Paved with Good Intentions

by FourLivingCreatures

A lonely white rose spreads her vines. The N-Field surrounds her. She sets her lone eye upon the new world and is met with silver.

43. Chapter 43

Chapter [43]: Madness of the White Rose

Shirobara no Kyouki

Part 5 - Finale

---

Kirakishou lay motionless on the ground. Still. There was no rise or fall to her chest- she knew there wouldn't be, but it was still a horrid sight to her instincts. She had no way of telling what condition the doll was in barring what she could see and what she could hear.

And what she could see was horrid.

And it was caused by Yang.

It felt almost as if time was moving still, in the eyes of Ruby Rose. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She couldn't. It was wrong. It was false. It had to be. It had to. Her sister would never attack Kirakishou. They were friends! They had made up in her own dorm room for Oum's sake! In front of the whole team! And Uncle Qrow!

But, as she watched Yang stand back up on her feet and reload her gauntlets, eyes still affixed to the prone position of Kirakishou, it became crystal clear that what she was seeing was indeed quite real.

Yang had attacked Kirakishou. Intentionally.

"So, it's true. You're not even a real person. You're just a doll," Yang shook her head, scoffing distastefully. "It's almost fitting, in some twisted sort of irony. The girl who always acted like she was so above the world, turning out to be nothing more than a doll."

Silence.

Ruby found herself struck momentarily silent, whether it be by the offended rage suddenly rushing through her veins or by the sheer gravity of the occasion, she wasn't entirely certain.

What soon made itself known, however, was that Kirakishou wasn't moving. There was no response, no heroic struggle to stand on her own two legs like in the films. There was nothing.

Her doll was motionless. Silent. Uncomfortably silent.

Ruby's hands were reaching for Crescent Rose unknown even to her, the young reaper only realising the actions when the cool metallic surface of Crescent Rose met with the skin of her hands.

She was shaking shaking shaking-

"Don't, Ruby."

What? She was standing? When had she..? She was closer, semblance had clearly activated, given the rose petals on the ground nearby. Probably in response to her emotions.

"… Why…"

That was her voice. She found her voice. It...it sounded right. For once, it seemed to be mirroring her inner feelings. Confused. Broken, just like her doll. What in the world even was happening?

Yang turned to her. She hated that look in her sister's eyes. So pitying. She didn't need the girl's sympathy. She didn't need her pity. She had been forced to live in the face of that expression with those damn eyes watching her day after day.

Enduring it all had been one of the worst experiences in her life. But what choice had she even possessed?

And look at what all of her efforts had brought her. Right here. Where that same face lay atop her sister, twisted and attacking the one person that had ever connected with her so deeply.

"Oh, Ruby," Yang shook her head side to side. "You don't even realise what's happening, do you?"

Silver eyes glared hatefully. She despised that voice. That same voice that had followed and critiqued her all her life.

"What I know is that you just attacked my girlfriend, Yang."

The gauntlet-clad blonde gave an over-exaggerated sigh, glancing over to Kirakishou's unmoving body for a brief moment before refocusing on her.

"Oh, come on. Look, despite everything that's happened, you know me, Rubes. I wouldn't do something like this without reason. Just give me a second to explain…"

Blood thundered in her veins, a burning-

A small giggling was heard in the distance, Yang whipping around in search of the sound before settling on Kirakishou's body.

The doll had suddenly flipped over onto her stomach, ball-jointed arms slowly sliding against the crystal-laden floor. Horrid cracks grew up her arms, likely due to the strange angle that the limbs were forced to move.

Ruby's heart clenched in worry. It was clear that the doll was pushing herself.

But what could she even do? Her sister wasn't the type to listen to reason.

"Silly, silly Yang…" Kirakishou muttered from her position on the ground, just loud enough for the two other girls to hear her. Ruby thought that her voice sounded strangely stilted, almost as if it was barely even there. She wasn't entirely certain what the expression meant, but oddly enough it reminded her of when she was psyching herself up to talk to people. Just, reciting words in front of a mirror, over and over again until it sounded right.

"Tch," Yang scoffed, "guess it was too much to hope you would go down in a single hit."

A worrying series of cracks rippled through the doll as she forced herself back up to her feet. The doll staggered, moving her hands up to her cheeks to forcefully crack her neck into the proper position.

Yang visibly recoiled at both the sound and the visible damage on Kirakishou's appearance.

"Ah, for the longest time, a pure rose has known that it would come to this. For the light of your crimson eyes reminds her far too much of Suigintou. As such, there is to be nothing less than animosity between us."

There were myriad cracks and indents on Kirakishou's body, yes, but the ones on her face were most apparent. A large section of her chin had been cracked and torn, while part of her right cheek had seemingly caved in, revealing a series of tiny shifting white vines that uncomfortably reminded Ruby of *veins. *

The doll giggled at Yang's appalled expression, swaying on her feet from side to side and seemingly unable to keep a solid footing.

"… So, it wasn't all a lie…" Yang voiced aloud, her voice a hardened edge. "You're a Rozen Maiden, a doll. And a rather messed up doll at that. How pathetic. I can't believe I let you get so close to my baby sister."

...What?

Had she heard that correctly? It couldn't be…

Rozen Maiden.

Yang had just said that. Knowingly. She had correctly equated the term to dolls and labelled Kirakishou as one of them.

But how? How could Yang possibly have found out about Kirakishou's status as a doll? There just wasn't any way she could have found out. With Kirakishou's illusions and everything that had happened recently, nobody in her team should have been suspicious of Kira.

Plus, the way that Yang had said it… That wasn't a surprised realisation or anything. There was bitterness, hate, even, in her voice. Which meant that she had figured it out beforehand.

It still didn't answer the question. Just how could Yang have found out? Nobody even knew about it. Nobody except for Kira herself, Summer, Ruby and-

"...Laplace," Ruby realised, eyes wide. "You spoke with that monster?!"

Yang turned to her fully at her outburst, disregarding Kirakishou's idle form. Somehow, the action alone pissed her off even further.

"Yes. Of course I did. We all did. The whole team, Rubes. We know. It told us everything."

The follow-up question blurted out of her lips before Ruby could think to stop it.

"How could you even think to talk to the thing that killed Mom? How could you listen to it? Why didn't you stop it?"

Yang ran a hand through her hair as she sighed in an aggrieved annoyance.

"Oum, Rubes. Get it through your head. Mom is gone. She's been gone since we were kids. Whatever Kirakishou made isn't her. It isn't. It can't be. It's just some monster that looks like her."

Ruby collapsed, falling to the ground as the sheer weight of emotions overwhelmed her. Part of her rapidly-blurring eyes may have noticed the brief flicker of discomfort briefly appearing on Yang's face, but it had been so sudden that she wasn't entirely certain if it had even occurred in the first place.

"...And why do you believe such about Summer Rose, little flower?" Kirakishou's voice whispered across the battlefield.

Yang glared hatefully at the doll, spinning around to focus back on Kirakishou and ignore Ruby's downed form. "Take a guess."

If anything, Yang's attitude only prompted amusement from her doll, a light giggle in the face of her sister's hatred. Ruby wished she had Kirakishou's fortitude, the ability to remain peaceful even during something like this.

"Laplace, then?" Kirakishou remarked. Her voice still held faint traces of that same tiredness Ruby had heard earlier, but there was something else flickering inside her tone. "You're a fool to believe that Laplace told you everything. All that it did was tell you the exact amount of information that was needed to bring you into this moment. Nothing more, nothing less. You're being manipulated."

Ruby nodded to herself. It made sense. Her doll understood. Why couldn't Yang? The creature had attacked her Mother, just because she had been made into a Rozen Maiden. She would never forgive it for attacking her Mother.

And yet, for some reason, Yang had been conversing with the creature. Talking with it. Willingly. It pissed her off. Why, it seemed like everything her big sister did recently was just to spite every moral that Ruby had.

"Of course I don't trust it. But even Laplace is better than you."

"Ah~ It is of no surprise to me that Laplace managed to get to you, Yang. You mind has always been particularly straight-forward," Kirakishou giggled weakly, before it trailed off into a horrid cough of pain. "Had I Raven Branwen in my possession, I would harvest her memories for myself and give them to you as a gift. Then, perhaps, when you understand the depth of Laplace's powers, you would know that you're defending the one responsible."

Yang appeared surprised at the mention of Raven Branwen, as was Ruby herself, before Yang's eyes narrowed into a furious hate-filled glare.

"Don't even try to deflect the blame onto her! Who cares who did it!? You're the one that made that doll in the first place!"

"… Stop it," Ruby found her voice again. "Please… just stop fighting."

Yang whirled around to face her, pointing an accusatory hand in Kirakishou's direction. "And you! Don't you understand, Ruby? Everything she did, it was all just some kind of fucked-up way to trick you into loving her. Just so that she could make you her Master for the Alice Game. Why do you keep taking her side on everything?"

The Alice game. A Master. So… that's Laplace's game, huh?

"You're wrong," surprisingly, it was not her voice that spoke up, but that of her doll. There was a hard glint in her lone slit amber eye. Kirakishou's smile was gone. "The Alice Game pales in comparison to my Master. It is a trapping. A failing. A dying dream of a useless Father. He sought perfection to the point where he blinded himself to seeing the beauty of his own creation. I will not be living his lie. Ruby is all I care for."

Yang turned back to Kirakishou, snorting distastefully. "Please," she remarked, "don't sell me that crap. You can call it whatever you want, but you don't give a damn about Ruby. She's just a toy to you. Someone to play with to pass the time. You just want to leech her energy for your disgusting little N-Field. Well, I won't have it."

"It's almost funny, in a way," Kirakishou shook her head. There was a pale imitation of a smile worming its way across her face. "To watch as you try and make sense of everything. You can't accept the truth, can you?"

Even while Yang reeled her fists back and cocked Ember Celica, Ruby's mind was working in overdrive.

Leeching energy for the N-Field. So she knows about that, as well.

It was obvious that Laplace had been the one to tell her. Which, given the condition that she left her team in and the speed in which Yang found them, meant that likely the event had occurred right after her departure. Thus, she could assume that her entire team had willingly listened to Laplace and came to the wrong conclusion regarding Kirakishou.

Given Yang's condescension regarding Kirakishou's artificial body, Ruby could infer that Laplace had initially revealed Kirakishou's status as a Rozen Maiden and used their surprise in order to feed them misinformation.

Or, at least, small parts of truth with a heavy coating of lies, Ruby's mind corrected. It's beyond clear that Laplace-no-ma hasn't told her all of the details. Especially considering how Kirakishou is reacting to things. Some of what Yang said clearly got to her, but it's not enough to annoy her beyond some vague amusement.

A small part of her was actually quite impressed with Laplace. It had arrived at the worst possible time, when tension was high, and turned the situation against Kirakishou with nothing but simple words. It had avoided bloodshed, instead opting to rely upon her idiotic team members and their stupid vendetta against her pure rose.

The rest of her, however, despised Laplace. It had taken everything from her. Her Mom, now her teammates. What else was next, huh? Would it be going after Kirakishou? It would certainly make sense, given that it only cared about the continuation of the Alice Game.

A sudden blast of dust caught her attention, silver eyes tracing the blazing form of her big sister. Yang had used a blast from Ember Celica to propel herself forwards towards an unsuspecting Kirakishou. The doll's singular eye barely had a moment to widen in surprise before the full force of Ember Celica impacted harshly against her chest in a swift right-handed jab. Yang's weapon unloaded another round, this time point-blank into her doll's chest, the sheer force of the round enough to send Kirakishou flying backwards.

The doll tumbled across the ground, before impacting against a small growth of crystals somewhere near the courtyard. Ruby quickly scampered over, her aching legs barely responding to her commands at the time.

She had barely arrived in time in order to witness Yang strutting forwards, crimson eyes locked on Kirakishou's prone form as the doll pushed herself up against the crystals.

Suddenly, a crystalline vine burst from the small crystalline growth, jutting forwards at high speeds. Yang attempted to dodge, only partially succeeding as the vine ripped nearby her, grazing her hip and causing her aura to briefly flash in alarm. The vine continued growing forwards, before smashing into a nearby section of crystal and sending shards exploding everywhere.

"So, still have a few tricks up your sleeve, huh? It won't be enough to stop me, you know. I know that you're pretty weak right now, and anything you do to me only makes me stronger," Yang remarked in a dark amusement. Though Ruby could spot a caution in her posture. It was clear that Kirakishou's surprise attack had momentarily put Yang on the defensive.

The sudden appearance of the crystalline vine had briefly startled Ruby as well, but upon taking some time to assess things, she could understand what had occurred. Kirakishou's powers derived from the N-Field, up to and including her thorned white rose vines.

Due to Cinder bombing Kirakishou's room and inadvertently unleashing the N-Field upon the world, Kirakishou's control over her powers had diminished greatly. The doll herself had told Ruby as such- citing that they needed to find a great source of energy so that Kirakishou could regain control. Until that time occurred, the doll would be limited by what little of the N-Field she could access.

As the N-Field was now a physical space in the world, so too were her powers.

What that meant for her powers as a whole, Ruby wasn't sure. But for her vines at least, she knew what it meant.

They had mass.

She couldn't help but be reminded of what Kirakishou had said when they were inside the mirrored version of the dorm rooms.

"Manifestation is a costly endeavour…"

Ruby shuddered. All of this metaphysical stuff was pretty damn unsettling to imagine. But, if it was a part of her doll, then it would just be something that she would have to handle. It was nothing but a tiny sacrifice in the pursuit of understanding the doll that had captured her heart.

Refocusing on the fight, Ruby had just enough time to blink before she witnessed the crystalline vine retract, seemingly ripping itself out of the shattered crystal that it had impacted against in order to return to Kirakishou's side. It was only then that her sister took the opportunity to attack.

Firing a blast of Ember Celica, Yang had carefully aimed the blast to land at Kirakishou's feet and send up crystalline debris towards the doll. Enough to mask her sudden approach, in the very least. Lunging forward, Yang struck fiercely, shifting her position into a harsh kick against the doll's chest. Ruby could see the end of Yang's boot indent a little against the doll's frame, the soft fabric of Ruby's pyjamas doing absolutely nothing to counteract the damage. There was no flicker of aura on her doll, either.

A gasp of pain escaped the doll, a cry of alarm that shuddered through Ruby's veins in an instant. Her world froze. Everything hurt to witness. She could see Yang, moving in closer. The doll was on the ground.

"...Please, no…" Ruby muttered aloud. Hoping, craving, that her big sister would hear her.

But, Yang never stopped. She walked up to the doll's prone form, cocking back Ember Celica and preparing to unleash a final shot.

"I'm sorry, Rubes," she heard, before-

"NO!"

THWIP

Yang stumbled forwards, staggering as a hand went up to reflexively grasp her shoulder-

How did-

A golden flicker of aura, smoke… a dust round…

Crescent Rose lay clutched in her hands, a finger loosely holding the triggering mechanism-

In an instant, Kirakishou had reacted, the crystalline vine wrapping around Yang's ankle and clutching her leg tightly. The blonde huntress gave a cry of alarm and went to reach down to fire Ember Celica point-blank, only for Kirakishou to suddenly extend the vine outwards, the crystalline appendage whipping along the landscape and sending Yang flying into the distance. Her eyes could make out her sister rapidly thrown towards the telltale cliff that led towards the Emerald Forest, before the blonde was thrown overboard.

Ruby could only stare.

Yang had been thrown into the Emerald had been shot in the upper left shoulder.*Yang had been shot by her.

She looked down at her hands, grasping Crescent Rose. She was shaking-

"I-I shot my sister…" Ruby muttered brokenly. She dropped her weapon, feeling a sudden uncharacteristic shaking sensation overtaking her frame. "...How could I do such a thing?"

Pitter patter, pitter patter.

She could hear Kirakishou's footsteps against the crystal-laden surface. Her stride was strong. It was almost funny. Following all of the damage that Kirakishou had received, Ruby had almost expected her doll to barely be able to walk.

Why had she-Why had she shot her own sister? What in the world was wrong with her? What is going on?! How…

Kirakishou pulled her close, the comforting chill of the doll barely registering to her senses. Yet, despite the lack of feeling, it was exactly what she needed. She gripped the doll's smaller form in as tight a hold as she could manage in her state, weeping into doll's shoulder.

She wasn't entirely sure about just how long she stood there, holding the delicate little doll and bawling like crazy.

"You did what you had to do, Master," Kirakishou's soft voice whispered in her ear, her tone feather-light. The doll rubbed circles on her back, just hard enough to keep Ruby else close. "Don't blame yourself for the actions of another. She is your sister, yes, but sisters can be as dangerous as any other toy. Laplace-no-ma made sure of that."

Toy.

The phrasing should have offended her. To call her sister a toy was something that Ruby felt like a baddie would say. Someone like Roman Torchwick, not her beloved doll. But, for the life of her, Ruby couldn't bring herself to care. She knew there was a time that she would have been offended, but that time has long since passed.

In fact, all that Ruby felt was a certain level of vindictive pleasure in hearing Kirakishou's choice of phrasing. Yang had accused Kirakishou of treating Ruby like some kind of toy, where now the doll was calling Yang a toy. A toy for Ruby. It was an odd idea to entertain, the thought rattling around in her mind for a while. She, the baby of the two, treating Yang as a toy. Oum, it was soooo messed up to think that way, but it felt... nice.

After everything that Yang had just done, up to and including forcing Ruby to shoot her, she figured it was an equal assessment to call her sister a mere toy. In this instance, Laplace had been the one to play with her and feed her information, but how Yang acted with that information had been her own choice. She had refused to listen, refused to understand. What kind of living, breathing individual would ignore her doll's pure form? Nobody.

She was nothing more than a faulty toy.

Ruby was reminded of those fellow students that she had encountered when rushing towards Beacon Academy. Those second-years. They had been so emotional. So utterly maddened. They had all been so very accusatory, staring at her with those damn eyes.

Yang had it too. Those same eyes. Blaming her for everything. She hated it. Hated hated hated those damn eyes. Those red eyes. How dare she. How dare she blame her. How dare Yang spit on her Mother's grave by speaking with Laplace, by attacking her doll.

It was all just so useless.

Useless useless useless… That's all that everyone was. Everyone except her and Kirakishou. The doll who understood her. The doll who accepted her and did everything for her. Nobody… nobody else really mattered that much to her, really.

Excluding her Mother, of course. But that much was obvious.

Dad was… he was nice. But, she didn't feel as strongly about him as she did about Summer Rose. She had realised that sometime after Summer had first been revived as a doll and summarily left her to be with Tai. She had felt upset, that Dad was stealing Summer away. The thought had disgusted her, made her feel wrong, twisted inside... but it was the truth. It was how she felt. And she wouldn't deny her feelings.

After everything that had just happened, she needed to be honest with herself.

She couldn't lie about her feelings. She needed to express it all. To let it all out, for her doll.

Take her sister, for instance. The sister that had once been there for her in so many ways and had protected her against the world. There was a time when Ruby had loved her. But, she supposed, she had only loved the idea of Yang, not the person herself.

Yang had chosen to attack Kirakishou and, in doing so, disregarded Ruby's feelings. Why should Ruby care about such a person who would so casually ignore how she felt?

She needed someone who actually cared for her. Someone who would throw consequence out the window and chose her above everything else. She needed her doll. Everybody else…

"Yes… I-um, I think I finally understand. She's nothing but a faulty toy."

The beaming smile that Kirakishou sent her way was nothing short of heartwarming. Held so close to the doll, it was almost as if she could feel the bliss radiating from the doll's form.

Ruby pulled back from the doll's embrace following that, before suddenly lurching forward to clutch Kirakishou when she stumbled.

Involuntarily, her hands found their way onto Kirakishou's arms, gliding against the myriad cracks that littered her beaten and broken form. If Ruby had thought it had been bad seeing her just after Kirakishou's escape from the mirror, it paled in comparison to the damage wrought to her form after Yang's brutal assault.

"K-Kira… your body… you look so damaged…"

"Ah, unfortunately, Master, that is not something that your doll can fix at this moment," Kirakishou shook her head sadly, a soft upturned smile on her lips. "A pure rose is only limited by the complexity of her garden, you see. In the state that my N-Field is in at the moment, even wielding simple vines is a difficult task. Healing this body will take an immense amount of effort."

"But you can fix that, right?" Ruby pressed desperately, overcome with worry for her doll as she tightly clutched her broken form. "When I get the Fall Maiden powers, right? You can use that in order to fix everything, including yourself?"

Kirakishou nodded, looking pleased with her assessment. "Of course, Master. But, even as we speak, I am slowly regaining control over my precious N-Field. Enough to stand, in the very least. Your doll was merely… overcome, momentarily, in thanks to Yang's arrival. She will return to full bloom eventually. It will take a significant amount of time without the Fall Maiden powers, however…"

"...It's time that we don't have," Ruby finished for her, frowning in thought. "Then, let's… let's just go. We don't have time to waste."

"Are you sure, Master?" Kirakishou questioned, looking at her in concern. "If you require a minute to process current events, your doll would be more than happy to wait."

Ruby gave a low, bitter smile. It was kind of Kirakishou to offer, but they both knew that any time spent waiting around would only lead to more destruction. She wouldn't allow that to happen, even if she also felt like she could barely stand on her own two feet at the moment, just like her doll.

"I'm fine. Let's go."

Kirakishou smiled and pulled away from her. The doll grabbed her hand, cracked ball-jointed fingers intermingling with her own shaking digits. "Then please, Master, let us push on. I shall explain everything on the way."

---

There were just… so many bodies.

From what she could remember, she had thought similarly upon entering the transmit tower with General Ironwoods and discovering Laplace's assault.

But this… this was different.

Ruby could see them all, nestled deep under the ground within their crystalline cocoons as she walked with Kirakishou towards the centre of Beacon Academy. Were it not for the translucent nature of the assimilated earth, she would never have known just how many were housed within Kirakishou's N-Field.

The doll had assured her that they were alright. That they were safe, merely sleeping, but it was still an uncomfortable sight to witness. She knew these people. Many of which she had even attempted to speak with on various occasions. Yet now they were all the same, all silent, dreaming peacefully under the N-Field's gentle influence.

...She wasn't stupid. She knew they probably would be stuck there. Even after Ruby attained the Fall Maiden powers and Kirakishou used them to stabilise the N-Field, the cost requirements wouldn't simply go away. If the N-Field was to continue to exist, then it needed these people. These seedlings, as Kirakishou put it.

They were the seedbed necessary in order to ensure that the pure white rose that is her doll may bloom. She understood that. But it still felt… disquieting.

Kirakishou's presence had been a huge help in regards to soothing her fragile nerves. Just having the doll near her had been overwhelmingly positive. Especially now that they were both free from the mirrored world. She hadn't realised just how wonderful it felt to stand beside the person who held her heart, until the moment arrived where the doll had taken her first steps outside the dorm room alongside Ruby.

They were together. A seedbed of their own, in a way, ensuring that they both bloom alongside each other. Toys would dance and the world would be born anew. Their precious garden, it would be-

...She shook her head. Perhaps all of this talk of Rozen Maiden and hanging out with Kirakishou had given her a rather strong penchant for Kirakishou's little flower phrases. N-Not that they were bad or anything, just that it felt a little difficult at times to keep track of them all.

But the warm looks the doll would continuously send her, as they walked through the crystal-laden courtyard outside the ruined academy dorm rooms, were more than enough to soothe her troubled spirit. Even with all of the nonsense occurring around them.

"...Look, Master. There are more of them over here."

Wordlessly, she followed the direction of Kirakishou's voice and glanced over to where the doll was looking. Ah. That would be one of the lecture halls, yes? Though, it was pretty banged up. There was a lot of rubble that had been moved into a rudimentary defensive perimeter of some sort, with a few outgrowths of crystals continuing to climb across the surface.

The most interesting part of the scene, however, was that Ruby could spot more of those Atlesian androids surrounding the area, broken and defeated as they lay motionless on the crystalline ground. Most of them seemed heavily damaged, a majority sporting missing limbs and severe damage to their chassis.

Ruby knew what they were. The Atlesian Knight-200, or just AK-200. The advanced Atlesian androids that General James Ironwood had been showing off a while back. She remembered hearing something about it, ages ago, back when she had only just met Kirakishou for the first time. They were the successor models to the old Atlesian Knight-130's, armed with a mass-produced Atlesian-grade militarised dust rifle.

She had wondered if they would show up again. With the Atlesian Military hanging around the Beacon Academy airspace, there had existed the possibility that they would be deployed to fight all of the grimm infesting the area.

It had only been after Yang's… defeat… that Kirakishou and Ruby had discovered the robotic soldiers. Her doll had suggested that the Atlesian Knights had been deployed in order to bolster the defensive perimeter erected by the remaining students, civilians, and faculty.

The Atlesian Knights, as Kirakishou had explained, were ignored by her crystals in a manner similar to the grimm. All because they did not possess aura. Thus, they made for the perfect supplementary force- able to assist in combating the grimm without having to worry about the crystals attempting to snatch them when they were down.

"Huh…" Ruby voiced lowly, eyeing the scene with a faint curiosity. "I can see that."

In response, her doll giggled happily, grabbing her arm and pulling close in a rudimentary side hug. She had been like that during their whole walk, really. Kirakishou's reactions had been extraordinarily giddy for one that possessed a highly damaged body. Though, Ruby could likely attribute it to her artificial nature. It was clear that dolls didn't have to worry about pain in the same sense as humans and faunus did. They could just keep going and going until they fell apart. Or, perhaps it was a technique unique to Kirakishou? It wasn't like she'd heard nor cared that much about the abilities of the other dolls. Kirakishou was the only one for her.

She still stumbled around a lot and her movements were rather janky at times, to the point where Ruby could easily detect it even when Kirakishou was trying to mask her actions, but she still had that same energy in her, that same feeling of contentment that positively radiated from her, just for being in Ruby's presence.

"I thought you'd like it, Master! There aren't many humans about now, not from what I can sense, so it's just these little metal toys and those creatures of dark that we'll have to deal with."

She nodded, gesturing slightly for the doll to detach from her body, which Kirakishou did with a playful pout. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with the display of affection, quite the opposite in fact, it was just that she had to be ready in case of attacks. After all, it would be a bit difficult to pull out a weapon with a Rozen Maiden hanging off your shoulder.

"Will they be a problem? The Atlesian Knights?"

Kirakishou cocked her head, brow momentarily scrunched in thought. Eventually, she shrugged. "For you, Master, not so much. In fact, they are under orders to bring you to General Ironwood, if they see you."

Really? Then what was the problem-

"They are also under orders to attack me, if they see me."

Oh.

Her eyes narrowed. "...I won't let that happen."

Kirakishou smiled at her warmly. It was enough of a sight to make Ruby blush and look away. She wasn't used to having that level of affection just thrown at her.

"I know, Master~ Don't worry. We can avoid them if we stick to the outside areas. Many of them only patrol the interior sections of the academy, the classrooms and such. We should be okay."

She didn't question how Kirakishou knew about the Atlesian Knights and their patrol routes, nor the commands they had in regards to Ruby and Kirakishou. She had a decent idea as to how.

Crystals are reflective surfaces, after all… and there are a great many crystals around here…

"And the grimm?" Ruby instead asked.

Kirakishou merely shrugged. "Many of the younger beasts of dark, those you call grimm, have been slain following the initial wave of grimm. Those that remain have existed for a great many years. They seem to be able to sense that it is in their best interests to avoid us for the most part."

She nodded slowly, morbidly pleased at the idea. It was kind of cool that she was scary to the grimm, enough to where the smarter ones actually actively avoided them and focused on the remaining people.

It also explained why she hadn't been attacked pretty much at all ever since arriving in Beacon Academy following the release of the N-Field. It had taken her a fair while to get here- enough for the younger grimm to have been killed off already.

Plus the N-Field didn't seem to attack them, following Kirakishou's explanation of how the N-Field targets aura. Grimm were completely auraless and thus useless to the growth of Kirakishou's garden. Provided things didn't attack them, the grimm seemed to ignore most mechanical devices. Ruby could only assume they saw the crystalline expanse as just another weird thing to ignore.

"...What about outside Beacon? What's going on out there?"

Her Rozen Maiden gave a tiny smile, her cracked expression seemingly oddly innocent for a brief moment in Ruby's eyes.

"Near Beacon Academy, a small contingent of the White Fang continues to press onwards," Kirakishou explained, much to her surprise. The White Fang was here?! When in the world had they arrived?! "...They're not doing so well."

She blinked, the wind figuratively taken out from her sails following Kirakishou's admission.

"...How so?" Ruby asked, morbidly curious.

"At first, they were able to withhold the repeated attacks of the N-Field, the grimm, and everybody else. However, their strength was entirely reliant on their numbers. As more and more continued to be picked off, they began to lose their footing. Now, they fight to escape, even if they do not know it yet."

Ruby distinctly remembered the White Fang from her last encounter with the group, when they were raiding the shipping containers over at the docks alongside Roman Torchwick- the infamous master thief.

She had come across Roman Torchwick shortly after, back when he was chasing after Blake in a stolen Atlesian Paladin mech of all things. But after that single event, she had heard neither hide nor hair of both the enigmatic thief and the White Fang organisation. They had gone completely dark.

Now, though, they were here? Why?

...In a way, she supposed it didn't matter. In the end, they had just become more seedlings for Kirakishou's garden. Or grimm food. She didn't particularly care which.

"Will they be a problem for us?"

Kirakishou smiled. It was a pleased, if not downright delighted little expression of childish pleasure. "Not at all, Master. As we speak, a lone huntsman is handling the issue for us. We shall not see them, during this event."

Hesitantly, she smiled alongside her doll. It was one less worry off her mind. Perhaps, it was the best outcome for Team RWBY's little case against the White Fang. They didn't have to worry about what may-or-may-not have been a potential White Fang operation in Mountain Glenn, if the Vale branch of the White Fang didn't exist anymore. Though, she hoped that the huntsman didn't kill them, so that they could be added to Kirakishou's N-Field. Being used to supply her doll with power would be the one redeeming thing they would have done, in recent history.

"A-And my team?"

Here, Kirakishou paused. She seemed… hmm... How could Ruby put it? She wasn't entirely certain what to call the expression that had surfaced on Kirakishou's face, as the doll stumbled and looked over at her.

Surprised? Confused? Perhaps even a little pouty? Some kind of weird combination of the three? Nevertheless, the doll seemed inclined to respond to her.

"...Well… Yang remains in the Emerald Forest. She is unconscious, from what I can tell," Kirakishou began tentatively. Ruby gestured for her to continue. She didn't want to even think about Yang at the moment, let alone hear how she was going. She cared more about the others right now. "...Blake has successfully escorted Weiss to a safe-house filled with civilians and students alike. Professor Goodwitch is there."

Professor Goodwitch? They were with Professor Goodwitch? Okay. That was a kinda weird development, but sure, why not. Though, she was a little surprised. She had expected the two girls to have journeyed to Beacon to try and save her...

-not that she needed saving of course-

...but instead, they had gone to some dingy safe-house?

She supposed it made some degree of sense. It was the safer option, of course. Plus, with Weiss's semblance, she could do a lot of utility work fending off the grimm. Though Kirakishou's crystals would be an issue…

Perhaps they were all working together to fend off the crystals? That could work. If it had worked for the White Fang, then there was a possibility that it could work for them as well.

...She hoped they were okay. Even if they probably didn't like her anymore because of Laplace, she didn't want to see them get hurt because of all this madness. She didn't want to see them become broken toys, like Yang. She didn't want Kirakishou to send them away. At least, she hoped she didn't. Who knows what they thought of her right now? To think that Laplace could have-

"Shit- Laplace! W-What about him?"

Kirakishou paused and faltered before, much to her utter confusion, blushing embarrassingly and squirming.

"...Ah… Master… If I tell you that, it would spoil a surprise I had been wanting to give you."

Ruby stopped in her walk, turning to face the doll who seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze. Gulping to herself, as many of Kirakishou's little surprises had been more to the tune of world-shattering revelations than normal startling events as of late, Ruby steeled her nerves and put a hand on the doll's shoulder.

"...Tell me."

Reluctantly, Kirakishou turned to stare at her, before smiling weakly and speaking in a small voice.

"Summer Rose is fighting Laplace-no-ma. She is buying us time, so that we may succeed without worrying about Laplace's personal influence."

WHAT-

"Y-You revived Summer Rose?" Ruby choked out, eyes wide. How in the world had Kirakishou even managed that?! She looked like she could barely even stand, let alone revive her Mom…

Kirakishou smiled softly. It was a warm, weak little thing.

"...I revived her shortly before Cinder Fall activated the explosive device in my room," the doll revealed, seeming almost as if she was confessing a secret with how demure her voice sounded. "Summer Rose awoke inside the militarised bullhead belonging to General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military."

Ruby slowly nodded, processing the information. It made some degree of sense to her. Because clearly Kirakishou wasn't in any state to perform any aura-intensive abilities at the moment, it would mean that she had to have revived Summer ahead of time.

Though… "You didn't tell me!" Ruby pouted.

Kirakishou merely mimicked her pout, looking down and rubbing circles in the floor with her foot. "...I wanted to surprise you afterward…" she whispered sadly, sounding almost defeated. It reminded Ruby of how she'd acted when she was younger, when one of her friends inadvertently ruined the surprise to Dad about one of the birthday gifts Ruby had gotten him.

Her expression lessened immediately as she moved forward to lean her head against the doll in a display of understanding.

"Hey- it's alright. Don't be sad. I understand," Ruby soothed gently, moving to embrace the smaller girl. It was a little bit awkward with Crescent Rose, but she managed. "Just let me know next time, okay? You don't need to hide things like that from me. I don't know how many more surprises I can take," she jested lightly.

The doll gave a small giggle. "O-Okay, Master."

Ruby pulled back from her doll, smiling now that the matter was resolved. She gestured for Kirakishou to follow alongside her. They'd already wasted a bit of time just standing around. She knew that they needed to keep moving.

"Oh, Master," Kirakishou called out all of a sudden, gesturing for her to slow down. "We are approaching Beacon Tower. Are you ready for this, Ruby?"

She flinched at the question, feeling torn between wanting to get this damn situation over and done with and between being able to properly explain her feelings for once in her life.

"A-As ready as I'll ever be," Ruby cursed her brief stutter, for betraying her true feelings and deciding for her.

Kirakishou's ensuing hug was answered immediately, possible threat of outside interruption be damned. She clutched the broken doll tightly. She had been trying to keep her eyes on the horizon, but she couldn't... she just couldn't lie to her doll. That lone amber eye could see right through her. And, if she was going to make her previous words make any sense to the doll, she couldn't hide her feelings either.

"I-I'm scared…" she admitted.

"I know, Ruby. I can sense it, through our bond. But, do not worry about the Fall Maiden, or about General Ironwood. They have both been prepared for this moment. Remember, they are just toys. Silly toys, but toys nonetheless. We can stop playing with them whenever we want to."

She nodded against the doll's shoulder, trying to manage a smile but failing completely. She didn't exactly understand what Kirakishou was trying to say, but she could infer that it was meant to soothe her. Toys. The phrase was weird to just stamp onto people. It would take a lot of getting used to, she figured.

"W-Will you stay with me, by my side?"

"...I can't, Ruby. General Ironwood will attack me on sight."

She clutched the doll tighter, shaking her head furiously.

"No! I… I wouldn't let him, Kira… you'd be safe, if you stayed with me."

The blonde doll giggled lightly, the vibrations felt through their close coupling.

"You would protect your doll? Be my knight? You would burn the world, to warm my garden?"

Ruby's eyes shone with determination. "I-I would. Just, please, come with me. Who cares about Ironwood? I can deal with him if he tries anything. Totes."

Kirakishou pulled back from her, not enough to detach from the embrace but enough for Ruby's silver eyes to bare witness to Kira's own lone slit amber eye staring right at her. The doll smiled, before pecking her softly on the cheek.

"But, then you would not become the Fall Maiden, Ruby. General Ironwood would attack me, and you would defend. We need Ironwood, or else you cannot become a Fall Maiden. His expertise with the aura transfer device will ensure that the transfer runs smoothly, expertise that your doll unfortunately does not possess."

"-Couldn't you just… ya'know, add the Fall Maiden to the N-Field?" Ruby suggested, uncertain. She was aware that it was a bit… morally dubious to suggest such a fate after what she had learned, but she was also aware of Amber's current condition. It may be better if she sleeps forever inside Kirakishou's N-FIeld, instead of whatever Ironwood's technology will do to her.

"It wouldn't work, Master. The N-Field is acting independently at the moment. Supplying it with more power would only succeed in pushing the N-Field even further out of my grasp. It would be akin to feeding fertiliser to an invasive species."

Right. So. Bad news.

"...So, what you're saying is I have no choice, then."

Kirakishou kissed her. Her lips were cold and cracked.

"Yes, Master…" the doll trailed off, before glancing away and frowning. "For what it is worth, I am sorry. I know that this has been… hard, on you. Learning everything that you did, only to be pushed into a decision such as this. It was not my intent."

Ruby shook her head, tears in her eyes. She reached upwards and gently put her hands on the doll's cheeks. Softly, she forced the doll to turn back to face her.

"I don't care about that, Kira. I just… I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I-If this will do it… if it will stop the N-Field from swallowing everything, then I'll become the next Fall Maiden."

Seeing as nothing else was to be said, Ruby leaned forwards and pushed herself into pressing her lips up against the doll. She drew on every emotion, every thundering desire that was welling up in her, and poured every once of emotion she could into the kiss.

Kirakishou was hers and hers alone.

She cried for her doll. She cried for the damage her doll had taken. She cried, even as the doll pulled her close as their tongues dances together. She cried for her team, she cried for all of the destruction that had occurred in Vale.

...She cried for Yang, for her sister that had been twisted into becoming a monster by Laplace's Demon. A monster that would force her to shoot her own sister, to quell her assault on Ruby's pure doll.

When she pulled back and opened her eyes, her vision was clear.

Pure. Just like her Rozen Maiden.

"Master…" Kirakishou murmured, voice soft. The doll stroked her cheek, nestling her digits against Ruby's soft cheek in an affectionate manner.

She… had a lot running through her mind. But there was one particular question that she needed to get answered, before she was able to continue.

"...Kira, is there anything in the way between here and Beacon Tower?"

"Nothing, Master. We are alone, in this singular moment."

She nodded. Pulling out of Kirakishou's grip, she reached down towards the folded form of Crescent Rose, as the doll eyed her curiously.

Taking a moment to swallow the lump in her throat, Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose.

"...I want you to take care of this for me, Kira."

"Ruby…-"

"-No, please," Ruby cut in before the doll could continue. "I know what you said, That there shouldn't be any danger around… But, with Ironwood not wanting to see you, the only way that this is going to go down is if I go to see him on my own."

Kirakishou nodded along, remaining silent.

"Therefore," Ruby pushed forwards, "I want you to take care of Crescent Rose for me. You're going to need it, I feel. Even if there's not much danger for me, Ironwood and his mechs are hostile to you. They could attack. Or Laplace. It's surprised us in the past. It could do so again. I-I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt, Kira. I can't."

"Darling…"

"S-So, please. Take it."

Wordlessly, she shoved Crescent Rose forwards, her arms shaking. Whether it be from exhaustion or her own absolutely shot nerves, Ruby couldn't tell.

The doll stared at her a moment, before smiling to herself and grabbing the hilt of Crescent Rose. Ruby forced her hands to let go, feeling oddly vulnerable for a brief moment before she shook the feeling away with a shake of her head.

Kirakishou looked so very silly, clad in Ruby's loose pyjamas and clutching Crescent Rose. But, if it would keep her doll safe, then what other choice did she have?

"R-Right… now, um… let me show you how she works…"

---

"Wow. You guys have really backed the wrong proverbial horse in this instance, huh? Assaulting Beacon? Now? That takes balls."

Narrowly avoiding an enraged burst of dust-enhanced projectiles, Qrow Branwen briefly reflected on just how exactly he had arrived in this almost painfully ducked-up scenario.

His mission had been rather simple at first. Find Kirakishou. 'Reason with' Kirakishou and, if that failed, end her. Simple enough, though he was starting to think that Old Oz was out of his mind suggesting that Qrow of all people attempt to negotiate with a girl like Kirakishou. Sure, he had some success with women in the past, but nothing like that.

It was practically a staple in his life that he actively avoided the crazies. His semblance combined with drama was almost like adding fuel to a fire. One wrong move on his part and suddenly he could be in for all manner of drama.

So, he'd resolved to know that he would probably be attacking some troubled school kid by the end of the night. Likely ending her life, too.

It had been difficult to imagine. Hurting kids had always been a bit of an issue for him, especially after Yang and Ruby were born.

But, he trusted the Old Man. If Ozpin believed it was the only option, then that was simply how it had to be. Though, hopefully he would be able to prevent ever having to go down that road again.

Not that any of it mattered now.

Qrow had barely made it out of Beacon Tower before being confronted by droves of frenzied grimm and a struggling population of students and Beacon Academy faculty, slowly being whittled away by the constantly increasing number of crystals popping up around the place.

He couldn't just leave them, could he? It would go against every moral fibre in his being to do such a thing.

So, as a result, he'd spent some time trimming the herd, so to speak. Cleaving through what had felt like a seemingly endless horde of grimm until there was a brief lull in the battle.

The crystals had been the next foe to face.

Much to his mounting horror, the crystals were, as Ozpin speculated, likely powered by the aura of those unlucky enough to find themselves captured within. As a result, their rate of growth was entirely dependant on how many fell to the crystals. With enough teamwork and a copious amount of dust, one could slow the growth rate by ensuring that not a single person was left behind to fall victim to the crystals.

From there, it was a matter of giving the surviving group some directions to where Glynda Goodwitch had set up a rudimentary perimeter and wishing them the best, before promptly departing before his own semblance had enough time to wreak havoc.

However, before he had departed to return to his search to hunt down Kirakishou, one of the survivors had spoken to him about a group of faunus extremists that were approaching from the main gate. Supposedly, this survivor had come across the group during battle and been forced to flee towards Beacon, only to find themselves stuck fighting off the grimm that were present within the academy.

Honestly, it was as if the twin brothers were smirking down at him. Damn it all.

But… if the rumour was true… and the White Fang were marching towards Beacon Academy, then all of the survivors were in great danger.

The Vale branch of the White Fang had become heavily armed as of late. Many troops saw themselves outfitted with state-of-the-art dust-enhanced projectile weapons, many of which were custom folding weapons with multiple firing modes. It had been an unfortunate development made as a result of Sienna Khan's latest departure from her safe-haven to join Adam Taurus, somewhere in the Vale kingdom.

With Sienna's arrival, the High Leader of the White Fang had brought with her all of the high calibre weaponry she had pillaged from her numerous successful activities across the various kingdoms. It had turned a previously compartmentalised sect of the White Fang into one of the most dangerous groups to stand on the face of Remnant in recent history.

Qrow's only blessing in this instance being that, as a result of some rather infamously high recruitment rates due to the current political pressure in Atlas, a large number of the White Fang group was composed of relatively newer recruits. Many of which he doubted had ever held a rifle in their lives.

Considering the small amount of time between Sienna's arrival in the Vale Kingdom and this sudden possible appearance during the Vytal Festival, there was a good chance that most of the invaders were nothing more than highly-armed mooks. Albeit, with a decent sprinkling of well-trained lieutenants and possibly even either Adam Taurus or Sienna Khan herself leading the fray. Maybe, even both were here. Who knows.

...Well. He does, 's boy, do they not appreciate his witty banter.

Adam Taurus was everything that the dossier on the White Fang had made him out to be. The dark-haired bull faunus wielded his blade to a deadly accuracy, having noticeably cleaved through a great many grimm with little to no visible effort. Coupled with his semblance, which the dossier had accurately listed as an absorption semblance centred on his blade, the man had been a driving force in pushing the White Fang successfully through all of this madness.

However, it was clear that they had suffered heavy casualties. They were simply too well-armed and too few in number to not have made it this far without considerable losses. The sheer ferocity with which they attacked was a testament to this fact.

Nobody attacks with such fury than those on the battlefield mourning the loss of a fellow brother in arms.

Were they not radicalised extremists carving a bloody path through a city in the midst of a crisis, Qrow may have felt some degree of sympathy for their current predicament.

However, they were, and thus, he could care less. If the White Fang had been a peaceful organisation once upon a time, that time had long since passed.

Plus, if the rumours were true and they were actively working alongside Roman Torchwick, then it was clear that this invasion had been the climax in a multi-step plan to invade Beacon. Likely as some form of political statement, or perhaps something far more sinister. He wouldn't put it past Salem to ally herself with a bunch of extremists, after all. Especially if such a move negatively affected Old Oz.

... Regardless, their presence as a whole was an issue he would need to fix, regardless of whatever their intentions happened to be at the end of the day.

Such matters were made worse by the presence of Sienna Khan.

Sienna fucking Khan.

If anything, the dossier had underplayed just how utterly nuts this lady was. And he certainly wasn't referring to her mental state, definitely not, but in her sheer tactical know-how and inspiring figure. At times, it would seem as if her mere presence alone had turned what would be a pack of grunts with high-end weaponry into a unified group of fanatics that were more than willing to throw themselves into the frying pan if Sienna commanded it. And command it she did. With great effect.

There was something to be said about having your commanding officer fighting alongside you, bleeding alongside you. It was a morale boost- to see with your own eyes just how important your leader considered you to be.

Many of these goons clearly hadn't had any action on the battlefield before. They didn't need to. Provided they listened to Sienna's word, they were more than adequate in fighting off most threats. Himself included. A dusty old crow is pretty damn limited when facing a horde of lunatics armed to the teeth with guns- there was no escaping that. He was good, but he was still just one man. A force of this size would have little trouble fending off all manner of aggressors with little-to-no difficulty.

Which made their sordid state at the hands of the grimm, crazed huntsmen, and out-of-control semblances more than worrying to witness.

For all intents and purposes, the White Fang under Adam and Sienna's control should have been an overwhelming threat to the people of Vale, but through the devastating forces that the White Fang had routinely crashed against throughout their penetration of Beacon, they had been reduced to nothing more than scraps of what they once were.

Not to say that Sienna and Adam were easy to handle, but their overall threat was nothing compared to how they would have been, had things not gone to utter shit.

They were good. They were strong. But they were also running themselves ragged, fighting on several fronts at once in some kind of twisted tale of both offence and defence. They were being steadily worn down, losing more and more units as time went on.

Yet, they were also fucking determined.

Qrow Branwen prided himself as a type of opportunistic fighter, taking his time to circle around and opponent and move in for the kill when the moment presented itself. But, Adam and Sienna had been dealing with that exact scenario due to these damn crystals. They were completely on edge and far too flighty for Qrow Branwen to ever hope to get a clean shot.

Any smart huntsmen would have turned tail and ran, knowing that it was essentially a hopeless battle.

Yet, Qrow Branwen was a huntsman on a mission- allowing the White Fang to enter Beacon Academy was not an option. He did not need their fear-mongering presence inside a run-down academy filled to the brim with grimm that would go absolutely ballistic when they got but a whiff of their overwhelmingly negative emotions.

But, it looked like he didn't have much of a choice, in the end.

Something had occurred with Kirakishou's wayward semblance. The crystals were starting to behave strangely. More and more continued to grow at a faster pace than ever before, with emphasis placed on growing larger crystals over the smaller patches which had previously dominated the landscape.

There were also several strange shapes he could see, popping up all over the landscape.

Well, that was a lie. It was a single shape, just repeated dozens of times in just his visual range alone. Still, the frequency and consistency of the shape of the crystal was setting off alarm bells in his head.

It looked to be almost like a large thin rectangular pane. Almost similar to how a simple pane of glass appeared, albeit made out of the same strange, crystalline teal-coloured material that had swallowed so much of the surrounding area already.

They were absolutely massive. Larger than most of the crystals that dotted the landscape- dwarfing all but the largest of buildings in Vale and pushing high up into the clouds.

However, they were also quite thin. Perhaps no more than a few centimetres in thickness, if they were all the same as the one that stood nearby Qrow's current position. They hadn't done anything, or targeted anyone unlike the other crystals, but their presence alone was unnerving to say the least.

Many of the crystals also appeared to be… resonating, for lack of a better term. A soft glow had begun to emanate from several clusters, soon spreading around to the remaining crystals in the area- excluding the giant rectangular panes.

Like with the other strange crystals, Qrow knew that it likely meant something, but he hadn't the faintest idea as to what. Though he doubted it would be anything good. He needed to get out of here as quick as he could. Preferably to somewhere outside of the Vale area. It may be best to attempt to contain the situation from the outskirts.

"...Well, I'd love to stay and… nah, screw it. I really wouldn't," Qrow called out, merrily avoiding a barrage of dust rounds from one of the few surviving White Fang members. "But, it looks like you're all kind of screwed, really. So, I'll offer this; turn around, go back, and I won't chase you."

"You really think we-" the bull faunus went to yell out, only for Sienna to firmly grasp his shoulder. Adam went silent, oddly placid in response to Sienna's command.

Strange… he doesn't seem the type to start listening to his superior all of a sudden… Qrow noted curiously.

"Do we have your word?" Sienna called out, voice terse and abrupt.

Wearily, she signalled for the White Fang grunts to pause in their firing. Seeing no use in continuing to move about, Qrow landed behind a nearby piece of upturned rubble, his back against the concrete ruin.

"Well, the way I see it, we really don't have time to be doing this song and dance. So, either you listen to what I'm saying and leave, or you ignore my warning and press forwards, losing more and more people as you do, until you're forced to admit defeat. But, if you do choose to ignore me… then if you think this is a pain in the ass, then you ain't seen nothing yet. And I will not be offering this deal again."

There was a tense silence, the only sound made in the distance being the constant low humming of the crystals and the ever-present background noise of dust rounds being discharged far away.

Qrow really hoped they would take his deal. Suffice to say, despise his words he was probably quite certain that he was one of the few obstacles between the White Fang and Beacon Academy. But they didn't know that. And even if they suspected something similar, it didn't matter in the face of those crystals. If they were attracted to clusters of aura-enhanced individuals and the White Fang was the only group remaining…

Well. It certainly wouldn't turn out well.

"...Fine. You've convinced us. We were planning on high jacking a bullhead to escape this nonsense, anyway. If you can lead us to a bullhead to… commandeer, you have our word that we will leave unopposed."

This time, Qrow laughed. It was a bitter, thankful laugh that did little to hide how relieved he was.

"Well, lucky me. I just so happen to know of one such bullhead, thankfully all nice and abandoned. Crashed not too far from here. I can't guarantee that it'll be right as rain, but you shouldn't have much trouble getting it fixed up."

Sets of distrusting glares were levelled his way, but he shook them off with a knowing grin. They were cornered.

"Fine. Show us."

---

"So, what's your plan here? Are we to remain two opposing forces, locked into fighting by the whims of others until the world turns a new leaf?" Laplace mocked, dodging backwards and narrowly avoiding a sudden burst of superheated dust.

Summer Rose huffed distastefully, annoyed that yet another volley of dust had been avoided. "...Or you could surrender."

The responding dry stare was all too familiar, clad in Tai's face as it was. It brought back memories of a simpler time, when she was nothing but a simple trainee huntress teasing her teammates.

"You and I both know that is not an option, Summer Rose. You are an aberration to the Alice Game, and I will not rest until you are removed from the equation."

"Oh, I know," Summer's lips curled into a cruel smile. It was rare, at least in her fragmented memories, that she ever displayed such an expression- such things were typically left to Raven after all, but it felt fitting at the moment.

Laplace paused, tilting its head in a textbook display of curiosity.

"...You want for me to fight you. Because, by doing so, it ensures my presence at a particular point in time. Plot the unplottable and ensure a simple course remains stable."

She grinned. "Exactly."

"...It would seem that Kirakishou has taught you well."

That was it. She could detect the slightest hint of agitation in the creature's tone. Not as much as some of her opponents in the past, but enough for her to recognise with her semblance-enhanced senses. It was oh-so-satisfying to experience. Laplace was most certainly experienced in this Alice Game that Kirakishou had spoken about, but when it came to outside-context issues, such as herself, it was forced to brute-force solutions. She wondered, idly, if the creature had a sort of semblance that was locked on to a specific topic. It would certainly explain it. Either that or the creature simply didn't care about anything other than the Alice Game.

But. It was wrong about one thing.

"She didn't teach me," Summer stated with a casual lilt to her tone, pausing to flick a strand of hair away from her face. "This one, I taught her."

Laplace launched forwards, rearing Tai's fist back in a textbook haymaker punch. It was dodged easily. Summer suspected it was less a planned move and more of a reaction to her taunting.

Considering the nature of the Rozen Maiden, at least from what little information Kirakishou had given to her, Summer wondered if it was the first time that the creature had even been taunted before.

As she understood it, the other Rozen Maiden treated Laplace as well as many other sports players would treat a referee- veiled disdain behind a mask of cordiality or a general annoyance with enough pause given to show their knowledge of the creature's power over them.

Regardless, she wasn't one to waste an opportunity.

With a heave of her artificial body, she swung Null Value in a wide cleave, using the tight space of their close proximity to catch Laplace with the shaft of her weapon as it attempted to retreat. Pushing more force into the strike, she was able to stagger the creature directly into an elbow strike.

Laplace tumbled, propelled away by her aura-enhanced strength.

As it recovered, she spotted the surprise in Laplace's, Tai's, eyes.

"… You know, there was one thing that Kirakishou did see fit to teach me…" Summer paused and steeled her heart, before flaring her aura. "…Rosary."

As the world swam with colour, Summer smiled. Her body would be destroyed, again, but it was a small price to pay to ensure her daughter's safety during this particular incident. From what she understood of the other doll's powers, she would simply be remade once again, after all of this is said and done.

Hopefully this would repay her debt to Kirakishou. Then, finally, once the plan of her daughter's partner reaches fruition, she will finally be able to sit and speak with Ruby Rose.

Oum. To think that her daughter had become a huntress after all…

How could things have gone so wrong?

---

It was finally time. Everything that she had prepared, every mind that she had dutifully guided, had worked to ensure that this moment ran smoothly.

At first, she had found it to be a strange situation, to wrap another in her vines and guide them not towards her garden, but towards a different task.

But now? Now that the very earth itself lay coated in her precious N-Field? As the energy of tens of thousands flowed within her crystalline Palace?

Hmm… how could Kirakishou even hope to describe her current feelings? Elation? Pleasure? Overwhelming joy? Language was a difficult thing, really. Even after all of this time spent with a body, having to verbally interact with others, she still had some degree of difficulty finding the appropriate phrases. Her little garden was a difficult thing, as well, even with the myriad languages contained inside her seedbed, it was still... difficult. There was a difference between understanding a language and having one's language understood.

Her Red Rose Maiden was the only one who understood her.

The others, the humans and those that call themselves the Faunus of this world, tended to react negatively to her unique dialect. But, they didn't matter. They were nought but toys to play with. Fuel for her N-Field. Dolls for her beloved Master. It was good that her Master was beginning to understand this fact. Although, she wouldn't celebrate such things at this moment- her little reaper was only essentially repeating her own words. True understanding would take time. In this moment, however, there were more immediate things for Ruby to focus her silver gaze towards.

For now, it was time her Master become a Fall Maiden.

Ah~

It was just so… overwhelming to witness the culmination of her plans through her own visual field, rather than through the extended sight granted to her by her own N-Field.

She could sense her beloved Master, even now, reaching outwards and searching for Kirakishou's ethereal grasp. Her Master had not been happy to part with her in a physical sense, to the point of gifting her Crescent Rose, but it had been a necessity in order to reach the culmination of her plan. Although, privately, she would admit to toying with the idea of venturing alongside Ruby and into the Transmit Tower, if only to be there by her Master's side as she cut down everybody standing in her way.

How she longed to feel her Master's touch, to feel her lips against her own. To taste of the girl who would give a little broken doll her heart.

Soon. There would be time for that in the future. For now, she had to focus.

"You can come out now, Ozpin."

---

From the rubble, he stepped forwards, his stride heavy and intent.

She had sensed his approach. Unfortunate. Had fate been willing, Ozpin would have preferred to simply stealth his way past the girl and stop James before things got out of hand.

Yet, Kirakishou had deduced his location almost instantaneously. How very disappointing.

With his close proximity to the girl, however, there came the opportunity to discover one simple fact which changed everything.

Kirakishou is a doll.

At this range, it was all too obvious. Her skin, which had always seemed several shades lighter than even the most fair-skinned students, now lay littered and marred in several cracks and bumps. He could see vines twisting inside, for Oum's sake.

She was also wearing what looked to be the pyjamas of Ruby Rose, given their particular colour motif. These clothes, primarily the black tank top, revealed her artificial nature which bore a striking similarity to those discovered during James's autopsy of Summer Rose.

Ball joints. Shoulders, elbows, wrists. They were glaringly apparent. Were she to possess a similar frame to that of Summer Rose, Ozpin would assume there to be a seam between her chest, stomach, and waist, along with ball-joints on her knees and ankles.

A doll.

Kirakishou had not just been a strange girl with an uncanny semblance to craft doll-like copies of the deceased. By far the strangest semblance he would have encountered, but still within the realm of possibility. Instead, it would seem that the girl was naught but a cursed doll capable of crafting more of her kind. Given Qrow's report on Kirakishou's dialogue with Team RWBY, he would assume that this was what a Rozen Maiden actually was.

"A pure rose had noticed that you were different ever since she first spoke with you," Kirakishou spoke with a childish giggle of exuberance, circling around him not unlike a grimm circling a wounded civilian before rushing in for the kill. Ozpin followed her movements with his body, turning to remain locked on her lone-eyed gaze.

She was in a position of strength. That much, Ozpin recognised. This girl may, possibly, be the only one in the Vale area with any kind of understanding as to what is occurring.

Given the lack of both the guards assigned to capture her and the glaring disappearance of Qrow Branwen, Ozpin could infer that her knowledge would be due to her likely being the perpetrator of this entire event.

"...Well, a headmaster always has a few secrets. It's practically a tradition, you see."

Kirakishou eyed him critically, a single brow upturned in slight amusement at his quip.

"Perhaps~ I wouldn't have the slightest clue, to be honest!" the doll admitted with a shrug. "But, a rose doubts that you have come here simply to speak with her pure self~ You have come for Ruby, have you not?"

His eyes narrowed.

It was obvious that Ruby Rose had gone and spoken to Kirakishou about the Fall Maiden- that much was obvious given Ruby's current position. The young trainee had opted to hand over her own weapon to Kirakishou, while the doll stayed outside and protected Beacon Tower.

"...Ruby won't be able to do anything with the Fall Maiden. You're sending her on a pointless quest."

Kirakishou tittered. "Oh? Why? Because she doesn't know the correct procedure for activating the aura transfer device?" she guessed correctly, much to his surprise. "I wouldn't worry about that! My Master isn't alone down there, after all. She's never alone."

What? There was another? Who? Another accomplice? The voice on the scrolls, that had hacked the communications tower? There was no way they could have gotten past-

"...James," Ozpin realised, eyes wide. "You know that he's there. That's why you sent Ruby into the Tower. You're using this situation to force James into starting the procedure with Ruby now."

The doll nodded cutely, a bright smile warping her cracked and broken face.

"Correct!"

Ozpin shook his head. The girl had been handed an opportunity and she had leapt on it, despite not knowing the bigger picture. She, no doubt, meant to use the maiden powers of her 'Master' Ruby in order to succeed in her supposed Alice Game, or in some other twisted reasoning. He doubted that a doll like her cared much about the current maiden holding the power, or about their intended use against the grimm.

"… You don't have any idea what you're dealing with," Ozpin shook his head. Her plot with the Rozen Maiden was an annoying interlude that was interfering with his quest against Salem. But… "Not that it matters to a girl like you."

She was just a doll, after all. Just a doll in love with her 'Master', who would see the world burn without a care whatsoever, as long as her beloved Ruby remains happy.

She was a threat.

Ozpin reacted quickly, lunging forward as the girl was circling around him. Kirakishou blinked in apparent surprise at his actions, likely lost in her fantasy for conversation.

Although, he would give her praise. She was quick to respond, wielding Crescent Rose with enough finesse to successfully party his forward lunge.

He was-

A ball of fire whipped past him, narrowly avoiding his aura shielding as it moved to strike the doll. Kirakishou blocked the shot by using the blade of Crescent Rose, before quickly leaping backwards and putting some space between them.

The doll looked briefly amused, dithering slightly and giggling as she swayed on her feet in an almost drunken manner. It was rather unsettling, but nothing that he hadn't encountered before.

The ball of flame, however…

"Ah~ A pure rose was wondering if you would show up," Kirakishou spoke loudly, projecting her voice outwards. "Please, join us, Cinder."

There was a tense pause, before a body leapt forwards from some nearby rubble, the appearance of a passingly familiar external visiting student appearing beside him.

He recognised the young woman from her Academy transcript.

Hailing from Mistral, the woman was named as one Cinder Fall, the leader of a relatively unknown team that had been supposedly visiting to compete in the Vytal Festival Tournament.

Although, it was now made abundantly clear that the transcripts had been faked. This woman was most certainly a maiden. Given the particular spark that Ozpin could sense residing within her, this woman was likely the one behind Amber's condition.

She looked like she had been put through the wringer several times. Her outfit was torn and scratched in several places- likely from grimm where her aura had failed. In most, it would be a concerning state, yet maidens were of a different calibre. Aura could fail, where magic was limited only by the internal stamina of the wielder. It could certainly be exhausted, by all means, but when in the hands of a properly motivated individual it could persist for far longer than mere aura.

However, as numerous maidens had discovered in the past, it was by no means a key to success. Without aura protecting their bodies, they could be felled relatively easily.

At this point, Ozpin didn't rightly care about such facts. He would take all the help he could get.

"Hello, Kirakishou," Cinder sneered. "Looks like you found your body after all."

Oh?

The doll tittered, waving a hand dismissively. "Ah, silly girl~ I never lost it in the first place. I was just borrowing that other one to speak with you. Simple parlour tricks, really. My actual body was safe and sound. Well, not entirely safe as you can see. Perhaps, when you meet poor Mercury, you can tell him how effective the bomb was, huh? Wouldn't that be pleasant?"

He recognised Cinder's voice. The same voice that had hijacked the communications network to stir the population into a mass panic and triggered a grimm invasion. It would seem that all of this had been some sort of diversionary tactic to steal the maiden powers, that had been usurped by Kirakishou's machinations. Which would, thusly, mean that this Cinder Fall character was an agent of Salem. Given Kirakishou's quip about a 'Mercury', likely being in regards to Mercury Black who was a part of Cinder's team, he could assume that her whole team were agents of Salem in some regard.

Given her hostility towards Kirakishou, however, it was clear that the two weren't working together. Which, thankfully, meant that Kirakishou wasn't working with Salem. Certainly took a load off his back. Though, it did complicate matters in a whole other way.

Cinder glared at the broken doll, some surprise registering on her features at the sight of the girl's body. It would appear that Cinder had not been aware of Kirakishou's status as a doll.

How very curious. Fortunate, however, for him.

"It would seem that this particular situation has made for some rather strange bedfellows," Ozpin mused aloud, standing beside Cinder and focusing on Kirakishou.

The false-maiden glanced his way. "Don't get comfortable with it. I know what she said about you," Cinder retorted grumpily, conjuring a glass blade. Nevertheless, she stood alongside him and readied her weapon at Kirakishou.

Ozpin nodded. How very odd, for a situation to cause an agent of Salem and Ozpin himself to join forces.

"A temporary truce, then?"

"...Fine."

Kirakishou raised a brow, cocking her head to the side as her long blonde hair spilled around her.

"You're both going to team up? Ah, a strange moment in time, this doll finds herself in… But… it will not be enough to stop me!"

The doll charged forwards-

---

"Ruby? Ruby Rose? Is that you?" a rugged voice called out amidst the sound of broken machinery and gunfire, sounding almost hopeful.

She knew that voice.

She loathed that voice.

Hated it, really.

She wanted it to disappear forever. That horrible, horrible voice.

The voice of the man that had stolen away her Mother's broken body and studied it. That had believed her to be nothing more than a subject to dissect.

General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military.

Ruby had found him, finally.

In all fairness, it hadn't been that much of a difficult endeavour to hunt down General Ironwood. Kirakishou already had a fair idea of where he would be, and Ruby had agreed it was a good estimate. It was likely that Ironwood would personally attempt to defend what is most important to him.

Beacon Tower.

Or, at least, what remained of Beacon Tower.

Much of the upper tower lay in ruins following multiple attacks by both winged grim and wayward crystal alike, having long since toppled over. Only the base of the tower continued to stand, guarded by what felt like hundreds of Atlesian androids. Knights. Whatever.

It was those silly robot things. The Atlesian Knight-200. Ruby had been vaguely interested in their appearance when it was Kirakishou pointing them out to her, but now that she was away from her doll, all the robots did was remind her of Penny Polendina. The innocent little girl she had been tricked into killing.

No. I can't let it get to me. I need to focus on this, for Kirakishou.

Upon getting close to the tower, several of the AK-200's had recognised her and allowed her entry inside.

Within the tower proper, Ruby could see a great many wounded civilians amongst legions of AK-200's and even some huntsmen and huntresses. There was even an older woman with white hair that distinctly reminded her of Weiss Schnee. Could it have been Weiss's older sister? What'd she say that her name was, again?

...?

Bah. She didn't remember. Or care. Not right now. Pretty hair, though. She much preferred peach-blonde, for reasons, but white was still a nice enough hair colour. Hair shade? Eh. Language was difficult.

Moving around the tower, she could recognise a few people from the Vytal Festival Tournament. Particularly the two Atlesian Teams that had participated- Team FNKI and the girl that had been teamed up with Penny- Ciel Soleil, tending to what looked to be the other two members of Penny's team. They all seemed pretty banged up, but nothing too bad. Though by the occasional flickers on their aura it was clear they had been fighting for quite some time. They were probably resting and trying to actively replenish their aura.

Soon enough, though, she was able to weave through all the bots and wounded to come up across General Ironwood. He was standing beside the elevator, staring at her expectantly.

"Ruby. It's good to see that you're in one piece."

She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, uncomfortable with the intense look in his eyes.

"Er, y-yeah. One piece. Definitely. Glad I'm all, er, peaceful? Pieced together? Yeah. Totes."

She grimaced at the sceptical look that Ironwood, blushing in embarrassment.

Oum. That's the second time I've said 'totes'. End me now.

People were just difficult to talk to, okay! They weren't like dolls. Or, at least, her doll. She didn't know how she'd even managed beforehand. It all just seemed too strange to her now.

The general, for some reason, merely chuckled fondly. She hadn't the faintest clue as to why.

"-You know," he voiced, "Penny would speak about you, on occasion. She seemed almost impressed with your energy, saying that it looked like you could take on the world yourself. She was quite fond of you. I…" he trailed off, uncomfortably. "I am sorry for what happened to her."

"...Me too," Ruby admitted in a small voice. "I-I just… I don't know what happened. One moment it's just a regular battle and then she-" Ruby gulped, before shaking her head. "I-It doesn't matter now. We need to focus on stopping all of this."

The general nodded, looking pleased with her courage.

"Perfectly said. Very well, let us return to the matter at hand. Winter!"

Ruby jumped at the sudden yell, confused out of her mind. Why in the world was the general suddenly yelling about the seasons? Did it have something to do with the Maidens? But that didn't even make sense. Amber was the Fall Maiden, not the Winter Maiden what did-

"You called, sir?"

Blinking, Ruby turned around at the vaguely unfamiliar voice, wonder what in the world-

Oh. Ohhh.

Winter was a person. And they were most assuredly Weiss's sister. Winter Schnee. Now it was all coming back to her.

Before the start of the Vytal Festival Tournament's final round, Ruby had been trying to find Winter Schnee so that she could apologise for… well, putting her baby sister in the infirmary by forcing her to overuse her semblance to the point of extreme aura exhaustion.

Perhaps fortunately, Ruby hadn't been able to find any trace of Winter Schnee at the time. Now, however, she was standing face-to-face with the older Schnee and boy was she feeling pretty damn intimidated.

"...Meep-"

Winter didn't even spare her a glance, even if she no-doubt began to turn an interesting shade of embarrassed red at her inadvertent outburst.

"Winter. Good. I'd like to introduce you to Ruby Rose, the leader of Team RWBY. I do believe your younger sister, Weiss, is a part of this team."

Only then, did Winter look down at her. Winter's eyes were cold, critically assessing.

"...I see, sir. Was that all?"

General Ironwood shook his head. "No. I would like you to tell her everything that we have learned about the current situation in Vale."

Winter immediately protested. "But sir-"

"That's an order, Winter."

Ooh. Angry eyes, Ruby noted, wincing.

"...Yes, sir," Winter turned to her, face blank. Somehow, it was worse than anything that Weiss had thrown at her, by far. It was clear that Ruby certainly wasn't in Winter's good graces at the moment. "...As of precisely three hours ago, an unknown energy field began projecting itself over the Vale area, centred around Beacon Academy."

Wait, what?

Energy field?

...Oh. She's talking about Kirakishou's N-Field.

Either not noticing or simply uncaring for Ruby's silence, Winter continued on after a brief pause.

"The energy field appears to generate artificial crystals which target aura-enhanced individuals, namely huntsmen and huntresses, with focus seemingly on large clusters of aura, or single individuals who possess a high quantity of aura."

Ruby blinked. So, Kira's N-Field was smart enough to actively hunt down people with stronger amounts of aura? Ouch. Though she guess it made sense. A hungry person would probably be more inclined to go after a full meal than a small snack.

...Was that too morbid?

Eh. She didn't care. It was a good enough metaphor for her.

"Following this trend," Winter continued, "the energy field seems to ignore artificial constructs and grimm. However, it has been demonstrated to be capable of growing on surfaces both inorganic and organic."

Ruby nodded. She knew that much. Oum, anybody could figure that out. You only needed to look outside and see the fields of crystal to see that it could grow pretty much anywhere it wanted.

"As explained earlier, the energy field appears to operate in a circumference originating around Beacon Academy. However, recent data suggests the centre-point to be closer to a specific point of the academy, mainly the dorm rooms."

"...Kira…" Ruby breathed, eyes wide. She paused and gasped, drawing her hands to her mouth when she realised exactly what she said.

Winter had paused to stare at her, eyes narrowing before flickering to Ironwood for a brief moment. She caught what looked to be the tail-end of some kind of unspoken conversation between the two military figures, before Ironwood covertly shook his head and motioned for Winter to continue.

She grimaced. That was too close. She doubted that the Atlesian Military would be so accepting of her if they knew everything that she did about Kirakishou. Especially Ironwood, given his horrid treatment of her Mother's doll body.

"Yes, well, that is the current suspicion…" Winter began slowly, voice hard and curt. Eventually, she sighed and continued speaking. "Earlier, prior to the reveal of the crystals, sensors aboard our bullheads recognised a seismic event coinciding with an explosion at the dorm rooms," Winter paused, staring at her for a moment, but when Ruby remained silent the woman continued. "There exists the possibility that this explosion may have triggered the energy field, as a type of self-sustained semblance that is using the aura of captured individuals in order to continue existing despite Kirakishou's possible… condition."

Ruby blinked, before registering exactly what Winter had been looking for. The woman had been watching her reactions to the information she was disclosing, looking for a particular reaction.

Were they expecting her to be shocked or something?

Or were they looking for some sign of duplicity?

Did they think she was in league with Kirakishou, or with the people that bombed her or something?

Well. She was in league with Kirakishou. But certainly not with the people that had hurt her precious doll. Those people were going to pay. Dearly.

Once she got the Fall Maiden powers, she wondered if Kirakishou would mind if she tested them first on the people that had hurt her. It would only be fair, right?

"Now," Ironwood spoke up, his voice oddly soft for such a serious moment. "I must ask you this. Ruby, have you had any contact with Kirakishou after the incident with Penny Polendina at Amity Colosseum?"

Ruby shook her head immediately, knowing or in the very least suspecting how they would react should she answer positively.

"N-No, I haven't seen her at all…" she forced out, wincing. "I… came to Beacon to try and find her but, well… things didn't turn out the way I wanted."

That last part hadn't been a lie.

Damn it, Yang. Why? Why did you have to listen to Laplace?

Ironwood nodded slowly, "An understandable quest. As I understand it, you two have grown rather close as of late."

Ruby blushed. How couldn't she? Oum, it was like listening to her Dad interrogating her about-

No. Bad memories.

"A-Anyway," Ruby forcefully changed the subject, "what do we do about the N-, er, about the energy field?"

A cold, gloved hand rested on her shoulder. Ironwood's hand, eugh. She tried to withhold the grimace from appearing on her face, but she wasn't entirely certain if she had succeeded. All of this subterfuge stuff was really beginning to irk her.

Hopefully Kirakishou would reward her with a lot of hugs and kisses when all of this was done. She deserved that much.

Or else she would just take it from the doll herself. She doubted that Kirakishou would mind~

"Well," Ironwood's voice cut through her fantasy like a particularly blunt instrument bashing through her flimsy aura on a cold training night. "Previous attempts to send troops towards the dorm room have been met with fierce resistance. It would appear that the energy field grows increasingly volatile the closer we get to the centre. This much is apparent throughout Beacon Academy. Many have already been evacuated, or, well, suffered a worse fate."

"...Then how are we all, um, here, er, sir?" Ruby stammered, confused.

Oddly enough, she hadn't been at all concerned regarding her own well-being thus far. Instead, Ruby had been a bit preoccupied worrying about Kirakishou. But, now that she was forced to consider the N-Field at work, it was oddly strange that she hadn't been targeted.

She stared down at her contract ring, which still lay comfortably nestled upon her ring finger.

Could it be avoiding her because of her connection to Kirakishou?

It certainly seemed likely.

"From what we have discovered," Winter spoke up, "it would seem thus far that the crystals appear to be avoiding this particular area of Beacon Tower. For what reason, we cannot begin to imagine, but it has come in use for establishing a forward operating base."

Ruby knew why, immediately.

Because of Amber. The Fall Maiden.

The N-Field was avoiding Beacon Tower because of Amber.

Likely, in part due to Kirakishou preventing the N-Field from targeting it- which implied that Kirakishou still had some tiny degree of control over the N-Field, even in this state. Either that or something else was capable of preventing it. The catacombs underneath Beacon Academy were massive, after all. They could hold more than just Amber. Perhaps, they held something that was able to repel the N-Field?

It was as she had said before. Why go after scraps when you can go after a full meal?

You would only target the scraps if you were unable to get to the full meal.

Thus, something was preventing the N-Field from going after Amber. For now. Whether it be due to Kirakishou, some device, or something else, she wasn't certain.

...There was also the possibility that the N-Field was simply preoccupied going after everybody else, as many thousands of tiny scraps may be bigger than a 'full meal' in this case, but she really didn't want to consider that. Because it would mean that this entire place could be attacked at any moment.

"But, wouldn't that mean that you're all trapped here?" Ruby theorised, if only to get her mind off the whole 'possibly going to be attacked at any moment' thought.

"In a way. But is of little consequence compared to what we would lose should this position fall," Ironwood reminded her, giving her a significant look.

Oh. He's talking about Amber. Right. That would be bad.

"So, what do we do?" she asked.

"If we are to have any chance in stopping this out-of-control semblance, I fear that we must fight fire with fire," Ironwood voiced. "In that regard, Ruby, I feel that I must ask you to decide what you wish to do, regarding the discussion that we had with your headmaster several weeks ago."

Ruby glanced towards Winter, who was looking down at her. The Atlesian Specialist had one of her hands resting on the pommel of her weapon.

Ah, so that's how it's going to be, huh? Ruby thought morosely as she realised the exact situation she had found herself in. This isn't a suggestion. If I don't agree, there's a good chance that they're going to try to take me by force. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Part of her wanted to deny Ironwood's supposed offer just so that she could be justified in attacking them and settling the score on behalf of Summer Rose. Kirakishou would understand, right?

...Ah, but then, she wouldn't become the Fall Maiden and Kirakishou wouldn't be able to stop the N-Field from swallowing everything.

She had to do this. She had to be the hero.

"...Yes, I will. I'll do it."

Ironwood nodded as Winter relaxed.

"Very well. Please, come with me. I'm afraid that we don't have much time," he turned to Winter momentarily, "Winter. Stay here. Take command of the situation. You know what to do."

"...Yes, sir."

The general nodded. "Good," he turned back to her. "I shall warn you ahead of time that the procedure will not be… pleasant, not in any stretch of the imagination, but there is nothing we can do to stop it."

"I understand," Ruby gave a brittle smile. "Please, lead the way."

---

Everything had gone so wrong.

Cinder's back hit the crystal and a blood-spattered cough fought its way out of her throat. Just a single movement from the girl and the sheer force alone is enough to break at least three ribs. This will not be a simple endeavour- she was forced to dodge quickly to avoid the incoming scythe blade, which sheared through the crystal as if it wasn't even there in the first place.

This girl. This doll. How had Cinder not noticed her before? How had she allowed things to degrade in such a way?

"Impressive, to avoid me," Kirakishou praised, a wide smile on her face that contrasted heavily with the current situation. "Not many can, you know. Not even my sisters- and they're typically much faster than baseline humans. You hunters and huntresses are quite the challenge. Such energy. No wonder why my N-Field has been borderline ravenous ever since having a mere taste of your power."

She was insane.

Even as her body continued to degrade, she just kept moving.

It was horrifying to fight against.

Cinder had prided herself in being able to dissect her opponents, to read their moves and learn their weaknesses whether it be in the midst of battle or during moments of espionage and subterfuge.

But how could one predict the unpredictable?

How could one begin to understand how a body, an artificial body at that, could function in such a beaten and broken down condition?

She looked like she shouldn't be able to move. Oum, she looked worse than that Polendina girl had looked after being bisected by Kirakishou's little pet paramour. But even then, somehow, her movements were still carrying the weight and strength of seasoned veterans.

If anything, Cinder felt as if the girl had only grown stronger as the fight continued to go on.

Stilted movements were replaced with sudden bursts of energy, the latest being enough to cause her significant trauma that her aura was still working to repair. Exploratory jabs with an unwieldy weapon, the mark of an amateur, became exceptional twirls and flourishes with the oversized sniper-scythe that effortlessly parried each and every one of Cinder's conjured glass weapons.

While it had soon become glaringly obvious that the doll had clearly never fired a dust-infused weapon before in her life, the knowledge did little to detract from her effectiveness in a fight.

Kirakishou seemed to prefer getting up close and personal, using the size and bulk of Ruby's scythe in order to overpower most attacks. Coupled with her extreme speed and apparently limitless stamina, it was a fierce combination even when held in the hands of a novice.

Cinder's only option at the time had been using the maiden powers, fragmented and split as they were at the time. Her meagre conceptualisation of Fall had been the only thing that had given the doll any form of pause.

Even then, they had done such little damage to the doll that Cinder had wondered if the energy expenditure had even been worth it at all in the end. All that it had seemed to accomplish was to tire Cinder out even further. Although, she had not liked the certain smile that Kirakishou had given her at the time, as the doll flew towards her.

How could one continue to persevere, in such a state? What was driving her?

"Please, Kirakishou, you don't know what you're doing," Ozpin voiced aloud. "Ruby Rose cannot become the next Fall Maiden. It won't work. The procedure could kill her."

Cinder glanced at the man standing in front of her, feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the sight of her Mistress's worst enemy standing up for and defending her damaged self as she worked to repair the damage from Kirakishou's last strike. Ozpin was a wild card in all of her stratagems. She had never been entirely certain just what the man was capable of, as her Mistress had never fully explained everything that she knew about Ozpin, only stating that he was able to reincarnate and was not to be taken lightly.

Now, however, there existed the distinct possibility that the very same man she had been sent to kill, was the only person keeping her alive at the current time.

She didn't understand it. If their positions were reversed, she likely would have simply left Ozpin to die while she used the distraction to sneak into the maiden chambers.

By dust, that had been her plan in the first place, but something in her had just snapped upon seeing Kirakishou after everything that the damn doll had done in order to ruin her plans. Having been forced to listen to the damn girl gloating while entirely powerless had conjured memories inside of her that Cinder would have greatly preferred stay locked away in her mind.

Considering how Kirakishou had behaved around Mercury Blake, she was beginning to suspect that it may be a staple of her personality. Getting into people's heads, making them act a certain way. It was a distinctly insidious technique that, in Cinder's opinion, was typically more trouble than it was worth.

People were simply too complicated. It was better to secure loyalty through external means and then simply brute force the rest.

But, that was then and this was now. She couldn't afford to take the time to reconsider things. There was a time and place for strategy and it was most certainly not when her life was on the line.

If Ozpin wanted to play hero, then so be it. In her eyes, the action only benefited her in the end. Certainly not like she had anybody else to rely on at the moment.

Mercury Black was a complete no-go. The fool had taken it upon himself to ensure that the explosive device went off in Kirakishou's dorm room at the precise right time, no-doubt as some manner of insurance to alleviate his troubled mind about whatever paltry knowledge that Kirakishou possessed about his Father.

At the time, she had been amused with his bloodthirsty behaviour, seeing it as a useful trapping and a way for the man to blow off some steam before the big event.

Only now that Kirakishou had explained things to her, in a rather literal crippling detail, did Cinder realise that sending Mercury Black so close to an unknown girl's territory had only gotten the boy killed.

Sure, she hadn't seen his body amidst the countless faces contained within the now-crystalline ground, but she didn't need to. She knew Mercury Black. The moment that he would have realised something had gone wrong, he would have taken it upon himself to kill the girl.

One lien to the one who correctly guessed how that particular altercation would have turned out.

As for Emerald Sustrai, Cinder remained content in the knowledge that the girl was possibly still alive. Cinder had commanded the girl to get out of Vale as quickly as possible and to journey to meet with Salem, should Cinder fail to check in at the appropriate time. The girl was a street rat, through and through, her survival instincts would be screaming at her to get out of Vale.

Although, considering her mistress's temper, there was a good chance that she had sent Emerald to her death anyway.

Not that she cared for the little lovesick street rat. Not in the slightest, the girl was too clingy for her tastes, even if she was rather easy on the eyes. But still. It would have been a waste of good talent to have her killed.

"I don't know what I'm doing? It will...kill her?" Kirakishou questioned aloud, seeming confused at Ozpin's suggestion. Cinder almost smirked. She would have loved to have seen such a thing occur, if only out of pure spite for the doll. "Oh no, you both will soon discover that my precious Master is more than capable of harnessing a single soul, especially one that has been weakened to such a degree. She's a very fast learner, my Maiden of the Red Rose."

Cinder narrowed her eyes. "...What did you do?"

In an instant, the doll's gaze snapped to her, a manic look in her eye. "Little Ruby is a willful child, capable of much. Her mind is very strong. In her, there exists a fusion between our two worlds. Yours and my own. A… combination of both, so to speak. It may be no Palace of Beginnings, but it serves the same purpose~"

Palace of Beginnings. Cinder had heard that phrase mentioned before by the doll, when all of this madness had started in the first place. It was her semblance, her N-Field.

The crystalline expanse rapidly forming around them was her Palace of Beginnings. That much Cinder knew all too well, but it was more than just a simple landscape. It had served a purpose, a purpose of which Kirakishou had explained to her previously.

"Souls. That's why you're not worried about her. You gave that girl the same power that you have. To take others into yourself. You planned for this to happen, for Ruby to receive the Fall Maiden powers."

Kirakishou's mocking laughter was her response, as the girl flew towards them once again.

---

When she had first entered the elevator alongside Professor Goodwitch, Headmaster Ozpin, and General Ironwood, Ruby had originally thought the elevator journey downwards to be a tedious affair that lasted for far too long to be normal.

Only now did she realise that it had simply been due to her nerves. Which, unfortunately, could affect a variety of factors.

Now that Ruby wished she had more time, it felt as if the elevator ride had been done in mere moments.

Now that Ruby wished she could be calm, her poor heart felt like it was running a hundred miles an hour.

Now that Ruby wished that there were others alongside her, she was all alone with General Ironwood of all people.

It hurt. It hurt so much, to just stand by this man and know that he hadn't even considered her Mother to be a person after her transformation into a doll. It was sick. It was wrong. And it set every nerve of her body on fire, to the point where her body felt like it was begging to be anywhere else.

He was an Atlesian General, for Oum's sake! A hero! One of the highest ranking, if not the highest ranking military figures in the entire world! She should have been comfortable around him!

Worse, still, was that he was clearly comfortable with her. He would always send her these worried looks, like he was actively looking out for her feelings. And she knew he had the capability and maturity to see the girl beyond her red cape and actually listen to her words.

His actions during the Cross Continental Transmit Tower incident feature Laplace-no-ma had cemented General Ironwood's mental strength.

And even then, he had stolen her Mother's body and assessed it with such a clinical, detached sense of antipathy that the memory of his assessment alone still sent shivers down her spine.

But, then Kirakishou had just recently told her that her Mom was alive again! She'd be revived just before Kirakishou had been attacked and was now, according to her doll, fighting Laplace-no-ma so that Ruby and Kirakishou could stop the N-Field.

The same N-Field that had specifically left her alone. That Kirakishou used in order to simply exist. That had allowed for her Mom to be revived in the first place. Now, it had gone out of control and was swallowing everything.

Oum. Everything was so utterly fucked up.

"Ruby?" Ironwood piped up suddenly, drawing a flinch from the young trainee huntress. "Where is your weapon?"

She blinked, taking in her surroundings. Oh. How very strange. When had she arrived? She didn't even realise it. Oum, even now she was still getting lost in her thoughts. She was almost glad that the doll wasn't here, or else Kirakishou would have that cute little concerned look that always tugged at her heartstrings…

...Aww. She made herself sad…

No, Ruby. Focus. I need to focus.

She could see the previous Fall Maiden, Amber. She seemed so very small now, confined in the Atlesian pod. Ruby wondered if it had been the same for her doll when she was first created inside the N-Field. Unable to move, unable to feel, solely dependent on the outside world.

Come to think of it, just how long had Kirakishou been trapped inside the N-Field, before she grew strong enough to escape? How did she even escape?

She doubted it would have been a pleasant experience.

"Ruby?"

"O-Oh! Um… Well, i-it would only slow me down… so I left it in the locker for now."

Ironwood nodded slowly at her words, the movement seemingly infinitely longer to her anxiety-ridden mind. "Very well. We shall retrieve it once you awake. Please, step into the pod."

"Right…" she muttered, walking toward the strange device that held the current Summer Maiden- a girl named Amber. There was a second pod on the other side, one likely designed to transfer the maiden powers over. "W-What's going to happen to me?"

"This device is state-of-the-art Atlas technology," Ironwood explained, "Amber's aura shall be, for lack of a better descriptive, drained from her and placed within your own body. The hope is that the maiden powers, which are attached to Amber's aura, will also transfer alongside her aura. This should, effectively, turn you into the Fall Maiden that you were supposed to be."

"...Right…" she muttered morosely, staring at the sleeping Amber with a growing sense of discomfort. It had been left unsaid that the procedure would most likely kill Amber. One doesn't survive having their aura ripped out of their body like that. It would mean that she would be indirectly responsible for the death of this girl.

Of a girl that likely didn't even know what was going on around her. Another innocent little girl, who didn't even know what was happening.

But, conversely, if she didn't accept the maiden powers then she would also be partly responsible for the N-Field growing to cover the globe and swallowing up everyone.

...Which was the worse sacrifice?

Ruby grimaced, and steeled her nerves. She knew the answer, and it disgusted her. But it was the only way.

"What do I need to do?"

---

Ozpin's semblance seemed to be the only thing capable of stopping her movement.

While Cinder did find that her own maiden powers were sufficient in staggering the doll, provided that Cinder caught her off guard, it was only Ozpin's semblance that could contain the doll for a small moment.

"Now!"

Cinder responded immediately to the command of the reincarnating man, flaring her maiden powers as violently as her battered and broken body could at the moment.

A torrent of searing flame rushed forth from her hands in a shower of heat, heading towards a small circular barrier where Ozpin had managed to confine Kirakishou. The doll's lone eye widened at the sight, before the flames impacted the barrier and were allowed to pass inside but not escape.

Her resulting screams were music to Cinder's ears.

Ozpin's semblance, the ability to generate a controllable barrier, was of a particularly useful design- essentially a controllable mesh that could be altered to suit the needs of the user. In this case, Ozpin had created a barrier that repulsed Kirakishou and her crystals, but allowed Cinder's flames to enter from one side. This combination essentially trapped the doll inside a burning inferno, to supposed great effect.

As all things had been thus far, however, it did not last. Already, spider-web fracture cracks had begun to spread across the forcefield. It was only a matter of time until-

SNAP-

A wave of force washed over them, Cinder reflexively ducking just in time to escape the sudden scythe blade, that had been aiming for her neck mere moments ago.

Kirakishou stood where she had, her clothing burnt and singed in many different areas.

Cinder let out a gasp of horror.

Aura. There's so much aura. Is this the aura from everyone trapped inside her N-Field?

She could see it. All of it. Hovering around the broken doll in a vibrant teal-green haze. Had it been any other occasion, Cinder may have been enthralled at the idea of possessing so much power. Yet, here, when the sight was right in front of her eyes, she couldn't so much as feel a single shred of desire. All that she could feel was fear.

The doll glanced down at her outfit and frowned. "…It seems that even the most broken of toys can still find a way to lash out and share their ruin with others. Hm. A shame, too. My master quite enjoyed the sight of my pure self in these clothes. No matter," with a flick of her hand reality twisted and her signature ornate ruffled dress invaded their sight.

It looked strange. Flickering, almost, every few waking milliseconds and revealing the doll's ruined artificial body hiding beneath, as if the dress wasn't truly there. But, unmistakably, it was.

How did she..?

Damn it. The aura. The N-Field. The Palace of Beginnings. All of it. Kirakishou still had some control over it, that much had been made abundantly clear. To what degree, she wasn't entirely certain, but it was apparently enough for her to use the aura that the N-Field was gathering from its victims.

"What did you do?" Ozpin spoke aloud, regrouping beside Cinder and idly checking her for injuries. She cringed awkwardly at the treatment, glaring at him when his eyes rested on an abrasion on her thigh. She was fine, damn it.

"My Master is a pure soul, unlike any other I have found during my existence as a doll. Purer than any maiden, purer than any rose, her silver light touches all. I love her with all of my heart, and I shall make this world into our precious garden, so that we may live together forever."

Kirakishou paused. The aura surrounding her dissipated. Crystals sang and the world trembled around them. Cinder's breath caught painfully in her throat as the Headmaster of Beacon Academy tensed in preparation.

"And now that I have been freed from the mirror by my beloved Master's force of will," wait, what? "Now I can do… this."

The doll dropped Ruby's scythe to the ground, the oversized weapon clattering against the crystalline surface. Cinder went to push forward and capitalise on the opportunity that had presented itself, only for Ozpin to suddenly block her movement with his body.

She went to go and ask what in the name of dust was wrong with him when she froze at the look on his face.

"...Don't."

Cinder barely had time to hear Ozpin's words as the man had immediately proceeded to summon a hasty green barrier around them- mere moments before a sudden wave of force impacted harshly against the semblance itself.

"Now, my little dolls," she heard Kirakishou's voice call out to them, "let us turn this N-Field into a palace!"

A sudden ringing sound assaulted her ears, a resonating hum that violently increased in tempo as countless massive crystals suddenly burst from the ground all around them in response to Kirakishou's words.

They appeared everywhere, as far as the eye could see, growing in massive spires that ripped up into the sky all around them. What was once a large open area of courtyard leading towards Beacon Tower soon became an unrecognisable mess of pale teal-green crystals that circled around them.

Walls, Cinder realised, they're walls. She was talking about a palace. Likely in relation to her Palace of Beginnings she spoke about previously. She's constructing it around us!

Many of the smaller clusters of crystals that had dotted the surrounding area seemingly sank into the ground, melding into the translucent surface in an almost aqueous manner not unlike a melted metal sinking into a casting basin.

The doll giggled around them as a pale fog began suffusing the area, before a sudden clang was heard as Ruby's scythe impacted harshly against Ozpin's semblance, the headmaster wincing from the strain.

The headmaster nodded in her direction and Cinder understood immediately. Her hand outstretched, she let loose a torrent of flame that once again passed through the barrier unimpeded and forced the doll to hastily dodge in order to avoid getting burnt.

Kirakishou retreated nearby, idly twirling around Ruby's scythe in her hand. "Hm~ That is a very strong barrier, I see! Very impressive. But, how long will it last, I wonder?"

Cinder winced as she looked around and detached from Ozpin, rows upon rows as crystals taller than most towers meeting her gaze in every direction. Damn it, they were trapped. Without taking a closer look to inspect for any potential openings, Cinder doubted that they had a chance to escape.

There were also several of the strangely-formed rectangular crystals that seemed to be inside the structure. Cinder eyed them quizzically. In her travels to get to Beacon, she had seen several of the rectangular crystals popping up all around Vale, some growing as far away as sprouting up from the Emerald Forest itself.

What was their purpose? She could only wonder.

Looking down, Cinder spotted a sea of bodies that looked like it likely ran deeper than light could penetrate. They were all housed in their own individual crystals, ones that reminded Cinder of small pods. Or caskets. All of the bodies sporting that same damn peaceful expression, laying down in the same configuration with their hands resting about their stomach.

Cinder recalled what the Kirakishou-possessed body had said to her over at Amity Colosseum when all of this madness started.

"My Palace of Beginnings needs nourishment, Cinder. Energy. Aura. It, like the rose from which it is born, craves the energy with a passion that would surprise even you. And, thanks to your efforts, you have provided a great many prospective seedlings for us!"

So, this was her Palace of Beginnings. A crystalline citadel housing many of the doll's victims. Her own twisted little dollhouse. And, right now, it would seem that Ozpin and Cinder herself were the dolls that Kirakishou wanted to play with at the moment, while the blonde doll waited for Ruby to become a Fall Maiden.

Oum, she couldn't even see Beacon Tower anymore. All she could see were these damn crystals. Well, that and the night sky. But still.

Yet something told her that if Kirakishou had indeed prepared for Ruby to become a Fall Maiden by using the same method that Kirakishou used in order to store bodies for nourishment, then both Ozpin and Cinder would soon have to deal with an incredibly pissed-off half-maiden fighting alongside her reality-warping doll.

Though, one part still irked her. Why exactly was Ozpin so worried about Ruby becoming a Fall Maiden? Was it due to the procedure being dangerous? She doubted it. To a man of his position, losses in the pursuit of scientific gain were a downright certainty. Especially to a man that had opposed his mistress for so long. He would have witnessed death countless times over.

So, what was the reason? Why was Ozpin so worried about Ruby becoming a Fall Maiden?

Ozpin tensed, head darting around to focus in a particular direction. If Cinder recalled directly, that had been the direction of Beacon Tower, before the area was overtaken by Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings.

"...Oh no."

---

This was it.

She would become a Fall Maiden.

Finally, she could save her doll.

This was it.

Ruby Rose would become a Fall Maiden, as she was meant to be.

Ironwood couldn't hope for anything better.

---

This was it.

Ruby Rose would become a Fall Maiden, as her Master deserved.

Kirakishou could finally be rid of all of her little toys.

---

She could sense that this was it.

Ruby Rose, her daughter, would become a Fall Maiden, as was fitting for her little owl.

Summer Rose would finally be able to get her revenge.

---

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

---

A shudder tore through the surface of Vale. All across the crystalline ground, massive cracks gouged themselves into the translucent surface, pulling apart and creating deep ravines. Buildings were destroyed, crystals were shattered, friends ripped apart from friends.

They appeared everywhere.

Within the Emerald Forest.

Within the Forever Fall Forest.

Within the ruined structure of Amity Colosseum.

Within the city of Vale.

Within the surrounding plains of Vale city.

Within the entrance to Beacon Academy.

Within Beacon Academy.

Within Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings.

A torrent of silver fire erupted from the ravines, spouting upwards as high as to where some of the Atlesian military bullheads had been flying. Grimm that were caught in the flames were overwhelmed, their bodies decaying and quickly hardening into stone. At the apex of their height, the trajectory of the flames warped, heading towards-

"...Those crystals, the ones that you both have been gawking at? The rectangular panes? They're not just crystals, they're mirrors," Kirakishou revealed, "and mirrors… reflect light!"

---

A/N:

Madness of the White Rose. It's finally, finally, done.

Originally, it was to be three chapters or so. Ten thousand words each. It would be far more than I'd ever written in a single chapter, but it would be necessary for the story. Instead, it became five total chapters- with this final chapter being double the amount of words. Oh my god. As an unintended result, we're now over 300K words into this story now. Yippee. If we had a cake for this, it'd have a lot of candles. Or, like, one really big one at least.

Also, this is the first chapter to be written entirely with iA Writer, as opposed to Scrivener. Hopefully, there aren't any weird formatting errors from such, but if there are then please let me know.

So, what did you all think of the conclusion to Madness of the White Rose? Let me know what you all think of it, yeah? I'm downright anxious to read the reviews of what you all thought!~

Until next time!