Warning! Trigger warning for rape and torture aftermath. Do not read if this discomforts you.


Main theme: Can't Trust Anybody Now by Jeff Williams
Arc Theme: Deep Stone Crypt from the Destiny 2: Beyond Light soundtrack
Theme: Reservations from the Destiny 2: Beyond Light soundtrack


"-Now with Providence soldiers guarding the square in absence of any proper law enforcement, many sceptics are concerned as to the amount of legal oversite these mercenaries are either being granted or taking without signoff from law enforcement personal, especially in a way which clashes with official police operations. However, many have spoken out in defence of Providence's actions, bringing up the increasingly obvious signs of police corruption within Valerian law enforcement, especially evident now with the video evidence of police and tactical officers assisting in the massacre of Gris Square-"

Neo didn't care for the pointless trivial nonsense that the news was blaring out on the TV in the living room as she opened up the mini-freezer in her room and pulled out a container of ice cream. She had promised Roman that she'd share some of it with him when he got back from his job, but hey, she had a dozen tubs of the stuff in her freezer. She could spare to eat one of them now before he got back from his merry crusade of stealing from the rich and the poor, and giving to himself.

He always did like to wax that his robbing spree was for a noble cause and it was indeed a good cause.

Good for both Roman and Neo, at least.

Except, that wasn't really true at the moment.

Neo frowned as she walked down the stairs of her and Roman's home, the TV still blaring as she moved to the kitchen to get a spoon. Their place of residence wasn't the most luscious or extravagant of places to live in- Considering that it was a small, two-story building with a warehouse extension, on the outskirts of the industrial sector of Vale, it wasn't the five-star hotels that the rich monkeys of Vale liked to live and flaunt their unearned money around in- But it was good enough. It had internal heating, electricity, electronic signal, internet connection, and it was off the grid enough for no one to notice Roman and Neo living there, considering how their names had been buried under fake names and plenty of legal work that kept them hidden from prying eyes.

If only they didn't have to pay the bills for it all, though. Say what you want about criminals, but even they had to pay their taxes at some point.

At least, whenever they felt like it of course.

Still though, it was a good home. Better than living on the streets again at-

Her mind flashed back to when she was little, to when her hair was overgrown, her skin clung to her bones, her rags were almost non-existent, and a man with horribly calloused hands and a greasy smile grabbed her by the face and forced her mouth open and moved his other hand to his crotch and-

Neo dropped the ice cream container onto the side and grabbed her head, shaking it back and forth as her body trembled. Stop it, stop it, stop it. They're gone. He's gone. She wasn't on the streets anymore. She had a home. She had a life. She had...

They're on the floor. The horrible man had been bludgeoned in the head. He was dead. She looked up, and saw a man with emerald eyes and pumpkin-orange hair, dressed in a white suit and a bowler hat, giving her a kind, genuine smile and extending a hand down to her...

She had her hero.

Her saviour.

Her father.

Neo swallowed and calmed herself. Checking that she was no longer trembling, she pulled out a spoon from one of the drawers in the kitchen, and made her way to the living room.

Fire-Bitch was demanding more from them. More dust, more robberies, more sending Roman's ass into the fire and threatening him with his life, more more more. It was never ending.

And worse still, they were getting nothing from it. No reputation (No good reputation, anyways, if Fire-Bitch's mutterings about framing them for her own crimes was any indication), No riches, nothing.

Probably not even their own lives. Fire-Bitch said that she'd let them live if they did as she said, once all of her plans were complete (Whatever the hell they even were to begin with)… But Neo wasn't stupid. Neither was Roman. They were loose ends being forced into service by a woman that surely didn't like loose ends.

Neo could fight back against her. Kill her. Slit her throat and throw her into the sea as just another chunk of flotsam for the sharks to maul apart.

But she had tried that already. She, Roman, and twenty other men under his employ had tried to kill her when she had approached them with her ridiculous offer.

Twenty people had laid dead at her feet that night, and...

Neo patted her chest unconsciously, remembering the white hot feeling of a hand being pressed against her breast and bubbling the skin, burning a pathway down to her own heart.

Neo had never come quite as close to death as she had that day.

They could always run. If they hid well enough, they could settle in... Where? Vacuo? Mistral? Somewhere discreet? Somewhere hidden. Somewhere that they couldn't be found. They had enough money to do so, stored away in their safety deposit boxes in the Valerian National Banking building.

"-As well as multiple police teams diverting themselves from responding to the massacre to protect the Valerian National Banking centre, of which evidence has now confirmed to have been the central source of funding for multiple organised crime groups in Vale."

Okay, maybe not.

That had been enough to grab Neo's attention for a few moments as she turned to the TV once more, the screen showing the VNB building collapsing to the ground, a hijacked (As the news reports had confirmed) Providence shuttle flying away after having picked up around a dozen black-armoured soldiers from the rooftop as the building fell into a cloud of smoke.

The newscaster continued on, but Neo wasn't paying them any mind as she was consumed by her own thoughts.

Shit. All of their money was stored in the bank, as was the money of every other major criminal mastermind and syndicate in Vale. She and Roman had always talked about robbing the building blind one day, as one last score before moving out of the city into retirement for life.

Looks like someone had not only beaten them to it, but blew the place up behind them.

This put both her and Roman in a bad situation. With no money for themselves, Fire-Bitch would use it to her advantage and place them in an even bigger stranglehold than before. She'd probably give them empty promises to lure them in: Promises of money, power, so on, so forth.

It would also make it a lot harder to move around. She and Roman were good, but sometimes even they needed help in their jobs, no matter how incompetent that help might be (They always did make for good meat shields, at least). But without any money, they wouldn't be able to hire any of said help, nor would the syndicates that they hired from be able to keep their help.

Vigilante groups like the Alleycats (A gang that focused on the protection of sex workers from all kinds of abuse in the brothels and red light districts in Vale), the Lion's Den (Ex-White Fang members who turned to protecting Faunus refugees and the underground railroad), And the Voodoo Girls (A group of female hackers that worked to expose sex crimes and corruption within the upper ranks of Vale's elite)- Groups that didn't operate like the rest of the gangs in the city, and held themselves to a much higher moral standard- Would survive, seeing as they wouldn't dare think about laundering money and storing it away with the rest of the crime families.

But those same crime families? The likes of the Rhinos- Thugs for hire- Xiong Family- Underworld informants- Devil Runners- Drug dealers and gunrunners- and the 34 Ronin- Sex traffickers, brothel owners, and enforcers. They would take a serious hit from this all. Some of them would probably splinter apart, allowing for smaller gangs to begin recruiting and encroaching on their territory.

Then again, why was she worrying about them? If a gang war erupted into the middle of Vale, then what did she care?

Fire-Bitch would probably make her care, though. She seemed like the sort to make her do so.

Neo filed it all away for later, and picked up the container from the side, spoon jabbed into the opened top as she moved to the sofa, planning on changing the channel to something more entertaining, and-

"In other news, Providence agents on hire by the council have begun their investigation into the Gris Square massacre, including the shooting of the From Dust Till Dawn dust shop, which claimed several lives, including the infamous Roman Torchwick."

The ice cream container slipped from her hands, and onto the floor.


Acceptance into Beacon.

Jaune had wanted that more than anything- Desperately so, even, if his faked transcripts were to be of any indication- But under the context of how he had been given his chance into...

Had Ozpin even been talking to him?

He didn't know, but throughout the entire time that Ozpin- The headmaster of Beacon, apparently- Had been there, he had been looking at Ruby, not him.

He had only spared a single glance to Jaune, and it was one of... Gods above, Jaune didn't know.

So was the offer to come to Beacon early for the both of them, or just for Ruby?

It was probably the latter, seeing as Ozpin hadn't waited to hear his answer. Glynda had, but Ozpin had called her away before he could even get anything out to her.

Ruby had been all excited about it (Though she could tell that she was unhappy about the circumstances that had landed her the offer) As was Yang and Winry, But her father- Who Ozpin, Glynda, and Winry had identified as Taiyang Xiao Long (Why did Ruby not share her father or sister's last name? One more, he began to suspect that she was adopted)- Had definitely not been.

That argument hadn't been fun to sit next to.

Jaune had done his best to not listen to the conversation- They deserved their privacy- And had instead bottled himself up into his own thoughts.

How the hell was he supposed to tell his family about all of this?

He had no idea how he was supposed to articulate this all to them.

And the voices in his head had been remarkably quiet, recently.

He wasn't sure what that meant.

Changing the subject back to what it had originally been, Jaune hoped that Ruby's father would allow her to join Beacon Academy early (If that's what he could get from that conversation). She had been a great help during the day, both before and during the Gris Square shootout. She definitely deserved it more than he did.

She'd make a great Huntress.

Him, on the other hand...

He sighed, and looked out of the window. He had left Ruby and her family to calm down and come to a decision, and had decided to go out around the hospital, on a stroll of his own.

He had been forced to take a crutch, though. His ankle was still healing, as the nurses had said to him, and he would need to use a crutch for the time being. Thankfully his aura (He really needed to read up on this stuff) Was healing his ankle faster than expected, so he should only have to use one for a few days.

That was a relief, at least.

Unfortunately, he also had to have a pair of Providence mercenaries guarding him, since he was a primary suspect in the Gris Square shootout, and could possibly come under attack from whoever had tried to kill him and capture Ruby not even a few hours ago. As such, he had to deal with a pair white-armoured soldiers shadowing him constantly as he fumbled his way down the corridors of the Greater Valerian Medical Centre.

Eventually, he came to a stop by a large window looking out to the city beyond, and slipped himself down (With a wobble in his step) Onto the seats on the opposite side of the wall. Letting out a sigh of discomfort as he balanced his crutch next to his seat, all the while his Providence guards stood off to the side and kept watch over him, of which he tried to ignore as he looked out to the world beyond.

The lamps and streetlights of the city had flickered off, as had most of the lights of the world, eclipsing Vale in almost total darkness The many noises of the city were muted beyond the window and silencing themselves, the stray animals going back into hiding for the night, as did those still terrified of the explosive events of Gris Square, and everything else that had happened that night.

In the far distance, Jaune could make out the glowing orange lights and blue-to-red flashes originating from said square, and shivered at the memory of it.

High above the world of Remnant, the black sky above twinkled with glowing starlight as the shattered moon glowed a dim silver, catching the fleeting rays of the sun as it followed Remnant's shadow. The vast constellations of gathered stars and nebulas (Mother Dragon and Twin Gods, Star Side and Grimmless) Hung high above in their vast, sweeping shows, sparkling in the sky like glitter under a light.

"It's a lovely sight, is it not?"

Jaune jumped in place, and looked to the side. Standing off to the other side of him was a smiling woman with long white hair and skin as pale as snow, wearing a long black dress with long sleeves, accented in gold and silver patterns and silver roses stitched into the fabric. A rose necklace, with a red ruby in the middle and held in place by a silver chain, hung around her neck, and a gunmetal-silver wolf pendant sat in her white hair. Her black and white high-heeled shoes were hidden behind a long black skirt that had a white frilly bottom and separated into rectangular sections by golden threaded lines. The ends of her sleeves were separated and splayed out like blossoming flowers, and a small cape that acted as her dress' neck collar, and was held in place by a small silver chain with two small rubies in each end, and with its edges coloured crimson red instead of gold, covered her arms up to her elbows in a point, before extending back upwards to the napes of her neck along her back, and leaving her chest exposed as a patch of thin fabric covered the top part of her chest, almost see-through, save for the thin black fabric and thicker black lines that ran vertically though it.

But that wasn't what caught Jaune's attention.

It was her eyes.

Her eyes, that were just as silver as Ruby's.

"I don't just mean my dress, you know," the strangely dressed woman said she let something slide out of her sleeve and into her hands, before flashing it towards the Providence guards near them. A Huntress identification, it would seem. Upon seeing it, the two armoured mercenaries nodded to her, and then down the corridor, through the door, and leaving them alone to... What? What did this woman want?

Jaune looked up to the woman, and she waved off the worried look on his face as she pushed her ID back into her sleeve, "Don't worry about it. I'm a licensed Huntress. Even working at Beacon Academy, now," she looked to the side, "That, and I'm also a shareholder for Providence, so I hold some level of authority over them."

"...You were the one who ordered those guys to guard us?" by 'Us', Jaune obviously meant Ruby and himself.

"You, Ms. Rose, and everyone else in the hospital, yes," the woman nodded to him, "As soon as I saw you and your friends under fire on the newsfeed, I had called them and ordered them to take you and Ms. Rose away and place you under guard," she sighed, "Ozpin may not like it, nor Glynda, but they'll understand."

"They will?"

"Once I explain it to them, yes."

Jaune looked up to the woman.

The woman chuckled, and extended a hand down to him, "My name is Baobhan Sith."

Jaune took it into his own and shook it. He wasn't sure why. Politeness, maybe, "You're really a Huntress?"

"Yes."

"Er..."

The woman- 'Baobhan Sith'- Tilted her head to the side, "Is something wrong?"

"It's just... Is that dress... Really practical?"

"Hm?"

Jaune couldn't help himself, "You look more like an evil princess than a fighter."

For some reason, Baobhan seemed to freeze up for a single moment, displaying something over her face, before her smile returned and she laughed, patting him on the shoulder as she sat down next to him and put her hands on her lap, "Yes, I suppose so, don't I?" she looked over herself, and then back to him, "Don't worry: This is just my casual outfit. I wouldn't go out into combat dressed like this."

"Hm," Jaune couldn't help but hum, before adding, "I did hear earlier today that dressing extravagantly was an unspoken rule for Huntsmen."

"That it is," Baobhan chuckled, "But fear not, I am a Huntress indeed, working for Beacon Academy. Head psychiatrist and therapist, actually," Jaune looked at her in surprise, and Baobhan continued on, "Hey, even the best of the best need someone to talk to, after all," she then got up from her seat, and motioned for him to follow, "Want to look out of the window together?"

"Erm, is that..."

"Don't worry, the windows have been double, triple, and quadruple-reinforced over the years. Nothing short of a tank round would be able to punch through these walls and windows," Jaune looked confused as he grabbed his crutch and followed her to the window. Baobhan continued on, "You aren't the first inspiring Huntsman-in-training, or Huntsman at all, to grace these walls. We can only hope that you will be the last, then."

Jaune paused, looked downwards at his feet- Or at least, the one foot that he had been able to plant on the ground, and his crutch- And then prodded himself forwards, stumbling awkwardly towards the window and taking his place next to Baobhan as they both looked outwards and upwards, to the pitch-black sky and the stars that sparkled like glitter.

"It's a lovely sight, isn't it?" Baobhan said to him, to which Jaune nodded. She continued, "The sky draping over the city, like a curtain draping over a stage, indicating that this act in the play of our lives is over," she traced a finger over the constellations, "It causes you to wonder, doesn't it? Did the gods make the universe beyond us? Did they create anything at all? And what lies beyond our world? What lies beyond the stage that is the play of our lives? What is there to see..."

Her smile widened.

"And what is ours to claim?"

Jaune paused, and looked at her, "Actually... I've never thought about that kind of stuff before."

Baobhan blinked, and then looked to him, "Really?"

"Er... Yeah."

"...Ah," Baobhan nodded, "I see," before looking back to the window, her smile still on her face, "Well, I suppose that not everyone shares the same philosophical viewpoints as I do," she sighed, "I do long for an intellectually conversation some day, so I apologise for projecting onto you slightly, Mr. Arc."

"Ah... N-No problem," Jaune fumbled in response, sparing a few moments to look out of the window once more, before his brain caught up with him, and he then looked up back to the older woman next to him, "Wait, you know my name?"

"You are Jaune Arc, are you not?" Baobhan sith's smile didn't change as Jaune nodded, "Of course you are. I read your transcripts, after all. You are attempting to attend Beacon Academy, after all, and I make it a personal mission to read all of the transcripts of every student attempting to gain entry into the academy."

"O-Oh," Jaune paused, scratching the back of his head, "I... I see."

Baobhan nodded, and then asked, "Have you considered Ozpin's request?"

"Huh?"

"For you both to enter Beacon Academy?"

"Ah," Jaune replied, taking time to consider his answer, before going, "Well, I don't... I don't think that his offer was for me."

"...What makes you say that?"

Was that... Frustration in her voice?

"I just... I don't think Ozpin was talking to me. I mean... He didn't really look at me at all, so..."

"..."

"...Plus, I mean... I had already submitted my transcripts, haven't I? And Ozpin- He was talking to Ruby about allowing her to enter Beacon early, like, a few years ahead of what's proper, so... Yeah."

"He didn't even address you?"

"Um... No. Not really?"

"Did he even look at you?"

"Um... Once."

Baobhan's smile turned into a deep frown.

"I see."

"...Um-"

"I'll have a word with him, don't worry," Baobhan's smile returned, and she patted his shoulder, "I'll put in a good word for you."

"...R-Really?"

"I saw what you did in Gris Square. How you helped out. You would make a great addition to the ranks of Beacon Academy," she nodded to him, "Trust me when I say that you'll be getting into Beacon just fine."

"...I didn't do anything back in Gris Square, though," Jaune looked downwards, a miserable expression on his face as he recounted, "Nothing good, though."

"I would say otherwise."

"I spent half the time unconscious."

"An exaggeration."

"But still the truth."

"Not entirely. You helped to save several lives during that fight."

"'Helped'?" Jaune looked to her in angst, "Those people still died!"

"Due to unseen circumstances that neither you or Ms. Rose could've known about," was Baobhan's calm reply, "Neither you, your companion, or anyone else, could've known that the police forces in Gris Square were corrupt and working with the people attacking you."

She tilted her head to the side.

"And you did did save a life that night, did you not? If you hadn't had pushed that girl-"

Emerald, he thought to himself.

"-Out of the way and taken that bullet for her- Of which I would ask that you do not make a habit of- She would've died instantly."

"..." Jaune didn't have an answer for that.

Baobhan patted him on the shoulder once more, "I have to go. There's always work to do, but I'll make sure to talk to Ozpin about his conduct tonight. Headmaster or not, he should always remember to be civil with victims in a stressful situation."

"He's probably in the middle of a stressful situation himself," Jaune defended the headmaster, despite his own unease about the man.

"Be that as it may be, he still deserves a talking to," Baobhan replied with a kind look on her face as she moved to leave, "Have a good night, Jaune Arc. If you need anything, let the hospital staff know, but until then, I'll be seeing you in Beacon at the end of the week."

"W-Wait," Jaune's voice got her to stop as she looked to him, "I... My parents... I still need to... Tell them about what happened tonight... And I don't know how."

"...Ah," Baobhan waved it off, "Don't worry about that, Mr. Arc."

"...Huh?"

"Mmhm," Baobhan hummed back, "They called earlier. Your family. I informed them of the situation, and resolved the issue handily."

"...Uh?"

Baobhan nodded again with a polite curtsey, "Your family wishes you well," and before Jaune could say anything else, she was gone.

"...Huh."

Jaune balanced himself against his crutch in the lonely hallway, and turned back to the great curtain of stars and deep-black shine in the sky, wondering, pondering, and staring outwards, his eyes glistening with the stars as they hung high in the air above them.

Above him.

He closed his eyes, and found himself daydreaming about standing in a sea of stars and nebulas, of swirling clouds of gas and stretching arms of galaxies commingling together. He didn't know why, but he found his suddenly empty mind- Bereft of any intruding voices in his head- Being welcomed into the sea of colourful creation, the arms of a woman in a black and green cloak welcoming and sheltering him in their embrace and-

HELLO?

Jaune jumped. He landed awkwardly on his bad ankle and fell awkwardly onto the floor with a loud {THUD}.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

The same pair of Providence soldiers (Or were they? He couldn't tell. Their armour gave no any indication, or had any identifying marks on them) Rushed back into the room, and scanned the room and the windows, finding nothing on any feeds (If their constant tapping on the sides of their helmets was any indication), Before lowering the barrels of their carbines to the floor and pulling Jaune up from the floor, most likely coming to the conclusion that he had merely slipped and fell.

CAN YOU HEAR US?

A third Providence soldier- A red and white soldier with a red pauldron- Poked himself through the door and into the hallway, and seemed to be having a conversation with the other two soldiers pulling Jaune onto his feet- Or good foot and crutch, more realistically.

But Jaune didn't pay mind to any of them as his mind began to retreat inwards. The voices were back, but... They were...

Different.

More.

They were more.

Who are you?

A long pause.

US?

WE ARE THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD.


Mercury tried his best to ignore the screams and sobs from the room opposite him.

The room around him was dark and dull, the walls a faded grey and brown and dressed with only a low-grade, boxy television in the corner, and a round table with three chairs in the middle, with a door on the left and right sides of the room, and all of it lit by a naked bulb above him.

And nothing else.

It reminded him of home.

And he had hated his home.

As much as he hated the screams coming from the other room.

He placed his hands on the table before him, and found that one of his fingers was tapping endlessly against the chipped plastic underneath him.

Stop it.

His finger didn't stop.

Stop it.

It didn't stop.

Another scream. All pain, and nothing more.

Stop it.

He clenched his hands, and the tapping stopped.

On any other day, he would've tried to distract himself by training- Sparring with an invisible partner, and imagining them with his father's face- Or by tweaking and adjusting his mechanical legs, loosening then tightening the screws countless times, replacing the bolts and springs and metal locks with each maintenance check, and testing the metal limbs that had become his own through running and walking and jumping up and down on them.

He had done it countless times before, both under the guidance of his bastard of a dad (Accompanied by a glass bottle to the head if he ever got the routine wrong), And countless times after, so it should be easy enough for him to get sucked into it.

But today was different.

Today it felt more like the home that he had left behind than anything else, sans the beer stains and smell of oxidising metal, and more the smell of burnt meat, bubbling mud, and musky stench leaking from the room nearby.

Actually, that last part was normal in his old home, only it wasn't his father using his mother this time...

It was Cinder... Using Emerald.

Another gargled scream. Another round of kindly cruel words flowed from the door, too muffled for Mercury to make out, but he knew them to be viper-tongued and venomously disguised as sweet whispers. That was how manipulators worked, after all.

He should know. He had a great deal of experience. At least on the receiving end of it.

Mercury knew that Emerald had looked up to Cinder, for 'Rescuing' her from poverty- For giving her a purpose in her life- As she had put it, and had given her absolute loyalty to her, up until tonight. Maybe the green-haired girl thought that Cinder wouldn't mind her actions, even though it was clear that she would.

But this...

Why would Cinder willingly throw away the loyalty of Emerald- Her once, and probably still, most loyal follower- Like this?

Maybe it was a form of cruel torture? Mercury suspected that Emerald had wanted to get dirty with Cinder. Perhaps she knew, and performed the deed as a form of ironic punishment?

Maybe it was because she thought that she just could?

It seemed like something that she would think- Being cruel for the sake of cruelty seemed like her modus operandi- Or maybe...

Maybe she thought that this would make Emerald fear her, and somehow make her more cooperative as well...

That also seemed like something that Cinder would do.

Maybe it was both, or neither. Mercury didn't know, nor did he want to. If there was something that he had learnt over the time that he had been under Cinder's thumb, it was that the woman with dreams of deranged godhood operated on a completely different set of morals than he did- Than anyone did. A completely different morality, ethics, so on, so forth.

Cinder operated in her own world, that much he knew. A world where everything was for Cinder, owed to Cinder, and belonged to Cinder.

And he and Emerald?

Nothing more than unwanted disposables in a world that didn't want them.

The noises stopped.

Silence.

Mercury dared to look to the door on the other side of the room.

More silence.

Then, the door opened, and Cinder walked out, her outfit back on and her hands reddened with heat and moisture, her feet tip-tapping against the floor as she walked with faux-elegance, mixing with the soft whimpers and pained sobs filtering out from the room nearby.

"Mercury."

He froze, and hated himself for it.

"Let this be a lesson to you too."

A hot hand rested on his shoulder. He didn't look to her, but could guess the smiling, all-teeth expression on her face.

"Remember who your loyalties lie with... And you will not suffer as she has."

At least refer to her by her name, Mercury thought to himself, surprising himself with his display of empathy.

Cinder walked through the opposite door without a second thought to anything else, and was gone. With her departure, Mercury dared to get up from his seat and look into the hot and musky room, doing his best to ignore the horrid smell as he walked in and-

There was a single bed in the room, and nothing else, with burnt sheets stained with blackened marks and patches of blood and bodily juices. Curled up on the bed itself was his partner- Emerald Sustrai- Lying in the nude and splayed out, dull-eyed and panting heavily with wet, ragged breaths.

It might've been an erotic sight, had it not been for the ugly burn marks covering her.

Large patches of bubbled and blackened skin covered her body, creating holes and chasms in her flesh that were coloured a burnt red and black tunnelling into her skin, all the way down to the milky-white bone and layers of fat underneath. Muscles and tendons were visible underneath the peeled skin as other parts of her flesh bulged like bubbles, and her left breast- Where her heart should be- Had a red handprint over it, her nipple singed and the flesh bubbled and peeled, blackened and scabbing over. A line of droll left Emerald's mouth and trailed down her face, as tears leaked out of her eyes in ragged sobs. Around one of her eyes were burn marks, with the skin around her eyelid peeled, as if Cinder had been debating on gouging her eye out with a hot finger before deciding against it. Her legs had been wedged open forcefully, and her genitals had been burnt and sliced open. It was as if Cinder had run a hot knife across them, from her clit to her rectum, before forcing the blade inside both of them. Blood flowed out of them both as a green glow- Her aura- Began to cover her body, beginning the process of healing it all.

On the floor was a pair of aura cuffs. Cinder had been depriving Emerald of her aura throughout her torture.

Mercury sat on the bed next to her, and Emerald flinched from the sagging of the bed. He extended a hand towards Emerald's shaking form, and let it gently touch against her-

Emerald screamed, and retreated back to the other side of the bed, curling up on herself as she whined in pain.

"Nooooooooo..." she slowly groaned as she rocked back and forth on the bed, quietly repeating to herself as she cried, "I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good I'll be good-"

Mercury winced at the sight. It reminded him of his mother, as much as he loathed the woman himself, even when she was gone, "Emerald..."

"I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love I love you because this is love-"

"Emerald, it's me. Mercury."

But Emerald didn't hear him. Or didn't register him. One or the other. She just continued to rock herself back and forth in place, mumbling and crying to herself as her aura continued to smooth out and heal her skin, filling in the reddened burnt chasms and stitching together the cut and exposed muscle.

Cinder hadn't forced any injuries onto her that couldn't be healed with her aura, at least, meaning that she wouldn't need to go to the doctors for medical assistance. None of the legal ones, at least.

But that was for physical injuries.

Psychological, on the other hand?

Mercury knew, as he sat at Emerald's side, that those would never fade.


"You have to let him into Beacon."

"No I do not."

"Yes you do. You are under political and moral obligation to do so."

"Mr. Arc does not possess the correct credentials to-"

"Neither does Ruby Rose, let you're letting her advance two years ahead of time into Beacon Academy, and conveniently ignoring how it will damage her mental health and wellbeing from abandoning her friends in Signal Academy via being forced up two years in terms of learning and training, and forcing her to cram in a lot more information than is normally healthy for a Huntress in training."

"He has faked his transcripts-"

"So has Blake Belladonna, of which we know her to be a former member of a terrorist group, and yet not only are you allowing her into Beacon Academy as well, but you are ignoring all of the legal procedures that go along with it."

"Baobhan-"

Baobhan Sith didn't let Ozpin get a word in as she continued on, dominating the conversation, "Don't be coy with me, Ozpin. If you are so intent on letting Ruby Rose into Beacon Academy after all of this, then you must let Jaune Arc in as well."

They were in a backroom of the GVMC together, dark and empty as they chatted to each other. A single television hung on the wall as a dim set of lights gave a gentle glow in the ceiling above them. The room was insulated, thankfully, so no one could listen to their conversation, and the door was locked, making sure that no one could barge in on them as well.

Ozpin continued on, "I have every right to decline a student from entering my academy if I see fit."

"Jaune Arc has potential within him. I have seen it, and you have surely seen it as well."

"That does not mean-"

"So you admit it."

Ozpin frowned at Baobhan, "You know why I cannot accept Jaune Arc into Beacon Academy, Baobhan."

"No, Ozpin, with all due respect, I do not," Baobhan frowned back, "Nor will the public either," she didn't wait for him to ask what she meant, "If you deny Jaune Arc entry into Beacon Academy, yet allow Ruby Rose the chance to advance two years early in his place, how will that look in the eyes of the media? In the public? They are both victims of an incredibly psychologically traumatising experience, and should be given the same treatment and benefits in order to recover, yet if you go through with this, it will be seen as unjust favouritism and professional neglect of a victim in favour of another. If you allow them both to enter the academy, then people will be willing to look the other way to Ruby advancing two years ahead for her protection. That's how we can cast it for the both of them. The same will not be said if you bring in one and not the other."

A pause.

"It is the right thing to do, Ozpin."

Ozpin didn't give a verbal reply. Instead, he fished out his scroll from his pocket, turned it on, and showed it to her. Baobhan, with a raised eyebrow, took the scroll into his hands, and showed it to her, revealing it to be a text chat between him and one of his closest allies.

Qrow:
Queen has pawns

Ozpin:
Is it these two?

Beneath Ozpin's message were two photos. One of the silver-haired boy- Mercury- And another of the green-haired, dark-skinned girl- Emerald.

Qrow:
Two of them, yeah. They and their boss almost killed Amber

The 'Amber' being referred to was of course Amber Autumn, the current Fall Maiden and on life support in Beacon's vault after a debilitating attack from Salem's minions.

Baobhan looked up to Ozpin, "These two had helped to debilitate Amber?" upon Ozpin's nod, the pieces came together, "You believe him to be an agent of Salem, don't you?"

"Two confirmed associates of the queen- Of Salem- Abandon any pretences of hiding to assist in rescuing a random boy- Who very much faked his transcripts into Beacon Academy- In the middle of a battlefield, with no apparent gain for themselves? Yes, I very much believe so."

"Ozpin, that's flimsy evidence-"

"But evidence enough," Ozpin turned away from her, "He was aware of two of Salem's agents. Not just that, but they had a vested interest in making sure that he was healed as well. I cannot overlook this as proof that he has some sort of connection to the queen as well."

"Ozpin, you saw the video feed from the news Bullheads," Baobhan argued back, "You saw how he looked during the fight. He was scared, confused. He didn't want to be there. He and Ruby tried to save people. He did save a person-"

"An agent of Salem."

"-At the cost of almost dying himself, and even then, he was shot in the foot- In the ankle. Those soldiers were perfectly willing to kill him in order to get Ruby Rose to surrender. Those soldiers who, I needn't remind you, confirmed their loyalties to be with Salem themselves."

Ozpin frowned, and looked away, "Why would she do that?" he muttered to himself, "Why would her agents do that? They've never operated so openly before- Never so recklessly- And why attack their own agents?"

"Don't change the subject, Ozpin," Baobhan pointed a finger to him, "What's this all about, because I know for a fact that there is something else on your mind about him, so don't try to weasel your way out of this talk."

"...His cloak."

Baobhan thought back to Jaune's once-white, now stained red (And currently being washed) White cloak and hood, "What about it?"

"It has Summer Rose's emblem on the back."

"He has a white cloak with a rose on the back?" Baobhan scoffed, "Truly, such damning evidence."

"The rose emblem of his cloak is identical to both Ruby Rose and Summer Rose's emblems," Ozpin pointed out, "Down to the individual curves and edges."

"...Ah," Baobhan went."

"Indeed."

"...It could be a coincidence."

"It can't be."

"We don't know anything for certain."

"But what we do know is that Jaune Arc- An orphan who was adopted into his family only a decade ago, mind you, which is 2 years before Summer Rose went missing- Has an identical white cloak like Summer Rose, and has the same insignia as Summer Rose, which is why I have to take precautions and not allow him into Beacon Academy."

"That's out of the question, Ozpin, and you know it. In the very, very unlikely chance that he is an agent of Salem, how would you be able to monitor him? We can't let him into the wild for Salem's agents to pick him up. We need to keep him in Beacon Academy," Ozpin moved to say something, but Baobhan cut him off, "I know you've probably encountered something like this before, but we have to take the risk. If you're so paranoid about it, then you can bring in that Huntress from Mantle- The one with the lie detector semblance- And question him, but I doubt that you will find much. However, if you do, you are not allowed to harm him in any way. I won't allow it."

Ozpin frowned, "You know I won't do that."

"The torture? Good, because if you did, then I would walk," Ozpin looked at her with wide eyes, "I'm serious, Ozpin. I would be done. Gone. If you harm the boy, your only experienced Silver-Eyed Warrior, and school therapist, would be gone," she gestured to her silver-shaded eyes, "And I don't think you'd like that, would you?"

"..." Ozpin turned to the wall with the television in it, and picked up the remote, "...Do you see what's being broadcast all over the news?"

Baobhan crossed her arms, "I've had a look."

Ozpin turned on the TV, and changed it to a news channel. Immediately, the image of Lisa Lavender, sitting behind a desk, blurted out, "-Eager to see Providence soldiers replace the roles of former corrupt police officers, though others within the council have blocked this bill from taking place, most notably Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy, who, in the past, has cited the Huntsmen to be a superior fighting and defence force than any military force in the world, both in the past and present. However, due to the intervention of Providence agents- Acting as part of a private military organisation- In the very recent Gris Square Massacre in the absence of any Huntsmen officials, save for but a single licensed Huntress, many sceptics are beginning to express their doubts as to the veracity of these claims."

Baobhan could see Ozpin's frown deepen at this.

"However, in spite of all of this, the intentions and objectives of the attackers- Now confirmed by investigators to be the paramilitary terrorist group known as the Black Hand- Are still unknown, as is their backer. For now, all we can ask is:

"Who is Salem?"

Ozpin turned off the television, and looked back to Baobhan, "The Black Hand. That's who our attackers were. Who Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc's attackers were. They were originally a militia group attached to a Huntsman guild before turning terrorist-for-hire, but I was running under the impression that they were all wiped out by the Atlesian military when they were hired by the White Fang to raid an SDC shipping train, and even then, they were a disorganised rabble with guns, not an organised fighting force like we have seen today," he sighed, "Clearly our enemy has changed that."

He clenched his fist.

"I was asked by five different reporters on my way down here on if I knew anything about Salem. Five."

He looked away from her, to the windows nearby, their curtains pulled and covering the windows.

"Salem is making her move now, She has who knows how many agents in Vale alone, and we need to act accordingly, with every asset that we have available," Ozpin looked back to Baobhan, "I need you here, Baobhan, more than ever. I can't afford to loose you now."

She blinked her silver eyes and said, "Then allow Jaune to enter Beacon Academy as well as Ruby. We can keep him under watch if you want, but you have to give him the chance."

"...Very well," Ozpin caved in, "I shall allow him to take the same initiation as-"

"No," Baobhan cut him off with. Ozpin looked at her, and she continued, "I'm not blind, Ozpin. There is no way you'd risk our only other Silver-Eyed Warrior by flinging her into a forest filled with Grimm. Not after tonight. You'll be having her undergo her own initiation process within Beacon, under your own watchful eye. And if you are willing to afford these special privileges to Ruby Rose, then you must do the same to Jaune Arc, to make it fair," a pause, "Besides, Jaune wouldn't be able to go through initiation anyways- Not when he is still recovering from the knowledge of having killed someone tonight, as well as his currently poor, very much fragile mental state to boot. He can't go through initiation- It might traumatise him even more."

Ozpin clasped his hands together, "That would be seen as favouritism by the more prideful of our number."

"So would allowing Ruby to go through these special processes on her own. Besides, I thought that you, of all people, were above such petty politics."

"Were you not just warning me about politics and favouritism as well?"

"I said petty politics, not politics in general."

Ozpin sighed, and relented once more, "You are right of course," and placed his hand on Baobhan's shoulder, "Thank you, Baobhan. It pains me that I sometimes forget about the needs of my own students," he took his hand away, and looked approvingly at her, "I'm glad that I brought you in as head therapist in Beacon."

Baobhan couldn't help but smile back at him as she nodded, "Just trying to do my part in this war, Ozpin."

"Yes, unfortunately, that is true for all of us," Ozpin nodded back, before turning to leave, "I hereby place you on Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc's cases. Take extra care with Ruby, however. Teach her about the importance of her eyes. and everything else that goes along with it. I would've liked to have let her live her life a little bit longer, but with Salem's agents gunning for her now, time was a luxury that none of us have any longer."

Baobhan Sith nodded to him as he unlocked the door and left.

"Don't worry, Ozpin... I won't let you down."


Once the ramp of their stolen attack shuttle descended (The police and other forces having lost their trail ages ago), Jaracas, the Aspect of Forgiveness, stepped out, and onto the floor of their underground base of operations.

They were home.

Waving his hand behind him, he indicated for Draugr, the Aspect of Interest, and Cihuateteo, the Aspect of Awe, to follow him to their base's central command hub. The rest of his men in the Black Hand, however, were to go and rest, recuperate in their bunks, and see to it that they are well again.

As they walked out of the large hanger bay, Jaracas looked to the far side and saw his fellow aspect and brother, Hsi-Hsue-Kue, the Aspect of Pride, overseeing construction of a series of tanks made out of scraps and remains. Built around the frame of the tanks built by the Mistralian weapon artisans of the Great War, they were incredibly compact hover-vehicles with spade-shaped lower hulls and a lighter, more rounded and elongated hull on top that leant backwards slightly, with a pair of cannons held on long arms on both its left and right, a smaller gun in place of a central frontal port- An anti-infantry gun, it would seem- And a larger, rectangular cannon on the side, that Jaracas knew was part mecha-shift, as much as he hated the concept of mecha-shift at all: The top of the tank could quickly transform from a large barrelled cannon to a wide energy mortar, according to Hsi-Hsue-Kue's specs.

And they were painting them in the colours of the White Fang, emblem and all.

Jaracas sent a whistle over to him, and Hsi-Hsue-Kue heard it. Within moments, the lumbering giant- A hulking brute in bulky blue and black armour and robes, with glowing yellow patterns covering him, a gasmask-like helmet with glowing yellow optics, and a pair of large cylinders on his back with a unhealthy blue glow to them that connected to a large cannon that he had slung to his back- Was with them, his feet thudding against the ground every time he took a step.

Nearby, the twin Aspects of Amusement, Lamia and Lilith, having just arrived from their business meetings in Vale it would seem, had finished removing their contacts- Revealing their real eye colour to the world- And had washed out the dye from their hair, allowing their green-coloured locks to flow free, Lamia with her unbound hair, white dress and black skirt, and Lilith with her ponytail, black hair ribbon, beige shirt and blue jeans. They joined them shortly afterwards.

Then, Draugr ran forward and hugged the rapidly approaching Upyr, the Aspect of Joy-

The youngest of the Aspects, about twelve years of age, dressed in a smart pair of work trousers and a blue shirt with a collar, almost like a school uniform, and with deep black hair, sharpened fangs for teeth, an elongated tongue and a very, very wide, snapping maw that reached all the way up to his ears.

-Leapt into her happy arms, his jaw snapping with rabid gusto as wet splatters of blood leaked from his mouth and down his shirt. He had just finished feeding on new prey, then. Jaracas liked to think it was a wild animal that he had caught, but chances were it was one of the human or Faunus prisoners that he had been feeding from.

Oh well, they were all criminals anyways.

(It was the fault of his semblance, mixed with a blood deficiency that he had been born with. It all constantly burnt out the blood in his system, leaving him with a constant need to replace it that soon evolved from injections and blood bags to draining the blood from his victims in an insatiable, unquenchable thirst.

But his fellow Aspects- His brothers and sisters- Still loved him all the same, even if they did get slightly vexed by the amount of times they had to let him feast on their own blood.)

Passing down a corridor- With Upyr following them as Draugr took hold of the chain around his neck and pulled him along- Jaracas noted Kasha, the Aspect of Serenity- A boy dressed in boxy blue armour with yellow and red patterns on him, a tape recorder-like attachment in his chest, a helmet with red visor and silver faceplate hiding his true face, and a large cannon on his right shoulder- Talking over a scrollpad on a direct line to Lisa Lavender and Cyril Ian about headlines and how to cast more blame over Ozpin and his Huntsmen.

("I was thinking, something like 'Providence Succeed Where Huntsmen Fails!' Something like that," Lisa said over the line.

Kasha nodded, but then added in, "Yo, you change 'Huntsman' to 'Ozpin', then we'll be in business, you dig?"

"Of course, my god.")

With another whistle, Jaracas caught his attention, and he said goodbye to his call, hung up, and followed them along.

Soon, they came across the rounded door to the command hub of their base, and pressed the button to the door. After a few moments, the red light above the button flashed green, and the door slid open.

There was the holographic projection of Baobhan Sith, the Aspect of Inspiration, and their overall leader, standing in the middle of the room on an elevated podium, surrounded by techies and engineers working at consoles and computers as she spoke to the second-to-last of the Aspects of Emotion, Jiang Shi, the Aspect of Love, whom was also a holographic projection.

The Aspects stepped through, and Baobhan took notice of them. With a wave of her hand, the engineers and techies stood up and vacated the room. The command hub was theirs now, alone, save for the company of each other.

And as brothers and sisters, they relished in it.

As they spread themselves out around the holograms, Jaracas took the initiative and removed his black and green helmet, looking Baobhan in the eyes as he asked, "Well... Did I do well? is the objective complete?"

"Oh," Baobhan smiled, "Jaracas, brother dearest... You did spectacularly."

She laughed.

"Ozpin truly believes that you are working for Salem."

It had been a bit of a touch-and-go plan, in all honesty. In fact, when Baobhan had hatched the plan to him, Jaracas had had his doubts about it, of which he hadn't been afraid to voice them. That led to some revisions and improvements, but still, it had been a plan that involved a lot of winging it and improvisation.

Which seemed to be a staple of a lot of their plans, in all honesty.

On paper, it was fairly simple. Jaracas and his men in the Black Hand had been sent to not only to eliminate Roman Torchwick in the From Dust Till Dawn dust store- Thereby removing a critical piece from the creature known as Cinder Fall's chessboard- But also convince Ozpin that Ruby Rose is in immediate danger, thereby bringing both her and Jaune Arc directly into Beacon, and under Baobhan's thumb.

Like said before, it had all been touch and go, and Jaracas was deeply regretful for the harm that he had brought onto Jaune Arc (His stomach churned and made him want to throw up just from thinking about it), But when push came to shove, it was an act that, while regretful, still needed to happen.

Really, they hadn't even been serious about capturing Ruby or Jaune, but they would've if given the chance.

That was the thing about a lot of their plans: They would always benefit in some way from them. If they had captured Jaune and Ruby: Big win. If they hadn't, then they still would be going into Beacon Academy together, so: Big win.

But everything else that had happened tonight...

That had been very unexpected.

"I'm sorry," Jaracas found himself saying as his rifle- Which he had been carrying all this time- Sagged in his arms, "For all of the death, I mean. I didn't expect the creatures pets to show up, and I just lost focus of the mission and-"

"Hey hey hey," Baobhan waved his concerns away, "Don't worry about it so much, okay? It's not your fault. I mean, none of us knew that Emerald and Mercury were going to intervene in the fight, and all plans have an element of uncertainty in them- Ours certainly always do- So there's nothing to worry about, okay? It's not your fault."

Jaracas sagged his head down.

"Hey, look at me," he did, and came face to face with Baobhan's kind eyes and face, if only a holographic variant of it, "It's not your fault, okay? It's all alright now, okay? You did good, little brother. You did good."

"...Really?"

"Really."

Jaracas couldn't help but smile as he shuffled awkwardly on the spot, "Thanks, big sis. Really, you're the best."

As the other Aspects offered their own congratulations and comforts to Jaracas (Including Upyr, who hugged his leg excitedly and tried to sink his teeth though his armour and into the skin and flesh underneath, though Draugr quickly pulled him back), Baobhan flushed with her own embarrassment, "Oh, shush you, I'm really not that great, I..."

Memories flashed before her. Before all of them. Uncomfortable memories. Memories that they didn't want to think about ever again.

Baobhan shook her head and recollected herself. Looking back to them, she sent one last comforting smile to Jaracas, before turning to the other Aspects and going, "Who else has something to report? Lamia?"

"Our contacts in the underworld are helping to spread our doctrine," Lamia replied with, "And we've received statistics on what will happen to the criminal syndicates across Remnant now that all of their money's gone from Miltia and Melanie," she presented a folder of documents that she had been holding in her hand, "Neither of them think that it will be one-hundred percent accurate, and in truth, neither do I, but it should be be close at least," she lowered her arm, "On a side note, Yang Xiao Long left Junior's nightclub without starting a fight. Did she intervene in the Gris Square fight? I couldn't tell. The signal on my scroll was choppy."

"No, she didn't. She was held up by other police forces that we own," Cihuateteo said, presenting the scrollpad in his arms to them, "I was checking the traffic cameras during our heist in the Valerian National Banking centre," he then turned to Lamia, "Hey, pass me your scroll. I'll sort out the signal for you."

"Aw, thanks lil' bro!" Lamia chirped happily as she handed her brother her scroll, "I knew that I could always rely on you!"

"Implying that you didn't know that before?"

"Oh shush, you too," Draugr said to them, pulling Upyr closer to her by his chain, before she then saluted with her free hand and reported, "On a related note, we successfully demolished the contents of the Valerian National Banking centre. As well as the bank. And every other mob bank across the world, if the reports that I got from our agents across the world are to be believed."

"Yeah, I saw that on the news," Hsi-Hsue-Kue whined as he stomped his feet against the ground, "How come you got to go blow stuff up!? I wanted to blow stuff up! But no, you say, I have to stay here 'n' build tanks for the White Fang! D'you know how boring that is?!"

"I thought you liked building stuff that blew things up?"

"Only when I get to use 'em, otherwise what's the point?!"

"On a related note of my own," Lilith cut through the conversation with as she stepped forwards, "Adam Taurus was much more cooperative than I would've thought he was, considering his deal with the creature. All I had to do was display my terms and what he would get if he succeeded, and he was completely on board! He's already contacting his most loyal agents in the White Fang as we speak to prepare for our attacks, and many in the White Fang are flocking to join him as we speak," she smiled, "Say what you want about Adam Taurus, but he is most definitely the charismatic type."

"Just make sure he doesn't grow too powerful," Baobhan warned, "We don't want to loose too many of our men in Providence to him, no matter how much we want to make it look genuine."

"Of course, big sis."

There was a pause on Baobhan's end, before she asked, "What do you make of his chances, anyways? In regards to his personal objective?"

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not," Baobhan conceded, "As long as it doesn't interfere with our actual objective," she then turned to Kasha, and asked, "What about you, Kasha? How goes our propaganda engine?"

"We're already got new tunes on the airwaves," Kasha sounded off with his electronic undertone, "Either bringing new and old DJs onto our dancefloor, or cutting them loose. Party ain't big enough for toxic influencers, you dig?"

"Hah, yeah, I dig all right," Baobhan nodded back to him with a smile.

"Need... Meat..." Upyr purred ravenously as he licked up the blood around his lips, "Need... Fresh... Blood."

Draugr pulled on his chain, calming the boy instantly, "You've already had enough to eat and drink from the looks of it. Alter's already given you loads of food and blood. If you eat anymore, you'll get stomach pains again."

"Draugr is right, of course," Baobhan said to their youngest brother with a parental tone in her voice, "You don't want to get another tummy ache now, do you?"

Upyr whined in mild, dissatisfied annoyance, but acquiesced to her point.

Baobhan, meanwhile, turned herself back to her brother and sister Aspects, watching all of their silver eyes twinkle under the light, and said to them, "Our divine machine has blessed us this day with such good fortune. Let us see that it is not put to waste," she gestured towards the door, "Go. Go rest yourselves and be sorted. It has been a long night, and we should all be rested for the days to come," a nod to them, and she smiled, "I love you all."

"Love ya too, sis."

"See you... When fresh blood for me."

"Let's all make music in the morning!"

"You might want to phrase that better. I'd rather not be doing that with my brothers and sisters. Non-related people, on the other hand..."

"I'm afraid that I will have to decline that proposition. I have my mechanics to tend to."

"Let us all-"

"-Rest our weary heads."

"I hate it when you both do your creepy twin thing."

Jiang Shi, having not said a word since they all arrived, simply nodded to all of them, and shut off her holographic feed.

As they all filtered out of the room and left the command hub cold and empty, waving and saying their goodbyes to their leader and elder sister, Baobhan cut off her feed-


-And fell back into the single-seat sofa in her dark personal quarters in Beacon Academy, a desk lamp giving light to her room as she picked up a cup from the wooden table next to her chair and took a sip of the drink within.

Herbal tea. Glynda had introduced it to her. Lovely stuff. She'd have to get a gift for her to make up for it.

She down the whole thing, put down her cup, and smiled.

Everything was going smoothly.

With Salem framed for the events in Gris Square, and Jaune and Ruby (Bless their souls, she hated how she had put then through all of that) Thrown into the middle of it, Ozpin would become desperate and paranoid, which will soon only increase as their plans continued.

Fortunately, he would be looking in all of the wrong places.

In fact, he might even accept their influence, and welcome it into his academy- Into his fold- In his desperate battle against Salem.

Oh, how Baobhan hated them both.

However, she didn't hate Ruby and Jaune. Ruby and Orion. No no no, she loved them dearly. She really did.

But she didn't know why the latter of the two had a white cloak, just like Summer Rose.

Or why he knew Emerald Sustrai, apparently.

Those were oddities that she hadn't predicted or calculated for.

Oh well, they would be taken into account now. They would be incorporated in their plans and designs.

It would all be accounted for.

She smiled. As head psychiatrist and therapist in Beacon Academy, it left her with... A unique position to take advantage of.

And as the personal head of not only Ruby's training and therapy, but Orion's as well, it presented her with an even greater position.

Her smile widened, and her silver eyes glistened in the dim light of her empty room.

She thought of her position within Beacon Academy. A good position indeed.

She thought of herself and her fellow aspects. They were all in greater positions as well.

But more than that...

She thought about chaos.

Chaos brought destruction, but it also brought rebirth.

If that was true, then Baobhan couldn't wait to flood the world with chaos.

The Cult of Silver would be ascendant.

And there would be no one that could stand in their way.

She leant back in her chair, and hummed to herself peacefully.

She couldn't wait to show Orion and Ruby- Two of the people that she loved most in the world- The bright future that they would bring.


Reviewer response time:

ReDestrobo: Yeah, Cinder's a bad guy, and she's proven herself to be a particularly vile bad guy. No amount of sympathy is going to change that in my eyes.

Fyr RedNight: Thanks! I'm really glad that you enjoyed!

VV: Oh trust me, further down the line, Cinder is going to get what's coming to her...

firewyrm2: Yes. Yes it did.

firewyrm2 (Again): Perhaps they will team up. Perhaps they won't. Who knows?

firewyrm2: (Again again): I have to be honest with you, I forgot about Crescent Rose after it was shot out of Ruby's hand in the dust store. Woops.


For anyone that doesn't remember from the original- Or who weren't around for said original- Baobhan Sith is based off of Echidna from Re:Zero. Then again, I have made some modifications to her outfit, what with the changes in colour...

Anyways, here is the last part of the Vale arc. Next up, Beacon Academy!

Not sure when that update is going to come, though. I might update Ascendancy before this. Maybe. I don't quite know, in all honesty.

But, whatever happens, leave a review, follow and favourite, and I shall see you all next time!

Titanmaster117 out!