Ignore the troll spamming guest reviews as usual

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 73

The morning and Team RWBY's departure passed in a strange blur. It was a warm day with a soft breeze, quiet in a way that didn't fit the tension in the air. Jaune Arc stood at the head of it, lost in thought. No matter how much he believed they'd give it their all, there was no shaking the reality he was sending four girls off with a vicious killer to steal from the biggest monster on Remnant. That shouldn't have been the kind of the decision a fraud like him could make. The house of cards that had become his life hadn't tumbled as he'd feared – it'd grown stiff and become cemented, leaving him in a spot where no matter how hard he tried to shake it down, it just wouldn't fall.

If there was one mercy it was that the girls were more interested in talking to their families and friends than him. Ruby and Yang hugged their father and uncle, Weiss held hands with Whitley, Winter and offered a slow nod and some kind words to Willow, and Blake squirmed uncomfortably as Kali squeezed the life out of her.

That left one unaccounted for.

"No words for me, Jaune?" Cinder slid up beside him, lips curled and eyes glinting with that he could have sworn was pleasure. He couldn't tell if she was happy to be off or happy to be out the way of a vengeful Salem. "What is a woman to think when she doesn't get so much as a word before a long journey like this?"

That he wasn't interested, probably.

"That I trust that you don't need it," he said instead, lying through his teeth. He faced her, struck silent by the way her smile grew. It shouldn't have been possible to feel bad about tricking her, but it kind of did. Maybe because he'd told himself of all the lies, he'd never play with someone's feelings.

"We always have been able to understand one another. All the way back when Roman brought you to meet me – the subtle glances, the silent power plays, the little signs you weren't afraid of me. I knew there was something special about you. There are still times I wonder how far we could have gotten if you'd taken my offer then. Do you think of it?"

"Not really."

"Of course not. A man such as you has his own plans and won't allow himself to be distracted."

"Speaking of distractions. I want that team brought back safe and sound." He made it clear, so she couldn't claim she hadn't understood. "They're important to my plans, Cinder. To our plans." He watched her eyes widen and told himself it was for a good cause. "There's no victory without them, so do your best to keep them safe."

"What is your plan for them?"

"It's reliant on you not knowing, much like I needed Ozpin in the dark when I took the fake Relics to drive away Salem."

"I see. Well, I shall play my part. You haven't told me what you plan for me to do with the Relic of Destruction, however."

"You'll know what to do." He nodded meaningfully to her. "I trust you to."

Cinder's smile dropped. Eyes hardening, she nodded back. He wished he could be more specific, but he couldn't explain a plan he didn't have, and he couldn't say that to her without giving her reason to doubt him. If she did, this was the perfect chance for her to run, or even to try and buy her way back into Salem's service by thwarting this plan.

Too much relies on this going well, he thought. He already had Neo up in his room keeping her pet Nevermore busy for the sole purpose of not letting Salem see through its eyes as to what they were doing. He'd planned with her to give it subtle glimpses of Team RWBY in the coming days, dressing Neo up in a red cloak, using cardboard cut-outs or just talking about them in front of it. Little plans, but things that might sell the fact they were still in Vale.

"I should go to them now," Cinder said. "Any final words, Jaune?"

He hadn't thought he had any, but it didn't feel right to send her off to die without. Even if he didn't intend for her to, she was in just as much danger as the rest of them – perhaps more so since she'd betrayed Salem. "Look after yourself," he said, meeting her eyes with, for once, genuine concern. "Look after them and look after yourself. You're all to come back safe."

There was a flicker of something across her face. Something soft, gentle and pleased. It vanished so quickly he could have mistaken it for the wind, but he was sure he hadn't. Cinder didn't say a word – and that was the more telling. She nodded, smiled and made her way to Team RWBY in silence, ignoring their looks of disdain. Ruby and Yang were the more obvious about it, and Qrow felt the need to give her a few quick threats about keeping them safe. Blake's eyes met his. He nodded and she petted her backpack, nodding back.

"You could do with a restraining order for that one," Bart said as he walked up beside him.

"Blake's not that bad." He laughed, knowing who Bart really meant. "As for Cinder, I think a restraining order only works so far as the person is willing to obey the law. Is it strange that I feel bad for manipulating her? I didn't before but now that she's acting like this…"

"Playing with one's loyalty is different to playing with one's affections."

Jaune swallowed. "Yeah…"

"It's necessary is all I'll say, and terrible things often are in times of great conflict. This is far less than you could do, and at least you're not taking advantage of her for other things. Plus, you're sending them where they may well be safer than us. Don't forget that."

"Hah. Not sure I can."

Grass crunched as a fresh pair of boots brought a tall and bedraggled woman up beside them, on his other side. Raven managed to look hungover without having a drop of alcohol, something that must have took some serious lack of effort. Her hair was wild, her clothes lopsided and she was yawning into her hand.

"Is this still going on? Talk about a waste of time." She said it just loud enough for literally everyone to hear. Yang glared, Ruby scowled and Taiyang shook his head, ignoring her and hugging his daughters as Qrow gave her the middle finger. Raven shrugged it off, wriggling a finger in her ear and speaking in a quieter voice. "All this drama, and for what? Five people fucking off before a battle."

"They're going to the Grimmlands – to Salem's tower."

"When she isn't there."

"You could show a little care for the fact your daughter is going off on this!"

"Why should I?" Raven asked, and it wasn't a caustic demand or sarcastic comment either, she sounded genuinely confused. "Yang is a huntress. This is the life she chose. If she's strong enough to pull it off, she'll do so. Farewells like this won't increase her chances any."

"It's more so there's nothing left unsaid in the event either party doesn't come back alive," Oobleck explained patiently.

"Hmph. Worthless. If you can't say those words until the moment you're facing death, they clearly weren't important words to begin with."

"Aren't there any words you would like to give her?"

"She knows what I expect. Success. And she doesn't need my tears or hugs in order to harden herself to do it." Jaune opened his mouth to argue but Oobleck winked and shook his head, asking for silence.

"You almost sound happy about that," Oobleck said.

"Only half. She's still weak for needing Taiyang to coddle her – or maybe it's Taiyang who needs it. He always was clingy. The others can't so much as function without praise and affection. Pathetic."

Raven said the last word loudly again and Yang looked over, narrowed her eyes and spat on the grass in her direction. The message was clear; Yang would not be saying goodbye to Raven. Oddly enough, that brought a pleased smile to the woman's face.

"That is real strength."

"Is that what you call it?" Jaune whispered.

"It's one definition," Oobleck said quickly. "A mother bird will cast her child from the nest so it may learn to fly or fall to its death, after which it will only sustain it as long as it needs to before leaving its young to fend for itself. Survival of the fittest. That Yang is able to fly on her own should be a source of pride for you then, shouldn't it?"

Raven looked over with crossed arms. "Naturally." The answer brought a surprised sound from Jaune, one the woman ignored. "My progeny doesn't need coddling to do what it has to do – and that task is to steal from Salem herself. It's only fitting she prove worthy."

Was that pride…? Was that the smallest shred of maternal instincts? Jaune stared at Oobleck, who winked back. He hadn't thought the woman cared a bit for Yang, but the way she looked at her as Yang turned her back suggested otherwise. Not love as they'd call it – honestly, he'd call such a relationship almost abusive – but some strange and twisted version of it, like Raven was a mother watching her child ride a bicycle for the first time, but without explaining how to ride, adding safety wheels or even giving the child a safety helmet.

"Enough Taiyang!" she barked, startling everyone. "You're dragging her down with your weakness."

"Oh yeah?" The man growled and stepped toward his ex. "Well I think you're dragging us all down with your bitchiness."

"Only a weakling would let someone else dictate their mood."

"Guess that must mean you were weak every time I made you cry my name."

"Please. I faked every single one."

"And when you were pregnant? Is it weakness that you turned into a crabby bitch from all those hormones?"

"That was strength! Only my own hormones can best me." Raven nodded imperiously. "As expected of hormones from one as strong as me. If you'd experienced even a tenth of it, you'd have been crying on the floor like the little bitch you are."

"You wanna go? Right here? Right now?"

"I'm still here," Yang said sarcastically. "Hello? Important moment here. Dad? Not-mom? Tch. They're gone. Welp." She shouldered her pack, high-fived Qrow and then winked Jaune's way. "Looks like we're off."

"We'll come back safe with the Relic," Ruby promised them all.

"Bring back grandbabies!" Kali told Blake.

"Mom, I don't think that is physically possible…"

"Try not to let those two make any more children," Yang added, jerking a thumb to Raven and Taiyang, who were practically in one another's faces and on the edge of ripping one another apart. Or each other's clothes. It was hard to tell. "And keep Vale in one piece, yeah? It's gonna be awkward as hell if we come back victorious and the city has been levelled."

Jaune laughed. "We'll do our best. Team RWBY. Cinder." He straightened. "Good luck."

Team RWBY boarded the Bullhead, which had was one of the evacuation shuttles from Ironwood's armada. It would go north at first toward Atlas, acting for all intents and purposes like it was transferring refugees, before looping around to land them on the north-east edge of the Grimmlands.

From there, they'd be on their own.

/-/

Of all the things Jaune had thought he'd find Ironwood, Glynda, Roman and Winter doing, sitting in front of a TV playing video games wasn't it. He stood in the doorway, wondering for a second whether he'd stepped back in time or gotten the wrong room – some other team from Beacon who just happened to have a huge half-cybernetic man and two women who looked far older than seventeen. The three adults sat huddled before the screen with controllers in hand, clicking and clacking the analogue sticks, sometimes even leaning sideways as if to dodge something in real life.

Jaune cleared his throat with a cough. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, actually," Ironwood say. "You are."

Clicking buttons and sticks continued on as Jaune waited for an explanation. It quickly became apparent that one wasn't coming. He coughed again and went equally ignored, especially when Roman started to mutter, "Come on. Come on. Come on." His side of the split screen went blank "Damn it! Shit! Another go. I'm doing another."

"Do try and be less useless this time," Glynda said. "This is a team effort."

"AHEM!" Jaune coughed again, throat so ragged he felt like he was hacking up a lung. "Headmaster here. Big Grimm attack incoming? Desperately important things we should be doing in preparation for that?"

Ironwood sighed, put his controller down and turned to stare at him. "What does it look like we're doing?"

Winter clicked, clicked and then threw a hand in the air. "Argh. So close!"

"It looks like you're playing video games," Jaune said. "Specifically Star Faunus – Lilac Wars."

"Look again," the man sighed. "Those are Nevermore, not poorly rendered aliens."

Jaune didn't know if he was more surprised to find out Ironwood was right or more surprised he knew what Star Faunus was. Either way, Jaune moved over to stand behind them and look at the screen, eyes widening at the incredibly detailed displays twisting and turning as they flew through hordes of Nevermore. Through the mass of black, with great difficulty, he could make out a raised palanquin upon which a woman dressed in black stood.

"Are you dive bombing Salem with unmanned drones…?"

"Unmanned drones loaded with explosives," Roman said proudly.

"We're almost at the point where accurate scouting is useless," Ironwood remarked. "I decided we may as well use them effectively. If the Council of Atlas asks, they were taken out be unusually aggressive Nevermore and there was no way we could have prevented this." He said that right as he divebombed one down, swerved past a flight of Nevermore and exploded on the edge of Salem's palanquin, killing an Ursa carrying it and almost spilling her onto the floor. Ironwood looked incredibly relaxed about the fact. "These things aren't cheap. Taxpayer money being thrown down the drain."

"And these things can be controlled by video game consoles…"

"They can be controlled by anything if the programming is there. That was our problem with Watts. Obviously, no one playing games in their home is spontaneously taking over military hardware. That would be ridiculous."

"Oh, of course. And this totally isn't." Jaune watched a second drone get a close up of Salem's face, red and black eyes wide with surprise. The woman dodged and the drone slammed down into the chest of a Beowolf before the screen went black. "Why are you aiming for her by the way? Other than to piss her off, I mean."

"Immortality testing."

"Huh…"

"The idea is to gauge how her immortality works," Glynda better explained, putting down her controller when she lost a drone to some Nevermore. "Since Ozpin didn't know for sure, we want to injure her and view what happens. How does she heal? Is it instantaneous or is there a window for exploitation?"

"Have you managed to hit her yet?"

"Not yet, and not for lack of trying either. If it isn't the Grimm getting in the way, it's her moving out. The drones aren't exactly subtle and there are a lot of Nevermore to get in the way."

As if to prove that point, Winter's view from her drone had her twisting and turning, spinning full three-sixty spins to slip past wings and beaks and talons that kept rushing at the screen, all the while trying to keep her attention, and the drone's angle, fixed on Salem. Winter was forced into a position where she either had to swing up to stay on target or dodge a Nevermore and slam into the ground. She chose pulling up, trying to salvage a direct blow, but the Nevermore smashed into the screen and everything went black. Even if the drone was still in one piece, it was no use if they couldn't see through it.

"There are just too many," Ironwood said. "We can't break through. It was a good idea, too. If we could see how she regenerates, we might have been able to plan ahead."

Jaune kept an eye on the screen. "Give me a few minutes."

/-/

"This is a task of utmost importance," Jaune said. "The stakes of which cannot be underestimated. Even aside from what we might learn, each drone costs a couple of hundred thousand. That's the most expensive game over of your life." He crossed his arms and faced them. "Do you believe you're up for the challenge?"

Team RVNN exchanged a few quick looks.

"Professor," Nora said, "I was born for this moment." Sauntering forward, she pushed past Ironwood and Glynda. "Step aside, fossils. Let an expert show you how it's done."

"What did you just call me?" Glynda asked incredulously.

"Renny – over here. You're my wingman." Nora held out a hand. "Headset."

"You're right next to one another," Ironwood pointed out.

"Headset so we can listen. Sheesh, did you not even think to listen for when the Nevermore come from above or behind? I take it these things have the ability, right?"

"It's limited, but yes…"

"Then great. Headsets."

Ironwood looked to Winter and shrugged, leaving the Specialist hurrying off in search of a pair. Velvet and Pyrrha didn't join them – didn't see the need to – and came to stand by him and watch. He'd heard about Nora's love for games and her skill at them. Even if she wasn't up to the task, the task at hand played and acted like a game, so they'd hopefully do better than Glynda, Ironwood and Roman, who likely hadn't played games like this before.

Even before the headsets arrived, Nora and Ren started playing with the controllers, making the drones fly about and swoop around but staying away from the crowd of Nevermore. They wheeled and dove, changed direction, jerked at odd angles and otherwise rotated the cameras dizzily, giving him a headache just from watching. Ren had to pull back from his and ask Ironwood. "Can you invert the axis?"

"Invert…?"

"He's a sinner," Nora explained. "Plays his flight sims inverted."

"Which is how they're intended to be played, Nora."

"Ren, I love you – I really do - but say that again and we're done. Up means up. Down means down."

Ren rolled his eyes. It sounded like an old argument. Luckily, Ironwood had a tech crew on hand who were happy to fulfil Ren's demand, and the normally quiet boy nodded after, focusing on the screen as the drone made dizzying circles in the sky. Winter came back with a pair of headsets connected to a radio device fed to the CCT. Nora and Ren put them on, then Nora turned back to them.

"Okay, time to set the rules."

"Rules?" Glynda said. "You realise we're your teach-"

"First of all. No backseat gaming. We have eyes. Saying `look out for the Nevermore` doesn't do anything when we can see it just fine, thank you. Secondly, be patient. We're not speed running this and it takes time to get used to new controls. Thirdly, how many drones do we have left?"

"Six," Ironwood said.

"Cool. So we can get one or two destroyed, like, right now?"

"Why would you want to?"

"We need to know how much punishment they can take," Ren said. "What our `health bars` are, so to speak. The only way we can get an idea for that is by letting some be destroyed."

Ironwood didn't look entirely convinced but the logic was sound enough that he nodded for them to go ahead, stepping back with a quizzical look for Jaune. "Are these really the best ones for this?" he asked quietly.

"Can they be any worse than us at this?"

"Ugh. Probably not." To them, he said, "Go ahead. Do your best, Team RVNN."

Nora and Ren nodded once and then started chattering to one another rapidly. Their speech was so fast as to be garbled, including words Jaune knew the meaning of but he was sure left the others clueless. Gank. Invade. Noob. Lag. It was as though no one else in the room existed, only Ren and Nora huddled together and staring at the large screen.

On it, their drones pivoted and dove down, making a genuine effort to break through the crowd of Nevermore, but at the same time making exactly zero effort to evade any of them. Wings smacked into the screens, bodies struck and bounced off. The drones weren't made so flimsily that a single impact with a bird would break them, though, and that was all most of the Nevermore were. Small birds. They battered their way through a lot of them, each impact jarring the camera, before Ren's went black. On Nora's side of the screen, the explosion from Ren's drone could be seen and felt in the shudders of the camera. They knocked her off course a little and sent her smashing into the talons of a larger Nevermore, ending both its life and her drone.

"Not bad," Ren said. "They're studier than I thought they'd be."

"Better than most flight sims. I felt like I could tank a few."

"Depends on the size of the Nevermore. The big ones need to be avoided."

"The problem with the smaller ones is they cloud your vision. Hey, we have a third and fourth player, don't we?"

"Wards?" Ren asked, then nodded. "We need someone to play vision. Pyrrha. Velvet. You're up."

"But we don't know how to!"

"It's fine," Nora said. "You're vision wards. Just stand where we tell you so we can judge our angle when we can't see anything. Trust me, if some twelve-year-old in Vacuo can pull it off in my ranked promos, you can do it here."

"Do you understand anything they're saying?" Ironwood whispered.

"A little," he replied. "Only a little…"

Pyrrha and Velvet grasped the controls soon enough and Ren pushed and prodded them into position. The Nevermore didn't seem to care – they were focused on defending Salem. As long as the drones stayed away, they were left be. "Pyrrha, your job will be to travel down as we do. Give us an idea of how deep we are so we don't smack face first into the floor. Velvet, you stay above. You're our X and Y axis."

"O… Okay? I think?"

"You're fine," Nora said.

Soon, the four different viewpoints were set up and Ren and Nora rode their drones to the top of the Nevermore. With two already down and two occupied by Pyrrha and Velvet, they'd only get the one run. Jaune tried hard not to let that bother him. It wasn't a loss if they failed because Ironwood and the others hadn't been any closer to success.

Everyone stayed silent as Nora and Ren plotted their course, discussed strategy and then tipped their drones downward. The cameras suddenly became harder to see through as wind rustled toward the outer edges of the screen and the horde of black birds approached.

"Aaand split!"

The two drones darted different ways, one left and the other right. The Nevermore twisted two ways, too, several crashing into one another and plummeting to the ground. So many creatures having to move in concert was possible in the wild because the animals followed a single pattern, be it a shoal of fish of birds migrating, but the Nevermore were trying to flock two ways at once and were making a mess of it.

Nora and Ren took full advantage, darting down while the Nevermore were in a frenzy. Wings, beaks and talons darted across the screens – blinding them fully. This time, however, Ren and Nora turned to watch Pyrrha and Velvet's screens, talking rapidly and judging their height and angle. Velvet chased them down, ears stood up erect as she pushed all her concentration into it.

"Ren, you're falling left. Even up. That's it."

"I see her! Target spotted!"

"Where?" Nora checked his screen, on which Salem could be seen. "Ah, there you are. Winner is the first to take her out!"

"You better not kill steal, Nora."

"It's a kill secure, Renny! Here we go!"

The cameras twisted and turned, drones darting with far more speed than he or anyone else could keep up with. Their fingers and thumbs flew over the controllers, correcting and touching the sticks with the slightest brushes that would have the drones dodged Nevermore by the width of a feather. They were getting deeper and deeper, so close that they could now see Salem's face and make out details such as her eyes and mouth. Salem swept a hand up, summoning a blanket of Nevermore that raced upward. It was a solid wall that they couldn't hope to break through.

"Nora, back off!" Ren snapped. "I'll make a path!"

"Ren, no!"

It was too late. Ren's hand slapped out and hit Nora's arm, knocking her out of control for a brief second and causing her drone to slow and flounder. Ren's raced on, headed straight for the Nevermore and impacting it with an angry cry of "Finish this, Nora. Finish it!"

Ren's screen went black. Nora's showed the full results of his grisly explosion, the feathers and guts that flew everywhere.

"Rennn!" she howled, as if the boy sat not one foot away from her had died in the blast. "You bastards! I'll make you pay! Rarghhh!"

Nora's drone raced through the hole Ren's detonation had opened. Salem was stunned and unable to move in time. Nora swept up and dove under the clumsy swing of an Ursa trying its best, flying right into the startled embrace of Salem and impacting her face.

"HEADSHOT, BITCH!"

The screen went black.

Velvet's did not. On it, the explosion ripped across the palanquin and hurled Salem back. The woman hit the floor and skidded along, churning up grass and muck. The Grimm raced to protect her, surrounding her, but that didn't stop Velvet's camera picking up the damage. Salem's left shoulder was gone along with her arm, her head a charred mess of black with no discernible features. A chunk of her chest was missing as well, including where her heart should have been.

Before their eyes, black mass billowed out from her wound, growing from nothing and forming a lumpen shape that eventually turned white as bone, sealing into a shoulder and then a bubbling black mass that eventually formed a slender, humanlike arm. Her head slowly turned back to normal, too, eyes and mouth seeming to form by coming out from inside her skull, popping back into place.

All in all, she'd reformed within the space of two minutes. Not immediate, but now slow by any means, either. That said, the Grimm had felt the need to defend her, and she clearly hadn't been able to see or perceive the world while her head was mush. Now that it wasn't, she glared furiously into Velvet's lens before sweeping her hand toward it. Black shadows raced in and the camera cut off, Pyrrha's being swarmed and pecked to death a few seconds later.

"Well." Nora clapped her hands. "That was fun. You got any other jobs for us, because, just saying, if this is what working in the military is like then I might want to talk career options."

Ironwood blinked stupidly at them. "Find me after the invasion," he eventually said. "We'll talk."

"Well done Team RVNN," Jaune said. "I knew we could count on you. I don't really know how to reward you…"

"Kid." Roman pulled him back. "I got this." He stepped past Jaune, pulled out his wallet and handed a fat stack of lien to an excited Nora. "Go wild, kid. Make sure you all spend it on something irresponsible. Best way in my mind."

"Yes Mr Torchwick. Thank you, Mr Torchwick!"

"Bribery?" Glynda asked despairingly once they were gone. "That's your way of meaningfully thanking them for their efforts?"

"And what was yours, a pat on the back? Pah. They can spend money having fun. It's not like people work jobs for the pleasure of a good day's work, is it? People want to be paid. Don't see why they shouldn't be for this. The footage is gold."

"It is," Ironwood said. "Winter, was it recorded?"

"Yes sir. We can go over it in detail. Our teams should be able to investigate the exact method of regeneration. Even if they can't figure out how it works or how to impede it, they'll be able to give us an accurate time frame for how long it takes, how long it took to start and perhaps extrapolate that information out to make simulations for other injuries. If all goes well, we should be able to determine the best ways to keep her incapacitated."

"Excellent. Send the information through to us all once it's available."

"Will this be of use?" Jaune asked.

"I should think so. If nothing else it'll give us an idea of what she's capable of. She shrugged off an explosion from several dust charges, but it wasn't like she didn't feel it. The hit took her clean off her palanquin. Did you notice how she defended herself, too?"

"With Grimm."

"Only with Grimm. When the drone got close, she was helpless. Might be that counts if one of us gets close, too."

"You think she's defenceless?"

It was a crazy thought for someone who was essentially immortal, and yet was it really so unlikely? It wasn't like she could go out and train with anyone other than her lieutenants, and did someone who couldn't die care to invest their time in that? If it wasn't a weakness from her point of view, she might not have cared to fix it.

"I think it's worth looking into," Ironwood said. "And if I have to turn my entire fleet into unmanned drones piloted by arcade machines to see it done then so be it."

/-/

"My Goddess!" Tyrian wailed, on his knees, eyes to the heavens. "My Goddess returns from the dead! Oh, how marvellous. Oh, how wonderful-erk!" His worship was cut off by a mouthful of mud as Salem placed a foot on the back of his head and pinned him to the floor.

"Your Goddess just had her face blown off!" she sneered. "Your Goddess is not in the best of moods right now, Tyrian. Choose your words wisely."

"S-Step on me more, my Goddess. Step on me!"

"Ugh." And just like that he'd killed the mood even for her to harm him. It just wasn't the same when they liked it. Dusting herself down, she glared at the surrounding Grimm, who all quailed under the gaze of her judgment. "Fat lot of good you all were. Two machines. Two little machines and almost on million Grimm can't stop them."

"Growf," a Beowolf said apologetically.

"I don't want to hear it! Tyrian, bring your face up off the floor and shut up. Hazel. Where are you, Hazel?"

"I am here, Salem."

Here and unhurt, she noted. Then again, her underlings couldn't survive quite the same payload she could. As much as she might wish to take her anger out on someone, he wasn't the right target. "Nevermore!" she snapped, holding her hand up.

A Nevermore landed on her palm obediently, cawing inquisitively. It's sounds soon turned into shrieks and squawks as she snapped its neck, twisted its body to break its bones, threw it to the floor and stamped on it. Hazel watched with clear displeasure – he always had been a soft one. Tyrian. Well, the less said about Tyrian's reaction the better. She fixed him with a glare when he tried to reach for the dying thing, having no desire to find out what he'd do with something his `beloved goddess` had personally killed. That was a dark pit of nightmares she'd rather not approach.

"There don't appear to be any more of those drones," Hazel said.

"Good. What of your scouting?"

"The nearest villages have been evacuated. I searched them thoroughly and found that even the bunkers and basements were empty. Tracks at the entrance suggest heavy duty vehicles. They've all been evacuated to Vale."

There went the plan to make an example of their citizens and demoralise them. Salem huffed, closing her eyes and thinking. Warfare had really been Ozma's specialty, not hers, but she'd read books about it back in the day. Morale was important and she was sure one army at the time had taken to making condemned prisoners go out and kill themselves as a way to demoralise the foe. It was hard to remember. The eons tended to blend into one another.

"We'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way, then," she said. "We will give them the chance to surrender and attack if they do not. If nothing else, the revelation of my existence to Remnant at large will put undue pressure on dear Ozma. I can't wait to see him lie his way out of this one. Tyrian, you hid the Relic of Destruction, yes?"

"Oh, I did, my Goddess. I hid it so well that not even you could find it!"

"Is that because it's well-hidden or because you've hidden it in some sordid pile of filth I'd rather cut my own hand off than touch?" Tyrian simply giggled, and Salem let out a loud sigh. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Cinder. At least she made sense…"

"I make sense," Hazel said unhappily.

"Hazel. You're here because you want revenge for your sister, who was a huntress slain by Grimm."

"Yes." He clenched his fist. "And I shall never forgive Ozpin for it."

Salem looked to the Grimm all around them, to her own arm and skin which reflected their colours, and finally up to the sky in search of answers. It provided none. There was a lot she blamed the Gods for, cursing the immortality they'd forced on her, but more than anything the overall decline in intelligent conversation was probably the worst part.

"I really need a holiday…"

Poor Salem. Just trying to do your job, trying to kill humanity – typical day in the office – and everyone is so darned dumb. I know how it feels, babe. I'm surrounded by idiots at work, too. Though, you know, not exactly trying to rule the world or anything.

Next Chapter: 27th August

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur