Alright so I know I kinda messed up last chapter. I had this stupid idea where I would have Nova become a dark horse and cause conflict between him and the rest of his team and then he would have to do some soul searching and re-evaluate his moral compass, especially when Ruby would get mad at him and start to treat him differently. I was planning this whole outward bravado of dark with an inner conflict that would've made for a guilt-ridden redemption path but It came out all wrong so I scrapped the idea.

If anyone thinks I'm trying to turn Nova into a Mary Sue by giving him Maiden powers, well... think about it this way. Even with Maiden powers and Aspect Powers, Nova would still lose in a one on one battle with Onyx. But that's not why I gave Nova Maiden powers. There's actually a logical plot-based point on that but you'll just have to read and find out.


Chapter 52: Burdens of a Life


Outside of Haven Academy, separated by a thin wall, was the forces of the White Fang, and standing at the vanguard was none other than the man himself, High Commander Onyx. With his arms folded across his gigantic frame, the bear-Faunus eyed the situation inside with interest. If Cinder came out with the relic then Haven and Mistral would be his for the taking, but by the looks of things... it wasn't as smooth of an operation as they'd planned.

"It seems it's about time I step in… seems little Cinder has been down there long enough, and if those tremors were anything to go by… I'd say things didn't go quite as planned…" Onyx chuckled as he folded his arms. "Come on men, we have a city to burn…"

"Don't you dare take a single step further!" A shrill voice yelled drawing everyone's attention away from the hole in Haven Academy's wall.

Onyx and his squadron of soldiers all turned toward the sound of the voice, their eyes falling upon the most unexpected encounter.

Standing before them in the vast courtyard of Haven, was the most bizarre conglomeration of individuals his eyes had ever had the displeasure of seeing.

Luna Flareheart, Blake Belladonna, Sun Wukong, Ilia Amitola, Elain Flareheart, Adam Taurus, and Bell 'Wings' stood with what looked to be a small army of Faunus, the majority of which looked to be civilians with no formal training whatsoever. It was like someone took a bunch of similar pieces of cheap cloth and sewed them on as patchwork to a more expensive piece of silk.

"What the fuck...?" the tall man said folding his arms and quirking his eyebrow. In all of his years, Onyx had very little moments when he could genuinely call a "what the fuck?" moment, this was one of them.

"Onyx of the White Fang, as crown Princess of Menagerie, and on behalf of all Faunus in the world of Remnant, we have come to take you down," Luna said narrowing her eyes in anger.

"You've spent years lying to the world, lying to your subordinates for your own gain, but no more!" Adam yelled stepping forward with Bell.

Onyx chuckled upon seeing them, "So… you've come back to me? I thought I'd lost you…" he said with mock despair.

"Lost me? Yeah… you lost me alright... People of the White Fang, this man is not your leader. He is not who you think he is!" Adam yelled addressing everyone. The army of soldiers began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Captain Taurus?"

"Is that Adam? Onyx said he was tragically killed…"

"What's going on? Why is our captain with the enemy?!"

These were the questions ringing out amongst the crowd of soldiers behind Onyx.

"My people! This man is a false leader! He is not the man you want to follow. His ideas may seem effective but his methods are wrong! He will not hesitate to expend all of your lives if it means saving himself!" Bell now spoke up, her words ringing shrill across the still night air.

"It's special ops field captain Wings! I thought she went down with her squad?!" one of the soldiers pointed out.

"Yes… we were supposed to die that day, but not at the hands of Beacon… we were sentenced to death… by HIM!" she pointed at Onyx who feigned shock.

"Me?! I would never…" Onyx said not even trying to hide.

"My people, do you not see that this man is nothing but a false god?! He has lied to you and manipulated your minds to his will, but it is not too late! Join us! Forsake this madman and come to your senses! Do the right thing!" Elain pleaded, joining in.

"The Queen! She's alive?! I thought she died ten years ago…"

"Wasn't she branded a traitor? Why are they following her?"

The Faunus doctor took up a stance of valor, "I, like Mr. Taurus and Miss Wings, was supposed to die under the order of that monster standing with you… but he took me, had me developing his little projects, slandered my family's name! I beg you to reject his path and return to us, to your people!" Elain implored.

There was a series of murmuring behind Onyx.

"You can't seriously believe them?!" he snarled.

"M-Mata?" one of the soldiers said as he recognized someone in the front lines of Luna's small army.

A black-haired Faunus man looked shocked, then his expression softened, "Please… no more… do the right thing…"

Soon enough more and more White Fang soldiers began to recognize their old comrades, mixed in with regular people in the crowd. This was the final trigger that caused them to begin walking forward.

"Where do you think you're going?" Onyx asked quirking his eyebrow.

"It's over sir, I'm done with this…" a soldier said, throwing down his weapon.

Onyx made a throaty chuckle, "You think you get to walk away so easily?"

"Huh, what are you…?"

Onyx reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small device with a singular button on it, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this… you really were a good bunch of soldiers…" with that he pressed the button. The soldiers began to spasm and drop to the floor, screaming in pain as their heads began to rattle and shake violently.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THEM?!" Blake screamed out.

Onyx didn't answer, he just held up three fingers, then dropped it to two, then one. When the countdown was done, all of a sudden, the soldiers stopped shaking. All of them turned simultaneously like clockwork toward Luna and the others. Their eyes glowing bright red behind their masks, each picking up their weapon and aiming it with perfect timing.

"W-What did you just do?" Sun looked slightly unnerved by what he just saw.

"I simply… made them more obedient… Soldiers!" He called.

They all resounded, "Yes High Commander!"

"Eliminate them."

With that, the soldiers began firing in quick succession. Adam and Bell jumped in front of their allies and began blocking shots, Luna tried to divert the bullets using her powers while Blake tried to make a wall of shadow to shield them.

"Looks like peace is out of the window… Is everyone ready?!" Luna called back to her small army.

"Yes! Your Highness!"

"On my mark, we drop the shields and you attack them. Don't kill anyone they're being mind-controlled! Is that understood?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Ilia I'm counting on you to make sure no one on our side dies okay?" Elain nodded to the chameleon girl. Ilia wasn't fully prepared to jump into the fight, she wasn't as strong as the others, but she was willing to give her all.

"Yes, my queen," she said, readying her whip.

"Alright, in Three! TWO! ONE! GO!"

The shields dropped and all the soldiers clashed in a series of bullets, blades, and screaming.


Back inside Nitro saw what was happening, and once the commotion started he realized what he needed to do. "Looks like that's my cue, Hector you stay here and look after Weiss. REN! NORA! JAUNE! If you're not too busy there's a war going on outside that might need our help!" Nitro yelled across the room.

"Did he just say… war?" Jaune asked hesitantly.

"DID I FUCKING STUTTER?!"

Then they heard the roar of the commotion loud and clear, "On our way!" Ren said.

As they broke into the outside they bore witness to an incredible sight. Faunus were fighting the White Fang, clashing blades and firing guns while Luna, Adam, Blake, Sun, and Bell were locked in heated combat with Onyx.

"Do you think you can defeat me? I am far beyond anything you could possibly imagine! I AM NIGH INVINCIBLE!" Onyx roared as he unsheathed Draco Belthor from his waist.

"No, you don't!" Sun countered, summoning clones to try and lockdown Onyx's massive arms. The giant of a man shrugged them off, shattering them instantly, the black Lunar Fragment dangling from his neck as he cleaved his hand downward.

"What is he trying to hit… SUN!" Luna yelled as she watched the monkey Faunus get ripped from where he stood into the path of Onyx's blade.

*CLANG* came the sound of Adam's sword and Bell's shield as they connected with Onyx's blade, blocking Sun from being hit. Sun instantly recovered his nerves and pulled out his staff, pressing upward against the force of Onyx.

Despite their efforts, the great bear Faunus was overpowering them with his sheer strength and mass. The blade of Draco Belthor began to erupt in black energy that looked like the starry night sky, its power bearing down on Sun and Adam, the earth cracking beneath their feet as they struggled to fight against it.

Without wasting a moment, Blake dashed behind Onyx and drew Gambol Shroud, pirouetting and generating momentum, shadows began to wrap around her until she was a raging tornado of darkness, slamming down on Onyx from above.

"ARGH!" Onyx cried out in pain as he was dislodged from his position, knocking backward with a searing exposed shoulder. "You actually managed to injure me… impressive… it seems I've been underestimating you, children…"

"Our strength comes from our bonds, and we will defeat you!" Luna said, drawing out Galaxia. The massive axe towering above her as she ran it.

"Not very fast are you…" Onyx chuckled, and sprinted forward, his feet leaving craters in the ground as he dashed across the battlefield. He swung his blade a great distance from Luna, dragging the girl to him, with his power, but she realized what was happening and tried to counter him, forcing the man to roar in anguish and charge at her.

Their blades clashed sending rippling waves of forces knocking some soldiers back. They had incidentally formed a zone within the chaos where only they fought.

Luna struggled under the strength of Onyx, but she held her ground. Her eyes began to glow a bright cyan blue and her body began to emanate the same colour. Her eyes turned to reptilian slits as she pushed against the might of Onyx. She tried focusing on the vectors around her, the forces that were against her and tried to repel them.

Onyx felt his blade grow lighter, and move against his will ever so slightly, being pushed away by a repulsion force. "Two can play at that game…" he growled, his eyes turning pure black, no white left in them. The fragment around his neck began to hum and emanate a cold light as his sword began to follow the same energy as before.

The forces began to work against Luna, forcing themselves down against her will. She desperately tried to respond, reaching into herself and drawing out her inner power, forcing them to turn. The fragment began to violently shake, and glow a blue aura as if responding to the fight between Onyx and Luna.

"What's going on with this thing?!" Onyx exclaimed as the crystal began to try to remove itself from his neck, tugging forward in the direction of Luna. The small girl was too busy focusing on not giving in that she didn't even notice the internal conflict, and continued to pour more and more of her powers into the battle.

Blake and the others couldn't get anywhere near the two as the force of the clash was generating a field that kept anyone from interfering, as if even the gravity itself was acting against them.

"More… More! I NEED MORE POWER!" Luna yelled her voice sounding multi-layered. The Lunar Fragment around Onyx's neck seemed to respond to Luna, yet as it was in the hands of Onyx was being forced to bend to his will.

The conflicting powers that were clashing tore at the fragment until it could take it no more. In one violent explosion of power, the fragment released its pent up energy, blasting Luna and Onyx away from each other. The explosion sending more shockwaves across the battlefield.

"Luna are you okay?!" Elain asked rushing to her daughter's aid. The others followed suit now that the field of energy was dissipated.

The blue-dragon coughed as she struggled to her feet. She was unharmed for the most part, her semblance had protected her. Onyx on the other hand didn't have that semblance, even he couldn't take that unscathed…

"Huhahuhahahaha!" Onyx laughed as he rose from the smoking crater. "So… we have the same power little one… and you have just as much resilience as your brother… too bad he couldn't fight me on the same level…" he said getting up and brandishing his blade. There wasn't a single scratch on him, save for the burn mark from Blake's shadows.

"Luna!" Nitro yelled from across the battlefield, the fighting was dying down. Most of the White Fang soldiers had fallen and the majority of the Faunus was still conscious and in fighting condition. Jaune, Ren, and Nora were defending a group of downed Faunus from soldiers so they were to suffer no casualties while Nitro met up with the others.

"NITRO!" Luna yelled in joy as she saw her friend. "You're here!"

"Better late than never… what's the situation?" he asked, rearing his fists.

"Him…" she pointed to Onyx who stood there menacingly.

Nitro cracked his knuckles, "You're Onyx huh? I seem to recall owing you a few knuckle sandwiches for my bro…"

"I don't even know who you are…" Onyx said dryly. "It doesn't matter how many you bring… I'll crush you all!" he roared, his eyes glowing and his body enveloping in the mass of darkness.

"Are you sure about that?" A new voice said causing everyone to shift their attention to the hole in the wall.


-Earlier with Ruby and Hex-

"Give it up Emerald! It's over for you!" Ruby said as she swiped with Crescent Rose. Emerald sidestepped using her afterimages and shot a few rounds at Ruby who easily blocked them.

Hex threw Loki at Mercury who backflipped to avoid the sword but was unprepared for the chain that followed with it. The length of metal tripped him and caused his momentum to break. Hex tried to capitalize on that and retraced her sword, connecting the two into its glaive form and slamming down onto his head from above. Mercury barely had a chance to roll out of the way.

"Come on!" Hex cursed as she missed her chance.

"We're still going to win this! Any moment now, Cinder is going to come out of the vault with the Relic and we'll be gone. You lose Ruby!" Emerald yelled as she tried to swipe at the reaper.

Just as she said that the elevator to the vault came up, with three figures standing on it.

"CINDER!" Emerald exclaimed in joy as she expected her to pop out of there… but instead, standing before her was a very grim looking Yang, Raven, and a white-haired girl she'd never seen before. In Yang's hand was the Relic of Knowledge. No sign of Cinder.

"Sorry to burst your bubble sweetheart… but no." Nova said, her face dark and solemn.

"NOVA! YANG! You guys are okay!" Ruby squealed in joy. "Where's Cinder..?" then she noticed Raven looking sad as well, "And Vernal…?"

"Cinder… killed Vernal… and as for the woman herself… well…" Nova's eyes lit up with the powers of the Fall Maiden. "Does this answer your question?"

Emerald and Mercury's faces paled, as horror began to take precedence over them.

"No… no… NO! S-she… she can't be… YOU MONSTER!" Emerald screamed with tears in her eyes and began charging at Nova with blind rage.

Yang was prepared to intercept but Nova held out her hand, and with one swift motion, made a chopping motion and hit Emerald on the back of her neck, knocking her to the floor. The blow as meant to knock her out but Emerald was still fully conscious.

"Y-you… bastard… I'll… kill you!" Emerald screamed tried to get up.

Nova sighed, her face a mix of sadness and disappointment as she squatted down to meet the girl at eye level, "Emerald, please… there's good in you… don't make me spill any more blood than I have to tonight…"

"MERCURY DO SOMETHING!" Emerald screeched, but the grey-haired boy was too stunned to move.

"Please… I'm giving you something that I didn't give Cinder, don't waste it…"

"And what's that?" Emerald spat.

"A chance for redemption." With that Nova walked away.


Ruby saw Nova's eyes. They were dark and hollow; her entire demeanor had shifted and she could see the evidence of tears in her eyes.

"Nova are you okay…?" she asked concerned.

Nova just collapsed onto Ruby, her face planting onto her shoulder, "I didn't want to do it... in the back of my mind I still held back at the last moment, but I'd already gone too far..."

Ruby rubbed her girlfriend's back, "D-Did you really need to kill her...?"

Nova nodded against the fabric of her shirt, "Some people are too far gone... you can't save everyone... and not everyone is worth saving."

Ruby was stunned at her words. To her, Nova was the tall pillar of strength and reliability that she could depend on. To hear such notions come from her mouth was a heavy dose of reality to her, that if Nova, who saw the good in most people, deemed Cinder unworthy of a second chance... then just how far gone was she?

No one had further chance to sulk as a sudden series of explosions was heard outside, the building rattled and shook, the sound of screaming echoing about.

"What's going on out there?!" Nova said getting off of Ruby and looking around, her demeanor shifting into combat mode, all signs of regret pushed down so far that it was invisible. She saw Weiss standing next to Oscar, the body of Hazel at their feet, Weiss looking sick to her stomach. Ren, Nora, and Nitro weren't in the room. The only thing that looked the same was Qrow pinning Lionheart to the ground, trying to prevent him from running away.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

Oscar silently pointed to the hole in the wall. The first thing Nova saw through it was the blast of energy that rippled the room, and the frame of Onyx standing in a smoldering crater, with a mad grin on his face. Upon further inspection, She saw Luna and the others standing on the opposite end, weapons drawn, ready to enter combat.

"I don't even know who you are…" he heard Onyx say. "It doesn't matter how many you bring… I'll crush you all!"

Nova's eyes widened in fear, Onyx. She knew the dreadful feeling earlier more than anyone and she hoped to Oum she was wrong. Every cell in her body was screaming for revenge, to rush out there and claw that monster's face-off, but... she was in no condition to fight anymore, neither physically nor mentally. If she had to she would... but if they could make him retreat, then all of them would live to fight another day...

"Are you sure about that?" Nova yelled, announcing herself.

Onyx and the others whipped their heads around to see the dragon herself standing there, claws out, and fangs bared.

"Who are you?!" Onyx snarled.

When Luna's eyes fell on her brother/sister she felt her heart stop, her eyes tearing up in joy, "N-Nova? I-Is that really you?"

Nova shot her the widest grin she could possibly give, "Hey sis! You seem to be doing well!"

"Nova?!" Onyx's eyes widened, "I KILLED YOU!"

"Heh, you tried… but you should really learn to finish the job…" she replied flexing her claws.

"Still think you can take us all on?!" Sun yelled joining with them.

Onyx bit his lip, his odds were average trying to fight them all before, but with the battle subsiding, his soldiers fallen, and more and more of his enemies entering the battle, and the emergence of Nova… things weren't looking good. He was strong and confident in his power… but not against this many people.

There was a ringing in his ears, it was his communication device, he reached up and answered it, "Speak."

"Sir, it's done. Project Obsidian is complete. We await your orders." The voice of Dr. Stein said over the network.

Onyx's grim look morphed into a sly smile, "It seems that I bit off more than I can chew… I must take my leave now…"

"Not before you tell me where my father is!" Nova snarled, hoping to at least gain some information.

Onyx began to cackle, "Trust me, your dear old dad isn't the same person he was once…"

"What do you mean by that?!" Elain glowered.

The bear Faunus dusted himself off, "You'll understand someday… for now…" with those words, the same black energy that amassed from his powers enveloped him.

"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" Adam yelled as he dashed with blinding speed at Onyx, but it was too late. The mass of darkness was gone, along with any trace that he was even there…

"Fuck! He's gone…" Bell cursed as she collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

Nova clenched her fists in rage, but Ruby placed her hands over them, calming her.

Before she could say anything, she was tackled by a blue and white blur.

"Y-You're alive *sniff* I missed you so much *sniff*," Luna said as she cried into Nova's shirt.

Nova calmly pet her sister's head, "I missed you too short stack,"

"It's good to see you again, Nova…" Blake said with a smile, walking up to her.

Nova quirked her eyebrow, "Come on stop pretending like you don't know me and get in here!" she gestured, and that was all it took for Blake to crash into her with a tight hug.

"Nova! My man! Err… girl… whatever… glad to see you alive and kicking! When Luna told us you'd kicked the bucket I thought it was the end of the world for sure. Then those two came and told us you were alive, well that was a rollercoaster of emotions," Sun said patting Nova on the back, and gesturing to Adam and Bell.

"Well, that explains why you don't look that surprised to see me… though I would like an explanation to all of this…." She gestured to the small army of Faunus who were cleaning themselves off and having Elain tend to their wounded.

"I-It's a long story…" Luna said sheepishly.

"Well… we got time for now…"


Elain, Blake, Sun, Ilia, Adam, and Bell took up the role of seeing the Faunus people off while everyone else had collapsed in exhaustion on the staircase. Emerald and Mercury had managed to escape during the commotion thanks to Emerald's semblance, leaving only Lionheart behind.

Luna was resting her head on Nova's lap while Ruby's was on her shoulder, their fingers entwined. Weiss looked a bit less green than she was a few minutes ago, the body of Hazel had been moved out of the way and Yang knelt with her knees hugged to her chest, while Hex hugged her from behind. Everyone was emotionally and mentally exhausted, leaning on each other for support as they couldn't handle it all alone. Even Ren, Nora, and Jaune were sitting back to back, unable to move due to exhaustion.

Raven was the only exception, standing off to the side, leaning against a wooden beam for support. She was putting up a face of anger, but Qrow could see right through it. She was hurting inside. Vernal was more to her than just her pupil, and despite all, she preached about isolation and not creating bonds, she had unconsciously made one with Vernal...

Qrow was angry, he wanted to knock Raven senseless for her betrayal, for the years of neglect and abandonment, but at that moment, his brotherly instincts had taken precedence. He didn't see the woman who abandoned her team years ago, he saw his only sister, trying to put on a brave face when all she wanted to do was cry. He wanted to reach out to her and comfort her, but some things needed to be addressed first, the primary concern was the squirming old man in his grasp.

"HEY!" Qrow called out drawing everyone's attention. "What do we do with this?" he held up Lionheart by his collar.

"PLEASE! I wanted none of this to happen! It was Salem! I swear! She threatened my life, I didn't have a choice!" Lionheart pleaded.

Nova narrowed her eyes, "Really? From what Cinder said, given how far back the betrayals went... I'd say you went to them first."

Lionheart began to sweat nervously, "I-I was scared! Really! I-It was out of fear! Please you have to believe me!"

"Yes fear does make us do unfathomable things," Ozpin said through Oscar's voice as he stood leaning on his cane.

"OZPIN!" Lionheart exclaimed looking somewhat relieved, "You understand right! I knew you would!"

"I understand quite well Leonardo. In my years I too have made mistakes, and so I am willing to look past them..." Ozpin smiled.

"Oz you can't be serious...?" Nitro asked incredulously.

"But... as I am not the only decision-maker here, I will leave the final verdict to Miss Flareheart."

"Me?" Luna asked pointing to herself, getting up from her sister's lap.

Nova chuckled and ruffled her hair, "No silly goose. He means me."

"Oh..."

Nova stood up and dusted off her pants, and removed her jacket exposing her bare arms, the red left arm in full view.

"Please! Your Highness! Have mercy! I was once your headmaster!"

"You're right, Leo, you do deserve mercy. After all, it wasn't really your fault, it was out of fear!" Nova said cheerily.

Everyone's jaw dropped, "WHAT?!"

Nova had a terrifyingly sweet smile as she waltzed up to Lionheart and grabbed him by the collar, her face darkening as she stared him in the eye, "Now listen here you fucking snake... I'm giving you one chance. You pack your shit and you leave this place. Abandon your job as headmaster, sign the fucking resignation papers and get out of this country. Disappear, never show your face to us again, and if I so much as here about you. I will hunt you down and break every last bone in your body until you're going to wish you were dead."

Lionheart gulped and began to sweat, "B-But..."

"Don't make me think twice...Get. Out."

The headmaster nodded feverishly, and as soon as Qrow let him go, he scampered off like a scared mouse, running upstairs.

"Nova are you sure that was a good idea? What if he runs back to Salem?" Nitro asked.

"Then let him... but I highly doubt he will... he's outlived his usefulness to her." Nova collapsed back on the stairs with a heavy sigh, "Enough of this heavy atmosphere, how are you holding up kid?"

Oscar returned to himself, his knees growing wobbly, "I just fought a gigantic hairy man hopped up on dust like it was meth, what do you think?"

Nova burst out laughing, "I like that answer! You're gonna go far kid." she turned over to Weiss, "What about you Ice Princess?"

Weiss belched into her fist, "I feel like... I just killed a man... which I did..."

Nova inhaled sharply, "It's not a good feeling is it...?"

Weiss shook her head and hugged her knees to her chest, "How do you deal with it...? From what I know you've killed two people now..."

The fire dragon flinched, "I don't... and the fact that you feel guilty is what separates you from people like Cinder and Onyx. Don't ever get used to the feeling because it just means that you still have a conscience."

Weiss was silent for a few moments, then chuckled, "You know... now that I have blood on my hands, there's no way I could ever return to my family... not that they'd want me back anyway. I don't have any blood family to go back to anymore... I'm not even sure I can face Winter."

Luna jumped slightly at Weiss' revelation, "You abandoned the Schnee name? What about your title as Heiress?!"

"Abandoned? No, they disowned me first... In their eyes I'm no longer a Schnee... but at the end of the day, you guys are all the family I need." she smiled sadly.

"AWWW! WEISS! I knew you liked me!" Ruby squealed and tackled her bestie in a big hug.

"GET OFF ME YOU DOLT!" Weiss exclaimed as she struggled to pry Ruby off of her.


Just then Elain returned with the others following closely behind her.

"Yo! What's going on here?" Sun asked as he bounded toward them, clearly having too much energy for someone who just fought a squadron of soldiers. Nitro high five Sun while the monkey Faunus began conversing with him and Jaune. The original workout buddies of Beacon reunited.

All members of team ASHNRWBY's eyes fell on Blake. The cat Faunus' ears flattened against her head as she nervously started talking, "Um guys, listen... I know I left without saying anything and..."

"SHH!" Nova yelled a shushing sound.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Blakey, kitty, you left without saying anything, sure, that was wrong of you, but you came back with my sister, and with a fucking army of Faunus. You can tell us your sob story later, right now I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'm just glad Team ASHNRWBY is back together." Nova shot her a beaming smile that made all her fears melt away, well almost all of them.

Yang was looking rather grumpy, "Blake... you're my partner... we're supposed to tell each other everything..."

"Yang... I..."

The blonde sighed, "It's in the past now... you can't change the past... you can only focus on what's in front of you and what's beyond..."

Blake tilted her head, "Since when did that become your philosophy...?"

Yang spared a glance at Raven who was sulking alone, "I-It's something I'm learning to try out..."

The cat Faunus also spared a glance at Adam who was currently being teased by Nova, "I guess that makes two of us..."

"Nova Flareheart!" Elain yelled, echoing across the battle-worn hall. The dragon in question flinched at the sound of the shrill voice.

"Oh no..."

"Nova Alexandrite Flareheart! Of all the irresponsible, pigheaded, ludicrous, dangerous things you've ever done, getting yourself 'killed' has to be on the top of that list!" Elain marched right up to her son turned currently daughter. Ruby and Luna shrank away from her side giving them some space.

"Hey, mom... long time no see?"

"Long time no see my ass! You disappear for a month! WE...I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN I WAS IN?! I THOUGHT I'D LOST YOU FOREVER!"

Nova felt instant regret, "I-I should've let you know sooner, I know should have but..." she was cut off when a pair of warm arms wrapped around her, her eyes widening in shock.

"I'm just *sniff* so glad *sob* you're okay..." Elain cried into her shoulder. Nova just smiled sheepishly and stroked her mother's back.

Weiss watched with a longing look, "Some son you are, making your mom worry like that," she chuckled teasing her friend. In the back of her mind, she wondered, what her life would have been like if her mother was like this. The thought of her family made her expression fall.

"Hey Weiss... are you alright? Are you still queasy?" Luna asked concerned.

"Yeah... I just... can't help but think about my family... if you could even call them that..."

Suddenly Luna had a recollection, an ear-splitting grin spread itself on her face, "Come on Weiss, you don't need them. You've got tons of family right here!"

"Yeah everyone here is family to me..."

Luna snickered, "Oh boy do I have news for you..." she turned to her mother, "Mom! Did you bring the book?"

Elain tore herself from the hug and wiped her eyes, reached into her bag and pulled out the massive book they'd taken from the Flareheart family vault, and handed it to Luna.

"What's that...?" Nova asked curiously.

"Just a little something known as the history of our family. But that's not the main thing..." Luna began skimming through the pages until she found what she was looking for, "AHA!" she pulled out the loose folded page and opened it.

Everyone peered closely at the paper, "What's that?" Ruby asked curiously.

"The Flareheart Family Tree, dating all the way back to the first dragon King, but never mind him. Take a look at Bortz Flint Flareheart's grandmother." They all followed Luna's guidance to see what she was talking about. When they saw it everyone almost choked in surprise.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Nitro spat with his eyes wide, Hex choked, Yang folded her arms smirking and Jaune fainted. Even Nova had to do a triple take.

"Guys what the hell are you...?" Weiss was confused as she peered over Luna's shoulder to the paper.

Luna held it up proudly, "According to this here, Bortz Flint Flareheart, Nova's and my father, his grandmother The original Sapphire Flareheart, where my middle name comes from, was married to a Jaegar Nightshade, but you see that X above his head? And the branch to the right?"

They all nodded.

"That indicates that he died and the branch to the right at Sapphire's name leads to a Julius Schnee. They had a son named... Drum roll, please... Nicholas Schnee! Legally Bortz Flint Flareheart's uncle. The line stops there but that's because the records haven't been updated on our end, I think we all know where this is going." Luna turned to Weiss whose eyes were wide with shock.

It was common knowledge, there was only one family in the world who carried the name Schnee. There was only one man in the entire world named Nicholas Schnee, the founder and first CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, father of Willow Schnee and grandfather of Weiss, Winter, and Whitely Schnee. Jacques was never a real Schnee, he married into the family and took the name as his own.

"T-That's m-my... grandfather!" Weiss gasped.

"Exactly! Weiss, you're our second cousin. It's a bit of a pumpkin vine stretch, but you have Flareheart roots! Weiss, you're family!" Luna squealed and tackled the girl in a tight hug.

Weiss was at a loss for words, she didn't know what to say.

"This explains... so much. The white hair, the uncanny resemblance between you three. IT FITS!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

Nova inhaled sharply, "Well shit, Ice Princess, do I have to start calling you cousin now?"

Weiss was frozen, "I-I... but..."

Elain smiled warmly and hugged her, "Listen, dearie, I know it's not much, but, welcome to the family."

Weiss couldn't speak, instead, her eyes teared up until she was bawling her eyes out on Elain's shoulder, with Luna hugging her from behind.

"Wait Nightshade? Does that mean that I'm also related to you guys?" Blake asked curiously.

"Most likely... only your mom can confirm that," Luna said shrugging.


The scene reminded Yang of a certain someone that was hanging off to the side alone.

"Speaking of family..." the blonde brawler muttered under her breath as she detached herself from the love fest and walked over to Raven.

The female Branwen eyed her daughter cautiously, "Don't think I'm going to hug you..."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Wouldn't dream of getting a hug from you, mom." she said the word with a hint of venom, but the anger dissipated. "Are you going to tell me why you really left?"

Raven snorted, "There's nothing to tell."

"Really? Sounds to me like back in that vault you had something to say..."

Raven cursed under her breath, "Look. I'm going to keep this short. I left you after you were born because I was in too deep with Ozpin. My connection to his world, and magic, when I found out the truth of the world then I realized that the more I stayed by your side, the more I was putting you in danger, so I left. I left you, I left Tai and I never looked back."

"But you did look back. You confirmed it yourself. You kept coming back to see me, you kept an eye on me with your semblance. You could have chosen to at least show yourself to me at least once... but you didn't. Was... was it because of Summer?" Yang asked cautiously.

Raven visibly flinched, "Summer was... naive. She's exactly like your sister. Kind and pure to a fault. I don't blame Tai for falling in love with her after I was gone, and I don't regret leaving. She was a better mother than I could have ever been to you... my only real regret was not being there for her when she was in danger... maybe... if I was there you might have had a different life..."

Yang's eyes widened, "Wait what do you mean by that?! Are you saying you know what happened to our mom?!"

The mention of the collective 'mom' for her and Ruby made Raven feel a pang of sadness within her soul, but she buried it, "That's enough answers... if you want more then you'll have to find me again."

Raven tore open a red portal with her blade and was about to step through it when someone yelled, "WAIT!". Raven turned around to see Qrow running up to her.

"Raven! Wait... was... everything you just said... was it true? I heard from Nova that you didn't want to betray us, that you did it for your tribe... is everything true...?" Qrow asked his voice pleading.

The Branwen sister just turned her head around without saying a single word.

"RAVEN! ANSWER ME!"

"Little brother," she said. Qrow calmed down at stared at her. "For what it's worth..." she turned her head to the side so Qrow could see her eyes, there was the semblance of what he swore was a tear in the corner of it, "I'm sorry... for everything..." with that she turned and left through the portal, leaving Qrow and Yang stunned.

There was an awkward silence that followed.

"Hey... Uncle Qrow? Rav... Mom mentioned something about not being there for Summer when she needed it... what does she mean...?" Yang hesitantly asked.

Qrow's expression grew grim, "Kid... that's not a story for right now..."

Yang was furious, why did everyone refuse to give her the answers she needed? "NO! I-"

"YANG PLEASE!" Qrow yelled shocking her. This was the first time he'd ever called her by her real name, and not kid or firecracker. The blonde instantly deflated and dropped the subject, deciding to rejoin with her team, fully intending to pick it back up some other time.


As they were about to leave, a loud blood-curdling scream was heard from above, causing everyone to go on alert. The scream undoubtedly belonged to Lionheart.

"What a foolish man... thinking he could escape after his failures..." a dark, feminine voice echoed from the air around them.

"Who's there?" Nova asked, unsheathing his claws.

Suddenly the air around them began to distort and shift as an image materialized itself before them. It was in the shape of a woman in a long, black, sleeveless dress. Her skin was as pale as a corpse, her hair as white as chalk. She was what one would describe as beautiful, but her eyes were the most jarring feature. Her cheeks were cracked and lined and her eyes were black like the midnight sky, her irises blood red.

"So... you're the one who's been meddling in my affairs... the legendary Nova Flareheart... I must say... I expected more from the one who bested my little Cinder..."

"HEY! I think I'm a hell of a lot of whatever it is you think I am!" Nova yelled in protest, taking offense.

"Hmph, clearly." The giant effigy turned to Oscar, "Ah, Ozpin... don't think you can hide from me... I can sense you even in the body of that child..."

"Salem... how are you here?!" Ozpin said, his voice echoing through Oscar's.

"Don't be like that... I'm not really here, just a projection. I just wanted to catch a glimpse of the pests that need to be squashed..."

"You won't win Salem! Not this time..." Ozpin threatened.

"Just like you've beaten me before? Don't make me laugh..." her eyes fell on Ruby, "Ruby Rose I presume... It's a shame you rejected our invitation, though I guess Tyrian and his brother were not the most eloquent..."

"We'll stop you... we'll find you and take you down!" Ruby exclaimed unfolding Crescent Rose and launching herself at the effigy, slicing through it only to be met with thin air.

"AHAHAHA So much fire... you remind me so much of someone I once knew..." she chortled, "We'll see each other again... goodbye... Ozpin..." with that the effigy disappeared, and in its place was a floating crystal orb with tentacles that were... dripping with blood.

"Catch that thing!" Qrow yelled as he sprang at the orb, but it easily dodged him and ascended through a hole in the ceiling, disappearing from view.

There was a deep silence among them all.

"W-What was that thing...?" Nitro asked clearly scared stiff.

Qrow grimaced as he caught Oscar who had returned to himself and collapsed, "That... was Salem..."


Darkness, and cold. That was all Cinder Fall felt as she floated in the never-ending watery abyss. Her body was numb, there was no pain, she could not see and she could not hear. There was only deathly still silence and the biting chill of the cold that she could never stave off. Why was she here? She, who was supposed to be a cut above them all, a sovereign power beyond anything the world had seen. She was supposed to be the one to rain hell upon the world, to make them all suffer the same way she did, to make them cower in fear at her might.

Yet, all it took were the actions of one nosey dragon, butting into her life and ruining it all. Claiming her actions were unjust and wrong, sinking his vile claws into her and ending her life. In death, she was alone, nothing but the stillness and icy chill of the endless void. She always thought that upon death there would be nothing, she would just... cease to exist, yet here she was, a floating consciousness in a see if inky blackness, that was... slightly wet? This feeling... for all intents and purposes, she would be dead, and yet... something was pulling her consciousness back.

"Do you see it now my child..." a dark voice echoed in Cinder's mind, amidst the blackness it was like a chilling blood red.

"Who...?"

"You do not recognize the voice of your own master? How disgraceful..." the voice which Cinder now recognized to be Salem said.

"My queen...? How...?"

"I can communicate with all Grimm, including that which is your arm..." Salem responded.

"I thought... I died..." she responded hesitantly.

"If that dragon was actually trying to kill you, he should have gone for your head. Instead, he couldn't even bring himself to finish you off, and hoped the fall would do it for him... a cowardly move for someone who spoke so dangerously before... Your life is hanging by my hands, your heart has stopped but your mind is alive thanks to the Grimm in you," Salem returned.

"That loathsome fool, what I wouldn't give to find him and tear his fucking head from his shoulders..." Cinder snarled in anger at the memory of Nova.

"Yet you relied on the Maiden's powers too much... do you see now? Those so-called, infinite powers, made from the magic of the gods, spread to the world by that fool Ozpin... do you not see how inferior they are to real power?" Salem interrogated.

"My whole life I wished for those powers... to make the world pay... yet I was bested..."

"I can give you that power... but it will cost you your humanity"

Cinder felt a determination well inside her, "It doesn't matter... as long as I can have my revenge... then I will endure anything..."

Salem let out a terrifying chuckle, "Then it is done..."

With those words Cinder's mind began to fade out of consciousness again, the memories of her pain beginning to fade as she fell into a deep sleep for what seemed like an eternity.

The sound of sloshing waves against rocks was the first thing to permeate her auditory senses, rousing her consciousness out of its deep slumber. Her mind slowly beginning to awaken, her senses coming back to her. Her sense of smell came back and as she took a deep breath, a column of water shot up her nose jarring her awake instantly in a coughing fit. All at once, taste, and touch came back to her, the water, if that is what it was, tasted salty, and the ground was wet. From just her sense of touch, she could feel that she was sitting in shallow water. Barely peeling her eyes open, the dim light began to filter in, bringing forth her surroundings.

She was sitting, drenched in the same outfit she'd fallen with, on the shores of what looked to be a saltwater lake. The ground was coarse with small pebbles and the sky was a dark, murky grey.

"Where am I...?" she choked out, her throat felt dry yet she didn't crave water. She tenderly reached up to touch her face, the mask over her left eye was gone, but the skin felt... new. When her eyes landed on her skin, it was pale, no... not pale... her skin was as white as chalk. Instantly she leaned over a nearby puddle of water to see her reflection.

She expected to see a pale version of herself, but instead... she was greeted with something far more terrifying. Her skin was pure white, her eye and face had been healed, but... the along her cheeks and upper brow were cracks and jagged lines, black and stained like the void. Her eyes' sclera were no longer white, instead, they were pitch black and her irises were blood red.

There was only one other person in the world who shared features like hers... she looked, like Salem.


TUTURU! Cinder ain't dead! Pretty sure most of you saw this coming because you know how I write by now. Huge props to KawaiiMomoko-chan for being the first to guess that the Schnees and the Flarehearts were related.

I got the idea a while back when I was still in the early stages of this fanfic. I saw that Jacques Schnee wasn't really a Schnee, and he married Willow and took the name Schnee. Then I saw that picture of Jacques with black hair and it got me thinking: How is it that none of his three children took ANY resemblance to him? Then when Willow was revealed she basically just confirmed my own ideas. It just fit way too well with my story, on how the reason Nova and Luna are both dragons, both have white hair and took mainly after their father, was because the bloodline of the Flarehearts, the dragon gene, overpowered Elain's Faunus traits, due to the whole Royal blood, original Faunus clan, etc.

The reason why all the Schnees have White hair is because it works like this:
Dragon + Faunus = Dragon Children with Traits after the dragon parent
Dragon+ Human= the same as above with a small chance the child is human. However In the case with the Schnees, Nicholas Schnee was, by birth male, his mother was the dragon and his father the human. Since his father was human, his chances of being born human were much higher than normal and thus he was born human with the recessive traits of his mother, in this case, the white hair.

Due to the strength of the dragon genes, no matter how diluted the bloodline got, even after marrying a human, his daughter, and her children all had white hair, thus it became a symbol of the Schnee family.

I don't do biology so I don't know if this is actually how it works but from my vague memories of highschool, I think genetics work like that... don't quote me on that I'm an aspiring electrical engineer, not a biologist.

As for turning Cinder into a Grimm-witch, the idea came to me when I was looking over the original story of the four Maidens and their connection to Ozpin. I thought it was weird that someone on Salem's side was obsessed with powers that technically originated from Ozpin and the gods, and that Salem wasn't like "Oh look at that inferior magic, Ozpin a shite". Then at the end of volume 5, I was like... what if Cinder actually died? Then in volume 7, the idea popped into my head, "How different would things have been if Cinder was wielding primarily Grimm powers instead of magic?"

And such is the birth of Cinder the mini-Salem

Also originally Kali and Ghira went with Blake to fight the White Fang at haven but that's just way too many people for me to deal with at once so I had them stay behind in Menagerie. Just in case anyone was confused.