Heart's Embers

by SugarLoaf12

It's been fifteen months hasn't it? Living from day to day, moving from place to place. Looking for the next payday, the next target... the next fight. I thought living outside their war would be easier. But sometimes knowing... is all it takes to leave you wondering "What if" I think back to why I left and I know I made the right choice... Ozpin be damned.

31. Devastation

Hey guys! Finally finished with the next chapter for you guys! I know it took me longer than I wanted... but it's here now! I hope you all like it. I'm going to be working on the next chapter as soon as I can for you. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Speech"

Thoughts

---

Chapter Thirty-One: Devastation

(Embermane Airbase, few hundred miles north of Mantle)

Winter entered the room "Colonel" she shook the man's hand.

"Specialist" he nodded in acknowledgment of her greeting.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Everyone is accounted for" he gestured to the room full of their military leaders at the base "You may begin the briefing whenever you're ready"

Winter nodded "Then let's begin" she made her way across to the podium, her coat swaying behind her as she marched. She stopped short, stepping up the small elevated step to the podium. Placing her right hand on the wood, she quietly cleared her throat, her left hand closed in front of her as she did before lowering to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Specialist Winter Schnee" the colonel introduced. The entire room of soldiers stood from their seats, saluting.

"Thank you, Colonel" she turned her attention back to the crowd "Please be seated" they did as she asked "I know you're all wondering why you're here, so I'll get straight to the facts"

Behind her a picture of Neopolitan appeared on the screen accompanied by a picture of Cinder "General Ironwood was attacked by this woman, Neopolitan, a terrorist who stole his scroll, likely to gain access to our network. We don't know exactly what she was after but she is working with this woman, Cinder Fall"

The picture changed to the man who tried to kidnap Ruby "This man attempted to kidnap one of our Huntresses in the city. We do not know anything about him beyond this appearance. Intel we've gathered identifies him as Chimera, that has yet to be confirmed. All we know, is he is extremely dangerous and he is working with the same person responsible for the Fall of Beacon"

Winter took a moment to survey the room, noting the reactions of those around her "Many of us lost friends and family that night... the terrorists responsible are still at large and have shifted their attention to Atlas with their failed attempt to destroy Haven. General Ironwood has dispatched battlegroups across the kingdom to keep our borders and towns secure from the Grimm during this time of uncertainty"

She winced lightly, pain shooting through her abdomen, her left hand applying pressure to the wound. She cleared her throat "I want every airship we have to be launched within the hour. Every soldier to be vigilante against this threat. Last time, they infiltrated us and sabotaged us from within. I want any suspicious activity to be reported at once. We cannot afford to be complacent. We must-" she stopped as the lights flickered, the tv screen behind her cracked through the middle "What the hell?" she wondered aloud.

The colonel held his hand up to his ear piece "Understood, Sir. We're on our way" his hand dropped to his side "Specialist, we have a situation" he gestured for her to follow as he exited the room.

"Return to your posts" Winter called just before exiting behind him.

"What kind of situation, Colonel?" she asked, concerned by his urgency.

"See for yourself" he pointed out toward the landing strip.

There was a large black cloud in the sky, spiraling down to the center of the landing strip. Bolts of purple lightning flashed down to the ground.

"Set up a perimeter around the cloud. No one goes in without my order, understood?"

"Yes, Specialist" he rushed the opposite direction, shouting orders into his earpiece as he did. Winter approached the cloud, several soldiers circled it with assault trucks following suit, mounted guns atop them.

The cloud began to dissipate, revealing a ghostly figure within it. Winter froze mid-step "No... it can't be"

"Put your hands in the air, now!" shouted one of the men, his rifle trained on her.

The ghostly figure wore a sickening grin, her hand outstretched toward the soldiers in front of her. One of the assault trucks was lifted off the ground and slammed down onto a group of soldiers, crushing them instantly.

"Open fire!" the soldiers all fired into her chest, she shrugged off the bullets like they were nothing. Thrusting both of her hands forward, she launched dark blades into the soldiers, killing many of them. The figure folded both her hands over her chest before swinging them back out in each direction, an pulse of dark energy rippled through the air, throwing the vehicles aside.

"Battle stations!" Winter shouted moving out of the way of an incoming vehicle, the sound of gunfire drowning out all but the screams of their assailant's victims. Winter removed her scroll from her pocket as she ran and dialed Ironwood. He answered quickly.

"Winter, I wasn't expecting to hear from you-"

"General! She's here!" she shouted.

"What was that, Winter? I can barely understand you"

"It's Salem, Sir! She's here-" Winter was thrown onto her back by a powerful explosion emanating from Salem's position. Winter flipped over, struggling to get to her feet "We're under attack!" she shouted, looking for her scroll.

Winter didn't have time to keep looking. Several waves of purple flames tore through the buildings, reducing them to ash within seconds, tanks and bullheads soared through the air overhead. Salem hovered over the buildings looking for her target.

With a flourish of her hand, she tore the roof off the building beneath her, she descended into it. Anyone who raised a weapon to attack was met with a blade in their chest or found their throat crushed as if by gravity itself.

Upon reaching the computer terminal she removed a small drive from her left sleeve "Thank you, Arthur" she smirked as she plugged it into the terminal. The screen began flashing with images and files, none remaining on the screen long enough to be read.

"Step away from the console with your hands on your head!" the colonel from before shouted, he was thrown through the wall with a wave of her hand.

"Go away, little pest" she sneered.

Salem pulled the drive from the terminal once it finished it's task. She silently soared up through the broken roof and continued her relentless assault.

Winter rushed as fast as she could, using her glyphs to keep herself and others from being crushed by the falling vehicles. She was suddenly thrown onto her back, Salem landed beside her, placing her heel onto Winter's chest.

"So, you're the one who's..." she stopped, quirking her eyebrow "Ah, so it's you" she grinned "How curious"

"What the hell are you talking about?" She struggled beneath her.

"You don't even know? Isn't that precious" her laugh was cut off by an explosion to her chest, throwing her backward.

"Specialist!" a soldier called grabbing her arm as a second grabbed the other. They helped her to her feet and carried her away from her attacker.

Salem stood back up, a gaping hole in her chest. The hole began healing as an oval shaped corridor appeared behind her, two hooded figures exited just as it disappeared behind them.

"You called, your grace?"

Salem turned toward them, pointing to the one on her left "I want you to search the base, make sure there are no survivors"

The man laughed maniacally "You always know how to brighten my day" he turned to begin his search.

Salem turned toward the second man "There's someone I want you to bring to me. The Huntress escaping to the south" she gestured in the direction she was carried "She's injured but not alone. I take it that won't be a problem?"

"No, your grace" he bowed "What about the other survivors?"

"There are no survivors" she declared turning away from him.

"Of course" he took off running in the direction she told him. Salem grinned as she looked at the large airships in front of her.

"It's too bad I only need one of you" she shrugged, cracking her knuckles "Oh well, I'll find a use for the parts somehow" she unleashed a powerful wave of energy from her hands engulfing the other airships in a black sludge like substance.

---

Slade and Qrow sat across from each other, a chess board on the table between them. They were out in one of the academies gardens, a thing layer of snow covering the nearby trees and grass.

"Gloat all you like, this one is mine" Slade smirked.

"Are you sassing me?" Qrow chuckled.

"Why of course. We both know that piece wasn't there a moment ago"

"Such accusations" Qrow waved his hand dismissively.

"Doesn't matter" Slade laughed "I'm winning any- Oh, good morning" Slade stood from his place as Yang came into view.

"Leaving are we? Does that mean I win?" Slade narrowed his eyes at Qrow.

"Not a chance" he took his place back across from Qrow.

"Hey, Slade, Qrow" she greeted "Don't stop on my account, so long as you play nice"

"Of course" Qrow smirked "I'm always nice"

"He's upset I won our last game, so now he's cheating" Slade grinned.

"You got lucky!" Qrow pointed accusingly, moving another piece with his other hand "You rely on it too much"

"I'm not" he began to snicker "I have you in two because I am good at this, Bird Boy"

"You haven't won yet" he moved his piece.

"You're not the only one who's used these tricks on me" he took Qrow's piece "How about now?" he asked, a smug look on his face.

"Don't get smug now, Slade. There will be no living with you otherwise" Qrow stood up and made his way past Yang "I'm gonna go check how the others are doing. You two have fun"

"I suppose I should join him" Slade sighed "Unless of course, you'd like a game" he gestured to the now open seat.

"I warn you, I play to win" she gave a playful smile.

"Good. That'll make this more fun"

They silently played for a few minutes before Slade broke the silence by clearing his throat "Elise and I used to play when I was young, she used to get this stuck up grin on her face whenever she won... which she always did" Slade smiled fondly at the memory.

"Did you ever beat her?" Yang asked curiously, moving her piece forward.

"Once" he moved took one of her pieces "Father and I practiced together for weeks. You should've seen the look on her face when I finally won a game" he laughed "She was fuming for days, until she beat me again that is"

Yang smiled "That reminds me of Ruby when she was younger, well... of Ruby" she corrected "She always swears vengeance whenever she loses a game to me. Which is all the time"

"I can see it" he laughed knowing Ruby himself. He removed a cigar from his coat, followed by his lighter.

"You really like those?" Yang made a face of mild contempt as she eyed the object.

"Roman is the one who got me started on these damn things" he chuckled "I suppose I just never stopped"

"Do you plan to?"

"Why? You already berate me for drinking, gonna start on my smoking now too?" he asked with a playful smile.

"Qrow stopped"

"Then there is truly hope for us all" he laughed, his expression turned serious as he looked down at the lighter in his hand, he gave a deep sigh "I suppose I can put it off until later" Yang smiled.

"Thanks. I appreciate it"

"Don't worry about it" he waved his hand dismissively "It's nothing"

"Salutations!" Penny called from beside them, startling them both.

"Penny!" they shouted in unison.

"What? What did I do?" she looked between them confused.

"How you move so silently for someone so loud is beyond me" Slade laughed.

"Are you two on a date?" Penny asked.

Slade sputtered "W-what? Penny, Yang and I are just friends"

"Y-yeah, what're you talking about, Penny?" Yang stuttered out, playing with her hair.

"Right now, yes. But when are you going to date each other? It's obvious you two like each other, even to me"

"Well-"

"Penny" a voice called from behind her.

"Professor Watts" she gave a small salute "Salutations"

"Yes..." Watts gave a small roll of his eyes "General Ironwood has requested your presence"

"Thank you for letting me know" she gave a quick, firm bow to Slade and Yang "It was nice talking with you both! We should do this again!"

"Count on it, Penny" Yang smiled back at her.

"What she said"

Penny made her way out of the garden "Mr. Stroud, Ms. Xiao Long" Arthur greeted shifting his gaze to the chess board between them "Sharpening your minds instead of your bodies this time are we?"

"Something like that, Professor" Yang answered.

"Do you need something?" Slade asked sharply.

Arthur took notice of his tone and furrowed his brow "Do you have a problem with me Mr. Stroud?"

"Yeah" Slade answered narrowing his eyes "Last time you did anything helpful Ruby was ambushed. Not many people knew about that mission beforehand"

"You suspect I had something to do with that" he sighed "I see"

"I have very good reason not to trust you"

Arthur gave a small smile "Then I will have to remedy that" he gave a firm nod to the both of them "Enjoy your game" he turned to leave.

"You think he is working for Salem?" Yang quirked her eyebrow.

"Whether he is or not I get an uneasy feeling when he is around, I can't really explain why. But what happened with Ruby certainly doesn't help"

"Well he certainly got you charged" Yang grinned.

Slade gave her a look of mild confusion "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Really? Nothing?" Yang sighed exasperated "No one gets my humor these days"

Slade has a glint of realization in his eyes, he started laughing loudly "Was that meant to be a play on his name?"

"C'mon it wasn't that bad"

"I suppose he did have me all Watt and bothered"

Yang sputtered with laughter "That's horrible"

"You started this" Slade laughed out.

"Well we can't be serious all the time you know... well, maybe Winter can" they both laughed at her comment.

"She does take things a bit too seriously sometimes. Especially when it comes to not trusting me"

"You should ask her for a game, or a sparring match. Might get her to like you better"

"I saved her life and she still doesn't seem to like me. I doubt anything is going to change that" he chuckled.

"Come on now, she likes you more than you think. At least she isn't berating you all the time anymore"

"That is one way of looking at it. Still, I'll take her insults over your driving any day"

Yang laughed "You did looked a bit ruffled after last night"

"Ruffled is an understatement. You ramped off the back of a car and flipped the bike in the air!"

"I was having fun" she shrugged.

"That's fine, but you weren't the only one on the bike!" he laughed.

"Yeah, well I still play better than you" she grinned as she moved her piece forward, winning the game "This one is mine"

"Wait, what?" Slade looked surprised when he noticed she had already beaten him, he slumped into his chair "Well played, I-I honestly didn't even see that coming"

"I always win!" she pumped her fist into the air excitedly. Slade laughed.

"There is always next time"

"Next time" she smiled "I would like to spend more time together"

"I'd like that" Slade matched her smile.

"Me too" she said before she could stop herself. She cleared her throat "After all, I have found my purpose in life"

"And that is?"

"Thrashing you at chess of course"

Slade wore a playful smile "Revenge will be mine!"

They shared a laugh but were interrupted as Ruby rushed to them using her Semblance.

"Guys! I've been looking for you!"

"Good morning to you too, Ruby. We were just talking about you" Slade stood "Is there a problem?"

"Ironwood wants us in his office, Blake and Weiss are already headed there.

"What about Jaune and the others?" Yang asked.

"Qrow is getting them"

"What is going on?" Slade asked with concern.

"Winter is in trouble"

---

"Any update from the recon teams?" Ironwood asked as he paced the office "What do you mean you've lost contact with them?" his hand shook with anger "Well get that damned ship airborne and find me something! NOW!" he turned off his earpiece just before slamming his fist into the table "Dammit all!"

"General" Penny called meekly from behind him.

"Penny" he took a deep breath to calm himself "Apologies. I didn't hear you enter" he straightened himself out "What do you have for me?"

"I managed to clear up the scans a bit from our recon teams before they went missing. It looks like the Embermane Airbase is heavily damaged. It doesn't look good, but I am confident Teams RWBY and JNPR can handle it"

"They always do" Ironwood nodded "I'll give them the rundown once they arrive, in the meantime I have an airship preparing to launch within the hour to provide over watch. I want you to tap into the systems from here and keep an eye on them, you can provide air support if needed remotely"

"It would be a lot easier if you let me go down with them, General" she pointed out.

"I cannot risk you as well as Winter in the field right now, not after last time. I need someone here with me in case another incident happens while they're away. The crew can manage without you, but so long as they don't need to I want you in control. Besides, we don't know what's waiting for us there" the door to his office opened as Qrow rushed in with Weiss, Blake and Team JNPR.

"I understand, General" she saluted before turning to leave the room, a sad expression on her face.

"Thank you"

Just after Penny left the room, Ruby entered with Slade and Yang in tow "Sorry for the wait"

"What's going on?" Yang asked impatiently.

"Embermane airbase has been attacked, Winter Schnee is missing and there has been no contact from anyone inside the base since. I sent out a few recon teams but they've gone silent. We have preliminary scans of the base but we still don't know what happened"

"Winter..." Weiss looked scared.

"She's still recovering from her injuries... I shouldn't have sent her on her own, but we're here now and need to act fast" he sighed deeply "Qrow take teams RWBY and JNPR to the base ASAP. I want you to make contact with any survivors that may be down there and find Winter. Slade will be filling in the final spot on your team Jaune"

"Understood" Slade nodded.

"We'll find her" Weiss assured with a determined look.

"Be careful, we still don't know what is happened all we have is this message" he removed his scroll from his pocket.

"Winter, I wasn't expecting to hear from you-"

"General! -s here!" she shouted.

"What was that, Winter? I can barely understand you"

"It's-, Si-!" the sound of an explosion played through the "We- Attack!" was the last thing they could hear before Winter's voice was drowned out by gunfire and explosions.

"Whatever it was hit them hard and fast, recon units haven't detected anything. No large attack force of Grimm or otherwise close enough to the base to attack" Ironwood placed the scroll on the desk behind him "The only thing we do know is there are Grimm massing to the north of the base. They're likely to move in now that the base is empty, so you'll need to make this quick. I have an airship ready to provide air support if necessary"

"We're ready to go, General" Ruby assured.

"Just need an airship" Qrow agreed.

"Maria has prepped one in the hanger for you. Get going, and keep your earpieces handy!"

"Yes, Sir" Jaune followed behind Qrow and Weiss as they rushed out of the room, the rest of the teams right behind them, all of them placing their earpieces in.

"Can you all hear me?" Ironwood asked through the earpieces.

"Affirmative" Ren answered.

"Loud and clear!" Nora almost shouted.

"Penny and I will be listening the whole time, I also have Pietro listening for medical assistance if necessary"

"I'll try not to bore you while you're on the job, but if you need me. I'm here" Pietro's voice assured them.

"Glad to have you, Doctor" Blake replied.

"Find out what attacked that base and above all else, find Winter Schnee. Her safety is your top priority"

"Glad to know you take such good care of your friends, General" Yang shot back.

"Just... be careful. All of you"

"We'll be fine, General" Slade assured him.

"Yeah, don't worry Jimmy. We're all certified Huntsmen now" Qrow smirked, a deep sigh could be heard from Ironwood.

---

"I spy with my little eye-" Nora started.

"Snow" Ren interrupted.

"Good one, okay... I spy-

"Snow"

"Damn you're good!"

"Listen up!" Qrow called as he stood from his seat on the ship "I want all of you to stick close to each other while we're down there. We're splitting into three teams" he pointed between Ruby and Jaune "You two are going to lead your teams to different sides of the base and find what we can. Ruby take your team to the barracks, see if you can find any survivors in the surrounding area. Jaune, you'll be looking into the security building, if you can pull up the feeds from the attack, do it. Find out what happened here"

"What about you?" Slade asked.

"I'm going to stay in the air, see if I can find anything from up there"

"Get ready to drop!" Maria shouted back at them.

"This is it" Ruby was excited.

"What're you so excited about?" Blake quirked her eyebrow at her.

"I got left behind last mission, I'm excited to be apart of it this time" she answered.

"Oscar must be feeling pretty left out by now" Ren pointed out.

"He's got the most important job of all of us" Jaune argued.

"Protecting the relic in a fortress isn't exactly the most exciting job though" Yang chuckled.

"Why is it we're always saving Weiss' sister when we do this?" Nora asked.

"Button it up guys" Qrow called "Get ready with those landing strategies"

"Landing strategy... right" Jaune laughed nervously "I've fallen out of so many things now I should be a pro"

"Like your freefall into the Emerald Forest on our first day at Beacon? We could all hear you screaming the whole way down" Yang laughed "Keep it together this go around. It's embarrassing" Jaune glared over his shoulder at her.

Qrow and Yang slid the doors open "Better get to it kids, I'm missing my nap time for this" Maria called over the engines.

"So... Who's going first?" Jaune asked.

"Allow me" Weiss gave a confident smile as she activated her Semblance, she leapt out of the airship hopping from glyph to glyph until she reached the ground. Jaune, Slade and Ren all used the provided glyphs following right behind Weiss while Yang used fired Ember Celica just before she landed to slow herself down.

Ruby used her Semblance to descend to the ground and Nora followed Yang's example with her own weapon. Blake hooked the end of Gambol Shroud to the floor and descended to line until her heels made contact with the ground. Qrow kicked off the end of the ship before switching to corvid form and flying overhead.

"The base looks clear from out here" Ruby noted.

"Ironwood was right, this place got hit hard. A lot of bodies" Jaune noted, inspecting the dead soldiers.

"Are we sure no Grimm presence was detected close enough to the base for an attack, General?" Blake asked based on the wounds on the men.

"I'm sure, but that's quickly changing. You've got a lot of Grimm heading your direction. ETA fifteen minutes, better make it quick in there" Ironwood answered.

"Understood" Slade turned to Jaune "Security is that way" he pointed behind him "We'd better get a move on"

"I'll circle around and keep an eye on those Grimm, just give a shout if you need a pickup" Maria soared off to the left side of the base while Qrow went to the right.

"Be careful. Scans detect stray Grimm inside the perimeter" Penny warned.

"Thanks for the heads-up" Ruby turned to the direction of the barracks, weapon at the ready.

Jaune and Slade stacked against the side of the door to the security building Ren and Nora on each side of them. The roof of the building had been torn off and discarded like a piece of trash.

"Ready?" Jaune asked.

"Ready" Ren answered aloud, Slade nodded and Nora grinned excitedly.

Jaune kicked the door open from behind and twisted around into the entryway, shield up and ready. Ren entered behind him followed by Nora and finally Slade.

"See anything?" Ren asked

"No, looks clear" They all lowered their weapons as they entered the main room.

Slade let out a low whistle "Whatever hit this place really did a number on it"

"You said it" Nora stopped when she came across a tar like substance on the ground "Guys. Might've found something" she called over her shoulder.

Ren pulled up his scroll "Penny, can you see what we're seeing?"

"I can" she answered "My scans can't seem to identify the substance, but... it looks like the same stuff that was in our prisoners when they died"

"Does that mean Salem had someone working for her in the base?" Jaune asked.

"We can't rule it out, but I don't even know what that substance is" Penny replied.

"But that substance disappeared before we could do anything. Is it possible for you to recover a sample?" Pietro asked.

"Let's find out" Slade took a step toward it.

"Wait!" Ren stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder "Be careful, it could be toxic"

"It did kill those men" Penny agreed.

"Relax, how toxic could it be?" Slade shrugged him off "Besides" he lifted a pencil off the nearby desk "I have a pencil"

Slade crouched down in front of it and slowly tried to scoop some onto the pencil. As soon as the substance touched the pencil it was sucked out of his hand and into it, dissolving the pencil instantaneously, Slade leapt back from it "Woah! Shit! Okay, don't touch that"

"What happened?" Ironwood asked concerned.

"It ate my pencil!" Slade answered incredulously.

"Ate?" Ironwood asked surprised.

"It dissolved the moment it made contact" Ren explained.

"I bet I could drink it" Nora pondered aloud.

"No, Nora! No!" Pietro said in a stern tone.

"Aw..." she pouted.

"Whatever it is, it isn't natural" Slade pointed out. His hand outstretched toward it.

"How do you mean?" Jaune asked curiously.

"I'm not entirely sure" he lowered his hand "Normally when I use my Semblance to manipulate something, I can feel the individual particles that make it up. Solids are easy, their particles are heavily condensed. Liquids are harder but more malleable and gases are the most difficult. For instance, if I tried to smother a fire, manipulating the oxygen the fire is affecting would be the simplest way to do so... but this..."

"What is it?" Ironwood asked.

"It's like it can't decide what it is. I can still feel the pencil's particles inside the substance, but when I try to do anything with it, it's almost as if there's several pencils colliding with the pencil itself all at the same time"

"And the substance itself?" Pietro asked curiously.

"It doesn't seem to follow basic physics, no matter how I move the particles, it just sits there and does nothing. But when I move something else..." he slid a rolling chair back until one of it's wheels touched the substance, it lurched back, disappearing into the substance no bigger than one of it's legs "Anything it touches just dissolves into it, but it still exists, inside it... somewhere, completely unaltered"

"Fascinating... so the item disappears into something clearly smaller than it but remains untouched. It acts similarly to the power the Maidens possess" Pietro concluded.

"So it's magic? Like Oz?" Nora asked.

"And Salem..." Ironwood breathed out "It couldn't be"

"Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to follow basic scientific principles" Ren noted.

"Neither do our Semblances right?" Blake asked.

"In a way, but most Semblances still follow the laws of science. Magic like Ozpin possesses doesn't ever do so. For example, in order for someone who possesses a Semblance to generate and manipulate fire must adhere to cause and effect. First they must heat the particles of the air around them in order to make the fire, then the oxygen in the air will act as a catalyst to spread the flames in the manner desire, yet leaving the particles not transferred the thermal energy. All particles hold a slight amount of thermal energy that can be called upon based on their movement, as all particles move"

"So when Slade moves particles in an object, he's actually just using the unused kinetic energy stored in it's particles?" Ren asked.

"He's amplifying it actually, the same way thermal energy would be in the previous case. However, when Cinder Fall manipulates fire she doesn't need to generate thermal energy from any source. She skips the cause that makes the fire and instead just pulls the fire out of thin air, to be more specific she pulls it out of nowhere. The fire shouldn't exist and yet it does"

"Ugh, my head hurts" Ruby groaned.

"Why can't anything just be punchable anymore? I liked it better when I could just punch my way out of problems" Yang sighed.

"I think that's usually how you get into all your problems too" Slade pointed out with a small laugh.

"I think I may have found something" Qrow announced in their ear pieces.

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

"A trail, pieces of a bloody bandage south end of the base. I think Winter might've left it behind for us to follow. Trail heads west"

"She knew I would've sent a rescue team" Ironwood let out a sigh of relief "There's a small town not far to the west, that's where she must be heading"

"You kids stick together, I'm going to follow the trail and see if I can find her, she could still be in trouble" he transformed back into corvid form and followed behind her.

"Better make it quick, those Grimm are closing in. You've got about five minutes" Penny warned.

"Alright, you heard the lady" Jaune gestured to the door "It's time to go"

Slade nodded in acknowledgement, Ren and Nora followed behind them, wary not to get too close to the substance on the floor.

"We've got a live one over here" Yang announced just as they made it into the entry hall.

"A survivor?" Ironwood sounded hopeful "Get them out of there, we need to know what happened to the base"

"Yes, Sir" Ruby replied dutifully.

Slade, Jaune, Ren and Nora all made their way outside just as Maria was landing. Jaune and Nora were the first in, Ren stopped just as he was about to get in by the sound of Ruby's voice.

"Yang!"

"What's going on over there?" Slade asked receiving no answer in response. He leapt into the ship with Ren right behind him "Get us over there now"

"On it!" Maria flew as low as possible until she was in front of the barracks. Two Sabyrs were outside, they turned and growled at the group as they exited the ship.

Slade fired Defiance into the head of the first as Jaune held up his shield to defend against the second charging right toward him. Nora smashed Magnhild into it, crushing the Grimm into the ground.

"Defend the ship!" Slade called back as he rushed into the building.

"What about you? We want to help" Ren tried.

"We still need to be able to get out of here"

"We'll make sure nothing happens to the ship, just be quick" Jaune agreed.

"ETA two minutes on those Grimm" Penny warned.

"You need to get out of there now" Ironwood sounded tense.

"Working on it" Slade replied.

(Moments ago with RWBY)

Yang was ahead of the team followed by Ruby, Blake and Weiss as they searched over the trashed room.

"Ugh, my head hurts" Ruby groaned.

"Why can't anything just be punchable anymore? I liked it better when I could just punch my way out of problems" Yang sighed.

"I think that's usually how you get into all your problems too" Slade pointed out with a small laugh.

"I think I may have found something" Qrow announced in their ear pieces.

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

"A trail, pieces of a bloody bandage south end of the base. I think Winter might've left it behind for us to follow. Trail heads west"

"She knew I would've sent a rescue team" Ironwood let out a sigh of relief "There's a small town not far to the west, that's where she must be heading"

"You kids stick together, I'm going to follow the trail and see if I can find her, she could still be in trouble" he transformed back into corvid form and followed behind her.

"Better make it quick, those Grimm are closing in. You've got about five minutes" Penny warned.

"Alright, you heard the lady. It's time to go" Jaune's voice called

"Looks like a storm swept through here" Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, not looking good for anyone who was here" Yang agreed.

"Well somebody had to survive if Winter made it out" Ruby said trying to be optimistic. Blake's ears perked up.

"Under the table" she pointed.

"No, please!" a man shouted as he tried to run. Yang caught him as he attempted to get past them "Please! Don't kill me! I'm just a medical-"

"We're not going to hurt you. We're all Huntress" Ruby assured him.

"Huntress? Oh thank god" he sighed in relief "I thought I was dead for sure"

"We've got a live one over here" Yang announced into her earpiece.

"A survivor?" Ironwood sounded hopeful "Get them out of their, we need to know what happened to the base"

"Yes, Sir" Ruby replied dutifully.

"What's your name?" Weiss asked gently.

"Corporal Jackson, Ma'am" he saluted.

"Corporal. Where are the other survivors? What attacked you? Was it the Grimm?" Blake asked.

"I don't know, I might be the only one left. All I could hear was screaming..." he shook before correcting himself "As to what attacked us, I've never seen anything like it. One person just completely decimated our forces"

"One person? One person did all this?" Yang asked in disbelief.

"I know it sounds crazy, but-" he was interrupted by a loud clang behind him. the sound of chains rattling followed shortly behind it. RWBY readied their weapons.

"What was that?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know" Jackson made his way behind them "Something has been hunting us since the attack stopped, I thought it was Grimm, but..." he stopped when a laugh echoed into the room. He turned around and ran out the way they came in.

"Wait! Corporal!" Ruby called but he never stopped.

"Keep your eyes open, Ruby. We're not alone anymore" Yang stepped forward, her gaze shifting around the room. Weiss and Blake followed suit with Ruby staying behind them, Crescent Rose ready to fire.

Yang was suddenly grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air by a hand coming out of the shadows.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, Blake and Weiss shifted to their target ready to strike when they could. Yang's struggle for breath was short lived as the figure threw her to the left. The figure wore a black coat with a hood covering his face, matching pants and boots. He had a long silver rod in his hand with a black chain coming off the back end, connecting all the way up into his sleeve.

"What's going on over there?!" Slade's voice called.

Ruby fired two rounds at him as he deflected them with the rod. The chain ran across the ground, knocking Blake and Weiss over before wrapping around the end of Crescent Rose. Ruby was pulled right to the figure, he twisted around and slammed his heel into her chest, throwing her backward.

Weiss returned to her feet only for the chain to wrap around her chest pulling her toward the man. He jabbed her in the abdomen with the rod in his hand and lifted her up over his head, before slamming her onto her back behind him. Myrtenaster fell to the ground as she held her side in pain.

Yang charged forward firing Ember Celica at him, he twisted and slammed the back of his fist into her face, launching her across the room. She rolled onto her stomach with the landing.

"Yang!"

Weiss rolled onto her stomach and attempted to get up with Myrtenaster in hand. He stepped on the end of the blade, kicking her in the face, she went flying backward. Blake moved to intervene, he swung the rod toward her. Using her Semblance she avoided the strike leaving a copy made out of ice behind, trapping the rod inside it.

Blake stabbed the end of Gambol Shroud into his left side, earning a groan of pain from him. The man slammed the copy of ice into Ruby as she tried to help her sister up, throwing her to the floor.

Twisting around, the man slammed his heel into Blake, she managed to block it with her weapon but slid backward from the strike. Yang rushed him once more only to be knocked on her back when he slammed his shoulder into her.

Blake returned to stab her blade into his chest, the man knocked her weapon from her hand but didn't realize the sheathe was all that was knocked away. Blake pierced his chest once before he grabbed her by the shoulder, she removed the blade and stabbed him again. The man seemed completely unaffected as he continued applying pressure down on her shoulder until a loud snap echoed throughout the room "AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUURGH!" she screamed in anguish.

"Blake!" Weiss called as she managed to get to her feet.

He released his hold on Blake, she clutched her left arm painfully. Blake looked up and saw three blades as black as night emerge from the rod making it into a scythe. She struggled to stand as he swung for her face. Weiss managed to summon a glyph to defend her, it was shattered by the strike and Blake was launched backward into Yang's arms.

"Blake! Oh my god" her Aura sparked from the damage.

The figure removed Gambol Shroud from his chest and tossed it aside with it's sheathe "You know, I was hoping you'd provide more of a challenge" the wounds Blake had inflicted were quickly healing, the ground being littered by droplets of a tar like substance leaking from his wounds just before they sealed back up, each drop evaporated as they collided with the floor.

"What the hell is that stuff?" Weiss asked disgusted.

"ETA two minutes on those Grimm" Penny warned.

"You need to get out of there now" Ironwood sounded tense.

"Working on it" Slade's voice could be heard through their earpieces

The figure looked down at his hands in awe "This is certainly something" he laughed "I can get used to this!"

"Yang, Weiss, we're leaving" Ruby helped Yang carry Blake while Weiss scooped her weapon into her arms.

"You won't be going any-argh!" he flinched as a bullet hit him in the chest, the sound of gunfire rang out around them as Slade charged past the group. The figure swung his scythe for Slade, he flipped over the strike and kicked him in the chest, sliding him back.

"Slade!" Yang called.

"Get Blake out of here, I'll cover you"

"Right" Ruby nodded.

"You'd better be right behind us!" Weiss called after him.

"Don't worry about me" Slade's wrist blades emerged before he charged the attacker. The sound of metal clashing on metal could be heard as they made their way out.

"General, this is Weiss. Blake's been hurt"

"I'll get a medical team together, just get her back to Jaune" he replied urgently.

"Guys..." Blake tried to speak but couldn't find the strength.

"Stay with us Blake" Yang picked up the pace. Blake passed out in their arms.

"Blake!" Ruby tried to rouse her to no avail.

"You need to get out of there now! Those Grimm are about to be right on top of you!" Ironwood shouted.

"We're moving!" Yang shouted just as they made it outside with Blake to find a small army of Grimm charging toward the base.

"Come on, come on!" Nora shouted firing Magnhild at the Grimm.

"Slade, we're outside! Get moving!" Yang called.

"Got it!"

"What's the plan?" Weiss asked.

The ship hovered just off the ground in front of them "Get in! That's the plan!" Ruby shouted

Jaune helped them lift Blake into the ship immediately setting to work healing her with his Semblance "Are you clear?" Slade asked.

"We're clear, where are you?" Yang replied as they all helped each other into the ship.

"Get out of here now, there's not enough time. Don't wait for me"

"We're not leaving you!" The Grimm were charging the ship, Maria pulled up and soared away, circling the outside throwing everyone onto their backs "What're you doing!?" Yang shouted.

"Those Grimm were going to rip us apart, there's too many of them"

"We can't just leave him!" Weiss argued.

"You think I want to?"

"What about my eyes? I can try hold them back" Ruby offered.

"You kids and always talking back" Maria looked hesitant but nodded "We're coming in for a pickup, Slade. Be ready to move immediately"

"No, Maria. Just get clear, I have a plan"

"What plan?" Ren asked.

"General, this is Slade. I need a missile strike on my location ASAP"

"Missile strike!?" they shouted in disbelief.

"Understood, missiles inbound. I take it you'll be clear before they hit?"

"Not possible, General. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine"

"Slade, I am not about to fire-"

"I need them now, General!" the sound of Grimm roaring was clear through his earpiece.

"Fine" Ironwood sighed. The missiles launched out of the airship.

"Slade is still in there!" Pietro shouted in disbelief.

"I'll be fine!"

"I'll get him!" Yang shouted moving to leap out of the open side of the ship.

"No!" Ruby grabbed her sister and pulled her back.

"Let go of me, Ruby! Let me get him out of there!"

"You'll never make it in time!" Nora argued.

"But-"

"Hang on!" Maria shouted swinging the ship away from the base to avoid being caught in the blast of the missiles.

the missiles quickly descended toward the base creating a large explosion upon impact with the building "Slade!" Yang shouted.

The Grimm were undeterred by the explosion, no response from Slade was heard. The smoke coated the sky within minutes.

"Slade? Slade, answer me please!" Yang called. Silence was her only response.

"He's gone" Weiss said in disbelief.

"Don't you believe that for a second" Ironwood said "He knew what he was doing, and he can take care of himself. He wouldn't have called that strike if he didn't think he could make it out"

"No one could've survived that explosion, General" Ren looked down saddened.

"I've thought him dead before, it hasn't happened yet. I have a full medical team standing by for Blake. I want a full report from you as soon as you get back to the academy"

"What about Slade, and Qrow? Both of them are still out there?"

"Qrow can follow the trail on his own until he finds Winter or more survivors. And with the Grimm occupying that area right now, there's no way for us to send anyone in to look for Slade, we're just going to have to trust he'll get in contact with us when he can"

"Did anyone see what happened to Jackson?" Weiss asked.

"We didn't see anyone come out of that building but you" Nora answered.

"If the missiles didn't get him, those Grimm surely did"

---

Winter limped painfully, a single soldier helping to carry her. He had her arm slung over his shoulder. She was unintentionally leaving a small trail of blood in the snow as they walked.

"We're not far now, just over that hill"

"Yes... you're doing... fine, Private" she panted out.

"Ma'am, you need to rest"

"I'm fine" she dropped onto her knees at that moment, he went down with her.

"You're not fine, Ma'am"

She struggled to catch her breath "We... can't... stop"

"If we keep moving you're going to pass out from blood loss" he handed her a small container "Warm yourself up with this and catch your breath. We'll keep going in a moment"

"What's the holdup?" the sergeant asked.

"Sorry, Sergeant. She needs a rest"

"Town is right over that hill, she can rest once we get there"

"With all due respect, Sir-"

"I'm fine" Winter argued.

"I can take her off your hands for you" a deep voice called from behind her.

"Specialist!" the private yelled firing his gun behind her. She twisted around, quickly getting to her feet to see a cloaked figure staring back at her, the hood covering his face stopped her from identifying him.

He lifted his arm and deflected the rounds, he leapt toward the soldier firing at him and pierced his chest with his entire arm.

"Move!" Winter shouted "Get to the town! Get some reinforcements" she moved as fast as she could as the soldiers sprinted past her toward the town. One of the men lifted her up and rushed forward, refusing to leave her behind. The figure kicked the dead soldier off his arm and chased after Winter.

They made it to the outskirts of the town, soldiers were already advancing toward the entrance with weapons aimed toward the figure chasing them down. The running soldiers fell in line with the others and assisted in attempting to take down their attacker.

The figure stopped right outside the town and lifted a small box out of his cloak; it changed into a rocket launcher, he fired it right at the soldiers. Winter got out of the soldier's arms and moved behind a piece of wall for cover "You! Cover the rear" she pointed to two soldiers and then to where she wanted them.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

The figure cut his way through the soldiers knocking them down or shooting groups of them with the launcher on his shoulder. Winter used her glyphs to launch her toward the man slicing the launcher in half before it fired again.

The launcher exploded knocking her to the ground as the figure slid out of the smoke completely unharmed, he dusted off his shoulder with his right hand.

"You" he growled as he approached grabbing her by her throat, he hoisted her into the air.

"Drop her!" the soldiers yelled aiming their weapons toward him.

"Or what?" he chuckled. Winter stabbed her sword into his chest, he looked down at it then back up to her slamming her into the wall behind her "You're lucky she wants you alive" The loud shriek of a bird caught Winter's attention, she grinned.

"Lucky for me, Ironwood doesn't care if you die" she kicked him between his legs, dropping him onto his knees in pain, he dropped her.

The bird suddenly changed into Qrow as he kicked the figure across the back of his head, throwing him onto his back.

"Winter, are you alright?" Qrow asked.

"Focus on him not me!" she shouted back, from his place on the ground the figure kicked Harbinger from Qrow's hand as he removed it from his back. The figure quickly got to his feet and punched Qrow in the back stumbling him slightly.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play this" Qrow growled catching his arm beneath his own.

"Kick his ass, Qrow. C'mon" Winter managed to mutter out.

Using his opposite hand he slammed his elbow into the back of the man's followed by a swift punch to his face. The man swung his free arm at Qrow, but he ducked beneath the strike, delivering a powerful kick to his abdomen.

"Enough!" the man shouted sweeping his legs toward Qrow's. He managed to roll back just out of reach but was forced to release his grip on his attacker. Rushing forward her grabbed him by his shoulders and slammed his knee into the man's face, throwing him onto his back.

Qrow landed on his chest and pulled his right arm up, snapping the bone with a quick twisting motion.

"Aurgh!" he shouted in pain.

"Had enough!?" Qrow asked smashing his heel into the same arm, forcing it to the ground.

The man managed to knock Qrow off of him and regained his footing, he snapped his arm back into place giving only a slight groan of pain. Qrow used this moment to his advantage and swept for his legs, knocking him onto his chest.

"Qrow, behind you!"

Qrow was thrown to the ground by a Teryx landing on his chest. Winter forced herself to her feet, she leapt onto the Grimm's back and impaled it through the neck with her blade. The Teryx collapsed, knocking Winter to the ground.

"Winter!" Qrow called getting to his feet.

"I'm okay" she coughed.

"But you won't be" the man pulled his arm back to swing at Qrow.

Qrow twisted around the strike elbowing him in the face, he then kicked his left knee, dropping him onto his hands. Qrow wrapped his arms around his left and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

The man rolled away to his feet, grabbing Qrow by his face, he threw him to the left. Qrow transformed into corvid form, flipping back toward Winter, he returned to human form as he flew at his attacker slamming into him fist first. They crashed through the fence behind him and rolled down the hill, trading punches with each other as they did. They separated as they reached the bottom, charging each other.

Winter grabbed Harbinger and made her way carefully down the hill as fast as she could.

Qrow ducked beneath his strike, slamming his fist into his abdomen. The man swung high as Qrow ducked, twisting around his right side.

"Qrow! Catch!" she threw Harbinger toward him.

Qrow caught Harbinger and slammed it into the back of his left knee, dropping him back onto his hands. Twisting to his right as he lifted Harbinger up over his head he swung it down onto his neck but was shocked to find his head still attached to his shoulders. The blade never made it past the back of his neck, it was seemingly made of stone.

"Time to end this" he growled standing up and slamming his fist into Qrow, knocking him backward several feet.

Suddenly a bright white Manticore slammed into the man pushing him back several feet, sliding to a stop. He slammed his fist into it's head killing it instantly. Qrow leapt through the Manticore as it dissipated grabbing the man by his neck, he flipped him over onto his back.

The man slid to a stop, flipping up to his feet and slamming his fist into Qrow as he swung for him, knocking him onto his back. He placed his left hand onto Qrow's chest keeping him stuck on the ground and prepared to strike with his opposite hand. Qrow wrapped his legs around his neck and rolled him off of him.

The man and Qrow stood ready to continue fighting as more soldiers made their way down the hill behind Winter. The hooded man suddenly dropped his defenses and looked perplexed.

"Ma'am? Are you cert-" he stopped "Of course, I understand" an oval shaped corridor appeared behind him "You're lucky my master has recalled me. You won't get so lucky a second time"

"Wait!" Qrow called as he entered, chasing right behind him. Leaping right for the corridor, it disappeared just before Qrow managed to reach it. He rolled into the landing, letting out an aggravated sigh.

"Qrow..." Winter called slumping onto her back "You saved me... again"

"We are certainly making a habit of this" Qrow replied making his way to her side.

"Did Ironwood send just you?" she asked surprised.

"Nah, I'm just the one who found your trail" he smirked, placing his fingers to his earpiece he asked "Ruby? Are you guys still in the area?"

"We're headed your way right now, Uncle Qrow. Penny told us what was going on" she answered.

"Good, Winter is going to need Jaune to take a look at her"

"Don't worry, Qrow" Ironwood's voice came through "We have a full medical team standing by for her and Blake when you arrive"

"Good, everyone else alright?" he asked but received silence in response "Guys?"

"We lost Slade" Ren answered.

"Lost!?" he shouted in disbelief.

"We'll explain once you're aboard, for now just focus on Winter" Weiss sounded distressed.

"I... alright" Qrow reluctantly agreed.

---

The door flew open thanks to a swift kick from Neo, she carried Cinder into the room and set her down on the bed as soon as she could. She rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a pot and filled it with water, turning on the stove. She placed the pot on the stovetop, and rushed toward a nearby cupboard. She frantically searched for clothes or cloths of any kind, settling for a bunch of hand towels. She moved from the cupboard to the liquor cabinet and quickly snatched a bottle from inside.

Cinder was groaning in pain as Neo dropped off the cloth beside her, applying the towels to each of her wounds carefully. She applied pressure to the ones bleeding the most. Grabbing Cinder's hands, she pushed it down onto one of the wounds.

"Gah! That hurts!" she shouted in anger. Neo fixed her with a stern glare and pointed at her hand "Fine! Just do what you're gonna do and get it over with-augh!" she shouted as she felt the alcohol in Neo's hand pour onto the wound.

Neo quickly went to work on fixing her wounds. Emerald entered the room with her weapons drawn, putting them on her back as she closed the door "This floor is clear. But you're going to have to try and be quieter if you don't want someone to find us"

"You try being quiet while-Aurgh!" Cinder snarled out.

"I tried to warn you someone was coming after you"

Neo rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you did. But you were wrong about him being there to kill me"

Emerald was surprised looking at her wounds "THIS was trying NOT to kill you?"

"If you can believe it. He said Salem knows you told me"

"Shit..." Emerald dropped down onto her rear "I'm so dead..."

"Not if you work with us" Cinder offered.

"You think Salem is going to forgive me for betraying her? She specifically told me remain unseen while I was watching you"

"We're going to bring Salem the relics, she'll be sure to forgive any transgressions then"

"Maybe..."

Neo rushed to the kitchen and took the boiling pot of water, bringing it back with her. Setting it down beside Cinder, she removed a needle and silk thread from her jacket. Sterilizing as necessary, she went to work stitching her wounds closed as quickly as she could manage.

"Does that mean you know who the Winter Maiden is?"

"Mm!" Cinder groaned in pain "Not quite, but the-Mm! The Lamp is with the boy"

"Then all we need is to take it from him and find out who the Winter Maiden is and we'd be in the clear!" Emerald looked relieved.

"Did you get what we needed?" Cinder asked as Neo finished with the stitches.

"Oh! Right" she reached into her pocket and removed a small thumb drive "Everything Salem stole from the airbase, I managed to copy them before they arrived"

"They?" Cinder asked turning her head to look at her.

"Ruby and her team. They got there while I was trying to leave, and the Grimm were already closing around the base"

"Did they see you?"

"Yes, but they don't know it was me"

Cinder nodded "Good, the last thing we need is Ironwood knowing what we're up to"

"After the attack at the other apartment, he's sure to send someone to find you"

"Yes, and I am sure I know exactly who it will be" she grinned "Don't worry, by then I should be healed back up and ready to go"

"What!? There's no way-" Emerald was stopped as Cinder's hand gestured for her to be silent.

"Maidens heal a bit faster than average Huntsmen. I won't be in any condition to fight, but I should be able to move on my own"

Emerald looked to Neo "So you need us as a distraction when they come for you" she concluded, Cinder smiled in response.

---

Ironwood stood in his office, the moon light illuminating his face. He turned as the door to his office opened, a small smile on his face.

"Qrow. It's good to see you're alright. How is everyone?" he asked looking between Qrow and Ruby as the others entered behind them.

"Jaune is with Blake right now in the medical wing. Pietro is making sure her arm is back in place so it can heal right" Qrow explained.

"Have you heard anything from Slade?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Slade is still MIA, he'll stay silent until he has a shot at getting back to us" Ironwood answered as Winter entered his office.

"General" she greeted.

"Winter" he smiled "It's good to see you're alright"

"Mind telling us exactly what happened down there? How did two people destroy an entire military base?" Yang asked.

"They didn't. They weren't even there until most of the job had been done" Winter winced in pain, Qrow caught her as she fell into him.

"Easy there" he held her up.

"T-thank you" she forced out.

"What do you mean they weren't there? The man who chased you down and the man who broke Blake's arm aren't responsible for all that destruction?" Weiss asked.

"No, it was so much worse... it was Salem"

"What!?" everyone shouted in shock.

"Salem was there, in person?" Ren asked in disbelief.

"It wasn't like in the garden, she was there"

"How do you know for sure?" Ironwood asked.

"She pinned me down herself. One of the men who saved me, hit her in the chest with an explosive as well. I couldn't see much but she was thrown back by the blast"

"Why was she there?" Ironwood stroked his beard thoughtfully "What could she possibly have wanted?"

"The airships" Penny answered "I looked over the scan from the recon team and compared it to the blueprints of the base as well as requisition orders and troop deployments. There was meant to be three airships at Embermane. All of them were gone"

"Then we can assume she plans to use them in her attack, but why?" Jaune wondered.

"She could be trying to use them to transport Grimm like the White Fang did during the attack on Beacon" She concluded.

"Penny. Blacklist those ships in our system, I don't want their presence in the kingdom to go unnoticed. If Salem plans to use those ships, then we need to be ready to combat them"

"Already done, Sir"

"We've got plenty of our own to handle them if they attack" Winter pointed out "She may just be looking to match our fleet"

"What about the survivor from the base?" Ruby asked.

"Corporal Jackson doesn't exist" Ironwood sighed.

"Come again?" Nora quirked her eyebrow.

"There was no medical officer at Embermane Airbase by the name of Corporal Jackson" Penny clarified "I told you I looked at troop deployments"

"Which means whoever we met wasn't supposed to be there" Yang concluded with a deep sigh of frustration.

"We already know of one person who works for Salem who can use illusions. It stands to reason she would've sent her to infiltrate the base. We have no way of knowing just how long she was even there" Qrow let out a frustrated sigh "Are we ever going to catch a break?"

Suddenly they all heard a the sound of the wind picking up but it was gone almost as soon as it came. Ironwood stared behind them in shock, causing everyone to turn around to find "Slade!" Yang shouted pulling him up from the ground in a tight embrace.

"H-hi" he looked just as shocked as they were.

"I thought I lost you" a single tear made it's way down her face. Slade returned the embrace, a small smile on his face.

"What did I tell you? I said I'd be fine" he chuckled when she released him, punching him in the arm "Ow!" he rubbed his arm.

"Don't EVER do that again"

"Yes, Ma'am"

"T-that was..." Ironwood dropped into his chair in disbelief.

"What? What was it?" Winter asked not understanding.

"We didn't even see anything, how did you even get here?" Ruby asked.

"I can explain..."

(Earlier At Embermane Airbase)

"You'd better be right behind us!" Weiss called after him.

"Don't worry about me" Slade's wrist blades emerged before he charged the attacker. The sound of metal clashing on metal could be heard as they made their way out.

"General, this is Weiss. Blake's been hurt"

"I'll get a medical team together, just get her back to Jaune" he replied urgently.

"Guys..." Blake tried to speak but couldn't find the strength.

"Stay with us Blake" Yang picked up the pace. Blake passed out in their arms.

"Blake!" Ruby tried to rouse her to no avail.

"You need to get out of there now! Those Grimm are about to be right on top of you!" Ironwood shouted.

"We're moving!" Yang shouted.

Slade ducked back beneath the scythe as it swung over his chest, loading several rounds into Defiance as he did. Aiming for his attacker he was interrupted as an Ursa crashed through the wall, separating the two.

"Slade, we're outside! Get moving!" Yang called.

Slade slid beneath the Ursa slicing his wrist blades across it's throat as he did, severing it's head "Got it!" as he returned to his feet he was forced to roll over a strike from his attacker's scythe "Are you clear?" he fired Defiance at the man, he deflected the rounds, spinning his weapon in one hand.

"We're clear, where are you?" Yang replied.

"Get out of here now, there's not enough time. Don't wait for me" Slade used his gauntlet to block the scythe.

"We're not leaving you!" At that moment a Megoliath smashed through the wall behind him, throwing Slade across the room with it's tusks.

"Terrific" Slade grumbled from his place on the ground. He rolled to the left, barely managing to avoid the Grimm's large foot from crushing him.

"We're coming in for a pickup, Slade. Be ready to move immediately" Maria's voice called.

"No, Maria. Just get clear, I have a plan" Slade embedded his wrist blades into the side of the Grimm causing it to roar in pain "General, this is Slade. I need a missile strike on my location ASAP"

"Understood, missiles inbound. I take it you'll be clear before they hit?"

"Not possible, General. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine" several Grimm stood behind the hooded figure ready to charge him.

"Slade, I am not about to fire-" the Grimm charged forcing Slade to fire his gauntlet at them as well as Defiance in his opposite hand.

"I need them now, General!" the Grimm roared in pain.

"Fine" Ironwood sighed.

"Slade is still in there!" Pietro shouted in disbelief.

"I'll be fine!" Slade assured kicking the Sabyr off the end of his blade. He killed two more using Defiance before a large explosion tore through the building burning all the Grimm in it's path. Slade used his Semblance to hold the blast back but was launched through the air by a second, smashing through the wall behind him.

Slade groaned painfully "We'll that worked about as well as I expected" the wall suddenly began to collapse, Slade was forced to use his Semblance to keep it from falling on him. Tossing it to his right, he rolled left; clearing the debris in time.

"Slade? Sl-swer me plea-!" Yang's broken voice came through his earpiece.

"I'm alright, Yang. Must've been quite the lightshow out there" he received static in response. He watched as the airship was getting further out of view.

"Yang? Yang, can you hear me? Ruby? Anybody?" his hands reached up to his earpiece "Ow! Shit!" he threw it down, a small spark sputtered out of it "Spectacular plan, Slade" he sighed.

"It was certainly something" a laugh came from behind him. Slade twisted around to see the figure from before standing in the burning wreckage, Grimm bodies littering the ground as they dissolved around them "You've had much better in the past"

"I know the weapon you wield, but not you" Slade dropped into a combat stance.

"Oh, you know me" he laughed removing his hood.

"You?" Slade's eyes widened in shock "I killed you"

Hunter grinned, he looked paler than the last time they'd met, and his eyes were a deep red matching Salem's "I'm not surprised you remember me, especially after the way I gutted your weak friends!" he laughed.

Slade growled "Clearly I didn't teach you well enough that day not to harm my friends. You remember what happened I take it" he smirked.

"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl?" he chuckled "She was so soft, I could break her just as easily as I did your old team. Too bad really, you're not going to live long enough to see it. After all... Salem is rather tired of your inference"

"She wasn't before?" Slade asked with a knowing look.

"Perhaps, but she insisted you be taken alive, even during our time at Beacon" he shook his head "Regardless, I don't plan to hold back this time, I've been waiting to end you... I have been waiting for this for so long"

"I defeated you last time, what makes you think I can't do it again?"

"So sure are you?" he grinned as a corridor opened behind Slade, a figure matching Hunter's outfit emerged, removing his hood to reveal...

"Cole? You're here too?" Slade noticed his eyes matched Hunter's.

Cole pulled his fist back to strike, slamming it right into Slade's forearm as he blocked the strike. Slade slid back from the strength behind the attack, Hunter leapt forward, closing ground with Slade.

Slade blocked two more strikes from Cole and flipped over a kick for his legs. Landing on his knees, he raised both his arms up to block another strike. Cole's fist rested on his gauntlets, pushing Slade back as he forced as much of his strength down on him.

Cole knocked his arms to his left and kicked Slade across the face, dropping him onto his chest. As he attempted to get up, Hunter kicked him, throwing him up into Cole's fist, flipping him backward. Slade landed on his chest once more with a pained groan.

Cole lifted him up by his shoulders "You're so weak" Hunter punched him across the face. Cole slammed him into the wall to his right, then threw him through the wall to his left, it crumbled down as he rolled to a stop.

"Funny, how someone so weak could be considered a teacher" Hunter laughed.

"When I killed you both, I should've made sure there was nothing left to bring back" Slade groaned out.

Cole pulled him back and tossed him in front of Hunter "I've had my fun, do what you will"

Hunter grinned "You hear that? You're mine to make suffer"

"I like your new outfit. It really brings out your eyes" Slade smirked.

Hunter grabbed him by his throat "Don't worry, Slade. I'm going to make sure you feel everything I am about to do to you. Your suffering will be beyond excruciating, your death... even more so"

"There's nothing you can do to me worse than what I have already suffered" Slade spat in his face defiantly.

"We shall see" He chuckled.

"She wants him alive, Hunter. Hurt him as much as you like, but don't kill him"

"Don't you remember what he did to us!? Don't you want to make him suffer for it!?"

"Of course I do!" Cole shouted back "Salem wants him alive! We can kill him after she is done with him"

"But we have him now!"

Help is coming Elise's voice echoed in his mind as they continued arguing.

Help? What kind of help?

This kind

Cole was suddenly thrown backward by an unseen force. Hunter dropped Slade only to find himself impaled on the end of a blade, he was thrown to his left, groaning as he struggled to get back to his feet.

"On your feet, Stroud"

"Raven?" Slade asked in shock.

"This won't be much of a rescue if you don't help you know" she forced him to his feet.

"Since when have you been the good guy?"

"Don't insult me, boy" she growled.

"Well, I can see where Yang gets her fiery temper"

"Enough" she formed a blade of ice in her hand, unsheathing Omen and flipping it over, catching it by the blade, she thrust the handle toward Slade "I expect that to be returned"

Slade smirked accepting it "I wouldn't dream of keeping it, red clashes with my eyes"

"Funny"

"You ready?"

"You have to ask?

Hunter leapt at Slade forcing him to block his strikes with Omen. Hunter was surprised with Slade's ability with a blade considering he doesn't carry one, nonetheless he continued his assault.

Cole swung his fist toward Raven, she performed a backhand-spring beneath his arm. She swung her blade at Hunter as Slade turned to face Cole, trading opponents.

Raven kicked Hunter in the face as their blades clashed, Cole kicked Slade in the chest, sliding him back into Raven. They spun around, Raven blocking Cole's next strike with her blade while Slade struck at Hunter, forcing him to defend himself.

"Careful, Raven. He can harden his skin"

"Interesting Semblance" Raven and Slade simultaneously kicked their opponents in the abdomen, knocking them back.

Raven leapt over Cole's fist and kicked him in the face. Cole growled, grabbing her by the back of her neck and slammed her into the wall behind him, shattering her blade with his opposite hand. Cole grabbed her with both hands and threw her backward, she flipped into the landing launching rocks from the ground at him with her Maiden Power.

Cole spun around from the force of the strike from the rocks giving Raven an opening to leapt onto his back. He grabbed her hair and slammed her on the ground in front of him. Raven rolled backward, avoiding his boot smashing into the ground cracking it from the force.

Raven punched him in the abdomen twice before ducking beneath a second strike, slamming her fist into his face. Cole smashed his fist into her abdomen, knocking her onto her back. She blasted fire from her hands at his feet, stopping him from advancing before leaping onto his back and kicking off him, launching herself away from him.

Slade saw Raven's trouble and kicked Hunter away from him "Raven! Catch!" he threw Omen back to her, allowing her to defend herself better. Hunter took this moment to kick Slade across the face with both his heels, stumbling him to his right. Hunter slammed his heel into Slade's abdomen from behind, throwing him through the air with the force.

"You're stronger than I remember" Slade coughed out as he got to his feet.

"Am I?" Hunter grinned "Perhaps you're just weaker"

"It hasn't been THAT long"

Slade charged Hunter as he charged him and matched his strikes with his wrist blades, narrowly managing to keep ahead of Hunter. Their blades clashed, fighting for dominance.

"Your old friends were so much weaker, you were supposed to be their leader. You were responsible for them, how did it make you feel to watch them die!?" he taunted.

"Better than the sight I have in front of me now" Slade feigned disgust "When was the last time you brushed your teeth?"

Hunter laughed "I only wish I could've been the one to gut your pathetic family myself!"

Slade let his anger get the better of him and broke the clash, striking for Hunter aggressively. Hunter easily blocked his attacks, striking him in the chest with his heel, he threw Slade against the wall behind him. Slade slumped to the ground.

"You're so easy to anger, and here I thought Huntsmen were supposed to have better control over their emotions"

Slade picked himself up and charged Hunter. Using the chain on the end of his scythe, he wrapped it around a nearby light post and swung around it, kicking Slade in the back as he turned to defend himself. Hunter wrapped his arm around his neck from behind. Slade managed to get free, passing through his arm, using his Semblance.

Slade used his Semblance to throw Cole and Hunter backward as far as he could, his Aura sparking from overuse.

"Stroud!" Raven called checking on him "Your Aura has been depleted"

"I know" he sighed.

"You need to run"

"Have some experience in that department do you?"

"Not the time" she growled. Swinging her blade through the air, a portal opened up. Before he could say anything, Slade found himself being thrown through the portal finding himself back in Atlas staring at the shocked expression of General Ironwood.

(Present)

"You were saved by... Yang's Mom?" Ruby asked shocked.

"That's right"

"I didn't even know she was in Atlas" Ironwood pondered aloud.

"None of us did" Qrow assured him.

"That's... not entirely true" Yang confessed.

"You knew?" Ren asked.

"I suspected" Yang defended "I saw a raven watching me the night I arrested the Spades leader, but I chalked it up to my imagination. Figured there was no reason for Mom to have followed us"

Winter's eyes narrowed "You still should've reported it"

"And say what? She saw a bird and it might've been her mother?" Nora argued.

"It doesn't matter" Ironwood put a stop to the argument "What matters is she is here now. She saved your life, so at the very least we know she isn't with Salem. That doesn't necessarily make her an ally, though. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open"

"I might have an idea where she could be staying" Slade offered.

"How?" Yang asked curiously.

"I... may have had another vision a few nights ago"

"What?" Qrow asked "You never told me-" Slade's hand came up to stop him.

"You were busy looking after Weiss, Winter was still in the hospital. I honestly wasn't sure it wasn't just a weird dream"

"What did you see exactly?" Ironwood asked, folding his hands in front of him on the desk.

"Raven was staying in a cave in the side of a mountain here in Atlas. I don't know exactly which one, but the city was nowhere in sight so it could've been the other side of the one Ozpin once had Salem sealed inside of. She was attacked by... spirits"

"Spirits?" Ruby asked.

Nora giggled "If I had a dream of Raven being haunted by ghosts, I'd think nothing of it either"

"How do you know they were spirits?" Winter asked.

"I couldn't see them, but I could almost sense them... like I was there. I assumed they were just using a Semblance, making themselves appear invisible. But when she activated her Maiden Powers she could see them, I still couldn't but I managed to get a general outline of them when she destroyed them with her lightning"

"So you're guessing? You don't actually know" Ironwood sighed.

"At the time, sure. But something else happened that confirmed what they were"

"What happened?" Ruby asked curiously.

Slade seemed hesitant, he took a deep breath before continuing "Raven was visited... by the God of Darkness"

"What!?" Ironwood shouted getting to his feet.

"I know, I know, it sounds crazy... but I know what I saw. They exchanged some words, nothing of any real consequence, but... he seemed like he was talking to me at some point"

"What did he say?" Yang asked worried.

"He said something was festering in the land, and it would destroy the world if nothing was done"

"What? What is festering?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know... but... he also said I should listen to her"

"Her? You mean Raven?"

"No... I think he meant... Elise"

"Your sister?" Qrow asked shocked.

"I've... been hearing her voice"

"You what!?" Winter shouted in disbelief.

"Are you sure it's her?" Qrow asked.

"It's her voice... I thought it was Salem playing tricks on me... but now, I'm not sure"

Yang sighed, a small shake of her head "There's no way we CAN know for sure"

"I know" Slade looked down sadly "I'm sorry I didn't report this sooner-"

"You-!" Winter began.

"No" Ironwood held up his hand to stop her "You were right to keep this to yourselves, there was no reason for either of you to believe what you saw was actionable intel until now"

"There's still no way to know for sure this even happened yet either" Ren pointed out.

"All the more reason to keep this to ourselves. Feel free to inform Blake and Jaune, even Oscar. But no one else. We need to know what we're dealing with here."

"I understand" Slade nodded in agreement "There was one other thing"

"What is it?"

"Those men who attacked me... were Hunter Thombs and Cole Larson" Ironwood narrowed his eyes.

"I thought they were dead?" Winter asked.

"They were" Qrow answered "I saw the bodies myself, there wasn't much left of them to begin with"

"They had Salem's eyes"

"That could explain how she was communicating with them" Qrow pointed out.

"They didn't have earpieces in, so if Salem was communicating, it wasn't through conventional means"

"Whatever that substance was you found earlier was the same thing coming out of his wounds when Blake stabbed him" Weiss pointed out.

"If Salem can bring spirits back from the dead; then it stands to reason she could return those spirits to their bodies if she had them" Ironwood sighed "This is the last thing we needed"

"Well not to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Slade sighed "Ruby isn't the only one Salem wants alive. She wants me too"

"What!?" Qrow shook his head "That doesn't even make sense, why would she want you? What do you have that she needs?"

"I wish I knew" Slade shook his head "We know why she wants Ruby, but not what she wants her for. Now we know she wants me, but not why"

"The man who attacked me... Cole, you said his name was. He said something about Salem wanting me alive as well" Winter turned to Ironwood "Why would she want me alive?"

Ironwood looked surprised "I see..." his hands closed into fists.

"General?"

"I don't know, Winter" he sighed "I wish I did"

"I wish Ozpin were here" Ruby frowned.

"We don't even know he could help" Yang pointed out.

"We don't know that he couldn't either" Nora argued.

"Enough" Ironwood sighed "Go ahead and get some rest, all of you" he directed his gaze to Winter "Especially you"

"Yes, Sir" she saluted the best she could from within Qrow's grasp. They all turned to leave, one after the other.

"Slade" Ironwood called "A word"

Slade nodded watching as the others left the room "I-" he was stopped by Ironwood's hand.

"This isn't about the mission or the decisions you made while on the mission" he stood, folding his arms behind him as he made his way around his desk "This is about Winter"

"General?" Slade quirked his eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"Slade, what do you think about Winter?" Ironwood asked. Slade was surprised by the question, but answered nonetheless.

"She's as dedicated as they come" Slade answered "She's a model soldier if not a model Huntress"

"I agree completely, but I wasn't looking for an evaluation of her performance. I wanted to know what you thought of Winter... as a person"

"So there is a heart in there Tinman" Slade smirked.

Ironwood chuckled "I suppose I deserve that. I just don't find these discussions easy to handle, but I know they're important so I try not to avoid them when necessary. The truth is, I am worried about her" he paused "I... you've never been someone who's afraid of giving advice, even when it's not necessarily what they want to hear. I figured I could confide in you about it... to get your honest opinion"

"What makes you so concerned?"

"A few years ago, before you had attended Beacon, Winter had graduated not long beforehand, we found a girl while out on a training mission, I was supervising as I was already interested in her skillset. She told us she was attacked by bandits. Winter stayed by her side for two nights straight without sleep fighting to keep her alive, but she was only delaying it. I decided that her suffering needed to end and ordered Winter give her an overdose of painkillers so she would drift painlessly. Despite the fact that I am certain she wanted to keep fighting for that girl's life..." he sighed "she followed my order without question"

"I assume you're not asking for my approval?"

"Of course not, I stand by every order I have ever given. Even if by some miracle that girl managed to survive, she would've been paralyzed for the rest of her life, she wouldn't ever be able to move again. But that isn't the point, what happened that night is the point... Winter was out on patrol that night, we had setup camp in Vale's forests for the duration of the mission. I approached where she was meant to be patrolling and found her collapsed against a tree, crying. I didn't know what to do, so I just... placed my hand on her shoulder... she hugged me. I held her there for what seemed like an eternity while she just let it all out, when she was done... she thanked me and returned to patrolling. It was that moment that I thought, maybe I had pushed her too hard. I ordered her to ignore her morals, to do something she knew was wrong with every fiber of her body. That's why I am worried about her, and for that matter everyone of you under my command, I don't want to make that mistake again"

"Winter's fine, General. I would be more concerned about you"

"Me?" Ironwood asked shocked "I..." he closed his mouth, thinking about everything he's done over the past few months "I can see what you're getting at" he admitted, then sighed "Look. Beacon fell under my command, all those men that fought with me, many of them are gone. Even more of them have died defending Atlas from the Grimm and these damned criminals working for Salem. Each of them died over poor decisions I've made. I understand the risks that come with the job. We all do. But how can anyone have confidence in me anymore? Hell, how can I have any confidence in myself?"

"The way you held Winter tells me you care about them, about us. We care about you too" Slade answered honestly "It's that compassion that gives us faith in you, the same way we have faith in Ruby"

his eyes went wide in shock "I... I never thought of it that way. Well... it looks like things have taken a turn" he chuckled "I am officially a professor, and I signed you up to teach the rest of the team here. But it looks like they weren't the only ones who need the lessons you have. Today, it was me" he smiled warmly "Thank you for letting me get that off my shoulders, I think it was weighing on me more than I thought"

"Was... was that everything?" Slade asked.

"I..." Ironwood sighed "No..." he took a moment to collect his thoughts "The girl Winter saved that night, when she died... she cried for Winter"

"For Winter?" Slade was confused.

"She cried for her, because she knew what awaited her... she was... the Winter Maiden"

Slade's eyes widened in shock "Winter is... the Maiden?"

"Yes..." Ironwood unfolded his hands from behind him, crossing them over his chest tightly "I didn't know, not until it was too late"

Slade's mind was racing "The night you found her... was it around the same time Elise died?"

Ironwood nodded "Amber was the only Maiden who got away that night. Elise, the Winter Maiden, even the Spring Maiden all ended up dead before long"

"Amber only lasted a few more years as I understand it"

"Indeed" he began pacing in front of his desk "I never wanted this for Winter. She had such a bright future ahead of her, and now..."

"Now Salem wants her"

"She wants you as well, and Ruby. It's possible she just wants anyone who might know anything about the relic. Everyone close to Ruby here in Atlas could be a potential target"

"We don't know that-"

"We don't know a lot, Slade"

"You said the Winter Maiden didn't know she was the Maiden. Was that true?"

Ironwood stopped pacing taking a deep breath "I never told Winter, I always hoped if no one knew she could live her life the way she wanted. Not... like this"

"She needs to know, General"

"No, we don't know Salem knows she is the Maiden. I want to protect her from this"

"You can't protect someone from who they are, General. You just have to help them learn to live with it. If Salem even has an inkling of the idea Winter is the Maiden, she'll come for her with everything she has-"

"I know!" his hands slammed down on the desk "But I can't..."

"Can't?" Slade asked confused "General, if Winter knows; there's a lot we can accomplish. We can seal the relic in the vault, Oscar would be safer that way-"

"Oscar will never be safe from Salem, not so long as Ozpin still exists"

"You can't argue the fact the relic would be safer in the vault"

"And put two relics in one place for them to get?" Ironwood quirked his eyebrow.

"I know it's not ideal, but we can't exactly ask Raven to return the lamp to Mistral"

"Salem would just hunt Raven down even if we could"

"If Winter doesn't know she is the Maiden, then there is nothing keeping Cinder from stealing it from her. She needs to know how to use her powers if she has any chance of keeping them from Cinder"

"And if she starts training with those powers anywhere in the kingdom, Salem will know for sure she is the Maiden if she doesn't already"

"We have to assume she already does"

"We can't afford to assume anything"

"No, General. We can't afford to take any chances, not where Salem is concerned"

"I appreciate your unique perspective, Slade. But I have been fighting Salem with Ozpin a lot longer than you-"

"And I have been stuck with her in my head for longer than anyone, if there is anyone who knows how dangerous she is, it's me. Even if Salem doesn't know who the Maiden is on the off chance, if she gets the lamp, she can ask who it is. If Winter seals it in the vault-"

"Salem doesn't know how to use the lamp" Ironwood interjected.

Slade stared in disbelief "She doesn't?"

"Ozpin is very good about keeping secrets, Slade. Despite fighting against each other for all these centuries, Oz was the only one between the two who knew how to use the relics"

"But now we all know how to use the lamp" Slade sighed "That must be why Salem wants me, with her already inside my head she must have a way to get that information from me"

"So you understand my reasoning? We can't know for certain she wants Winter alive for that reason or another. The same could be said for you and Ruby. The only person we know she'll hunt down no matter the circumstances, is Oscar"

"Because of Ozpin" Slade sighed "Damned if we do, damned if we don't... Dammit all"

"We need to be very careful with our next move" Ironwood looked Slade in the eyes "We can't afford to make anymore mistakes"

"I understand" Slade sighed "That's why you're telling me this, isn't it?"

Ironwood nodded "Penny has orders to defend Ruby and Oscar over the other members of your team. She has also been given orders to defend Winter over the both of them if the need arises. She didn't like it, but she agreed"

"Then Penny knows?" Slade asked.

"No. Her brain is a computer and too much of a risk to tell her. Too many things could go wrong"

"Then it's just us..." Slade shook his head "Why're you trusting me with this?"

"Because the only other person I know I can trust to keep this secret can't know"

"Winter..." Slade groaned "Things just got very complicated"

"I know"

"What about Qrow?"

"I don't think we can trust Qrow to keep this to himself. His family is all that matters to him"

"The same could be said for me" Slade narrowed his eyes.

"I know"

"You want me to keep this from the others I imagine?" Slade asked already knowing.

"I do"

"Ugh, always with the secrets" Slade groaned out, rubbing his forehead with his fingers "I don't like this"

"Nor do I"

"You better be right about this"

"I hope I am"

"That means I've decided to take you at your word" Slade looked away "Don't make me regret that decision"

Ironwood smiled "Thank you, Slade. I know I've asked a lot of you already... I appreciate your trust"

"Don't mistake my acceptance for approval, General. I still don't like the idea of keeping this from the others"

"I understand"

---

Deep within the mountains overlooking Atlas sat an abandoned military base within the mountain itself. The interior was stark white with very little in the way of decoration. However the base itself was far from empty, humans and Faunus both armed to the teeth wearing mixtures of black and red clothing and armor. Their armor as well as several boxes had a distinct symbol on them. That of an animal from the front, it was a two headed beast, one head of a lion and another of a goat. The side of the body with each head resembled said animal, it's tail hovered over it's back, breathing fire out of a snake head.

Three people in matching armor stood around a table in the center of a large room, massive windows behind them, armed soldiers lined the walls. In the center of the table was a map of Remnant. The man at the head of the table had his back to the others, staring out the window, his helmet covering his face unlike the others. His metallic breathing the only sound he made.

"We're not accustomed to being ignored, Sable" spoke a woman matching his armor but with a Atlas symbol on her shoulder. She had shoulder length purple hair with gold reptilian eyes and a dark complexion. There was a Crocodile tail coming out of the back of her armor.

"I am not accustomed to caring" Sable's metallic voice answered without turning to look at her.

"You may be in charge of the Vacuo branch but you haven't been reporting your missions or clients to us, you've even stopped wearing the patch" spoke the man beside the crocodile Faunus. He gestured to Sable's shoulder pad missing the Vacuo kingdom's symbol. The man was tall and fair skinned, he wore matching armor to the two of them with the Mistral symbol on his shoulder. He had dark brown eyes and black hair with a scruffy beard covering his face "We gave you command of these men because of your dedication-"

"Please, call it what it is" he growled "You exiled me to Vacuo because you cannot stand to look at me. This is exactly why you cannot abide my presence in your facilities"

"This has nothing to do with your appearance! You've been operating with absolutely no oversight for months, the point of this council is to maintain operational secrecy at all times from the Huntsmen. We cannot afford to become public" the Faunus argued.

"You've been sending your men to all corners of the world, digging up graves or stealing trinkets" the man pointed out.

"We've indulged you long enough, Sable. It is time you answer for-" she stopped, stepping back in fear as Sable turned to face them.

"We're in Atlas, Coleen. Not Vacuo" he chuckled "I do not have operational oversight in this kingdom. I do however have a very wealthy client not known to the majority of the world. Allow me to introduce you to her" he gestured to his left.

There was a sudden dark cloud that formed from beside him, it took the form of a human, quickly materializing into that of Salem. The cloud dissipated around her as she observed the room "Mr. Wolf" she greeted.

"Your grace" he knelt before her.

The others stood in shock at what they had just witnessed "Who're your friends?" she tilted her head curiously.

"Your grace, allow me to introduce Shane Vaughan and Coleen Ortiz. Chimera's operational commanders of Atlas and Mistral"

"What of Vale?" she asked observing their horrified expressions.

"Grull Sutton is elsewhere" he answered standing up straight "He believes I have become untrustworthy, and demands I turn myself in to these two to answer for my transgressions"

"How unfortunate" she stepped toward them, each of them took a step back "My name is Salem. I have been employing Mr. Wolf here for sometime now, and I must say I am quite pleased with his work. Perhaps the rest of you would be willing to work with me as well?" she asked with a menacing smile.

"Doing what exactly?" Coleen asked.

"Destroying the kingdoms of course, who do you think was responsible for Vale?"

"You... you destroyed Beacon!" Shane shouted in disbelief.

"Control yourself, Vaughan" Sable warned "I wouldn't upset her"

"Grull was right, you've gone insane" Coleen motioned to the soldiers in the room "Men! Kill them both"

"Here we go" Sable laughed as the men followed her orders, they fired at Salem and Sable. He ducked behind a table, flipping it over to use as cover Salem stood expressionless as she took each bullet fired into her chest, once they stopped firing, the room just stared in shock at her. Each of her wounds healed within seconds, the only sound in the room was the clinking of the bullets dropping onto the floor from her healing wounds.

"You really shouldn't have done that" Sable shook his head as he made his way out from behind the table.

Salem grinned "Well... that is unfortunate" Coleen and Shane were slammed against the nearby wall both of them struggling for breath "Mr. Vaughan, Ms. Ortiz. Your services are no longer required. Mr. Wolf will be taking over operations for Chimera exclusively"

"You can't... do this!" Shane choked out.

"You can't stop me" Salem closed her hand into a fist. They were unable to speak, both of them asphyxiated before long, dropping to the floor lifeless.

Sable looked toward the shocked soldiers in the room "I believe I've gotten my point across" he gestured toward their bodies littering the floor "We've been killers for hire for years, soldiers, law enforcement officers and Huntsmen who've tired of the thankless work we do everyday. But today... is a new day. There will be no questioning my commands, there will be no mistakes, there will be none of the shit you've been pulling behind their backs for so many years, just so you could make a bit more money. None of it!" he shouted "You will work with me and you will be the new masters of this world, but work against me..." he turned back toward the bodies.

"And if we refuse?" one of the soldiers asked.

"What do you think?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

They looked between each other nervously before filing out of the room as quickly as they could stepping over the bodies of Shane and Coleen.

"Fools" Salem shook her head.

"I told you they wouldn't work with us" Sable turned toward her.

"It's a shame, but not unexpected. What of Mr. Sutton?"

"I will deal with him personally, you needn't concern yourself with him"

"Is he in Vale?"

"No, he is here in Atlas. He's been gathering his men to attempt to retake the base from me" he chuckled "It'll take time for my men to get the others from Mistral on our side, but with the influx of recruits from Mantle; he'll be on the defensive"

"What do you plan to do about them? Chimera is no good to me if they aren't at full strength"

"Don't worry. They will be"

The door opened to reveal Hunter and Cole "You wished to see us?"

"I did" she turned to Sable "You are dismissed, Mr. Wolf. Keep up the good work"

"Yes, Ma'am" he nodded, turning to leave.

The door closed behind him "You failed to bring me the girl"

"She had protection. Qrow Branwen" Cole answered.

"I'm aware, we'll just have to put if off until later, Slade was the priority" she turned to Hunter "But he got away, didn't he"

"Raven Branwen got in the way" Hunter answered.

Hunter was slammed into the wall painfully "But it wouldn't be fair to blame her for your own failings would it?" she stepped past Cole.

"We tried-"

"YOU tried to kill him" She snarled "Did you really think I wouldn't find out what you were doing?"

"Your grace, please" he choked out.

"Cole, you're dismissed. Do what you will"

"Thank you, your grace" he bowed before leaving.

"That gift I gave you" she looked right into his eyes "I can see and hear everything you do" she grinned "You cannot lie to me"

"I'm sorry, I failed you-"

"You LIED to ME!"

"I-"

"My gift makes you stronger, faster, more durable, your Aura lasts longer. You heal faster, and yet you thought you would repay me with disobedience!?" she grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground "I can take it away just as easily as I gave it to you. Do you really think you can take Slade without it?"

"N-no, Ma'am! I understand, it won't happen again"

Salem released him "Good" lighting chained between her fingers "But that doesn't mean your punishment is over"

---

Yang was laying on her bed, scroll in hand, tapping her fingers on it repeatedly. Ruby matched her position on the opposite bed, playing the same game as her sister but as her opponent. The words "YOU WIN!" displayed on her screen while Yang's had "YOU LOSE!"

"So..." Ruby started awkwardly.

"What?" Yang asked, a blank expression on her face.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about"

"Yang, that's the third match you've lost in a row"

"So?"

"You never lose. So, you can keep pretending to play against me. Or we can talk about what's upsetting you"

Yang tossed her scroll onto the bed with a huff, her arms folding behind her head. Ruby placed hers down and rolled onto her side to look at her sister "Fine"

"Is it because of what happened to Blake? Or what happened to Slade?"

"Both I guess, and neither" she sighed "I don't know..."

"It wasn't your fault, Yang. None of us could've known what we were up against, or that Slade would stay behind"

"I know it wasn't my fault, Ruby. I just..." she sat up, her legs swinging over the bed to the ground "...What if it was you?"

"Yang..." Ruby sat up giving her a sympathetic look.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't think like that. But Blake got hurt because she was the one in front of him. It could've been Weiss, or you, or me... It could've been much worse. Slade came to help, and honestly I don't know what would've happened if he didn't"

"We would've been fine. We're a team, we look out for each other. It's what we do"

"And what does that get us? We fight every day for the people we care about so we get to go home to them when it's all over. Dad and Qrow always said they fight their hardest to make sure they make it back to us... but any mission could've been their last. Mom had her last... Every single one of Slade's family had their last. His team had their last. Pyrrha had her last, she had a family to get back to and she still went to fight Cinder, knowing she probably wouldn't come back. Now how is that fair?"

"Yang, you know that's not how that works"

"Isn't it? What's so different between our family and Slade's? Why did they all die and ours didn't? Why didn't Mom get to come home? To watch her daughters grow up, to love her husband, to..." she couldn't continue, tears threatening to boil over.

"It isn't different, Yang" Ruby stood from her place moving over to sit beside her sister "Luck, fate, random chance. None of it matters, because in the end we only have what we have. I miss Mom, every day. I miss her more than anything. But I am also grateful for everything I have. Dad, Zwei, Uncle Qrow, Weiss, Blake, the rest of the team... I'm grateful to be a Huntress. I'm grateful for that every single day" she smiled, a stray tear falling down her cheek.

"Ruby..." the tears began to fall, her sister wiped away a single tear.

"But you, Yang. My sister. You are who I am most grateful for"

"Me?" she asked.

Ruby nodded "If it wasn't for you. Your patience, your courage, your love. I learned all of that from you, more than anyone else. Mom inspired me to be a hero... but you're the one who showed me how to be one. How to be a good person... you're the only reason I was able to become a Huntress"

"Ruby..." she sobbed out.

"I am never going to leave you, Yang. Even if I go before you. I will always be right here" she pointed at her chest "I am always going to be right beside you" she forced out through the tears.

Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling her into a tight embrace "I love you, Ruby"

Ruby returned her embrace "I love you too, Yang"