Crescent Rose spun around Ruby as she sped down the corridor. Knights fell around her in a rain of steel and sparking circuitry. Behind her she heard the clomping of the soldiers' boots as they followed in her wake. She skidded to a stop at the end of the hall, then tapped her scroll against the electronic lock.

Nothing happened.

Not unexpected—Ironwood had guessed the attackers might have changed all the lock ciphers—but still annoying. She turned and called back down the hall, "Plan B!"

The front rank of soldiers pressed themselves against the wall. So did she, darting back several feet away from the door. An officer in armor painted with a bold red stripe passed her, already pulling a strange rectangular object out of a pouch at his belt. She watched him peel a thin film off one side, then stick the exposed adhesive to the door. A lever was pulled, and the rectangle expanded with a rattle to cover the door.

Finally, the demolitions expert thumbed a switch. "Clear!" he shouted, turning and sprinting back down the hall several paces. He had just passed her when, with a muted whoomph, the breach charge detonated. Ruby took her position at the head of the column once again as the other soldiers shuffled their positions with crisp, military efficiency.

For a moment, smoke rose from the vents on the back of the blast plate. Ruby waited. Then the plate collapsed back into its compact shape to reveal that the door behind it had been blasted several feet away. Ruby activated her Semblance, speeding through the smoky doorway and out onto the balcony overlooking the airship's mess hall.

She slipped out of her Semblance, hooked Crescent Rose onto the railing, and swung down. She landed boots down directly on the shoulders of a robot. She bent her knees to absorb the shock. The knight was not so lucky, crumpling beneath the weight of her momentum.

Jerkily, the two squads of automated soldiers turned to face her, but by this point the soldiers were starting to form their firing line on the balcony above. Gunfire echoed around the room. The knights prioritized the soldiers actively firing on them, turning and aiming up at the balcony, their threat assessment algorithms deeming the active weapons fire a more significant danger than the girl in the middle of them.

A mistake. Ruby smiled and, with a practiced flick of a lever, extended Crescent Rose into its unfolded reaper form.

In less than five seconds, the fight was over. Mechanical parts clattered across the floor.

Ruby took a moment to breathe. She winced, her hand going to her thigh. Her cyberleg was chafing again. Not much, not enough to distract her in the middle of a fight—yet—but it only heralded more.

Fortunately, there was only one fight left before the ship was secure. She tried not to think about how much would still need to be done after that. Turning to look up at the balcony, she called to the captain in charge of the squad assigned to her. "I'm going to go rendezvous with my team!" she said.

"Go!" he responded. "We'll bust open the barracks and be after you in a few minutes!"

She nodded, turned, and sped through the open archway at the back of the mess hall.

This corridor sloped gently upwards. She dashed up it, a flurry of rose petals settling on the ground behind her. The rendezvous point was at the top of this slope, a small crossroads where the paths to the crew deck, engineering deck, and hold converged.

She was first to arrive. She resisted the temptation to reach under her skirt and disconnect her leg. The others might be here any moment, and she wanted to be ready to go the moment they were.

Her stoicism turned out to be warranted. The door to her right—a traditional door on gleaming, oiled hinges, with no lock—swung wide after only around a minute. Blake jogged out, panting slightly after her run up the service stairway from engineering.

"Hey, Ruby," said Blake with a small smile. "No sign of Weiss yet?"

Ruby shook her head, reaching into her pocket to check her scroll. Weiss aura was holding strong. "She's doing all right, though," she said, showing Blake.

Blake nodded. "Good." Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked Ruby up and down. "How are you holding up? This is more strenuous than any of your physical therapy has been so far."

"It's chafing a little," Ruby said. "I'm still good for now, but after we retake the ship I might have to stay in the back and snipe."

Blake nodded. "Got it." Her smile turned rueful. "What a day."

Ruby nodded, letting out a heavy breath. "They must have known what Mom was doing," she said softly. "I hope she's okay."

"Oh, gods, I didn't even think about that." Blake's bow twitched as her eyes went wide. "Yeah, if they attacked Vale because your mom and Geralt were going to be away, what'll they have waiting for them in the Grimmlands?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know." She worried her lower lip for a moment. "They'll probably be all right," she said. "They were waiting for Ciri because she can move them really quickly, right? She can probably get them out if things are bad."

"Yeah, hopefully," said Blake. "They've… got to be almost done by now, right? It's been a couple hours."

Ruby shrugged helplessly. "I don't know how long it takes to see the wishes an immortal Grimm lady made thousands of years in the past," she said. "Maybe Miss Yennefer should teach a sorcery class."

"Wouldn't that be something," Blake said.

"Wouldn't what be something?"

Ruby turned to face the opening on her left. Weiss was stepping gracefully off of a glyph, having ascended the service shaft from the hold. "Sorcery class," Ruby said. She pulled Crescent Rose out and expanded it into scythe form. "Ready to go?"

Weiss nodded firmly. "Let's make this quick," she said.

Together, Ruby and her two teammates turned and ran down the corridor leading to the prow of the ship—and to the bridge.


Yang chewed on a tasteless nutrient bar, eyes fixed on her scroll. Her aura was rising agonizingly slowly. She wasn't in the red anymore, but only by a sliver. Her teammates all seemed to be hovering around the middle of the green range—except Ruby, who was holding steady at around 90%. Yang's little sister's aura reserves had exploded in size since her injury, growing in leaps and bounds. Blake claimed it was a documented phenomenon—post-traumatic aura expansion, or something like that.

She'd also later confided privately to Yang, voice hushed, that it was often accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder. Ruby seemed to be holding up well—but if Yang was learning anything about her little sister lately, it was that she was a lot better at hiding her hidden depths than Yang had given her credit for. She hoped Ruby didn't feel the need to hide pain like that from her teammates or her family, but she didn't really know.

Yang only noticed her fist was clenching when the end of her nutrient bar fell off was the portion still in the wrapping crumbled. She sighed, picked up the fallen morsel, and popped it into her mouth.

Then, suddenly, a droning siren began to echo through the hangar. Yang looked up to see red signal lights spun around the opening out into the sky on the other side of the hangar.

A bullhead rose into view from below the ship, then slowly pulled into the hangar. It landed with careful precision, and its engines cut out along with the klaxon.

Yang stood up from the crate she'd been using as a seat. With a flick of her wrist, she readied Ember Celica. All around her, the small rearguard of soldiers still holding here with their general were raising their own weapons.

The bullhead's doors opened, and a familiar woman stepped out. Yang had only very briefly met Winter Schnee several months ago, when she had gone with her team to help Geralt search for his daughter, but the woman left an impression. She looked a lot like Weiss, except that she was tall and curvy instead of, well, not those things.

Several feet away, Yang heard Ironwood let out a breath. "Weapons down, men," he said, stowing his own heavy hand cannon. "Specialist Schnee, welcome back."

Winter nodded sharply, heels clanging sharply against the metal floor as she approached. A squad of Atlesian huntsmen—no, specialists if they worked for the military—followed. "General," she said with a salute.

Ironwood's brow furrowed as he looked past Weiss' sister. "Was your mission unsuccessful?" he asked.

Winter pursed her lips. "We located Raven Branwen," she said. "She and her brother were engaged in combat with… something. It looked vaguely human or faunus, but it had far more than one animal trait, and some traits entirely unlike any animal I've seen."

"Describe them," Ironwood said.

"Batlike wings," Winter said, "fingernails elongated to claws—at least six inches long—a snout for a nose, red eyes—"

"The vampire," said Ironwood grimly. "What happened?"

Winter blinked once, but that was the only sign of surprise she betrayed. Yang, however, had gone pale.

Take my advice: you ever see a man with foot-long claws and a face that looks half-bat? Don't draw a weapon, don't try to fight. Just run, and hope they're feeling merciful.

"We stepped in to assist the Branwens against the… vampire," said Winter. "Then Headmaster Ozpin arrived on the scene and convinced it to withdraw. He vouched for Raven—claimed that he knew why you thought her a traitor, and claimed that he had further information which exonerated her."

Ironwood was silent for a moment. Yang watched his eyes go dark the way they had multiple times in her brief stay here. Then they cleared, and he nodded. "We'll have to trust that Ozpin knows what he's doing," he said.

"You sure?" Yang asked. "I'll be the first to tell you—Raven Branwen's an asshole."

Winter glared at her—probably for speaking out of turn, or something stupid like that. Ironwood, however, shot her a faint grin. "If only being a terrible person and being an enemy to the Kingdoms were the same thing," he said. "It would make things much easier." He turned back to Winter. "For now, as I'm sure you noticed—our mechanized forces have been turned against us." He nodded in Yang's direction. "Other than Miss Xiao Long, who was depleted after a narrow escape from the Titan Nanook, the rest of your sister's team are leading several squadrons to secure the bridge. By now, Miss Rose may have cleared a path through the mess hall, if you're able to join them."

Winter nodded sharply. "Understood, sir. Specialists, move!"


The door to the bridge was electronically locked. Fortunately, although Ruby didn't have a demolitions expert this time, she had Weiss instead. With barely a pause, Weiss spun Myrtenaster's chamber and sprayed a fine film of Fire Dust onto the seam between the door and the wall. Then she stepped back, gesturing for Ruby and Blake to do the same, spun Myrtenaster's chamber to a new canister, and lanced a bolt of lightning dust at the strip of red.

The door did not explode, but the metal was suddenly glowing white-hot. Weiss gestured, and a black glyph appeared between them and the door. The metal creaked, then buckled as the door was peeled back, using the softened strip as a hinge. The opening was about half as wide as the doorway, but it was an opening.

"Well, hello there," said Roman Torchwick with a jaunty wave. He was seated on a console, his back against the glass of the front windshield, legs kicked up onto the armrest of the chair in front of him. "I must say, the Atlas military really has seen better days if they're sending literal children to do their dirty work now."

Ruby slipped into the room with a momentary flare of her Semblance. Before solidifying, she used the moment of immateriality to glance around the room without being seen.

Neopolitan was not visible. That, Ruby suspected, did not mean she was not there.

She landed inside, cyberleg clomping against the metal floor. "Torchwick," she said. "Do us all a favor and surrender? I've got a Grimm horde to fight."

Torchwick actually burst out laughing. "Fight? Fight? Are you serious right now?" He gestured at the window behind him. "Have you seen what's going on out there?"

Ruby's lips pursed. She could see Ganesha from this angle, his massive, spiked trunk smashing Vale's northern walls. "Yeah," she said. "We noticed."

"And you still think you can fight this?" Torchwick snorted. "Seriously, kid. Vale's lost, and the other Kingdoms are next. What can you do about it? What can any of us do about it? I'll tell you: nothing."

"You're not exactly making things better," said Blake coldly as she slipped into the room behind Ruby and Weiss.

"Pff." The man let out a derisive sound. "What do I care about Vale? What do I care about any of the kingdoms? None of them ever did a damn thing for me. From when I was younger than I can remember, I've had to look after myself—so I'm doing that now. What's that saying? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?" He swung his legs over the side of the console and stood up, twirling his cane between his fingers. "Anyway. We gonna fight or what?"

"Sure," said Ruby, straining her ears to catch—yes! A click of heels on metal, coming from the left—

Ruby swung. There was a sound like shattering glass, and Neopolitan's wide, mismatched eyes appeared as Ruby caught her directly in the gut with the scythe. She was thrown bodily across the room, aura shattering under the weight of the Gravity-Dust assisted blow.

"Neo!" Torchwick shouted, raising his cane. He fired off a glowing Fire Dust round, but Blake blasted it out of the air with a burst from Gambol Shroud as Weiss charged him. He exchanged a few blows with her before Ruby was on his other side. Blake leapt past them onto Neo.

It was over in ninety seconds.

Ruby took a deep breath, dropping Torchwick's now-bound wrists, and turned towards the central console, directly in front of the massive windshield.

She blinked.

Hovering in the air, the wind whipping her hair around her face, was… Penny? There was a girl in blue in her arms, clutching at her neck in wide-eyed terror. Penny's brow was slightly furrowed, but she smiled when she caught Ruby's eye.

Was that a momentary flicker of red, in Penny's green ones?

Swords floated out from behind Penny. She gestured, shooing Ruby back. Ruby understood, stooping to grab Torchwick. "Back up!" she shouted at her teammates, and slipped into her Semblance. She picked Neo up on the way to the back wall, landing with a muted thump in a heap with the two bound criminals.

As soon as she was clear, Penny stabbed forward. The glass of the windshield shattered. The wind outside nearly drowned out the sound as Penny entered, landing gracefully on her feet. She put down the girl in blue, then smiled at Ruby, though there was still a worried crease in her flawless brow.

"Hello, friend Ruby!" she said. "Are you here to disable the AK-series control network?"

"Um, yes," said Ruby.

"Sensational!" said Penny brightly. "I am here for that purpose as well. I have a voice in my head telling me to attack the people of Vale, and I would rather it stop."

"Oh," said Ruby. "That… doesn't sound fun?"

"It is not," said Penny, speaking with apparent ease over the whistling wind. Ruby herself was nearly shouting. Penny turned to the consoles, a speculative look on her face. "Have you a plan for deactivating the network?"

"Yes," said Weiss, stepping forward and raising Myrtenaster. There was a flash of brilliant blue as she surged electricity through the console, and then all of the glowing screens winked out. Ruby hoped that didn't mean the ship's Gravity Dust core had lost power. Ironwood had said it wouldn't, when he explained that the central network had recently been refitted to default to a shutdown state in the event of power loss. But that didn't stop her worrying.

Penny sighed in relief. "That's much better," she said brightly. She looked down at the girl in her arms. "Recruit Soleil," she said, "I request that my position as your prisoner be commuted."

"Um," said the girl. "Fine. Yes."

"Sensational," Penny said again. She smiled at Ruby. "We should meet with the General," she said. "Then we can see—"

A roar like thunder boomed through the skies over Vale. It sent a jolt of fear down Ruby's spine. Penny's smile froze.

"What was that?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," said Ruby. "Penny—what's the fastest way to the roof of the ship?"

"Me," said Penny, putting Recruit Soleil down gently and holding out her arms to Ruby.

"Not on your own—" Weiss began sharply, but Ruby held up a hand.

"What's the second fastest," she asked.

Penny pointed to a nearby hatch in the bridge ceiling. "But I can likely carry all three of you," she said.

Ruby frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Mostly!"

Ruby grimaced. "Sure, good enough for me."

A few seconds later, they were landing atop the airship. Immediately, Ruby knew what the roar had been.

Nidhoggr was hanging in the sky, hovering still save for the beating of his wings, staring northward. So were all of the other Titans.


Salem blinked down at the sword in her gut. Geralt saw the pale flesh exposed by his thrust beginning to corrode under the effects of the Grimm oil.

She raised one shaking hand to the blade. Her eyes followed it up, meeting Geralt's gaze. Her face twisted as she bared her teeth. "I refuse," she said.

Geralt had just enough time to pull his sword back and lunge into a roll before she flung a bust of multicolored light at the space where he had been standing. He heard Yennefer yelp as it sailed past her. He rolled to his feet and looked back just in time to see Ciri appear in a flash of greenish light behind Salem, blade already swinging.

The blow didn't cleave straight through Salem the way Geralt might have expected, but it did scatter her black blood and send her sprawling forward on her hands and knees. She coughed, and more blood spattered against the flagstones. Then her head whipped up, and she thrust out an arm at Geralt. He dodged the burst of magic, casting Quen as he sidestepped, then charged her. His barrier took the brunt of the next attack, and he used the opening to drive his sword down through her chest.

She made a rasping sound, like air being slowly released from a balloon. Then her arms gave out, and she slumped forward, sliding down his blade. He tugged it out, then kicked her onto her back.

She was not dead yet. Her eyes stared up. There was something humanizing about seeing the red-on-black orbs glazed with pain and terror. The hall was silent save for her rasping breathing. Even the Grimm outside had stopped trying to get in, as if in silent respect of the death of their Queen. "No," she whispered. "It's not healing. It's not… healing…"

"Well, of course it isn't, Salem."

Geralt felt every muscle in his body tense. He whirled.

Heedless of the sword in Geralt's hand, or of any of the weapons surrounding him, Gaunter O'Dimm strode past Geralt, seeming perfectly unruffled. "I did warn you, after all," he said, looking down at her with that same indulgent smirk, edged with something dark. "I always, always come to collect, my friend. And I never lose."

"You lost to him," Salem spat.

"I suppose," said Gaunter, glancing at Geralt over his shoulder. He blinked, and his brown eyes were suddenly yellow and slit-pupiled, with sclera as black as Salem's. "And let this be a lesson to you, as well, Geralt," he said, in a voice as soft as velvet. "Even when I lose…"

"…You still win," Geralt said grimly.

"Precisely." Gaunter turned back to Salem. "So—our contract is ended. All that remains is your payment."

"No," Salem said, glaring up at him. "I refuse. You cheated me."

"Of course I did," said Gaunter flatly. "That, my friend, is the idea. And I'm afraid I wasn't asking." He held out a hand, and Salem's back arched, black smoke rising from her form as she screamed.

But her writhing took on purpose. She forced her eyes onto Geralt, even as they seemed to slowly bulge in their sockets as her flesh aged rapidly, deep furrows appearing on once-flawless skin. "The Titans," she said, forcing the words out. "My research. Save—my—"

And then she burned away, like paper in a bonfire, leaving behind a smoldering skeleton. Outside, there was a faint rumbling of feet and claws on barren earth as the swarm of Grimm dispersed.

Gaunter O'Dimm took a deep breath. A smile spread across his face. He reached down and, with a sudden motion, tore the skull from the rest of the bones. Then he turned to Geralt. "Well," he said. "That's over with."


Raven parried one of the Fall Maiden's blows with her sword, then lanced forward with a spear of lightning. The other woman raised a shield of flame, blasting from a fissure which opened near her feet. The lightning was lost among the fire.

They exchanged a few more blows, then parted. Raven's clothes whipped around her as she hovered a few feet off the ground beside Qrow.

The Fall Maiden—what was her name again?—looked between Raven and Ozpin. She ignored Qrow completely. "Where is the Relic?" she asked, voice low and harsh.

On Qrow's other side, Ozpin clasped his hands on the head of his cane. "There is only one way out of this vault," he said quietly. "You are pinned. Please, surrender."

The Fall Maiden's lip curled. "Right," she said sarcastically. "Sure. I'll do that. Just as soon as you answer the question."

"What good would the information do you?" Ozpin asked. "Even if you knew how to access it, you would not be able to while fighting us off. Are you so arrogant that you believe you are the equal to a fellow, more experienced Maiden, one of my best field agents, and myself all at once? I ask you again—surrender.

The Fall Maiden grimaced. "You make good points," she admitted. "But—no, I don't think so." And then she charged—not towards any of them, but over their heads, making for the elevator behind them.

Raven moved to intercept, but just before they met, the Fall Maiden cried out in sudden pain. Her powers failed, and she tumbled to the ground, writhing, clutching at her right arm. Raven blinked, staring down at her, and that the sigil on the back of her white glove was glowing. Black ooze was spreading like a fungal growth from the center of her palm.

Then Ozpin knelt at her side, dropping his cane. He grabbed at the young woman's wrist, tugging her right arm away from the clutches of her left hand. He examined the spreading blackness for a moment, then looked up at Raven, eyes dark.

"Cauterize," he said.

Raven grinned. Omen emerged, its blade as red as blood.

The Fall Maiden screamed.


Yang stared out the hangar bay at the dragon as it stared at something she couldn't see to the north. She watched as the flock of Grimm around it began, slowly, to dissipate. In the city below, many of the Grimm were still hounding groups of civilians and soldiers… but many more seemed to be fleeing, running from the bewildered Huntsman who had been fighting them.

"It can't be," murmured Ironwood beside her. "I assumed… if she knew they were coming, I assumed they must have—they were only supposed to be gathering intelligence!"

"Sure looks like more than a recon mission happened, General," Yang said.

Ironwood blinked down at her. His brow furrowed. "You… know?"

"Mom didn't want to leave us behind with no explanation for a second time."

His face twisted. "I… suppose I can understand that." He looked out the dragon again. "And—yes, it certainly does seem that way, doesn't it?"

Before Yang could respond, Nidhoggr crested like a wave and, undulating like a serpent swimming through the sky, began to fly north, out of the city.


Geralt slowly backed away a few steps. "There a reason you're still here, then?" he asked.

The Man of Glass looked vaguely surprised. "There's no need for such hostility," he said. "After all—from your perspective, I created the opening you used to kill her. And that after letting you make off with von Everec. A little gratitude goes a long way, you know."

Geralt didn't answer. Ciri stepped up beside him. "I'm afraid you'll have to accept disappointment on that one," she said.

Gaunter O'Dimm smiled. "Ah, Cirilla. Such vitriol! And to think, from your perspective this is the first time we've ever met!" He shook his head in fond amusement, even as Geralt's fists clenched and he interposed himself between him and Ciri. "I suppose I'm simply in a good mood," he said. "There are not many who have stayed away from me quite so long as she did. Of course, I did know what I was getting into when I entered that contract, but… my does it burn. Like a thorn buried somewhere you can't reach. You understand, I'm sure."

"Not especially," said Geralt.

Gaunter O'Dimm raised an eyebrow. "No? And you've never been haunted by a payment denied after a difficult hunt?" He shrugged. "Regardless, I should be going. You may not know how to reach me, but if you have need, I'm quite sure you'll find a way."

"Don't expect that'll happen," said Geralt.

"Never say never," said Gaunter with a twisted smile. "Everyone I've ever entered into a contract with had ample reason to believe I would eventually collect. Only one has ever escaped that fate. Desperation really is a remarkable thing."

He tossed Salem's skull into the air, then caught it again. His fingers clenched. The bone shattered with a sound as loud as thunder, and Gaunter O'Dimm was gone as if he'd never been.

Silence fell.

"Well," said Yennefer faintly. "I… suppose we should try to find her research notes?"

"Yes," said Ciri. Her face was set, her mouth a hard line. "She must have a study. Let's get anything we can find and get back to Vale. We can always come back." She looked down at Hazel's prone form. "Regis, could you…?"

"Of course," said Regis, already fully transformed back into his humanoid form. He reached down and, with no apparent effort, hoisted the massive man into a fireman's carry over his shoulder.

Ciri and Yennefer led the way up the stairs. Salem's study was not hard to find, and nor were her research notes. There was an entire bookshelf of them, bound in black leather embossed with helpful labels in red letters. Continuous Consciousness, Experiment Log, Volume 1 was followed by more than a dozen more volumes with the same title. There were almost as many with the title, Sociology, Experiments in Division. Those were just two of the many, many serial notebooks the immortal woman had kept.

Yennefer let out a soft, awed breath. "I suddenly almost regret her death," she murmured.

"I don't," said Ciri. "And we can't possibly carry all of those back with us now. Pick one series, Mother, and we'll take those with us."

"Continuous Consciousness," Yennefer said immediately. "I have a suspicion what those might be about."

So did Geralt. He bundled several of the volumes under one arm, as did Summer and Yennefer.

"Done?" Ciri asked. "Good. Take my hands, and let's be off."

"Oh boy," muttered Summer.

"It's better than portals," Geralt said. "I promise you that."

They took Ciri's hands, and a moment later they were gone.


Ozpin stepped out of Beacon's front door just in time to see Nidhoggr shrinking into a speck in the distance. He stared after the Titan, then looked around and saw that the others were following. Could it be?

Apparently, it could. There was a flash of green light in the courtyard, and five people stepped onto the green. He had been absolutely certain, when the traitor's voice began to echo from every speaker in his office, that he would never see any of them again.

Summer rose gave him a tired smile. He noticed, with a sort of detached disinterest, that she had four large books under the arm that wasn't holding Ciri's wrist. "Hey, Ozpin," she said. "I know we were just supposed to be doing some recon…"

"What the hell happened?" Geralt interrupted. He was staring out at the smoke rising from a hundred small fires in the city of Vale, at the flock of Grimm circling overhead, at the Titans still slowly lumbering away.

"Summer!" Raven dashed past him and, in an uncharacteristic burst of emotion, threw her arms around her former teammate. Summer blinked her silver eyes over the other woman's shoulder, and then a soft smile crossed her lips and she squeezed Raven back, a very faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

Ozpin saw Geralt looking at the devastation, and he saw it too. But somehow none of it could dampen the awe, the relief, bubbling up in his chest. "She's gone, isn't she?" he said, voice barely a whisper, irrationally afraid that if he spoke too loudly, Salem might hear and pop out of some corner to laugh at him.

"She's gone," said Ciri, though her eyes were dark and haunted. "Now, really—why is the city on fire?"

"Think they knew you were leaving," Qrow said, stepping up beside Ozpin. "They attacked pretty quick after you left."

"I assumed they would have intercepted you," Ozpin said. "I thought you were dead."

"We knew you were leaving." The Fall Maiden's voice was slurred with pain as she clutched the stump where her right hand had been. Her amber eyes were fixed on Summer. "Emerald overheard you. But we didn't—we never imagined you would go to her."

"That explains a few things," murmured Ozpin. "Thank you for clarifying."

Cinder Fall shrugged. Her eyes were hollow, her face expressionless. "She's dead," she said. "I don't get it—that was supposed to be impossible—but she is. And all my plans are dust. No point fighting it any longer."

"Cinder!" A girl's voice echoed from above, slightly raspy and guttural. Ozpin looked up just in time to see a bat-winged figure swoop down and land between the Fall Maiden and the rest of them, sharp teeth bared.

"Ah." Regis rolled his shoulders, dropping the heavy man—was that Hazel Rainart?—slung over his shoulders. "I did warn you, Miss Sustrai," he said quietly.

The other vampire glared at him, but before she could speak, Cinder Fall cut her off. "Emerald," she said. "It's over. We lost."

Emerald's eyes darted among them, watching as the entire group readied weapons. "My mother once told me," she said in a low, rough voice, "that the history of our people is all one long loss. That's no excuse to let the winners have their way in everything."

She spun, grabbed the wounded Maiden, and leapt into the sky.

Regis let out a loud sigh. "If you'll all excuse me," he said. Then, body twisting, he leapt after her.

Ozpin blinked after them. Then he shook his head, turning back to the rest of the group—his friends. "I suppose we ought to go and drive away any Grimm still in the city," he said.

"Yeah, probably," said Geralt.

For the rest of the long, long night, Ozpin could scarcely keep the smile off his face.

It's over. She's gone. I'm free.