Glad people liked the omake last week lol. Sometimes a scene comes up where I can just go full ridiculous like that. It's not always sadly, but when it happens, it happens good. Alas, some chapters just don't offer the really crazy ones.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 45

Oscar sat nervously in the Bullhead as it came down to land a fair distance away from the Schnee manor. Team RWBY stepped out silently, Weiss having been quiet ever since the news broke. He didn't know her as well as the others did but he'd known she and her father didn't get along. That didn't mean she'd wanted to hear of his death, though. He wished he could help but Weiss had only known him for a couple of weeks now.

"Trust in her – your – team to comfort her," Ozpin said.

The voice was calm for once. Quiet. Oscar closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, tasting the cool tiny of early morning dew in the air. It might be his last given what they were doing today. Teams of Atlas Specialists had formed a perimeter around the manor, but it was much further out and only covered half the area; the half that led back to Atlas. Unable to fully surround without being noticed, Ironwood had made the choice to corral Adam away from Atlas and not toward it.

"Pushing him to Atlas would almost certainly ensure his capture but the loss of innocent life would be unbearable. James is many things, but callous he is not. The lives of his people are a currency he will not spend."

"And mine?" Oscar asked.

"You will not die here today, Oscar. I will not allow it."

"Good. Are you ready?"

"I am. Are you sure you wish me to have control for this?"

"Yes." He remembered his talk with the headmaster. There was nothing either of them could do about his eventual demise. Weird as it sounded, he was grateful the headmaster didn't tell him it would all be alright or not to worry. "You handle the combat and I'll handle the everyday stuff. I'd just get in the way here anyway."

"Very well."

Oscar's eyes opened and once more they were Ozpin's. No visible difference in colour or shape, but a certain lidded and tired quality. A calmness that no one else on Team RWBY shared. His hand twitched, lifting a mug that wasn't there. The automatic tic was something he'd never been able to shake, but coffee was at least better than the alcohol he'd once drowned himself in. Shaking his hand back down, he nodded once to Jaune, who nodded back, recognising his transfer.

"Okay," Jaune said. "Listen up. The plan is simple but also vague. We know next to nothing about what's going on in there, so you'll have to wing it once you're inside. Blake and I will go confront Adam and look to distract him, then start the duel if all else fails. Glynda and Team RWBY will be sneaking in with a view to rescue the hostages and deal with the White Fang. Follow Glynda's orders there. Oscar will be going on his own to find Willow and Whitley Schnee if they've been separated from the other hostages."

"Is that safe?" Yang asked. "He's not the best fighter, no offence."

"I think I will be okay," Ozpin said, trying not to sound too formal. "My strengths aren't in direct combat and I won't be looking for it."

A lie on both accounts, but such was necessary.

"Sneaking?" Yang guessed incorrectly. The other members of the team looked at him curiously.

Ozpin chose not to deny it.

"Speed is going to be of the essence here," Jaune continued. "Both for the sake of the hostages and for me. The sooner you get them out, the sooner I can retreat. And I'll need to. I can't beat Adam in single combat."

He paused to let that sink in. Yang and Ruby looked the most uncomfortable; it must have felt jarring to hear someone they considered so invincible saying they weren't. They might even be thinking that he was exaggerating. Either way, they wouldn't take the risk.

"What about me?" Cinder asked coyly. "What is your plan for me, Jaune?"

"You will go with Oscar."

Predictably, Team RWBY had thoughts. Ozpin tuned them out, accepting the decision with his own grimace. He was no more enthused to be working with her than Jaune was to face Adam, but he understood the reasoning. In the heat of melee, Glynda had to protect both herself and the children, so if Cinder chose now of all times to betray them, it might end fatally. He, on the other hand, had experience enough to either deal with her or at least escape alive.

"And my role?"

"Find the surviving Schnee family members." Jaune paused. His eyes hardened. "And Cinder. Remember what I said. Don't act out. Don't do anything I wouldn't want you to do. We're here to help them. This isn't about fame or glory. It's about saving the lives of two innocent people." He locked eyes with her. "Don't let me down."

Cinder's smile wasn't reassuring.

Neither was the brief widening of her eyes before she offered it.

/-/

Jaune watched the two teams split off and head around the back of the mansion, leaving him alone with Blake. The two stood in silence, staring at the retreating backs of their allies and wishing they could be going along with them. Infiltrating a mansion filled with terrorists sounded like a picnic compared to their role.

"So…" he began. "Are we really doing this?"

"We have to," Blake said, steadfastly refusing to look at him.

"Yeah. I know." He took a deep breath. "Let's go."

They marched forward toward the mansion, making sure to remain obvious. It wasn't hard given their clothing – blue for him and black and white for her, both sticking out against the green and brown surroundings. As much as Blake may have liked to portray herself as the stealthy member of Team RWBY, her contrasting outfit didn't really support it.

The White Fang probably knew they were coming. Blake kept scanning the trees and at one point tensed. A flutter of leaves told of someone departing, off to warn Adam. He bit down on the urge to follow, knowing this was the plan. The more focused Adam was on them the better. If anyone were to see the other teams, he knew they wouldn't be able to outrun Ruby or Cinder.

The first sight of the mansion was not, in fact, the mansion. The Schnee manor had huge perimeter walls erected to keep out the undesirables. The hole blown in it on their side showed how successful that had been. They were uncontested on the way through, stepping past several bodies of security personnel who had given their lives. Burn marks littered the grass, along with the odd crater and destroyed flowerbed. A miniature war had been fought here.

Blake looked away from it. To see what her old allies had turned to must have hurt. Were it not for the spectre of his own death looming, Jaune might have tried to cheer her up. Instead, he placed a hand on her back and shepherded her along. The manor itself rose up before them, smoking and broken with shattered windows and a hole in one corner, from which cloth and paper still fluttered out into the wind. Before it, far more obvious, was the large collection of White Fang gathered before a gravel driveway with a single fountain in the centre.

Adam was stood before the fountain, looking into it with his back to them. A captured news crew, or perhaps a media team for the SDC, stood anxiously nearby, guarded by two terrorists. Their camera was focused on Adam.

Nice pose. Almost like he planned it. Jaune scoffed and looked around. The gravel drive was without cars but still marked a large area, easily providing space for twenty to thirty cars at once. I guess this is to be the battlefield. It's even ground, but the gravel might make things hard. At least he'd have some vague and likely temporary cover in the form of the fountain. Jaune and Blake came to a stop with a crunch of gravel. None of the White Fang surrounding them made to speak.

"So," Adam said. "You have come. I knew you would. Unlike Ironwood, you care for the lives of those kept here. Or is it your image you care for? Afraid to be seen for the coward you are." The man's hands fell and he turned, sweeping his mask toward them. "It matters little. You are here now and-" He cut off with a startled gasp.

Blake. His eyes landed on Blake.

Adam trembled visibly, lips drawing into a thin line as he restrained himself and continued. "-are here now and we shall do battle." His teeth gnashed together. "Your will against mine. Your convictions against mine. Humans against faunus."

Jaune spoke up. "No."

"No?" Adam laughed. "You're not here to fight? Should I begin executing hostages then?"

"No, I am here to fight," he said, speaking for the cameras to hear. "But you're wrong on the last one. Our fight isn't human against faunus. I've nothing against the faunus. I teach faunus. I hate how some people treat them and I won't accept you making this about that. I'm not an enemy to faunuskind."

"A bold claim. One many have made before, but in the end it's just words."

"It's not!" Blake shouted. "It's not just words." She had come without her bow; a conscious decision on her part and the better to sell this. Adam wanted to make it look like this was about fighting against racism and she'd predicted that. It was how Adam was recruiting. Therefore, they had to stop it. "The headmaster treats faunus as equals. He doesn't let anyone get away with mistreating us."

Adam shook with fury. Not at the words. At Blake being the one to give them.

"You have been misled," he hissed. "He may act like he does, but in truth he sees you as nothing more than a filthy beast. In public, he acts the part but in private he hates faunus as much as Jacques Schnee ever did."

"I think I'd know what he's like in his private time," Blake said. With a blush that wasn't even the slightest bit fake, she stepped into his side, leaning her head on his chest and wrapping an arm around him, even as his came to rest on her hip, holding onto her. "After all, I'm the one who spends the most time with him."

It was like a switch being flicked. Silence reigned. The silence from the news crew was stunned. The silence from the White Fang was tense. They knew Adam. Knew what not to say and what not to mention. Blake was probably at the top of that list, and now they were all doing their best to not draw any attention their way. One of them was even holding his breath.

Adam, though. Adam didn't seem pleased.

Talk about an understatement…

"You. He…" Adam gnashed his teeth together and gripped his sword so hard it started to creak. He was visibly shaking but even with the image being seen across Remnant from all the stations watching and re-broadcasting this, he doubted a single person could have mistaken Adam's reaction for fear. Not even a child could mistake this.

"We," Blake said, either too brave or stupid for her own good. She leaned further into him, placing a hand over his heart. "Jaune cares for faunus. I know he does because he cares for me. We… We've been together long enough to prove that."

"Lies. You're lying!"

Denial is the first stage of grief.

"Why would I lie, Adam? I thought you'd understand more than anyone. After we broke up, I needed someone different. Someone who wouldn't turn violent the second things didn't go their way." Blake smiled and pressed her nose into his chest. He could see how red she was but the audience would have mistaken it for embarrassment. He could see the horror.

He wondered if she was imagining what Yang would think when she saw this later.

The image had to be completed. He knew this. They'd planned it. Discussed it. Not the easiest discussion; not with Glynda, Yang and Ruby in the mix. Or Oscar laughing away like a fucking hyena. Jaune hadn't been looking forward to it – even if he secretly had.

Blake's hand came up to his cheek. Her head tilted up, eyes closing. His own tightened around her waist, holding her close as he leaned down and placed his lips against hers. Soft. Warm. Full. She wasn't Glynda, but she was still a beautiful girl his age.

The sound of a sword being drawn had him snapping out of it.

Her hands settled on his head, pulling him back down.

Jaune's eyes grew wide, hands gripping onto her waist as she pushed her tongue into his mouth. Blake made a scene of it. Happy sounds, wet and sloppy in a way no real kiss was. It was what he'd have unironically called an X-rated kiss. The kind seen in adult videos which overdid everything for dramatic effect.

When she pulled away, a thin trail of saliva connected their lips. Her face was red, practically glowing red, and she stared into his eyes not with lust but with a sense of absolute mortification. They'd angled themselves perfectly, ensuring the cameras broadcasting this across Remnant could see every detail.

And just like this, he thought. Our lives of peace and quiet are over.

Headmaster and student. He could already envision the headlines. But if it was a choice between that and getting killed by Adam, it was an easy choice. Okay. Maybe not an easy choice. More a half and half. Whoo. Blake's kiss had his head spinning.

"Jaune," she whispered. "Your… Your…"

"My what?" he asked breathlessly.

Face burning even hotter, she looked down between them. Her body was flush against his for obvious reasons and he'd drawn her closer to sell the act. It'd been agreed upon. She'd even insisted he be the one to act dominant to rile Adam up, so this was nothing unexpected. What was unexpected, however, was the triangular tent in his pants poking into her. And behold, an army of one sets up tent to siege the castle.

"It's a sword," he said. "It's definitely a sword in my pants and nothing else."

"Mmrgl," Blake choked out, burning hotter and hotter.

"ENOUGH!" Adam roared, thrusting Wilt towards him. Blake had filled him in on the weapons and their little surprises, including Blush's purpose as more than just a scabbard. It was hard to focus on that now with Adam's face matching his hair for colour. "FIGHT ME! COME AND DIE, ARC!"

Jaune pulled away and drew Crocea Mors. He didn't want to. By now, the teams should be in the manor and it might have been a better idea to stall, but he wasn't sure Adam wouldn't throw caution to the wind and skewer him and Blake together like a kebab. Driving someone to anger might have made them sloppier in a fight, but it could also make them forget or not care about how bad it'd look to kill him before he drew a weapon.

And Adam was mad. Furious.

But he wasn't raging. He wasn't losing control. An angry Adam could focus those emotions into aggression and kill him. Blake had thought the act might be enough to get him to lose control entirely. Did we underestimate him? He's clearly livid, but he's not in a rage.

Had Adam changed? Had he lost a little of his love for Blake? Quite possibly.

This wasn't the fury they'd been looking for.

"Jaune!" Blake yelled. He looked back, as did the news crew and the White Fang. Blake was still burning up and shaking. Not with fear, he thought. More shaking with embarrassment. Her eyes were wide. "I… I…" Her faunus ears flattened. "I love you, Jaune. Please come back alive."

Adam's anger blazed. His teeth were visible and gritted together like a snarling animal. He held back, however. He trembled, but he held himself under control.

"Come back to me," she said, bringing her hands down to her stomach. "And to our baby…"

/-/

Kali Belladonna slammed her hands down on the table and stood.

"You realise they're bullshitting," Roman said, smoking a cigar. "You realise this is bullshit, right?"

"Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Roman sighed. "Guess not…"

/-/

Neo stared at the television screen from her bed.

"You realise they're bullshitting," Tsune said, torturing – sorry, providing a routine checkup – for a nearby student. "You realise this is bullshit, right?"

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep," Neo's heart monitor rang out.

Tsune sighed and rushed over, pulling up a defibrillator. "Guess not…"

/-/

Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Crocea Mors and Wilt squealed the noise as they ground against one another, Jaune forced back as a snarling face driven mad with animalistic rage pushed up against his. The sound of scraping metal would have been bad enough without the unending howl of primal fury being torn from Adam's mouth. Like a wolf baying at the moon, except ten times angrier and a little deeper. So close, he could see one eye through the holes of the mask.

It didn't look happy.

"Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you."

Adam ripped Wilt free and slashed across, striking Jaune's shield. Without stopping the faunus stabbed Blush in to fire – and would have caught him flat-footed if Blake hadn't warned him about it. He twisted aside to avoid the buckshot, planted a foot down and pushed the enraged faunus away.

"I guess the duel starts now?" he asked. "So much for honour with that kind of attack. Weren't we talkin-"

He barely got his shield up in time. Even then, he was driven back a few feet.

"Okay. Guess we're done talking…"

Jaune brought his weapons up and prepared for the next onslaught; something Adam was only too happy to provide, practically frothing at the mouth. The fact that Blake, still red-faced, was cheering her `lover` on didn't help. Adam's sword kept aiming for his crotch as well. Jaune squeaked and deflected a thrust down before it could make him less of a man.

"No amount of cute cat girl tongue is worth this…"

Adam screamed and charged in.

"Oh shit. Did I say that out loud?"

/-/

Yang held onto the struggling White Fang grunt until he stopped moving, squeezing his neck tight with one hand gripping onto her arm. When the faunus slumped, she let him fall, sparing a moment to check he was breathing before moving on. Choking someone out wasn't safe or fun and she'd have normally shied away from it, but the situation was just dangerous enough that she couldn't afford to. A single conscious enemy left behind might mean a dead hostage. If it came to it, they'd be expected to kill today.

She really hoped it didn't come to it. Or that if it did, it came to her and not Ruby.

Thankfully, most of the heavy lifting was being done by Miss Goodwitch. Yang hadn't had the pleasure of seeing her fight before, but she was putting them to shame, ripping through White Fang like they were paper. I guess this is what a real huntress can achieve. Damn. Most times, the teachers let them do the fighting since it was their job to teach, not do everything for them. This was an exception.

"Check the downed and ensure they are out," Glynda ordered. "Weiss. Where might they be held?"

First names. She didn't normally use them, but Yang supposed this wasn't a time for `Miss Schnee`.

"There are several rooms large enough to keep that many hostages."

"The largest that is close and on the first floor," Glynda barked. "They won't risk a second floor after the attack and they'll want a place with only one entrance. They'd take the closest they could find; not somewhere deep into the mansion."

"The main hall then. It's where father holds – where he used to hold important events…"

Yang wanted to offer some words of sympathy but Glynda bull rushed on. "Where?"

"Down the corridor at the end. It's a straight route, though. They'd see us coming."

"Any other entrances?"

"None."

"What's the ceiling made of?"

"Ceiling? Well, um, it's made of wood." Weiss caught on quickly. "The room above it is… It's one of the guest rooms. A whole suite of them, but I know which one is roughly over the centre of the hall."

"Lead us there. Yang."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Drain your cartridges of dust. Live fire will be a no once we drop in with so many civilians around. We'll use your dust to blow an entrance. You will be compensated."

"Y-Yeah sure." It wasn't like she'd have argued against it. Yang emptied her canteen of water and used her teeth to rip the caps off her shotgun shells, dumping the dust in one at a time and tossing the shells aside. Ruby came up to add some of her own while Weiss showed the route on her scroll for the teacher. They'd only been in for a few minutes but every minute felt like an hour with what was going on outside.

Blake and the prof needed them to be quick. Stopping now already felt like a betrayal. Yang poured the last in, screwed the cap back on and tossed it to Miss Goodwitch with a "Here!" The teacher caught it with her Semblance, gave it a brief shake and nodded when the metal canteen warped under the pressure of aggravated dust.

A good hit and the thing would go off like a grenade. Yang wasn't sure how that'd be enough to blast a hole in the floor – with the metal casing it'd work more like a shrapnel bomb than a breaching charge – but she trusted Miss Goodwitch had a plan.

/-/

"Whatever it is you're planning, you're wrong."

Cinder's answer was to chuckle darkly, dodge a clumsy blow and disembowel the faunus giving it with a casual flick of her blade. Ozpin would have frowned at the wanton slaughter if he himself hadn't crushed his opponent's windpipe. Cruel as it was, they had chosen their deaths when they brought it upon others. They could not afford to show mercy now and run the risk of innocents being murdered.

"Jaune only wants us to collect the hostages. He has no further plan than that." Ozpin scowled and pushed past Cinder, knowing she would follow. "Don't mistake his words."

"I've mistaken nothing, old man. You are the one who cannot understand his genius. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. You weren't able to recognise his plot to kill and take your place, so why should you now?"

"Jaune did not plan my death."

"Of course he didn't." Cinder's laugh made it clear she was mocking him. "It just so happened that he allowed me into Beacon, supported my claims and brought me close to you. And that he would be in just the right position, with just the right backing, to take over the most powerful position in Vale. I'm sure that was all just one big coincidence, hm?"

It was, but he knew she would not – could not – believe that. Arrogance or madness; Cinder thought herself so incredible, so infallible, that the only reason she could possibly have lost was if her opponent was the smartest person in the world. Ozpin would admit, the conspiracy theory that Jaune had intended his death wasn't the worst he'd ever heard.

Still nonsense, though. Trust was not something he gave easily, but he knew Jaune hadn't wanted the position. Who would? It was nothing but stress, drama and paperwork. Most powerful position in Vale. Pah. Most pain-in-the-ass position, maybe.

Better she live in a fantasy world but be on our side than see the truth and betray us, I suppose. Ozpin sighed. It would be physically painful to allow her delusions but he could take some subtle pleasure in the eventual reveal. Would she go mad? Would she deny it and live in a fantasy land forever? Hard to say. Either way, it would be amusing.

Not bitter about being killed. Not bitter at all.

"The White Fang are more concentrated here than they were earlier," Cinder remarked. "Almost like they are guarding something."

"My thoughts exactly. Where would you keep your important hostages were this your attack?"

"With myself, of course. I wouldn't trust the `hired help` to be of any use." Cinder sighed. "Of course, this being Adam, he's not half as intelligent. I imagine he'd want to make a display of them. Something theatrical in the event Jaune did not meet his demands. Kill them in their seat of power."

"Isn't the Schnee manor already their seat of power?"

"Yes, but he would want something more specific." Cinder nodded ahead. "I expect he'll have them in Jacques Schnee's personal office. Or wherever the man did his business. I suggest we home in on wherever the White Fang are most concentrated, killing any that get in our way. Ultimately, they'll be guarding the targets."

It was as good a plan as any and just stupid enough to be accurate.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Cinder had been a more cerebral opponent than Adam Taurus. Then again, the man was a fighter through and through. There was a reason the leadership of the White Fang had been left to someone like Sienna up until now.

Cinder and he came upon a corridor. Two faunus stood outside a door ahead.

Jackpot.

The faunus cried out – the distance had been too great to silence them entirely. They died swiftly and Ozpin slammed his shoulder into the door, intent on breaking through before those inside could react. He bounced off, pain lancing up his shoulder. Stupid, weak, teenage body.

"Allow me," Cinder mocked, planting a heeled foot in the centre of it.

Ozpin rushed in and under the second it was open. His eyes took in the room, instincts and experience slamming into place. Three enemies. One target. The hostage was hunched over a desk, tears down her cheeks as she typed on a computer. One masked faunus had a gun to her back but was looking to them in shock. The other two had yet to react but were turning their way.

His cane left his hand, tip smacking into the face of the gun wielder. Ozpin followed up, planning a foot on the desk and leaping over the startled woman who, to her credit, dove to the floor. He slammed feet first into the faunus' chest and kicked him back into a bookshelf.

"Kill – urk!"

The first of the two remaining died with his throat flit, falling forward as Cinder gripped the rising gun of the other and directed it aside. Shots tore into a wall far off target from him or the hostage. Cinder reversed her weapon and slammed the butt into his temple, knocking him out. Ozpin jumped off the desk, swept the last terrorist's feet out from under him, kicked the gun away and let the already shaking bookshelf fall onto him. His body spasmed and he lay still, if not dead then unconscious, pinned and disarmed.

"Mrs Schnee," he said quickly. "We have been sent to save you-"

"My son!" the woman gasped. "They have him in a room six down. They'll have heard this!"

Damn it. Ozpin nodded and hurried back to the door, pausing to look back. The decision agonised him but it had to be made. He pointed to Cinder. "Stay here and protect her. Do not go anywhere. Do not do anything and do not get it in your head to enact any plan you think Jaune has given you. Do not collect two hundred lien." He pointed to the floor, much like one would a dog. "Stay."

Charging out, he sprinted down the corridor.

/-/

Numinous.

It was a concept most aptly applied to religion. A feeling or sensation of awe where one witnessed or experienced something that either renewed or affirmed their faith. A sense of being close to a spiritual entity. The sudden realisation that such was real, that you were small and that there was so much out there.

Even knowing the Brother Gods were real, Cinder did not consider herself a religious person. Now, she thought that might change. This, she realised, was what numinous truly felt like.

When Adam had called out Jaune she had, for the first time, doubted him. For someone like Adam Taurus to get the upper hand was unacceptable. The faunus was a buffoon. A brute with all brawn and no brain. Was it possible for him to outsmart Jaune Arc? Surely Jaune should have known the Schnee family would be targets.

For a moment, she had doubted.

How foolish of her.

So, this is what it feels like. To both be humbled and to have my faith re-affirmed. It would normally have angered her, but she felt nothing but joy. Even at being wrong, she felt euphoric. This proof of her belief. This renewal of faith that had for the briefest moment waned.

Willow Schnee, the most powerful and influential woman in Remnant and now sole owner of the most powerful and wealthiest company in Remnant, watched out a window as Jaune Arc fought for her safety against a mad terrorist. As she watched, Cinder watched her, lips curling up and laughter threatening to burst past her lips.

A now single Willow Schnee, having lost a husband she didn't care for, stared at Jaune as though he were a knight in shining armour. Her hands gripped the window's edge, her eyes locked onto the scene down below.

Genius. He was a genius.

"You are safe now," Cinder said, coming up to stand beside her. "He has sent teams in to secure your staff and yourself, and also your son. He does not plan to fight with honour against Taurus. Once you are out, he will retreat and the area will come under bombardment."

"Good," Willow snapped. "That monster doesn't deserve honour."

"We will have you out and back in Atlas soon." Cinder watched the woman nod. "The city might not safe for you, however," she said. "Aside from the White Fang, there are going to be unscrupulous people trying to use you – or more specifically your wealth – to further their own causes."

"I… I am aware of this."

"Your daughter is staying at Beacon." She threw the idea out casually, almost whimsically. "Perhaps you and your son could find some peace there. The White Fang have been ousted from Vale and it would give you time to recover and regroup without those in Atlas being able to force your hand."

"Perhaps," Willow said, aware that she was being manipulated but also aware that nothing Cinder had said was untrue. Atlas would not be safe for her or her son. "I will give thought to what you are saying. And you have my thanks for the rescue."

"Don't thank me." Cinder nodded at the courtyard. "Thank him."

"I intend to. I owe him my life…" Willow watched the fight.

Cinder smirked.

"You know, he does have a thing for older women…"

Cinder, no. Cinder, nooo…

All part of Jaune's Keikaku. He predicted Adam's attack, the rescue and even the possibility of a widowed Willow Schnee being available. A shame to have to let someone else claim the title of wife, but Cinder does not mind being the shadow behind the throne, or the shadow in his bed.

Now she just needs to kick Blake out. The meddling pest.

Omake:

"-and to our baby!"

The reaction was immediate. Jaune barely got his shield up in time to stop what felt like an avalanche striking it. His feet skidded back through gravel and he gazed over the top into a face stretched into a rictus of fury. Gritting his teeth, he hissed out.

"Yang. What the fuck…? You're meant to be rescuing hostages."

"You got Blake pregnant? Blake of all people!? I'm either getting with you or I'm getting with her! You can't get together or I'm screwed! It's a pairing that can't happen."

Jaune's danger senses kicked in. He planted a foot back and brought his sword down in time to parry a thrust from Adam. Except, it wasn't Adam. Jaune's eyes bulged as he took in his latest attacker.

"NEO!? I left you in Vale!"

Neo snarled and pushed harder, rage burning in her eyes.

"Wait, wait, you're all misunderstanding. This is-" Jaune swore and ducked as a fist sailed over his head. A man he barely recognised gripped him in a chokehold. "Taiyang," he grunted. "It's not… what… you think!"

"You hurt my daughter. Both daughters."

"Son of a…" Jaune yelped as a bird landed on his shoulder and tried to peck out his eye. "Fuck off, Qrow! This isn't the time!"

Over Taiyang's shoulders, a boy that could have been mistaken for Taiyang himself scaled up, red staff in hand. He pounded it down on Jaune's head, working it through the cracks between various allies as they piled onto him.

"Sun!? Why are you even here?"

"I saw her first!"

"Ow. Ow! Damn it, Sun, this isn't going to impress her-"

"Quick, Ilia, grab his legs."

"Ilia? Whoah!" Jaune was pulled off his feet, stretched between them as they fought for a piece of him. "Stop it! It's an act! I don't really love her!"

The ground cracked and crumbled under him. Jaune watched in mute horror as a fist emerged, followed by a hugely muscled body. Ghira Belladonna erupted from the floor in a fearsome uppercut that sent him flying.

"Get my daughter pregnant and then say you don't love her?" he boomed. "I think not. Quick! Get him!"

Ghira, Taiyang, Qrow, Sun, Ilia, Neo and Yang dove on top of him. Glynda Goodwitch levitated a couch out the Schnee manor and began to position it above the lot of them, ready to drop.

Adam's sword touched the ground, anger fading as he looked from the angry dogpile to Blake, who was stood with one hand over her face, head bent down in abject humiliation. He looked again to the dogpile and the screaming Jaune Arc trapped beneath it all.

"Am I even needed here…?"

Probably not.

Next Chapter: 6th February

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur