Chapter 22: My Life For Yours, My Soul For Yours

(Raven)

Raven wasn't an idiot. She knew that she would need to buy time until the opportune moment to betray Cinder, that was why she had sent Qrow the old team STRQ hand signal for wait and see. Did it mean that both her and Qrow would be tied up, until she decided it was time for what would hopefully be Cinder's last surprise? Yeah, it did.

If the kids that Qrow and Goodwitch dragged into this weren't strong enough to survive, that wasn't her problem.

"NO!"

Qrow glanced over in the direction of the shout, "Oh, hell."

Raven swung with enough force so that Qrow's block would break her Dust blade, to keep up appearances and all, "The heiress bit it, didn't she?"

Qrow chanced another glance. "Don't think she's dead yet, Sir Blocks-a-lot is trying too hard to stop the bleeding. Rae, if you're going to do this, it's gotta be now."

"Raven, if you're finished playing with your food, we have a Silver-Eyed Warrior to grab." Cinder said.

"Stay out of the way, Qrow." Raven muttered, "You'll only get hurt." She took a breath, called on the Maiden powers, and turned on Cinder.

"Give her hell, Rae." Qrow said.

Raven focused only on Cinder, her brother could worry about the others. "Time's up, Cinder."

"Do you really think that there will be anywhere that you can run to after this, Raven?" Cinder asked.

"I'm done running." Raven said, re-drawing her blade, "I'm through with living in fear, because if I'm not, I can't get payback."

Cinder formed a sword out of molten glass, and for the first time in known history, Maidens clashed.

(Jaune)

Nothing else mattered.

Not her too.

It didn't matter that he heard Blake in his earpiece saying that Yang was dying.

It didn't matter that two Maidens were fighting behind him.

Not again...

The small part of Jaune's mind that was still capable of rational thought told him that his knowledge of first aid was limited, so the best thing that he could do was to apply pressure to the wound.

So he did.

"Please don't go. Please, baby, please..."

He had never called Weiss "baby" before in his life. He knew that she would've given him a blast of the loving version of the Schnee Glare for it.

That made it all the worse, somehow.

"Please, not again... I can't lose you!"

Weiss's breathing was getting weaker. He heard someone say her pulse was getting weaker too. Was that Neptune? What the hell was he doing here?

Those questions were quickly filed away in the list of things that Didn't Matter. The only thing that mattered was saving Weiss.

Unfortunately, according to the rational part of Jaune's brain, that was quickly becoming a losing battle.

Jaune screwed his eyes shut. He couldn't bear to look as Weiss began to turn paler. He couldn't bear to watch the life leave the woman he loved.

Jaune Arc was not a religious man. It just wasn't something that was talked about in the Arc household much, if at all. But for the first time in his life, Jaune Arc prayed. He prayed to any gods above or below that he would gladly give his life, his soul for Weiss to survive.

Unbeknownst to Jaune, the gods had long ago forsaken Remnant. So none heard the prayer of Jaune's heart, except for his own soul.

That was enough.

That was enough, because of the thing that made him special.

The only person to witness the moment was Neptune Vasilias.

"Holy crap."

Jaune ignored him. Just another thing that didn't matter.

Weiss's breathing, which had stilled a moment ago, resumed with a gasp.

Jaune dared to hope, opened his eyes, and beheld a miracle.

The miracle of his Semblance.

"What?" Jaune asked, more to himself than anyone, "Is this..."

His hands were glowing with golden light, and that light had spread across Weiss. In a moment where levity had been more appropriate, Jaune would've said that she truly looked like a Snow Angel.

Neptune slapped him on the back, "Yeah, dude! I think it's your Semblance! Some kind of healing Semblance maybe?"

Jaune shook his head. That didn't feel right, it wasn't strictly healing, there was more to it. A lot more. He could feel Weiss. Her greatest hopes, her darkest fears, her emotions. He could also tell exactly what her aura was doing, and effectively have his aura help. "That's not quite right. I'm not using my Aura to heal her. I think I'm making her Aura stronger."

Neptune blinked, "Oh, Professor Vermillion theorized about this in Advanced Aura Applications! He called it Aura Amplification!"

Jaune smiled, "I'm not calling it that, I've got something else in mind."

Neptune checked Weiss's vitals again, just to be sure. They were stronger, and steadily recovering. "Of course you do. What did you have in mind?"

"There's an old Arc family saying. My arm for yours, my life for yours, my soul for yours. We call it The Knight's Code." Jaune explained. "I think it fits."

It was about at this moment that Qrow came over to them, with Emerald, tied up by her own gravity dust bolas, the sword of Crocea Mors, and dragging an unconscious Mercury by his collar. "Okay, kid, I get that she's important to you, but she's probably a goner by..." his voice died in his throat as he saw Jaune's golden Aura covering Weiss, "That's new."

Celebrations could come later though, as there were more important matters to deal with. "Wait a second," Qrow said, "Who the hell are you?"

There was a beat of silence, then Neptune realized that he was the one being addressed. "Uh, Neptune Vasilias. Professor Lionheart asked me and my team leader to intervene and take him out of the fight."

"So, Leo wasn't as far gone as I thought..." Qrow muttered. "Where'd you leave him, Eyesore?"

Neptune jabbed a thumb back towards the balcony overlooking the main hall. "Up there."

Qrow nodded, "Alright, first things first, carry this dead weight up there." He unceremoniously dropped Mercury, for Neptune to deal with.

As soon as Neptune went on his way, Qrow turned to Jaune. "You dropped this." He said, leaving Crocea Mors at Jaune's side.

He took one hand off of Weiss to replace Crocea Mors in its sheath, then returned to his task. "Thanks, Qrow."

"Thank me later." Qrow said, "As soon as she can be moved, get up on the balcony with the rest of us. You do not want to be in the middle of that."

There was zero doubt in Jaune's mind as to what Qrow was referring to, aided by the simultaneous waves of heat and cold that washed over them. "Got it, we'll be there as quick as we can."

Jaune turned his attention back to Weiss, his Aura had begun to pull back from her, brilliant gold giving way to icy blue.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Jaune kneeling over her. "Jaune, what happened?"

"Well, Cinder impaled you."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "I am aware of that, wasn't I supposed to die a slow, painful death?"

Jaune grinned, tears of happiness dropping from his eyes. "I wasn't a fan of that."

Weiss frowned, "Jaune, how did you-"

Then she looked at her hand, and saw her Aura, it was almost... hyperactive. There was only one probable explanation. Jaune had unlocked his Semblance to save her.

Weiss's frown became a smile, one of her softest. "My hero."

With dueling blasts of fire and lightning, Jaune and Weiss's attention was drawn to the fight between Cinder and Raven. Having just gotten done fighting Cinder, they could tell that the two Maidens were evenly matched, more or less. All it would take would be a little push in either direction...

She began to rise. "Jaune, whatever you're doing, don't stop."

"Weiss, what are you..." Jaune's voice trailed off as he looked over at the battle, "No way! Qrow told us to get to safety."

Weiss grabbed his shoulder, "Jaune, if Raven dies, then this was all for nothing!"

Jaune sighed, "Alright, what did you have in mind?"

Jaune's eyes went wide as he saw a glyph form over Weiss's palm, and on each fingertip. "I've got a few ideas." Weiss said.

(Oscar, Ren, and Nora)

Oscar had decided that this fight was definitely not going according to plan, considering the plan had gone from "cause Hazel enough pain to overwhelm his Aura" to "Stay alive until the others can come help, oh gods that's a big fist."

"STOP GETTING IN MY WAY!" Hazel roared, his fists creating craters in the pavement as he tried to smash Ren and Nora.

Ren ducked out of the way, retorting with a peppering of bullets from Stormflower. "No."

Nora swung Maghnild with enough force to cause a shockwave upon impact, only to look on in horror as Hazel grabbed the head of Maghnild. The Lightning dust that Hazel had shoved into his arms started to activate and shock Nora, for all the good that did. As soon as he realized that Nora was pushing back against him, he grabbed her head with his other hand and squeezed.

"Nora, NO!" Ren recklessly charged at Hazel, delivering a series of palm strikes to his back. "Let her go!"

"As you wish." Hazel said, right before hurling Nora at Ren, with a sickening pop upon release, and crack upon impact.

"Ah, hell." Nora said after getting up, grateful that she had decided to take Intro to First Aid this semester, "He dislocated my shoulder. Ren, are you okay?"

"Hurts to breathe."

Lovely. "Dammit, he broke some of your ribs." Just ... don't move. If you move too much, you might puncture a lung."

"What about Oscar? We have to-" Ren tried to get up, only to stop when a sharp wave of pain hit him.

Nora whirled around as fast as her injured shoulder would allow, only to see Oscar use his Plant Dust ring to create vines from nearby trees in an effort to hold Hazel back. "Oscar, run!" Nora yelled.

Hazel burst through the vines with ease, and continued with his single minded pursuit of Oscar. "You should listen to her, boy. I will kill that evil inside you as many times as it takes!"

"Oscar, this is too dangerous, please let me take over."

Oscar pointedly ignored the voice in his head, instead planting his foot firmly in Hazel's groin region. No, this is my fight too!

Ozpin sighed mentally. He didn't understand, Ozpin wanted to take Oscar out of the fight so he didn't have to feel all of the pain that would result. "Oscar, for us to survive this, I will have to push your body past its current limits. This will be extremely painful for whoever is currently in control."

Oscar scrambled to his feet after being sent flying by one of Hazel's punches. Do it, old man. I can handle it.

If Ozpin had the capability, he would have shed a tear. "I don't wish for you to have to suffer because of my mistakes, Oscar."

Oscar leapt out of the way of another charge from Hazel, then turned to face his opponent. I chose to be a part of this, Oz. I didn't have to leave the farm, but I did. I chose to become a Huntsman. If that means that I have to shoulder a little extra pain, then I'll do it.

Hazel yanked the spent Lightning Dust crystals from his arms, and replaced them with Fire Dust. "Oscar... I'm sorry in advance."

Oscar saw Hazel reel back and punch, releasing a fireball. With a quick hop to the right, he dodged, then pushed off of the ground and darted over to Hazel. It doesn't hurt yet, gotta take advantage of that.

Oscar stabbed Hazel with the Long Memory, then stabbed him again. Oscar grinned as Ozpin brought a memory of what he considered to be his signature move to the forefront of Oscar's mind.

Oscar kept jabbing Hazel with the Long Memory, approaching speeds that would make onlookers wonder if he had unlocked some sort of time dilation Semblance. His heart leapt when he finally saw Hazel's Aura flicker.

Faster, I have to go faster!

Then, as the next strike hit, a jolt of pain lanced up his arm, he gritted his teeth and pressed on, because if he stopped, Hazel would most definitely kill him, and he was not going to be the reason that Jaune lost another teammate!

With all the force he could muster, he aimed a kick at Hazel's knee, hoping to follow the original plan. His iron-soled boot struck gold, but the jolt of pain it caused brought him to his knees.

Oscar glared up at Hazel. He had always imagined that his father had stared death in the face during the Grimm attack that had killed him, so he would too, despite his fear.

Hazel's fist became wreathed in flame, "One more down," Hazel said, "As many times as it takes." His fist began to descend...

Then halted inches from his face, a purple glow enveloping the giant's forearm.

"Were you not listening when I said it to Miss Sustrai, Hazel?" Glynda said. "GET AWAY FROM MY STUDENTS!"

"Hold on, Oscar!" Ruby yelled. She ran full tilt at them, dodging the fireballs Hazel sent her way with his free arm. She grabbed Oscar by the shoulder, kicked off of Hazel, then activated her Semblance, causing her to go flying away from the threat, Oscar in tow.

When she reformed, she took aim at Hazel with Crescent Rose, grinning as she followed Roman Torchwick's lead from their first fight, and shot the Fire Dust crystal in Hazel's left arm.

They all had to flinch back from the wave of heat that blasted at them, but Oscar knew that the fight wasn't over. "That won't keep him down for long, Ruby! Throw me at him!"

Ruby almost refused. It was clear that Oscar was in pain for some reason, and there was no logical reason for Ruby to believe that Hazel could get back up after having a Dust crystal embedded in his arm explode. However, Oscar had access to Ozpin's memories, so he probably knew something that she didn't.

"Hang on!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed Oscar's forearm, she fired Crescent Rose, causing her to spin in place, dragging Oscar along with her. Glynda couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride, she would never admit it, but she always had a soft spot for Ruby's impromptu team attacks. With a flick of her riding crop, she added her Semblance to the mix, causing Ruby to spin faster.

Ruby released Oscar, her aura giving out as she did so, and he flew at Hazel, his foot extended in a flying kick, the Long Memory still clutched in his right hand.

Hazel came stomping out of the dust cloud that the explosion had left behind, and saw Oscar flying towards him an instant too late. With a nasty sounding crunch, Oscar's kick landed. He pushed off of Hazel's face, and brought the Long Memory down on his head with a double handed swing, only to collapse from the pain.

"Damn it..." Oscar muttered through gritted teeth. He tried to get up again, crying out in pain as he failed.

Glynda flicked her crop again, causing Oscar to float over to where Ruby was standing, "Miss Rose, please get Oscar out of harm's way. I will finish-"

Glynda was interrupted by one Nora Valkyrie. "CHEW ON THIS, ASSHOLE!"

Hazel whirled around, and took a face full of grenade. Nora fired as fast as she could while using Maghnild one-handed, causing Hazel to take five more grenades in as many seconds.

As much as Hazel wanted to reduce Oscar into a stain on the floor, even he could realize when a fight was unwinnable. The boy's friends would keep fighting until they dropped, and Professor Goodwitch was a terrible matchup for him. Not to mention that he had actually felt the last couple of grenades.

Hazel raised his hand to his ear, activating his comm. "The odds are against us, we have to retreat." Without waiting for any word form his allies, he turned and ran.

Nora raised a freshly reloaded Maghnild, but Glynda warded her off. "No, Nora. This fight is over." Glynda turned to Ruby after taking a cursory glance at everyone present, "Now, let's see about getting everyone to the infirmary."

"What about Cinder?" Ruby asked.

Glynda sniffed, "I'd imagine that Raven and Qrow have that fight well in hand by now, if Mr. Arc and Miss Schnee didn't end it themselves."

(Cinder)

This was officially the most annoying fight that Cinder had been involved in, even eclipsing the Nikos girl. Raven had clearly had more time to train with the Maiden powers than she had, and it showed.

Cinder formed multiple flaming daggers and flung them at Raven, who blew them aside with a gust of wind. Raven charged, her blade sparking with lightning. Cinder met her charge with a flaming blade of her own.

"Give it up, Cinder." Raven said, "You're no match for me."

Cinder grinned, "Please, you and I both know that we haven't even started to show our true power. So how about we stop playing around and finish this?"

Raven grimaced, "Just remember, you asked for this."

Raven shunted Cinder's blade into the ground, causing it to crack. Rather than take the time to repair it, Cinder instead belched a jet of flame at Raven, who dodged by leaping up and unleashing a bolt of lightning at Cinder.

Cinder barely jerked out of the way in time to avoid becoming a human lightning rod, causing the flame she was breathing out to burn a streak across the wall. If looks could kill, Raven would've been struck dead in that moment. Cinder lashed out with her Grimm arm, attempting to grab Raven.

"Foolish." Raven muttered before flipping out of the way and slashing at Cinder's extended arm. "You turned yourself into a monster just for power."

Cinder cocked her head, twin fire blades materializing in her hands. "Is that what you say when you see a mirror?" She charged at Raven, this time utilizing the Maiden powers to fly at her, Raven met her charge, but because of the force of Cinder's strike, Raven's blade broke, and she was forced to give ground.

In that moment, Cinder seized the opportunity, lashing out with her Grimm arm again, this time it struck home, latching around Raven's neck and slamming her against the pillar behind her, cracking it.

Gasping for air, Raven's eyes went wide when she saw that the arm was draining her Aura. Then she saw something else.

Cinder was surrounded by Schnee Semblance Glyphs. Well, I'll be damned. Looks like the heiress is tougher than she looks.

Cinder, on the other hand, didn't notice. She was completely consumed with the prospect of acquiring the powers of another Maiden, that she had forgotten things that should be obvious, like watching her back.

"It's nothing personal, Raven." Cinder said, "I just need more pow-"

She was literally cut off by a glowing white sword slashing through her Grimm arm.

Cinder whirled around, gasping in pain as her arm reformed, only to see Jaune and Weiss, both almost blinding with how bright their Auras were. "Shall I tell you where you miscalculated, Cinder?" Weiss asked.

Raven charged, a blade made from ice in her hands, and sliced up Cinder's back. Cinder blasted her with a fireball, but then got hit with more of Weiss's summoned swords. "Shut up!" Cinder seethed, "How are you even alive?"

Jaune grinned, this was the moment he had been waiting for. "It's almost like I didn't want my girlfriend to die. Crazy, right?"

Weiss continued her condemnation of Cinder. "You do whatever you feel that you must for power without caring who you have to step on. It's ironic you hate Atlas so much. You'd fit right in."

"Let me guess," Cinder said mockingly, "You're going to tell me that true power comes from love. What a load of-"

Cinder was cut off by a stream of lightning from Raven. "Enough! I didn't come here to listen to some melodrama from a Saturday morning Mistralian cartoon." Raven said, "I came here to finally get some payback, and I literally do not have the patience for this!"

Cinder screamed, and unleashed a pillar of fire, blowing a hole in the ceiling and forcing Jaune and Weiss to back off due to the heat. After it dissipated, Cinder was breathing heavily in the epicenter.

"Raven, freeze her!" Jaune yelled.

Raven was not used to being given orders. In fact, the last person who had given her an order that she had followed was Summer Rose. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, so Raven complied, stretching forth her hand, and emitted a blast of ice at Cinder's feet, freezing her in place.

"Get her, Snow Angel."

Weiss proceeded to stretch her boosted Semblance to the absolute limit, summoning twenty copies of the Arma Gigas's sword, and pointing them all at Cinder.

"This is where you die, Cinder." Weiss said, before commanding the swords to fall.

For the first time, Cinder realized that she might be in over her head, between Raven and Weiss Schnee with seemingly inexhaustible Aura. Retreating to fight another day was starting to sound like a lovely idea, but Salem would never accept failure because of-

"The odds are against us, we have to retreat."

Well, now that Hazel had called for a retreat, it would all be on him. Hopefully.

Cinder aimed twin blasts of fire at the ground, using them like rockets to dodge Weiss's swords, and fly out of the opening that she had made earlier.

"Yeah, you better run!" Jaune yelled, out of relief more than anything.

Jaune deactivated his Semblance, and his and Weiss's Auras returned to normal.

Raven turned to them, "You would make a half-decent Maiden, girl."

Jaune was between her and Weiss in an instant. "Don't even think about it." He growled.

Raven sniffed, "Don't worry, I'm in no hurry to die, and I wouldn't pass it to her, anyways. I was just making an observation."

"Why, exactly?" Weiss said, "Any insight into how the Maiden powers work would be helpful for the next time we fight her."

Raven sheathed her sword then folded her arms, "As near as I can tell, using the power doesn't use Aura, but there is a lot of mental strain."

"That makes sense." Jaune said, "It must take a lot to conjure fire and ice out of thin air."

Raven nodded, "Exactly. It's much easier if you use Dust or a Semblance as a base. Use it as a starting point..."

"That's why Cinder favored fire so much." Weiss said, "Her Semblance."

Their attention was drawn to a bird cawing, Jaune cocked his head as he saw a crow flying towards him. "That's weird, how did a bird get in here?" He asked.

His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when the crow turned into Qrow.

"We can hash out this crap later," Qrow said, "Rae, I need your help with Mercury, Emerald, and Leonardo."

"Fine." Raven said, before turning into a raven and flying up to the balcony.

"What in-" Weiss began to ask.

She was cut off by Qrow, "What the hell is so hard to understand about don't get in the middle of two Maidens slugging it out?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, the part where we couldn't let Raven die, because otherwise this whole thing would have been for nothing?"

Weiss interposed herself between the two men, "It was my idea to intervene, leave Jaune out of this."

"That's even worse!" Qrow yelled, "You got impaled not even five minutes ago, were healed by the most miraculous Semblance activation that I've ever seen, and you thought that it was a good idea TO GO BACK FOR ROUND TWO?"

Qrow took several deep breaths to calm himself before continuing, "Look, I get it. Kind of. From how you saw the situation, it looked like the right choice. That doesn't mean it wasn't a stupid choice." Qrow turned away from them for a moment. "For what it's worth, you did good. But you gotta remember that when we do this shit, it isn't a classroom, it isn't a field trip."

"We know." Jaune said.

As they began to walk off, Qrow spoke again, "Jaune, wait a second."

After telling Weiss to go on without him, Jaune turned back, "What?"

"You and the others need to understand that when you're fighting Salem, casualties aren't an if, they're a when. We are going to lose people, it's only a matter of time, and you have to be ready."

Jaune cast his gaze back towards the direction that Weiss had gone, back towards the infirmary to check on Yang. "What if I'm not?"

"There's a reason I drink, kid."

(Haven Academy, Infirmary, Smoking Area)

The pale blue light of Glynda Goodwitch's Scroll made the injury list from the battle seem impersonal, but to Glynda, it was anything but.

Glynda had always wanted children, and once upon a time, she had met a promising young Atlesian military officer who seemed like he would make a good father. Then the accident that would turn him into a cyborg happened, and he was rendered incapable.

Glynda hadn't dared to abandon James Ironwood in his time of need, but they both knew that he would never be able to give her what she wanted. So, they drifted apart.

In her grief, Glynda had thrown herself at her work, simply being the best Huntress that she could be, to the exclusion of all else. Soon enough, she received a job offer for the position of Combat Instructor at Beacon Academy.

As it turned out, she quickly started to view her students as her children, although she would never admit it to anyone.

However, it made her heart ache going through. the injury list. Nora had her shoulder dislocated, which was easy enough to fix. Ren had two broken ribs, which required surgery as it was just too serious of an injury to leave to Aura.

At least, that's what Glynda would have thought before she had heard what happened to Weiss. She had been impaled by Cinder, but thanks to Jaune's newly unlocked Semblance, she was up and walking around like it had never happened. The doctors had insisted that she stay a night in the infirmary for observation, as this was completely unprecedented.

Meanwhile, the doctors had no idea what was wrong with Oscar. Physically he was fine, but he complained of hurting... everywhere. With no discernible reason why, that meant that the only thing the doctors could do was give him painkillers, and hope he could sleep it off.

Then there was Yang and Blake. Blake had received injuries to her arms and legs that had been slow to heal, even after her Aura had healed from the damage that Tyrian had done. She would probably have a limp for a couple of days. Yang hadn't been so lucky. She had gotten a full dose of Tyrian's venom. Luckily, thanks to the speed of one Sun Wukong, there was still hope. Last Glynda had heard, the doctors were pumping her full of anti-venom.

Glynda sighed at pulled out a silver plated lighter out of pocket, a gift from James, back before she had quit smoking.

I should've brought some candy. Ten years of being smoke free, and tonight is enough to contemplate ending it? Sometimes I wish I was less sentimental about this lighter.

"I thought you gave that up."

Glynda didn't even have to turn to recognize the voice, "I haven't started again yet, Qrow."

"I've got an update on Yang." Qrow said as he joined Glynda at the railing she was leaning over, "Good news is that they were able to pump her full of enough anti-venom to neutralize the venom."

Glynda sighed, "What's the bad news?"

"There was some kind of necrotizing agent in the venom, whether it was naturally occurring in Tyrian's venom or a special gift from his mechanical tail, no one's quite sure."

Glynda flipped the lighter open and closed, "Just say it."

"Yang's gonna live, there's no doubt about that." Qrow reassured her, "The doc said that the odds are about fifty-fifty that she'll lose her right arm."

It felt like a ton of bricks had just dropped on Glynda, and her shoulders sagged to match. It wasn't that it was a problem, all it would take was one call to General Ironwood, and a prosthetic arm would be made available. Even with that...

"We're asking too much of them, Qrow." Glynda said, "We need to-"

"What, let them be children?" Qrow asked, "Don't parrot that back at me like you ever believed it. Things are accelerating. Salem has made three moves in a matter of months. The Miracle, the White Fang War, and tonight. We need to be ready."

Glynda aimlessly traced patterns in the railing, "Maybe James had a point, maybe we should have RWBY and JNPR transfer to Atlas, at least for one term, so they can get some training from the Ace Operatives."

Qrow took a drink from his flask. "Stupid idea. There is no victory in strength."

Glynda turned to him, "What was that?"

Qrow shrugged, "Ozpin said it to me once. Anyways, speaking of James, I gave him a call and asked him to help with clean up." Qrow took out his Scroll and pulled up a security feed, "We've got Emerald, Mercury, and Lionheart in separate rooms, locked from the outside, but we shouldn't try to pull that makeshift cell in the basement garbage again."

"Mercury wants to defect." Glynda said. "He told me as much during our fight."

Qrow whistled, "Alright, that's a thing. What do we do with Lionheart?"

"He faces justice." Glynda said. "Anything else, and we show Salem that we're soft. We can't afford that."

"That's going to go over well." Qrow mused, "Atlas swooping in and taking away the first Faunus headmaster in chains."

Glynda rounded on Qrow, "WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, YOU DRUNK BASTARD? LET HIM WALK FREE?"

"I'm going to let that slide, because everyone is on a hair trigger right now." Qrow said evenly, "We make him a deal. He gives us everything he knows on Salem, and takes early retirement."

"What about all of the Hunters he got killed? What about all of the people those Hunters were supposed to protect?" Glynda seethed, "How do they get justice?"

Qrow grabbed Glynda by her shoulders and got in her face, "Lionheart isn't our real enemy, Glynda! So what if we have to lie to the public, it's not like we haven't been doing that for years!"

Glynda brushed off his grip then turned away, "I'm sorry, Qrow... I'm just so tired."

"You think I'm not?" Qrow countered, "Do you really think I don't want to run from all this shit, and spend the rest of my life murdering my liver on some beach in Vacuo?"

Glynda stared at him, this was the first time she had ever heard Qrow have any reservations about their mission. "Qrow..."

"The only reason I'm still here, is because I always knew that my nieces would be in the thick of it." He growled, "And I'd rather be damned before I let them deal with Salem on their own."

Seeing the beginning of tears in Glynda's eyes, Qrow switched tactics, "Look, once everyone's on their feet, we'll go get the Lamp, then we'll ask it how we're supposed to beat Salem. We won today, regardless of the moral quandaries or injury lists."

Glynda wiped her eyes, "Look at us, we're supposed to be the defenders of the world, and we're arguing like children."

Qrow shrugged, "Don't see how those are mutually exclusive, but whatever. Get some rest, alright, Miss Perfect?"

Glynda smiled, her first real smile in years, "Gods, that feels like a lifetime ago."

Qrow paused as he was walking away, "It was."

"Would you have done anything differently, if you knew what you know now?" Glynda asked.

"I wouldn't have let Summer go on that last mission alone."

(Yang's Room)

Blake knew she should probably be asleep in her room, but she didn't much care. She knew better than anyone in their group, other than Ruby of course, that leaving Yang alone with Raven was a recipe for property damage.

She was still there, skulking in the corner. Blake had no idea what to say to her, what did you even say to your not official yet girlfriend's source of abandonment issues?

"Just ask it, girl." Raven said, "I'm tired of you giving me side-eye every few minutes."

Blake blinked, she certainly hadn't expected Raven to be so forward with her. "What makes you think that I have anything to say to you?"

Raven shook her head. Teenagers, they were all the same. "Because you want to know why I left, and why I came back."

"I already know why you came back." Blake said, "Because you wanted to use us to get Cinder off your back, in exchange for opening the vault for us."

Raven scoffed, "Is that all Qrow told you? I'm not surprised, he always was Ozpin's little protégé."

Blake's cat ears flicked in annoyance, "Out with it, Raven. What aren't you telling us?"

Raven turned to face the room's only window, "It's nothing you couldn't have inferred already. Summer was my partner, my first real friend in a very long time, and Salem took her from me. I want revenge, pure and simple."

Blake frowned, that was all too close to her and Yang. "You know that as soon as Salem learns that you betrayed her that she'll probably retaliate however she can, right?"

Raven allowed herself a tight lipped smile, so this Blake was the pragmatic one, was she? "Yes, I know. She'll probably send Grimm to obliterate the tribe."

"You don't sound worried." Blake noted, "Do you even care?"

Raven shrugged, "If they're strong, they'll survive. I couldn't go back to them anyways. The tribe is your family. By helping you lot, that gives them just enough wiggle room to banish me, especially when you consider that I betrayed a paying client."

"My heart bleeds." Blake deadpanned.

Raven rolled her eyes then turned back to Blake, "Whatever, the point is that I'm back, and I'm staying until Salem is defeated."

Blake was about to say more, but was stopped by movement from the bed, Yang was waking up. "Anyone got the number of that psychopath that ran me down?" Yang said.

Blake was by her side in an instant. "Yang, you're awake!"

Raven shook her head ruefully, just like how her and Summer were. It was so close that it was actually painful, in a nostalgic way. "Please, I knew she could handle it. She's my daughter, after all."

"Blake, help me sit up." Yang said, her voice taking a hard edge.

Blake hesitated, "Yang, hold on. There's something you need to know."

"Blake, what are you talking about?" Yang asked, "I feel fine, my right arm feels kinda funky, but otherwise I'm as right as rain!"

Blake looked at Raven, only for her to shrug at her. There really wasn't any other way to do it, Yang would find out one way or the other. "Yang, according to the doctors, Tyrian's venom had some sort of necrotizing agent in it."

Yang frowned, "Well, it's a good thing Sun got me here when he did, huh?"

"Do you remember where Tyrian stung you?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, my right arm." Yang said, there was silence for a moment as the pieces clicked into place. "Wait... necrotizing... oh, hell."

Yang didn't want to look, but she had to. She looked at where her arm should've been, only to find a bandaged stump. "Wh-why does it feel like my arm's still there?" She asked in a halting voice.

"Phantom pain." Raven said, "Effectively, your brain thinks that arm is there, and won't unlearn it for a while."

"Great. Fantastic, thanks for that, Raven." Yang said, "So, I guess I just call up Ironwood and ask for a new arm."

"Yang, I-"

"Blake, it's okay, really." Yang interjected, "We're both alive, and Tyrian's finally gone for good. Besides, if I hadn't taken the hit, he would've got you. And I would've had to deal with him alone, and I think we all know how that would've turned out."

Blake winced, the implications of that made perfect sense to her, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Yang turned to Raven, "Now, you. There's been something I have wanted to say to you for a very long time."

Raven folded her arms, "Well, you have all the time in the world to say it."

"You might have given birth to me," Yang said, her eyes flickering red, "But Summer Rose was my actual mother."

Raven sighed, "I always figured that you'd say something like that to me someday, Yang."

Yang sensed that Raven wasn't finished, so she remained silent until Raven continued, "You need to understand, Ozpin told us about the Maidens, Relics, and Salem just after we graduated from Beacon. We agreed to help, and Ozpin used his magic to give me and Qrow the ability to turn into birds."

"Wait, what was that last bit?" Blake asked.

Raven ignored her, "But even with knowing, life went on. Me and Tai got married, and had you."

"That's all well and good, but it doesn't answer the million Lien question." Yang said, "Why did you leave?"

"I was afraid, Yang. When I held you in my arms, I realized that it would be child's play for Salem to use you against us. Either by killing you or turning you."

Yang did a double take, "That's it? That's the big secret? You were afraid?"

Raven simply nodded.

"Why didn't you come back after Mom died?" Yang asked, "Dad was an absolute wreck, and I needed someone other than Qrow to help me take care of Ruby! Where were you when I put Ruby in a damn wagon and ended up neck deep in Grimm?"

Raven simply stared at her. It pissed her off, did she not even care?

"You know what, after you open the vault, get the hell out!" Yang shouted, "We don't need you abandoning us at the worst possible moment because you're afraid of Salem!"

"Yang, please-" Blake tried to stop Yang, but she knew that there was no stopping her.

"You're right." Raven cut in, "I am afraid of Salem, but I have nowhere else to go, and I cannot get payback for Summer's death if I run away again, so I will not run away."

"So, why now?" Yang said, her tone accusatory, "Why try to get payback now?"

Raven made to leave, and turned to Yang as she did so, "Because Salem is trying to do the same thing she did to Summer to Ruby, and you and I both know that would destroy Tai."

Yang's anger faltered, because she knew that was true. Ruby was practically a spitting image of Summer, if a little shorter. "You know that I'm probably never going to forgive you for leaving, right?"

Raven paused at the door, "I know."

(Mercury's Room)

Mercury had decided that defecting, at the moment, wasn't all that different from life at Evernight Castle. He'd stay in his room unless someone needed him, or he needed to train, content to stay away from the likes of Tyrian whenever possible.

The room he was being kept in was an unused dorm room, meant for four students. He had purposely reorganized the room so that his bed was in the corner, and that he was facing towards the door.

Old habits. Marcus Black was a vengeful drunk, and Mercury found that cutting off avenues of danger was necessary for survival.

Mercury was currently sitting at the room's work desk, performing maintenance on his legs. He had been surprised that his request for tools had been approved, but then again, he wasn't a prisoner, was he? The door was still locked, though.

He glanced at the clock in the room, by now, Cinder and Hazel had probably made it back to Evernight by now, and Salem was undoubtedly angry beyond belief.

Mercury had to take several deep breaths to remind himself that he wasn't in the blast radius. This time.

His attention was drawn by a knock at the door, "Yeah, what?" He called out.

Qrow entered the room, "Hey, kid. Just came to talk."

"Figured you would, sooner or later." Mercury said, he gestured at his leg on the table, "You'll have to forgive me for not getting up."

Qrow grinned, Mercury's file had said that he was snarky, and he needed someone to trade some barbs with to keep his mind off of things. "I don't know, I might be offended, they didn't really teach us these things at Bandit Camp."

Mercury snorted, "Oh, I get it. You're the funny drunk one." He cast a sidelong gaze at Qrow, "You're not an angry drunk, are you?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes, why ask that? "Nah, I'm a sentimental drunk, get twenty or so in me, and I'll start gushing about when my nieces were born."

Mercury's shoulders sagged in relief, "I'll pass. I'm a bit of a lightweight."

Qrow laughed, "Hilarious, kid." After a pause, he continued. "You know why I'm here."

"Yep," Mercury said, "You want to know what I have on Salem. Afraid I have to disappoint you, she always saw me as Cinder's minion, so I don't know anything about her future plans. Sorry."

Qrow folded his arms, usually when one defected, it was because they had information, so why did Mercury defect? "So, why blow the popsicle stand then?"

Mercury fidgeted for a moment before answering, "Because I realized that I went from one abusive situation to another, and I wanted out."

That raised a whole slew of questions, but Mercury didn't seem like he was in the mood to be forthcoming with the answers. "Are you willing to fight?" Qrow asked.

"What do you think I'm fixing my legs for?" Mercury asked, "Yeah, I am. Have to stop Cinder before she finds someone else like Emerald to prey on."

Qrow's eyebrows shot up, that was a surprise. "You know that she's probably going to spend the rest of her life in an Atlesian prison cell, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Mercury said, "I mean, that's where I'll end up if I don't die, right?"

"Assuming we defeat Salem, and you don't screw us, me and Glynda are willing to testify on your behalf that your sentence should be commuted." Qrow said. "Normally, we'd go straight for amnesty, but your crimes are inter-kingdom."

Mercury finally looked up from his leg, "Well, it's better than nothing. What's next?"

"After you put yourself back together, you come help me put the squeeze on Leonardo."

As he was putting his legs back on, Mercury shot Qrow a look, "He doesn't know crap, the information with him was a one way street."

Their attention was drawn to an Atlesian drop ship landing in the courtyard, "Let's put a pin in that, Merc." Qrow said, "We gotta go meet the calvary."

(Oscar's Room)

While Jaune would much rather be with Weiss at the moment, as a team leader he had a duty to make sure that his team was doing okay. Nora was relieved more than anything, if Ren's broken ribs had punctured a lung, there would've been no way that he would've gotten medical attention in time to save him from choking to death on his own blood.

He glanced at the medical chart above Oscar's bed, while he had no formal medical training, Nora's misadventures had taught him how to read the charts, if only by necessity. He narrowed his eyes, there was nothing wrong with Oscar, no injuries, no nothing. Just complaints of hurting... everywhere.

"Damn it." Jaune muttered under his breath, "It's an Ozpin thing." Just another thing to add to the list of reasons that he didn't like Ozpin.

He turned the chair next to Oscar's bed so it was facing him, sat down, and gently shook Oscar awake. Any other day, he would've let Oscar sleep, but they needed to get the Lamp today, and head back to Beacon to deal with that.

"Huh, whozhat?" Oscar grumbled before waking up, "Oh, morning, Jaune."

Jaune smiled, "Morning, buddy. Heard you had a pretty rough ride."

Oscar laughed, "You could say that, oh good, I don't hurt everywhere anymore."

"Oscar, I know you just woke up, but I need to know what happened last night." Jaune said, "Specifically, why you ended up in here."

Oscar winced, "Right, that. Hazel was too much for us, even with Nora pumping herself full of Lightning Dust. So, Ozpin did a thing where he pushed my body beyond what it was capable of normally."

Jaune's expression darkened, "Did he take over when he did this?"

Oscar shook his head, "He offered, but I insisted that I handle it."

Jaune sighed, "Alright, as long as he didn't make you do anything against your will, that's all that matters."

Oscar frowned, "You don't really like Ozpin, do you?"

That was a loaded question if ever there was one. Jaune almost went into a tirade about how Ozpin had manipulated Pyrrha into becoming the candidate to become the next Fall Maiden, and that had put her in the position of fighting Cinder on the tower.

"I'm sorry, Jaune."

Oscar's eyes twitched, "Uh, Oz says that he's sorry? He didn't really say what for."

Jaune shut his eyes, he had to try very hard to not flip out and go off on Oscar for things that were explicitly not his fault. After all, Ozpin himself had asked them to not saddle Oscar with his failings and regrets.

"Thanks, Oscar." He said, "As soon as the doctors discharge you, we'll need to meet in the entrance hall, apparently that's where we enter the vault from."

"It was literally under our noses the whole time?" Oscar mused.

Jaune chuckled as he got up, "That does seem to fit with Ozpin's sense of humor."

(Haven Academy, Courtyard)

Winter didn't envy Clover Ebi, the leader of the Ace Operatives. Trying to reign in their respective egos was a task that she knew that she would fail, at least not without simply pulling rank on them. Which wasn't particularly conducive to the kind of teamwork required of the Ace Ops.

"This is a waste." Harriet said, "Why do we even need to be here? Since when are we a prison taxi?"

"Easy, Harriet." Clover said, "The General said that one of the prisoners that we're picking up has a Semblance that requires multiple operatives to subdue."

Vine nodded, as the Ace Ops de-facto second in command, he had made sure to read the file that General Ironwood had provided, unlike his more hot-headed teammates. "Indeed, Emerald Sustrai's Semblance makes it near impossible for a single operative to subdue her."

Elm grabbed Harriet in a friendly headlock, "Look on the bright side, Hare, at least we'll finally get to see what the new guy can do!"

Harriet scowled, she would've preferred to not be reminded of that situation, thank you very much. "You'd better pull your weight, rookie."

Said rookie, Marrow Amin, was decidedly not a fan of his partner's antagonistic attitude, but that was a discussion for a different day, they had a job to do. "Don't worry, Specialist Bree, I won't let you down."

Winter glanced back at Marrow, "No need to be so formal, Marrow. You're a Specialist now."

Marrow had to grab his tail to keep it from wagging, "it's just fresh, is all."

Clover laid his hand on Marrow's shoulder, "Don't worry, Marrow. You'll do great."

Marrow was about to respond, when Elm cut in. "Heads up."

Walking towards the group was Qrow Branwen, and Mercury Black, oddly enough.

"What the hell is this?" Harriet demanded, "Wasn't he supposed to be one of-"

"Sorry to disappoint," Mercury quipped, "I defected."

Clover folded his arms, "Why weren't we informed of this?"

"Last-minute development." Qrow said as he took out his Scroll, "Anyways, here's Emerald's location."

After verifying it on his Scroll, Clover gave the order. "Ace Ops, let's go!"

After they left, Mercury leaned over to Qrow, "It's probably not a good idea if I'm here when they bring her out."

Qrow nodded, "Yeah, that's probably smart. I've already told the kids about your change of heart, but don't be surprised if they give you some weird looks."

"I don't blame them, I wouldn't trust me either."

Qrow sighed as Mercury walked off, "You know, I can tell that you're judging me, Winter."

Winter pinched the bridge of her nose, "There's no easy way to say this, General Ironwood told us everything."

Qrow's response was immediate. "Oh."

"Indeed." Winter said, "You're going to open the vault and use the Lamp, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah." Qrow said. "So, there's some information about... her that we haven't told Ironwood yet."

"Let me guess," Winter scoffed, "She's immortal."

Qrow answered by taking a swig from his flask. "Only way to stop her is by teaching her the meaning of life and death, which is why we need the Lamp."

Winter's eyes widened with alarm, "I need to call this in, Qrow, but I want to be there when you do it."

"Fine, we're doing it in two hours, give or take." Qrow said, "Depends on how willing the docs are to discharge Ren and Yang."

Winter just nodded as she returned to the drop ship. Qrow took another drink, as he was in no way drunk enough for a angry call from James Ironwood.

It didn't even take fifteen minutes. "Hey, Jimmy..."

(Haven Academy, Entrance Hall)

Weiss had to stop herself from letting her hand drift to where Cinder had impaled her, it was a bad habit that she had fallen into overnight. She took a look around the entrance hall to find that she was one of the first ones to make it there. She could see Professor Goodwitch standing with Sun and Neptune, both of them seeming rather reserved, in contrast to their usual demeanor. A little ways off, leaning against a pillar, was Mercury. In her probably biased opinion, she didn't believe that he should be trusted, as he had done nothing to earn that trust, yet. She sighed, Jaune was probably in the infirmary, arguing with the doctors about discharging Ren.

She blinked. Winter was here, standing a reasonable distance away from everyone else. When was she told about the... everything?

Weiss walked over to her sister, this would need to be handled delicately, as Winter could easily pass for Professor Goodwitch on a bad day. "Winter, it's good to see you."

Winter locked her eyes on Weiss, and the younger Schnee reflexively recoiled. Winter was about to launch into one of her I'm going to seem angry, but I'm really worried about you rants. "Qrow told me what happened, Weiss."

"Winter, I can explain, but Jaune isn't the person you should be angry with." Weiss said.

Winter cocked her head, "Why on Remnant would I be angry with Jaune? He saved your life. You on the other hand were being incredibly reckless!"

Weiss winced, "That's... probably true, but if we hadn't intervened, then Raven might not have beaten Cinder, or would've had a much tougher time of it."

"Weiss, you practically threw yourself in between two Maidens, after being impaled by the first one!" Winter hissed, "What made you think that you could even help?"

Weiss blinked, did she not now the specifics of Jaune's Semblance? "Winter, do you know how Jaune saved my life?"

Winter shrugged, "Some sort of healing Semblance, I'm told. What does it matter?"

Weiss shook her head, "It's more than that, he explained it to me after the battle. He effectively uses his Aura to supercharge the Aura of others, amplifying Aura-based healing, regeneration, durability, and Semblance."

The pieces clicked into place, and Winter hummed in acknowledgement, "I see. That would explain why you thought you could make a difference."

Weiss nodded, "Yes, especially considering that while Jaune was amping me, I was able to achieve at least partial multi-Summoning."

Winter's eyes went wide, and all concerns for Weiss's safety were momentarily forgotten, "You did? Wait, you said partial. Explain."

"I was able to maintain multiple copies of the Arma Gigas's sword. I wasn't going to try to maintain multiple full sized Grimm, as I don't know my upper limit while Jaune is amping me." Weiss explained, "I know what multi-Summoning feels like now, so that should expedite my progress in using it unaided."

"Good, that's good..." Winter took a breath and dropped her voice so that only Weiss could hear her, "Weiss, when you and Jaune took the Knight's Oath, did you swear it for the war with Adam and the White Fang, or the war with Salem?"

Weiss proceeded to give Winter her best impression of a deer in headlights. "The war with Salem..."

A vein pulsed in Winter's forehead, "Are you telling me that you effectively swore a honor oath to kill the immortal queen of the Grimm?"

"We didn't know that she was immortal at the time?" Weiss offered.

Winter's jaw shut with a clack. That made more sense, even with her sister's new infuriatingly reckless bent, she would never do something that stupid, or so Winter hoped. "Very well, sister. Even with that, please try to rein in this new reckless streak of yours."

Weiss jutted her chin out in defiance, "Why should I?"

Winter laid her hand on her sister's shoulder before walking off to talk to Qrow and Yang, who had just arrived. "Because, as much as you might like him to be, Jaune won't always be there to put you back together."

Weiss frowned, before noticing that everyone else had arrived during the time she had talked to Winter. She moved over to Jaune, who was standing next to Nora, Ren, and Ren's wheelchair.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"It was the only way that they would discharge me." Ren said, "They wanted to preclude any possibility of me straining my ribs while they're healing."

Jaune smiled, but anyone that knew him could see the pain behind it. "I'm just happy that everyone made it out."

Weiss was about to offer some words of comfort, but Professor Goodwitch had chosen that moment to bring the room to order. "Everyone, it's time. Before we enter the vault, there are some details that need to be addressed."

She gestured to Mercury, "In case you haven't heard yet, Mr. Black has-"

"Don't call me that." Mercury snapped.

The room went dead silent, the students present knew exactly what fate befell those who dared to talk back to Professor Goodwitch.

"Very well, Mercury." Glynda said evenly, "Mercury has chosen to defect from Salem's side. While he doesn't possess any actionable intel, he is willing to help us fight."

She turned to Sun and Neptune, "Since Haven Academy will need someone who knows the situation, with Professor Lionheart's impending retirement, due to their assistance in the battle, I have elected to bring in Mr. Wukong, Mr. Vasilias, and the rest of their team, who are currently away on a leave of absence."

"Uh, thanks?" Sun said.

"Now, Leonardo, if you could open the entrance to the vault?" Glynda finished.

"Uh, yes." Lionheart said, "Please gather on the balcony, on the platform above the statue."

The group did as requested, and to no one's surprise, Jaune and Weiss ended up next to each other, hand in hand.

"Our dream's still alive, Jaune. Just a few more minutes, and we'll know how to beat Salem." Weiss said.

Jaune frowned, "We don't know that yet, Weiss. We can't afford to count our chickens before they hatch."

Lionheart took out a pocket watch, and placed it in a slot at the base of the statue. With a lurch, it began to descend.

"Thank you, Leonardo." Glynda said, "If you are not here when we return, I will be most displeased."

The platform continued to descend, and eveyone lapsed into silence as the magnitude of the situation started to sink in, this would be the first vault to be opened since the Great War, according to Oscar. Finally, it reached the bottom, and they were faced with a portcullis complete with armored gate barring their entry. Raven stepped forward, and placed her hand on the gate, which promptly retracted, allowing the group entry. The room seemed to be an architectural impossibility, with a giant door in front of them, flanked by honest to goodness trees that were continually shedding leaves.

"Welcome to the Vault of the Spring Maiden." Raven said.

Neptune reached up to grab one of the leaves, only to have it dissipate into motes of light upon contact. "What's up with this place? How are there completely healthy trees this far underground?"

"It's magic, Mr. Vasilias." Ozpin said through Oscar after a grumble from the boy, "Things that aren't possible are made possible, simply because my incarnation at the time, Ozymandias, deemed it necessary to protect the relics."

"Okay, that is seriously spooky." Sun said. "You're not gonna like, take that kid over forever, are you?"

Ozpin chuckled, "Not at all, Oscar would be very annoyed if I did that. When the time comes that Oscar no longer needs me to watch over him, I will simply disappear from his mind."

Raven, fed up with all of the teenagers asking questions, moved to the giant door, and placed her hand on it. The interlocking pieces began to slide away, revealing a desert on the other side, with a walkway leading to a platform where the Lamp of Knowledge floated.

Raven stepped aside and turned to the group, "I'm fairly certain that some of you don't trust me to not take the lamp and run, so I won't retrieve it."

Weiss looked around nervously, no one was in much of a hurry to volunteer, that is, until someone raised their hand.

"I'll do it." Yang said.

Blake eyed her uneasily, "You don't have to, I can-"

"I'm only down an arm, Blake, I'm not an invalid."

Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh, gods, Tai is going to kill me."

Winter couldn't help but take some amusement from Qrow's distress. "And you were doing so well at being a responsible adult, too."

Yang gingerly walked along the walkway, not wanting to find out what would happen if she fell. Soon, she reached the Lamp, retrieved it, and returned. "So, uh... how do we work this thing?"

"Well, there's no time like the present, I suppose." Weiss said.

"Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to ask?" Nora said, "You know, beforehand?"

Ren nodded, "Nora's right, we can't afford to be careless here, for all we know it's a Monkey's Paw."

"Uh, what?" Sun said.

"It's nothing racist, Mr. Wukong." Glynda said, "It simply means that if we're not careful with our wording, then it will be very easy to waste a question, and there are only two left, at most."

"I mean, it's pretty simple." Ruby said, "We ask... How can we teach Salem the meaning of life and death."

"That should produce the results that we want." Ozpin said, "To ask a question, you must say the name of the spirit of the Lamp. Her name is Jinn."

Yang held out the Lamp to Ruby, "It's your show, Rubes. Kinda always has been."

Ruby took the Lamp in her hands, "Well, this is it. Here goes everything." She took a breath, and spoke her name. "Jinn?"

With a rush of air, a blue mist seeped out of the lamp, and their surroundings froze in place. The mist began to take the shape of a blue-skinned female, hovering above them. "What answers do you seek?" She said.

Sun sighed as he covered Neptune's eyes. Jinn was technically naked, and as such, it was best to curb Neptune's inclinations before he did something stupid. "Ah, come on, man!"

Ruby wisely ignored the peanut gallery, and instead focused on the task at hand. "How can we teach Salem the meaning of life and death?"

Jinn smiled, and the anticipation began to build, finally, she spoke. "Finally, someone asks me an intelligent question."

With another rush of air, their surroundings changed, now there were in some sort of void, white in every direction. Jinn continued, not waiting from any protests.

"Four of you, together, have what you need to teach Salem the meaning of life and death."

Their surroundings changed again, and the group found themselves at Summer's grave, with Ruby kneeling in front of it. "Ruby Rose, because of your grief from the passing of both your mother and Penny Polendina, you can help Salem understand that there are others who understand the depths of her sorrow."

Once again, their surroundings disappeared and reformed in a whirl of magic, this time showing a ten-year old Weiss, staring forlornly out her bedroom window. "Weiss Schnee, you are the modern day Girl In The Tower, and as such, can identify with Salem's independent spirit."

Another place appeared, this time the location was the tent where the remnants of team JNPR took shelter in after the events of the Miracle at Beacon. They could see Jaune, clutching Pyrrha's sash and cursing anyone and everyone that had a hand in Pyrrha's demise. "Jaune Arc, you know what it is like to lose a love before it had a chance to flourish, and you know what is like to want to tear down the heavens to make the world seem right again."

Weiss looked up at Jaune with worry, having to see himself like that couldn't have been good for his mental health.

Jinn continued, changing the scene once more to Ozpin's office. "Oscar Pine, you are in possession of all of Ozma's memories, and can remind Salem of who she used to be before the Darkness took her."

"Together, the four of you can end Salem's plight, and send her to the Afterlife, where Ozma is waiting for her."

With a flash of light, they were returned to the vault, and Jinn retreated back to the lamp.

"You have one question left." Jinn's disembodied voice said.

"Wait a damned second," Sun said, "Is the shadow war with Salem just the worst divorce in the history of Remnant?"

Oscar winced as Ozpin retreated back into him, leaving him in control. "Basically?" He said lamely.

A/N: Yeah, splitting this into two was a good idea.

Not much to say, so I'll just say thanks for reading!

Next Chapter: Ruby and Yang go to Atlas to get Yang's new arm, Jaune works through his trauma some more, and how it affects his relationship with Weiss.