though. Not everyone would visit them, and Menagerie didn't have a proper CCT. Even if it did, they wouldn't have played news reports from Vale and he couldn't just take over their televisions.

"How about a leaflet campaign?"

"And how would you convince people to spread anti-White Fang leaflets in Menagerie?"

"Leave that to me. Would it work, though?"

"I think it might. Some would dismiss it as propaganda – which it is – but even then, they'd doubt. There is knowledge that Beacon was attacked by Adam. That was admitted by Sienna, and Adam has used it as a sign of strength, confirming it. They just don't know how bad it was or what happened. In their minds, it was a targeted strike against people who could fight back, and mostly against Atlas, who had all their robots and battleships there."

Clever. They'd made it seem like it was a military on military struggle and not one aimed at a school for children. No doubt the White Fang went on and on about how they fought honourably to defend Vale from being overtaken by Atlas interests, saving all the faunus in the city from a far worse fate.

"I'll get something written up. I think pictures of Beacon before and after – proof of the devastation and statistics of losses. We can also give the figures on Grimm numbers increasing. The average person isn't going to know that's because of the Oobelisks. They'll assume it's a result of so many promising huntsmen being cut down and see that Adam's attack didn't just hurt Beacon and Atlas, but all the innocent people of Vale as well."

"That sounds perfect," Kali said. "But I'll repeat, how do you intend to disseminate this on an island all but run by the White Fang? They'll never allow it. They carefully check all cargo coming into Menagerie."

"But surely they don't reveal the munitions and dangerous goods."

"Well, no," she admitted, "But those are for White Fang use only. Wait, you're not suggesting smuggling them in as White Fang goods? You'd have to know the codes and passwords used by the White Fang. Those change every week," she spluttered. "I certainly don't have them. Don't tell me you have spies in there?"

"No." Though it would be nice. "But I do have someone who is something of a know-it-all."

"Jaune, I don't think that will be enough…

"I think it might be." He smirked. "Tell me, do you think they'd believe someone was a shark faunus if they had blue skin?"

/-/

In her office, Jinn closed her eyes and sighed as fresh knowledge flowed into her head. She stood, cutting off the young man she'd been trying to help with his problems. "Mr Bronzewing, I think we both know the girl you are talking about is me. And I am flattered, I am, but I don't see you that way. And no, I don't let patients bend me over a desk like you're thinking."

His face paled. He stammered excuses.

"I'm not upset. Bemused and flattered, but not upset." It was hard to be when she knew everything. If a person felt any desire for her at all, the information was instantly in her head. So, too, was every little detail about them, from every spec of bacteria on their body to the diseases they carried. Dove Bronzewing didn't carry any, but that made the thought of relations with him no less icky.

When you could look at a man and know how much blood was in his body, how many hairs he had, how many times he picked his nose and the fact he hadn't washed his hands after using the bathroom – along with many other things – it was hard to desire them. Or anyone. Ignorance was bliss. Even before one got into the knowledge of past sexual relations, be it with other women or their own hands. Some things are better not known.

"I… I think I should go," Dove said.

"I think so too," Jinn replied. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

She waited for the young boy to flee the room. Poor thing. He was being silly, though. There was at least two girls and one guy who were interested in him, and she knew Mr Bronzewing's attentions could favour either way. Of course, he hadn't admitted that about himself yet. So much doubt. It wasn't her business to pry, only to help.

Menagerie, though? She thought she ought to be offended at being used so freely, and yet she was being given the option to travel – something Ozpin had not once allowed or considered. And to travel on her own and enjoy herself. That was exciting, and even if she knew everything in Menagerie, she still wouldn't mind experiencing it.

"Well." She clapped her hands. "I might as well start packing. And practising my sharky noises. I'm a shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo."

/-/

Winter settled down with a notebook, a cup of herbal tea and the evidence she'd acquired from Cinder Fall. Claiming it had been remarkably simple, the prisoner saying she'd already read it from front to back. More proof of its importance, she thought, glaring at the offensive cover upon which a woman stood with her back to the reader, black leather criss-crossing over her body, thick butt cheeks puffed out and visible. On the other side of her stood a naked man, his muscled chest visible but anything untoward hidden tastefully be her figure.

A promise had been made to procure Cinder another, though she pointedly made sure to say it would be she who selected it. The obvious choice, and the one they no doubt expected, was that she would go to her sister for more material. It would be so easy for Arc's little accomplice, Blake Belladonna, to slip some modified material in there. No, she would be buying the next book in Vale. Cunning as he was, there was simply no way he could predict which store she'd shop at, or which out of a hundred books she would buy.

The damage might already be done. If he got his message in this one book, he might not need another. That's why it's so important to figure out what was said. She had a military-grade scanner up and running, ready to copy and transcript every page, but the General wanted her own input as well. Never leave to your subordinates something you daren't do yourself. Winter feared nothing of a simple book and opened the first page.

No notes or writing in pen. Too amateur for them. The pages were a little worn and signs of folded corners all throughout it hinted that her sister had been a little slower in reading than Cinder Fall. There as a special thanks section at the front in which the author thanked her parents, sisters and brother for providing inspiration for the work – especially her brother. That was just a little creepy, but she ignored it. Probably just someone cheering family on in learning to be a writer. Nothing stood out there wrote down the author's name, Coral Laroc, on her notepad. A palindrome. Fake name, obviously. Shouldn't be hard to have the publisher tracked down and hacked into.

Moving on, she read the first few pages. The story was about a young and shy woman who had moved to a new town to open a bookstore. Her interest was quickly caught by an enigmatic gentleman who was a repeat visitor. Dark, tall and mysterious with a smile full of dark chocolate. Winter rolled her eyes at the rather stereotypical introduction and took another sip of her tea.

The story progressed predictably enough. It turned out the man ran something of a village group wherein women and men exercised dominance plays upon one another, activities the protagonist initially found repulsive and immoral, but slowly found herself drawn to. It was realistic enough. Those who were so shy as to retreat into themselves often longed for control deep inside, manifesting it in often unusual ways. This was a healthy enough case and she could admit the writing on her thought process as she battled with her desires was intriguing. It wasn't just the sordid sex she'd expected.

Though that wasn't to say it didn't exist. There was a lot of it.

A lot.

He stepped up behind me and I felt his warmth against my back first, his breath on my neck second. All other thoughts disappeared as something hard pressed up against my bound hands. My fingers closed around it without thinking. My head was spinning. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "Can you feel that?"

I could. How could I not? Had I done that to him?

"I want you," he whispered, brushing his soft lips against my ear. The only kisses I'd ever received were chaste ones to the lips or my cheek, but he dragged his mouth down my neck and I was lost. I wanted more. Heavens help me, I wanted more. "I want you right now."

I could tell! His girth was in my hands, hard like metal and hot as the sun. Like a rod of steel.

"Down on your knees," I said, voice shaking, unsure how he could obey me, how I could hope to command someone like him. He was everything I wasn't. Surely, he would laugh. He didn't. He stepped around to stand before me and slowly stepped down. The whole time, his deep brown eyes stared into mine. He might have been the one to cede control but my own was a fallacy. I was lost to him.

Winter sipped a little more and read on. Disciplined as she was, there was no avoiding the small hint of colour that spread across her cheeks. Dots of pink that connected into a full-blown blush as the scene progressed, moving from the wall to a desk, to a bed and then to the floor. The protagonist was supposed to be a virgin, but she was certainly quite the contortionist. And that appetite. She dug a finger into her collar and loosened it with an embarrassed cough.

"This literature is designed to evoke a reaction," she told herself. "Nothing wrong in experiencing such. It's proof the author has done her job." That didn't quite get rid of the embarrassment, but she was alone in her assigned rooms and had already checked three times for bugs and cameras, the third time being before she began this. "Ignore the story," she said. "Look for the cypher. There must be a deeper meaning. A code. A trigger."

There were a hundred and one ways to hide a code in a piece of literature. Most required the other person to have the key – be that a number, technique or just knowledge familiar to the one creating it. That should have made it impossible for her, but they had the advantage of knowing Cinder and Jaune's interactions hadn't been friendly before. It was doubtful they'd created a code between themselves when they were enemies, so the key would have to be something Cinder could see.

That would make it easier as they investigated Cinder's past. The teams arranged by the General would do a better job of trying the numerical cyphers, but she could look for associated words. Quotes and sayings that might have seemed innocuous but contained deeper meaning if one looked for it. Deeper meaning, she repeated. Think, Winter. The General is relying on you.

The bondage? Whips and chains – captivity?

The story was about a woman who felt she had no control gaining it at the domination of a powerful and charismatic man. That didn't quite match Cinder's situation, but reversed? Was Jaune suggesting Cinder might find pleasure if she surrendered to him? If so, why the games? He could have made the same offer they had and let Cinder stay in Beacon. Instead, he pushed her toward Atlas.

"I want you."

Obvious enough. Jaune wanted Cinder. It didn't necessarily mean for carnal pursuits, though it certainly might. The cypher was the meaning – not the content. The erotica was a mask. Camouflage.

"On your knees."

Subservience. Authority. Ceding power to another.

The protagonist was female but that didn't mean much. The direct quote was spoken, and so might have been a trigger to Cinder. A warning or a promise; that she would experience all the pleasure and freedom this woman did if she but bowed to him. In fact, the woman in this story was held back by doubts and came to a bookstore. Books didn't have anything to do with Beacon except… a school. Of course! Text books and the library. It all added up. And Cinder had even asked for a book! It was such an obvious sign.

Winter's pen scribbled furiously on the notepad.

Books indicated a school, so the bookstore meant Beacon. Or maybe the sleepy village was supposed to be Beacon. Protagonist held back by prior doubts – likely from events in her past. History shaped personality for many people. Cinder didn't come to Beacon willingly, but she still had a past that weighed on her; her loyalty to Salem. The protagonist found pleasure in letting go of that baggage, which was clearly a message that Cinder should do the same.

He's telling her to give up her loyalty to Salem and surrender herself unto him. Maybe it's more than just a cypher – it's a memetic trigger. He's associating himself with feelings of lust blanketed in erotic writing. Cinder's a prisoner, which means a lack of stimulus and social interaction. She's vulnerable and he's appealing both to her intelligence and her libido.

Damn him. That was genius! And here Winter had been trying to offer herself up as a friend Cinder could open up to when Jaune was playing the dark and mysterious lover angle. For someone like Cinder Fall, what could be more comforting in a trying time than a hot bout of angry sex? "I'll have to check the video feeds late at night," she whispered, then paused. "A-And if I see anything, I'll have to watch it." She swallowed. "For the sake of the mission."

So far there was plenty on Jaune trying to sway Cinder to him, but nothing on Atlas – nothing to explain why he gave the front of pushing Cinder into their grasp.

No…

Winter's eyes widened.

Their grasp. Our grasp. Her grasp. The protagonist's!

I could tell! His girth was in my hands, hard like metal and hot as the sun. Like a rod of steel.

The man's phallus. It was in the woman – in Cinder's – grasp. Placed there by the mysterious man who represented Jaune. The woman's hand closed around it, accepting the gift in a tactile way. An opportunity pushed into her very hands, just like Jaune was pushing his at Cinder.

A penis that was as hard as steel. Or perhaps another metal.

Words and meanings flew through Winter's head and she leaned back, eyes wide and understanding dawning on her. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and it felt as though the very walls themselves were closing in. It was so obvious! So clear! Clarity hit like a lightning bolt and she slammed her palms down on the table.

Iron wood.

Lol. I enjoyed helping Winter get absolutely lost in that more than I really should have. Technically speaking, you can find a pattern in anything as long as you look hard enough. Be a real shame if Cinder was also thinking this was a cypher and came to the exact same result. Real damn shame.

On the note of Ilia, I'm going to be working off the assumption that Adam's reveal of that branding on his face is pretty much typical of how the faunus "employed" by the SDC are treated. I liked the decision by RT to include it and wished they could do more with it. I'll be using it here even though I recognise Adam went in disguise in Professor Arc and didn't have a scar. We'll just say Cinder gave him lots of makeup to hide it.

Also, yes, Jinn was singing that song.

Omake:

"This is so exciting!"

"You mean boring," Raven said, walking alongside Summer with the rest of their team, the well-armed and armoured back of their escort – a professional huntsman – several paces ahead. He was interesting and she longed to lock swords with him, but that wasn't to be her reward today. Summer pouted at her, still exciting about the job even if it was sure to be dull.

"Live a little, Ray," Taiyang said. "This is our first taste of what it's really like to be huntsmen."

"Our taste of babysitting civilians as he does all the work, you mean." Her pessimism earned a chuckle from the huntsman, all but confirming it. "We're going to be stuck on defence duty, and unless he's the worst huntsman ever, no Grimm will be getting through. Boring work looking after useless idiots."

"Civilians are not useless," the huntsman said. She hadn't bothered to remember his name, just calling him what he was. "They can do many things I'm sure you can't, but they shall be relying on you today. Remember that. And if you can't, remember that I decide whether you get a passing grade or not."

Summer, Qrow and Taiyang chirped in the affirmative while she rolled her eyes.

The village came up ahead, wooden walled and with a nervous elder outside. He spoke to the huntsman about the Grimm terrorising the village, which she categorised as a Beowolf from his description even before the huntsman said it.

"This team of students will be watching the villagers," he said, pointing to them. "They are Team STRQ. More than qualified to do this while I deal with the threat. I'd ask you to make it clear to the people that their instructions are to be followed."

"Of course, sir. I'll see it done."

"Good." He turned to them. "Alright, team. I know it's boring." He looked to her as he said that. "But learning to secure a location is important. Qrow and Taiyang, your job is to check the perimeter wall and then secure the gate. Raven and Summer, I want you to bring anyone outside the walls inside."

"We've done most of that already," the old man said, "But there are two homesteads outside – a hunter and a charcoal burner."

"We'll escort them back," Summer promised, all sparkly-eyed and confident.

Raven sighed.

/-/

Escorting useless idiots was about as interesting as it sounded. The first home had the charcoal burners and they had to convince them they were really huntresses and not bad people come to hurt them. Apparently, drawing her sword on them wasn't a good way to do that, or so Summer seemed to think.

"Why not? Let them think we're murders. They'll be more likely to follow our orders."

"Or attack us!"

"I wish," she said with a little sigh. "At least then something interesting would happen."

"Our job is to get them back in the village!"

"And we can do that this way. There's Grimm out there. We shouldn't risk their lives by wasting time convincing them we're who we say we are." The logic threw Summer for a loop, though not for long.

"It's just not the right way! Look, let me do the talking."

Done and done. Raven strolled out with a whistle and left all the boring work to Summer. The inhabits came out a few seconds later with some nervous glances her way. They escorted them back to the village at a punishingly slow pace, dropped them off and then got their directions for the hunter family. Hunters, not huntsmen. The distinction was important – though hunters were slightly more respected to her than other useless jobs. At least they worked for their food and could fight off wild beasts.

Not these ones, it turned out. Or not right now. There were two parents and two children.

"Why haven't you made for the village?" Summer asked them.

"Our children are sick, and we can't both carry and defend them. And with their negativity radiating, there was a chance they'd draw the Beowolf. We thought it best to hold here where we could at least use our traps to slow it down."

"Clever," Raven acknowledged. "For civilians."

"You did well," Summer echoed. "But we're here now so we can get you all back safe."

"Thank you." the father said. "I'll grab them."

/-/

The trip back was uneventful but thankfully silent. The hunters knew the forest and didn't waste time chatting and even the kids were smart enough to stay quiet. The huntsman would be after the Beowolf anyway, but it spared them listening to idiots rant. Taiyang and Qrow had the gate manned when they returned and the elder from before greeted them with a relieved expression.

"Thank you," he said. "You've brought our people back safe."

"All in a day's work!" Summer cheered.

"Yeah, sure." Raven sighed. "Whatever."

"You have our thanks as well," the mother said, coming close with a bright smile and watery eyes. "We were so afraid for our children. Say thank you to the nice huntresses, boys."

The two sick children reached out to hug them, faces coming closer than Raven really appreciated. Summer, goody-two-shoes that she was, hugged the first spotty boy warmly – and that made the other think it would be okay to do the same with her! While she'd have liked nothing more than to dropkick the brat over the wall, that would only get her in trouble.

Grudgingly, Raven let the spotty kid wrap his pudgy arms around her neck.

"Thank you, miss huntress."

"Yeah, yeah. Let go now. Go grow up to be strong or something."

"I will! I promise!"

"Awww." Qrow made a sickening expression of kissy-kissy as the family left. "Look at Ray being all motherly. I bet you'll have kids just like that."

"As if," she scoffed. "No child of mine will have spots that bad. I thought they were leopard faunus for a moment."

"Leopard?" Summer giggled. "They had chickenpox." She waved after the kids with a bright smile. "I guess it must be hard to get a vaccine in a far-flung village like this. I hope they'll be okay; they look strong, so I bet it's burning itself out."

Raven scratched her cheek. It felt itchy all of a sudden. "What's chicken pox?" she asked.

"And what the hell is a vaccine?" Qrow echoed.

Summer's face grew pale.

/-/

"I can't believe this!" Summer said, pouting in the corner by Raven's bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. "You guys are so stupid! How can you not be vaccinated for chicken pox? What the hell were you all thinking? Do you live in some forgotten tribe or something?"

"Ugh," Raven said, pale and sweaty with spots all over her face. "Hate… kids… ughhhh…"

"Too loud," Qrow moaned. "Wanna go outside…"

"You can't," Taiyang said. "Our entire team is quarantined to our rooms until the infection runs out."

"I hate you both so much!" Summer cried. "I had tickets to a show this weekend. I stayed up all night to buy them. Why are you both so stupid!? Who gets chicken pox at seventeen? Who doesn't know what a vaccine is?"

Raven leaned up, fixed a glare on Summer and opened her mouth to point out how Summer was being a little bitch, and how it was technically her fault for giving the brats ideas. The words didn't quite come as she expected them to.

She threw up instead. All over her pyjamas, bed and Summer's legs.

Her screams were worth it.

All those inconvenient little things you forget about when you live in a bandit tribe which has no reasonable access to health care. Vaccines? What the hell are those? Please rest assured there's no political message here, though I do obviously think anti-vaxxers are dumb. More like poor Qrow and Raven didn't even know what they were.

I actually caught mumps in university despite being vaccinated against it. There was an outbreak that caught me in it. Schools (especially boarding schools) are hotbeds for sickness thanks to loads of little reasons like people being cramped in small rooms, people not cleaning up well and just the fact you're all in a different location, etc. It was rough, but I came out okay. Spent a week quarantined to my room, though. You know it was a long time ago because I was talking to friends on MSN Messenger. Yeah, MSN. Wow. Next, I'll be tying a message to a pigeon's leg!

Next Chapter: 17th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur