RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

85. Recovery

Chapter 84: Recovery

Earlier in the day, Team JNPR wasted no time getting inside of Hyperion One once it had landed back onto the landing platform's outside Shade Academy's 'wild zone', where Bullheads in the colors of the Vacuo Rangers and Desert Guards were descending to unload soldiers and supplies while others ascended swiftly to whatever destinations within Vacuo City that required their support. There were also quite a few dropships scattered among the landing pads as well, with Atlesian Knight-300s on guard duty while soldiers from the battle cruiser Allegiance's complement brought out crates of food and medical supplies from their cargo holds which were then transferred over to the custody of the rangers.

The Mobile Airborne Command Ship had suffered some scratches and dents on its hull from the claws and beaks of the flying Grimm that tried to attack it during the battle, but for the most part the airship was more or less in prime condition, which more than proved it to be a resounding success in its first battle.

As the ramp lowered to the rain-splattered platform, Team JNPR could see both Ciel and Ross standing at the top of the ramp to greet them as the rain began to pour down again from the cloudy skies. Behind the Flight Captain and his co-pilot, a whole squad of Vacuo Rangers led by Lieutenant Khalil were making one last check on the spare medical supplies they were taking from Hyperion One's on-board infirmary.

"How are you kids holding up?" Ross asked, noting their glum expressions.

"All things considered, we're better off than most people are today." Jaune answered as he looked out into the distance from the ramp's lip, seeing that some of pillars of grey and black smoke beyond Shade Academy's walls were beginning to fade and die off thanks to the steadily strengthening rain and the brave efforts of the firefighters.

"I understand." The Flight Captain replied as he gave a nod, before gesturing for the rangers to begin unloading the medical supplies out of the staging area.

"I took the liberty of placing the Aura Crystal within your cabin." Ciel informed them as Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren all stepped into the ship.

"Thank you, Ciel." Pyrrha replied with a tired but grateful voice, and offered a rueful smile.

"How are the others doing?" Ross inquired as the group went on into the ship, past the disembarking rangers carrying boxes of medical supplies and stacking them onto a transport truck that had pulled up at the base of the ramp. They passed by Lieutenant Khalil who gave them a respectful salute before he moved briskly down the ramp.

"Qrow took a bad hit during a fight and Ruby has passed out from exhaustion, but they'll recover. The rest of Team RWBY are bruised, but alive." Ren answered succinctly, "As Jaune said, Team Beacon withstood the battle better than most."

"Good." Ross said with a solemn nod as he followed them to the elevator at the back of the staging area, muttering, "Oum knows the world's gonna need all the heroes it can muster after what went down today."

"And what about the Maidens?" Ciel asked, "We heard about the Winter Maiden over the most secure Atlesian comm channels."

"With their knight protectors," Jaune said, "They need some quiet time to themselves after they lost another one of their sisters."

The group stepped into the elevator, which began to ascend to the second level. After telling them to get some rest, Ross and Ciel both headed to the Command and Combat Information Center so that they could keep up with the post-battle reports coming both official channels and the ship's scanner systems.

As Team JNPR returned to their assigned cabin, Pyrrha turned to Jaune and said, "I…I need a shower."

"Go ahead, I'll put the Aura Crystal away and then get one myself. I think we all could use a good long shower and some rest." Jaune replied as he watched Nora walk over to the commons lounge and sat Magnhild down on the glass and marble table before flopping onto one of the sofas, laying her head on a pillow as she let out a tired groan.

"You okay, Nora?" Jaune called over to her as he shared a look with Pyrrha and Ren, the latter having a slightly concerned look.

"I'm all worn out and these couches have comfier pillows, which I really need right now." Nora explained as she lifted her head up a bit before letting it fall again, as another groan escaped her lips.

"I think she's hungry, and quite frankly I could use something to eat too," Ren said as he proceeded towards the kitchen, "Do you want something as well?"

"Something light would be great, we'll join you later." Jaune agreed, rubbing his hair, which he had noticed was getting somewhat long, before looking to Pyrrha and gesturing towards their room. They both went inside, putting their individual weapons away as Pyrrha nodded to him before walking off to the female shower area. The case containing the Aura Crystal was neatly placed on Jaune's bed, safe and sound despite having a few small scratches from the chase and fight earlier. He took off his sweat-stained Pumkin Pete hoodie shirt, leaving himself in a sleeveless shirt as he shrugged his shoulders to make sure he still had circulation within his arms. He then unclipped Corcea Mors from his belt and gently placed it on the table in front of the beds, taking a brief moment to admire his weapon. The blond knight found himself smiling a little, happy and grateful for the old reliable weapon his ancestors had created which always served him well.

After placing Pyrrha's weapons in her storage lockers, he picked up the case and climbed up onto Pyrrha's bunk and opened the secret compartment where the Aura Crystal could be placed along with the Crystallus Libro Vitae tome which had been gifted to them by Sharp Strike. He took a breath to calm himself adequately before opening up the relic's case, looking down into the beautiful and gently glowing lavender light of the Aura Crystal within.

Jaune carefully placed his hand upon the crystal, feeling its incredible power writhing within as the light gradually changed to a rich violet as he felt the sounds of ghostly voices within his head, the sounds of the legions of souls within the crystal thanking him for saving them from Salem's agents. He listened to those voices in his mind and felt it in his aura which resonated with the crystal's power. Then he actually heard two familiar voices, those of Ember and Ashe, or the fragments of their soils that resided within the Aura Crystal, speak directly to him while the other souls quietened themselves.

"Nice work, Arc." Ashe's voice told him.

"Indeed. You and Pyrrha's tireless efforts to save the Aura Crystal have made us all proud and eternally grateful." Ember's voice told Jaune, as two bright sparkles of light shone with the crystal's depths.

"We were just doing our job as Guardians," Jaune replied modestly, before sighing and admitting, "I can't help but feel that what happened today was partially our fault. We shouldn't have brought the Aura Crystal out into the open so Ante could take it from us."

"Oh, stop feeling guilty," Ashe's soul fragment told Jaune in a tone that was a tad annoyed, "You had no way of knowing what would happen. Besides, you were in a private tower room, not exactly out in the open. And while you couldn't stop them from stealing it, you and Pyrrha managed to keep them from getting away with it. We couldn't exactly see it, but we kind of knew what was happening. We felt it. We could also feel how hard you both were fighting to save this crystal, and I'm sure with what I taught the two of you, you both are more than capable of getting it back easily. Today I know for a fact that when I chose you and Pyrrha as the next Crystal Guardians, I made the best possible choice."

Jaune smiled, before saying, "Still, it was a close call. We needed a victory today after all that's happened."

"Speaking of which," Ember's soul took over the conversation again, "What else has transpired? We would like to remain informed of what's going on in Remnant."

Jaune sighed as he knew there was no avoiding telling them since both soul fragments could be quite perceptive and he didn't feel like giving excuses since Ashe had willingly entrusted the Aura Crystal to him and Pyrrha, and he was also quite exhausted from the day's events. So the Arc son told both soul fragments the condensed version about in the Battle of Vacuo City, the attacks on the Kingdom of Atlas and how Cinder had been involved in the death of another Maiden.

"Oh Cinder…" Ashe's soul fragment murmured, "What are you doing?"

Jaune could feel their sadness with regards to Cinder remaining on the path of darkness as Ember mentioned warily, "I wish I could say I can't believe it, but after everything my daughter has done so far I shouldn't be surprised of what she's capable of."

"Miss Kasai, this isn't your fault. It's Salem who corrupted her." Jaune offered as he could feel their grief.

"I feel like it is," Ember responded sadly, "I would have done more to teach her the dangers of lusting for more power, which would possibly keep her away from Salem's temptations. I'm so, so sorry for the loss of your friends."

"Thank you. I only met Elsa and Kaifin once, but they really left an impression on me and Pyrrha. I…uh, I wish I could have gotten to know them better, because it felt like they really understood us. Kaifin really gave me solid advice, and he told me to appreciate Pyrrha, my team, my family, my friends…all of them. He told me to savor every moment and live every day to the fullest. That life is too short not to spend it with the people you love." Jaune quoted the late Atlesian Huntsman and guardian.

"Good advice." Ashe said with a sad smile, not that Jaune could see it, as he remembered Mila and the other people he had loved and lost in his life.

"And I'm going to follow it as best as I can, and fight as hard as I can to protect them," Jaune said firmly, before adding, "I gotta go now. Pyrrha and I will fill you in on the specifics later, okay?"

"Very well, Jaune Arc. Thank you for your efforts. We look forward to seeing you again." Ember told him before Jaune took his hand off the crystal's surface, watching as it dimmed slightly. He closed and locked the Aura Crystal's case, before sliding it into the secret compartment which sealed shut automatically. Jaune then hopped off Pyrrha's bunk and landed on his boots before sitting down on his own bunk and gently placed his hands on his face as he tried to control the melancholic emotions rousing within him.

Due to the Grimm part of his biological makeup forced onto him by Giger and West, the blond knight could feel the suffering of Vacuo City's inhabitants; people that were very hurt that this Kingdom-wide attack had happened and angry that the truth about the Maidens and the Remnant Knights had been kept from them, but most of all they were scared and grieving about the loss of their belongings, homes, and of family members, pets, friends and colleagues.

Jaune sighed as he tried to shut it out, but he could still feel the negative emotions all around him. He forced himself to breath slowly, remembering the breathing exercises Pyrrha had taught him during training, and recalled the memories of Elsa and Kaifin within his mind, essentially all the details about them he could remember. They both deserved better, and hopefully they were both in a better place despite suffering such painful deaths. Jaune slowly wiped away a few stray tears that leaked out of his blue eyes and murmured, "I hope you guys are okay, wherever you are. At least you're together. Thank you...we won't forget what you told us. I promise we'll do our best to defeat Cinder and Salem."

Taking another breath to calm himself and making his fingers relax, Jaune got off his bed and made his way to the male bathroom.

Meanwhile inside of the female bathroom, Pyrrha propped herself against the clean tiled-wall of the shower area. Above her head warm water rained down upon her, soothing her tense, tired muscles and wiping the grim and dust off her skin. It was supposed to feel calming, but her thoughts were in turmoil and her heart was still hurting over Elsa and Kaifin's deaths.

She let out a quiet sob as she pounded her fist against the tiled wall, cracking a single tile which caused her aura to flash a little. Due to her Grimm side being stronger than her partner's, she was more sensitive and could feel all of the suffering and negative emotions around her much more easily than Jaune. While she knew she was not alone in this as practically everyone in Team Beacon, the remaining Maidens, the Knights, the capital's authorities and pretty much every else in Vacuo City was hurting in their own way, right now all of the bad news and terrible things that had already happened were terribly overwhelming. In addition to her own sorrow and anger, she could feel the suffering of Vacuo City's people, mourning their family members and friends who had been killed, grieving for homes that had been destroyed, children who were more scared than they ever could have imagined, lovers separated forever…

Every death seemed to add an additional burden to her heart, and it only got even heavier every time. She momentarily wondered how much more she could take before it crushed her emotionally.

As she allowed the water to pour onto her let down hair, Pyrrha experienced another mental flash, this one of herself as Fotia Drakos. Despite everything, she was still haunted by her time under sadistic Fall Maiden and her dark master's tutelage. After Jaune had successfully freed her from their control, she had learned to forgive herself and find comfort in her friends and family, the people that would always be there for her and do their best to help her in whatever ways they can.

And now two of those friends were now taken from her by Cinder and Salem. In her mind, she still had flashes of them, the cruel and powerful individuals who had hurt her so much, hurting the people she loved. Now they had murdered her friends.

"Damn you…" Pyrrha muttered, her voice shaky as she tried to get a grip on her own emotions.

Elsa was kind, wise, powerful and beautiful, and Kaifin was a dedicated and loving man who would do anything for her. Even with her being the Winter Maiden, he never stopped loving her and supported her as much as he could without compromising the rules of the Maiden Sisterhood. While she could be regal and sophisticated at times, she was nonetheless altruistic when it comes to interacting with others, including her other sister Maidens.

And now they had been killed by Cinder and Salem for no reason other than their insane ambitions for world domination.

Pyrrha wept for them, before her fists clenched tightly as she briefly allowed her anger to take over. She opened her eyes, which were red for a brief, chilling moment before they faded back to green as she tried to calm herself down, realizing that she had just activated her Grimm Commander powers. Thankfully there were no Grimm creatures in the vicinity, or else she wouldn't even want to know what would happen.

Amethyst and Heliosia were both her friends and sister Maidens now, and as an honorary Maiden she would do her best to protect them along with Jaune and the rest of Team Beacon. She owed Elsa that much.

Once Pyrrha felt like she was clean enough, she turned off the showers and opened the sliding door of shower area before grabbing a towel and beginning to dry herself off. As she was getting dressed, the doors of the bathroom's main entrance slid open and Nora stepped in.

"Hey, Pyr…you holding up okay?" The orange-haired girl asked gently, her tone unusually quiet as she watched Pyrrha put on her dark red bandeau bra and shorts, still having another towel wrapped around her hair.

The female crystal guardian let her hands fall to her side and gave her teammate a tired shrug as she answered, "I…I don't really know."

Nora nodded slowly, and Pyrrha took note of how dull her usually bright and energetic eyes were. The hammer-wielding girl walked over to her red-haired teammate and hugged her, not normally as strongly as her hugs usually were but enough to hopefully comfort her hurting friend.

"I'm so sorry." Nora told Pyrrha quietly, "I know how you and Jaune must feel right now, with those Grimm powers of yours, but I want you to know that me and Ren are here for you. All of us in Team Beacon are. I know you lost an honorary sister, and you're still hurting, but just remember what you said earlier; we'll always have each other for sisters, right?"

Pyrrha gave a nod of agreement as she offered the shorter girl a thankful smile while returning the hug, "You're right, Nora. I'll always remember that."

"I'm gonna get a shower. If you want some food, Ren's fixing stuff up." Nora told her as she took off her shirt.

Pyrrha nodded again as she finished drying off her hair and pulled up her shorts, and then left the bathroom after wrapping a grey bathrobe around herself.

About fifteen minutes later, Jaune came out of the bathroom, all refreshed and cleaned up. He felt his still wet hair, and mentally noting how long it was getting. He walked into the commons lounge, where Ren had made some turkey sandwiches. Picking one up from the large plate that had been left at the lounge's main table, he took a bite and chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

Looking around the lounge area, he spotted Ren resting on a sofa with his eyes closed and his hands knotted in front of his stomach, possibly taking a short meditative break. "Thanks for the snack, Ren. Excellent as always." He praised, glad to eat his culinary delights again.

"You can thank General Ironwood and the people who stocked this ship's food lockers. They have given me a lot of good ingredients to work with," Ren opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder to look at his team's leader, "No word about Ruby or Tom's condition, and I think the others are still with the Maidens."

Jaune nodded and looked back in the direction of their cabin, sensing that Pyrrha was in there. Looking back at Ren, he asked, "Did Pyrrha get something to eat?"

"No." Ren informed him shaking his head, "I think she went straight to our cabin. Jaune, you should get some food for her."

Jaune nodded as he looked for a plate at the kitchen counter and took some of the sandwiches before heading off towards their team's cabin. He opened the doors only to find the room dimly-lit and Pyrrha lying down on his bunk, still in a state of half-dress, her back turned to him. He stepped in and approached her turned back cautiously, gently asking, "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha turned and glanced at him, "Hm?"

"Do you want to eat something?" He offered her the plate of sandwiches.

"Thank you, but I don't feel…hungry right now. Maybe later." She replied.

They gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments. No more words needed to be exchanged.

Pyrrha scooted over, allowing Jaune some room to lay down beside her after he placed the plate on the cabin's table, turning around to face him. Jaune laid himself down on the bed, getting in close to her as he tried to comfort his partner as much as he could. He gently wrapped his arms around her and she willingly cuddled into him, resting her head underneath his chin and her hands on his chest.

Due to the intimate nature of their relationship, all they had gone through together, the way they were bonded together by the Aura Crystal, both Jaune and Pyrrha could feel and understand each other on a certain level above that of most couples. They could especially feel each other hurting deeply right now, and they wanted to share the emotional pain between them since it would be difficult for either of them to handle the pain alone.

They could feel the fear, the rage and the misery coming from the humans and Faunus of Vacuo City, and especially from the students, personnel and security forces within and around Shade. While Jaune and Pyrrha knew that their Grimm halves had their uses during combat situations that involve fighting against the soulless creatures, they also had their curses as well.

Quietly, they began to cry together. Pyrrha buried her head deeper into Jaune's chest, her tears seeping into the fabric of his undershirt as her shoulders shook with her woeful sobs, while Jaune felt tears leak out of his eyes as he felt his partner's hurt and sorrow, slowly tightening his hands around her while Pyrrha cried her heart out. They mourned for Elsa, for Kaifin, for the people of Vacuo City and all those brave warriors who had lost their lives that day, for the people of Atlas who had been killed by Salem's forces, for their fellow members of Team Beacon who had been demoralized by the scale of the city-wide battle and for the physical and psychological hurts each other had suffered. For all the victims of Salem's evil.

Jaune sobbed as he drew Pyrrha even closer to him. His hands were on the mostly bare skin of her torso, covered only by her bandeau bra as she gripped his mostly bare shoulders and leaned her head into his head and neck, her entire body shuddering as she let out more sorrowful sobs which were surprisingly loud in the cabin's confines.

They lay together, holding onto each other, crying for and mourning those lost. Time passed and eventually their tears stopped flowing and they managed to calm down, but the red-haired champion still let out wayward sobs and little hiccups as her partner gently rubbed her hair and back in an attempt to comfort her.

He could sense that Pyrrha was still scared. She was, as within her mind, Pyrrha dreaded the chance that Cinder and Salem would take even more from them. It wasn't an irrational fear, after all the Mistress of Grimm had done so much to them back in Haven City; violating their minds and bodies, attacked and nearly killed their friends, putting their respective families through terrible grief. More than anything, Pyrrha feared Salem taking away her friends and family to hurt her. She was also deathly afraid of Salem either taking Jaune away from her or killing him outright.

Jaune had the same fears as well. He had friends and family that were potential targets for Salem, and today proved that she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. And what if one day Salem wanted her dragon-riding Grimm Commander back? She would most likely come after Pyrrha with her strongest fighters to recapture the girl who had previously been Fotia Drakos for her own twisted purposes. He mentally vowed that he would never allow that to happen, and he would protect his friends and family.

Especially Pyrrha. He would do anything and everything within his power to protect her.

Feeling her sob again, Jaune nuzzled his head against Pyrrha's as he came up with an idea to calm her. Slowly moving himself up the bed, he took hold of Pyrrha's head gently and held her against his chest, letting her listen to the steady beat of his heart as she curled up against him

The rhythmic pounding of his heart was a relaxing sound to Pyrrha's ears. Jaune's beating heart and his strong arms around her were a loving reminder that he was still alive, and he was there for her no matter what happened. And most importantly, his heart belonged to her. Pyrrha's mood began to change as she managed a genuinely happy smile, having found solace in the arms of the man she loved. While her sobs lessened slightly, she briefly cried a bit more into his chest as she nuzzled back into him.

After finally calming down, she decided to copy Jaune's actions as she brought her hands up to his shoulders again and pulled him down while moving herself upwards. She took hold of his head and pressed him against her own chest, returning the earnest gesture and allowing him to listen to her own heartbeat, and letting him know that she loved him just as much in return.

Jaune felt himself smiling as he nestled his head against Pyrrha's breast, perfectly content to listen to his love's heartbeat. It was music to his ears. As far as he was concerned, this quiet moment of intimacy between them could last forever and he wouldn't mind.

Exhausted, physically and emotionally, the two young lovers soon fell asleep in each other's arms.

The door to Team JNPR's room quietly slid open as Ren and Nora saw their teammates sleeping. Nora quietly squeed at the sight but felt her partner's hand covering her mouth to avoid waking up the sleeping couple, while Ren simply smiled. They stepped back and the doors slid shut again, leaving them to rest.

The two went back to the commons lounge to relax, which was something they sorely needed since the last several hours had been a series of one intense situation after another. Ren sat down at one of the sofas, only for Nora to lay herself on top of his lap. Normally he would have politely told her to get off of him, but when she gave him a cute, flirty smile Ren knew he couldn't make her move, so he simply placed an arm on her shoulder and kissed her lovingly on the cheek.

"You know, Renny? After today I could go on living my whole life without seeing another one of those stupid Grimm again." She told him.

"And you'll get no argument from me on that." He agreed.

"Though, it is still really fun to smash 'em and blow 'em away. At least to me, anyway. That part's fun…though I could do without all the innocent people getting hurt." Nora mused as she turned her head to look out of the lounge's gallery window at the raining scenery outside.

Ren said nothing, he just nodded. She smiled, as she knew it was a classic Ren answer.

He slowly took in a breath through his nose, inhaling his partner's scent. "You smell good." He commented quietly.

"I always smell good, even when I'm sweaty." Nora remarked cheerfully.

Her partner shook his head and tried not to laugh. "What? You know it's true!" She told him playfully.

Ren began to chuckle. Nora never failed to put a smile on his face whenever he needed it.

Just then, Ciel entered the commons lounge after descending from the staircase from the right. "Am I interrupting anything?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, making both Ren and Nora quickly look up at her. Ren blushed a little, a tad embarrassed that someone caught him and Nora sharing a somewhat intimate moment, while Nora pouted slightly at the sudden intrusion.

"No, we're just trying to rest after everything that's happened." Ren answered.

The co-pilot nodded and said, "If it interests you, Ross and I have received a data package from Atlas about the attacks on the northern Kingdom and other things that have transpired today." Both members of Team JNPR noticed the usually stoic girl's blue eyes looked a little uneasy, and if those unmentioned events could unsettle Ciel then they must truly be catastrophic.

"Other things?" Nora asked as she pushed herself off Ren, "What else could have possibly happened?"

"Come with me and you'll see." Ciel informed her, before looking around and asking, "What about Arc and Nikos?"

"They're both resting in their cabin." Ren answered as he got off the sofa, "I think it's best to let them rest for now, we'll tell them what we find out later."

Ren and Nora followed Ciel up the staircase and towards the Command and Combat Information Center.

When they arrived they saw that Ross was waiting for them, and the Flight Captain was clearly more shaken up than Ciel as he stood in front of the sizable holographic table that was right in the center of the room, resting both of his hands on the table's control panel. He had tried to hide his obvious discomfort with the detached face he normally used when piloting aircraft, but from where Ren and Nora were seeing it wasn't very convincing.

"Mr. Ross? What's wrong?" Nora inquired as she, Ren and Ciel joined him at the holographic table which was displaying a blue holographic image of a revolving Atlas emblem.

"We've received reports from the Kingdom of Atlas about the attacks they've suffered. From what Ciel and I have seen, it doesn't look good." Ross said as he sat down on a nearby chair and rested a hand on his forehead.

Ciel went over to the holographic table's main control console and pressed several buttons on the control panel there, causing the Atlas emblem to vanish before bringing up numerous holographic images. A number of the unpacked data were videos of horrifying Grimm attacks, Atlesian soldiers firing at hordes of Beowolves, Ursas and Sabers, Huntsmen and Huntresses defending civilians from Grimm beasts and Grimm Knights alike, and military outposts being overrun by Megoliaths, Griffons and even Manticores. Nora gasped in horror as she saw a video of a wailing woman who got snatched up and carried away by a screeching Nevermore, while Ren's pink eyes widened in disbelief at the images of the totally devastated Fort Valor.

"Attacks all over the Kingdom," Ciel began as she reached out and selected the most significant images and videos from the vast amount of data displayed in front of them, "Billions of Lien in property damage alone and a death toll we can't even begin to estimate. According to scattered civilian and military reports, the Grimm were reportedly led by individuals identified as Grimm Commanders."

Nora growled as she recognized Steppenwolffe riding atop an alpha Beowolf in a blurry picture while Ross walked over to another workstation's terminal when it pinged for his attention.

"And it also appears that the enemy we face has also made alliances with the pirates that plague the oceans of Remnant, especially around the Atlesian seas," Ciel added as she pulled out another video that displayed a hard-fought naval engagement. She then pointed to a snapshot of a fleet of pirate ships shelling Margarite Harbor heavily while exchanging substantial weapons fire with the Atlesian battleships stationed there, adding, "The events of today are like the Vytal Festival disaster, but on a much larger and wider scale."

"This is…horrible." Was all Ren had to say about the situation. He had expected the situation in Atlas to be bad, but it hadn't prepared him to see images of such carnage.

"I know." Ciel agreed, allowing herself to show a rare display of emotion as her voice began to sound rather worried, "I'm from Mantle City, it was badly hit by the Grimm and my father is still there. I hope he's okay."

"Hey, I'm sure he is." Nora assured her, "You just have to have hope."

Ciel nodded, but it was clear she didn't think that would help. They heard a cough and looked up to see Ross transferring whatever information from the workstation to a data tablet which he was now holding in his hands.

"Well, on the bright side…the Atlas military still managed to beat back most of 'em, so it's not as bad as it could have been. Plus, it looks like our old friend Specialist Schnee and some hotshot task force managed to capture someone who possessed a link to the enemy in Mistral." Ross said as he looked over the status updates on the tablet's glowing screen.

"Who did they capture?" Nora queried.

"Ever heard of Garrett Odinson? He's a big-time business guy over in the Mistral capital, and owned a huge corporate empire. There's been rumours of him being an underground crime lord with more criminal connections than most mob bosses, but they never had any solid evidence to make a conviction stick," The Flight Captain explained, not noticing the shocked expression on Nora's face, "Yeah, turns out he was linked to an SDC employee who got murdered a week or so ago and might be partially responsible for it. Specialist Schnee and Commander Central managed to confirm he was working with our enemy and also linked to Meredith's death, so they arrested his cowardly ass before he could make his escape. Odinson's in custody now, and no doubt he'll spill more secrets under interrogation."

"Hopefully they will get some useful information out of him." Ciel mentioned as Ren noticed the stunned look on Nora's face.

"Nora?" He cocked his head at her, but she didn't seem to hear him. He gently took hold of her shoulders and turned his orange-haired partner to face him, asking, "Are you all right?"

She slowly turned to face him, her expression looking as though she had just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked carefully, concerned.

"Odinson…I k-knew him." She whispered.

Ren was stunned. Of all the possible answers Nora would have given, this was not at all what he had expected her to say.

"Are you serious?" Ross asked with a surprised look on his face. Ciel didn't seem to notice, as her attention was focused on something else that had recently appeared on the holograms generated above the holographic table's surface.

Nora nodded timidly before revealing, "My mom and dad…they worked for him."

Ren couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had known Nora for most of his life and he never knew any of this. Nora had always been sensitive whenever it came to her life before she met him that fateful day in Kuroyuri, as if it was something that had to be kept secret even at the cost of her life. Maybe now he would learn why.

"Oh Gods." Came Ciel, getting everyone's attention.

"What now? More bad news?" Ross asked, looking up from his data tablet.

"Something just came up over the military communications system about the Atlas attacks. The town of Solitarius was wiped out, and the rescue team managed to find footage of the attack." The co-pilot mentioned as her blue eyes read every line of text that was displayed on the new hologram.

"Only one?" The Flight Captain questioned, a note of disbelief in his voice.

Ren, glancing at Nora to make sure she was okay, went with Ross to join Ciel at the holographic table, who was now bringing up screencaps of the unnerving footage. As she cleaned up the aforementioned images, a huge and terrifying Grimm resolved slowly resolved within them, and it was a shape that Ren recognized all too well.

A figure he hadn't seen outside his nightmare for years. A Grimm so deeply etched in his mind that he felt his hands instinctively dropped to the small curved dagger within its sheathe at his waist which was given to him by his father. A terrified gasp was heard escaping from Nora's mouth behind him as she recognized the same silhouette as well.

"This footage was recovered from a recording on a scroll left behind by a Huntsman in the town of Solitarius. The rescue team have not found any survivors and Atlas military high command believe that the creature in the footage was responsible for the massacre." Ciel told them.

"Th-that's the…the Nuckelavee…" Ren stammered in disbelief.

Now both he and Nora were stunned into silence. That monster that had taken their families from them, a monster that had haunted their nightmares for years afterwards had struck again. This time, however, it appears that no one in Solitarius town had been as fortunate as they had been back in Kuroyuri.

Before the Lie son could do anything, he heard the sounds of doors opening and turned to see Nora rushing out of the room with her face buried in her hands, gasps of shock falling from her lips. "Nora, wait!" He called out, before nodding apologetically to Ross and Ciel before dashing after her.

He caught up with her in the commons lounge, where Nora threw herself onto a sofa and began to cry. He knelt down beside her weeping form, worried and confused as he watched her sob her heart out. He didn't know what to think of this surprising revelation about her past, and at the same time as learning of a new Nuckelavee attack.

Everything was happening at once and moving so quickly. Nonetheless, he still had a duty to comfort Nora as they had made a vow that fateful night to keep each other safe no matter what happens. And he would be there for her now, when she was clearly hurting.

Ren knelt down and lightly took hold of Nora's heaving shoulders before guiding her up, then pulling her onto his lap, letting her cry into his shoulder as she clutched against him. "Shh," He whispered to her as he rubbed her back soothingly, "It'll be okay. Who your parents previously worked for doesn't mean anything to me. It doesn't change who you are to me."

"B-b-ut it m-might be our f-fault…" Nora managed to say through her crying.

"What do you mean, Nora?" He asked carefully.

After Nora managed to calm herself down somewhat, she quietly told Ren, "One night when I was little, my parents came home and after the babysitter left, they told me we had to leave. We had to go away, far away…possibly to another Kingdom. They said that Mr. Odinson had made some kind of deal with some really bad people, and my dad was apparently against it. They never said what the deal was, but it was something that had to be so evil that they were vehemently against it. My dad was afraid something bad would happen to us, so we had to leave in a hurry. We fled Mistral City in the middle of the night, and after a few days we noticed something was following us. Something big and scary…"

Ren's eyes widened as he caught on quickly. He distinctly remembered what Nora's mother had said that terrible night, that it was their fault. He never understood what she meant, but now that another piece of the puzzle had slid into place he finally did, "The Nuckelavee?"

Nora nodded her head nervously, "I remember my dad saying they needed to get to Vale and tell the headmaster there about something very important, and that they didn't trust anyone in Mistral enough to tell anyone there 'cause Odinson might have hidden spies working for him in every town and village. Th-that's why we were on the run. So if Odinson is working for Salem, and my parents wanted no part of it, what…what if she sent that thing to kill my parents so they couldn't tell anyone about him working with her? What if what happened to Kuroyuri was my family's fault?" She blurted out before sobbing again, "Y-you lost your parents…and everything else that night because of us! Because of me! You must hate me!"

"No!" Ren said firmly as he grabbed Nora by her shoulders, looking directly into her jade-colored eyes, "No, Nora, I don't. I could never hate you. Even if that's the truth…even if Kuroyuri was destroyed because you and your parents came there and the Nuckelavee followed you, it doesn't change how I feel about you!"

Their eyes met as they stared at each other, and Nora saw nothing but love, compassion and understanding for her plight in his usually stoic magenta eyes. He calmed down, breathing hard before he quietly added, "I love you, Nora…and nothing, absolutely nothing can ever change that."

Fresh tears formed in her eyes as Nora cried out, "Oh Renny! I love you too!" Her lips crashed against his as she threw herself onto him and hugged him tightly, kissing him deeply at the same time. Ren returned the kiss, closing his eyes as he hugged Nora close to him. He didn't know if Nora's theory was right, but it made a certain kind of sense. But it could also be a coincidence that the Nuckelavee chose that night in which Nora and her parents arrived at Kuroyuri to attack the Mistralian town.

Still, as he had said it changed nothing about their relationship. She needed him and he needed her.

That would never change.

---

A few hours had passed since the Summer Maiden revealed herself to the public, but things around Vacuo City only got a little better than before. The dark clouds and their accompanying rains had returned, and occasionally flashes of lightning and the echoing sounds of thunder reverberated through the sullen heavens above the academy.

As her given quarters at the guest building with its campanile tower was damaged during the fight, Luna had given Heliosia permission to rest in any of the other empty rooms at the neighboring dormitories which had been declared safe by the rangers, while Fire Walker's entire detachment would be close at hand should she require anything.

She had politely declined, citing that the returning teams of young Hunters and Vacuoan security forces would need those rooms more than her after all the fighting. However, she requested a secluded room for Amethyst to rest and get herself under control. After assuring Amethyst that she would be back after a walkabout, and knowing that the younger Maiden also needed some time to grieve over Elsa's death on her own, Heliosia had reluctantly allowed the knight detachment of Eternal Warriors under the temporary command of Stone Claw to resume their duties of watching over her since both Wind Runner and Storm Bringer were indisposed with more pressing matters.

Heliosia stayed by Amethyst's side until the Spring Maiden dozed off, patting her hand and wrapping an extra blanket over her sister Maiden and then left. She then made her way through the less-populated hallways of Shade Academy, purposefully avoiding any civilian, student or staff while being accompanied by Flame Weaver and other Relentless Crusaders from Fire Walker's detachment, marching a respectful distance behind her. They didn't speak a single word as they followed Heliosia around the relatively empty halls, perhaps under the impression that she was privately mourning the Winter Maiden's death in her own way.

As for Heliosia herself, she knew that her actions would have consequences, and not all of it would bode well for her in the near future. While she had been treated respectfully enough by Luna and Fire Walker, there were still some unspoken rules that she had to follow without asking questions. Luna had been as accommodating as possible, doing everything in her power to ensure that Heliosia could still have freedom, the Knight Vanguard and her Knight protectors could be rather persistent at times when it came to her safety, such as them shadowing her everywhere which was honestly pretty irritating when she wanted to be alone.

Heliosia was under no illusions that freedom for Amethyst and her would be radically reduced. If she asked any questions about whatever new measures the Guardians of Remnant would implement, the responses she'd get would probably be curt and short. Getting answers from her knight protectors was pretty much a lost cause, as she was often met with stony silences coming from emotionless armored faceplates since the knights mostly tended to be taciturn in nature.

Several minutes later, she crossed her arms beneath her chest as she looked out of the rain-soaked colored glass panels of Luna's VIP meeting room where the Headmistress of Shade had previously used to speak with the knights about the defense of Vacuo City. Whereas it normally offered a panoramic view of Vacuo City's well-known structures which included the Sharaf Colosseum, the Grand Temple of Vacuo and even the Council Palace, now the same view served as a harsh reminder of how badly the city had suffered in the attack, and of how narrowly they had avoided another Fall of Beacon.

From where she was watching, Heliosia saw a convoy of ranger armored jeeps, heavy tanks and APCs drive past on a patrol circuit through one of the main thorough-ways in the rain, the Vacuo Rangers alertly manning the turrets of those vehicles looking around warily for any remaining Grimm or gang members who lacked the sense to flee. A trio of Bullheads in the colors of the Desert Guards flew over Shade shortly after in an aerial patrol circuit, their searchlights active and mounted guns ready to blast any aerial Grimm. In the distance she could see the unmistakable outline of the Allegiance hovering above its landing zone while being protected by its escort ships, with several Atlas Eagles and Manta gunships swarming around it like a flock of Nevermore.

The crowds had not been easy to disperse, especially after witnessing the Summer Maiden's display of power. However, with the arrival of additional ranger squads and Desert Guard units, as well as several heavily-armed squads of Atlesian soldiers backed up by multiple guns and riot shields-wielding Atlesian Knights-300s and Paladin battle-suits, almost all of the gathered civilians eventually listened to the repeated calls through the public address system to leave Shade's main courtyard and return to their homes to await the all-clear message from the authorities.

Even so; there were still those who were reluctant to leave without catching another glimpse of her, and anyone who refused to cooperate were given stern warnings and, if necessary, taken into custody by the police for disobeying the law.

The bleak weather outside matched her current mood after her spectacular reveal to the people of Vacuo City just a couple of hours earlier. While her plan had worked to avoid the frightened civilians of the capital from descending into rioting and potentially attracting more Grimm attacks, it had unfortunately and publicly confirmed the Maidens' existence to the people of Remnant. It also didn't escape her thoughts that all of the careful efforts in concealing fabled Maidens were all for naught with Tyrian so blatantly ousting her during the attack on Shade.

With her identity as the Summer Maiden now known to the public, things were definitely going to get much more difficult for herself and those who had sworn themselves to protect her. Regrettably, that too meant the freedom she enjoyed travelling across Remnant unnoticed by the people was sadly gone. Which meant she had to be even more cautious with her activities and behavior since she was now known to the public at large.

She knew that ever since she re-established contact with the Guardians of Remnant and met her knight protectors, her personal actions had undoubtedly tested their limits and pushed at the boundaries of Fire Walker's tolerance. While they were willing to accommodate her independent nature and respect her wishes, there might come a day she would cross a line that they wouldn't tolerate it.

But until that day arrived, she would still do her level best to perform her sworn duty as the Summer Maiden, and especially protect Amethyst to the best of her abilities. With Elsa gone and the Winter Maidens powers in the hands of the enemy, keeping the seasons in balance just got even more difficult for them.

A knock on the main doors of the meeting room caught her attention, bringing Heliosia out of her melancholic thoughts. "Come in." She said, glancing away from the rainy cityscape to see who it was.

She had expected Headmistress Luna or Flame Weaver; the former probably to admonish her for her recent actions, the latter to inform her about the additional measures set down by the Guardians of Remnant regarding her safety. So she was a bit surprised to see the familiar armored figure of Sharp Strike.

The knight walked into the meeting chambers, the blue lenses set into his faceplate and the smooth silver-blue plates of his Aegis armor glinting a little in the ceiling lights of the room. She could see that he was still carrying his signature weapons; the twin revolver longswords in both of their scabbards at his back, a custom revolver in its holster at his right thigh, and finally the relic sword in its sheathe belted at his waist.

"My lady," He bowed politely before turning to gently close the doors behind him. From the brief glimpse Heliosia could catch behind him she could see that Flame Weaver was standing right outside the meeting room, while Steel Punch and Spear Dancer were on guard at either side of the entrance.

"Sharp Strike," She watched as he walked across the length of the meeting room to join her by the wet-colored glass windows, "It's good to see you again. Shouldn't you be with the rest of Team Beacon?"

The knight errant gave a nod as he halted at a respectful distance from her, "Unfortunately, no. I just attended a meeting between the Knight Vanguards and Headmistress Luna, and the other members of Team Beacon are either recuperating from the battles or helping around Shade Academy at the moment. I'm sure they'll all return to Hyperion One in time."

"I see," Heliosia acknowledged his words and then posed her next question, "So how are you been holding up? You took quite a beating from Thorn during our fight against her at the colosseum."

"I took a few painful hits, but it's nothing time and aura won't fix," Sharp Strike made an equivocal gesture with his hand that assured her she need not worry, "Besides, I've been through much worse in the past. But I never underestimated Thorn due to her Semblance, and I was right to be careful when fighting her."

"Nor did I," Heliosia mentioned darkly, "She almost managed to steal the power of the Summer Maiden from me with her dirty tricks, if you hadn't intervened in time..."

"Your safety is always my duty, my lady. I will never, ever fail in that endeavor." Sharp Strike stated firmly.

"Considering the trouble you went through to protect me today, I don't doubt you." Heliosia remarked.

There were a few moments of strangely companionable silence between the Knight Errant and Summer Maiden as they looked at the significantly damaged cityscape outside as heavy rain poured down from the skies, while thin white forks of lightning flashed in the far distance and the sounds of thunder shortly followed on their heels.

"So…" He began, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the Spring Maiden?"

"Amethyst and I need to mourn our sister Maiden in our own way, so I gave her some privacy and decided to take a walk around Shade," Heliosia's maroon-red eyes blinked a little as she gestured with her fingerless glove-clad hands around them, "I came here since I just wanted some solitude, as I have quite a lot to ponder after everything that's happened today. Especially with the truth about me being thoroughly compromised to the point that I had to show myself to the people of Vacuo City."

"That was an incredibly brave thing you did, Heliosia," Sharp Strike replied as he slowly crossed his vambrace-clad arms, "I can safely say everyone was relieved when the civilians heeded your words and slowly dispersed without much incident."

"It was a necessary move, Sharp Strike." The Summer Maiden mentioned as she looked up at his helmet's azure lenses, "But Qrow's right; I fear I might as well have put a giant target on my back for Salem and her agents."

"Fire Walker and the Relentless Crusaders have already sworn an oath to protect you," Sharp Strike pointed out, "Not to mention the Guardians of Remnant and even Team Beacon as well. The same protection also extends to Amethyst as well."

"Before what happened to Elsa and Kaifin, I would have believed you," Heliosia countered as she faced the knight errant opposite her, "She had the protection of the Winter Templars, Snow Blade and his entire detachment, plus additional support from the Atlas military, and yet she was still killed Salem and Cinder. All those many layers of protection, and all of that effort put into hiding and protecting her...it ultimately failed and they killed her."

She looked at him directly and pointed a questioning finger, "So forgive me if I don't have as much confidence in the protection of the Remnant Knights as I did before, not when another sister Maiden of mine had been so cruelly killed by the enemy who's been hunting me and my sisters for our powers! First Amber, and now Elsa! What guarantee do I have that you knights can protect us from the same fate?"

Sharp Strike remained silent as he held Heliosia's gaze carefully. While he had witnessed on more than one instance that the Summer Maiden was more than capable of handling herself, he knew she was also right to be upset and concerned about those who were supposed to ensure her protection, as recent events proved that the enemy was capable of launching dangerous strikes on a huge and unprecedented scale against the Kingdoms. The battles of both Vacuo City and across Atlas already made their sinister intentions, formidable capabilities and threat level clear.

As a Remnant Knight and a representative of the Knight Order to Team Beacon, he also knew that the secretive organization he served wouldn't be pleased if the Summer Maiden's working relationship with them deteriorated. Amethyst's previous defiance against Wind Runner and his detachment had already been noted of by his superiors, and he had heard from both Knight Vanguards that the Guardians of Remnant might be considering to impose more stringent rules on the remaining Maidens in the wake of the Winter Maiden's death. The silver-blue armored knight also reminded himself that to ensure the continued successful cooperation between Heliosia and her protectors, he had to make her see that staying with them would at least allow her a far better chance of survival than alone.

While the Summer Maiden was more willing to cooperate with her knight protectors so far, there was no telling where her tolerance with their extent of control over her would end. Should Heliosia pull off something akin to Amethyst's escape, there's a high possibility that she might vanish with the Spring Maiden in tow, and that would make things even worse. Though he doubted they would be so rash, he knew the two hated their enemies for killing Amber and Elsa enough that they could potentially take matters into their own hands and seek out the enemy on their own heedless of the danger that entailed. While he highly doubted they would do that, he knew grief and rage could drive one to do extreme things they normally wouldn't even consider.

So Sharp Strike took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and answered, "Heliosia, I understand your grief over what's happened, and while you raise a rational point I must respectfully remind you that your knight protectors have expended every last bit of possible effort into protecting you, and so did Amethyst's assigned knights too. We can't plan for every eventuality, but we'll fight as hard as we can against Salem's forces whenever and wherever they show their faces, and sometimes even when they manipulate their other associates into fighting us. Make no mistake; Fire Walker and his knights will fight their hardest to protect you, even give up their lives if it means saving you, because they have sworn an oath to do so, and we Remnant Knights never break an oath. That pledge applies to me as well, since I've been assigned to Team Beacon to fight alongside them against Salem and whoever serves her."

He could see that the Summer Maiden was absorbing what he had just said and probably thinking it over, and then added, "You may be a Maiden, Heliosia, but the enemy we face is cunning and ruthless. Now that your identity as the Summer Maiden is out in the open, they could have other agents hidden elsewhere and ready to strike once the opportunity presents itself. Your own efforts to maintain your secrecy in the past was commendable, but they could only protect you so far before the enemy eventually discovered your movements and identity. How else do you think they were able to track down and eliminate Amber so quickly? And now that you've revealed yourself to the people of Vacuo, do you honestly think they will stop? Salem will definitely come after you and Amethyst with everything she's got, and they will strike again. At least with your knight protectors and Team Beacon, you will stand a better chance of fighting back than on your own if and when such a situation happens again."

"I…see your point, Sharp Strike." Heliosia eventually said after hearing the knight errant out, "However, what makes you think that you and Team Beacon will succeed where the Winter Templars and the Atlas military forces failed when protecting Elsa?"

"I believe my actions today when fighting alongside you speaks for themself," Sharp Strike remarked as he spread his hands openly in a friendly gesture, "And as long as I'm alive and breathing, you have my solemn word that my blades will forever ensure your safety from those who wish you harm. As for Team Beacon; they have experience in fighting against Salem's associates, and it goes without saying that as long as it prevents the Mistress of Grimm's plans of conquering Remnant from succeeding I'm sure they'll be more than happy to have both you and Amethyst fighting with them whenever we encounter Cinder and Salem in the future."

"You asked me to trust you, and I did," He continued as he took a step closer, "And I'm asking that you extend the same courtesy and put your trust in me and Team Beacon. Because we'll do everything in our power to ensure that no harm will come to you or Amethyst, and we know what the stakes are in the battle against the Mistress of Grimm. With two Maidens fighting together with us, we'll stand a better chance against her."

A few moments of silence passed between Heliosia and Sharp Strike, and the knight wondered if he had gotten through to her. There were no other sounds in the meeting room save for the soft ticking of the wall clock and the soft pattering of raindrops against the room's windows, and no one else had seen fit to interrupt their conversation. Even so, it was a long while before Heliosia finally spoke again.

"I apologize for my strong words, Sharp Strike," The Summer Maiden looked down at her booted feet for a moment, "They were made in anger, frustration and grief for a lost sister. As a Maiden, I should have kept a better grip on my emotions. This kind of outburst should be beneath someone like me."

"No, you aren't wrong to feel that way," He replied sympathetically, "Everyone has feelings, doubts and fears of their own. It's how we recognize our feelings, banish our doubts with reason and face our fears that makes all the difference. I know and understand that you and Amethyst are still hurting from your shared grief over the loss of Elsa and Kaifin, because I've also experienced such losses before I became a Knight. You and your sister Maidens are so close, that the loss of even one Maiden can be very agonizing for the rest of you."

"We don't have anyone else besides the four of us in the Maiden Sisterhood, Sharp Strike, and so it's inevitable that we maintained close relationships with each other as the senior Maidens are required to teach the younger ones how to use their inherited powers responsibly and maintain the seasons' balance." Heliosia turned and regarded the knight errant, a questioning stare clear on her features, "Are you aware that Amethyst, Amber, Elsa and I have all made uncounted sacrifices to protect Remnant and its people? Do you know that I had to leave my parents and my previous life in Kyuogata when I became the Summer Maiden, in order to fulfil the duties that come with these powers?"

"I wouldn't presume to say that I know of any such sacrifices you or the other Maidens made for the greater good of Remnant," The knight errant mentioned sympathetically, "Nonetheless, coming from someone who was recruited into the Remnant Knight Order since youth and spent most of his life training and fighting against the Grimm and other forces of darkness, I believe I can relate to what you have just told me."

The brown-haired Maiden tilted her head a little at Sharp Strike carefully, "You said you've lost people close to you?"

"Yes, I've lost much in my life, so much that all I have now are only memories of my family," He answered in a voice that had a tinge of sorrow, "The Order took me in and offered me a new purpose, and so I gave all that I have to become a Remnant Knight in order to protect the innocents of Remnant from those who want to see this world to ruin. As long as there's evil and injustice in this world, I won't stand idly by and let them have their way."

"Nor would I, as I have sworn to do what's good for all of Remnant when I first received these powers from Aestas," Heliosia mentioned quietly as she beheld her fingerless-gloved hands for a moment, before looking back up at him again, "I heard the old legends say that the Remnant Knights cut out all thoughts of kindness and empathy from those who join them. Is there any truth to that?"

"There's always a grain of truth in legends," Sharp Strike answered quietly as he turned his helmeted head and looked at his reflection in the meeting room's windows, "But let's just say my superiors tried but they failed with me, as I had a good mentor and I'm quite capable in keeping my emotions in check whenever necessary. However that doesn't mean I don't experience them like everyone else, I just don't allow them to impede me when I'm performing my duty as a Knight."

"I admire that kind of confidence, you know," Heliosia voiced calmly, "Truly, I do. Your sureness in your skills and abilities seemed to come from your experiences and within the Order, and you must have experienced a lot to gain such a deep understanding of human emotions."

"Contrary to what the impression I've given you, I'm sure there are many other knights and prognosticators who are far more well-informed and insightful than me in that regard," The silver-blue armored knight said humbly, "After all, I'm just speaking from my own experiences."

"Fair enough," The Summer Maiden agreed, "And I'll think about what you said."

"That's all I'm asking, and thanks for listening to me." Sharp Strike inclined his helmet.

"Speaking of gratitude, I believe I didn't thank you properly for saving my life quite a few times today," Heliosia felt herself smiling a little as she looked upon the knight errant standing beside her, "I don't know how I can repay you, Sharp Strike, but you have my thanks for protecting me throughout the battle today." She slowly extended one of her gloved hands towards him.

"I was merely performing my duty as a Knight, my lady...but you're welcome." Sharp Strike replied as he bowed his head briefly and took her hands. They clasped hands and shook for a moment, and the Summer Maiden noticed the knight seemed a little reluctant as he released her hand from his gauntlets.

"If you'd humor me a moment, Sharp Strike," The Summer Maiden squinted her maroon-red eyes at him momentarily, as though he was an interesting specimen, "I may not have seen you before today, but somehow I can't shake the feeling that I know you. As something about you reminds me of someone I knew in the past."

Sharp Strike almost felt himself take an involuntary step backward when she said that. He wondered if he might have accidentally given himself away, or unwillingly revealed something through his words or actions that clued her in to his true identity. But he forced himself to remain calm and reply with, "As I told you before, I wasn't with the Relentless Crusaders when I met you…so surely whatever resemblance I invoke in your thoughts is purely a coincidence?"

She looked him over for a moment more before shrugging and turning away, "You may be right, but there's something about you that continues to elude me. I just can't put my finger on it."

They were abruptly interrupted with a beeping sound, and Heliosia watched as Sharp Strike brought up his vambrace-covered arm to look at the message displayed on his scroll. He shared a cautious look with her before they both heard the click of opening doors behind them as Flame Weaver entered and bowed, saying, "Maiden Heliosia, Sharp Strike, Headmistress Luna and the Knight Vanguards want both of you in her office immediately."

"Understood, let's go." Heliosia said and made for the doors, with Sharp Strike following close behind her.

Moments later, Heliosia and Sharp Strike were back in Luna's office, and they saw that the Headmistress of Shade Academy had already gathered Team SSSN, Team CFVY, the Knight Vanguards Fire Walker and Wind Runner, the prognosticator Storm Bringer, and Amethyst who had calmed down by now and had a neutral expressions. Once they stepped into the office, Flame Weaver closed the doors behind them and locked it, with the Summer Maiden walking over to join Amethyst while Sharp Strike joined the other knights.

"Thank you all for coming." Luna slowly stood up from her chair behind her huge table, "I have some news to share with all of you; after much discussion with Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood and Seraph, we have finally agreed that we would like Team Beacon to join the Remnant Knights in escorting the two Maidens to Atlas."

---

Ruby slowly stirred as she heard a familiar sound; a melodious, gentle humming that she had not heard in many years, but longed to hear. While she wanted to lie back and rest as the voice hummed the familiar lullaby, her desire to see the owner of the voice outweighed her tiredness. Opening her silver eyes, Ruby saw the tangible figure of Summer Rose above her, her mother's eyes shut as she lovingly stroked Ruby's hair with one hand. She lowered her head and her eyes opened, giving her daughter an adoring smile, "Hello, Ruby. My sweet child."

"Mom?" Ruby cried in surprise as she quickly sat up from her mother's lap and hugged her tightly. Summer felt solid instead of ethereal, although Ruby felt that there was still something missing from the hugs her mother had frequently given her. Ruby pulled away and looked around, she found herself in the mindscape yet again, but in a different area than before; this time they were sitting on a bench underneath a huge blooming willow tree in what she recognized as a local park on Patch, "Wait…am I in the mindscape?"

Summer nodded.

"Mom, Argentius told me that to enter the mindscape alone without the protection of a prognosticator is dangerous." She told her mother, "How can I enter the mindscape on accident?"

Her mother gave a smile as she raised a hand and pointed at Ruby's chest where her heart is, "Do you remember the fragment of my aura that I gave you?" When the smaller Huntress nodded Summer continued, "It contains a small part of my spirit, which joined with you so that I can protect you even when I'm gone. It also allows you to enter the mindscape while providing a degree of protection so to avoid any…unpleasant experiences like what happened the last time."

"I see," Ruby gave a nod and asked curiously, "So am I in a memory of my own or yours?

Summer chuckled a little, "It's whatever you want it to be. If I had to guess, it's a wonderful memory that we share as mother and daughter."

Ruby smiled as she remembered playing in the same park when she was young with Yang and her parents, before she was reminded of what she had just gone through and her smile dropped, "So...it's been a pretty rough day today."

"For you and countless others." Summer replied with another nod, this one seemingly more heavy as her expression became crestfallen, "But thanks to you and your friends, and the other allies fighting by your side, many blameless lives have indeed been saved. I'm so proud of you, my beautiful little rose."

Ruby smiled, but it soon dropped as she shook her head, "But…what about all that's happened? All the innocent people who were killed today? Elsa, Kaifin…and thousands of people I don't even know…all dead…" She clutched at herself as she felt herself on the verge of tears, a pained sob escaping her mouth, "I tried, mom, I really tried but I..."

Summer reached out and took hold of Ruby, pulling her into a comforting hug while gently rubbing her back, "I know you did your best, Ruby, and there are things which are beyond your control. It's going to be okay."

Ruby didn't argue and allowed herself to cry into her mother's shoulder while hugging the spirit fragment of Summer, who quietly tried to calm her down, "I know. It's so terrible that such things happened. Let it all out, love. I'm here for you."

The silver-eyed Huntress's hands tightened on her mother as she cried for Elsa and Kaifin, and for all the innocent people killed today by Salem's agents and the Grimm. The lives ruined and families destroyed…why would she do this? Were her forces truly so heartless that they would simply go along with such horrific plans? What did Salem have to gain with such widespread death and destruction?

Power.

"Yes." Summer confirmed as she reached up and wiped some of Ruby's tears with her fingers, "The power of the Maidens and the power of fear. That's what Salem wants, and the power of fear prevents others from working together against her." It was as though she could read her daughter's thoughts.

"How can we stop her?" Ruby asked as she buried her face into Summer's white cloak, "People are suffering, everyone's scared and hurting…do we even have a chance of stopping her?"

Summer thought for a moment, before she sighed and answered, "In my long profession as a Huntress, I've learned one essential thing; Things always get worse before they get better. And things can always be worse…if no one's willing to take action and push back the rising darkness."

"I have heard that before!" Ruby exclaimed, frustrated as she pulled away from her mother to face her, "How much worse can it possibly get?"

Summer looked at Ruby with a solemn expression before answering her daughter in a tone Ruby had only heard her speak in once, so long ago, before she went off to give her life to destroy the menacing Grimm hordes attacking Patch, "It can get truly awful. There will be times where it seems like there's no hope, and no point in fighting for what's right or standing up for those who need protection. Things can always be worse only if you don't do something, Ruby, but you must always remember that no matter how dark the night gets, the sun will always rise, but it takes time. There is always a glimmer of hope. There's always a chance to pull victory from defeat, no matter how slim it might seem."

"But…how can you be sure?" Ruby asked, "What if we keep fighting, but we keep losing? What if I fail? What if I continue to fight, but lose more friends along the way, until I have no one left and I eventually keep on going until I'm dead?"

Summer shook her head before saying, "Because while few things are permanent, I have also learned that there are always certain things that are eternal. The sun will always rise and night will always fail, the seasons will come and go and the forces of good and evil will always clash. And there are people; people will be born and they will die, almost no one is exempt from that, but the most important thing is that every single person on Remnant is unique. No matter how some cynical individuals may go on about how nothing matters and nothing ever changes, the truth is that everyone has the potential to do right if they choose to do so, no matter how small the difference they make may seem."

She paused, and reached up with one hand to touch Ruby's cheek, the fingers wiping away another fresh tear, "The kind of person you are is something that will make all the difference in the world, Ruby. The same goes for all of your friends and allies, who you must believe in and trust if you are to work alongside them in the battles to come. I know, and have faith that you can be the brave Huntress you wanted yourself to be. Remember that, my sweet little Ruby. Always. The future ahead may seem dark, it will look hopeless and terrifying, but I know you and your friends are brave enough, strong enough, and smart enough to overcome anything Salem and her pawns throw at you all."

Despite the loss of Elsa and Kaifin, despite all the death and destruction she had seen, despite everything she had experienced and suffered since the Fall of Beacon, Ruby felt herself smiling because she knew her mother was right. She hugged Summer again, enjoying the warmth of her mother's embrace, "Thanks, mom. You always know what to say."

"I had good teachers and a great team who made me who I am, and you're fortunate to have a good many friends and mentors who will always have your back," Summer assured her daughter while she returned a small gentle smile, "You have been resting for a while now, so I think it's time you woke up, my daughter. Please tell Yang, Taiyang and Qrow that I love them all, I'm very proud of them and I miss them deeply."

"But I don't want to wake up yet…" Ruby meekly protested, feeling safe in her mother's embrace.

"You'll see me again, Ruby," Summer gently kissed her daughter's forehead, "And you're a big girl now. So follow your heart, continue doing what you do best and don't ever back down from the challenges the world will throw at you, no matter what happens…because you have your friends and family by your side, and most importantly, the strength and the spirit to make a difference. Remember that, my child."

"I promise I will, mom." Ruby answered.

"Good. Now wake up…" Summer Rose smiled as she released Ruby's hands and vanished in a bright flash of silver light.

Ruby's silver eyes snapped open, and she was greeted by the dimly lit ceiling of the infirmary room. She groaned as she tried to sit up, only to be surprised by a weight on her legs. She glanced down and saw a sleeping Weiss, her arms folded atop Ruby's legs and her head placed atop her arms. Ruby smiled, her heart touched by her partner's presence.

She slowly stretched out her arms and back before brushing strands of her hair out of her eyes, and glanced over to see a curtain drawn over the part of the room where another bed would be, "Uh, hello? Anyone there?" She asked quietly so she wouldn't wake Weiss up, since she knew Weiss needed to rest after spending so much aura in battle.

"Wait, is that Ruby?" A female voice Ruby recognized came to her ears.

"She's up," Another familiar voice said shortly. The curtain was drawn back to reveal Clara Allcroft standing before Tom, whose torso was covered with gauze. Anna was gently sleeping while being covered by a blanket on another chair beside them both, soft breathing sounds escaping from her mouth. The soft and rapid pattering of rain could be heard from the closed window behind them as the rainy weather continued outside.

"Hey Ruby, it's been a while since we've seen you. Crazy odds, right?" Tom said weakly as he smiled at the leader of Team RWBY, slowly raising a hand in greeting.

She returned the smile and replied, "Nice to see you guys. Ren, Nora and the others told me about how you helped kill the Elder Deathworm, Tom. That was a really brave, thanks a ton."

"Don't encourage Tom, we nearly lost him." Clara jokingly chided as she gestured to her brother's bandaged chest.

"Eh, I've had worse…no, I don't think I can even joke about that. I was honestly in horrible pain, but at least I'm not lying in a morgue." Tom remarked as he glanced down at Anna who slept in a chair at the foot of his bed.

"How long have I been out?" Ruby queried.

"A few hours, since you were already here before we came in," Clara told her, "Blake and Yang are out helping the nurses give out medicine and your uncle got dragged out of bed for some kind of important meeting with the Headmistress. In case you're wondering, Weiss has been here the entire time and never left your side. She even refused to go back to your team's ship to rest, she didn't want to leave you."

Ruby looked down at Weiss, surprised by her partner's concern and loyalty. She knew that the Schnee heiress had changed dramatically from the spoiled diva she had first met back in Beacon's courtyard, but she didn't know that Weiss cared about her that much. Reaching out to the lamp on the stand next to her bed, she switched it on and looked down at Weiss, reaching out with one hand over to brush a few strands of white hair out of her face. Gazing upon her partner's face, Ruby was gradually struck by Weiss's beautiful features; even the scar running down her left eye and cheek, which showed that there was far more to her than one might see on the surface and that she was not to be underestimated, only added to her beauty in Ruby's opinion.

A blush slowly spread across Ruby's face as she kept looking at Weiss, and she prayed it wasn't obvious to the Allcroft siblings. She shook her head, but then a thought came to her in which she remembered their trip to Yuri Tachibana Beach during the Summer Solstice. She particularly recalled how beautiful Weiss looked in her swimsuit and while it could have been imagination, Ruby could have sworn she had saw her fellow teammate bashfully looking at her after she had jumped into the water.

She also remembered spending the Winter Solstice in Menagerie at the house of Blake's family with cousin her family, Weiss, Blake's family, Sun's family as well as Penny and Joseph Polendina. Her teammate had even sang the Solstice Carols in her sweet angelic voice as they all sat out on the porch of Blake's family home and Weiss and the others used some Dust to create some snow in the tropical island, enjoying it while Weiss watching the slow snowfall from the grey skies, and she had to admit Weiss undoubtedly had a natural talent for singing.

"Well, we'll give you both some privacy." Clara spoke up while her brother hid his knowing smile behind one hand, "Besides, Tom needs more rest."

"But…never mind, I won't argue." Tom protested weakly but quickly relented after getting a glare from Clara, who drew the curtains closed on the opposing section of the room to conceal themselves and leaving Ruby alone with Weiss.

Ruby looked back at Weiss and smiled at the sleeping Schnee heiress before leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on her partner's forehead. "Thanks for staying with me." She whispered before sitting up and wondering something she hadn't thought about yet.

'Do I like girls?'

She honestly didn't know the answer; and remembered the times some of the other students back at Signal Academy would poke fun at her, saying that she was weapons-sexual since she never talked about how handsome or beautiful the other students looked but always gushed about the details of weapons...but now that she gazed at Weiss she couldn't help but find herself indeed more than slightly attracted to her partner. And she also hoped that one day she would get the chance to tell Weiss her true feelings, and hopefully the snow-haired princess will return them as well.

"Ruby!" Came a familiar voice. She looked over towards the room's entrance, and saw two very familiar figures enter through it. Yang looked very relieved that her little sister was awake, as did Blake who was also happy to see her team leader had recovered. The brawler of Team RWBY quickly ran over and hugged Ruby as tightly as she could, "I was so worried about you!"

Ruby beamed widely, despite feeling Yang's tight grip, and she wrapped her arms back around her elder sister's shoulders, "Hey Yang, Blake…so what did I miss?"

"Boy, do we got a lot to tell you and Weiss." Yang answered with a heavy sigh.

"Quite a few things have happened while you were recovering." Blake added.

"What happened?" Ruby asked curiously.

"I…I think we better tell you in the morning. Weiss needs to hear this as well." Blake mentioned carefully.

"Why? How big are those 'few things'?" Ruby queried again.

"Honestly? Pretty big, Rubes. Probably not as big as Salem's ego, but still..." Yang joked, which got a laugh out of her little sister.

"Okay, where's everyone else?" Yang's younger sister linquired.

"Team JNPR went to rest up in Hyperion One, while the others are helping out any way they can with distributing food and medical supplies and or are staying on guard. By the way, Uncle Qrow's doing okay, Headmistress Luna called him up to her office for some kind of important meeting." Yang explained.

"Sharp Strike is with his fellow knights, assisting them in looking after Amethyst and Heliosia, which is a smart move considering what happened earlier." Blake added while sharing a knowing look with her blonde partner.

Ruby quickly glanced over to where the Allcroft family was and whispered, "Uh sis? I don't think we should be openly talking about the Maidens and the Knights…"

"Yeah, about that..." Yang scratched her hair a little fretfully, "I don't think we've gotta worry about keeping them a secret anymore because the cat's not just out of the bag, the cat pretty much clawed the bag open and tore it to pieces. No offense, Blake." She quickly added with an apologetic shrug which caused the black feline ninja to sigh and roll her amber eyes.

"None taken, but she's right. After the battle here and those attacks on Atlas, pretty much everyone in both Kingdoms know about the existence of the Remnant Knights now." Blake informed Ruby, which pretty much surprised her.

"Wow…I sure didn't expect that." Ruby found herself saying.

"Yeah, the situation's gotten pretty crazy. Still, we have to remember what mom taught us; no matter how bad things might seem, as long as we got each other we'll be all right," Yang told her little sister with a smile to hopefully reassure the younger sibling, "And hey, we're still alive and mostly unhurt, so I guess at the very least that's got to count for something."

Ruby returned her sister's smile before she gasped and spoke excitedly, "Oh! That reminds me, I just had another dream with mom in it…I think I visited her in the mindscape or something!"

"Really?!" Yang asked, looking very surprised and interested at the same time. Ruby nodded again.

"That makes sense," Blake remarked, "I've read legends that say the spirits of the dead will sometimes talk to us in our dreams, because that is when our souls are free to wander and we can hear them better than when we're awake."

Ruby nodded, "I guess that kind of makes sense," She said before looking at Yang and adding, "Mom gave me another spiritual pep talk, which I really needed after what happened today. She told me that things can always get worse, but there's always a way to make them better, especially when I have friends and family like you guys with me. She also wanted me to tell you, dad and Uncle Qrow that she loves us all, and she's really proud of what we've done and she really misses us."

Yang visibly teared up at the message from her stepmother and tried her best to ignore her wettening eyes before she said, "Yeah…that sounds like mom, all right. Next time you see her, please tell her I love her and really miss her too, the same goes for Ra- my other mom, just in case you happen to see her."

Ruby frowned a bit and said, "I think me and mom have a special connection Yang, so I doubt I'll see Raven."

Yang sighed and responded, That's okay, Rubes. I understand completely. Still, please tell mom that I really wish she was here with us."

"I think she already is, at least in spirit." Ruby told her elder sister with an encouraging, but tired smile.

Yang grinned back as she wiped tears from her eyes and then hugged her sister again.

"Well said, pipsqueak." Qrow's voice came from nearby.

The three turned to see Qrow and Sun standing at the open doorway, both of them smiling at the heartwarming scene. Ruby's uncle winced a bit from his bandaged wounds as he walked forward, came over to them and said, "Give Summer the same message from me. We could really use her and Raven's talents right about now, but I guess their daughters are the perfect stand-ins." He smirked as he ruffled Ruby's hair affectionately and added, "Looking good there, Ruby. So, how do I look?"

"No different from how you look when you're hungover!" Ruby teased, which made him, Sun and Yang laugh, even the still awake Tom and Clara chuckling from behind the curtain. Ruby couldn't help but notice Yang shooting Sun a flirty look of sorts when no one else was looking, and his cheeks briefly reddened before turning to greet Blake. What was that all about? She brushed it off as Yang being Yang.

"So, what did you find out at that meeting?" Blake asked the veteran Huntsman as she leaned against the nearest wall and crossed her arms.

Qrow's face turned grim as he shook his head slowly, briefly wondering how they would take the news about the enemy successfully obtaining the secret maps to find two of the Relics. However; knowing that the Allcroft siblings are still in the vicinity, and many other people that weren't supposed to know such top secret information, he decided that caution was needed and decided to go with something else, "Luna spoke with the other Guardians of Remnant and we have a rough idea of what's happened in Atlas. So far, they've counted nearly two thousand fatalities in this city alone, and at least more than four thousand in Atlas, and that's just the cursory estimates. You know, I really dread to know the number of people who lost their lives today to all the chaos and destruction that has happened."

He paused and looked at the rainy skies outside the room's windows for a moment before continuing, "I also reported that I discovered that Luna's assistant betrayed us…although a quick investigation through his records and activities by other members of the headmistress's staff showed us that it wasn't exactly black and white though."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked again, "Was he forced to be a spy like Colonel Cy by the enemy?"

"In a way," Qrow told them, "I'll tell you the details later, but right now we're going to have to split."

"Wait, we're leaving?" Yang asked in surprise.

"Yeah," The avian Huntsman gestured for Sun to close the room's doors and watch for any eavesdroppers, before lowering his voice slightly, gesturing for Ruby, Blake and Yang to huddle close to him, "The Guardians of Remnant have reached a verdict and have decided that after everything you kids have been through, you're trustworthy enough to know our next move."

After casting a cautious glance over to where Clara and Tom Allcroft were, he quietly explained, "They wanted us to join the Remnant Knights and escort the Maidens to a secure location in Atlas. We'll figure out what to do from there."

"Why can't we go to Beacon? It's closer, and probably a safer place for the Maidens to be." Blake pointed out.

"Because they don't want to risk Salem attacking it again," Qrow spoke firmly as he fixed Blake with a severe look, "Ironwood wants the Maidens under the combined efforts of his military and the knights."

"I see, that makes sense." The feline ninja murmured thoughtfully.

"We've already told the others, so they're heading back to Hyperion One. We both came to get you four, since Luna has already sent word ahead for the doctors and nurses here to give Team RWBY and your uncle the okay for leaving." Sun added quietly.

"Uncle Qrow, are you sure you're okay?" Yang asked, concerned.

"I've had worse scrapes than this, firecracker." Qrow waved a hand to assure her, "Besides, if I need anything else I heard we've got an infirmary on Hyperion One." He then turned back to Ruby, "Are you good to go?"

"Yeah, I feel okay enough…wait, where's Crescent Rose?" Her face became suddenly alarmed, quickly moving her legs and accidentally stirring Weiss from her deep slumber.

"Relax Ruby, it's right here," Blake assured the younger girl, presenting her the scythe-rifle hybrid weapon from where they had placed it, which was beneath her nightstand.

Ruby instantly breathed a sigh of relief, taking Crescent Rose from Blake and hugging it close to her, "Oh, thank goodness!"

"Wha-" Weiss groaned as she sat up, slowly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Ruby? You're awake?"

"She's not the only one, sleepyhead." Yang teased gently, which simply caused Weiss to roll her eyes before looking at Ruby and taking hold of her hands, asking "Do you feel all right?" okay?"

"I'm fine, Weiss," Ruby smiled back at her before gesturing for her teammate to move back a little so she could push away the blankets and draw her legs up to swing them off of the bed.

"That's good to hear..." Weiss said a little drowsily, "Anything important happened when I was sleeping?"

"We've got orders to leave Vacuo City and head for Atlas." Sun answered her question in a quiet tone, "You feel up to walking?"

Deciding to see if her body had recovered enough to answer the Monkey Faunus's question, Weiss braced herself against the chair and the bed and used her arms to lift herself up slowly, testing if her legs could still hold up her entire body. She managed to stand upright for a few seconds, but soon felt the tiredness within her legs since she was still shaking slightly, and held out an arm, "Anyone mind helping me?"

"Don't worry about it, snow princess." Yang said, as she allowed Weiss to lean against her while picking up Myrtenaster with her robotic hand.

"Hey…Clara, Tom?" Ruby called to the Allcroft family behind the curtain on their side of the room, "Sorry, it looks like we are leaving early. It was really nice seeing you again, and maybe we can meet again sometime."

Clara drew the curtain back again, while Tom who was still awake, leaned up from the bed's pillows, "Same here, Ruby. I hope the next time we meet, the circumstances aren't as crazy." Both Allcroft siblings gave their best friendly smiles at Team RWBY, Qrow and Sun.

"Knowing us, that isn't likely to happen." Blake mused as she allowed Ruby to lean against her.

"Yeah, we can't promise anything but still, thanks for all the help," Ruby told the Allcroft siblings as the group began to head out of their shared room, "Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye and good luck." Clara remarked, "I've got a feeling you all gonna need it."

"And we hope the Vacuoan authorities can help fix up your damaged train." Ruby mentioned.

"Well, it seems they can. Headmistress Luna has informed us that she would send a team of the rangers' best mechanics to patch it up, along with giving us some extra parts as thanks for helping to take out the Elder Deathworm during the battle. Not a bad reward, huh?" Tom answered with a warm smile.

"Not bad at all," Qrow agreed, and then said, "Before we go; I want you to know that you both didn't hear anything about where we're going, is that clear?"

"We didn't hear anything. Take care, all of you." Clara and Tom replied as they waved their send-offs.

After the group said their goodbyes, with Tom and Clara promising to tell Anna when she woke up, the group left the room and by extension the crowded infirmary behind and made their way quickly towards the landing platforms, with Sun leading the way and taking the less-travelled hallways to avoid the congested main arterial routes which were probably occupied by students, Huntsmen, Huntresses, security guards and rangers.

As they walked together, Ruby thought back on her musings about her attraction to her teammate Weiss. If she was being honest with herself, she really didn't know enough about romance to understand what she was feeling. She had come across some romance novels and even skimmed through a few of them, but she was quite sure that that kind of romance wasn't exactly realistic. However, the silver-eyed Huntress couldn't deny that she had felt attracted to Weiss, and she couldn't just brush it off as though it was nothing. There was something there slowly but surely developing between the both of them, Ruby was quite sure of it.

Maybe she could ask Yang? No, bad idea. She trusted her sister, but she didn't want Yang to overreact and cause an unwanted fuss.

And Coco was far too teasing about this kind of thing, so she was obviously out.

Pyrrha would be a good choice…although Blake was another ideal person to talk to about her feelings. Ruby knew that the Faunus was by far the most knowledgeable about romance if all those books she had read were anything to go by, and her Uncle Ghira and Aunt Kali had one of the most loving relationships she had seen between a married couple. Plus, she would be sane enough and reserved enough not to spill anything if Ruby spoke to her about it.

Before long, they eventually arrived at the landing platforms where they saw the familiar figures of Sharp Strike, Coco, Penny and N1CK3L all waiting for them at the bottom of Hyperion One's ramp.

Qrow whistled as he surveyed the Mobile Airborne Command Ship from its sharp nose till its tail fins, a highly impressed look on his face, "Looks like Jimmy didn't skimp out, because this is one real beauty of a ship."

"Wait till you see the guns it's packing!" Ruby told him with an eager smile.

"Ruby!" Penny called out as she dashed over to them, causing more than a few rangers and Atlas soldiers moving to and fro from the other landing pads to look in her direction, "Are you and Weiss all right? We were all quite worried about you!"

"We're okay now, Penny." Ruby assured the android girl, "Just really, really tired."

"We all are, and could all use a warm shower and comfortable beds." Yang added wearily.

Coco waved to them and said, "Welcome back, it's nice to see you guys are still hanging in there."

"Coco, you know nothing much can keep us down for long," Ruby replied with a small smile, then she looked around, "Where are the Maidens?"

Sharp Strike spoke up as he stepped forward and answered, "They're both safely aboard the stealth airships belonging to the Eternal Warriors and Relentless Crusaders detachments respectively. I'm sure they'll be eager to speak with Team Beacon once we're all rested up."

"Is everyone else already aboard?" Sun asked.

"As of now, everyone's here and accounted for!" Penny reported dutifully, "Your teammates are currently eating in the commons lounge, while Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Velvet and Yatsuhashi are sleeping."

"And now that the rest of Team Beacon have arrived, we will be cleared to depart for our next destination with the Remnant Knights and the Maidens." N1CK3L added with a nod.

"Well, let's not keep 'em waiting." Qrow remarked, "Because I pretty much need a drink and a place to lie down."

"At least wait for a moment, Branwen." Luna's voice came from behind them.

The group turned to see the headmistress of Shade Academy walking briskly towards the with Teams NDGO and BRNZ, all of whom looked considerably weary from the huge battle and its aftermath. A pair of rangers armed with assault rifles marched behind Luna, more out of formality than for her protection.

"Heh, here to see us off, Luna?" Qrow asked.

"Something like that, Branwen. After all, what kind of headmistress would I be if I didn't personally send off the heroes who helped save Shade Academy today?" Luna told them with a contrite smile, "I've also brought Teams BRNZ and NDGO so that they could bid you all goodbye. I also wanted to make sure that you have all recovered sufficiently before Team Beacon leaves for Atlas."

"Thanks for your concern, Luna." Ozpin's agent sighed as he looked around the landing pads, "It's been a tiring day for us all, but Shade's still standing at least. To be honest, I think I wouldn't know what we'd do if this place had fallen like Beacon."

"Shade may be damaged, but the most important thing I know is that it's still mostly intact and standing after everything that happened today." Luna said as she clasped her ring-covered hands together, "While repairs and renovations might take awhile, but I'm confident that with the assistance of the Vacuo Council as well as the students and faculty of this academy we can restore nearly everything."

"I guess that's one way of seeing things, though your perspective is much more optimistic than mine." Qrow told her.

"Indeed. Now, may I speak frankly with you?" Luna's tone turned serious, and Qrow felt himself straightened as much as possible without hurting his bandaged wounds. He gave another nod and walked with the headmistress to the far end of the advanced airship's wide ramp where they quickly conversed in tense, quiet whispers.

"So, are you all feeling better now, Ruby? Weiss?" Dew put forth as they stopped in front of the grouped members of Team Beacon.

"All things considered? We were tired as heck but at least we're still alive and in one piece." Ruby mentioned, glancing over to Weiss who was visibly struggling to stay awake as her head lolled a little.

"The feeling's mutual." Octavia remarked, her own voice also sounding quite tired, "But we still got a lot of work to do before we can relax though."

"Since you guys are moving out, we figured that it would be a good idea to wish you luck. Besides, I got a strong feeling you're gonna need it." Brawnz said as he offered Sun his hand, which the leader of Team SSSN graciously accepted and shook.

"Please tell that to the others for us, as we don't want to hold you up any longer." Nebula added as she gave Ruby and Yang each a fist-bump.

"Will do." Ruby replied happily, "And I hope we meet again soon."

"Hopefully next time won't be during an intense battle, but knowing our luck..." May said, getting some chuckles from the others.

As the Huntsmen-in-training exchanged their goodbyes, Luna and Qrow were deep in their own conversation.

"I assume the Knights have the maps to the Relics?" He whispered while holding a hand on his bandaged side.

Luna nodded, "The map copies are safe in the hands of Wind Runner and Flame Walker, who are on Breath of the Wild Storms and Endless Inferno with the Spring and Summer Maidens respectively. You are to join their escort to Atlas to meet with General Ironwood and attend the funeral for the Winter Maiden. Ozpin and the other Guardians, in the meantime, will devise a plan of action from there…but I myself think it's a fair bet that you and Team Beacon are in for quite the adventure in the coming future."

Qrow sighed and shook his head, "I don't know…I'm tired of seeing those kids constantly being in harm's way, but I know they're growing up rapidly to take on this dangerous world, and witnessing the incredible things they've accomplished on their own I have this feeling that they might not need me to be looking out for them much longer."

"They're an extraordinary group of huntsmen and huntresses who have been through more trials than anyone their age should be put through, but I'm positive that they will always welcome your guidance and skills whenever the situation calls for it," Luna glanced in Team Beacon's direction for a moment, her face having a hint of sadness to it, "You might not have prevented the battle from happening, but things honestly could've been much worse without you and Team Beacon here to help. And I'm relieved to hear that you're recovering from injuries Tyrian inflicted on you."

"Ha!" Qrow chuckled as he shook his head and boasted, "You should've seen how I kicked his ass, and even chopped off his scorpion tail. I sure ripped him a new one that he won't forget."

"Good to hear it. If anyone deserved it, it's that psychopath," The brown-skinned headmistress stated with a small smile, "However, it's disappointing that we didn't manage to either capture him."

"There's always next time, Luna," Qrow pointed over his shoulder at the pommel of Reaper which was slung across his pack, "So what're you gonna be doing after we leave?"

"My hands are full with trying to help the people of Vacuo City, but I'll most likely be sorting out the current mess and dealing with a whole lot of paperwork from the various branches of the Vacuoan authorities." Luna reached up to touch her forehead as though she had a headache, "It will be difficult, and there will most certainly be more than a few sleepless nights, but I'll try my best to stamp out any unrest and expedite rescue and restoration efforts as quickly as possible, and hopefully appoint a new and more…trustworthy assistant."

"I can't say I envy you, but at least we managed to find out that Cedric was a spy before they could force him to do anything worse. Have you checked up with his family?" Qrow asked and the headmistress nodded.

"A team of Strider's best have already picked them up and brought them to an undisclosed safehouse to lie low, just in case Salem's agents try to do something."

"I see, and what about Sister Rosea?" Ruby's uncle lowered his voice a little as raindrops continued to fall around them, "I know she did what she had to do under the circumstances, but some of the other Guardians of Remnant aren't as…sympathetic as you and I. What do you think would happen to her?"

Luna sighed a little heavily and spoke in a serious voice, "While Sister Rosea was forced to hand over the original maps to the Relics to Watts, and those actions alone would most likely condemn her in the eyes of those who are more strict-minded among us, but she managed to give us a chance by secretly making backup copies of the maps and keeping them hidden. While her recent actions most certainly deserve some form of reprimanding, but considering her long service of unquestioned loyalty among the Guardians of Remnant, her efforts in stopping Salem's agent by secretly raising the alarm and saving the many lives of the orphanage's staff and children, as well as her resourcefulness in preparing for such a situation…I've already put forward a formal petition for leniency which I hope the other Guardians will take into serious consideration when deciding on her fate."

"Well, I guess that might work. At least Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, Seraph and the rest don't just gloss over all the good she's done for us," Qrow remarked as he shook hands with the brown-skinned headmistress, "For what it's worth, I wish you the best in the future."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," She said, giving Ozpin's agent a small genuine smile, "Good luck out there Qrow, and please convey my deepest condolences for the Winter Maiden's death and those who fell defending her."

"I'll tell them. Till we meet again, Luna." Qrow finished before turning to walk back to the softly conversing group of young Huntsmen and Huntresses, "Hate to break it up, but you all need your rest and we do need to get moving."

Nodding, the group faced Teams BRNZ and NDGO and said their final goodbyes before embarking up the ramp, and once everyone was on board N1CK3L pressed a few buttons on the wall-mounted control panel to close the ramp.

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked Coco as they made their way to the elevator past the secured Bumblebee and Swift Wing as well as the larger Nomad All-Terrain armored personnel carriers.

"Mostly, as far as I can tell. Ren and Nora are the only exception, they're acting weirdly distant for some reason. I think Ross and Ciel know why, but when I asked Ciel she told me that Ren and Nora want to wait until tomorrow to tell us." Coco explained.

"Huh, that is weird. I wonder what's up with them?" Yang mused to herself as everyone present piled into the elevator.

"Something important for them, I would assume." Sharp Strike put forth as the elevator arrived at their destination, the doors opening up so they could be greeted by Ross.

"Welcome back, nice to see you're all okay." He looked them over and then focused his eyes on Qrow, "You too, Branwen."

"Same to you, and all thanks to your terrific flying, Rob," Qrow grunted as he walked forward and gave Hyperion One's pilot a handshake, "It's been a while."

"Well, I was there when Team STRQ needed me right?" Ross quipped, "Now I'm just glad I can make a difference by helping out Team Beacon."

"Glad to have you with us, buddy," Qrow replied, "So how did Jimmy's new ship perform in battle? I was too busy fighting to notice."

"She flew like a charm and her guns blasted down Grimm so fast I couldn't even keep up." Ross chuckled heartily.

"Three hundred and forty-three, according to the report from the weapon systems," Ciel stated, revealing that she was standing nearby and nodded to greet the returning group, "The Remnant Knights have informed us through their secure transmissions that the Spring and Summer Maidens, as well as some unspecified items of importance have been secured on board their individual ships. Once the airspace above Vacuo City is reported clear and the 'ready' signal is given, we'll be on our way."

"How long will that take?" Qrow asked as he looked at Ross with a smirk, "The sooner we blast off the better, since everything is mostly quiet now. If that's okay by you, Captain."

"Sounds good to me." Ross agreed wholeheartedly, before politely excusing himself and set off for the cockpit, Ciel following him.

"Come on Blake, let's get these sleepyheads off to dreamland." Yang suggested as she guided the nearly asleep Weiss towards their cabin.

"We could use some rest and recharging ourselves, so N1CK3L and I will bid you all goodnight my friends." Penny declared to the members of Team Beacon, before joining the enhanced tactical android as they both made their way down to the lower levels of Hyperion One where their mobile repair bays were located.

"Actually, can I get some-" Ruby began to say when Neptune popped up, presenting her with a plate of chocolate-chip cookies.

"Way ahead you, Ruby." He said with a smile.

"I owe you my life, Neptune..." Ruby whispered as she gazed at the snack with sparkling eyes, before taking the plate from him and began gobbling up the cookies as if her life depended on it.

Sharp Strike watched in quiet awe as Ruby devoured the entire plate of cookies within a smattering of seconds. He glanced at Blake and commented, "Well…she certainly has a healthy appetite."

"You have no idea," Blake muttered before she nudged Ruby and led her towards their cabin, but not before shooting a loving look in Sun's direction and giving him a flirty wink.

Sun returned Blake's gesture by giving her a thumbs up and followed Neptune to the commons lounge, where Coco had joined Fox, Ren, Sage and Scarlet. He glanced back to see the knight errant following them, and asked, "Do you want anything to eat, Sharp Strike?"

"Yes, I could go for something. Thank you for asking." Sharp Strike said as he followed them into the commons lounge.

"I thought you would prefer to eat alone?" Neptune asked as he turned his head a little to look at the knight errant.

"Sometimes, but not always." Sharp Strike answered, "And since I'm part of Team Beacon I don't really mind sharing a meal with you."

"Hope you guys left some food for me, I'm famished." Sun jibed as he stopped at the kitchen counter. He looked at the few plates of warmed food available and saw a plate of grilled chicken which he quickly took up and began slowly eating, while Sharp Strike also collected a plate of food for himself.

"We'd never hear the end of it if we didn't," Sage replied with a smirk as he gestured over the counter, "Oh, if you want to take some food to Blake, there's even some grilled fish and noodles for Blake."

"That'll really do you some favors, since she's probably starvin' too." Scarlet muttered as he played a game on his scroll against Sage. He then shot a brief wink at Sun who chuckled a little.

"Not a bad idea," Sun said after swallowing some chicken. He then gestured to the television screen in the lounge area which was displaying a slowly revolving emblem of Atlas, "Anything interesting on the tv?"

"Nothing but the usual news coverage and emergency broadcast updates," Fox answered from his place on one of the sofas, "And we saw more than enough chaos today so we don't really need to be reminded of it."

"I hear that," Sage agreed with a solemn nod. Qrow slumped on the sofa opposite him, slowly sipping from his flask while having a certain faraway look in his red eyes.

The internal intercom system chimed and Ross' voice filled the commons lounge, "This is your Captain speaking; Headmistress Luna has just informed me that the Vacuo Council has given us the signal to leave. Two squadrons of Ranger Bullheads and Desert Guard gunships will escort us out of the city's airspace. Please also remember to grab onto something to avoid losing your balance, thank you."

Moments later, the Hyperion One began to subtly rock with its occupants as the lift-off procedure began. It climbed into the air vertically with the help of its powerful VTOL engines, ascending to join the two stealth ships Breath of the Wild Storms and Endless Inferno, which were then followed by several heavily-armed bullheads and gunships assigned to escort duty, flying past the Allegiance.

As the Mobile Airborne Command Ship orientated itself smoothly to take its place between the Knight Order's stealth ships, the various members of Team Beacon found themselves looking out of the common lounge's transparent view-port gallery window at the damaged cityscape of Vacuo's capital. Although it looked terribly desolated, the view nevertheless still had a strange and haunting beauty to it.

"Damn. Look at all that," Fox murmured as they surveyed the severely-battered city in silence, "It's gonna take a lot more than insurance money to fix all this."

"I hope the people will be all right." Scarlet commented softly as they saw more rescue ships and even a few Manta gunships zipped by them.

"Vacuoans are tough and resilient," Sun told him with a hand on the shoulder, "They'll grieve, but they'll eventually move on and start rebuilding. This city will be back to its former glory in a year or so, you can count on it."

"I hope you're right, Sun." Neptune responded, "I really do."

"I believe Sun knows what he's talking about." Sharp Strike commented from his position not far away from them, one gauntlet holding a plate of food, "The extensive damage inflicted on this city may run deep and the memory of this tragedy won't fade, but with time and by working together, the people of Vacuo City will gradually overcome this disaster and hopefully move on."

Sun nodded gratefully at the knight's words before walking over one of the chairs at the kitchen counter to sit down and eat his meal. The assorted members of Team Beacon watched silently as the Hyperion One pushed more power to its engines and began following Breath of the Wild Storms and Endless Inferno on their journey to Atlas.

Meanwhile, inside of Team RWBY's cabin, Blake had already helped the still exhausted form of Weiss into her more comfortable night clothes and then watched as the Schnee heiress clumsily got onto the bed and pulled the covers over her body, falling asleep almost immediately.

"Guess all that aura she put into fighting Grimm and summoning the Arma Gigas left her really drained." Blake observed.

"She's not the only one utterly beat. To be honest with you, these beds look really sweet right now." Yang commented as she helped Ruby get into her bed.

"You said it, Yang." Ruby agreed sleepily, "I was out for hours…and yet I still feel…very tired…"

"Well, you can sleep easy now," Yang chuckled a little as she tucked Ruby in, "Sweet dreams." She bid Ruby with a small affectionate forehead kiss.

"You too…" Ruby whispered with a very tired smile as she pulled the comfortable thermal blanket over her body and snuggled into the soft pillows. As she turned her head away from the lights, she glanced over and before her silver eyes fluttered closed she saw both Blake and Yang sharing an intriguing kind of look as they held hands…and it might have been how sleepy she was, but Ruby could have sworn they were looking at each other quite romantically.

'That's weird…' She thought fleetingly before her eyes finally shut as sleep quickly overtook her.

Yang got up and smiled at Blake once she was sure that Ruby was fast asleep, who nodded back at her that Weiss was also out of it. The blonde brawler walked over and embraced her Faunus partner, wrapping her robotic and organic arms around Blake's torso while saying, "Lotta close calls today, huh?"

"Way too many for my liking." Blake admitted as Yang leaned in for a kiss, which the Faunus returned after another glance to assure herself that their teammates were asleep. She felt her arms automatically move upwards to hold onto Yang's thicker and stronger ones as she savored the sweet taste of the blond's lips until they heard a gentle knocking sound coming from their team cabin's doors.

Parting hastily and blushing, Yang walked over to open the door and smiled at the figure of Sun standing outside with a plate of grilled fish with noodles and some energy snacks. "Did someone order room service?" The leader of Team SSSN asked with a winning smile.

"No, but I think we'll take it anyway, delivery boy." Yang said softly as she put a finger to her lips to signal to Sun that he should keep quiet. Nodding his head, the Monkey Faunus came inside and Yang tapped the door controls to shut the cabin's entrance again behind him.

"Got something special for you, Blake." Sun said as he presented the plate of food to Blake, who gazed at the delicious meal with sparkling eyes and a bit of drool on the edge of her mouth before she quickly leaned in towards Sun to give him a loving, grateful kiss while accepting the plate from him.

"So, they're pretty much out of it?" Sun asked while gesturing to the sleeping forms of Ruby and Weiss in their bunks.

"Totally. They still need a lot of rest after what they've been through," Yang told him as she rubbed Sun's shoulders from behind, earning a pleased groan from the Monkey Faunus as she kissed his cheek, "And quite frankly, my bed is like the sixth best-looking thing in this room right now."

Blake made a sound of agreement as she greedily ate up the slices of grilled fish and noodles as quietly as she could after sitting down at the table situated in the middle of the cabin. Sun and Yang joined her, sitting down on the chairs as Yang picked up one of the energy snacks and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.

After watching Blake eat for a few moments, he asked her, "Hey Blake, so what exactly happened between you and that Ilia girl? In all the rush you never exactly told us what went down between you two."

Blake gulped down another piece of seasoned fish before looking up at her two lovers and sighed, her amber eyes looking downcast. "Blake told me while we were alone earlier." Yang informed Sun quietly, "But I think she would prefer to tell you herself."

"That's fine by me." Sun replied softly as he knotted his fingers together, "Anytime when you're ready."

Putting the nearly empty plate aside, Blake took a breath and said, "To cut a long story short, I knew Ilia back when I was with the White Fang and we sometimes undertook missions together with Adam. Today was the first time I saw her since before I ran away from Adam's White Fang chapter and it appears she joined up with the Red Fang. We fought, and it wasn't an easy battle, but I managed to win by telling the truth about Adam and talking sense into Ilia…and learning something about her that I really should have been aware enough to realize."

"And that is…?" Yang prompted while waving one of her robotic fingers a little.

"She had feelings for me," She told them.

Surprise crept over Sun's features, but given his own feelings for the Cat Faunus sitting before him, he was pretty sure he understood the Fusion Faunus' feelings since there were a lot of admirable qualities about Blake that would easily cause others to gravitate towards her, besides her attractive looks. A sideways glance at Yang told him that she was pretty much thinking the exact same thing.

Yang gazed at her carefully, "Then what else happened?"

"We fought off some Grimm Knights together; and narrowly escaped with our lives." The ex-White Fang member revealed, "Even though I offered to do what I could to help Ilia if she wanted to defect from the Red Fang, she decided to remain within Salem's group to spy on them for us, to let us know as much of their upcoming plans as she possibly can so that we can adequately prepare and fight them in future."

"Whoa, seriously?" Sun asked with a surprised look, "Won't doing that put her in danger?"

"And you trust her?" Yang queried, her face turning serious, "How do we know that she's not a reverse spy?"

"Ilia and I go way back, and we worked together a lot when I was still with the White Fang." Blake countered, "I was with her enough to know her mannerisms and personality quite well, and I can tell when someone's lying…and from what I can tell, she genuinely wants to help us."

"Sounds good to me." The Monkey Faunus gave a nod and then added, "But all the same, I suggest we look at whatever information she managed to give us carefully before taking any action."

"Yup, better be safe than sorry." Yang agreed, "Especially after what happened."

"I agree." Blake nodded her head, "I've decided to wait until tomorrow to tell the others since most of them are exhausted and I'm also not sure how they will react to this piece of information. Ilia clearly wants to make up for what she has done, so she's willingly volunteering to put herself in danger for the sake of helping us save Remnant. She's a good friend to me, and also a skilled infiltration agent who could prove to be an important ally to us, but given her background and current association with the Red Fang I'm not so sure about telling General Ironwood and the rest of the Guardians of Remnant, because I want her to be protected and not arrested…"

"Uncle Qrow will vouch for her," Yang responded in a quiet, serious tone, "If Ruby and me ask him to, he'll stand up for Ilia. Plus, if she's seriously going to put herself in that kind of hellish danger to help us, then she's got my respect."

"Mine too. Looks like Ren and Nora aren't the only ones with stuff to tell everyone," Sun remarked as he stood up, "Well, sorry ladies, but I gotta get some rest and I think you two should too." He hugged the two, "Love you both."

"And we love you too." Blake answered with a smile.

"Sweet dreams, Sunny." Yang told him.

"Hey, I'll probably dream about both of you, the sweetest dream of all." Sun said charmingly as he made a heart with his fingers before leaving through the cabin's opening doors. Blake smiled as she gave a small wave at him while Yang shook her head with a smirk.

"Dear Oum, he sounds just like one of those ninja hunks in those romance books you read." The blonde bombshell remarked.

Blake blushed before she went back to eating, all the while thinking about how she was going to tell everyone about Ilia.

---

The night had passed and dawn was coming in parts of Remnant, but the darkly-colored skies always remained the same above the wastelands where Salem's dark palace resided. It was rather difficult to tell due to the intricate combination of magic and technology she used to keep her castle shrouded from the outside world, and so the sky itself seemed to be in a permanent state of dark twilight, but some of her associates who had been with her long enough had learned to get used to it.

Cinder was one of these individuals, so she had woken up early as per usual, went through her daily morning rituals before putting on her clothes and was about to get herself some breakfast when she was greeted by the sight of a Grimm Seer floating in front of her chamber's doors.

"Cinder." Came the voice of her mentor from the depths of the jellyfish-like Grimm's single red eye, "I would like to speak with you. Come to my throne room at once."

"I hear and obey, master." Cinder replied with a respectful nod before she dutifully followed the Seer to the throne room.

Upon arriving Cinder found the throne room empty save for Salem herself, who sat at the head of the meeting table intently studying the pair of stolen maps which she had spread out before her. Shattered pieces of glass shards clinked underneath her shoes as the Fall Maiden approached the Mistress of Grimm, and she also noted that many of the broken windows had yet to be replaced, but other than that the entire room seemed relatively normal since the Gargoyles were hidden back amongst the stone walls and atop pillars yet again.

"You summoned me, master?" Cinder curtsied, announcing her presence as the throne room doors closed behind her. The Grimm Seer left her side and floated to the left-hand side of Salem's crystal chair, its tentacles gently twitching.

Salem slowly looked up and gave Cinder a look that the Fall Maiden felt was both keenly studying and judging her. "Yes, I did." The Mistress of Grimm said as she leaned back on her elaborate crystal chair and gestured for her disciple to take a seat, "I wish to talk to you about our current situation at hand, and to give praise how you performed yesterday."

Giving a humble nod, Cinder moved to take a seat next to Salem's right. Nonetheless her actions were subtly cautious as though in the presence of an enemy, in case the dark witch did something that would put her in immediate danger. Knowing her master's usual behavior, the Fall Maiden knew Salem liked to keep her disciples on edge at all times.

She glanced at the other items on the table, and noted the various obsidian-colored model figurines placed at various locations depicted on a huge map of Remnant were in the forms of various Grimm creatures and vaguely humanoid-looking characters. There were also a number of black tomes of dark, forbidden lore and many scraps of paper covered with unknowable symbols and runes sat around the periphery of the meeting table, no doubt taken out of the palace's hidden archives so Salem could decipher the mysterious language that was written on the maps.

'She's already planning her next move.' Cinder thought surreptitiously to herself as she maintained an expression of respect.

"Your performance in battle against the Winter Maiden was quite admirable. I watched you fight from a distance and your resourcefulness in the battle was most impressive, especially with the avalanche trick. You were deadly, fierce, cunning…you have truly become my most powerful disciple, the one with the highest potential to achieve true greatness." Salem praised in a soft, almost motherly tone.

"You flatter me, master, but I could not have succeeded without you. Elsa would have killed me had you not intervened." Cinder said, trying her best to act modest as she knew Salem didn't like egotists.

"Hmm…true," Salem noted as she picked up a black figurine of a Gargoyle and toyed with it between her white slender fingers, "But still, you ran Elsa ragged and made her truly desperate to save those civilians and Knights. I believe that had her lover Kaifin still been alive, she would have done everything in her power to capture you alive since killing you was a desperate last resort she wouldn't have resorted to otherwise."

Her dark red eyes stared directly into Cinder's amber ones, "And I must thank you for helping me reclaim my powers, Cinder. I couldn't have done it without your power and fighting skills weakening the Winter Maiden enough for me to make my move at the most opportune moment. Now, you and I are the first members of a new era of the Maiden Sisterhood."

Cinder lowered her head, acting as modest as she could, "No, master. I could never consider you as a sister. That would imply that we are equals…and I know my place is beneath you."

She felt Salem's milky white hand reaching out to caress her cheek, and slowly raised her head to face the dark witch. Looking at Salem's deathly-pale face, Cinder watched as a condescending smirk spread across Salem's lips as she said, "A fine answer, my disciple. You truly have become wise."

The Fall Maiden did not flinch away from Salem's unsettling gaze, she instead met her master's stare and nodded mutely. She knew they could never be considered sisters, not in the way she understood from what details recorded in books about the Maiden Sisterhood, because there was no real sisterly love whatsoever between them. There were only lies, manipulation and deceit. Regrettably, this was the path Cinder herself had chosen when she first swore herself into Salem's service, and now she had to follow it until she could make a path of her own.

Glancing over at the maps on the table, Cinder decided to change the subject before any of her uneasiness crept on her face.

"How goes the translating?" She asked.

Salem nudged one of the open rune-covered tomes to the side, "Slowly. They are written in an obscure cipher that not even I am not familiar with. Whoever created these maps took serious steps to ensure that whatever was inscribed on them could only be read by those who had the proper cipher key to decode it."

"I see." Cinder looked down at the maps herself, and saw that various symbols depicted on the maps' worn surface was unlike anything she had ever seen as it was written in an ancient language that probably hadn't been spoken by anyone on Remnant for millennia, "I take it the translation will be more difficult than expected?"

"Yes, but not impossible." The Mistress of Grimm replied as she placed her black-veined hands on the table's surface again, "Watts is assisting me in this regard; he has begun looking through various archives and information databases for similar languages while I do the same from the castle's private collection. Since there are very few languages that can be so complex, I'm sure we can discover the correct cipher key to translate and decipher the maps' directions to the Relics' locations in time."

"How much time do you think that will take?" Cinder's amber eyes focused on a feminine-looking figurine not far away from her right hand, realizing that it looked vaguely like the previous Fall Madient. A brief thought surfaced in her mind, wondering if Salem purposefully placed that figurine before her to make some kind of unspoken statement or to remind Cinder of the Fall Maiden's power she had stolen from Amber.

"It should take us no longer than two weeks, much shorter once the appropriate cipher key is found," Salem told the Fall Maiden calmly, "Which gives the rest of our agents enough time to recover and prepare to obtain the Relics."

"With all due respect master, I don't think recovery for some of our associates will be that easy." Cinder pointed out warily, "Many of them, especially those from the Vacuo mission, were severely injured in battle and it will take considerable time for them to adequately recover from their injuries. Thorn and Anansi will also need to get used to their prosthetic replacements before they can be given any new assignments."

"True, but we must strike while the iron is hot." Salem told her disciple, "Thorn is a quick learner, and Anansi has adapted to his original spider legs quite well so I'm sure Dr. Sherizawa's limb replacements shouldn't give him much trouble. Despite the setbacks we've suffered, the overall plan has not changed, though we will have to make a few adjustments to ensure it runs smoothly for the foreseeable future. I already have other plans in place, which will cause enough distractions to keep the Guardians of Remnant and the Knights busy so we can accomplish our goals unmolested. By the time they realized my true intentions, it will already be too late for them to do anything to stop us."

Cinder's face looked uncertain, so Salem gestured with an open hand at her, "You disagree? My disciple, you are free to speak your mind…"

Cinder knew about the arrangements Watts, Hazel and the others had made with the various bandit tribes scattered around Remnant to take advantage of the previous day's disaster, and their deal with the pirate gangs to attack the Atlesian naval forces while taking whatever they wanted in the ensuing chaos. If she was being honest, she wondered why Salem would want to work with those people when she was powerful enough to accomplish more or less anything by herself?

"Master, I don't understand." The Fall Maiden eventually said as she looked at Salem, "Bandits? Pirates? The Red Fang? I just can't see how those bandit tribes and scattered Grimm attacks will be enough to keep those Guardians and Knights off of us. And what's the point with keeping Rose, Arc and Nikos alive? We're obviously strong enough to take what we want by force, and we could easily kill them to rid ourselves of the threat they pose to us, depriving our enemy of some valuable assets!"

The dark queen looked at her disciple for a few quiet moments before giving a chuckle of amusement, "Not entirely, that much is true. But never underestimate the usefulness of others, Cinder, for they can be rather valuable when used at the appropriate time. Yes, I know the Guardians of Remnant and the Remnant Knights are plotting their next move against us, but after witnessing what we accomplished yesterday their growing fear and paranoia will aid us in leading them to their downfall. Now that they've lost two Maidens, they'll be paranoid, and they'll fight amongst themselves over their next course of action or their overall plans. In the meantime, the outrage from the public over the Knights' secrecy will also serve as an unexpected but welcome distraction from us which will hinder them.

"All this chaos will lead to the Guardians tightening their grip on the Spring and Summer Maidens, alienating them from their protectors who will practically make them prisoners in order to keep them safe. They will resist and resent the unreasonable rules that will no doubt be forced upon them in time," Salem allowed a malicious smile to appear on her face, "Besides, our agent in the Atlas Council will see to it that they will be desperate enough to rebel against those who would protect them, and when the time is right and their guard is down…that's when Anastasia and Thorn will strike."

"I see, though Thorn will have to improve and learn some new tricks if she wants to fight the Summer Maiden again. It won't be easy for her to get used to a robotic arm and she can't see out of one eye, which can have quite a crippling effect on one since she has no depth perception." Cinder remarked, remembering how she previously noticed Thorn's balance was completely skewed when she was hobbling towards the infirmary while being aided by a medic. It wouldn't be surprising to her that Thorn wouldn't be as effective at fighting when she has only one good eye.

Salem chuckled darkly before informing her, "No need to worry. Thorn will heal soon and she'll have quite a few 'gifts' with her mechanical enhancements that will give her some aces up her sleeve for her next encounter with the Summer Maiden. She just needs a few…gentle nudges in the right direction to be the fierce warrior she needs to be."

"What about Anastasia?" Cinder asked quietly, "I can't help but notice that she's constantly grumbling about not getting the Spring Maiden's powers and complaining about the other agents she has to work alongside."

"It's nothing a talk with me and some choice words won't fix." Salem waved her question away, "I already have something else planned for Anastasia, and as long as she can accomplish the tasks I have given her I can overlook her objections. However, should she continue to fail in my expectations…I guess you pretty much know the answer to that by now, Cinder?"

"I do understand what you mean, master." Cinder gave a nod and then brought up another concern of hers, "With regards to Thorn's…failure, what about the Maidens' knight protectors? The knight with the relic sword was the main reason why Thorn was defeated, she could have won had he not intervened."

She noticed Salem's fingers tighten together for a brief moment before relaxing, and she said, "Yes, you raise a valid point. Thorn may need assistance in her next encounter with the Summer Maiden, so when the time comes I expect you and your subordinates to help her. By keeping those Knights away from helping Heliosia, I'm sure Thorn would be able to defeat the Maiden."

"She might resist, but I will make sure she understands that I also needed help to obtain my own Maiden powers, and hopefully Thorn will understand." Cinder voiced, "But what if she insists on fighting the Summer Maiden alone again?"

"If Thorn's unhappy with the arrangement, you can tell her that I specifically assigned you to help her. She has to obey my order; she doesn't need to like it." Salem answered as she chuckled darkly once more, looking quite amused, "Ah, how ironic. You will help kill the Summer Maiden, a title your own mother once held."

Cinder clenched her hands and looked down. Despite everything she had done, the Fall Maiden couldn't help but feel shame and loathing welling up in her soul. She had been a foolish child who had been expertly manipulated by Salem into being a remorseless killer. She didn't kill Elsa in cold blood, Cinder kept telling herself, she granted the Winter Maiden a quick death which Salem wouldn't even be bothered to give.

"The current Summer Maiden seems much stronger than my mother," She quickly mentioned, eager to push away those thoughts of doubt so Salem couldn't sense them, "You saw what she did to Thorn; her injuries are substantial. It's clear to me that this Heliosia is not to be underestimated."

"Indeed, only a fool underestimates their enemies," Salem agreed with a nod, "Yet your mother didn't have her Maiden powers when you killed her. I saw the way you battled Elsa and it was exemplary, while Thorn herself nearly had the Summer Maiden's powers within her grasp if not for the Maiden's knight protector stepping in. With the two of you working together, the Summer Maiden shouldn't pose a serious threat…unless neither of you are strong enough to defeat a single Maiden…"

The implied questioning of her competence gnawed at Cinder's temper, but she forced herself to look away and let out a sigh, "No, I defeated Amber and I fought Elsa long enough to weaken her. I'm confident that together we can defeat Heliosia when the time comes."

"Good," Salem pressed the tips of her fingers against each other, eyeing Cinder carefully, "There's one last thing I feel the need to remind you of, do you remember the vow you took when I first brought you here?"

The Fall Maiden looked up at her master and admitted, "Yes, I do. You told me that I would become a Maiden, yet there will eventually come a time that I, along with all of the other Maiden candidates you have chosen, will be required to surrender that power. You never told me why, but you made it clear that it was a condition I could not refuse. I agreed to it, and so you allowed me to be the Fall Maiden. The same vow I took then still binds me now, master, and I will obey all of your commands."

"I see my given trust in you haven't been misplaced, my disciple." Salem complimented in a tone that Cinder suspected was anything other than sincere.

"I have a question, master." Cinder asked and Salem gestured for her to continue, "From what I have learned from my studies and from what you have taught me, there was a certain rule of the Maiden Sisterhood made so when the Wizard bestowed the powers of the seasons onto the original Maidens, that no individual can hold the power of all four Maidens at once. What if the Wizard is still alive? Shouldn't he somehow know that we've stolen the Maiden powers, and won't he be able to take those powers back if we somehow encounter him?"

"You've made a fair point. The Wizard did not dictate that one could control who became the next Maiden, but that didn't stop Ozpin and his fellow Guardians from trying to control who would become the next Maiden," Salem remarked as she stood up, walking towards her throne, "Besides, if the Wizard truly cared about the inhabitants of Remnant he would be helping our adversaries, yet instead he chose to remain hidden. But he cannot hide forever, and should he surface again and get in our way…let's just say I already have something in mind on how to deal with him."

"Even so, I do not think one being could pull such a thing off since the huge amount of power would be far too much to control properly and would destroy the body of whoever would attempt such a thing." Cinder's amber eyes followed Salem as she walked around the throne room slowly, "As far as I know, there is no single individual on Remnant aside from the Wizard himself who can contain all of the Seasonal Maidens' powers within their body. Not that I doubt your power and abilities, master…"

Salem turned her head slowly to gaze at her disciple, favoring her with a smile that has a malevolent glee as she said, "That rule only applies to mortals, Cinder. Some of us have evolved beyond that."

This set off alarms in Cinder's mind, as the way Salem said that made it abundantly clear that she evidently had some other hidden plan for the Maiden powers when they were all under control…and it didn't involve letting Anastasia, Thorn and her keep them in the long run. The Maiden candidates were simply the means for Salem to eventually get those powers for herself. Things were moving at a far faster pace than she expected, which meant she had better keep up or else she would be inexorably crushed underneath their immense weight if she so much as slip up.

Gazing at her disciple, Salem's expression changed to a somewhat more subdued smile, yet was one that was still quite menacing all the same. She walked purposefully towards Cinder, who remained in her seat while carefully trying not to show how nervous she was growing.

The Grimm Queen came uncomfortably close to Cinder, before leaning in and caressing her face yet again with long black fingernails, "My disciple, despite your failures in the past…you will have the power I promised you, when the time is right," She rubbed her slender, cold fingers gently over the Fall Maiden's facial scar, making the latter woman shudder slightly, "You have always done your best to serve me, and I'm quite proud of the woman you've become since you sworn yourself into my service. You are the closest thing I've ever had to a daughter, which was something I've always wanted. So, I want you to know that when Remnant, the Maidens and the Relics, as well as the Aura Crystal, are all under my control, you will be raised up higher than the rest and stand with me as my right hand, ruling over Remnant with all of those who have served me well."

Then a note of deep malice entered Salem's tone, "However, and you will be the first to hear this, in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of my plan I must ensure the complete and absolute loyalty of my subjects. While I expected deception and competition among those who serve me, I am not unprepared for those who think they can put their own desires, agendas and personal ambitions before the tasks I give them, and allowing their overconfidence to overrule their better judgement. When that happens, it could cause…difficulties for us, so if you suspect anyone who may betray me…or if you think you yourself can overthrow me…"

Suddenly spikes of ice erupted from the marble floor around Cinder's chair, making her gasp in surprise as she drew back instinctively, the razor-sharp ends of the ice spikes stopping less than an inch from her face. Her heart pounded slightly faster as she saw distorted reflections of her features on the cold surface of the spikes while feeling others brushing dangerously close against her skin, before looking up to see Salem glaring at her, "Let it be known that I will not tolerate betrayal from those who serve me, nor challenges of any sort against my authority. Remember what I said last night; only fools believe that death is the ultimate punishment. After all, individuals as powerful as those who have sworn their allegiance to me can withstand quite a lot of pain. And for quite a long time, or until I am satisfied that they have learned their lesson. Have I made myself clear?"

Cinder took in a shallow, almost relieved breath before answering with an acquiescent nod, "Transparently, master."

"Good." Salem said as she turned away and returned to studying the maps fixedly, "You may go." She flicked her fingers and the ice spikes withdrew themselves until there was enough space for Cinder to stand up. The Fall Maiden bowed respectfully and then tried her best to calmly exit the throne room, but when she was just about to cross the threshold, Salem called out to her again.

"And before you go…" The Fall Maiden turned back to see her master's face frowning a little as she looked up from the relic maps, "…inform Tyrian that I wish to speak with him."

"As you command, master." Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Cinder turned and left with the huge doors closing behind her and leaving Salem alone in her massive throne room with the Grimm Seer for company. A small gesture of her fingers soon sent the jellyfish-like Grimm floating towards her throne, since there wasn't a need to contact any of her subordinates at the moment.

The Mistress of Grimm smiled as she sat back in her chair, pressing her fingers together as she did so, and mused to herself that it wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer to observe the results stemming from the recent battles, even if only to see the reactions coming from her foes and with her plan moving onto its next phase.

Tapping her insect-like ring-covered right index finger on the smooth surface of her planning table, Salem looked at the open paper map of Remnant displayed in front of her and deliberated, "And now, we wait for the enemy to make their move..."

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader.

Okay, so if you didn't catch it; this chapter's revelation about Nora's parents is why Thorn seemed to recognize her during The Chase, as she also worked for Odinson and had met Nora's parents. This is a reference to the old theory that Nora was a mob princess, which Monty apparently liked, so I adapted it and changed it so she was the daughter of two of a mob boss' top lieutenants.

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