Dark.

Disoriented, surprised, and off-balance, Ciel stumbled, fell, and lost control of her stomach.

Puking again… at least it reassured her that she'd looped one more time. But why was everything so different?

"Miss Ciel, are you alright?"

"Gimme a minute," Ciel mumbled through a mouthful of bile. She kept her eyes closed and focused on her other senses.

Cool air on her skin. The distant hum of the city. The smell of grass.

She wasn't in the simulator room. She'd come back later. Much later.

She opened her eyes to confirm it. Sure enough, she was in the Beacon courtyard, on the path leading back to the cliff. She gasped as a spike of alarm stabbed into her. By this point in previous loops she'd already been in Ozpin's office. She was behind schedule already, and she hadn't even begun to take notes and build her plans.

No time to panic. She staggered to her feet, putting a hand on Penny's shoulder to steady herself for a moment (the gynoid stiffened in surprise but allowed it). "Sorry, Penny, I have to run," Ciel said. "I… I just remembered an assignment I have to… no, wait." She picked up her scroll and hastily punched in some digits. "Here's Ruby's number. Give her a call after you return to Magnanimous, okay?"

Penny gave her a worried look. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head when you fell?"

Ciel laughed. "Oh, Penny, I wish it was just that. Seriously, though, don't you want to call Ruby?"

"Yes?" Penny said, caution at war with temptation.

"Take her number, mind your business on your way back to Magnanimous, and call her up when you get to your room."

Ciel had already turned and started running when Penny's call of "Yes, ma'am!" reached her.

Gotta get there, gotta get there…

Into the Emerald Tower, into the elevator, up up up to Ozpin's office, and not even time to take notes as she went because she was pushing the pace too much, 7-9-2-9 and in—

"…and I know Jimmy thinks that's snooping around his ships, but Jimmy doesn't need to know."

"If you damage more of his Mantas, he will know."

"Well, that's only if he… who the hell are you?"

Ciel stalled one step out of the elevator. Ozpin wasn't alone. Lounging on the edge of his desk was a dark-clothed, lanky man with slicked-back hair and a tattered red cloak.

"You're not supposed to be here," she said thoughtlessly.

"That's my line, kid," said the man in a gravelly voice. "Oz, do you know this twerp?"

"I don't believe I do," said Ozpin with eyebrow raised.

Ciel recognized the cue—and hesitated. "Headmaster, do you trust this man?" she said, pointing at the interloper.

The man's expression soured. He slipped off the desk to his feet and flared his Aura—so much and so threateningly Ciel rocked back on her heels. "Just who do you think you're talking to, you little shit?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked," Ciel squeaked.

"This is an associate of mine, Qrow Branwen," Ozpin said, his face staying neutral. "He is very much in my confidence."

If it was good enough for Ozpin, it was good enough for Ciel. She tried to rally her voice back to its norms. "I asked because he wasn't here the other times."

"Other times?" Qrow repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"I have Listing's semblance," Ciel said to Ozpin. "This is the fifth time we've had this conversation. It's just… he wasn't here the first four…" she snapped her fingers as it came together. "You only got here a minute ago, didn't you?"

"What if I did?" said Qrow, no longer as threatening on this uncertain ground.

"That explains it. The other times I arrived earlier, so I got here first… and you buzzed to see the Headmaster, but I was already here so he turned you away!"

Qrow seemed more bewildered with every word. He looked to Ozpin like a lost tourist looks at a map. "What's she going on about, Oz?"

Ozpin's face was closed and intense, staring unblinkingly at Ciel. She could almost see the gears turning in his mind, just like the gears turning above him. "It means she has information for us, isn't that right?"

It was the most limited, generic response he could make. It also concealed the nature of Listing's semblance from Qrow. She blinked and looked at the interloper. "I thought you said Qrow was 'in your confidence'."

"Hey, I never imagined I knew all of Oz's secrets," said Qrow, but even as he defended Ozpin there was a note of hurt in his voice.

Ciel switched her gaze to Ozpin. "A wise man once told me that the most reliable way to earn trust was to extend trust."

Ozpin's face grew more closed and more intense still as Qrow twisted in uncertainty… and Ozpin relented. "More specifically, it means that this Huntress has experienced at least five deaths and returned to an earlier time, bearing knowledge of the events leading up to her demise. Is that accurate?"

"This is loop fifteen, but yes," Ciel said, to Qrow's increasing astonishment. "Tomorrow evening, Beacon will be attacked by a huge wave of grimm including a Wyvern, the White Fang led by Adam Taurus, and Cinder Fall, whose right eye has an unnatural glow to it. You take Pyrrha Nikos into a subbasement of this tower, and Cinder follows you and kills you."

Qrow stared, struck dumb by it all. It was gratifying to see.

For his part, Ozpin nodded. "That is about what I would expect. It sounds like we have much work to do."

Ciel couldn't help her laugh.

"Do we ever."


For a time, the meeting went much like those before it. Ciel briefed the course of the battle while raising ideas for countermeasures. Ozpin listened keenly, asked questions from time to time, and added more planning for counters. Qrow stayed turned away, apparently tuning them out, and periodically drinking from a dented old flask.

That was fine. She didn't know or particularly care for him, and he seemed preoccupied, so it was just as well. She needed all her concentration to try and remember everything without her notes.

"…someone infiltrates Benefactor and frees Torchwick, who hijacks it, and uses some kind of hacking tool to take control of the AKs," Ciel said. "You've never told me what you say to the General, but it drives him to take a zero-tolerance approach. His ships shoot down the Benefactor rather than let it be seized."

"That's Jimmy, alright," said Qrow with a huff. "All heavy hands."

"It works," said Ciel crossly. "It stops the infiltration, which keeps the AKs from turning on us."

"Yeah, but the real fix is to keep Torchwick in his cell in the first place," said Qrow. Without warning his voice had turned keen and his expression sharp. The difference was frightening. "Then the AKs, garbage though they are, weigh in on our side."

Ozpin spoke across Ciel's reflexive defense of Atlesian technology. "That may be, Qrow, but you know as well as I do that getting James to change his mind is like trying to lasso a thunderstorm. I doubt I can do better than I have in the past."

"Well, you don't have to." Qrow gave a crooked grin. "I've got this."

Ozpin, for the first time, looked worried. "I know what you're thinking, and it's a bad idea. You've already sorely tested James' patience. If you give him an excuse…"

"Then I won't give him one," said Qrow, his grin becoming cockier still. "He won't know I'm there until it's all over but the crying. You know I can get up to those ships without him noticing. I proved it tonight, remember?"

"I remember you telling me you damaged a Manta," said Ozpin dryly.

Something clicked in Ciel's mind. She barked a laugh that left both Ozpin and Qrow staring at her. "I get it now!" she said, exuberance destroying her volume control.

"Get what?" asked Ozpin.

Ciel looked directly at Qrow. "Bird strike. Bird strike!" She pointed. "You're the bird!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid," said Qrow, a little too casually.

Ciel would not be denied. "When I came in, you were talking about snooping around the General's ships and damaging a Manta. That Manta was supposed to pick up Penny, but it was late because of a bird strike. The crew kept saying they had no idea what kind of bird could inflict that much damage." A triumphant smile burst across her face. "A bird with an active Aura!"

Ozpin's face was blank; Qrow's had a raised eyebrow. "That's a crazy idea you're running with."

"Sir, respectfully, I loop back in time when I die. Nothing is too crazy for me. A semblance that turns a person into a bird? That's downright normal by comparison."

Qrow and Ozpin shared a glance and matching smiles. "Well," said Qrow, lacing his fingers behind his head, "sounds like you found me out."

"I hope you understand that such a semblance is quite as rare as yours," Ozpin said with a hint of admonishment. "That rarity is the source of its power. When people don't think a thing is possible, they don't look for it. It wouldn't do for word to get around of Qrow's gift."

"I won't talk about it any more than you talked about Listing, sir," Ciel promised.

"Glad that's settled," Qrow said, and he celebrated with a swig from his flask. "So. Leave the ship and the infiltrator to me."

Ciel could see how Ozpin dearly wanted to fight Qrow's decision. She glimpsed, in that moment, that Ozpin had never shared her intelligence with Qrow, whatever he said about Qrow being in his confidence. Things were different this time, through no virtue or intent of Ciel's own. That was awkward.

Qrow smacked his lips loudly and pocketed his flask. "Keep going, kid, we're getting to the good stuff now."

She did.


"You've got to take more fighters with you to the basement," Ciel insisted.

"The secrecy of that basement is of paramount importance," Ozpin said, and though his voice was mild, Ciel could feel the obstinance beneath. "I will not spread that knowledge to more people than absolutely necessary."

"You're not gonna out-stubborn Oz," Qrow said unhelpfully.

Ciel was going to protest again—but she got a better idea. "Okay. I know just what we'll do, then."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow at her, but explaining would just give him the opportunity to say 'no'. "Now, let's talk about the Vale airbase…"


"There's no such thing as magic."


The rest Ciel got from her sleep was at odds with how panicked she felt upon waking. Getting sleep was good, and something she promised never to take for granted again. On the other hand, she was short on her notes, time was running out, and the task she'd set for herself was almost too big to contemplate.

She had to find Team JNPR in a way and place she could convince them as a group. Trying to get to Pyrrha alone wouldn't work. Nora, in contrast, was quite convincible. If Ciel could sway the rest of the team, they'd carry Pyrrha with them.

Use trust relationships that already exist. Good advice. Time to put it to use.

With no keys, no foreknowledge, only the most superficial familiarity with JNPR, and exactly one attempt to get it right.

Yes, Ciel felt quite justified in her nervousness.

She used her breakfast time to watch them, trying to get a sense of their dynamic. Their dynamic seemed to be Nora, mostly. That insight was helpful, but not that helpful.

Pyrrha was picking at her food without much interest. She started when Jaune pointed this out, tried to explain it away as "tournament nerves", and ate with mechanical rigidity from then on. Ciel didn't believe her. Whatever was undermining her and scraping away at her insides, it wasn't the prospect of friendly competition.

If only there was a way to leverage that… but Ciel would be the last person to know how.

Feeling her desperation rising with every minute, Ciel cleared her place shortly after JNPR did and followed them. A public setting like the cafeteria would be impossible for the conversation she needed. If they could just go back to their dorm, that would be perfect.

Her spirits began to lift as it looked like JNPR would do just that. The feeling was tempered by their continued opacity. Nora's bubbliness was taking on an increasingly strained tone as her efforts to cheer and engage with her teammates bore little fruit. Pyrrha was as lost in thought as ever. Jaune was awkward and useless. Ren was worse. What ins did any of that provide?

Wait a minute…

Things were looking familiar.

Increasingly familiar.

Very familiar.

Team JNPR went into their dorm room, and Ciel, trying to keep up her ruse and look casual, walked on past. Every step got slower. By the time she got to the end of the hallway she was barely moving, broken down as she was in a crazy mixture of laughter and tears.

Team JNPR's dorm was right across from Team RWBY's… and Nora had made a big point about how RWBY and JNPR were sister teams.

Ciel leaned against the wall and fell apart in sheer relief.


She waited until the General was gone to make her move.

To her surprise, it was Ren who answered her knock. He filled the doorway, and though his expression was neutral, he felt forbidding. "Yes?"

"I'm Ceil Soleil. I'm a Huntress trainee like you." It was hard to break her habit of name-dropping Atlas Academy in her introductions, but it wasn't what they needed to hear.

"Okay?" said Ren.

"I need to talk to all of you. It's urgent."

"…okay." Ren backed away, though his expression was no more welcoming than before. No matter. He wasn't half as intimidating as Qrow, or even Som. Ciel could handle this.

JNPR's dorm was much neater than RWBY's, probably because it was much emptier. The biggest draw other than people was a half-empty cup of green goop emitting a vile smell Ciel picked up from the doorway. She didn't want to know what that was about.

Pyrrha's face had gone carefully neutral. "I know you. You're on Penny's team."

"That's not why I'm here this morning," Ciel said. "I'm here on Headmaster Ozpin's orders, about something much bigger and more dangerous."

She could count on words like those to intrigue Nora, and out of the corner of her eye she could see the shorter girl perk up. Ren stayed blank, Jaune evinced surprise, and Pyrrha…

Pyrrha gave a single tremble and her eyes widened.

"What kind of danger? What does that have to do with us?" Jaune asked.

"Those are excellent questions," Ciel said, "and I'm sure Team RWBY will have those questions too. It'll save everyone time if we go to their dorm. Both your teams are involved, and this way we only have to talk about it once."

Plus, I have Team RWBY's keys, and you trust them.

"Hell yeah," said Nora. "Team RWBY's not cutting us outta their conspiracy this time!"

"That's the spirit," Ciel said. "Come with me."

She turned and crossed the hall. She tried really hard not to look behind her; she was under the impression that confidence could carry others with her, and not looking back would imply she was confident they'd follow.

She didn't actually have that much confidence, so she did glance behind. Nora was on her heels, Ren trailed her… then nothing.

Ciel's heart started to sink, but then Jaune and Pyrrha emerged, his arm across her shoulders, and his head bent so that he could speak to her alone.

Good enough. Ciel knocked on Team RWBY's door.

As expected, Weiss answered. Her initial demand for Ciel's intentions fell from her lips unsaid at the sight of JNPR crowded behind Ciel. "What's this all about?" she said instead, with more caution than hostility.

"Professor Ozpin sent me to talk to your teams," Ciel said. "It's an emergency."

"If it was an emergency, why'd he send an Atlesian student?" Weiss said stubbornly.

"I'll explain once we're inside," Ciel promised.

Ruby's head appeared over Weiss' shoulder. "Oh, hey, Jaune!"

"Hi, Ruby," Jaune replied. "I think we'd better pile into your dorm."

"Sure thing." And Ruby made way. Weiss rolled her eyes but complied.

If Ciel had needed any proof of Nora's "sister teams" claim, she had it.

She stepped inside, then moved out of the way to let JNPR filter in. They took positions around and amongst RWBY, so that Ciel in front of the door was facing them all. It brought her to a standstill. These people—these beautiful people…

…who were staring at her expectantly.

"Well?" demanded Weiss.

There was no way to express how she felt, no way they could understand, especially when it was all one-sided. That didn't stop Ciel from feeling it. She felt a great surge of affection for them, enough to sweep her away—enough for her to die for- and knew they felt none of that in return.

That was fine. There was one, and only one, thing to do.

Try her best to save them.

"Professor Ozpin sent me because there's a threat to the school. He sent me to RWBY 'for the sake of her silver eyes'. And he sent me to JNPR," she focused her gaze on Pyrrha, "because the threat is against what's in the Emerald Tower basement."

Pyrrha's face lost all color.

"What's in the Emerald Tower's basement?" said Jaune, picking up on the tension between Ciel and his partner.

"I don't know, and the Headmaster wouldn't tell me. It's not my secret to tell," Ciel said; Pyrrha relaxed infinitesimally. "But this enemy is willing to destroy Beacon to get it. And the thing is, all of you have been in this fight without knowing it.

"The docks, the Breach, Yang being framed…" Yang sucked in breath at that. "…all of it was a prelude. Torchwick was only one head of the Taijitu—just like your Uncle Qrow told you, and he's in on this too, flask and all. The other head is in charge now, and it still has Adam Taurus and the Vale White Fang in its thrall."

She glanced around, seeing the right reactions from Yang, Ruby, and Blake in turn. Good. That left Weiss, who was looking increasingly worried. "Why should we believe you, though? What you're saying is… incredible, but even if it's true, you could just as easily be working for this enemy."

"I understand where you're coming from," Ciel said truthfully. "You're trying to protect your teammates, because you love them more than you've ever loved anything."

Weiss' eyes went wide with panic.

"There's not a lot we can trust on Remnant," Ciel went on. "Gravity, electricity, motion, magnetism…" time, she added in her own head, "even institutions like the Air Fleet, they can all give way. They can all fail. But if there's one thing I'll trust, it's love."

She tried to read the room, but her own emotions had swelled up so much there was no way to see what anyone else was feeling. Her own affection washed out everything else. She gave half a chuckle. "Look, let me tell you what I'm trying to accomplish, and you tell me if those are the sorts of things a mole would want."

Without anyone talking about it, everyone's eyes went to Ruby.

"Let's hear it," she said.

Ciel smiled.


"Okay," said Ruby. "One more run-through. Pyrrha and I will call Penny to figure out how to throw the fight. Blake and Weiss will go to the airbase, where they'll look for and fix any White Fang sabotage. Nora will rig her explosives to knock out the dorm wall."

Nora raised a hand. "Can I blow up both dorms?"

"You're not blowing up the dorms," said Ren instinctively.

"Ugh, the walls of the dorms. You know what I meant."

Ren's expression showed he knew all too well what she meant.

"Wait, both dorms?" said Ciel.

"Yeah, there's two dorms, north and south. Shouldn't I get both?"

Ciel buried her face in her palm. How she'd gone through this many loops without it occurring to her to do both… "Do you have time for that?"

"I'm guessing we're not going to the Festival this afternoon," Nora said, looking to Jaune.

"I think stopping the end of the world has priority," Jaune replied.

"Well, looks like my afternoon just cleared!" Nora said brightly.

"But she said we have to do this quietly," Weiss said. "Nora, you're many things, but quiet isn't one of them."

"But Ren is," Jaune said. "Ever done anything like this, you two?"

Nora's mouth was open to answer when Ren beat her to it. "We can neither confirm nor deny," he said. She shut up but was visibly unhappy about it.

"Okay, but can you get both dorms if you work as a team?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Consider it done." Just like that, Nora's mood was back in the stratosphere.

"And I'll be sitting here," Yang said heavily.

"Oh, no," said Ciel with a smile. "I have something special planned for you."

Yang's eyebrows raised and her face, for the first time, looked brighter. And it wasn't a vague promise, this time—Ciel knew exactly where Yang needed to be.

"What about you?" Ruby said.

Ciel sighed as her panic started to well up again. "I will be running around trying to do a dozen different things before we have to get up to Amity. And," she added with a glance at her wrist, "I am behind schedule on all of them."

"Like what?" Ruby persisted.

"Like repairing the ammo line for the southern anti-air gun," said Ciel. "Which I don't really know how to do…"

"Oh, I can do that in a snap," Ruby said.

Ciel blinked. "You can?"

Ruby was twirling two screwdrivers she'd summoned from nowhere like they were daggers. "If it has to do with weapons, I'm all over it."

"Show us the rest of your to-do list," said Weiss. "We'll divvy it up."

Ciel's heart pounded harder in her chest. "You need to be on your way to the airbase!"

"Fifteen minutes longer here is a worthy investment if it means the rest of this work actually gets done," Weiss riposted.

Ruby nodded knowingly. "Don't try to fight her on this. Who do you think writes our study plans?"

"Besides, we want to make sure these things are done by the right people," Weiss went on, pulling up a spreadsheet on her own scroll. "We'll do this right."

We'll do this right. The words reverberated in Ciel's soul. She looked around at the others, looking for any hints of reluctance or disagreement, any second thoughts or grumblings. There were none. She wasn't alone this time. They were with her without hesitation or qualification.

"Really?"

"Many hands make light work," said Ren.

They were all bought-in. She could see it. Her loneliness was withering. "Are you always like this?" she said, her voice made of spun glass.

Ruby cocked her head curiously. "Uh… yeah?"

It was too much for Ciel. A sob escaped her. She wiped her face hastily, embarrassed—they had so much to do, they had no time for her to wallow in her emotions…

Even so, she couldn't help but murmur, "I'm glad I came back."

Before anyone who heard could ask what that meant, Ciel had recovered her composure. "Okay, then. Here's what needs to be done…"


Beacon photographer Faunus.

When they saw each other again at Beacon cliffs, waiting for the airship to Amity, Ciel thought that Ruby would be beside herself with agitation. Ciel certainly was. To her surprise, Ruby seemed… not calm, exactly, but at ease. In her element. Doing her thing.

As if Ciel needed more evidence of how differently she and Ruby were wired.

Ruby gave Ciel a wink before going on to talk to Velvet. It wasn't exactly a subtle gesture, but Ciel was so grateful for it she didn't mind the minute chance that it would tip their hand.

It fascinated her that the people who thought they'd only ever get one chance at this were less nervous than the person on her fifteenth try. She'd have to ask Ozpin if Listing ever felt like this. Come to think of it, there was a lot about Listing that she wanted to ask of Ozpin, if she ever got the chance.

Great, another thing to be nervous about.

A sky like blood.

"Sal-u-tations!"

Penny's enthusiasm stalled Ciel for a moment. It was such a contrast to the last few loops that Ciel had trouble processing it. "Right," she said uselessly. "Shall we?"

"Indeed!" said Penny.

"Good luck!"

The call from behind surprised both Ciel and her charge. Ciel shouldn't have been shocked to see it was Ruby, waving like crazy from the other side of a puzzled and disgruntled Atlesian soldier.

"Best of fortune to you as well!" Penny replied with a thumbs-up, followed by the longest and most telegraphed wink Ciel had ever seen.

"If you two are done being adorable, we should be going," Ciel said, though she couldn't force any actual grumpiness into her voice.

"Of course. Onward!"

When they were clear of the soldiers and on their way to the competitors' section, Penny leaned close. "I am ready for my part of the plan."

"Glad to hear it," Ciel said semi-truthfully. Why was everyone else feeling better about this than she was?

"I have never been part of a conspiracy before," Penny went on. "This is exciting!"

"Maybe we can do another one," said Ciel, the words bypassing her brain altogether.

"I beg your pardon?"

She'd said it, so she was committed. The idea had been percolating for a while, after all, and its appeal was undeniable. "You wanted to spend more time with Ruby, right?"

"Oh, yes, very much!"

"Well. If we all make it through tonight, we can talk more about that."

"Sen-sational!"

It was the least Ciel could do for Penny after failing her so many times. And it felt right.

If Ciel had decided she'd trust love, she'd trust love, dammit.


Penny. Pyrrha.

"What a dazzling display!"

The girl and the gynoid were fighting at something close to full strength. This was their plan that they'd agreed to, despite the danger, despite the fact that every exchange of blows made Ciel wonder if this was the moment the illusionist would intervene, if this moment would be the one that tore Penny apart again, that made a mockery of Ciel's attempts to save everyone…

But then, in the midst of a whirl of attacks and retreats, Penny sent her daggers on an arcing path to either side of Pyrrha, who planted her feet and readied herself.

That was the signal. Every muscle in Ciel's body tensed.

Penny used the wires from Floating Array to fling herself forward, right arm cocked back for a punch. Pyrrha stepped into a counter-strike.

It happened in a flash.

Penny sagged to the ground and crumpled over into a ball. Pyrrha let her spear, stuck through Penny and coated in a sheen of green, slip away from her. A horn sounded belatedly as it registered an Aura dropped to zero.

"This was not a tragedy," came that lying, gloating voice.

That, too, was a signal. As Cinder's speech continued, Penny stood, revealing that the spear had only gone through her left arm. Then, with her undamaged right arm, she made a twisting motion at her shoulder joint, and the entire left arm came off.

Even knowing it would happen, it threw Ciel back into revulsion and pain and terror. She saw Penny in pieces, scattered across the arena, deader than dead, and one of those pieces was a pitifully dismembered arm…

But reality outlasted that vision of horror. When her sight cleared, Ciel saw that Penny had handed Pyrrha back her spear, and that the two, obviously laughing, had come together in a hug. On the scoreboard Aura meter, Penny's Aura shot right back up into the green.

"And what is Ozpin teaching his students?" the voice wondered. "One student brutally assaults another, and now… this?"

Ha! Ha! Ciel could hear the confusion in Cinder's voice, could feel Cinder's dawning sense that things were going wrong. It was delicious. She looked and listened around the stadium. There was plenty of shock, to be sure, and more than a little confusion… but fear, despair, outrage, panic, sorrow? Those were almost completely absent.

"Who do you think you can trust?" said Cinder, skipping to the end of her speech and, Ciel thought, rather spoiling the effect.

Yes, yes, this was all so much better, it felt so different. One final test, one last moment of vindication…

"Alert: incoming grimm attack. Threat level: Six."

Ciel cackled madly in relief, in release, in fifteen deaths' worth of effort finally paying off. Threat level six! There were Mantleborn who didn't even go indoors for threat level six!

"Ladies and gentlemen, please," came the General's voice, "there is no need for panic. Please evacuate Amity in an orderly fashion. Atlas airships will escort you to safety."

Ciel had to laugh again. She'd never heard the back half of the General's speech. The Giant Nevermore had always interrupted it. Speaking of which…

There it was, but so late, like it was reluctant to have come at all. It was having a hard time breaking through Amity's shielding. Its movements seemed sluggish, its calls less frightening and potent. Even its arrival didn't sow panic in the crowd, at least nothing like the panic Ciel had lived through before.

Jaune was on his feet, his scroll in his hand. His teammates followed, and soon the rest of the trainees did, too.

At last the Nevermore summoned enough strength to blast its way through Amity's shield and hit the arena floor. It gathered itself enough to shriek threateningly at Pyrrha and Penny—and paid for the gesture with rifle shots and particle beams from both fighters. Before it was able to fight back effectively, the first volley of rocket lockers arrived, slamming into its back and wings and pinning it in place.

"You still suck at ranged attacks," Nora said to Jaune, pointing to a locker some distance from the others that had missed the Nevermore completely.

"I'm working on it!" he protested.

Ciel laughed, giddy and senseless. If they had the time and wits for trash talk, of all things…

The Nevermore tried to rise beneath the new weight it was carrying, but a red blur appeared over its head. The locker near its head was Ruby's—called by Ciel—and Ruby wasted no time in retrieving her scythe, wheeling about, and plunging its point into the Nevermore's eye.

The Nevermore bucked and writhed, its enormous body flapping around as best it could under the weight and pain, and then Pyrrha was up about its head (having been boosted into position by Penny) and her spear was driving into the side of the Nevermore's neck.

Ruby followed up promptly, pulling her scythe free only to bury it, with the preternatural precision of a true Huntress, in the same wound alongside Pyrrha's spear. "Penny! Give it a yank!" Ruby called.

"Affirmative!" Penny replied, and although Ciel couldn't imagine what that meant, or how they'd communicated so much so quickly, Penny moved- and each of Floating Array's daggers stabbed into the Nevermore's neck, like a makeshift collar.

Ruby dragged her scythe clockwise through the Nevermore's neck; Pyrrha, seeing the plan instantly, pulled her spear down and around, cutting through it counterclockwise; and Penny pulled the Nevermore's head with all her might the opposite direction, speeding the blades' journey through the dark.

The Nevermore's head came free. Ruby and Pyrrha landed neatly on either side of Penny, and all three smiled broadly at a job well done.

Ciel would have given all of Jacques Schnee's fortune to be one-tenth as cool as that.

Instead, she joined her fellows on the arena floor, arming for the next phase of the battle. As she did, she saw Ruby giving Penny a hug. "You sure you're okay?"

"More than okay," said Penny. One last rocket locker hit the ground next to her, sending Ruby backwards with a yelp. The locker opened, revealing an arm.

Casually as Ciel might take a sip from a glass, Penny grabbed the spare, popped it snugly into place, made a twisting motion at her shoulder, and flexed the replacement arm. "I'm combat ready!"

"We all are," said Jaune, approaching Ruby. Beside him, Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"Then this is it," said Ruby, her voice naturally rising so that the others could hear. "This is what we trained for. Everyone who wants to do their job…"

"And kick some ass!" crowed Nora.

"…follow me."

Who could resist that call? Ciel fell in with the other students as they moved for the concourse.

She briefly wondered what was going on aboard Benefactor—but that was impossible to know or change, one way or another.


Neopolitan, in the guise of an Atlesian officer, skipped her way down the long hallway of the largest battleship's brig. So far, everything had gone cleanly. Her hijacked Manta had been given clearance to land without question, and she'd pulled in scant minutes before Cinder launched her big monologue.

(Why did talkers feel the need to hear themselves talk? Neo had never understood it. Roman was allowed to do that, but no one else.)

After that, she'd committed some satisfying violence, and now she was going to free Roman. Technically, she hadn't needed to kill the Atlesian soldiers in the hangar. She could have slipped by them easily.

On the other hand: killing them was more fun, and they were all going to die anyway, so what difference did it make?

Twirling Roman's hat at the top of his cane, both liberated from the evidence locker, she slowed as she approached his cell and drew her scroll. Loaded as it was with the "Black Queen" virus thingamajig, it had told her where to find him and unlocked every door along the way. Handy little thing, even if she didn't trust it.

It continued its stellar performance for her. She waved it at the cell lock like a magic wand, just a quick swish-swish to bring her heart's desires to her. The cell door unlocked with a ki-chunk, rose out of the way, and revealed two shotgun barrels.

Blam.

Neo stumbled backwards, her illusion broken, balance and Aura both rocked by the blast. It left her unable to mount a defense against the looping punch that followed. That hammer blow sent her slamming into and nearly through the wall opposite the cell door. Roman's accessories tumbled from her hands.

"And that's why I don't trust computers with stuff that matters."

Neo gathered her wits in time to see a tall, lanky man unfolding from the cell that should have been Roman's. He had a casual demeanor, but Neo wasn't fooled. Her danger instincts had been honed to razor sharpness by her criminal lifestyle, and those instincts were screaming at her. The fact that his punch had hit her as hard as his shotgun was another alarm.

"Sorry, but your Roman is in another cell," the Huntsman said—for surely that's what he was, judging by his skills, the overcomplicated weapon in his hand, and his red cape. That cape reminded Neo entirely too much of Little Red. What was with this family and screwing Roman's plans? "I just didn't tell the computer I was moving him. See, you're not the only person who can sneak aboard a sky battleship."

Big Red looked her over, seeming to expect a response. When Neo made none, he shrugged. "But that's the thing: just like you, I'm not supposed to be here, and I've got bigger fish to fry. So I'll give you one chance to save us both some time. Drop your weapons, step into the cell nice and easy, and I'll leave you there until the excitement outside calms down a little. You've got ten seconds."

Neo wanted to bolt. Everything was telling her to flee. This man was a mortal threat to her at her best, never mind with two enormous chunks out of her limited Aura.

But Roman was counting on her. If they were going to survive, she had to bust him out. Anything for him.

Clenching her teeth, she limbered Hush into position.

The Huntsman sighed and twitched his wrist, forming his weapon into a greatsword. "Wrong choice, kid."

And then he was upon her.


"…My ships are working to keep the skies clear, but with all the grimm, we won't be able to block the White Fang from reaching Beacon," the General was saying.

Ciel stayed in the back of the pack so no one could see her reveling in these words. Fixing the sabotage of the airbase and priming it for White Fang-style attacks had delayed their schedule. They hadn't even landed at Beacon yet. And apparently Qrow had come through: all three of the General's ships were still in the air, periodically searing the sky with weapons fire.

"You have a choice," the General continued. "You can defend your Kingdom and your school…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. A roar erupted from the students that drowned him out, a roar in which Ciel heartily participated.

"Get us transport to Beacon," Ruby said, speaking for all. "We'll take care of the rest."

The General gave a rare smile and pointed at a nearby ship. The crowd rushed on.

As the ship pulled away, Jaune said (performatively loudly), "We'll need coordination once we get to the ground."

"I've got it," Ciel volunteered, bringing up her scroll. "With your permission…?"

"Go ahead," said Ruby.

"Yes, please," said Penny, who hadn't been in their script but whose contribution was appreciated.

"Here's Beacon's grounds," said Ciel, projecting the image for all to see. "Here's a notional disposition of teams, and the location of an ammo cache. Stay on this group channel. I'll get to the Emerald Tower and spot for you. We have both grimm and White Fang hostiles. Priority one is keeping our landing zone clear. Priority two is linking up with the dorms and bringing our classmates into the fight safely."

"And we'll push back from there," said Ruby. "I like it."

"Any questions?"

"Where should I be?" asked Penny.

"Stick with RWBY," Ciel replied.

Penny grabbed a hold of Ruby's arm with a (literal?) iron grip. "Affirmative!"

Ciel had meant the team, but Ruby didn't seem to mind, so she let it go. "Anyone else?"

"Where's Yang?" asked Ruby.

"Already in position." Whether Ozpin likes it or not. "Last call!"

The others either shook their heads or peered at the image a bit more. Even Flynt seemed prepared to follow along without complaint.

"Coming in hot!" called the pilot.

Ciel killed her projection and braced herself against the overwhelming jitters. The final battle awaited her.


Next time: The Battle of Beacon