"I thought you had control over this place?" Cinder asked with a smirk, "It would not appear that way to me."
"Don't get any ideas," Gordeau scowled, "I DO have control, but I also have my bosses. They can interfere if they deem it necessary."
Cinder grumbled something obscene.
"Umm, Gordeau?" Penny asked, "I do not have a good feeling about the rest of this universe. Do we have to watch it?"
"Yes, Penny," Gordeau nodded, "The rest of this viewing will probably be unpleasant for some of you, but I promise it gets better."
Everyone strapped themselves in for the rest of the viewing.
The screen was black and the words 'A few months later' were seen.
Elm started narrating, "It's been over a year since the Master left. It's time for me to fulfill my true role."
"She's taking the fight to Clover," Pyrrha shook her head, "And all because the Master manipulated her."
"And she's all alone too," Yang sighed, "She lost her only ally."
"It still doesn't make any sense," Ren noted, "Unless Harriet's role is something similar…"
"It probably is," Blake sighed.
The screen showed a close up of Elm's mask. It pulled out to reveal Elm flying through the air, Keyblade extended in front of her. She reared back and swung her Keyblade at the waiting Vine.
"Normally, I'd be super pumped up about a fight!" Nora exclaimed, "But in this instance, I really don't feel too good about it."
"I do," Mercury smirked, "Let's see some action!"
Vine jumped back and the last second to avoid the attack. It sent him flying and he summoned his Keyblade and prepared for a fight.
Elm lept off the roof and swung and Vine, their Keyblades clashed in a flash of light.
"Whoa…" Ruby said in awe, "Those Keyblades are awesome! They act just like swords!"
"Why aren't they using the teeth?" Weiss asked, "Wouldn't that be the sharpest point of the blade?"
"Actually," Gordeau explained, "The properties of those specific blades give them the same level of sharpness all over. Even if it doesn't look it, that is the most efficient way to use them."
Ruby squealed as the weapons continued to get cooler and cooler.
They hovered in the air briefly in a test of strength. Elm quickly won, and sent Vine falling towards the ground.
He righted himself and landed on the side of a building. Elm fell towards him and readied another strike.
Vine turned and ran along the wall, causing Elm to hit nothing but the building. The two ran across the wall in a frantic chase.
"How can they do that?" Jaune asked in awe, "Even Ruby needs Weiss's help to do that. They just did it with no problem."
No one answered his question.
Harriet and Clover just watched in silence as two of their teammates fought each other for no good reason.
Elm jumped off the wall and propelled herself toward Vine. They clashed again, but Elm's strength was too great and forced Vine to the ground.
He recovered quickly and leapt into the air. Elm swung her blade and sliced through space itself to form a gravity well that flew at Vine. It opened and sucked Vine back to the ground. As he landed, he blocked another of Elm's attacks, but it took a toll on him.
"What was that?" Ilia asked in shock.
"That," Gordeau pointed out, "Is the answer to Jaune's question. Keyblades give their wielders access to magic. It can be used fairly passively, for things like running up walls, or actively for things like fireballs or gravity wells, like the one Elm just used."
Neptune, Sun, Ilia, and Velvet sat in awe. Sure, they'd seen magic in Gordeau's video explanation of the past, but to actually see it in use? It was awesome.
Elm growled, "Why do you get in my way?"
She overpowered Vine and disarmed him. Vine leapt away and landed across the street, while his Keyblade stuck in the ground behind Elm.
"I'm gonna guess that the Master didn't tell the other apprentices about Elm's true role," Roman noted, "If he had, they wouldn't be fighting."
"Gotta agree with you there," Qrow nodded.
Vine panted as he stood up, "Don't be so conceited! I'm protecting the balance, just like the Master told us to!" The river in town was shown and a small flower split apart, it's five petals flowing in separate directions. "You need to come to your senses!"
"We've got symbolism everyone," Blake chuckled, "And not subtle symbolism either."
"They may as well have beat us over the head with it," Raven nodded.
Elm grimaced and dropped her fighting stance. Unknown to the two fighters, Harriet had been listening, standing around the corner the whole time.
Harriet glared at her other self, "What am I up too?"
"If it is anything like she's done in the past," Winter sighed, "Making everything worse."
"If we don't do something," Elm countered, "light will expire!"
She walked towards the weaponless Vine, "Then we won't be able to avoid the grim future that awaits. We need to defy the Master's teachings to protect the world!" A single tear streamed down Elm's face.
"She's…crying?" Oscar asked, "This must not be something she wanted to do."
"I don't think she ever did," Summer noted, "While she cares about the Master, she wants to protect the world more. And she never wanted to turn against her comrades."
"She wanted them on her side," Tai agreed, "She must really care about all of them."
"You're saying he was wrong!?" Vine asked in horror.
"He's not here anymore," Elm said solemnly. She pointed her blade at Vine, "I won't let his prophecy come true. I won't let the world fall into darkness!" She flung another gravity well at Vine.
"Well, she's determined, I'll give her that," Sun noted, "And I have to agree."
"Yeah," Neo nodded, "Having experienced it, I think any of us would try to stop our world from falling to darkness if we could do it again."
Everyone was actually in agreement with that. Even Cinder, who wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn, didn't want the world completely destroyed.
"You fool!" Vine exclaimed as he leapt into the air. A glow surrounded his hand and his Keyblade was back in it.
He then controlled the water in the river to neutralize Elm's attack and boost his own speed.
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope!" Neptune called out, "Never fighting him. EVER!"
Yang chuckled, "Water magic must be your worst nightmare, huh?"
"Water Dust used to be," Neptune grumbled, "Now it's magic."
He launched himself past Elm and, in her moment of shock, struck at her back.
Just in time, Elm swung her Keyblade around and blocked. This time it was Elm that was shoved back. She dug in to try and stop herself and left grooves in the street.
"This is intense," Velvet winced, "I wish they could see that they're still on the same side."
"I still blame the Master for that," Weiss muttered, "I can't believe he manipulated them like that."
Harriet smirked from her hiding place. Elm had been forced into a position where she could see her.
A Chirithy ran past in the background followed by a panting Marrow. Harriet noticed him quickly.
She glanced at Elm then back to Marrow and called out, "Marrow, over here!"
"Well, now everyone's there but me," Clover sighed, "Hopefully Marrow can talk some sense into you three."
"I don't know," Harriet shook her head, "I still feel like I have my own agenda here. I just can't put my finger on what it is."
They both ran out of the alley to see Elm on her knees trying to hold herself up, and Vine approaching, Keyblade raised in ready.
"Vine, Elm! What's going on?" Marrow asked.
Vine answered, never taking his eyes off of Elm, "I found out who the traitor is, regrettably."
"But she's not!" Nora cried out, "She's trying to fight the darkness! She's still on your side!"
"They don't care," Neo sighed, "They only really care about their own roles and finding the traitor. Knowing what we know, they won't ever find him."
"'Cause he doesn't exist," Roman nodded.
Marrow gasped, "No, that's not true!"
He looked to Harriet for confirmation. She turned toward Elm and summoned her Keyblade, "Marrow, there's no time to lose!"
Harriet winced at her onscreen actions. Now she was actively turning Marrow against Elm too. What was she up to?
Elm snarled at Harriet before standing and looking at Marrow hopefully.
Marrow winced and summoned his own Keyblade. Elm looked around and saw she had no support at all.
"I can't even begin to understand what that's like," Jaune sighed, "To have all your friends betray you."
Qrow sighed, "All of mine do at some point."
Tai looked at his old friend with shame in his eyes, "I'm sorry about that Qrow. It wasn't your fault, it never was and I should never have blamed you for it."
"Thanks," Qrow smiled lightly.
Ozpin, Blake, and Adam all understood what Elm was going through. They had all had old friends turn against them.
She sighed as tears streamed down her face and readied her blade, "May my heart be my guiding key."
She leapt toward Vine and the screen faded out.
"She's going to take on all three at the same time?" Weiss asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I may be reckless," Nora stated, "But even I know that's a dumb move! Retreat for now, and try and gather your strength!"
The aftermath of the battle was immense. The bridge the battle took place on destroyed, the river dried up and the walls were cracked. In one of the side alleys, Harriet stood and examined a page.
"Wow," Emerald was impressed, "That caused some damage."
Ozpin's eyes widened, "Is that what I think it is?"
Gordeau nodded.
The Master's office was shown. He was sitting at his desk examining the Book of Prophecies. Harriet approached and words carved into the floor spelt out 'Case of Harriet.'
Harriet sat up, "Now to learn what I've been playing at this whole time."
"We should get our answers here," Penny agreed.
The Master was making noises as if understanding the Book.
"Master," Harriet announced herself with a bow.
The Master ignored her and kept making noises to himself.
"And he's ignoring you," Adam chuckled, "His charisma is how he easily manipulated all of you."
Blake grumbled, "Because you do the same thing."
"Um… Master?" Harriet tried again, but had no luck.
"If you're busy, I can always come back later," she offered.
"Sure," the Master started before changing his mind, "Oh! No, no, no, stay!"
"Can we just cut the crap?" Harriet asked, "I want to know what my role was!"
Roman went wide-eyed as he realized something, "I think I just figured out what that sheet of paper was."
The Master flipped through the Book, "Now where… Ah, here it is!" the Master tore a page out of his book.
He stood up and handed the page to Harriet. "What's this?" Harriet asked.
"The Lost Page," Summer's jaw dropped, "She's had it the whole time?"
"The question is, why?" Raven asked.
"Go on," the Master encouraged, "Read it."
Harriet obeyed and gasped, "This is from the Book of Prophecies. But…"
"Yup," the Master confirmed, "It's a page that's not in any of your Books."
"And what's written here is…" Harriet began.
"Your role," the Master explained, "You must find the traitor hidden among you, and stop them before it's too late. And in order to help you find the traitor…"
Harriet gasped, "That's why I was acting like that with Elm. I must have been convinced she was the traitor and was goading her into acting on it!"
"And when she finally did, you were right there watching," Clover nodded, "It really was a clever plan."
"And exactly what the Master wanted," Qrow grumbled, "He isn't even trying to hide it here. He gave Elm a role that would paint her as the traitor either way, so Harriet would always think it was her."
"I take it back Oz," Raven sighed, "He's worse than you ever were. I don't forgive you for anything, don't get me wrong. But even I don't think you're THIS bad."
Ozpin wasn't sure what to do with that information.
"I get it," Harriet interrupted, "That's why you gave us all different roles, isn't it?"
The Master held out his hand to try and stop Harriet but she kept going, pacing across the floor as she did, "If anyone deviates from the job they were given, we can easily conclude that they are the traitor. It's brilliant."
The Master put his hands on his hips, "Way to steal my thunder, show-off!"
Cinder chuckled to herself. I still think this could be Tyrian. Sure, the plan isn't like him at all, but his mannerisms are just so on point.
"Huh?" Harriet asked in shock.
"It's not fair," the Master pouted, "My plan was supposed to blow your mind with its grandeur. Your jaw should've hit the floor at my sheer genius!"
"I'm… sorry?" Harriet apologized, unsure of what she did wrong, "But was my logic flawed?"
"No, you're right," the Master conceded, "So, I guess now you've earned your time in the limelight," he slumped back into his chair and changed into a serious tone, "Even though there is a traitor, act normal and keep focused. Trust no one but yourself."
"He's not even hiding it now," Harriet sighed, "He played me and I just went along with it. How could I be so blind!"
"To be fair, Hare," Clover reassured, "He played all of us. Think about it: he told me I could try and fight the darkness, which caused me to look for any excuse to blame somebody. He told Vine to observe, but knew he'd report to whoever was in charge. He told Elm that she could literally take over if she didn't like my leadership, but didn't tell anyone else that. And he told you to find a traitor that he made. None of us are blameless in this incident."
"Except Marrow and Luxu," Ruby pointed out, "We don't know exactly what he told either of them, but Marrow seems like he's not on either side and Luxu's still pretty much a mystery."
"I'm sure we'll learn about both of them soon," Yang pointed out.
Harriet gasped and tightened her grip on the page.
The alley was shown again. Harriet put the page away.
"Trust no one but myself," she repeated before walking out of the alley.
"I don't like where this is going," Neo sighed, "I've tried the whole not trusting thing. Didn't work out too well for me."
Elm lay collapsed in the warehouse, catching her breath. She was obviously the loser of the last fight and was trying to collect herself.
"She's in bad shape," Pyrrha sighed.
"I wish I was there," Jaune looked down, "Even if she doesn't have Aura, I'm sure my Semblance could help her."
Pyrrha gasped, "You found your Semblance?"
Jaune chuckled sheepishly, "Did we not tell you? I can amplify anyone's Aura I come into contact with."
"Yeah, it was awesome!" Nora cheered, "He helped Ren mask a whole train from the Grimm and pretty much brought Weiss back to life!"
Pyrrha smiled at Jaune, "I'm so proud of you!"
Winter turned to her sister, "You died?!"
"Not quite," Weiss winced, "But I did take a pretty serious wound during the Battle of Haven. Jaune did save my life."
Winter embraced her sister in a tight hug.
Harriet walked in and approached. Elm looked over to the footsteps and growled at who they belonged to, "Harriet."
Harriet winced, "She's not happy to see me."
"I didn't expect her to be," Tai scoffed, "Especially considering you're there to finish the job."
She panted but didn't get up. Seeing she was in no immediate danger, Harriet continued, "Do you wanna know what my role is?" she asked.
"Huh?" Elm asked as she looked her way.
"The Books we were given are incomplete," Harriet explained, "There's a Lost Page."
"Why tell her this now?" Ilia asked, "Just to gloat?"
"That does sound like you, Harriet," Clover pointed out, "Everything's a competition to you."
Elm staggered up, "Lost Page?"
"On that page," Harriet continued, "It is written that there is a traitor. The Master told me… to find and stop that person." She summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at Elm.
"But it's not her!" Sun complained, "I know we've been over this, but come on! You've been around her the most."
"She should be able to see that it's not Elm," Ren agreed.
"I called you my 'comrade.'" Elm stated solemnly as a single tear streamed down her cheek, "But never again, Harriet. It doesn't matter to me if you think I am the traitor and you want to strike me down."
Her sadness turned to anger as Harriet flinched, "You knew there was a traitor, and you just watched silently as we fought each other, and I won't forgive you for that."
The real Harriet let out a small gasp. Worriedly, Clover looked at her, opening his mouth to ask her something when he froze as he saw tears slipping down her cheeks while she looked in despair at the screen.
She shook in anger and advanced toward Harriet. Harriet backtracked, not holding her ground at all against the injured mountain of a woman.
"You can barely stay on your feet!" Harriet exclaimed, "Just give up already!"
"Don't you underestimate me!" Elm yelled and summoned her Keyblade. The two clashed in bright flash of light.
"I can't believe it's come to this," Winter sighed, "I only wish I knew if there was a traitor in real life."
Trust me. I intend to find that out. Gordeau thought to himself. His list of things to do after this universe continued to grow.
Marrow was running down the street. He was panting and desperate to get to the warehouse.
He was too late. The battle was over. Harriet fell, still alive but unconscious, her Keyblade disappeared in a flash.
"No…" Harriet whimpered out, the tears still coming down her cheeks.
Instinctively, Clover put his arm around her in comfort, "Hey, wanna talk about it?"
Harriet nodded, but added, "Later, please."
Clover nodded and the two just sat like that for a moment.
Elm stalked forward, ready to finish her former friend, but Marrow threw himself on top of him, "Please stop!"
"Huh?" Harriet sat up, "Why?"
"It would appear that Marrow thinks of you as his friend," Penny smiled, "I'm glad. It would appear like you need some."
Harriet scowled at the synthetic girl, but inside, she admitted that Penny had a point. Maybe having a few of them as friends wouldn't be so bad.
Elm stopped, she still looked determined, but paused at Marrow's interruption.
Her resolve won out and she readied a killing strike. Marrow closed his eyes and embraced Harriet's body.
"He's willing to die for you," Yang pointed out, "From experience, you don't do that unless you're at least good friends with the person."
"Uh, huh," Sun agreed.
Elm dismissed her Keyblade in sadness, "You too, huh?"
She limped out of the warehouse and away from the others.
When she left Marrow lifted Harriet up and started to move her away, "Why? Why did it have to come to this?"
"Because the Master wished it," Cinder smirked, "And it would appear he always gets what he wants."
Everyone scowled at the current Fall Maiden.
AN: Wow these chapters are getting easier to knock out. I'm really not struggling as hard as I was before.
Don't have a lot to talk about at the moment, just thanks for the love from the reviewers!
Here's the seating chart again, but with X's in place of question marks or numbers. Hopefully this works this time,
Laps:-Ruby: Jinn;-Weiss: Zwei;-;Pyrrha: XXXXXX;-
Row one: Penny; Ruby; Weiss; Winter; Blake; Yang; Velvet; XXXX; Jaune; Pyrrha; Nora; Ren
Row two: XXX; XXXXXXXXXX; Neptune; Sun; Ilia; Neo; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXX
Row three: Taiyang; Summer; Raven; Qrow; Roman; XXXXX; XXXXXXXX; XXXXXX; Ozpin; Oscar; XXXXX; Gordeau
Row four: XXXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXX; XXXX; XX; XX; XXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXX
Row Five: Clover; Harriet; XXXXXX; XXX; XXXX; XXXXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXX; XXXX; XXXX
Row Six: XXXX; XXXXXX; Adam; XXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXX; Cinder; Emerald; Mercury
As I tried to say last time, the number of X's are important. If you want to guess at who I'm adding please do!
On to the poll:
Tied for ninth: Caroline Cordovin; Dew Gayl; Harriet Bree; Lisa Lavender; Melanie Malachite; Octavia Ember; Penny Polendina; Saphron Cotta-Arc; Summer Rose; Tock; Willow Schnee; Winter Schnee all with 1 vote
Tied for eighth: Coco Adel; Jinn; Miltia Malachite; Salem (Grimm); Salem (Blonde) with 2 votes
Tied for seventh: Blake Belladonna; Nora Valkyrie; Velvet Scarlatina with 3 votes
Tied for sixith: Cinder Fall; Emerald Sustrai; Raven Branwen; Weiss Schnee with 4 votes
Fifth: Sienna Kahn with 5 votes
Fourth: Glynda Goodwitch with 6 votes
Tied for third: Kali Belladonna and Neo Politan with 7 votes
Tied for second: Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose with 9 votes
First: Yang Xiao-Long with 12 votes.
Keep them coming everyone! See you next time for the end of Back Cover.
