Hello everyone!

We are back at it with another chapter of Gryphon Knight. I was very pleased by the reception to the last chapter. I can only hope that this one answers some of the questions I'm sure many of you have.

But with all that out of the way, ON WITH THE STORY!


Cardin and his brothers stared, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.

It... It couldn't be. She was dead. He'd seen her body hanging from the tree when his grandfather's wailing had brought him running outside in the early morning. She couldn't be- but she was standing right there in front of him and- and...

"Mom?" His voice came out as a croaked whisper, his throat dry. His eyes, the same color as hers, welled with tears that blurred his vision.

Priscilla Winchester part walked, part glided across the stone floor to her kneeling sons. She stopped before them and held her arms out. They stood and rushed to her, wrapping her in their arms and holding her tightly. She reached out with a hand and stroked her fingers through Cardin's short hair, and he burst into tears. "Mom." It was the only word he could wrench out as his body shook.

"Yes," she said softly. "And... no."

"W-what? I don't- I don't understand," Russel choked out

"You don't need to yet. Right now all you boys need to do is hold me and let it all out."

They did just that, clutching their mother between them like they were little boys again and she was holding them in the aftermath of a shared nightmare. A part of the squire wondered if this was a dream, if he was just sleeping outside in the square waiting for Nathaniel to open the way into the mountain and this was all just a figment of his imagination.

But she felt real in his arms. The warmth she exuded as he held her was real. The tears and the sobs that wracked his body and that of his brothers were real.

This was real.

She was real.

"We missed you," Dove whispered when he was able to talk

His mother's lips pressed against his cheek. "I know my son, and I missed all of you too. But I'm so proud of you boys as well."

Proud? How could she be proud of any of them? After the kind of people they'd become, how they'd turned their backs on everything she and their father had stood for, how could she be proud of him?

"Because despite what you've been through you've chosen to become better men and rise above your hate. It is easy to be a good and fair person when you have lived a life free of hardships. It is far harder and far more noble to choose to be a good and fair person when one has suffered the way the four of you have."

He hadn't spoken his thought aloud, but she had responded as though he had. He leaned back, arms still around her, and stared at her face.

It was Sky who made the connection. "You... you aren't our mom," he whispered

She smiled back sadly, and for a brief flash her eyes were silver, not blue. "I am your mother. As I am the mother of all that lives."

Understanding thundered into the four squires and they dropped to their knees, heads bowed in obeisance. "I- I- you are-"

"Hush," Vaya said gently as she cupped a hand under Cardin's chin and lifted his head to look her in the eyes. "You need never bow to me my child. None of you do."

"I- but- you are-" His mind flailed to find the words to express what he was feeling.

She was... he was in the presence of a goddess.

"Why... why do you look like our mom?" Dove asked, voice hoarse.

Life Mother Vaya smiled gently at them, and the smile was so familiar on his mother's face that Cardin felt himself tearing up again. "Because I wanted to give you four the chance to hold her one last time. If this form is too painful to look upon I can take another, or my true shape."

"N-no, please. Stay like this," he practically begged her. He looked at his brothers, half expecting them to disagree. None of them did, staring at her with the same sense of loss that he felt. It had been so long since they'd last seen their mother. They would take whatever they could get.

Vaya in the guise of Priscilla Winchester held her arms out to them again. "Then come here. You may hold your mother as long as you need."


Nathaniel lay prostrate before his goddess and wept openly.

He'd known who she was the second he had laid eyes upon her. Only one being could exude such raw and undiluted love and affection. Only one being could radiate such pure and powerful Light.

"Why do you weep my son?" Her voice was as soft and gentle as a summer breeze, but he heard every word as clearly as though she'd spoken them right into his ear.

"Because I am not worthy of your presence," he sobbed. Every mistake he'd made, every fault that had ever plagued him, every moment of doubt he'd ever had all came down on him in that moment, driving him to tears as he lay before Her, his legs unable to support him. How could he do anything but weep in Her presence when he did not deserve to bask in Her majesty?

A hand, gentle and loving, ran slender fingers through his short brown hair. Life Mother Vaya laughed. It was a sound of pure beauty, like bird song in the summer and wind whistling through the trees. "Is that not my decision to make? I say you are more worthy than most of standing before me. You, who have given your entire life to my service, standing a lonely vigil as your father and his fathers have done for millennia upon millennia. How could you ever be unworthy of me?"

He continued to cry, completely overwhelmed by her presence.

She was everything. Everything he had fought for, everything he had bled for, everything he would die for.

Surprisingly strong arms slipped under his own and lifted him up to a kneeling position. Vaya pulled him against her and held him tightly, one arm about his back and the hand of the other resting on on the back of his head, fingers stroking through his hair. It was how the knight had always imagined his mother would hold him, if he'd ever known her. "I would prefer to be everything you live for," She murmured gently as She held him. "I've lost enough sons as it is. If it were in my power, I'd make sure all my children would have lives of peace and plenty, where none would have to go and fight to protect those they love." She kissed him on the forehead. Warmth flowed through him from the touch, and it was as though every ache and pain he'd ever suffered vanished. "But such is not to be. Salem will never allow peace so long as she lives, and I do not have the strength to contest her directly. Thus I must put my faith in my children, so that they might have the power to do what I cannot."

"I will not let her win," Nathaniel swore, still unable to meet the Life Mother's gaze. "I will fight until the end, whatever that may be."

A gentle hand cupped under his chin. Vaya tilted his head up to look Her in the eyes.

She had changed. Now she was taller than even him, with raven black hair flowing down her back and gleaming silver eyes full of sorrow and adoration. Her skin was pale, and she was clad in a flowing yellow gown. "I know you would. You have already given so much to me, just as your ancestors have. I watched as each of you took it upon yourselves to uphold your duty to me and to Remnant. Every time your ancestors were forced to abandon the women they had fallen in love with, every time they struggled to raise a son all on their own, every time they wandered into the wilderness to fight the Grimm to their last breath upon passing the mantle to their son, I was there. I was watching."

She closed her eyes, a single tear sliding down Her pale cheek. "And I wept for each of them. I never wanted that for any of them, and I never want to subject any child of mine to such loneliness again. Thus I give you my word that the days of secrets are coming to an end. Never shall you have to leave your beloved, and you will raise your sons and daughters as a father should."

Nathaniel's eyes widened. "Sons and... daughters?"

He had always thought in the back of his mind that he would have to have a son one day. It was his duty to sire a son to look over Talon as he slept and one day take Nathaniel's place, but... that was no longer necessary, was it? Talon was abroad in the world. His lineage's watch was complete. Nathaniel would never need to return to the little fake village that had been built atop his resting place. He would never have to take his son away to a hidden place and train him to fight. It had never truly clicked until just then.

He would never have to leave Glynda.

Nathaniel burst into tears again. This time they were tears of joy as the Life Mother held him gently.


"So, I take it you are the one I've been hearing in my head," Weiss stated matter of factly as she stared at her identical twin.

"You would be correct," Amare responded, still smiling.

Weiss looked the spirit of love over. Outside of the difference in outfit and how she wore her hair Amare was a carbon copy of Weiss, except for one key difference. There was no scar over her left eye. "Why do you look like me?"

Amare's smile widened. "Perhaps you should be wondering why you look like me. I have a few thousand years on you after all."

Okay, so apparently it was Weiss who was the carbon copy. That would have to be unpacked later. If she tried to figure that out now on top of everything else she might just check herself into a mental hospital and have done with it. "You've been alive for thousands of years? How is that possible?"

"I am not mortal as you are. I am bound to the Relic of Love, what you know as the Angel's Rose. So long as it exists, so too do I."

That confirmed the Rose was behind this then. "What exactly is the Relic of Love? Why is it- why are you, affecting me the way you are?"

"Hm..." Amare tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How to explain... you may want to sit or lay down for this. This could take time, and I tire of standing." The spirit eased herself to the ground, laying on her side. After a moment, Weiss joined her and lay directly across from her.

"The Relic of Love, and by extension myself, was made to aid human and faunus kind in a time of great darkness. So long as my bearer was fighting for the people they loved I would lend them my strength to aid them in battle. I had many bearers throughout many years, from noble kings and queens battling to protect their kingdoms to vagrants and vagabonds looking after their friends and family."

"How did you end up in the Emerald Forest then?"

"I was placed there of course."

Weiss frowned. "Placed by who?"

Amare beamed. "By the Lady."

"The Lady? And who exactly is that?"

Amare giggled, hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I forgot most people don't know about Her in this modern era. I'll leave that explanation up to others. Namely your knight in shining armor."

Weiss blinked. "What does Jaune have to do with all of this?"

Amare rolled over onto her back, staring up at the endless expanse of white above, hands clasped over her heart. "It has everything to do with him," she said with a dreamy sigh.

Weiss really hoped she wasn't going to start doing that too. "What do you mean? I don't understand any of this! Until a week ago you were just a flower sitting on my desk. A strange glowing flower, but still a flower! Now suddenly you're some kind of powerful magic relic?"

"I was always a powerful relic. You just needed something to galvanize you into forming a connection with me." She looked at the heiress sidelong. "Such as Jaune being put in mortal peril right in front of you."

Weiss blinked. "So Jaune being in danger was enough for me to connect to you?"

"Specifically it was your desire to protect him was enough for you to connect to me. You wanted to shield him from harm and save him just as he'd saved you from the Dark Champion. In your desperation your subconscious mind reached out to draw as much power as you could into forming your summon. Power that I was perfectly willing to give to protect him from harm."

The white haired girl sighed and laid next to the spirit. "So I wanted to protect Jaune so badly that I was able to connect with you. I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else has lately." She frowned, thinking about the way Amare acted whenever Jaune was brought up. "So.. do you have feelings for him too?"

Amare giggled again, absolutely giddy. "How could I not? He is the Lady's favored son, and the power that burns in his soul... it was electrifying the first time he touched me. I was alone for so long in that dingy forest, waiting for my new bearer to claim me, and then he came along and dug me out of the ground with his big, strong, but gentle hands..."

Weiss's face flushed as a warmth filled her. A very particular kind of warmth. "S-stop that! Stop making me feel what you're feeling!" She sat up and jabbed a finger at Amare, clenching her legs together tightly and willing the sensation to go away.

It did as Amare rolled over and rested her head on her arm, grinning at Weiss. "I'm not making you feel anything."

"Liar," she accused. "You made me feel..." she cleared her throat awkwardly, face red for an entirely different reason, "excited when you were talking about Jaune."

Amare tittered happily. "I don't make anyone feel anything they don't already feel Snow Angel. I can only enhance what's there, not create emotion from nothing." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Any enjoyment you get from the idea of his hands on you is entirely your own. I simply helped you feel it more keenly."

"Well... it's still invasive. I don't appreciate it." The last thing Weiss wanted was for her emotions to be enhanced at the wrong time and wind up doing something embarrassing.

Amare pouted, face scrunching up and cheeks puffing out cutely. Did Weiss look like that when she got huffy? "You're no fun. Don't pretend you haven't thought about how nice it was to have his hands on your body as you danced together."

Weiss went from red to scarlet. "T-that's not the point of this conversation!"

The Spirit of Love rolled onto her stomach, chin resting in her hands as her legs kicked idly behind her. She grinned impishly. "So, what did you like most? How warm they were on your body, or how big they were? You know they say boys with big hands and big feet have big-"

Weiss took a swipe at Amare. The spirit vanished just before the blow connected and reappeared outside her range, laughing giddily as she rolled on the ground.

The heiress groaned and flopped down on the ground. "Ugh. We may look alike, but you don't act anything like me."

"Maybe it's you who doesn't act like me."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Can we get back on track please?"

"Of course! So, when you and Jaune were dancing how tempted were you to kiss him? I mean I already know the answer, but I want to hear you say it."

"Can you stop?!" Weiss nearly shrieked, face red. "This is not back on track! This is the opposite of on track!"

Amare cocked her head to the side, confused. "What do you mean? Don't you want to talk about your feelings for Jaune?"

"Eventually, yes. But right now I need to understand what exactly it is you're doing to me. You've said your enhancing my emotions, but how? For that matter, why?"

Amare rolled over onto her back, once again looking at the white void above. "That's a side effect of a bond with me. I enhance the emotions you feel for the people you love. I make them stronger, burn brighter in your heart so you can't deny what it is you feel."

"Just romantic love?"

"Oh no. All love is precious, whether it be romantic, familial, platonic, or any other form love can take. All love should be cherished."

"Then why haven't you enhanced how I feel about my teammates? Or Winter?"

"Because it hasn't been necessary. You know you love them. You don't need me to help you see that."

Weiss's face flushed. "I-I see." So then, did that mean that she... No. Now wasn't the time to get hung up on that. Her feelings for Jaune could wait until she got the answers she needed about how the Angel's Rose worked.

"You've said that you can give me power. How?"

"Think of our connection as a road. I can send my power down the road to you, and you can harness it. When you summoned the White Knight you were drawing from my power to do so." The impish smile returned to her face. "Which is why its weapon was different."

Weiss blinked. "Different? Oh, right." With everything that had been going on she had forgotten that the Knight had been wielding a halberd where it should have had a sword. "That was your personal touch I take it?"

"Something like that. My power is different from aura, so it works differently. Should you use it to power your summons you may find that they have changed in some way."

Weiss frowned thoughtfully. "Your power isn't aura... but can I use it as such? Could I use it to increase my ability to heal or strengthen my aura shield?"

"Hm..." Amare tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Theoretically yes, I suppose you could. I'm not sure how though. The Light is typically used as an offensive weapon, not a defensive one."

"The Light?"

"That is what my power is: the Lady's Light in its purest form. Jaune can explain more about it to you, but I'm not interested in discussing fuddy duddy details like that." The Spirit of Love sat up and took both of Weiss's hands in her own, pulling her up into a sitting position. "What I am interested in is discussing you and your knight in shining armor!"

Weiss groaned. "You're really not going to drop it, are you?"

"Stuff like this is quite literally why I exist."

"Fair enough I guess. So..." Weiss wracked her brain trying to think of what to say or do in regards to her burgeoning feelings for Jaune. With everything she'd learned from her talk with Amare, she'd been left with more questions than answers and her head was reeling. "I suppose... my first question is that my feelings for Jaune are mine, right? You've said you intensify emotions, but you don't create them. So I really do... like him?"

Amare smiled, once again shifting from eager child to wise woman. "Only you can answer that question. I want you to close your eyes and think of him. What do you feel? What does having him in your mind spark inside of you?"

Weiss took a breath and closed her eyes, focusing on Jaune. She pictured him in her mind, arms around her as they danced in his little hospital room, his burning eyes and smiling face staring down at her. What did he make her feel?

Warm was the first thing that came to mind. Just being near him filled her with a comforting heat, like being wrapped in a thick blanket on a cold day. It was so much stronger when his hands had been about her, resting on her back or holding her own hand as they circled the room.

Safe was the next thing that came to mind. Not necessarily in the physical sense, or not just in that sense. Weiss was more than capable of protecting herself from just about anything, but Jaune gave her a sense of emotional security as well as physical safety. She felt like she could truly be herself around him, just like how she could be around her teammates. It wasn't like being around Atlas high society, where you had to hide your true feelings behind a thin veneer of politeness and smiles that were all teeth.

Happy.

To her shock, Weiss realized that Jaune made her... happy. She had looked forward to their lessons not because of the subject material, but because it had meant she got to spend time with him. If anything good had come from the Dark Champion it was that the barriers between the two of them had been broken down. They had grown close to one another, to the point that their relationship could be considered intimate. And with that came another feeling.

Guilt.

Jaune had done so much for her. He had acted behind the scenes to bring her happiness at the expense of his own joy, never once trying to take any credit for his actions and setting her and Neptune up for the dance because he'd known it was what she wanted.

And then he had saved her life.

The memory of Jaune driving himself beyond the breaking point to protect her from the Dark Champion was one that was rooted deep in her soul. The sight of his broken weeping form as he'd struggled against the Grimm as the Dark Champion squeezed the life out of her, the power and fury that had radiated off of him as he'd torn into it vengefully, the words he had spoken before he'd struck the final blow and slain it. All of it cemented into one undeniable fact.

Jaune adored her. He loved her.

Weiss whimpered and wiped at her eyes as emotion overcame her. This had nothing to do with Amare's influence. She had always known that in the back of her mind since the battle of the breach, but now that she had finally admitted it to herself the truth was unavoidable and overwhelming. Jaune loved her. Despite how cold she'd been to him in the past he loved her. And she...

Soft arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her gently. Amare kissed the top of her head. "Yes," she said gently. "He does love you."

"D-do I love him?" The heiress asked as she opened her ice blue eyes.

Amare's ever present smile widened. "I think you already know the answer to that Snow Angel."


Jaune sat up in his hospital bed with a groan as someone knocked on his door. "I've really got to get my sleep schedule back on track," he grumbled to himself as he got out of bed and stood up, stretching with a massive yawn. Of course he probably would have been up earlier if he hadn't worked himself half to death yesterday evening in a vain attempt to push Weiss and what Talon had told him about her channeling Light out of his mind.

That was going to have to be addressed at some point. If Weiss was channeling Light then he needed to figure out how and why and help her with it.

"One moment!" he called out when his yawn tapered off. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked over to the door. He opened it up, expecting Doctor Albus or a nurse.

He most certainly wasn't expecting Specialist Winter Schnee, arms clasped behind her back.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes again. "Good morning Specialist Schnee." He could count on one hand the number of times she had spoken to him directly despite the fact that she was in charge of his security. Whatever had caused her to visit him must have been important.

"Good morning to you too Mr. Arc. May I come in?"

"Of course." He stepped aside and let her in before shutting the door. "Is something wrong?"

Specialist Schnee stepped over to the window (which was still smashed out. Talon refused to let anyone fix it) and looked out on the street below. "That remains to be seen. I was rather hoping you could tell me something Mr. Arc."

"What is it?"

She turned her head to regard him. Not for the first time Jaune was struck by just how similar she and Weiss were in physical appearance. He'd be willing to bet money if he ever met their mother the resemblance would be unmistakable.

"Can you explain why my younger sister was seen running out of your room yesterday evening?"

Ah, crap.

Immediately Jaune's mind jumped to a thousand conclusions that Winter could have possibly come to, especially if she was aware of how persistently he'd chased after her little sister before the dance. He was lucky she wasn't like Yang. His face would have gotten punched in by now.

"W-Weiss and I got wrapped up in her lesson," he said quickly. He had a strong feeling Winter's bad side wasn't somewhere he wanted to remain. "She's been tutoring me for your father's upcoming charity event, and she didn't realize she was late for her da- thing with a... friend," he finished lamely. "Weiss was right. I really am a bad liar." He wasn't sure if Winter knew about her and Neptune, and he didn't want to be the guy to get them in trouble.

"I am aware of Weiss's relationship with Neptune Vasilias. There is no need to try and hide it from me."

"Oh... Well alright then," he said awkwardly, shuffling his feet.

"I am also aware that Weiss has been tutoring you for quite some time now, and visits you often. She's here at least three times a week, if not more." She continued to stare at him sidelong impassively, giving him no hints as to her true thoughts. Her implications were clear however.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I-it's a lot of material. I'm not really used to this high class stuff. I'd probably wind up looking like an idiot at the party if it weren't for her."

"Hm." The Atlas operative turned to look back out the window. "I see. And what topic were you two studying yesterday that had her so distracted?"

Jaune's face burned as he thought of yesterday. Weiss in his arms as they danced, staring at him with her shining ice blue eyes...

He coughed nervously. "W-Weiss was helping me with... b-ballroom dancing." He gulped as Winter turned to look at him with a singular eye again.

"Ballroom dancing? How interesting." She turned on her heel like she was on the parade ground and strode towards him, calm and poised. Somehow that was worse than if she'd drawn her weapon and lunged for him. That at least would have told him where he stood with her.

"Should I come rescue you?" Talon teased, amusement rolling off of him.

"Just be ready if I come leaping out the window," Jaune responded. He was only half joking.

"Hm, I promise nothing. Do try to make a good impression upon the Specialist. I imagine she could make your courting of Weiss difficult if she doesn't like you."

Jaune was about to snap back at Talon when Winter stopped right in front of him, staring at him with a passively neutral expression that had no right to be as intimidating as it was. "Such styles of dance are rather sophisticated." She began to walk around him. He tried to turn to keep her in his eye line, but she held a hand up as he turned. "Stay still please." He froze in place, arms at his side and back ramrod straight as she walked in a circle around him, eyes roaming his form. He felt like livestock being inspected by a butcher.

"Very good. As I was saying, such styles of dance are rather sophisticated, and lessons can be rather expensive. It was kind of her to do it for free."

"Y-yes ma'am, it was."

"Such dances can be rather... intimate as well."

A shiver ran up Jaune's spine. Talon was howling with laughter.

"They require much physical contact. At times the two dancers might be pressed chest to chest or be even closer. Such dancing when done between two young people in private could very well lead to other things."

Jaune's heart pounded in his ears. He felt very lightheaded all of a sudden. "W-we're just friends! Nothing happened!"

He flinched and nearly leapt a foot in the air when a hand lightly brushed his shoulder. "No? Weiss and I exchanged letters on occasion. I understand you pursued her rather vehemently for quite some time. Despite the fact that she made it clear she wasn't interested in you."

Jaune's face went from red to completely scarlet as embarrassment flooded him like a tidal wave. "I... I did. I guess I just couldn't take a hint. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable."

"I'm sure you didn't, but you certainly had a vested interest in her. An interest that I highly doubt vanished overnight. Despite her attempts to portray herself as a mature woman my little sister is still a young girl who has only just entered adulthood. She is still a child in many ways, and not as knowledgeable about what young men are often interested in as she should be. So for her to be alone in a private space with the young man who saved her life, engaging in activities that require much physical contact... Well, one thing could lead to another."

Wait a minute. Was she implying that he- she was.

Embarrassment fled in the face of the indignation that coursed in him as he turned to face Winter and looked her dead in the eye, burning blue eyes boring into her. "I didn't seduce Weiss. I would never do that to her, whatever you may think of me. Weiss is... I... I care about your sister deeply. There is nothing in this world that could make me do that to her. Weiss deserves someone who loves her and wants to be with her, not some play boy trying to.. to do that." He spat the last word like it was a curse. "We danced. Yes we got distracted, but nothing happened. I swear that."

But he remembered the look she had given him as they'd been in each other's arms. There had been something in her eyes he'd never seen before. Something soft and affectionate. She had given him that same look just before she'd ran out of his room. What did it mean? Did she...?

"I believe you," Winter said suddenly. Jaune was dragged back to reality by her words. "In truth I didn't think you two had engaged in intercourse, but I had to be sure. It is an older sibling's duty to look after her younger sister after all." The embarrassment returned full force as the Specialist so casually brought the topic of sex up. "The tabloids and gossip papers will be talking however. I was not the only one to notice her rapid exit." She took a step back from him, hands still clasped behind her back. "Though no one with a brain reads those things, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about it."

"Y-yeah..." his throat was awfully dry. He wanted to get a drink, but he doubted he was allowed to move from his spot.

Specialist Schnee continued to stare at him quietly for several moments. He remained still, staring back because he didn't know what else to do.

"How do you feel about Weiss?" The question was asked softly, lacking the harder edge her earlier tone had held.

"Like I said, I care about her-"

"No. How do you really feel about her? Don't beat around the bush. Just tell me honestly."

"I... I..." He took a deep breath in and let it out, his entire body shaking with the exhalation. His heart was pounding in his chest. "I adore her. She's... she's amazing. I've never met anyone who makes me feel what she makes me feel."

"You love her."

"Yes," he said softly as he clasped his arms behind his back out of a need to grab onto something with them. The squire felt like he was about to collapse. "I love her." When had it happened? When had his crush grown into something more? He didn't know. There wasn't a single point he could mark where the change took place. It had just happened. "I love Weiss."

It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, only to be replaced with another one. Saying it out loud made him feel lighter than air, but the fear that she didn't feel the same bore back down on him.

Winter stepped up to him, almost chest to chest. She had to look up a good bit to stare him in the eyes, but he didn't doubt for a moment that she was far more dangerous than he was. She stared deep into his eyes, her own blue eyes that were a slightly darker shade than her sisters seeming to bore into his very soul.

Then she nodded. "I approve." She stepped back, expression betraying nothing.

He blinked. "You.. approve? Of what?"

"Of you. I give you permission to enter a relationship with my younger sister."

Jaune nearly collapsed. "I... I'm sorry. I think I misheard you."

Winter sighed and rolled her eyes. it was so very like Weiss's own expression of exasperation that he could guess where she picked it up from. "Do you have earplugs in? I said you have my permission to court Weiss."

"Thank... you... but she's already in a relationship."

Winter smiled knowingly. "I know my sister. Neptune is nice from what I've gathered about him, but he's just a boy with little substance. Her attentions will turn to you soon enough if they haven't already, and I suspect her mind has been lingering on you more and more often." The smile faded, a severe expression taking its place. "I would ask however that you let her take the first step in this. I want her to be sure you are what she wants. And frankly, you've pursued her enough. I'd rather you not keep dogging her heels. Let this be her choice."

Jaune flinched as though struck. "I will," he promised. "I don't want to be a problem for her anymore."

"I believe you." She placed a hand on his shoulder and the smile returned. "I haven't said it yet but... thank you for saving her. Weiss and I come from a difficult family. Mother and Father are distant to say the least and it fell to me to take care of her and our little brother. It comforts me to know that people like you are around her and will fight for her. No one can stand alone forever."

He nodded. "I'm just glad she's okay."

"As am I." She removed her hand from his shoulder and stepped back, turning on her heel and making for the door. She opened it, but paused before stepping out. "Oh, I almost forgot." She looked back at him. "You have some visitors. Not people from Beacon, but I think you'll be very eager to see them all the same. I'll have them sent up."

"Actually, could you send them to the open square? I could use some fresh air." He was feeling awfully lightheaded.

"Of course. Have a good day Mr. Arc."

"You too Specialist Schnee."

She stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her with a soft click.

Jaune stood there in the center of the room with his arms clasped behind his back, utterly still.

"Are you okay?" Talon queried, concern plain in his voice.

"Nope," Jaune responded chipperly, and promptly collapsed.


Pyrrha glanced up at the knock on the door.

"Huh, early for people to visit us," Nora said as she looked up from her scroll. "Wonder who it is."

"I've got it," Pyrrha said as she walked over and opened the door. "Oh! Hello Weiss!" She smiled at the heiress.

Weiss smiled back, but the champion could tell it was a nervous thing. "Good morning Pyrrha. How are you?"

"I'm well, and you?"

"I'm okay." She cleared her throat and glanced away awkwardly. "I was wondering... could we talk? In private I mean."

Pyrrha blinked, surprised. "Of course we can." She stepped out and shut the door behind her. "Is something wrong?"

Weiss's hands were fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She was clearly very nervous. "Could we go to the gardens?"

Beacon had a number of locations for relaxing and studying. The gardens were one such place and were a popular hang out location for students outside of class. "Of course we can," Pyrrha said. "Lead the way."

The two walked out of the dormitory and followed the cobblestone path to the gardens. The whole time Weiss fiddled with her skirt or flowing sleeves and refused to look Pyrrha in the eye. The champion fighter wanted to ask her what was wrong, but held her questions until they reached their destination.

When they did so they sat down at one of the gazebos dotting the garden across from one another. Pyrrha waited for Weiss to say something, but the heiress remained silent, staring at the table they sat at.

The crimsonette reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Weiss flinched and looked up at Pyrrha. "Weiss, what's wrong? You can talk to me, I promise."

Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I... I'm sorry."

Pyrrha frowned. "Sorry for what?"

"During initiation, when I approached you with an offer to team up. I only did so because I knew who you were and your reputation as a prodigy fighter. I didn't care about you as a person, nor was I interested in getting to know you better. I was only focused on what you could do for me."

Pyrrha sat in stunned silence. She'd honestly forgotten all about that. "Well... I don't think there's any reason to hang onto that Weiss. That was a long time ago."

"But that doesn't change the fact that I did it and never apologized for it. I think... I hope that I'm a better person than that now. I don't want to be the selfish little girl that I was when I first arrived at Beacon. I want to be better than that."

Pyrrha smiled kindly and squeezed her shoulder. "You are better than that. You've grown since coming here. I think of you as a friend, and I hope you see me the same way."

"I do consider you my friend Pyrrha," Weiss responded as she took Pyrrha's hand and squeezed it before letting go. "I care about you, and the rest of team Juniper."

"Even Jaune?" Pyrrha teased.

It was intended as a joke to break any tension that may have existed between them. She wasn't expecting Weiss to freeze up and go pale.

The heiress looked away from the champion and cleared her throat, cheeks dusted with pink. "Yes, even Jaune..."

Something writhed unpleasantly in Pyrrha at Weiss's reaction and how she'd said her words. She had a sinking feeling Weiss hadn't brought her out here just to apologize for past behavior.

"Pyrrha, you are my friend. I care about you, and I care about your happiness. I don't want to hurt you. But I don't want to keep things that affect us both from you either. W-which is why I feel like I need to tell you that over time my perspective on Jaune has... changed."

Pyrrha's hands clenched into tight fists on the table as she fought to keep herself from shaking. She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to force herself to calm back down. "You're interested in him. R-romantically." Her voice caught on the last word and she swallowed hard.

"Yes, I am," the heiress said softly. "As I spent time with him over the past month I began to see what you and Ruby saw in him, why you felt the way you did, and I began to feel the same as you about him."

"No you don't. You have no idea how much more he means to me than you."

The words were ugly and spiteful and they rose up in her like a physical thing fighting to break out. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, fighting back the bitter jealously that suddenly swelled up inside her. She opened her eyes and gave Weiss a watery smile. "Th-that's great Weiss. He's going to be overjoyed when you tell him."

"I... don't plan to tell him."

"W-what?"

Weiss reached across the table and took one of the crimsonette's hands in her own. "Pyrrha, I know how much you care about him. I know you... I know you love him." Weiss looked as though just saying it hurt her. "You've done so much for him, been there for him since the beginning. I would feel awful if I just took him away from you because you're my friend and I care about you." She released Pyrrha's hand and clasped her own together tightly, the fingers intertwining on the table. "Which is why I think you should go visit him in the hospital today and tell him how you feel. You deserve to be with him, and Jaune would be happy with you. I would rather see him be with you than let that tramp Cinder sink her claws any deeper into him."

Pyrrha could certainly agree with Weiss's opinion about Cinder. She didn't trust that woman one bit, but there was one problem with the heiress's plan.

"Jaune... doesn't love me." It hurt to finally say it out loud. It hurt so much. Tears began to flow down her face and her breath hitched. "Not the way I want him to. E-even if he agreed to a relationship I know... I know it would only be because he'd be trying to move on from you." She squeezed her eyes tightly, body shaking with restrained sobs. "B-because he loves you!"

It came pouring out of her. Pyrrha burst into tears as sorrow and jealously washed over her. She'd always known in the back of her mind that Jaune hadn't held any romantic feelings for her, only for Weiss. It was so unfair.

"Pyrrha, I..." Weiss got out of her seat and walked over to the sobbing girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I never wanted to hurt you."

The champion pushed herself to her feet suddenly and backed up from the heiress. "No! Just... just leave me alone! You've done enough." Bitter anger for Weiss welled up in her even as a part of her knew it was unfair to her to think of the heiress like that. She hadn't asked for Jaune to love her over Pyrrha.

But that didn't change the fact that he did.

"J-just leave me alone," Pyrrha repeated as she stumbled out of the gazebo and made for the dorms, wiping at her eyes and trying to regain some measure of control over herself.


Weiss watched Pyrrha go regretfully. She'd known that the conversation wouldn't have a happy ending, but that didn't make watching Pyrrha burst into tears any easier to deal with.

"Not going to tell him? Not going to tell him?! What do you mean you weren't going to tell him?!" Amare all but screamed in her mind. Now that Weiss had engaged the spirit of love in a full conversation she seemed either more willing or more able of speaking to her at any time.

"Hush," she whispered. "It would have been unfair of me to just swoop in and take Jaune without giving her a chance."

Amare groaned. "Weiss, love is rarely about what is and is not fair. If it were then everyone in the world would find their one true love and never have to deal with heartbreak."

"Maybe, but that's no excuse to go behind Pyrrha's back. She's my friend and I won't do that to her."

Amare sighed. "I suppose you're right. But ask yourself this: would it truly be kind to push her to a man who won't love her the way she wants him to?"

Weiss bit her lip, unable to think of a response to that.

The heiress stepped out of the gazebo and watched Pyrrha go, wondering if she should go after the champion fighter.

No. That was a bad idea. Pyrrha was already emotionally vulnerable and had made it clear she didn't want to be around Weiss right now. If she followed her it could devolve into a full blown fight, which was the last thing either of them needed or wanted. At least Weiss hoped Pyrrha didn't want to fight her.

"Heh. Chock that up as a loss for the Invincible Girl," someone nearby sniggered.

Weiss spun about and locked eyes with the person who'd talked. He was a student from Mistral judging by his uniform. His smirk dimmed as Weiss's eyes bored holes into him. "One more word," she hissed furiously, "one, and I will launch you into the Emerald Forest without a weapon."

His eyes slid from her to something behind her and he stepped back nervously. "S-sorry," he stammered, and sprinted off.

Weiss turned to see what had chased him off and saw the familiar form of the White Knight looming behind her, tracking the boy as he ran off. She hadn't even realized she'd summoned it. She'd have to be more careful in the future. The last thing Weiss needed to do was summon something in a fit of anger and have it attack someone.

With a thought she banished the Knight, shocked at just how easy it was to do so. Amare's power was incredible.

"Now what?" the spirit of love asked.

Weiss sighed and turned to walk deeper into the gardens. She didn't want to go back to the dorms. Pyrrha had gone that way, and the last thing either of them needed was to run into one another right now. She kept walking until she reached a pond with a stone bench beside it. The heiress eased herself down and stared at the water. "Did I do the right thing?" she asked aloud. There was no one else around to hear her seemingly talk to herself, and thus no reason to whisper.

"I think you did. Despite my opinion on you not confessing to Jaune I agree that you needed to talk to her."

"But I hurt Pyrrha. That was the last thing I wanted to happen."

"Love can be painful, especially when it is not reciprocated. Pyrrha was always going to be hurt no matter what you did. At least this way she won't think you went behind her back."

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "I suppose so, but I still wish I could have done something to show her that Jaune still cares about her. Something to make it easier for her."

"Hm..."

"Something tells me I'm not going to like what you're about to suggest."

"Well, there might be a way to do that. Maybe. It depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you're willing to share him for a day."


Finally able to feel his legs and think clearly after his arduous climb over Mount Big Sister, Jaune walked down the stairs stretching his arms over his head and trying to keep his borrowed nurse's smock from riding too high up. It was getting close to time for him to change out for a larger set. Again.

"I'll admit I like being taller, but if this keeps up the hospital's going to run out of clothes for me to borrow." That and it would make shopping for new clothes rather difficult if they would only fit for a week or two before he needed more.

"I don't think your Ascension will take too much longer to complete. It usually doesn't take more than a month, give or take a couple weeks," Talon responded over their link. "Honestly I thought you'd be taller by this point."

"Gee, thanks."

He could practically feel Talon rolling his eyes. "You know what I mean. I told you Cailan was eight feet tall by the time his Ascension completed. You'll likely stop around seven feet. I was under the impression you'd be much the same as him, being Vaya's Champion." Melancholy swept over Jaune. "I suppose that's my fault. You are very like him in many ways, but different in others. You are not Cailan, and I should not put the same expectations on you."

"Talon... if you could go back to before you had to leave and been at his side at the end..."

"Would I have done it? Absolutely. Please do not take that to mean that I do not care for you too Jaune. I do. You are a great man and you wear his mantle well. I could not think of anyone more worthy to inherent the position of Knight Lord from him, but..."

"It hurt to leave him," Jaune finished for Talon as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Jaune could scarcely imagine what it would be like in Talon's position. To sleep for ten thousand years, the last sensation you felt before falling unconscious being the death of someone you were bound mentally to, and then awakening in a world that had become all but unrecognizable...

"Yes. Yes it did. But our duty comes first, and Cailan's actions ensured human and faunus kind lived to see a new era. His legacy exists in the fact that Vaya's children still walk Remnant. And one day I will see him again, when my life reaches its end and we are reunited in the world beyond this one. That gives me comfort."

Comfort in death. Jaune had never thought about it that way. Death was always treated as something to be avoided because once you died... that was it. No do overs. No second chances.

But at the same time Jaune could understand Talon's reasoning. This world was not his any longer, not truly. It never would be. Jaune loved Talon, and Talon loved him, but Jaune knew his soul lay in an era that had died ten thousand years ago. He didn't hold that against the Gryphon. You were allowed to be melancholic when you left everything behind in the name of duty.

"When I get out of this damn hospital what do you say you and I go camping for a day or two? Just the two of us in the depths of the wilds living by our skills and wits, taking on any Grimm that cross our path."

"Hmph. I know you're just saying that to cheer me up, but... yes. I think I'd rather like that. It's been too long since I went on a proper incursion into the wilds."

"It's a date then," Jaune joked.

"Ugh, don't say that. You're nice and all, but you're not my type."

Jaune laughed and shook his head as he pushed open the door to the common area. It was an open square in the middle of Azure Memorial with walking paths and grassy areas for patients to get out of their hospital rooms and get some much needed fresh air and exercise. It had become one of Jaune's favorite spots to spend time at when he'd been permitted to walk around on his own and leave his hospital room.

He looked around for the guests Winter had told him about. She hadn't told him anything about what they looked like, so he figured they must be people he was familiar with.

He was right as it turned out.

Jaune's jaw dropped open as he stared at his visitors. "Wha-"

An arm locked around his throat from behind. The champion leapt into action immediately.

He grabbed the arm around his neck and wrenched it down, breaking the hold. Snarling he spun around and threw an elbow out, putting the force of his spin behind it. He impacted, and his assailant grunted as he stumbled back. Jaune brought his arms up to shield his face, took a step forward, and-

And stopped.

He blinked, not sure what he was seeing for a moment.

The man laughed and rubbed the side of his head. "Well I guess that'll teach me not to sneak up on a knight in training, won't it?"

Nicholas Arc grinned at his only son. "Hey kiddo. Where'd you learn to do that?"


Cardin blinked, and suddenly he was standing back where he had been when he'd first entered the large chamber.

He looked over at his brothers who looked back at him, just as confused. He looked past them to Nathaniel. He had completely forgotten the knight had been there. Vaya hadn't even said anything to him.

But he was grinning from ear to ear, tear tracks down his face, as he stared at Vaya. She was standing at the top of the raised platform again, as though she had never moved in the first place, but now she looked different. She was taller with black hair that flowed down her back like an onyx wave, silver eyes set in a kindly smiling face. She was clad in a simple yellow dress that flowed down to the floor. There was no ornamentation of any kind to see. No jewelry, no make up, not even a belt about the waist. But she was still the most incredible thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Are you really her?" a voice asked. Cardin was shocked when the others turned to look at him. He hadn't realized he'd been the one to speak. He gulped, mouth suddenly dry. "Are you really Vaya?"

"Yes," she said simply. "And no. I am a fragment of the whole, created to watch over this place and what it holds, and to await your arrival. I am so glad to meet the five of you at last." She beamed at them. Cardin's legs felt suddenly weak. He was being smiled at by a literal goddess.

"What are we here for?" Russel asked. "What were we sent to find?"

She gestured for them to follow her and turned. They hurried after her, rushing up the stairs as she strode to the back wall. It was flat unremarkable stone, bare of any markings. the goddess strode up to it and placed her hand upon the wall.

The five of them watched in silent astonishment as the stone began to shift and change before them. Shapes formed, the stone flowing like water as it formed an arch way of carven stone bricks ten feet tall and ten feet wide, an open space forming in the center of the arch as the stone simply slid away.

Light poured from the opening, as bright as the light of midday. The knight and squires squinted and looked away, their eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness.

And when they could see...

A valley lay before them, a vast land of rolling grasses and flower meadows that stretched beyond what they could see. It was all illuminated by the light of a noon day sun, shining down upon the land.

"That's... that's impossible." Dove took out his scroll and checked it. "It's only just now turning two in the morning! and we're inside of a mountain! How...?"

"This place is a sanctuary within a sanctuary," Vaya said as she stepped through the arch way and into the meadow. "Even should my sister have managed to locate and breach the mountain before your arrival she would not have been able to open the way to this sacred place. It is here that I have kept the greatest secrets and treasures locked away until the time came for them to be found."

"What are they?" asked Sky as he followed her in, the others right behind him. "The secrets and treasures I mean."

Vaya looked back and smiled at them.

"The beginning of a new era."

She led them through the meadow. It quickly became evident that they were not the only living things here. Birds flew overhead in flocks as rabbits and field mice scuttled up to Vaya, sniffing at the hem of her dress before hopping or scurrying away and about their business. In the distance Cardin could see horses galloping through the tall grass, beyond them a deep green forest, and beyond that...

"Is that... a mountain range?'

Vaya smiled. "Yes."

"How?" Dove asked, staring slack jawed.

Their path took them up a hill that hid what lay on the other side from them. "This place took much of my carefully hoarded power to create. Almost all of it. This is a world within a world, a place of peace free of my sister's influence. Here I have kept the future of the Order safe and sealed away. Here a new beginning can be found."

They crested the top of the hill, and beheld a living building.

It was the only way to describe it. Trees were interwoven into each other forming walls and pillars, their boughs twisting together to form the roof of the structure, a massive temple complex.

It towered in the distance, dominating the landscape around it. Vaya laughed and spun. "Oh I'm tired of waiting!" She reached out and grabbed Nathaniel and Sky by the hands and started running, pulling them behind her. The two looked back at the others with wide eyes, but ran in her wake.

Cardin shrugged and looked at Dove and Russel. "Follow the Lady I suppose." He took off at a sprint after her, his two brothers close behind him.

He wasn't sure how long they ran for. The tree temple grew in the distance as they closed the gap, but slowly. He felt that he should have grown winded by now, but his body felt fresh and unburdened. His breath came easy to him despite the fact that he was sure they'd been running full tilt for nearly an hour. It was as though the very presence of The Lady stole the exhaustion from them, gifting the five men with an endless stamina.

Vaya was equally unaffected by the length and time of their run. If anything She grew faster and more eager as they drew closer. She would spontaneously burst into song in a language that Cardin didn't know, but the meaning of the songs still came to him. She sang of vast meadows and mighty forests, of flowing oceans and the vast endless sky. She sang of Love and Valor and Serenity, of ancient heroes and saints from a world new born and wild.

It took another two hours to reach the temple. It towered above them, a hundred feet tall at the very least and stretching out across the ground for a mile or more. It was as Cardin had initially thought made entirely of intertwined trees, massive oaks that put anything in Remnant to shame with their age and power.

"So uh... how do we get in?" Russel asked hesitantly as he stared at the towering oaks. "I don't see any doors."

Vaya stepped forward and placed her hand on the trunk of a tree. "Sometimes the best way to get a door is to ask politely." As though on cue the trunk began to pull apart from the point her hand had touched it. Wood creaked and groaned as it moved away, and in less than a minute an open pathway led directly through the tree. The goddess looked back at Russel and smiled. "See?"

The teen shakily held up a thumbs up. "U-uh-huh," he stammered, staring in shock.

She led them inside. The interior was dark but lit with glowing mosses and mushrooms that dotted the walls and provided a low but sufficient light source for them to see the interior laid out before them. More glowed on the roof overhead, turning the roof into a reflection of the night sky, the glowing fungus and moss taking on the role of stars in the night.

It was an open space, perhaps a hundred feet by a hundred feet in length and width. It was vast and empty, except for what seemed to be a large altar set in the center of the room. It was what was upon and beside the altar that drew their eye.

Behind the altar were six suits of armor set out on armor stands. Blue tabards bearing the silver winged blade symbol of the Gryphon Knights adorned four of them, where the fifth was midnight black and emblazoned with a four sided golden star. The sixth suit of armor bore a snow white tabard adorned with twin golden crescents. The four suits of armor with the blue tabards each bore additional items upon them. The first had an ivory white horn hanging from a chain draped across the breastplate. The second had a large tome bound to its breastplate by chains. The third clutched the banner pole of what looked like a flag of woven gold. The fourth had a deep brown cloak fastened about the neck, and an unstrung longbow clutched in one metal hand, a quiver across the back.

But none of that was what truly called to the five servants of the Lady.

Upon the altar itself were five oblong shapes. They were a golden brown color, speckled with white and dark blue spots. They were wrapped securely in thick, soft cloth and set in nests of the same material to make sure they were properly protected and secure.

Cardin's mouth grew dry as he registered just what they were. "Are those..."

"Yes," the Life Mother said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "They are."

"My sons, it is time for the five of you to claim your Gryphons."


And that's a wrap for this chapter.

I do hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I especially hope that I wrote Pyrrha's scene believably. It may seem like I'm bullying her with her unrequited love for Jaune, but I'm really not. I adore Pyrrha and want only good things for her, but no life can be lived without some kind of hardship in it.

I'm also curious to see what people thought of Amare. I tried to make her seem both wise and experienced as well as being a bit of a mischievous kid at heart. And of course there's more questions to be answered around her and Weiss.

Also we get our first serious look at Winter going Big Sister mode. She may have come across as harsh, but that was her intent. She was judging Jaune, getting a measure of who he was as a person by pressing his buttons and seeing what happened.

Also something I wanted to note real quick. Back in chapter seventeen during the conversation with Talon and Jaune about Ascension and Acts of Unmatched Valor that Jaune would grow to be eight feet, but some folks pointed out that seemed kind of needless and could be awkward. After some thinking I decided I actually agreed with them, so I put a bit of a soft retcon in this chapter to address that. Jaune will still be a #bigboi (moreso than he already is) but he won't be Space Marine levels of big.

If you're enjoying this story please feel free to follow and favorite it (and me!). If you have a friend that likes RWBY, RWBY fanfictions, fanfiction or fantasy in general, or just think would enjoy this story, feel free to introduce this story to them. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to tell me what you think about this story then feel free to leave a review or PM me! I love you all. BYYYYEEEEEE!