Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

When Oz had asked him to keep watch over Scarlet Nikos when she staggered off into the night, he figured he just might have to keep her from tripping over herself. The upper ring of Mistral, filled with the rich and corrupt it may have been, was well patrolled by the police and relatively free of street crime. The worst thing that could happen would be her stumbling through the flower beds in Benjamin Autumn Memorial Park. It'd be an annoying fine to pay, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Staggering down into the Lower Ring where there was a cutthroat on every corner and a killer in every alley? Qrow was less sure things would go smoothly.

He fluttered just below the clouds, keeping his beady eyes locked on the redheaded woman, watching as maybe a dozen raggedly dressed thugs began to surround her. The transformed huntsman began to descend, ready to step in if needed.

But just as he suspected, he did not prove needed.

The apparent leader of the thugs, some smartass with a bandana and a spider tattoo, approached Scarlet, probably making some speech about 'making this easy on herself' or something. Poor crook didn't even make it halfway through before his face was planted in asphalt.

Things didn't improve for the crooks from there, and by the time Qrow finally took on human form and stepped in, it was only to put Harbinger between Scarlet's fist and the face of a criminal whose aura she'd already pulverized.

"Wha… what?" the scumbag stuttered. "Where the hell did you come from—"

"Scram," Qrow growled. "Unless you want me to let her finish dealing with you."

The criminals immediately paled and scattered, pulling their injured fellows away into the safety of the night. Leaving Qrow to handle the redheaded demon radiating killing intent behind him.

"I said I wanted to be alone," Scarlet snarled.

Qrow sighed. "Yeah, I heard. Oz mentioned you blew up at the kid."

Scarlet's breathing sped up, the mention of Wendy drawing out far more anxiety than the twelve muggers ever had. She stomped past Qrow, though luckily making for the Upper Ring.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "I didn't want to hurt her, I just… reacted. And all that pain, all that horror…"

"You only got the worst parts," Qrow pointed out. "If you'd been able to stay through the entire thing, you would have gotten the rest. And since you were able to use your magic with only the shit…"

"That was instinct," Scarlet snapped. "Pyrrha told me the breathing techniques I taught her also bring in ethernano. I must have had a full origin and just done it on instinct."

Qrow snorted. "Yeah. Pretty big coincidence that the techniques you know just happen to help with magic."

Scarlet whirled around, gripped Qrow by his jacket, and slammed him into a wall. The huntsman's eyes widened. He didn't often hold back at egging others on when he felt they'd earned it, his many confrontations with Jimmy, Winter, Tai, and especially Raven were proof of that, but perhaps he should have reconsidered given that his target was, one, a wizard who Wendy purported could shatter a meteor, and, two, just a bit mentally unhinged at the moment.

"I'm not Erza Scarlet," the woman snarled. "I am sorry for Wendy and Carla, but I am not the person they lost, nor do I have any desire to be. I like who I am. I love my family. I do not want her suffering. I do not want her past!"

She pushed Qrow into the wall one last time, cracks forming the surface he pressured, and stormed off. For a moment, the huntsman could only stare after her, reminding himself to breathe.

Then, his eyes narrowed.

A quick transformation and flight later, he was standing in front of her, barring her path. No one ever accused him of common sense.

"What do you think is going to happen in your present?" Qrow challenged. "Salem is coming whether you like it or not."

"I am aware of that," Scarlet growled, shoving past him. "You don't have to worry. I gave my word that I'll fight, and I don't break my promises. I'll fight with everything I have."

"That's not enough!"

Scarlet froze. "What?"

"Take it from someone who's been doing this for more than two decades," Qrow called. "It doesn't matter if you're the best huntsman on Remnant, against a Gate, the best you'll be is a distraction."

"I'm aware," Scarlet replied. "He hasn't been subtle about his need for wizards."

Qrow nodded. "And there's maybe a handful of people in the world that can fill it. My team leader used to be his ace in the hole. She could shoot lasers out her eyeballs that could vaporize dozens of Grimm at a time. And in the meantime, I can turn into a bird."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that I would kill for the chance you have!" Qrow roared. "You have a chance to fight, really fight them, to protect all those kiddos! Including your daughter!"

"You mean Erza does."

"Who cares?"

"I do! And since I'm the one being asked to possibly give up my sentience, that should count for something!" Scarlet barked. "You're asking me to give up everything I am, everyone I love, on the blind chance that this Fairy Queen will save them!"

"On faith. And I wouldn't call it blind," Qrow replied. "Ruby, Wendy, and Carla knew Erza."

"They worship the ground she walks on," Scarlet blithely noted. Her hands trembled at her sides, her fingers slowly rising to ghost over her right eye. "But I saw her. I felt her. Her and all her pain. No one could go through all that and not come out twisted, and I won't surrender my daughter's fate to someone like that!"

"Someone like that? You're making an awful lot of assumptions—"

"I lived her memories! I lived every moment of agony and grief!" Scarlet protested, her eyes glassing over. "I felt her want to kill her friend…"

Qrow cocked an eyebrow. That didn't sound like something the person Ruby had raved about would do. Then again, anyone who'd met Tai at Beacon wouldn't think he'd ever be broken by losing two loves of his life back to back. Anyone who had known Raven would never expect her to abandon a cause she'd dedicated her life to for seemingly no reason. When things were at their darkest, people took actions they wouldn't normally dream of doing.

Was it fair to judge them based on those decisions? In Qrow's mind, that varied case by case. He wasn't going to blame Tai for being so absorbed in grief that it took a bit for him to start properly caring for Ruby and Yang again, but that didn't mean he wasn't still pissed at his sister for abandoning their family. What category would Erza Scarlet fall into? He had no clue.

But the only way they'd ever learn was to ask.

"You keep talking like as soon as you get Erza's memories back, you'll just disappear," he said. "But there's no guarantee of that. Wendy's only said the enchantment will bring back the stuff you don't remember."

Scarlet scoffed. "Ms. Marvell means well, but she has understated the effects of her magic before."

"They're still your memories! And in them is the know-how to use your power!" Qrow shouted. "You are Erza Scarlet—"

"I am Scarlet Nikos!"

"And Erza Scarlet! The memories are in your head, you can't deny you weren't at least once her. And she is stronger than you! You may not be running from this fight, but if you're hiding from yourself, a part of yourself that can help everyone on Remnant, can you really say you're not a coward?"

Scarlet's teeth gnashed together. "Fear of pain does not make me a coward."

Qrow held her gaze. "It does when you let it control you."

Scarlet's eyes narrowed, her terrifying killing intent returning in full, almost like a second gravity trying to wrench Qrow down to the pavement. Still, he had been glared at by plenty of intimidating women in his life, most commonly Raven and most terrifyingly Summer (he'd been careless with his flask and toddler Yang had gotten a sip. To this day he wasn't sure how he'd survived). The Nikos matriarch certainly ranked up there with his late team leader, an impressive feat in and off itself, but his endurance to the gaze of the murderous opposite sex was well earned.

Now, if she would just cut it out before he stopped being able to hide the shaking of his knees…

Fortunately, his silent prayer was answered. After a few tense moments, Scarlet sighed and turned back towards the Upper Ring. "It's late. Let's… let's just get some sleep. I want this day to end."

Qrow gulped and nodded at her back. He transformed back into his bird form and took the sky, his black plumage melding into the shadows cast by the shattered moon.

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Ruby usually felt refreshed after a good night's sleep. No matter what a day's problems, dreams about the guildhall and Crescent Rose upgrades could make it just a bit less horrible. Plus, she was an early riser, had to be to use the bathroom before Yang commandeered it for her daily hair spa treatment, so she usually had some time to her introvert self before anyone else got up.

Except, when she went downstairs to fix herself some breakfast, someone else already had the stove sizzling.

"Oh, hello," Pyrrha remarked, both she and Ruby freezing at the sight of each other.

"Hey," the red hooded huntress replied. "I didn't think anybody else would be up."

"This is normal time for us. Mother's sleeping in, but Oscar out in the yard doing strength conditioning," her host explained. She glanced to her steaming pan. "Do you want some? I'm trying to make enough for everyone."

Ruby nodded and slipped over to the table. "Sure. Thanks, it smells great."

They spent another minute in silence while Pyrrha finished her cooking. The redheaded huntress set a pair of plates on the table, sizzling golden eggs coated in leafy green garnish drawing Ruby in.

"Mmm," the silver-eyed girl moaned. "This… this is good."

"Thank you," Pyrrha replied with a smile. "Mother is… not the best in the kitchen. Aunt Rouge wanted to make sure I could at least make the basics for myself."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me," Ruby said between bites. "The only people that Mira and Master banned from the guildhall kitchen were her and Natsu, and he was only barred to make sure he didn't eat everything in the stores."

Pyrrha's smile faltered. "Right… um, the guild… when she was Erza…"

Ruby flinched. "Sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's alright," Pyrrha hastily reassured her. "I suppose it's just strange. When I got back from Beacon, I suspected there was something connected to Fairy Tail about her tattoo, but to find out that she's the one who taught you magic… it was surprising to say the least. It's like there's a whole other side of her that I've never known about. And then there's Wendy-"

"She didn't mean for it to happen," Ruby interjected. "Last night, she wasn't trying to hurt your mom."

Pyrrha sighed and pushed her plate aside. "Ruby… I've never heard mother scream like that."

"I know, she messed up," the reaper conceded. "But she wasn't trying to hurt her."

"I wasn't. But that doesn't really matter I suppose."

Both huntresses turned to the sound of the timid voice. Wendy shuffled into the room, pausing right before the table. "May I?"

"Oh," Pyrrha said. "Of course."

Wendy nodded and pulled up a chair, though her face remained downcast. Pyrrha hopped back over to the stove and fetched the wizard a plate of eggs.

"Thank you," the Maiden of the Sky muttered. "They smelled great upstairs."

"You smelled them from all the way… oh, right," Pyrrha said. "Dragon Slayer senses."

Wendy nodded, picking at her food with her fork. "Every sense but common sense. I'm sorry about last night. You don't have to worry though. I won't be trying it again."

"Oh… um…" Pyrrha murmured. "Thank you? Are you alright?"

Ruby skirted over to her friend. "Wendy, what happened last night wasn't your fault."

"It was exactly my fault. I wanted to get Erza back so badly, I didn't think about who else could be hurt along the way," Wendy said. "I just thought that the enchantment would bring back Erza and that it wasn't anything she hadn't handled before. I didn't… I didn't realize that it was everything at once. What if she hadn't broken it off when she did? What if everything kept piling on her mind until it thought she was dying, or it gave her a literal heart attack from adrenaline or—"

"Wendy!" Ruby shouted, wrenching her friend to face her. "That didn't happen! Erza… Scarlet… Pyrrha's mom is okay! She's shaken up, but she's alive. Should you have thought the enchantment over a bit more? Probably, but it wasn't on purpose."

"What does it matter if it was on purpose or not if someone still gets hurt?" Wendy argued. "No matter what I do, people get hurt. This world… Remnant… I don't know how to live in a world like this. I'm grateful for you, Ruby, I am… but…"

Ruby frowned. "I'm not Erza."

Wendy held her tongue, looking as if she'd been slapped.

Ruby took her hands in her own, gently caressing her knuckles. "But I don't need to be. Because Erza isn't gone. Neither is Happy or Natsu, no matter what their situation is. Gray or Lucy either."

"Even if that was true, I can't help them," Wendy muttered. "I feel so… trapped."

"You're not. Not while you have friends."

Both Fairy Tail members turned to Pyrrha, whose emerald eyes were hard and resolved. "You're right to be worried about hurting others with your actions. But you're also not wrong to want to reunite with them. No one deserves to be alone."

"Thank you, but I don't think your mother is going to care," Wendy remarked. "Even if I could figure out a way to modify the spell, she doesn't trust me anymore. For good reason."

Pyrrha strode over to the fridge and opened up the small freezer just above it. She reached in and plucked out… a pint of strawberry ice cream?

"I'll talk to mother when she wakes up," she declared. "I can't promise anything, but I'll figure out exactly where her headspace is, if she might be willing to give it another shot. If she says no, then that'll be the end of it but… I'll try."

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Why? After what happened last night, why would you want to convince her to try to do it again?"

Pyrrha glanced down at the carton of sugary goodness in her hands. "Because I know what it's like to feel isolated and alone, the sense of 'duty' it instills in a person, how they ignore certain parts of themselves in favor of others. Even if it destroys them. I don't want that to happen to either of you."

Ruby tilted her head to the side. She was ecstatic that Pyrrha didn't hate Wendy for the enchantment misfire, even more so that she was willing to help convince Erza to take another shot at remembering, but she wasn't sure she quite understood her reasoning. While Wendy was certainly getting torn apart by the pain of her conflicting desires to both get the Erza she knew back and not hurt Scarlet Nikos along the way, how was Pyrrha's mother suffering the same? Her desire not to be put through the immense physical agony of the ritual was understandable, but how was she psychologically breaking down?

She supposed that was what Pyrrha planned to find out. After all, if Scarlet wasn't willing to risk whatever the enchantment might do to her, that was the end of it. No matter how much they wanted Erza back, they couldn't force their host to suffer.

"In the meantime," Pyrrha continued. "Maybe you should prepare in case things don't go how we want them to."

"What do you mean?" Wendy inquired.

"Well, even if we are able to find everyone who was trapped in the Fairy Spheres, you're all still going to be stuck on Remnant," Pyrrha pointed out. "I mean, other than the Grimm, have you really experienced much of Remnant's culture?"

"You mean when not traveling in a desperate rush to get here?" Wendy noted. "Well, I guess… no. Even Higanbana was just a stopover."

Pyrrha smiled. She set the pint of strawberry ice cream on the table and slid it over. "Mistral's capital is famous for its culture. There are theaters, museums, restaurants, and more throughout the Upper Ring. You're not wrong that Remnant can be a cruel place, but it's not all bad. There is some light, if you know where to look. Go out and explore."

"That's a great idea!" Ruby cheered. "Oh, there's bound to be some comic book shops around here somewhere. I can't wait to show you the newest issues of Sailor Shattered Moon and The Road Warrior of Vacuo! And video games! There were a lot of great things on Earthland, but not video games."

"Didn't you say those were extremely violent?"

"Most of them, yeah."

Wendy nervously rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know. Don't we need to be preparing to go after the Spring Maiden?"

Ruby waved her off. "We're not gonna be hitting the Branwen Tribe immediately. We can take one day to relax and expose you to some of Remnant's better parts. Now come on! Let's go!"

She grabbed her blue-haired friend, and the strawberry ice cream, and dashed away in a flurry of rose petals. She was going to find some way to get her friends back home, so until then, she needed to make sure that not all their memories of her time were filled with the horror of the Grimm. If she let them get weighed down always worrying about what they couldn't change at the moment, the pain would eat Wendy alive. As strange as it was to hear it coming from her, the Sky Dragon Slayer needed to go out and see the world.

After all, there was no better place to make new friends.

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Ruby panted hard, a waterfall of sweat bleeding down her forehead. All around, her teammates, her friends, were laid out across the plain, battered and bruised.

Of course, they weren't alone. Scores and scores of robed figures wearing white masks with red symbols were scattered on the ground. The horde of soldiers, armed with a variety of mystical weapons, had swarmed Team RWBY as soon as they'd arrived in the area the Hungry Wolf Knights' lead had led them to. Fortunately, what the force had possessed in numbers they had lost in individual power. The masked gaggle had been cannon fodder and it hadn't taken much effort for the huntress to wipe them.

Unfortunately, said cannon fodder had still drawn their attention. And that was the perfect distraction for the real enemy to strike. An enemy that even now stalked towards Ruby.

"I had been expecting the Princess of the Stars. Why are you here?"

She wore a skimpy black and purple bodysuit, protrusions of white bone acting as armor in various places. Similar hardened spikes coated her hands, or perhaps was her hands, long, sharpened talons extending from her palms. A high collar of white plumage rose up from her neck, surrounding a pair of yellow horns, a mane of sickly green hair, and bone visor that cast a dark shadow over her narrowed, hungry eyes. An aura of sadistic pleasure radiated off the demonic woman, her body coated in shimmering emerald energy.

And yet despite all that, the feature that most drew Ruby's eyes was a simple black tattoo of crossed hammers imprinted on the lower half of her stomach.

"Tartaros," she whispered. "You're one of the Nine Demon Gates."

"Oh?" the woman chuckled. "So our web has caught flies after all. A shame. I took on my Etherious Form to do battle with the Underworld King's greatest creation, not dirty it exterminating filthy humans."

"Exterminate this, bitch!"

The Tartaros wizard's eyes widened and whirled around, her claws rising to parry Yang's sudden strike. Ruby's sister's eyes blazed crimson, both her fist and her hair alight with pink fire.

For a moment, the red hooded huntress was terrified that Yang had wasted her shot with her shout. She couldn't sense any magic coming off this woman, but there was another energy, foul and rancid. Almost a perversion of ethernano and all the beauty that was born from it. And she had more than enough of it to spare.

Yet, as soon as the pink fire struck her claws, the woman shrieked. She leapt back, her opposite claws whipping out to keep Yang from following up, scoring a small slice of blood across the huntress' forehead.

She winced, her appendage dusted by a black burn. "Devil Slayer? I thought Silver was the last of you."

Yang grinned, wiping the dripping blood from her forehead. "Guess again. I'm burning hotter than the sun and ready to send you back to hell!"

Back to hell? Oh! That's right! If Yang's magic was super effective against this woman, then she must be a demon or using one's power. Which meant they had an advantage!

"Ergh, do you have to be so loud?" Weiss moaned, both she and Blake staggering back to their feet. "My ears are still ringing from that last explosion."

"Push through it," Blake advised, Gambol Shroud rising as her hand ignited with golden light. "She broke our auras the moment our guard was down. We can't afford to slip up again."

Ruby grinned, Crescent Rose rising in her grip. It was true she was the only member of her team with an unbroken aura, but they weren't normal huntresses anymore either. They were wizard huntresses, and their origins were as full of ethernano as ever.

"Freezerburn Breath! Ladybug!" she called.

Her team sprang to life like a well-oiled machine. Weiss and Yang leapt forward first, their heads bent back as they took in deep breaths. Their twin breath attack would either force the Tartaros wizard to dodge, at which point she'd be easy prey for Ruby and Blake's speedy follow-up, or she'd choose to tank it head-on, which if they were lucky with their Devil Slayer power would end the fight immediately.

Of course, they were rarely that lucky.

The Tartaros wizard grinned, her tongue flicking out along her lips. "Poor, pretty humans. Very well. Kyouka, Leader of the Nine Demon Gates, shall teach you true suffering."

She spread her claws. A sizzling crack split the air, like a tempest's first crash of thunder. From each of her bony claws, streaks of turquoise energy erupted towards each member of Team RWBY.

Ruby activated her semblance and shot to the side in a flurry of rose petals. Even still, she could not dodge the blast. The lances of energy struck her dead-on… and promptly did nothing? Her aura was visibly crackling in front of her, yeah, but it wasn't being drained. It was just visible. Not really debilitating in terms of combat—

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang all immediately fell to the ground, each of them screaming and writhing in agony. Even when the energy faded from around them, they didn't stop screeching, each movement only causing it to increase in volume.

"Guys!" Ruby shouted. "What's wrong—ah!"

The red hooded huntress was smashed into the ground, the dirt forming a crater beneath her from the impact. She stumbled to get up, but soon found herself pinned under the talons of Kyouka's foot.

"What is this?" she growled. "The Devil Slayer I could understand, her kind have an inbred resistance to our abilities, I gave her an amplified dose to make sure she went down. But why have you denied the pain of my curse? What is this power that protects you?"

"Ca… can… can't breathe…" Ruby gasped.

Kyouka tilted her head to the side, and then let out a low, sadistic cackle. "I suppose we can wait. Picking you and your pets apart to find the answer will be far more… pleasurable. The hybrid can wait."

"I can promise you, Kyouka. I will not."

The Tartaros wizard's eyes, so full of malice and sadistic joy, suddenly widened with absolute terror. She tossed Ruby away and whirled around to the sound of the new voice, only for a meteor of blinding light to crash into her.

Ruby rolled across the ground and leapt back to her feet, Tulip's Aegis and Waxing Petal spawned into her hands for protection. She needn't have bothered. By the time she'd gotten eyes on the fight again, Kyouka had already been struck by another golden meteor, her bone claws shattering under the force, the shards flying all across the plain. One final blast and the dark wizard's entire side was blown away.

A woman in a flowing white gown stomped towards the fallen warrior, lifting her into the air with one hand by the scruff of her scant clothing. "Where is my research?"

Kyouka chuckled, a hoarse thing that was probably influenced by her currently lacking a full set of lungs. "The Underworld King keeps it well. If you truly wish to continue your efforts, you need only bring the fragments of our lord's creation to the Plutogrim. You would be welcome in the halls of Tartaros—"

"Then go back there," the woman snarled, her silky golden hair gleaming with radiant power. "Tell Mard Geer that if he truly wishes to keep what's mine from me, I'll just keep using his minions as a nice distraction while I complete my studies on the Eclipse Gate. And if he feels like dying again, he can gladly come and find me."

She brought her other palm in front of Kyouka's face. Shining golden light surged out her hand and enveloped her beaten captive. When it faded, ash crumbled from her grip.

Ruby couldn't hide her trembles, though even she could not tell if they were from relief or terror. "You… killed her."

The blonde woman scoffed. "As surely as she would have killed you. After toying with you awhile. She's not even really dead, just back to her guild's irritating little revival chambers. You're welcome, by the way—"

"Ah!"

Ruby whirled around, her eyes widening in horror. "Weiss! Yang!"

She rushed over to her partner and her sister, both side-by-side, both impaled by half a dozen bone shards from Kyouka's broken claws. Weiss had more of the spines sticking out of her thighs and shoulder, but those that had struck Yang had stuck in her right in the stomach and ribcage.

"Out of the way!" the blonde woman shouted. She shoved Ruby to the side and went down to her knees beside the two. She stretched her hands over the injured pair, golden light, gentler than the attacks she had launched before, bleed out over their bodies.

Blake limped over to them, helping Ruby back to her feet, even though she looked nearly as pale as the injured duo. "What are you doing?"

"It's a healing spell," the blonde replied. "Not my specialty, but I can manage."

Ruby wasn't especially reassured, but she didn't have much choice in the matter. Neither she nor Blake knew healing magic like Wendy. And while they had been given field medic training at Beacon, their teammates' injuries didn't seem like they could be stemmed by a tourniquet or two.

Fortunately, in a few moments, Weiss and Yang's rapid panting had been slowed to more gentle breathing, their pale skin reinvigorated with color. They still had spikes sticking out of their flesh, but it could be much worse.

The blonde growled. "If we stay here too long, Tartaros will send reinforcements. I can't heal these two while keeping them from killing you. Do you have a base nearby we can take them to? Someplace secure?"

Ruby flinched. "Our guildhall's two days away."

"By walking?"

"By train."

"Damnit," The blonde woman scowled. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she was mulling something over before she sighed. "Fine. My laboratory isn't far. I can give them proper medicine there."

"Thank you."

"What?"

"Thank you," Ruby repeated. As unsettled as she'd been by this woman's ruthlessness, and her mention of the Eclipse Gate made it more than likely she was the third party the princess had told Gramps about, she had still saved them from Kyouka. And now she was working to save Weiss and Yang, without them even having to ask. Rough around the edges she might be, she had a good heart.

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh… well, like I said before, you're welcome. The Devil Slayer looks heavier—"

"Yang."

"Yang, looks heavier. I'll carry her. You two lift the other one—"

"Weiss."

"Yes, Weiss."

"This is Blake," Ruby introduced, gesturing to her last teammate. She smiled at their savior. "And I'm Ruby. What's your name?"

"My name?" The blonde woman lifted Yang into her arms, her brow once more furrowed in thought. "That's a question that seems to only get more complicated the longer I'm alive."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "How? I mean, a name is just what you're born with, right?"

"You'd think," the blonde woman sighed. "But if that's the criteria you want, then… Sitara. Call me Sitara."

It was really good that Ruby and Blake hadn't picked up Weiss yet because they would have dropped her.

"Sitara?" Blake repeated. "Your name is Sitara?"

The blonde tilted her head. "Um… yes."

Ruby zipped in front of her in a blur of rose petals. "Sitara Astra Lumos Estrella Malina?!"

The woman narrowed her bright blue eyes, the same color as a sunny day's sky. "Who are you? How do you know that name?"

Ruby's cheeks blared with pain, her smile wider than it had ever been before. After all this time, they'd found her. They'd finally found her!

They were one step closer to getting home.

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She had to admit, the gardens really were beautiful. Dew was still fresh on the grass from the night, while the flowers varied from Mistralian lotuses to Vale roses. A perfect fit for a gift honoring such an idealistic internationalist.

Of course, the honor was only necessary because those same things got him killed.

What was she even doing here? Her orders were to stay hidden in the vault, it was the only place her powers wouldn't be sensed. This operation was too crucial, the Relic of Knowledge too powerful a tool to let slip through their fingers. They couldn't alert Qrow Branwen's force that they were already in the city. Risking everything for this little trip, for the basest sentimentality, was idiotic!

Yet, she kept walking forward.

She bent over and plucked a rose from the bushes, staring forlornly at the engraved stone at the center of the garden, surrounded by a quartet of benches. She made her way over and laid the scarlet flower atop the rock. Her finger strayed away ghosted over the inscription.

In memory of Councilman Benjamin Autumn and his daughter Ella, taken by hatred far too soon.

"Hello, father," Cinder whispered. "Long time no see."

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: Gregg Tracton, Annaya Chan, Keith Tracton, Nora Okonus, KefkaesqueXIII, Christian Howard, SanyaBane, Matthew Blevins, David Wayman, G-Unit91, Primordial Paper, and Mark Skrzyniarz.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!